Visits from leprechauns

We don't make a huge deal about St. Patricks day around here, but a few years ago my sister told me that they had a leprechaun come to their house in the night before St. Patricks day and turn their milk, eggs, and waffle batter green for breakfast the next day. I thought that sounded fun so we invited one to come to our house to do the same thing. The kids love it of course!

Friend Valentine Party

Ok, it might be too late to try this out this year before Valentines Day, but you definitely need to put it in your Valentine file for next year.

For our "ladies" night last night, the host had each of us make Valentines for everyone in the group and then we passed them out Elementary style. Then we each wrote what we admire about the person on their Valentine.

I really felt like I was in 1st grade grade opening them and reading all the nice things people wrote. I have the best friends!

As a mom sometimes you go through life serving and giving to other people and don't realize how much it means to have someone say something nice to you until they do. Then it really means a lot and you realize how blessed you are.

Thanks for the great idea Jess!

Can you spot the differences?

On Saturday we had our family picture taken at our Christmas party by my brother-in-law.So, I took these two photos and turned it into this: First, I put merged the babies face from one into the other since she was smiling in one. I also cropped, colorized, use the clone stamp tool to get rid of the plug and the stripe from the floor. I also blurred the line between the floor and the wall. I love Photoshop.

12 Days of Christmas

I made this "12 Days of Christmas" craft by using a 12 count mini muffin tin. I found this one at Bed, Bath, & Beyond for $4.99. It came in a cupcake kit. I saved the other things that came with it for my 2 year old to use with the kitchen she is getting for Christmas. I spray painted it red and then spray painted glitter over it. There are 12 Christmas activities you can do with your kids under each magnet. I also put magnets on the back so it sticks to the fridge. Each day, your child lifts the magnet and then does the activity listed. This one says, "Do a Christmas Craft." And each year you can mix up the order of the numbers so the activities are not always done in the same order. I picked things that we do every Christmas anyway. It's just a fun way to get your kids involved.

Simple Birthday Celebration

My family had a Christmas party yesterday and I was in charge of a little celebration for my mom's Birthday, which is today. I thought I would share what I did in case you need some simple ideas to honor someone in your life.

First, I made a three-minute DVD with pictures of her life put to music. Then we played a "Mom by the Numbers"-- Showcase Showdown Game. Basically I found about 12 questions that the answers were numbers about her life. Check out this website to look up facts about the year someone was born. IE, what was the cost of a home, cost of a car, average yearly wages, cost of a gallon of gas etc.

Then you can some personal questions like how many houses have they lived in, jobs have they had, doors at their house, pairs of shoes in their closet, etc. etc. Then you divide your group up into two teams and ask them these questions. The team that gets the closest without going over gets a point. And then at the end the team with the most points wins.

I also made a simple party favor out of moms favorite candy. I found a few boxes of these at the Dollar Store, and divided them into clear gift bags. (Kids are great at helping with this). Then I used the actual box of candy for the top. I cut them to fit over the bags, and then stapled a picture of my mom when she was 20 to it. Cute and easy. \

Christmas Card

I got some inspiration for my Christmas Card this year from my Creating Keepsakes magazine. They inspired me to think outside the box for my card this year. They had a layout with instructions for a Christmas tree made out of images of things you would see around your house at the holidays, ie, cookies, ornaments etc.

I thought it would be cute to use my kids eyes to make up the tree. Their instructions were for a paper version, but I thought I would save time and try to do it digitally. It probably took me just as long or longer to figure it out, but I finally did.

Sorry, I should have written down the instructions, and I probably couldn't do it again if I tried. Also in their magazine they had a list of Christmas quotes to use in cards and on layouts. Try something different on your cards this year. It's kind of fun!