How to Set Up a Kids' Art & Homework Area in a Small Space

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase via one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own.

It's been gray and rainy all day, and a tornado warning was just issued in our area, so instead of making dinner, the kids and I are huddled up in the playroom in our basement watching Ferdinand (have you seen it? It's seriously so cute!) while we wait for the storm to pass. Since tornado warnings don't typically amount to much more than heavy rain and thunderstorms in our immediate vicinity, I'm not TOO worried, and I thought I'd take this time to share this little area of our house with you.

Here's the thing: our house is pretty small. When we first moved in, it seemed large, but that was 11 years and three kids ago. Despite that, I've tried to designate spaces for the kids where they can do their thing. For the longest time I wanted to have a homework & art space in our house, but it wasn't until were finally able to move the toys out of the living room (which functioned as a play room for many years) and down to the basement that I really felt like we had the space for it. So now we have our playroom in the basement, and we have this little space carved out near my desk for the kids to do homework and make art and do all the things.

When I was putting this area together, there were a few things that I wanted to make sure of:

I wanted it to be child-sized. Kids can work so much better when everything fits them and is in reach. I found these industrial kids chairs at the thrift store (originally from Target, but they no longer carry them. Similar ones here). They only had one pair, but I really wish I had another pair for times when we have friends over. Someday, I'll get two more. I purchased the table from Target. I really like this table because a) it was the perfect width for this wall, b) it was rectangular rather than square, which affords the kids more room to work, and c) it helped fulfill my second-most important consideration, which was storage. Because the lid lifts up and I can keep paper and coloring pages and smocks inside it.

I wanted to have plenty of storage space in this area. We have tons of art supplies. And I mean TONS. Most of them are stored in bins in the playroom closet, but I wanted to be able to keep some out in this area all the time. AND, I wanted to be able to do it without going cazy, because clutter and mess stress me out. Having the storage table helps. For a while, I had a peg board hanging above it where we hung some of those buckets and the scissors, but all the rest of the supplies were just sitting on the edge of the table by the wall, wasting space. And the hooks kept getting knocked off the pegboard and lost, which drove me crazy. Because it takes forever for us to get projects accomplished, we dealt with that freaking pegboard for... far too long. So, I finally got Josh to help me mount this shelf, and I bought a new hanging bar & hooks (that don't come off!!) from IKEA. Now things don't disappear so easily.

I also wanted things to be easily accessible for the kids. Moving the supplies up and off the table made it easer for them to access the items inside it. But I didn't want to move them so far that they would be out of the reach of my four-year-old. We chose to mount the shelf far enough above the table to have room to hang the hooks below it, but still below the hight of the lightswitch so that things were easily within Theo's reach.

Finally, I wanted this space to work with the existing space. Because this area is the first thing you see when you walk in our front door, and because it is right next to my workspace, I wanted it to blend easily. I like things to be neat and tidy and well-put together. The industrial chairs and shelving, the galvanized buckets and jars all flow with the overall scheme in our house, so it makes this area kid-friendly without being a mess.

Some things we keep in this area all the time:

• crayons
• markers (fat & thin)
• colored pencils
• scissors
• glue (bottles & sticks)
• water color pencils
• palettes & brushes
• chalk
• pencils
• writing paper
• construction paper
• coloring pages
• glitter
• gems
• googly eyes

My three younger kids, ages 4, 7, & 10, use this space every day and it functions well for all of them. Having a designated space to work helps to eliminate distractions (like the t.v., which is in our family room, close to our kitchen table) during homework time, and it's really nice to have everything they need right there. Of course, I still have to remind them to clean up and put things away, but having everything right and accessible makes it much easier. 

64 Easter Basket Fillers for Teens, Tweens & Kids

This post contains affiliate links.If you make a purchase using one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

You guys. I realized the other day that Easter is THIS.WEEKEND. There I was, humming along, feeling like I have plenty of time to get things done, and suddenly the holiday is six days away and I have NOTHING done. So, one of the things I've been doing over the last few days is searching for basket fillers for my kids.

Unless they have money of their own to spend, there are very few times during the year that my kids get special items, toys, or gifts. Of course, when they are in need of something- clothes, shoes, necessities, we purchase those things. But other than a certain holidays and birthdays, we don't make a lot of special purchases. So instead of filling their Easter baskets with candy, I like to fill them with fun and useful things. I never seem to struggle with ideas for my little ones, but I feel like, as my kids get older, it becomes more difficult to choose good gifts.

Since I'm guessing that lots of other people probably run into this problem, too, I thought I would share with you all the things, just in case you are in need of some last minute items. So, without further ado, here are 64 Easter basket ideas for teens, tweens & kids.

Tween & Teen Girls

Q & A a Day for Me: A 3-year Journal for Teens

Instax camera

Instax rainbow film

Cute bobby pins

Flamingo marquee light

Lightbox mini

Mini waterproof bluetooth speaker

Light up unicorn slippers

My favorite planner

Planner stickers (student)

Portable AM/FM radio

Sharpie set

Tween & Teen Boys

Harry's Face Lotion & Razor

Game of Phones

Bluetooth shower speaker

100 Movies scratch-off poster

Beats earbuds

Ticket stub book

Balloon-dog light

RFID Wallet

Banana phone headset

Styling fiber

Space socks

For Any Teen

DMV Test Practice Driving Questions

The Driving Book: Everything New Drivers Need to Know but Don't Know to Ask

Bluetooth FM Transmitter

Tile

5-in-1 Emergency Escape Tool

Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard

Multi-port Desktop Charging Station

Portable Charger

Selfie Stick/Tripod

 Cell Phone Camera Lens

Fun Gifts for Little Kids

TriceraTACO taco holder

Rain boots, Umbrella & Rain Jacket

Bluetooth speaker

Hand puppets

Elephant & Piggie Books

Little Blue Truck Books

Crocodile Creek Puzzles like this one or this one

Magnetic Building Blocks

For Lego Lovers

Building Block Tape

Peel & Stick Baseplates

Regular baseplates (green, blue, Duplo, gray, or sand)

LEGO Magnets

Awesome LEGO Creations book

Classic LEGO sets: Bricks & Gears or Creative Suitcase

Outdoor Play

Stomp Rocket

Bunch O'Balloons

Giant Sidewalk Chalk Pens

Sidewalk Chalk Stencils

These Cool Bubbles

A Cute Kite.... or this one

Pogo it

Art Fun

Kwik Stix

Water Color Pencils

Drawing Paper

Creativity Can

Gel Crayons

Crayola Supertips

Crayola Pastels

Build-Your-Own Unicorn Habitats

This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase via one of my links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Do you believe in unicorns?! My kids love ALL magical creatures, but unicorns are a favorite around here. So, when I saw THIS Etsy listing, I knew we had to try making them.

The first time I made them at home with my kids & nieces, I bought some craft boxes to put them in and, even though they turned out really cute and the kids had a lot of fun with them, I felt like the boxes were too deep and didn't give us enough surface area to work on. We had to put styrofoam and craft paper in the bottoms of the boxes to bring everything up to the top. So, when I decided to try them during a birthday party in the art studio, I remembered THIS post from Meri Cherry and I decided to use 6" terra cotta saucers instead, and they worked really well!

To make these habitats, I gave the kids a variety of items- things I had on hand or at the studio, plus additional things I purchased, like the gemstones. The only direction I gave was for them to glue down some moss first to act as the ground, and I just let them have at it from there. When they were done, everyone got to pick a unicorn to put in their habitat.

Except Theo. He's not all that into unicorns, so he made a dinosaur habitat instead.

WHAT WE USED

• Craft boxes (from the dollar store) or terra cotta saucers (from Walmart)
• Unicorns
• preserved moss that I had on hand- similar here (you'll get 3-4 habitats out of 1 bag)
• Large acrylic gems
• Small pink acrylic beads
• Small rocks
• White aquarium gravel
• Glitter that I had on hand
• Paper straws
• Silk flowers
• Faux berries
• Chenille stems
• Cotton balls
• Pinecones
• Dinos

The best part about making these habitats was letting the kids have free reign with everything they had available to them. It's always really interesting to watch them explore the materials and try new things and see what they can create!

7 Fun & Easy Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day With Kids

I know a lot of people think parents are getting a little over-the-top with holiday celebrations. But here's the deal: in our house, we love holidays. Big or small, we celebrate as many of them as we can. My kids get a kick out of all the little things we do, and it's a great opportunity to learn a little bit about the history and/or culture behind the holiday. And we're a little bit Irish and we're Catholic, so here are 7 easy ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

1. Build a leprechaun trap. The first time we ever had a leprechaun trap was when the first grade teacher at our elementary school assigned it to my oldest's class for homework. That was 10 years ago, and we've had at least one in our house every year since. And honestly, when I say build a leprechaun trap, I mean, let your kids do it. Let them raid the art supplies and the recycling pile. Give them glue, glitter, and gold coins (leprechauns love gold, you know). Use legos or blocks or play dough. Let them have at it. This is a great STEAM (that's science, technology, engineering, art, and math, by the way) activity. They can get creative, build, try out different ideas, and see if they work. We've never caught a leprechaun in one of traps, but maybe this year will be different...

2. Put together a St. Patrick's Day sensory bin. Kids too little to build a trap? Put together this sensory bin, instead! The dollar store has all things green and lots of cheap St. Patrick's Day trinkets. Grab a couple bags of green paper shred (or Easter grass), some foam shamrocks and other green things, and some fake gold coins and toss them in a bin. My kids love digging through the grass and finding all the hidden things.

3. Eat Lucky Charms cereal. No, this isn't an ad for the cereal. In fact, since I typically don't feed my kids cereal full of marshmallows for breakfast, I generally don't buy it. But, once a year, we have it in our house and it's a big treat for them.

4. Make a walking rainbow. If you've ever done this, you know what a cool experiment it is! You need 6 clear jars/glasses/cups, paper towels, some water, and red, blue and yellow food coloring. Put the jars in a circle and fill every other jar about 1/2 to 3/4 full of water. Add red food coloring to the first jar of water, yellow to the second jar of water, and blue to the third. Fold 6 paper towels into strips and put them between the jars, one end in each. Make sure the ones in the water jars are touching the water. Let them sit. Check them every once in a while to see the colors climbing the paper towels between jars. After several hours, you will have an entire rainbow, like magic!

5. Go On a Gold Hunt. Gather some fake gold coins, pennies, or anything you can find that is yellow. Hide them around your house and send your kids on a "gold hunt". Make it more interesting by setting a timer and seeing how many pieces they can find before it goes off. Of make it a race, seeing who can collect the most pieces of gold. Or have them team up to help each other.

6. Bless someone else with "the luck o' the Irish". Take some time to leave a treat for a neighbor or someone you love. Leave a card with it explaining that a leprechaun has blessed them with some luck. There is never a bad time to teach kids to show kindness to others.

7. Make a little mischief. Leprechauns love mischief! They might take things out and put them away in the wrong place, steal the gold out of a trap without being caught and hide it around the house, or leave a fun little note about why they are so hard to catch.

Raising Emma: Learning How to Parent a Tiny Version of Myself

Recently I read a post on Instagram that someone had made talking about how the older her daughter gets, the more she can see how her personality is influencing her daughter's. So much of the time, I feel the same way about both of my girls. As different as they are from each other, they are both just like me in their own ways. Sometimes, it can feel like God took all the most difficult parts of my personality, multiplied them by 1,000, and gave them to my daughters. Sophia inherited my anxiety and my perfectionism; Emma got my tendency to say EXACTLY how I feel and what I think, and they BOTH got my stubbornness (and while I'd like to say that their dad is partially to blame for this one, I know, in my heart, that's not really the case).

Parenting is all about picking your battles and finding a way to guide your children to making positive choices while letting them be themselves. But man, some days, these personality traits can make parenting so hard because I'm fighting against these little versions of myself. It's particularly true with Emma. Maybe it's because she most definitely has a mind of her own and isn't afraid to say what she thinks (like me). Or maybe it's because once she has her mind set on something, it's nearly impossible to compromise (also, like me).

Regardless, I sometimes find myself having to work extra hard to have patience with her and being too quick to scold her. And then I always feel really bad. Because she is the sweetest girl. Of course she has her not-so-wonderful moments, but most days, she is full of ideas and nice words and compliments. She tells me EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. that I am the best mommy ever. She is a wonderful sharer, even when other people won't readily share with her. She loves to help out at home- to help make dinner, or do special jobs for me or help her younger brother. She is silly and loves practical jokes. She will tell you EXACTLY how she feels, but wants to make sure that it doesn't hurt your feelings if she disagrees with you. Really, she just wants to be needed, and I can understand that. She is one of two middle children- both girls- and as a middle child myself, I remember feeling the same way. I thinkk we all just want to be noticed.

The other night, Emma's class had a big play at school. They've spent the last three-ish months "flying" around the world and learning lots about different continents, countries & cultures. And the culmination of that lesson was the annual "Around the World" show. Each of the kids was assigned a country, and they dressed in traditional clothes and taught the audience the things they learned about their country. They were each asked to bring some sort of food to represent their country, and afterward there was a little party. 

It was during this party that the school music teacher sought me out to talk about Emma. She told me, "I really think Emma will be President one day. She is just so SHARP. If she were the President, I would know I was in good hands". She told me about a comment she made- one that could be considered rude- but she didn't think it was. Instead, she was impressed with the quickness and wit of her answer.

Emma as a little girl from Kenya. She chose Africa because her uncle is from Liberia.

So here's the thing. I always tell myself that if my kids behave well when they are out with other people, then we're doing a pretty good job. Home is the place where they should feel most comfortable and most able to be themselves. Where they should be able to express their opinions without worrying that they will risk losing someone's love or affection. And because of that, home is the place where they can fall apart, and scream and cry when they need to. This doesn't mean that it is ok to be disrespectful or hurtful. It simply means that they have a safe place to be themselves, and know that they will be loved no matter what. And hearing this teacher's perception of Emma was just a little reminder that we're doing ok.

And so, I'm trying harder. To be patient. To remind myself that she is only seven. That she wants to stand out in this large family of ours and that she might feel like she has to work hard to shine from the middle. To let her know that she is special and she is loved and I wouldn't change anything about her. Because what I know about Emma is this: these frustrating parts of her- they are GOOD things. As she grows and changes and navigates this world, these things will serve her well. Some day, she will develop a filter and learn to choose her words wisely and realize that compromise is a good thing (I think, for the most part, I did). But, until then, I will do my best to guide her to right choices while letting her be herself.

Make Your Own Binoculars (That Actually Work!)

We've been having some really great weather lately- much more spring than winter- so we've been trying to get outside as much as possible after being cooped up inside for a couple of months. The other day we went for a walk; the weather was warm, the birds were singing, and the kids were trying to spot them all in the trees. And that made me think that we should have some binoculars to help us spot them. So we decided to make some.

At first I was just going to pull out my stash of toilet paper tubes, let the kids decorate them, and then glue them together, but I thought it would be interesting and more fun to make some binoculars that actually work. So we did!

Really quickly, here's the science behind how this works: binoculars use lenses (curved pieces of glass) to draw distant light rays together to bring them into focus. There are two types of lenses- concave and convex. Concave lenses are curved so that the middle is thinner than the outer edge, which forces light rays to spread out as they pass through. Concave lenses are used in things like movie projectors to make light cover a larger area. Convex lenses are sort of dome shaped, with thinner outer edges and a thicker middle. As light passes through convex lenses, the rays converge, making objects appear larger. Convex lenses are used in things like magnifying glasses and, yep, you guessed it! Binoculars. 

Binoculars actually use two convex lenses. The first lens catches the light rays and makes them converge, creating an image, and the second lens magnifies it, making it look larger and closer. So, how did we make our binoculars?

Well, first, I DID pull out the TP tubes and let the kids decorate them.

When they were done coloring, decorating, etc., I punched a hole in the top outer edge of each side, glued the two tubes together, and tied some yarn through them for a neck strap.

I bought some 2 1/4-inch magnifying glasses from the local party store, removed the handles, and glued one lense to each opening (two per TP tube), making sure that the curved part of each lens was facing into the tube. If you look at the picture, you can see that I didn't originally remove the little plastic tab that held the lenses into the handles. I went back afterward and used a pair of very sharp scissors to cut them off.

 It is worth mentioning here, that we used very cheap magnifying glasses, which work, but are quite blurry. Your binoculars will only work as well as the magnifying glasses you choose, so the better the lens, the better the binoculars! You may also want to play around with the placement of the lenses. We glued ours to each end, but they may work better if they are placed closer to each other; for example, one lens on the outward-facing end, and one lens just behind it inside the tube. 

And that was it! We took them outside to play with and search for birds.

Valentine's Day Mini Pull-String Piñata

Hi, Everybody! Thanks for stopping by today! I'm putting together a fun little surprise for my kids for Valentine's Day this year and I thought I'd share a little bit about it with you!

I love to give my kids fun and thoughtful little gifts, and I'm all about the packaging, so this year I'm making these small pull-string piñatas for them. My kids span a pretty wide age-range (4-15 1/2), so the plan for these is to fill them with some fun small gifts and let them break them open on Valentine's Day, but I also think that these would make a really great box for a kiddo to collect valentines in at school. How cool would it be to let your friends and classmates fill up your piñata, and then break it open when you get home?! So, if you have a school-ager, consider helping him or her make one to take to school if they celebrate Valentine's Day! Or, you could make an even smaller version and fill it with candy, or stickers, or even confetti... lots of possibilities here ;)

Ok, on to the tutorial. First- a disclaimer. This is going to look like a REALLLLY long job, but it actually comes together fairly quickly. I took lots of pictures and am trying to be very clear in my directions so that I don't confuse anyone! Here we go!

Tools and Materials:

8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper
Cardboard
Masking Tape
Heavy brown craft paper OR very thin cardboard (like a cereal box)
Tissue Paper
Regular old school glue
Embroidery/large needle
Twine/yarn/string of some sort
Scissors
Craft knife
Pencil
 

What To Do:

Create a heart template: fold your piece of paper in half so that it is now 8 ½ x 5 ½. Trace one half of a heart on the fold and cut out. Unfold your heart and lay in on your cardboard; trace 2 and cut using your craft knife (it's a good idea to put a spare piece of cardboard underneath where you are cutting to protect your work surface).
 

Set hearts aside. Cut 2- 4 ½ inch wide strips from your cardboard (if you are making a smaller piñata, I would use narrower strips). I cut mine from a tri-fold board I purchased at the dollar store, so they were approximately 24 inches long, but the length you need will depend on how large your heart is. I purposely cut mine long so that I could trim them down where needed. 

Gently bend your cardboard strips to help make them more flexible.

Sorry about the glare! It was hard to get a good picture of this on my table!

Beginning at the top center of, attach one of your hearts to the top edge of one cardboard strip. Use lots of tape! Stop taping about 2 inches from the bottom point of your heart (1 inch for smaller piñatas). Trim off your cardboard strip so that you will have an opening at the bottom of the piñata.
 

Reinforce the outside of the seam with masking tape. Tape the seam on the inside of your piñata if you wish.

On the other side of your heart, measure up 2 inches from the center point (1 inch for smaller piñatas) and mark. Line up one edge of your second cardboard strip with this mark and tape it to the heart the same way you did on the first side. STOP taping about 2 ¼ inches away from the top center point. Trim off your cardboard strip where it meets the center point on the top of your heart (this will be your flap to open for filling the piñata). Tape inside if you wish. Reinforce the outer seam with masking tape as before.

Flip the piñata over so the front heart is on your work surface with sides sticking up. Lay your second heart on top, lining up edges and points. Tape in the same manner as first side. Don’t forget to reinforce those edges!

Cut a 6 x 5 ½ piece of your heavy craft paper (or cereal box). Mark a line 1 inch in from each long edge. Fold in half length-wise with lines on the inside. Make a good crease- this will become the bottom point of your heart. Open the paper up and fold the long edges in to meet the lines you drew.

Thread your needle with a length of twine. Push the needle up through the bottom of the craft paper at the crease. Pull the end of the end of the twine out of the needle’s eye and knot well (I tied mine about 5 times in the same place). You should now have the knot between the folds of the paper, with the string hanging from the point of your heart.

Fold the paper back in half and insert it into the bottom of your piñata, lining the crease up with the bottom point and the fold of the long edges up with the sides of the piñata. Tape into place on the outside. 

Time to cover your piñata (I promise, we’re almost done)! Cut a bunch of 2 inch wide (1- 1 ½ for smaller piñatas) strips of tissue paper. Stack your strips on top of each other and cut fringe along the bottom edge.

Now, here’s where I’m going to tell you to do look at the pictures for reference, but also ignore them. I made the mistake of starting on the outer edge of my heart and then covering the front and back. It worked, but would have been a lot less difficult if I had started with the front & back and then done the edge. So. Do as I say. Not as I… did.

Starting at the bottom point of the piñata, you are going to layer your fringe strips on top of each other, making sure to over lap so no cardboard is showing. I glued the top edge of each strip about 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch above the top edge of the previous strip. I also found it helpful to glue the first few layers so that they followed the shape of the bottom point. Then, just lay the strips straight across, trimming off any excess length. When you get to the top, be sure to tuck the strips in around the center of your heart so you maintain the shape!

When your front and back are covered, then cover the sides, starting at the bottom on either side of your point and working your way up to the center. If you need to, once your whole piñata is covered, give your fringe a little haircut to make it nice and even & emphasize the shape!

Bottom is to the right in this photo- see the pull string?

LAST STEP! Cut 2 pieces of twine that are equal in length. Thread one into the needle and push it down through one of the top curves of your heart. Knot well inside the piñata. Thread your needle with the other piece of twine and do the same thing on the other side of your heart. Try to make sure that both pieces are placed in approximately the same spot and centered in the top of the curve. Finally, pull up your ends so that the piñata hangs evenly and knot the twine pieces together. Trim off excess and VOILA! You are done!! Hang your piñata up somewhere so that the glue can dry, then decide how you want to haveve fun with it!

Phew! Thanks for hanging in until the end! I hope you got an amazing little surprise for your kid(s) out of it...  I can't wait for mine to see their surprises!

How to Make Fire Starters

One of the things I love about our house is our fireplace. Especially during the winter, when our ground floor seems to be freezing cold, no matter how high our thermostat is set. But I feel like it always takes us FOREVER to get a fire going because we have to hunt down a bunch of kindling and paper to light it. So, I decided to make some fire starters to have on hand to help us get fires going. And I'm not going to lie, they're kind of cute sitting there in the basket waiting to be used.

When I was in Girl Scouts forever ago, we used to make fire starters out of melted wax from used crayons, which we poured over dryer lint-stuffed sections of egg cartons. But really they can be made out of anything that will light easily and burn slowly enough to give the larger sticks and logs time to catch. 

Since we had two Christmas trees to haul out of our house, I decided to use them to make these fire starters. I cut off a whole bunch of branches before Josh hauled them away, then I raided the lint can in the laundry room, 

I trimmed down my pine branches into smaller wrapped them up with some lint in some paper. I could have used news paper, but we didn't have any lying around, so I used my stash of craft paper instead.

I tried to really fill them up and pack everything in so that they burn long enough. Then I twisted up the ends and tied them off with twine. And then, because I'm weird and I like things to be... pretty... I added a branch to the outside and tied it on.

And then I was done. I stuck them all in a basket on my shelf, and there they are ready to be used when we have a fire. Actually, that's not true. They aren't ALL waiting to be used, because we've used some over the last couple of weeks, but the ones that are left are still hanging out in their basket, looking all cute, and waiting to be used.

Winter Boredom Buster: DIY Cardboard Tube Swords

Well, its that time of year again. Christmas and the New Year have come and gone, and we're digging for the cold winter months. Winter came into our area full-force over Christmas and I have a feeling we're going to be spending a lot of time cooped up inside over the next few months. Which means that I'm going to be looking for lots of ways to stave off boredom and keep my kids from fighting over EVERY. LITTLE. THING. Because, let's be honest, short days + cold weather + being stuck inside = cranky kids (and mom & dad, too). So, hopefully, over the next days/weeks/months, I'll be sharing with you easy crafts and activities to help keep the boredom at bay.

Today I'm going to share with you a quick tutorial on how to make these cardboard swords. I actually made these for an event I did at work in early December, and had extras that I passed on to my kids. They go together pretty quickly and my kids have played with them quite a bit over the last few weeks. If you're like me, you'll even have leftover cardboard boxes and wrapping paper tubes from Christmas, which makes these super easy to do!

For the swords, you will need:

• Cardboard tubes- when I made these for work, I raided my wrapping paper, unrolling the rolls that had only a little bit of paper left, and stealing the tubes inside. Now, I have some more tubes from Christmas wrapping, but if you didn't just happen to save them to add to your ever-growing stash of cardboard like me, fear not! You can make cardboard tubes by scoring a rectangle of thin-ish cardboard, rolling it up, and hot glueing the edge.
• Pencil
• Masking tape (I couldn't find my masking tape, so I used blue painter's tape, instead).

Not Pictured:

• A piece of thin-ish flat cardboard- like the side of a box, or an empty cereal box.
• Craft knife
• Hot glue gun
• Foil (optional)
• Markers/gems/glue/paint/decorations (also optional)

It's going to look like there are a lot of steps to making these swords, but that's because I wanted to break them WAAAY down to make them really easy, so don't worry, and don't feel overwhelmed!

1. If your cardboard tubes are long, trim off the end to your desired length. I probably made mine about 24 inches.
2. Flatten one end slightly and cut a curved edge (be careful to round out the top point a little bit so that it isn't TOO sharp; some of mine were actually sharper than I wanted and I had to go back and round them off some more):

        3. Tape off this edge with masking tape:

        4. If you would like to cover the blade with foil to make it look more like a sword, now is the               time. Simply wrap pieces of foil around it (if you want, you can hot glue them to give them             more staying power). I left my swords uncovered for two reasons: a) I was worried the foil            would give them too sharp of an edge and b) I was giving kids free reign to decorate them            as they chose.

       5. On your flat piece of cardboard, draw one rectangle per sword. I made mine 3x12 inches,                but you can make any size you want as long as they are wider than the width of your                      sword blade. These will be the hand guards. Cut out using your craft knife:

        6. On the left side of the hand guard, trace the bottom round edge of your blade and cut it                 out with your craft knife.

       7. Slide hand guard up over the bottom of the blade. Make sure the hand guard is extending             out to the right, and that the curved edge of the blade is facing the same direction:

       8. Bend right side of hand guard down, forming a "D" shape, and hot glue to the bottom of                the blade. Hold for a few seconds to make sure the hot glue dries:

       9. Let your kids decorate them with paint, markers, gems, etc. (this keeps them occupied                    longer!), and when they are dry, they are ready to sword fight!

Just a note about safety- before letting my kids play with these swords, we talked about making sure that they were hitting SWORDS ONLY, not people, so no one got hurt.

And that's it! My kids have spent several hours sword-fighting, playing pretend, and just generally enjoying their swords!

Reconnecting

Today, Josh and I had lunch alone together. That might not seem like such a huge thing to a lot of people, but you guys, let me just tell you: it is for us.

Years ago, when I was still in school and we were both still working at the Y, when we had only one child and life was a little slower and a lot less stressful, Josh and I used to meet for lunch several times a week. Sometimes we would pack our lunches and eat together at work, sometimes we would go out, and sometimes we'd pick something up and bring it back. Sometimes it was just the two of us, and sometimes friends and coworkers joined us. Some days we had an hour together and sometimes it was a quick 20 minutes, but the point is, we had that opportunity to connect, and we did it often. We were able to take time out of our day and just be together.

Since that time, I've gotten my degree and moved on to working elsewhere and then to staying home with the kids, he got a new job and has changed shifts and schedules more times than I'd like to count, we've added 3 more children to our family, and life has gotten SO busy.  Our lunch dates fell away, and sometimes we even struggle to find time to connect with each other on a daily basis. So often, I feel like we are just ships, passing in the night. Our calendar is full, and most days, our conversation revolves round our schedule: which child needs to be where at what time, and which parent is going to get them there? Whose turn is it to watch which child's sporting event this week? How will everything else fit in between our work schedules? And the free time we have? We usually try to spend it with our kids, connecting as a family. It can all be so complicated, and it often leaves little time for us to have time to ourselves.

And even when we might get time alone, it sometimes still feels hard to connect. It's hard to turn off my brain, to not think about the 645 million things that I need to remember, and just spend a little time focusing on us. Remembering the things we love about each other, how much fun we can have together, how much we make each other laugh, and how nice it is to just sit quietly next to each other, enjoying each other's company (and not falling asleep on the couch).

But TODAY. Since Columbus Day is a state and federal holiday, Josh happened to have the day off. The kids still had school, all four of them. And Monday is the only day I don't baby-sit. So, after Number Four had lunch and went off to preschool, but before the crazy afternoon & evening schedule started, we had 2 hours together. Two hours during which we could hang out and we did not have to focus on anyone else. There were no tears because our kids were getting left with a sitter, no guilt over taking time away from them to spend by ourselves, no anxiety attacks about someone having to be separated from Mommy. So we went to lunch, just like we used to. And then we went to pick up a few things from the grocery store, something else we haven't done together in I-don't-know-how-long.

To some of you, this might seem like a trivial thing; something silly to be grateful for. But you know what? Today, it made all the difference. Monday afternoons are rough around here. But,, when it came time for the evening rush- leave the house at 2, pick up the girls at 2:30, Number Four at 3:00, my oldest at 3:10, get my oldest & his teammates to cross country practice at 3:45, give the younger 3 snacks, get homework done, get E to soccer practice at 6, get home and make dinner, feed everyone, and get them to bed- all while Josh is working his second job- it didn't feel so overwhelming. I had infintely more patience with everyone, and a lot less stress.

You guys, we have partners for a reason. We choose them for a reason. I'm pretty strong, and I'm used to doing things on my own when I need to (which, to be honest, is pretty often). I'm the keeper of all things for my family, the one who has it together (because if I don't our s*** will be ALL over the place), but I need support, sometimes, too. It can be so easy, in the hustle of every day life, to lose each other, to fail to put time aside to connect with our partners and enjoy each other's company, and let each other's love buoy us, and when we let that get lost, our lives are so much harder. 

I don't say it often enough, but today I was reminded of just how thankful I am that I have this man to support me in our life together. My hope is that days like today come more frequently. That, as our kids get older, and even as their schedules get crazier, we can continue to find moments together like we did so many years ago.

Pom-Pom Monsters!

Ok, so yesterday was the first day of fall, and it was seriously 91 degrees here! What is that about?! I want cool weather and scarves and coffee and pumpkin everything and jeans and boots and sweaters and Halloween costumes and...well, I want FALL! So, despite the weather's lack of cooperation, I broke out the fall activities and we made some cute pom-pom monsters. You guys, I seriously love yarn pom-poms. They're so easy to make and fun to play and decorate with! Not only did these pom-pom monsters turn out super cute, but the kiddos had tons of fun making them!

First, I put out this invitation to play:

In the muffin tin, I included small pom-poms, feathers, different kinds of googly eyes, and some pieces cut from foam sheets. I also layed out glue and chenille stems which I had cut in half for a previous something forever ago.

Then I let them pick some colors of yarn to make into pom-poms. If you've never made a yarn pom-pom, here is a quick breakdown:

You will need:

1. Yarn
2. Scissors
3. A piece of cardboard approximately the desired width of your pom-pom (or just use your hand)

1. Wrap the yarn around the cardboard (or your hand). Wrap snugly, but not too tightly, because you'll need to be able to slide the yarn off. The more yarn you wrap, the fuller your pom will be.
2. When you think you have enough, cut the end off. Then cut another length of yarn with which to tie off the pom.
3. Slide the pom off the piece of cardboard and lay it on top of the length of yarn.
4. Wrap the separate piece of yarn up and over the top of the pom, crossing it over. Pull tight and tie a good knot. You should have many loops of yarn at either end.
5. Slide blade of scissors through one end of loops and cut.
6. Flip pom around and cut through loops at other end. Trim off any overly-long pieces, and you're done!

Once I had their pom-poms made, I handed them over and let the kiddos have some fun! 

Let me tell you, these two are four and five years old...any activity involving glueing is SO EXCITING for them, because glue is pretty much the best thing ever. This kept them (and me) occupied for a good 45 minutes, and my six-year-old has been asking to make some since she got home from school yesterday, so I think we'll be making more very soon. I think I'll make them into a garland and let them put it up when it's time to decorate for Halloween!

Elegant and Easy Boho Floral Wreaths

When we bought our house, I was thisclose to the end of my pregnancy with our oldest daughter, and we wanted to be in and settled before she made her grand entrance. Because of that, we only took the time to paint and put together the kids' rooms before moving in. That was a little over 10 years ago, and in that time, while I've done a lot in the rest of our house, their bedrooms have seen little change. Since we've added two more children to our family, and since they are all getting a little older, it's time for their spaces to get some updates. 

The girls decided that they would like to do their room in gold, coral, & navy, and I'm leaning in the direction of floral and whimsical and a little bit boho. As I was searching for a little bit of inspiration, I came across this post over at 100 Layer Cake-let, and fell in love with the simple floral wreaths used. And I thought they'd be perfect, so I decided to make some for the girls' room!

So I did. And I love them. And I think you might love them, too, so I'm sharing with you a quick tutorial on how I made these SUPER simple wreaths! 

Let's get started! You will need:

• Embroidery hoops of various sizes
• Silk flowers and greens of your choice (I used various roses, but if I had been able to find peonies in the right colors, I would have used those, too!)
• Hot glue & glue gun

If you want to maximize the use you get out of your embroidery hoops, you can use both the inner and outer hoops, but I haven't decided how I'm going to hang these yet, and I didn't want the added weight of the clamps on the outer hoops, so I removed those and set them aside. If you choose to use the outer hoops as well, just make sure you cover up the clamps with your flowers, and know that your hoops will list even more to the one side than they would with just the flowers. I also considered painting the hoops gold (just because I love it), but ultimately decided that I preferred the natural wood of the hoops with the flowers. If you want to paint your hoops, now is the time to do it! 

Once your hoops are ready (and dry!), remove all of your flowers and leaves from their stems. This way you can lay them out and get an idea of how you want each wreath to look, You can either lay them out directly on the hoop, or next to it, in the same general shape. I try to use odd numbers of flowers.

Now, you're going to glue on your leaves. You want them to stick out from behind and under your flowers, so spread them out a little, but try not to leave too many large gaps in your groupings. In the picture below, I did leave space between the leaves going opposite directions that would be filled with flowers, but in the end, I wish I had added a little more greenery.

Once you have all of your leaves the way you want them, add your flowers! I found that the easiest way to do this was to put hot glue on the back of the flower and the small stem part still attached, and attach it to both the top of the hoop, and the inner edge, if that makes sense (sorry, I didn't get a picture of that!).

Keep adding!

Once you have all your flowers in place, that's it- you're done! See? Easy-peasy! And so pretty! 

Like I said, I haven't decided how, exactly I'm going to hang these, but you can tie on some ribbon, add a loop to the back, or probably even hang them directly on hooks on the wall. Now- I need to go paint the girls' room to I can put them up! I can't wait to see them on their wall!