A Fabulously Flawed Life

Now that the boys are older, eating out is a completely different experience. {{It's actually enjoyable - HA!}} Although the boys still find things to keep them entertained. This time it was the quarters we gave them for the little candy machines.  They had to eat their food before they could get a treat.  Little did we know they would be used for more menacing forms of entertainment in the meantime. {{swooning}} Yep, life is always entertaining with this crowd.  Thank goodness they're so cute!

It’s finally here! After months of soul searching, writing, and editing, I’m finally ready to launch my first e-Book: Moments that Endure are Memories that Matter . It’s a free and a quick read. It’s also jam-packed with real life experiences as well as tried & true strategies I’ve used for years. We can each turn around what is endured in our lives by embellishing life with fun celebrations and loving memories. Do you ever feel the need to create and you don’t know why? Do you see others lives as more memorable than your own? Would you like some simple ways to combine your talents to save time and create beautiful memories? I feel like if you know something, you should share it. So that’s my goal. I’m going to expose my simple strategies for making moments that matter for you, your family, and friends. "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln You see, to me Tip Junkie isn’t just...

Last week Proctor and Gamble flew me out to attend the Fabric Care University and edu-macated moi on the process of cleaning laundry. I was stoked! Finally I will get the ins and outs on how to get my whites white and stains out of my boys clothing.  Better late than never!  {{wink}} Friday night we all met up at a gallery for a little get-to-know-you party and our host was Tim Gunn from Project Runway! {{squeal in delight}} He was completely delightful and exactly how he is on the show; engaging, kind, and fabulous.  He did a quick introduction of Proctor and Gamble and Tide then surprised us with a challenge. That's right, we were divided into groups according to the colors on our name badges and then had 30 minutes to turn a plain white t shirt into something completely different and unexpected only using a few items and a glue gun from a bag on the counter. The pressure was on people!  I've watched every episode of Project Runway and I wasn't going...

This year I made the boys 'end of school year' t-shirts that thank their teachers on the front. I made Davis' smaller since he's now in Intermediate School. I told him he didn't have to wear it if it would make him uncomfortable. He ended up wearing it under another shirt to school.  During the donut party he took his other shirt off and wore it proudly.  {{giggle}} On the back of the shirts it said, "Look out 4th grade, here I come!"  I got this idea from Kristy when I featured her on Tip Junkie. We went to Davis' donut party. And Dylan's game day and Ice Cream party. I  had the "Welcome to Summer" banner all ready for them when they came home from school. This little man helped me make it and was terribly bummed that I didn't have green paint.  {{his favorite color}} The boys always enjoy running through it to mark a new day of sleeping in, lots of computer games, the pool, and play dates with friends....

This year for Lisa's birthday I tried to pull out all the stops. It was a crazy week as it was the kids last week of school with all of their events, ceremonies, and traditions. But we made it work. I cooked Lisa's birthday luncheon from scratch! This is a huge labor of love since I hate to cook and I'm terrible at it. I wanted to show Lisa how much I appreciate her and our relationship. She's an amazing sister. I also made her a birthday board game customized just for her! You can find the tutorial over on Executive Homemaker if you're interested. We learned a ton about Lisa and laughed so hard. Her cards and presents were fabulous.  We were in stitches pretty much the entire afternoon. Lisa got a head messager that gives you the weirdest sensation.  Lisa loved it... but I couln't stand it!  I almost smacked poor Elise as it sent tremors down my entire body.  Seriously, they should use that instead of waterboarding to torture peopl...

Since the day I featured these beauties on Tip Junkie; I just knew that one day I would have to make them. Well it finally happened last week!  I printed out this darling apple circle card which comes with a coordinating tag. {{squeal in delight}} I made the teachers end of the school year appreciation gifts - Crayon Initial Plaques. They were so much fun to make and were really easy. (I printed their names on textured white paper, cut the crayons, and hot glued them to frames. I took out the glass but you could also use shadow boxes.) Davis had the best year thanks to this lovely lady!  Seriously, these four angels were brought into our lives at just the right year.  With Jason traveling and getting his MBA this year has been so hard on me.  I took SO much comfort knowing that the boys were in good hands. Being this was Davis' first year in Intermediate school - it could have been disastrous.  Instead he said it was amazing! You can just tell...

The boys and I have been making our way through this book, E is for Ethics . I won it at the Fishful Thinking Booth at Mom 2.0 and the boys love it. Each chapter is really short maybe 2-3 pages and they focus on one moral dilemma. At the end it asks questions that you can discuss with your kids.  It's been a really easy way to arm my kids with solutions of difficult situations before they happen. It's also been fun to bond with them and snuggle at bedtime.  Now that they're getting older, I have to find excuses.  {{wink}}

You will never guess what I'm doing today! I'm at the Fabric Care University. I'm hanging out with Tide and Tim Gunn. {{dude!}}

I've been wanting to get the boys in martial arts for years.  We finally have some free time and some extra dough so I jumped at the opportunity to sign them up. I'm hoping it will arm them with some new skills, physical discipline, and self-esteem. So far it's going great! Not only do they look uber handsome in their uniforms, they're taking it seriously and learning a lot. I can't tell you how proud of these two I am. They've come a long way and are still the best of friends. I'm honored the Lord thought I would have what it takes to raise them. I had serious doubts for many years. The more responsibility I give them - the more they thrive. It's so fun to see.

Somehow we came up 6 pills short of the boys medication this month. {{drat!}} Luckily we ran out the day of the boys doctors appointment. So, instead of sending them to school unmediated {{unfocused and completely silly}} I decided to embrace the crazy and take all the boys to Chuck E. Cheese.  It was the loudest place I could think of where they wouldn't stick out, they would blend in. I was so bummed when we got there and I realized that I had left my camera charging at home.  But we were able to get some fun pictures when we got back. What could have been a very frustrating day for all of us, turned into a Doctor Ditch Day full of games, tickets, and prizes.  We all had a great time and turned lemons into lemonade.

I am hosting the 3rd Annual Birthday Bash June 14th – 19th with fabulous prizes and over 120 birthday party ideas and tutorials. I’d love for you to be included: Do you have a birthday party file or printable you’d like to share with other mothers?  Submit it so we can all save time and enjoy it too. Submit your birthday party blog posts so I can feature you and inspire others. Would you like to promote your handmade products by participating in our giveaways next week?  Then fill out this quick form . YAY!  It's actually my favorite week out of the year as I feature the most creative and cool parties.  You know how I like a party.  {{wink}}

Dylan tripped over Davis and he ended up getting hurt. Being Davis, he cried and was hysterical as his toe nail was pulled off. Dylan felt terrible and apologized but Davis couldn't forgive him right then. The next morning I woke up to see this sweet apology from Davis on the refrigerator. It was a proud moment as a parent.

Yes, I believe in evolution. Not the kind where we have evolved from monkeys, but the kind that slowly happens over time as you overcome your trials and find your purpose in life. I'm an "all or nothing" kind of gal. So when when I first started blogging three years ago, my goal was to make my blog as close to my real life as possible. Well, as my blogs and sites have evolved my free time has too. I was no longer able to keep my goal for my personal blog and with that came consequences. Since I couldn't blog the way I wanted to - I went private. Since going private, I have really missed the "deadline" that sort of comes when being accountable for updating a blog. I've actually missed a lot of the perks of having a personal blog. Therefore, I decided to completely reinvent it to reflect myself as I am now - and stop trying to keep it to where I was at in 2007. So it's out with the old... and in with the new thanks to Kreated by Kelsey who d...