Loose Ends

It's been one of those weeks where I have a lot of half done projects and anxiously trying to finish them all up at the same time. I am the type of person that hates having lose ends, so I actually do finish most of what I start. I've been meaning to make this toothbrush holder for traveling that I found on Pinterest. I think it is a great idea since I have been sticking them all in one ziploc bag and of course this is reusable! 

It took me approximately 5 minutes max. to make this since my sewing machine was already out. I used a hand towel instead of a washcloth since there are 6 of us, but a washcloth would have worked too. You can see some of my sewing lines. I made 7 pockets and then sewed a piece of ribbon on it to tie it together. Easy right? 

This was an extra towel I had laying around and I really didn't see the need to make it pretty, but you could get a nice decorative towel and really jazz it up if you wanted.

With a little ironing, my son's quilt is ready for batting, backing and quilting. I'm really hoping I can make a huge dent in this today at naptime.

I have also been gluing down the beadboard inside my cupboards, which I am totally excited to finish and post before and after pictures of! 

While I've been tying up loose ends my kids have been enjoying their sensory table filled with water and toys. I made this table for my 3 year old's birthday in April before I started the blog. I will have to make a new post about it because it is one of the coolest presents we have made for them and all the little supplies to go with it. Winter will be a lot more fun this year!

Home School

I recently decided that I would be homeschooling preschool for our youngest three kids because we live in an area that does not offer a lot of preschools. Unless your child is behind or qualify financially then your options are very limited, so I ordered a simple homeschooling kit from christianbooks.com. I did not realize what I was getting into until the books came in the mail. It is a full year long curriculum with worksheets for math, reading, bible study, and many other subjects. I am pretty impressed and the kids love it!

It took about two weeks to get all the materials and set up the new "classroom" which happens to also be Derek's bedroom. I found an old preschool table at a thrift store, spray painted and its perfect! The kids loved the first class and beg to go to "school" every single day even though I only wanted to do it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

We sing songs, watch short movies that incorporate the curriculum, color pictures, and even have a short gym class each day. I was so impressed that I ordered the first grade math curriculum for my oldest to work on all summer. I don't see myself becoming a full fledged home school parent but I am having fun teaching preschool.

Pinterest Fail

Today was a gorgeous day and I thought the perfect time to try out the giant water pillow for the kids. Big mistake. I found this idea on Pinterest of duct taping two plastic drop sheets together and filling it with water for the kids to jump on. This was a fail project for me. First of all it was not fun trying to duct tape them together with my 6 month belly and what felt like 90 degrees in the sun. After 30 minutes of taping I stuck the hose inside. Immediately there were quite a few leaks. Once the plastic is wet I could not try to retape, plus my second roll was scotch duct tape which is no where near as strong as real duct tape. 

The kids preferred to get wet anyway in the warm sun, so I just took the hose out and put it on top of the plastic for awhile and let them slide around. 

So another Pinterest fail. The warm weather did get my husband in the mood to put the pool up though. Last year we didn’t buy it until July and it never really got warm enough to swim in, so this year we are putting it up extra early, hoping it will get warm enough. Living in Upper Michigan is not a great location for unheated pools. It was also very unlevel last year, so we found a new location and tried to level it better with just a 16’ board and a small level. Being married to a carpenter is supposed to have its perks like always having the right tools. We do own a 20’ level but the trailer with the tools is always at a job site when we need it. This has also been a problem when it comes to drills, hammers, saws, pretty much any tool that I am looking for.