DIY: RIBBON WAND

This was the perfect afternoon activity. Quick and easy! Totally up my alley. Best of all, the girls were engaged as we were making it and loved playing with it after.

After we were done, I had them retell the whole process back to me. It was good to determine their retelling skills and their understanding of sequential order. Adding a bit of a twist to a little craft and applying it to comprehension.

When I was little, I remember frequently making my own ribbon wands using toilet paper. From what I remember, it didn't work so well. I just adored watching gymnastics and the girls who did the floor routine with the ribbon wands. I would pretend I was them. I thought they were so fancy and wanted to be fancy too! I think my girls feel pretty fancy with their own ribbon wands.

p.s. we had to move around our meal planning this week, so the menu for next week and recap of this week will be up tomorrow morning!

REINNA'S LAST HURRAH!!!

The middle sister is getting married, so we threw her one last hurrah!!!

I made her a little poncho (and head band) so everyone we came in contact with would know. She is the bride after all and she must be distinct.

I left Glow with my parents as I pretended to be free as a bird with the rest of the ladies that afternoon. I wasn't free that long because I came back to feed. None of my babies ever did well with the bottle.

As we were going to the first destination, we asked Reinna, "If you could eat anything, what would it be?" In this order, she said, "Alligator, giraffe, and rattlesnake." Well, two out of three ain't bad right?!! Middle sister is the queen of eating the unusual (at least to us).

What followed after lunch was a fun little scavenger hunt. Two teams, two cars, same list, ten dollars, and 45 minutes until we had to switch out the bride and another teammate. We wanted her to have fun with everyone, so we did a switch-a-roo in the middle. Then we had another 45 minutes until we had to meet at our final destination.

The list was filled of lots of embarrassing things for the bride to do (at least when she was on my team, I made her do them). She kissed strangers cheeks, rubbed their bellies, kiss their bald heads, got hugs, got phone numbers, kissed their muscles, kissed tattoos, and even serenaded a group of boys and so much more! Of course, the list also included items to get or to take pictures of. It was fun and we were all scurrying throughout the city.

At 4:05 we met again at a nearby park for the next phase of the adventure. The bride has always wanted to do a paint fight of sorts, but we did a little twist on her request. I remember a color fight Jordan did awhile ago and thought that would be the perfect thing to do. We first tallied to see which team got the most items, then we got ready for our fight. With all the holi colors scattered about like an easter egg hunt, we gave the winning team a 5 second head start and then we all went at it...

We all had so much fun and came home such a mess. Actually, all the girls went back home only to get dolled up to go back out for a fancy dinner and some dancing, but this mama washed up, fed her baby, and then made her way back home to her other little ladies and Ben.

It is so surreal for me as the older sister to comprehend that my little sister is actually getting married. I was glad we got to have this last special adventure for our sister before she gets hitched. I think we hit the spot with everything she wanted and we all had a grand time!

This next week is full of finalizing details and getting everything sorted out and organized. It will be a whirlwind of a week with family coming into town and all the preparations, but I can't wait for the culmination of everything at the wedding. Ahh! My little sister is getting married... crazy!!!

FAVORITE PONCHO

{sweater: kohls; poncho: vintage; leggings: target; boots: c/o o'neill}

I thrifted this poncho way back, even before Ben and I got married, and actually I think it was before I left to study abroad in London. I have always loved it and it is so comfy. It is one of my favorite comfy things to wear and I am sure I will never get rid of it.

Looking at these pictures, I should have folded out the top part of the boot because it has a really cool pattern inside and I should shown that part off. Oh well... there is always next time!

SISTERS ARE SWEET

These two are the best of friends, but they sure do fight! True was only 15 months when Brave was born, so she doesn't know what life is like without her.

I am the oldest of four. My brother is next in line, but I have two little sisters. We are grown now and are the best of friends, even if I am 7 and 10 years older than them. We have lots of fun together and we especially wreak havoc shopping together, though my parents aren't so happy about that cause it usually is at their expense. Yes, even now. But can a father really say no to his daughters?!! Good luck, Ben!

I spent all day today hanging out with my sisters and some friends all in celebration for the middle's sister's last hurrah as a single lady. It was such a good day filled with adventure and now the next adventure on the list will be the wedding in less than two weeks. So much to do, but so little time!

I may be biased because I have two sisters and all my girls know is having sisters, but I think sisters are especially sweet. Don't you?

p.s. brother, we love you just as much!!!

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HUZZAH!

We can't get over how this one is already rolling over and cooing and giggling like crazy! It seems just like yesterday I had her.

This weekend is busy. My sister's bachelorette party is this Sunday and we are going to have a bit of fun. The wedding is also in two weeks so things are going to be crazy wild for a bit. I have a list of to-dos that I need to get to.

This week's learned and links...

- True can now read beginning and ending blends, though she is having some trouble with fluency. Though, BFF is assuring me that it will eventually come. Next up, is consonant digraphs.

- This first week of meal planning went pretty good. Especially love the oven fried chicken recipe!

- My house is a big crazy mess that Ben is starting to itch about it. If he is itching, then you know it is really messy!

- I still want winter weather, but I am kinda excited for spring dressing.

- Totally coveting this shoe. Gold definitely!

- If your a mama and have bad days like me, read this. It is a good way to view this season we're currently in.

Happy weekending!!!

OUR HANDMADE CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Yes, I am really going all the way back to Christmas. It seems like so long ago now, doesn't it?! Next thing you know, it will be Christmas again!

This past Christmas, Ben and I decided it would be fun to make each other's gift. We wanted to make this a bit more interesting, so we wanted to compile a list of up to 10 things that we could use to make the gift. We were going to come up with the list ourselves, but thought we might be too biased with the materials we are familiar with, so we sought help from the the most creative duo out there... Shauna & Stephen from Something's Hiding In Here. Anything those two come up with is pure genius, so we know by asking them, we were sure in for a challenge.

These are the ten items they came up: old book, kids' painting, well-worn shirt, paint, reclaimed wood, glass jar, recycled leather, something from nature, photograph, and wire.

We also added one little bonus called "a secret ingredient" that meant we could use an additional item of our choice. All ten items didn't have to be used in the gift either. We were both excited about the challenge, but were both so nervous cause we really wanted to make something special for the other.

Here is my gift to Ben...

I wanted to give Ben something that had a little message on it and this is what I came up with. The reclaimed lumber was purchased on etsy because I don't have the time to go looking for reclaimed wood with 4 girls in tow. The old book page was from a vintage book we already had. The photo was printed onto the book page and was taken at our engagement shoot by David Jay. The kids painted some other old book pages and those are layered under the painting to give it some texture. They also painted the left side of the piece. In total, I used 6 out of the 10 ingredients. Plus, my "secret ingredient" of mod podge to get the book page onto the wood.

I really do love Ben very much and wanted him to know so!

Now, Ben's gift to me made my jaw drop. His gift was so darn creative that I was just in awe the moment I saw it (he gave me his gift first that I wanted to hide the gift I made him because his was just so cool!)...

Seriously?!! A ship in a bottle?!! Using 9 out of the 10 things on our list?!! Dude has got some talent!

He found the glass jar at an antique shop and it had to be the perfect size for his ship. The kids' painting and paint was the blue for the ocean. The ship base was a piece of reclaimed wood from some vintage moulding. The wire he used was cut from hangers. Wow! I wouldn't have thought of that! His something from nature item were the little sticks from a tree in our front yard that make up the mast of the ship. He used a scrap from an old t-shirt of his for the one of the sails, a little piece of an old book page (that was leftover from this v-day present) for the front sail, and a photograph, along with a homage to the list givers (their mustache on a sticks were used in the picture), for the middle sail and his secret ingredient was black thread to hold up all the sails!

I was floored by the amazingness of his creation. I kept staring and staring and it (and still like to stare at it!). It can even fold flat to come out of the bottle and be put back in. I am in complete wow and love it so much!!!

Both our gifts are near each other displayed in our home. I even put little lights behind the bottle so it gives it a little twinkle at night. I really loved coming up with something for Ben and I love seeing how he used his creativity for me. Giving handmade gifts are the best and we may just make this a new tradition every Christmas! Maybe we'll ask a different couple each year to come up with a list. I would love to have a nice collection of handmade Christmas gifts for each other!

Thanks Shauna & Stephen, your list was pure genius and it was super fun for us to make something for each other using it!!! You guys seriously rock!!!

OUT TO SCHOOL: WEEK EIGHTEEN

{where from again? shirt & shorts: misha lulu; artisan poncho c/o lucky brand; tights: target; boots: h&m.}

I love that I have all girls and they just all share clothes (see Brave a few days ago). Not sure they will like that when they are teenagers and fighting over who gets to wear what, but they like it right now, so I will enjoy it while it lasts!

The way kids run is so cute. I think they run and walk with joy in their steps. I ought to have more joy in my steps too!