This is my first post on my new blog! i have no idea where this is going to go. i am probably going to amaze my self with how many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors i can make. After retiring from my job a few years ago to stay at home with my 2 kids, i have not really had an issue with keeping busy but i feel like the last 2 years has gone by so fast and i don't have much to show for it..except of course my 2 beautiful kids. well i guess the reality is i do miss having someone say "good job" for the work done and all of the other perks that come with working. Don't get me wrong i would not want to go back to work but i need something

M&M Teacher Appreciation Gifts

between my kids we have 7 teachers in our lives!  so for teacher appreciation week i wanted to come up with something which the kids could help with and was fairly easy to put together.  so in come pintrest.com.  after a short search for "teacher gifts" i found some amazing ideas.  i decided to go with the M&M Gift which i found on this blog:

http://www.domestically-speaking.com/2010/05/m-ms-teacher-appreciation-gift.html

i found 3 very large bags of M&Ms in various kinds.

then i took a few of my mason jars and filled them up!  very easy and kid friendly as long as you don't mind them eating abut half of what they put in the jars.

then you print up this cute little poem:

Green is for the inspiration you give me each day.

Blue is for your patience in showing me the way.

Orange is for your warmth and caring style.

Yellow is for the way you always make me smile.

Red is for my life that you have touched this year.

You’re a very special teacher just like this jar, that’s clear.

You place knowledge in our children’s hands

and melt into their hearts and lives forever.

You’re a "Magnificent" & "Marvelous" teacher

Thank you for being my M&M.

i put mine on colorful card stock paper and punched a few wholes and threaded red ribbon around the card.

the teachers loved it and loved the card.

if you are a teacher know that this week all of your hard work and sweat is appreciated.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Homemade Jam

i have been recently trying to make our own jam.  a few things i have learned which i am sure everyone else new but i didn't:

Jelly, jam and preserves are all made from fruit mixed with sugar and pectin. The difference between them comes in the form that the fruit takes.

• In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice.
• In jam, the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit (and is less stiff than jelly as a result).
• In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks in a syrup or a jam.

so i choose to make jam because it seemed easiest.  i also am NOT canning them right now.  i make a few jars with my leftover fruit and freeze what we will not use immediately.  maybe someday i can learn how to can and give these little babies away as gifts!  but for now my main goal is to use up leftover fruit and also try to have my family eat things that i feel are natural and make with zero chemicals (pesticides, preservatives, etc).

so my son and i started with a few leftover strawberries:

we added them to the pan and added about a cup of sugar and about 1/4 a cup of pectin.  the pectin jar will give you instructions on how much sugar, pectin, water, and lemon juice (if desired) but i usually wing it because the amount of fruit i have is never the same as the recipe on the jar.  so far things have worked out!

once i add these to the pan i turn on the heat and stir and mash the fruit!  my son loves this part.

then you let it boil and stir constantly.  i then add more sugar-- this day i added about 1 cup--i tasted it and it tasted plenty sweet so i then added the rest of the pectin.  i then boiled and stirred for about 5 minutes.

i got about 3 jars of this yummy stuff!  which go a long way to making a bunch of peanut butter sandwiches, which is my sons lunch about 5 days a week!

 

DIY Craigslist Dresser

since january i have been reading and discovering some many wonderful blogs by DIY'ers out there.  my obsession has gotten so bad that i have almost completely stopped reading and posting onto facebook.  this is very hard to believe i know but i think this has been a good move for me as facebook while very social and allows me to chit chat with friends and family has not exactly motivated me to say paint and redo my own dresser!  well these blogs did and after 2 months of looking on craigslist for the right priced (under $50), right size (the dresser was to be put in my daughters closet) and in the right location (i didn't want to drive more than 45 minutes from my home) i finally found a nice oak dresser which was in pretty good shape and just needed a paint job to go in the bobcat's (that's our 4 year old's nickname..more on that later) very pink girls room.

i have to thank Censational Girl for all of the great post and inspiration. i simply LOVE LOVE her site and she is so talented and it is so wonderful that she is sharing all of that experience.  here are a few articles which inspired me and also guided me on how to redo my dresser:

Inspiration - love this http://www.centsationalgirl.com/tutorials/furniture-makeovers/
This was what i had in mind for bobcat's dresser: http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2011/04/how-to-paint-furniture/
I wanted to do charlotte's in white and pink.

well i found my dresser and after following censational girls how to steps on this page i am very happy with my first attempt at refinishing a dresser.  i unfortunately did not take a before picture.. i know i could just shoot myself! but the dresser was basically just brown and in pretty good shape with brass handles. 

the whole process involved, sanding, then priming Zinsser Cover Stain primer, sanding again, painting 2 coats and 3 coats on the drawers and then added a protective coat of Minwax Polycrylic.

then i my daughter and i picked out those lovely crystal handles at our local Home Depot.   both my daughter and i were very happy with the outcome.  there are definitely some things i learned.  if you get close to the dresser you can see a ton of brush marks.  i did use the paint conditioner, Floetrol, so i am not sure if i should spray the furniture next time or not but i will probably try in order to eliminate the brush strokes.  also, the whole process took like 5 days and most of the time i was painting the bobcat was right there with me "helping".  next time i might try to paint some by myself so i can focus on the painting because i ended up with a few paint drips when i was trying to prevent her from "helping".  

overall i am very excited about my first DIY furniture makeover.  hopefully this will not be my last! 

UGGGGLY Shoes anyone?

In our entryway we have a "shoe basket".  The kids are pretty good about taking their shoes off when they come in the door and put them in the basket BUT there is still a very ugly basket sitting by the door.

So in comes my new love from ikea:

this makes me so happy ! and being a diy kind of girl i put this little baby to together today! have you ever put ikea pieces together?  i am sure you have well it takes a lot of patience and maybe a drill to fix a few holes which were not drilled correctly.   when i opened the box it looked like this:

then there were the screws and other parts:

as my 4 year old would say "for real".. yes for real it came with that!  so after a few deep breathes i dived in to step 1 of 28 and yes 3 short hours later it is done.  i could not be more pleased.  and i have to give my 4 year old a big hug because during this 3 hours she watched several movies and let mommy "work".  i know bad mom but look below and be amazed...

yes all of our shoes are held in that cabinet.  the adult shoes are in the top cabinet and the kids shoes are in the bottom drawer.  the only disappointment is the very top drawer will not open smoothly.  i am trying to come up with a way to redrill a few few holes to resolve the problem.. more to come on that later.. but for now i am one happy momma! 

Out with the Old and in with the New Obsessions

This is my first post on my new blog. i have no idea where is going to go but i do have a few hopes for what i get out of it:

1) i am obsessed with reading blogs on decorating and thinking about decorating my home.. obsessed like over the top! so i thought what a great way to record some of my thoughts and also record some of the changes which i make gradually to our house.

2) after working the full-time until my son and daughter were, 4 and 2, respectively, i decided to stay at home with them. this was a wonderful transition and as a complete surprise to most people who knew me as a complete workaholic engineer i love it. BUT, why is there always a but, i do not always get some of the same rewards and recognition which i received at work on a daily or weekly basis. i thought possibly this blog might be a way to get some kind of feedback on my new obsessions: family, kids, my house, DIY projects, sewing (yes i learned to sew, well learned is a bit strong), and last but not least cooking.

3)  And as the title refers to i do feel a tad guilty about the amount of time i obsess about my hobbies so i hope that i can feel less guilty by looking at how productive i am through the eyes of this blog.. well we can hope can't we.. :)

cheers, april