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craft thursday #2

well…we were only at home about 1 hour on thursday.
so we had CRAFT FRIDAY.
it wasn't really a craft….more of a project.

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i bought paint pods from ACE hardware. (real paint in little sizes)
and sponge brushes.  
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and they painted the old picnic table.

i bought one brush for each color.
and threw them away after we were done.
no mixing colors and no washing brushes.

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they did a good job.

when they were done i went around and cleaned up the drips and painted in some spots.
but for the most part it was all them.
and it was good.

the picnic table is really bright and ready for summer snack time.

Kimberly Au - cute idea. our kid table is already painted so i can’t do this one. but I did have my kindergartners make Georgia O’Keefe like watercolor paintings last week. they loved that project. and they turned out beautifully. can’t wait to see next week’s craft!

katherinemarie - Soooo FANTASTIC! That is MY kinda table— full of LOVE and full of color– PERFECTION!

Kelly - great job duerksen kids and mama! Kelly

marylea @ Pink and Green Mama - Love the mini pots of color and LOVE that you let your kids paint the table themselves!
So fun and colorful : )

Whatever DeeDee Wants - What a fun idea! I love all the colors!

www.Kellyloves.wordpress.com - i love picnic tables — esp. colorful ones!
http://www.kellyloves.wordpress.com

Melanie - Very cute!

Martina - The last picture is so sweet 🙂

Denissa - How fun! My kids would love to do something like that 🙂 Your love of the rainbow is rubbing off on me 🙂

kristine - love it! i love all the colors and that THEY did it!! way to recruit the kids to get stuff done! 🙂

Tiffany Feger - Hey, I just asked my husband if we could paint our picnic tables too. I should show him your blog. Yours is perfect colors for you guys. I’ll have to let my husband pick the color (singular) for ours though I’m sure . . .

Sandy - They must think (hopefully they KNOW) you are the COOLEST mom!

Christina-fivewalkers - I love it! We don’t have a picnic table, but we have an old bench (picked up for free years ago)…sooo, this gives me an idea…
🙂

Pamela duMont - great idea!

Heather - Good job kids!! Food tastes so much better on a pretty table, don’t you know.

Kat - This rainbow table is so “You and yours.” Love it!
The kids would be really proud of their efforts.
Nice work guys 🙂

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - What a GREAT idea. I LOVE it!

Tracy Fisher - I love your picnic table. Have your kids paint their handprints and put them somewhere on the table so you can look back years later and see how they’ve grown. We did that for my mom… and I tear up every time I see those chubbly little hand prints (and one baby foot print). Thanks for sharing all of your crafts with us. I love them!!
Tracy

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - Well that just looks like fun. You are such a cool mom. I’d be in there helping just a little too much. Hard for me to stand back and just watch!

april - I love your blog…it makes me happy…..;)

kristenly - so fun! what a great idea for paint samples!

Lynda - look at them painting!!! they did a GREAT job!!!!! They can be proud!!!;)
Greetings
Lynda

michelle - beautiful and so much fun! you’re such a great momma!

kathy eller - that WAS realy smart. i ahve a chair that has been waiting to be painted for YEARS!!

lovethosecupcakes - All it needs now is one of your fab rainbow cakes on top!

shelly - Genius!

Gemma - It looks like one happy table : )
They did a really good job !
Gemma @ Musings of a Gem
X
http://musings-of-a-gem.blogspot.com/

simpledaisy - What a cute & fun idea:)

kat - I love it! What a fabulous idea! I bet they are really proud of themselves and they should be,they did a fantastic job!!!

Georgia - Wow happy Snacking table!

Tam - What a great idea, I didn’t realize they sold paint in that size 🙂 It’s so colorful, the kids must be so proud!

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craft thursday #1

rule #1 of craft thursday (from here on out) for mama….

be in a good mood when we start.

it doesn't work well to start a craft with kids if i am not mentally ready.  
but we pushed through my mood and we did it.

hopefully they will want to make crafts with me again someday…..

i chose a painting project from Pink and Green Mama's site.
she taught it to first graders….Georgia O'Keeffe inspired flower paintings. 
 
 

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first we looked at pictures of her paintings to notice the details.
then i gave a pencil to draw their flower having the petals touch all four sides of the paper.
then a sharpie to go over the pencil.

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then watercolor paint.
the petals different from the middle and different from the background.

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i lost sean at the very start when i said "i want you to draw a flower"
he said no.

he drew a cactus, didn't like how it turned out…threw it away and went to swim in the pool.
oh well.

the girls finished.
they loved it.
both so proud of their work.
i felt more relaxed than i did all day
 when i was painting mine.

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annie's rainbow flower.
 

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talby's sunflower.
 
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my purple cone flower.

so that is it.
craft thursday.
one down….ten more to go!!!

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Sharon - Excellent!! I have got to do this! I have a degree in fine art and yet avoid it at all costs when it comes to my kids. I haven’t painted or done anything serious since before I had kids. ugh. surely I could do this project. Thanks for posting it. good to meet you, hopped over from A Familiar Path.

jasmine bailey-barfuss - Frame those babies – they are gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS!!
(PS I forgot to tell you that I have read the five love languages – good book, lots of food for thought…)

Michele - These are so beautiful! Thanks for the great idea. We made these and they turned out great. (I even made one!) I bought watercolor paper from Michael’s.

Christina-fivewalkers - So so great! I love how you can give the same instructions and get such different results. Very cool!!

tara pollard pakosta - yay! these are GORGEOUS!
totally doing these with my girls!!
LOVE THEM! you need to frame these!
tara

peta - great colours! you must have great waterpaints that keep nice and bright. can you recommend a brand? I went searching and couldn’t find any worth buying …..
great inspiration! my daughter will love this project.

Melanie - You are such a good mom. You are really raising crafty children. Talby and Annie are always willing to do something fun. Hope you have a great summer.

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Oh wow! I love it. I have been a huge fan of her art for years (since High School… that was just a few years ago, right?!).
What a great way to teach the kdis about art! I love it.

Allison - I just wanted to say thanks for posting the how to cut a pineapple tutorial a while back… I read it then, and today I am having a tropical dinner party and bought a whole pineapple rather than pre-cut pineapple since I knew I could come back to your blog and find out how to cut it. And great craft project, by the way! Hope you frame those.

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - Those are really great. You have some budding artists in your home. My girls have been begging me to paint. Thanks for the reminder to slow down and listen. Time to pull out their craft table:) Have a great weekend Meg.

josephine - Always, always, always be in a good mood yourself before starting a craft project with kids…no doubt. These are beautiful! Makes me think, but I doubt I have the atience for it…

Sandy - I love Sean’s reaction…made me chuckle. Talby’s definately deserves a frame and a prominent spot on the wall! Or sold on your Etsy shop. You can tell her I said so. 🙂

Beth - Love it! I’m going to the O’Keeffe museum next week. Love Georgia. I blogged about her recently on my art teacher blog. And I’ll be doing a similar project with 4th grade next year so Sean will get another chance .

Alison Williams - I am new to your blog, and it’s terrific! I’m rurally impressed with how those pics turned out. I try in vain so far with my 2.5 year old boy, maybe when he’s a little older, but alas, he is a very boysey boy, all cars, trains, and the like. Of course delightful in it’s own way, I do enjoy being a human racetrack :-). Anyway, many thanks for this blog, it’s great!

sarah - So pretty!
I love each flower painting 🙂

Julie - Those are beautiful!!!!I struggle with doing creative stuff with my kids (b/c it test my patience) so I signed them up for an art class and had them taught by someone else this year. What I found was that the teacher’s patience was tested as well (she was still an excellent teacher and they learned!) I was glad to know it wasn’t just me. 🙂

Jennifer - I so love your honesty, Meg! I am putting together crafts for my four babes this summer and to be honest I really am worried that they are going to careless about any effort that goes into planning. Thanks for the reminder that it is not about that…its about love and your kids knowing that they are worth the effort regardless of how they feel about it! You are a virtual best friend who I know, knows exactly how I feel sometimes! I pray for you, Meg!!! Loves!

dianereeves - the paintings are so pretty and summery. I am looking forward to seeing next weeks craft.

Kat - Meg, I have a request.
With 4 young children, I look at your blog and get a bit disheartened about how to find time to decorate my house on limited funds and time, or just have time to do any more than just live each day doing the practicalities.
I would love to hear about the realities of day to day life when your kids were younger please.
Could you maybe take us back in time to when your kids were closer to the ages of mine so I can have a reality check please? 😉 (My kids are just turned 8, 51/2, 31/2 and 18 months.)
If you have time, that would be great! 🙂

Kelly - Those are BEAUTIFUL!!! Kelly

Kat - Just beautiful!
You have inspired me.
I helped my 8 year old Daughter and her friend make snow flake fairies yesterday (with lots of glitter!) while my other three were out or occupied.
They had so much fun.
Now we can try the flowers next.
You are such a great Mum Meg 🙂

traci in virginia - Those are really awesome!! Great work! You are a good Mom! Maybe the ideas will rub off…..hmmm.

Suz Reaney - Wow…those are just wonderful!
We are pretty new…stop by sometime! (We aren’t all about our jewelry…really!)
Suz
http://katsuijewelry.blogspot.com

Robyn - im very impressed!

Sarah Keith - great idea! Gonna check out that website.
Sarah

Tracy Fisher - So cute. It got me thinking of my own summer with my kids. Keep the fun ideas coming!
– Tracy (www.liveitupalittle.blogspot.com)

Krista - All 3 are gorgeous! Great idea!

katherinemarie - ohhhh these are beyond deligthful!!! These rich vibrant colors are just begging to be displayed. Maybe at the end of the summer you could put on an ART show with all these beauties!? AND I see your kiddos take after YOU– crazy artistic! 🙂

Taryn - So i think i could do this….if you get the chance, email me and let me know if you used posterboard (i’m assuming you did, but being the FARTHEST thing from an artist, i could be wrong). My girls would be ALL OVER THIS! I will think of you if we ever pull it off (and i will think of you many other times even if we don’t:) ) Love ya!

Cindy - These are absolutely gorgeous!
We will be painting these this summer for sure!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Enjoy the day!

kristine - you could probably throw those on etsy and add to the college fund! 🙂

kristine - stunning! you will have a gorgeous gallery by summer’s end!

Courtney - I love all the colors, I would totally frame them and hang them in my house. The sunflower seems particularly amazing to me.

Kristi - Wow! Those are great. I was planning a still life session for myself and my 11 year old girlie, but I think I like this flower idea better!

melissa - cool idea. i think i am going to bust out water color paints today for the girls!

kathy eller - SUCH a great idea!! I love Georgia O’Keefe…I am totally unartisitic (its pretty sad) I have many mnay empty walls right now…BUT I have 5 children who ARE artistic…hmmm…..You have inspired me!!

Nicole Q. - They all turned out so beautiful!

Julie K. - Soooooo pretty!!!! I’m thinking about doing another art camp this summer … might put this one in the idea pile!

Dina - absolutely beautiful!!! I would so frame these and display them! Gorgeous!

Lisa Currie-Gurney - ALL I CAN SAY IS… SIGN, DATE, AND FRAME THESE !
HUGS FROM MAINE

Nancy - I love this…. when we start our summer vacation in 3 weeks, I will be doing this one with my girls. Thanks for the idea.

citymouse - Very cool! These would make an incredible collection to display.

Tam - I love this craft-the flowers are so colorful and beautiful!

Lynda - LOL…..NO!!!….:D……the paintings are lovely!!!! really nice work girls!!!!
Lynda

AshleyAnn - Those are beautiful. I look forward to when my boys can draw flowers like that. However, they probably would prefer to draw a cactus or Lego man. That is a seriously cool craft, I might do it by myself. In fact, I think I will.

Shelly - You always come up with the prettiest crafts! (maybe it’s because we have all boys, but everything cool ends up brown or something in a war with something else!)

Jaime Melcher - Thanks for sharing! Today was our last day of school & I’m excited about the fact that you’re a week ahead of us & we can borrow your ideas for Craft Thursdays at our house…
The flower paintings are fabulous, I love those bright colors! 🙂 Did you just use normal paper or was it extra thick? Have a super Memorial Day weekend! ~Jaime

amy d - …i want to come over on craft thursday! pretty, pretty colors!

leslie - sweet. talby’s is my fav.! but all of them look super-flowery! 😉

Petie - You are really inspiring me! Just finished a “summer plan” for us. You’re brave to do crafts…I have to be in just the right mood 😉 Have a great weekend.

Heather - that is so cool! i love the way the all turned out, but talby’s sunflower is really awesome! i love the color combo. it feels really summery.

Laura Wilder - These are great – are you going to frame them? I can’t wait until I have little ones old enough to create and I can have a house full of art! 🙂

Jenn Thomas - how pretty they turned out!I love the colors. Can I send London down next week 🙂

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the last week

this has been my last week with just annie and i home together…no siblings.
today is our last day.
and we are very busy with unrelated things.
oh well.

we went to the zoo yesterday….that counts towards good memories.
 
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on monday we did some painting.
on a box in the driveway…because she wanted to.
she had plans to fill it with "gifts" and mail it to eliza.
i figured she would forget…..and she has.
but we did paint the whole box.

it was quiet and calm.

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i could feel my heart swelling up in me…things are going to change.
she talked non stop while she painted.
i painted very slowly so she could do the majority of her project.
i tried to take in every second of it.
i was burning it into my soul…don't forget this moment…don't rush…don't leave…just sit and BE.
 
 

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me.
i ate cereal with milk…she ate cereal without.
i wore my slippers.
 

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why do sweet baby toes have to grow up and go to kindergarten?
not fair.
 
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today the school year ends.
as of monday our summer begins.
meals all day, kids all day, fighting all day, hanging out, making messes, inside/outside/inside/outside

but i think it's going to be a good summer.
i was dreading it last year.
for some reason….i am not this year.

i will let you know if i feel the same on monday night.

now…i need to start on my rainbow cake.   
 

alyssa - i wish i could have a piece of that cake!!!!

kristine - hmm favorite line:
why do sweet baby toes have to grow up and go to kindergarten?
not easy.
smile.
cringe.
tear.

Mindi - I totally agree! Kindergarten sucks!! I just signed my son up for fall and seriously cried while filling the paper work out. It’s silly I know. they have to grow up, right?
The funny thing is this is not the first time or the last that I have been saddened by a major milestone.
It will get easier won’t it?

Amy R. - I am so with you on this one! My sweet and only girl starts kindergarten this year too! My heart is breaking. At least I will have another little one at home still, but my daughter and I are just kindred spirits.
Hope your summer is sweet and calm in it’s own way…
Amy

Molly - Aww this post made me tear up 🙂
Molly
http://www.mypeaceoflove.com

Corry - Thank you, Meg, for saying “what you say” Love you and your blog! You make all of us “Moms” who are trying to “do it all” relax and realize what is important- our FAMILIES, of course!!!!

Rachael Ensom - This is such a precious post:)

Lin - Why do sweet baby toes have to grow up, graduate kindergarten, and move on to first grade? My daughter will be six next week, and the week after is her last of kindergarten. Then she will be a “big school ager”. What am I going to do without my baby?! Sorry…my self-pity just got out of control for a second.

Courtney Walsh - I don’t know what I’m going to do when Sam goes to school. I am so glad he has a late birthday. It gives me an extra year with him. He makes my days so happy. I imagine your Annie does the same.
Hard to let them go…

A pocket full of posies... - Precious, sweet, priceless moment!! (and delightfully filled with color too!)
perfect.
Happy Summer Break!
Blessings!
Jill

krystall - I wish I could make your rainbow cake, I tried and failed. Any hints????
I wish you were my BBF, I love your life and LOVE your house. You seem to have it all together I’m sure you don’t think so but reading your blog daily inspires me to be a more “in the moment” mommy.
“see” ya tomorrow,
K

Christina - Poignant.
Her toes are adorable. I love baby toes. My two-yr-old still has those sweet little beautiful feet. My seven-yr-old (son) had the prettiest baby feet ever…and now they are big boy feet! I still took a picture of them when he had them crossed under his bottom in the sand recently. They were still cute, after all. 🙂 My oldest? Her feet are going to look like her dad’s! haha Long and thin.
You are such a good mama.

tara pollard pakosta - she’s so CUTE>
love that you just sat and watched her paint.
i did that and still do with my girls,
and I LOVE IT. it’s so neat, to just sit and
see what they create.
I LOVE your blog!
hugs!
tara

Mary P. - I’ve shed many tears w/ you this week. My 6 yr. old tender boy started kindergarten this year and it almost killed me, so your post about Annie and her preschool had me re-living last year. I also have a 4 yr. old who is finishing up her 1st year of preschool this week. The time we spend together at home I’m trying to be very “present” for. It’s been hard since I’m due w/ #3 in 2 weeks. I wish sometimes life could just stop so I could soak everything up.
I read something yesterday that really hit home w/ me and thought you might like as well. “the ordinary is just the extraordinary that’s happened over and over again.” Isn’t that true for us “at home” moms? I forget that WAY too often. May God grant us the grace of a normal day everyday.
FYI: I LOVE your blog.

AshleyAnn - Those are some sweet moments…for you and her.
You are a really great mom. A really great mom.

JJ - You are making me cry! Next week is my last week with my youngest- after 11 years of being home. My heart aches along with yours!
What a great memory you made with the painting project.

Tanya - Empty boxes should always be painted with love

Pamela duMont - Is that cookie crisp? Man you are a cool mom. My kids get cheerios. What is my problem? I would kill for a bowl of cookie crisp right now.

Kelly - yea for cookie crisp!

nora - wah, this is how i felt my last few days of maternity leave… if you find yourself too upset to eat your slice, feel free to send it to Jersey 🙂

Melanie - I hope that you have a great summer. I will be thankful for the ONE child that I have:)
Have a good weekend.

Jaime Melcher - You’re so sweet! I just bought all the stuff to make rainbow cupcakes for my 3rd graders end of the school year party next Friday! Can’t wait! I hope you have a FABULOUS weekend!

Debbie S. - I feel your pain with the inside/outside/inside/outside and meals all day. I have to do MAJOR grocery shopping before summer kick-off Monday.

Julie - for whatever reason this blog made me cry. I have 4 more years until my last is in kindergarten….still to treasure the moments. Hope you have a great summer. look forward to reading about it! We have a whole month before our summer!

Elizabeth - I love your blog and how real you are, just beautiful. I found your blog because of your rainbow cake from last summer. I made it for my 5 year old’s birthday in Jan and have been reading your blog just about everyday since then. You have inspired me as a mom. Enjoy your summer with your children! -E

linda lou - sweet photos of annie and painting the box what a neat idea (: to mail. blessings.

Heidi Jo the Artist - I’m so glad you are not dreading spending the summer with the kids this year. I remember that last year and it saddened me to hear that. Sure, I have days that the kids get on my nerves too, but I pray to appreciate those days too, as crazy as that sounds; because I know people (one being my sister) that have had their children die and so I would rather have fighting then silence.
I just showed my son the photos of Annie painting the box, and guess what he wants to do!! I love all your (and your kids) creative ideas. It always gives us something new to try. 🙂
Cheers to a great summer! 🙂
P.S. Rainbow cake here I come, I have planned a Rainbow Brite birthday party for our daughter who just turned three. Just so I could make the SUPER COOL rainbow cake of yours. I will have to let you know how it goes!

Staci - We are not out until next Friday…but today is our last day because we are Disney bound!!! I have a ton of stuff to do before getting ready for this trip…and I am reading blogs 🙁 I hope you have a terrific Summer !!!!!! Can’t wait to see it all in your fabulous pics 🙂

Courtney - the rainbow cake! one of my favorite “things” i learned from you!

Lisa Currie-Gurney - MEG, I AM SO GLAD FOR YOU THAT YOU ARE A WISE MUM AND TAKE THE TIME THAT GOES BY US, EVEN IF WE DON’T WANT IT TOO.
HUGS FROM MAINE

Nicole Q. - I’m with ya . . . all week I kept thinking this was IT with the twins!! Next year they have to grow up. SNIFF SNIFF! HOpe to see ya at the grad party tomorrow, we’ve got a couple parties to make it too, it will be a busy day.

Lisa - OH. I can’t take anymore. I do NOT heart kindergarten. Last day of preschool at our house and I’ve been on the verge of tears all day. Way to soak up sweet memories with Annie!

amy d - you forgot the best part….SLEEPING IN!!!!! …almost as good as rainbow cake!

Jennifer - You will soon have a new type of normal to enjoy. It will be fun-this one will come home from kindergarten, talking your ear off telling you every little thing that happened. My oldest is like this and I hope it NEVER changes! Our summer starts next Friday-for right now at least, I can’t wait! 🙂

Sarah@Clover Lane - yes, repost the rainbow cake! and i am SO looking forward to summer this year too…and last year i wasn’t either. i can’t wait for it all…the good and the bad.

Jaime - I love your pictures of Annie… =D
Summer starts the following week for us. I am going to sit down with the kids this weekend and create our summer “to do” list – the one you made last summer with your sweeties!?! It was such a great idea!

Karen Gerstenberger - My heart is with yours – and you are so right to savor every moment that you are “awake” and noticing the blessing of just BEING. Just being, and being with the ones you love, in peace. There are many hard, sad, frustrating, annoying moments, too, and those beautiful ones are pure gifts. So glad that you took time to reflect and to share with us…now we are awake to those moments, too.

sarah - I’ve been struggling with Kenzie not being my ‘baby’ anymore. She changes everyday, and sometimes I feel like I can’t hold on to the moments tight enough.
I agree why do ‘baby feet’ have to grow up. tear.
I want some rainbow cake.

Katie - Can you post your recipe for the rainbow cake? I can’t find it anywhere. I love reading your blog (and looking at)and smile everytime I come to it. I also like to link to your happy things. I even thought of you this morning when I made a smoothie.

Janine - Wow. I must be reading your blog for a year now. I think I started around the time of the last rainbow cake. Enjoy your summer. “summer” doesn’t start around here till mid/end of June.

Kirsten - Oh the rainbow cake! Makes me smile…I must make one. We still have 4 weels of school, but my baby is in 4th grade. I know this: we have an option for all-day kindy, or 1/2 day, and 1/2 day is so much less popular (why???) because many mom’s can’t wait to “get rid of their kids”. Me? No way, I was selfish and wanted my girlie to come home at lunchtime everyday and to have her to myself for that bit of the afternoon before her brother came home. I savored that last year.

Anna Marie - That is what I was going to ask. Haha! Gonna make that infamous rainbow cake like last year? Gosh, it seems like that was just yesterday. Have a great weekend, Megan!

Rebekah - Is that Cookie Crisp? I love that stuff. I haven’t had it since I was a kid. My mom never bought it, but my grandmother did. 🙂
On a more serious note, this post makes my heart ache a little. I have a couple of years left before Ginny starts school, but I can see that day coming and I know that once it gets here every thing will change. I should be soaking up every minute of this precious time alone with her. Already I’m amazed at much she can do without my help. And I’m going to stop thinking about it now, before I cry. :}

tami reed - Funny how mom and daughters relate. My daughter and I have alot of friction but i love her soo much. She is soo different from me. My son and I have a great relationship and he is so funny. He is the jokester in the family lol.

Sandy - Was that Cookie Crisp in Annie’s bowl?! That was my favorite when I was a kid! I could still eat it.
So sad Annie’s little toes are growing up and going to kindergarten in the fall. I bet she’s excited though. 🙂

Nancy - The rainbow cake… I just love that! My five year old has cereal with out milk as well. Must be a getting ready for Kindergarten thing. Enjoy your day.

elma - I so heart your blog. Enjoy your last day together:) Summer starts for us on june 2. Now that Adrian is five I am going to try to do some fun day trips and take the littles to Chicago for a couple of days I hope I survive. Love all the pictures!! You are such a FABULOUS mom!!!!!

Queen Bee - Oh you about brought me to tears.
My darling Kiddo goes to kindergarten this fall as well, and I had the very same internal *moment* as you last night, as I watched her brush her teeth.
All by herself.
No help necessary in turning on the water, getting the cap off the toothpaste, no step stool needed. I just watched her, mesmerized, thinking, “Remember this. Take this in and commit it to memory. This will be gone in the blink of an eye and never return.”

Jimina Anderson - Why do you have to be so perfect? Darling box idea! I’ll keep it in mind.

Vicki - You have tapped into one of life’s greatest secretes…..when all else fails….when the ship is going down…when nothing makes sense anymore…BAKE!!! Have a happy day!

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gettin’ crafty outside

its so much easier to let the kids be messy….outside.
SO MUCH EASIER!!
the pressure is off…spills are ok…hardly any clean up involved.
 
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i envisioned this activity to be with my five children outside in the sunshine having a family time.
instead…
one kid went to a friends, one kid was too cool, one kid was doing who-knows-what and
two other children were at our house to play.
so i dyed eggs with talby and annie and their friends.
it was just as fun as what i had planned out….go with the flow…no big deal.
 

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i have been a mother for 15 years and this was my first time to dye eggs with my kids by myself.

that is nuts.
 

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and i had to google….how to hard boil eggs.
I AM SERIOUS.

i am such a dork.
 

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so i hard boiled 36 eggs…flawlessy i might add…because thanks to google…i am a pro now.
 

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and filled cups with dye from the packs at the grocery store….
 

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and made memories with my kids…and their two friends.
 

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loving the bright colors.
i could have a really good time by myself doing this!  


i was dipping my egg in the pink
and talby's friend looked at me funny and i said "what?"
she said "your egg is my drink."
yes…i put my egg in her pink lemonade.

nerd.

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this one was a happy accident.  
they called it the spider web egg.
 

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talby is probably saying "can you believe my mom stuck her egg in your drink?!"
 

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and i forgot to say "don't get your fingers in the dye" so now my girls will 
have red and green hands for easter day.
niiiice.
 

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and i am getting really wild and making deviled eggs for easter lunch!

look out world…meg knows how to hard boil things now.
who knows what i might do next!
              

chris - mom of five for almost 29 years, and NEVER did it! before you have me beheaded, i always had a sweet neighbor (sans kids) who loved to do it! bliss! i babysit a darling little korean girl who grew up loving to gut the pumpkins at halloween~kept her busy and me happy for many years! i thought all of these photos were wonderful, but the one that really cracked me up was where you could see the dog looking longingly out the screen door!

Courtney Walsh - oh my gosh. i forgot to dye eggs this year!! how did that happen??? these look perfect! i love the really bright ones! 🙂

JustMommer - Hint for next year, for younger kids, slip the boiled egg inside a wisk and they can hold the handle and dip into the dye.

Julie - I could come steal that daisy bowl.
adore.
I make my mom dye eggs with the kids.
I can’t do it. Just can’t.
You are rad.
The end.

Holly - Oh Meg, you crack me up!! I love reading your post 🙂 And dying the eggs outside…. totally brilliant!! Why didn’t I think of that?!

Michele Renee - OK, I must be weird because I have made egg salad about a thousand million times since I was a teenager.

johnnie - I have to pull out my Red/White checkered Betty Crocker cookbook to look up the directions each time too!
I always loose half the eggs while boiling due to cracking open. Im at a 2:1 ratio on survivors!

kristine - i had to google how to hardboil too! i remember watching a rachael ray show when she was joking with a guest about, “oh but i’m sure you can at least hard boil an egg!” and i was thinking how glad i was that i wasn’t the guest b/c i would have had to say “actually….” and i thought for sure she would just give the two step directions but she didn’t!
the lcd screen on my camera broke last week! boo! fortunately i bought the accidental warranty so i don’t have to pay BUT they kept it for three weeks! so no easter pics. i KNEW you’d have great ones of eggs on here! i love all the colors!

adrianne - I love your daisy bowl.
(I also love the picture with Waffle in the house looking out at all the fun…forlorn…)

brooke - don’t feel so bad…the first time i tried to hard boil eggs for my daughter i boiled all the water and then carefully dropped the cold eggs into the boiling water…went back to check 5 minutes later and had a pot full of shells and boiled egg guts…ha!
but as we speak i am googling a recipe for egg salad as i have way too many hard boiled eggs for a party of three!!
having a seven year old too i laughed out loud at your putting your egg in talby’s friend’s drink and then snickering about it…love these little mishaps as it will be what is remembered the most about that day…

Susie - My favorite picture is the one with Waffle in the door in the background!

susan - it’s fun to let the kids make a mess! we love doing our eggs too! hope you had a beautiful Easter!

Jessie Westfall - Found your blog through my friend Jody and I must tell you that I too had to google hard boiling my first time. I LOVE dying eggs and I even buy the clearanced out dye so we can do it anytime we want. It makes for great colorful healthy snacks for the kids. Glad it all went well for you.

Tiffany Feger - you make a regular thing look so inviting! i took pics of my kids outside too, but not like that.

amanda fuentes - Ha ha, I recently had to google how to hard boil eggs too! We did our eggs last night – out of a dozen only 8 made it after dropping and cracking while boiling!

tami reed - Happy Easter looks like you guys are having a great time! My kids decorated eggs too lol.

Kirsten - Ah!!! Love Waffle peeking out the door – gosh, that looks so perfect…we were inside, with pouring rain and 30mph winds howling. Pink lemonade, to boot…like a picture postcard. With dyed fingers 🙂

Willy Van Os - Happy Easter!

bobbie - I did it by myself with my two girls and our baby tonight. I was so nervous but it went great! I gave the baby a lollipop (ha!) to keep her happy in her high chair and the girls and I just went to work. It was the cleanest and funnest egg dye I’ve ever done. I used gel food dye colors mixed with vinegar and water and we got the best colors! Even better than pink lemonade! 🙂

Christy - Too funny, because here I sit at nearly 9pm to google how long to cook the eggs. Hoping to dye with my munchkin tomorrow b/f our family comes for dinner. 🙂 Looks like you created everlatsing memories & lots of eggs! Happy Esater!

Christina - The lemonade story is priceless.
About hard boiling eggs…first of all, a couple of days ago my oldest wanted hard boiled eggs so I put the water on to boil, it came to a boil, and then I remembered you are supposed to put it all in together and bring to a boil. I cracked one egg putting it in, from the heat, and the other I think cooked in three seconds.
Then yesterday I made some new, the right way, and when they were done I changed the hot water for cold and set them on the stove to cool. I was going to put them in the fridge for another time. Way to plan ahead! I left the house with the kids for six hours, and came back to find them still sitting on the stove. Nice.
You are still the coolest mom around.

julia - I used to have to have things a certain way…then I had my third…I’m learning to go with the flow too.

karen - Oh Waffle…i bet you would have loved to be out there and make a mess out of it all!!

kathy b - One year, as a preschool director, I hard boiled over 300 eggs. I learned the hard way that the same rules don’t apply for cooking eggs at that volume. They dyed just fine but one child dropped an egg out of his basket on the way out the door and we discovered they were not cooked but still runny.We had to quickly put a warning sign up for the rest of the parents,” eggs are not to be eaten, just decorative”. Everyone has an egg story.
Kathy b

Amy - I have been hard boiling eggs for years and just when I think they are perfect I crack them open and they are either raw or the shell won’t come off! (not to make you paranoid or anything) I put my eggs on to boil today, began talking college choices with my daughter and burned them. They look alright but I’m sure they aren’t inside! ah well, the dogs will have a happy easter!

Tanya H - confession: I have been a mother for nearly 8 years and this is the first time I have dyed eggs with my kids by myself. I had to call my mom to find out how to hard-boil eggs. Fabulous. 😀

Sharley McMullen - Next year try dyeing brown eggs, Our Western magazine called Sunset showed a picture, so my grandchildren and I tried it the eggs come out a deep rich jewel tones, do have to leave them in the dye a bit longer. Glad you learned to boil eggs!!
I assume you brought them to a boil, cover and turn off and let sit for 14mins and then submerge in an ice bath till cold?

Laurie, from Maryland - I’ve got a few cool kids of my own (20, 17, and 11), who frequently don’t feel like doing what I’ve planned. I try to enjoy whoever shows up, without being mad at those who don’t. Not always easy. I’ve noticed that when my oldest is home from college, she seems more eager to do things with the family, though. I guess there’s hope!

Kate - Hi! Congratulations! That is a huge accomplishment!
If you have a mom egg dyeing party – I am so there!

`Kelly - Congratulations on learning to hard boil eggs! 🙂
I have two handy egg decorating tips that I learned this year and just have to share. Tip #1 – If you use a whisk to hold your egg instead of a spoon or those little dipper things that come in the box, hands stay clean and eggs are less likely to break. It does mess up your whisk a little but I decided I’m going to stock up on good wire whisks from thrift stores this year and stick them with our Easter stuff to use next year. It worked wonderfully. Tip #2 – use mason jars instead of cups. It just looks really cool 🙂

linda lou - meg you should of called i would of decorated eggs with you girls! (: they are beautiful…
happy easter to you and your family.

Diana - p.s. LOVE Waffle looking out the door… TOO cute! LOL!

Diana - no way! really?!?! i never woulda guessed you hadn’t done this. but remember, you do so much OTHER stuff with them. and now you have done THIS, and had so much FUN, right? {get out your craft stuff… glitter, bits of fabric, buttons, ribbon, all those neat things, and let them fancy their eggs up… regular glue works, or tacky glue, or your hot glue gun thingy… my grandkids LOVE doing that}
gonna google the deviled eggs recipe, too? {i have a good one if you need it… i make deviled eggs all the time… you let me know, i can send it tonight when we get back from family bbq}
HAPPY EASTER, MEG! xoxo

meaghan - i totally googled it too…

anna. - I’m a stalker and former super-mean-to-my-mom teenager. I sure hope that kid isn’t being too hard on you. I could just kick myself when I look back at my nasty attitude. Too cool is something we all regret. Wishing you love and kindness for your holiday weekend.

amy j. - I did the same thing. Thank goodness for Google.

a-m - We’re just about to do the same thing now! We’re going to try rolling the eggs in a mixture of olive oil and food colouring after their first dunking this year. If it works I’ll post the results, if not well I’ll try and show willing!
a-m x

Keri ~ Forever Folding Laundry - You are not the only egg Googler out there…I had to do the same thing yesterday. 🙂
Poor Waffle looked like he wanted in on the action. He would look cute dyed a nice shade of Easter egg pink. 🙂
~Keri

Lori - Am I the only one that noticed Waffle in the background of the one picture? I bet he was wishing he could join in the fun! 🙂 Too cute!

Michelle B. - Toooo funny about putting your egg in her lemonade! That really makes me laugh! Your egg pictures turned out fantastic!

Julie - I can’t stop laughing (out loud, mind you) about the pink lemonade… and then the picture of the afterwards. Oh, HOW FUNNY! And that’s not good, considering I had the stomach flu two days ago and my ribs HURT. But I laugh anyways, because that is soooo funny! I can totally see myself doing that.
And eggs… I only boil them once a year–for Easter. So I have to google it EVERY year. At least you are considering yourself a pro now!
PS: I am making baked french toast for brunch tomorrow. CAN’T WAIT. My husband is so excited (so am I). It’s been too long. I am going to try to tweak it a bit, since my youngest son is allergic to eggs. Apparently you can make french toast with bananas instead of eggs. Who knew! I googled that, too. Sounds yummy enough, but man, I am going to miss the real thing. My youngest is 3 now, so he’s at an age where we can’t just always serve him something “special”–he’s starting to feel really left out.

Christine - I have been reading your blog for a few months now and just love it so much! Thanks for sharing your beautiful images and thoughts. It is funny as I was dying eggs yesterday with my boys I thought about you because of the rainbow of bright colors – I thought: I bet she LOVES this! So I had to laugh when you said it was your first time to do it with the kids. LOVE that you put the egg in the lemonade. LOL Funny how things don’t turn out like how we have them in our heads, but they always turn out, don’t they?

jeanne - All I have are brown eggs…how do you think they will turn out:-) I love that you dipped your egg in her drink…so me.

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - I can’t believe you’d never hard boiled an egg! You are so funny. Those were great pics. We do ours tonight. It’s one of my fav things to do. I did it every year growing up and it’s just one of my best memories. Happy Easter to ya Meg:)

Tanya - In her lemonade! Ah that is TOO funny! Happy Easter!

Flower Patch Farmgirl - C is 5 and has never dyed eggs before. It always gets away from me. But this year, I took the plan one step further and bought the dye tablets and an extra dozen eggs! Except…tomorrow is the Big Day and the eggs are still white.
Also – are you Meg or Megan? I feel so strange not knowing for sure. I definitely want to say the right name in my head when I talk to myself about you.
(Kinda creepy, I know.)

Dianne - Looks like you had a lovely time 😉

holly - i have to look up how to hard boil eggs EVERY single time I make them! 🙂 I love the picture of the dog looking out the window at you & the kids dying eggs. so sweet.
my mom is here visiting for a few days…. we had a great time catching up yesterday. She confided to me that she accidentally put desitin on her toothbrush (thinking it was toothpaste) & put it in her mouth. HYSTERICAL. I almost peed in my pants I was laughing so hard.
have a happy Easter!

Susan - Love the eggs but I am most impressed with your hard boiling skills! I am 50 and I have been hard boiling eggs for 40 of those years and I have never had a perfect batch…EVER! I am off to google this right now. Have a happy Easter!

Messy@Bungalow'56 - I woke up this morning wondering whether we were going to empty the eggs or boil them. Mine always crack. So now I know I can google it and the decision is made. Thanks. Wish it were warm enough here to do it outside. Still snow in the backyard. The Easter Bunny always has such a hard time of it.
Dana

callie grayson - awesome!!!
The smile on Talby’s face is the greatest!! Your kids will remember all the fun you do with them.
Let us know how the deviled eggs tun out!!
xx
callie

gina - oh yeah we dyed 7 packs of eggs yesterday and we all have colored hands. 🙂 Have a VERY happy Easter!!

candace - Fun stuff I miss dying eggs – we did it almost every year growing up. And in the south you learn to hard boil eggs as a youngster – I think that deviled eggs are the admission ticket to potlucks.
Have a happy Easter!

kristi rediske - Love all the Easter egg decorating pictures-I did that with my kids for years-they are grown now and I miss it. I especially love the picture where the dog is in the doorway looking out-to cute. What a great family you have-God has blessed you!

Sara @ It's Good to be Queen - this is just funny stuff. love it.

shelly - I couldn’t hard boil eggs until last week either! How nuts! We just never needed them…if we did my mom always made them.
It looks like everyone had a blast 🙂 the dyed fingers should be faded by Sunday…when my oldest was little, he had to sing at church with crazy egg dye fingers-Lovely-mother of the year for sure!

Kirsten - my family will only eat eggs if they are scrambled, so i have to google how to hard-boil eggs every easter, too. so you’re not the only dork! and every year, my mom cracks a few and i do not. i’m so glad i learned how to boil eggs from google and not my mom.
looks like a blast! i love it that you dipped one in the lemonade. that is awesome! (and something i would totally do).

Jill - So cute! That looks like a lot of fun for the kids that were there. 🙂

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art art i want you



thank you beth.
i have heard this before but it was so nice to hear it today.
i am in the craft room for the next 5 hours…not coming out!
i am making ART!

info about the sierra leone trip in the coming days.  :) 
 

lauren - meg, thank you for this! it makes my heart smile and reminds me why i do what i do. i created a post on my tumblr about it (http://lowleeta.tumblr.com/) – its set to post in the morning. wanted you to know i referenced you and your blog there. thanks for the inspiration!

DreamGirlLisa - OMG, I love this!!! thank you for sharing it!

amanda fuentes - Too cute! I linked your post on my blog (hope you don’t mind! Take a looksee). My 7 yr. old daughter LOVED this! She is our little artist and it won’t surprise me if she has her own version of this over the weekend.

Becka @Studio222 - I adored this! thanks for sharing.

Lisa Lentini - I love this video. I played it at the beginning of the school year for my AP Art class. It was an inspiration for them. It just makes me happy. And it sticks in my head. Love it!

Meredith Salmon - I love this!!!I wish I were in my craft room for the next five ours. I have a box of unfinished projects that needs to be completed and some birthday presents to make. Never ends. I just wish I were not at a desk at work right now and doing my own crafts. Have fun!!!!

Kari - Thanks for sharing this video – I loved it and it made me think of my sister! I sent it to her and she loved it :). Question for you – where can I find your Etsy shop?

Holly - what a great video!

*Alex* - So amazingly incredible, I love this song! 😀

emily - love this ssssooo much!!! thanks for sharing!!!

Rachel - Love it! ♥ I’m sending the link to my daughter. This is totally her thing!!!

Lisa - That is inspiring, made me feel like I could possibly make something arty, and it would look good. It is a magical clip.

Elizabeth McDonald - Thank you so much for that video link! I love it. It made me smile! Especially since I love art. I just spent my morning sewing a new dress….
Also, I follow a wonderful blog about a woman who cut sugar out of her life..maybe you have found this blog also……http://myyearwithout.blogspot.com/

Jessie - Love this!!! It has inspired me to not be scared of creating. It seems so silly to be scared of art, but sometimes I don’t even begin because of the fear it may not be what I hope.
I love art, miss it. That’s what was so wonderful about being an art major…you were forced to create. Man, I miss that!! 🙂

Ashley Ann - Perfect thing to see today. Thank you.

Foy (Garden Cook Write Repeat) - It’s true sometimes you just need a little inspiration. That was a fun little video. The only problem is now I want to make art, but I have stuff to do. I need to finish some applications and do a bunch of writing. Maybe I’ll have to make some time later today for art.

gina - I had found this video last year- love it!

Danielle @ Transforming Home - That has to be the coolest video ever! It is inspiring me to keep at it with my current decorating project. Thanks a ton!
Danielle

Jill - Very cute!
I have to tell you that I’ve been {stalking} your blog for some time now and absolutely LOVE your sense of style. In fact, seeing all of your cool room inspired me to launch a challenge/giveaway on my blog! It would be FABULOUS if you entered! 🙂 Just kidding, but oh how I would love for you to makeover my daughter’s room!!
Take care!

A pocket full of posies... - LOOOOOOOVE this!!! AMEN!-(cause I kinda just think it deserves one!) off to create!
Blessings!
Jill

Dana D@BoysMyJoys - absolutely loved this!

Danielle - So great!! Thanks for sharing!!

maria - so CUTE! I sent it to my daughter – who is an ART student in California – enjoy your CREATIVE day!!

Rachel / cREaTe - LOVE. incredible. and i LOVE the song! i just got an idea a 1/2 hour ago & i’m desperate to start. 🙂 this was just what i needed before i turned on my space heaters & got to work in my dungeon of a basement turned art studio. and i WISH i could listen to this song on repeat. best of luck to you meg in your creative 5 hours!

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gingerbread and hot glue

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so yeah…i chickened out of the REAL gingerbread house.
and yeah…we didn't make our houses until december 30.

but WE DID IT.
and they really loved it.

i tried to build the tiny houses with grahm crackers and my royal icing but they wouldn't hold.
sean asked "can't we just hot glue it?"
i laughed "NO sean…we can't hot glue them…WAIT…we could HOT GLUE THEM!!!"
i told sean he was a genius.
(and he remembers)
it worked.
i told them to cover the glue with frosting so it didn't look too dorky.

you do what you gotta do to make it work….right?
it's not like we were going to eat them anyway.
 
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i LOVE group projects that start with everyone having the same materials.
and every single one turns out very different.
each personality shows on their work.
 

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i was happy that scott joined in.  
if there is candy involved…he is usually close by.  
annie was on hour 21 of those princess jammies.  
i had asked her to get dressed at noon and she said "but i'm just so cozy!"  
true.

they turned out to be a very cute little gingerbread neighborhood.
there's a benefit to having five kids…your gingerbread houses make a whole block!   
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annie covered her entire piece of cardboard with frosting and candy.
when she was finished she said "it looks like a gaw-den!"  she was right.
a beautiful candy garden.
 

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creative tree that talby made…her own idea completely.
and i loved the use of the swedish fish for a door!

Gg
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the happiest house on the block.    :)  

Tracy - We too do our gingerbread houses after Christmas. It started a few years ago when I forgot that we bought the stuff, ran of time and then decided to make them on the 26th…we have been doing the same thing every year since.

judi - Love it! We never made ours this year at all – so now I am buying Valentine’s day candy and going to make a cupid cottage instead. I had thought about using hot glue – glad to see it worked. Will do that for sure. Also, since it won’t be edible – I like the glitter idea!

Jill - Hey… I whipped out the hot glue gun for our gingerbread houses this year too! Then I decided that since we already ruined the houses with glue, we might as well sprinkle glitter all over them too, you know, for sparkly snow? It was lovely and non-edible. Buddy, our chocolate lab, ate them anyway. There is glittery poop in my backyard now. The joys of the holidays! :o)

Kristine - hot glue IS genius! frosting not holding is exactly why i cringe at gingerbread houses. NO MORE! winter 2010 will be my year!

house for sale Philippines - Lovely gingerbread houses. Yummy 🙂
You guys are really great.
Deirdre G

Angelica Bays - Cute! And that dude of yours is gonna be a high-payin’ engineer someday ;o)

Kelli - I LOVE that you used hot glue! We too made ours after Christmas and got so frustrated that the house wouldn’t stay together! Guess we will have to use hot glue net year! Thanks for the tip! 🙂

Jaime Melcher - Love your gingerbread village! My mom hosted a huge gingerbread house- decorating party last Christmas & we used the trusty hot glue gun, as well. Worked like a charm!
Wanted to send a quick thanks for posting your yummy family recipes… I live in Little Rock and Mr. Weatherman says to expect the coldest weather we’ve seen in 15 years over the next 4 days. Needless to say, I’m stocking up at the grocery store today and plan on making your tortilla soup, potato soup and chocolate chip cookie bars! 🙂 Thanks and Happy New Year!

alyssa - Okay, I was able to vote for you over at the homies. You probably don’t care, but I wanted to make sure you knew. You know, just in case you picked me!
I am definitely making individual gingerbread houses next year. Why didn’t I think of that. Now Kade can destroy his own house! I love it.

Mrs. - Okay, what do I know? But…I know that if you add a GENEROUS helping of cream of tartar to your store-bought icing it makes it very thick and sticky (but NOT tasty). Also, if you think in advance, you can snag some of those empty kiddie milk cartons from school. If you “glue” your graham crackers to that base, they hold up really well.
Even so, yours are lovely. I wish we had done that (maybe next year), and maybe, because I have only 2 children, we can make it into a party and invite some friends. Boyo, I sure do have a lot of plans already for next year!

aubrey - You pick good candy–those look so good. Like as in tasty good. (And decorated nicely 🙂 )

Diana - Mmmmmm, hot glue… now that’s a genious idea!
ADORABLE houses!! They have their mama’s creativity! 😉

Kelly - uh, i’m the girl who once hot glued something to dirt . . . yeah. hot glue on gingerbread, Sean is a genius!

amanda - hot glued 25 for my son’s 2nd grade christmas party at school, also glued them to the chinaette(spelling?) plate – the kids loved them and no slipping, etc…love your blog!

Jaime - Glue gun was a great idea… who’da thunk it?
Love the pics… feels like I’m there with you all!

Becca Parker - Nothing wrong with hot glue! It is a miracle epoxy!

the inadvertent farmer - ROFL…yet another reason I could not live without my glue gun! Kim

christi - hi meg! i so love your blog!! thanks for all the beautiful photos and great stories. you are an inspiration to me.

Heather Giustino - LOL! We always hot glued ours too!!! Love the gingerbread neighborhood – too cute!

Sara - Love it! Whatever works, right? Upon a recommendation we made some with whipped frosting from a can – it actually worked really well. We did use a piece of yarn around the perimeter for stability, but other than that it was 100% edible! Pics are here: http://sarasdailydetails.blogspot.com/2009/12/ive-been-looking-for-something-fun-and.html
BTW, I don’t comment much, but I love your blog and it’s been such a great source of inspriation for me!!
Happy New Year!

MOW - Glue gun=genius idea…
Growing up me, my sisters and all my cousins would collect the little milk cartons from school, rinse them out, take them home, slap frosting on those, and then graham crackers and decorate! Just another way to keep it all together!
I’m 23, and gingerbread houses is a family tradition that I look forward to the most at Christmas!

purejoy - mmmmm… looks like deliciously good fun!
i’ve never tackled a gingerbread house with my kids. maybe next year. (i’ll have to get the sedatives before hand)

meaghan - okay…A. having 5 kids makes hauling all that stuff out so much more worth it, and 2. i made your rainbow cake today for my son’s 2nd bday!! it tastes even better than it looks (if possible)!

Traci - i think i see lemonheads. my favorite!!

gina - We made these and just used canned frosting that I had put in the fridge over night- it makes it very thick!. We also braced the roof with little stacks of candy instead of another piece of “gingerbread”.

Kelsey - haha totally used hot glue on my gingerbread house this year too!!

Courtney Walsh - I have never made one of these…but the problems it that I am a total candy junkie!! I would’ve eaten all those Mike and Ikes long before they were glued down!

Staci - We didn’t do gingerbread houses this year ;( Looking at the fun you guys had….I’m sad I didn’t just suck it up and do it!! LOVE the idea of hot glue!!!!!! I think My Jake stayed in his pajamas the ENTIRE Christmas Break 🙂 LOVE IT!!! And now…it’s back to reality today! Happy New Year!

Sarah @ Clover Lane - Hot glue or not, your photos make them look deliciously edible!

Laura Phelps - my kids would have eaten them
glue and all

Trina - I am with you…. that icing is a pain in the butt…..and loved that you used graham crackers.. brilliant!
xx Happy New Year!
Trina

Jainatina - My family always uses hot glue to hold the houses together. It helps them withstand the holiday season. 🙂 We also use pampered chef gingerbread house molds… which turn out super heavy chunks of cookie so the only thing that can hold them together is hot glue. ^^ Tuns of fun.

Ryanne - I can’t believe you let your kids make crafts on such a pretty tablecloth.

Jennifer - We bought a prefabricated house and it still fell apart! I did everything they said, yet still, within about 20 minutes everything slid and the house became condemned. Thank God my husband is handy. He came home and drilled their house together-not sure how exactly, but it worked and Christmas was saved. You have to do what works, I agree. Your family looks so fun! We loved doing your pompom ornament craft. 🙂

Jenny - Brilliant! Loved it!

Vera - Those are some seriously awesome gingerbread houses!! Love all the color – they just make me happy looking at them!
My trick is to beat the royal icing (the real egg, cream of tartar, powdered sugar kind!) for like 5+ minutes until stiff, it’s glue-ier than glue that way.

shari - I LOVE the hot glue on the gingerbread houses… makes it a much more enjoyable experience for everyone involved!! We never eat them, so it’s no big deal. GREAT houses! I wish we had done them this year but we ran out of time. DEFINITELY next year!!!

H-Mama - They look perfect. We made ours after Christmas too. 😉 I’m going to have to remember hot glue for next year!! We never eat them either!

Kelly - This is always an after-Christmas project we do with my inlaws. They aren’t coming until this weekend 🙂 Your houses are adorable!

diane - we always made graham cracker houses growing up and I think most of the time they were hot glued. I am looking forward to starting this tradition with my little ones. Those are great photos!

Amanda Jo - Too cute! Kids are so creative!

Darlene - The icing never works – even though it seems like glue. You’ll be surprised to know I actually just bought a glue gun. Now I’ve got the power in me to glue anything that comes my way. Happy glue-ing!

Heather @ Cookie Mondays - Looks very similar to our gingerbread neighborhood 🙂 And my kids never got dressed the whole two weeks, so don’t feel bad!

Ashley - So fun! With only one child we sure didn’t have a whole block of houses!! And this is after the fact…but I melted sugar in a pan and then used that to connect the crackers…but it prob would have just been easier to use hot glue…not like you eat them!!! :0)

No.17CherryTreeLane - wait….is there something wrong with glue guns? because that’s how we roll…..

Rachel - So cute! It’s so neat how they are all so different.

Susan - Love the idea of hot glue! We never end up eating those things anyway…great job!

tasha roe - awesome idea! and no one would have known about the glue hidden under the frosting anyway. 😉 They do look yummy!

stodd - We use hot glue too! I did read somewhere last year that if you add a little bit of cream of tartar to your icing, it dries really hard and holds well. But, I like the glue better… the kids are kind of rough as they decorate. It’s one of their favorite things to do. In fact, we made haunted houses for Halloween and gingerbread for Christmas!

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - I think we need to start a mom of the year award. You would rock that category I think with all the fun stuff you do with your kids. Adorable house:)

Karina - I should have used hot glue – we used icing instead and my waistline does NOT thank me!!! We (OK, a lot of it was just ME) ate the whole house – thank goodness I have “only” three children and wasn’t tempted to eat a whole block’s-worth!!!

Scrappy Girl - That tree is fabulous! So creative! We have never made houses…it’s on the list for next year!

julia - we had major structural problems with our gingerbread house. it only lasted 24 hours before the roof caved in. i should have called the insurance company and blamed it on a hurricane and collected money to fix the roof and then turn around and use the money to buy a new gingerbread car. it’s a florida thing.

Ashley Ann - He is a genius…wish I had thought of that one!

feather - well, you aren’t the first mom to use hot glue on gingerbread houses. seriously, i think our culture should do away with houses and go to gingerbread piramids. the egyptians had it right. just lean everything into on nice little point on the top. why are we trying to fight gravity?

Amy C. - I starting doing the “real deal” gingerbread house about 3 years ago. I checked out a book called Gingerbread Houses:building and making memories by Nonnie Cargas. Recipes
for the house work great.
We made a train last year and a tree this year.
What I’ve learned is make the dough and icing 2 days before you need it. Cut and roll out the house the next day. Let it sit overnight to firm up. Decorate it the next day.
I store royal icing in mason jars. It keeps it from drying out until you are rady to use it.
It is too crazy for me and a very long day to try to do it all at once. More enjoyable to break up the steps for me and the kids.
The hot glue cracks me up.

Nancy - You bet, I used my glue gun,too … best secret in town! It will keep us sane and that is a good thing.

Andrea - We used the caramelized sugar for the first time and thought it was revolutionary! But, since everyone only picks off the candy and never eats the graham cracker part, hot glue is brilliant!

Amber - hahahahaha. hot glue! we should have done that. our gingerbread house looked like a smeary mess! But my daughter’s hands were covered in goodies and she sure like that. 😉

Holly - ok I love that you hot glued them! How funny! You gotta do what works,lol!

Joanna @ The Casa - Great houses! I love how she is standing on the chair. I remember being that into a project when I was little.

Jenn Grigoryev - i tried to use caramelized sugar on my gingerbread house, only to realize that 20 minutes of whisking and burnt fingers produced something that looked EXACTLY like hot glue. so i busted out the glue gun and finished up and boy was i WAY happier. my husband claims it’s cheating, but it’s not like anyone was going to eat month-old gingerbread anyway, right?

PaisleyJade - Those are just so cool!!! Never made a gingerbread house but you have inspired me (and also made me open to the idea of a hot glue gun and trying to make one well after Dec 25th!)

rachel - HAHAHA love this post – the kids have made a lovely job and who wouldn”t want to live in a block like that 😀

your cool friend Cheryl - If you look closely at the pics of our gingerbread houses, you’ll see I totally used my glue gun, too!
We’ll never eat anything that’s been so man handled by a 3 yr old and anyway, I don’t trust that icing one bit…

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ornaments

our kids get a new ornament every year.
we store their special ones in boxes with their name on them.
(you can read about it here from 2008)
then when the grow up & move out (gasp! i can't even imagine nor do i want to!) they take their box.

sometimes i take them to pick them out…sometimes i don't.
this year i did not.
sometimes they have special meanings…sometimes they don't.  
can you tell i have a really great system going on here?!

these are the specials for 2009.

annie….because she's 5 and loves cookies.                 
talby….she bought her own iPod this year.
IMG_9820  IMG_9823

sean…he likes snow globes
AND his name was spelled correctly!                          scott…i used a toy bike and just added a hook.
IMG_9825   IMG_9826
   
lauren….a capital L all covered in bling.  
  
IMG_9821  IMG_9831

and the orange star is just one i got at target a few years ago…look how easy that is?! 
i could make that.  and so could you.
you could put any words you wanted….peace, joy, love, jesus, noel…ANYthing you wanted.

IMG_9919   
are you feeling peaceful?

tami reed - happy holidays to you and your family

gina - ? Um, yes. that should be a C. Christmas. 🙂

gina - Today I feel peaceful and looking forward to the next 36 hours filled with family , friends, and fun!! Merry Vhristmas to you an yours!

mel - my mother in law did this for my husband when he was growing up. When we got married, he had a box of ornaments for our tree. It was so cute! We are doing this for our girls also, but since they are only 15 months & almost 3 years old, they don’t have that many in their little boxes!

Courtney Walsh - My birthday is December 18 so my mom always got me a Cmas ornament for my birthday…every year…and she still does. That’s 34 ornaments and counting, and I remember a lot of them (the fave is the strawberry shortcake one I got in kindergarten…it used to smell.) 🙂
Love your pics!

tara pollard pakosta - next year, I am putting my tree by the fireplace! LOVE IT! great picture! I do the same thing with my girls for ornaments, they each have their own box. and some years there is meaning, some years, we just buy whatever they pick out. it’s so much fuN! I will be one sad mama on the day mine move out and take those ornament boxes. we try to buy ourselves one new one each year also so that we will have some left. I may just have to do this with my grandchildren one day to fill our tree….dont’ even want to think about it! My oldest turns 10 on christmas eve, feeling sentimental over here!
these are just LOVELY! tara

Alicia - Sometimes things are just easier done alone…totally understand.
My mom started this same ornament tradition when I was a kid and it is really great now as an adult to open that box! I should have done that with my kiddos…maybe it’s never too late, right?

Rachel / cREaTe - i love your honesty with “sometimes i do … sometimes i don’t”. that made me laugh. 🙂 the lesson being it doesn’t matter HOW it’s done, just that you’re doing it. thanks for sharing, meg!

A pocket full of posies... - LOVE the ornament idea!!! might just have to be our craft today! and feeling peaceful?? ummmm, getting there! 🙂
Blessings!
Jill

Lisa - I love the ornament idea! Over the weekend I made your mint chocolate brownies and can I just say how much I LOVE them!! 🙂

paige - such a great tradition & you scored some super cuties too
merry christmas 🙂

Lorilee - Your tree looks lovely. We have given our boys ornaments for several years. We also exchanged ornaments with their cousings. Each boy has his own tub. I love the idea too!
Blessings,
Lorilee

the wild raspberry - seeing your lit tree and stockings hung with care makes me feel peaceful. what a pretty sight.
happy holidays~
chasity

patricia - peace out!!

Cate O'Malley - Love it! We do the same thing, although I like the idea of getting their ornaments together. This year, it was a soccer ball for my son and a cow for my daughter. Do you know how hard it is to find a non-comical cow? Our family ornament was a cruise ship – love cruises!

sara - what a beautiful tree!

Maria - I love the idea of keeping everyone’s ornaments separate…I so need to do that. I have just been buying a family ornament lately and the miniature ornaments for our advent calendar (which is now full)…the tree looks great!

jennifer - We do the same ornament thing here at our house. And I’ve got the same kind of system going, so I completely understand yours! 🙂
Thanks for sharing the picture of your Christmas tree and stockings hanging on the mantel. I’m experiencing decorated homes vicariously through all my blogging friends this year and your picture gave me a bit of much needed peace.

Christina - Such a beautiful spot there in your home…although I know your whole house is lovely! I need to figure out the stocking thing.
We also do the ornaments for our kids. They love it!

Dina - I do the same ornament thing with my kids. My mom did it for me and nothing made me happier than the day she handed over my box. I still have them all and they go on our tree along with all my kids’ ornaments. My oldest is only 5 and our tree is so full. I hate to think of that 1st box of 18 (or so) not being on our tree.

Rach - It’s just like it’s right out of a magazine! Beautiful! I love it!

Melanie - Your tree looks beautiful. No tree at our house this year because of the move but I am enjoying all the trees in blogland though.

Allison - I could find peace at your beautiful house. Mine has a half-dead Christmas tree in the living room. Barely any gifts wrapped yet. A falling-down shanty of a gingerbread house we tried to make tonight (it was a pre-made kit, and still i ruined it). I love your blog. It makes me happy every time I read it 🙂

julia - I love your Christmas tree and fireplace pic – I need to find some PEACE stocking holders (ever since #3 I’ve been doubling up).

Anne - Love it. Just like our family. I always remember being little and being so amazed at how MANY ornaments my parents had in their box. Now my daughter comments on how many I have… I love the ornaments that remind of you of something special the moment you pull them out.
Merry Christmas to you all!

Brooke - My parents did the same thing for my brothers & I growing up. It was so nice when my hubby and I got a tree of our own and I could decorate it with my ornaments that had a lot of meaning to them! Your kids will love it too 🙂
Love the pics. Your tree looks beautiful.

Staci - Not EVEN close….yet 🙂 But it will come…I’m just sure of it 🙂

Kelly - We do that for our boys too. This year it turned into a whole fiasco because I got them in Disneyland a couple months ago and one broke! How do you replace that?!? (PTL for Ebay! :)) However I also get us a family ornament because my sister & I both got married in one year and my parents’ tree was NAKED and it made me sad and I never want that to happen to me! 🙂
I did the same thing to a Star Wars toy last year that you did with the bike. My son still has no idea it’s really a toy. 🙂

your cool friend Cheryl - Your tree is beautiful!

~KS - My parents did this same thing for us when I was growing up. I moved out years ago, and I took my box of ornaments with me. And I love putting my own tree up every year because each ornament has such a wonderful memory to go along with it. And the toy bike with a hook was such a creative idea!

Sara Cameli - So pretty Meg….very peaceful picture…

Kate - What wonderful support we have in blogland! I feel peaceful too! I am at the airport, waiting to fly to Dallas with the in-laws… hubby trying to find me a starbucks just for fun… kids hainvg a blast rooting for their favorite team on the big screen (based soley on their uniform)… and I am getting to catch up on my fav blogs?! Peace!

adrienneK - so pretty!!! and yes i could make that ornament…..hmmm…. ok i call a craft day with meg!!!!! 😉

immyyas - I do that for my girls as well. It is such a fun tradition. I too don’t have any real system going on either… makes it less stressful that way : ) LOVE the picture of your tree… it looks like a postcard or like it is right out of a magazine. Another fun thing I did right out of high school & in college was ornament exchanges with my girlfriends… when your young & don’t have a lot to cover your tree (and your broke & can’t afford to buy all your friends real gifts) this is a GREAT way to accumulate them!

erica - i have a sean and we got him that same ornament this year (from kohls??). beautiful tree!

Diana - I made felt ornaments several years ago for my oldest son when he moved out after high school… and for a few years after that I added to the collection. I should do more of that. Especially since there are grandkids growing oh-so-fast. And start some for my other son. He might get married… someday. LOL!
Peaceful? Hmmmm. Not sure about that… to much medical stuff going on.
Thankful, yes. Thankful for my sweet hubby and the rest of my family. And for God in my life!
😀

TRACI - Love it and your tree is just GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!

No.17CherryTreeLane - I really am. There is so much chaos happening around me, and yet I feel a calm spirit about me. The Lord is allowing me to enjoy these moments, rather than stress about them.
He is good.

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