The Tying Triumph

Jentry had very big news yesterday.  When I picked her up at daycare, she was sitting on a chair and tying her own shoes!  Yes, my four-year-old apparently taught herself how to not only tie her shoes but also finish with a double knot!  Miss Wendy said Jentry just came to her all excited and said, "Look I tied my own shoes."  Miss Wendy said she did not encourage her to practice she just went at it all by herself and after several minutes of trying she had it all figured out. 

Of course, we immediately had to call everyone we knew so that she could share her big accomplishment.  I felt somewhat guilty that I had not spent more time working with her on this milestone task, however I am very proud of her for taking the initiative to teach herself.  She will be one step ahead of her mates when Kindergarten begins this fall.  Way to go Jentry!

If you wanna learn how to tie your shoes
It's a very easy thing to do
Just sit on down and I'll give you the scoop
What's that?
It's called a loopdy loop!
You take one lace in each hand
You go over and under again
You make a loopdy loop and pull
Now your shoes are lookin' cool
You go over and back
Left to right
Loopdy loop and pull em tight
Like bunny ears or a Christmas bow
Lace 'em up and you're ready to go
Just make a loopdy loop and pull
And you're shoes are lookin cool!

Pink Puppy Chow for the Party

We have been focusing on love at our house.  Preparing for Valentine’s Day is always so much fun for me.  I love this hearty holiday for several reasons.

Firstly, my mother was born on Valentine's Day and let's face it.... without her I am nothing. Happy day of birth, Mom!  We love you very much!  Secondly, I love the heart shape.  I love that it is symmetrical and portrays a nice warm, fuzzy feeling without being overly girly like flowers and butterflies.  In addition, I get to assist my very special sidekick in making Valentines for her classmates.  I always love going through the new list of names.  This year we have: Griffin, Aaron, Esae, Katie, Jenna, Adrian, Connor, Adilynn, Landon, Carlos, Ms. Peterson, Mrs. Stone and of course my favorite mate, Jentry.

Jentry is responsible for bringing a snack for the class Valentine's Day party and I found the cutest idea on Pinterest.  Which by the way has become my new obsession ever since I gave up Facebook for lent.  I may be missing the point.  Nevertheless, I so enjoyed making Strawberries and Cream Puppy Chow. 

5oz white chocolate or white vanilla candy melts
5oz read candy melts (found in craft stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby)
5 cups rice chex cereal, divided in 2 parts
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup strawberry cake mix
1 bag of Valentine M&Ms

1. Put 2 1/12 cups rice chex cereal into a medium sized bowl. 
2.  Slowly melt white chocolate in the microwave, stopping it every 30 seconds or so to make sure it doesn't burn. 
3.  Add melted white chocolate to chex cereal and lightly stir to coat evenly.  Be careful not to break the chex cereal too much.
4.  Add the powdered sugar to the shite chocolate covered chex cereal and lightly stir to coat evenly. 
5.  Repeat the same process with the red candy melts and strawberry cake mix (instead of the powdered sugar).
6.  Allow to dry completely, combine the two kinds of chow together and add M&Ms.

When the chow was mixed and ready, I had two beautiful blondes assist me with filling the individual treat bags.  Miss Jentry and her friend Avery did an excellent job!

The class is learning about the letter P this week.  Pink Puppy Chow for the Party....I have really outdone myself this time!

Jentry is so excited for her class party.  I know this because she said and I quote, "This is going to be the best Valentine's party ever.  I have everything organized and ready to go."  Nathan's is terrified that she is already organizing, however that makes this OCD mama very happy.  She even selected and set out her Valentine's Day outfit three days ago.  Love it!

What a wonderful day to spread the LOVE!

Stripe Out on the Wild Side

Last week I did something I had never done before.  I painted stripes!  Yes, stripes on the walls of my new laundry room and I absolutely love them.  I was a bit intimidated by the entire process and even doubted my decision half way into the task, however the end result was fabulous and it was really quite easy.

Several months ago, I painted the walls a gray color so it was good and dry.  Since then, they installed the floor and ceiling tiles and trim board.  

1. I measured from the ceiling to the trim and divided by seven.  This way I didn't have to paint against the new ceiling or the new white base trim.  Lazy perhaps but I prefer to call this efficient.   The measurement was 87.5 inches and so my stripes came out to an even 12.5 inches.  

2. I borrowed a laser level from the carpenter.  This device projects a red laser light throughout the room and was absolutely the way to go.  I would highly recommend this tool when painting stripes.  

3. I began taping along the red line with green painter's Frog Tape.  Easy as pie and the outcome was super straight lines.  

4. I used a credit card to seal the tape to the wall and ensure that no white paint would bleed past the tape onto the gray.  

5. I opened the new white paint and rolled away.

6.  After I was sure the white stripes had two good coats, I immediately removed the tape.  I did not sit and watch the paint dry.  This allowed the tape to come off very easily.

7.  The result, straight white lines with no bleeding. 

Love, love them and think it is fun to have something a little on the wild side in our home.  OK, OK so it is only white on gray which is fairly subtle and the crazy stripes are hidden away in the laundry room, but this is a pretty big step for me.  The rest of the basement is tan, tan and more tan.  Very neutral.  I did enjoy the challenge of trying something new and appreciate stepping out of my box every once and a while.  I may even try them again someday.  Maybe bolder color choices or more, narrow stripes.  Time will tell, but until then I am enjoying doing laundry again!

New Bling

Jentry has very big news:

I have been wanting to get Jentry's ears pierced for a while now and we finally made it happen.  

No more of these:

Many of these and more to come I'm sure of that!  

I allowed Jentry to pick out some new earrings that she can wear in six, long weeks.  It was buy two get one free, and I thought she made some excellent choices. 

So far, she has been doing great with her new bling and has not complained about me cleaning them once. I would typically have waited until she could take care of them by herself, however I thought because of her short hair she needed something a little girlie to set her apart. My mother mentioned wanting to get a second piercing in her ears, and I thought it would be great fun if Jentry could go with her grandma to get their ears pierced together. Jentry thought it was a great idea and I told my mom about our grand plan.  Apparently grandma forgot about the plan, because she went and got her ears pierced on a recent trip to Kearney with my sister.  I couldn't believe it, what was grandma thinking!  Jentry immediately called her grandmother and said, "Grandma, you are in BIG trouble!"  I think it may be a while until grandma lives that one down.

On the way to Lincoln last Saturday, I asked Jentry if she was ready to get her ears pierced and she was somewhat hesitant.  Even though grandma had told her it was easy, she has some girlfriends that have told her otherwise.  I really didn't think I would get her talked into going through with it, but when we arrived at the mall there was only one thing on her mind.  "Where is the earring store?" 

The store was very busy and there was a girl sitting in the chair waiting to have the procedure done.  Jentry's eyes were glued to that little girl and there was no distracting her.  She wanted to see exactly what was going to happen.  I just stood there hoping and praying that the little girl would keep smiling and not break down and cry.  Luckily she did awesome and Jentry was ready to be next.  She selected beautiful, diamond (fake of course) studs set in white gold which made me happy.  Then she sat tall in the chair and hugged "Claire Bear" tightly.  Before I knew it, it was all over and Jentry's eyes lit up when she looked in the mirror.  She didn't cry, she didn't scream, she simply smiled the rest of the day. 

For a special celebratory treat for her bravery, we went to the the Cookie Company for a chocolate chip cookie and a soda.  The first picture I took revealed the chocolate all over her teeth.  Lovely, isn't it?

When I asked to take another shot this is what I got:

What a cheese!  Bling Bling

Jentry has since been having all kinds of fun showing off her new earrings to all of her friends.  When asked if it hurt she says, "Yes, it hurt a lot!"