Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning Project:

Basement

I am so embarred to show these pictures. 

It was a nightmare down there. 

The basement is unfinished, which is a dream come true as far as the boys are concerned. They can go crazy in there. It's fun that they don't have to clean up every time they are down there. And I've obviously taken to the same thought pattern.

 This has been a place to pile my "junk". And a place for me to be lazy.

 

 My poor family had to sleep here. Sorry!

 This is my craft area. YIKES! 

 This picture does to not do justice to the amount of boxes I cleared out from the basement.

It was shameful.

 Here's my sweet hubby. Swooning over the fact that one day, this basement will be finished!

 And here's my AFTER.

 Room to move!

This is a much cozier place for my family to rest when they come to visit.

 A safe, organized place to play.

 And finally…my craft area. This is MUCH better.

I love these little crafting pots for storage of scissors and such. 

 This entire process cost took me about 10 hours.

But it was so worth it!

I am so thankful that I was able to get his done before I spent 30 hours in the hospital with Micah.

More on that later!

So have you done any spring cleaning?

Link up your projects here!

Micah is Dirty…and A Winner!

I just had to share...

Jo's Noodle Mustache

Spaghetti Night. He's 3 years old and can still get messier than his 9 month old sister.

It's a talent really.

Senior picture for sure!

Micah is always banged up. 

It's their new thing.

I draw "super heroes" on their bellies.

This is "Green Lantern Man"

yes…I am a very talented artist.

Ha! I'm so happy to be their Mom.

Even with all the mess. 

They make me laugh!

And the winner of my 100 follower giveaway is…..

Erin! 

Erin said...

I couldn't pick just one favorite. I LOVE the anniversary pendant necklace (my anniversary is next month and I am going to "hint" to my husband, :)plus I know it will fit with having just had a baby) the rose ring and necklace. Those are my favs, but I liked everything, you have a great shop!

March 14, 2012 9:53 AM 

Congrats to you! I'll be getting in touch with you soon!

choices and a sensitive boy

Josiah is a very sensitive boy.

I was not expecting how hard trying it would be to parent such a highly sensitive child.

Don't get me wrong…he's incredible.

He is full of compassion. He is compliant, charming, SO funny, and bright.

I love his silly spirit and the way he talks about Jesus.

But, he is very tender hearted.

Have you embraced the camera?

James and I strive to be "intentional parents". We try to make sure that we are intentionally teaching our children to be more Christ like. We have read the parenting books, and even taken an intense course called "Growing Kids God's Way".

At my MOPS group I heard this amazing speaker talk about parenting your children based on their personalities. We were even giving the opportunity to take a personality test on our kids. Josiah tested as an extremely sensitive child. It was awesome! And my eyes were opened to the sensitive spirit he has. I even read the book the author wrote (which I rarely do). I'd recommend this to every parent with a desire to understand their child more.

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And while we may not agree with everything we have read or heard, this has become one of the best things we have learned with how to deal with Josiah.

Too many choices leave Josiah feeling overwhelmed.

When Josiah has a day where he gets to choose his breakfast, choose his outfit, choose his cup, choose what cartoons to watch; I notice he's much more ornery. And when he wakes the next morning and I make the choices, his feelings are hurt. He feels like he is unloved because he doesn't get his way. But when we have gone days with no choices, he's joyful!


We make this decision to give Josiah very few choices because we LOVE him. We want him to understand that life will not always give him the chance to choose things. In school, he will not always get to choose what subject he learns, or what time to go to recess. These will be set. We don't want Josiah to feel hurt each time things are set for him.

This doesn't mean that we never allow Josiah to choose anything. He knows that it's a special day when I ask him "what do you want for breakfast?" And I tend to let him choose his shirt for the day. It's a balance with each child.

He has already changed so much from just one year ago. Today he's not the same overly sensitive child he was then.

Now Micah….well….we'll save him for another day. But we could give that boy 10,000 choices and it would not affect him either way.

It's all about the personality of a child.

So what about you? Do you parent each child differently?

Family Rules Tutorial

I've been working on our Family Rules sign since October. 

That's nuts to me! 

I'm usually the kind of girl who gets my mind on something and has to have it completed pronto.

But due to how intricate and finicky this was…I needed frequent breaks from it.

But here it is…

finally finished and hung on our wall.

Here's how I did it…

~I started with a blank canvas like this one (only mine measures 24"x30") from Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon. I think it cost me around $15.00.

~Then I painted it with acrylic paint. And I wasn't able to find the exact color I wanted so I mixed a dark brown with some black.

This took me about 3 coats to make it look flawless.

This is when it gets really time consuming.

~I purchased a pack of scrapbook paper for all of my letters from Wal-Mart for about $5.00. Making sure to choose really neutral colors, that wouldn't look crazy against the dark brown canvas.

Most of the pages did have a design to them which added a fun element to the letters. Making each work totally unique (but only if you look closely).

~Next I used a Circut to help me cut out all my letters (I borrow one from a friend). 

This is really time consuming because you have to use extreme caution to get all of the tiny letters off of the sticky pad. I didn't have a tool to remove the letters for I used the tip of a steak knife….worked like a charm!

I would only cut out one line at a time, to ensure I didn't mix all my paper together. 

I used a different size, and sometimes a different "shadow" font, to ensure a little texture on the canvas.

If you like all of your words to be the same size…this would make things much easier and much more effiennt. But alas…I like to be difficult!

~Then I used a really long level to lay down a piece of clear tape on the canvas. This gave me a way to ensure I would have a straight line when gluing my letters down.

In this photo you can see the plastic tape that made my line, and you can also see how I arranged my letters. 

~I used a tiny piece of tape to stick each letter onto my clear tape line. 

I made sure to have my letters sticking to the top of my tape, that way if I needed to rearrange any of my lines (which I had to do several times!) It was easy to peel and re-stick my entire line without having to deal with each individual letter. 

~After I had all of my lines arranged (this took a long time seeing as how I was never fully satisfied with everything) it was time to glue them down.

~I used Mod Podge and a paint brush to paint each letter (exhausting…I know) and then stick it to the canvas. Having the tape was again very helpful because I was able to remove only one letter at a time and place it EXACTLY where it needed to go.

*note…only put the glue on the bottom side of the letter, trying to put the Mod Podge on the top only seemed to made the letters fall off…weird…I know)

~And that's it!~

It doesn't take many brains to get this done…but it does take patience. 

I had to take a lot of breaks, because I was getting really burnt out.

I'm so happy with the way it turned out. 

And I love that it's completely custom for our family. These rules came from both James and me, and these are my these are the exact qualities I want my children to have.

Be sure to check out my current giveaway going on here!

 

~My entry into Strut Your Stuff sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines~

GIVEAWAY!!

Okay laides…I've hit 100 members through GFC.

That's amazing!

Let's celebrate. 

Here's what is up for grabs…

Dainty Bird Necklace and Antique Style Rose Ring

And here's how to win…

Mandatory:

: Follow Me and tell me how you do so

: Check out my shop

 ~ Clip Clip Hooray ~ 

and tell me your favorite item I have listed.

Extra Entires:

: Like Clip Clip Hooray on Facebook 

: Favorite an item from my shop

Leave a comment for each entry and you'll be entered to win these!

(Make sure you leave me a way to contact you if you are the winner}

{entires closed}

Good luck and thanks for reading!

97 followers!?

Wow…

I'm actually quite surprised!

And I really want to give you guys a "thank you" gift!

So…

When I hit 100 followers I'll be giving these beauties away…

~Sparrow Necklace and Ring~

made by your's truly

Thanks again for joining me on my messy journey!

Mommy Things I Couldn't Live Without

Every mother has her "must have" list.
The items she must have with her kids.

I thought I'd jot down mine, lest I forget!

Thermal Swaddle Blankets
: Themermal blankets stretch the best. I wrapped my babies so tight you'd think they couldn't breath. But I swear by it. It saved my sanity. And they LOVED it as much as I did. Who doesn't love a baby burrito?

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Aquaphor
: My boys had horrific eczema, and without this stuff their skin would be bloody.

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Children's Ibuprofen and Tylanol
: Oh... the many times this brought relief to my babies…and more so, to me.

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Mesh Food Bags
: A great way to get them to eat big pieces of food without choking. And a good way for them to spend 30min.

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Boppy
: Hands free nursing….I'm in!

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Binky
: Josiah was the only baby to take one…but probably would have died without it. Didn't give it up until he was 3.

Blanky (in duplicates)
: All three if them can't sleep without their blankies. And owning 2 of them allows for constant access to at least one of them while the other one is being washed.

Josiah's Green Blankie

~mistake…only owning one of them~

 Micah's blue Blanky

Ella's Pink Blanky

Bumbo

: Really helps teach the early mechanics of sitting on their own

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Bouncer
: I can have them on the counter and away from the other children : )

She got her "own". So spoiled!

Bumper Pads
: Micah concstatly got his legs caught in the rails without a bumper pad
This mesh one is amazing! It's breathable. I highly recommend it!

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Zip Up Onesies
: SO much easier than the button up ones. I'm a HUGE fan of zippers! They are harder to find…but worth it, especially for those "middle of the night" diaper changes!

Rice Puffs
: Disolves in the mouth much quicker than a cheerio; which is a good thing!

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Baby Food Jars
: I never had the time to prepare my own food. So grateful for the jars!

Formula
: I never produced the way I wanted to…they would have starved to death without it!

Breast Pump
: Seriously…what did they do in the old days…hand express? No thanks!

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Humidifier (the one without the filter)
: We live in Colorado people…it's crazy dry here! And it's quite expensive to have to change out a filter all the time!

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Baby Bjorn
: Hands free way to hold my baby…yes please!

Josiah @ 4 months

Baby Monitor
: Enough said

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Bananas
: I don't know what they would eat without them!

Headbands
: How could anybody tell that Ella was a girl?!?
Okay…let's be honest…you'd never guess she was a boy…too many frills : )

Hoodies
: I'm a little obsessed with dressing my boys just like their daddy…it's just TOO cute!

Josiah at 3 months

My Hubby
: Seriously...without my husband…I would be LOST. He's been my rock, provider, and best friend through all of this.
He's the best father. No doubt!
I believe with my entire heart that parenting was not meant to be done alone. It's tragic when it has to be. Thanks to my handsome husband for being my "right hand man".

 I wouldn't be 1/2 the mom I am without you!

Just look at the way he looks at her.

~ MELT MY HEART ~

So what about you? 

What are your must haves for "mommy hood"?

I'd LOVE to hear it!