kids – Sweet pieces by me

Clothespin Alligator Craft

June 15, 2019June 15, 2019 Charlene Becker

Hi Ya’ll!

One thing I’m doing this summer to keep the kiddos busy is having a craft day!…Or two or three or four 😉 You may have heard of “Make it Monday” or “Try it Tuesday”? Well that’s what we do on those days. Mondays we make something and Tuesdays we try something. I have a whole list of projects and fun things to do with my 5 and 7 year old. Wow. Are they really that old?? Gone are the days of finger painting and water table fun. Now it is on to bigger and messier things like making slime, bath bombs, painting rocks, and making cool crafts.So I saw this cute alligator clothespin craft and thought, I can make that! I even had all the materials on hand in our craft bucket. So read on to see what you need to make this cute little guy! And please come back soon to see what else I’m “cookin up” this summer to keep my kids busy! (and LESS screen time!!!)

You will need:1 green pipe cleaner
1 clothespin
1 strip of green construction paper (1/2″ x 5″)
2 small googly eyes
1/4 tsp. green craft paint
Hot glue or a strong adhesive like E6000
black fine tip pen (Sharpie is best)
Newspaper, scrap paper or a craft mat to use under painting surfaceStep 1 – Lay down the newspaper or scrap paper to cover your surface where you are crafting.
Step 2 – Paint the clothespin with the green craft paint and let dry. Paint a thin coat so it dries quickly. It should only take about 10 minutes to dry.
Step 3 – Cut 1 piece of pipe cleaner to about 3 inches and the other to 5 inches. Bend the ends around to look like a curved foot. If this is too big for you, trim the feet to the desired length. I started at this length and trimmed them down. Take the hot glue or strong adhesive and put 2 dabs on the bottom of the clothespin, 1 on the back of it and 1 in the middle. Quickly stick on the 2 pipe cleaner pieces.
Step 4 – Use a black fine tip pen to make 2 dots at the front of the clothespin for the nose.
Step 5 – Use a dab of glue about 1/2″ above the 2 dots and stick on the googly eyes. If using the hot glue wait a few seconds for the glue to cool since the eyes will melt a little when sticking to the hot glue.
Step 6 – Take the construction paper strip and fold it accordion fold back and forth or even square folds.
Step 7 – Glue the construction paper right above the eyes to the back of the clothespin and cut off the excess.Done! There you have an adorable alligator clothespin. You can use it as a chip clip or cut up an old magnet and glue a strip to the back so you can use it on the fridge to hang up important artwork! 😉

Happy Crafting!

Charlene

Life, Love, Mom Life, Parenting, Sophia, Writing, Wyatt

Good Morning! Shhh kids still sleeping…

January 30, 2016February 24, 2019 Charlene Becker

Yes, it is almost 8:30AM and my 2 kids are still sleeping. (3-1/2 year old and 2 year old) I get a lot of friends asking me, do you wake a sleeping child? No! Why poke a sleeping bear? More on this in a minute…

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So this morning, I set my alarm for 7:15AM. It went off, I grabbed my phone like I was going to get up, then stretched, curled back up and closed my eyes. I rested for what seemed like 5 minutes, but it was actually an hour! Oh man, there goes my blogging time. However, I got up, made my coffee and got the kid’s milks ready. Back to the keyboard I go and here I am typing away and it is 9AM. I feel blessed. Relaxed. So back to the question, do I wake the kids? So they are “sleeping in” a little, don’t bother them. Enjoy sipping your coffee for one minute and just breathe. Because you and I both know that it is short-lived. 😉

(Enter kid #1)

I’ll keep writing until I have to make breakfast, but I just wanted to say some more about this. So back to waking them…why wake them if their bodies are telling them to sleep? So, they will get a little off schedule. That’s ok! I know my son was very tired from going to a Monster Truck show with daddy last night. He didn’t nap yesterday and woke up at about 9am and went to sleep on his way home about 9pm. That’s a LONG day for a 3-1/2 year old so I know his little body needs that rest.

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My daughter is teething or growing because she has been extra feisty lately. So I know that any extra sleep will help her. If I were to wake either of them, there would be sadness, confusion, whiny children and then an irritated mommy. Why cause all that? 🙂

Instead, we have 2 adorable “quiet” toddlers, a calm mommy getting fueled up for another busy day. There’s a load of laundry to do, dishes to put away and a possible grocery trip. However, it’s pretty rainy out and as you know that would not make it a fun trip for mommy or the toddlers. Hmmm…I wonder if I can get what I need on Amazon Prime Now. Have you tried it? WOW, it’s amazing. No fee, (except for the $100/year Prime Membership), optional tip for the driver and 2 hours later you have your order. I’ve used it several times and I’m spoiled! I think I could find something to order everyday 😉 Anyway, it’s only available in major cities right now so you might not be able to try it, but if you get a chance definitely give it a go!

Ok #2 is awake now and I’m ready for today!

Have a great, restful day!

Charlene 🙂

Life, Mom Life, Parenting, Writing, Wyatt

New Years Resolutions…More Writing in 2016!

January 21, 2016February 24, 2019 Charlene Becker

I got up at 7:30AM this morning. Ok, so that’s not early for most of you but it is for me LOL! My kids have been trained to sleep in. We usually put them in bed about 9 or 9:30 so they sleep until 8:30 or 9. It’s NOT clockwork by any means and it’s been rough the last couple weeks. After the holidays we got off schedule because of staying up late and the kids were sleeping until 9:30-10! Which hey, that’s ok for me since I was staying up until 1 or 2am stamping! (Ugh…crazy I know!) We finally had a couple of days (4 or 5 really) where we got the kids up by 8:30 so they went down for a nap by 2 (instead of 3!) and in bed by 9. I’m okay with that. I’m a night owl, so if I get 2-3 hours in the evening to cuddle and watch shows with my hubby, then I’m happy. :-)Even happier if I get to stamp and make cards! However, I need to also sleep train MYSELF! I have gotten used to going to bed at 12-1am and sleeping until 9! I would love to have a couple hours in the morning to myself. Me and coffee. Quiet. Then I could write, journal, read, stamp and make cards, scrapbook…or whatever! So that is a definite resolution for me. I feel like I have all these thoughts and ideas in my head and I need to get them out!

One BIG problem is that the computer now lives in the garage. Why? Well, we wanted to make room for other things and not have the rooms look so cluttered. My stamping space was also out in the garage (I had a space heater), plus it’s California, not like the weather is that bad. So in November my husband said just move what you NEED to stamp and make cards into the spare room and he moved the baby’s crib into our son’s room. SWEET! Dude, I moved all my stuff in a couple hours during the baby’s nap time. IT WAS ON. I am nice and toasty when I’m crafting now. 🙂

So now, I’m happily crafting away…but I have this deep desire to write. Not just “blog” but actually write! I have ideas for children’s books in my head as well as two ideas for novels (fiction and sci-fi). I have no idea why I feel this pull to write but I know I must. I think it must be what “The Force” feels like. So, moving the computer is next.

This leads me to my New Years Resolutions! C’mon, we all do it. We make them. We break them. Maybe we make them just to have something to break? HA! Well anyway here they are!

Get up earlier
Write more
Blog more (yes different than writing!)
Eat more salads
Eat healthier
Scrapbook more
Make more cards
SEND more cards
Pray more & pray more for my kids!
Spend more time with my kiddos!

Yes, I realize that #9 and 10 should be at the top…these aren’t really in any particular order…but I do feel that in order to do #2 – 10, #1 definitely has to happen first! hahaha

When I started this blog, I hoped it would be a place where I could write my little anecdotes, share pictures of the littles and their cute videos, share my photography (another hobby of mine), share my cards and scrap booking.

However, being a mom of TWO toddlers…well there’s that whole I don’t have time for ME thing. Well, I’m making it! I recently saw a video of Jada Pinkett Smith answering her daughters question about how hard it is being a wife and a mother. I feel like she was answering this question for me! She hits the nail on the head. It’s very hard to balance being a wife and a mother and still being able to enjoy what we want in life. It’s our life too, remember? So the list above doesn’t include “spend more time doing things for myself” but I feel that 1-8 are doing exactly that. I mean, the list could go on and on…get more massages, get more pedicures, go mall shopping (for myself), have more coffee dates with friends, have more girl’s (mom’s) nights out, etc etc etc. I would really love all of that…but time, money and resources are all a factor. So for now, I’d be fulfilled with the 10 above…for now.

Now my son has come into the garage (with his Kindle) and is asking me to hold him so I must go for now…but I’ll leave you with this…sometimes the only thing holding us back is US.

Here’s a couple of pictures of my cuties opening presents at Christmas! Sophie was fully aware of what was going on and loved every minute! This one is a bit blurry (most are because my kids never sit still!) but I just loved how she held up these Frozen toys. She loves her Frozen 🙂

Ok, so my son is now out here and in full “I’m going to annoy my mom mode”. Can’t get writing done yelling “stop” every 2 minutes. Guess my time is up. Guess 30 minutes of writing will have to do!

Now, go out and do what YOU want to do. It’s a new day, a fresh start.

Charlene xoxo