Crazy Excited!

I swear it's like Christmas Eve when you're a kid... I have always wanted to go to Canton First Monday. And today is the day. Not only am I going to the coolest crafty antique show in Texas... I get to go with my very best girlfriends! (Who love all things crafty just as much as me!)





We are going to have so much fun! I can't wait to come home and post all the wonderful things I saw!

Will {hearts} Sharpies.... Me? Not so much.

Oh, my sweet 4 year old.... I put him in bed and went downstairs to watch a bit of television with Craig. About 45 minutes later, Bella comes downstairs and says, "Mom, Will did something really bad.." Upstairs I go - and this is what I see:







Thank God for hairspray! (Just spray it on and the ink wipes away!) It did soak in the countertop a bit, but I will scrub a bit harder in the morning!!) When I asked him what in the WORLD he was doing...?? Practicing his name... Making a rocket... Drawing planets... He is such a goose. Curious. Wanting to see how everything works. I love him!

Family Rules Chalkboard

First of all, I would like to say that there are SO many incredibly talented & crafty women out there! I get lost in blogland every day looking and dreaming about what I find... Whether it's decorating ideas, crafts, food... You guys know what I'm talking about! It's a magical wonderland...

I was so inspired when I saw this the other day at In His Grace...

And this at The Pleated Poppy...

I just knew that I had to have one for the Haley Home! Okay... so my mind was racing on how to do this project. And I remembered a little trick from homesweethomeinspiration's blog...

I took all our family rules and put them on this chalkboard! I think it turned out so cute! I loved the idea of using different fonts and the tutorial from homesweethomeinspiration worked perfectly. It took a bit of time, but the end result was worth it! Every family needs one of these babies!

Homeschooling & Preschool

Today was not our "official" day one of this school year. I have been schooling the girls off and on throughout the day for the past few weeks. I have been waiting for Mr. Will to start school at OLC so I could give absolute 100% attention to the girls for a few hours each day.

So, we drove to school and kissed him goodbye. He was so very excited to be in his big boy class. Here he is all ready to go!

Then, we headed off to the house. Hoping to get in as much time as we could before we had to turn around and pick up Will. We did math, handwriting, grammar, phonograms... Tomorrow we will get to the history & science & maybe another math lesson. What I am finding is that this year is truly relaxing and so much less stressful. (As opposed to the UMS school we had been at.) Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE that school to pieces! (And I miss it dearly.) BUT, we needed a little break from the structure to just ~be. I find instances in each day that prove our prayerful answer to be so. Like today, Bella is SO at the beginning of reading. So excited and eager. She really is able to read simple books. I am very impressed with her quickness in reading! (A few weeks into Kinder.) All she wanted to do was to read books to me today. Book after book, she read. She used her phonograms and figured out the words. I am so very proud of her! And here's my point to all of this. I had absolutely no time crunch, nothing I HAD to get done, nothing that was making me feel like I HAD to get up and do... SO WE READ. For as long as she wanted to. We just snuggled up and read. I am loving this year!

Chrissa Stands Strong

I rented this movie for Brookly today. She has been really wanting to see this. She got Chrissa for her birthday. We went to the American Girl Store in Dallas.

Well, she quickly ran upstairs and put the DVD in and watched it while I was cooking dinner. Then, about 45 minutes later... I was calling the kids to come eat. Brookly comes down a blubbering mess ~tears and all. I grabbed her and hugged her real tight and asked what was wrong?? She was so upset that the "queen bees" (bullies) taunted a little boy in the movie and he ended up hurting himself really bad. She said "They are just SO MEAN, MOM!" By this time... I am trying to hold back my tears, but we cried together. It was the perfect time to talk about "the way the kids must have felt" that were being bullied. About STANDING STRONG for what you believe in and not letting anyone tell you what to do or what to think. To Be courageous. Be a friend. Be yourself. Oh, these most perfect teachable moments... I love being a mom!

LEGO Party take home boxes

I was brainstorming about Will's party favors... what to do?? I bought a lego shaped silicone mold on ebay. (Along with his cake mold. But, that's coming soon!) I think it was originally made for ice cubes. But, I decided I wanted to make lego-shaped candies with it. I bought the candy melts from Michael's and melted and poured and melted and poured... Lots of fun colorful Lego candy bags for his buddies to take home. I put a few in a clear bag and tied them up with the cutest little bow and printed out a tag on it that says, "Eat."

I knew I wanted to make kind -of a take home box... So, I had this box in mind...

I used some scrapbooking paper and homemade labels and turned them into this!

So, inside... I added a cute Lego to the top of a playdough lid. It fit just perfectly!

Then, one day... while picking up spilled crayons... I thought, "What if I used the candy mold to make Lego crayons?" AND it worked!









Then, I put it all together... AND I have a great little "thanks" for our friends that come to the party!

The Hidden Cupcake

Today I was out purchasing all the fun things for Will's LEGO party this weekend. Of course, I needed to go to Hobby Lobby. (My favorite store!) And we are looking at all the FUN party things. Hobby Lobby really has very cute - different - party supplies. And I spotted something. A fun little box and a cupcake inside... hmmm... If you know me... I LOVE me some cupcake anything! They're just so happy! So I picked it up and read the box... Here's what is says:

Every birthday is special, but one filled with surprises really takes the cupcake! The Hidden Cupcake is sure to become your family’s favorite birthday tradition! The fun begins in the morning when your child spots this colorful cupcake at the breakfast table, hinting at the fun that’s to come. Whether your kids are returning from school, or just from playing outside, the cupcake is gone!

Hidden away, waiting for the birthday boy or girl to find it AND the delightful surprise inside.

Everyone in the family will eagerly anticipate their own birthday surprise! Then again, why wait for a birthday? Any day can be made special with the hidden cupcake!

Such a neat idea! I fell in love instantly, thinking of all the years our family would use this new tradition. All the fun memories... And just from a teeny little cupcake. And the BEST part... $9.99 but, with a coupon %40 off! LOVE THAT even more!