Tulip Time!

 We are very excited it's Tulip Time in West Michigan this week!

 We have had a super busy but fun week.  Randal is in Texas, and I've been Dutch Dancing every night, so it's been crazy over here but fun.  Molly also had her preschool graduation yesterday!

 Both the girls love putting on there Dutch Costumes to join in!

Baking Soda and Vinegar Fun!

After seeing this fun idea on Pinterest from Preschool Alphabet, we heading to the pantry to find some baking soda and vinegar. I filled up a broiler pan with baking soda, then put vinegar in 4 paper cups and added different color food coloring to each.

Then I had the girls take turns picking a color and using the dropper to put it on the baking soda! They LOVED this activity.

Molly loved trying to make volcano paths and mixing the colors.

Nora took it very seriously, and was so sad when we ran out of baking soda!
Quick, easy fun!!!

He is Risen!

Happy Easter!

On Spring Break!

What Could Be Better Than...

...Playing Dress Up???
Playing Dress Up in Mom and Dad's Clothes of course!

...Than playing Dolls???
Pretending the Cat is a Doll of course!!!

...Than Coloring a Picture???

Coloring a GIANT Picture of course!!!

Ding Dong Ditch!

I have been wanting to get better about doing "Random Acts of Kindness" with my girls, but couldn't quite figure out how to make sure we stay accountable. I love the idea of everyday of Dec. or each year on your birthday doing as many RAKs as your age. But all this seemed kind of overwhelming with a 2 yr old and 4yr old in tow.

So, a few months ago we started planning and doing a "Random Act of Kindness" every Monday. We figured Mondays are probably a day people would love a little extra cheer! The girls and I are loving planning something and I love seeing Molly excited about giving back and doing something nice. Some weeks we just send out a card to a friend, and sometimes we pick toys to bring to the mission, etc.

Our favorite by far was Ding Dong Ditching!!! We saw this great idea and adorable tags over at Poppies at Play.

We headed to the store and bought some Ding Dongs, and printed these cute tags for the tops.

Then we were off to Grandparents and friends houses to Ding Dong Ditch them a yummy surprise. Molly laughed the whole run up to the house.

Quick rang the doorbell.

Left the Ding Dongs on the step, and came running back at top speed!!! I didn't get any pics of the running back, since I was quick buckling her into the carseat and driving off so Grandma wouldn't catch us, hehehe.

I haven't laughed so much in a LONG time, and I don't think the inlaws have stopped talking about how much they loved there surprise. :)

Pillow Beds!

For Christmas this year I made Pillow Beds for my niece and nephew, and for my girls! They were a BIG hit, my girls use them everyday, and it's the choice spot in the house to watch a movie. I used this amazing tutorial from No Rest for the Creative.

There were so many cute fabrics to choose, so I loaded up all my JoAnns, Fields and Hobby Lobby coupons and headed out fabric shopping. I picked cute owls for Nora, and Molly picked cats. My nephew got camo and niece butterflies.

One of my favorite parts is that the back is made like a pillow sham, so I can easily take the pillows out to wash the case, and replace pillows when needed.

Nora is seriously, cozy!!!

Sock Buns!

I think I am the last to find out about sock buns, but, Holy Cow they are AWESOME!! Look at this adorable sock bun on Molly. :)

I followed this simple tutorial from Three Pink Dots, and started with a pony tail.

Then rolled the hair around the sock top, and just kept rolling. I did use a little kids sock, since it was going on little kids hair.

And, Voila!!! Love it!!!

Vinyl Signs!

Today at our Church's MLife group we made these great vinyl signs! It was such a fun craft, that I bought an extra set to take home and let Molly make. She had the best time painting the 2x12 board with pink paint. Then her favorite part was rubbing the vinyl letters on with a popsicle stick.

She was thrilled to get to paint and do this whole craft by herself. She was SO proud to put it on the dresser in her room and show her dad the second he got home. :)

New Year's Eve!

This year we had a fun New Year's Eve celebration with the girls! We celebrated at 6pm, since that was midnight in Paris, and if you know Molly, you know she loves everything Paris!

This party was all about this girls, so Molly had the BEST time, doing everyone's hair and picking out all our outfits. (whoopsies, I forgot to get a picture of me with 20 clips in my hair ;) We all ended up in pink, but she loved being a fashion designer. This Paris dress Grandma gave her for Christmas was perfect!

We had noisemakers and party blowers to start off the celebration!

Molly was very excited to watch the countdown and fireworks at the Eiffel Tower live on the computer!

And Confetti Poppers from the dollar store were a big hit with the girls, and Dad. :)

We had sparkling Grape Juice to Toast the New Year!

Molly couldn't get enough...

Nora tried some...

But wasn't so sure. :)

Molly worked hard all afternoon making decorations. Here is the tablecloth she decorated with markers, stickers and balloons. She was very proud. I just taped a giant piece of white paper to our vinyl table cloth and sent her loose. :)

Indoor Smores for dessert were a big hit!

But the biggest hit of the night was playing glow in the dark hide and seek! We saw this idea over at one of my favorite blogs, Play at Home Mom. Here is a picture of some of the glow sticks hidden in Molly's room. Some in her shoes, under the doll bed, in her plastic drawers! The girls had the BEST time with this. (even though it was super hard to show in a picture)

I got a few glow sticks from the dollar store, and I picked up a ten pack of glow stick bracelets from the grocery store to hid through out the house. Then I let the girls find them as fast as they could and put them in a bucket in the kitchen. This was such a hit, we played for over an hour! Molly loved taking a turn hiding them too.

We had a fantastic time celebrating with Molly and Nora, and since they are only 4 and 1, it was nice to have them still in bed by 8. :)

Dec. Recap

I thought I should probably do a quick recap of some of the fun we've been having in December. We had a VERY busy and FUN month. I've been busy with the girls, sewing projects (which I can start posting pics of now that all the gifts are given), parties and so much more, so I've kind of had a month disconnected from the computer, but I definitely got a lot done. :)

We had dance, school parties, family parties, Les Miserables, Wizard of Oz, Church Christmas programs, an amazing Jars of Clay Concert, Trans Syberian Orchestra, Christmas around the world at the gardens, crafts, playdates, and SO much more!!!

Here are a few of the pictures I already have uploaded. Now I'm off to download and order the picture from the last 4 days of parties. :)

Nora LOVED decorating the tree this year!

We went to Holland and Zeeland's Christmas parties. Here is Molly and her cousin Maisy at the parade!

Lots of great cookie decorating!

Molly actually playing the games at her Preschool Christmas party! For those of you who know Molly, this is a HUGE deal! She has lots of anxiety after everything, especially if things are a little different, so she NEVER plays any games at parties, or carnivals, etc. So this was SUCH an awesome day for us!

Doing a Christmas performance at dance class!

Nora enjoying the snow at Fredrick Meijer Gardens!

I took Molly to see the Wizard of Oz at the Civic Theater, her first real play, we had the best time!

Even being ridiculously busy, we still had time to be silly!