Paper snowflakes

John made snowflakes in school a month or two ago and has been at it ever since. When he has some free time, he will often grab the scissors and a blank piece of paper and whip out a new creation. We have started putting them up on our back sliding door. Since we haven't had much snow to look at through that window, we now at least have John's cute snowflakes to remind us that it is actually winter.

The 14 Days of Valentines

February has always been Pete's least favorite month. The snow often melts so everything is a muddy mess, it's cold, winter has been enjoyed but Christmas is long passed and spring is still a couple months away, and right smack in the middle of February is a day that makes every man out there feel pressure to do something or buy something for their special someone (not that that's a bad thing, it can just feel a little forced sometimes.) So ever since we were married I have done the "14 Days of Valentines" in an effort to make February a little more bearable. I first got this idea from my college roommate Janae whose mom did this for her when she was growing up. I don't know if they called it the "14 Days of Valentines," but that's what it is in our house. On each of the days leading up to Valentines, the cupid comes and brings Pete and the kids a little surprise. Treats, an activity for us to do together, a small toy... something to be enjoyed that day.



Read on for a list of what the cupid will be bringing over these next 2 weeks!

Homemade playdough

Between Christmas and birthdays, we've collected a lot of "Play-Doh" brand playdough over the last few months. But I finally got tired of it drying out and crumbling and ending up all over the floor. It was time to make some homemade playdough and say goodbye to the rest. Homemade doesn't dry out as fast, has a softer texture, and I don't have to vacuum the floor every time the kids play with it. And just a few colors are all the kids really need.



Read ahead for the new recipe I used (even better than my old one!)

Homemade laundry detergent

I had never even heard or thought of making your own laundry detergent until my friend Nicole posted the recipe she uses a couple months back. Ever since then I have been excited to make my own and have waited patiently for our large box of store-bought detergent to run out. Why make your own laundry detergent? It can save you money, it can be a fun and satisfying project to do with your kids (or by yourself), it's quick and very easy, and, most importantly to me, it is great for kids/adults with sensitive skin. Joe and Dan both have eczema that comes and goes, and I have been meaning to try using a gentler detergent for quite some time. I also wanted a skin-sensitive detergent for when the baby comes, so I'm happy to now check that off my list. Read on for the recipe! You'll be amazed at how simple it is.

What to do with sea shell/rock collection

Whenever we go on trips to a lake or beach, we collect sea shells and rocks and bring them home. We've added quite a few to our collection over the years as I have had a hard time throwing them away. So I finally decided to do something with them instead of let them sit in the basement. I got this idea from a magazine I was looking through at a doctor appointment (you never know when you're going to get some inspiration!) You paint a frame white, cover the cardboard with fabric, then hot glue gun your shells/rocks onto it, leaving the glass out. Pretty easy right? The one I saw had glued a single star fish on top of light blue fabric. Very simple and cute. Our guest room/nursery was in need of something on the walls, so this did the job and brings back some fun memories.



Doing this project gave me another idea that would be fun to do with the kids in the future. Save a shell/rock from each of our vacations to a lake or beach and glue that onto some kind of board. Then have the kids write underneath the shell, when and where they found it. Could be a fun collection to have. Just an idea..

Bread making day

Yesterday afternoon was dedicated to making our bread for the month. I took advantage of Joe taking a nap and John being at school and had Daniel all to myself in the kitchen. I normally make it with all 3 boys so they can each get their little fingers into it, but yesterday thinking about the cleanup that comes with that shied me away. I also decided to take a break from the normal wheat bread and made 5 beautiful loaves of WHITE BREAD. I have a recipe that is to die for! Makes the moistest, yummiest, melt-in-your-mouth bread you can imagine. Read on for the recipe...

Toddler bed quilt

We recently kicked Joe out of the nursery and moved him in with his older brothers in preparation for the baby (8 weeks and 6 days to go! But who's counting?) We set up the toddler bed next to the bunks, and I decided to give my hand a try at quilt making. Here's the final outcome in all its glory. It's made from scraps of the bunk down comforter covers, some fabric I used years ago to make pj's for Pete and John, some old pajamas of mine, and some of Pete's and Dan's old jeans. This was my first quilt, and I really didn't know what I was doing, but I'll tell you what I did anyway: First I cut all the fabric into 6" squares, laid them all out in the pattern I wanted, sewed them in strips, then sewed those strips together. Then I bought flannel fabric for the bottom side and batting for the inside and taped each layer, one on top of the other, to our basement floor, making sure to get all of the wrinkles out (a method my friend Alison told me about so you don't have to use a quilting frame... works well on smaller quilts.) Then I pinned the layers together every 6-8 inches, took off all the tape, tied floss in every corner of each square, then finally sewed bias tape around the entire quilt. Done. I worked on this over the course of a few weeks, an hour or so at a time, so it didn't seem quite so overwhelming. Consider it a success! Not the last quilt I'll be making.