Easy Easter Gift

Every holiday I like to make a cute little gift... that can be put into a mason jar. I admit it... I'm a Mason jar addict. If it can fit into jar, you better believe it's going in one. I have seen this floating around Pinterest for a while now and had to make one of my own.

You can probably get most things at your local dollar store, but even Walmart had the supplies pretty cheap.

Jelly Beans $0.50 a bag

Glass Jar $1.88

Edible Grass $2.00 a bag

Chocolate Bunny $1.00

Ribbon/Fabric/Cupcake Liner – I just used what I had at home.

 

Instructions really aren’t needed for this gift, so just be creative! Make sure it’s not too hot in your house (If you’re in TX) or your bunny will melt. I tried the cupcake liner first as the topper but I didn’t like it as much as the fabric.

 

You really don’t need to include a card (I’m actually anti-cards for some reason) but I LOVEEEEEEE these Mason jars ones I made with my Cricut.

 

I think these would be fun to give to your kiddo’s teachers, coworkers or even your friends.

[caption id="attachment_277" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Step 1 - Decide what supplies you want for your jar.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_280" align="aligncenter" width="268"] Step 2 - Fill your jar with the amount of grass and jelly beans. Chocolate eggs would work too![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_279" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Step 3 - Put your sweet, little, innocent bunny inside the jar.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_278" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Final step - Add cupcake liner or fabric to the top and ribbon to finish it off.[/caption]

Logan's Mario Birthday

One thing I love doing as a mom is to plan birthday parties. I LOVE celebrating anyone’s day of birth actually! Going over board is just something that we get to do once a year. Now that Logan is older, he insists on getting on Pinterest and scouring over all the ideas. Thank goodness for Pinterest. It makes people who don’t know how to craft… crafters and people who are crafters… professionals! Ha!  Creativity has never been easier.

We didn’t have a lot of money growing up. My mom was a single mom to three kids, and working full time. I have so many fond memories from my birthday parties growing up. Except that one time… In Kindergarten when she got me a strawberry cake for my party.  She must have forgotten that I was the kid allergic to them!! I can’t wait to do something like that to my kids and cause them years of therapy! Kidding! Anyways, the parties my mom threw with just a little money were so fun. I remember in 1^st or 2^nd grade she did a whole party with obstacle games outside. I can still remember all the laughs from having to chew 4 pieces of gum at one time and blow bubbles. She made all the cakes. All the decorations. She even painted all of our faces. She was the master of creativity. (She still is!)

Birthday parties have since changed. Remember when you got invited to a birthday and your parents just dropped you off? Now you have to plan (and purchase food) for the whole entire family. Not only are they extremely expensive now, but there’s some sort of “Pinterest” standard now. You begin prepping MONTHS before. (Oh, you know you do it too.) You pin a hundred of the coolest ideas and then you start making decorations 60 days out. We start to focus on what everyone else will enjoy seeing. How can we make people stop in their tracks and say “Wow, she throws the best parties!” or “She outdid herself this year!” I can't help the need to please! :)

To be completely honest…. I will do it again and again. To see the look on my kiddos face is priceless. To watch the excitement that this day is about HIM/HER is one of my favorite things about being a parent. I have been scaling down a little. Picking a FEW things from Pinterest and making everything that I can. Trying to work within a budget for each party is a must now with three kids. (My husband is probably saying “yeah, riiiiiight”!)

Sometimes you can't make everything! I'm so excited I found Loontasic Gifts and Décor. She is a local company who specializes in everything balloons. I can't believe her talent and willingness to make anything you need for your themed party. When I asked about Mario Brothers, I never imagined the final product. Logan loves balloons so he was VERY excited that he could combine both his loves into his party favors. If you are local to the Fort Hood area and want party decorations or favors that have the WOW factor, Dora is your gal. She will take your idea and turn it into a work of art. You won't be disappointed.  

With that being said, I am going to be going back and posting blogs about the kid's birthday parties. Yes, I am about 6 months late with Kora’s. Better late than never is how the saying goes right?

Here’s Logan’s 6^th Mario Brothers birthday party.

Logan and his friends!

He became obsessed with Mario right after he turned 5. I’m not really sure how because he had never played one of the games before, but he wanted EVERYTHING Mario.



He wanted a background for pictures.
 

Fantastic balloon centerpiece from Loontastic Gifts

Party favors with candy inside from Loontastic Gifts

This is our Yoshi piñata after plastic surgery!
I wish I had a before picture. You wouldn't believe it!  



All the Mario Brothers inspired food.

Mario and Luigi fruit snacks!

Even my cousin Zach was happy to see the boys!

L couldn't believe it!

How amazing and talented is Loontastic Gifts
with this door greeter?

We love Mario and Luigi!



Logan wanted Mario shoes, but we couldn't find them
 anywhere so my mom HAND painted some for him!

Homeschooling... Is it for the birds?

This has been a back and forth debate with myself for the past year and a half.

I want Logan to go to public school in order to do the fun projects, meet people, class parties, and most importantly to get a great education.

However, I feel like everything in my body is yelling "NOOOOO Homeschool that boy!!"

So here I am. Homeschooling. Some days I feel like I am failing. Some days I feel like I'm a rock star.

The amazing thing about homeschooling is WE (Our whole family) get to choose what we teach Logan. (Kora and Sadie will follow suit.) We get to talk about Jesus! We get to learn in our PJs. I get to teach him how to open doors for ladies. We cook, we play, we yell, we dance, we sing... We live!

Logan is obsessed with Mario Brothers. I mean super crazy obsessed. So.... I looked up Mario Bros Homeschooling on Pinterest... and guess what?!?! They have TONS of worksheets. Why can't learning be about what THEY enjoy in life?

Now... I want to put a disclaimer out there before I go any further. Just because you send your child to public school doesn't mean they don't have fun or learn about stuff they want to. I think public school is great for lots of kids. I went to public school. I have lots of friends who are teachers. I MAY become a teacher someday!

I do feel like so much is being taken away from our kiddos though. Their sense of safety. Most people will agree with me. You can't turn on the news without seeing a school shooting, bullying, teacher crime, or something else horrible. I'm tired of it. If I am staying home with my other kids, I might as well teach Logan his first few years of elementary.

The thing I love is we don't have to box him into the "Kindergarten" level. He sets his own limits. (As long as he keeps excelling we will keep challenging him.) If he can do 1st grade and 2nd grade work, then he will.

Did I mention I LOVE being with my kids?? I know they drive me crazy, but I take much satisfaction from teaching him myself. Watching his love of learning right before my eyes. Teaching him how to be responsible for himself and his dog. How to treat women (starting with him momma and sisters).
All about community service, and giving to those in need. I'll do better posting pictures for the ones who want to see our adventures.

I also want to give a shout out to Easy Peasy Homeschooling!! She has an amazing site and her ENTIRE curriculum is FREE!

The homeschool community is growing FAST and it is bigger than ever! They have so many co-ops you can join in order for your child (you too!) to have social interaction. They even offer P.E. at the YMCA for homeschoolers!!! Art class too!

Anyways... I wanted to post this video. It's amazing. It is worth the 11 minutes. Trust me.
Hackschooling



Blogs coming this week:
-Kora's Frozen Birthday Party
-An amazing guest blog on fitness by my dear friend Sharyn
-Another post about my 30th birthday (Which is Thursday!!!)
-Blog review on Vega Sport Hydrator
-Blog review on a new fitness app TFG

Homeschooling... Is it for the birds?

This has been a back and forth debate with myself for the past year and a half.

I want Logan to go to public school in order to do the fun projects, meet people, class parties, and most importantly to get a great education.

However, I feel like everything in my body is yelling "NOOOOO Homeschool that boy!!"

So here I am. Homeschooling. Some days I feel like I am failing. Some days I feel like I'm a rock star.

The amazing thing about homeschooling is WE (Our whole family) get to choose what we teach Logan. (Kora and Sadie will follow suit.) We get to talk about Jesus! We get to learn in our PJs. I get to teach him how to open doors for ladies. We cook, we play, we yell, we dance, we sing... We live!

Logan is obsessed with Mario Brothers. I mean super crazy obsessed. So.... I looked up Mario Bros Homeschooling on Pinterest... and guess what?!?! They have TONS of worksheets. Why can't learning be about what THEY enjoy in life?

Now... I want to put a disclaimer out there before I go any further. Just because you send your child to public school doesn't mean they don't have fun or learn about stuff they want to. I think public school is great for lots of kids. I went to public school. I have lots of friends who are teachers. I MAY become a teacher someday!

I do feel like so much is being taken away from our kiddos though. Their sense of safety. Most people will agree with me. You can't turn on the news without seeing a school shooting, bullying, teacher crime, or something else horrible. I'm tired of it. If I am staying home with my other kids, I might as well teach Logan his first few years of elementary.

The thing I love is we don't have to box him into the "Kindergarten" level. He sets his own limits. (As long as he keeps excelling we will keep challenging him.) If he can do 1st grade and 2nd grade work, then he will.

Did I mention I LOVE being with my kids?? I know they drive me crazy, but I take much satisfaction from teaching him myself. Watching his love of learning right before my eyes. Teaching him how to be responsible for himself and his dog. How to treat women (starting with him momma and sisters).
All about community service, and giving to those in need. I'll do better posting pictures for the ones who want to see our adventures.

I also want to give a shout out to Easy Peasy Homeschooling!! She has an amazing site and her ENTIRE curriculum is FREE!

The homeschool community is growing FAST and it is bigger than ever! They have so many co-ops you can join in order for your child (you too!) to have social interaction. They even offer P.E. at the YMCA for homeschoolers!!! Art class too!

Anyways... I wanted to post this video. It's amazing. It is worth the 11 minutes. Trust me.
Hackschooling



Blogs coming this week:
-Kora's Frozen Birthday Party
-An amazing guest blog on fitness by my dear friend Sharyn
-Another post about my 30th birthday (Which is Thursday!!!)
-Blog review on Vega Sport Hydrator
-Blog review on a new fitness app TFG