THIS MOM..WELL SHE IS AWESOME!

Straight from Mama Kat's Weekly Writing Prompts I give you:

 15 Reasons You're Awesome

Well, sort of...how about 15 Reasons I am an Awesome Mom!

Now I am going to add a little here..every parenting style is different, every family, and every child requires different lifestyles, and different decisions.  Although we may parent differently it does not mean that either of us are wrong. So some of the things I say or do while parenting my kiddos may not work in your household...but they work in mine.  Please play nice!

Dress-Up

I play dress up...not only with the play clothes that we have in the house but with my own beauty products.  Baby Boogie has learned to come running when she hears the sound of my blow dryer.

Sarcasm Wars

Monkey used to not understand sarcasm, and his momma is extremely sarcastic!  We used to tease him that he was just like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory...and just like Sheldon he slowly started to understand sarcasm. Now he and I will have sarcasm wars! 

Pinterest Meals

My kiddos love when we try out new food's.  so, I started pinning meals on Pinterest and I actually started making them.  We have some index cards that hang from a ring in the kitchen that we call our Pinterest Meals.  Sometimes the kiddos get to pick their favorite ones for a whole week of our favorite tried and true pinterest meals.

Working Mom

I know that I miss some things while I am at work, but I think that being a working mom shows my kiddos to work hard for what they want in life. It also shows them that you can have a family and still have a career. They also know that I love my career and they are all very interested in what I do. 

*nothing against stay at home moms and dads..I tried it..just wasn't for me*

Not an evil Step-Mom

Babydoll has a different Mommy, but I am her Lisha.  When Jerm and I began to get serious I worked hard a creating a loving relationship with my Babydoll.  Luckily she was too little to go to school and the boys were in school.  During the school hours Babydoll and I had a lot of one on one time that helped us cement our relationship.  I also get along with her mommy famously...she even helped me make many of mine and Jerm's wedding decorations!

Active Mom

I take an active role in my kiddos lives, I meet their friends, their teachers and anyone that they have a lot of contact with.  Not because I want to know everything about them, I just want to have a good idea of who they are around, and who may influence them.  I grew up with some friends whose parents didn't always know my name much less what kind of kid I was...I just don't feel comfortable not knowing! I also try to be at everything that my kiddos find important, it doesn't always happen but the kids know I try!

Good Wife

My marriage is the reason that I have the family I do, with out my marriage I would be missing people that make my life so perfect for me.  The way that I treat Jerm shows the children what a marriage should be.  The kiddos see us argue (not fighting, no yelling or name calling allowed) but they also see us work out any disagreements we have.  They see us hug, kiss and know that marriage is about comfort and love!

I haven't sold the baby on E-Bay

I have helped raise 3 kiddos before Baby Boogie and I used to work as a pre-school teacher but no child has ever tried me as much as Baby Boogie! She is a handful and a mess! I love that little kiddo with my whole heart but sometimes...phew she can wear me out!

Explain the whys!

As I kid I hated hearing "because I said so" and as an adult I still can't stand to hear it.  I explain to my children why...I answer the whys because I believe if they understand why something is not allowed or why we do things a certain way, they will learn more quickly and behave better.  Every action has a reaction kind of teaching.

I'm a Baseball Mom

If any of your kids are in any kind of activity you understand why this is so important! I play taxi, find and wash uniforms, find lost equipment, and bring the snacks.  Monkey is always there at practice and the games, plus I keep my mouth shut.  I trust my sons coaches, so when he is in the dugout he is theirs...if I didn't trust them we wouldn't play for them!

You can buy this shirt here.

Tricky Tricky Tricky

I like to play jokes on the kiddos, and I have a strange sense of humor! I will walk by my oldest look at his laptop screen and tell him to stop looking at porn! He is not looking at that stuff, we learned our lesson about parental blocks when he Googled a word he heard on the bus and it lead him to a site like that! I know that people wouldn't agree with that but sex has become an open topic to discuss with him since that incident.  He now comes to us with questions and not google. Besides he laughs every-time, and just shakes his head.  I will tie the kiddos doors together in the mornings, give them funny things at random times.  We like to have fun, being a mom is about teaching and raising but you can have fun too!

http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/do-you-play-tricks-on-your-kids/

Single Mom

I am no longer a single mom, but I was for several years.  It was tough, there were nights where I would cry after they boys were in bed because it was so tough. I missed a lot of time with the boys, and I tried to explain to them, in ways that they could understand, why I was always away.  I was working and attending college but I managed to pay all my bills and keep a 3.83 grade point average.  Being a single mom taught me what real quality time was.  Those dinners together, playing in the backyard, laughing and singing in the car on the way to the babysitter.  My boys remember a little about that time and I remember a lot but in the end they were good years.

Video Gamer

I suck at video games, I used to rock at Super Nintendo but X-Box has too many buttons on the controller! I try, and Bubby loves to play video games, so I try harder!  I can tell you the main characters names in his favorite games, and I can tell you when something new is coming out. I am decent on the kinect, and can rock out on Guitar Hero. I have even encouraged them to go to the midnight releases of the newest favorite games.  So while I may be a really bad gamer, I earn points for being an awesome gamers mom.

 Already too many buttons, lets add a keyboard!

Use the kiddos as Guinea Pigs!

I use my kiddos as my "testers" the test out the new foods, the diy projects I want to try for myself, and anything else that I can think of.  They don't seem to mind too much and well we can't afford real testers so the kiddos will have to do.  Only problem is that their feedback is not always reliable and sometimes just plain limited!

I love my family!

I know that this should be a given, but let me explain.  In my career I come across a lot of events that make me wonder where the love is in these situations.  I love my kiddos and my husband for who they are, individually and I would never change anything about them.  My husband is stubborn and you really have to prove him wrong, but he is a man worth the effort. Monkey is getting at that age where he thinks he knows everything, but to see his compassion for others makes me melt.  Bubby is the quiet one, but when he speaks it is important and you want to listen, and his smile is heartwarming. Babydoll will push push push to test her limits, but the affection she gives is contagious.  Baby Boogie, well she is a two year old terror but hearing her little voice as she discovers the world around her is like hearing music.

There you go the 15 reasons I think I am an awesome mom! You may agree with them and you may not, and you may realize that some of these were silly and some were very real.  Now think about what makes you an awesome mom, and remember that everyone of us has our hard days but in the end we have everything because we have our families!





 



REFASHIONING A NEW SHIRT

In my search to refashion clothes for the girls in this family I have found lots and lots of  T-shirt refashions. T shirt refashions tend to look pretty easy, and who doesn't have bunches of T shirts laying around the house?

 

Baby Boogie showing off her style, and not choking the kitten, today will be a good day!

I have recently been working tons of over time, but I wanted to try out a T shirt refashion, so I skimmed my Pinterest boards and came across this amazing and simple looking idea.

This blog has tons of great ideas, and this one looked super easy!

I have tons of T shirts but no plain ones.  I didn't think that this would look right with any designs on the shirt , and frankly I wasn't ruining my Batman or Captain America shirts.  You can't cut those guys up!  I found a purple turtle neck that Babydoll has outgrown and never really liked wearing ,she loved the color but the turtle neck annoyed her.

This needed a few alterations, the turtle neck and the sleeves needed to be gone.

With the sleeves and the turtle neck cut off, I just had to follow the directions on the blog.  I had planned on altering my pictures to show you how this was done but my photo editor hates me, and well you can go back to http://wobisobi.blogspot.ca/2012/07/no-sew-halter-3-diy.html for all the directions!

Basically you are cutting a V neck out of the front, then cutting two squares out of the back.  It really is such a simple DIY refashion and it is NO SEW I know some people love to see those two little words!

Here is Baby Boogie modeling the front of the shirt, I put a cute little blue jean skirt with it, well because it was the first bottom cover I could find that was clean. 

Here is a close up of the back.  The turtle neck has one of those printed tags on the inside of the shirt and you can just see the little bit of white on the left sleeve but it's not a big deal and if it starts to bother me I could always cut it off.

This refashion really took me no time at all. I am serious it took me a total of maybe 15 mins, the toughest part was getting Baby Boogie to stand still and model the shirt for me!

Now I need some plain t-shirts in Black, White and Dark Purple, for ME!!

PIZZA CASSEROLE!!

Baseball Season means a lot of things....hurrying home from work to make it to a game, trying to make baby Boogie sit for an hour and a half!! Having to hunt baseball equipment down every day, washing washing and washing uniforms, and making dinners that are fast, tasty and good for you.  During this season we rely on our crock pot as much as we can, or we eat hot dogs at the game...but I can eat only so many hotdogs in a couple of months.

  

While trying to come up with new fast dinner ideas I ran across a pin on Pinterest for Pizza Casserole...it sounded super easy, pretty cheap, and with this household of carb-attics perfect!

Ingredients:

• Box of Bow Tie Pasta
• 1 LB Pepperoni
• 1 LB Diced Ham
• 2 Jars Pasta Sauce
• 2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 can Mushrooms

Directions:

1. Boil Bow Tie Pasta till fully cooked
2. Then layer pasta, ham, pepperoni, cheese, and mushrooms like you would with Lasagna  until you fill the pan. (or run out of ingredients) 
3. I always top with cheese and pepperoni
4. Place in the oven at 350 for about 40 mins (until cheese is melted but not burned)

This feeds my family of six just fine and sometimes we have a little bit of leftovers.  We top our with Parmesan cheese and go to town!  

This is the original pin, they make it different but I tweaked mine to fit my family's personal tastes!

JUNE IS SNEAKING UP FAST!

My kiddos start school early in August which means with the end of May fast approaching, Summer Vacation is looming it's big ugly head! So what do we parents do when Summer is coming? Prepare, Prepare Prepare! Your kids will now be home all day!!! Summer Vacation is already about to be put on the bad word list and it hasn't even arrived yet! Ok it's not that bad, but seriously we need to PREPARE!

 

Schools out for summer!! I bet that song will now be stuck in your head, it's ok it's a great song!

 

I am no June Cleaver and with four kids home all summer I am scared, shaking in my flip flops scared of what this summer may bring! I decided I needed to be prepared, and made a June Bucket List to help me on my way!!

 





This particular list is for June only, but that doesn't mean that we won't be using it through out the summer.  I need some organization around my house but I want some Fun too! Normally during the summer we try to get out as much as possible and Jerm and I want to spend as much time as we can with the kiddos before School comes and steals them away again!

 

# 1.) Make individual bucket lists!

 

Tutu's and Tantrumn's  utilized the Bucket list with her kiddos by letting them pick the things they wanted to do this summer, and write them on a Popsicle stick.  I love the idea, but I want to tweak it just a bit.  The three older kiddos are going to each pick five things that they want to accomplish, places to go, or things to do (with-in reason) that they can attach to clothes-pins and put on their own personal buckets!

 

 

#2.) Chores need to come back...you have been missed (by me)!

 

The older kids used to have chores but somehow we got out of the habit of them and everything fell back to mom and dad.  This has got to stop, the kids need to help out.  With the way things look now with most the kids gone during the day I shudder to think what it will look like all summer if we allow this to continue. So I am making new chore charts and including some new ideas on how to keep this going...starting in June!

 

 

#3.) Saunder's Springs...hiking, picnic, and learning!

Our family visits Saunder's Springs Nature Reserve as much as we can but normally it is spur of the moment and we mostly just walk the trails and enjoy the weather.  This year I want planned outings picnics, nature walks, ect....are you catching an organizational theme yet?!





#4.) Summer School!?!

 

Bubby had some problems this year with Reading he was 17 points behind grade level at the end of the year testing.  In Math he was 21 points above grade level, but that Reading score is causing some concern for Jerm and me.  Bubby is a smart kiddo and I know that he has it in him to pull that score up so this summer we are going to work towards that goal.  Babydoll is moving to first grade so I am going to work with her to prepare her for the next year.  Honestly Monkey has always tested above grade level in most subjects and has report cards that are full of A's and high B's so we will just review so he doesn't forget anything over the summer.  Baby Boogie is going to learn the Alphabet some counting and how to use the potty!!

 

 

#5.) Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!!

 

Our city has a pool/playground that is open to the public.  The playground is fantastic and my kiddos love going there, and what kid doesn't like a pool?!?! We always plan to go several times a summer...but it doesn't seem to ever work out like that.  This year we are going to go as many times as we can starting on opening day in May and letting June set the tone for the rest of the summer!

 

 

I know that it doesn't seem like much but the June Bucket list involves a lot of organization and planning to accomplish.  I want to try and take pictures of each item as we accomplish them or partake in them..we will see. 

 

 

 





  



RE-FASHION-ING!!!

I am a thrifty momma, with kids these days you have to be.  I tried the coupon thing...didn't work out so well.  Don't get me wrong if I happen to notice a coupon for something that I buy, I do cut it out and most of the time use it before I loose it. When I have to buy the kiddos clothes, shoes, or anything else I shop around before I commit to paying for it.  I will go to every store that I know sells what I am looking for and find the most reasonable price.I brag about how much money I SAVE! I have a few friends who brag about how much things cost, that is so not this momma's attitude.  The more that I can get for mine and Jerm's hard earned money the better I feel.

 

The other day while cruising through Pinterest I stumbled onto a pin that led me to a Blog that just may change mine and my daughters wardrobes for life!  The blog enabled me to accomplish this!

 

Ok it doesn't look like much right now....but I will show you the magic in just one moment!

 

First let me introduce you to my inspiration.  She has been on TV, and has an inspiring blog!  You have to check out her blog, I could tell you all about it but honestly it will be so much better for you to see it for yourself. Warning: I spent an entire night trying to catch up of years of blog posts I am addicted!

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE REFASHIONISTA!

 

So my little re-fashion was for baby Boogie, why because she is tiny and being the youngest of four I have a lot of "out-grown" clothes from her older siblings so this was a free craft.  This was not my first attempt, my first two are only worthy of anything with the words craft FAIL included!!

 

I found an adorable shirt that Babydoll outgrew last winter. It isn't a very thick shirt and other than the fact that it has long sleeves would be great for the summer.  Plus I love the print, not too girly but fun!

 

So I took out my scissors and cut off those long sleeves the weather is finally warming up so we don't need them!  When I cut off the sleeves, I went along the hemmed lines...why? So I wouldn't have to hem them later!!

 

The new sleeves were still a little to wide for what I wanted, so using a running stitch I cinched them in a little.  Then I took a couple pieces of the sleeve (that was cut off) and tied them up!

This dress was now in working order, but...it still seemed a little plain to me. I snazzed it up by cutting three strips of fabric from the left over sleeves...

 

Then using a running stitch again I turned them into RUFFLES!

There you have it! My first (non-craft-fail) re-fashion! Baby Boogie has worn it once so far, but she seemed to like it just fine! The length was perfect and the weight of the fabric is light enough for her to play outside and stay cool! Plus she looks too cute in the little dress even though she never likes to stand still long enough to be a decent model!







PITTER PATTER OF LITTLE FEET...

I am still pretty new to the crafting game, not really the expert crafter.  Pinterest and other blogs are the basis for most of my inspiration.  There have been a couple times where craft supply stores have inspired me. Crafting is simply a hobby for me, I don't plan on making my fortune with it!

 

When Jerm and I got married  last July I wanted something to represent the year that our two families really became one.  I found this adorable foot stool idea on Pinterest and knew that it would work perfectly.  Not only would the foot stool represent our family anniversary but it could be a functional piece too!

 

 

 

Saw this cute little foot stool on Pinterest!

 

 

I went thrifting! After a couple of thrift stores, a few Goodwill's and my local Peddlers Mall I finally found the perfect sized foot stool for my little project. Only paid $3.00!

 

 

Now this brown color wasn't going to work, so I sanded it down a little and then searched my supply of paints.  I found a beautiful Martha Stewart Wine colored multi-surface paint in my stash!



I normally find these paints at Michaels ot Lowes

 

 

I painted the entire foot stool, using about three coats of paint.  It didn't use the entire bottle of paint and dried pretty quickly!

(This is the same color that I used to stencil my lamp up do)

 

The color in this picture makes it look a lot more pinkish than it really is. This color has become a reoccurring color through-out my house. After the paint dried I was going to use stamp ink to copy the kiddos foot prints, but my ink was dried up so I simply had to paint my kids feet with black  Martha Stewart Paint. Then we just placed the feet firmly down, and lifted straight up (a lot harder than it sounds)!

As you can see they didn't come out perfect but meh, it's not too big a deal!

 

 

I then took a very fine tipped paint brush and painted the sides and front of the foot stool, to make it even more personalized to our family!

Last name and the date we all officially became a family.

 

I don't know why I started referring to my family this way but it's now our thing.

Probably because when I tell people we have four kiddos they look at me like I just said 40 kiddos!

 

All the boys nick names, I am really really bad about using nick names vs given names.

 

All the girls, see we have our nick names too, You hear your given name in my house, you KNOW you are in trouble!!

 

 

The kiddos use this foot stool sometimes in the bathroom, when trying to reach something in the kitchen; or for any other reason their imaginations can come up with.  I have used it for reaching things on shelves and as a time out spot on a couple of occasions. It feels kind of wrong sometimes to use it as a time out chair because they kids and I made it together! :)  We actually get a lot of use out of it.  I didn't put a protective coat on it and the paint has held up just fine.

(yeah I should have posted this a couple months..heck almost a year ago, but I lost the pictures *lol*)