Have you seen?

Cinemagraphs

"A 'cinemagraph' is an image that contains within itself a living moment that allows a glimpse of time to be experienced and preserved endlessly."

I love it.

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Popsicle stick puzzles!

Today the littles and I made our own puzzles. Very similar to this one.

I brought my big orange "Marry Poppins" bag, with Mod Podge, fat colorful Popsicle sticks, an old Pinocchio book, and scissors. We went to town making our very one puzzles, and even made some with out the Popsicle sticks, by smearing the Mod Podge all over the picture, and then cutting it out in puzzle shapes after it dried. Mr. Little loved it. He thought he was so cool "painting" the glue on, and decided he wants to be a painter when he grows up.

Next time I think I'll do this. They love the temple, and it would be a fun puzzle to put together at church.

*Make sure to let the paper dry completely, even when the Little Pickles aren't being patient. If you don't wait, the glue that has seeped between the sticks won't be dry quite yet, and will tare the paper.

Karaoke

Last week we went out to a Karaoke {Ice cream} bar. fun, right?
It was a whole lot different than we imagined, but dirt and all, we still managed to have fun.
We sang so many songs, and It was such a happy night. The only way it could have been better, is if Mike would have manned up and sang. ...sung? Anyway, he was a good sport to cheer us all on and document some of the madness.

K.I.S.S.I.N.G

We just got home from the Karaoke bar.
Truly ridiculous.
No, Mike didn't sing.
Did I have a blast? yes.
There will be a whole post on it tomorrow, with video and pictures. You're welcome.

Until then, I want to share with you something I just made. I saw the hamster picture someone else did, and it reminded me of the worst kiss video that Karin showed me. So I had to put them side by side.

You're welcome again.

He needs She needs

Things He finds that he would like on her. Things She finds that she would like on him.
Cheap things. Expensive things. Things we could get and things we could never get.
 Things She finds
&
Things He finds.

He needs She needs. Not actual needs but wants.

She needs He needs

She needs He needs

She needs  He needs


She needs He needs


She needs He needs


She needs He needs

Thoughts on Pinterest

So I was just on Pinterest. I told you I was heading over! and I realize that I like it/hate it.
I am finding that other people have shared my same ideas. Of course, it's bound to happen! But now if I were to make something, one would just assume that I stole it off of pinterest, instead of thinking, "wow, what a great idea!" Do you see why I love and hate it?
For instance, I made cinnamon rolls using the Pillsbury croissants and thought I was really clever. Of course there were bound to be others in the world to have this same idea, but now it's like, "Oh. You did that? so did Julie, and Brenda, and Kim, and Jan, and Patty" (Obviously all of these ladies were born in the late 70's.)
I like it and hate it.
Oh internet. You are amazing and not amazing all at the same time. How do you do it? You bring us things like this. And it confuses me.
Do I love you, or hate you?

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Pizza and Pinterest

*NOTE: make sure to take note of the "pin it" button on the bottom right of my posts.

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Last night I was at a cooking class with my sweet in-laws. We learned how to make a pizza from scratch, and it was delightful.
 As you all know, I'm not exactly the best cook. I leave that to Chef a la Kramer.

 My husband rocks an apron.

I seem to always boil over. I never had this problem until recently, and last night, I tried to warn Angela and Karin about this problem, but I didn't want to get into detail in the middle of class.
They put me in charge of the Alfredo sauce (big mistake) and, like always, I was easily distracted, resulting in the Alfredo sauce making it's escape. Thank heavens for my sister in law. She screamed and ran over to save it. Evil Alfredo sauce. I tried to warn them!

Don't you love it, when the person taking your picture fails to tell you that you don't need to lean in? I know I do! 

During our pizza making, we got on the topic of the oh so well known, Pinterest. 
I use Pinterest occasionally, but not very often. This surprised the both of them, and now I must say, they have talked me into creating an account.
So, if you feel so inclined, follow me... pin me? whatever it is that you do there. Forgive me. I'm not yet a Pinterest connoisseur.

My Grandma was the town Kindergarten teacher (the only one they had back in the day) and she always new made up, the funnest crafts, songs, and treats and my Mom ran a preschool, charter school, and daycare out of our home while I was growing up, so lucky me, a lot of that creative magic rubbed off.
My mom always has crafts she is doing. Painting, sewing, stamping, hot gluing, writing a fun song, making pillowcases, sewing dresses, decorating shoes with fabric, etc. We always have the sewing machine out, and the hot glue gun ready for use.
So, when I found out about Pinterest, it was kind of exciting! A place to share all of the fun crafts you do with others!

I have 4 nephews and 4 nieces, and am a nanny to 3 littles. Needless to say, we are constantly crafting. Christmas my mom made all of the gifts. It was incredible. Months of work, fabric galore, many glue gun burns, and glitter all over the house.

Michael is always impressed at how many rhymes, and songs I know. I have at least 3 for every  month of the year. It makes life a lot funner.

What you make doesn't have to be fancy. As long as you have fun while making your craft, and the result brings a smile to someones face, then it's perfect.

So I've decided that very week I'll post at least one project I did that week or have done in the past. Maybe it will inspire you to make something.
If I am able, I give credit to the happy crafters who inspired me. I would appreciate it if you did the same. If my crafts inspire you to make your own something, let me know! I would love to see :)
Happy crafting! Now I am going to go eat pizza and play on Pinterest.
After I work, of course.

These are baby booties that I made for my newest niece. I figured out a really easy way to make them. I will be making more soon. So watch for the tutorial!

*Also, the tile in the back was made my my sister in law. She used Tile and rub on decals. We love it.

Neighbors

We have next door neighbors.
The mom is in her 30's and has 3 kids. 6, 4, and 2.
Shortly after they moved in, she lost her husband unexpectedly. I don't know if her lack of parenting is because of that, or if she has always parented like this.
I have tried to be loving and nurturing to her kids.
I let them come in to my home and get in to everything.
I hug my neighbor and let her cry openly to me.
We put up with the kids squirting our door, our dog, and us, with water guns.
We nicely move their shoes, toys, bikes, scooters, off of our mailbox, and out from behind the car and put them back in their yard.

I sat in her basement, listening to her tell me all about her pet spiders, how dangerous they are, and how her husband is in her walls.
I let her show me her collection of skulls, and where she keeps all of her guns, all while her gross cat was crawling all over me.
We ignore the cigarette smoke that makes its way into our house.
We don't say anything when her creepy dad lets his yucky dog poop all over our front yard.
We lay in bed listening to the kids bang, and bang, and bang, on our front door every morning.
We keep all of our blinds closed, resulting in a very dark and gloomy house, just so that they will not see us inside.
We make Moose stay inside so that her kids wont spy us opening the door to let her out.
And we try not to freak out, when the little girl has her hands and face smashed up against our car as we are backing out of the driveway, screaming at us with her wild frizzy hair blowing all over.

It's freaky guys.
I am not exaggerating any of this. If anything, I am not doing a good enough job explaining it to you to!

I love kids. I'm so good at it, that I make money doing it. we are very friendly people. We make friends easily, and get along with everyone. But sadly, because of all the things mentioned above,  I am at my wits end. I feel badly, but just this morning, the kids were yelling at my front door banging on it, SO LOUDLY. I was trying to ignore it. I carefully closed the blinds even more just to be sure they didn't see me inside.  I actually had my camera on recording it, because I know that when I explain it to my family, they won't believe just how bad it is!
After a while, the little girl started screaming, "Open your door! Help us! Help us!"
When a child is outside, banging that much, for that long, and then screams that while trying to get in to your house... you have to open the door.
As soon as I opened it, her eyes got huge, and she said, "I just wanted to say hi"
Now, normally that would be adorable, but with everything else, it's just annoying and I find nothing adorable about this small child who I once thought was sweet.
Her mom is oblivious to everything. Even when she is here, at my house, her kids are getting in to everything, and she doesn't care. We put up with it, because she lost her husband 3 months ago, and I'm sure that is awful, and we are sensitive to that. But she was standing there, knew what was happening, and didn't apologize at all.
I offer to watch her kids, we have brought them cookies, Mike has fixed her sons bike. I mean, we are really being nice.
But when they are in my house, because her daughter tripped on my porch and her lip is bleeding, and she wanted to make sure I knew, and I say I'm sorry, But I need to go work. I'm in my pj's and have clearly just woken up to her kids banging at my door, you don't give in to your daughter saying that she wants to stay, and tell her you will come get her later then. You take her. Or at least ask if its okay that she stays... don't you?
I think that we have been very nice. She has talked to me about her husbands death, her dad has come talked to me. We watch her kids, we put up with everything that they do, we are constantly offering to do things for her. I don't think that being irritated at this point is rude.
I mean the only next thing to do, is tell her that her kids can't come over anymore. I don't want to do that, and I don't think it would make a difference anyway. But we have politely said things. Like saying I have to go to work, and  so her daughter needs to go home but can come back later today. And then her mom not caring and letting her daughter stay anyway!
I have never been so rude a kid in my whole life. I didn't know it was possible, but today I had to put my foot down. I told the little girl that she had to go home now. I put my hand on her back while she cried, and showed her the way out. I had to bribe her with candy, but she still wasn't happy about it. How heartless am  I. Seriously.

We don't know what to do though. We may have to pull out the big guns.

AND,

(Mike wanted me to put that up)

OH THAT'S SICK!

 ♩ ♪ ♫Everyone's doin' it, doin' it, doin' it-

Suckin' their nose, and chewin' it, chewin' it.

Tastes like rubber, chews like gum-

everyone's doin' it, yum yum yum!♬♩ ♪

Does your little one love to lick the snot that is running down his nose? Did you love the taste of your own boogers when you were young? Well do I have great news for you!
Introducing, the Snot Sucker!
You and your kid can stick that straw up each others noses, and you won't ever have to cook a meal again!
This mamma's doin' it...

 The babysitter down the street is doin' it...

Toddlers are doin' it...

 Babies in blue bows are doin' it...

 Grandma's are doin' it...

 Stay at home Moms are doin' it...

 Preschool teachers are doin' it...

 This crazy lady is doin' it...

your pediatrician is doin' it..

Even your 7 year old is doin' it!

Are you?
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Hope you all had a good Valentines day!

I sure did!

Wedding thoughts

  As I sit here thinking about Valentines day and how much I love my husband, I can't help but feel super duper sad. I am so happy I married him, he is my everything. But Valentines Day isn't just to show love to your significant other, it is to show your love for everyone! I am thinking back to our wedding day, and while it is one of the happiest days of my life, it is also a day I will always look back at and think, why didn't I wait. Not because I don't love my husband, but because half of my siblings and my nieces and nephews were not there. The people I love most in my life is my family, and they weren't there. 

My oldest sister was there and I was so glad that she was able to make it. She is really sweet, incredibly smart, and I love her so much. However she has a disorder that effects the whole family. Because of this, my nieces and nephews were not able to come to my wedding, and all I wanted was for them to be there too. Her husband is abusive, and I have bonded with these kids so much. So much that they are like my own. I love them with all of my heart. I was so happy that my sister was there on my wedding day though. Being in the temple with her was a really good experience. 

 The whole morning I was getting ready for my wedding, I was on the phone with her oldest son. He is 11 and we have a fantastic relationship. We are so close to each other, and it was hard to talk to him that morning. Tears were definitely shed. It made me so happy that he wanted to stay on the phone and talk to me though. No way I was hanging up. Who cares if I have to put my make up on in the car, using a CD as a mirror!

My second oldest sister was studying abroad with my other nephew. His name is Taiger, and he and I also have a very special relationship. His mom and I are very close, and she let's him come visit me from time to time. I love his visits. I helped take care of Taiger while he was younger, and we were able to bond so much. He is my sweet little boy.

My favorite brother (and only brother) was in Washington at school. He is an amazing artist and was studying there. Bryndon and I are really close. We have a good relationship and I love him so much. He is always there for me, and we are very open with each other. He's the best brother out there. I'm serious. It makes me so sad every time I remember my wedding day, knowing that he wasn't there.

My sister BeQin and I are also close. And close in age. I'm lucky she was there. She helped get everything ready the day before too, and I'm so grateful!

My {Now} sister in law was there too. She also did my bouquet and took pictures for me. THANK YOU, APRIL! She wasn't my sister in law at the time, which makes her that much cooler. She also helped save the cake.. oh that cake. 

 Hilarious story. Perhaps for another post.

I know that I married the right guy at the right time, even if the timing won't ever feel like it was right. Someday I hope to know the reason why the ones I love so much were not able to make it. I hope it wasn't because of selfish reasons. Though, I probably would have waited but Mikes dear sweet Grandpa Kramer scheduled his flight and said that he wasn't cancelling it so we better be getting married that week! Haha! (I had changed the date many times before. No announcements were made though, so it was okay.) Silly Grandpa.

Maybe it was for his Grandpa, maybe it was for another reason, maybe there isn't a reason behind it at all. I just don't know. I was so upset that my siblings and nieces and nephews weren't there (we really are so close. Quite possibly closer than any other family)  that while I was happy, a part of me was sad causing for a lot of the day to be a blur. I remember quite a lot. Like helping my mom find a safety pin when her button popped off in the Brides room. And the temple worker coming in while I was sitting alone on the chair in the hall, and saying to me "You're marrying James, right?" And then the look on her face as she quickly walked away when I told her that I was not. I was marrying a Michael. I also remember my Dad dropping my Mom and I off at the front doors and telling me he loved me. I remember walking in and seeing Mike standing next to his Grandpa, both of them smiling at me. And Looking up and seeing the picture of Jesus hanging high up on the wall. I remember my best friend (He deserves a post all for himself) hugging me when I walked out of those doors as a married women. I remember his Mom crying and hugging me in the temple, telling me how happy she was for me. And saying something like, If she loves you half as much as she loves our Ry, you are a lucky guy. You better take good car of her. We love this girl. She's still part of our family.

I was just recently reminded by my really good friends, about my Dads speech that he gave.Something about how happy he was for me and how much he loved me. And thanking everyone for coming out to Breclyns... (my older sister who was in China) wedding. And then going along with the slip up, and saying sorry, she is the one who is supposed to be getting married, but she is in China with her little boy right now. So instead we are here celebrating my little girls wedding... It made everyone laugh.

I do think that a lot of people miss stuff at their weddings. I was lucky to have such great parents who helped me out a lot. I wanted it to be relaxed and fun. We did a lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory, Had bubbles, fake mustaches, candy, and plate breaking. No, we are not Greek, but we pretended that we were for the afternoon. Half of the people in the restaurant were joining in, while the other half were complaining about the noise (we were really loud) I even got asked if It was a traditional Greek wedding. Uh, you bet Sir. OPA! (Everyone knows that Kramer is a very Greek name..)

I am sorry that some of my siblings could not be there. I am sorry that their kids couldn't be to Aunt Bitsys wedding. But I love them so much, and they were in my thoughts all day. I couldn't ask for a better family to be a part of. I have the best family ever, and am SO grateful for everything they do for me. I can't thank them enough for the help they were before the wedding, and during. I'm truly a lucky girl.

So while I sit here thinking back on my happy day, there is a place in my heart that will always be there for my family members that were not able to make it. I love them so much, but aside from them not being there, I had the best wedding and luncheon ever. My parents are the coolest.

It was a joyous day, and I think we did a good job celebrating it. After all, it only happens once!

outofshapebimbo

I spent 2 hours at the gym last night with Mike, and I loved it!! I LOVE running, but with my bad back, knees, hips, asthma, Fibromyalgia (awful excuses) I don't. So I had to go right over to the treadmills. My sister called me right as I was stepping onto it, and together we figured out how to start it up so I could actually move my feet. This gym was huge. Rows of Treadmills, bikes, those stepping things... ______(fill in this space with more work out machine names.)
I didn't think about it, and I stepped onto the one that had a T.V. attached to the front... I didn't exactly need it.  I didn't know how to control it, and I was talking to my sister anyway. Yes, while I was on the treadmill. I was either giving all the fit people around me a really good laugh, or just annoying the heck out of them and making them want to punch me in the face. I was trying really hard not to make eye contact. I had just figured out how to start the dang thing, and I didn't want to turn it off so the girl who was eyeballing me could use it and enjoy a T.V. If I did that I would have to go find a different available one, and then try to get it to start! I felt badly, but nope, I was staying there. My feet were moving and I was doing this. Go find a different one Ponytail! I'm pretty sure I heard everyone yelling at me to get off the phone and hang up already... maybe they didn't really say that but I know they were thinking it. They had their iopds though, so we're cool. Right?
I hung up with my sister and was feeling pretty good about myself! Speed it up a little! a little more! Enter my weight? sure! ..Oh that's how steep my fake hill I am running up is? No thanks, let's bring that back down. Okay, feeling good.... Nope, feeling pretty winded. That number is going to need to go back down now. Their we go, I can speed walk. (this is what I was thinking)
Wait, the lady in front of me is like 80... is she even allowed here? Way to go grandma!! Is what I wanted to say... but instead I was squinting my eyes trying to see how fast she was going. Yeah, I was the one who needed the support, not her!
I did it though. 34 minutes on the treadmill. I felt good. Seriously!
Today? Not even feeling it. Felt pretty awesome! Until I read a blog post written by a pregnant girl. It had a picture of the time on a treadmill and she had written how pathetic it was. She put, "I'm pregnant though, I've got a good excuse..."
 It read 48 minutes.
I'm not pregnant. I have no excuse.
She was probably the the girl in the hot pink sports bra giving me the stink eye. I hope your baby comes out jogging.

As I was looking on Google images for girls on the phone at the gym (there aren't any btw. Apparently people don't do that. Imagine that.) it said, "Bimbos are usually people you see at the gym talking on their cell phone for an hour.." I'm pretty sure the next time I go, there will be a picture of me talking on the phone, taken from the surveillance cameras. It will be hanging on the door with NOT ALLOWED printed under it. I'm surprised they haven't sent the workout police to my house to take my membership card away. Maybe they're wanting me to go back so that they can all watch me and laugh.
I'm pretty sure that's what I'd do!

Really truly, I think it's awesome. I would love to be able to run for an hour straight. Maybe I'll be able to one day or maybe I won't. We'll see if I'm allowed back at the gym first.

"If I were a rich man"

What's on your mind today?