Car Mat

(I know this might have been more useful at the beginning of the month, but I was giving two as Christmas presents, so I'm sharing now!)

There are lots of cute ideas out there for homemade car mats, but I just thought I'd share my version. The idea is copied straight from my mother-in-law, who copied hers from her mother! Family history here! I bought a 5' X 5' piece of canvas for about $12 at a canvas store. I'm not sure where else canvas is sold, but maybe some fabric stores sell it by the yard? You could definitely make a smaller mat if you wanted. I had to hem the two edges that weren't finished. Then with pencil, I drew the streets and then buildings, parking lots, a park, etc including lots of places my little guy would recognize- grocery store, library, church, fire and police station, airport with runway, etc. Then I traced over the pencil with Sharpies and colored it in with regular crayons. I loved (mostly) making it and he has loved playing with it. Seriously, when is the last time you got to color with crayons for hours? :) It just folds up, nothing fancy or cute, but I like canvas because it is very durable. The crayon and marker doesn't rub off for a long time- my mother-in-law made hers about 25 years ago and it still looks great.

NOURISH

The new year has slammed itself upon me. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. If you remember my post from last year, I was focusing my goals on one word. I don't think I did that great. Truthfully, this hasn't been my greatest year personally. Nothing tragic has happened, I have just been tired and frustrated with about everything. I spent most of the year pregnant(mostly likely the hormones that added to my mood);). I delivered a beautiful baby boy and am most extremely blessed in every single way. But I think I forgot to care of myself. I have a hard time saying "no" to people and I became overwhelmed with all the stuff that I felt had to get done. I did not focus on what was most important and as I look back and judge my behavior, I know that this year needs to be different.


With that being said, my word for this year is NOURISH. I need to nourish myself- mind, body, and spirit. I think as I do this, I will be able to nourish my family and relationships better. If you are running on empty it is difficult to truly nourish those around you rather than going through the motions.

I will NOURISH my body by getting back to a regular work- out routine, not necessarily for the weight loss (although that would be great), but for the mental boost it gives me and for the plain fact of being healthy.

I will NOURISH my mind by reading inspiring books and some of the classics that I have overlooked.

I will NOURISH my spirit by staying close to the one who created it. "When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities” President Ezra Taft Benson

As I nourish myself in these three areas I hope to include my children and husband as well.

Coming up on a New Year...

Instead of a long list of overly-detailed, unrealistic goals like I usually make, I have just one resolution for 2011:

1) Slow down. Simplify. Focus on the Essentials.

That's it. I'm not even sure what it means. But I am sure that as I repeat this little mantra to myself over and over that I'll find situations where I can apply it.

What about you? What are your goals for the new year?

Thank You for playing along

I just wanted to say thank you to all of the people who sent postcards and letters to my son's kindergarten class.

He came home last week with a packet of papers and graphs documenting the places that their gingerbread boy "traveled". He also got to keep the postcards that were sent from people he knew (which he loved so much he took them to Grandma's house for Christmas)!

Their gingerbread boy was "spotted" all over the country. Off the top of my head I remember that he visited Washington, California, Kansas, North Carolina, Florida, and Canada.

The Department of Wildlife Management returned their gingerbread man to the school (in the arms of a teddy bear) after they "found" him in the wild. The kids were thrilled!

A special thanks to those of you who took the time to send a letter to a child/teacher you don't even know...because that's what makes this activity successful.

Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast Pizza

1 prepared pizza crust
1 lb. sausage, browned
1 c. frozen hash browns
2 c. cheese (I used mozarella, but you could use cheddar, too)
omelet type veggies- your choice

Preheat oven to 400. Spread cooked sausage over crust, then hash browns, then cheese & veggies.

Mix:
5 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Pour over pizza. (TIP: Make sure you have a really deep crust or else the egg will run over the sides and make a HUGE mess in your oven... learned this one the hard way.)

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

The M & M Nativity

As you hold these candies in your hand and turn them, You will see the M becomes a W, an E, and a 3.
They tell the Christmas Story; It's one I'm sure you'll know. It took place in a stable A long, long time ago.

The E is for the East Where the star shone so bright.
The M is for the manger Where Baby Jesus slept that night.
The 3 is for the Wise men bearing gifts; With haste they came.
W is for worship; Angels sang praise to His name.
So as you eat these candies Or share them with a friend, Remember the true spirit of Christmas and never let it end!
This poem could be attached to a snack packet of large bag of M&M's to give to a neighbor, or even a handful of M&M's in small cellophane bag with ribbon tied and poem attached. I hope this helps for anyone looking for Christ-centered Christmas ideas... Great for neighbor gifts, youth groups, teacher gifts, etc. Enjoy!

Fun Geography Lesson

Today at school, my son's kindergarten class is going to make a gingerbread man. When they go to get it out of the oven, it will have disappeared.

His teacher would appreciate it if some of you would send postcards to his class telling them that you have spotted their gingerbread man where you live. They will then find the location on a map and keep track of where their gingerbread has traveled. Right before Christmas, he will find his way back to their classroom.

Please mail a postcard to:

Ms. Davis' Kindergarten
Loa Elementary School
PO Box 130
Loa, UT 84747

Please mail postcards by December 14th, so they will get here before Christmas break.


Here is an example:

Dear Ms. Davis' class,
My name is Sally. I just wanted to let you know that I spotted the gingerbread man here in Texas. He was wearing a cowboy hat. He got away before I could catch him.
Sincerely, Sally

Easy Teacher/Friend/Neighboor Gift

A few years ago I saw the cutest bottle of soap on the counter at a friend's home. It had their name and then a cute little poem about hands on it. Then later that year I was teaching at a cub scout pow-wow and the gift we were given was a bottle of hand sanitizer with the scout law turned into the hands poem (A scout has trustworthy hands, loyal hands, etc.) I knew they had to be easy but was at a loss until I found this post on The Idea Room last year. I was hooked! I made them for our friends, our teachers, our house, my preschool room, anyone who I could think of. The box of transparencies was on the pricey side, but I still have a ton left and make the soap/sanitizers anytime I think it might be appropriate. I have a laser printer at home so that makes it easy, but if you made a whole bunch and ran to the copy center once it would be easy too!



Amy has redone her post! Look here! It is a great tutorial and I think everyone needs to see it. Because it's a way awesome gift, super cheap, really cute, and amazingly easy.

Go forth and make the world a cleaner place one personalized bottle of soap/sanitizer at a time.

*Images from The Idea Room.