Valentines Photo Book for the Kids

Happy Valentines Day!  Is everyone feelin' the love?  Honestly, most of my Valentines-type celebrating has been done already.  The husband works weekends so we took advantage of his day off on Thursday and went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch - totally yummy and no V-day crowds!  The kids had their parties at school yesterday and the last minute Valentines to loved ones far away went in the mail.  This morning the kids insisted we wake them up before their dad left for work, so gifts have already been exchanged and pink waffles have been consumed.

I ran across this great idea a few weeks back in which the parents made their kids special photo books every year for Christmas.  Obviously we were past Christmas but I thought "what a great idea for Valentines!"  I didn't get them put together and ordered as early as I could have (in order to blog about it pre-Valentines and er, so as not to sweat that they wouldn't be here on time) but they did appear in my mailbox just in time yesterday - yay!

These are 8x8 soft cover books from Snapfish (I had a coupon) - there are tons of sites that do great photo books.

 I wanted to go with an ABC's of Me theme - using words to decribe the kids and their interests right now.

 Some of the letters were easy and I had WAY too many ideas, others were hard and I had to reach a bit.

 Tyler got a big grin about the boots one and said "oh I love those!"

 This one made me laugh - I couldn't resist putting that close up photo of the flaming marshmallow on there ;)

And there they are all wrapped up, along with the other book and candy I got the kids for Valentines.  The paper airplane is a printable I found here.

Best of all, when they opened up the books this morning the kids loved them and had to read them cover to cover right away.  Kaitlyn even said, "wouldn't it be great if we got a book every year?"  Hmm... great minds really do think alike, don't they?  ;)

Quick and Inexpensive Valentines

It's been kind of a rough couple of days.  Not in the classic sense of the word - I haven't had a bad day or anything.  But my kids have been sick and in Mom World, that's rough.  Not only do we not want our precious little ones to feel badly, but we end up putting almost everything else on hold simply to be around and take care of them "just in case."  So here I sit on day 2 1/2 of house arrest, with the TV tuned to the Disney Channel, the humidifier going and trying to do low key things while the kids endure it (and hoping that I DO NOT catch whatever it is they have.  Knock wood).

It just hit me how close we are to the end of January.  February is tomorrow!  And with it will quickly come Valentines Day.  Seems like we just finished Christmas, doesn't it?  With a bunch of family and friend's birthdays in January, it kind of feels like we haven't had much of a break from gift giving and big events.

 I'm afraid I don't often have much motivation by this point to get really creative and crafty when it comes to Valentines.  This year I pretty much just jumped on the first idea I spotted - which happened to be some fun mini puzzles at Michael's.

I added a quick chalkboard style tag and they're all set to go out.  Just one more example of things not having to be complicated or pricey to be cute and effective, right?

I also picked up these cute monogram notebooks for the teachers and added a few pencils I already had on hand.  That's it - school Valentines DONE!

Which leaves me two weeks to get the kids to work on their Valentines for their grandparents and the other special people on their lists.  Kaitlyn got the paints out (which are now residing on the coffee table until everything is finished - yay) and started on hers today, but Tyler didn't get any further than figuring out a plan before having a coughing fit.  *sigh*

I have a fun project in the works that I'm going to give the kids.  I will work on that some more after I get them to bed (T minus 5 minutes until bedtime - woohoo!)  No idea what to do for the hubby though - ideas??!

Surprises for the End of the School Year

**Reposted on my new blog, along with a few more fun variations of the Summer Fun in a Cup end of the year gift for teachers.  Check it out here!

Who is ready for summer?!  Last night at our first outing to our neighborhood pool for the year I was reminded again how much fun summer can be and started to get excited for those long hot days around the pool.

 I know a lot of schools are getting out next week - lucky.  My kids still have almost an entire month left but in the spirit of getting things done while I'm thinking about it (and if you're on Pinterest right now, how could not NOT be thinking about it? ;)  I see pins for teacher gifts ideas daily) I whipped up some End of the Year gifts for my kids' teachers yesterday.

 I started out with a trip to the dollar store and collected the makings for a little Summer Fun kit - daiquiri glasses, sunscreen, drink mixes, italian ice freezer pops, and qourmet-esqe chocolates.  (they're red velvet and yes I snuck one to try...yum)

 I topped them off with a cute tag, (found the inspiration and printable tag here)  a fun paper straw, and a tiny drink umbrella.

One, two, three, four - done!  The hardest part was finding the cute little umbrellas - I searched 4 or 5 stores before finally finding them at a dollar store in a different town from the one where I had found everything else.  I'm sure a party store would have had them, but I haven't been anywhere near one of those in the last couple of weeks.

While I was at it, I picked up a couple of little surprises for the kids and tied them together with some curly ribbon. I also did a quick google search for the clipart then just printed it out onto cardstock for a quick and easy tent sign.  They are now packed into a grocery bag and hidden under my craft table where I will hopefully remember to pull them out to surprise the kids with on the last day of school.

When do your kids get out of school?  Do you have any fun plans for the last day of school or vacation plans for this summer?

Deployment Survival Kit

 Ah military life.  Every once in a while it really hits home how hard it can be on families.  We haven't had a deployment in a while but one of my good friends just bid goodbye to her husband for 6-9 months.  The day he left we knew she would have a hard time, so we went over for a Girl's Night of hanging out.  We didn't go empty-handed either.  Another friend and I had a lot of fun putting together a Deployment Survival Kit for her.

Seriously, we went overboard.  It's all my friend's fault for picking a giant bucket for the container ;)

We decorated the container (yes, it's vinyl lettering) and whipped up some fun tags for all the items in the basket.

Inside the basket:
-countdown blocks
-wine glass that reads "Deployment Survival, One Sip at a Time"

-tissues "to wipe away the tears"
-gourmet chocolate "because chocolate just makes everything better"
-decorative toothpicks "to help you pick out the good in every situation you encounter"

-flashlight "to remind you there is a light at the end of the tunnel"
-margarita "for when you just need a DRINK"
-duct tape "to fix whatever is broken"
-lollipop "because deployments suck"
-hand sanitizer/soap "to clean your hands after doing all the manly work"
-paperclip/binder clip "to help you keep it together"
-bottle of wine "for when you feel like wine-ing"
  (some of you that know me are probably thinking, "wait, what?"  No I don't drink, but some of my friends do and I'm ok with that)
-cute pens "to sign your Xs and Os"
-nail polish "remember to take care or even better pamper yourself"
-yellow ribbon "to show the world you support your soldier"
-disguise (I did printable photo prop but it would have been cute with those eye glasses w/ mustache ones too) "for when you just want to hide out"
-coffee drink (energy drink would work well too) "for when you need the energy to make it through the day"

-flag "to remind you what the sacrifice is for"
-notebook/magnetic To Do list notebook "to keep your To Dos in order"
-nuts/trail mix "for when you feel like you're going nuts"

-bubble wrap "to help relieve some stress"
-sewing kit "for when things are falling apart at the seams"
-rope "for when you reach the end of yours, this will keep you going a bit longer"
-Hershey Kisses "until you can kiss your soldier again"
-yo-yo "to remind you there will be ups and downs and it's OK"
-manicure/pedicure kit (or just nail clippers/file) "for when you hit a snag"

-funny/motivational quote (excuse the language - it's not how I usually express myself but it fits her perfectly)

Rather extensive list, right?  Completely over the top. (no surprise - that's how I often do things!)  Five to ten items would have been plenty.  For any of you that want to use the idea, now you have plenty to pick and choose from.  ;)

Catching Up and Summer Vacation

 Our summer has been split between two things - working hard and having tons of fun.  Not the least of which was our two week trip back home to Utah over the 4th of July.  It was jam-packed with family, friends, and all kinds of fun including trips to the lake

 

hiking to Timpanogos Cave

 

riding horses (Kaitlyn did so at every opportunity - probably at least 5 times.  She's getting to be quite the horse-woman)

 

 BBQs, rodeos, collecting Brag Tags (fantastic program sponsored by Heber City - I'll talk about that more in another post), a night away for Sam and myself...
We've been madly scrambling  steadily and surely chipping away at the stack of orders and other To Dos that piled up while we were out having fun.  This past week, in particular, I put in a lot of hours out in the garage - way more than I want to think about when all I really want to be doing is splashing in the pool or having back yard BBQs with friends.  But the end result is that I have given myself enough breathing room to no longer feel stressed about getting orders out in the time frame promised.  And I can start working in a few smaller fun crafty projects like the neighborhood wreath-making day I have in the works, and this baby gift I just sent off.

I've cut back on the amount of crocheting I do, but I usually like to pull it out as one of my Go To gifts for new babies.  In this case I did a Baby Brother/Big Brother set of monster hats, with a matching applique onesie for the new little one.

 

 Kinda makes me wish my little ones were that size again, if only for a day.  Then I look at my quick-growing kiddos and am pretty happy with who they are right now.  And since it seems to be baby season again, it's not like I have a shortage of reasons to make cute little items or snag some cuddle time with a tiny one (without having to go through the sleep deprivation of having a newborn - hehe).  I just did newborn photos for a friend (still working on edits - that's a post for another day), have a baby shower in the works in a couple of weeks, and have at least two other friends due this fall.  I'd better get finding some new gift ideas and carving out craft time... :)

Almost Summer!

 It's June!  I know a lot of schools are out at this point and I'm so jealous!  For the last week or two all I have wanted to do is hang out with friends at the pool or in the back yard.  Forget the schedules, forget the Have Tos - just soak up the sun, enjoy the company, and watch the kids have fun! 
We've been going through the paces of wrapping things up - final dance recital, field trips, class parties, Kaitlyn's first time taking the EOG's (End of Grade tests - they are huge here UGH) and Friday was Tyler's Kindergarten graduation/awards/ice cream party (oooo he's getting way too big!).

We are down to the final week of school and I'm just as excited as the kids are.  (Someone remind me of this at the end of July when the kids are driving me nuts and all I want is a day of peace and quiet ;)  )  Since a lot of my time this week will be spent doing final prep work for our Girl Scout Bridging/End of the Year Party I thought I'd better get ahead of things and put the End of the Year School gifts together.  They came together pretty easily this year.  Weeks ago I ran across the After Sun lotion in the Target Dollar section and snapped up a few bottles, knowing I'd be able to use them for something.  Here and there I found the small containers of sunscreen and chapstick with SPF and then I spotted the double wall glasses at IGA for $3 and knew I had it made.  The thing I really like about these particular glasses is that they have the flip top instead of a straight straw, which means much less chance they will spill if you put them in a cooler or beach bag.  I may have to go back and pick up a few for myself!

I found the printable Summer Vacation tag here.  And that's it - quick, easy, cute, and not-too-expensive end of the year gift for the teachers!  The bus driver will be getting the same tag on a Toblerone.  So we're all set!  Now BRING ON SUMMER! 

Baby Season (31 Days: Day 17)

Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon?  Not only am I finding that new babies seem to come in waves (the SEVEN that were born in my neighborhood last year are now coming up on their 1st birthdays!), but Fall also seems to have more than it's share of birthdays and new babies.  I have sent out at least two (long distance) baby shower gifts this month and have had a huge bump in sales on the pregnancy/new baby countdown blocks in my shop.  So I thought I'd share a few of my current favorite baby gift items, aside from my crochet hats, of course.

The first is a car seat tent.  I discovered this idea after both of my kids were too old for the infant seat, but oh how nice it would have been to use one of these instead of the blanket thrown over the handle that always fell off or got in the way.

Velcro straps hold it in place and don't get in the way of the carrying handle.

And I always add a strap with double clips so that the cover can also be turned into a nursing cover - you just put the strap around your neck and clip it to one side of the cover, giving yourself and the baby privacy for nursing and the security of knowing the blanket isn't going to be kicked off by a restless infant.  With the added benefit of being already attached to the carseat so no worrying about not having an extra blanket on hand.  Yup - I totally wish I had had one when my kids were babies and I make sure all of my pregnant friends have one.

Right now I have a stock pile of them - the pink/brown/green floral and this beautiful grey/teal argyle print for boys.  I'm so in love with the fabric.  But I can't figure out a single project for myself where I can utilize it yet...

And my other Go To gift is a set of countdown blocks.  I know you've seen these countdowns for holidays like Christmas, right?  So I was so proud of myself when the idea popped into my head to make a set for counting down to a due date.  Fun right?

I've done them in a number of fun colors and pattern variations, the most recent being this pastel combo with lots of greens and yellows.

So, what is your favorite baby gift to give/get?