Tough week for all.

This week was the first time my son came home totally deflated about his work at school.  He was actually crying (don't tell him I told you).  He thought he wasn't as good at math as everyone else which seemed very strange because that is something he actually received a good comment on from his teacher.  I felt bad for him.  I had emailed the teacher asking what I could do to help him and what he wasn't understanding because I thought he was doing good.

After she emailed me back I realized they were doing their "mock" testing and it was a stressful time for the kids (and her too she mentioned).  Apparently they had a test with 65 questions and it was overwhelming.

I had asked one of my good friends and neighbors who is a LEUSD teacher if she was going through this too.  Yep, it was everyone and she was just as stressed as everyone else.  The teachers get so much pressure for their kids to get good grades so it's just as stressful for them as my little 7 year old who thinks he's "stupid" now.

Anyway, I just wanted Kale's teacher who I really like and my neighbor to know they are appreciated.  Made them a little gift right before spring break which is well needed!

Had the jar, paper and ribbon.  Soap, jolly ranchers, smarties and sharpies cost a total of $4 from the Dollar Tree.

Bunnies, Eggs, & Chicks Oh My!

The other day I was at TJ Maxx and under a stack of Easter stuff I found these beautiful grey eggs! Ok and btw.... why is it spelled gray and grey?  So confused.  Anyway.... Easter.  Eggs.  Grey (one of my new favorite colors).  I HAD to have them!  They were in a box of 6 and cost $9.99.  

I looked for more but didn't find any.  Boo.

  

And later that week I was looking at an antique store and came across these cute little nests.  $3 each.  Kind of a lot but I thought they could be cute together.  I bought 6.

Nope.  Bad idea.  The nests were way too small.  Hmmm.....  Think. Think. Think......

Well, yesterday I took my hubby to a Brewery for his birthday and as we were leaving I saw a broken tree branch in the parking lot.  I said "Waaaait!!  I need this."  And he already thinks I'm crazy buying old, used, broken stuff so he must of thought I was drunk AND crazy, but I wasn't.  I remembered how my friend Sarah had told me she had found branches on a construction site before and used it as a centerpiece.  Good idea!

And Ta-Daaaa!  I love my pretty decor!  Used an old mason jar I picked up at a garage sale for $1, broke up the branch and hung my pretty eggs.

Pretty, pretty!  Kale said he loves it too. 

So basically, I think you can make a cute Easter center piece with a jar, twigs, and pretty eggs.

I'm still working on my Easter table, but I did find some smaller eggs for my cute little nests.

Go ahead, say it.  "Awe...."

Lesson Learned

Lately I've been having a hard time with my son Kale (7 years old).  Not listening, making messes, forgetting homework, talking back etc.  Yep, I know...."he's a boy"  But mixed with my lack of patience... = no bueno!  Yelling at him is not helping, grounding him is not helping, time outs have not done much.

Ok, so I realize, taking the easy way out isn't working.  Going to have to put on my big girl panties and go back to a little "token economy."  Basically, positive reinforcement.  Which is actually harder than it sounds.  Really?  I have to say "good job buddy!  You actually brushed your teeth when I told you the first time!"  And then go put a sticker on his chart?  It's exhausting!  These are things I think "he should know."

So here I go to Pinterest.  Certainly they will have some super cool, sticker chart printables right?  I mean my kids need something to keep them accountable!!!!  And I'm searching....searching.... yep, found something to copy that will work!

And then I see a chart that says "No Yelling Mommy" http://placetobloom.blogspot.com/2010/01/no-more-yelling-mommy.html with a bunch of squares (dun dun dun).  And it hits me like a brick wall because I know deep down, when I'm worked up, angry, impatient and mad, the situation is not getting any better for anyone anytime soon.

So guess what?  We needed 3 sticker charts.  If the kids get 10 stickers they get a treat.  Once they get 40 they get something a little bit more substantial.  We haven't really decided what the rewards will be yet.  But let me just say tonight homework that usually takes 1 1/2 hours, took about 30 minutes.    I mean we'll see if it holds up, but I gotta try something.

And here's my chart.  Honestly, I didn't even want to blog this because then I would need to actually try and follow through.  My reward is monetary.  :)  I am giving myself $2 for every day without yelling.  Ugh, almost doesn't seem worth it now that I type it.  Hahah, but let's not forget, I'm a domestic goddess!

Wish me luck people!  What do you do in these slumps?

Pretty Pins

I saw this little craft on Pinterest a while ago and have been wanting to make these cute hair pins.  So when the pins were emailed to me on pickyourplum.com I had to order them.  

They were $2.67 for 20.  10 silver and 10 bronze. 

I already had some vintage buttons in my craft stash.

The end result was way cute!

As my friend Dyanna pointed out to me, this little set below sells for $24 at Anthropologie.

I couldn't handle my 4 year old losing any of these!

And these two are $15.

Pick your Plum!

I'm not sure how I found it, but I love the deals that get e-mailed to me during the week from Pickyourplum.com.  It's usually crafty stuff at a reduced price.  Problem is, I could easily order from them daily.  I've ordered plaques, vinyl, chalk board vinyl, hair pins and thin blank wood that can be decorated.  

If you see a deal on there that you want, you need to get your butt up and order it.  They tend to sell out and when it's gone, it's gone!  I usually get the email between 6:00-6:30am.

Here's what I received today in the mail!  Big shamrocks, little ones, and the word luck.  I have ordered enough for 6 because I plan on doing a craft night with my neighbors.

A piece of thin wood, scrapbook paper, modge podge, and buttons (all from Michaels except the buttons) and you end up with this.  Maybe for the mantle?  Or hang on the door?  I don't know but just a reason to get together!

I love my $5 window pane!

About a month ago my friends and I went shopping in downtown Temecula.  We went into this store and I saw a window pane that had a price tag of $10.  I thought that had to be wrong because lately I've seen these for a lot more.  I kind of thought it was supposed to say $100 (since it was Temecula and all.) and we ended up leaving without it.

But I really wanted it, so I went back after a few days just to check it out again.  I took it to the cash register and the lady says "oh, and it's 50% off." Sweet!  $5 bucks... whoo hoo!  Here it is!

I think it's pretty cool.  My husband doesn't get all this and pretty much tells me every time I leave "Don't buy anything old!"

I ordered a canvas print from wink flash.com,  made letters on my cameo, and a baby banner out of fabric.  I really like how it came out!

My shutter find.

I found this shutter for $12 at an antique store going out of business.  I had no idea what I would do with it but I had to have it.

I have also been collecting frames here and there from garage sales, swap meets etc.  I thought I could put the two together and here's what I came up with!

I had to spray paint everything and then I added a wire and clips for my pictures.  I love these colors right now.  I first tested them on some hat boxes my friend gave me to see how they would look.  Yep, I loved them together.  Only wish I would have paid more attention to some spray paint being satin and some gloss.  Whoops!