First Day of School and Preschool... successfully completed!

Today was the first day of Grade One for my oldest, and the first day of Preschool for my middle son.  It was a very exciting and very exhausting day in this house... but everything went well, and the boys went to bed happy.  I guess we can't ask for much more than that.  :-)  Here's how our day went:



We started the day with a pancake breakfast



My First Grader holding a picture of himself on his first day last year

My Preschooler holding a picture of himself on the first day last year

Treats (Smarties) my First Grader brought for his new classmates

Ending the day with some bus cookie "lollipops" and milk

A good day, but a long day.  I miss summer already!  :-)

♥ 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

5 Minute Felt Pumpkin

Fall is such a great season.  Who doesn't love the awesome weather, Thanksgiving and Halloween?  To get me in the "Fall" spirit, I made this adorable felt pumpkin in just five minutes.  

Cute, right?  Want to make one?

You'll need:

• Orange felt
• Some cotton batting
• A little twig
• Some green ribbon

And, here's what you do:

1)  Trace a circle onto a piece of felt, and cut it out.  (I used a plate as a template.)

2)  Draw some 1 cm lines (about 1.5 cm apart) around the perimeter of the circle.  Then, use scissors to cut out slits where you have made the lines.

3)  Weave ribbon in and out through the slits you have cut -- making sure both ribbon ends are outside of your circle when you are finished.

4)  Add some stuffing, insert the stick (stem), and pull the ribbons ends tight.

5)  Tie a bow to create a perfect little pumpkin.  (PS - How cute is my four year old little pumpkin?  :-)

These felt pumpkins are so quick and easy, you could easily whip up a pumpkin patch full! 

♥ 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Brother Labeller - Review and GIVEAWAY - CLOSED

Giveaway CLOSED.  The winner is Comment # 10

Amanda (ANCFraser@aol.com)

OK... I need to confess... I don't spend nearly enough time cleaning my house.  If you come visit me, you are likely to find toys all over my floor, and my beds may be unmade {gasp!}.  (I sure hope my mother doesn't read this.  :-)

However... I  am very organized, so when Brother Canada sent me a P-Touch PT-1100SBVP Labeller to review, I was super excited!

I tested it by labelling my son's school supplies, but I plan on using it to organize my craft room in the very near future.  It will also come in handy if I ever get around to some scrap-booking projects on my "to do" list because it comes with Acid Free Tape. 

The test:  I initially printed some labels on my home computer, but they started to peel off after a couple of hours.  So, I relabelled everything with my new labeller, and it was awesome.  Not only did they stick really well, but they had cute borders and designs that my son could choose from.  Check it out:

WITHOUT my new labeller

WITH my new labeller

One happy customer!

So... here is the best part.  I have one to give away to one of my readers.  Just comment below (with your email address if you aren't logged in), and let me know how you would use your new label maker.  Pretty easy, right?  Good luck!

Rules {I am a mom... I can't help it}:

1. The winner of the contest will be chosen by the Random Number Generator.
2. To enter the contest, you must leave me a comment telling me what you would do with your Brother labeller.  Contest is open to Canadian residents only.
3. This contest is not being hosted or sanctioned in any way by facebook.
4. Contest closes on September 11, 2011 at 11:59pm.
5. Prize will be accepted as awarded.
6. Winners will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond.  After 48 hours the prize will be forfeited, and another winner will be selected.

Please note:  I was provided with this product (free of charge) for reviewing purposes only.  No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are 100% my own.

For further information on the labeller, please visit brother.ca.

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Decorating Walls with Memories

I love making my house feel like a home, and one of my favorite ways to do this is to fill my walls with pictures that are meaningful to me.  (And it is an inexpensive way to decorate -- definitely a BONUS! )  Here are five of my favorites:


1)  I took this picture of my boys feet when they were playing in the grass last summer.  I love looking at their little toes, and it will always remind me of how little they were.

2)  This is a piece of artwork my son did at school.  I framed it and hung it in his room.  It is special to both of us.

3)  When my boys were babies, I took pictures of them after their bath (wrapped in towels).  The pictures look sweet in my bathroom, and the boys love seeing themselves as babies.

4)  I had special t-shirts made for my older boys to wear to the hospital to meet their new baby brother.  I put them in shadow boxes and hung them in their rooms alongside a picture of them wearing the shirts.  Such special keepsakes!  

5)  Every year, I take pictures of the boys with the Easter Bunny and Santa.  I frame them and only take them out at Easter and Christmas.  The pictures always make me smile, and they are a very special part of our holiday decorations.

Do you have special artwork in your house?  I would love to hear your ideas.

♥ 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

 

Family Movie Night

We are currently trying to squeeze in every bit of summer fun we can before school starts in September.  Last night, we took advantage of the great summer weather and had a family movie night -- outside.  It was fantastic! 

Here are 5 tips for a great outdoor movie experience:

1)  Get the kids in their PJs.  That way, when the movie is over, they can head straight to bed.

2)  We had our movie inside our Gazebo so that we could use the mosquito netting.  If you can't do this, make sure you have lots of bug spray and/or citronella candles.

3)  Make sure everyone is comfy.  We set up lawn chairs, and lots of sleeping bags and blankets.

4)  Add some extra fun by having glow sticks and sparklers.

5)  Don't forget the treats!  No movie night is complete without a big bowl of popcorn.  :-)

I hope you are enjoying these last lazy days of summer as much as we are.  :-)

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Teddy Bear Picnic

The sun is shining, and today was a perfect day for a Teddy Bear Picnic.  The boys packed their favorite "friend", and I made a picnic lunch -- including some special cookies.  Take a look.... it was easy and a "beary" good time {sorry... I couldn't help myself!}.

The boys posing with their "Teddy Bears".

Here is the recipe we used for our cookies, and here is how we made them (see below).  I know they aren't fancy, but didn't they turn out cute?

Step 1:  Roll the dough into two small balls and one bigger ball.

Step 2:  Attach the three balls together and flatten them down a little.

Step 3:  Add chocolate chips for eyes, a Smartie nose and a red icing mouth.

We even brought one of our favorite books to the park -- The Teddy Bears' Picnic.  (I hope no one heard me singing it.  If so, I apologize.)  ;-)

What a great way to spend an afternoon!

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

No Sew Reading Tent

I LOVE encouraging the kids to read, so one of the things on our summer checklist was to "read a book outside".  I thought it would make it extra fun for the boys if I made them a special "reading" tent.  It wasn't fancy, but they had a great time.  :-)

I wanted it to be simple, so I came up with this "no sew" tent using:

• a hoola hoop
• an old sheet
• a beach towel
• a few binder clips
• some twine

Here is how you can make your own tent:

1)  Separate the hoop at the seam.  This will allow you to slip the sheet onto the hoop.  (The best part about a sheet is that there is already a built in seam at the top.  Check out the pictures if you don't know what I am talking about.  :-)

2)  Reattach the ends of the hoop together, and secure with tape.

3)  Cut four tiny holes in the sheet which will allow you to tie twine around the hoop (to create an "x").  (Again... it will make more sense when you look at the pictures below.)

4)  Attach another piece of twine where the original twine pieces cross.  This is what you will use to attach the tent to a tree branch.

5)  Take a towel and wrap it around the top of the hoopla hoop.  Secure it with binder clips.  (See?  I told you there was no sewing!)

6)  Hang it from a tree, and let your children enjoy it.  My boys LOVED it, and it only took me about 15 minutes to gather the supplies and put it together!

Here are a couple of pictures of them enjoying their new "Reading Tent".  

How do you encourage your children to read during the summer?

 

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

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