Babysitter notes dry erase board

I got this idea from a small boutique in our town a few months ago. A dry erase board for babysitter notes. Why haven't I thought of this before?! Brilliant. You write all of the information that isn't going to change right on the paper, then stick it in a magnetic frame and use a dry erase marker to write what time you should be home and any special instructions (what to have for dinner, bedtime routine, etc.) If there's an emergency or if the babysitter has a question, she can simply refer to this.



Feel free to print mine, or create your own!

Jeans bucket

I've been eyeing these fabric buckets lately (also found here and a pattern found here) and knew I had to make one. They combine my love of sewing, organizing and repurposing all into one perfect project. I used some old jeans of Pete's for the outside and one side of an old blanket for the inside. I basically followed the tutorial found on Design Sponge and then added handles.



For this large of a bucket I started with 13"x13" squares (oh, and I also used batting to help the sides stay a little stiffer... but I won't get in to that, it complicated the project quite a bit). If you're going to make a bucket this big just make sure to use fabric that is fairly stiff so that it will hold it's shape.



As I was sewing the bucket I didn't know exactly what I was going to use it for, but quickly thought it would be the perfect place for all of our stuffed animals that needed a home.



You better believe there will be more of these sewn up in the near future! Smaller buckets for the kids for Easter and buckets filled with diapers and baby essentials for baby gifts are now on my list of projects.

Nesting: mobile and nursery

Daniel came down from bed earlier this week with some toys strung together with a shoelace and told me it was for our baby. He was all too excited. Looks like it's not just me anticipating the arrival of this little one! That gave me the idea to help the kids make something for the baby. Since we've never had a mobile above the crib I thought that might be a fun project, so we got to work.

Family Wheat Bread

We finally used up all of our bread from last month, so had another bread making day. This time we went with honey whole wheat. I let all three kids join me on this one so they could each make their own little baked goodies.



I love this recipe I received from a friend of a friend a few years back.

Tutorial: reusable food bags

I have slowly been collecting the transparent, plastic bags that sheets, toys and other things come packaged in. Never throw these away! There are SO many different ways to use them (an obvious one being to store other toys, art supplies, or clothes in.) I used a few of these bags for the windows in our table fort, and have been meaning to turn a few more into reusable food bags for quite some time. I was finally forced to when we started running low on sandwich bags, and I was determined to not buy anymore. Lately I have noticed how much waste goes out of our house, and how many things get used once only to be thrown away. So this is one (very small) attempt to "reduce" and "reuse" (which, in my opinion, is even more important than "recycle"... but more on that another time.)



I plan to use these bags for any dry foods (crackers, cookies, etc.) and continue using small plastic containers for the more messier foods that would be harder to rinse out (like apples or oranges). But we'll still keep a box of sandwich bags around... they're nice to have when sending people home with cookies or to use when traveling, but hopefully with these bags we can cut back a little bit.

The greatest gift you can give your children...

My grandma used to say that the greatest gift you can give your children is the gift of each other. My mom spoke at her funeral last summer and included those words in her talk. Grandma always encouraged her girls to have a lot of children. As our boys are growing up, interacting more with each other, playing, wrestling, laughing, and yes, sometimes fighting, Pete and I often talk about how true those words are! It makes me so happy to watch these little ones grow up together. And with our move away from family and friends, I have watched them become even closer, having to rely on each other for friendship and security. Nothing makes me happier than to see my boys sitting side by side reading books, playing Legos, getting their dinosaurs ready for battle and laughing over silly things. They give each other something that no one else can. It's hard to believe we'll be adding another little boy into the mix in the next few weeks. I can't wait.

Tutorial: how to cut boys hair

Yesterday was hair cutting day. One of the many things I wanted to get done before this baby comes (although I could still have another 4 weeks... and by that time they'd be close to needing another hair cut... oh well!) I've cut Pete's hair ever since we were married, so I never thought twice about not doing the kids myself. It saves money (especially with a growing family), I don't have to load the kids in the car and take them anywhere, you can do it on your own schedule, and, once you have it down, really doesn't take too much time. It takes me 15-20 minutes per kid. I am in no way claiming to be a master of cutting boys hair... this is just the way that I have found works for me, I'm sure there are many other ways to do it (and let's be honest, probably better ways!) But if you're new to cutting boys hair, here's somewhere to start...