Impromptu Princess Crowns

I get so sick of my girls asking me to buy them those crappy plastic princess crowns that break the very same day you buy them. A few days ago when they asked me for crowns to wear with their princess dresses, I just got to it. Freehand cut a crown shape from cardstock. Pink, of course. Then stapled a piece of elastic around the back.


They are actually holding up quite well and fit really great. Especially on Claire's little head. Now every morning after breakfast she asks for her dress & "town". I know they won't last forever, but it was a quick solution & who knew it would keep them happy for so long. They even wore them to dinner.

Spring Clean Week

I've officially declared this week Spring Cleaning Week. I even made a list of all I need to do. It's rainy out today & we don't have any errands that we have to go out & do, so today is a perfect day to knock a bunch of these chores out. I do love a clean house, I just hate doing the cleaning.

Take a break from some of your chores today to check out kind over matter where one of our daily affirmation prints is up for grabs in a giveaway.

Winners

The winners of the Nature's Source Cleaner Coupon giveaway are Lori, Rachel & Chanel. E-mail those addresses to me & I'll get your coupons in the mail! Thanks for playing.

Nature's Source Cleaner Coupon Giveaway

Are you getting into spring cleaning mode like me? I was happy to be able to try out this new line of cleaning products by SC Johnson. The Nature's Source cleaners really appeal to me because they are natural & safe for the environment. Made with 99% natural & naturally derived ingredients. The cleaning agent is derived from coconut & palm kernel oils. They are free of ammonia, bleach & phosphorous. Not tested on animals & packaged in recyclable bottles.

They clean really well & smell great...and I feel good about using these products around my family.

I have three coupons to giveaway for a free nature's source cleaner of your choice. Just leave me a comment on this post & I'll choose 3 winners on Monday. If you feel like sharing a green tip for us all, that would be great as well!

Dude! Life Is Busy

Has it really been almost a week since my last post? Yikes! I have been feeling so very behind for the last few weeks. Like I'm constantly trying to do 10 things at a time & still having trouble feeling like I'm getting ahead. So until I can get back here with something better, here are a few things of note:

* My exercise routine is definitely cutting into my time. I'm finding it harder to keep up with my housework. BUT! My waist is getting thinner & that makes it all worth it. Today I'm wearing a shirt that didn't fit me a few weeks ago. Hooray for diet & exercise & new clothes that were really there all along.

* Spring has decided to show itself around here. I am loving hearing the birds chirp, feeling sunshine on my skin & the feel of my bare feet on the kitchen floor. Life is good & all this beautiful weather has made a big difference in everybody's attitude. There is happiness galore around here & I'm just soaking it in.

* We went to see Langhorne Slim last weekend. He's great. I love hearing music live. I fall even more in love with my favorites after seeing & hearing it in a new way.

* Tomorrow night we'll be at the opening night of the Cleveland International Film Festival. We're pretty excited. Dylan has been working hard on this project for a while. :)

Matching Skirts For My Girls....Oh, Yes I Did

I am not the type to dress my kids alike...but I just couldn't resist.


After some serious neglect of the sew along blog...I've decided to get it going again. We're currently working on the oliver + s lazy days skirt pattern. I love this pattern. Seriously, love it. It's super, super simple & easy. I didn't have ribbon on hand so I used double fold bias tape for the finishing edge & that worked great as well.


My girls love their skirts. I love that Sadie thinks I can make anything. But, instead of saying thank you for the skirt she immediately asked if I was going to make matching shirts. :) Um, no. However, I am going to make a few more of these skirts for each of them before I move on to something else. I'm planning on making more of their clothes & spring is a great time to jump on that.

5 Things

1. I've added a few new flag garlands to the shop today.

2. I had a bad exercise week last week. Only worked out 3 out of 5 days...and I ate pretty crappy. Feeling more determined today. I'm going to start keeping a food journal. I have a goal to drink more water. I also want to have a salad & one vegetable side with dinner every night.

3. Daylight savings is hard to adjust to.

4. I promised Sadie that we could cut up a pineapple when she gets home from school. We're both pretty excited about that.

5. We have decided on full day kindergarten for Sadie next year. There are an number of reasons why. I just need to quit feeling like I'm a bad mom for making this choice. Ultimately, we think it will make Sadie happy & the whole family happy. She wakes up every morning & the first thing she asks is if it's a school day. With the long winters that we have here, I think an extra few hours of school will be good for her. It's hard for us to get out & so much of the time she is asking to play the computer or watch a movie anyway. If we decided to go half day then she would miss out on music, p.e. & art. All of which she'd love. For our situation & for Sadie in particular, we feel that this is the best choice. Thanks for all your input!

Kindergarten...Help!

Kindergarten registration is coming up this month. This year I have the choice to have Sadie go to all day kindergarten or just half day in the morning. This year she has been attending preschool every day of the week with 2 Fridays off per month. It's almost like she's been on a half day kindergarten schedule already. I'm feeling a bit stressed about this decision. Here are my thoughts...

Pros for all day:
* She is very social & really ready to learn right now.
* I could get more done around the house & w/ the etsy shop
* my house may stay cleaner
* I could have one-on-one time w/ Claire

Cons for all day:
* I would miss her
* She's at school more than at home during her awake hours
* I'd have to pack her a lunch
* We wouldn't be able to do as many spontaneous fun things in the afternoon

I think I've already made my decision, but I'd love to hear your input. Especially from other moms that have made this type of decision already. Chanel, I already know what you will say. :) I'm also putting a poll on my sidebar. So, go ahead & vote....doesn't mean that's what we'll do. It's just for fun.

March!

I'm so happy it's March, even though it's only 19 degrees out today. It means spring is coming sooner than later, right?

We have been so busy around here. I've got lots to tend to today & most of it is shop work. We are not complaining though. The increase in sales has been such a blessing & so helpful to our family.

I'm still on track with my exercise routine. I'm halfway through already. Any suggestions for good fitness dvd's that I can try when I'm finished with this one?

After dropping Sadie off at school I snatched this chair from the curb that somebody was throwing out. It's a cute wooden chair that I think I'll paint a cool color someday. I also took my neighbor's coupons out of his recycling bag last week. I'm becoming a real good garbage picker & instead of feeling ashamed, I'm quite proud of myself.

Anybody else feeling the urge to do some major spring cleaning? I want to organize & clean everything. I just need more time to get to it all.

I've decided to do a rotating monthly list of a few of my current favorite blogs so check that out on my sidebar. I'll be changing it up again soon for the month of March.