"Pinterest Makes My Life Better"

A year or so ago, I got a text message from my sister-in-law, Sarah, telling me that, "You have to get the Pinterest app. You will be addicted." So, I downloaded the app and couldn't figure the darn thing out. It didn't make much sense to me when she was explaining it. "It's a bunch of pictures of things and you can create boards and pin them." I'm thinking..."Why do I want a bunch of pictures of random things?" But, o.k. Sarah!" I found out that you have to be invited and blah, blah, blah. Sounded like too much work to me so I just dismissed it.

A few weeks later she asked me if I ever figured it out. I told her I just didn't understand it. But, she convinced me that I needed to try to figure it out. So, I checked my email and got "accepted" and started figuring it out.

She was right...I was addicted from the "get-go." I loved looking at the humor board. It's still one of my favorites! I LOVE E-CARDS!! They make life so much better!

You can always tell when I'm on a diet because I start pinning in my "Yummy Food" board along with my "Fitness" board. You might see pins for cookies and homemade cheese sticks...and then just to make myself feel better I will pin the 100 Ways to to make your tummy flat! Yeah right!

I love the Education pins! I've used SO many cute things from there in my classroom! I just don't understand why we (teachers) feel the need to pin so many "School Things" over the summer!! I'm guilty, too!! However, I've learned you have to Pin fast because it may go away if you don't act quick!

From the start, I would show pictures to Jake. I would say, "Let's do this to our bathroom." or "I want to go here." It wasn't until I made something from my 'Yummy Food' board that he realized that Pinterest is ALL that it is cracked up to be! I've made several recipes from Pinterest that he loves and when it comes to food...that guy is very hard to impress!!

Last weekend, for our camping trip, I made the "Best Pasta Salad EVER" to take with us. He loved it! The Flourless Cookies (That's got to be healthy, right?) were also a pretty big hit. One night this week I made baked chicken/potatoes/greenbeans. I kind of figured it was not going to be a favorite. But, Pinterest did it again. As he was eating he said, "Pinterest makes my life better." I had to laugh!!

You will never find my husband on Pinterest but he sure is glad that Sarah convinced me to figure it out. Thanks, Sarah!!

Here are two of my recent "CrAfTy" Pinterest projects!

Blabber Mouth

I saw this on Pinterest and I thought it was hilarious! This is true with little ones. They don't have filters. They tell everything they know. This has happened so many times in my 10 years in education. Parents would die if they knew all that was told to us!

I've learned this from personal experience. Now that I have a child I realize that now it is going to be me that is "talked" about at daycare and school.

This summer has been quite different than all of the past 4 summers. Halle is very independant now and I can get so much done around the house. Last summer, I couldn't even leave the room without her yelling, "Mommy, where are you?" It drove me nuts. I blamed it on our house being so big but I think she just had seperation issues. So, this year I can tell she's really starting to grow up. However, with the growing up comes the "Telling Everything You Know to Daddy."

We used to be able to go eat lunch or go shopping and Daddy would never find out. It's not that I ever had anyting to hide...he can look up on our bank account info at any time and see where we go and what we do. He never freaks out about spending money. But, there are some things that you don't just offer up the minute he walks in from work.

UNTIL NOW...

As soon as Daddy walks in the door the first question he asks, "What did you guys do today?" Halle responds, "We went to eat at Ho Wah and then Mommy bought me a new pair of shoes." I cringe...Of course Daddy thinks Halle has too many shoes already. And why didn't we eat lunch at home where it is FREE? HaHa!! Or "We ate at El Tapatio with Grandma and Nina today." UGH!! Or better yet, I don't think he heard this one because he was in the shower...and I changed the subject with her very quickly. "Mom got this new little purse in the mail today. It's kind of like this..." AHEM! "Hey, Halle WE DON'T HAVE TO TELL EVERYTHING WE KNOW!!!" Seriously!!

I had this conversation with Jake the other day. He thinks it is hilarious, of course!! Me...not so much!!!

Every Girl's Dream

Ok...so maybe it isn't every girl's dream to visit the American Girl Store. But, I know if I had the opportunity as a little girl to experience that, I would have absolutely been in heaven. Today was so much fun! Maybe I'm living my "little girl" childhood through Halle but I was in awe of every little detail!

My husband thinks it is absolutely nuts to spend that kind of money on a doll! But, I'm telling you if he had seen the look on Halle's face when she walked in and saw everything...we would have walked out with the $225 Loft Bed...and possibly the tent! Ha Ha! We refrained from over splurging...but I could totally see how one could get carried away.

My cousin, Amy and her daughter, Jozlyn went with us. Jozzy got a bitty baby for Christmas and one of their dogs got a hold of it's little hand. They had to admit the baby into the hospital (no joke) to get it fixed up! They dressed her in a hospital gown and all! It was so cute. Amy even said that if a child is extremely attached they will send a doctor out to explain to the child what they will do to ease their fear! HAHA! I love it! Sure, it may be a little over the top but how cute is it for little girls?

I was so happy that my mom and my neice, Alyssa came with us on our first trip to AG! Alyssa has never been into playing dolls. I'll never forget the Christmas when Mom, Sarah and I all went together and bought her and Emma the "knock-off" AG dolls and accessories from Target! We were all so excited to see them open the horse and the little scooter. As they ripped off the paper, we asked Alyssa if she liked it and her response was a very loud, "Noooooo!" I'll never forget that! I'm pretty sure we have that on video somewhere! This past Christmas I liked to fell over when Alyssa asked for a Tangled Barbie doll. Then, the other day when she heard us talking about going she said, "I want to go, Nana." I asked her when she became a girl...she laughed!

So, Amber had two AG dolls in her basement that her grandma gave her. She never played with them. They were more for looks than playing with. I told her she needed to get them out and let Alyssa play with them and see if it will be worth it for her. Since then, these two little dolls have went everywhere with her. She even buckles them into the backseat! HAHA!! I never thought I'd see the day that one of Amber's girls would actually like dolls!

It was such a nice day with the girls!! I can't wait until we can do it again!