Creating Lasting Memories Through Crafting

My daughters both love their 18" dolls. They have all kinds of dresses and accessories for them. And then my Mom sent some American Doll craft books. If you are new to reading my blog, then let me start by saying that I believe creativity is an important part of growing up. A child that learns to think and be creative while young, will be more successful later in life. Which is why I helped my daughter try out some of the crafts. And I must admit, we created some awesome accessories for the dolls. 

Our dolls love to read. To expand their minds and learn about everything. Best way to do this is to get books from the library. And when you check books out, they get stamped. Or at least used to... 

And then when the doll learns something she wants to remember, she needs her composition notebook. 

And then there are so many reasons to give gifts. So a wrapped box that opens and closes is perfect for re-gifting moments! 

But you know what is better than all that? She and I worked together to create the things she liked. All because she helped me with my steampunk designs earlier. Her interest was peaked. We did all this while creating memories. She was able to craft with me. That is the most important element for us. Creating memories and deep connections that I hope will last a lifetime. 

What do you do to connect with your kids? No matter the age. What is one thing you do special with them? Let me know in the comments below!

A Move Most Successful

What a weekend last weekend was! Hard to believe a week has passed already. My Dad and brothers flew out to help load and unload the moving truck on Friday. We made the long drive to our new home where my Mother and sister-in-law were waiting. Of course, on the days we chose to move, the temperatures dropped to lower 40's. We also had nearly non-stop ice pellets (sleet) to deal with.

Loading and unloading the truck was very trying. I overdid it throughout the day, so I struggled keeping up and my pain lasted for several days afterwards. But the guys persevered and did a fantastic job. On Saturday, my Mother and sister-in-law came by as well as my husbands grandparents. They did so much, helping us unpack and arrange the furniture. We could actually walk around and find things!

While we are not 100% settled just yet, I'm absolutely thrilled. My kitchen is just as I've wanted it. My oldest son even helped me set up the pantry so nicely. He said he was making it just "like a store".

 The rest of my kitchen is Star Wars themed.

From the towels to the X-Wing knife set, and even the salt and pepper shakers, we are decked to rock the nerds we are! Don't worry, my husband will have the Star Trek office to show off his own space love.

And we love meal time even more. The food isn't the only thing that excites the kids at the table these days. They now get to pick their character! We have also begun a new dinner tradition. We play trivia. I ask questions and the one to answer correctly gets a sweet treat. They love playing and I love teaching them through it.

The kids have more space in their bedrooms.

Which is great, because the toddler needs to move in with her sister and out of my room.

When we get some shelves and a DVD case, I can finally finish unpacking that part of our house. Being OCD about being neat and orderly has me "twitching" according to my husband. 

We also get to live near the SpaceX testing center. We hear the rockets rumbling quite frequently. I hope that my husband can one day go to work for them. We are in a happy place. Sunday lunch with family, better schools and hope for our future! 2019 is looking great!

When They Love Plants vs Zombies

My son turned 9 this month. And for his birthday, he decided that a Plants vs Zombies party theme was what he wanted. Of course we were 2 weeks from moving day when we started talking about this party of his. I always give them the choice of theme. But why does it have to be PvZ?! This is not in my comfort zone... Still, I do my best to create the party they dream of. Even mid-move! 

Planning starts with invitations. A party needs guests and since we are moving long distance, I had to give him a chance to hang out and socialize with his buddies near here before the move. After that... well, it might be a while before he sees some of them again. If ever. 

After the invitations, I decided to design his birthday cake. We agreed to make it ourselves to save money. But I didn't want to do the same one I had done for my older son. I made him the sunflower one. Fun and easy. Made from a round cake and Twinkies for the petals. No, this time I got a little ambitious. I mean, how hard can it be? 
At first I thought I'd make some characters using marshmallows. That was a mess. I had green fingers to show for it. And a perfect specimen for the show Nailed It. I was aiming for this guy and came out with...

Can't help but laugh. And then try something else! I figured I might have better luck creating paper ones that I can put on the cake using toothpicks instead. When I told the kids, they decided to do it for me! Can't blame them. After all, they saw my first attempt...

I also decided to use Golden Oreo cookies for the sunflowers. And grapes shooting green M&M's for the Pea Shooters. My daughter had some rectangular shaped graham cookies that I turned into headstones.

As for snacks, I thought popcorn, green grapes and watermelon bites would be perfect additions. They fit with the characters from the game. Plus, they are healthier options. Overall, I think it went well. He was thrilled with it all. Some of his friends came and celebrated with him. Quite the happy party!

In the middle, I used mini marshmallows, covered in green frosting to make the "bushes" that are in the game.

Moving Through the New Year!

So how is your 2019 coming along so far? Can you believe that we already completed a month in this new year? Wasn't last night when we celebrated New Year's Eve? *sighs* Time keeps getting faster. Or maybe I'm just slowing down... I did turn 31 last month, after all. Now, I'm also planning a birthday party for my younger son who is turning 9! He wants a Plants vs Zombies party.

Did you have a resolution? I didn't. I mean, let's face it, resolutions have high failure rates. I did have goals. Things I want to accomplish. And so far, several things are falling in to place to make those goals come to fruition. 

• Move 
• Be more organized
• Begin homeschooling again
• Get on a new program to get my back fixed
• Create my steampunk cosplay
• Try out Urban Exploration
• Start a garden

 My husband and I are moving next week to be closer to family. Next week! *insert happy dance here* This has been a dream long in the making. I started packing months ago. And now, I'm happy to report, we should have everything completely boxed by Thursday. I've been weeding out the junk we can live without and boxing up everything else. We found a beautiful little duplex with a fireplace, spacious closets EVERYWHERE and a carport. My husband will miss his garage space, but he will have an outdoor storage room instead to put all his tools in. We also had to give up a yard, but will be near two family members' homes that have large yards. Plus, there should be some parks close by. My dashing husband took my advice and got a suit for interviews use.

$20 at Goodwill led to impressing his new boss and landing the transfer he needed to get us up there. Plus, he hopes to start looking for a job in the engineer field, so he will need to have a suit for the interviews to come. Well worth the investment! The first dream is coming true!

I have also been planning to get more organized. The realization has come that as the kids have grown, so has my need to keep things in order. They all have needs and I have to adapt to those needs. So with this move, I am planning on ways to keep everything together in its proper place. No more random clutter and junk everywhere. I find that I stress out more when I look around and see things everywhere. I love being a minimalist. However, with kids, that isn't always possible. So I want to make everything more manageable. I've found ideas on Pinterest to keep me on track.

Homeschooling has been on my mind lately. The public school system is frightening to put it lightly. And if we are to be perfectly honest, all they are learning is how to take and pass a test. That is the main goal. But there is so much more that our children deserve. I want them to excel. I want them to grown mentally as well as physically. To surpass the limitations of mainstream society. I want them to know how to succeed in college and in life. So, with that dream, I am thinking that if it is possible I want to start teaching them at home. I've begun to research curriculum. I started a Pinterest board for that as well (love Pinterest!) that has all kinds of projects, helpful tips and websites I could use to get started with. My husband agreed that he would like this as well. We will teach more than just the required subjects. We will study life skills that have been lost in the recent generations. 

My greatest dream is to get my back fixed so that I can be healthy and vibrant again. In order to do this, we have to get me somewhere that has a spinal clinic included in the program that services poor people. Where we are now, I can't get help. They closed down the spine clinic right when I finally got my referral. 

My Mom sent me so many amazing things to help me create my ultimate steampunk cosplay.

This year, I'm finally going to complete it! I have a fully finished top hat and all the trimmings to turn my dress, skirt, shirts into my time traveling inspired outfit! Cannot wait!

Urban exploration is a bigger sensation than I ever thought below. And I think we have a good chance of seeing some great abandoned places where we are moving. It is like walking through history sometimes. From things as simple as a condemned house to an amphitheater. Or as grand as the abandoned Soviet hanger with shuttles still parked inside?! It is so exciting to me!

And finally, I want to start growing things. It will be a bit trying as we don't have a yard. So I'm looking at ideas to build a platform garden. Pinterest, again, came through for me on this one.