Happy Green Day!

May yours be as festive as my little bit's is!

Read Across America Day 2012

Yay! Play! Jump for Hip-Hip-Hooray!
for today is Read Across America Day!

via

Now that the Coopster is in Kindergarten, I've been blessed with hearing all about Dr. Suess this entire week. They've read his books, made cat hats and other projects, and to sum it all up, they were allowed to have a Crazy Day. Goal of this Crazy Day?? To dress your absolute craziest.  For my Coopster??  While he may not have picked the craziest outfit...he certainly brought the attitude to go with what he did wear.

And the Proof...

His poor teachers...

Yep...St. Patrick's Day is alive and well 2 weeks before time.

A behind-the-scenes viewpoint

Whatch you talking bout, Willis?

YES! I'm ready for Crazy Day!

So...that's one way we celebrated Read Across America day.  What are you doing to celebrate?

Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia!

A few months ago, my youngest, the Coopster, had a Christmas festival at school. Before we left, we visited the creepy guy in the Santa Claus suit...because let's face, those Santa's are a bit creepy...hence exhibit one...

Who knows what that crazy Santa is looking at...anyways...Santa asked the Coopster the key question..."What do you want for Christmas this year?"  Cooper looked him straight in the eye and said, "a Cha-cha-cha-chia~!" with the full-song and all. After a not-so-Santa-like chuckle, he said that's the first time he's heard that one, but also said he'd see what his elves could do, and then sent him on his way.

Thus began the Chia pet frenzy.

"Mommy, Santa said he'd get me a Chia pet. He did, he did! and I want a Scooby Doo one like on the commercial and I can make Scooby Doo have hair and it'll be so funny. (insert evil Coopster laugh)"

At our house, "Santa" comes to visit us on Christmas Eve during our Chraesy Christmas gathering and low and behold...guess what Santa got him...

Sorry, he was so excited I couldn't get a clear, focused picture.

It was after we got the Chia Scooby Doo pet out of the box before I realized how much of a hassle this "pet" was going to be.  It's not like you have a real planter and put seeds and dirt and keep it watered and in fresh light and such. No, it's a lot more mess than that. First you have submerge the planter in water for a full hour. Do you know how long an hour is to a 5 year old?!? That's at least 10, "has it been an hour yet?" questions. And while the planter soaks for an hour, the seeds have to soak for an hour too. Until they come out looking something like this...

The seeds have the look and gel-like consistency of frog eggs. Don't believe me?  Here's a closer look...

Yes...it's really that gross. Then you have smother those egg-like seeds onto the freshly submerged Chia planter. But using a spatula isn't enough. You have to get those gel-eggs in the grooves of the Scooby head, which requires a hands-on process, and because of their consistency, they WOULDN'T STAY IN THE GROOVES! They only gooped up and slid around and then dropped into the plastic container, one that they of course don't show on TV. The end result was this...

And although this was Coopster's ultimate Christmas wish, he didn't touch the thing. He wasn't a fan of frog eggs either.

Now that the Chia planter was set, it really didn't take much care, except 1) to keep it near a light source, but not in direct light, 2) empty the plastic drainer tray daily, and 3) refill the water in the planter daily.

And the advertisement that says it'll have a full coat in 1-2 weeks? It's the absolute truth.

This is Day Three - sprouts already!

Don't see that "ew, this is gross face" anymore!

Day 6 - Sprouts have shot out already.

At 10 days growth

At a full 2 weeks

As you can probably guess, the Coopster was tired of posing with his Chia pet after the first couple of days. He liked seeing it grow, but it wasn't as cool after the novelty wore off. Scooby lasted a full month before his hair started wilting. I drained the water out, gave it a day for all the leaves to dry up and die. Of course, it was then that the Coopster was paying attention and immediately wanted Scooby to have another set of hair.

I have to say that despite the grossness and plastic tray monstrosity, the Chia pet was a success. Coopster got to learn about seeds and growth cycles and even a bit patience. And next time, he'll get to learn how to apply those seeds on his own, while I sit back and giggle and take pictures.

Thanks Creepy Santa!

Fav Pins of the Week

....or the last few weeks as it may be. This week's theme is bags. I've got quite a thing for bags, even though I'd probably never get to use them all. Here a few of my favorites...

Source: scatteredthoughtsofasahm.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: gingercake.typepad.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: vanessachristenson.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: tatertotsandjello.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: countryliving.com via Heather on Pinterest

And even though it's not a bag, I can't help but show my favorite ring of all time. This is FIRST on my to-do list for March, but with green glitter for St. Patrick's Day. Yippee!

Source: lookwhatmelissamade.com via Heather on Pinterest

Weather-Flippin' February

Things here in the Crazy house have hit a bit of a lull. Between 65 degree days followed by a few inches of snow, then repeat, and repeat again...we've all had a case of the sickies. At this moment, I'm clutching a box of cool touch Kleenexes like it's my long lost wubbie. Luckily, both of my kids are ripping and roaring again like usual...or maybe that's not a lucky thing...I haven't decided yet.

Anyhow, in between our ups and downs, I've managed to get a few projects done. Spring cleaning came early at our house (I blame the weather) and thanks to Pinterest, I'm finally starting to think like a crafter again. Not only do I have some legitimate ideas to "copy" from, I've actually gathered supplies and started working on them. Thank you Pinterest!

I have a few posts coming up in the next week...but for now, how about a few pictures from our "well" days in February?

Yes, my children act like spazzes even in Wal-mart.

The Coopster FINALLY got a big boy bed. Problem is...it's now impossible to wake him up in morning.

Toby-dog is as bad as ever, but this picture makes him look quite innocent, yes? You'd never know he was actually snoring loud enough to be heard in the next room...

The ultimate Christmas toy...an extra large dog crate! (Please note that no children were hurt in the making of this picture; they all crawled in willfully :)

Well, that's it for now. Hope your February's have been a bit more lively than ours!

Decisions, Decisions

Got a few things on my mind this evening, but I think I should probably start with the fun stuff...sound good?

Numero Uno:

The YA Giveaway Hop ended last night and I had about 250 entries total. I utilized the Random.org/Rafflecopter pick-a-winner genuineness and got the following five winners...

Entry #95: Chen C. (tweeted the giveaway) - wins Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Entry #130: April H. (tweeted the giveaway) - wins If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Entry #151: Sarah W. (blog follower) - wins When It Happens by Susane Colasanti

Entry #38: Aurora M. (blog comment) - wins Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Entry #141: Lexie M. (blog follower) - wins Prism by Faye and Aliza Kellerman

Congrats to you all!  Emails have been sent, so please respond in 48 hours. Thanks!

Numero Dos: 

"Pins" of the week

This week's apparent theme on my Pinterest boards was "all things kitchen". 
How to paint kitchen cabinets....

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Heather on Pinterest

How to paint laminate counter tops to resemble granite...