Spooky Houses

This is one craft that all the kids like to do.  We have done this several years in a row. (2009.2010) Each year I amazed how differently they turn out. I am not really sure where the original idea came from. First you draw out your house on a piece of black paper using a white crayon or white colored pencil.  Once the house it cut out, you draw in the doors and windows you want to open.  I cut the slits on three sides to open with an exacto knife. In previous years, I have designed the house openings and had the house and window already cut due to the ability of the age group I was working with. This year they did the designing and I used the exacto knife to make the openings based on their design. Now you are ready to color and add details to the house. Glue the house to larger piece of paper careful not to glue the openings down. Lastly add stickers and in our case dollar store foam stickers.

Big E

The Diva - Bats in the Belfry

Chuckles - Witch Posse

31 Days to a Better Desk/Office - Day 4

Oh Monday has come and gone.  Cleaning didn't happen at the old desk BUT bill paying did happen.  Which got me to thinking, "What is your Bill paying system?"  I keep my bills on this handy dandy PINK clip board. It is usually found under my monitor. I mark on the bill when I paid it. I only write in the amount I paid if it is different.  If I am paying by check I write the date of the check and check number.

I am also a HUGE fan of online banking. I know some people are leery of this but even if you don't pay your bills online at least look at your statement online. This is saved me numerous times from overdrafts.  In general this works unless I can't find the clip board . I have also used this GIANT paper clip thing. That I sometimes use to hold the bills as well.

The system for filing the bills is broken.  I hope to discuss that in a future post.

Fall Leaf Glue and Watercolor Resist

The Diva

I got this leaf project idea from Pink and Green Mama. These turned out really well.  I made leaf template to trace around. Then the kids glued on the traced line.Finally, we watercolored. The kids did a terrific job. We did this in two sessions.  We had to let the glue dry. Some us used a lot more glue.

Big E

Chuckles

 I just couldn't resist. I did it twice. These little art projects are addicting to me. I just have to create.

31 Days to a Better Desk/Office - Day 3

What the SHRED!!!! 

Before

I started on the top shelf of the hutch.  I found a stack of paid bills from 2006.  Make that all the utility bills(gas, electric, phone) from 2006. It ended up being a whole bag of shred. 

That got me to thinking what do you exactly need to hold onto for the year. Believe it or not THE GOVERNMENT has a page on just this.  Scroll down and it shows just what to keep and for how long. This is exciting stuff.

after

I am down to the cubby on the right and lowest cubby.  I am making progress. The shredding took a big chunk out of my Sunday. 

Day 1

Day 2 - operation baby steps

GeoCaching FEVER!

The Giant Man Child got the geocaching fever on Saturday.  We headed to Berthusen Park in Lynden, WA.  There are trails galore there in the deep dark forest.  This is a beautiful forested area really great for exploring.  Because of the large trees our kids GPS, Geomate jr doesn't work here.  (see previous adventure).

The Giant Man Child loaded C:GEO app to his droid.  We used that.  It worked OK.  We ran into some other cachers there - Mr and Mrs Gullible. There is nothing better than finding some Tupperware with million dollar satellites. Chuckles was on fire finding these.  We really couldn't of done it without him.  He has an uncanny ability.

There were 3 caches we couldn't find for the whole day.  I thought 3 out of 10 wasn't too bad. It was frustrating to him. He has the fever bad! My favorite thing in the park is the authentic tree honeypot. What privy!

We also took Tigger on his first geocaching adventure.  I didn't get a good picture. His sniffer was working overtime. Let me tell you he was one tired pup. After we left the park, we decided to look for a couple other caches on the way home. Each had their own flavor- Church, Cemetery, Outlet Mall.  All in all it was a great day!

31 days to a Better Desk/Office- Day 2

Operation Baby Steps

Before

I decided to start with the hutch part of my desk. Let the tossing BEGIN. The total time I plan on spending on the hutch clean-up - 30 minutes. That is so funny! It took me 45 minutes to just go through 1 little cubby on the hutch. 

See arrow on the picture.I FEEL DOOMED. (just kidding)

Picture above is after Day1 Clean-up of one cubby.  Though I do have to say other things are getting moved and reorganized as we go. I did go through every paper in the magazine holders.  One holder has piano music and the other holds educational materials.You can see my favorite photo of my kids.

See Day 1 here

31 Days to a Better Desk/Office Space- Day 1

I am joining the 31 days series hosted in part by the Nester.  Check out what the original 8 are offering  in their series and others who are doing 31 days of Change. ****SEE Updates on bottom of post****

My goal is to post 31 days to a better desk/office space once a day for the next 31 days.  I decided I need an INTERVENTION.  My desk/office is a crime scene.  Welcome to my dirty little secret though I am pretty sure it isn't a secret to my loved ones. I think I have broken every cleaning/clutter law.  The law of chaos is being enforced here.  Mom, look away. I am planning a 31 day intervention.  Join me on my journey.  I am thinking the first step is admitting you have a problem. In my best Dr Phil voice, "How is that working for you." This area is not working for me.

This is not how the rest of my house looks but for whatever reason this room is out of control. My goal by the end of the series is to have a office/desk area I can work in.  I want it to be a space that doesn't attract all this random stuff. I want it cleaned up and redesigned into a work space. I am going dive into this mess. I will be sharing what works for me and when I just plain fail to execute.

*** Edited to add progress links
Day 2 - Operation Baby Steps
Day 3 - What the Shred
Day 4 - Bills
Day 5 - Completed Hutch
Day 6 - The WHY!
Day 7 - Welcome to the Piles
Day 8 - Da Floor
Day 9 - Inspiration
Day 10 - 10 Minute Tidy
Day 11 - Paper, Paper Everywhere
Day 12 - Desk I Spy
Day 13 - Bookcase and Collections
Day 14 - What is left
Day 15 - The Comfy Chair
Day 16 - Dust
Day 17 - Function
Day 18 - A little bit of this and that
Day 19 - Hitting the Books
Day 20 - Thrifty Solution
Day 21 - Goodwill
Day 22 and Day 23 - Shred Baby, Shred Baby!
Day 25 - Files
Day 27 - Improving Functionality
Day 31 - The Truth - Ta da!