Ode to the Cashier Girl and a DIY project

Dear Hobby Lobby Cashier-Girl,
          I was pleasantly surprised this afternoon by your kindness. I have shopped at this particular Hobby Lobby for over 10 years, and I used to dread checking out when I was finished shopping. You see, there used to be a woman at register #1, where you were at today, that absolutely hated life. She was bitter, moody, never complimented my kids (she was obviously blind, because come on, everyone knows they're precious; maybe she could make a really wicked pie though), and was generally a disgruntled woman. I am not very confrontational, but she would bring out the "excuse-me-I-will-not-have-that-attitude" in me every single time. She was the only one that could do returns and it seemed like she took it personally, like I was inconveniencing her and acted as though I shouldn't be asking her to do her job. She would huff and puff, and literally talk to herself under her breath. She made me grit my teeth and in my head sing "Be patient, be patient with everyone. Be patient with everyone First Thessalonians 5 verse 14" (one of the kids songs that they LOVE and sing all the time). 
But you were there today at register #1 and I was so happy to see your smiling face. You struck up conversation. You smiled and waved at my girls. And you asked me what I was going to be making with all the things I was buying. That's a fantastic question for a craft store employee, by the way. When I proceeded to tell you that I was buying a decorative knob for our re-purposed hutch, ribbon for a gift I was making a girlfriend and fabric for a project I have for our living room, you were genuinely interested. You complimented the fabric and said it was very soothing. And I told you "thank you" because I was going for something subtle and was hoping it wasn't too bold. And then you told me to take a picture so that you could see it when I was done. I about laughed out loud at that one. I almost told you, "well, in fact, I will probably post it on my blog because I'm a total freak, and then hopefully pin it to pinterest. Are you on pinterest? You should be, if you're not already. It's awesome, inspiring and a total waste of time." But all of that stayed in my head. I just smiled and nodded and told you, "I might just have to do that. Thank you so much. Have a great day!" So, thank you Hobby-Lobby-cashier-girl. You made my time there so lovely and I look forward to not getting harassed if I have to return something or for even asking a question. And in honor of you, here are the pictures from one of those projects.

 

another sewing success

I am beginning to really enjoy sewing. I didn't think it was possible but with the help of a friend's mother, I have become pretty confident in the basics.
I was inspired by what I saw here, so I decided to give-it-a-go. I purchased these towels from the Target $ bins. Cheap. Gotta love that.

I am proud of the way they turned out and the girls love them. Another sewing success.

~cheryl~

Valentine's Day Fun

Valentine's Day is so much fun with kids.  I love to celebrate it and do something special for them - to remind them that we love them.  But it is also SO much fun to have them make things for their friends.  When they're young, it's easy.  Mainly, since it's platonic, but I suspect it will be harder when they get older.  See this post, if you want to know my feelings on the subject.  :)

Anyways, a good friend of mine, Diane, posted a fantastic and simple DIY on her blog.  

I decided that it would be fun, and something the girls could easily do. I wanted to keep the whole project simple and not end up doing most of it myself.  I do that a lot.  I get ideas, and then when I go to implement them, I realize that they're not very preschool friendly, so I end up finishing them myself.  But this time, I wanted the girls to be able to do most of it on their own.  

The girls absolutely LOVE to paint, so they really enjoyed doing this project.  In fact, for several days afterwards, they asked if they could paint more hearts.  So, thanks, Diane, for sharing your idea.

This is what I decided on for the end product.  Simple, cute and fun.

(it says, "You can count on me, when things get sticky")

So... Happy Valentine's Day.  Share your ideas - there's still time for me to steal them too.  ;)

~cheryl~

creating

I love to let the girls paint. I am not always good at just letting them do it and often times I have to remind myself to stop what I am doing and sit with them while they create something. There is always something else that needs done or I have to get Reed down for a nap. But I try once a week to have a craft for them to do. A couple of weeks ago, the girls painted their own box to put their special things in. And they turned out so beautiful. True to their personalities (and ages), Saige's is very orderly and Meadow's is well... messy. They were so proud and they carried them around for days.

ladybugs

The girls and I have been getting crafty all thanks to some inspiration from this blog. I decided I needed to step it up a gear and really challenge Saige. I realized that I was not focusing on what Saige needs to be doing because I just didn't want to deal with Meadow. But that's laziness and I was pleasantly surprised by how good Meadow did at following instructions. I think her main instruction was to sit down, but hey, it's a start! :)
So our first project was to make ladybugs out of paper plates and I think it turned out pretty cute. Meadow is still a little too young so I basically did hers, except the painting, she loved that. We started out by doing finger paints and then both girls decided they would rather use brushes. After we let them dry (and after their naps), I helped them glue on the rest. It was fun and they had a good time.

They each have new aprons given to me by a friend of my mom's. Perfect timing.

The focused artist

Crafts and snacktime!

Saige putting on the antenna

Ta Da - the finished product!

**Oh, and a side note... Potty training is FINALLY starting to be successful! I can't tell you how excited I am. We put her in training pants (that we borrowed from a little friend of hers) and it has really made a difference. I think it motivated her that Emma let her borrow them. We have had a week of success without accidents and she even went potty today in the grocery store, while wearing a diaper - can you say AWESOME?! I am beaming as I write this! Praise God for little victories!