Inexpensive Matching Game with an old Memory game (WFMW)

For lots of great tips and ideas, visit Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer!

I made a simple and inexpensive matching game to use in therapy (I work very parttime as a Developmental Therapist with kids under the game of three) with the help of a piece of 12x12 cardstock (or poster board would work) and just a portion of the contents of a Memory game that my kids didn't play with anymore.

Here is what I did -- I picked out 16 cards that were common objects that I thought the kids would most recognize (sun, ball, flower, pizza, etc.) and then found all their matches. So, I ended up with 32 cards.

I then took 16 of the cards and put them on the 12x12 cardstock in a 4 by 4 pattern. Then, I had the cardstock laminated (though I suspect contact paper would also work). And, then in a separate baggie, I put the 16 other cards that matched up with the 16 that had been laminated onto the sheet.

What I ended up with was a GREAT matching game for kids who are just too young to really get how to play Memory, but who would still then get the benefit of matching pictures and also naming/recognizing objects. And, the fun thing is that you could have different games that worked on different subjects -- animals, colors, shapes, etc. -- without having to spend a fortune at the teacher supply store!

Etsy Banners -- Price Reduction!

I only have a few banners left in my Etsy shop (I think four, actually) and I have reduced the price of them to just $3.00 each!

Each of the banners is 760x100 (which is perfect for an Etsy store). Depending on your blog, it might also work for your blog.

Here's a couple of the banners (in teeny tiny size!) that are left in my store:

A successful outlet shopping trip

This weekend was supposed to be a long weekend with two of my sisters, our Mom, one of my aunts, and my cousin's (her son) wife. But, it seemed that everyone has had a pretty hard month, and since my Mom just had a triple hernia surgery (yes -- she went into surgery for one, and they found two more!), she especially didn't feel up to it.

In the end though, my Mom and I went for a shorter trip (shorter length and shorter drive) this weekend, and we had a really nice time.

One of our activities was a trip to an outlet mall that was about 25 miles from the hotel we were staying at. This meant that all three kids got some new clothes for summer. This is always fun for them, and everyone gets excited looking through their new clothes. And, it's a treat to me to buy them brand new clothes. Not that hand-me-downs and second-hand sales aren't great (seriously -- we get a lot of great clothes like that), but it's fun buying off the rack as well.

I spent approximately $50 - $60 on each of the kids, and this is what we got (the boys things were all from the Osh Kosh outlet and Molly's things are all from a Gymboree outlet):

Noah: Five shirts and three pairs of shorts

Jack: Three shirts, one long sleeve shirt, and one pair of shorts (Jack never needs quite as much, since he gets all of Noah's old clothes)

Molly: Three shirts, three dresses, and one long sleeve shirt

Seriously though...it's a good thing that the outlet mall is so far away! I could do some major damage if that was so close.

Super cute magnets with Starbucks Frappuccino lids (aka Molly's prayers)

A couple of months ago, I was shopping on Etsy. I just love Etsy. If by some chance you have never visited Etsy (how could that be?), you really must put aside a few days hours moments to browse through it.

Okay, so, that said, I visited Capone's Curiosities and I just fell in love with a whole bunch of magnets that she made from Starbucks Frappuccino lids. (What a great way to reuse things that would normally just be tossed in the trash by so many people! She actually has some blank lids for sale in her shop too, if anyone is feeling particularly crafty.)

I kept thinking I would just pick one, but I ended up checking out with six of them in my cart instead. Oops!

I was so impressed when I received them! They were SO much prettier than they were pictured, and everyone in our family loved them.

One person in particular who loved them was Molly. I could often see her moving them around on the refrigerator. Finally, when I walked by once, I heard her saying:


Thank you God for baby Jesus and Mary. Amen.

Thank you God for Mary and stars. Amen.

Thank you God for Joseph and Mary and Baby Jesus. Amen.

And then she continued on. It was so beautiful to hear her heartfelt thanks.

---------------------------------

All pictures were used by permission of the artist. (But sorry...these ones are all ours! Be sure to check out her shop for other magnets.)

13 Ways to Be Annoying (Thursday Thirteen #10)

Thirteen Ways to Be Annoying (I can't take credit for these -- I got them as part of a list of 101 Ways to Be Annoying in an email about 10 years ago)

1. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."

2. Speak only in a "robot" voice.

3. If you have a glass eye, tap on it occasionally with your pen while talking to others.

4. Learn Morse code, and then have conversations with friends in public consisting entirely of "Beeeeeep Bip Bip Beeeeeeep Bip..."

5. Sniffle incessantly.

6. Leave the copy machine set to reduce 200%, extra dark, 17 inche paper, 99 copies.

7. Push all the flat Lego pieces together tightly.

8. Start each meal by conspicuously licking all your food, and annouce that this is so no one will "swipe your grub."

9. Reply to everything someone says with "that's what YOU think."

10. Claim that you must always wear a bicycle helmet as part of your "astronaut training."

11. Forget the punchline to a long joke, but assure the listener that it was a "real hoot."

12. Follow a few paces behind someone, spraying everything they touch with a can of Lysol.

13. Signal that a conversation is over by clamping your hands over your ears.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Why There Are No Three Year Old Fashion Designers (Wordless Wednesday)

Holy Cow! That's some good cleaner! (WFMW)

I was in Walmart a month or so ago, and ran across this big display near the groceries of a biodegradable, organic cleaner. And, even better -- it was pink and was only $1.00/bottle. So, I picked it up!



I will admit that I didn't get to use it right away, since I already had other cleaner that I was using. But, seriously -- why not try out a $1.00 all purpose cleaner, right?



So, the first test that made us say out loud "HOLY COW!" was when Eric used it to clean off our white board. We have tried all kinds of methods of cleaning and types of cleaners on it, and still it always looked not so great (especially since we started using a green marker on it). But, with the Holy Cow, the board literally looked brand new. We were shocked!



Then, since it says one of it's uses is carpets, we thought we'd give it a try (although we didn't think too long on that decision) when Jack spilled a strawberry shake from Sonic on the dining room floor. In the instant after he dropped it, our carpet was already shaded pink. Augh! But, just moments after using Holy Cow, it was totally gone!



We actually had another opportunity for the same demo later in the weekend when Molly accidently flung a plate off the table that had not only ketchup on it, but also chocolate pudding. Again, Holy Cow came through!



Since I only had one bottle, and then I read online that Walmart wasn't carrying it anymore, I rushed there to pick up more of this miracle cleaner. None was to be had.



On a lark, I went to the clearance section, and there I found them. Marked as having originally been $1.93/bottle (I suspected that when I got the one of $1.00 that they were trying to get rid of them), they were now $.25 for a 24 oz bottle.



Needless to say, we are now more than stocked on them, and I even picked up some of the glass cleaner as well, which were also $.25/bottle.



I really recommend trying out this cleaner if you can find it! There is a list of retailers on their site or you can purchase from them online. But, by all means, if you have a Walmart, be sure to check out the clearance section for this, just in case!



Be sure to check out lots of great tips and ideas at Works for Me Wednesday hosted by Rocks in My Dryer!

Make It Yourself: Inexpensive Composting Bin Using a Trash Can

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would post about the newest addition to our backyard -- a composter!

I have been wanting to buy a composter for a while now, but everywhere that I looked was so expensive, plus I couldn't seem to find one locally, so I would have had to pay shipping as well. I was none too pleased about that, and so then I started thinking about us making/building our own composter. That's when I happened upon this link about making your own composter with a standard large trash can with lid.

We went ahead and popped over to our local big box Mart and bought a $10 trash can with a lock on lid. I also spent another $5.00 for a little platform which I thought we would set it on so that it wasn't sitting directly on the ground. Eric is so darn handy that while he was drilling holes in the trash can, he went ahead and just attached the wooden platform onto the bottom of the trash can. Also, at my urging, he did add more than 12 holes (what the link above calls for) to the trash can.

We have only had it set up for around two weeks, but things seem to be going well. We finally cleaned out our garden, since it will be time to start planting vegetables again before we know it, and got to add that all to the composter. Plus, we put in some leaves from around the yard that were, um, well, still on the ground. Sad, isn't it? Plus, that first day we added in some vegetables that were past their prime. To finish off that first day of putting it all in there, we then started up the garden hose and watered it just a bit. Just enough to get it damp.

Then over the last two weeks, I have added in things like banana peels, clementine peels, and cantaloupe rinds. I have also frequently gone out to roll the can around the yard, in lieu of using a tool to mix things around inside, though I may get one sometime.

Of course, I don't have any real results to give yet, but it seems to be going well. Things are starting to rot inside the can, but it isn't stinky. Sure, it is kind of a surprising smell to open it and put something in, but not really horrible. I told my Mom, "It's just like hot, rotting fruit." She then said to me, "And that's not a bad smell?" But, seriously -- not really. And, we only smell that when we actually open it.

If you have been thinking of composting, but just couldn't bring yourself to spend $100+ on a composter, maybe the trash can composter would be a great option for your backyard too!

Menu Plan Monday: April 21st Edition

Simple menu this week!

Monday: Creamy Risotto and Chicken (prepared at Dream Dinners)

Tuesday: Meatballs (crockpot) and Rice

Wednesday: Frozen Pizza

Thursday: Baked Chicken Tetrazzini (prepared at Dream Dinners)

Friday: Pancakes

Saturday: Spaghetti with Meatballs

Sunday: Food from Out

Check out other menu ideas at Orgjunkie's Menu Plan Monday (link above through graphic)!

$20 Amazon.com Gift Certificate Giveaway Here This Week!

I hadn't planned to join in on this carnival, and then all of the sudden this morning, I thought, "Well...why not?"

So, then I thought about my online store (Autumn Daisy Studio) and thought of what to offer. But, while I would love for people to go check it out, I actually decided to go a different route. Well, actually, as a second giveaway, please leave in the comments if you would be interested in winning one *in stock* item from Autumn Daisy Studio. You will only be entered into the second giveaway if you indicate that in your comments. (Please note -- the Mommy Cards/Business Cards and Invitations/Announcements are the only items that are not in stock items.)

I decided, instead, for my main prize to be a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate. Because, darn it -- who can't use a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate, right?

The drawing will be sometime this weekend, but you must have your comments in by Friday of this week at 11:30 pm EST to be part of the contest. Oh...and just for fun, rather than just leaving a "pick me!" or "I want to win" comment, why not leave one interesting thing about yourself or your blog. You never know -- it may make someone else want to give you a visit!

I know a lot of visitors will just be right in and out of my blog for this giveaway, but if you are interested in following the life and times of a (mostly) stay at home Mom of three spirited precious children as we go about our lives, raise special needs kids, try to live good Catholic lives, and wait in horror fear worry anxious anticipation toward next school year when we start homeschooling, then I hope you will be back another time to read more or look around right now, as long as you're here anyway, right?

Good luck!

Becky's Macaroni Salad

Okay, so I don't know what it is really called, but I got the recipe from a gal at church named Becky, so I'm giving her credit.

This is really tasty, and I got lots of compliments when I made it. However -- this recipe makes A LOT! So, make a full batch for a big gathering, but make a half or fourth of the recipe for a smaller gathering/meal.

---------------------

1 lb elbow macaroni
½ small red onion, minced (can use sweet onion, if you prefer)
1 rib celery, minced
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, minced (I actually use dried Dill Weed instead)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijonmustard
1/8 tsp garlic powder (Shhh...I leave this out of the recipe)
Pinch cayenne pepper (Yep...I leave this out too)
1 ½ cups Hellman's mayo
Ground black pepper

1) Bring 4 qts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tbsp salt and macaroni and cook until nearly tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in colander and rinse with cold water until cool, then drain briefly so that macaroni remains moist. Transfer to a large bowl.

2) Stir in onion, celery, parsley, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder, and cayenne and let sit until flavors are absorbed, about 2minutes. Add mayo and let sit until salad texture is no longer watery, 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

(This is even better after it sits in the fridge for a few hours, so it is perfect to make ahead the night before.)

The newest edition of my very favorite day planner is now available!

Be sure to go to Family-Centered Press to see the August 2008-2009 Catholic Women's and Catholic Men's Planners, as well as Student Planners and Nature Journals!

I had years of trying to find the perfect planner, and then when I saw these and the smaller size was just like the planners I used for years in high school and college, I knew it was perfect for me. And, what could be better -- they're Catholic too!

Mine is hopefully on its way so that I can start recording our life beyond this summer!

Earthquake: The New Alarm Clock?

I guess if I had ever lived on the West Coast, this wouldn't have been a new thing. But, I was quickly awaken this morning a little after 5:30 am EST to shaking in our house.

I jumped right out of bed and started to look around. My first thought was, "Is Eric home?" (because I didn't really realize what time it was at that time). He came running up stairs to see if everything was okay (he was getting ready for work). He said he thought maybe it was a very strong wind, since he had put his hand on our sliding glass door when it was happening and felt it shaking. (Perhaps not a smart move, in retrospect.)

After I kind of composed myself, my first statement was, "I think it was an earthquake, Eric." (This is only because I know about the New Madrid fault line. I have never actually felt an earthquake before, as I was out of state when the 5.0 earthquake on that fault line happened in 1987.) But, then we turned on the news right away, and nobody was saying anything about it, so I thought it had to be wrong. But, a few minutes later, they finally announced that it had been a 5.4 magnitude earthquake.

I thought none of the kids woke up, but after they got up for school and we talked about it, Jack said it had awake him, but he thought it was rain.

They have now downgraded the earthquake to a 5.2 magnitude and they mapped the epicenter as West Salem, Illinois. Jack noticed right away that they showed St. Louis on the map as having felt it, and so this led to a perfect discussion of how powerful earthquakes can be. Since we just made an approximately five hour drive to St. Louis, I was able to point out that we felt it AND our friends in St. Louis felt the very same earthquake.

So, it sounds like there was no major damage, and hope that all my friends around the blogosphere in the middle section of the country are all fine.

Oh, and that nobody thinks that we should continue to use earthquakes in lieu of alarm clocks.

(ETA: Apparently Noah was the only one that didn't wake up with the earthquake. When I got Molly out of bed, she told me about the "thunder" that scared her. Apparently she, like Jack, just went right back to bed though. Go figure!)

Why do Catholics sit, stand, and kneel during Mass?

This is a fun but informational video from That Catholic Show (from the Rosary Army people). It's just under five minutes, but goes fast.

Fun refresher for any Catholic who doesn't know why we do it, and great new information for non-Catholics who have always wondered this.




h/t to Deanna (saw this on her blog)

I'm just exhausted

I can't believe I haven't posted on my blog since Sunday! Okay, so it LOOKS like I posted on Monday, but I really just used the handy new Blogger In Draft and actually wrote that on Sunday and had it publish on Monday.

But, between an extra long weekend trip away (which I hope to post about), Eric's Grandmom's death and funeral, an extremely long CRHP (Christ Renews His Parish) meeting last night (seriously -- we met from 6:30 pm until 11 pm, and that's just too hard to do after a whole day of funeral stuff), an eye appointment for Noah today (there is news to come about that too later), and then my Mom's impending surgery tomorrow -- I'm just so beat.

I'm actually so beat that I can feel some depression trying to creep in. I realized this only after driving today and pretty much swearing off any and every big commitment that I have made of my time. You know -- "I am not sure I want to be involved with that anymore. I just don't have the time or energy to put into this and need to stop doing it. I just don't want to do anything anymore." Then, I did have to stop and say, "Oh...hang on. Okay -- I need to think about this all some more before I go quitting everything that I am involved in, and give it a day or two or five or ten."

I am hoping to be up and at 'em and ready to post again starting tomorrow, as long as everything goes okay with my Mom's surgery. If not, I hope to be back by Friday.

New Blog for Preschool Education Resources

Be sure to check out The Preschool Teacher's Resource, which is a new blog just started by my totally cool friend, Stephanie!

If you stop by, be sure to leave her a comment (and maybe some ideas), and let her know I sent you!

She just started the blog, so she hadn't added too much yet, but I definitely think it's worth a peek. Nowing what a fabulous teacher she is, I'm sure this will be a blog worth keeping an eye out for!

Goodbye Grandmom, Just for Now

After a long battle with cancer (although it was not her first battle with it), one of Eric's Grandmothers passed away on Friday.

Eric's "Grandmom" (as they all called her, though I admit that I always just said Grandma) lived about 40 minutes from us, and I'll admit that we didn't see her nearly as often as we probably should have. It is probably through God's grace then that she spent almost two weeks near the end of her life here on Earth at a facility that was very close to our house. As a matter of fact, it was even a facility that one of my Grandmothers is at -- they ended up right across the hall from one another!

So, in a nice twist, we ended up over those couple of weeks often stopping by to see both of them. (My Grandma had been there just a few days when his Grandmom arrived, so that was the perfect encouragement for me to finally go see my Grandma too!)

We were able to see Grandmom several times during her time there, and it was obvious that her time with us with nearing closer to the end. And, in her last week, she was with one of her younger sisters (at her home) with hospice care. Eric and I prayed many times during this that her time to pass would come quickly and peacefully, as she was in quite a lot of pain.

It was with relief that we finally got a phone call on Friday from Eric's Dad letting us know that she had passed away. Neither of us cried, it was really hard to be sad, knowing that her long fight was finally done. (Although, I will admit that we both appeared to hold back tears during Mass when we prayed for those that had died.)

I suppose though, it is important to remember the conversation I had with the boys on Thursday, telling them that she probably would die soon. I reminded them that God heals people and that she would feel so much better in Heaven, so it would be a blessing, because she was in so much pain now.

Noah did a half-smile and said, "It's nice that God heals people." Then he paused and continued with a bigger smile, "I just love it when He does that."

So true, Noah. I love it when He does that too.

And, so...Goodbye Grandmom -- but just for now. In the grand scheme of eternity, I know we will all see you again soon.

Is This a True Story?

Noah and Jack were sitting together at the kitchen table eating lunch over Spring Break. Jack kept asking if I would please buy some Trix yogurt.

Noah then said, "You know, Jack -- I had some Trix Cereal before."

"Really?" Jack asked.

"Really! It's true!" and then he paused. "This is a non-fiction story," he assured Jack.

A Rosary for Noah and A Rosary for Etsy

It had been quite a while since I had time to sit down and actually create something. Seriously. I hadn't done any scrapbooking, nothing particularly crafty, no rosaries or bracelets -- nothing.

So, in preparation for Noah's First Communion on Sunday, I finally carved out some time to make him this Rosary, with St. Michael the Archangel as the centerpiece.

It was actually funny that I had done this and hid it away, because just a day or so later, Noah picked up the St. Michael prayer card on Eric's dresser and was commenting on it. We talked a lot about St. Michael, and I felt pretty good about what I had chosen for him after that talk.

I figured he might be less than enthusiastic about it when he opened it (especially since there was also $20.00 in the box with it), but he was excited and gave me a great big hug.

And, as long as I had everything out to work, I also made this Rosary to list on Etsy (the pictures link to the listing of it). I also thought it would be a perfect First Communion Rosary, but, of course, for a girl.

13 Things on My Wish List (Thursday Thirteen #9)

Thirteen Things on My Wishlist I'll leave off really, really big ticket items, you know -- like a new addition on the house. But, otherwise, here is a list of things that I would love to get, if I had the money to just spend as I wished.

1. New washer and dryer (we're actually planning to use our economic stimulus check for these)

2. A sewing machine

3. A framed picture of the Polish Madonna

4. Queen of Angels print or framed picture

5. iPod Touch

6. A point and shoot digital camera, just so I would have one to throw in my purse, rather than to always have my big camera

7. Kitchen Aid stand mixer

8. Seven cup measuring cup set (with the 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup!)

9. Shed for the backyard (just because I know that Eric would like that so much, and it would free up some room in the garage)

10. A fountain in the backyard

11. Lori's Doorposts Cross

12. Zutter Bind-it-All

13. Pair of Red Crocs (Caymen style)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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WFMW: Using Your Actions to Teach Kids about Priorities

I know that I have been writing about Noah's First Communion all week so far, but all of this made me think of something that works for me that I wanted to share. It is something that all parents can use, not just those who celebrate First Communion as well.

In our home, we don't tend to have very big birthday parties. Actually, sometimes we don't have birthday parties at all. We just have a dinner where the birthday kid gets to pick what we have -- maybe even food from out -- and just enjoy the time together and quietly celebrate their birthday. We are low key about a lot of things like this.

Now, this past weekend, when Noah made his First Communion, we cleaned like crazy for probably about one whole day, and the kids saw that. I then made food for a decent portion of two different days. We sent out invitations to tons of family and friends, and told the kids about many of the people that were invited. We all stayed dressed up throughout the party. We decorated with balloons outside and even had Noah pick out flowers that he liked from the floral department to make our dessert table extra pretty. (Yes, we had enough food that we had regular food on the counter, and then our kitchen table was a dessert table.)

Okay -- so what does all this mean? What's the point?

Through our actions of going all out for this party, it became abundantly clear to all of our kids (even three year old Molly) that First Communion was a very important event to our whole family. This was an event that made us basically drop everything else we were doing for two or three days. This was an event that we spent weeks planning.

I am not suggesting that if someone does something low-key then it means that an event is not important to them. By all means, birthdays are something we hold dear. But, our actions in making such a big deal about it told our kids (and all of our family and friends) that this was something that we were so excited about that we couldn't help but celebrate. And, this was all not lost on Noah (age 8), who at the end of the evening as I tucked him into bed, got tears in his eyes when we talked about all the people who had come and how they had come because they were so excited for him.

This idea can easily be translated into all sorts of situations in our daily lives, and is such a great tool for teaching kids what really matters in life.


For lots of great ideas and tips, be sure to visit Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer!

First Communion Banner Examples

This is definitely the time of year when many Catholic parents are scrambling around to help their children put together banners for their First Holy Communion.

I know this not only because of what time of year it is, but also because all but one of the top ten searches to reach my blog in the past month have been in reference to First Communion banners (plus then it shows up many more times on the total list of searches to come to my blog), all because of this post about First Communion banners.

Since our First Communion was so early at our parish, I thought I would post a picture of examples of some of the banners that were hanging in our church this weekend. Plus, there is a close up of Noah's again.






If you are visiting this because you need to make your own First Communion Banner, after you get some ideas from the samples, you might want to check out How to Make a First Communion Banner!