Oops Moment...

Seriously today is one of those days that I should just get my trophy for being the dumbest person.  I am pretty sure I am probably one of maybe just a handful of people world wide who has done this.  What, you may be thinking, has she done that would merit a trophy for stupidity?  The answer my friends is washing a diaper in your washing machine.  Not ONCE but TWICE and within minutes of each other.  Now after you have stopped laughing you are probably asking yourself HOW and WHY did this happen?  It really was a perfect storm of events.  It goes something like this....

Everyday I try to do at least 1 load of laundry that way I am not doing 5-7 loads all on one day.  Splitting it up makes it much more manageable for me.  Today's laundry assignment was the boys clothes.  I realized about 2 minutes before it was time to leave and pick my oldest up from Preschool that I needed to get that batch started or I wouldn't get around to it that day, thus making me do multiple loads tomorrow.  I quickly get the water going, rush and get my other two kids in the car, run back inside and literally take their laundry basket and just dump it into the washer.  That's right folks...NO sorting of colors, NO checking pockets for fun little trinkets.  I just DUMPED.  Quick sidenote:  The SHOUT color catchers has to be one of THE greatest inventions ever.  When I am feeling lazy it is great to be able to just throw all the laundry in one load and not worry about sorting.  GASP.  Yes I totally just admitted that I sometimes don't separate my darks from my lights or whites.  So sue me.  My clothes are just fine (at least I think they are...).  Back to me dumping my boys clothes into the washer.  I dumped and ran literally.  I went and got my boy from school, came home and got the baby fed and the boys ate their lunch.  I then shuttled them all to their rooms to take their afternoon naps.  After laying them all down I realized that I should move the load from the washer to the dryer.  I open the washer and grab the first article of clothing and this is what I see....

I can't quite tell what this mysterious white stuff is all over this black hoodie.  I naturally think that one of the boys must of left a kleenex in his pocket and that it got all over this hoodie.  But as I look closer I notice that the white stuff is actually a million tiny gel-like beads.  It then hits me what I have just done.  I have just washed a diaper in with my boys clothes.  My 3 year old still wears diapers at night (don't judge me...we are working on eliminating diapers at nighttime all together here soon).  Anyways when he got dressed today he must of taken his PJ bottoms off with his diaper and then thrown both into the laundry basket.  And since I didn't sort the clothes out that meant that diaper got a good little cleaning of its own (thankfully he had woken up dry this morning).  Anyways as I am sifting through the washer I realize everything is covered in this gel-like stuff.  I take about half the load out and rewash the first half (I don't think you can google 'how to get diaper remnants out of your washer':).  When the first half gets done washing I open the lid and begin taking the clothes out.  And guess what I find....That is right folks I find yet another diaper.  Apparently my 3 year old put not ONE but TWO diapers in the laundry basket.  Seriously could this get any worse?  Thankfully most of the gel beads had come out in the first wash so the second wash was clean and gel bead proof.  Anyways here are few more pictures of the devastation a diaper can do in a washer.  Please note that the pictures do it ZERO justice. 

The culprit...Of course when I took this picture I thought this was the only one.  Little did I know that there was another one lurking beneath the clothes. 

What dumb mom mistakes have you made??

Adding color...

I have to admit that when it comes to decorating I am very, very traditional.  I don't do anything crazy, funky or out there.  I stick with very simple and basic.  And I tend to stick to certain colors, ie  RED and BLACK or very neutral colors.  (Yes RED and BLACK were my wedding colors).

Please ignore the stuff coming out of the vase...I bought it with hopes to do something cute with it and just stuck it in the vase and yes sadly I haven't gotten around to figuring out what to do with it...One day I keep telling myself:)

Lately on the blogosphere I have noticed people adding color to their decor.  I have found most of them to be cute but just didn't see how some COLOR would fit into my decor. 

And then it happened.  I was shopping at Dollar General and came upon the summer aisle.  I noticed some really cute vases for $2.50 and sat and debated whether or not to get one.  They came in a springy blue and a pale yellow.  I decided to grab the blue (probably TURQUOISE would describe this color better) vase.  My intentions were to take it home, use some of my spray paint (can you guess what colors I had ;) and repaint it a new color that would match my decor.

Once I get home I hurried and emptied my bags and without really thinking placed the vase on my cute Ikea knockoff shelf so my 3 year old couldn't reach it.  Then I went about my business of taking care of the kiddos.  Later in the day after the house mellowed down a little I walk by the vase and notice how adorable it looks all perched up there on its little shelf.  I love the POP of color it brings to the shelf.  Never in a million years would I have thought I would use an accent color of TURQUOISE to go along with my red and black decor but I tell you I.am.in.LOVE.  In fact it was love at first sight.  After seeing the cute POP it gave to the room I am excited about adding some more POP to other areas of the house.

So I guess the whole point of this post is to say to you all....Take a risk and buy a funky color and use it as an accent in your home.  And of course don't spend lots of moo-lah on this.  Do what I did and buy a cheapie product to see if you like it.  Or better yet take some of your decor you already have and try painting it a funky color.  Be rebellious and add some COLOR to your life.  You won't regret it.

I would love to hear or see any of your successes of adding color to your decor and what colors you used.    



The Snot Sucker...Baby Must Have!

Before I had my baby I spent a million hours searching the internet for baby items that I needed. I was obsessed with reading reviews of different products and finding out what products were necessary and not just for fun.

Well all those hours searching weren't a waste cause I found the most amazing product ever!

It's called the Nose Frida

The Snot Sucker!!!
Yes I know it sounds disgusting.

However, this thing works amazing!

I'm sure most of you have tried the blue bulb syringe and some might prefer it compared to this thing but I hate the bulb syringe. I feel like I have to do it a million times and I still don't know if I get it all. Not to mention my little man hated it.

So what makes this "snot sucker" so amazing you ask??

Well as you can see from this picture below my sister Tiff snuck last year of me using it on my son, you put one end to your mouth and the other in your babies nose and suck to your hearts content. No worries of anything coming in your mouth cause they designed it with little filters to stop it and to keep germs away. Seriously, it's not gross at all even though my husband still refuses to ever do it or watch;) And look at my son's happy face while I'm doing it!

They also designed it clear so you can see what comes out. Gross to some but I personally love it cause I like to see what I'm getting out.

And there is no wondering if you got it all out!

Let's face it our poor babies can't blow their own noses! So help them out. My son is 18 months now and I still suck him out every morning whether he has a runny nose or not just to make sure there isn't anything in his nose that could potentially get him sick.

Trust me after you use it your baby will thank you, by breathing better and being a happier baby.

If you're wondering where to get it, I haven't seen it in a store yet at least where I'm at but I just order mine from Target.com or amazon.com. They are around $15.
Nose Frida from Amazon.com

Great Deal!!!

Just wanted to let you guys know about this deal we found on Hip2save.

Which by the way, Heidi just introduced me to this website so I can start couponing and it's amazing!

Remember the post I did on an At Home Deep Conditioner?

Well Amazon has the 16oz containers of Natures Way Organic Coconut Oil- extra virgin on sale for $7.30 (orig $14.99). Even sweeter, choose Subscribe and Save (right side) and you'll get an additional 15% off, which will bring your final cost down to $6.20 with FREE shipping!

This is a great deal on this oil so hurry and get some for your hair's sake!

Also great to put in smoothies!

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Go Green and Healthy!

I learned about Green Smoothies about a year ago and have been amazed that I can get my son (who hates all veggies) to drink them.

In fact, he likes them so much he will beg me to make them. This is a healthy drink which gives you a pretty high dose of greens, but is still yummy. Here are two of the basics recipes I love.

Green Smoothie
Put 2-1/2 cups water in Blender
Add:
Raw, washed greens (spinach, spring greens, romaine, chard, kale, collards)—I add a bunch till the blender’s full of greens and water.

¼ whole lemon, including peel (anti-skin cancer, high in flavonoids) **I skip this if I don’t have a lemon around.
2-3 Tbsp. flax seed (or flaxseed oil) ***You can skip this too if you don’t have it

Puree until very smooth—it will look like puke (but thankfully, it doesn’t taste like it)

Gradually add fruit until container is very full; blend until smooth
1-2 bananas
1-2 cups frozen berries
Any other fruit to taste: pears, peaches, apples, apricots, cantaloupe, mango, pineapple

Then add sweetener to taste (I use sugar, but if you’re a healthnut, you can use stevia or organic agave nectar to sweeten it)
When all blended, pour out into a cup and enjoy, or keep it in the fridge and sip it throughout the day to keep from bad snacking.

Now, if you just can’t get past that puke green color (which my husband can’t), then here’s a way to mask it.

Green Chocolate Shake
2 cups milk
3 cups spring greens (or any other greens)
2 ripe bananas
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soy sauce (yes! I didn’t make a typo; this somehow brings out the chocolate flavor)
¼ cup honey or agave nectar (or if you’re lazy like me, just regular sugar)
½ cup cocoa powder
2 cups ice

Blend all ingredients together in a blender. I love how frothy and thick these are.

Sometimes I drink either of these two drinks for lunch and feel pretty good about myself for the rest of the day. They're so healthy! Look at this face! It's total proof that these drinks are great—even for green haters like my son!

There’s a whole website on green smoothies, so if you want to learn more, go to www.greensmoothiegirl.com .

The Fitness Plan for Anyone - Steps 4 & 5 (the end)

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."

~ Confucius

STEP 4: PERSISTENCE, PERSISTENCE, PERSISTENCE
This is the most important step of all bar none! It doesn't matter how hard you work out, or how well you eat, if you only do it sporadically. If you really want to see changes in how you look & feel, then you have to stick with it at least 5 days a week. When I first started off, I was even doing six days a week. I was gung-ho and was anxiously trying to see results as fast as possible. However, always take one day a week off. I always take Sundays off. Not only is it the Sabbath for me, but it's also proven that a day off is essential and helpful for your body to achieve the results you want.

This is where the power of positive thinking really comes in handy. Remember I said this is a mental game. You will constantly be bombarded with thoughts of giving up. It's simple though . . . DON'T! Just focus on how strong you are becoming, not just physically but mentally. Refuse to entertain any "cop out excuses". If you do, you're only selling yourself short! You are only hurting yourself if you give up. All your hard work will be for nothing. You are worth this. You do deserve this! You CAN DO THIS!!

"When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place."

-- Author Unknown

STEP 5: PATIENCE, PROGRESS & SUPPORT
Let me reiterate. This is a long, slow process. I'm not claiming you will look like a swimsuit model in 4 weeks. I have been going for almost 7 months and am still chugging away at my goals. Be prepared for this. If you're not, it is very easy to become discouraged. I like to tell myself that the slower it comes off, the more permanent it will stay off (or at least the slower it will come back on right?) Remind yourself constantly that even if the pounds aren't flying off, you are doing your body good. Just because you can't always see the results, doesn't mean they aren't happening. Discouragement will just lead to despair and you'll give up & quit.  Stick with it. It's like the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. It will seem slow & arduous and that it's not worth it sometimes, but just keep your goals in mind. Remember why you started in the first place! Think of how nice it will be when you reach your goals. Visualize yourself with that dream body. Most importantly, when you see small changes or results, celebrate them! Not with food of course, but allow yourself to feel good about your accomplishments. When you are feeling discouraged, remember how good it felt when you did see that scale drop down or feel a new muscle emerging under your stomach and remind yourself that it will keep happening - just not always in the time frame you may want.

Just a small tip that I do: I don't weigh myself every day. I do it every couple days AT THE SAME TIME OF DAY and keep a little log of all my weights. When I don't see changes for awhile, it's at least comforting to look back and see where I started at so I can visually see that I have made progress. I also take measurements of different areas of my body every other month. Sometimes you don't even realize that your waist has shrunk an inch or two until you write down the numbers. Another thing some do (and it takes bravery & guts) is to take a "before" picture in your underwear. You don't have to share it with anyone, but keep it for yourself. Look at it periodically to remind yourself why you started. Every couple months take a new one & see how you've changed ever so slightly.

And lastly, don't be afraid to involve those close to you in the process. Spouses, family & friends are a vital support in the process. They will be the ones that will encourage you to not give up when you are disheartened. They will be the ones that will listen to you. And most importantly, they will be the ones that notice the changes and make you feel so good about all of your efforts. Compliments from your closest circle are the best kind. You know they are genuine and they mean so much more. I can't tell you how good it felt to hear my sisters praise my legs the other day when we went swimming. I have to admit, it made my whole day. I still think my legs need a lot of work and that my dark, Jamaican tan made all the difference, but to hear them go on and on about how great they look really made the last 7 months worth it! My sisters have been such a big support and inspiration to me through all of this. They are the ones who got me to finally start, they are the ones who motivated me, and they are still encouraging me to this day. I love them with all of my heart (which is hopefully a way healthier heart now)!

And that's it folks. Yes I am long winded and wordy so it took several posts, but in reality, what I'm doing is simple. Anyone can do it too. If you do decide to start on your own fitness journey, feel free to keep me updated on your journey. I will be your cheerleader and remind you all along the way that you are amazing and that you will achieve your goal! If I can do it, you definitely can!

Paint Chip Mosaic

First of all, can I just say how excited I am to be a part of {Junk in their Trunk}!? Aren't these girls just a blast?! As soon as their brother introduced me to the family, I knew I wanted to be a Gubler sister! Now here I am! I married their youngest brother two months ago on June 25th. I am so happy to be a part of the family!! For anyone who cares to see who is talking to them, I thought I would share a few wedding photos! I love looking at wedding photos, and I figure if you're reading {Junk in their Trunk}, you may as well be family!

Second, please don't judge my tutorial photos! I just moved into an apartment with terrible lighting, and my external hard drive is still hiding in a box so my computer's memory is too full for me to even edit a photo's color balance! (I am actually a photo major, so I'm a bit self-conscious about it!)

Now, time for my first tutorial!

I first found and fell in love with this project over at Hope Studios. As soon as I saw it, I just knew I had to make one for myself! I hope no one who is reading this works at the Home Depot, Wal-mart, or Lowe's paint department, because they will all start realizing where all their fabulous paint chips are disappearing to!

Materials Needed:

• Plywood or wood panel (Mine is 2'x2' pine wood panel) 
• Paint (Optional if you want a painted border-I did not)
• Stain (I used a dark walnut color)
• Paint chips (I used 49)
• Spray adhesive
• Modge Podge Matte-Mat
• Foam brush
• Rag

If you are feeling intimidated, don't!! Seriously, this is surprisingly quick and easy!

First, you'll either need to pull out your old paint chip samples, or go on a paint chip raid at your local hardware store. If you don't have a Home Depot or Lowe's, chances are you will still have a Wal-mart and they have loads of paint chips even at my local small-town store. You can pick as many different colors as you'd like, or stick with different shades of one color. I did mine in blues, yellows, and greens to pull in my husband's and my favorite colors. Be sure to get more than you think you need in case you make a wrong cut or decide to swap out colors. For this project, square chips will look best so I picked out chips that already had straight edges, and then cut one side to make it square. (I suggest using a paper cutter instead of scissors to keep the edges straight.) When I made my cuts, I kept the whimsical paint names and numbers, but if you don't like that idea, that can be the side you cut off. (You could technically do this same project with squares of scrapbook paper, but paint chips happen to be free and one of my favorite things!)

Once I had all my chips cut, my husband shuffled them over and over like cards to get a good random "pattern". I have such a hard time with random! I am an art major and I over-thought every chip. Do your best not to do that, or it will drive you crazy and it will haunt your dreams at night. Not that I know. Hmmm.. Anyway, Lay out all your squares to make sure you're happy.

In the Hope Studios tutorial, she painted the border black. my husband likes natural wood, so we decided instead of using paint, we would try using stain. I used just a foam brush to paint the stain on, then a rag to wipe the excess off. Keep in mind, you will technically only need about a half inch to an inch of your wood to be stained or painted.

Make sure you also get the side edges of your board! If you use stain, instead of rubbing the stain, just dab on the sides, otherwise your rag will leave fuzzies behind!

To make the paint chips stick to the board, spray a line of spray adhesive. Any brand will work. I picked the cheapest at Home Depot. Just go line by line, lining up each square with the ones around it. They should stay straight and tight together, but if you find space between them, don't stress! They'll look just fine after the last step.

 I found covering up the previous paint chip row helped so they didn't get get dirty or sticky while spraying the next line of adhesive. If you simply spray the whole board at once, your hands will get very sticky while trying to lay down more squares, and the adhesive will start to lose it's stick.

(Like the action shot my husband took?) Make sure you rub down each paint chip. If you don't, the corners may start peeling up after it is dry.

After the adhesive dries, paint on around three layers of Modge Podge. (I used half a smallish bottle, because that's what I had.) Don't be afraid to pour it on right over your chips! Make your strokes interesting, because this is what will give your piece its unique texture.

After you let this dry overnight, rub stain over the top. I was terrified to do this and then ruin it, but it is what made the piece. It only took about two minutes and quite a bit less stain than I thought it would.

Brush some stain on, and then rub it in with your rag! Make sure to get it in all the grooves. This is what will bring out the fabulous texture you made with the Modge Podge. If there is an area you want darker, just let the stain dry and rub some more on!

Once you are done with your board, you can either put a mount on the back to hang it (type and style will depend on how heavy your board is), or simply lean it up on a shelf or on any other area that needs the pop of color or height!

 

I love this project! It is so versatile! You can make it in any size and color scheme you like, and it is something that really anyone could do!

Tell me what you think, and show me what you create! If you like this, don’t forget to link up with {Junk in their Trunk}!

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A Fun Surprise

This post was completely last minute...

I got home tonight from being at sports practices with my kids and I saw this on my front porch...

I was surprised...what could this be?  And from who?

I brought it in and took out the note...

How cute is this??

I love the idea...and of course it had no name on it so whoever you are anonymous, THANK YOU!!

It was filled with treats, activities for the kids, fun goodies and candy!

So sweet and thoughtful and so so creative!

I love friends!

And I love surprises.

This was a great reminder for me to go out and do something unexpected for someone else SOON!  Everyone loves surprises and to know they were thought of!

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Some of My Favorite Back to School Ideas!

Here's a collection of some super cute ideas I've seen on blogs lately about "Back to School":

• First of all, I'm totally doing this Back to School Family Home Evening lesson idea I saw on Blue Skies Ahead. I am in love with everything about it.  Seriously how cute is it and what a great way to get to talk to your kids about always being a good example and standing up for what is right!

• I want to try and make these pancakes (from Blue Skies Ahead) for my kids on their first day of school.  They will probably die of shock that I cooked them breakfast!

• And I'm loving these checklist placemats featured on Family Fun. My kids could ALWAYS use more reminders of what they need to do each day!

• I'm seriously trying to figure out a way to create this in each of my kid's closets. I think my girls would especially love it. This idea was from Family Fun too.

• I don't know about you, but packing lunches gets very mundane for me. I'm always looking for ways to spice them up and make them more interesting. For starters though, this lunch chart idea from Family Fun is fantastic. Why didn't I think of this already since my girls are constantly making up menus and love taking everyone's orders on the weekends? They will totally love getting to 'place their order' each day and it will make my job a tad easier.

• Speaking of lunches, I've read many fun ideas of how to keep their lunches fun as well such as packing in little notes, comics, puzzles, etc to give them something fun to do while eating and just to let them know you care.   Here's a link to a great site with free printable notes from Alphamom:

• or this fun lunch survey from June Daley they can fill out & then talk with you about at dinner time!

• And of course eighteen25 has a version as well - which is nice when you want to write your own personalized message.

• And look at this cute snack you could make for their lunches or for after school (from Family Fun - they have tons of ideas):

or this one from Tiny Prints:

• And although I've seen many back to school teacher gifts, these two stood out for me. First there's this one from The Blackberry Vine (and featured on Sugardoodle). Super cute, but haven't tried making one to see how hard they are to make. It is so cute you could make them for all kinds of different events at school.

And then there's this one from eighteen25.

Heidi here...I am sneaking in on Tiff's post to share a couple ideas of my own real quick!

Love this idea from the fabulous Becky Higgins, having all your lunch fixins prepared and ready for the kiddos to pack themselves!

I don't know about you, but my boys aren't very talkative about school and what happened each day.  I ask how school was and they reply, "Good." and that is the end of that conversation.  So I am loving this idea by The Crafting Chicks...

And lastly, I love to put notes in my kids lunches and these vintage inspired printables are making me happy!  Pinned HERE.