Simple Craft for my Simple Mind

I told y'all that I'm intentionally slacking off when it comes to my blog this week. I'm gearing up for school, and wrapping up all sorts of little projects I won't have time for, once it begins. I have one project I wanted to share with you... it's an easy project I was able to sit and fully wrap my mind around, while at the same time, not thinking. I know, it sounds crazy, but you'll just have to trust me on this. (and feel free to give it a try yourself) I just happened to have three unused white candles in my candle bin. (and yes, I have a candle bin... you never know when emergency will strike, and you'll need a bin full of; candles, and matches, and lighters- oh my!... sorry, got a little carried away there.) I also had a small baggie of brads that you find in the scrapbooking section of the craft store, and since I don't scrapbook, I am always looking for ingenious ways to use items like this. Waste not, want not.

I traced the outline of the letters with a wooden skewer, and then simply pushed the brads into the sides of the candles in the shape of the letters. It took about twenty mindless minutes and when I was finished, I was left with this;

Not that I'm decorating for Fall yet... because then my friends would scold me... I'm just getting ready, and wont this be cute? Oh, just think of the possibilities...

Oh Baby!

Is there anything more fun than a baby shower? I love them, even the stupid games they force you to play. Ever need a stand-by baby gift idea? I love this one, and give it frequently. I love making sweet little onesies (because you can never have too many of them) for the new mama-to-be. Iron-on transfers are not only affordable, but darling and give a thoughtful, yet simple custom touch to a store bought item.
I also like to spray paint a cardboard hatbox in a soft color. The mama can use it later for treasures in the nursery. Place the folded onsies inside, and you're done!
I just love babies... I love their soft little heads... their sweet little noses... their one-of-a kind smiles. I need to stop now before I start getting emotional.

Do you think the mama-to-be will like this? I hope so! Then maybe I'll get to hold that baby longer... (because it's really just about baby-holding-bribery at this point.)

He who laughs last, laughs best.

Okay people, seriously do you SEE this photo? (***Photo was accidentally deleted, but trust me, it was ginormous. About three inches in diameter.***) Do you have any idea how large this spider actually is? Huge does not begin to describe it. This is a wolf spider. I take it back. It wasn't a wolf spider, it was a wolf monster.

I grew up in Montana, in an old parsonage because my dad was a pastor (yeah that's right, I was a preacher's kid) in a tiny little country church. The house was over 100 years old. It had the biggest barn spiders in it. I can remember waking up, and seeing a dark spot on the wall, and knowing instinctively what it was. Then I'd go running into my parent's room, screaming for help. (They really enjoyed that. Kept 'em on their toes.) Then they would tell me that "Age nineteen was a little old to continue carrying on like that, and for heaven's sake get back to bed and let a body get a good night's sleep!!"

So today, I was moving a table in my garage, when I spotted this thing. I screamed, threw the table across the garage, and started reaching simultaneously for my camera and my cell. I think I texted and called my husband about seven times back-to-back. (I'm really sorry honey.) Then my old neighbor pulled in. So I yelped to her for help, because I was paralyzed with fear, and couldn't move. She came over to take a look, and said something like "Wow. That thing's huge." Then she left and I cried and called the fire department. Oh I'm kidding. I couldn't leave, because then I wouldn't know where IT WENT!

My husband finally excused himself from his luncheon client, and called me back, most likely thinking that the house was on fire. He didn't even chuckle- he just said very calmly, "Honey, get a hold of yourself, and grab the bee/wasp killer. It shoots from 30 feet away, so just spray the heck out of it."

I did.

Then I actually heard laughter. It was the wolf monster.

So I went for the big guns. Some pump-action insect killer that says it will kill everything, including small rodents. (Liars) There was more laughter at my expense from the arachnid, and I just couldn't take it anymore, so I tossed the kids in the car and squealed my tires as we raced from the garage.

When Adrain returned home from work, hours later, he dutifully pulled everything out of the corner in search of the bad boy. I stood a safe 40 feet away, wringing my hands while observing anxiously. He didn't find the spider, but he did find TWO egg sacs. He made mincemeat of them while I cheered with my pom-poms in the corner. He sprayed everything down and left it until after dinner. He went back out for one more look-around and finally found the spider moving very slowly... Then he nailed that sucker!

Who's laughing now?!

He may be scrappy, but he's mine...

Recently, I took my young hooligans to the lake. JJ arrived, armed with life jacket, and water cannon pump gun. Because unlike girls, boys only bring the necessities.

At once, upon splashing into the refreshing water, he located two older boys. I guessed them to be around age ten or eleven. The boys were sitting pretty in a green canoe, one was holding a double barrel water gun, and the other was holding a paddle and a shield.

JJ, undeterred, plunged ahead and began to squirt them. They fought back with a vengeance, double barreling him in the face at point blank range. JJ quickly scrambled to reload, and then let them have it as best you can with a lame duck water gun. That's when I realized that my husband had it exactly right when he informed me that our son was tough and scrappy. He takes whatever measures necessary to win. I have no idea where he gets his competitive spirit from...it's not like his father or I are at all competitive... (ahem.)

The canoe boys, or sissies, as I'd like to refer to them from this point on, would get a face full of water, and then retreat behind the boundaries that I set for JJ to "under no circumstances go beyond." (Smart sissies.)

I vaguely remember "someone" yelling "Get 'em good son!" at one point, but I'm sure that would never have come from me... (cough) This little game of squirt and retreat went on and on for what seemed like hours, and I got a little bored monitoring it. Later, I glanced over to see that my son had scrambled up and into their canoe, and had stolen the double barrel gun and was firing both guns at once. One sissy big boy started crying for his mommy, and the other one jumped out of the boat and started swimming for shore.

I believe that's what they call "Scrappy King of the Hill." And you know what they say- If you wanna mess with the little boy, you're gonna get wet.

And that's all I have to say about that.