A Last Minute Shamrock

We aren't big on celebrating St. Patrick's Day over here. When you aren't Irish and you don't drink, there seems to be little point. Anyway, I still thought I'd throw together a quick porch decoration.

 Cut out a couple of cardboard shamrocks. Paint the large one green if you wish.

Glue some basket lining moss on the large shamrock. Let dry. I glued scrapbook paper on the small shamrock. Just like I did for my faux wood heart.

I can't decide if I love it or hate it, but it does look festive on the front porch.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Getting Some Green On

I realized last week that St. Patty's Day was coming up and that my sweet daughter has no green in her wardrobe. So, I determined to do something about it. I decided that despite her lack of green clothing, I could at least make her something to wear in her hair. So, I pulled out the materials and set to work.

I sketched out a simple cross-stitch pattern and started on the first set of clips:

Approximately 60 inches of floss (three strands) used for each clip pattern.

A little felt and some stitched on clips and those were completed.

I even made something for myself:

These didn't seem enough, so I broke out the felt again and got cutting:

I'm really in to the four-leaf clover.

I like having a cute little girl to wear my clips.

I think these were my favorites:

and if those three ideas don't do it for you, here are a couple more green inspired clips from when I was running my Etsy shop.

Top: Layered fabric and felt. Bottom: fabric yo-yo with brads.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

WW- Check Out My Tomatoes

Remember when I planted these? From sad tiny plants to actual tomatoes!

Now if they'd only turn red, we'd really be in business!

Join the Wordless Wednesday fun and Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Color Sort- Let's Learn Colors

Jellybean has been having a little trouble with her colors. So, I decided to put together a simple game to help her. I pulled out some sheets of dollar store craft foam in red, yellow, blue, green and orange. Then I pulled out our tupperware of puff balls and asked the kids to sort the colors.

Yes, we were still in our pajamas. Why do you ask?

After the puff balls had been sorted, I asked the kids to run through the house and find two or three toys that matched each color.

They did an awesome job

and were pretty proud of themselves.

At the end of the activity, I asked Jellybean to name the different colors.  She now has Orange, Red and Yellow down pat (at least for now). We're still working on Green and Blue.  3 out of 5? That's a good morning's work in my book. When we were finished, Jellybean surprised me by breaking into a rendition of the Rainbow Song. "Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue. I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too."  This was also a good opportunity for Buddy to exercise his teaching skills. He loved helping Jellybean learn her colors. He's a good big brother.

Before we could clean everything up, the game devolved into "Dump the Puff Balls on Jellybean." It was a natural conclusion.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Can you tell the good plants from the weeds?

We have been blessed with some beautiful weather here and there is so much green coming up in the garden. I've been out with the kids for a little while each day weeding our flower beds.  Mostly, the kids will play while I weed, but occasionally, they come over and want to help.  This has brought up some interesting discussions on which plants are good plants and which plants are weeds.

Buddy thinks the concept of good plants and weeds is funny and makes a game out of it.  "Mama, you're a weed, I'm going to pull you out because I'm a good plant."

Jellybean, wants to help, but doesn't yet have enough understanding to do so.  Today, in her efforts to "weed," she plucked every bud off of a little plant that was just about to bloom.  After that, I kept a better eye on her and handed her the weeds I had pulled to place in my trash bucket.   

My gardening buddy.

While I've been weeding, I've been thinking a lot about how I'm trying to teach my children about the good plants and the weeds that they'll encounter in life. Each day, I am teaching them what is important and what isn't; What is good and what is bad.  It is sometimes hard to distinguish between the the good plants (things that will bring joy into our lives) and the weeds (things that will diminish our joy and drag us down). Sometimes, the weed is readily identified, has shallow roots and can easily be plucked out. Sometimes it is difficult to identify the weed before it has sent runners out and has taken over half of the garden.

This plant no longer has buds. :(

As a parent, I want my children to be able to see the difference between what will be valuable in their lives and what won't be.  I want them to have joy in their lives and not be hindered by the weeds that will inevitably pop up.  I guess the teaching starts with my example.  I imagine that a little weeding in my own life would be beneficial.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Going Green

We went green for St Patty's Day this last week! I realized on Thursday that none of us had a scrap of green in our closets. I began to have elementary school related anxiety about my children being pinched by others more zealous in their holiday celebrations. So, we headed out to the store to remedy the situation. Then on the day, we held an impromptu photo session. D agreed to be the photographer despite his exasperated sighs. I had to bribe the children to stand still. I don't know why Buddy has a spoon, but hey, it's green, so who am I to complain.

Yep, that's one great spoon.

Apparently, Daddy is doing something that is both funny and disturbing.

Anything to keep from looking at the camera and smiling. Here you can see a hint of the orange leggings my little fashionista chose to go with her denim skirt and green shirt.

Look at that handsome kid! This photo was captured a split second before he pulled a face.

I hope all of your St. Patty's Day celebrations were a success!

Have a Happy Day!

 ~MJ

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