DIMyself Spaghetti T-Shirt Scarf

When it’s cold and snowy outside (like today), we’re stuck looking for something to keep the kids occupied in the house. And, since I can only handle so much time watching talking animal movies (and by “so much” I mean NONE) I was forced to find something else for the kiddos to do.

A while ago I was perusing Pinterest and came across a blog with lots of ideas for things made out of old t-shirts. BINGO! Easy, fast, & made from materials we already have in the house, (You can find the original post here.)

So, here’s our Spaghetti T-shirt scarf:

Materials & tools:

An Old T-shirt

Scissors & tape measure

Instructions:

First, we cut off the bottom seam & cut under the armpits.

Then we measured, and cut, strips about 1 1/2in wide.

Here are the strips we cut

Next, we stretched.

(SN: I think we stretched it out too far. Next time I won’t stretch the loops as much.)

Last, I cut the bottom seam and wrapped it around the loops to hold them together.

Tie a knot to secure it. (For extra hold, I secured it with a safety pin.)

Ta-Da!

Can’t let the excess go to waste!

The loops were a little long, so we doubled the scarf and it was the perfect size for the princesses.

Again, this was a project that took less than half an hour to complete. It probably would’ve taken less, but I couldn’t find my fabric shears and made do with what I could find. The project shown was done a couple weeks ago, but we’ll be doing it again today so the princesses will have scarves to match Mommy’s. Happy Styling!

Humanitarian Day

Today is Humanitarian Day. One of the three “Emancipation Days of Respect.” Celebrated every January 15th--the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

Today is the day we remember all those who helped end racial segregation. The US has come a long way since those days, but there is still work to be done. Stereotypes to ignore. Fear to overcome.

So please, join me in wearing white to show your support in the belief that we’re all equals.

10 Things to Accomplish in 2013

Goals for Me in 2013

1. Learn how to make more Laotian food. (My poor Hubbs--married an Asian girl, eats lots of hot dogs, lol!)
2. Set up (and stick to) a workable writing schedule.
3. Craft more -- especially painting & jewelry making.
4. Be mindful of the words that come out of my mouth (and my keyboard).
5. Lose the weight. (Yes, it’s there every year. One of these times it’s going to happen, I swear!)
6. Learn to: mud drywall, lay tile & carpet, install trim/moulding, and use a lot of the Hubbs’s power tools.
7. Read to the kids every possible night.
8. Make time for my friends. (Including have an actual conversation with at least one person a day.)
9. Make time for Date Night.
10. Make time for myself. (Including attending at least ONE writer’s conference!)

A lot of these are things that I try to do every year (like lose the dang weight--ugh.) But, I’d like to think I’m older, more mature, and just in a better place to reach my goals this year. Wish me luck!

What have you got planned for this year?

2012 Year in Review

2012 the Year in Review

It’s been a big year. It seems like they all are, anymore. One thing that doesn’t change is how quickly the time seems to fly by. If anything, time seems to keep moving faster. It doesn’t feel like we’ve been home for almost 2 years. It seems like we just left Camp Lejeune.

But I will say this, after being home this long, I think we’re finally falling into our places here. Finally figuring out where we belong in the civilian world. Some days it’s easier to see than others. We’re getting there.

2012 is the year that:

**We moved from Cherokee to Calumet. Now, the Hubbs is where he wants to be--as for the rest of us, that is yet to be decided.

**Medium started Kindergarten. Large is in sixth grade. Two down, only one to go! What does it say about us as parents when we admit to being excited that all the girls will be in school next fall?

**The Hubbs sold one house, then bought another.

**The Hubbs also bought and sold a few vehicles. My favorite is my van--yes, I’m perpetuating the Soccer Mom stereotype. But, my van is fully loaded, so I don’t care. Ha!

**ML came to visit in the Spring. Yay! We hadn’t seen her since we left North Carolina. We (especially me) miss her so much! I’ll see you soon!

**I got a job outside the house for the first time in, oh, about six years. It didn’t last long though, once our babysitter went back to high school, it was cheaper for me to just stay home.

**Medium became a Daisy Scout. This was a little self-serving since last year we were totally passed over at Girl Scout cookie time. We have gone a whole year without Thin Mints or Samoas. This will not happen again!

**The Hubbs retired. Technically, he retired a couple times. I think. I can’t keep up with him.

**Our house is slowly turning into a zoo. We added a new kitten and rabbit to the mix. I think next I’ll try to talk the Hubbs into things that live in aquariums. :)

Merry Christmas (a week or so later)

We've had one heck of a sickness come through our house in the past couple weeks, so now that I'm finally well enough to post:

Merry Christmas

from the Schueders!

The holidays are almost over, and I’m finally starting to see the school day at the end of the tunnel. It seems that once Thanksgiving hits the next six weeks are a whirlwind of shopping, eating, celebrating, wrapping & unwrapping, decorating & undecorating.

Here is some of what’s been happening during the month of December:

Medium had her first Christmas Concert.

We drove to West Point, NE for Large’s Christmas program.

“Christmas in the Country” --how appropriate. 

My nephew, Bubba, had his first birthday!

There was Christmas Eve with the Schueder Grandparents.

Christmas Morning at our house. 

Christmas Meal at the Rodgers house.

Getting Small’s new bunny, Julie. (That’s what happens when you let the kids name the animals.)

Picking up Large and opening presents with her.

A proper(ish) tea party!

Then we got sick. That was not cool.

Now we’re getting ready for the New Year, wondering what great things it will bring.

I hope y’all had a very Merry Christmas,

and were able to spend it with the ones you hold dear.