Thinking Ahead: Dragons

Lovely turns 7 in late October.  Because I didn't do anything for her birthday last year except sent chocolate pretzels to school for her classmates (which was actually pretty time consuming) and she's never had a "kid birthday," I promised her a birthday party this year.  Yes, I know it's only July, but if I've learned anything in the past few years, it's that time flies at warp speed these days. 

At first, she said she wanted a Pet Pals b-day party, but to me, that sounded more like her sister than her.  Lovely loves the outdoors, climbing, etc.  She wants to play outside when all other children say, "It's tooooo hot!"  She's the type of girl who looked through DQ cakes one day while we were waiting for our order and said she wanted an Indiana Jones cake.  So, I did some research and I said, "You can have Pet Pals...or what about dragons?"  Her response:  "Oooohhh!" 

Let me just say, there are some awesome dragon birthday ideas out there--I'm pretty excited and fearful of going overboard!  We're hoping to do something at a park, maybe, instead of home, so there will be plenty of area to run and play--weather permitting.  What are your thoughts on a dragon-slaying princess party? 

Weekly Happenings

Hello.  It's nice to see you again.  My last post was meant to help and show the craftier side of me, but at the same time, it seemed so much more impersonal than some of my other posts.  So, today I get a little personal (but not too much!). 

Yesterday, I finally dropped off my culminating project for my MA degree.  I handed it over and was told, "Congratulations."  I had no idea such a small word would make such a huge emotional impact.  I replied, "Thank you.  Thank you very much," (minus the Elvis tone), turned around, and walked out the door, all the while with eyes misting up.  Walking out of that office reminded me of all the struggles I've been through (personally, financially, academically, spiritually), all the work I've done, all the insurmountable stress I was under...for years.  I've dealt with feelings of guilt from leaving my girls and leaving the house a mess, and regret for not getting finished with school earlier.  However, everything has its time and its season.  I know. 

I've been a wife, a mother, a part-time (and full-time) worker, a full-time student, my husband's business assistant, a Christian, and now I can't believe I'm finished juggling grad school.  Graduate school was a hundred times harder than undergrad--perhaps because I was older, perhaps because my children were older--but I sincerely believe the work required was also much more demanding.  I still have a conversation with my readers next Friday regarding my CP, but I believe all will be well.  Then, it will really be over.  I have no idea if I'll stay dry-eyed when I pick up my degree; I'm not an overtly sappy person normally.  Sure, I bawl at the occassional movie or book (I think I was the only crier in the class when we read Uncle Tom's Cabin), but I tend to keep my emotions underwraps unless I'm in the comfort of my own home (which is where I read Uncle Tom's Cabin).

And now I must plan for my classes.  I already have a "suggested" assignment in my teacher's manual that I completely disagree with, so I'll have to scout out a replacement.  I'm wondering how my class will like me.  I'm wondering how differently I'll teach now that I know more about teaching writing.  Let the new adventure begin.

Simple 5 Minute Hair Bow

--This was so much easier than I expected! 

Supplies: 

--Ribbon of your choice, 1-2" in width       --glue gun

--Tape measure                                     --pencil

--Scissors                                             --double-pronged alligator clip 
--Hair clip                                             --contrasting thin ribbon for center

Directions:

1.  Decide on size of the hair bow you would like, double that size, and cut.  I like the size that a 12" piece of ribbon gives, about a 6" bow. 

2.  Fold the ribbon in half.  Use a pencil to mark the underside of the ribbon--this won't be seen.

3.  Use the glue gun to place a stream of glue down the center of the ribbon, over the pencil mark.  Fold the ends of the ribbon over so they meet in the glue in the center.  Use a clip, such as a double-pronged alligator clip, to hold in place (this is very handy!).

4.  Remove clip once glue is dry.  Place a small drop of glue on top of the ribbon, where the two ends meet, in the middle.  Fold in half, lengthwise, and hold in place with clip. 

5.  After the ribbon is folded over and glued in place, you will add another fold to the ribbon.  Place a drop of glue on the top of the fold, in the center of the ribbon, and fold back the top section of ribbon. Repeat with the bottom section of the ribbon.  Use a clip to hold in place.   



 

6.  After glue has dried, chose a contrasting ribbon to wrap around the center of your bow.  I always wrap it at least three times.  Before the last time, I drop some glue on the hair clip, center it on the ribbon, and wrap the contrasting ribbon around it.  Glue in place.  You can then sew the clip to the ribbon if you want to make it more secure. 

Ta-Da!  A finished bow!

Fancy Shmancy Hair Bows

Hello!  Welcome to my craftier side!  Instead of working on my class syllabi and lesson plans for this fall, I spent this afternoon letting my creativity (and ribbon) flow!  Tutorials will follow in subsequent blog entries!

I decided my girls need cute hair bows while they are still willing to wear them, so I picked up 10 rolls of ribbon, 1/2 off, from Hobby Lobby yesterday.  I had to stick with white, red, and black to match their school uniforms.  Here's an overview of my creations:

I've never made a headband before (that I can remember), so this took a little working and reworking.  Here is the bow that was sewn on top of the band: 

I let Lovely and Snugglebug each get a ribbon that best fits "them."  Guess which one picked the ladybug ;-)  These are attached to barrette clips.

These are attached to ponytail bands from the Dollar Tree.  Honestly, I don't know if I can repeat what I did here.  It took some finagling, but I think they turned out just wild enough in the end to be cute!

Last, we have some simple bows.  I couldn't believe I made these in less than 5 minutes each!

I have to say, making these reminded me that I'm still creative, and the more I create, the more ideas I get!  And, making these beat paying $4.95 for a scrunchy to match the uniform skirt!  I still have a ton of ribbon left, 3 flowers to use, and all of the clips, etc...and it all cost less than $40!

Kid's Room Chaos

Every feel like a change?  I've always felt like that when it came to furniture arrangement.  However, the small rooms in my home are extremely restrictive...I guess even houses resist change!

Here's what's going on:  I decided to clean out under the girls' bed in order to give them more storage for toys, etc.  I had a bunch of old baby stuff under there and it doesn't look like we're having any more babies, so it's (past) time to clean house.  But once I got started, I found this terrible smell...so I had to borrow my mom's carpet cleaner and get to work.  Now, I'm debating what on earth to do with this mess.  Any ideas?

The bed is full-size and was used by me, my sister, and my aunt.  It matches a corner table, a dresser, two nightstands (that we're using in the livingroom as a joint tv stand), a chair (that's being used in the dining room), and a desk with a bookcase (which is being used at my mom's house).  I don't want to get rid of the solid old furniture, but my rooms are considerably smaller than my parents' and grandparents' houses.

On a positive note, here are some projects I created last summer for the room that I'm still partial to:

No, they aren't L and S, as you've guessed.  I took these letters and let the girls pick which colors they wanted, painted various designs, glossed them, and stapled a pink ribbon on the back for hanging purposes. 

I found three hooks like these at Hobby Lobby and hung them above the bed lentghwise.  They are used for bathrobes and one cute purse in the middle.

Last but not least is my hair center creation.  I couldn't figure out what to do with all the girls' hairstuff, so I took a summer-y metal half-bucket and glued some whimsy purple ribbon to it.  The ribbon is perfect for barrettes and clips.  The flower on the front hold those little pronged clippies, the basket holds ponytail bands, and headbands rest nicely over the edge.  It's not fixed nicely like back when I first made it, but it's lasted really well, I think. 

Now, I just need to figure out what to do with the rest of the furniture in the girls' room, including a guinea pig & her cage.  Wish me luck!

Skipping Out

Yikes!  Sorry for skipping out on you all!  I didn't realize it has been that long since I've last posted.

I'm procrastinating right now, just a little more, before I begin working on my culminating project once again.  It's due August 1 to the actual readers, so I'm getting quite worried about it.  I have all sorts of crazy thoughts running through my mind right now, about how I need to finish, but how I might not really want to work anyway--but I think that's just a self-defense reaction due to my nervousness about teaching new students.  I'm always nervous when I start teaching a new class, but I love the feeling I get when I have a good session/class--when participation is high, I feel like I've driven points home, and I've actually contributed to the world by helping others and by being an example. 

Honestly, my CP is driving me nuts.  I haven't been able to sleep (I normally sleep like a rock), but I've been up every hour or so during the last week at night.  Not to mention the wombats doing cartwheels in my stomach--thud, thud, thud!  The problem is, as soon as this is over, I have to start planning the three classes I'm teaching this fall!  I want to get that out of the way as well because I'm a perfectionist.  I literally plan out every 10 minutes of class in a typed lesson-plan that is way more detailed than any others I've seen.  I know it will all be all right, I have faith, but I'm still feeling a bit rattled! 

Meanwhile, my house is a disaster, I feel like I need to go through/get rid of so much STUFF, and I would love to move to where I have no neighbors...but I must put all those thoughts on the back burner for now!

Ok, I'll be sane soon....maybe...meanwhile, enjoy your summer!  I've already begun buying school supplies and can't believe how fast time is flying!