glow sticks to the rescue

thunderstorms can be scary for the wee ones.   i'm sure some kiddos aren't bothered by them, but mine sure don't like them.  
the minute they hear thunder they look at me to reassure them that it's okay.  when those whopper storms come through they hold on to flashlights like security blankets.
we've had a lot of storms roll through lately.  a couple days ago our power went out for a bit.  the littles were super anxious.  

i dug into my stock pile of glow sticks...you know, the glow sticks you can find in the dollar section at target.  (i save them for summer fests and firework nights.)
we broke out about 3 tubes of glow sticks.  before long they were off having fun in the dark house.  they still stayed close to me, but at least they were distracted and having fun :)

making pictures and spelling out their names...

making roads for the little guy's monster trucks...

and it had been a long day of some seriously sweaty, dirty playing.  baths were a must.  glow sticks in the bath tub were a huge hit.  

now i have to restock our glow stick supply. off to target tomorrow  ♥

For the Love of Pallets

i love a good piece of sentimental art.  toss in little handprints or footprints and i love it even more.  my littles are 4 and 6 so those handprints are going to be small for much longer.   

i came across this precious pin on pinterest that i loved, but wasn't sure i'd get to until a recent trip to archiver's.  they had these great wood pallet boards and i had a gift card...it was meant to be :) 

a little white paint, one 6 year-old hand, and two four year-old feet later, and our piece of art was finished.  

 

♥ created with love ♥

Linking up here: Free Pretty Things for You ~ Whatever You Want Wednesday Sew Much Ado ~ We Did it Wednesday

Fairy Garden

every year we plant a fairy garden.   it's one of those must do 's on my list.  
even if the kids aren't as excited about it one year, i still do it.      it's an excuse for us grown up girls to enjoy a bit of that long since gone childhood magic.

the kids always get in to it at some point anyway, and they're always disappointed when the garden begins to fade away. 
i wish i could get them to thrive and last a little longer.

i do not have a green thumb.  i wish i did, but my plants almost always die sooner than they should.  

i feel bad when a pretty potted something comes in my home.  i know it's chances of survival aren't good.  

this year i tried succulents.  i thought they were supposed to be hardy and might survive me.  
Maybe?  Time will tell...

last year i was so bummed when our garden bit the dust.  i made a fake one with Styrofoam and sheet moss to last us all year.  

when our garden dies (as it inevitably will) we will have this back-up piece of happiness to pull out ;)
Linking up here: Tatertots and Jello ~ Weekend Wrap Up Lil' Luna Link Up Party Ginger Snap Crafts ~ Wow Me Wednesday

lessons learned

so hey.  it's been awhile. i haven't blogged in like...forever.   i fell off the blogging horse.

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i'd check in with my favorite blogs and miss it so much. but life was busy and it was getting too crazy.  


you know what i'm talking about...your calendar is packed with activities and there are a million things on your list.   you start to get super excited when a day on the calendar is blank.   i love blank calendar days ♥♥♥♥♥


sometimes you have to give some things up {for a little while} to live a better life.  

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time off gave me an opportunity to think.  i love to create, but if i don't keep a handle on it, it becomes more of a burden than a positive outlet.

Ucreate

here's what i've learned...


1.  just because you can doesn't mean you should


when i started exploring the creative blog world i wanted to make everything i found.  i mean everything.  i remember seeing the cutest little Styrofoam bee.  it was adorable, really adorable.  i thought, "hey, i can do that", so on my list it went.  

but seriously, what was i going to do with a Styrofoam bee?  

my wee one wasn't even old enough to hold a pencil.  what was i going to do...hang packing peanut Styrofoam bees all over the house?  i can imagine the looks the hubs would have given me.  

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"just because you can doesn't mean you should."  i repeat this before i add anything to my list. 

if i don't have a place to put it, i don't make it.  it's a liberating time saver :)  sometimes it's hard to pass up some of all those fantastic ideas, but that's why we  have pinterest now, right? :)



2. let go of guilt

sometimes we all expect way too much of ourselves.  if someone else has already done it and you love it, why spend precious hours recreating it? (unless it's waaaay cheaper)

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for my girl scouts bridging ceremony i found an adorable printable program so I bought it rather than spending tons of time trying to recreate something like it. seriously, time is precious, and there are so many talented people out there willing to share.

capturedbyjessprints

for my little guy's 4th birthday in january i purchased the most awesome printable invite too.

thatpartygirl

when people asked if i made it, yep, i felt a little guilt saying "no", but my time is so much more important to me than doing everything myself.


3.  remember what's most important♥  
they're only little for so long.  these fleeting moments will soon be gone, and i'll miss them dearly.  creating moments is more important than creating things.

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on monday we were supposed to pick up prescriptions and stop for a few groceries.  we stopped at the park first, and the splash pad turned on.  we scratched our plans and they ran in the water fully clothed.  

yep, it was a wet ride home, but those are the little things we'll remember.  those moments come first.  

so we'll see where this chapter goes.  i may be sharing more creative moments than creative projects.  

  

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i hope you'll follow along and create with me♥