I Am No Martha Stewart....

but sometimes I do come up with fun, helpful ideas for the household.

That is what happens when you become a Mom.

You discover thing throughout your day that can help turn your home into a more functional place for adults AND kids.

A cohesive balance is always my goal.

My life right now is all about my girls. I have the REST of my life to have a totally clean, always ORGANIZED home with UN-MARKED WALLS, NO TRAIL of TOYS, Highchairs in the Way, Kids DRAWINGS displayed all over, and FINGERPRINTED everything!

My life, at the moment, is just perfect with all these things. So why not make the most of it and enjoy every minute! This is what I make a point to do each day.

So I have decided to randomly post some {NOT-SO-MARTHA-STEWART} tips I have created along my Mommy Journey. And, I would love it if you could chime in with any of your great ideas!

(I hate those Moms that HOARD all their good ideas and don't share!)

Because I am not NATURALLY creative or gifted in that sense, I need all the help I can get!

I am so envious of those of you who are BORN creative. Those of you who don't have to live the experience to create an idea, rather, the ideas just pops into your head.

You know who you are.

Although I am not claiming to be super creative or fancy, I would still love to share some fun HOUSEHOLD TIPS that I have invented along my way as a wife and Mommy. There are not many, but I will post them randomly in a series I like to call,

{I Am No Martha Stewart....}

Number One:
I quickly realized my TAPE that I was using to hang my girls' artwork on our stainless steel fridge was ruining it.

Annoying!

I can't have a fridge WITHOUT artwork.

It's never going to happen.

So this idea was born.

Just tape (along inside door) a long piece of cute ribbon and let it hang down the front.

Buy some tiny clothespins and clip your picture, artwork, etc (Steve's Half Marathon Number) to the ribbon and VOILA!

No more yucky sticky tape marks on the stainless steel that (I have learned first hand) does NOT come off!

Same concept, but on the cabinet.

So fun! And you don't have to stress about yucky TAPE marks all over the front of everything!

More tips to some soon....

And please let me know some of YOUR great tips!

Michael Jackson

Just a little tribute to one of the most talented singers (and dancers) ever.

Below is a video of one of my all time favorite Michael Jackson song.

(Hit Pause on Music Below before Watching!)

BEN

This song is said to be one of Michael Jackson's favorites, and it was his first #1 hit as a solo artist. Motown recorded him as a solo artist when The Jackson 5 stopped selling well.

Jackson was 14 when he recorded this. He became the youngest artist to top the US charts both as a solo artist and as a member of a group (The Jackson 5).

This was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. Jackson sang it at the ceremony in 1973.

And finally, the Michael Jackson song and video I remember the MOST growing up.

Me and my sisters would dance to this in our living room.

I remember it like yesterday!

THRILLER

No wonder I love scary movies now!

Tiny Dancer

My first experience with dance class.

One word to describe it...

Interesting.

Mia LOVED it.

But you could DEFINITELY tell I didn't know what was going on.

(I only played sports growing up so I often found myself a little confused on the DANCE procedures and rules.)

Mia's teacher was so WONDERFUL and Mia learned SO much.

Now we are trying to decide if she will do it again next year...

When I look at these adorable pictures, I sure hope she does!

My little TINY DANCER Mia.

How cute are their costumes?!

I love AQUA!

I made all the bows for her dance class.... so fun!

Daddy and his girls after the show.

Mommy and the big girls.

Mia and Sophie posing post-performance.


Back-Stage coloring action shot.



My favorite picture from the day!



I love SUNNY, SQUINTY SMILES!





The final picture at the end of the SECOND recital.


Mia was TOO cute on stage and I had no idea what to expect out of my SUPER SHY girl.


She SMILED up on the stage all lit up with lights and acted like she's been dancing for years!


I loved that her dance was to the Lion King rendition of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight!"

Too cute for words.

Mia's first DANCE experience brought out the GIRLY side of me for sure and I will ALWAYS remember her twirls in the bright white lights up on that big wood stage.

Nap Time Project

This fleece blanket was a fun nap time project I did the other day.

It was meant to be a nap time project in the fall or winter, but I just now got around to it.

In the MIDDLE of SUMMER mind you.

Oh well, with how busy I am lately with all these birthday parties, I am lucky to have done it at all.

It was super easy and would have been even easier if my GHETTO scissors would have CUT like they are supposed to.

Mia LOVED it!

How to do it:

Buy 3 yards of two different prints of fleece.

(JoAnn's had a stellar sale!)

Cut both prints to match up evenly.

Then cut the fringe (both prints at once...(this is why you need good scissors) as you want each fringe to match up) along both borders to your desired width.

I choose a wider width to get it over with more quickly given the fact I was getting a BLISTER from my scissors and had 6 kids napping and had only a given amount of time to get it done.

And finally knot both prints together at each fringe. I tied them together twice on each fringe.

The fleece won't fray AND the knots will never come out.... even in the wash! How neat is that?

This is a super FUN, CHEAP and EASY way to make something for your kids that they are INTO at this time in their life. (They have ALL kinds of different characters and themes in this fleece! Sophie can't wait for me to make her a "Cooby Doo" blanket.)

Since whatever characters or things they are CRAZY ABOUT changes so fast, it's nice to not have to spend a lot of money when in two weeks they will LOVE something or someone NEW!

Mia obviously has a THING for horses that, I am guessing (& hoping since we did her entire BEDROOM in a horse them), will last a few years.

So I chose this cute HORSE print for her.

I NEVER see GIRLY horse prints, only brown, green, blue and all very WESTERN-ISH.

Which, don't get me wrong, is super cute.

But when I saw this girly version I had to get it for her.

She loves it so much and uses it on TOP of her awesome horse QUILT seen in THIS POST.

It is the best feeling in the world to MAKE something for my girls.

It means so much to them that I take time out of my CRAZY BUSY life to do something just for them.

They notice.

They remember.

Try this today! And leave me a comment and let me know how it goes.

Gracie's 1st Birthday CUPCAKE Party

This past Saturday was Gracie's {FIRST BIRTHDAY} Party!

{CUPCAKE} themed & so much fun!

Look at Gracie in her cute {CUPCAKE} dress!

It was perfect with her cupcake bow!

I made cupcakes in {MASON JARS} for the adult party favors!

They turned out super cute!

Thanks for the idea Julie!

I attached cute cupcake fabric on the tops and tied them up with a ribbon.

I then added little cards saying, "Thank you for coming to my Cupcake party! Love, Gracie"

Please don't faint when you look at these.

Are they not the cutest things you've ever seen?

Cupcake sticks with GRACIE'S face!

{ADORABLE!}

Here is a close up!

Hi GRACIE!

I got these cute cupcake felt bags for all the kids to take home.

I filled them with candy and other goodies!

I made Mia and Sophie these CUPCAKE shirts to wear!

Along with matching bows of course!

I think I may be adding these to the shop this week.

They were just too cute :)

Sophie and Mia ready for the party!

Cutie cupcake sisters.

Mimo snuggling the birthday girl.




Gracie and Mimo

One of the CUPCAKE shaped cakes I made for Gracie.

The other "1" I made.

Yum!

Me and Gracie

Present time!

Reading a cute card.

Laughing at something!

The first bite of her cupcake!

Classic handful shove!

The final result.

Thanks to Grandpa she got a second cupcake.

Chocolate none the less.

WOW.

Thank you to all who helped us celebrate Gracie's {FIRST BIRTHDAY!}

I can't believe it's been a year and now she's a big girl!

However, she will always be my little {BABY}.

A Typical June Day....

at our house

looks a lot like this.......

{POPSICLES} on the wicker.

Swimsuit poses by our fabulous {KIDDIE POOL}

{SMILES} galore.

And some more.


Mommy jumping in the pool.

Daddy letting Gracie get in our pool for the first time ever!

Another pose with my girls.

{RAIN} showers from Daddy courtesy of our lovely hose.

More {SMILES}

Catching the {RAIN}

This is just a typical June day at our house.

Can you see why {SUMMER} is my favorite time of year?

Happy June everyone!

{Preschool Graduation}

Mia has {GRADUATED}

I can't even stand it.

Here is Mia before {BEACH DAY} at school.

She is officially a {BIG GIRL} now and will be in school FOREVER, 5 days a week, until she is 17 years old!

Then she will leave me and go away to college {TEAR}

However, she has reassured me SEVERAL times that she will NOT move far away from us.

She will be buying a house in our neighborhood to be close by.

She tells me this once a week.

No JOKE.

And, for the record, she wants NO CHILDREN because they are "a lot of work."

I hope she changes her mind.

I really want GRAND KIDS!

Moving on, here are some cute pictures from her {GRADUATION} night.

Aunt Adie and Cousin Meade brought Mia some flowers.

How sweet are they?!

And how cute is Meade? (And Adie of course)


Sophie chugging her 3rd glass of sherbet punch.

Note: Not a great idea when wearing an ivory dress.


Mia with Nana and Papa

Mia with Grandpa and Mimo

And finally, my little {GRADUATE}

I am so proud of my little Mia, yet astonished at the same time.

It is unbelievable that almost {FIVE} years has come and gone.

Flashes of her baby days hit me and stop me in my tracks.

For I will NEVER get those days back.

I hope she always knows how happy she has made me and how much I love her.

{MORE TEARS}