Bathroom Mirror Transformations

Like most, the mirrors in our bathrooms are just your typical contractors mirrors and I wanted to dress them up a bit.  Here's what one looked like before:

And this is what they look like after:

I just used baseboards and cut them down to size.  They came primed, so I painted them a dark brown color, then I put a black glaze on top which you can kind of see here:

Once everything was dry I simple attached each board to the mirror using liquid nails:

I think it really adds a finishing touch and the best part:  I was able to frame around four mirrors for just $30 :)

New Way of Jobs for Kids

It's seems like we are constantly trying new ways to get our kids to help out around the house.  In the past they each had a simple job to do daily and they were suppose to keep their rooms clean.  If these things were done there was an entire list of jobs they could choose to do for pay.  The problem was, they never kept their rooms clean so they never did any of the "extra" jobs.  Then when I would ask for their help they thought it was so unfair and that I was the meanest mom in the world.  So today we are switching to a new system.  Here's what we're going to try:

I made up a chore packet for my two older children.  The two younger children will be their helpers.  The packets consist of jobs that need to be done on weekdays and jobs that need to be done on the weekends with a checklist for each room.  For some rooms, like bedrooms, I made a "quick clean" list on one side of the page and a "good clean" list on the back.  The packets look something like this:

I put the pages in page protectors so they could check off jobs if they would like and then put it all together with a ring.  The child will keep the set for an entire week and then switch the following week.  To view or print the entire checklists of jobs click the link below. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rctoyJCvU9OgSgdCZMzoVjxFYNEb_UPiwlI1IDtn4-A/edit#

Conference Crepes

Each time General Conference rolls around we make "Conference Crepes" for breakfast.  My kids love it because it's pretty much just dessert for breakfast because I let them put whatever they want inside their crepes.

 
Here are some of their favorite combinations: (notice they all involve ice-cream)
Apple pie filling, ice-cream
Bananas, strawberry jam and ice-cream
Bananas, peanut-butter, chocolate surup
Ice-cream, chocolate and carmel topping
Ice-cream, strawberry or raspberry jam

Crazy Hair Day

Friday my kids had crazy hair day at school.  Here are their crazy looks.

Magnetic Message Center

I haven't completed very many craft projects lately because we're finishing our basement and all my craft supplies are in storage.  Once the basement is done though I'll have my very own craft room to spread out in.  I'm so excited to be able to complete all the projects floating around in my head.  That being said, this is a project that required very few supplies and was so simple to complete, yet will make my life so much easier.

This is a magnetic board that was simply glued to the inside of my kitchen cabinets.

I did 2 magnet boards, one on the inside of each door.  I simply took a sheet of metal and cut it down to size with a pair of tin snips (thanks to my neighbor who owns every tool imaginable) and then glued it to the inside of the door with some liquid nails.  I took the doors off and put some heavy books on top of them for 24 hours to let the glue dry, then hung the doors back up.  Now I have a place to hang phone lists and notes without having to tape them up everywhere.

Family Updates

Life has kept us busy.  We're finishing our basement so things are a bit chaotic around here, but it will sure be nice to have the extra space once it's done.  The kids love to be involved, which keeps us busy, so here's a look at what we've been up to:

Cody and Whitney both got leading rolls in their school play this year.  Cody played the part of the Baker in The Gingerbread Girl and Whitney played Sleeping Beauty in a play titled Once Upon A Hundred Years Nap.

Cody has also been playing basketball and just finished a great season.

We also celebrated Hailee's birthday.

Kids grow up so fast.  I love being able to share their lives with them.  I love to see them excited about things.  I may be a bit bias, but I've got the best kids in the world.

Playdough

It's snowing outside, so today we're making our own playdough.

Here's the recipe we like because it makes such fun, bright colors:

Jello Playdough:

In a medium size sauce pan mix together the following ingredients:
1 cup white flour
2 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. cream of tartar
2 Tbs. cooking oil
1 cup warm water
1 3oz pkg. jello

Stir until mixture is smooth.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens into a big ball.   Place on a piece of wax paper to cool.  Once cooled, kneed for a few minutes with some flour.  Start playing :)

Christmas

I always love the excitement of Christmas, especially through the eyes of my children.  This year (as always) it was the "best Christmas ever" as they would say.  I guess Santa delivered.  On Christmas Eve we re-enacted the Nativity story, then the kids all got new pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa.  Christmas Day was spent visiting Grandparents and exchanging presents with cousins.  I love that the holidays allow us to come together as families.  Grandma's house truely is a place where cousins become friends.