Yes, you are in the right place

When you got here did you think you were in at the wrong blog? How do you like my new look? I'm too excited about it:) Leelou has some adorable free (yes FREE) blog templates. I loved this one and a few others, but went with the owls for now. I think it brightens things up a little!

I'll be back later to post pictures of some fun we had today :)

The finished product

I finished my tree art! I think it turned out pretty good considering I am so new in the crafting world. I made the bird smaller and added a couple of coats of mod podge to it. I like how the mod podge made it kind of shiny. Just a hint of shiny...not too much.

I went and bought a couple of more canvases. I may try a rounder tree with more leaves. I'm not sure yet, but I'll keep you updated.

Then look what I found tonight! I came across a blog called Sweet Limes. Look at this pillow! I love it!!! I wonder if she would make one for me? Hhhmmmmm....

Salty and Sweet

My new favorite snack.



This stuff is so good! Nuts, granola, dried cranberries, yogurt covered raisins, and dried apples. Yum!

It's also highly addictive and NOT on my "look decent in a bathing suit" plan.

This is the 2nd night in a row I have skipped dessert. I'm proud of myself, and I am trying not to obsess over it. The chocolate mint brownies I made this weekend are calling me, but I am ignoring them. Note to self...get John to take the brownies to work!

What did you do this weekend?

Our Saturday was stormy and wet, so we didn't do much. I did attempt to make lasagna in the crockpot. Ummm...I won't be doing that again. John was oh so sweet, and didn't admit to how bad it was at first. He finally caved when I expressed my opinion about it. It wasn't horrible, but it was reminiscent of cafeteria lasagna that's been sitting under a heat lamp. For a long time.

The little wrens were working hard renovating the nest I left in the cat bird house from last Spring. They are so fun to watch and listen to. Look at all those twigs in there! How do they fit them in there?

Sunday was a much brighter, beautiful day. AK spent time playing with EG, our neighbor. They were having a blast in this. Except the one they were playing in was made for rolling in the grass I think. Anyway, I wish I had had my camera! I did have my camera handy for some cooking show action...

But the chef wasn't too cooperative for the paparazzi.

AK and I decided to get a bit crafty. I have been looking for some larger art to hang in my living room, but I can't find anything I like. So I thought, well I love AK's art! So I bought 2 large canvases at Hobby Lobby yesterday with the thought that she could paint something for me.

Not quite what I had in mind.

So I think this will hang in her room. Maybe I can get her to paint it a little more. She got tired.

I started looking around my crafty blogs that I have bookmarked, and I came across this at Simply Modern Mom! This post was the inspiration for my creation.

I still have not decided on the bird. She looks a little big. I haven't Mod Podged it yet just in case I want a smaller birdie. What do you think? Please leave a comment and let me know.

To wrap up our day I made Andes Candies Brownies. All you do to make them is bake brownies as you normally would (we used a mix of course). Then when you take the brownies out of the oven, lay about 30 Andes Candies on top. Wait for them to melt a little, and swirl with a knife.

Oh.my.goodness.

These are so yummy. And definitely not on my "look decent in a bathing suit" plan.

The Next American Idol

AK has become very interested in The Mamas and the Papas lately. This is where I found her the other day! (I apologize for the video being sideways. I made this with our camera and turned it not thinking how the video would look.)

I love the little growl at the end :)

Giveaway link!

Head over to lovely bud for a chance to win a pretty quilt! She is giving away a handmade quilt when she reaches 100 followers. Then she has another great giveaway when her followers reach 150! Go take a look :)

Flower Project

It is CRCT testing week for the 1-3 grade students. That means Kindergarten students do not have any of their resource classes all week. We have to stay in our rooms and be very quiet. No outside play until testing is over. And then...to top it off...our assistants are pulled to proctor the testing. It makes for a llllllooooonnnnnnggggggg week.

So, I spent yesterday afternoon and part of today thinking of some activities that might be a little more exciting than the typical things we do. One of the things I will be teaching is about the parts of a flower or plant. I plan on doing some planting/indoor gardening, playing some fun games, and offering a few art activities. So today I decided AK and I should test out on of the art activities. The plan is for each child to make their own flower and then label the parts: flower, stem, leaves, roots. Here is what to do.

1st - Cut out a flower shape (I did this part) from a paper plate and paint it.

2nd - Cut out a long flower stem and glue it to a large piece of white paper.



3rd - Cut out leaves. AK decided to draw her's first.





4th - Cut short lengths of brown yarn and glue them down to create roots.



Here is the finished product!



As you can see, we did not label the parts. Maybe we'll do that tomorrow.