Katniss & President Barbie Dolls
I used to be an avid doll collector. Somehow along the way I grew up? Umm, not really. Along the way I decided I should save my money, HAHA. Collectible Dolls are like $40-$60 a piece, $30 if you’re lucky, and $25 for random dolls, $18.99 if they’re on sale. I used to have the complete Disney Princesses dolls too but situation got tough years ago so I had to sell them on Ebay. I still have a couple of Disney Princesses Christmas dolls though, thank goodness. Marilyn Monroe, Lucy, and some Victorian Ladies are now in my daughter’s toy bin. I held on to them for as long as I could but any Mother of a toddler knows that it’s hard to fight a little girl who wants to play with dolls. At some point, I said, “Why are they in the box anyway? Just let your daughter play with them, it’s not going to kill anybody so get over it.” THERE!
Then a week or so ago, I saw in my Facebook timeline the Toy Xplosion post on I Can Be President Barbie Doll. The inner child/doll collector within me got excited.
I mean look at that pink suit! Somehow, someday, I will have this doll.
Oatmeal Container Turned Kids Organizer
I ate the last cup of oatmeal for breakfast yesterday and as I was about to throw the container away, I said, “Hey I Betcha I can do something with this.” I remembered how every time we go somewhere, I’m always looking for my daughter’s sunglasses. Then I saw the pencils at the dining table, and remembered the markers in my desk, and all over her bedroom floor. VOILA, organizers out of an oatmeal container. This is actually one of the classic ways in recycling oatmeal containers. When it comes to covering stuff with paper, I’m your pal. Just check out the Customized Toilet Paper Roll Telescope I made for my daughter last year. Now let me show you how I made these organizers out of an oatmeal container.
My Son, The Artist’
If you’ve been following me for years, like waaaayyy back in ’97, you’ve practically watched my son grow into a Teenager. Chances are, I’ve watched your kids grow as well. I suddenly feel all nostalgic. Anyhoooo, part of his growth that you’ve witnessed is his art work. I can’t even count how many times I’m raved what a great artist he is and how many artwork of his that I’ve posted throughout the years. They’re not limited to drawings either. My son can do digital better than anyone. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating but what I mean it, he’s really good. He once drew Popeye in Photoshop just using the draw tool then printed it and when his cousins saw it they all wanted one. These days he’s into creating videos and video games. I won’t even attempt to look into his computer to check out his files coz I know he’s got folders and folders of them. He has a YouTube account where he uploads the videos though. I’ll share some of the videos sometime. Right now, here are some recent and not-so recent drawings all over his room.
As you can see, he’s into Sonic these days. He’s also into Halo and he has drawings of that too which I’ll post sometime. When he was in grade school, except for that one week when he brought home 3 tickets in a span of one week for talking too much, he never really got in trouble for the usual stuff that kids gets in trouble with at school. Yah know like bullying, picking a fight, or being a distraction to other kids. Every time I had a meeting with any of his Teachers, his trouble was mostly because he liked to draw a lot. It sounds strange, doesn’t it? See, he would always rush his work so he could have that extra quite time to do whatever and in his case, to draw. So every time we’d talk to him about focusing on the task at hand, I always had this pain in my stomach. It always bothered me so much telling my son to ease up on something he’s obviously so passionate about so he could concentrate on other things.
We Need More Craft Time
One of the things my daughter and I enjoy doing besides cooking together is doing crafts. I wish I remember to take pictures of our craft times but sometimes I find myself being so in the task that I completely forget about the camera. That’s a bummer for making memories especially for a scrapbooker like me but sometimes it’s good too. This generation is too obsessed with taking pictures of everything that we forget to feel the moment. Like were there doing something but we’re too busy trying to take the best shot. Hey, I’m guilty of that a lot so no judging here.
Anyhooo, my favorite place to go to for ideas is Personal Creations. If you connect on their Facebook page, you’ll get not only craft ideas to do with your kids, the page also provide tips and tricks on daily chores, store sales, and a nice community for parents, crafters, etc. So check’em out when you can. Personal Creations just posted a link for making play-doh so I think that’s our next project. Wish us luck.
Baking Chocolate Banana Cupcakes W/ Emma
Emma loves to bake. If it was up to her we’d be baking cookies, cakes, and cupcakes, everyday. But of course we can’t do that so we do it on the weekends. She definitely had fun with all the Holiday baking we did last year. Anyhooo, for Christmas, Nan and Pop gave her a Kid’s Cupcake Bake Set from Bed Bath and Beyond. The set came with apron, wooden mixing spoon, icing spreader, 5pc measuring spoons, 12 cup nonstick mini cupcakes pan, 1(24 count) mini cupcake liners, cupcake stand and vinyl carry bag.
We made mini chocolate banana cupcakes.
And regular sized ones too. BTW, I added chocolate chips on the recipe so the cupcakes are more decadent. And another thing, the cupcake bake set is currently on sale for $2.99. NICE!
Kohl’s Christmas Countdown 2-Day Specials
We are all busy starting or finishing up our Christmas shopping and looking for awesome deals. One store I love because of its amazing sales and deals is Kohl’s. That’s one of the stores I shop at for my children clothes, especially during back-to-school and Christmas seasons. I also love their affordable home items and toys. If you happen to be an avid Kohl’s shopper, then visit my house sometime, you’ll recognize some of the home decorations from there. I love the contemporary style, colors, and of course, affordable prices.
Speaking of affordable prices just in time for Christmas, Kohl’s is having its 2-day specials as part of the Christmas countdown sale. Up to 60% off for selected fine jewelry. Check out the department like the Kids toys, kitchen items, home decors, handbags, fragrances, and others for more savings.
Productivity Feels Good
My back is hurting and I feel like my knees are about to give up on me any minute now but I actually feel good. After my workout and shower today I decided to a little bit of rearranging in my daughter’s room. I threw away toys that are just stashed in the bottom of her toy bins, and fast food restaurants toys that have been collected for years. I went every space and corners of the house picking up lego pieces and cleared up one bit just for them. I swept and swiffered her floor. I picked on dried up candies and gums on the floor and rearranged her Disney table, Disney chest box and desk table. I also went thru all her DVD cases and put the DVD’s back into the right cases.
And thennnnnnnnnn, I finally pinned her posters in the wall. That’s after a year of living here, haha. To make it more cozy, I placed a pastel stripes rug in between her bed and TV stand. I figured she could dump her legos in her own rug instead of hauling off a bucket of legos into the living room to dump in the rug. Yah know, keep the legos in her own space. I wish I took a picture of before and after coz it’s really nice in there.
After her room, I cleaned up the bathroom just to get it over with. I’ll just have to go through the stuff in the cabinets tomorrow.
LeapFrog 2-Day Sale: 20% Off On Books & Games
I want to share this 2-day sale announcement that I got in the newsletter from LeapFrog. If you’ve got kids who are into LeapFrog or if you’re thinking about introducing them to it, here’s your chance to shop and save as well. 20% off on all books and games. It’s 2 days only so hurry. Use the promo code SAVE NOW.
