Stay at Home Bitch

Back and Ready for action

2016-06-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

I took quite a bit of time away from this blog, but I am back and ready to make this a place to come for real life mommy adventures, natural recipes, life hacks, and just weird hilarious moments from my life.

So welcome!!
Let me know how you like the new look!

Adventures of living with Grandma {an introduction}

2014-10-05T16:19:00.001-07:00

So, my grandma has been through a lot in the past two years, losing her husband, father, and daughter all within a 10 month period, living a year with no health insurance, having her house foreclosed, and having to move and downsize to a smaller apartment. Only to end up living with her grandaughter (me) in a small bedroom surrounded by energetic stinky boys. Although this post started out depressing, this series of posts are about all the crazy things she says and does, while living with me, enjoy!

Talking about the new study claiming that thigh gaps have nothing to do with weight, but how close togther a womens pelvis is, which directly correlates with how tight or loose, a womens vagina is.

Me: well this study basically says if you have a thigh gap your pelvis is farther apart and therefore your vagina is looser.

Grandma: Well, I must have one really tight vagina then.

Me: Wow.

Sincerely,

Stay at home bitch

Accessory Tree fit for a Princess

2014-05-22T16:34:00.001-07:00

Head on Over to Sowdering about in Seattle to check out our guest post on how to make this adorable Accessory tree!

Love,
The Stay at Home Bitch

How To Do a {Picture Wall}

2014-04-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hello my beautiful bitches! That would Stay at home bitches ;) I thought today i would impart some picture wall wisdom on you. I have a had quite a few picture walls in my time, I love how they look, most of all they make a statement and depending on how you do it, it can be a BIG one. When we moved into this house I knew I wanted to dod a picture wall on the biggest tallest wall in the house, and I did. It started out smallish, only ----- frames, and the words. I cut Cooper&CO with my cricut from a roll of flat black vinyl and Voila!

That was few a years ago,and It needed spruced up! So I drew out a plan, I do this quite often to so get used to it!

I like to do a sketch plan like this, it helps get the pictures up where they need to be the first time, it basically eliminates trial and error because that happens on paper and not with a million holes in the wall. Yes, yes it's because much marital upset could be avoided by drawing some squiggly lines on a piece of paper. your welcome. Okay next step is get a ladder and get to it, or in my case rope your husband into doing you a tiny favor (yes I know I'm evil) and let him be miserable for about 20 minutes, simple as that!

Your result should be similar to this.

It is always a good idea when doing a picture wall to stick to a theme, in any interior design themes are important, my theme is obviously black frames, my style is very contemporary, so black angular frames with B&W pics are my favorite look. Heading to pinterest to gather a few ideas is always a good idea as well.

Here are few ideas from other blogs I found on pinterest

Like this Modern chic from Tatertots and Jello

Here is more shabby chic from Lavender and Lemondrops

And a more traditional feel from Better Homes & Gardens

Planning is your friend, it has taken me a very long time to accumulate this many black frames, it won't happen overnight. Also location, location, location I would never have spent so much time and effort to do this in a back room, that would never be seen. Picture walls can be a huge task but I always feel rewarded when a new guest comes over and the first thing out of their mouth is, "Oh my gosh that's gorgeous!" "how did you do that", you know it just makes me feel all tingly inside :)

Until next time bitches!

The Stay at home Bitch

Let's make a Wood...Wall

2014-04-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

Yep everybody is doing it, you know...installing a wood wall, like wood from a tree, why? what were you thinking?...Oooh you are naughty. Now that we are all on the same page, lets chat about wood. On pinterest you will see people calling this a "pallet wall" I didnt use any wood from pallets, so its just a wood wall. All the wood we used was from old fences, so it was all free, and the other materials you will need are:

Hammer
measuring tape
table saw and/or circular saw
1.5" or 2" finishing nails
paint

First if you are going to paint the adjoining walls do it before installing the wood, or you will need to tape off all the wood really carefully (such a pain in the ass) just do it before. Also another problem we ran into, was that if you are using weathered wood, which we were, it will NOT be straight, at all, so there will be gaps, we decided to paint a line of the navy blue paint between each line. Start from the TOP we did this because that's what I read to do, even though my hubby insisted on starting at the bottom I said ~~shut it~~ no sweetie, and after about 3 lines he realized it would have been way harder to fit the last line at the top. Anyway start at the top, and do a staggered pattern, we decided to do the wood wall on the only wall with a window for two reasons, one we would use less wood, and two the raw edges around the window makes it feel like it has always been there. This does take a few hours to complete because of all the measuring and cutting, but the finished product is beautiful!

We think it turned out pretty snazzy, my husband even admitted to thinking it's awesome!!

Keep Calm and Re-decorate the whole house

The Stay at home bitch

A {chocolate factory} birthday: Dessert Table

2014-04-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

My oldest child Mr. Robert, insisted on having a Willy Wonka birthday party, I thought yay so much fun!, but that changed when I realized he had only ever watched the newer version with Johhny Depp and not the original (best) one with Gene Wilder. The new version is so lame and has no cool stuff, so I just went with the original version!! First I thought it would be fun to have some edible plants and suchlike in the movie, so I made these super simple by sticking flower and swirl lollipops into styrofoam balls covered in moss, and set on top of candle sticks. I loved how they looked and they were so quick and easy!

I also thought it would be super fun to have edible toadstools because that was one of my favorite parts of the movie, so I commissioned Fred Meyer, which is where I get some of my cakes made, to make me 3 cakes 2 that look like toadstools and one covered in sprinkles and gumballs! They do a really great job and are quite budget friendly.

We also had a chocolate fountain which was his only request, so I borrowed one from a friend, and it definitely made the party, everyone young and old loved the chocolate fountain! Just set up the chocolate fountain cut up all the different fruit and Viola!

Stay tuned for the rest of the party Next Week!

Until next time bitches,
The Stay at home Bitch

Homework {Station} : The Wall

2014-04-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

For the longest time I have been wanting to take a wall in my house, and turn it into a sanctuary of learning for my boys. Slowly but surely I accumulated all of the different supplies then hubs and I got to work, and the result has been amazing, it looks just like my original drawing! The kids have been doing more drawing than homework at this point, but I'm confident that many a science project, and book report, will be screamed about at this very table!!

Here is how we did it!!

{The Wall}

First and Foremost we had to have the wall make a statement! I had been imagining a chalkboard wall but not one you could actually draw on. So I drew up my plans (I do this for almost everything) I made this drawing from Construction paper :). Next I had to figure out what I would need to get this desired effect, I settled on flat finish black latex paint, regular chalk (or sidewalk chalk!) and a way to seal it all in, after realizing a roll on sealant would ruin the chalk art, we went with a spray.

Materials:

{Flat} black paint - you only need a quart to do one wall! (mine was $8.35)
Chalk (found mine at Value Village for .99!)
Clear Polyurethane Spray Sealant Flat/Satin finish (2 cans @ 4.99ea)

Total: Time was 8 hours + drying time, Moola comes in just under $20!!

Step one:
Paint the wall black, if you need to tape off the edges do so, I invested in a really nice angled 2" brush and I will just go around and edge myself, I always do the edging first, and create a 2" wide edge so you can roll right up to it without getting super close to the adjoining wall/ceiling. Let this totally dry!

Step two:
Go chalk crazy!! I love different fonts, I have read many calligraphy books and experimented with different fonts my whole life, so I felt very comfortable grabbing a piece of chalk and going to town. I freehand drew, and wrote, all over the wall, remember you can wipe the chalk off if you mess up, so don't worry. I would also recommend trying out different fonts with a pencil on some paper beforehand. After you write on the wall make sure to blow off excess chalk, and draw over it again, plus you will want to leave this up for 24 hours before sealing it, then go back and blow off any and all excess chalk.

Step three:
Spray the wall with Sealant!
Open all the doors and windows in the house, get everybody out, and turn on the fan, because this stuff is stinky! I had my husband do this step and took the kids out of the house, we came back after 4 hours it was still a little stinky, but not too bad. He did one coat over the whole wall, one coat over just each word, and one more coat over the whole wall. That is it!!

Sincerely,

Stay at Home Bitch

Tuscan turns Nautical in the best way possible

2014-04-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

This is my OLD guest room.

Its Flippin Fugly I know. It used to be really amazing a long time ago when I first decorated it like this oh circa 2007. Well this tired room is getting a much needed facelift! First is the new colors Navy and Coral!!! I am obsessed with this color combination by the way!! I needed a dark enough color to cover the deep red that was there previously, and coral is everything right now, if you don't know this please come out from under that ROCK! Okay moving on to the wood wall, which I posted about, read more HERE. I wanted to do a wood wall in this room because it makes it feel rustic and totally shabby chic! I also have been using lots of gold accents to pull everything together!

I originally was just going to do really simple, with no theme just shabby chic and elegant, but as we started piecing the room together it became more and more apparent that it would be a nautical themed room. My original accent color had been aqua, but I found the most amazing lamp at Target, and gold became everything! I am still slowly piecing this room together and will be posting more and more about the room plus a couple tutorials as well, so make sure to check those out!

Til next time bitches!

The Stay at Home Bitch

I got a new {toy}

2014-04-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

To say I have wanted a D-SLR camera for awhile, would be a gross understatement. I have been coveting a camera for so long I cant really put a number on it, but every time I have the funds I find a much more selfless way to spend it. Finally I knew there would be more than enough money to buy myself a camera, and It happened.....Finally. Now to say I have been having fun with it would also be an understatement, I want to take pictures of everything everyday, my kids are avoiding me like the plague right now! Here are some recent images from my very fun toy! Expect great things!!

Sincerely,

The Stay at Home Bitch

Modern Houswife Monday {Stay Healthy}

2013-11-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

As we make our way into the colder weather, sickness is bound to pop up at any moment! I thought I would share a few natural remedies we like to use to help you and your little ones when sickness strikes!

Flu: We use oscillacocconium, when we have the flu this is our go to homeopathic remedy, it drastically reduces the symptoms of the flu and helps get you better faster. It is expensive, so I buy mine at Costco.

Common Cold: We like to use Cold Calm another homeopathic remedy that can actually stop the cold right in it's tracks if you take it soon enough.

Stuffy nose/Congestion: I do not use Vicks vapor rub it actually has a lot of chemicals in it, and I am all about the natural. I use Eucalyptus oil. Make sure to rub on the bottoms of the feet as well as behind the ears, this works much better than on the chest.

Chest Congestion/Mucus: I like to rub garlic oil on the bottom of the feet this breaks up the mucus really well better than anything else. If you don't have garlic oil you can use a piece of garlic make sure to grate it on one side to get the juices flowing. First rub oil (olive, or coconut work great) on the bottom of the foot so their is a barrier between the garlic and the foot. Otherwise the garlic will burn the skin which believe me is no fun.

Ear Ache: A few drops of garlic oil in the ear twice a day will get rid of an earache. Not only does it cure the infection, it takes the pain away instantly, I also like to up the use of probiotics when treating any bacterial infection.

Fever: I use peppermint oil on the bottom of the feet, works great! In the case of a stubborn fever I will as a last resort use Ibproufen (Advil, Motrin) not Tylenol.

Tips to stay healthy:

1. Take a Multivitamin: I like to take a prenatal vitamin myself, and my kids take a childrens multivitamin with vitamin D and Calcium.

2. Take a Probiotic: Taking a probiotic is such a great idea for every member of the family, it does help with digestion, but it also helps your body have more good bacteria so it can fight bad bacteria better. If you have digestion problems you want to take a higher concentrate, I think about it like this the lower the digestion problem the higher the concentrate. I take a 5 billion concentrate because I am prone to UTI's, and cold sores, and when I am on a probiotic I don't get any. If you don't have digestion problems you can get away with taking a much lower concentrate like 5 million or so. Probiotics come in a variety of mediums e.g, pill, chewable tablet (great for kids), powder (great for kids), or liquid. Make sure to keep your probiotic in the fridge, it keeps those good bacteria alive!

3. Vitamin C: Everyone in my family takes at least a 500mg tablet of vitamin C daily even if your multivitamin already has some in it. When someone is sick we take 500mg 4 times a day, this boosts the immune system! We have gummy vitamin C oranges we love!

**I am not a doctor**I have done a huge amount of research, consulted my family doctor, and taken college courses. Please make sure to consult your medical professional before adding any vitamins to your diet. Some vitamins can cause adverse effects to medicines.

The big bad word battle

2013-10-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

It happens to the best of us, your sweet child drops the f bomb, and your cheeks go red, or if you're like me you laugh your booty off! Recently I had a big bad word problem, that was the opposite of adorable.

My son Robert, has quite the mouth on him, he tells me things like he is calling the police on me, I am going to jail, I'm stupid, an idiot, a villain, lots of odd things, but mostly he just tells me I am a bad woman when he isn't happy with me, and I am a good woman when he is happy with me, that I can live with. Up until this point we had been giving him timeouts, taking toys/screen time away, and explaining to him about using nice words or explaining his feelings when he was upset. Then he started saying something I could not live with him saying, literally every time this came from his mouth I cringed...Puss. Puss. I have no idea where he got it from (I'm assuming cartoon network) but all of a sudden it was your a puss, dads a puss, Asher is a puss. We did what we had always done timeouts, privledges taken away, explaining that was a bad word, and still he continued. It not only continued it got worse...think add a y to the end of that word...yeah PUSSY. My seven year old was running around calling people pussies! I was horrified! Again the same discipline as always, nothing worked. I finally got to the end of my rope, and I told him "Robert if you say that word one more time I am going to wash your mouth out with soap". I honestly do not believe in doing this, soap is full of chemicals and is essentially poison if swallowed, it can cause stomach cramping and dihareea. That was not something I ever imagined first off saying to my child, but secondly actually doing. Yet there I was about ready to, at the end of my rope, desperate. Then he said it, he said it that one last time, he was testing me, he wanted to see if I really would make good on what I was telling him, and I did. Well sorta. We use a product in our home called Theives, it is an all porpose product, they make it a mouth wash, toothpaste, breath spray, cleaning solution, everything! It is extremely good for you, it is made with 7 different herbs and theives used it during the black plague to rob bodies of the infected, without getting sick, it boosts your immune system and is antibacterial, it is awesome! But guess what?...It tastes HORRIBLE!! As I grabbed my naughty little 7 year old with a dirty mouth, to head to the soap, I spotted it, I grabbed the breath spray squirted a shot in his mouth and set him back in timeout. Let's just say he was disgusted and I have had the pleasure of NOT hearing Puss or Pussy come out of his mouth since. I call it bad mouth spray and now its my secret weapon.

What do you do when your sweet child gets a sailor's mouth?

The {little} Harvest

2013-09-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

In April I decided I wanted to grow some veggies in my back yard... I went to the store bought some organic seeds, then I cleared a space in the back yard to plant a couple things. I wanted to originally do this because, I grew up with a garden every year in rural eastern Washington, every evening my family would all head out to the garden, and water, weed, and enjoy each other. I loved this time and I want the same experience for my children.

I had plans to plant carrots, cucumbers, and broccoli, as well as strawberries, and a blueberry bush. We planted the carrots, strawberries, and blueberry bush, and hopefully next year we will do more.

I didn't have the summer I planned, but the boys still had fun planting the carrots and watching them grow, and now that fall is upon us we decided to pick a couple...here are the results..

They are super tiny and they taste terrible, I am hoping a few more weeks will yield a better result, but that is unlikely. We still had fun with the process, even if the result wasn't the best!

The story of a flower

2013-09-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

It's the little things kids enjoy and take part in on a daily basis :)

~Modern Housewife Monday~ Chores

2013-09-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but in my house I am responsible for a fair amount of the household chores, and I honestly don't know how those housewives in the 50's did it; they must have been killing themselves! Well actually, they did have a lot less distractions (uh hum blogging, facebook, etc.), and maybe smaller houses?? Who knows, I just know that keeping my house somewhat clean is quite the task, so some chores do get delegated out. I am sure the most common man chore is taking out the garbage and recycling, and yes those are my husbands main responsibilities. He also helps with the dishes, and does pretty much any other chore I ask him to help me with. I noticed though, that the free labor that lives in the house had been seriously under utilized. SO, this modern housewife Monday is all about handing some chores out, to the little people in your house.

Vacuuming: My middle guy loves to vacuum he will run around with the vacuum in the playroom for 20 minutes or so, he also loves the steam mop!

Dusting: Old (clean) sock as dusting glove! I like to set the timer and make it a race!

Washing windows: I cannot stop my kids from doing this, honestly any task they get to use a spray bottle then wipe, they love! (I only use non toxic chemical free cleaners)

Unloading the dishwasher: Both Asher and Jax love to put away the silverware from the dishwasher, Asher will also put away any item that needs put away in his reach!

Laundry: This in my opinion is the best chore for the little people to help with! All 3 of my boys love to load the washer, switch it to the dryer, sometimes fold, and help put away. Great for the littlest to the bigger helpers!

What chores do your kids help with?

MoM Dictionary.... Food edition

2013-09-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Another edition of MoM dictionary but this time let's play a game it's called which definition includes children Sounds fun right??

Grocery shopping: 1. A mini vacation in which browsing and wandering aisles for an hour becomes a sanctuary.
2. A major nightmare of "i want that" tantrums, cart climbing and unwelcome stares and advice.

Dinner: 1. A three course meal involving hours of prep and luxurious ingredients, including wonderful intellectually stimulating conversation, ending with a big "thank you".
2. Macaroni.

Reservations: 1. Reserving a table for any number of guests at a great restaurant i.e. put me down for two at 8 o'clock.
2. A feeling you get when you even think about eating out.

Menu: 1. A long and detailed list of food items or choices usually with decadent ingredients and a hefty price tag.
2. Appetizers: Smoked Arti..... that's all I got to read

Kitchen: 1. The sanctuary of the home where plump rolls, tantalizing smells and culinary delights you handcrafted over hours for your family are created with love.
2.An asylum filled with lots of bodies running in circles, yelling, and the occasional food fight.

:) Hope you enjoyed! What would you add? Can you guess which definitions children were involved in?

Cloth Bins Labeling {Tutorial}

2013-09-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have some cube like shelves in the play room at my house, and in those shelves live cloth like bins or boxes, whatever you want to call them, and in those bins there are supposed to be toys. My children do not understand, or better yet, they pretend not to understand the concept of cleaning up, and putting their toys away; but that is another post. I have tried and failed to label these bins to encourage and help my kids with the tedious and never ending task of keeping a clean play room. The first time I did this, I thought I was a genius! I labeled the bins, and for a month or so til the labels started to fall off, the boys did rather well at keeping the toys picked up, and put away; but as soon as those labels were gone, so was my children's temporary OCD.

Here is my first attempt:

Before

After

I made up some labels using clip art and words, printed them out, cut them, and taped them to the bins using packing/shipping tape. Like I said I *thought* I was a genius...sadly I was wrong.

The playroom again became a mad house, and it was a constant daily struggle to keep the toys contained! At one point we even removed 80% of the toys as a punishment (this did not work). Then I actually did come up with a genius idea! I remembered that the one, and only time the boys were actually able to, and liked, to keep the playroom clean was when we had the bins labeled, but I knew that I couldn't again do the paper taped on labels. Then it hit me, as I was looking at them one day...Fabric Paint! I already had an abundance of fabric pens and "puffy" fabric paint from my cousins baby shower you can read about that on my sister blog HERE, and I already had the bins, so I got to work, and I am tickled with the result!

Before

(plain old cloth bin)

Get those supplies!!

Get Creative!!

After!!

I just love them! I free hand drew them, but I could also see using a stencil. I did smear a couple times so be careful, and use the pens (if you choose to use pens) to draw first, and then go over with puffy paint. I also used the bins I had already, and yes some of them were dirty, in a perfect world I would have bought all new ones to do this to, but I was spontaneous (and my kids would have got the new ones dirty I'm sure). I am very happy with how these turned out and all the kids love them!

What do you think? How do you label things?

Back to School!!

2013-09-10T00:10:00.000-07:00

My boys are loving being back at school with all their friends and teachers, the best part is they are at the same school this year, and riding the bus together, which they love! I however have been completely overwhelmed with all the paperwork and 20 different checks you have to write at the beginning of the year! Some day I will get used to (and remember) this! Here are some back to school photos! Enjoy :)

P.S. I will be talking about that cute "Back to School" sign I made soon!

Almost Back to School

2013-08-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well the seasons will be changing soon and with that school will be starting. It is kind of bitter sweet, I love the spontaneity of summer, the ability to go anywhere anytime, the schedule less bliss that is waking up at 11 am and laying around til 2pm. I also love the fall, the smells, the changing colors, and the excitement of the impending holiday season. Back to school this year is going to be both exciting and nerve wracking, I will have a 1st grader and a kindergartner, I will be buying school supplies for 2 kids this year, I will be dealing with twice the homework, twice the events, and twice the craziness. This will be quite the experience, but I'm heading towards it with excitement and hoping all things will work out.

First day of School last year 2012

Where Have I been??

2013-08-21T03:31:00.002-07:00

I have had quite the hiatus from this little blog of mine, I have been having one of the roughest years of my life. I have had so many negative and hard things happen to myself, and my family so far this year, and I am about done with it! I last blogged in February, In March a pipe burst in my master bathroom and leaked down through the ceiling in the play room. We spent a week in a hotel room and are still finishing the master bathroom from this. In May right after Mothers Day another pie burst, this time in the kitchen, this fix wasn't as easy as the bathroom. The entire kitchen had to be gutted the floor, counter tops, and eventually the cabinets were all replaced. I lived for 6 weeks in a 600 sq ft 2 bed 2ba hotel room, this would have felt like a vacation except for the fact that I have 3 very active boys and a little girl I nanny on top of that. I was also driving both boys to school and picking them up, normally they take a 15 min bus ride. It was a nightmare to say the least.

Once we got home we got busy, working on projects that had been on hold while we lived in a hotel. My husband and I were excited to have our 3 boys stay with relatives for a week so we could tackle most of the projects we had left and really get our house in order. On July 22nd I met my mom in Ashland, Oregon as the half way point and dropped the two older boys with her for a week. We slept there for the night, and early the next morning we went our separate ways, I was almost to Salem Oregon and about halfway from home when I glanced to the south bound side of the freeway, their was an accident, and as I glanced back in front of me, I saw all the cars almost stopped and I slammed on my brakes.....the next thing I knew I was laying on my side in a completely totaled vehicle. I thought I had felt and heard a splash so I quickly freed myself so that I could get out to swim, when I stood up I realized I was not in any water, and that is when I noticed the waterfall of blood streaming from my mouth. I was taken quickly to the hospital and checked out top to bottom.

I had a 3rd degree burn on my shoulder and chest from the seat belt that saved my life, my tongue barely in one piece and a very large and deep cut in my mouth. I had several stitches and pain medicine, and waited for my husband to arrive so we could make a 4 hour trek home. I can honestly say I had never felt so terrified in my life, nor have I ever felt so relieved not to have my children with me. I have recovered physically from this accident but emotionally will take awhile. I feel like I am crashing whenever I step on the brakes, or feel the motion of stopping in a car. I feel trapped to my close surroundings, and impatient to get better so I can again be the driver I once was, the driver who loved long trips, and driving for hours. I hope you will share in this journey of healing with me, I already feel better after writing this.

You {drive} me crazy Valentine ~tutorial~

2013-02-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

I really love making my boys valentines every year. I try to do a different valentine for each one every year, I remember was younger I never had cool valentines and I always felt embarrassed, so it is really important to me that my boys have some really cool ones and it also gives me a chance to be creative :) This year I had planned on doing some really cute Valentine printables I had seen on Pinterest, but it didn't work out, I did use the LOVE BUG ones which turned out great but I had to rethink my little guy Asher's valentines. I headed to my favorite store to buy anything, Fred Meyer, for some ideas,I browsed the toy aisle and came up with 3 different things that could work, a 10pk of play doh, a 9pk of hot wheels and a big pack of little dinosaur toys. I started looking at my swag and decided the hot wheels would be the way to go, I even came up with a few sayings "you drive me crazy" and "you make my heart race" another good one would be "I never {tire} of you friendship".

What you'll need:

red card stock
black paint pen
yellow paint pen
white paint pen or gel pen
hot wheels car
strong adhesive or cable ties

To get started I took 4"x5.5" red card stock and drew a windy road with a black paint pen, I use Elmer's brand paint pens, next use your yellow paint pen to make the dashed lane lines, and finish it off with the white lines on either side, add your saying and voila cuteness! The last thing to add is the car simply place the car on the road where you think it looks best and punch a small hole on either side, then use a cable tie to secure the car to the card stock. This is an incredibly quick and easy project, and because I snagged this 9 pk (exactly the number i needed) of hot wheels for only 5 bucks and I had everything else this averages to about 75 cents a card! I am pretty happy with how these turned out and I heard that Asher's classmates really loved them!

Happy New Year!

2012-12-31T09:31:00.000-08:00

2012 was all around a wonderful year for myself and my family. I started 2012 with a little bitty baby, a 3 year old struggling with communication, and a 5 year old having a hard time in kindergarten. My mom was living with us, and as much as I loved having her the two Sagittariuses (mom and husband) were starting to bump heads. She moved out in March to the L.A area and almost immediately fell in love with an old friend, she had been looking for a true connection for ummm...lets just say a long time, and I am beyond happy for her! My Sister started a blog early in the year which has blossomed and grown into a hugely successful passion for her, I cant say enough how proud of her I am, and how amazing she truly is! My husband after working at one store for almost 5 years switched to a new store, where he is much happier. We also celebrated our 10 year anniversary this year, and got spoiled with a trip to Las Vegas! We took a week long road trip vacation to California which was so much fun and a wonderful family experience! Also this past summer I met my little brother who is now permanently living with my Dad and Step mom, which is the best thing for everyone, and I am so happy to have him back with us! My dear friend and her husband started the long and still ongoing process of divorce, this year has been very enlightening for her and she has made a huge transformation, and I am so proud of her!I ended this year with a busy busy toddler a 4 year old exploding with new words, and a 6 year old loving Kindergarten the second time around; I end this post and year with lots of optimism for the new year ahead, as well as gratefulness for the wonderful year behind me. Wishing all of you a happy New year and an awesome 2013!

MoM Dictionary...Holiday Edition

2012-12-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

How about another round of definitions we all know and love as Stay at Home Bitches, but this time lets get into the holiday spirit.

Christmas: 1. Candy, hot chocolate, lots and lots of activities, crafts, housework, cooking, and a very long break from ~~sanity~~ school.

Holiday party: A party(more like nightmare) you volunteer to put together, cook for, and otherwise take time out of your life to put together, that in ten minutes is demolished, resulting in sugar highed kindergartners.

New Years: Once this was a magical night full of midnight kisses and champagne, but now consists of fireworks viewed on the flat screen and apple cider.

Presents: A couple of expensive housewares you don't normally buy, come on Kuerig!!

Santa: The best thing about December unless your kid is old then I am sorry but I hope the ride was good while it lasted.

December: The month of madness.

**Disclaimer**These definitions are intended for humor although based in reality.

I actually love this time of year more than any other, the magic and sparkle in my kids eyes when they visit Santa or when they spot a huge light display while we are running errands is why I love being a mom. Happy Holidays from Stay at Home Bitch!

~Retro Housewife Monday~ Thanks!

2012-12-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

Week3: Thank you's

This week I am bringing thank you back. I am a fan of thank you cards, in any form, e-cards, Facebook, and paper, yes people paper! I wish I sent more people thank you cards, and just cards in general, and I wished more people did also. There is something about seeing a pretty envelope with your name handwritten on it, and a pretty card with any sentiment in it, that warms my heart. So I am challenging myself to send a handmade card every week to someone in my life for some reason for 3 months, and I challenge you to send some paper cuteness in the mail to someone that isn't a bill this month, and no Christmas cards don't count, but maybe if you made them ;)

Banners.... I'm Obsessed!

2012-12-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

So I am Obsessed with banners! I love them so much I find any excuse to make them for every occasion! I even want to make them for other people when they are having an occasion at their home. I just love them!! I love coming up with different ideas and colors and ways to put them together!! Recently I made a burlap banner for Jaxsen's birthday, I originally wanted to do his name on it but decided not to, I thought it looked cute plain. I also made three for Roberts birthday that I love loved! His was a Lego themed birthday and it was so easy to make!! Banners are so easy and add so much character to decorations you should try it sometime!!!

Making a Banner

Step 1: Decide on a theme

Before you can make it you have to think about what you want to make, what you want it to look like, and what the occasion is. Banners consist of a series of "flags" attached together. I like to go on pinterest and get some inspiration!

Step 2: Plan it out

Once you have an idea in your head of what you want, figure out the supplies you will need to make your banner. The materials I use are usually paper, fabric, ribbon, or string. Don't let that limit you, be creative and think about what would best go with the theme.

Step 3: Get it together

Go purchase the supplies you need, or use what is around you, and get creative. When working with paper the easiest way to attach each flag together is to punch a hole in each corner and secure with string, ribbon, or even wire. When making a fabric banner it is easiest to glue all the flags to a single piece of ribbon, etc.

Step 4: Attach Letters (optional)

If you are going to use letters I do this at the end after the banner is all attached, I use to put the letters on first but I have assembled enough to know you can't assemble the letters out of order if you put them on at the end.

Step 5: Admire :)

Step back and check out your gorgeous new banner!

~Modern Housewife Monday~ Pin some?

2012-12-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

Week 2: Pinterest

Oh Pinterest how I love you! I use pinterest for everything I have stopped searching google or bing, and search anything and everything on pinterest. I use it to find recipes, crafts, DIY projects, advice,and of course new blogs. Pinterest does exactly what it is supposed to do makes my life easier, and I love using it, so there for I love making my life easier by using pinterest? It is an extremely useful tool for wives and mothers, I recommend getting on there and get pinning, start with a recipe board, and craft board and go from there, believe me you won't be disappointed, and make sure to follow Stayathomeb on pinterest!!