Category Archives: creativity
i got to see scott's last game of his basketball tournament yesterday…they won! i am gearing up for craft week.
i am just going to show all my pics….this is going to be long. and i met miss lynn. so we ate and got to know the women at our table. after the dinner & craft it's time for SWAPS. funny story: immediately after that was the FAMOUS silver bella vendor fair.
after this was over we walked outside and ate at the twisted fork. we went to two more workshops after the luncheon. we cleaned up and walked out from the workshop and all the silver bella stuff was gone and another it was such a good time…we laughed and we cried. i think silver bella is not for me. i found your blog via bushel and peck and i am searching for that fantastic bathroom…one of my next home projects and yours is an inspiration. Your post was great to read! I’ve just found your blog by a friend’s recommendation, and I’ve enjoyed my visit here a lot! I went to Silver Bella last year too, only, I travelled across the world. I had nothing to compare it to, but I completely understand about it being overwhelming and large. I too, found that the best part, was the friendships and laughing and crying together. What a shame that Jo couldn’t speak for longer. I heard she was fantastic, what she managed to fit in, in 7 minutes! thanks so much for sharing. I love your honesty. Not sure if Silver Bella would be for me or not. I’m a people person and I love to get crafty at the same time. But I think you came away richer for the experience…eh? Your pictures are fabulous as always. it was so great having you in my workshop Meg! I am sorry that I didn’t get to meet you. I know exactly how you feel about SB, although it has given me friends that I would have missed not knowing. And for that, it is worth it. All my best for your dreams!! you are such a friend 🙂 thank you for inundating my blog with visits. whenever you have me over there in your sidebar i suddenly become super popular and i love that 🙂 HOLY STINK. love your honesty too. I love crafting like the next girl–but it would be too much foo foo in one room for me. 🙂 🙂 i am sooo jealous of all the fun you had and the gfriends and all the crafty stuff you did! but i did love taking it all in a few minutes instead of days. sooo much fun! Hi Meg! I SO enjoyed your SB post, the best one I’ve seen & read by far, your photos are amazing and I loved reliving the experience through your eyes. I totally know what you’re saying about SB though and I don’t think I really realized exactly why I didn’t thoroughly enjoy myself this year until I read your post as I, too, was longing for something more personal….the way Silver Bella used to be. I hope our paths meet again someday. I will continue to check in on your and hope you’ll do the same with me. ((hugs)) I loved hearing all about your weekend, and how honest you always are. I enjoy the girlfriend time too, it’s good for my soul, but I don’t get enough of it. I wish I had more “crafting” friends too, although I cherish my besties, even if they aren’t crafty :). Your photography is so good, I see good things in your future with it. I feel like I’m on the edge too, but sometimes I think it’s on the edge of a cliff!! lol…but then I have one my girls snuggled up to me in bed at night and all is right with the world….. Hey Meg. It was so nice to meet you at SB this year. I have to say that I totally know what you are saying about the SB experience and I kind of suspected that when I saw you. I was feeling a bit of that myself this year. If felt much different than last year but maybe that’s just me and my perceptions along with the changes I’ve gone through this past year. I hope you find what you are looking for. I hope we all do. I’m not at all sure that I’m headed back to Silver Bella myself but I guess I’ll wait to make that decision. Take care. Jen The desire for connection is so strong, I think especially these days. Some people have a great community right where they are, with friends that are nearby and that they get to see often, or with family nearby that they are close to (relationshipwise as well)…we have moved around a bit and I hesitate to make friends, really good friends these days. But at the same time there is this longing for being settled, and for knowing people, other women, and like you said, talking and laughing and crying with them. I had that in a seminary community many years ago and when you leave that kind of situation it’s hard. The real world is hard! But…I suppose that it is time to grow up, right? 🙂 Sounds like a wonderful weekend of discovery … self-discovery, discovery of new friends, new ideas, new crafts! I’ve been “on the edge” of something for years now I stumbled on your blog through a friend’s blog this weekend and started to laugh so hard. I was at the Embassy Suites in Omaha all last week on business, and you can imagine my surprise Friday morning when I found the breakfast room full of women with craft bins, bags, and totes EVERYWHERE. I wondered what the heck was going on, went to work and put it out of my mind. Then I found your blog. Small world. It’s a great blog, btw. I don’t think I’m a Silver Bella kinda girl either. I’d much rather sit down w/someone and get to know them verses sitting in a room w/a boat-load of other people. I don’t know what weekend you went to SB, but last Friday night I had the same “dreams/what do I really want” conversation w/my bff. You’re right….those late night talks can get deep! thanks so much for all of your kind words about me. 🙂 this post really made my day. and look at goofball dave–what a cute dork. You are so honest to come clean. I know that you are on the edge of some sort of connectivity – I can feel it. What fun! I can’t think of anything more fun or exciting!!! What a wonderful adventure you’ve shared with us! Part of me was oozing with jealousy just reading about it, but I too would be yearning for something more personal. I think that’s true for most of us creative types. I do hope your hubby lets you leave the house again! And blog about it! The shopping looks so great. I think I would have felt the same way. I’ve always loved your posts about your craft weekends like the one you did for water for Christmas. That sounds like my idea of a good time. I’m so glad you got to go and discover all that you did. My friend invited me to go to SB with her last year. I had never heard of it before so I checked out the link she emailed me to see what it was all about. I got intimidated just looking at the website! 🙂 It looks amazing, but not for me either. I love that God made us all different and then has blessed us with all kinds of different outlets for us to use the gifts He’s given us. Still trying to figure mine out… I think it might be reading blogs! HA! Love this! Connections are a primary reason I blog and read what other bloggers are writing about! I just love all the creative ideas, heartfelt emotions and life experience that we all benefit from sharing! It is so great to read a post and come away feeling refreshed, inspired or uplifted! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I always look forward to reading your posts! Glad you had time away to create and laugh and meet new people. Perhaps if you felt a little disappointed in the lack of connection, others did too. Why don’t you run a similar one yourself, but with a slightly different focus? Women yearn for connections, without them we seem to wilt don’t we? You certainly seem to have a gift for bringing people together and placing value upon them and having a great laugh at the same time. Dream big Meg, who knows what can happen. Meredith xo. It’s interesting reading how you knew it wasn’t for you. Sometimes I get that feeling and I think “what’s wrong with me?” when I really should just know (like you wrote) that whatever it is, it isn’t right for me but right for some people. I love your re-cap. It definitely does seem a little harried – which wouldn’t be what I was looking for, either. I wonder if it is growing so much that it is changing? The things I heard about last year’s event seem quite different than what I’m hearing this year. I get overwhelmed to imagine leaving the house and all my duties…and actually not worrying about them while I”m gone! It’s been so long. I understand what you’re saying. I typically like a smaller group myself. 🙂 But that antique store had to make it all worth it!! It’s amazing how many people there I would have loved to meet as well! Blogland is a small world… kinda 🙂 I’m a one-on-one kinda girl though. I recently went to a writer’s retreat with about 50 women and I much prefer my 6 woman writing group 🙂 I am glad that you got to visit with friends and meet people that you have come to know online. SB wouldn’t have been for me either. I took a Karen Russell class and it was perfect. Very small and personal. By the way, your haircut is cute! I know this will sound crazy and incredibly cheesy but this post almost made me cry. And, I am not typically that tenderhearted but it came down to what you said about connection. I think that is what a lot of us are looking for these days (at the risk of sounding too generic.) And why I and many others were on a high of sorts after being a part of the Pioneer Woman’s book signing. And why blogs like yours and hers are so enjoyable to read. I need it every day now! We want that connection to those who can relate to us and you are providing a piece of that puzzle… and it sounds like more is waiting to happen. wow that looks like eye candy for days! and what a great (honest ) account!! im not sure i would fit in to well,but i do loooove to create,and looove pretty things?!and oh btw i am no in LOVE with princess lasertron,if she is reading,please be my BFF lol wow. what an amazing trip. thanks for linking to blogs i didn’t know about, too! Another super post – thanks for sharing I love the WHOLE post, especially the ending. I appreciate so much how REAL you are in all that you do. Thanks for that! I think you’re swell! You would have loved Brave Girl camp…that would have been for you, and Jeanne was there too! I know God has great things in store for you…for all of us. We just have to follow those dreams and yes even speak them out loud:) Great pics Meg. Your crafts were bea-u-ti-ful;) I enjoyed your post. It’s good to be honest about your experiences. Maybe you should try Brave girls camp, that sound awesome! I wish we had events like these in Canada. (sigh) Beautiful, beautiful post…and the best part is that you are are on journey. I agree about SB. It wasn’t for me either…but then I wouldn’t have met you!!!! I swear we are soul mates!!! We will have to go to a SMALLER art event soon…if you are able to leave the house. Wow! It sounds like a busy, fun time! It’s always great to discover new things about yourself. It usually leads to change & I think change is good. It sounds like you need to start your own “gathering”. 🙂 Glad you had a fun time. It’s always nice to get away & rejuvinate yourself! Looks like fun, but not my kind of fun either! Glad you realized that and had the guts to say it! I always appreciate transparency!! Oh my gosh, I am soooo jealous. I have wanted to go to this for years. : ) It looks like you had a blast. It’s so wonderful you got to go and gives me hope that someday I can convince my husband to send me. Thanks for all the photos, I say the more photos the better. : ) mother runner stole my words! seriously! i was going to say the SAME thing. this post was ALMOST like being there with you only i didn’t have to bear the glitter! 🙂 i really like you, meg I completely understand… I am now officially drunk on icandy!!! stumbling way….happy 🙂 great post! i have that green shirt 🙂 you both look gorgeous! so happy and refreshed. just what a mommy’s soul needs. It looks like you had a fun time, but I’m glad you are able to be realistic about the whole thing. You learned something about yourself while you were there, which is always good! Thanks for sharing all the photos with us! It wasn’t too long at all! It’s so much fun to be on the edge of the next great thing in your life! The great thing is that when we know it’s God’s plan for us, we don’t have to worry about planning it!!! IT just happens like it’s supposed to! That’s how it’s all working out with my photography business. You are amazing. So glad you had time away. So glad you got to be you. So glad for you. 🙂 LOVE your honesty!!! so refreshing! I’m glad you got to go…glad you are following your dreams…and I will be praying for you – for what I know will be an AMAZING new adventure! I know what you mean about feeling like you are on the edge of something, just about to…feeling like maybe you can, bursting with a need to create and create something personal and from the heart. Love you! i made some business cards…
************************************************************************************************ if you are going to Silver Bella you had better tell me. and i really can't wait to show you all my photos when i get back. Those are adorable love them, you are the most creative person I’ve ever seen! great business cards . . . so fun and funky!!! You are my hero! I can’t wait to see you. I am nervous too…I always am. i LOVE the cards. I’m going to Silver Bella for the 2nd time and it’s greatness! You’re going to have a fabulous time. Everyone is awesome and super nice. Hey, thought of you when I saw these on amazon. :o) Hey Miss Meg! I’ll be there. Take a deep breath. It will all come together. I promise. I will be there. With MY Megan. Those cards are SO FUN! I love them!! AMAZING!! The cards are wonderful! Have fun, can’t wait to see pictures. Your business cards rock. They’re all “Party on the front, Business on the back”. are you selling, buying, or both? sounds like a blast! Love the cards, especially the locker basket with the fabric and the crayon one next to it. So jealous you’re going to Silver Bella! Still need my happy pillows, whenever you’re ready! 🙂 I LOVE your cards! I like MOO’s mini-cards! So COOL! Love the business cards!! Have a great trip. I have no idea what Silver Bella is but hope you have a wonderful time! Oh those are stunning – I love the look of Moo!!! love love love your business cards. i’ll have one of each please! or in poster size for my house 🙂 Gorgeous! That is one business card I would keep for a LONG time on my fridge! 🙂 Lovely business cards! I’m jealous! First off thank you for sharing the business card thing. I’ve been wanting to do that and didn’t know how, what or where to do it!! I will be following in your footsteps. I LOVE the one with the boots!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the cards. My favs are the licorice and the crayons. LOVE the business cards! You provided Pinik with some great advertising…..I just headed over there and spent an hour I didn’t have playing with pictures! Maybe I’ll have to make some business cards. I always claim my profession to be “Estate Manager for Harding Family Estates.” Hahahaha! love them. my favorites are the first two – licorice and shoes. have a great time at silver bella and I look forward to reading the chronicles of the sights, sounds and smells of your time there. Those business cards are rad lady! the cards are so cheerful and fun. they look great! Hey, I’m going to be there! And I think we have lots of the same classes! Can’t wait to meet you! (and get one of your cards!) Love the business cards. What a great idea on using picnik. I can’t help laughing that I totally thought this post would be Flight of the Conchords business time and SUPER SCANDALOUS!!!! Oh my gosh – those cards are just so bright and colorful and FUN! those cards are awesome i want one!!wait have you thought about selling your prints?! i mean seriously everyone looooves your photography !! i would so put the crayon or cupcake print in my house!! ps thanks for the moo link i am in the process of making business cards as well 🙂 beautiful job on the cards..I want one. Those cards are so cute!! But to be quite honest when I read your post title I thought you were talking about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN0oDnoc3-c Fantastic! Love them!!! Those cards are great! So colorful and cheerful! I love the cards and your new “whatever” image in your sidebar. I love that verse!! You definitely have the coolest and funkiest cards around! You have my wheels spinning! the cards turned out great! one thing off of your list. i love moo!!! good luck getting everything done! 🙂 They are so beautiful! Have fun this weekend! Most excellent cards, girl. And I’m just hating you a little for going to Silver Bella. I’ll have to live vicariously. And might I add…it’s a “win/win” situation for you and them 🙂 love them. i get mine printed at moo too!!! i am so jealous. have a wonderful time!! Omaha is only 2 hours from me…I want to go just to meet you, Megan! beautiful and perfect! i love them! I want a business card just to have. Always so pretty and colorful. Just makes me smile! 🙂 I love them all—the red boot one is sooooo you. My favorite! are you in the show? that is so fun… love the cards! Those cards are perfect! Have a good time at Girl Fest ’09!
i was inspired to make a list because michelle made one. i think i can do it! if you make a list tell me and we can link it here too! It’s great to hear from you and see what you’ve been up to. In your blog I feel your enthusiasm for life. thank you. I made a list too! I just turned 39 – so I have a list of 40 things to do this year… I love your list I’m going to make a before I’m fifty… You know what I mean… Thanks for the inspiration. I’m learning to use photoshop and it is a big challenge but really neat in the end and I just got a fancy new phone with texting- super addicting. Your blog inspires me!! Hi Meg! I really like your list, there are so many great things obn here! I hope you don´t mind that I linked to your list from my list? 🙂 I just looked at this…if you have a craft weekend at your home PLEASE invite me…PLEASE:-) I just found your blog through a friend and I’m sold — mostly because you know what peppernuts are! It’s not Christmas without them, although I’ve yet to make them myself. Just stumbled upon your blog this morning…I have a couple of recipes for you that would help you on your learn how to cook pork! I’d never made either of these before trying these recipes & they are both INCREDIBLE and so easy! You can mark off the family pictures! coolest thing ever!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is my list of 23 things. I’d love to make a list like this too but that would only give me 6 months to do everything on it and that seems like a big commitment right now! : ) So inspiring!! I made my own, after seeing yours. oh, i love this! i love to read people’s lists but this little collage is way more my style…cute and fun. lots of good stuff here…are you marking off as you go? Love your colorful blog and your list! I’m about to have a 27th birthday and have already been compiling a list of all of the things I want to do, see and achieve in the next year. I just realized my next big bday is 50!!! Yikes… what happened?!!! What a great idea… 50 for 50! I realize I’m a bit late, but I did this today, and linked to your in my blog entry. I love this idea and have spent the last couple hours caught up in reading your list and everyone else’s lists that are linked from here. You have all inspired me to create my own list which can be found here: Okay I want my list to be adorable like this one. How did you create it…what program? I have probably read this thing 20 times. So cute. I love your list I’m going to make a before I’m fifty, can’t believe that is realy an age I be in 3 years. If you change your blog in any way, shape or form–I will cry I made a list…..thanks for the inspiration! Well….I just discovered your list on your blog! PS–how did you create it? I just found your blog today and love it! Yes, how did you make your list so pretty & colorful? You are so creative ~ great talent. Interesting list and a great looking blog! I can’t wait to spend more time exploring your blog. This is such an awesome idea! I created my own and it’s perfect because I just celebrated my birthday…so there is plenty of time to spare! Love this idea!!! Hi Meg… I’m Michelle’s mom and she inspired me to make my own “58 things” list! I guess one is never too old… time just flies faster and the list just keeps getting longer! I’m soo making a list! I have one but mine is 25 things to do before I turn 25 (just a tad younger than you!). I haven’t blogged about it, but some of the things are: See Yellowstone Park, get a massage, read 25 books, go up the Space Needle (I live in Seattle but haven’t gone. Scratch that – I did it last weekend!), sew something start to finish. It’s been fun. Good luck with yours. I love your ideas! loooooooooove it!! 🙂 glad I made the list (to meet awesome bloggers) that is me right? #36. go to africa Cool list! My sister and I have gone on two sister only trips (to Banff, Canada and Steamboat Springs, CO) and they were both so much fun! Keep us posted on when you acheive them! sometimes i wonder if you actually read all these darn comments! 🙂 too fun i have a vision board that looks similar Just finished mine. Thanks for doing this – it’s great for me to make a list of things to accomplish. Can’t wait to see what I complete. Here’s my list I think your list is fantastic, and beautiful too which is so important with lists like this! 🙂 {{seriously}} Oooh! I love your list! I have a 25 before 25 list that I have been doing for a couple of months now, but I’m jealous of how cool your list looks! Love it! I made my list here: i think you have some great things to work towards. especially sleeping until noon. how long has it been since you’ve slept until noon? that really scares me to think of your answer. haha. Great list and great idea!! My “to do” list tends to get stuck in my head. Maybe I need to put it down on paper to get it done!?! Hopefully you will get it all accomplished. great ideas Megan! awesome list. i see all of them being accomplished with ease. Hi Meg – fab list. You’re certainly going to have a very interesting year ahead of you. You know, we have great beaches in Australia…..anytime you want to visit… First of all.. I a list fiend. I always talk about what I want to do someday. So, I called mine…. MY SOMEDAY LIST. Can I help with 3 of those…family pictures, craft night and flea markets?! Sounds like a plan to me. rad list!! Love the idea of list making. Mine will need to start out with making a list to make a real list. Oh and by the way, I could help you learn to make cinnamon rolls……:) Have one weekend at home with no kids…now that is good! Can I make one large poster with just that saying? Great idea. I am fast approaching 40…ugh Hey Girl! I love your list! I saw this list idea somewhere and now it’s on my list of things to do. Yours is beautiful 🙂 I love your list! Brilliant idea, Meg. I tried making a list, too. Got to #14 and petered out. I guess that’s what it’s like as I approach 40. LOL Have you seriously never had a pedicure??? That made me laugh, only because I don’t particularly enjoy the experience (more the results). I’m extremely ticklish, and for some reason, I always manage to get cut. Bummer. xoxo change your blog???? but it’s perfect! Unless I write it down, it won’t get done–great idea!! BTW, I made the glazed apple bars last night…super delish! Everyone loved them. I’m a chocolate girl, & I can’t stop eating them! Thanks! I have written my list. Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂 Here’s a good pork recipe for your crockpot. Love the list idea . .. I’m gonna do it! you’re so young That is a great list! Making peppernuts is on my list of things to do this fall (and I tired cinnamon rolls earlier this year)! I love list so this would be a great thing for me to do:) my husband and i are good friends with the owner of club liquor east(next to sam’s in wichita). they just had their annual wine tasting party this summer. could have gone…bummer. love the list!!! I’m going to put “Make a list this pretty” on my list! And, I can help you with the cinnamon rolls if you need it!! The best cinnamon rolls EVER are in Richard Sax’s Classic Home Desserts. And I love this list. Although I’m ten years ahead of you and I suppose must make a list of things to do before I turn 47. While I can’t help you paint your laundry room ( and I DO love to paint) I can help you by pointing you to 2 places that have helped make my life easier. I really love your list. I want a list. I’ll get on that. I love your list ALMOST as much as I love the layout of your list. How did you do it? Seriously. Your blog is great eye candy! I know how you can check one item off your list: Love your list. LOVe it. What a year you have in front of you. How did you make that list so beautiful?! That is the loveliest looking list I have ever seen! Hi – I have been reading your blog for a while but never seem to comment. I love your list. I made cinnamon rolls a while ago and they were easy. I just wanted to say hi and that I love reading your blog and seeing the great stuff you create. I have one and my time is quickly ticking away! I have had a list for a while, but never crossed anything off. When I realized my 35th birthday was fast approaching, I suddenly realized that time was not standing still and it was time to act. What a great idea, Meg! Thanks for sharing! :o) I love this idea, and I look forward to trying it… though prolly with Sharpies…I have a think them and office supplies of all kinds… will link back to you when I do it. This is an awesome idea! I’m definitely going to make one. 🙂 Hey – I have no problem helping you out with the crafting night. I can be there in a few hours. 🙂 FYI- adobe is having a sale- i believe until tomorrow the 18th, where photoshop is $299 if you have elements to upgrade from. FYI- adobe is having a sale- i believe until tomorrow the 18th, where photoshop is $299 if you have elements to upgrade from. COOL! I can help you with that digital scrapbook! I design for Scrapbook MAX! (http://scrapbookmax.com …there’s a free trial link on the site, of course) It’s THE BEST digital scrapbooking software! this is fun! I may have to make a list too 🙂 the ‘camping in a tent…outside’ made me laugh so hard. 🙂 I have to say…from someone who was a chronic list maker in my 30’s…I had to stop when I was 40…something about the pressure just stressed me out. Something about NOT checking off those things, because I was busy doing day to day stuff, and then feeling like I failed somehow…I’ve found it might not be the more productive way to live, and I might get less done…but I LOVE those lists off my back. I think I’m also one of those people that stress’s about NOT finishing what I started..I just can’t let it go. Hey Meg, I also was inspired by Michelle’s list. I made mine back in August, but thanks to you was reminded today to do a little update. I created my list just a month before I celebrated my 40th birthday in September, but I’m still pluggin away. It really is great incentive to get some projects done and have a little fun too! LOVE IT! I even love how you wrote your list! that’s so awesome! what a great idea! I have only one thing on my list and that is to draw closer to the Lord. New blog / change your blog…. WHAT?????? I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog just as it is! My favorite to check everyday! Cool fun list, hope you have a blast goin after those goals! fantastic! am thinking i should come over to make peppernuts with you. 9it’s just a short drive from denver right?) love them. but first am going to stand here with my mouth gaping open in shock over the fact that you don’t have photoshop. thought for sure you did…your pictures are so gorgeous. very neat! i made a 25 thing to do while im 25 (this year) list but mine wasnt as pretty!it does help to have goals written down and it feels good when youve accomplished one and mark it off the list! http://thisgirlis.blogspot.com/2009/08/promised-cinnamon-roll-recipe.html This is a great post – be sure to link it with facebook! I might have to make my own list! ps my mom is also a quilter…..I’ll just tell her to stop by 😉 i’ve never heard of peppernuts before. my mom and grandma make the best cinnamon rolls- they would be glad to come teach you how to do it. I’m learning to use photoshop and it is a big challenge but really neat in the end and I just got a fancy new phone with texting- super addicting. I LOVE this idea! I am definately going to have to make one of these and then actually accomplish it. I would love to post mine as well. It is a great feeling when you know you have inspired somebody; just as you were inspired and now inspiring all of us. Have a great weekend! I think YOURS are hard!!!! So many of them take a long time! Good luck! I can’t wait to make mine in a few months! Not only can you combine your crafty weekend with meeting awesome bloggers, but you can ask everyone to bring a bottle of wine and have your own wine tasting while making jewelry! Four birds, one stone. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to make mine!!! :o) Thank you for sharing. 😀 Of course you can do it! You really need to do it…I’m turning 50 in March and still have the same list as when I was 35…except for having a baby…did that when I was 40…I’m a late bloomer:) This is so great! I am going to make a list. I just turned 43 this month and think this is a great way to celebrate it! And why are you gonna change your blog? I love it so much! I have a few comments on your list…when you learn photoshop, then gives host a class; we’ll let you sleep till noon in Dec, but you may wake up with some artwork on your face; go camping in a tent at Winfield; combine your “meet awesome bloggers” with your craft weekend at your house – invite julie, heather and sarah back and then I’ll invite myself. Love it! I will be 35 soon. What a great idea! We used your “Summer To Do List” idea and my family loved it. I am not sure if I can do as much in the next 4 months, but a list would be great! Love all the bright colors on yours and the nice blend of “to do” items and “would love to do” items. Thanks for sharing! That is so funky and bright – love it! I have never had a pedicure but just lately I have been hunkering after one!!! hunker, hunker!!! As for family pictures… I would love one with everyone looking just normal – not one weird face amongst the smilers, or one crumpled grouch amongst the smilers. You know what I mean! Have a great weekend… Thanks for the perfect post to read on a Saturday morning… I am inspired to get out of my p.j.’s and actually acomplish some things on my weekend to-do list! Always a joy reading your blog! That is such a cool idea…although I have barely a month til I turn 35…maybe it should be 35 things to do while I am 35…that works doesn’t it! Great list! awesome list meg! i need to do the same, maybe today….i will put that on my list of things to do hahaha! What a great idea! I have made a 101 in 1001 list (http://www.dayzeroproject.com/) but haven’t actually started it yet. Yours seems more doable because there are less things and it looks really pretty! All of your things sound like so much fun or really practical goals, which is good. I’ll link back if I ever get around to actually starting my list. we are on day three of no school…in the middle of the month…for no good reason.
i made one for myself also but annie finished hers so quickly she took over mine. ….and then it was back to crazyville again. I love painting with my kids too, its so relaxing we really love it! Paintings are the mirror of your inside.The picture or thing we transform on the canvas is the reflection of our imagination.Kids observed a lot their paintings always convey some nice message to others.It is a nice hobby and a good past time.It will develop in them creativity and they will be an artist of future..water painting or glass panting is also a beautiful and colorful experience… We’ve got sick ones here too. problem is I’m sick too!! Three of us have the H1n1 bug!! Jason’s out of town for seminary but thankfully my moms been here. We aren’t having hte fun we had planned but at least I’m not alone!! Maybe tomorrow I’ll be motivated and get something creative out for the kdis to do. As more of us start feeling better we are ALL getting on each others nerves! Your photos make me smile:) There are so many great ideas out there!! Thank you for passing this along. I LOVE this idea and will have to do this for my kids sometime even if they ARE 15 yo! HA! I LOVE this project! We were home from school last week too… should’ve checked your blog sooner… 🙂 I love this! I don’t have any kids but I just might try it myself… Hope the Starbucks was perfect. I believe it cures anything 🙂 what a great idea! {oh gee, like, how many others here said that, huh LOL} i will add this to my notebook of crafts for when the grandkids stayover. i’m known as the messy gramma because i don’t get upset with all the necessary items for making fun stuff. {however, NOT messy as in what my housecleaning is like, because i’m very picky on that.} and i’m the one who taught the grandkids all how to make mud-pie soup, mud-pie pancakes, mud-pie town…. FUN! 🙂 um yeah. i’m scowering my friends’ blogs because my daughter is on the loose and leaving comments all over. 😉 this one was tame. Funny when my children and I are coloring I often draw a modern stained glass window and then fill it in. My challenge is not to have the same color touch. I’m sure I’d do that w/the circles too. Will be doing the circles w/the kids soon. Thanks! Very cool! Watercolors are so much fun! the laser pointer…cracks me up. it was on my son’s christmas list last year! darn thing. you are such a good mom! and that is a wonderful idea! i hope that your kids get to feeling better soon!! and that you stay healthy! {because a sick momma is NOT a good thing!} What a fun idea! Way to be positive. Meg, would it be tooo nosy to ask for a picture of your to-do list on the chalkboard? The little bit we can see piques my interest! I wish I could come over to your house for a playdate. LOoks like fun… lots of fun. As always, you amaze me. Some days I just want to scoop my 7 month old up and head to your house and hang out for the day. You can ogle over a baby in the house and I can ogle over your craft room. And I promise if we have lunch, I will even do the dishes. Thank you for continuing to inspire. 🙂 I like in one of the pics you can see in the background the to do list and the first thing on it is Pray 🙂 Your family makes me want to visit Kansas 🙂 eeeek – 4 kids home sick (my idea of a nightmare!). You did well – love the paintings. What are they sick with? I saw the link for this project on your sidebar a few days ago and knew we had to try it! My daughter and I just finished our paintings…while your apple bars were in the oven…and now I am going to go make your chicken enchiladas for dinner! HA! Who knew I could have a happy day just by reading someone’s blog? I just sent my kids upstairs for quiet time. When they asked why, I said, because mama is about to lose it and I don’t want to lose it and be mean and grouchy, so I need to be alone for awhile. They understood. 🙂 Lovely colors. Why are people so scared to paint with kids? It makes them absolutely giddy with excitement. Love that you do this. Love seeing kids engaged in art! The pictures are lovely as is the project…I think this will make a great kinder lesson! I see some budding artists there and in your future!!! Those are so beautiful , I have a big canvas in the garage , I think I finally know what to do with it , thanks I’m liking this one… fun, fun, fun! and that leaded glass window is to die for!!! Great idea. I am on day 4 of being at home with a sick child. I am going to drag out the paint right now! Thank you for the idea. Your blog is my favorite. Yay! I’m art docent for my daughter’s class – will so take this idea and run with it thankyouveddymuch. And…just so you know you’re not alone…my girl missed 3 1/2 days last week, went back for 3 days this week, and is sick again. Yeah, what is it about Hannah Montana? And the Wizards…and SpongeBob…and Carly…sometimes I can talk her into an episode of House Hunters if there are kids involved… I love this! They turned out great and look so fun to do! We are so doing this! Thanks for the great idea and now I’m subscribed to that blog too. Feel free to tell other blogs you read. I love your blog, your photography, your scrapbook pages, your style . . . you are my blog hero. This is just happy to look at…. going to have to give it a try! happy weekend.. hope you get some time out! GREAT IDEA! I’m so happy you did this! We’ve been stuck with lots of bad weather here lately, so a touch of cabin fever here too… come see what we did for some creative rainy day fun. I think you’ll enjoy it! I love your ideas. We are on fall break and in desperate need of something creative other than playing soccer in the backyard. What a neat project! i. am. doing. this. soon. Those are awesome!!! I’ve got to go out and buy some new paints…ours are that all mixed up grey-brown color 🙁 it’s been so cloudy and dreary that i forgot what bright colors looked like!! very cute. amazing pictures as always!! hope they get better soon!! gorgeous!!good idea!! Great job…you made lemonade out of lemons! It always helps to put that smile on our face even when we don’t feel like it…things usually end up better when we do. You also ended up with some amazing art to hang all over the house! Perfect! just beautiful! Sounds JUST like what is going on at our house 🙁 Last Saturday, Connor downstairs with a 104 degree temp….then Jake on Monday morning….their Fall Break started this last Wednesday…which of course was the day that they both were well enough to go BACK….not complaining…really, I’m not…I’m thankful to get to stay home and take care of my sick kiddoes, BUT, WHEW, when Brian came home on Wednesday night (he conveniently had meetings on Mond and Tuesday, arrrgh!) I hightailed it out of our house to Target….and spent waaay too much money 🙂 Oooops, sorry! Didn’t mean to go off on this comment…again, it’s just another reason I love BloggyWorld….knowing, I’m not out there alone 🙂 And now, off to defend the peace in this house….I hear the chaos starting 🙂 come over after 4! we’ll find something to do. Such a great idea. Wish I could help with taking some kiddos. another nomination for mom of the year! annie asked me if we could make cupcakes. what i wanted to say was "no honey mommy is blogging." but instead i said "yes!" a friend of mind told me to try saying YES more often with my kids and see how it goes. hmmmm…turns out it makes them happy. i am not sure what i think about that yet…HA. we decided to make Pinkalicious cupcakes! (after i finished blogging)
because the only cake mix we had was strawberry. but it was perfect because it's currently annie's favorite book. do you have it?
it's a cute book. perfect for girls who love pink…or cupcakes….or throwing tantrums.
they were very tasty. i had four…over the course of two days…not all at once. do you feel like your automatic response is no when your kids ask for something? i do. so i am working on it… my first thought is usually "No…i am too tired/busy/crabby/lazy/blogging…" but if i try hard to think first before i give my auto pilot answer…. can we make cookies? well….yes, as soon as these dishes are done we sure can. can we read 4 books? yes…if you can sit still we can read four. can you drop me off at the gym? will you be able to walk home…then YES. i don't know….it's hard to break a habit. at least this time there were cupcakes to eat. Grandpa Campbell – I was totally ameazd at how great your pics were of Little LUKE’s Event. So many favorites! And when I look back on the Party, I was cannot get over how you were able to shoot from so many great angles and perspectives without impeding on any of the activity.So professional . Great Job! Jonathan I keep a supply of homdamee cupcake wrappers with my baking supplies because I like to make cupcakes. I have done these manually and with my Cricut machine. I think this is also and excellent idea for inexpensive Christmas gifts especially using the cupcake box. The recipient can put them in their bathroom for their next party. I might add a slip of paper (like in fortune cookies) to let the guest know this is for them for keeps just in case they use the bathroom more than once.Boy was Oprah wrong for not calling you. Truly her loss. Everyone’s cupcakes loekod so good. Unfortunately I can’t do any baking until our ant problem is taken care of. I have the ingredients so hopefully I can make them soon. You are so incredibly tetlnead! Your fondant bow is FABULOUS. YOu should be very proud of yourself! I can’t believe it was your first one—I’d never have known. You’re an expert! Oh my goodness, I just bought this book yesterday. I bought it for Gwyn who is 3, lives next door and loves pink. I loved the story. Did you turn pink from eating the cupcakes? We had a Pinkalicious party in January – just because. It wasn’t a birthday, we just thought, “wouldn’t it be fun?”. We kept it pretty low key (read: easy for Mom!). We had a great time!! Your cupcakes are definitely prettier, though! 🙂 http://quirkymess.blogspot.com/2009/01/pinkalicious.html we love pinkalicious! just the other day my 5 year old told my 3 year old…”ya get what ya get and ya don’t get upset!” any cupcakes left?! I am linking your post to mine…you’ve inspired me. http://thebradsmithbunch.blogspot.com thanks! amy We made the pinkalicious cupcakes too!! What fun! Have you tried the purplelicious? (I haven’t been brave enough to, just yet) Thanks for all your beautiful posts and great ideas! I usually say “suuuurrreee” & then hope he forgets. See, not much better. 🙂 This morning it was purple cupcakes, which we haven’t made yet, yesterday it was a new lego set, which he will forget about until he sees the commercial again. Those are lovely cupcakes! Makes me almost want to give up on my “no white sugar” pledge! I agree with the saying no. As I think about it I probably do say no a lot- no wonder my two three year olds say it back to me so much! Thanks for a thought-provoking idea–saying yes. I’ll try it! I’m an auto pilot NO mommy too… 🙂 just because I have two girls who ask for something 24/7 They look adorable AND delicious! I love all things girly 🙂 YES – 3 letters with so much meaning. YUM. I can almost taste the sugar sweetness. I remember hearing james dobson saying that we need to say more “yes’s” to our kids than “no’s”. There are definite times for a firm “no” though. What did you put on top of those cupcakes? pure yummness. what a great idea! I already say yes a lot, find myself exhausted most of the time too, but it’s worth it. I bought Pinkalicious for my niece last year, I loved reading it to her 🙂 I have a strawberry cake mix on hand too (on sale at Target ), those cupcakes look good, and pink is my favorite color. I am trying the rainbow cake this weekend for my daughter’s 18th birthday, wish me luck! Love your blog:) Those cupcakes look divine!!! Ohhhhh, I love the fancy new pic in the header!!! Love love love the cupcakes, love love love your blog. Oh, I would have eaten four all at once! i almost always say no, but i too have been trying to say yes more, it is hard We LOVE Pinkalicious too! We Also love purplelicious- if you don’t have a copy, I have two and would love to send you my extra for Annie! I just noticed goldilicious in the store today and am dying for it! YES!!! That seems to be working for us too these days. Not only saying YES but also more of the positive feedback they get from us than the negative…. It’s been working great for me lately!!! We love pinkalicious here, too! Even the boys get a kick out if it. I’ve been trying YES more often, too…and it works! xxoo My almost 3 year old’s favorite book is Pinkalicious too!!!! and I have been planning on making Pinkalicious cupcakes for over a week now, haven’t gotten around to it yet…..maybe you’ll inspire me! I am gonna try the yes thing….I do try to do that, but maybe I’ll work harder on it. and also, I’ve stalked your blog for a few months now…finally popping in, i LOVE to read here! One of my favorite things is to pop on her and see a new post! You are a wonderful mom and I wish I had half your creativity! You inspire me to do fun things with my kids too. Keep it up, you have lots of fans!!! what’s wrong with four cupcakes at once?! I’m stopping over from Cora’s page. OMG… if I only had HALF of your talent. I looked through your house pictures and they are GORGEOUS! I only wish I could decorate like that! I’m really impressed you only had four…I would’ve had four…just licking the batter…and four once they were actually MADE 🙂 I’m gonna give the “yes” thing a try 🙂 Have an awesome COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEKEND 🙂 YIIIPPPPPEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! That book is a favorite at our house! We also love Purplicious, and I can’t wait to get Goldilicious! My baby adores this book. Saying yes today led to a kitchen floor covered with water and happily…I loved it. 🙂 I can totally relate to the “auto pilot answer”. I’ll try to say “yes” more often and see if my kids are any happier. The cupcakes look yummy and I’ll have to check out Pinkalicious next time I’m at the book store. 🙂 Wonderful pics as always. We have that book too. There is pretty much nothing food wise that I love better than cupcakes. Those were gorgeous. Thanks for the pictures. I saved one to make as a screen saver:) That’s probably not a good idea…cravings will do me in. Have a great long weekend Meg. I read that somewhere once… try to figure out a way to say YES. Can I have a snack? Yes! After you eat your supper! Good reminder. I’m so tired right now, it’s way too easy to say no. We love that book…..one of our favorite! p.s. Have you seen the movie Yes Man! 😉 Wow!! This could not have come at a better time. Just this week I was thinking how I say no, a lot to my kids. We (my daughter and I) LOVE Pinkalicious, and Purplicious, and just bought Goldilicous! And I need to start practicing saying yes more often. The cupcakes look delicious. 🙂 A good reminder of something I need to work on. I do good for a while then I turn back into the “No Mommy”. And a great idea! We are having a sleepover tonight and I think the girls would love them. YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so sweet! Oooooh those cupcakes look YUMMY! Yes! I really, really have to fight saying “just a minute” pretty much anytime my kids want anything. It must be very frustrating for them, and I hate that it could make them think they’re less important than EVERYTHING. So I have a rule – I try not to say it at all on weekends. Cute!!! I don’t have kids, but I think I should say yes more, too. I usually say yes if someone asks me to do something for them, but making plans with others makes me want to say no right away, even if there is no reason to back up my answer. You’re awesome!! These look sooo cute and sooo delicious!!!! I have two boys, so I don’t think we have very many pink things in the house. Maybe that will change come March. 😉 Yum! I really needed that pep talk, I’m working on the yes thing. Oh… that gives me a great homeschool idea for next week! We will read and make those cupcakes. She will love that! 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration! Your cupcakes are LOVELY!! I think pink cupcakes can just about cure anything. Yours look fab! my kids love that book! how sweet for Annie. you have the healthiest approach on life and kids, man. i wish i could hang out with you…more often, ever, whatever! lol cheers, girlie! xoxo this was a really sweet reminder… no pun intended. 🙂 I love your blog… now I’ve got to go find some pink cupcakes, they look so good! mmmmm. i’d say yes to everything if there was a pink payoff in the end!! so precious and of course, the colors. . . amazing. thanks for the eyecandy! My kids love that book! The cupcakes look yummy! Such pretty and girl-y pink cupcakes!!! We tend to be a bit girl-y at our house since there’s no reason not to be!! ( I try to give the man of the house stuff for him too. . .) Fancy should be a part of every day. 4? over 2 days? that is total self control. maybe 1 after each meal? and right before your exercise with jillian? see, not that bad. it’s all in how you spin it. Can you be my mommy? I want someone to tell me YES when I ask for things. I think I was always a “no” mom until I thought one day about my kid’s day from their view, always walking out their room to ask for something, always walking back in with the same no answer. How sad to grow up with a mom who was always more busy with dishes, dinner and laundry than playing. I made a vow to be better and change. It takes lots of hard work, but I’m doing better at yes’s now. Thanks for the inspiration. I think I’m going to stop by the grocery store after work and pick up some pinkalicious cake mix and icing. That should be a fun treat for the Friday of Labor Day weekend. I’ve heard that before, but sadly had forgotten over time. My 15 y/o son will be thrilled you reminded me. 🙂 they look amazing!!! and so cute that they’re just like the ones in the book. (and that they’re in the garden. on a cake stand. sigh! perfection.) It’s my daughter’s favorite book – we are going to have a pinkalicious themed birthday party for her! Yeah, I guess I say “no” way more than I mean to. However, I rarely say no to baking! It’s my other therapy. I love that book and the cupcakes are so fun! Cupcakes make anyone happy and a day so much better. Somebody told me the say yes thing waaay back when, when my oldest was little. MAN is it hard! But I try. Some days go better than others. But if they were asking to make cupcakes, I could SO get on board with that one! Oh I say no waaaayyy too often. Thanks for the inspiration:-) I think back to all the fun things my mom did with us and she was a ‘work-outside-the-home’ mom. I stay at home with my kids and don’t do nearly what she managed to do with us. Daily affirmation: YES, YES, YES! … but I draw the line at the pet toad (who lives in the garage) coming inside – ain’t gonna happen:-) Thank you for this simple lesson. I’m going to try it today. Wish me luck. Oh, I love pink and cupcakes! But…I have two boys. 🙂 good for you mom! this is so hard for me and i need to work on it too, for sure. the cupcakes are soooo pretty! Pinkalicious is my 3 year olds FAVORITE book! Love your new picture on the sidebar. 🙂 Mine response is usually No! I’ll have to try to Yes response not as effective with teens! They already milk us for everything…..omg oops sorry that was negative! Maybe if I can have one or two of your cup cakes all will be good. My daughter loves that book too! She made pink cupcakes with her mom-mom yesterday. It made her super happy! i love pink and cupcakes and tantrums and children’s books i might should be concerned that i’m 28 and love those things, but i’m not and now i want that book and a cupcake…which might bring on a tantrum…….. YES… and YUM!!! WoW yes you do rock and yummy 🙂 puts me in the mood to bake some myself Hmmm… Have a happy week-end ! you’re such rock star! i want to be you! 🙂 i am not posting this to make you think i am great. or to make you feel like a bad mom if you don't do this. i am posting these because i started doing this after reading a post on emily's blog (little momma & co) she had kept notes her dad had put in her lunchbox when she was a kid. i saw them and thought "i should do that!" so i started. these are a few of talby's lunch box notes.
she packs her own lunch most of the time… i help her if she is running low on time. then while she eats breakfast…if i have time….i make a silly little note. ( i wish you could see and hear the morning scene at our house before school…oh my..it's chaos) she knows i make it but never looks until lunch…she likes the surprise.
just scraps of paper with goofy pictures and notes.
i have some guilt that i didn't do this for lauren's lunches. but i guess with all those babies at home….i just couldn't get to it. and that is a bummer to think about. and i put one in sean's lunch once…. he got in the car after school and the first thing out of his mouth "mom! don't ever do that again! it was so embarrassing!" i just cracked up. i should have known. scott rarely packed a lunch. so i did it once. he said it was funny. so see…i am not that great…i completely overlooked one child and mortified another. but i make one of them smile when she is away at school. and it is so easy. just passing an idea from one mom to another…. okay… i do it too… but my notes are NOTHING like yours! I love that! It ALMOST makes me able to tolerate the idea of sending my oldest to kindergarten next year. I can send a little piece of me with her…whether she wants it or not! LOL. Thanks for the idea! I just dropped my daughter off for her second year of college in San Francisco (we live in St. Louis)and she told me how much she loved getting notes from me everyday when she was in grade school – I love your notes to your daughter – your making Great memories! You’re so creative. And fun. What a cool mom. Way cool. just a thought for your older daughter or your son who thought it was embarrassing… Great idea, Meg! I put a note in my daughter’s lunch today but it wasn’t as cute as yours!! Your blog is so much fun to read. You are such a wonderful mom. I learn so much from you! Sincerely, Ann Same effects with my sons….sigh… I adore your blog! I look at it often! I have never commented but just had to on this post! When I was a little girl my mom put notes in my lunch, not every day. Things to make me laugh or if she knew I was having a hard time. I always thought it was nice. My BF started getting notes in her lunch too and I didn’t think much of it. When we were much older she admitted that she was so jealous that she was making her own notes! You are definately making Talby feel special! Those notes are AWESOME! What a GREAT idea…and they all look like you spent hours on them — so creative and cute and beautiful. I’m going to file this idea away for when we have kidlets. What a fun, special tradition! I remember the little notes my mom put into my lunchbox as a kid. made me feel so special. It was the favorite part of my day 🙂 That is so cool, and your little drawings are so (I can’t think of a word that doesn’t make me sound like I’m stuck in the 70’s), ok COOL. Really. I put notes in my kids lunches once in awhile, but nothing like this. Very very special. A wonderful memory for Talby. I love every bit of this post — especially your funny honesty! I thought about doing this for my son, but he’s three and can’t read yet. He just started preschool (Tu/Th, 9-2) last week, and I pack his lunch when he goes. I may put in a picture of a fire truck or something. But I can’t draw. So maybe I’ll just wait until he can read. LOL How fun. I’ve decided there isn’t any guilt allowed when comparing what happens with the different kids. We do what we can to survive, and we love our kids in the best we know how at that moment in time. Your kids are lucky to have you for a mom. I’m going to try these notes in my daughter’s lunch. Too cool. Mine aren’t that colorful or creative, but my girls (twins) started 2nd grade this morning and I’m proud to say that they have never taken their lunch that I didn’t include a note. They’re proud to say it too. It’s really special for them. In fact, Makinley told me this morning that I could stop putting notes in her lunch when she’s in high school… but not until then. I love putting notes in lunches… never thought of drawing.. that is great.. now only if I could draw… you are a great drawer…another new talent!!!! Thanks for sharing the idea! Happy week to you! o cute! well the girls dont have school but my hubby brings his lunch to work and i leave him notes 🙂 (he’s jsut practice for when the girls do have school and lunches) My blog is not private! My mom always did that for me too. She wrote me Roses are Red, Violets are blue poems:) I try to do this for my little one now. What a great way to let your child know how much you care. Trust me they will remember it and be grateful one day. i love it. my favorite was the one when it was YOUR birthday & you asked her to frost cupcakes with you! oh that melts my heart & gives me warm fuzzies. i think it’s so sweet to let kids know we think of them even when they think we’re NOT. 🙂 Meg-it touched my heart that you do this. My Mother did this for me as a kid, and at 30 years old, I can say that I have such great memories of opening my lunchbox in the cafeteria, and finding a little something special in there. It always seemed to make my sandwich taste a little better! I lost my sweet Mother 10 years ago, and it is things like the lunchbox notes that make my heart smile. Keep it up…..yours kids will cherish it. I don’t do this regularly but occasionally and it’s always a hit. I just use a sharpie and write on the napkin! My kids are 17. 14. 12 and 10 and so far, they don’t mind. Hopefully someday they will look back on it fondly! I wrote little things on Maddy’s napkins last year for 1st grade. She starts 2nd grade on 9.1.09 & you have definately inspired me to kick it up a notch. I will have to get a silly joke book….now if I just knew how to doodle… 🙂 i think i must still be hormonal from having my daughter- or just a ball bag- either way- this made me cry- a good kind of cry though- this is so sweet and i can’t wait to be able to do this for my daughter when she goes to school in a few years- you really are an awesome mom. I just started reading your blog.. stumbled upon it from a link on another.. and I must say, I love it. Your blog is one of few that really, really makes me smile and you managed to do it again today. : ) my mom did that for me and i saved tons of them. i always LOVED finding them in my lunch. she also put confetti in there from time to time. and sometimes she’d send me a pb & m&m sandwich. THAT was fun. Love this idea. I wonder if it mortify or please my daughter. I started putting a note in my first child’s lunch bag when she went off to middle school. The first were varients of “You can do this!” but quickly I ran out of ways to say the same thing. So I started putting in wonderful quotes I’d run across, from books, magazines, bumper stickers, whatever. The kids have kept every quote I gave them in special boxes. Now, three children and eight years later, the “lunchbox quotes” have moved out of paper bags and into daily emails. My kids still love getting them, even though they’re now 23, 20, and 16 years old. i used to write stupid (STUPID) jokes with a sharpie on my son’s sandwich bags. one would have the question, the other the (stupid) answer. groaners. I remember in Infant school when i was about 6, i had notes in my lunchbox, and i remember thinking ‘ i want to go home’ it made me miss my mum .. lol I love your blog! I don’t have kids yet, but my husband and I are trying – and I absolutely love all of your ideas on your blog. I think it’s great how you encourage creativity and let you kids get messy and fun (that’s a compliment – by messy I mean it seem like you let them just go nuts and have a great time like kids should sometimes!). Please don’t stop with your great ideas! And – your photos are AWESOME. I used one of your sunflower pictures as my desktop pic because it’s just so beautiful. I love this idea…I’m going to have to try it with my Lauren this year!!! My mom always put notes in my lunch. Not quite as visual as yours, but a great pick-me-up nonetheless. I wish I would have kept them. Now that I’ve graduated college and started working, I wish I would open my lunch in the breakroom and a note from mom would magically appear. That is a WONDERFUL idea! I am all about the memories. Childhood is short, my girls are 38 and 30…I know! Macy only brought her lunch to school every once in awhile, so I only wrote about 5 notes last year. But imagine my joy when I found a note SHE put in MY lunchbox one day! It said,”I love you mom. Have a great day. love Macy” in her best first grade handwriting. I love this…. I do this for my daughter, but not as often as I should nor as colorful/creative as yours. You have some great doodle skills. I like how you just wrote anything and that is what adds to the surprise. I am on it for this school year. THanks for the inspiration. You rock! I just started packing my teens lunch again, our school lunch program is hell. She puts a piece of paper or napkin out so I can write a note. She loves it wish I had kept them too. very cute! I just love this! Over the years I have occasionally put notes in my girls’ lunches. Always on birthdays and “just because” once in a while (wish I had done it more too). I recently posted on my blog about this, a very sweet story about my youngest and her note to me. If you have time, please read it 🙂 My oldest son starts kindergarten this year and I’ve been wondering if its ‘okay’ to put notes in his lunch, being he is a boy. I loved it when my mom did….but then I am also a girl. LOL! I’m guessing that I’m probably going to have to just wait it out until my third (our only girl) gets to school. I’d rather not mortify my boys! 😉 you are such a good artist!!! who knew?! though i could have suspected 😉 so i’m having my third boy…does that mean i’m off the hook for writing notes? I love it! My oldest is starting Kindergarten on Monday. I am thinking of little ways to let her know I love her and that I am with her on this new journey. This is another good idea to implement. 🙂 Hey….those look familiar! I think I have a stash of notes from you from high school that look a lot like these!! Except that our notes were passed in class and posted in eachothers lockers. They usually had drawings of us as cheerleaders and pics of what we would look like when we were “older”. I’ll have to get them out and show them to you sometime!! I do this last year (but only a few times). She collected them and kept them in the zipper part of her lunch box all year long. I did this a lot when my oldest was in Kindergarten. (2yrs ago). For some reason I didn’t do it as much last year. A couple of weeks ago, getting ready for the new school year, I came across his Kindergarten lunch box. Imagine my surprise (and tears) when I found all of those notes in the bottom zipper part. Needless to say I have started it again this year. My middle is in Kindergarten this year, so I am going to do it for him too. I like the idea above for doing jokes for the older one. Love the notes! I did notes (minus the art) for my son in kindergarten last yr using words he was learning, his reaction was much like Sean’s. 🙁 So awesome that she enjoys them, I hope she saves them too. 🙂 I’ve done this for our daughter a little in the past myself, but the one that remains on her bulletin board to this very day (in her bedroom) is the one (and only one) that her daddy wrote to her. 🙂 No hurt feelings here…she just realizes that it’s EXTRA special when dad takes the time to do it. Same goes for camp notes, sleep-over notes, etc. My mom put notes in my lunch every day! Some of them were on napkins and got tossed, but I stashed others in my yearbook at the end of the year. People’s reactions to them changed throughout the years too. In elementary school, other kids didn’t seem to pay that much attention to my mom’s notes, but in middle school some kids teased me for it. By high school, many expressed their jealousy that my mom loved me enough to write me a note every day. I am so glad there are other moms who carry on this tradition! how cute!! you are quite the sketcher. another of your talents. Love that idea! My kids start school on Monday, so maybe if I start writing the notes today, they’ll be done in time. 🙂 Okay, I’m doing this for the first day of school for sure. And so what about the embarassing part – it builds character! Well I do this with Sassy but mine are not as pretty!! :o) Your a good artist!! My daughter, Olivia, started 1st grade this year and she is all about taking her lunch to school. The first time she took her lunch I put a note in to surprise her! I’ll have to continue doing it!! Thanks for the idea! Awww that is so cute! I don’t have kids yet, but one day I will and I really want to do this. I’m sure Talby feels really special every day when she opens her lunch. I added this to my “future parenting” folder because it is that sweet! I love putting surprises in lunchboxes too. Now that my son is going into 4th grade, he isn’t as crazy about it, but he sure liked it when he was little. Another good idea is to buy yourself a silly joke book and write a joke down for him every day. Sam loved that! Thanks for another inspirational story. You helped me make my little guy’s birthday more special (sharing your last celebration with us), and now I have a great way to let him know I’m there with him as he starts kindergarten in just two weeks. xoxo Oh, you crack me up! I don’t know how you do it – I only have two and it keeps me on my toes! Thanks for the honestly about chaos. You rock. My hubby did this for our son last year — pen drawings on his lunchtime napkin. Monday he starts 1st grade and I’m sure the traditions will continue! I’m inspired to capture some of the fun napkin art in pics to save for them both!! The notes are great! Good job.And treating all your kids the same is overrated cause they never think it is exactly the same anyway! great idea. Love this idea! That made me cry!!!! SO sweet that you do it and even sweeeeeter tha she keeps them!!!!! Darn, I homeschool 😛 lol This is so cute! My little guy just started transitional kindergarten last week. And it is all day, so he brings his lunch. I was just thinking I should sneak in some notes…although he can’t read yet…and I need to learn how to draw robots! But maybe I can sneak in some fun before he gets too cool for his mommy.
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http://project320.blogspot.com/ 
the knotty bride - Heather said it. Ditto Heather. I love it all, Meg. LOVE. IT. ALL.
tami reed - So sparkly too fun!
Hannah - Just beautiful! Thank you for sharing this bit of Christmas and your family!
reyanna - I love your decorations!!! Thank you SO much for sharing your home with us! 🙂
seleta - Oh my gosh, I just came over to get my daily dose of happiness and color and WOW!!! You are so on your game. I’m sure everyone under the sun has asked you, but how did you print on those cards? I LOVE LOVE LOVE your cards framed over the nativity set.
traci - your home looks so beautiful meg. love, love, love all the vingage ornaments.
elma - LOve the tinsel tree:) Is it vintage? Love all the vintage ornaments to. I hope you share more pictures of your beautiful home!!!!
Brooke - Beautiful! I love all the color.
Melanie - Very pretty! Hope you had a fun weekend. I am behind in my blog reading and I saw the post about you going for a scrap weekend and showing us your craft room. I couldn’t help but laugh at you for calling yourself a MORON! You are so cute.
Krista - Love it and can’t wait to see more!
carikraft - dang girl, those photos are just gorgeous!!! Love what you did with the cards! I feel lie I am standing in your house slowly spinning around looking at all of your pretty decorations! Thanks for letting me be a part of it! You made my day!
smooches!
lissa - one of the best I’ve seen in my opinion! great job!
Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - That frame with the words in it…so inventive. Love all your beautiful bling around the house. Just lovely:)
Brittany - If you need some craft ideas, here is a free e-book of Christmas Crafts for Kids: http://www.favecrafts.com/Kids-Holiday-Crafts/Santas-Guide-to-Easy-Christmas-Crafts-for-Kids-eBook#
Can’t wait to see what you guys end up doing 🙂 Have fun!
Sara Deason - Hello, My name is Sara and I stumbled across your blog a few months back. Now I look forward to reading it every day! I absolutely love your photos and wished I lived in Kansas so that you could take some for me. Your creativity is inspiring and I finally just decided to introduce myself and let you know how much I enjoy your blog. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Alyssa - Meg
I have no idea how you do it…..I only have the 3 kids and I never seem to get it all together………Share again how do you do it?
Love it all like always….
Canno wait to see what you make!
Anna Marie - Love all of those pictures! Megan, do you have a flickr account?
Mrs. - Ah Meg, I wish I could say the same thing about things in my house. I should blog about what I have…no tree, painting ladder out (I forgot to take my crazy pill and thought it would be a good idea to paint before the holidays. it isn’t). Presents stacked on the fireplace instead of under the tree. Jars of homemade hot fudge to be delivered all over the counters, desk and kitchen table covered in 1/2 started holiday crafts, and I am working full-time but with a stay at home mindset. However crazy it is at your house, trust me, I’d love to be there today enjoying the holiday spirit there!
ginuhphurr - love the pics! i feel so creepy for being so loyal to your blog, but i just can’t resist your amazing pictures and stories!!!
🙂
come check out my new blog!
Heather @ Cookie Mondays - BEAUTY!
Your package didn’t make it when I was down there, but Julie says she has something to send me 🙂
Meredith - This post is like an enormous cup of hot chocolate….delicious, comforting, warmth-giving. The frame with notes above the nativity scene is spectacular. Hope you’ve had fun with the kidlets doing craft. Meredith xo.
jody - loving the vintage ornaments and silver tree. i got a silver tree this year for our dining room. not vintage, but with vintage ornies, it looks it.
your collection is delectable.
j
the inadvertent farmer - I like how I can see your reflection in every ball of that last picture! Kim
Kristy - love all your christmas yumminess.
:O)
Rach - Your Christmas decorations just make me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy. 🙂
Jen - If I celebrated Christmas instead of Hanukkah, that’s exactly how I would decorate. So pretty, so sparkly…:o)
Casey - what gorgeous decorations! I love the words in the frame, it’s so simple and perfect, I may steal the idea some year
Candace - A trifle and a cake stand? Genius!
Yay for crafts! Can’t wait!
griswold fun - Your pics are beautiful!
Stephanie Howell - oh my GOSH. my heart is pounding at this fabulousness. those flashcards in the frame? BRILLIANT.
sorry i’m yelling, but i just can’t get over how fantastic you are!
Julie - I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE your board with the word tags on them. Such a unique idea!!!!
Jaime Melcher - Your photography is amazing! So inspiring! Thanks for sharing! I’m looking forward to what your craft projects will entail! Merry Christmas! ~Jaime
Nancy - I just adore that board with the festive word tags. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I love your Christmas-ness. Is that a word? Nope. But I do love it! 🙂
Tammy - So pretty!
jennifer - Ok, seriously! Will you come decorate my house for me?!
Sarah @ Clover Lane - love the colors!
sandy toe - You just have the perfect “touch”!
sandy toe
Kate - MMMM!!! So lovely and beautiful!
adrienneK - your house is always a winter wonderland
aubrey - Your house looks so pretty and sparkly and festive. I can’t wait to see how your craft week turns out. I wish I had the patience to do something like that with my kids–maybe when they’re older and less inclined to paint each other while I’m nursing the baby. This didn’t really happen–I’m just imagining the worst. 🙂
And your lockers look awesome. You spray painted thsoe right? I can’t imagine painting something like that by hand. They turned out really cool. I wish we had barn sales around here. I guess I still need to check out Star Mill.
Cori - I am so addicted to your boxes of glass ornaments. I can’t seem to find much in the thrift and antique stores I’ve been parusing lately. C’mon NY I know you have glass balls! Where are you?
sherry - oh my. Love it. All of your pictures. all of your posts. all of your ideas. love them. thanks.
Lorilee Peterson - You’re amazing. I love the colors in your house. They are happy!
Lisa - Gorgeous! Unbelievable. Breathtaking. Love it all!
your cool friend Cheryl - Oh, how I adore your pretty pics! Gorgeous!
Mickie Lara - O.K., I’m going to say it… I believe your blog has now taken over PW’s as my absolute favorite to check everyday. There is just a feeling of warmth that comes from every one of your photos and posts. And, although I know I won’t get to it everyday, you definitely inspired me to do some Christmas activity with my son as often as I can this season. Can’t wait to see what you all do. Someday you’ll have to raffle off a chance to come and join you for an afternoon so he could see how a truly crafty mom would do it…!
Patti - i cannot wait until my kids are old enough that i can decorate like this with “stuff” in “things” – my kids (well, mostly the 2 year old) would have a hay day taking it all apart. your decorations are inspiring and so beautiful! total eye candy – thanks for sharing!! 🙂
susie whyte - for the love of mercury ornaments…SIGH.
that was the most beautiful version of cruel and unusual punishment ever. i just found some pink mercury’s to adorn my PW gifts. so excited.
congrats to scott!!!
Tara Carmichael - I actually managed to make gingerbread with my four year old today and I thought of you and your craft week. Can’t wait to see what you’ll be up to. Always an inspiration…
~Tara
purejoy - lovely colors and i love the one with you in it!!
i have the holiday spirit now, thanks to you. i still have an almost naked tree (only ornaments on there are the new gifted ones from this year. i fully expect some audience participation. ahem. do i have to beg? (apparently) i too love the little framed deal with the tiny clothes pins.
yum!!
Heather - Your pictures make me happy.
Thanks!!
Carrie - so so pretty!
julia - oh my gosh…I know you don’t need all of those fab vintage ornaments..are you sure you wanted to decorate for Christmas…it’s such a bother…do you need my address???
sarah - Everything is so pretty!
Look forward to seeing your craft week 🙂
Leadia Jarvis - I’ve never commented before but I have to tell you that I check your blog daily for a lift. It’s always so bright and cheerful – a real sunny spot! Beautiful holiday photos – I love the framed holiday words on clips. Clever!
Georgia - I want to come live in your house for christmas… crafting, vintage decorations, and yummy cookies!!! your like Super mum! lol
I just cant get the enthusiasm to put my tree up …. the whole thought of taking it down again … ugghh!
Send me some Christmas cheer and cookies please 🙂 xxx
princesslasertron - I love your decoration ideas…simple and easy but clever and creative. I love your flash card thingy! dunno what to call it.
Staci - I’m just ooohing and aahhing over all the beauty around your house today 🙂 Can’t WAIT to see what the craft projects are!!!! I’m sooo totally going to steal them and do them next week when we our family arrives!!!!!! Thanks Meg!!!!!!!