Simplifying My Life With MORE Facebook

Yes, you read that correctly. I am going to simplify my life by spending more time on Facebook. Before you think I’ve lost my mind, let me explain.

When I was in Arizona visiting my family, I took a break from blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, emailing, etc… for about 2 1/2 weeks. As I’m sure many of you are aware, the computer can be a major time suck!

So when I returned, I decided that I wasn’t going to let the computer rule my life anymore. One way I’ve been practicing this is by not worrying so much about posting to my blog daily {gasp!}. I know, I know, if you have a blog, “everyone” tells you that you should post daily in order to keep your readers. Well, I just don’t have that kind of time…or rather, I’d rather not spend that kind of time on the computer. I’d rather spend it with my kids, cleaning the house (necessary evil), focusing on my Etsy shop, sewing, etc…

But, one easy way I’ve found to stay connected with all of you without having to write a big, long, blog post is through Facebook. I love that I can just jump on once or twice a day and say hi, share a recipe, tell you I found a worm in the washing machine, whatever! You may not see me everyday on the blog, but I am on Facebook everyday.

So if you are on Facebook, please come by and “Like” me so we can keep up throughout the day! And then we can go back to actually living our lives ;)

P.S. If you do come by and "Like" me, make sure you say hello so I know you've joined the party!

“What Should a 4 Year Old Know?”

This is the first year I’ve put my son in preschool.  He’s almost 4 and up until last Fall, he was at home with me 24/7.  But I felt that he was ready for some type of social interaction in a “school” setting.  So he goes to “school” one day a week at our church.  And he loves it.  He loves his friends, his teacher, the playground, eating lunch at school, doing art projects, show and tell.  But unfortunately, the owner of the school has decided not to return next year.  So we were forced to find another preschool.  After looking into other preschools, I quickly realized that I am in the minority.  I am not concerned about whether or not my son is reading by the time he gets to kindergarten.   I’m not concerned about whether or not he can write is name perfectly.  I’m not concerned about whether or not he can recognize an uppercase “P” from a lowercase “p”.  I’m not concerned about whether or not he can draw a self-portrait.  I just want him to love school.

A friend of mine posted a link to an article on Facebook entitled, “What Should a 4 Year Old Know?”.  And I was so glad to read a perspective that was in line with my husband’s and my way of thinking.  If you have children (even if they’re not 4), you need to read this article. 

In short, every 4 year old should know the following: 

- “that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time”

- “that he is safe and he should know how to keep himself safe”

- “how to laugh, act silly, be goofy and use her imagination”

- “know his own interests and be encouraged to follow them”

- “that the world is magical and that so is she”

And every parent should know the following:

- “every child learns to walk, talk, read and do algebra at his own pace and that it will have no bearing on how well he walks, talks, reads or does algebra”

- “the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children”

- “being the smartest or most accomplished kid in class has never had any bearing on being the happiest”

- “our children deserve to be surrounded by books, nature, art supplies and the freedom to explore them”

- “our children need more of us”

- “They need fathers who sit and listen to their days, mothers who join in and make crafts with them, parents who take the time to read them stories and act like idiots with them. They need us to take walks with them and not mind the .1 MPH pace of a toddler on a spring night. They deserve to help us make supper even though it takes twice as long and makes it twice as much work. They deserve to know that they're a priority for us and that we truly love to be with them.”

This article is so beautifully written and it’s such a wonderful reminder to let our kids be kids while they’re still kids.  And it’s ok to let them play in the rain.  They’re learning more by splashing around in puddles than they could learn from that battery-operated-blinking-lights-noise-making toy.

Truth Be Told Tuesdays #10 – Going Commando

No, not me, just to clarify (although that would be a good Truth Be Told Tuesday confession!).

Truth Be Told, I let my not-yet-potty-trained 2 year old go commando when I didn’t have a diaper to change her in to.

Last week I took my daughter to the mall to play after we dropped my son off at school. Right as we were getting ready to pack up and leave, she informed me that she had a “poopy.” I said, “ok, let’s go change it and then we’ll go home.” But as I reached in to my bag to pull out the diaper and wipes, there were none! YIKES! I tried to talk her in to sitting on it until we could get home (ew, yuck!), but she didn’t go for that idea (surprise). So I did the next most logical thing. I took her diaper off, wiped her bottom with some Handi-wipes I THANKFULLY had in my purse and let her go commando. I was sure to stress to her that she wasn’t wearing a diaper so she couldn’t “pee” until we got home (which thankfully is only about 10 minutes away). And thanks to all of the green lights I hit, we made it home without any accidents. But you better believe the car is now stocked with extra diapers!

Ok, now it’s your turn. Tell us your truth. This is the one day a week when we get to confess what our lives are really like. The rest of the week we can pretend that we have it all together and that our house is spotless and our children are perfect and we are the model parent. But for today at least, let’s embrace our imperfections!

And as always, if you like Truth Be Told Tuesday, spread the word so everyone can get in on the fun!

New Shop Items Added

Hi friends and happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  Mine was a nice combination of productivity and relaxation.

Anyway, I wanted to let you all know I’ve listed a couple of new items in the shop. 

The first is this adorable Owl Binky Bag.  This fabric is so popular, I can hardly keep it in the shop!  

What is a Binky Bag you may be asking yourself?  Well, it is my own design (born out of necessity and sleep deprivation) for storing spare pacifiers on the crib.  You tie it to the outside of the crib and drop a few extra pacifiers inside making it easy to find a replacement for the one baby loses in the middle of the night.  Thus, allowing baby and you to go back to sleep quickly.

The next item is the Lakeside Town Car Playmat. 

These car playmats are the perfect on-the-go toy.  They make awesome travel toys, but are also great for taking to restaurants, doctor’s appointments, to Starbucks so you can catch up with your girlfriends while your children entertain themselves. 

And they roll up with the cars inside so they’re easy to throw in your purse or diaper bag.

{Shown here with 3 cars rolled up inside}

I’ve got other styles of Binky Bags and Car Playmats in the shop as well as other baby and toddler gifts.  Come by and take a look!

Books as Wall Art

As I was visiting my family in Arizona, my sister generously shared her room with me. And as I lay in bed each night and morning, I looked across the room at some book wall art that her friend (hi, Melissa!) made for her. And as any good blogger would do, I took lots of pictures of them so I could share this project with you all!

I realize that using books as wall art is not a new concept, however, I love the interest of this grouping and I think it’s really unique. Besides, it’s a great DIY project that you can personalize for any room and can match to any decor (and it’s cheap and easy, too!).

It looks really complicated, but once I inspected each book closely, I realized that if you can fold paper in half, you can do this project. These 3 books have special meaning to my sister but you could use any hardback books you find at Goodwill or garage sales. Also, she used some special wrapping paper my sister had purchased during her travels to Asia on the front and back covers. You could use any cute scrap book paper to match your decor and simply Mod Podge it to the covers.

Ok, now let’s talk technique (though you could really come up with your own way of folding each book).

Each of the pages in the top book is simply folded in half lengthwise.

The middle book is a little more complicated, but still, it’s just about folding paper.

Before you begin folding this one, find the center of the book and mark it with a post-it or paperclip. Starting on the left side of the book, fold one page in half lengthwise (just as you did in the top book). Then fold each of the corners of the next page in to the middle (as you can see below). Fold the next page lengthwise, and then next one with corners to the middle. Continue in this same pattern until you get to the middle pages that you marked.

When you get to the middle, skip folding the page lengthwise and fold each of the 2 pages that mark the middle toward each other so you can open them into each other to reveal an opening.

You can put any kind of message, love note, pictures, words, whatever you want on the inside of this little peek-a-boo opening you’ve created.

Ok, now stick with me on the explanation for the bottom book. It’s difficult to explain but if you study the pictures, you will figure it out.

Starting on left side of the book, fold 3 pages in half lengthwise. On the next page, (just as you did on the middle book) fold each of the corners to the middle of the page (toward the right side of the book). Then on the next page, fold the corners to the middle, only this time fold them toward the left of the book. So now your folds face each other, (they don’t go in the same direction like they did on the middle book). Next you want to unfold either the top or the bottom half, leaving the other half folded. And unfold the opposite (top or bottom) for the second page. Then fold 3 pages in half lengthwise and repeat this pattern until you reach the end of your book.

Update from the maker of these beautiful book sculptures:

A bone folder is really helpful. Also, if it is a thick book you can remove pages once you have filled out the book. I had to to that with the top one.

And there you have it. Simply folding pages. But the impact is so beautiful, especially for that book lover in your life.

To hang the book, she simply (and brilliantly!) used a plate hanger.

Thanks, Melissa for letting me deconstruct your beautiful Book Wall Art.

So what do you all think? Would you make something like this for your house? Have you used books to decorate your home? Tell us about it!

Linking up here:

Today's Creative Blog
Show and Tell with BCD

Truth Be Told Tuesday #9 - Unpacking

Welcome to another edition of Truth Be Told Tuesday (TTBT).  If you spend any amount of time reading blogs or catching up with friends on Facebook, it can seem like everyone else has it all together (perfect house, perfect kids, clean kitchen).  But we all know that is not the reality.  Truth Be Told Tuesdays is an opportunity for us to share the reality and support one another in our imperfections.

Truth Be Told, every time I look at my suitcase that I need to unpack…

I am reminded that I still haven’t unpacked my suitcase from my last trip several weeks ago (4 weeks to be exact!).

As my cousin Karen said, I’m suffering from a “vacation hangover” (love that phrase…I am totally stealing it!) and am finding it very difficult to get motivated.

Ok, now it’s your turn.  Tell us your truth!  And if you enjoy reading TTBT, please tell your friends about it, share it on Facebook (and while you’re at it, come by and Like me!), Tweet about it, share it on your blog, etc…  the more people that share, the more fun it is!

I’ve Been Swanned!

As you may have noticed, I’ve been a little absent from the blogosphere lately.  I was in AZ visiting my family for about 2 1/2 weeks.  Not only was it a nice visit, it was a nice break from the blogging world, Facebook, email, Twitter, Etsy, etc…  But I’m back home now and happy to be returning to blogland. 

I was so happy when I returned to find a little box from my bloggy friend, Ali, over at My Third True Love containing the cutest little swan.

With the sweetest little card.

If you’re familiar with her blog (if you’re not, you totally should be!), she has a thing for swans.  She has amassed quite a collection and can hardly pass through a thrift store without taking home a lonely little swan (and trust me, they’re all over the thrift stores).  But I must say, she does have impeccable taste so she is choosy about what swans make the “cut”.

And now I can officially say that I’ve Been Swanned!  I just have to find the perfect spot for this little beauty to reside.

Any kindred swan collectors out there?  Is the swan the new owl?  I’ve actually heard that the fox is the new owl, but I haven’t really seen evidence of that yet.  Thoughts?