Father's Day for a Fatherless Boy

I haven't posted in forever.  Mostly because I was too lazy to update my browser to support this blog.  Sometimes I actually do have interesting things to say and today was a good day to express something.  2 days from now is Father's Day.  It's  a much dreaded day for me.  My child has no father.  He does have a grandpa and a great-grandpa who love him to death, but he doesn't have a dad.  People seriously stressed me out when I was pregnant and when Nate was little.  They constantly asked me what I would say to him or how I would answer his questions about not having a father.  I always just said that I would know what to say when the time came.  I've answered his questions, which have been few and far between.

Today while at story time with his grandma they were making Father's Day crafts.  He made his for his grandpa's.  He looked up and matter of factly stated, "I don't have a Dad".  And that was that.  So guess what people?  It's not as big of a deal as you think.  When a child is showed love, kindness, and respect from all of the present people in his life, he doesn't really stress about missing people that he doesn't even really know are supposed to exist.  I know he will have more questions some day, but my well adjusted child is not really missing out by only having a mom, in fact I think I think he is doing really well :) .

Glittered Button Push Pins

I am officially a working mom again and with it have my very first cubicle.  Now I've never really had my own work space.  I'm really excited about it, so there are most likely going to be some creative cubicle craft projects in the works.  I finished my first this weekend.  I felt the need to jazz up some plain push pins.  It was also an opportunity to use some more of my Martha Stewart glitter. 

 I used some regular old clear push pins that we had.  I pushed them into a small cardboard box, so that they were standing up.  You could use a box top or styrofoam.

 Then I hot glued some old buttons to the push pins. 

 I made 16 of them.

I covered the buttons with craft glue and then sprinkled a turqoise glitter on them. 

I set them back in the box to dry. 

The glitter is even prettier than it shows in the picture.  Nate was very wow'd by them.  Just tap off the extra glitter and you have some very pretty push pins.

Refurbished Wreath

I disliked the thought of just tossing our Christmas wreath, so instead decided to refurbish it.  I took off the big red ribbon and replaced it with pinecones.  It's got a winter feel to it without feeling strictly like a Christmas wreath.

 The before.

 Adding the pinecones.

The final piece.

You can't really tell in the picture, but I dusted some of the tips of the pinecones with glitter and white glue.  I attached the pinecones using green, floral wire.  This project cost me less then a $1, but helped to make the wreath last longer this winter season.  

Going on a Possum Hunt

The possum hunt we signed up for on New Years Day basically transated into walk a mile in the woods with two preschoolers and not find any ornaments.  It was a really good idea in theory, but a couple of changes to the rules would have made it a little more enjoyable for the younger crowd.  The Possum Hunt was like an egg hunt, but the kids searched for plastic ornaments.  In return they got a prize.  The problem was that it was turned into a competition so the bigger kids ran along and grabbed all the ornaments and those with little legs couldn't keep up.  I was once again wow'd by a stranger who handed our friend two ornaments from her kids stash so that Nate and his friend could find something.  They were so excited to find them.  The trail was a little long for a 3 year old who stayed up till 1am, but he was a trooper and walked almost the whole .9 miles.  I actually think we might go back to the trail on another day for exercise.  If nothing else we got to spend time with family friends, enjoying nature, on an unseasonably warm January 1st.  And our two little ones, who are oblivious to competition, had a good time overall which is really all that matters.

Hopes for a smoother year

2011 to say the least was a difficult year.  We lost Grandpa in March, Bubba was in the hospital in very serious condition for a long time in April, we moved in June, I put my cat to sleep in August, my parents had to sell their house, and I still have yet to secure a new job.  But there are a lot of things to be thankful for, my sister got a job and relocated, my dad retired, my parents house sold, and I have a nephew who will be born in about a month.  So I'm thinking maybe it's my turn to have something really positive happen, like maybe a new job.  I feel like my future will start when that happens, for now I'm just living in limbo.  But as long as this little guy is around then living in limbo is ok.

New Year's Tree

I decided to extend the run of our Christmas tree by turning it into a New Years Tree, which is easy since it's artificial.  This essentially involved lots of glitter and curling ribbon. 

 Glittering some wooden stars.

 2012 cut out in cardboard.

 Nate with the finished tree.

The finished 2012.

I used pink, turqouise, and silver curling ribbon.  I bought wooden stars and put silver glitter on them then taped curling ribbon to the back to hang them.  I also used silver balls and ornaments we already had.  I cut the 2012 out of cardboard, glittered it and hung it with curling ribbon.  Here is a breakdown of what the project cost me.

-3 Things of Curling Ribbon- $1.56

-Ornaments- Already Owned

-Glitter- Already Owned

-12 Wooden Stars- $1.51

-Cardboard- Came off of toy packaging

Total Cost: $3.07!

Manassas Train Station

We recently went to visit with some family friends in Manassas and made in impromptu stop at the Manassas train station.  They have a small visitor center inside the old fashioned station.  There are also two train cars that you can get up and close too.  Nate was really excited to stop there.  It was only fair since we made him go shopping later in the day.