I've Moved!

Funny Days has found a new home at Wordpress. 

Find me here:

http://funnydaysfromatoz.wordpress.com/

Pinterest Crafting {Growth Chart Ruler}

Knowing that in a few short months I get to pack up our house and start all over again in a new one is exciting! Moving every few years is probably my favorite part of being a Navy family. New sights, new friends, new places to explorer... a new house!

When we moved here to Virginia we had just moved out of brand spanking new housing in Connecticut so I was less than excited to see my three years here would be spent in an old house with the worst kitchen linoleum and horrible lighting. Well this summer we took a vacation up to Connecticut to visit family and had a chance to walk through what will soon be our new home. Its gorgeous! So white! So clean! So open! As soon as we got home I started a new Pinterest board just for our new house. Now while hubby is away at sea I am pushing my real responsibilities aside and crafting for the new house.

My friend Michelle was asking me for some advice on making her own wooden growth chart so I took it as a sign to make one for myself too and boy am I happy I did. You can find them on Etsy for upwards of $100 and pretty close in price at Pottery Barn but I'm happy to report I spent $4 on mine.

Hubby's garage is a wealth of woodcraft supplies so I pilfered some wood stain and only needed to buy myself a 6 foot wood board to complete the project.

The most time consuming part of the whole project was drawing on the markings and numbers and I still didn't spend more than an hour doing it. I went the super easy route and used a Sharpie for all the markings. I'm hoping this holds up but I figure I can always touch it up with a Sharpie in the future.

I used a yard stick to measure out my lines and used painters tape to make sure all my lines were even and straight. I printed my numbers and then used a pen to sort of engrave in the wood the number outline so I only had to trace over it with the marker. I am beyond thrilled with how my ruler came out!

I love the thought of having this in my house years from now where I can measure and mark my grandkids right next to my kids!

Long time, no blogging

Yikes! It appears I lost my way and completely neglected my little ole' space in the great big interwebs. I'm back though!

Life has been busy. Really busy. And strange, and stressful and complicated. Navy life ain't easy yo!

How about a quick update?

Madison (age 7, what?!) Is now in second grade in the gifted program. We created a smarty farty. She is now a brownie in Girl Scouts and into her 3rd season playing soccer. She's a crazy good artist and a nonstop talker. She's a teenage wannabe. You can find her dancing and singing Katy Perry songs daily. She loves her baby sister just as much as she loves to fight with her.

Zoey (age 2, yes terrible) Is my test in life. One minute she is professing her love for me and in the next she is trying to stab me with a fork because I'm not sharing my coffee with her. She knows mommy LOVES coffee and frequently brings me pretend cups of coffee. She is incredibly opinionated about her clothing choices, especially her love of leg warmers. She finds great joy in terrorizing both her sister and the dog.

Brandon (age, unknown) Is crazy busy at work. His sub the USS Minnesota was commissioned a few weeks ago meaning our summer was full of sea trials and the girls first time not having daddy around. The rest of the year is full of more underways and very little time at home. Pass the wine please!

Amanda (age, too old) Is exhausted. Let's just say solo parenting is exhausting, props out their to all the single parents because I can't imagine dealing with my crazies after a full days work too. I recently became a consultant for Thirty-One but have been a little distracted and haven't even managed to have my first party yet, oops! Why am I so busy you ask?

Well..... we are moving! Again! Our three (plus) years are up here in Virginia (THANK GOODNESS) and we are headed back to Connecticut in December. With Brandon's schedule, soccer, school and daily life thrown in there for good measure I'm sort of in denial about all the stuff I need to get done before we move.

With our upcoming move I'm feeling a new surge of excitement which is exactly what I need to get back to Funny Days. Stay tuned for some crafting projects and recipes!

Fall photo shoot

I think I can officially say fall has finally arrived here in Virginia. Of course now that I say that it will be 90 degrees again next week. With the weather cooler and the leaves beginning to change color I decided it was time to get some nice pictures of the girls for Christmas gifts. Insert maniacal laughing here. Getting the girls dressed, clean, happy and good pictures is pretty much impossible but we still had fun and I managed to get a few good ones to chose from.

i love the side eyes and tongue hanging out

it boggles my mind that M feels the need to twist herself like a pretzel and pose

i said HUG me! GET OVER HERE!

ain't gonna happen

HUG ME!!!

ohh rocks. looks like fun!

where did my baby go??

rocks are so much fun

actually not that bad

love em

Neighborhood Toy Store Day 2012

The 3rd annual Neighborhood Toy Store Day is fast approaching this coming Saturday November 10th!

 Browsing local toy stores is a bit of a weakness of mine. I can easily get lost in all the cute yet hard to find quality products. Sure you can easily take a trip to your local 'big' toy store but finding the unique gifts (which we love to put under the tree from Santa!) aren't always so easy to find at those stores. Many of your local neighborhood toy stores are about promoting high quality products and I absolutely love that. Shopping locally at one of your neighborhood toy stores is a wonderful way to support your local community too!

On Saturday November 10th participating stores will host local in-store events for families like crafts, love entertainments and special discounts to help jump start your holiday shopping! The annual event is coordinated by the non-profit organization ASTRA (the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association). You can find a participating toy store at Your Neighborhood Toy Store. 

The new Your Neighborhood Toy Store website is a fantastic online resource for parents looking for the best toys on the market and where to find them. The website also features articles with expert advice on toys and playing for children of all ages and a local toy store locator. 

In an effort to show exactly what kind of high quality toys are available locally I was sent a few different toys to check out. I was super excited to find Tobbles Neo by Fat Brain Toy Company in our box! Tobbles Neo is a winner of ASTRA's Best Toys for Kids 2012 award.

I had actually been eyeing Tobbles recently as a possible Christmas idea for Zoey and it was a winner! Tobbles are an adorable tower of tipsy, topsy, spinning balls that all stack upon each other to make a unique tower that is oh so much fun to knock over again. And again. And again. 

We were also sent Roll & Play by ThinkFun which is designed to be your toddlers first game that encourages creativity, active play and gross motor skills. Roll & Play is geared for children 18 months and up so Zoey is still a bit young to enjoy it but I am sure we will be soon enough. Just like Tobbles Roll & Play is also a winner of ASTRA's Best Toys for Kids 2012 award. 

www.yourneighborhoodtoystore.org

You can find ASTRA/ The Woohoo Factor HERE on Facebook 

and HERE on Twitter (@TheWoohooFactor)

Disclosure: I was asked by Child's Play Communications to help spread the word of Neighborhood Toy Store day. I was not paid for this post but I was compensated with the toys I reviewed.