Charisa Darling

Archive for August 2011

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Bird Chatter

Our house is still very much on the market.

Showings have picked up, for some strange reason, and every showing appointment is more inconvenient than the last.

It's wearing on me and I'm almost at my breaking point.

The feedback from yesterday's showing went a little something like this: "Great house, but not in an area conducive to where buyers work or play."

If the location isn't right why in the effing world did you see it in the first place??? And to make it worse it was a 2 hour showing meaning the realtor doesn't know how to schedule.

I'm sure the feedback from tonight's showing will be along the same lines as everyone who wants to see the house is a complete yahoo.

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Apparently though, these birds are the only ones who want to live here. I watched them hem and haw about if this was THE tree or not and then watched as they built their nest.

I've read that they don't build the best nests and if the mom or dad gets startled and flies away in a hurry the eggs could fall out.

The kids are on strict orders to not kick or hit balls into the direction of this tree.

Nothing has hatched that I can tell yet. They take turns sitting on the eggs and it's adorable.

Guess I should fill the bird feeder and make it easy on them, huh?

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By the way, there's the new deck color. So much better than the startling red that it was.

Enjoy Wednesday.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

M.I.A.

I'm still here.

Another project has been taking my time.

I'll be back later!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

"It's very melty"

These are everywhere lately and I had to try it for myself.

1 blank canvas, 1 large box of crayons, plus 1 little box too.

Hot glue'd to the top in the order I wanted. Ending with silver.

Then melt away.

I started with a hair dryer but ended up using my heat gun.

The heat gun doesn't blow as much so the colors drip straight down. Plus, it gets crazy hot so it melts the crayons really fast.

(Side note: Heat guns will melt & burn your parent's family room carpet pretty quickly so always work on a non-carpeted & melt-proof surface.)

Fin

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In other news, today marks the start of soccer season for Vance. The first practice is tonight - you can almost hear the sounds of the balancing acts in the works.

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

She broke free

About 30 minutes after putting both kids to bed in their separate rooms on Sunday night we heard laughter.

Giggling from both camps and at the same time.

Hmmm...suspicious.

We went upstairs to find that Vaughn had crept out of her room and was in Vance's bed. Both tucked in, reading books, and having a great ol' time.

So, the honeymoon period is over and Vaughn has learned that she can in fact get out of her bed on her own. However that's been her only time getting out, so it's going better than I had imagined!

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Vance had school picture day last week. For the first time ever I let him pick the background.

He thought long and hard about it and decided, yep, that tie dye was the way to go.

Awesome choice, young man.

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Vaughn is still drawing like a mad woman. I found drawing paper on clearance at Target yesterday and stocked up for when our scrap paper runs out. This started out as a rainbow then morphed into a princess like most of her drawings do.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Plastic bottle cuff bracelets

This is a quick craft to do with kids and I bet you have everything you need right at home. Here we go!

Get a plastic bottle. I used a 2 liter bottle, but I think a smaller bottle would work even better (you'll see why later on). Carefully, cut the top and bottom off and cut it open to make a rectangular shape.

You'll need material. Any material will work. I used an old white t-shirt and part of a patterned dress of Vaughn's that didn't fit anymore. Draw designs with permanent markers.

Use duct tape to tape the bottle down to cardboard. This will keep it from rolling up onto itself.

You'll also need tacky glue. Spread a layer all over the inside of the bottle. I used a folded up piece of magazine to spread it out because I'm high tech like that.

Don't worry, it dries clear.

Press your already drawn on fabric, face down, onto the glue.

Let it dry completely - mine took more than a few hours.

For the kids I stuck to 1 inch wide by 5 inches long. Cut with sharp scissors or even a rotary cutter. Rounding the corners adds a nice touch also.

If the bracelet is too loose, wrap a rubber band around it and let it sit in the sun for a few hours. I had to do this with ours. I think this is why using a smaller plastic bottle would work better than a 2 liter bottle. Or you could even use a paper punch to punch holes in the ends and tie it closed with ribbon.

Voila!

I think this project has definite jumping off potential. I'm tempted to try a more "adult" one for myself using a scrap of already patterned material and then using some sort of trim to finish the edges off. I'll keep you updated!

By the way, I found this idea in Todd Oldham's Kid Made Modern book.

Enjoy and have fun!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

A day in the life of a 3 year old.

Yesterday Vaughn and I...

drew with markers

colored with crayons

played with clay

made sidewalk paint & painted the driveway

rode scooters & bikes (she's pedaling better now!)

bounced ping pong balls into cups(for hand-eye coordination)

had an imaginary tea & cake party

played music

played Candy Land & the Dora Memory game

put together two puzzles

Then it was time for lunch and after that we started again with a whole different set of activities.

What I'm saying is that I need to enroll her in a class of some sort so that I'm not the main entertainment of her day. The life of a 3 year old is busy!

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In other news, she's been doing great in her toddler bed this week. She's in the honeymoon phase of not realizing that she can get out of bed. I'm sure it will get more interesting when that happens.

Yes, I'm feeling the heat from everyone about not posting enough this week. I'm trying to get into the new back-to-school groove. I'll get there!

You know what?

It's Thursday! Have a great day!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Hit me with your best shot

Yesterday on a family hike a golf ball nearly hit us.

We heard something ripping through the tree branches and I automatically thought it was a bird charging for us. I had totally forgotten that the trail was right next to a golf course.

We saw it land, bounce a few times, then Vance ran and caught it. Souvenir!

Whatever happened to yelling fore?

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After coming out of that situation without injury I should have been on edge, knowing my luck had already been challenged.

Hours and perfect weather later, I was sitting outside, enjoying my family and a wiffle ball smacks me right on the forehead. I wasn't even looking.

A line drive hit by Vance and yes, it still hurts.

(Interestingly enough at the batting cages earlier that day he couldn't hit a thing.)

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Here at headquarters we either over-think everything by 110% or jump willy nilly right into something. There's really no middle ground.

Last night we took the crib rail off and converted Vaughn's crib into a toddler bed. This falls into the willy nilly category. It wasn't an ideal night to do so but it just sort of happened.

She hasn't figured out that she can get out of bed but strangely had a bad night of sleep. We've been all up since 3:30 this morning and I feel it's going to be a long day for me, Justin, and Vance since we didn't get to sleep in. Miss Vaughn, on the other hand, is still snoozing away and it's 10:15 AM right now. She doesn't nap anymore, so I'm going to let her sleep in hopes of an early bedtime tonight. Hope it's a better night tonight!

Happy Monday everyone!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Vaughngo and her Mermaid Phase

Vaughn loves mermaids. Always has.

She's like Kate Flax from Mermaids.

Always in the tub.

Nowadays, that's all she draws. And draws and draws and draws.

Our scrap paper pile is dwindling down and she's out of coloring books.

"There's no empty princesses. Mama, will you help me find an empty one?"

There are none, so today will be New Coloring Book day.

Hold your excitement!

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After today Vance will have one full week of school under his belt.

I'm happy to announce that he's still loving every minute of it.

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I'm thinking about a Bamboo Pen. If this makes sense to you please let me know if you have any insight on the matter. I'm looking for suggestions.

It's Friday!

The weather is here!

(wish you were beautiful)

((Sorry, had to - Jimmy Buffett made me do it))

Have a great day!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

There's a Gator in the Backyard!

(Sorry for the title. I've just been introduced to Billy the Exterminator and can't get it out of my mind.)

So thankful that the temps have dropped and we can actually play outside again!

Kids meet The Backyard. Backyard meet kids. Play nicely while Mommy looks through this Crate and Barrel magazine.

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Last night we broke out the Gator.

It was Vaughn's first time on it and the belly-laughs coming from her were hilarious.

Watching her it occurred to me that all she knows of moving vehicles is being strapped down into the back of one. This is the first time she's ever felt the wind in her face, so to speak.

She loved it.

(I didn't make her wear the helmet. She put it on herself.)

The End. Fin. Happy Trails.

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It's Thursday which means the weekend is near, Project Runway is on, and Justin gets home tonight.

It's gonna be a good day!

Monday, August 08, 2011

First day of First

Spot the differences!

Vance remembered the lucky quarter that my dad gave him last year but decided that he wouldn't need it this year.

This year he didn't have to be pushed (lovingly) onto the bus.

In fact, he asked me yesterday if I'd stay inside while he got onto the bus by himself.

He ran onto the bus, found a seat, and was chatting away while the bus pulled away. I made eye contact with him - he didn't even wave back.

Stinker.

This year no tears. From Vance or from his parents.

Have a great Monday!

Friday, August 05, 2011

Fun

Yesterday this was Vance, "We better start doing some fun stuff because summer is almost over!"

And then I drove the car off a cliff.

Because seriously? We've been doing so much "fun" stuff that "fun" has become the new level of norm.

Instantly I think of Clark Griswold's rant about fun:

Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny ******* Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white *** down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of ******** this side of the nuthouse.

There you go. We've made mini-monsters out of the kids with all this fun stuff we've been doing. Moving on!

We survived the summer! We did more fun stuff than we've ever done thanks to our Summer to-do List. We didn't accomplish everything on the list but that's okay.

We tried teaching Vaughn to ride a bike but her legs would rather dance than pedal right now. It's been too hot to make giant bubbles, but it's finally starting to cool down. Strawberry picking can be substituted for apple picking. We'll get to everything eventually, hopefully even the big one of selling our house.

When we listed the house I bought two bottles of champagne. One to celebrate the listing and another for when we sold. Thinking back over all the good times we've had this summer it seems silly to hold off on that second bottle. We have plenty to celebrate. As Ghostface Killah says, "Get the champagne, love, word up, we gon' toast."

Cheers! (What will you be toasting to this weekend?)

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Quickie Garland Project

Quickie Project

Inspired from Meg at Whatever.

(Hers were circles - I only had heart shapes on hand.)

The kids painted them back in June. They had fun doing so - each little doily was it's own masterpiece.

It was a day that we didn't have anything going on and they were overly bored. I searched, found doilies, and remembered the garland that Meg had done with her kids.

I let them dry and just yesterday sewed them all together to make garland. I wish I had more so that it was longer!

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Vance's school orientation is tonight. We get to meet his teacher, see his classroom, and drop off his school supplies.

Still can't believe that school starts next week.

He can't wait! I love that he's so excited!

Have a great Wednesday!