Archives for March 2015

St. Patrick’s Day activity: A leprechaun gingerbread house

March 6, 2015

Back in December, my mom bought Levi a Chanukah-themed gingerbread house that he built and decorated with our help, meticulously gluing colorful candy balls to cookie walls with sticky sweet icing. Levi was so proud of his handiwork that he cried when we broke the house apart to taste it.

So when my mom spotted another gingerbread house on sale after the holidays, she picked it up for a rainy day activity. Or, as it turned out, a snow day activity.

Earlier this week, I ran to the supermarket for gingerbread house decorations. With St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon, I thought it’d be fun to make leprechaun house using an assortment of green and rainbow candy and gold foil chocolate coins.

I also thought we could use the occasion to talk to Levi about St. Patrick’s Day traditions like shamrocks and leprechauns. (“Leprechauns do magic? Like brushing your teeth for you?”)

To Levi’s disappointment (and Jordan’s relief), this particular house came pre-built. We let him spend about 30 minutes after school on two days decorating his house while finishing up his leftover milk from lunch (and sneaking bites of mint M&Ms). By the way, the new Munchkin Miracle cup that he takes to school is truly amazing. It doesn’t leak in his lunchbox or spill when he holds it upside down, plus now we don’t have to spend money on milk boxes.

The boys finished up the gingerbread house yesterday morning after we learned that Levi’s school was canceled for the 78th time this winter because of snow. We’d been storing the candy in our Love-a-Bowls (they have lids! genius!) so everything was still fresh. I’m not sure it really mattered, though, because I doubt Levi will let us chow down on this house. Not after his meltdown last time!

I’m actually surprised by how festive his little leprechaun house turned out. If you’re looking for a St. Patrick’s Day activity to do with your kids, it looks like Amazon is still selling a few gingerbread houses. Of course, you can always make gingerbread from scratch if you’re feeling ambitious. Has anybody ever baked homemade gingerbread? Is it terribly complicated?

We’ve had such fun building two gingerbread houses this winter that I’ll be stocking up on kits next December to use for future snow days. And can you believe that neither Jordan nor I had ever made one before? It’s true! So if you have any tips on building or decorating gingerbread houses, I’d love to hear them.

PS – It’s officially Shamrock Shake season! Here’s a copycat recipe you can make at home, perfect if you’re snowed in like we are!

This post was sponsored by Munchkin, one of our favorite brands, and all words and opinions are my own. Munchkin rids the world of the mundane by developing clever, innovative solutions that make family life safe, easier, and more fun. You can find their products at Munchkin.com, Target, Babies’R’Us, Walmart, and Amazon. It’s the little things!

Shades of grey (paint, that is)

March 4, 2015

Since we moved in with my parents last September, Levi has been sleeping in a peach guest room with wall-to-wall carpeting from the 80s. Jordan and I took over my drab green childhood bedroom, complete with patched cracks above the door frames that nobody had ever bothered to repaint.

As a thank you to my folks for letting us crash with them while Jordan searched for his first civilian job, I planned to redecorate both rooms to make them work for us now and for any future houseguests. I had hoped to make over the bedrooms in the fall, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans…

Six months later, we’re finally getting started thanks to Valspar!

A fresh coat of paint is the easiest way to dramatically change how a room looks–especially if somebody else is doing the taping, the cutting in, and the rolling. The hardest part, at least for me, is always choosing the color.

I was considering using two different shades of grey–a darker one for Levi’s room and a lighter one for ours. My thought process went something like this: The guest room could be a little bit more masculine in design than my childhood bedroom since it’s where my parents’ three grandsons will sleep when they’re visiting.

Here’s the three-step approach I took to picking the actual paint colors:

Searched “Valspar grey paint” (and “Valspar gray paint“) on Pinterest for inspiration.
Picked up paint chips at Lowes that matched the rooms I liked on Pinterest.
Polled my design-savvy Instagram and Facebook followers to help me narrow the choices.

Step 4 would’ve been to use the Color Connect app for a free consultation with Valspar’s color experts. You can live video chat or submit room photos and receive recommendations by phone or email. Luckily, I was able to pick my two shades of grey paint after the feedback I got from my Facebook and Instagram photos.

(Knowing that Valspar offers a “Love Your Color” guarantee also made it easier to commit to my choices.)

We went with Seashell Gray for my childhood bedroom (top two photos) and Filtered Shade for Levi’s room (bottom two photos). The peach-tinted trim in both rooms and the unfinished closet doors in Levi’s will be painted with Valspar Dove White, but we had to take a break after the old carpet was removed to have the floors refinished.

I wish I’d been able to start the room makeovers last fall so we’d have more time to enjoy them while living here. I’m still hoping we’re in our own place sooner rather than later. Of course, my mom won’t let us leave until the rooms are finished, so we’d better get back to painting!

Stay tuned for the “after” photos of both rooms.

A big thank you to Valspar for supplying paint for both rooms. As always, words and opinions are my own. I appreciate your support of the sponsors who help me write this blog.

Asa’s birth story (and newborn baby hospital pictures)

March 3, 2015

I can’t believe that my sweet Asa turned one last Thursday! I spent the morning of his birthday looking at photos we took in the hospital a year ago, flooding my mind with memories of his birth.

Although I posted a few newborn photos on the blog when I announced Asa’s name (it took us two days to decide!), I never actually shared his birth story. However, I alluded to the fact that something crazy happened that prevented me from having the epidural I wanted, so here’s the full story (minus most of the gory details) for those who are interested.

And if you’re not interested in a story about platelets and contractions and super-size babies, there are lots of adorable newborn baby hospital pictures for you to enjoy instead… READ MORE!