A List Maker's Life

Stuck on You: Valentine Card How to #GlueNGlitter

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:58:00 +0000

You know how some people get crazy excited about shopping and decorating for Christmas the day after Halloween? Well, that is not really my thing. However, when it comes to Valentine's Day I am ready to start the preparations on December 26. As soon as the tree is cleared out of the living room and the nativity packed away I would be happy to dig out my favorite angels of love, search for card ideas, and fill a dish with conversation hearts.

{the Valentine aisle in the store...how can you resist?}

{see. even Gabe "wants"}

Our family has a little Hidden Hearts tradition and this week I have been busy sewing new stuffed hearts so each person in our family now has their own pattern to search for on Valentine's Day. Anne Hope and I also enjoyed an afternoon with Steam-a-Seam making matching heart shirts for the four kids, similar to last year. Last night we put together a card to accompany a simple heart day surprise for Gavin and Anne Hope's teachers.

With my experience in the classroom I know that midway through the school year the markers aren't quite as bright and glue sticks are running low, if they haven't dried out all together because the caps are missing. In putting together the teacher's cards I wanted to come up with a Valentine sentiment that worked to give with a new set of glue sticks for the class.

Before making my shopping list, I took inventory of the supplies I already had in my scrapbooking stash and what I might still need for this project.

{have I mentioned how much I enjoy list making}

Materials:

~blank cards and/or cardstock to fold into cards {I used a 3.5x5 size card}

~blank envelopes

~scissors

~paper trimmer {I pulled out both of mine, but really I was able to do all of my cuts on the 12x12 trimmer}

~corner rounder
~heart punch {or you can freehand cut your heart}

~Elmer's CraftBond Repositionable Glue Sticks

~Elmer's CraftBond Tape Runner
~Elmer's Sparkle Glue - shimmer colors

~Elmer's doodling pen

~colored cardstock

{sorry for the terrible camera phone pictures}

Time to craft the card:

1. Begin by punching out a heart or two from the cardstock color of your choice.

2. Cut a black rectangle to fit the base of your card within approximately 1/4 inch off each side.

3. Cut a 1x3" rectangle for the message/title bar from a piece of which cardstock.

4. Cut a rectangle just a touch larger on each edge, to mount the title bar on, from the same color as the hearts.

{here is what you will have so far}

5. With a bottle of Elmer's standing in front of you for inspiration, or just a little imagination, free hand cut a tip out of orange cardstock and a swirl of glue from the white cardstock.

6. Cut a 1.5x3" rectangle for the body of your glue bottle from a turquoise blue cardstock

7. Cut a 3/4x3" rectangle from a piece of dark blue cardstock. Cut this piece again 1/3 of the way down to make the 2 dark blue pieces you see in the picture below. I purposely left these a little uneven in hopes that it would look a bit more whimsical.

8. Use a corner rounding tool to round off the edges of all of the blue pieces cut to build the glue bottle.

Now it's time to get down to the #gluenglitter part of the project!

9. Arange and attach all of the pieces using the tape runner. Add the glue to look like it is flowing out of the bottle and add the heart {or hearts} wherever you would like a little extra cute.

10. Use the black marking pen to add a message or title to the card. {I always write on the white card before sticking it on in case of a mistake. It is easy to flip it over and try again if it doesn't already have tape on it}

11. Use the same black pen to add stitching marks or dimension lines to the cut pieces of the design.

12. Embellish the streak of glue with a line of silver or white glitter glue.

{stuck on you}

{let's stick together}

13. Before delivering these cards to their teachers the kids are going to help me build a stack with the new glue sticks and tie it all together with a ribbon.

Now you are all ready to clean up your ~~sticky~~ not so sticky project. Unless of course you have cardstock scraps you are anxious to use for another card...

Happy Heart Crafting,

Disclosure: This Elmer's Walmart, Glue 'n Glitter {#GluenGlitter} shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias For an even more detailed explanation of the materials, our shopping trip, and the step by step directions you may enjoy the album I put together on Google+

Mission Tuition: an online resource

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:06:00 +0000

With four young children saving for college is no small feat. Since Kevin works for a private college we are fortunate to have an amazing tuition reimbursement program to help with the cost. Yet, it is always great to find other options for setting aside funds for higher education expenses.

I was interested in learning more about Mission Tuition when it was brought to my attention. It appears to be an online service that allows families to earn college savings by shopping at participating online stores.
Restaurant.com, 1.800 Contacts, Groupon, Gap, and Overstock.com are just a few of the participating merchants that our family already shops with. It is free to participate and there is no limit to the amount of savings each family may earn.

It seems like a effective way to make the most of our online shopping money, so I was anxious to give it a try and pass the information on as well. To read more about the specific details of the program you will want to check out Mission Tuition's Frequently Asked Questions page.

Cho-co-LA-tay!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:10:00 +0000

Enough with that chilly slush business!
This weather calls for a yummy mug of hot cocoa.

This afternoon while it iced and snowed outside, my kitchen helpers were busy inside stirring together a GIANT batch of chocolate goodness.

Here is our favorite homemade hot cocoa recipe:

1 box of powdered milk
1 6 oz. non dairy creamer
1/2 lb. powdered sugar
1 lb. Nesquik (we use a generic version)

Use 1/3 cup of dry mix for each 1-1/2 cup of hot water.

In quantities like this hopefully it lasts through ~~Janaury~~ the winter.

Slush!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:09:00 +0000

It is January 13 and we are just getting our first significant winter event of the season {and I am NOT complaining about the delayed arrival}. In all the counties surrounding ours schools were closed today because of the icky roads. Anne Hope's teacher jokingly commented that Ottawa County must have gotten newer, bigger plows so we won't get snow days anymore.

As Gavin and I talked about the weather on the way to school I told him I was really surprised he didn't get a snow day. In the way only a second grader could he explained to me that it was because it wasn't a snow day it was a slush day. "See how the flakes are coming down quickly like rain and they are heavy? They dissolve instantly on your windshield too. That means it is not true snow. It's sleet! When it hits the road it becomes slush." Whether or not I agreed with him on that one as I drove through 5 inches of white stuff is up for debate. Thankfully we all made it safe and sound to our destination. Anne's teacher wrote me a quick email later in the morning to tell me that only 9! kids made it to school today and almost all of them called in "due to the ~~sleet~~ snow."

So, while a steamy mug of hot chocolate is my drink of choice this afternoon, I have a slush recipe to share with you {mostly because I promised to share it soon}. Cheers to adding a little slush to your day...

Cherry Slush

3 small cherry jello packages

4 cups of boiling water

Dissolve jello in water

Add:

2 1/2 cups sugar

10 cups cold water

1 can Hi-C cherry drink

1 1/2 cups lemon juice

Freeze.

Scrap it out and add 7-Up, Sprite, Squirt {or Diet Coke :) }

...and cheers to the weekend.

This recipe is linked up this week at Sarah's Recipe Roundtable.

Kairos

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:03:00 +0000

This week I've flown between appointments, classes, and meetings with a car full of supplies for changing clothes and diapers, entertaining babies in car seats, and feeding four on the go. Occasionally throwing someone in or out of the car with a back pack, a piano bag, an afo, or a monster truck. {You get the picture, I'm certain you live it too.}

I can't help but think this isn't what I intended when assigning our life the tagline Make the Most of Every Moment. Yes, every moment from 7AM-9PM was booked with commitments outside of our home. Even a minute delay during transitions or traffic jams was reason to throw off the arrival times for the rest of the day. Surely, filling every moment with events - even good events that are intended to stretch, teach, and refresh - is not the same as making the most of every moment.

All the while I wished to drop it all and really make use of my moments by doing the things on my heart: saying yes to a simple request to play their new game, dropping everything to drive across the state to share a hug with someone whose pain is always on my mind, sending a card to a little sweetie {and his momma} who survived his first surgery, visiting Gram just to visit and talk about the good books I wish I had time to read right now, standing in support at the back of the memorial service for a brother who was loved and his sister who grieves, sitting in a coffee shop with friends encouraging one another in whatever stage of the journey we find ourselves on. The intentions themselves just are not enough.

This morning, along with the snow delivered to slow us down, a friend delivered the perfect message to my facebook inbox. In Kairos time. She shared a post titled Don't Carpe Diem. There were so many lines to love in the post, but the real lesson for me was in the difference between Chronos time and Kairos time. I could never write it as eloquently as Glennon has, but basically are we living according to the time on the clock or according to the divinely appointed time we've been given? She explains Kairos time as the moments when time stands still.

The moments when you know you are doing just what you know to be right. Those are the "most moments" I want to make.

The true most moments of my week were those where I looked right into my childrens eyes as they told me about their newest lego creations. When I filled the spray bottles with food coloring for them to paint in the snow even though I knew it would require extra clean up, because as they squirted and giggled and built pink snowmen I couldn't help but hope those will be the moments they remember. Like magic.

Not the magic that changes every light green to get us to one last appointment on time, but the magic that erases those hectic moments in our mind and makes room for remembering the moments where we really lived most.

Bringing Back the Date Night

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:55:00 +0000

2012 promises to be the year where we put the date night back into our agenda.

In the last two weeks Kevin was off work and we were able to enjoy some laid back time together at home. We also had the chance to spend time with other couples, brushing up on our card playing {and holiday munching} skills. We discovered the game Wizard, kicked some Nick&Lisabooty in hands and feet, and learned how to golf thanks to a great visit with Scott and Rach.

We even kicked off our New Year on a double date, our first NYE without kids since January '05 {even then we didn't leave the house}. This year we went to a Griffin's hockey game followed by the greatest indoor firework show in West Michigan. Since it was New Year's and all I figured the event could stand a bit of glitter. Anne Hope helped me sparkle up a pair of shoes, following a tutorial found on Pinterest, for the occasion.

Today we are back into our routines, but the date nights don't end with this vacation. As part of Kevin's Christmas gift I put together The 12 Dates of Christmas. More appropriately named The 12 For Sure Dates of 2012.

There is one envelope for each month. Each stuffed with all the goodies for a theme date as well as the gift cards to pay for whatever activities are suggested. Many of the certificates are restaurants or entertainment venues I found on Groupon, Try It Local, and Daily Deals. I also lined up the sitters ahead of time for some of the dates. No excuses, right?

January's date is a bit of a remake of the night that Kevin proposed.

February we will enjoy an afternoon as tourists in our own town with a browse through the downtown bookstore, a treat from the candy store, and a college basketball game.

April's date, in honor of the Grand Rapid's LaughFest is our own 3 Act Laugh In. This date is a spin off of the one on Love Actually.

In August, in celebration of our 12 anniversary, we will visit some of our favorite stops from our South Haven honeymoon.

This date is for November - a wacky bowling game where each throw will be determined by the color of the Skittle drawn from the bag.

We are both looking forward to more time together, more laughs, and more new memories!

Happy 2012!

Our 2D Time Capsule

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:55:00 +0000

While blog hopping for holiday ideas I came across a New Year's Time Capsule I thought was great. Kelli and her family fill a jar with small momentos of their year to celebrate their memories. I really like the option for including 3D items, but because of our lack of storage space I think we'll stick with the 2D version we have been creating together for the past 6 years on New Year's Eve.

We sit together, with a stack of old magazines from the year, and cut out any words or pictures that remind us of things that happened in the previous year for our family, in entertainment news, or in world news. I love the conversations that come out as we reminisce about our favorite - and not so favorite - moments from the year.

However, there are times that we have trouble finding just the right picture for some of our events. So, on the suggestion from Kelli Crowe's time capsule I think I will leave out an empty jar this year to collect cut outs, pictures, and ticket stubs as they come in to the house so they can easily be added to our collage at the end of the year.

2011 Collage

On the back of each year we each write a Wish, a Hope, and a Dream for the new year. This is one of my favorite traditions for sure.

2012 Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:47:00 +0000

Katie:
~Kevin and I will take our first plane ride together
~Taking 2 more grad classes in 2012 will make me itchy to get back in the classroom.
~No Royal baby yet in 2012 for Will and Kate
~The price of gas will be over $5/gallon by late spring

Kevin:
~Much to everyone's surprise, the price of gas will go down
~There will still be snow on the ground at my birthday (April 13)
~The Packer's will win the Superbowl
~The book Unbroken should be made into a movie.

Joint Predictions:
~Obama will win a 2nd term, no contest
~Gabe will take his first steps before summer

Gavin:
~We will take a train trip to Chicago
~I will play baseball and soccer again
~We will get a pet goldfish
~I will meet more friends
~I will get a Wii game for my birthday in June

Anne Hope:
~I will learn something new in school
~I will go to American Girl again

Friends & Family:
~Matt Lauer will leave the Today show
~The Kardashians will finally go away

More Hope. More Courage. More Joy.

So Long 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:38:00 +0000

As the year ends, we like to take a look back at the predictions we made on New Year's Day as part of our annual tradition. We played it pretty safe with many of our predictions as we welcomed 2011, so for the most part we were correct!

However, we did not predict that we would welcome 9 new members into our extended family in 2011. Nor did we expect to say a difficult "goodbye for now."

Although we are more than happy to say so long to this year, we are also thankful for every day we woke up together, every giggle, every lesson, every milestone, and every unexpected blessing.

Katie's Predictions
~Anne Hope will conquer two-wheel bicycling

And she did on the first day of Kindergarten!

~She will also be talked into trying soccer and will love it

She played Smart Start soccer and is looking forward to giving the team a try in the spring.

~Two of our boys will kick their bad habits

So, we kicked the paci, but found a thumb. Seriously!

~No shunt for Gabe in 2011 - we are hopeful!

So thankful to say NO SHUNT in ’11!

~Gabe will stand unassisted by next Christmas

He is so close. Holds on to something one handed and cruises his way around our living room.

~Sarah Palin: All hype with no follow through on a bid for the White House

True.

~Cars Movie 2 will be the talk of the summer for Mr. Gavin

It was a bigger deal for Gibson, but we all enjoyed it.

~Our front yard will eventually see a For Sale sign of it's own

Eventually….although our kids may be teens before then.

~Patience will be tested.

Like with a broken washer, dryer, dishwasher, tub, kitchen sink, truck, and more.

~Insanity will be too insane and will collect dust on the shelf

After 9 months of dust collecting we were just searching for it…so a friend could borrow it;)

~Hours will be wasted on You Tube and Facebook that would better be spent on Twitter...just sayin'

:)

Kevin's Predictions
~Under the direction of a new coach, Hope's basketball team will finish barely above 500.

Hope’s basketball team actually did fantastic under their new leadership

~Gas prices will hit 4.50

Pretty close during the summer, but thankfully prices are in the $3 range now.

~Republicans will put forth an African American candidate for president

Yeah, and now we all know how that worked out – yikes!

~Lions make the playoffs

Wow, a Christmas Eve miracle!

~Tigers make the playoffs

So fun to watch!!

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

{a little gift for you, I thought it was to adorable to resist}

Cherish Hope

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:16:00 +0000

hope is a conversation

hope is a promise

hope is a dream

hope is a wish

hope is a river

my hope is built on nothing less

everything rides on hope now

hope is rising

hope is found

hope is an anchor

hope is whsipering

Hope is born!

Happy Christmas Eve.

Mipsy on the Move - day 24

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:54:00 +0000

Me: Who ate the last 2 cookies?
Gibson: Mipsy did!

Kevin: Where did the batteries for the remote go?
Anne Hope: Mipsy took them.

Hmmm...now the elf has become the scapegoat.

The Mipster looks more than happy to hop aboard the fast train out of town - with no plans to return until next December! {Riding the coal train. Ironic? I think not!}

Chugga, chugga, choo, choo
Merry Christmas to you!

Christmas Quiet Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 02:54:00 +0000

The quiet boxes we put together for this week were a bit more like a learning center in a box than the typical free exploration I have been going for with the idea. Still, they were a perfect diversion for the older two while the babes got their much needed naps this week! I will admit that I looked forward to playing the quiet box activities with Gavin and Anne Hope just about as much as I looked forward to nap time.

{Christmas Trivia Cards & a Lite Brite Tree counting game}

To play the game, each child had a dish of Lite Brite colored pegs (we counted out 30 each for each game). On each turn they rolled the dice and put that many lights on their tree. The first person to empty their bowl was the winner.

{Puzzles cut out of Christmas cards, puzzleball, and Catch the Gingerbread Man Game}

{action shot - Catch the Gingerbread Man}

We also played this game in reverse. Each player started with 5 gingerbread men and the first player to find a place for each of their men on the grid was the winner.

The Puzzleball brought on an amazing show of cooperation - which was otherwise rare in our house this week.

{Christmas finger puppets, pattern block Christmas designs, sorting trees}

The matching tree activity is more age appropriate for Gibson. We used the colorful trees to play a Christmas version of Spoons. The large trees were the spoons and the little trees were the cards we passed and matched.

On Monday we went to the Critter Barn Live Nativity; no one had their rest time. However, our Monday box was stuffed with filler activities that we have pulled out whenever a distraction is needed. Today we made Gingerbread Glyphs and took turns reading and telling our own gingerbread stories.

Gavin is also working on a Christmas Tree Coordinate Graphing Page.

If there is any time tomorrow I have the Roll a Reindeer game printed and ready to try!

Christmas is one of those times when there are far more clever ideas I would love to try than there is time for actually doing them!

Setting the Christmas Table

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 02:18:00 +0000

My mom taught me to appreciate a special table for a special occasion. Seeing the way she has creatively decorated her dining area on our birthdays and holidays is a highlight of the meal. She pays attention to place cards and distractions for the little ones at the table, and table favors are almost always a part of the ambience. It is lovely.

In the past we have had a party with extended family on Christmas Eve. This year we celebrated with them {and another beautiful table} earlier in December, so we are excited to plan a special Christmas Eve in our own home with our immediate family.

I would like to see the Christmas Eve meal be colorful, playful, and kid friendly - you know Birthday Party, Night Before Christmas, Visions of Sugar Plums-ish. I am thinking of filling various sized tall vases with red and green M&Ms, candy canes, and lollipops for our centerpiece. My inspiration for this dinner party came from a video tutorial Kris put together a couple years ago.

Here are the paper products we have to work with for Christmas Eve...

On the contrast I would like to set a fancier, holly and ivy type, table for our Christmas morning brunch.
Here are some of the pieces I have to work with, but I am still on the hunt for a focal point in the center of the table.

The simplicity of the holly leaf place cards from Martha Stewart would work well with the paper products I have chosen.

Flowers always make a beautiful table, right? Although, my first instinct with flowers for Christmas would be the traditional Poinsettia,

I really prefer the look of this bouquet featuring redberries, crysanthumums, and roses.

I don't suppose any businesses are making last minute Christmas Eve flower deliveries???

Do you host a Christmas meal in your dining room? Tell me about your table.

Dressing my Guys for the Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:37:00 +0000

While picking out clothes for Anne Hope is delightful, it is a team venture. The boys on the other hand pretty much give me complete control in the outfit building department. With three boys in our home we have tubs and tubs of boys clothing labeled by size and season. It is rare that Gabe gets something brand new to him, but I still do enjoy browsing online for the latest and greatest trends for handsome baby boys!

{Gabe, Christmas 2011}

{Gabe, Christmas Party 2011}

{Gibson, Christmas 2009}

I must admit I was a little disappointed that Gabe's waistline was a bit too Santa-like to wear this cute matchy, matchy outfit.

This casual striped tee from the Highland Holiday collection looks like it would be a cute shirt for our two littlest guys to share.

{Gavin, Christmas 2009}

{Gibson, Christmas 2010}

{Gavin, Christmas 2010}

I guess Gavin and Gibson haven't grown much this year since both of them have already encored the shirts from the two previous pictures at our December '11 Christmas gatherings. Gavin's black sweater was a bit snug this year, I wish I would have seen the Kimono sweater below earlier in the season!

While I think it is great to see the guys all dressed up in their fancy clothes, my favorite of all their outfits are the snuggly, ready to cuddle by the tree, Christmas jammies!

{Gabe, Christmas 2010}

{Gavin, Christmas 2009}

As tradition would have it, I am really looking forward to seeing the boys model their yet to be opened 2011 Christmas pjs tomorrow night!

What is your favorite shop for handsome, and somewhat unique, clothing for boys?

Mipsy on the Move - day 23

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:57:00 +0000

Mipsy on the Move - day 22

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:28:00 +0000

Wishing, Imagining, Creating { with a Rapunzel Hair How To}

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:35:00 +0000

While I have nothing against the kids writing wish letters to Santa, it is not something I encourage or set aside special time for. {We do set aside time after Christmas to write a Santa thank you note and tuck it in our Letters to Santa pillow} In the past, Gavin has written a list that he hangs on the fridge, but an actual letter to Santa with an envelope and a strong desire to get it in the mail as soon as possible...not until Anne Hope. She is just learning to write and feeling empowered by it for sure. She wrote a special letter I wish I would have made a copy of before she rushed it out to the mailbox with a self drawn stamp and a large print To Santa: North Pole on the front. I did sneak a peek at her letter though and after reading it I couldn't help but want to rush out and buy all three simple pleasures that she listed!

Dear Santu,
Hi
I hav bin very good this yer
For Crismis I wood like princs colring pagus. a Santu hat. Rapunzl har.
Love, Anne Hope

I was especially excited to put together the Rapunzel hair. I have seen a few tutorials around the web for making these golden locks. My goal was to find instructions that would cover her hair {not just a clip on braid} and not require any sewing. In the end I created my own version of Rapunzel hair attached to a chunky head band.

Materials:
Head band
2 skeins of soft, fuzzy yellow yarn
pink ribbon
pink silk flowers

To begin, I set two heavy objects on each end of our 8 foot rug. I walked back and forth between the two posts looping the yarn around the ends. After stretching out all of the yarn, I used a small piece of left over yarn to tie it all together in the middle. Once tied I began to cut off the looped pieces at each end. When all of the yarn was cut into individual strands I picked up the whole deal by the middle.

The spot in the middle where I tied it served as the part, which I arranged on the headband and glued down.

I put the head band on my own head and tied the yarn into a loose, long ponytail. Next it was time to braid. Separating the yarn into three large, untangled {easier said than done} bundles I braided them and tied it off with one last piece of yarn at the bottom.

The ribbon and flowers are an optional add on, but I enjoyed decorating the braid by gluing in some pink and purple flowers.

I am pretty excited with the way it turned out and can't wait for Anne Hope to open this special surprise.

Do you have any special gifts you are looking forward to giving this Christmas?

Mipsy on the Move - day 21

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:51:00 +0000

{bff}

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas at the top of my lungs!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:19:00 +0000

Our kids are beyond worked up with the Christmas spirit
...or the pre-Santa jitters
...or the pleasesomeonesaveme whininess.

It was so noisy in mi casa today. I attended three jump-on-the-bed jam sessions and had to catch the rocking out on video to be sure Kevin didn't totally miss out. I'll spare your ears by not posting the video. I'm quite sure that every mom {or nanny} reading has already had their own share of noise today.

Oh, and they dance around all day with bells on the end of their elf hats. Of course.

Even our quiet time box wasn't very quiet. Yet, it was fun to watch Gavin and Anne Hope work together to measure ribbon, organize them by size, and make trees. When they finished their quiet box they worked together to dream up a design for a manger scene mural and to decide on the best materials for putting it together. We'll have to glue some big rocks to our paper because the manger was really a giant stone you know.

Gabe discovered the stairs to Gavin and Anne's room today. I happened to be up there the first time he proudly shouted Mom! He was already up the first seven steps. My first instinct was to freak and scramble behind him to prevent a fall, which probably would have caused a fall. Thankfully I bit my tongue and reached out to help him up the last few stairs so he didn't lose concentration. He was pretty pleased with his accomplishment and much of the afternoon was spent moving him away from the stairs. With the other kids at this stage I may have been slightly irritated by the constant redirection, but seriously! this movement will be celebrated, not grumbled about. When not racing for the stairs, Gabe is climbing up the couch to lookit the pretty gils {a.k.a. mommy's special angels}.

Oh, and all the diapers were in the dryer just when he was in need of a change. Of course. The rest of the kids thought the monster truck undies were pretty hilarious.

Cue hysterical laughing
A perfect segue to another noisy song.
Of course.

Mipsy on the Move - day 20

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:12:00 +0000

{stocking acrobatics}

Felt Flower Headband {How to}

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:54:00 +0000

After posting some pictures this fall of Anne Hope wearing a felt flower headband several friends asked for instructions on how to make the flowers. I am quite certain that with a little Google searching you might find a tutorial video with much better quality recording and lighting, but here is my attempt to show you how I made our hair pretties.

{Looking forward to seeing pictures of your beautiful N wearing felt flowers in her hair Sara;)}

Mipsy on the Move - day 19

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:16:00 +0000

{couch elf}

Dress Up

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:01:00 +0000

With three boys in the house it is a special pleasure to shop for a daughter.

Anne Hope loves a great outfit. Our many Christmas celebrations this month have given her great opportunity to modeling her pretties.

Although we typically lean toward traditional red & green when choosing holiday outfits, this year Anne Hope has also looked sweet in a festive lime green, pink, and gray outfit.

She has some seriously adorable options, if you ask me. However, I have still been eyeing some other cute dresses from the Tea Collection selection of girls dresses. The fall 2011 Tea Collection, which includes holiday party outfits, is called Modern Mexico. Contemporary Mexican folk art, florals, plaids, textures, and embroidery are combined in the colorful and festive designs of this collection. I am especially drawn to this red and pink combo.

The Paso del Tiempo Dress looks like it could easily be dressed up or down according to occasion, and it looks comfortable.

I also like the Marimba mini dress. It looks like a piece that would work well with some of the coordinating pieces already found in Anne Hope's closet.

Whether or not we buy any new dresses for this year's holiday wardrobe, it sure is fun to take them for a try on twirl!

Mipsy on the Move - day 17 & 18

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 16:31:00 +0000

{flossing in the medicine cabinet}

{building a pyramid with friends}