Oh Snap Wednesday {linky} - 8/31

{Oh Snap}

My first born, my sweet baby girl is turning into a little lady right before my eyes. I often wish I could freeze time, spending every minute with her making castles out of blankets, playing dress up - instantly becoming the two most beautiful princesses in all the land, sipping tea on a picnic blanket and dancing to "Stuck Like Glue." But at the same time, I can't wait to see what the future holds for my precious gift. I'm so excited to watch her continue to grow, learn, mature.

Noelle,

You love animals. Brinkley is your partner in crime. I love listening to your belly laugh when you two are running through the house. 

You are silly, graceful, and beautiful.
You are adventurous.

And I love that you always want to hold my hand.

So keep on growing, sweet Noelle. Just do it a little slower, okay?

Love,

Mommy

{Link up your Photo Post}

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Ruffle Lamp Shade DIY, and more Master Bedroom

You all know how much a sucker I am for a good ruffle. But ruffles in the Master Bedroom can sometimes be troublesome if your husband wants a neutral space. Luckily, Mr. G has been very open to all of my decorating projects in our room, ruffles and all. I did give him a choice - ruffle lamp shades or ruffle curtains. But he never gave me an answer so I went with lamp shades...and bedding. Lamp shades are easier and cheaper to DIY. But I haven't completely ruled out ruffling up the curtains as well. :)

I liked our night stand lamps as they were but the room needed more volume.

Supplies:

Plain lamp shade

Glue Gun

Ruffles - If you can DIY ruffles, go for it girlfriend. I bought 5 yards of ruffles-by-the-yard at Hobby Lobby. Use a 40% off coupon or wait for it to go on sale

Step 1 - glue the ruffles to the lamp shade.
I chose to spiral the ruffles up the lamp shade as oppose to cutting individual strips. I slightly overlapped the ruffles at the back of the lamp shade and worked my way up. 

Step 2 - Bask in the loveliness of your new lamp shade(s).

See how they fluff up the room a bit?

What's that? You are loving my driftwood sunburst? Me too. 

It complements the Driftwood Shelf

The wall opposite of the bed, Gallery Wall

That's it for the Master Bedroom for now. I have a couple of artwork projects on my to-do list for the North and South walls so keep a look out for more Master Bedroom crafts.

Linking up:

Disney Gummies Vitamin Deal at Target

There is a great coupon stack for Disney Vitamins at Target. Noelle loves the Princess vitamins!

$2/1 Disney or Marvel Vitamin Product (Redplum)

$1/1 60ct or larger Disney Gummies multivitamins (Target)

The Disney Princess Jar 60ct (with 10 extra) is $4.54 at Target.

$1.54 for 70 vitamins (*Princess* vitamins, because the plain ole gummy bears are so not cool, mom!)

Homeschool - F is for Fish

Noelle had a couple of first times this week in Preschool.

She wrote her name all on her own!

I was cheering her on with each letter. I even teared up a bit when she was done. One proud momma!

She also matched every capital letter of the alphabet with its lower case letter on her own. This time I wasn't even around. I was making lunch and she was working on it on the floor in the living room.

Another alphabet activity:

On strips of paper I wrote a capital letter with several lower case letters. She picks the matching lower case letter and marks it with a clothes pin. 

Letter of the Week Activities
Measurement

Patterns

Counting & Sorting

Tracing 

Measurement Activity

Supplies:

Rice in a container
Measuring cups / Bottles
Measuring spoons
Tray

Noelle picks what number she wants to fill the bottle to then uses the spoons to fill the bottle to that number. She loves this activity and usually works on it for 15 minutes each day. Great for younger kids too!


Bible Story
Jonah and the Big Fish

Read more about the Whale Milk Jug Craft HERE.

A successful and fun week. I'm looking forward to "G" week! G is for GARDNER!


Letter of the Week Curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler
 

{Kid}ding Around *Link Party* - Whale Milk Jug Craft

Welcome to {Kid}ding Around Friday

{Kid}ding Around Friday is the place to share your kid-related posts about:

Crafts, Milestones, Homeschooling, Kid-Friendly Food, Pregnancy, Decorating, Photography, 

A Funny Story, Great Deals, Organization and more!

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{To Join the Party}

1. Follow your hosts, Katie & Amanda.

2. Link to a specific kid-related post.

3. Grab our adorable little button - seriously, isn't it darling?

4. Enjoy reading through some of the other posts and make new friends!

Each week we will feature 3 of our favorite posts from the previous week.

By submitting a link, you are granting Katie and I permission to use the photos from your post.

A FEW GREAT LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

Baby Signing!

from The Mommyhood Chronicles

I just started showing Noah a few signs: milk, more, up, please.

Recycled Play Milk Jug

from Bear Rabbit Bear

We somehow always lose the pieces to Noelle's play kitchen. 

This tutorial is great for DIY kitchen items.

Countdown to School

from Barefoot in Paradise

I love back to school activities. This one is so fun and the list of "to-do" items are great. 

If you were featured - grab a button on the left side bar :)

Whale Milk Jug Craft

Noelle is working on letter F in Preschool this week and our bible story is Jonah and the Big Fish. When I saw this craft at Growing a Godly Girl I was so excited. All you need is a milk jug, scissors and a sharpie to create the big fish to swallow up Jonah. 

Draw an outline of the mouth:

 Then cut it out and draw a mouth, eyes, fins and blow hole.

 First I read the story in Noelle's baby Bible.

{Woody bravely played the part of Jonah}

Then Noelle took her whale out to the water table to act out the story on her own.

Great fun!

Thanks for linking up!

{If you're new here, let Katie and I know so we can follow you back}

Gardner Grub - Back to School Chicken Salad

Mr. G started a new school year last week which means his lunch needs to be packed each night ready to go in the morning. This is his favorite lunch for work. I hope you try it! 

{Back to School Chicken Salad}

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 apple, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl.

For lunches: Place 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the chicken salad in a ziplock bag or container. Toast the bread and put it in another bag/container. Or serve with crackers.

Oh Snap Wednesday {linky} - 8/24

I turned away for one second...



And accidentally left his bowl of cereal/spinach with him on the high chair.
Classic mistake.

The damage was done so I sat back and watched...and laughed...and took pictures.

"I totally got this, mom. You go relax. I'm good here."

"That was awesome!"

{If you noticed the pink Zoe bib - it was the only clean one in the drawer. Sorry, son. But that's what happens when you have a big sister.}

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Link up your photo post! No rules, just fun.
If you're new here let me know so I can follow you back.

The 50mm lens

My brother-in-law (559 Photography) handed down his 50mm lens for my Canon Rebel XSi a while back. I've taken it out a few times but those particular occasions weren't ideal for a 50mm lens so it's been in my camera bag for several months, waiting to come out and show me how fantastic it is.

This weekend I decided to dust it off and give it a try. Here we are on our way to Target - making a few stops along the way.

 p.s. we're a little bit country

It wasn't easy at first. It took several attempts just to get used to not zooming. Focusing with a 50mm lens is also a challenge. After 100+ pictures I started to get the hang of it. 

{Here are a few pictures straight out of the camera}

It's funny - I never noticed the cows, horses, sheep, chicken, and all of the other animals on the side of the road before I had kids.  One of the first things Noelle ever said was "Moooo!"

We also have a lot of canals and crops - right now there is corn everywhere!

And hay.

And fresh fruit stands.

A few of those filtered:

Linking up: Show Off Your Shot

Noah giving you a thumbs up!

I had fun my first time with it and look forward to getting out more and practicing.