Melted Crayons

I started collecting broken crayons last year and decided today was the day for the kids to make their own crayons! Take off all of the wrappers (I swear this takes the most time) and break into smaller pieces. Then put cupcake wrappers in a cupcake pan and fill with one layer of crayons of your choosing. JJ and I stuck to particular color palates, but the little ones picked whatever colors they wanted. Put in a 350 degree over for about 6 minutes, or until melted. After taking them out of the oven I put marbles on the sides (outside of the cupcake wrappers) to make hearts for Little Miss and on both sides for JT for bows. This way they also knew which was theirs. I then put them outside to cool and reharden.

Beautiful Brown Eyes: A Book

Growing up I was always complimented on my large, brown eyes, and it stuck with me. Through college one of my favorite songs was "Brown Eyed Girl." Corney, I know, but that's ok by me. John played it all of the time when he used to DJ too, so it has a lot of good memories attached it it. When JJ was little I ran across the book "Beautiful Brown Eyes" and I still love reading it to ALL of my brown eyed little ones. I definitely think finding personalized books for my kids is a big deal. Sure, "Goodnight Moon", "Runaway Bunny", "Stinky Face", "Where The Wild Things Are" and many other classics are rotated through my arsenal, but I would like the books my kids remember from childhood to be against the norm of what everyone else has. It will just be up to them to divide them up when they are old enough for their own kids.Thinking maybe it's time to introduce Molly to the song ;)

When using Pinterest - Glow In The Dark Bubbles - Ditzy

I saw a post from a friend about glow-in-the-dark bubbles:
http://pinterest.com/pin/212302569904449983/

I repinned it and of course bought glow sticks and bubbles. This is what is said to do.... "Cut open glow sticks & pour them into bubble solution. Glow in the dark bubbles. Summer nights have never been the same."

But, it didn't work. I think I was more disappointed than the kids! Oh, the bubble containers glowed just like the photo, but that was it. I posted on Facebook that it was a fail, and for friends not to bother to try it, because I knew of a few waiting for our results.

Then, I actually did what I should have in the first place, I clocked on the pin to view the actual link.

Come to find out, it was for a specific brand of glowing bubbles. It wasn't about just buying glow sticks and bubbles. On top of that, the poster said even those didn't work!

Now I know, don't just look at a pin and spend money to replicate it, actually READ the original link.

Rainbow Family

My cousin sent me a care package from Samoa, lovingly accepted with all the dried mangos, special macadamia Hershey Kisses you can only get in the islands, and some other island luxuries. Also enclosed was a book called "My Beautiful Rainbow Family." I cried the first night I read it to Molly before bed. Of course the story is fitting, but also it is what I have called our family before. Words written in a child's voice can have such an impact. Here are the important excerpts:

My Beautiful Rainbow Family - Joy Shouse
My beautiful rainbow family means so much to me,
Color is the most and least important thing I see.
It is most important because it is part of who we are,
It is least important because there's much more to us by far.....

We love not by color or by what we can see,
But by the innermost colors of my rainbow family.....

My family is a rainbow of colors and combinations,
From different states and different nations.
Beautiful skin tones of whites, browns, and blacks,
Like the colors of the crayons that come in huge packs......

We love each other so much and that loves gives me wings,
And when I think of my family, my heart truly sings.
But sometimes it is hard for others to understand,
How our different colors and love go hand in hand.
Some people may not understand how our family works,
They may think that our colorful family has lots of quirks.
And we do have quirks like all other families do,
But our skin color never gets in the way of our crew.
My beautiful rainbow family, what more can I say?
I love each and every one of them more and more each day.....

http://www.shousehousepublishing.com/My-Beautiful-Rainbow-Family-9780578005621.htm

When an ambulance runs code.... PULL OVER!

On the way to dropping Day off in a neighboring town this morning I didn't even make it through our own little town before seeing the flashing strobe lights of an ambulance. I pulled right over, and so did the car behind me. But do you know another 8 cars kept going, not letting the ambulance by! I was irate and told Day (still working towards getting his driver's license) that if I ever saw him do that I would ring his neck (ok, not really, but he would get a serious tongue lashing from me.) Seriously people, if the ambulance is running code, meaning lights and/or siren, MOVE. Get out of the way! Same with a fire truck or a police car. These people protect and save our lives, their jobs entail immediate response, and seconds can mean life or death. The lights aren't just pretty decorations, and the sirens aren't there just to blare your ears. They are meant to get your attention, they are meant to notify you to let them by. So please, next time, just move out of the way. I understand everyone thinks their time is important, but in their jobs, time is precious, it can literally mean the world to someone!

Bird's Nest Jewelry

I saw these months ago on Pinterest in a necklace, saved the idea, and just never went back to it. But, then a friend posted that she wanted them in earrings, but I couldn't figure how to do six beads to represent all her kids. Then I figured, 3 beads apiece. Yeah, such a revelation, the quick thinker I am. So, with her 30th birthday, I decided to her as part of her present. Another of her friends had the same great idea, but did as a necklace using silver, so at least they are different! I use 20 gauge wire, but others claim more luck with the smaller wires, about 24 gauge. Bend a small 90 degree turn at one end then place your beads on about a yard of wire. Bend the beads around so they make a circle of themselves. Hold the beads between your thumb and fingers and turn, wrapping the wire as you go. Too tight and it will move up the beads, too loose and you won't be able to them wrap between each bead. I wrapped the wire around the beads 6 times, but more is fine. Then wrap the wire in between the beads, around the wire nest part. I did this 3 times between each bead. Last is only to secure the last bit of wire. I applied an "O" ring on the nest itself and attached to a hook earring, though some prefer to make a loop out of the nest wire itself. I will absolutely be making more!

Welcome last day of school

I saw this idea online and decided to do for JJ, a welcome to summer declaration of no more school. Gotta love that it only cost $1.50 to make JJ feel special, that he isn't the only one looking forward to summer together! As soon as he broke through it and went in the house he started writing me a note in his summer journal about how much he likes it. I'm so lucky that my kids appreciate what I love doing for them!

Crayon Letter - Teachers Gift

Of course I waited until the last minute, as always, to do JJ's teacher's gift to give her tomorrow, the last day of school. Even hubby was impressed with this, but said that JJ and I were kissing up.
I cut the crayons using a kitchen knife, the original idea of using scissors didn't work. I decided to use all tips, the ends will be used later this summer as a project for the kiddies to make their own crayon shapes. I eyed the crayons to know where to cut by (I know some are more precise than myself and printed out the letter first to then know where to cut by) but I used the space between the C and R and then lined them up placing the top of wrapper next to the top of the crayon before the tip. With those decided I was able to see how much to cut for the longer ones in the middle and bottom, plus the smaller ones at the top. Once they were all cut I then glued them to the outside glass of a picture frame. The teacher's name is using sticker letters from my scrapbook bag.
I also made the teacher a lanyard for her ID. There were so many other cute things I had wanted to do, but we have had quite a busy time within our household! Hopefully she will like what I was able to do for her though!

We have more graduates!

After a lovely ceremony on the campus of our local University we officially have high school graduates! I hope Day and Shy know how proud we are of them, and also how blessed we are to share in their lives and accomplishments! I know any parent feels joy when their child graduates, but when Day told me last night that if it wasn't for us he probably wouldn't be there, it meant the world to me! Those are the moments that make parenting worthwhile!

JJ's graduates

When the curtains opened and I saw the sea of red, white, and blue graduation caps, I was so tickled how they turned out! I could not be happier that I had done them for everyone! We were lucky that the teacher saved us front row seats because she asked me to take pics of each of her kids for the parents that had taken off the day before and would miss it since it had been rescheduled for the fog delay, so I also got a good shot of JJ accepting his diploma. My little man is growing up, and it is a hard pill to swallow. I love each and every day, looking forward to his milestones, but I still mourn the days in the past that cannot be brought back except in memories.