Fort Kit Tutorial

supply list:

• sheets (2 twin flat sheets)
• clothes pins
• clamps
• rope
• flashlight/headlamp
• suction cups
• adult t-shirt (for the ties)
• bags (or fabric for making them) for the accessories and the kit

I found this kit while visiting Pinterest tonight and had to share. I think that this would make a great personalized gift for a birthday party or Christmas present. I found it on Saltwater-Kids website where she had more tutorials. So, check it out.

Here is her breakdown for what she paid:

Thrift Store:
2 sheets - $1.25/each
pillowcase (for the bag lining & accessory bag) - $.50
Dollar Store:
clothes pins, clamps, and rope ($1/each)
Home Depot:
flashlight & suction cups - $2/each
My Stash:
The bag and ties were made from thrifted fabric & shirt in my stash - free!

........that comes to $10.00!

She originally got it from a blog called Bloom. Or if you don't want to make your own....Amazon has it for twice the amount.

Right Brained Child

I am blessed with being able to use both sides of my brain. I am a Professional Organizer and can really help people to be more organized. But there is the other side of my brain that gets me into trouble. I love being creative. I tend to lean towards the unstructured spontaneous side of life. I need to be more structured and plan things.

But on most days, this is how I feel...especially today:

Fun Creative Kid Ideas

I have spent WAYYYYYY too many hours on Pinterest. Why did I go there? It's never ending but oh so much fun to look at and get creative ideas. That is why I made a post on Creative Kid Ideas.

ENJOY!!!!!

Would love to make this for the little baby girl coming in September!!
Found this at Two Peas in a Bucket.

Colored Bubble Painting. Hannah would SO love to make this. Especially since she loves blowing bubbles with her milk. Found it at Meet the Dubiens.

This is something that Hannah and I could make for the baby's room. it is SO child friendly but it doesn't look like a child made it. Found it at Meet The Dubiens.

This is Sidewalk Chalk Paint. I found it at the Idea Room.

And these cute little grassy heads are found at the Family Fun Magazine website!!

Baby Girl Nursery Ideas

I just love all of the colors in this pictures...
Although there is lots of blue it still screams girlie to me.

I'm not sure where this one came from but it is still cute.

Whimsical and Airy

Whimsical and Asian Inspired

Wouldn't these be fun to have Pom Poms hanging from the ceiling? What girl wouldn't like them? I might have to make some for Hannah as well!

S'More Time!

It's that time of year for us. We bought a fire put for our back yard and put it to good use. We had S'Mores!! It was both Hannah and I second time having them. I lived in Florida for most of life and the last thing that you wanted to do was sit in front of a fire in 90 degree weather, so I guess that is why I had never had a S'More until last year. Crazy, huh?

(I sure wish that Blogger wouldn't distort my pictures. I promise, they come out so much better than what is shown. If anyone has any tips on posting quality pictures on Blogger, I would love to know.)

Carrot Muffins

I SOOO wanted something sweet tonight but I didn't want to eat just plain chocolate chips or just candy. So, I decided to bake Carrot Muffins with mini chocolate chips. For the first time.

Previously about a year or so ago, I was not a baker. I am a cooker. There is so much more freedom when you making meals. You can add stuff or omit stuff. You can get creative and make up your own meals. I have even stumbled upon a meal by just taking the first steps in starting a meal. I started out going in one direction in a meal and turning it into something else. And making it delicious!!

BUT...baking. It is difficult, for me, because you can't stray too far from the recipe. You have to pretty much use exacts. I..don't...like...exacts! But I am learning that it will come out better if I follow the recipe.
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For this Carrot Muffin recipe, I only strayed by added a little bit more Soy Milk because it was so dry. And added the milk proved to be a good decision.

2 cups of flour
1/2 cup dry sweetner
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 medium carrots, grated
3/4 cup soy milk (I probably put in 1 full cup)
egg replacer, equal to two eggs
1/4 melted margarine
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients (Flour, dry sweetner, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon) then add the wet ingredients (carrots, soy milk, egg replacer, margarine). Mix and then bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. (I did it for 13 minutes because I have a gas oven.)
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I drizzled cookie icing on the top just so my family would definitely help me to eat all 24 muffins. I doubled the recipe because it said it only made six muffins. Well, doubling got me 24.

Royal Paper Towel Family

Here is the beginning of our Royal Paper Towel Roll Family. Introducing the King and Queen. Kids will soon follow!

Happy 5th Birthday, Hannah!

This cake was actually REALLY easy! I bought one box of white cake mix. ALL of the rainbow colors in food coloring gel.

Once I mixed the cake (following the box directions), separated the batter into 6 bowls and added the food coloring to make the colored batter.

All I did, seriously, was pour half of the batter from each bowl into the middle of the cake pan. And then again to the other cake pan. It turned out very pretty just sitting in the pan! Somehow the colors mixed like this.

I put both pans into the oven and baked it. I never understood evenly baking until I baked both cakes. I suggest you bake one cake pan at a time. It still came out alright but I wasted a lot of cake because of how unevenly it cooked.

We celebrated Hannah's 5th birthday last month....and collectively decided on a theme together. She had already had a princess theme for her 4th birthday and I wanted to encourage her to have something other than princesses. So, we agreed on a Rainbow Party!! It was fun for both of us. The only thing that she requested was to have a rainbow on top of the cake. I used mostly Skittles and some Jelly Beans. Did you know Skittles doesn't have blue in their candy assortment!?

These are the invitations that we sent out to the invitees!

In no particular order...Introducing Hannah's friends who came to the party!!

My Reason for Not Blogging

My first Trimester I was T-I-R-E-D!! In one word....that's it. I was either sleeping, lying down or sitting. I am now 24 weeks (due around September 5th!!!)...6 months into this pregnancy and I feel pretty good. I have more energy and starting to get my creativity back. I also have tried posting TWO different posts and they went somewhere..not sure where. I am hoping this one makes it and I can successfully start blogging again!

Hannah, who is 5, is very excited about having a baby sister. She is such a natural nurturer and is a little on the bossy side so I can see her fitting into the "Big Sister" role very easily. I decided to homeschool her for Kindergarten this coming school year. And guess what!? That is exactly when this bundle of love is to be born. So, I decided to get a jump on it and bought some curriculum and start teaching her in the summer. I know we will be busy outdoors doing things but I want to have some time when the baby gets here to not have to worry about teaching Hannah.

I can't wait to blog more about teaching Kindergarten. I think I will do fine and so will Hannah. She is at such a teachable time and wants to learn, which makes it less challenging. I'm actually looking forward to it!!