Quick Toothfairy pillow

Brant has had 4 loose teeth for a while now. I keep saying I will get him a tooth pillow and it continues to slip my mind.
Well yesterday I hear all this commotion downstairs - he's crying, bleeding, etc. I kneel next to him and ask him what happened. "I bit a dragon and my tooth fell out and now I can't find it!"
Okayyyyyyy.
He bit a stuffed animal. And all of this blood came out and scared the crap out of his brothers.
"Mom I don't want to lose a tooth, " said Mason.

Well we found the tooth - phew!! And calmed everyone down.

That night we tucked the boys in and put Brant's tooth under his pillow. My mom and I started brainstorming, trying to figure what we could do that would be a quick "tooth pillow" for him.

Here is what we did:

We went to Kmart and found this superhero doll for $4.99. You can use a stuffed doll that you already have at home.

My mom sewed a black ribbon (that we had at home) onto the cape.

Then she cut this material that we already had and sewed it on as a pocket (you can use anything for the pocket - pillow case, old blanket, etc).

We hung it on Brant's door. he was THRILLED to see it.

I printed this out from Pinterest (Sherri Osborn http://familycrafts.about.com) and pasted it onto some scrapbook paper and slid it under his pillow.

Scarf organizer

My mom told me that someone on Pinterest made a scarf organizer with a plastic hanger and shower rings. C.U.T.E.!!!! 

I thought I had some dated dusty rose-colored rings laying around but I ended up finding these curtain rings instead. I must have bought them 6 years ago and they were still in the package, unopened. 

I don't have a ton of scarfs so using these curtain rings and a metal hanger worked well for me.

Making shapes with popsicle sticks

I saw on Pinterest that a mom had taken popsicle sticks and stuck sticky velrco at the ends. 

I thought this was such a great idea. BUT I didn't have any velcro on hand. I did have a roll of that magnetic tape (I stuck this on the back of all the invitations we mailed out for Joy's baby shower...like 2 years ago. I thought it was time we put it to good use.)

All of the boys really liked it. I think the velcro would be easier but the boys keep asking to play with "sticky sticks" so that's good.

Quick cocktail outfit

I'm 20 days behind in posting this BUT just wanted to share my thrify New Year's Eve outfit.

I wanted to spend as little as possble. I had the black jacket from my corporate days, had the jeans of course and had the shoes from a wedding in Sept. I just needed a spot-on sequin top. I went to Kohls and couldn't really find what I wanted but tried a few things anyway. Would you believe that the exact sleeveless top I wanted was in the dressing room I went in?? My size and 60% off - I got it for $16. Best. Shopping. Ever!!!!

I wore my hair up and bought the black flower (also on sale) below in case I needed it. It was one of those duel purpose pins: it was a barrett and a brooch. I didn't need it in my hair so I did a little "tone-on tone" on my jacket.

I picked up some nail polish too it's called Penny Talk - I love it. Good for everyday or dressing up.

Top: $16, Brooch: $8, Nail polish $8, First NYE date in 7 years: priceless!!!!

Cork board Chore Chart

At the request of my children I have been looking into different chore charts. I just couldn't figure out what was best for us: paper chart with star stickers (which is what the kids want but I despise), jars with gumballs/change/whatever to get there attention, magnetic charts for the fridge....GAH!!!

What to do, what to do.

I wanted something cheap because if pieces got lost or something I would be irritated. I needed to be able to customize it but it also needed to grow with us (what they are strong in this month may not be the case next month).

So I thought a corkboard will do - it was on sale at Target for about $7. I bought brightly colored pins for just under $2. I can tack up whatever I need them to do - try new foods, pick up toys, toothbrush clean up, homework, etc. and then use the pins as a way to keep track. It's not a huge eye sore and as they get older the corkboard can serve different purposes. I remember my one friend from grade school used to have to check the corkboard when she got home from school. It was a central place where her parents would leave a list of chores, important messages, etc.

I look at it and want the squares to be perfect and blah, blah but it can't be perfect. The reality is little hands will be all over that thing and pins will be lost, squares will get torn, etc. I have to remember that the purpose of the chart is to teach them accountability not look pretty in my kitchen.

I will keep you posted on how it works for our household. Got a system that work for your family? I would love to hear it!

Brunch Ideas

I love brunch!!!

I did this last year for Mason's birthday but thought it would work well for Christmas too.

Pictured below is:

Belgium waffles cut into quarters and placed in a plastic cup (bottom filled with maple syrup). You can make the waffles the day before and stick them in the fridge to save time. If you don't have a huge table where your guests will be all sitting this is a great grab-n-go idea. I have eaten eggnog french toast (substitute your milk for eggnog) every Christmas morning for the last 25 years. That would work in cups too - just cut the bread diagonally or into strips before sticking them in the cups.

Red potatoes dressed in EVOO, S&P and fresh rosemary. Roasted.

Strawberries and blackberries on a stick and stuck in a plastic cup (bottom filled with your fav fruit dip. This is just homemade whip cream). I was really surprised at how the kids reacted to the berry cups - they couldn't wait to pick one out!

Bacon and biscuits and gravy are also pictured.

I bought this green Styrofoam cone at Joann's and stuck doughnut holes all over it. It was getting devoured so quickly that I couldn't get a picture of it when it was completely filled. The kids kept asking, can we eat it or is it just for decoration??

 Although its not pictured we had plenty of drinks at the brunch: punch for the kids (softened rainbow sherbert, pineapple juice, 50/50), mimosas and of course damn good coffee!!!

Spreading Christmas Cheer Part 3

We started making cookies - just a run through for the big day. The boys want to make special cookies for Santa.

I make Spritz every year. I love making circles out of them because then I can make them a snowman, santa suit (with belt) or ornament. I thought making a triple cookie would be fun for the boys. 

I bought some stencils so we were practicing with them. I think the red sugar Santa turned out best. The snowman is my favorite.

First time making peanut butter fudge. Can't stop eating it!!

Got my Buckeyes!