Roses are Red....

So today I decided to post on a project I completed just a few minutes ago! I've had the supplies taking up space in our unofficial guest bedroom for months....and finally had the time to do it! This did take me several nap times to complete, blah! But I think it came out beautifully!

I currently have a tall vase with fake roses on my dining room table and wanted to do something a little more fun....pretty, but fun! So I found this idea online and decided to give it a whirl. Note: I really wanted to put an exclamation mark after that last sentence but decided to restrain myself since there is one at the end of all the other sentences.

For details on how to make these roses, visit the original blog that I stole my idea from.

I found two little glass jar/vases at Michael's a while back but didn't want to leave them clear...since you'd see the wizard behind the curtain that way. So I painted the inside of the jars with gold acrylic paint. Then I hot glued in random spots some twine around the outside of the jars. And then the hard part began...cutting felt.

I originally bought 80 sheets of 8.5 x 11 felt. I cut out 40 8" circles and 40 6" circles. Then I cut a spiral from the outer edge of the circle to the center. This is rather tedious and felt is not the easiest fabric to work with. But it's thick...and it does its job. Then I rolled those puppies up from the outside in and hot glued randomly along the way. And bam....a felt rose.


I glued the roses on the foam ball that sat right on top of the jar opening and I quickly realized I didn't make enough roses for both of my vases. So I only completed one. Guess that's a project for next week. I only had 8 felt roses left out of 80. So I used most of them filling in the first one fully.

To make sure my roses didn't fall off by some freak accident or by a toddler grabbing at them, I secured a straight pin in the center of each rose adhering it to the foam ball, even though it's hot glued...I wanted some extra attaching!

Once that was done, I dabbed a bit of hot glue on a pearl (found in the beading section of Michael's) and popped that bad boy right in the middle. Voila! B-E-A-U-tiful roses.

Hope you like!!

Things I've Noticed...

Ok....Here are some things I've noticed since I've started this staying at home adventure:

1. You'd be amazed how easy it is to 'overlook' the importance of dental hygiene. You wake up and it's go go go. Before you know it, it's 2pm and you realize...'I haven't brushed my teeth!' Yes, I know...this is quite disturbing. But when you have no place to be it's easy to forget. Then 4pm rolls around and you realize...you still haven't brushed them.

2. Remember when going to the potty was an oh so secretive thing? Well then you get married and ultimately become brave enough to leave the door cracked while tinkling...maybe even so bold as to carry on a conversation with hubby. Well, when you have a kid....kiss privacy goodbye! Days of shutting the door and a shout of 'I'm in the loo..' are over. You have an audience...every time you go. And they will be very curious as to what you are doing.

3. When you are teaching your kids what things are....they start to notice those things every where and recognize them proudly by pointing them out. Well when your kid loves 'balls' then all things round are now balls. Pointing and saying 'ball' is very common around this house. And when your kid points to your boob and calls it a 'ball'...just go with it.

4. Pets. You wonder what they do all day while you are at work. Well, wonder no more. I am here to tell you they do nothing. Unless you consider constant nagging to throw the toy as something...then they do nothing.

5. Cleaning the house never ends. It never ends. It never ends. You'd think now that you are home you could get away with wearing the same outfit multiple days and you'd have much less laundry to wash. How is this not true????

6. When naptime comes and you finally have a few minutes to watch TV. Nothing is on. Trust me...nothing. Unless of course you like the 'I didn't know I was pregnant' shows. At least this confirms that you are smarter than some other people, because YOU knew!

7. Lastly, you realize that you have become one of those people who always talk about their kids. Case in point....Biddle Brilliance.

Yuck!

Well, it's nap time and Friday...so I figured it's now or never. My first post on Biddle Brilliance!

Five days into Mission: Stay-at-home-Mom and we've survived so far. Jaxen is keeping me busier than I would've imagined. I've come up with a schedule for us to begin sticking to, try to stick to, well...we'll see.

Here's our daily routine (and remember, I'm new at this!):
8am - Wake up/Diaper Change & Milk Cup; When you enter Jaxen's room in the morning he likes to point things out to you and call them all 'awahhhh.' So cute!
8:30am - Make breakfast & hope and pray that Jaxen eats said breakfast.
9am - Clean kitchen and do chores. Jaxen likes to help by 'pushing the buttons' or in adult lingo...turning on the washer and dryer.
9:30 thru 11:30am - Play time! Now, this includes a plethora of things. I've discovered that he likes Hide and Seek (basically I run and say 'you can't find me' and when he does find me, I yell 'Boo!' and he cracks up)...so that goes on for a while. We play with toys, read books and steal Stinky Pete's toys and run a muck around the house....
11:30am - Diaper Change / Lunch time! I prepare lunch while Jaxen squeals in his high chair. This is super fun. But not as fun as actually trying to get him to eat the food. M.O.S.T. D.R.E.A.D.E.D. part of the day! He must have nightmares about lunch and then takes it out on the person presenting lunch to him. Or...he just doesn't like veggies. Either way, not fun!
12 - 1pm - Outdoor time if it's nice enough. He likes to run around the yard chasing a dirty old ball, pulling his wagon, being pulled in his wagon, sliding on his 1.5' slide, and generally playing keep away from mommy.
1pm - Ahhhhhhh.....Naptime!!! This can last anywhere from 1.5 hrs to 3.5 hrs. Of course I prefer a longer nap, you know, for his health. But there are only a few golden days that super long ones happen.
3:30pm - Diaper Change / Snack time! This is a good part of the day, since Jaxen LOVES double heart ***batting eyes*** SNACKS. You say the word 'snack' and he barrels past you toward his high chair.
4 - 5pm - Playtime with Mommy. We went on a bike ride yesterday, and every time a cool breeze would run through us...Jaxen would squeal. Usually he loves bike rides. I figure on not so warm days...play doh or finger paints would make a good mess and be lots of fun!
5pm - Prepare dinner/Independent playtime. What's this 'independent playtime' you ask? Well if you ask me it means Jaxen plays on his own. If you ask Jaxen, it means attach yourself to mommy's leg and cry until she stops what she is doing to play with toys. Good times.
6pm - Dinner time (Basically a repeat of lunch...Jaxen throws the food on the floor repeatedly. Stinky Pete loves dinner time!)
6:30 to 7:30pm - Family time. Jeff is home and he loves to play with Jaxen...which is a much needed break for me!!
7:30 - Bath time. Jaxen USUALLY likes his bath. It's been more enjoyable as of late with the new bath toy he got for Christmas. It's a whale that sprays water out the top and lights up. Jack pot!
8pm - 'Hallelujah!' Bed time. 11 hours of silent bliss ahead.

Well, like I said, it's a work in progress. Jaxen is still adjusting and so am I. But so far so good.

Figured I'd title this post YUCK so I'd be sure to mention the highlight of the week. Jaxen has started to notice and find amusing, hmm....how do I say this nicely...bodily functions. Namely the ones involving gas. If Jeff lets one go...(he'll kill me for this)...or if he burps or anything of that nature, Jaxen has started to yell 'Yuck!' right after. Except, it sounds more like 'Nnnnuck!' Well, Jaxen and I were knee deep in a toy that sings, lights up and tells you the numbers and such when he farted. Just let one go. Almost one to be proud of. Then he turned and looked at me immediately and yelled 'Nnnuck!' Hilarious!

Well...as I type...I hear Jaxen stirring so that means nap time is over. We got 3 hours today. Yay! He'll be pretty pleasant this afternoon. Atleast I think so! Wish me luck.

I'll update this when I can and add fun projects that we do (or that I do during nap time!). Over and out.