tuesday's true confession: an elephant never forgets

But I'm not an elephant, and I forget ALL THE TIME.  (Why do elephants seem to show up in my confession posts so often?)  Today, I'm turing 33, and I almost wish that I could blame my poor memory on age, but I actually blame it on my first pregnancy.  Pregnant moms often joke about pregnancy brain - which describes the memory loss that seems to come with pregnancy.  However, I think I've pretty much had pregnancy brain for the past six years.  My husband often jokinly asks me if I even remember his name.  He's so silly.  Of course, I remember that his name is Joe . . . wait, no Mark . . . no, that's not it . . . Mike . . . yep, that's it . . . my husband's name is Mike.  I think. 

But in the face of such staggeringly poor memory over daily stuff, I have an amazingly uncanny memory for one particular thing.  (Well, two actually.  I can remember every single detail of my children's lives - birth, first bath, how they nursed, what they smelled like as babies, etc.  But that's not embarassing.  That's just being a mom, so I'm not confessing that today.) 

Today I'm confessing that I can pretty much remember almost all the lyrics from almost any popular song from the eighties or nineties.  Now, this may seem like a trivial confession, but trust me having the words to Manic Monday, Ice Ice Baby, Every Rose Has A Thorn, Love Shack, etc. run through your head non-stop can be pretty irritating - and not just to me, to my entire family.  It's not unusual for me to break out with Karma Chameleon or I Think We're Alone Now at dinner. Or if my husband, Jack . . . no, Mike and I are having a conversation and something he says triggers a memory of a lyric, I burst out in a related 80's song.

Crafting has only increased my personal 80's concerts because while I'm sewing or gluing or cutting, I have lots of time for my mind to wander to songs.  Not more than ten or fifteen minutes into a new project I'm unwittingly memory deep in Papa Don't Preach or Hold On.  The harder I try not to, the more these lyrics just pop into my head.  I even wake up in the middle of the night with these songs running through my head.  Trust me waking up at 2 AM to "Everybody's doin' a brand new dance now (C'mon baby due the loco-motion) I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now . . ." is not pleasant!

So today - on my birthday, in hopes that I am not the only one, I'm confessing that even though I can barely remember my husband's name, I can sing Welcome to the Jungle from beginning to end without flinching.


Last week, a few of you wrote up confessional posts or posted confessions in the comments section.  Rachel confessed her love of the show Lois and Clark.  Polly let us in on her ugly-feet secret.  Larri fessed up about hiding candy from her kids.  Debra confessed her dependance on God.

I kind of liked not feeling so alone and having others confess with me.  So . . . I'm going to try it again this week.  

Over the course of the next week I encourage you to think about what you might like to confess.  If you've been reading my confessions over the course of the last few months you know that some are serious, some are sappy and some are silly.  Confess whatever you want . . . just try not to make it too sultry . . . if you know what I mean.  ;) 

Write up a post and link it below so that we can all join in.  If you don't have your own blog or don't want to take the time to write up a post, just comment below with your true confession.  Maybe you don't want to, that's fine.  If no one links, that's okay too.  We are all busy, and we certainly don't need another thing on the to-do list. 

If you do participate in Tuesday's True Confession, don't feel obligated to link back or post the button.  You can if you want to, but I don't demand it.  ;)






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pics of me - they say it's my birthday . . .

Tomorrow is my birthday!  I love birthdays - not just mine but all birthdays!  Each birthday is special and wonderful!  My husband asked me which birthday has been my favorite, and I can't choose because I remember favorite things about each one.

Recently, a bloggy friend noticed that in one of the pics I posted of my family, I look completely different from my profile pic.  She was right, so I went back and looked at various pictures of my throughout the last few years.  I noticed four things:

1) That I have gotten older.  Even though I still think of myself as 23 or 24, I am actually 33.  And that's okay.  I like getting wiser with each passing year . . . or at least I hope I'm getting wiser.

2) I definitely look different from year to year . . . almost like a completely different person actually.  That's so odd!

3)  I don't have very many pictures of myself, and even less after I started having children.

4) I've let myself go.  With each passing year and each child there has been less time to do the things I used to do - hair, make-up, exercise, etc.  I think this is the year I'm going to reclaim myself . . . not at the expense of my family or my job.  But I think if I get creative with my time, I can do a few things that help me feel more like me.  That's the best birthday gift I can give myself!

These are all pictures from either on or around my birthday over the past few years - documentation of the letting myself go process.

2004

 

2005

2006

2007

2009

Just thought I would share a glimpse of myself for my birthday since I don't do that very often.  I'm off to celebrate with my husband for the day!  But I hope you . . .

Craft on!

sunday kids' craft - picture frame magnets

I'm in the process of transforming my fridge.  No, not the inside which could use an entirely different kind of transformation - like a good tossing out and scrubbing session.  I don't even want to think about what's in there and how long it's been in there.  I'm focusing on the outside because the clutter of random magnets and constant coloring pages is driving this gal nuts.  This project probably should have taken me minutes - throw away random magnets and weed down the 20 or so coloring pages (I'm not exaggerating!) to four tops - but instead it's taken me two months.  And I'm still not done!  Talk about procrastination!

You might remember my can lid magnets from the beginning of June and the share-the-love magnet clips that my kids and I did a few weeks ago. 

Well, to declutter and to make our random magnet collection more eye-catching, we did another magnet transformation for our kids' craft this week.  This one pairs pictures we had on our fridge and an old Quiznos magnet and turns the pair into beautiful picture frame magnets that can now keep up a coloring page or two.   

What you need:
-craft foam
-do-a-dot markers (a genius' gift to crafting with kids)
-a craft knife/sharp blade
-hot glue or super glue
-a pretty picture
-a pencil

What you do:
1)  Put your picture in the center of the craft foam and trace around lightly with a pencil.  Don't cut out the center, but tell child that whatever is inside the rectangle will be cut out and used for a magnet and whatever is outside the rectangle will be the magnet picture frame.

2)  Let child paint patterns with do-a-dots or markers.  The foam soaks in the the paint a bit to make a lovely soft muted effect.  Let dry.  (You can see that my daughter didn't want to paint inside the rectangle.  I tried over and over again explaining that the inside would become a magnet too, but just couldn't convince her to paint inside the rectangle.  Too funny!)

3)  Adult only - use craft knife to cut center rectangle out.

4)  Glue or tape picture to the opposite side of frame so that the pic shows through the rectangle like a picture frame.

5)  Cut up old magnet into at least three pieces.  Glue two onto the back of the foam picture frame and one onto the back of the rectangle.

6)  Done! 

I'm going to use the one with the picture of my oldest daughter's face to hang her school papers on the fridge when school starts.  (Aaack . . . I can't believe I have a child old enough to be in kindergarten.  Wasn't she just a cute cuddly baby?)

I think these would also make a great grandparent gift or teacher gift!  I'm putting it on the list!

Craft on!

I may link this to some of these great parties!

no-sew headband tutorial

My haircessory marathon continues.  I'm super excited about this one because it requires absolutely no sewing.  Many of you have mentioned that you aren't on friendly terms with a sewing machine, so this little headband is for you!

(This one was an experiement, so I have to admit that I made it just for me and not my kids.  ;)  But now that I know it works, I'll be making some kid-sized headbands to add to the sixth craft till Christmas stash.)

What you need:
-2 ribbons (Measure from that bone right behind one ear across the top of your head to the bone behind the other ear.  Cut two ribbons this length.  How's that for a technical measurement?!)
-double-sided fusible fabric tape cut the same length of your ribbons (Make sure your ribbons are about the same width as your fabric tape.)
-2 - 1/2 inch pieces of double-sided fusible fabric tape a simple elastic headband
-an iron

What you need if you want to make it fancy:
-long thin fabric scraps
-a hot glue gun

What you do:
1)  Sandwich fabric tape inbetween the two ribbons.  The ribbon should be facing right sides out.

2)  Iron according to fabric tape directions.  Let cool.

3)  Take elastic headband and place it on one end of the ribbon.  Fold the ribbon up about 1/2 inch.  Take 1 of the 1/2 piece of fabric tape and sandwich it into the fold.  Iron according to package directions.  The elastic should now be stuck in the ribbon fold.

4)  Repeat with other side of ribbon and elastic.  Let cool.

You can leave it just like this or go on to the next step to fancy it up a bit!

5)  Take thin long fabric scrap and twist it into a long twisted fabric scrap. 

6)  Start winding long twisted fabric scrap around itself using hot glue to secure the winding in place.

7)  After winding up the majority of the fabric secure the tail underneath the flower with hot glue.

8) Add an outer layer using a different color with the same process.  See center flower.

9)  Secure finished flower onto ribbon with hot glue.  Add just one flower or do two or three.   

And that's an easy, no-sew headband. 

Of course, my daughter woke up from her nap while I was typing this up AND still wearing the headband on my head . . . so guess what that means . . .

Hmmm . . . hopefully, she will completely forget about these by Christmas.  On the bright side of things, at least now I know she likes them!

This took me less than 30 minutes with stuff I already had on hand, so 27 minutes and $0.00 later I have a cute headband and a great gift idea to add to my sixth craft till Christmas.  

Craft on!

I participate in these parties.  Check them out!

trading space: jen from delicious ambiguity

Everyone say hello to Jenn.  (Silence and space for you to say hello.)  Great!  Jenn is visiting today from Delicious Ambiguity, a blog I've grown to love over the last few months.  Take it away Jenn!

Hi Twelve Crafts Till Christmas readers! I'm Jenn from Delicious Ambiguity and I am so excited to be swapping blogs with Elizabeth today. First let me tell you a bit about myself: I am a twenty-something Canadian who used to teach English as a Second Language in South Korea and Thailand. Nowadays I am a stay at home mom to a very busy and clever twenty-one month old boy, K, who keeps me on my toes! We are currently living in Sydney, Australia and trying with great difficulty (and very little success) to not take on the slang or talk like we have marbles in our mouths! When I'm not busy baking, crafting, creating, procrastinating from cleaning, wiping butts and toddler wrangling, I am a self-confessed blog-a-holic.

Here's some of the themes you will find on my site:

 

I share stories and photos about what's going on in our home or what's on my mind. I also feature new followers and commenters of my blog.

 

Link-up party for crafts, activities, educational resources and recipes for toddlers.

Just as it says - I will share random things that I am loving every week!

 

Parenting and domestic tips that I think are useful for every stay at home mom/ domestic diva. Some are written by me and some are submitted by my readers.

 

I feature printable freebies of various topics, awesome DIY projects, giveaways and other blogs that I enjoy.

I post questions submitted by my readers or myself about being a mom, raising and educating our children, keeping a home and keeping our sanity! Readers can contribute by submitting their own questions to be featured or answering the question in the comments section under each post.

A "Tot School" post with the montessori inspired activities I have made or have been doing with my son. Once a month I will post a specific theme (ie: Colours) link-up party on educational resources for early childhood children as well as Busy Bag Activities. It is my hope that we can create a one-stop-shop by theme for printable resources and creative ideas that are useful in educating our toddlers and preschoolers.

When I'm not blogging I like to craft. Here's some of my favorites:

Peek-A-Boo I Love You Memory Game

DIY Kids Stove

Toddler Busy Bag

Head And Shoulders Book

Sensory Bottles

New Job Survival Kit

I'd love it if you'd stop by Delicious Ambiguity sometime and say hi. If you like what you see you can also stalk find me on Feedburner, Twitter and Facebook. Thanks for having me Elizabeth. It's been a blast!

Thanks Jenn!

tech-crafting

I've been tech-crafting. 

I'm not very good at it, but it's kind of fun experimenting.

Here are two results from my button tinkering.

Craft on!