and then I changed my mind AGAIN

The weather has been really nice lately. Of course, really nice for me is sweater weather for other people. Either way, I  have been keeping the windows wide open, and that makes me happy.

Meanwhile, Taylor keeps getting in trouble at school because she won't stop talking.... ever. If you've spent time with her, you'll  have noticed that she narrates her entire life; the girl never shuts up. (Unless she's sick.) The funny thing is, it's not loud talking. She isn't exactly speaking to people, it's like she's thinking out loud, which means there's a quite stream of muttering coming from her the majority of the time. At any rate, she's having a hard time not talking.

She's also having a hard time not being the boss of the world. She thinks she runs the show around here and was quite devastated to learn that she is NOT in charge of anything, UNLESS it's her turn. And it's NEVER her turn, because she has to wait THIS MANY DAYS on the calendar and LIFE IS SO UNFAIR and she just wants a snack.

Needless to say, I am finding joy in her suffering, mostly because I'm a mean mom.

In other news, I have changed my mind about school goals again. Mostly because while I'm learning things in class, I'm not loving it. Don't take me wrong, I completely think computer programming is interesting, and I love learning how to do it better. But it's not my happy place. And my writing class? Not my happy place. Psychology is interesting, but I can take it or leave it. But I'm excited about art. I'm having so much fun, and it's challenging and grueling and intense in all the right ways. I can't explain it, it just makes sense, and it will fit into my crazy, weird life.

SO. New plan: Art Education + possibly a minor in craft & material studies. I mean, does that just suit me to a tee or what? </->

Free 8x10" Printable

This is me on most days:

The Letter F for Preschoolers

This week I want to cover the letter F, and counting to three with my daughter.  She's pretty good with counting that high, which is why we're starting off with it.  Later we'll get to the harder stuff, like the counting to seven!  Oh yea.

• F is for Fox coloring page from first-school.

• Matching F is for Fox online puzzle from first-school.

• F is for Farm printable file folder game from Green Jello with Carrots.

• Number Three printable worksheet from tlsbooks.com

• Read a book with the story of The Three Little Pigs and count the pigs on each page (my daughter LOOOOOOVES pigs).

• Print the Three Little Pigs Matching Cards I just made and have her match the correct house to the pig.

You might notice that I made the third pig (the smart pig) a girl.  Because that's how we roll here.  

And after she's done matching them, I'm going to glue them to craft sticks so she can act out the story with them while she pretends to be the wolf blowing over the pigs' houses.



I'm pretty excited about this week because we're doing lots of cute things!  yay.

that time when I didn't even throw up, even though I would have been totally justified in doing so

There was a super disgusting smell in my house that I could not find. So I decided that I would scrub my house clean on Saturday until the source was found.

The source was not in my house. Instead, it was a rotting rat carcass right outside my front door hiding in the vines that I used to think were pretty. Now I think they're horrible and we should pull them out.

AND Troy was at work, and I tried to pick it up with a long stick, because, you know, IT'S A DEAD RAT,  but it was really gross and that didn't work, and I had to use my actual hands (covered in grocery bags) to pick it up. AND THEN I WANTED TO DIE.

But I didn't. Instead, I bagged that thing 5 times over, and hosed the crap out of the vines, then I generously applied all the bug and rat poison I could find in that corner, then came inside and scrubbed my hands raw to my elbows.

The only redeeming moment of this all is that is was not MY house that was stinky. I still scrubbed the crap out of it today though.

I also am semi getting my house ready to move. I'm not planning on moving, but I'm not planning on living here forever either, and I don't want to have a ton of work to do when we finally DO leave this place. Mostly, we have a lot of painting to do.... I have two naughty and artistic girls.

CAUTION mommy's taking a timeout Free Printable

Just click the image to download.  Because sometimes you just need to lock yourself in your bedroom away from the kids so you might as well hang this on the doorknob.

Things of Pinterest: PINK

Usually I am not in the mood for pink, but then every once in awhile my girly side forces it's way to the surface and I have to peruse pink things on Pinterest.

http://www.rhbabyandchild.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=rhbc_prod210072&categoryId=rhbc_cat199021

This pink tricycle is the coolest.  I wish I were 3 years old just so I could ride it.

http://creativeinfluences.blogspot.com/2009/10/pink-obsession.html

I think that anyone who chooses to paint their house (and car) this color would be interesting to know.

http://www.glitterandglossblog.com/2011/08/inspiration-workshop-my-favorite-color.html

I like that this kitchen has pink appliances, mixed in with other colors in the room.  It's so bright and vintage-y in there.

http://quick-dish.tablespoon.com/2011/10/09/pretty-in-pink/

Pink chocolate chip cookies.  yum.  Any color chocolate chip cookies.  YUM.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/107948536/25-black-striped-paper-straws

Pink lemonade with black and white straws (plus all the other pink stuff) is a cute way to party.

http://www.bellamumma.com/2011/09/home-inspiration-girly-pretty.html

My favorite part of this pink decor is the hanging bird thingy on the far right.  Except, what is it?  A bag maybe?


Check out more of our pinterest favorites by looking on our pinboards.  Some stuff there is pink too!

It's like this:

I was trying to explain to a friend why programming is intense.

I don't think programming is hard. Can you read? Awesome. Can you follow basic logic? Sweet! Are you super detail oriented and like to work hard? .... and that's where people give up.

For example, let's make a turkey sandwich.

Easy enough, right? Bread. Turkey. Maybe some condiments.

In programming though, it would be: Do you have a turkey? is it dead? No? Kill it. Is it dead now? Cook it. Oh, you don't know how to cook it? Let me instruct you. Okay, turkey is dead, and cooked. Is it sliced? How many slices do you want? Do you want that on top of the bread?

OH THE BREAD? Do you have bread? No? What about wheat? Great. Now grab the yeast, and some water, and knead and let it rise and bake it for so many hours, and on, and on, and on.

With every program you write, you're starting from scratch, unless you have written something previously and can recycle it, in which case, it would still need tweaking.

So, while yes, I can really make one heck of a turkey sandwich, I have to be able to make the WHOLE THING, not just grab whatever's at the store and trust that it's good for me...

And that's pretty much the best analogy I could ever write.

Tutorial: DIY Fry Box, a step by step guide

Do you LOVE our printables, and think the fry boxes are OH SO CUTE but you don't know how to put them together? Then this post is for you! Our fry boxes are super easy to put together, and to show you, I've put together this step by step tutorial. 

Step One: Print out your Fry Box

We have a lot of different options for fry box printables, and we add new designs all the time, so be sure to check out all the different themes, because you never know which one will work best for your party! (We are BIG FANS of mixing and matching the printables!)

Step 2: Cut!

Cut around the outside of edges of the fry box… this is the trickiest part of the whole process.

Step 3: Do a cheesy pose for the camera and wonder why your face is so red

Step 4: Score the curved lines

What is scoring, you ask? Scoring is when you create a line on the paper to make it easier to fold. YOU ARE NOT CUTTING. You’re making an indent on the paper, to reduce the stiffness along the line, to make it easier to fold the paper. There are scoring tools available, but they are not necessary, and to prove my point, you can see in the photo above that I am using the edge of a butter knife. Take that, fancy scoring tools.

Step 5: Bend the paper on the scored lines

See how easy it is to bend that curved line now? If you didn’t score the paper, it would get all wrinkly and not be as crisp.

Step 6: Fold the straight lines

You CAN score the straight lines, but you don’t have to. It’s totally 100% your call.

Step 7: Apply glue to flaps

On your fry box, you now need to glue the side flaps together, but you need to not have glue on the inside or outside of the box. So you apply your glue to the PRINTED SIDE of the flap.

Step 8: Press the sides together

Step 9: Voila! You have a Fry Box!

And that’s it! So easy, so cute, and a fun addition to any celebration.
Now, get your fry box on.

The Letter U for Preschoolers

My four year old should be in preschool. Except that she is my youngest. And I had my kids really close together, so I never really got to enjoy just one kid at a time. AND IT'S NICE.

So I've decided that she can't go to preschool because she has to stay home with me. To play. Except that she really should be in preschool, so we're also going to do some preschool-y type things at home. While we play.

And you, lucky lucky you, get to hear my lesson plan for each week!  You know, in case you have a preschooler at home that you want to play with too.

The lessons will be quick and easy, and I'm mostly pulling everything from other sources around the internets.  So here's your disclaimer about how this, in no way, can be counted as real preschool.  But then again, at least it's something.

This week's lessons: the letter U and Matching Skills

• U is for Unicorn coloring page, courtesy of www.first-school.ws (I like this site and will probably use it frequently)

• Making a wearable unicorn horn, courtesy of 4 Crazy Kings blog.

• "My First Letter U Book" with tracing activity, page 1 and page 2, courtesy of www.first-school.ws.  Except that instead of having her draw the pictures in each square, I'm going to print these pictures, and have her cut them out and glue them to the right page of the book (this counts as practicing matching skills, right?)

• Print this page of upper and lower case U's, and have her paint the letters with water colors (lots of different colors, or striped, or some kind of fun way).

Check back each Monday to see our new plan for each week!

Siblings

Taylor ALMOST broke her arm on Friday. Which means that instead of getting my homework done so I could enjoy the weekend, I picked her up from school early to hang out the ER and get X-rays.

And now it's Saturday night, and I still don't have my homework done, but at least it's been started.

And while her arm isn't broken, it is hurt, so she can't do everything she would typically do, like clear her spot from the table, because that is a two handed job when you're a pipsqueak.

In other news, Daniel has decided that he's afraid of the dark. I 100%, totally, and completely blame Thaddeus for this development, and if I knew of a good way to fix it, I would. Alas, I do not have any genius ideas, because the only way to combat the dark is to have a little light.

Which reminds me that another recent development in the irrational fears category belongs to Taylor. Once again, Thaddeus is 100% to blame, because he found hilarious YouTube videos starring EVIL ELMO, and now, anytime Sesame Street is on, Taylor starts to cry. It's super fun.

You people that don't have siblings, you're really missing out on the good life.

Fairy Party Cupcake Printables

So we all need more butterflies and fairies in our lives, am I right? And I'm pretty sure that having cute toppers and wrappers make your cupcakes taste better

Grab your free fairy cupcake toppers and wrappers here.

Then clap your hands if you believe in fairies.

Plus, don't forget to LIKE this post using our handy dandy Facebook like button that is RIGHT DOWN THERE.

more nighttime

I'm up too late again.

And instead of finishing up my homework, which is why I planned to stay up a little bit later in the first place, I have gotten lost on Pinterest, and Zillow, and my head. Pinterest, because it's full of pretty things (are you following me? I'm @poppyseedblog) and Zillow, because I daydream about houses and like to look at how people have arranged their furniture in their actual, lived in house, and my head, because I was redecorating the houses I'm not going to live in with the things that I'm not going to make.

Also: I have a dentist appointment tomorrow. Also, also: I missed my endocrinologist appointment, because I got a new phone, and I didn't write down the appointment date, and they couldn't call and remind me, because I got a new phone.

Are you stingy with the giving away of your phone number? I am. I just don't want people to have access to me all the time. My family has it, and my doctors, and the elementary school. That's a lot of people who might potentially call me. I don't need to make that list bigger. Plus, I only talk to certain people on the phone. And it's a short list.

But like I was saying, I totally missed my follow up with the endocrinologist, which was kinda an important appointment, because we were going to see how the tumor on my thyroid is looking. And now I'm having fantasical thoughts about it being humongous, except that my neck looks the same size, so maybe it disappeared. The point is, I DON'T KNOW, which is making me go crazypants.

Note to self: RESCHEDULE APPOINTMENT YOU IDIOT.

Free Facebook Timeline Cover Photo

Have you been waiting for the new Facebook cover photo? Because I know I have... Let's update those timelines! 

                    

           Hey Girl  |  Friends Welcome  

Download your favorite now, then upload it to Facebook and tag us so we can spread the love! Which means that we would have to be friends. On Facebook. Like us, por favor. (Click here)

Kerfuffle

Man alive, can you believe that GoDaddy nonsense? CAN YOU? I was having a mini heart attack for a little bit because I thought I broke my blogs... I even called Elisa up, "ELISA: CAN YOU SEE MORMON MOMMY BLOGS? NO? WHAT ABOUT PEONIES AND POPPYSEEDS? NO! AAAaaaAAAGGGgghhh!"

And I was all shouty and caps locky, so back off grammar police. Turns out, GoDaddy was the issue (not me! happy dance!) but I still had major issues, because I could not access my email. I almost sat in a corner and cried, but then I decided I would catch up on some work.... except that the website I use to do my work also apparently uses GoDaddy. PRETTY MUCH it was a really crap day on the interwebs. But hey, at least I didn't break it.

I also got to give a short interview about the kerfuffle on KSL via the phone, so that was fun. Unless I sounded gross, and if I did, don't tell me, because my day has been rough enough AS IS.

Here's how it affects me directly: no website, no ad revenue. no ad revenue, no soup for you. no email access, no work gets done. no work gets done, clients get unimpressed. clients get unimpressed, caroline gets fired. IT'S A BIG DEAL, YO. Add in to that the fact that I hire bloggers to write things on their blogs, and their blogs are broken. It's a lose/lose.

I will say that I've been a loyal goDaddy customer for years and years, and this is the first time I've ever had any sort of a problem. That being said, it is a rather large problem.

But hey, let's get over that, because MY sites are now functioning, and that's all I care about! Yee-haw! (Does that work? Like, can you picture me in your head, shouting, YEEHAW! can you? I'm trying it out.)

Now, let's stop talking and look at a picture from the first day of school.

They're so proud of themselves.

If All the World Were Paper Printable

I love this saying.  I think it's originally a nursery rhyme - at least let's pretend that it is.  I like saying "if all the trees were bread and cheese" out loud.  See how fast you can say it.  It's fun, huh?

Assembled

It's a little past 2:30 in the morning, and I'm too awake to sleep, but too asleep to be productive, which is not doing my homework any good.

Also: my air conditioner broke. Which is kinda okay timing, because the weather is really nice right now, so opening the windows works. Fingers crossed the weather holds up until we get this whole mess fixed. Fingers also crossed that we don't need a whole new unit.

Meanwhile, on Saturday I cooked like a crazy person and succeeded in stocking my freezer with quite a lot of meals. It's also nice to prep in advance, because I can split the portions better, and stretch out the expensive ingredients (like meat) because I can use more filler (like celery and onions). It just makes my life so stinking easy.

Plus, it ensures that my kids will have a treat, because I'm a big fan of baking and stashing the goodies in the freezer. And this week, I convinced the kids that one of MY favorite cookies is the BEST kind of cookie, because I roll it up in saran wrap, stick it in the freezer, and only slice off a couple of cookies at a time. IT'S GLORIOUS. Plus, I let them choose the color, because as we all know, turquoise cookies taste better than plain cookies.

This weekend, I also got people set up as an assembly line. Breakfast burritos have never been made faster.

late night rambling

I cannot sleep. Which is annoying, because I have a pretty full day planned for tomorrow, and I was really counting on being well rested.

I've decided that I love cooking like a crazy person on Saturday, and I have all sorts of plans for tomorrow.... you know, once I finally go to bed and wake up and all.

In the meantime, I'll tell you about the awesome plans I have for Halloween. Taylor wants to be a witch (her favorite movie is Hocus Pocus), Blayne's going to be Mother Nature, Thaddeus will be an archer, and Daniel is going to be Perry the Platypus. I can DIY all of that, which is awesome, because I don't want to spend a ton of money on costumes. Plus, I've noticed that when we make our costumes, we like them better, they last longer, and they turn out awesome. So, yeah. WE'RE MAKING THEM OURSELVES. Except for the bow and arrow. I'm purchasing that.

Apple Party Printables: Boxes and Banner

This is the second half of our apple party printables.  Use the mini pennant banner to string across a cake or as a table decoration.  Then pack the fry boxes and pillow boxes with yummy apple-y goodness!

If you end up with lots of extra apples from your family apple harvest, you can always freeze, dry, can, or sauce the rest.   Then you can enjoy them all through the fall and winter!

Things of Pinterest: Apples

I just can't get enough of apples this week.  They're just neat.  And kind of fun.  And super versatile.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94002764/kitsch-retro-red-apple-coffee-tea?ref=sr_gallery_40&ga_search_query=apple+print&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=vintage

Check out this cute kitsch apple mug.   You can even buy it on Etsy.  But I think you should only be allowed to drink apple cider in it.  That should be a rule.

http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/apple-theme-diy-wedding-ideas/apple-candle-holders/

Apple candles look awesome.  Awesomely cute.  Cute awesome.  However you want to say it, I like them.

http://sheekshindigs.blogspot.com/2011/09/party-inspiration-apples-apples.html

These ideas are mondo fabuloso if you're having an apple themed party.  I love the wreath the best.  I might just make one of those without having a party and stick it on my door.

http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/apple-theme-diy-wedding-ideas/

Stringing apples behind a chair is a simply beautiful way to decorate for a party or just because.  I wonder if there's a way to string them without ruining the apples?  Probably.  Right?


You can check out more of our super pinterest favorites on our pinboards (because we have lots of super pinterest favorites)!

Apple Party Recipes

If you're having a party themed around apples then you better be serving some tasty apple-y foods.  Here are three suggestions for easy, healthy, and fun apple recipes.

Mini Caramel Apples

You can get the recipe and instructions for these mini caramel apples on the Disney Family Fun website.  They're great because everyone loves caramel apples, but who wants to make 30 full sized apples?  Not to mention, how many people can eat a big caramel apple in one sitting when other yummy goodies are to be had?

I made these for a kindergarten party once and my only suggestion is to try and scoop your apple circles as closely as possible to get the most out of each one.

Hot Apple Cider

You can throw a quick pot of apple cider together with this recipe from Making This Home.  Get the right mix of zest and spice and warm it to perfection.  No one can resist a warm glass of apple cider.  In fact, I really want some RIGHT NOW.  With cinnamon and cloves in it.  mmmmmmmm.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

This recipe for whole wheat apple muffins from Dear Stella is a healthy alternative to cupcakes.  With big chunks of apple, these muffins are as mouth watering as they are beautiful.  Plus, I can smell them just from this picture.  (Does that make me weird?  Because I'm sniffing my monitor...)

Other great apple party foods could be:
• dried apple slices
• cinnamon applesauce
• apple pie
• apple fritters
• apple dumplings
• apple crumble
• applesauce cookies
and lots more, because apples are awesomely compatible when it comes to food.

Labor Day, AKA, let's run in circles

School starts tomorrow, which means that I am 5 minutes away from packing snacks for people, and mere hours away from the possibility of having a day time nap. OH THE POSSIBILITIES!

Meanwhile, I went to the National Gallery of Art today with my art class. And I discussed with Troy how I should get there; should I drive into downtown or just take the metro? And we decided that since it was a holiday, it would probably be busy, and there won't be parking for my massive beast of a car, so I should just take the train....

Hardy-har-har.

The Metro was running it's Sunday hours, which means there are only trains every 20 minutes. Naturally, I JUST MISSED boarding, so I got to sit and wait 20 minutes to leave the station. Then, since I was going to transfer lines, I JUST MISSED boarding again, so I got to hang out at the Pentagon stop for 20 minutes. Then I wasn't paying attention, and I missed my stop altogether, so I got to back track, and I was an hour late to the museum.

So THEN I spent a solid 45 minutes looking for anyone from school, but have you ever been to the National Gallery? It's enormous.

Eventually, I found my teacher, signed the sheet to prove I showed up, then enjoyed the exhibits and sketched a little.

Oh, and I totally did my still life homework wrong. AWESOME.

Apple Party Printables: Cupcakes

Pretty soon it will be harvest season and what better way to celebrate than with an apple themed party?

First I think you should find a local apple orchard and take your family harvesting.  It's lots of fun to pick the apples together, plus you can get a lot for a killer deal.  And it helps local farmers, which is always awesome.

Once you have all your apples, you can throw the sweetest apple party ever!  These party printables include three cupcake wrappers, twelve 2.5" circles, and a page of mini flags.

Check back later this week to get more printables, recipes, and apple happy ideas!

Cooking Day

I spent all day today in the kitchen, prepping our meals for the next week. Naturally, I took photos to document the whole thing because, you know, I do weird things like that.

Mostly, I was just glad to get everything prepped for the next week, so that I don't have to come home from school and do more work. THAT IS NOT ALLOWED PEOPLE.

And everyone was sad when they realized that we would not be eating the stuffed potatoes for dinner today... sorry family. They got over it when I cut the banana cake for dessert though, which then prompted a discussion of the LAST time they had dessert, and they think it was Thanksgiving. I reminded them that we had birthday cake in May, and my kids were all, birthday cake isn't dessert, so it doesn't count.  Oh well, it just makes our desserts that much more special.

And I tried to make toffee. It turned out okay, but not yum-tastic, which is the whole point of making candy, am I right? It just came out a little grainy, and I'm sorry, but if I wanted that result, I'd just eat a spoonful of brown sugar, because that's pretty much what I ended up with. Do you make good toffee? Come teach me, por favor.

And now I'm going to take my tired self to bed.