Chalkboard Sticker: Things I Love Thursday

It's Things I Love Thursday and I love to write on the walls. At our last house I took a permanent marker to our ugly kitchen walls...until we remodeled it that is. In our current state of ugly, I've refrained from permanent marker by using this cute chalkboard sticker.
I applied it to our refrigerator and it's turned out to be a great place to make grocery lists, write notes to the babysitter, make to do lists and so on. It was fairly easy to apply and I was able to reposition it to fix a wrinkle I made. Because it's made from vinyl it won't damage your surface area either.
I bought my chalkboard sticker at a local Hallmark store but you can get this one at Mushi.

You can find many more things to love at The Diaper Diaries

Body Wash Puff Turned Scrubber

Yesterday I planned on cleaning the house today...

So I woke up this morning, expecting cool morning air to be breezing in through our windows. No such luck. The humidity is heavy and the air is hot and our central air is still broken.

I can think of a million places with air that I have to run errands to and I know of a handful of people who have invited us to their pool...but I can't ignore the sand and dirt stuck to the bottom of my feet. It's time for a quick clean but first I need one of those giant buttons seen on The Road Runner to launch me into motion! C'mon Acme....help a girl out.

My new favorite cleaning tip...

Clean the shower while you're in the shower. I leave the shower for last. That way you can spray your cleaner of choice, strip down (yes, I really did just say that), and scrub, then take your actual shower. Also, best scrubbier for the shower....one of those body wash puffs! Ummm...do I need to say that you should have one for cleaning and one for yourself. Hmmm....

I hope you're staying cool at your house and feel free to leave other helpful cleaning tips as a comment!

This post is a part of Things I Love Thursday.

How Long is Summer?

When my son finished preschool he was so sad to find out that he had to wait a whole summer until he could begin kindergarten. This year, he wasn't as naive but he still had a hard time grasping how long summer vacation would be.

My solution...a paper chain. My kids love having a green and red paper chain count down until Christmas and my thought was...why not for summer too?

We stretched out the days of summer in front of us...



Wow! That's a long summer. We have some plans for this summer that the kids are really jazzed about. It's what, week 2 or 3 of summer vacation and I'm already tired of explaining to them how long until our family vacation. That's why I went all color code crazy on the chain. Each color stands for a special event or vacation. The kids can easily see how long until each event and even count out the chains. Ahhhh...no more pestering mommy!



So, for us...
blue = nothing planned (I love seeing all that blue)
yellow = baseball
Red = mommy's out of town
orange = vacation Bible school
green = family vacation
red, white, & blue = 4th of July....what else?!

It's a great rainy day project and all it required was a scissor, stapler, and colored construction paper. Happy chaining!

This post is a part of Things I Love Thursday

Dollhouse Renovations

Yesterday, the kids and I turned DIY into DIT (Do It Together). Our daughter was given a dollhouse from my sister for her birthday. Years ago, our dad had made the house for her. Being her younger sister, I got to play with it too and I have many fond memories of it. After 25 years of sitting in our parents attic it became a little fixer upper.
It seemed like the perfect mother daughter project to me. And it was. I found out that my daughter has opinions about color and skills for painting. She likes to create and has great ideas. It let me focus on her and get to know another side of the little person that she is.

We put a fresh coat of paint on the exterior. She had a blast painting and it was a good exercise in giving up control for me. We also went to Hobby Lobby and picked up some supplies including shutters. Thank goodness she picked green and not hot pink...the thing does "live" in my living room after all.



We peeled off the old contact paper/wallpaper. Then, we used house paint to paint ceilings and walls white. They're not perfect but that wasn't the point. I know this because I had to remind myself about 50 times yesterday






I did talk her into using my living room paint color to paint the walls. I wanted to use paint that we already owned and it made me all the happier that she picked the living room paint since I know it will end up there.


Hobby Lobby had hard wood and tile floors for doll houses. I could really get into this! We went to the fabric section and found some faux fur to use as carpet. The other side of the fur is leopard print which is a little over the top for me but...hey, it's a doll house.

Now, we just need some furniture...

This post is a part of Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries.

Things I Love Thursday: Coffee Mate

First off, do you really think that Coffee Mate is sending me any free product for this post...ahhhh, no. They know when they have lifelong addict. So my opinions have only been swayed by the fact that I wake up jonesin' for the stuff every morning.

There was one unfortunate morning that I woke up *gasp* with no Coffee Mate in the house. My husband, bless his heart, sets up the coffee maker for me when he leaves for work so that all I have to do is stumble out of bed and push a button. I know, he's Mr. Wonderful! I woke up that particular morning, shuffled my way into our kitchen, saw my husband's act of love (coffee people...) and just about cried when I remembered that I used the last drops of that fantastic mix of chemicals and faux flavor creamer the day before. I posted a note on fb thinking that surely someone would understand my pain and went on with my morning. I survived but not happily as I dressed the kids, got one on the bus, and started tidying up the place.

The amazing thing is that there exists a Coffee Mate fairy! Somewhere around 10:00 my door bell rang and there she was, dressed in a darling little cotton dress with a smile that went from ear to ear, with a bottle of Coffee Mate in her outstretched hand. I swear I saw a bright light behind her and heard angels singing. This all goes to illustrate my post from yesterday, Friends don't let friends mother alone.

I love Coffee Mate and I LOVE LOVE Coffee Mate fairies!

This post is a part of THings I Love Thursday hosted by The Diaper Diaries

Things I Love Thursday: CSN $40 Gift Card Giveaway

I love giveaways and here's a great one...

CSN is giving one lucky reader a $40 gift card to shop with at their online store. Now, I have shopped CSN and seriously, you can buy anything your little heart desires! I couldn't be happier with the products that I bought along with the ease of shopping their site, checkout, and shipping. CSN Stores has over 200 amazing online stores where you can find almost anything you need whether it be a sofa, suitcase, or cookie sheet!

Want to enter? Here's how. First, you must follow Parenting in Blue Jeans to enter. Next, make sure you leave a comment for each entry!

1 entry- become a follower of Parenting in Blue Jeans. Already following? Just remind me.

1 entry- tell me what you would use the gift card for. Happy window shopping! Leave a link in your comment so we can see what you want.

1 entry- become a fan of Parenting in Blue Jeans on Facebook. Already are? Just remind me.

3 entries- add my Parenting in Blue Jeans button to your blog. Go ahead and grab it...it took me a ridiculously long time to make it! Leave a link so I can find it easily please.

5 entries- Blog about this giveaway with a link back to Parenting in Blue Jeans. Make sure to leave the link to your blog post in your comment.

This giveaway closes Thursday, May 20th at midnight. That means you have a week to enter! Good luck!

This post is a part of Things I Love Thursday.

Things I Love Thursday: Potty Power

Alrighty, so it's Things I Love Thursday and I honestly love love love the children's video Potty Power. This is what my life has become folks...potty videos. Seriously, this video has brain washing effects!

The video's main character, a grown woman, comes on all cheery and bright eyed. She has a big encouraging smile and cheeks that you just want to pinch along with a voice that will convince your child that they want to be a big kid. She's got mad skills girls! My kids (yes both) love the songs! My daughter who was potty training a few months ago, took the whole thing very seriously. She marched and danced to the songs and when the song, "No More Diaper for Me" came on she mimicked the kids on the video, got all her diapers and threw them in the trash. Don't worry. I took them back out when she wasn't looking. I mean, if I'm going to put something in the landfill that will be there for 30 years, it's going to be dirty. If you're potty training or if you need a refresher course this DVD is worth it's weight in gold!


This post is a part of Things I Love Thursday from The Diaper Diaries http://thediaperdiaries.net/things-i-love-thursday-mothers-day-gift-ideas-giveaway/

Things I Love Thursday: my son's bedroom

It's Things I Love Thursday from one of my favorite blogs, The Diaper Diaries. And I love my son's room. I've said it before but while I'm not artistic I am creative. Nothing gives the creative side of my brain more pleasure than carrying out a children's bedroom theme to the fullest. My 6 year old son's room has a nautical theme. We live 30 minutes from Lake Michigan and we no longer own a boat but hey, it's a boy's room, right?!

So here are my favorite things in the room...

My son, like any boy, loves keys and key chains so we hung up this key rack. My garage sale queen sister found this port hole. I used windshield glue to insert a mirror that I picked up at the craft store near us. It does open and someday I'll paint something behind it.











I found this buoy lamp in a store near the shores of Lake Michigan. Perfect!



The nautical flags came from Pottery Barn. I'm too cheap to shop there regularly, but I love to look at their catalogs for ideas and paint colors. I have no idea if this spells something in flag language...or whatever you call that. I like to pretend that it says, "Mother of the Year Award".





I stole the idea of an oar growth chart from Pottery Barn. I bought the oar at Meijer. I used my husbands numerical punch set to indent the numbers into the wood. I then used a wood burner from a woodsy friend of mine to darken the numbers and add the dashes. Viola....growth chart for under $20!


This painting has no frame but I still love it. Actually I think I love it more because it doesn't have a frame. I considered adding ribbon to cover up the canvas fasteners but I like it looking raw and aged. It was a happy accident that the boat matched the painting...anoerher hand-me-down from the deal queen sister of mine.


I really do love these things...some day I'll get around to showing you what I did in my 2 year old daughter's room. Ohhhh, I love that too!