Military Children Saying Goodbye

 

One of the hardest things is seeing our babies affected by military life. It was easy when it was just my husband and I, making decisions for two adults. But our little ones sometimes have a hard time understanding and adjusting. They didn't get a choice. 

 This is Bella and her best friend, Hayleigh. Last summer they were inseparable.

 But after a short summer of being best friends they had to say goodbye. For the next year Bella would always talk about her "faraway Hayleigh" and when she was picking something out she would always get "One for me, and one for Hayleigh."

One of the most amazing things about military life is reunions!!! I think sometimes we appreciate the time we do have with each other more because we know the time is short and don't want to waste it. This summer Hayleigh came back to visit. Her mom and I decided to meet at the park. I didn't tell Bella that Hayleigh was in town. When they saw each other from all the way across the field they ran as fast as they could yelling each others' names and then a big hug. I pretty much almost bawled to death.

Before she left after her visit, the girls made these pictures to hang in each others' rooms. They stamped their hand prints in Elmer's glue and then covered it in glitter with their initials. Then used frames from Dollar Tree.

How to remove burnt grime from stove top grates

  

I'm not really a fan of harsh chemicals but my stove top grates have become burnt and gross to the point that scrubbing won't get them clean. 

 I read that soaking over night in ammonia will help. I got this bottle for 99cents at the Commissary.

 I put each grate in a freezer bag and poured maybe a 1/2 cup of ammonia in and sealed the bag.

 Then placed them in the sink and let sit overnight.

They just wiped clean! I rinsed under water and just wiped the grime off with a sponge. YAY!

Bella's Ballerina Dress-up Birthday

 

 Our Isabella Rose turned 4 September 15th! She wanted a ballerina dress-up party. I got all of my ideas for decorating from Pinterest, of course. The idea for the ribbon garland came from here.

 One of the party favors for the girls was tutu leggies. All you do is buy knee high socks, cut the feet off, and sew a strip of tulle, ribbon, or lace around the bottom. Pretty simple if you have basic sewing skills.

 These are ribbon wands with bells. Follow this link for the tutorial.

For the boys I made little bow ties. I just made bows with ribbon and glued them onto elastic and then used sticky velcro for closure.

 The wreath I made myself and was inspired by this wreath on Pinterest.

 The tulle wrapped balloons looked really elegant and fancy.

 The ballerina cupcake toppers were inspired by this tutorial.

Bella got a big girl bike from daddy and mommy!

One of my favorite things to make is tissue paper pom poms. They are super cheap, easy, cute, and ruffly!

Tutorial : How I Made Ribbon Wands with Bells

 

I got all of my supplies fairly cheap at Walmart. In the party/baking section you will find long cookie pop sticks. In the jewelry making and craft section you will find Head and Eye Pins, Split Rings, and Jingle Bells. Also in the fabric section you can find all of the ribbon you want.

 

First you take the eye pin and poke it into the top of the cookie stick. It goes in real easy. If you are super fancy you can use a dot of hot glue before you poke it in to keep it secure.

 

 Next I used the split rings to connect the bells to the eye pin.

 Now I cut the ribbon to my desired length and burned the ends a bit with a lighter so the ends don't unravel. I laid it out flat and put the stick on top.

 Add some hot glue.

 Then fold the ribbon over and let the hot glue dry. (These glue guns are inexpensive at Walmart and they sell packs of glue sticks at Dollar Tree.)

 Roll it up.

 I used a bit of tape to keep the ribbon rolled up but if you are super fancy you can use some thin ribbon or something to tie them shut.

 I also added some feathers to some of them! Just stick them in there before gluing and folding the ribbon over.

 Ta-da! Now you have super cute noise making party favors!!!

Can't wait for Bella's Ballerina 4th Birthday party coming up!

Crayon Sun Candles

Today we used an idea I found on Pinterest for all our old crayon tidbits. The instructions are here. We just piled them all in empty Glade candle jars along with some leftover scentsy wax for smell and old birthday candles for the wick.

 Then we set them out in the sun. It was going a little slow since we had a stormy and cloudy day. We usually have bright sun and 100+ degree weather but of course not today randomly!

 I put them in the oven on low heat for a few minutes to help them along and now we have fun little candles that our kids are excited to see decorating our home.

 Just a fun little project for a rainy (or hopefully SUNNY) day!

Have fun!

Newborn Photographs

 Wanted to share some of my favorite shots from the newborn shoot done by Lily Miller from BlahBlah Bebe Photography located in Twentynine Palms, CA.

 She also made the lovely hairpieces for baby Natalya, Bella, and I.

I absolutely love the vintage feel of them and all the lace. She is so talented and I am grateful I was able to be a part of her art.

4th of July Care Package

I know I am slow but hopefully others can get ideas from my care packages and improve them for yourselves. I know looking at other people's care packages gave me good ideas! This is the 4th of July care package from this last summer while my husband was on the 31st MEU.

This was really easy. I got paint, paintbrushes, and construction paper, and some decorations and the Dollar Tree. I highly recommend the Dollar Tree for deployment care packages.

"Some lovers feel a spark. But I feel fireworks when I think of you!"

Dollar Tree goodies are the best because we all know they can't carry a bunch of crap with them. So once they are done playing they can just throw it away!! Or send sentimental things like pictures and things that are small and easy to tuck away.

The best thing is of course snacks!!! Homemade or store bought. You can never send enough snacks because they always have buddies (some that don't get care packages) that will help them eat it.

To keep everything from rolling around in there stuff it VERY tight. If anything seems like it could melt or explode (like chocolate or shampoo) put it in it's own zip lock baggie and wrap it in bubble wrap. Helps to keep it cool and safe. Keep your grocery bags from shopping because they are great for stuffing in there to take up room... TA - DA!