MIA, VBS, and a Feature

It is Vacation Bible School week for us, which means I am running around like crazy from the time I get up until noon every day! Being busy with VBS means my blog will be kind of quiet for the most part this week, and I will probably be MIA from your blogs this week too. Hopefully when VBS is over I will be able to catch up on all my favorites:)

Since I'm not sharing any of my own fun today, I figured I would send you over to check out someone else's great ideas! Mickey aka Monster Mama made some SUPER fun pudding pops the other day! Go check out her version inspired by rainbow pops , and while you are there look around at all the other great recipes she has shared. Her PB Brownies look amazing...and I know that if I made them they would completely ruin my diet:)

Ramblings...

Today is going to be a day of rambling...mainly because I don't have any projects to share:) So, here I go!

Can someone please explain to me why my kiddos have been up by 6:30 every morning since summer started. During the school year I was dragging them out of the bed at 6:30 all groggy and sleepy-eyed. Now they come bouncing down the stairs intent on waking me up! Seriously boys, it's summer...we can at least sleep until 7:00!!

Henry got his cast taken off yesterday. He has to wear a removable brace for the next two weeks, but that means he can swim and take a REAL bath! Thank goodness. Boys are stinky enough as it is...but add a cast to their arm and you double the stink factor!

Eli has been getting some strange bumps lately. I can't tell what they are....maybe bug bites?!? But they are multiplying at night, which makes me feel bad because that means that some kind of weird bug may be attacking my poor baby during the night. That or it is mosquito bites from being outside in the evening that we don't notice until the morning.


My craft room {aka the dining room that is rarely used for dining} is a TOTAL mess! There are at least three of my projects spread out on the table, Jason has some tools and supplies piled up in there, and all my stuff for Vacation Bible School is sitting on the table too! It makes crafting very difficult when you can't even find the table to set up on:)

We went and picked fresh veggies the other day. Sadly, all the veggies are still sitting in the buckets that we brought them home in. I really need to get them out and clean them before they get all gross...but I seem to be going through a lazy phase lately!

Now, we are off to the walking track and the splash pad! Henry is SUPER excited about playing in the water...and I am hoping I have lost another pound or two after all the walking I have done this week.

I hope I haven't bored you too much with my ramblings, and don't forget to hop over to Mimi's and check out FREE 4 All Fridays today:) I hope you all have a great {random} weekend!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

...or when you buy a bag of lemons at the produce stand...

Make Lemonade
We made The Best Lemonade Ever!
Really, that is what the recipe is called, and it was SUPER good!
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups white sugar
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
Directions
1.In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.
2.Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.
I made the water/sugar mixture and chilled it in the fridge.
Then the boys helped me squeeze the lemons. We used a collander over a bowl to catch all the seeds and pulp.
We added our fresh squeezed lemon juice to the water/sugar mixure and then everyone got a turn to stir the lemonade....

...even Eli!

Pour your yummy lemonade over ice and enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Family Day at the Farm 2010

Click here to see Family Day at the Farm 2009

End Table Redo

{*Alternately titled: The reason I love spray paint!*}

I picked up this end table at a flea market/antique store a few weeks ago. It cost $25. A little expensive considering the condition that it was in, but it was the perfect size and I loved all the details on the trim. I was hoping to find something under $20, but I went ahead a paid the $25 because I could see how great this table would be with a few coats of paint.

I used Zinsser Oil based primer {the stain blocker, bond coat kind} to do my first coat. This stuff is amazing....no need to sand down previously finished furniture, because it will stick to any glossy surface. The table is looking better already.
After the primer was dry, I put on a few coats of my favorite spray paint {Krylon Bahama Sea}! I loved the color, but it was just a little too bright.
So, I tried my hand at glazing for the first time. I took some left over black trim paint and watered it down...approximately one part water to three parts paint. I used a paint brush to apply the watery paint and an old tshirt to wipe it off. I made sure to let the glaze sit a little longer on the trim pieces so that it got into all the little details.

Once the paint was dry, the end table fit perfectly beside our new couch.

Our living room is {slowly} coming together! Hopefully it will be finished soon!

6 Days of Summer Fun with the SUPERMOMS!

Last week I am teamed up with another SUPERMOM {aka Angela from Secrets of a Super Mommy} to bring you 6 Days of Summer Fun!

We wrapped up the week yesterday, but I wanted to post a recap of all 6 days just incase you missed any of the SUPER fun summer ideas!

Day One: Liven Up That Lemonade Stand

Day Two: No Sew Felt Library Bags

Day Three: Welcome Summer Banner

Day Four: Rainbow Pudding Pops

Day Five: Backyard Campout

Day Six: Upcycled Sand Toys

Thanks so much to Angela at Secrets of a Super Mommy for helping make this week so great!

If you decide to try out any of our SUPER fun summer ideas, please send me a link or a few pictures and I will feature some of your projects on my blog throughout the summer.

Now go make your summer SUPER fun!

Upcycled Sand Toys

Upcycled Sand Toys

Upcycling is taking something that would otherwise be considered trash and turning it into something useful.
There are four main reasons that I love this project:

1. It's basically free

2. It's good for the environment

3. If the kiddos lose or break it, no big deal!

4. Easy clean up and storage

Plus the kiddos will have a TON of fun with it:) ****

So here is how to make your very own upcycled sand toys!

****

*First*, collect containers that you think would make great sand toys. I collected yogurt cups {my boys eat the kiddie yogurt so our sand toys have characters on them at not extra cost}, plastic juice bottles, and various small bowls. Clean out all the containers well. You could even try spray painting or decorating the containers if you wanted to. Ours were cute enough on their own, so we didn't paint them.

****
*Next*, you will need a net produce bag. Mine is from a small bag of lemons, but you could use the bigger ones that oranges come in. Use a piece of duct tape and cover the label of the produce bag. Use that space to write your child's name or to decorate the bag a little with a permanent marker.

****

*Last*, put all your new upcycled sand toys in the bag. Weave a piece of ribbon through a few of the holes in the produce bag and then tie up your bag with the ribbon. You can also tie the ribbon at the top so that it makes a handle.Once your bag is finished, head to the beach, the sandbox, or the playground!

When it is time to leave, clean up is SUPER easy. At the beach, place all your toys back in the bag and dip it a few times into the water. If you are playing at the sandbox, a good spray with the water hose will get rid of most of the sand.

6 Days of Summer Fun! Day Six: Upcycled Sand Toys

Welcome to Day 6 of our 6 Days of Summer Fun with the SUPERMOMS!

My final project is:

Upcycled Sand Toys

Upcycling is taking something that would otherwise be considered trash and turning it into something useful.

Go check out my final post at Secrets of a Super Mommy!

Tonight I will post a Summer Fun Wrap Up and give you a chance to share some of your summer fun projects!

6 Days of Summer Fun! Day Five: Backyard Campout

Welcome to Day 5 of our 6 Days of Summer Fun with the SUPER moms!

The Perfect Fireless Campfire!

Just let the kids create their own little camp fire with some colored paper, crepe paper, and glue.
However they make it is just right!

Then give them skewer sticks (you may want to cut the sharp tips off) and a bag of marshmallows to "roast."

This will keep them busy for about as long as the bag of marshmallows lasts : )
You can even make them into real S'mores in the Microwave!

Enjoy!

~Angela
secretsofasupermommy.blogspot.com