I am in my first year of heading MOPPETS, the children's program that takes place during MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers).  After a rough start I'm in a great rhythm and enjoying (some...most) of what comes with the territory.  I have Photoshop and enjoy creating things for the crafts.  I wanted to make them available for others to enjoy as well.

The first is a Moses coloring sheet.  I used this at the end of a tri-folded blue sheet of paper with a "dry land" strip of brown glued to the middle.  The children used foam fish and sea related stickers on the inside and glued the verse to the outside.

The next sheets I want to share is this weeks lesson: David and Goliath.  I will have the children color each sheet, then tape the Goliath to a paper towel tube and the David will get taped onto a toilet paper tube.  Then they can act out the story.  I think it'd be fun to use puff balls as stones, but for smaller children their aim wouldn't allow them to knock down Goliath and encouraging them to throw things is never a good plan.

 If you use these please just leave me a comment and let me know how it turned out!

Posting for the Pin

I'll save the whole "It's been a while bit".  I have something worth pinning sharing and I want credit to share it with everyone.  My son turned one recently, and thanks to an unhealthy addiction to Pinterest I had to make it way too fabulous.  We have a great park not far from our house so I  staked out a perfect location right by the playground.  One thing our family has loved to do before we were a family and just a couple of D.I.N.K.S.(Double Income No Kids) was going on a picnic.  So the theme was set.  I bought gingham fabric and ribbon in red, orange, yellow, bright green and teal (Hobby Lobby)  paper goods at Dollar Tree, and borrowed mason jar glassware from a friend.  I used cut fabric for the table cloth (scrap white fabric underneath and plastic on top so I can reuse it later).  I also made some banners using my good friend hot glue (mamma never taught me to sew...and I didn't pay enough attention when public school tried to teach me).  I made my Pinterest board proud and made painted mason jars and filled them with faux geraniums.

 

Birthday Boy with his party hat

 My party hats were also in line with the theme and very easy to make.  First I bought Dollar Tree party hats, fattened them out, painted them with Gesso.  This step was needed for me because I wanted the white in the fabric to not show the design underneath and it also gave it a matte finish which made gluing a breeze.  I used Modge Podge to glue the fabric on just the front first (overlapping the edge of the "template").  I allowed it to dry then I took the fabric that hung over the hat template and glued it to the back.  I'm really wishing I took photos of this now.  Then I folded them back together, hot glued it in place, more hot glue for the string (I had to adjust the string for the walking candy apples that make up my family) and viola! custom party hats.  My cake was also amazing, original and very crafty...but what's a girl without her secrets?

That one house...

Have you ever been to that one house, the one that has a garage sale every single weekend that it doesn't snow? You go there, unknowing it's THAT house. As soon as you survey the dirty load of crap stacked every which way in this garage you can tell it's been stacked up like this for a LOONNGGGG WHILE. Maybe you politely look around. I usually do, and I usually find that these types of people don't like to put prices on the items. Really? You have a 23 week long garage sale and don't bother to put a price on a darn thing? Really? So you look around and spot something that you like.

"Is this worth going over to the toothless Billy Bob Permasale and asking about a price?"you ask yourself. Sure it is, wouldn't want to be without those matching Dutch kids salt and pepper shakers.

"Hey jobless wonder, how much you want for these?" you ask.
"Dhhheeerrr, my uncle brought those back from Southern Holland in 1941. He gave them to my ma and pa as a wedding gift the first time they got married. I was asking $25 but I'd take $15"

Who were you asking to give you $25 for those? The price tag doesn't say $25- BECAUSE THERE AREN"T ANY FRICKEN PRICE TAGS! Did you tell the last guy it was a $25 item? Well, that didn't work out too well because he didn't take them. So don't make it sound like you're doing me any sort of favor. If you want to do me a favor get a price gun, if you want to do yourself a favor get a dentist.

Secondly, the story...why is there a story? 1941 Holland my big Polish Dupa! (Polish for butt FYI) That item ain't from 1941 Holland, it's got "Made in China" stamped in the bottom and the remnants of a Caseys General store sticker on the side.

As I'm getting this ready for the garage sale this May I think back upon these things...as I put a price sticker on these dutch salt and pepper shakers.

Dieters prayer

Not much been happening with me. I'm on a diet. Hoping to fit into skinny pants for fourth row tickets to Phantom of the Opera in a few weeks. It's my fourth day of dieting and my first day off work since I started. I'm at home alone with only my cats, my thoughts and lots of tempting foods. Trying to teach myself to love oatmeal, day 3. I hate it still, but I'll keep attempting to eat the quick, low calorie alternative to skipping breakfast or eating something sugary. Something somewhat witty popped into my head while attempting NOT to think about double stuffed Oreos, crackers and cheese, chips and dip and mmmmMM ice cream....


Our Father, who art in Heaven
hollow be the calories in what I crave.
I want just some,
But it'd be dumb
to ruin what I already started.
Give me this day some strength to eat right.
And help me not to cheat,
as we forgive those who eat cake in front of us.
And lead me not into the kitchen,
because there's Oreos and chips in there.
For then I'll be skinny,
and fit into those pants for Phantom.
Amen.

Iowa State Fair Game...All can play!!!

Last weekend the hun and I went to the Iowa State Fair. It's hard to describe to a non-I.S.F. participant why this fair is SO awesome. Let me talk numbers: 100,000 each day of the fair, totaling 1 million fair goers each year. It's that HUGE. Most of the attendees are Iowans, which is to be expected.
Disclaimer: Though it will soon seem other wise, I love Iowa and Iowans. I married one, and all the in-laws are still there, and I love them too.
So all these Iowans mixed with a few of us "normal folk". You got the Papa Iowan, whos got his mullet washed, his best bibs on and itchin' to go see the latest and greatest in tractors and combines while hoping he gets recognized from his cameo on COPS. Then there is Mama Iowan, with her 90s inspried curly fro, sporting her Mom pants, praying that her dried flower arrangement will take home the blue ribbon. Then you got the Iowa tykes...all 4H kids, each a result of a conjugal visit. It makes for some great people watching. So a few years back we were at the fair (myself, Hun, his brother and sister-in-law) enjoying our chow-on-a-stick, watching the people go by and pointing out (respectfully) the freaks (read:Hicks, Rednecks, Hoosiers, Bumpkins, Hillbillies, Rural Folk) . When a game developed...The Iowa State Fair Game. The best thing about it, everyone can play! You Don't even have to be at the I.S.F., or any fair, or even in Iowa (though that does help, you'll see why...)
It's easy to play. you may have already played and not even known it.

The rules are simple; play close attention to the crowd, be the first to spot any of the "Point items" on a person, point it out (verbally, unless the people is far enough away, obviously). Also unique items, not listed as "Point items" can get you points. For these you point them out and your fellow Iowa State Fair Game players, or Judges, will decide on how many points that item is worth. Keep a close eye out for Multipliers, these items will double your findings on any one person!!!

Point items:
Mullet
Nascar Shirt
Nascar hat
Nascar anything!
Cowboy hat
cigarette not in mouth/hand (on arm, in hat, etc.)
hole in shirt
stain on shirt
animal poo on a shirt (or something that might be poo)

Multipliers:
Big Belt Buckle
Dried Meat (like Slim Jims)

Example: Man with a glorious Mullet and a huge sweet Nascar belt buckle...
Mullet (+1) Nascar item (+1) Belt Buckle (x2)
1+1x2= 4 points

Again, if you see something wonderful you are to point it out to the others playing the game, who will decide upon a fair amount of points to be alloted to that item/travesty of fashion.
An example of this is pictured: SHIRTLESS man, with cowboy hat. His lovely lady riding with him on the "skylift" is sporting a "respect your mother tee". How respectful is it to go out in public (100,000 people a day, this ain't some family reunion) with someone without your shirt on? Really? So this is one couple that I would point out (or in this case photo) and let the others playing the game decide how many points it's worth.

How many would you give it?

Come-backs gone wild

The hun and I were float trip virgins, until this weekend when we popped our cherries. It was not enjoyable for us. It's not our thing, not in August, not ever. We're campers, we camp the crap outta fall. It's August, it's hot, we're not August campers, and apparently not float trip material. So after a night of soooo little sleep after which we tried to nap in the car before going to the float portion of the float trip. Any day that involves sleeping in your car is not such a good day, period. Fast forward, we're going along in our canoes...we're about 40 min along our supposed 6 hour, 6 mile float trip. The hun and I are among the faster of the floaters, you see we USE those paddles to propel ourselves forward unto the water. It's more of a paddle trip for us, than a float trip. So we get far enough ahead that we can't see most of the group, so we pull off to the side with 2 other couples in our group that use paddles. So we wait there, did I mention that we only know one couple of the 40 people in our group? So yeah, they're not paddlers apparently 'cause they're nowhere in sight. So an hour passes and still haven't seen any members of our group, so we elect a fellow paddler to swim against the current to check on the situation. He returns with the news that the rest of the group has pulled out of water up stream and will come our way shortly. +20 minutes, still no sight of anyone. Pissed. I need at very least a change of scenery, and some shade. Did I mention it's 90 degrees and we're in direct sun? So the paddlers trek on, with intentions of going a little way and pulling over to continue to wait for the others. Hun and I lead the way, until we realize we out-paddle the fellow paddlers. Crap. So we wait, and wait. Then give up and go it our own. So there is the set up, floating virgins, on our own, having not such a fun time. When this happens...

We come upon a bank, where a group of guys has pulled off on the river bank. One particularly cocky loud mouth yells to us: "Everyone's been flashing us when they pass that tree" pointing to a tree just ahead of us.
I turn around to my hun and tell him loud enough so they may hear; "Hear that? They want to see YOUR junk when we pass that tree!"
To that the loud mouth responds; "I don't want to see his, I've got what he's got."

Now I must remind you that he's with his buddies, and we've established that he's the cocky, loud mouthed one. Every group of men has that one guy, and this guy is their's...on with it then...

So he's just said; "I've got what he's got."
To...which...I...reply....
"Oh no, [short pause] you don't"

It's the best part of the whole trip, his group instantly uproars in laughter. Hours and hours of mocking start at that moment. He was humiliated by a GIRL, who insulted his JUNK. He was left speechless as we canoed out of sight.

The six mile trip down the river lasted 3 hours for us, we packed up our tent and took off before any others returned. We're so not floaters, or August campers...but what a memorable time, I'm sure his buddies aren't likely to let him forget it.

Vacation between the Toyotas

When I lived in Southern Illinois we used to visit a friend that had a home on the lake every Tuesday. She had a neighbor with a fabulous home across from hers. Recently my mom found that they now rent the guest home on that property out by the day/week. Pretty smart idea, they have all the ammenadies, pool, lake, game room, paddle boat, etc. It gave me an idea....
My parents are without a guest home.

But....

They do have a detached garage. Enjoy the listing.....

Stay in a lovely detached garage, on the property of one of South Nixon Streets finest homes. Lower level sleeps four, storage loft sleeps one. Linens provided for up to 3 beds, bring your own pillows and beds. Lower level houses personal gym [dad's workout bench], woodshop [band saw, table saw and drill press], crafting center [an area to paint stuff] and theater[old t.v. seating is the workout bench]. Within walking distance to Hucks gas station, a thift store that thinks it's Neiman Marcus, park, community pool and several burned down buildings.
Start up a new friendship with the desperate, lonely woman over the fence, go get a refreshing fountain drinks from the Hucks, shop the overpriced crap-thiftmart, walk to the park or watch people pump gas.
So much to do at the Detached Garage on South Nixon Street!

I dunno, should I have ended it with "Because who really vacations in Southern Illinois anyways?"