Exciting week with EM June 12-19

Em and I had such a wonderful visit last week. I brought a change of clothes when I picked her up at school and we headed straight for McDonald's. She was so excited when her friend Alex showed up.

EM and Alex played in the playground for a while and then we headed home. Amy, Alex's mom and I made plans to take the kids to DreamLand that Wednesday.

They had a ball, bouncing their little hearts out in the 15 minute time frame.

Because they were both under the age of 4 I had to go with them. That is me in the pink t-shirt and pink socks. I had fun until the teenage "referee" told me I couldn't jump. Adults were only allowed to stand and watch. That was OK because one minute into it I was drenched in sweat.

So, what did we do as a follow-up to DreamLand? Why a giant ball pit of course!

Again, I had to go with them. It was VERY hard to walk in those balls, like trying to walk with flippers on in water. EM and Alex loved it and didn't want to leave.

Next we had a little ice cream in the food court,

a little shenanigans ,

and SEVERAL trips round and round.

Finally we got some Legos from the Lego wall.

EM wanted all pink but I talked her into some other colors.

Flowers!

Sticker earrings.

The week ended with my poor baby getting pink eye. A little eye drops fixed her up just fine. I can't wait until my next visit. The week without her seems like a month :-(

Scrap yarn ideas on Pinterest

   I am not sure, but I think I have a problem. Could I be addicted to Pinterest??? I definitely have a love affair going on... Oh well. I'm not going to fight it. He makes me happy.

   I was perusing my boards the other day and I noticed a theme in my Creative Decor board. What to do with scrap yarn. There are SO MANY cool ideas on Pinterest!!!!!

   I am going to try a bunch of theses ideas, and I have a lot of yarn. I am starting with the wrap-a-stick project. I also have a lot of sticks for some reason. I seem to collect them every time my daughter and I go for a walk in the park directly behind our apartment.

I used construction string in a bright neon pink. You would be surprised with all of the cool materials you can find at the hardware store.

This is us in the park with our sticks.

When finished I will lean them in a naked corner like this... :)

I love funky jewellery and this is such a great idea!

Give the birds nesting materials!

Learn to knit or crochet...

Protect your wooden floors from scratches.

I might try this next. I need to find a chair...

or maybe this...

Interactive art! This could be arranged in so many ways.

Non-slip hangers...

a tiny wall masterpiece.

So many ideas. I don't know where to start... Check out Pinterest for these ideas and more!!!

Crayola Sidewalk Chalk

   Elizabeth and I had a great time in the park behind our apartment. It was very hot in the intense sun so we mostly stayed in the shade. We played with some Crayola Sidewalk Chalk I bought the other day. She only used the color pink (surprise), and luckily there are 2 pink ones in the box! She immediately laid down and we outlined her. We drew rainbows and hearts and crowns. Next time I will introduce her to hopscotch.

My sweet princess.

Pink!!!

Which color next? Pink!

Crayola Sidewalk Chalk

My crown...

H is for Happy!

   Ok, so I have fallen a little behind on the Heart-a-Day challenge so I decided to change it to the Happy-a-Day challenge. It is my challenge so I can do what I want... :) I did create something yesterday but it wasn't in the shape of a heart. It is all about becoming happy anyway... I also decided that Today I would make it a little more difficult and be happy for something that you would think was a very Unhappy situation.

   If you have read the about me page you know what my situation is. I was in a mentally abusive relationship. My then-husband filed false charges against me and locked me out of my home when I went to visit my family for my Dad's 75th birthday. The catch here is that I am in the country of Panama, where my daughter was born 3 years ago. I am fighting for custody in a foreign country where I don't even speak the language. Neither does he. We are BOTH American citizens. It is a dire situation.

   So what could be happy about it? Over this past year I have seen several Psychologists and Psychiatrists etc. for help and support. One of them said something to me that I will always remember. I carry it with me, and think about it whenever I get down too low. She said that it was a good thing that my husband did this to me, otherwise I would still be in that abusive relationship. That is true. I was committed and I was not giving up. Luckily for me, and my Daughter, Alyn had other plans. He literally pushed me out of my plane without a parachute. A plane that I had no intention of exiting. He pushed me and I fell. Far. No parachute. No warning.

   I am so happy he did this to me. He tried to ruin my life, but instead he did me a favor. As I fell towards earth lamenting the absence of a parachute and waiting to, well basically die, I realized I didn't need a parachute. I had WINGS! Had he not tried to kill my spirit I never would have discovered this strength that was in me all along. I now have faith that I can save myself, and my daughter. So, thank you Alyn for being such a ___________.

   So now I will continue with my Happy-a-Day challenge, and I urge you to challenge yourself too. There is always something to be happy about.

   On a side note, the photo is of my daughter at Chuck E Cheese. The look on her face of sheer excitement as she shows me her tickets she won. That is how I would like to be. She is my inspiration. Just happy to be.

Free Pancakes!!!?

   I just found out that today is National Pancake Day!!!!! Elizabeth and I have gone to IHOP a few times and she loves it!!! I think I will give it a try today after I pick her up from school. They are giving away free pancakes in the States, but I am not sure about Panama. I will find out!!!

Chocolate "hamburger" pancakes!

Rainbow!!!!!!!!!

Bacon 'n eggs

Ryan Gosling

Such a clever idea!!!!

Growing up my Mom always added food colouring to rice and mashed potatoes to make us eat them. I will have to try this with EM!!!

SaveSave

Y is for yogurt.

  I picked up EM from school yesterday and the first thing we did was go to McDonald's. I think it must be her Happy Place. She loves the playground! The fried chicken is good too. Second is probably Krispy Kreeme. If they had a playground...

The second thing we did was walk to Super 99 grocery store. I am so glad it reopened! I was having to walk all the way to Riba Smith which is over twice as far. I was looking for her favorite yogurt that she also gets in the McDonald's Happy Meal. The little red Dannon Danimals packs. I was only able to find the purple ones last time and she will not eat them. I even tried to trick her by saving a red cup from an old pack and putting the new yogurt in it. She noticed!!! This new yogurt was a different color and had strawberry chunks... Ugh. No luck this time either. Apparently when something sells out in Panama, they don't re-order it.

Then we played for a while. NO napping.

THEN we went to the park, but first stopped by Krispy Kreeme for tomorrow, and one for tonight.

She got her donut, but not before she finished her dinner. The night ended with a bubble bath and some snuggles.

H-a-D challenge

Water color hearts, Sharpie marker, and Inkadinkado blending chalks on blush paper.

Multi colored thread happy jewelry set

   I like the simplicity of the sliding friction bracelets so I experimented with different colored threads. In the morse code HAPPY bracelet in the previous post I only used red and I felt like it was missing something. It looked so cool that I made a ring and necklace too! I used a toggle closure for the necklace instead of the sliding bead.

The first thing I did was thread a needle with seven different colors of thread. I used a special flexible beading needle with a large eye.

I doubled up all the threads and tied the ends together with a simple knot. I left some fringe because I liked the way it looked. I threaded  all of the beads on.

I then went back through the black bead and made a loop for the toggle. I threaded on one more yellow seed bead and knotted the end. I cut the needle from the thread and voila!

I used turquoise crystals because it fights depression, and the little yellow seed beads are yellow like a happy sun.