Life as a Military Brat

I recently become a member of a unique team on Etsy - the "Homefront Team".  This team consists of over 200 shops that are owned and operated by spouses/significant others of members of the military services. Not only do members share their love of crafting and selling on Etsy but they also provide a place of support when it comes to dealing with the trials and tribulations of being a military spouse. 

That would be me......as a kid......in Japan.

Their blog, "Homefront Artistry Team" often features recipes, tutorials and stories from members of the team. I recently submitted an article to the "Life as a Military Brat" thread. It is being featured today! Click here to check it out!

Postcard Exchange - Can You Help?

Awhile back we took on a ginormous but fun project of collecting postcards from the 50 states. We enlisted the help of family and friends who in turn told their family and friends. The response was AMAZING! After about 6 months we received postcards from all 50 states (well, 49 as we did not ask for one from our home state)! We learned a little about each of the 50 states and a lot about our own. It was a project to be proud of and we were so blessed to have so many people help us out! 

Now a friend of ours is doing the same thing and is looking for people to contribute. All you have to do is send them a postcard and on it include one interesting fact about your state. If you would like a postcard in return be sure to include your return address!

Please send your postcard to:

Noah and Gabriel Ehlenberger
P.O. Box 175
Oak Harbor, Wa 98277

For more info please check out the Ehlenberger's blog.

Thanks for helping out! :)

Pinterest: Are you Pinning?

Have you heard of Pinterest? Thanks to my friend Joslyn (and no thanks to my friend Trish who knew about it but never told me - Ha!*) I am now a "pinner!"

So what is Pinterest? The website describes itself as "a virtual pinboard. Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."   

Remember in high school when you would tear out pictures from magazines of your favorite singer, actor or model and create a collage to put in your notebook or hang on your wall? (That would be  Duran Duran for me...and they still ROCK!) Well, Pinterest is like that, but you collect images from the web and pin it to different boards. "Boards" are simply categories. Some samples of boards being used are:

• For the Home
• Recipes
• My style
• Favorite TV shows
• Crafts for the kids
• Favorite products
• Party ideas

Another fun thing about Pinterest is you can "follow" your friends, see what they pin, leave comments and "re-pin" things that you like. And of course your friends can follow you too. 

I've only been on Pinterest for a short while now but it is SO much fun! I have to warn you....it can easily become addicting.

Right now you have to request an invite to be on Pinterest - if you'd like to join to see what the fuss is all about leave your email address in a comment and I'll send you one! Happy pinning!

*Trish - you are a GEM so I forgive you for keeping this secret from me! LOL!

 

Wordless Wednesday - Use the Strap

Colorful and maybe even artistic...but what is it?

It is the reason why your 4-year old (or anyone for that matter) needs to use the strap on the Wii remote! Yes....the remote smashed into the TV screen.

*Sigh*

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 minutes for Mom.

DIY Sidewalk Chalk Paint

  

While on vacation we actually managed to do some crafts! My friend, Kim from 4 Crazy Kings mentioned making sidewalk chalk paint and I just so happened to have all the ingredients and supplies needed! Water, cornstarch, food coloring, paint brushes and bowls! The kids painted while on vacation as well as since we've gotten back!

Sidewalk chalk painting - even I got in on the fun!

 

 

 

Painting the steps at home.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the paint dries the colors POP and it really look like chalk! Check out the before and after pictures of Kailani's dragon:

Dragon - wet.

Dragon - dry!

Super easy and super fun! To remove (why would you want to?) just hose it down!

To make the sidewalk chalk paint just mix equal proportions of water and cornstarch then add food coloring. That's it! To make two muffin pans of colors I used two cups of water and two cups of cornstarch plus food coloring. Perfect. We even left the pan outside overnight and painted the next day! 

Wordless Wednesday - Grandma

Bittersweet Moment: Placing flowers on grandma's grave. 

For more "Wordless Wednesday" visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

We're Baaaaack!

Alooooooha!

We are finally back after our month long trip to the east coast! Our trip was awesome but the jet-lag has been FIERCE and I'm having a heck of a time getting back into the groove of things (including blogging, minus going to the beach!) So, instead of trying to put into words what we did here is a photo montage highlighting parts of our trip! 

"Before" -  Just got on the plane and everyone is happy!

"After" - 12 hours of flying...not so happy.

Finally off the plane!

Pool time everyday....

Visited candy heaven! (Mast General Store)

We picked our own blueberries....

And made some animal friends.....

Found an inch worm....(and surprisingly didn't freak out!)

And fell into a creek.....

Spent the day at Water Country U.S.A.!

Made our own candles at Yankee Candle Company...

Smelled candles....a LOT of candles!

Had fun at the Virginia Living Museum....

Learned about butterflies.....

Explored the Air & Space Museum

Momo acted like a pilot.......

While Kailani directed planes.....

Checked out the GROSSOLOGY exhibit.....fascinating....

Spent not-enough-time with old friends from Hawaii <3

 

Went bug-eyed over the HUGE curly fry!

Went to jail.....

Didn't always get our way......

Depended on papa to take the kids on spinning rides......

Fed some animals.....

Went sluicing for gems.....

And found some!

Took advantage of mall rides......

Made fashion statements.....

And......the best part ever.....the grand kids got to hang out with "papa!"

An absolutely AWESOME trip! Thanks, dad!