Tomorrow morning we head out on a trip to Ventura to see family; it’s a 5 hour car ride and one we are very familiar with! But like most car trips with toddlers, there can be those blessed stressful moments where even the all entertaining ipad won’t calm the savage beasts! So it’s nice to be prepared with a few new items and activites.

I found this lil’ DIY gem of course on Pinterest The great idea originally came from the blog Testy Yet Trying and she called it a Matching Pole!

Simply using any empty paper towel or toilet paper roll, dot stickers and markers, this game can help teach letters, numbers, and shapes (really anything you can fit on a dot sticker) while at the same time teaching matching skills and fine motor skills!  The idea is that the child matches the dot stickers from the page onto the corresponding dot sticker on the pole. I used Liam’s name letters, some shapes, numbers, directions and even a few facial expressions to mix it up!

Liam caught a glance of it while I was making it, and asked very excitedly what it was and if he could play with it! Score! I think it will be a big hit on the road and it only took me 5 minutes to make!

Usually I love decorating my mantel with each change of the season or holiday, but I was having a hard time motivating myself to do anything with the bare brick slab.  I could leave it empty and call it Modern, or maybe Simplistic?

So of course I immediately typed in “decorating your mantel” into Pinterest and of course it gave me hundreds of ideas and inspirations! Most of which were for Christmas, but there were a lot of other wonderful ones to.  Then I stumbled across this awe inspiring post that was the know-all for decorating your mantel for any season!  Perfect!  It was exactly what my tired and idealess brain needed…..

So I set about collecting items from around my home that resembled those in the picture.  I actually matched it up pretty well and I finally got to use the beautiful painting I’ve had hiding in my room!  The only purchase I had to make was for the two blue candles to the left, as I was currently out.

Now that my mantel is finally decorated, I can go back to sleeping at night and the world may continue spinning….

When we moved into our home, our galley kitchen lacked major storage room, so we bought an ugly basic white cupboard to use as our pantry.

**Please forgive my horrible photos….I’ve been lazy and taking photos with my phone

It was supposed to be temporary till we found something more attractive.  Well, 5 years later, it’s still in my kitchen, and slightly beat-up.  We know that when we do move from this home, it probably won’t make the move with us.  So, I thought I would play around with a new crafty project and spice up one of it’s plain sides that faced into the kitchen.

I pulled out my Cricut Frames Cartridge and set to work cutting out different styles of frames onto contact paper.  Then I arranged the cut outs onto the cupboard side and then traced around them lightly with pencil. After tracing the frames and then peeling off the contact paper, I chose my paints and set to work

What I wish I had realized before starting this project, was that this the stupid fake wood siding repels paint like no one’s business!  So frustrating, but I kept on painting hoping that an added layer of paint would even things out.  Even though the cupboard was fighting against my best of intentions to make it pretty, I did find the painting part pretty relaxing!  In the two larger frames I did chalkboard paint so we could all leave love notes for each other.

I had finally finished my masterpiece and was pretty happy how it turned out.  I didn’t paint the smoothest or straightest lines, but it definitely added color and flair to a once bare wall.

Then as I was making lunch, I hear Liam call out, “No brother! You no touch Mommy’s wall!”  I turn around to find Cohen sweetly smiling as he scratches my painted frame off the wall, with not a lot of effort might I add.  Like I said before, this cupboard doesn’t like paint.

And I mean it truly does not like paint! I went to write on the chalk board areas and the paint wrote right off! COME ON!!! Lame.  Jerad pointed out that I could start over and rough up the wood first so maybe the paint would stick….No thank you! I will gladly re-try this project again, but definitely not on this ridiculous piece of furniture!

Sometimes you just have to get your hands dirty, and having two boys, this happens a lot over here!  The other day was so gorgeous and warm (in Feb?!) we decided to play outside and dig in the dirt.  Since most of our yard is rock and grass, there isn’t much digging room, but we did manage to make some room in a small abandoned flower bed I haven’t had the desire to plant in as of late.

We dug out some roads for our Hotwheel’s and trucks and lined them with the rocks Liam had carefully selected from around the yard.  I even added a little moss for a mini garden, and Liam found a nice round rock that he said was a pond for my garden.  Sweet and creative boy.


Cohen got to taste dirt for the first time (all apart of childhood) and then I showed him how to bang rocks together….it’s the little things in life!


Ever since I was little, I have loved creating miniature worlds in my surroundings.  Whether it was houses for my barbies, or elaborate villages in the backyard made of rocks and twigs, I was always a happy girl creating small make believe worlds.  Pretty sure I was driving the boys crazy with my strong desire to pay attention to detail…Liam really didn’t care if the rocks lining the road matched or if there were tiny flowers scattered through the “garden.”    I think Mommy needs a Fairy Garden all her own!  Here are few I have seen online….makes me want to create miniature worlds everywhere!

Jasey’s Crazy Daisy

For the Love of Gardening

Go Explore Nature

And in case you’d like to make your own lil Fairy Garden, Here is a great tutorial!

Mom’s Crafty Space