Early Christmas Presents

$8 Melissa and Doug puzzle from Homegoods/Marshalls.
It wasat Michaels for $12.

I found a few pictures that I liked but werent super sentimental.
Just needed certain people in the puzzle holes.
I traced with a pencil around the photo then cut them out.

All my shapes are cut. Got all my 'people' in the puzzle.

Mod Podge directly into the holes. Place photos in. Mod Podge over them as well.
 

This project is a present from Santa for the mini Gligs. Santa came
early this year and is secretly hiding gifts in a box so when
Christmas comes he's not overwhelmed with thoughtless gifts.

The glue dried clear over these pics and is now super fun.
Semi homemade and original to our family.

Lined Paper Project

 Saw this originally here and had a great project in mind for it. I wrote an inspring paragraph on our white board. Jason told me Monday that he actually reads it often and is encouraged to go about his stressful day more optimistically. "Today is tough, but tomorrow the kids are grown and we are going to have the rest of our lives to enjoy each other, and mainly, travel...." is basically the message.



I printed a favorite photo of my family onto lined notebook paper
(it is my complete family, as I am pregnant with Lockie here).
I made the photo super faded on picmonkey[dot]com with a method
I cant easily explain on here but it was easy.



It took 3 tries for my printer to accept thin lined paper, and I am happy with the results!
I wrote out my message from this white board onto paper
where it is now forever transcribed for our family to read when we need it  :)
 

Paint for 1 Year Olds'

This is how Lachy paints. Paint, that mixes and makes new colors!, thats put into a ziploc and sealed then taped to a surface.

He swirls it around and makes no messes!

His sister cant stand it, she joins in on the fun.

This lasted oh, 5minutes. Then I had to really get creative.

He's outta here whether I want him to be or not.

Move the project to the window!

Which is super bright but whatev.

Its also fun on the window. And he can come back to it again and again.

E is for Elevator

Extra large googly eyes. Spray painted on my garbage cans with very nice black paint that I had laying around.

I love letting a project dry for a loooong time. Then I know its super dry. No rushing a paint job.

Finally using my scrapbook numbers and letters. This is Sunny and Lachlan's elevator button project.
The googly eyes indent a little bit.

Oil Pan Magnetic Board

Kiley Jo needed a 1st birthday present and I didnt want to get it at the store. I was also too late for anything original from Etsy so here I am, the weekend of, and feeling very creative.

 

I went to Michael's and bought these pre-painted wooden characters. They were $.59! I also bought magnets and when I got home glued them together.

 

There are a few Christmas decorations thrown in there. Have to use my glue and magnets on other projects while the glue and magnets are out. Notice that super glue. It was super glue.

Super glue tragedy. I screamed when I quickly tried to pull this off, the MOMENT I got glued to it. Wow. Rubbed some canola oil over it for 5minutes over the sink until it fell off. I was frightened.

My garbage bins are my sawhorses where I paint. I seriously need an area for this. I just dont want to drag out my painters cloth from the garage. Im worried its full of black widow spiders.

Dont use your PBR to spraypaint your oil pan. Only used for hydration. Oh, I used paint made for metal as well. An 'heirloom white'. Love it. I was worried since the oil pan is greasy (why!?) and slick. It worked fine. No sanding or anything.

Another paint area: the ac unit. Good for paint drying.

Finished.

Kiley: dont choke on my gift. Make sure someone is watching you while you play with the magnets. Call me if you swallow them. They arent something you 'let pass'- they will make your insides migrate together. Ok. Have fun!

Acronyms.

Besides garbage, there are other things happening in the Glig Life. Like... Oh! I remember. I applied to 2 nursing schools (RN) which start in January. I am proud of myself for taking two different entrance exams, each 3 hours of my time (not including studying, which I didnt do for the NLN exam since I took that one after the TEAS and I assumed them to be similar. Which they... kinda were), and each $50 and $75! Again, ETSY money, which is sweet. I am paying my way through school. Ha. For now.

Ok, so I took these big exams, paid even more money to apply to the programs, got letters of reference and in general had the requirements (GPA, the courses!---> about a million courses). My scores? Hopefully good enough. Out of everyone who is applying to these programs, I was in the 90%-ile. I like that. Sounds like I could get in with scores like that.

Now we're waiting. If October comes and goes and there's no mention of nursing school, then I havent gotten in. I'll say things like "I have plenty of lactation education and clinical-type mentoring hours to complete", which I DO, to prepare for my IBCLC exam and certification... But I was going to do those simultaneously whilst in the nursing program. It would still be a setback, better luck applying next year! But I would have plenty to do.

Its Garbage

I'm officially a success. We just signed up for Indian River County garbage collection (every Monday and Thursday, whoop whoop!! And we can recycle! Yay!) and I'm paying for it with my ETSY money. I pay other bills, sure. I buy gas and things that Jason calls krinskram which I assume to mean knickknacks in German. But our revolving garbage bill can be paid with a credit card and I have my Paypal account set up with a debit Mastercard. Are we following all this? Anyways, I can pay for the garbage pickup quarterly with this card and so I'm officially taking over family utility finances, one [garbage] bill at a time.

In other news... there is no other news. Just garbage news.

Sweet Sweet Life

Remember this photo? 

It seemed useless for the longest time, those 2 beds. Actually, Sunny slept in one and the other bed was great for potty training in the night- if she peed the bed we'd change her and throw her into the other, to deal with the pee-bed in the morning. And if she peed that one then... no, she never peed again in the night. (ps- this was my trick to train through the night- let her pee! She eventually quit and it didnt really put me out because I had the 2 beds)

I didnt want this to be a potty training post. Its a Congrats Lockie! post. He is on his 3rd week in that bed and Jason and I are besides ourselves (beside each other?) with excitement. It took a week of structured bedtimes in that room for him to 'get' it and he enjoys the freedom. Him and Sunny still give me the run-around for up to 45 minutes some nights, asking for milk, for me to sing, for me to put the music on, for me to get Lachlan out of Sunnys bed, and to break up a fight... But most nights they talk and sing back and forth and she comforts him. She tells him to get into his bed. She encourages him. She does what we as parents normally do. She's doing part of our job! And she's doing it willingly, and for free! And they both like it!

We are firm believers in sibling cosleeping. Not that we need Sunny to take over our responsibilities, but when all Lachlan wants in the night is to not be alone in a crib in a cold quiet room, his sister does the trick.

My favorite reaction lately is to this arrangement (everyone is over the shock of toddler breastfeeding). Most people have been to my house, but they're still concerned its a 'space' issue, as in, "Dont you have an extra room he can have?" And we do. Plenty of rooms. But none for him. Those rooms are freed up for other things and the babies sleep in the nursery, together. Its a sweet life when you've got your sibling by your side.

The Dingo

Our dog has more of a social life than we do: the neighbors rang our doorbell at 8p and asked for Jam. They wanted to take her for a walk with their dogs. Sunny cried and cried that they were taking Jam away; I couldnt explain enought that Smoky and Brody were dog friends of Jam's.
Then the next day a neighbor girl rang the bell and asked for Jam. Wanted to know if Jam could come out and play... Sent her to the backyard to entertain the 4 legged Glig... Popular dog.

Boys & Their Toys

Father and son face

This is how to turn the vacuum on

Add caption

 Lachy's fav pastime. Jason also LOVES to vacuum. In fact, he has 3 vacuums and he's not afraid to use them. I dont even know how to use one of them, but it doesnt matter- its his thing.

His carpet wet vac thing

Uh, The Rainbow- awesomest just like your mother's

Sailing the Ocean Blue

Beers and boats and brothers

Sailing made us want to sell all of our possessions and live on a boat for a few weeks until we go broke.

Sailing with Steve, me and Jase, and my parents was actually a birthday gift I received this year from Jason and my parents. I decided to cash it in in July. Jason's brother was only here for a month so we crammed the activities in.

My Brother Husband

Get it??

I am mourning the loss of the 3rd parent that resided in our home for all of July. Thats why we had so much fun in July, because Steve flew in from Australia and we entertained the crap out of him.

Glig backyardigans

 Suzy's Tiki. The best of Sebastian-town

Naples Pier

Airboat tour of the Rim Canal: the lesser known little brother of Lake Okeechobee

Aussies

Funny kids.... corn and shark lovers

The only reason he wanted to visit Florida-- to see Chobes!

We Deserved a Vacation.

So we took one. 

Really? Places like this exist. And I hope to go here often to experience again. The Marriott at Marco Island, FL

Papa and Lachlan lay in the grass

ice cream he wouldnt share with me

BFFs. water babies. Sibling love. Love it

She loved running through the waterfalls with what looked like cigarettes in her mouth

I love Marco Island. Or at least I love this resort. Highly recommended.