Fair Fun

One of the things that I love about Germany is all the little fairs. There's always a town within driving distance having a fair during the spring/summer months. I just love them, even though they're virtually all the same vendors. I swear the same vendors frequent them, or near enough to make no difference. We went to one a couple weeks ago in Kaiserslautern. I think it was called their Mai Markt. There was less Markt and more rides, but that was okay with us. We get away cheap, since the only kid who loves the rides is D. Link won't go, which saves us euro. And of course, we have our customary crepe. I always opt for banana and nutella, but James went for some fresh strawberries and some cream that he really disliked. And that, my friends, is why I'll always stick to that which I know and love.

 

 

 

Lincoln loved the Scrat that Daddy won him

 

 

 

 

Drake won his own dragon from the claw game

 

 

Lincoln later carried that Scrat squirrel around everywhere!

Free printable Cat Mothers Day Card

So I love the internet. That should really be no surprise. But I love to look at sites that make me giggle. My favorite is TheMetaPicture. I go there daily to get a good laugh and hardly a day passes without some mention of cats or a cute photo of a cat. Sometimes I think that cats are taking over the internet. While personally I'm a dog person, I do love animals of any type. And I love Moms. Which leads nicely into my next free printable: a cat mother's day card! Okay so maybe it didn't segueway as nicely as it could have, but I haven't had my cup of coffee yet so you don't get to judge. :)

So without further ado, here's my ode to mothers: "I love you like a crazy cat lady loves cats." You can download the flat 5x7 print and frame it or just sign the back, or download the foldable card (already formatted for you to just print, fold and then sign the inside).

 

You can download the flat 5x7 print HERE

and

You can download the foldable card HERE

 

Hope you all have a wonderful mother's day and I'd love to hear if you use this free printable in the comments below!

Let them Sleep

It's a rainy day around here, and has been for two days now, so we're all rained out. Boo. My boys are outside so much now that they've got the cutest little farmer tans (despite all the sunblock that I slather on them). I'm one proud Momma when my little ones ask to go outside more than they ask for TV or video games.

But all that fresh air and sunshine brings about the best side effect of all: naps!

Caught Red-Handed

So I went into the kitchen for some more tea, and this is what I found:

 

Yup, that's my littlest (he must have plumber in his veins) with a contraband box of cheez-its hiding underneath the kitchen table. He must have known I wouldn't have approved it for his snack, so he went into hiding. I thought it was too cute so I snapped a few pics. The sound of the shutter snapping got his attention.

 

 

He then knew he had gotten away with it and even turned to face me. I smiled and laughed at my silly boy and then the oldest had to get in on the action:

 

 

Monkey see, monkey do, especially if that involves a tasty treat. Happy Friday!

 

Spring has Sprung!

After what was the coldest winter (and darkest) on record for Germany, it seems that spring is finally here! And it didn't come soon enough for me. But I'm more than happy to welcome it with open arms. And I won't even complain when it melds into summer much too soon (which I know will happen), even when I know there's no AC in Germany. I will not complain, but will rejoice in the day that the Lord has made! That's my goal, anyway.

So here's a few updates for you, which also explain my absence:
1. We went to Amsterdam. Which was amazing! I know it's the stoner capital of the world but we weren't there for that (neither I nor the hubby do drugs, for the record and in case you're keeping score at home. And now that I typed that I feel like I need to say my children do not either, but they're 3 and 5 so that should be a given). We found some amazing architecture, history, and museums. It was a great city. I hope to post some tips and some photos soon. And by soon I mean as soon as life calms down.

2. We came home for about a month, continued battling the DODDS (read: military) schools to get Lincoln the care / education he requires and deserves. We won some battles and lost some more, but atleast progress is progress.

3. We've continued the speech therapy for Link's dysarthria, and he's coming along splendidly. I just watched a video the other night shot on my iPad. It was Christmastime and Drake saw a shooting star and thought it was Santa Claus so he was yelling up at the sky for Santa to come down. Link got in the spirit and came into the frame at the end and yelled the equivalent of, "yaskjhljgl;kaj khjdlkajsl;kj a dkfajslkdfj!" It really was unintelligible. But now he carries on complete conversations with us and we understand about 75% of what he says. I'm amazed every day at how much progress he is making. And I'm thankful.

4. Continuing with that thought train, we also enrolled Drake in drop-off speech at the local elementary. He's habituated some words/pronunciations and we're having a hard time breaking him of it. He can say a perfect D, but things like doggy are still "goggy." It also appears he has some hearing issues, as he can't tell the difference between B and V for instance. I learned today that "bye" and "five" sound exactly the same to his ears. No wonder it's harder on him to pronounce things correctly. Hopefully we'll get some answers soon for him.

5. We also took a trip to London and Dublin, which were AMAZING. I definitely need to post some tips and recommendations for it. And also, I want to live there.

6. Drake's now enrolled in t-ball. He's doing really great with it and enjoying it, which is much more important to me. The kid hits the ball tossed at him better than off the tee though, so we're working on that at home. It's so much fun to be able to share my love of sports with my children. Link's too young to play yet, but he enjoys being our bat boy.

So I think that's it for now. Hopefully I'll have an update in a much more timely manner, but in the grand scheme of things, please know that my family comes first, my business second, and the blog is somewhere near the end but don't think I don't love you for reading this. :)

World's Easiest Stuffed Green Peppers

I'm always on the lookout for quick and easy meals, especially since I don't like to cook particularly and my children are inevitably picky eaters. One meal that I can get them to eat is Stuffed Green Peppers. I inherited this gem of a recipe from my mom but I'm not sure where she got the original.

What You'll Need:
2 large green peppers, sliced in half horizontally to form "cups" and seeded
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup rice (you can even use the microwave variety or the boil in bag variety if you want)
1 can Sloppy Joe sauce
1/4 log of Velveeta, dice (you can use more or less depending on how cheesy you like it)

What You'll Do:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (or 175 celcius).

2. In a medium or large saucepan, place cut and seeded green peppers. Cover the peppers with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes (just until the peppers are no longer firm, but have a little give when you poke them with a fork). Remove cooked green peppers from the water and place in a 8 or 9 inch square glass baking dish.

3. Meanwhile, make your rice according to the directions, especially if you need to boil water for them and they take awhile.

4. Also, start cooking your meat in a skillet on the stove. Be sure to thoroughly cook the meat, and then drain the fat away. Then add in the can of Sloppy Joe, making sure to stir well.

5. Dice the velveeta into small squares. Stir into the Sloppy Joe/ground beef mixture (it doesn't have to melt now; it will in the oven).

6. Fill each green pepper half with cooked rice and the meat mixture (you can do half of each mixture or more of one or the other, depending on your preferences). You can even thinly slice more Velveeta and top each pepper with it. Bake for approximately 30-45 minutes. Enjoy!

Look Who's 5!

So look what happened around here lately (okay, not lately, in November past, but still...): My baby boy, my sweet little guy, is now five. I know I say it every year, and I probably will for every year that follows, but where does the time go?

 

 



Here's years past:

 

 

Wow, where did my baby go?



Cards that Care

So a good friend of mine, Erin, of A Bird and a Bean recently collaborated with a friend of hers for Cards that Care.  I LOVE this idea.  She explains it way better than I ever could, but it's a great way to give back in a small, meaningful way. 

Cards that Care

Apparently there are many heart and stroke patients out there in hospitals who have no family or friends. Can you imagine? You've just suffered a horrible ordeal, all alone. No letters, no cards, no visits. So here's where we step in. Every month create 5 handmade cards that can be delivered to a patient that has no one else to care for them. Show them that someone out there is thinking of them in some small way. It might be the only ray of sunshine that they have that day.

Like Erin says, it's also a great way to teach my children about giving back. They live spoiled, entitled lives (my fault, not theirs) and I want them to be selfless, gracious, and generous. Unfortunately, these are qualities that we have to teach. They aren't innate. With my children being 3 and 5, it's hard to find volunteer opportunities for them, and especially ones that are fun (who said volunteering had to be boring?). But this 5 Card Challenge fits right in. Every month we'll be making 5 handmade cards that can be delivered to patients. Join us in this challenge! You can find more information on where to drop off the cards and contact information over HERE.

Again with the Crickets

So the only action that my blog lately has seen is the random spammer with their, "Wow! Really great thoughtful post, here's my blog {insert hyperlink here}" spam. That's really very sad. I'm sorry for the absence and really hope to write more soon.

One of the many reasons I'm too distracted to write most days :)

At my husband's suggestion, I've created an excel spreadsheet of my day which details what I should be doing at any given time. It's kind of absurd to think that I need it, but so far it's been invaluable. That being said, you can find me mostly over at the wonderful Erin's blog, A Bird and a Bean.

You'll find some clever crafting tips, neat giveaways and of course, my free printables. There's some cute clover leaf St. Patrick's printables over there now. Go check it out.

Flyswatter Painting

So the boys have been into arts and crafts lately. With the lack of crafts stores in Germany, it's sometimes hard to find things for them to do. I went to the German equivalent of the Dollar Tree (woefully inadequate replacement) and picked up some flyswatters. I'd seen this idea on (where else?!) Pinterest where you put paint daubs on a canvas and gave the kiddos a flyswatter and let them have at it. My boys are a: fans of paint and anything messy, b: really big fans of smacking/hitting things, so I knew they'd have a blast.

 

It turns out, though, that it's really really really messy. I would have tried it outside instead, which is probably a much better idea, but it was raining. Because it's Germany. And it's always raining.

 

If you look closely you can see the pain on his ear, cheek, eyebrows, hair...

 

It was like instant-gratification art. You get to smack the crap out of the paper and you get beautiful results. Link was a huge fan.

 

I was not a huge fan of the mess. We obviously got a little wild with our smacks, and by we, I mean them. But the fun was worth it. Nothing a little magic eraser can't help!

 

Here's our final results:

 

 

Link used a three color approach, while Drake wanted just red and blue.

 

I sealed the canvases with some glossy fixative and they now hang proudly in my foyer. Beautiful artwork with sentimental meaning at the price of fun. Win-win-win!

 

Photo-a-Day days 4, 5 and 6

So I'm way behind on posting this, we've been really busy lately and then we've had some issues arise (which I'm being vague about on purpose)... so anyway, here's days 4, 5 and 6 now.

Day 4: joyous (totally cheated and took a photo of a canvas on my wall as both boys are sick now and aren't in the best joyous moods)

Day 5: the temp today (34 degrees)

Day 6: shopping (a package bought for a friend's son's birthday)

Photo Days 2 & 3

So I meant to post this yesterday but ran out of time somehow. Day 2 of the Photo-A-Day Challenge is Your Favorite Holiday Movie. I don't really have one. I LOVE all holiday movies. Some of my favorites are: Elf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated version), Charlie Brown's version of course, and National Lampoon's. I do still love Home Alone, Jingle all the Way, and Santa Clause. But my favorite movie of all is the experience: just sharing it with my boys:

Focused on the Grinch

 

 

Day 3 of the Challenge is red. We decorated our house for Christmas this past weekend so we have lots of reds and greens, but I went outside for my inspiration. There's these red berries on a bush next to where I park my car and they make a wonderful contrast to the snow we're getting today.

 

Yes, I know it says a photo a day, but I couldn't decide between the two of the "red" photos, so you get both.

Capturing December

I'm joining in with A Content Housewife's blog to do her photo-a-day challenge.

In her own words, "This is such a fun way to get those creative juices flowing AND you capture memories that will last a lifetime! Even if you don’t want to do every day, this can still be used as a holiday photo checklist to make sure you capture some of those important moments during the Christmas season!"

Sounds wonderful to me! Today's challenge is Your View Today.

 

So I hated picking just one photo for this challenge as both boys were super helpful in decorating the house for Christmas, but I really love this one of Link showing me the ornament. In the photo he's telling me that it's purple. LOVE that he knows his colors now. He even helped choose the correct color-coded branches for our tree earlier (I'd have a real one but I have allergies to them).

 

Linking back up to A Content Housewife

It's an Infographic Christmas!

Inspired by my love for infographics, I came up with a Christmas photo card design that combines the best of two worlds: a photo card with a newsletter! Highlight your favorite moments of 2012 and showcase your beautiful family at the same time.

Love the modern and simple look of this. Completely customizable and available in my store now.

Discipline

So maybe this is a bit ironic of a post to follow my Thankful post, but today was a very frustrating day. My eldest son, now five, drove me nuts at the doctor's office. He was well-behaved until he got frustrated with the iPad. He couldn't beat a level in Mega Jump so he banged it on his forehead in frustration. While I can appreciate his frustration, he needs to find a better outlet for it. I took the iPad away and made him go back to reading magazines in the waiting room. He then proceeded for the next FIFTEEN minutes to ask for it back. In his most annoying whiny voice. Complete with big crocodile tears. Our conversation went something like this:

D: I won't do it again. Can I please play it again?
Me: No. What you did was unacceptable. You cannot play it now.
D: I'm sorry. Can I play it now?
Me: Thanks for the apology. But you're still not playing it. The answer is no.
D: But I waaaaaaaaaaant to play it. I wannnnnnt to. Pleassssssse.
Me: The answer is going to stay no. Quit asking.
D: I wannnnnnnt to play. I wannnnnnnnt the iPad. I won't do it again. (repeat ad nauseum)

I tried ignoring his requests, after asking him to stop asking. I took away tv time, computer time, and told him he was going to take a nap as soon as we got home. I ran out of things to take away. I was very frustrated with his lack of listening. I don't go back on my word. He can earn back privileges for good behavior, but it has to be consistently good behavior out of the goodness of his heart, and not for the sake of earning privileges back. I guess this is what I'm doing wrong. Because the kid just won't take no for an answer. He badgers me until I get so frustrated that I end up just as upset as he is. How do you stop your children from badgering you when you give an answer?

Thankful

This year has been really a very blessed year. Nothing in particular, just everything has been wonderful. I've been really blessed and I'm very thankful. I've been trying to convey that to my children so that they grow up with an attitude of appreciation as well. It's sometimes hard when you're 3 and 5 though. The boys grabbed a flyer from the BX for holiday toys and they circled ALL the toys when I asked them to find ones they wanted to ask Santa for.

My birthday boy and his brother opening gifts on Thanksgiving

So here's the main things I'm thankful for this year: Drake, Link, my wonderful husband, my supportive and loving family and friends, a loving and forgiving God, my creative outlet in the form of my business, my wonderful customers, food, shelter, and comfort. I have them all in abundance so I'm very blessed indeed.

Our Thanksgiving feast: cranberries, mashed sweet potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, devilled eggs, mac 'n cheese, turkey, and dinner rolls.. Yum!

Hope your thanksgiving (and year) were just as blessed.

Potato Stamp

So I know this isn't a new idea by any stretch of the imagination, but we had a lot of fun with it. We created stamps from potatoes (I had red fingerling potatoes in the house as I am obsessed with roasted potatoes).

What we did: Mommy carved a heart into a few potatoes, then poured some different colored paint into plastic-coated disposable plates (I suppose you could be fancy and use palettes if you have them!), then let the boys go to town.

Perfect indoor craft for little hands, especially if you have a toddler (like me) who lacks fine motor skills. We ended up with quite a few lovely sheets of hearts, so we wrote a short message to Daddy and tucked it into his deployment bag.

Yay! I'm thinking these would also look great this time of year with leaves carved into the potatoes or snowflakes.

Thanksgiving Printable

So there's an awesome (atleast in my not-so-humble opinion) free Thanksgiving printable up over at A Bird and a Bean. You can go check it out HERE. 

Since I created it for Erin as a contributor and I want it to remain on her website before I post it on my own, I won't post a photo here but will tell you that it's a fun, hand-lettered chalkboard inspired design. Fun! Go check it out. You won't regret it.

News

So I have a piece of exciting news... I'm going to be a contributor to another blog. For a wonderful person whom I just happen to love! I love their blog too, so it's win-win! I'm going to be filling in the role of "free printables" so I can't wait to show you all what I've been working on. I'm really excited for it. As soon as it's up I'll let you guys know so that you can go check it out for yourselves.

Anyway, today is Link's first parent-teacher conference. I can't wait to get some feedback. I know that he's been learning a lot (colors, shapes, numbers, etc.) but I want to know more. Since he doesn't have all the words to tell me, our typical ride home consists of me asking how his day was, "Good," and what he did, "Um...play...paint."

Yesterday, for the first time I think, he used an adverb. We were snuggling on the couch watching Polar Express (that movie creeps me out, anyone else?) and it was snowing. He turned to me and said, "I really want snow." I was blown away! This kid hardly ever forms complete sentences and hardly ever uses I and then even threw in an adverb. If it had been within my power I would have made it snow right there and then for the kid! I'm excited to see all of his progress.

Tis the Season

So I'm way behind (big surprise, I know) with holiday designs. I just don't feel right putting out holiday/Christmas designs yet. But since everyone else is, and I risk losing business, I had better hop to! With that being said, I've posted a few in my store.

I really love the rustic feel of this one with the modern spin on typography (it's got some great fonts). Another one of my recent listings:

 

It's got a whimsical feel with the swirly Christmas tree, fun ornaments, and bright colors like coral and aqua blue. Check out my store soon for more additions.