On the Run AND the "One Year Be-Tween You and God" Giveaway Winner

Has it REALLY been almost 

TWO WEEKS 

since I last posted on my blog?

WOWEE!!!

I deeply apologize for my absence-

my life kinda has sent me running...

...in a new direction,

one I really wasn't anticipating.

I have opened an Etsy shop called

WonderYarn,

so I have been crocheting and hot gluing

my little heart out.

I have created more than is listed on the site,

but I have sold several scarflettes locally,

so I am in process of stocking up again.

I am loving this new adventure,

but it has certainly made me put my blog

on the back burner...

Forgive me, please!

I know I have a little catching up to do,

and I will over the next few days,

beginning with announcing the 

WINNER 

of the Tyndale

"One Year Be-Tween You and God"

giveaway! 

Drum roll please...

The winner

(chosen randomly by Jungle Girl herself)

is...

#3- Theresa from Seeking Him Homeschool!

Theresa said this when she registered:

Hi Wonder Mom!

Would this be good for a 10 year old niece who lives in a household

where her parents are not saved?

I mean, do you think she'd "get it"

without having someone to talk to about it everyday

(of course I'd offer for her to call me with questions and such,

but don't know if her mom will let her!)?

I'd love to breathe God's word into her somehow,

but it's hard being 3 hours away and not seeing her that often!

Thanks!

Seeking Him Homeschool (Theresa)

Congratulations!

I hope this book proves to be a blessing

for your niece...

I will be contacting you promptly

to get your info

so Tyndale can send the book to you

ASAP!

Talk to y'all later-

Right now,

I gotta run....  ;0)

Birthday Card Ribbon Display

We love to celebrate birthdays in this house.

We love getting and giving birthday cards.

But I have never really liked displaying all of the birthday cards,

because they always seemed to eventually fall off of the mantel,

the bookshelves, the baker's cabinet, etc., etc., etc.

Well,

I think I have solved my

birthday card quandary. 

I scrounged around my craft supplies

and came up with a little

"Birthday Card Ribbon Display."

Here's how I put mine together...

1.  Gather up all the supplies:

*Scraps of scrapbook paper

*Clothes pins

*Ribbon/Cord/Rope

*Mod Podge

*Sponge brush

*Sandpaper

*Scissors

*Cutter

*Birthday cards

2.  To decorate the clothes pins,

I cut strips of scrapbook paper the width of

the clothes pins.

They don't have to be exactly perfect

if you are going for a more "weathered" look...

3.  Tear the strips to the length of the clothes pins-

again, I did not worry about perfection...

4.  Using Mod Podge and a sponge brush,

glue the strips to the clothes pins

(both sides)

and put a top coat of Mod Podge on the paper.

5.  Let the clothes pins dry completely.

6.  I wanted to give my pins a distressed look,

so after they were dry,

I used sandpaper...

...and the edge of a pair of scissors to 

scruff them up a bit.

7.  To create the display ribbon,

take long piece of cord/thick ribbon/rope

and knot it at the top.

Give it some color and tie different ribbon scraps

to the top of the knot.

8.  Hang the cord on a door,

clip on the clothes pins,

and you are ready...

...to display some birthday cards!

I really needed this display this month,

since both Super Dad and Baby Girl celebrate

their birthdays in July...

Now I feel like we can keep the cards on display longer,

letting all the family enjoy them,

until the next birthday comes along!

Before Meets After: The Shower

The first task I tackled on my
"10 Tasks in 10 Days" list
was...

...cleaning our shower.

Now, before we go any further,
I must warn you...

...what you are about to see is seriously
disgusting.

If you have...

...a weak stomach,
you might want to turn away now...

***********************************************

Here we go....

...this is the inside of the shower.

DISGUSTING-
I know...

Even the items in the shower...

...had developed a nice scummy exterior.

************************************************

Now, the tools I used to clean
this monstrosity are...
...baking soda, vinegar,
an old toothbrush, and a scrubby sponge.

You can see here how the baking soda and vinegar
create a nice
"cleaning fizz"
when they are combined.

Combine that fizz with a little elbow grease...

...and rise with water...

...and your left......with a nice CLEAN shower!

Oh, and the vinegar and baking soda
even cleaned off that hazy soap scum
off of our shower door.

To keep the shower from getting so
nasty again,
I hope to squeegee the shower walls
with vinegar a few times a week.

One task complete,
nine more to go...

**************************************

Check out what others are getting done
over at "Sit Relax and Read's"
10 Tasks in 10 Days...

10 Tasks, 10 Days...(or MORE Before Meets Afters)

Well, I am accepting
"Sit Relax and Read's"
Ten Tasks in Ten Day Challenge...

First up-
THE LIST.

My list is compiled of both BIG and little
tasks,
so here goes:

1. Deep Clean the Shower
2. Organize Garage Supplies
3. Organize Toiletries
4. Sweep Porch
5. Dust Shelves
6. Fix Bunny Puppet
7. Wipe Down Blinds
8. Mail In Hair
9. Clean Rat Cage and Return It
10. Mail Tennessee Postcards

Whew!

Here's to the next 10 days...

Tornado Shelter...

Today, we are waiting out some
SEVERE weather in East Tennessee...

I have had the TV on-
ALL DAY-
(which I really do not like doing)
to watch the news
for Tornado Warnings.

Whenever we have crazy weather like this...

...I prepare our downstairs bathroom
as our personal
"Tornado Shelter."

We have the important essentials,
like...

...blankets, a radio, flashlights, candles, snacks, and water.

HOWEVER, in an effort to keep the kiddos from
FREAKING OUT,
there are also...

...a hodge-podge of beloved stuffed animals...

...Pillow Pets...

...and DSi's.

(And yes, I have my contacts and latest knitting
project in the bathroom-
don't judge me...) ;0)

****************************************

The warnings are good all day
and into the early evening,
but I think we will safe and cozy
in our personal Tornado Shelter...

...don't you?

(Could my kiddos BE more dramatic?)

Container Garden for the Less-Than-Green Thumbed

We are beginning a journey into Container Gardening
here at the Fantastic Five,
and let me just warn you...

...Wonder Mom does NOT have a green thumb!

But, you can learn a lot through trying,
so we are gonna get the old college try...

Here are my two lovely assistants,
ready to plant their boxes of grass.

(Don't worry, we are going to plant more than grass-
my girls just want to follow Mama Jenn's example
so they have grass for their Pet Shop animals
to play in.)

******************************************

First...

...we put rocks in the bottom......of our plastic shoe boxes.

Then......we put in some potting soil...

...and sprinkled some grass seed on top.

Next...

...we raked the seed......into the dirt.

Finally...

...we watered our seed,
and set it in a sunny spot.

**********************************************

After planting our grass,
we headed inside to put together...

...our seed starter kits.

After opening the kits and labeling the pots,
we "grew" our soil-
by FAR the coolest part of the kits...

Jungle Girl measured out the water needed
for each of the soil pellets...

...and Baby Girl put the pellets into the water.

So, the pellets went from...

...this...
...to this...
...and ended up like this.

After the soil finished "growing,"
the kiddos broke up the soil with forks.

(This is when Little Wild Man woke up from a nap
and joined in on the fun...)

Each of the kiddos planted different seeds:

Little Wild Man was assigned the Sweet Basil seed...

...Baby Girl got the Patio Tomato seed...

...and Jungle Girl had the Petite Sunflower seed.

After the seeds were nicely placed in their soil...

...and gently tucked away with more dirt...

...we took them outdoors and watered them.

************************************************

And now, I proudly present the beginning of...

...the Fantastic Five's First Container Garden!
Yee-haw!

****************************************************

To check out other MUCH more spectacular gardens
than mine,
head on over to
The Homeschool Village's Garden Challenge...