Smart Food

On the way to school and work this morning, Arielle shared some more of her three year old wisdom with me. She told me she was smart because of all of those "Lucky Charms" that she eats!

Maybe she's right. Or perhaps it is because she only eats the marshmallows that this particular cereal makes her smart. I'm surprised she didn't say that eating Smart Food {popcorn} makes her smart because she loves to eat that stuff too!



Speaking of being smart, I had to look up how to spell the word marshmallow.


~Momma to Bug~

Why did the grown-up cross the playground?

Arielle and I were talking about what to eat for dinner on the way to school this morning. All of this was brought about because she said she was hungry then she told me that her tummy was growing bigger. I replied, "Yes, because you are growing bigger and bigger every day." What she said next choked me up. She said, "I'm growing up into a grown-up!"

Three years old {almost four} and she already wants to be a grown up. So I told her that grown-ups don't get to have as much fun as kids do and her response was unforgetable.

"Grown-ups don't get to play on the playground, that is why they don't have fun."

So true.

~Momma to Bug~

Our {Cozy} Kitchen

The kitchen is the one room in our house that I have not had to do much in the way of decorating. Since our kitchen came pretty basic there were a few extra touches that I just couldn't resist adding.

When we were picking the options for our new house, I surprised myself by choosing natural maple cabinets over the matte white. Maple gives much more of a modern feel which is opposite of beachy or shabby chic, both styles that I find myself drawn to the most. Now that I have maple cabinets I am almost certain I wouldn't change them to white if I had my choice. The most obvious reason being that white would be much more difficult to keep clean but also because I think the maple blends in easily with all of the other wood furniture in the house. Since my kitchen isn't seperated from our living room by any walls that is a good thing!

I started by adding satin nickel hardware to the bare cabinets. This was a fitting choice since we have stainless steel appliances and satin nickel light fixtures throughout the house. To add a touch of warmth, I hung up a roman shade over the window that sits above the sink. The nice thing about the shade is that it matches our living room sofa so it tied the two rooms together. Above the shade, I hung up a distressed, black wooden sign with the phrase {you're never gonna believe this}, "Just Another Day in Paradise." I was so happy to find the perfect pair of curtains for the sliding glass door in the eating nook. I love the stripes, texture and color of these curtains and even decided to paint a wall in my living room the same color green which again creates a sense of unity between the two rooms. Finally, I found the perfect kitchen table and chairs {thanks to craigslist} that is also distressed, black wood with straw seats on the chairs for that touch of beachy that I still desire! Of course because I have a three year old the straw is covered with chair pads to prevent damage but they are still pretty.

~Momma to Bug~

TIP: Organization for Countertops

I have a great tip for organizing the countertops in your kitchen, bedroom or laundry room. This is especially helfpul if you run out of room in your junk cabinets and drawers or have you stuff that is too big for either of those places. I also think this is the perfect way to store stuff that you need to be able to grab easily on a daily basis because it saves your cabinets and drawers from getting dirty or worn from over-use.

Here's what you do:

Go to office supplies section of any store and buy a couple of these metal, rectangular-shaped containers {I think their main purpose is to store cd's}. Then add a couple of magnets and/or magnetic clips {binder clips work too}.

Find an empty section of countertop and place the container against the wall, then fill it up!

I use mine to store sunscreen, lotion, windex, bubbles, tissues, notepads, Netflix movies...the possibilities are endless.

Use the magnets and clips to hang up recipes, coupons, photos, notes, receipts, etc. {this is my favorite part}!

Finally, if you are worried about your counters looking "junky" because you are expecting guests, showing your home, etc. all you have to do is pick the container up {with all of it's contents in place} and store it under the kitchen sink for a day!

This really is the perfect solution for organizing your countertops and de-cluttering!

~Momma to Bug~

First Ski Lesson {2008}

Today we hit the slopes for only the second time this year and wouldn't you know it, I forgot my camera again. Arielle did so well today on the magic carpet and the bunny slope! She was able to hold herself up much better and move around on the skis to get around by herself compared to last time. She did get tired out very quickly and she sure worked up an appetite too. I can't believe how much food she ate during our break and when we were finished! Another family was eating their pbj sandwiches and Arielle asked us if she could have one to which we replied, "you already ate the one we brought for you." They must have felt bad because they told her she could have their extra one.

This is the second year that we have actually put her on skis and taken her to the slopes but it still seems like the day that she will actually be able to ski down the mountain by herself is so far away. I am not a bit too anxious for that day to arrive so that is fine by me. I am a very cautious skiier and always have been but sometimes I worry about other people and how reckless they can be and that scares me. But then again, what doesn't scare me when it comes to the safety of my girl?

*Pictures are from Arielle's first ski lesson of last year.

~Momma to Bug~

Fruitful Lesson

Today Arielle learned a very important lesson. She learned what it means to steal and that it is wrong to steal. When we got home from shopping today I noticed she was playing with some fake decorating fruit. I had no idea where it came from so I asked her where she got it and she replied, "it was in my monkey purse." So I said, where was it before it was in your monkey purse and she told me the furniture store! I couldn't believe it. She had stuffed it in her purse before we left the store and stole it.

I told her that it was wrong to steal but she just looked at me blankly and I realized that she did not know what it means to steal. I scooped her up and held her in my arms and told her that stealing is when you take something that doesn't belong to you or when you take something from the store without paying for it. Then I said that when people steal, the police come to their house and put them in handcuffs then take them to jail, where they will be away from their families for a long time.

She got a very serious and anxious look on her face and got really close to me and said, "when the police come will you tell them that I didn't know it was wrong and then they won't take me away from you because I love you guys." She repeated this a few more times to make sure that I knew what to stay when the police showed up at our house. I guess my explanation of stealing scared her somewhat. Hopefully she learned her lesson.

~Momma to Bug~

My {Baby} Girl

I can't believe how grown up Arielle has become over the past week. It's like all of the sudden she is saying and doing stuff that is so unbabylike {for lack of a better description}. The other day at the store I told her that I just had one more thing to get and then we could go buh-buh's. She told me not to say it like that. Today I called her baby girl at the end of a sentence {it's just a pet name I've always had for her}. She told me she wasn't a baby.

Something else we have been going through this week is bedtime procrastination. Practically every night she has walked out of her bedroom after we tucked her in and said goodnight, sometimes crying. One of the nights she was upset because she could tell we were playing the Wii Fit test and she wanted to watch. We let her stay up late. Another night she had apparently hit her face on her bookshelf/nightstand. Tonight she messed up her covers and needed them fixed then she decided that the sound her humidier makes scares her so we had to turn it off. She has had a humidifier in her room since she was one so I'm not sure why all of the sudden it's an issue.

The older Arielle gets, the more at ease I feel about parenting. It doesn't mean things have gotten easier, it just means I have gotten more comfortable with things the way they are.

~Momma to Bug~

I really love this writer's response to the question...

If you are having trouble reading this, send me an email (mommatobug@yahoo.com) and I will forward it to you.

Send it to any mom you know and it will probably make her day a little bit brighter {or at least give her something to laugh about}!

~Momma to Bug~

Snow Day!

This morning we woke up to a blanket of snow covering the ground and it still falling down! It was great to see snow after we have had such a long dry spell but as usual traffic came to a stand-still. After we spent 50 minutes in the car and only got four miles away from home, I decided to turn around and go back home making today an offical SnOw DaY!

Lexi was pretty thrilled to have playmates in the backyard once again. Here she is ruining all of Arielle's snow angels:

~Momma to Bug~

Letter M Project

I wanted to hang a letter "M" above our fireplace to fill the empty wall space that is in between the ceiling and the mantel accessories. I had seen the perfect framed letter "M" at Hobby Lobby but when I went back to purchase it they were out of the letter I wanted. This prompted me to make my own letter "M" which turned out to be a very simple project. I selected a distressed black oval frame, found a piece of scrapbook paper that I liked and a metal "M". The last thing I had to purchase was double-stick mounting tape and tie black gross-grain ribbon to the back of the frame and my project was complete for less than $15.

The nice thing about this project is that I can easily change the paper background anytime I want for different occassions, holidays or whenever the mood strikes me.

~Momma to Bug~

Flowers for my birthday

On Sunday I will officially be "thirty-something".

~Momma to Bug~

Our Family Room

I am finally done decorating our family room {formerly an unused dining room}. This weekend I found a black bracket shelf at Lowe's to hang above the couch. I shopped the house to find the finishing touches and am very pleased with the outcome. The shelf and decor really helped complete the feel of tropical chic that I was going for in the room.

The baskets under the coffee table hold several games and crafts that Arielle has made over the past few years. It is the perfect storage solution!

I purchased the hutch on discount at a local furniture store. It had some damage to the backside so the discount was BIG. The hutch holds most of my scrapbooking supplies and photos. I replaced the original black wooden knobs with satin nickel cup pulls and matching knobs. It really transformed the hutch into a piece of art instead of just a big wooden block. The baskets below hold photo albums, scrapbooks and magazines. I got them on clearance at Micheal's for $5 each!

This is a great room to relax, play games and catch up on scrapping!

~Momma to Bug~

Sweet Pea and Beans on Etsy

Check out my friend's new Esty shop called Sweet Pea and Beans! Meghan is very creative and she is so compassionate about being a mom. Not only do I have her to thank for discovering the world of blogging but her blog is one of my favorites!

~Momma to Bug~