street paint

The weather is gorgeous here today, so I decided I should do something fun outside with the boys. Thanks to Pinterest on which I found this, the boys and I headed out to paint our driveway.

This "street paint" is super easy to make: Mix equal parts water and cornstarch, then add food coloring.

Told you it was easy!

We mixed up the cornstarch and water and then divided it into 4 containers to add the coloring.

5 minutes later we were out the door having fun.

My kids loved it! We will definitely be doing this again over the summer. Next time I think I'll put the paint in balloons so they can splatter paint as also suggested on that site.

awesome invitations

With graduations quickly approaching, many of you may be looking for some great quality invitations at an awesome price. I recently found a site with invitations ranging from $1.11 each to $2.34 each that are beautiful,  and have a huge variety to choose from! If you're looking for graduation invitations they have a section for boys, girls and gender neutral. You can also search by class color or type of degree. Just to name a few, they have college graduation invitations for law school, dental school, nursing school and medical school.

You can find cards that simply match your school colors or your personality, or you can go all out and personalize your invitations with a picture of your gradating star! After you choose what type of invitation you are wanting you can choose from a variety of themes to further personalize your card. Themes include books, cap and diploma, class of …., polka dots, silhouettes and swirls. There are several more to choose from, but you’ll just have to check out the site to discover them all.

The site doesn't stop there though. You can find invitations for bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays, parties, weddings and rehearsal dinners. On top of that they carry birth announcements and graduation announcements.

Invitation Box also has an Invitation Box Green section for those of us who want to be environmentally friendly. Cards in this section are made from recycled paper, and a portion of the profits goes to the Conservation Fund!

This site caters to celebrating all of those special, monumental occasions in our lives. Don’t waste money on over priced, lower quality invitations. Get it right the first time with colors that are vibrant and fun. With so many styles to choose from, you are sure to find something that fits your needs perfectly!

photos

I've been taking a photography class and am learning a lot about how to take good pictures with my camera so that I don't need to do as much editing later. I didn't have a fancy photo editing program anyhow, but there is one online program that I love. Sadly they are shutting it down. The site is picnic.com and it was probably the easiest program I have ever used. I click could completely change and enhance my photo.
Hopefully I get really good at taking pictures so that I don't need a program, cause PhotoShop is waaaaay out of my price range!

Aunt's mountain cabin

Content by Sol Rosales

My aunt has the most fabulous mountain cabin. It has a great view of the mountains behind it, and the whole back side of the house is covered in windows from the roof to the ground. Each level of the three story house has a wraparound porch to further enhance your viewing pleasure. I don’t know why she calls it a cabin because it is so huge she should call it her mountain mansion. Inside the house is a beautiful stone fireplace in a very large great room. Our family has had many gatherings there over the years. And even though the house is so secluded there is still internet service through satelliteinternetbroadband.com. The kitchen is open to the great room and dining room. With those areas being so open, it makes the room look that much bigger. The oversized master bedroom is on the main level. There are four bedrooms upstairs along with a media room. The basement has a den with a large screen television. There are three more bedrooms down there which are made up with bunk beds to accommodate all the children in our ever growing clan. The house is not her full time residence so she lets us use it whenever she is not there.

Living in Portland

Guest post written by my buddy Lavern Small

Living here in Portland has been so good for my family! We came here because of my husband’s new job and though I thought the kids would have a harder time adjusting than they did but they actually really seem to like it here. What I like best is that we are eating much better, lots of fruits and vegetables, and we get outside and exercise more than we ever did back in Arizona. It is because the weather is better in the other parts because it's such a biking culture here and everyone just walks or rides bikes everywhere they go. My kids love it because it's more freedom than they had back home. I got the house all set up though it feels like our old one with a Portland direct tv connection and even the furniture from our old house. We even painted the den the same color as it was in Phoenix so the kids wouldn't get too homesick! I think we're really going to like it here in Portland.

good moms

I found this via Pinterest.

Source: pinterest.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

It's so true.

the power of citrus

I've started cleaning with vinegar a lot lately. It's so much safer around the kids, but tends to leave an unpleasant smell. I don't really mind the scent of vineagar, but my husband and kids hate it. So, I found a solution via Pinterest. (click the photo for actual blog source)

Infusing your vinegar with orange peels! Phenomenal! Pour vinegar into a jar and add orange peels (make sure it is only the peels or it will get thick and slimy). Let the vinegar and peels sit for about a week and you'll have  cleaner that is not only effective, but also citrus cented. Even after only 1 day of sitting my vinegar was smelling better. Plus, citrus has some awesome cleaning power as well. Double yay!