How do you do April Fools Day?

I usually try to do something little to trick the kids.

But, one of the funniest pranks was one we pulled on my Brother-in-Law.

My brother and sister-in-law were in town visiting along with my husbands parents.

They had just purchased a new SUV. 

Since they are from a small town, and we live just outside a BIG city, we decided that we would pretend their new vehicle got stolen.

Everyone was in on it except my B-I-L.

We drove the SUV around the corner.

In the morning when he went outside to get something out of the vehicle ~  it. was. gone.

He was a bit stressed and didn't think it was very funny. 

The joke probably only lasted 5 minutes, but I thought it was funny.

So....

What do you do for April Fools Day?

What are your best pranks?

Yarn Eggs

The kids decided we needed to get some Easter Decorations out. 

Great idea except for the fact that I am typically not a every holiday decorator ~ I tend to decorate by season.

So, we set off to make some eggs.

Here's what you need ~ yarn (from our experience the thinner  the better.), glue (I think any white glue would work), water, and balloons

1.  Blow up your balloons around 6-8 inches in diameter

2.  Mix equal parts water and glue in a disposable container (we used a paper bowl)

3.  Cut as many 3 foot strands of yarn as you want ~ the more you use the fuller your "egg" ~ We probably used around 10 or so (I never really counted ☺)

4.  Working strand by strand, dip each piece into the glue/water mixture and pull between your fingers to wipe off any extra glue.

5.  Wrap yarn around balloon.

When they are all finished lay them out on a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper to dry.

Let them dry for about 24 hours (GASP! ours only dried for 19 hours)

When they are dry, run your finger between the yarn and balloon to help release it.

Then POP the balloon

Once deflated, remove the balloon .

Voila ~ yarn eggs

See how nice the blue one turned out ~ our blue yarn was really thin!

There is a party going on! Check it out:

 ***Disclaimer ~ this is a fairly messy project ~ the glue was flying at our house! ***

A Splashing good time....

We spent this past weekend at a water park/hotel with 3 other families.

We had a blast!

We Played...

A LOT

 

 

We relaxed.

We ate dessert.

And when we got home...

♥ We celebrated Sassy's birthday.♥  

Our beautiful, loving, sassy 9 year old, whom I love deeply and completely.

How was your weekend?

Happy Birthday!

Hard to believe you are 9 today! 

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl!

Friday Funny

Have a WONDERFUL weekend

and

Don't forget:

 Be yourself!

A baby

One of my dearest friends had a baby on Monday.

A beautiful baby girl.  She has 3 older brothers who will guide her, play with her, love her and protect her.  Not to mention a mother and father who dreamt of her, prayed for her and are more deeply blessed because of her. What a lucky little girl.

I saw her tonight.

I held her in my arms.

So tiny ~ so precious.  An  (extra~ordinary) ordinary miracle from God.

It got me thinking.

No matter our age, gender or race, we are all miracles.  We all have a purpose. 

There is a song I know ~ it was written by David Haas and goes something like this,

We are called to act with justice.
We are called to love tenderly.
We are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.

We are called to be hope for the hopeless,
so all hatred and blindness will be no more!


Anyway, she is a beautiful girl. 

And my wish for you little girl and for all you stopping by to visit today ~ as sung by Rascall Flatts

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow
And each road leads you where you want to go
And if you're faced with the choice and you have to choose
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you

My wish for you
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold

I hope you never look back but you never forget
All the ones who love you and the place you left
I hope you always forgive and you never regret
And you help somebody every chance you get

May you have a blessed day!

Simple Relationship Tips

I guess today I feel like using my degree ~ not the deodorant,

I'm more of a secret girl  if you really want to know ☺.

But this morning, I was thinking about marriage..... my marriage.

My hubby and I have been married for 10 years, we have 3 precious kiddos, 1 crazy dog and a roof over our heads.  Perfect right?

I'm not going to go into details, but like most marriages and relationships, ours has had its share of ups and downs. 

But one thing that makes a HUGE impact on our relationship is random acts of kindness.

Huh?  Aren't those the nice things you do for strangers?

Well, think about it.  Do you remember when you first started dating that special someone and a phone call could make your heart jump and your stomach turn?  Or when that special someone would reach out and grab your hand while you were walking ~ just because they wanted to touch you and have you close.  How about the simple act of getting ready for and going on a date.

Now, when was the last time you phoned your significant other just to tell them  you loved them without talking "business" ?  Or when you gave them a compliment rather than a critique?  When was the last time you had loving physical contact ~ you know holding hands, a hug, or a quick shoulder rub instead of a belly poke or a smack on the rear? 

Try it.

Leave a note ~ be it  a wish for a good day, a good luck or a love note.  Leave it in their car, on their pillow somewhere they will find it. 

Greet them at the door when they come home ~ you would greet a stranger if they came to your door.

Give a hug, hold hands on a walk, rub their shoulders ~ let them know you want them near.

Go on a date.

Enjoy each other!

And you may end up like this ADORABLE couple:

Something to think about Sunday

Do you ever have one of those days?

Today is one of those days.

Things have been said, unintentional hurtful things. And I am trying to brush off those words and those actions. I admit I'm struggling.

and

I am reminded of this quote today (although I don't know where it is from):

"You have to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you've got and remember what you had.

Always forgive, but never forget.

Learn from your mistakes, but never regret.

People change, things go wrong, just remember... life goes on."

Friday Funny ~ I've got basketball on the brain....

It's NCAA time.

I have 2 brackets in ~ trying to win the BIG BUCKS.

or at the very least do better than my Hubby ☺! 

(Sorry honey, but you know I can get a little competitive)

Do you watch?  Do you play?

Anyway

Here is a little humor in the name of basketball

Hope you have a great weekend!

and

May the best teams win! 

Or maybe just the teams I picked ☺!

It's not official

Until Saturday March 20th, at 1:32 PM, EDT

But

It

Sure

Feels

 

Like

Spring

Now!

Happy Thursday!

Simple and Very cool Napkin Holders

I was wandering through Pottery Barn over the weekend and came across some cool jute napkin rings. I believe they were $40.00 for 6. I can't seem to find them on their website and I didn't have my camera with me.... which is ODD. So I can't show you a pic, but I went home and attempted to recreate them.

Basic supplies:
empty toilet paper rolls ~ you can make 4 one inch rings out of one roll
jute
hot glue

Ready for the easy peasy directions?

1. Cut your TP rolls into 1 inch sections

2. Cut a LOOOONG piece of jute ~ I didn't measure it out, just did trial and error, however if you run out before you come to the end, it is easy to just finish that piece and begin gluing on a new piece.

3. Begin by hot gluing your jute to the inside of your TP ring, then proceed to glue and wrap (I just used small amounts of glue to keep in all in place)

4. Make sure you end on the inside and glue in place

VOILA ~ a simple, cool looking napkin ring.

NOW.... you can embellish if you want.

I made it so all of my embellishments are removable.

Check them out:

A shell ~ For this, I glued the shell onto a piece of jute that was doubled, then tied it onto the finished napkin ring.

A burlap flower ~ I saw this tutorial over at That's so Cuegly ~ cute and EASY!  I probably would have used a different button, but this is what I had on hand.

To attach it, I just threaded some florist wire through another button and glued that to the back then attached it to the finished napkin ring.

A Satin Flower ~ I've made these before, and turned them into headbands for my girls.  You can check those out here.

To attach these, I once again used my florist wire and threaded a piece through the last layer of the satin, then attached.

And Plain ~

Well, which one do you like best?

Oh, and did I mention that I had all of the supplies at home already so the cost to make these was $0.00! ☺

And don't forget to be inspired here today: