Friday, October 19, 2012

The One With the Placemats Winner

And the winner is..... (and don't laugh at my babies without pants!)



Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who entered! Love you guys!

Monday, October 15, 2012

The One With the Giveaway!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Even if you don't have kids yourself, these would make great Christmas gifts!



The other weekend I went to Christmas in Cowtown in Fort Worth, which is basically my wildest dream come true. It is a mega giant Christmas craft show. I love, love, love craft shows. As in, to a point that is kind of embarrassing. I rarely ever buy anything from them, but it's kind of like looking at a real-life Pinterest. Bam. I rest my case.

Anyways, I found a booth there called "Tabletop Truths". I was immediately drawn to the cutesy pictures. They sell adorable kid's placemats. (You know you're a nerd mom when you are immediately drawn to colorful, thematic placemats.)  They had a table set out with 6 placemats, each with a different Nativity scene on it. The gal said, "Each placemat has a different scene, and tells a different part of the Nativity story."
Sold. How fun would it be to have these placemats around your table year after year? Your children could place the mats in order as a sequencing game. (First, the angel came to Mary, then they travelled to Bethlehem, etc). I love them.

Then I glanced around and saw their other themed placemats. They had Easter ones, birthday ones, Thanksgiving ones, and all sorts of other themed placemats. I wanted 2 of everything. I bought 2 of those Nativity placemats above.
(Thanksgiving placemat)

As a kid, my sister and I had placemats with maps of the United States, the continents, and even the presidents. We learned so much from these! My sister could identify tons of presidents by age 3.  Kids might as well learn while they are sitting at the table, right? Children are like little sponges, soaking up all sorts of different concepts. We should seize each teachable moment.

Now most Christian children's items basically say, "Jesus Loves Me!" and that's it. This is nice and all, but doesn't have much depth.  Why not dig deeper? Kids are capable of understanding more than that. Then I saw these additional placemats and was totally impressed.
(Clearly presents the gospel for kids to see and learn.  I love the pure hearts on the right!)


and this one:
(This teaches the different names/qualities of Jesus. Amazing!)

If you think all of this is bologna, then you should watch this YouTube video. An adorable little girl is learning all about Jesus, and it makes me want to cry. So sweet. When I bought my placemats at the craft show, the gal there slipped a paper in my bag. She said, "These are some activities to do with your family along with the placemat." Again, totally impressed. The sheet had applicable verses and different games/points to talk about regarding the placemat.  They are not just trying to sell a product. They really want to help you be successful parents and teachers. I love that this company is selling practical, educational, Biblically-based things that can help plant seeds of truth in your child's heart. 

I couldn't stop thinking about how awesome this company was, so I finally emailed the gals and asked if they would do a giveaway on my blog. They said yes! Here are the details:

All you have to do is look at their site and pick out 2 placemats that you would want to win. There are many more choices on their website than what I showed here. Comment below and say which 2 ones you would like to win. These could be great gifts if you don't have young kids. If you win, they will mail you those 2 placemats! Ta-da! 

You have until Friday to comment below and pick your placemats! Yay! Make sure you leave your name as well so I know who entered the contest! :)











Thursday, October 11, 2012

The One With the Felt Pumpkin

Craft Time!

I've been seeing this super cute felt play Christmas tree on Pinterest. It's great for kids to play with independently. They can decorate and redecorate the tree over and over without messing with the real tree!

The tutorial online for the tree is here!

So I decided to make a big felt Jack-O-Lantern for the girls to decorate! I'm not hugely into Halloween, but I do love cutesy pumpkins. 

All you need is:
-1 yard of orange felt ($2.99)
-a few sheets of black felt  (25 cents a sheet)
-additional sheet colors of felt for optional "accessories" (brown for a stem, green for leaves, etc)
Total? Less than $5. Awesome.



All I did was cut the fabric into a pumpkin shape. (I just free-handed it.) 
To stick it to the wall, I tried a few different things. I read online to use command strips, but they didn't work very well.  I found that staples keep the pumpkin up there very well. 
Then I used black felt to make different shaped eyes, noses, and mouths. Wee! It took about 10 minutes for the entire project. 
Char decorating
Em decorating

(different piece options)

I really don't think that the girls understand the theory of decorating pumpkins, but they still are having fun. It gives them a new tactile experience. They love the way the felt feels.  We are also able to discuss the attributes of the pieces (oval, square, triangle) and body parts (eyes, nose, mouth) in order to gain new vocabulary!  I know that we will be able to pull this out again next year and they will really be able to understand and have a blast! You can't beat $5, either!

Hope you make one!




Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The One With the Minor Emergency

Let me tell you about what happened to me last Tuesday.
You see, I was trying to be superwoman (which always fails) during morning naptime. The girls were stirring in their beds, about to wake up, and I was trying to ridiculously multi-task while I had my hands free.

These are the things I was doing:
-laundry
-cooking a sauce for that night's crockpot meal
-watching the news
-spray painting picture frames in the garage

We have an attached garage right outside our kitchen. I stirred the sauce, then went into the garage to add another coat of spray paint. Back and forth, back and forth, adding a coat, then running back inside to stir the sauce. "Hmm, this butter isn't melting fast enough" I thought, as I turned the stove up to medium. I went into the garage and did another coat of paint. I turned the knob to go back inside the house, but the door was locked.

Yes. I locked myself outside of my house, with my babies inside of the house, with something now on the stove. I still don't know how the little lock button got pushed, but it did. Begin panic mode.

I didn't cry, which in retrospect is very surprising. I paced in my garage for a few seconds, then went into action. My only comforting thought was that the babies were safe inside their cribs, not getting into anything. (Which was partially negated by visions of my sauce exploding into flames.) My next door neighbor is a locksmith! Hooray! Easy fix. I ran over there and his mother answered the door. She was an older lady, full of southern sweetness.

"Is Johnny home?" I asked.
"No, he's not, I'm sorry."
Aw crap.
"Um, well, can you help me? I locked myself out of my house and my two babies are inside. I also have something on the stove. Can I please use your phone?"
"Oh Lord Jesus, Yes!!! Come in child!!!" she proclaimed.
I was beginning to like her already.
"The phone's right here. Please excuse all this mess."
The house was immaculate.

I had never been inside this neighbor's house before, so as I dialed my husband's number, I couldn't help but look around and take everything in. This woman was perfectly neat too, with manicured nails, a neat bun, and wearing a cute jean dress. At that point, I realized what a mess I looked like. I was wearing what I had slept in (sweats and a t-shirt), hadn't showered, and wasn't even wearing shoes. Then it hit me.
 "Omigosh I'm so sorry that I'm not wearing a bra!!!" I blurted out.
"Oh honey, ain't nobody lookin' at that."
Phew.

I really can't believe that I said that to a perfect stranger, but she had this grandma-esque quality to her that made me feel at ease. Plus, I was clearly not thinking rationally. Oh well. My husband works only a few minutes away, so he could come back and open the door for me in a jiffy. I thanked her for letting me use the phone, keeping my distance as I had also realized that I had not yet brushed my teeth that morning.

I ran back to my house and pressed my ear against the door to hear if the babies were crying/smell if my house was on fire. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a miracle! My keys, in the seat of my car! I had somehow left them in the seat of the car from a previous trip! Relief rushed over me. I grabbed the keys, unlocked the door, and found my sauce mildly bubbling. The babies were happily chattering in their beds to each other.

I would say this whole ordeal lasted 5-10 minutes, but it felt like an hour at the time. I feel as though locking yourself out of your house without your children is some sort of "mom rite of passage".  And if so, I would like my merit badge now.

Life lesson learned; always hide a spare key somewhere!