I just helped a friend with her table for a bridge dinner. She used my new Nell Hill’s chargers with handles — FUN! (Just wishing we had smoothed the tablecloth before photos. Hope Doris did this before guests arrived!)
Fun with Fall on Picnik (Photo Editing Site)
October 22, 2009 by happiestmommies
Honey, we need more cabinets!
October 19, 2009 by happiestmommiesI have just started doing letter recognition activities with Maggie. Unfortunately, we do not have a magnet-friendly refrigerator. So I’m posting the letters and other toddler-created art on the fridge and cabinets with tape. We have only made it through the letter “C” so far, but I am pretty sure that we will soon run out of cabinets. Time for a kitchen remodel! (I wish!)
Anyhow, I have been getting some great ideas for letter-making at No Time For Flashcards. Here is a link to a page with images of all the alphabet letters: http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2009/06/the-whole-alphabet.html.
I am amazed by the free ideas out there in Blogland! I wish that there had been sites like these when I was teaching. It is good to not have to reinvent the wheel, especially when my background is not in early-childhood education. This is all pretty foreign to me!
Check out some of the other links I have on the right towards the bottom of the column for additional (fabulous!) kid and parent-related blogs. Each blog author has a list of her favorite blogs as well, which means that the number of ideas out there is endless! Now, if only I could say the same about time…


A Princess and a Monkey Walked into an RV…
October 18, 2009 by happiestmommiesI just returned home from a weekend of camping at Poncho’s Pond here in Ludington. We had an early Halloween there with loads of fall activities — pumpkin carving, a hayride, and trick-or-treating. It was fun, but I have to admit that as a result of this busy weekend, I am now “too pooped to pop!” (That came from one of Maggie’s books.) Here are the kids in their costumes.


I am now catching up on e-mails, Facebook, and other blogs. I just came across a great idea for a little girl’s party on a darling blog called The Pleated Poppy. The blog’s author, Lindsey, held a Fancy Nancy party for her daughter. Maggie MUST have a similar party in the future! I adore the pink, the jewels, the boas…
You can see Lindsey’s ideas and photos here: http://lindseycheney.blogspot.com/2009/10/fancy-soiree.html. Too cute!!!
I’m off to rescue two kids from jail (cribs). Their alarms (voices) are sounding!
Ribbons of Hope
October 14, 2009 by happiestmommiesHere are a couple of examples of ornaments I am working on for a Power of Pink-sponsored fundraiser called “Ribbons of Hope,” a Memorial Medical Center of West Michigan project. The money will go towards breast cancer education and free mammograms.
The ornaments are about 4 1/2 inches in diameter and will be sold for $25 in honor or memory of someone special who has been affected by breast cancer. The ornaments will hang on a special tree lit with pink lights in the foyer of the hospital where people enter to go to the new Women’s Imaging Center.
I would like to put the year on the ornaments and am playing around with the idea of some sort of tag coming off the top. Any suggestions?

The Sweetest Thing
September 20, 2009 by happiestmommiesJust put Maggie to bed. (Bret had put Walt to bed, too, and he was still crying.) She hollered at me as I left the room, “Mommy, I want a hug and kiss.” I went back in and gave her what she wanted. How could I not? And then, as I was leaving again: “Mommy? Leave the door open just a little bit, okay? So I can hear Walt, okay?” I almost cried.







































