Taming the Clutter: Art Binders!

My Parker.... he's an adorable child, really.  I'm not just saying that.  But my goodness.  The art messes he makes would drive even the most patient (of which I am not) mother crazy.I am so thrilled that he loves art and that he would rather draw than just about anything, but our house is a fire hazard from the sheer amount of paper he leaves laying around.  He does use both sides, so he is eco-friendly. :)

I had to come up with a plan.  I wanted something that would contain his paper and drawing supplies and was portable, as we take art stuff everywhere we go. Along came "The Art Binder".  I'm sure this idea has been thought of before and it really is simple, but it works for us.

First, I made a simple cover to slide in the front.  I also printed his name out for the side as I have plans to make one for Brynn and it will be easy for them to grab from the shelf.  The back is empty so he can slide his favorite drawing inside.  

Since I chose a 3" binder and knew it would hold 500 sheets, I hole punched an entire ream of paper (we have an electric hole punch that makes it SO much easier!) and put most of it in there.  That way I am not always being asked to refill it.

Finally, I had a lot of pencil pouches laying around, so I filled one with crayons, one with colored pencils and one with regular pencils, erasers, pens and a pencil sharpener.  I have plans to buy him some different types of drawing pencils, I just haven't made it to the store yet.  

 

Sometimes he takes the pages out to draw on, sometimes he draws right in the notebook.  The beauty is that he can keep them all together and they are not all.over.my.house.  I haven't really decided what to do with all the papers once he is done with the book.  Do I recycle them and start over, do I keep them?  If so, how?  I would love to hear your ideas!


Linking here for her "Time to Shine"party.  Check out all of the cute stuff others have posted.  Love it!

Super Bowl Sunday!

Welcome back, Friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday (if you are into that kinda thing).  We are not so much, BUT we do love an excuse for "snackies" and the commercials can sometimes be funny.  


This year we {meaning I, as Greg just puts up with my crazy goes with the flow} decided to try some different recipes.  Fresh guacamole was first on the list as avocados were on sale at my Publix.  O.M.Gee....really....sooooo good!  You MUST try this.  If you hurry (and have a Publix) avocados might still be on sale!  RUN!  We got the recipe from here, but added some verrrryyy finely chopped jalepeno.  De.lish.

 

We also munched on traditional fare, like buffalo chicken dip and mini sammies.  What, that's not traditional?  Hmmm...  For a little dessert, I made some Rice Krispie Treats.  So yummy!  It's the first time Brynn and Parker have ever eaten them.  What???  They have always said they didn't want to try them, but mommy decided it was time today.  They are all gone.  Seriously.  ALL of them.  Daddy didn't help at all.  Or mommy.  Geez.

 

I decided to go with helmets, footballs and "the foam finger".  I think that was everyone's favorite.  Something about biting off appendages. Weird people, I tell you.  No, this was not all of them.  There was a bucket of them.  And they are still all gone.  If only I would have just put out this plate.  Sigh....

 

  

Menu Plan Monday

 I am NOT a menu planner by nature.  I plan everything else in my life out to almost unbelievable degrees, but menu plans?  Not so much.  I really want to try this and I really want it to work.  So, here are some brand spankin' new recipes for us this week.  I have been really busy scouring the pages of blog after blog looking for brand new yummies for my family to try.  Let's see if it was worth the effort....


Sunday
Super Bowl Party food (shhh....we just watch for the commercials)


Monday
Fish Tacos from here (hubby is a little hesitant about this particular dish)


Tuesday
Hubby's Famous Hamburgers  (So yummy)
French Fries
Salad


Wednesday
Bacon and Parmesan Pasta also from here (hubby is, however, VERY excited about this one-go figure)
Broccoli
Rolls


Thursday
Tuna Mac
Green Beans
Honey-Lime Fruit Salad


Friday
Dinner Out


Saturday
Pizza Rolls



I'll be sure to post how we liked the new dishes. I'm linking up here.  I can't wait to browse through all the other links for some inspiration! Thanks for looking!

I {Big Puffy Heart} Love Valentine's Day!

I admit, I am a HUGE romantic.  I love all things pink and think surprises are just the best.  But, I have NEVER decorated for Valentine's Day.  Can you believe it???!!!  After browsing blogland and seeing some of the most amazing decorations, I knew I had to make a change.  So, one Sunday (on a date night, no less) my sweet, sweet hubby accompanied me to Joann's, Target and the Dollar Tree.  Yep, he's a keeper.  I was on a mission.  As I mentioned, I am a lover of all things pink.  However, this day, it was red on my list.  I came up with this little mantle idea.  I am in L.O.V.E with it!  Very simple, but still exactly what I was looking for.  And it doesn't look like a 14 year old threw up in my living room.  

 I made some of the cute little ruffle balls you find all over the "Land of Blog" to put on my entry table.  I just popped them on a cake plate and it added just the right bit of color.  I also have a candy jar on that table filled with foil wrapped chocolate hearts.  No picture of that, as i am having difficulty keeping the "not me's" hands out of it.

I am officially addicted to making these ruffle balls.  They are so adorable and super fun to make!  


I am working on some other projects this week, so be sure to stop back by.  Have a wonderful day!

So....We Meet Again

Here I am again.  There are so many things to say about the reason I stopped blogging here.  It was a conscious decision for sure.  I felt like when I started my homeschool blog, I wouldn't need this one any longer.  But, if I'm being really honest (which I always try to be), I never felt like that blog was the whole "me".  Does that make sense?  I am more than "just a homeschooler".  The same way I am more than a mom, wife, homemaker extraordinaire (giggle, giggle,snort), etc.  I need a place I can blog about everything I am interested in.  While that will include glimpses into our school life, it will also be about what we do as a family as well as things I love.  Decorating, shopping, volunteering, cooking, baking, etc.   I think I am beginning to find myself and what I love.  Now that the kids are slightly older (8 and 7) and aren't SO dependent on me, I have time to craft and blog and host parties and clean and shop...you get the idea. 

I hope you find this a place where you can get some ideas, share some of your own and learn a little about me and my family.  I will eventually import my other blog over here.  For now, I will be using it primarily as a place for any reviews I do.  I am so excited to see where this blog takes me and so happy to have you along for the journey!