Ahhhhh… Pinterest!

I first heard about it several months ago.  Then several friends wanted me to get on it while I was on bed rest to help pass the time.  But, I had no idea what to do with it?  Pinterest is an addictive internet based virtual pin board.  A WHAT?  (Yeah, me too.)  “Pinterestis a website that allows you to "pin" things online,just as you would pin them on a real life bulletin board, but instead,Pinterest saves all of your pins on your account so that you can access themeasily. Plus, you can follow friends on Pinterest and "repin" thingsthat they have already pinned on your Pinterest boards or browse a live feed ofitems that are being pinned by strangers when you're searching for inspiration.”  Well, I’ve been sucked in.  As of the publishing of this post, I have 19 boards and 312 pins (and counting…)  I have also had time to try a couple of recipes, use a few of the ideas, and make a few crafts.  So, I am going to share 3 of those with you here on my blog.  (I only have one recipe to share, my husband is the cook around here and he has tried several recipes he found on Pinterest!)

The first thing I ever tried from Pinterest was a very simple pizza roll up recipe using crescent rolls, pizza sauce, string cheese and pepperonis.  The first week I was home with Finn from the hospital, the 3 Bigs were home from school as well.  I wanted to make sure it was a fun time for our family, so I was up for trying new things.  This lunch was super easy and super fun - and a HUGE hit!  I’ve made it since then as well, and I have all the ingredients on hand to do it in a pinch!

The Pin:

http://pinterest.com/pin/38491771784861985/

My pictures:

In the meantime, I have become a fanatic, and I seem to add pins at an alarming rate.  Some things I will never get to, but there are a few that really inspire me and make me want to make things happen.  One pin I saw that I thought was well within my grasp was a headband, with handmade fabric flowers attached.  I figured I could do that, so I read the directions a few times, made my Hobby Lobby list, and got the supplies I would need to make these headbands:

The Pin:

http://pinterest.com/pin/38491771784876900/

My pictures:

 

My girls were THRILLED with the results, and I think Lara has worn hers every day since!  I have enough material to make many more, and I want one for myself. Plus, I discovered that one of the fabric scraps in the pack I picked up has – you guessed it – OWLS on it!  WOOT!

And, while this was NOT on Pinterest, I did find the pattern I liked on Pinterest then adapted it to my needs. And, I do have an extensive owl board, as well as a boy nursery board, and a Finn board.  I’m not sure where I will pin this one!  I have been looking for a mobile to hang over Finn’s crib since we chose owls as our theme, so for MONTHS.  I never found one I was gaga over, and the one that matches part of our nursery décor is pricey, and not what I envisioned, so I had the brilliant idea to repurpose an old one!  Oh yeah!  I can totally do that!  First step, find someone willing to part with an old nursery mobile.  Posted it on Facebook that I was looking, and I had one secured a few hours later (the story about actually getting all the parts from her house to mine is a bit comical, but it happened!)  Once I knew I had that taken care of, I started scheming and dreaming.  Added the supplies I needed to my Hobby Lobby shopping list, and off we go!  I had pinned THIS PIN for a pattern, and I adapted it to my needs.

My pictures:

 My pin:

http://pinterest.com/pin/38491771784938978/

Finn loves to look at it, and I am not tired of the Winnie the Pooh tune it plays (yet)!  It looks amazing hanging over his crib, and frankly, I am pretty proud of myself!  And again, my kids think I am some kind of genius. Thank you, Pinterest, for fueling my creativity, and for making me look good to 2 nine year olds and a 5 year old! ;)  And I just pinned the mobile.  So, I now have 313 pins.

Neun, Nueve, Neuf, Nove, Nio, Dokuz, NINE!

Nine years ago today (May 13), I was wandering waddling through my cluttered house in Lewisville, TX thinking about my last few days as a childless woman.  I knew I had 3 more days until my twin babies would be born at Baylor Hospital – Grapevine, TX, and I knew I had a Dr’s appointment and paperwork at the hospital the next morning.  I knew I had family coming to stay with us for a few days, and I needed to straighten up the house, finish packing my hospital bag(s), and make a Target run (which was between my house and the hospital, so there was a stop planned there after the aforementioned appointment).  I had plenty of time.  Or so I thought!  Little did I know that in just a few short hours, I would be holding 2 precious, orange-headed baby girls who would rock my world and change everything about my life as I knew it up to that point.

Their arrival was a little hectic, and life has been hectic ever since! And I love it that way!  When they were tiny babies I liked to pick out their physical differences like Emma had no hair, Lara had TONS; Emma’s 2^nd toe is longer than her big toe, Lara’s is shorter; Lara has detached earlobes, Emma’s are attached, etc etc etc.  But now that they are growing into young ladies, the differences are SO much greater!  The way the approach life, their interests, the books they read, the friends they make, the areas they succeed in, the areas they have to work hardest in – are all different.  And it’s still fun to look at them and identify those differences.  To embrace them.  I love them both so much – and so differently!  Even the way I discipline them has to be different.  They are truly 2 unique individuals, who just happened to come into the world on the same day.

We are gearing up for another busy weekend!  Last night we bought all the birthday party supplies!  The girls each got to invite 3 friends to go to Swick’s Pizza  for a birthday party where they will make their own pizzas and play a round of glow-in-the-dark mini golf.  The party theme is “Way to Glow” and Britt is making each child a personalized glow-in-the-dark T-shirt to wear, and I got a ton of those glow necklaces and a few glow-in-the-dark bracelets for each kid to wear over in the dark room.  Should be fun!  Tonight, Twin A is staying home with me to make cake balls for her party (after Jake’s T-ball game!) and Twin B is going to Yukon with her “Other Dad” to make homemade pizza.  Emma opted to stay home so she wouldn’t have to get up too super early for her 10:00 baseball game.  See – it’s a busy weekend!  After the baseball game, they are having lunch with their Other Dad, then that afternoon/ evening they will open presents with us (the Five Dream Weavers) and my parents.  Then, the party is on Sunday!

They are growing up.  And I can’t slow it down!  I recently read a book called “Moms' Ultimate Guide to the Tween Girl World” by Nancy Rue and while I think we have not gotten to some of the issues presented, it feels good to be a little more prepared.  I would recommend this book to all my friends who are moms of tween girls!

I am looking forward to this weekend and celebrating the birth of my first babies 9 years ago.  They are beautiful, energetic, smart, fun, and wonderful young woman.  This journey of motherhood they are leading me on is inspirational, educational, rewarding, and the hardest thing I have ever done.  And I wouldn’t change it for the world!  Yesterday’s Tweet: