Cinnamon Rolls like Cinnabon's

This time of year, it's difficult to stay on a healthy eating plan with no treats.  At least, it is for me.  Thanksgiving is so full of yumminess and lots of desserts, how can one resist?  Plus, we have TWO Thanksgivings (one with each side of the family) and both are extremely delicious.
The day after Thanksgiving I saw this recipe on Pinterest, and couldn't resist trying it out.  The hubby was at work Friday so I had the kids all home, with no intention of braving the mobs on Black Friday (although I went out that night and it was a normal shopping night, almost empty, even, at the craft store I went to.)  Anyway, since this recipe uses a breadmaker for most of the rising stages, I figured it was worth a try.
It was very easy to do, but it took about 3 hours from start to finish.  Not sitting with it, of course, but it's not a make-it-now-for-breakfast type recipe, unless you get up super early and your kids want to eat way later than mine (they beg for food by 7am, and usually help themselves to cereal before then!)

Clone of a Cinnabon

Transporting Kids in Winter

Last Winter was kind of rough for me; transporting three kids 5 and under anywhere was such an ordeal!  Since I had all of them every morning (my 5-year old had afternoon Kindergarten), I found myself shopping with all of them, all the time.  It was so tiring!

A friend shared with me her idea of moving the seats in such a way that they could all get in from one side- the driver's side.  This was GENIUS.  I wish I remember which friend told me about it first; I know of two who used this for at least a little while!  Since all three still needed help to buckle themselves into carseats, having any one of them in the back meant a lot of stretching and reaching for me.  In the cold Chicago winters, this was not fun.  So, without further ado, here is the amazing setup:

Real Life While Crafting

You can probably imagine hours of crafting (and thus neglecting the house) would create quite the chaotic mess.  If I didn't share what really went on while I was spending time crafting with three young kids in the house, it wouldn't really be fair to you.   It's easy to assume, based on pretty pictures on a blog, that everything else in my life is as "perfect" as the wreath-making looked!  As if I have endless free time...
The photos of wreath-making steps were taken spread out all through a few days.  First was the painting and then a week or so later two days of actual wreath-making.  One of those days was Thanksgiving, so my hubby was home to help out!  There were also plenty of interruptions.
Make sure before you start a project that you have a space to work in- I just started on the floor where my computer is (this is our dining room, but since our table is in the kitchen/family room area, we made this into sort of an office for now where the family computer lives).  It was like a ribbon, fabric and glittery decoration explosion.  Not to mention a couple of dangerous objects like wire cutters, scissors, and a hot glue gun thrown into the mix.  Thankfully my kids weren't very interested in the danger this time.

Don't go in, you might not come out!

Christmas Wreaths

I have been on a wreath kick the last couple of years.   When our front door isn't decorated, the house looks naked to me!  It started with buying wreaths.  I bought one or two.  They are SO expensive!!  So then I decided to make one, but the ready-made supplies for that weren't much cheaper.  The first one I made was just a plain evergreen wreath that I stuck store-bought pinecones-and-berries-on-sticks into.  Later, I made another one for indoors that I added lights to.  They are nice, but nothing spectacular.
Last year I made this one with the TONS of pinecones my kids had gathered from outside.

Toy Organization

Christmas is approaching, and with it always comes new toys and things that cause our house to become more cluttered.  I read a good idea online that a friend asked for only books, puzzles, and clothing for her twins' first birthdays.  I thought it was a smart and a great way to give "guidelines" for gift-givers.  I hate to put limits and restrictions on my family and those who want to bless my kids with a gift, but the categories of appreciated gifts seemed to be a good way to go about controlling the clutter.  As kids grow older, they do need different stimulation and things for learning.  However, I'm so tired of the kitschy, trendy materialistic toys that become junk in our house when the kids tire of them within a very short time.  The "junk toys" are the toys that just don't require any imagination from children.  The toys that have stood the test of time in our house are things that can be taken apart and rebuilt easily, (Legos, marble set), the play kitchen and play food (this even goes in spurts of unuse though), dress-up clothes (just starting to become an interest of my 2- and 4-year olds), art supplies, dolls, and household items like pillows, old paper towel rolls, and miscellaneous containers that they like to fill with their trinkets and carry around.  The cardboard box has seriously been a more exciting "toy" than the big fancy thing that came inside of it most of the time!  Even better are "experience" gifts such as tickets to shows, children's museums, or even movies or a day out with family members, and time together like making cookies with their cousins (an idea we plan to try with in-town family, allowing the kids to decorate cookies for each other).

This DVD/VHS collection was reduced by about 1/3

Project: Repainting a Dresser and Nightstand

This project was a doozy!  I haven't done anything this major since February of 2010 when my hubby took all three kids to grandma's for the whole day so I could paint the entire downstairs living room and kitchen.  So I guess I was about due for an overwhelming project.  At least this one didn't involve removal of wallpaper.  But it involved sanding, so maybe it isn't that far behind....

I found this dresser and nightstand set at a garage sale and managed to get both for $20.  They clearly needed refinishing but were solid wood and had nice simple clean lines.  They were yelling for handles to be added too!

Toddler Activity: Pom Pom bucket

I read about this activity on Money Saving Mom.  She has activities for little ones called Busy Bags, and one activity in this category was called "Pom Pom stuff-it-in" or something like that.  I thought it looked like a fun activity to do for my 2-year old, so I made one.
Super easy steps:

Stuffin' it in