Wooden Treasures

There are many reasons that I love Snohomish, and barn sales are one of them.  Farms will clear out the barn items, dusty and cobwebbed.  I found this wooden fruit crate along with several others and purchased them for $3 a piece.  I used all of them as shelves in the dining room, and this one holds my garlic.  I added some hooks for herb or seed drying.  What you see is from last year, I didn't want it to be empty.  Spearmint, catnip, and a fiery red sunflower loaded with seeds for this year.  I usually get the garlic braid from the market in Seattle.

This treasure was tangled in a mess of overgrown trees in the back yard when we bought this house.  I loved it so much I brought it inside.  It had clearly been out there for years, and was getting weathered.  Who knows, maybe it was only a month, considering our wet weather.  It's safe, now.

This was a fun find, too.  Kids in tow, we rummaged through a large old church that was full of junk.

Not so old, this was purchased at Ben Franklin.  I couldn't help it, it has apples on it.  We have an ancient apple tree.  This holds the pens at the sign in and out station.   I am always on the hunt for wooden treasures.  The older and more interesting, the better.   Happy weekend, all!

Each Story Has A Lesson

Good old Dr. Seuss.  This book is a great tool in teaching kids to try something new.  I'll bet that this book has been read at least 20 times in the past year, and it always holds their attention.  They can't wait to get to the part where he actually TRIES the green eggs and ham.  It seems like they even hold their breaths at that point. :)

We have eaten green eggs and ham in the past in reference to the story.  Last year I made ONLY green eggs, and several of the kids refused to eat it.

This time I wised up and made most of it the regular way.  Saint Patrick's Day was the perfect excuse to make some green ones.

It's a bit blurry, but everyone had a spoonful of the green eggs.  They were excited to try it, just like the guy in the book.  It amazes me how a bit of food coloring can really confuse the senses.   Some of the kids believed that it tasted different. :)

A Tune To Brighten Your Morning

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! We have a bunch of green children running around here, and it just happens to be a birthday as well. I have a Celtic play list filling the air, and this song is on it. It goes well with the smell of corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot. Today the kids will be searching for tiny green coins, they just don't know it yet. :)

The Bright Idea

They couldn't turn their little eyes away!  One is even taking pretend photos with the view finder.   Aiden purchased the long noise maker balloons with the pump at Target for $2.99 or something close to that price.  The pump is great, no out of breath adults here.  When the balloon is full and released from the pump, it flies through the air and whistles, bringing laughter and many requests for more. 

This day was different, however.  They instead chose to use Adams boot, and just pump up the balloon inside of it.  I don't know why, but this kept them busy and happily congratulating each other for all of their free time.  They each took turns doing the pumping.  A dirty boot + balloon and pump= entertained children!

Good Use For Small Jeans

One of my favorite blogs posted this idea to use up the extra jeans we have in our closets.  I must have 4 or 5 pairs that I always think someday I'll fit back into, although not likely.  I gained a clean 10 pounds when I turned 31, and it has clung tightly and become a part of me. 2 years later- time to hack up those jeans and move forward.  The link Cool Jean Purse shows a different and much easier version.  The photo above, is what I ended up with, times 3.  Three anxious little girls waited patiently to pick out their own buttons, and were happy to stuff extra fabric inside when I didn't have anything cool to put in the purses.  All three took about an hour.  I used the jeans inseam for straps.

I just took my skinny pants, and chopped off the bottom of each pant leg.  Simple.  Resourceful, and now I don't feel like I have to fit into them someday.  Goodbye, mean jeans- you don't hold power over me anymore!

Look where 'Diamond" was found recently, with "Chick" tucked safely under a blankie for a nap.  If you don't know the story of "Diamond", Here it is!  He is still floating all over the place.  "Chick",  however, has been disassembled.  We use our beanbags all of the time. 

Belittled Human Acheivement

God has created such beauty for us to look at, and here we are in a world of countries, each fighting to achieve the best of everything.  Largest cities, most money and power, strongest army,  on and on and on.  With a swipe of His mighty hand, human achievement belittled to mud and mess.   What is most important in your life?  I see this disaster in Japan as a bold reminder that nothing of this world is worth anything.  It's all meaningless, and we are not to grasp onto it (the world) in our attempts to feel worth or a sense of entitlement or safety.

God brings peace, and if it takes a terrible disaster like that in Japan to get people to realize He is real, so be it.  Praying for them, praying for us all.
Here is a link that shows satellite photos of Japan before and after the earthquake/ tsunami.  Powerful.
From The New York Times

Boys' Room

Adam  had already moved the furniture to the middle of the room so I could get started.  Maybe it's hard to see the paint color here, but it's kind of gray.  I don't like it because I think it looks purple.  Boys and purple do not mix, and it has been bugging me for 2 years.

This is where they had the TV.  Lucky boys- they are spoiled, really.

Within 10 minutes of discussing what to do with all of the games and TV stuff, we found this entertainment center on Craigslist for $10.00.  Now that's my kind of deal!

I love the green walls.  Lucky for me, I went to Target after the painting was complete to purchase a rug and curtain for the closet.   There was still paint on my hand, so I had no problem coordinating. The curtain covers up the closet miscellaneous nicely.  I also purchased some under the bed storage containers to store all of the boys toys.  Out of sight= happy mom.  They enjoyed the clean feeling of their room.

New rug, and no, Aiden still never wears a shirt. 

It turned out well that all of the furniture in the room is wood.  They have some cool Mario posters that need to go back up, and I plan on purchasing a lamp to go on top of the entertainment center.  Not sure about curtains, what do you think?