The dreaded play/craft room!

OK so I have decided to stop being so ADHD an all over the place (as if I could just decide that) but I am going to try to tackle one home project at a time instead of doing 20!

My first goal is my craft/boys play room. I am totally embarrassed to show you the current pics but it will make the eventual outcome look really good so here we go.

Kids Toy Storage Ikea

This horrible monstrous credenza from my parents OUT OF HERE!
If you live in Ga it's for sale on craigslist for $50

Some of my craft supplies

My desk (yes I know it's awful)

You think this is bad wait till you see the closets!

So the carpet in this room is trashed my husband used to have this room as an office and he is  SLOB, and then my children decided one night to sneak into my craft paint and splatter painted the floor with it. I tried my carpet cleaner but it just smeared it.

This may take a while but keep tuned in for more I will post as I go!

Just a thought at Christmas time

     
A Christmas Adaptation of 1 Corinthians 13 by Sharon Jaynes

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny glass balls but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way. Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust. But giving the gift of love will endure.

Naughty or Nice?

So every year at Christmas my hubby and I get out the elves. This is not because we get a kick out of coming up with things to do, it is really because we use it as a way to screw with our kids to get them to act the way we want them to. We have 2 elves in our house so that when our kids want to screw with there kids they will both have there own. Garrett named his Dude and Mattie named his Tommy (after Thomas the Train)

So Dude and Tommy have done a few fun things this year but they are always good to make a point. Tommy was very upset with Matthew so he had his back turned to him for 2 days. Last year Dude brought Garrett a bag of coal to remind him to be good. Our final nail in the coffin so to say was this wonderful website:


The Portable North Pole


You can put in your child's picture and personal information. They will even talk about the one major think you have been working on this year...in our 3 year olds case it was throwing temper tantrums.
You can see the video here:


Matthew Video


Well needless to say the next time he went to throw a temper tantrum I said isn't that what put you on the naughty list? He stopped mid tantrum and said "I not throwing tempa tantwum". OK so maybe Santa's just an imaginary tradition but he sure does work when you can't seem to discipline your kids! See some of this years fun below!

Grandmas Ice Cream Pie

 You know how you have something that reminds you instantly of your childhood and takes you back. This is it for me. My Grandmother Blackwell's ice cream pie. She lived 3 hours away from us in Alabama so when we went to see her almost always there was one of these in the freezer. It was the first thing we checked for after we gave her and Paw Paw kisses. It is sorta like a hot fudge sundae in a pie.

First you get out your double boiler ( or in my case a soup pot and a glass bowl, there was an incident where my double boiler blew up and butterscotch chips were on the ceiling and all the cabinets so I use a glass bowl so I can see the water underneath now) Boil some water in the pot and in the bowl put 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 cup miniature marshmallows. Put the bowl over the boiling water and stir with a spatula constantly until it's all melted. If you don't stir the entire time you risk burning it which would taste yuck!

Check out all that yummy goodness, you have to let this sit and cool off for about 20 minutes, of course to check the temp you have to stick your finger in it and then what is there to do but lick it off!

Then you take graham cracker crumbs and a stick of melted butter and make a pie crust in the deepest pie dish you have

Once the fudge mixture cools off (and I can't begin to tell you how important this step is!) you put some in the bottom of the pie pan, then scoop a layer of vanilla ice cream on top then more fudge and ice cream till it's filled to the top. I sprinkled the top of mine with chopped pecans but this is optional. This one is going to my Dad's birthday, it was his moms recipe so I know he will be excited!

Fudge Sundae Pie (in the south we just call it plain ol ice cream pie)

1 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup chocolate chips

1 Cup miniature Marshmallows

1/4 tsp Salt

1 graham cracker crust (follow the directions on the box)

1 quart vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix the milk, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and salt in a shallow saucepan or double boiler until melted together and thickened. LET COOL ( if you don't it will melt the ice cream and be big ol mess)

Line bottom of crust with chocolate mixture then spoon in the ice cream, repeat. Top with pecans and freeze.

My Little Helper Mattie!

Lego Table

OK so I originally saw the idea on Pintrest but it was done on a small table and I wanted something that both boys and friends could play on. So I went to Ikea and they had this Lack coffee table for $20. With the measurements of 20x30 for the top I was able to fit 6 Lego plates. Bonus they were buy one get one free at Toys R Us.

So first you put the table together and it was really easy. Then you measure because you will have some overage on each side and you want them to be centered. I used a white pencil from my sewing kit to mark the corner.

Then you get a strong glue and put it all over the back, this glue dries clear, make sure you put it all the way to the edge which I found out afterwards so that they cannot be pulled up by the corners.

Start at your marked corner and then glue them all down. The perfect Lego table with a shelf for storage for less than $50. I got 2 bins to store stuff underneath, they are called a very useful box and I found them at office depot. they slide out the sides like drawers.

I got it ready just in time for Garrett's birthday party and the boys played on it for hours!

Linked up to the Pinterest Challenge Winter Edition 

• Sherry of Young House Love
• Cassie from Hi Sugarplum
• Erin from The Great Indoors
• Katie at Bower Power