Friday Faves- Schools Out Edition!

They say childhood passes in the blink of an eye.....

If the rest of her schooling is anything like this year,  then I truly believe it!

I cannot believe it's summer break around here already

 and my first little baby girl is now going to be a first grader!

First Day

Last Day

Today's Favorite #1 is this big girl and all her Kindy accomplishments:

Kinsey did phenomenal during Kindergarten. No bad behavior days, no trouble being at school all day, she made lots and lots of friends, and she mostly ate her lunch :/

She's now reading at the 18-20 level (which Scholastic's website says is second grade!) and currently obsessed with the 'Magic Tree House' series of chapter books. She's come a long way- barely knowing but a handful of sight words at the beginning fo the school year!

Her penmanship is great- she even practices cursive at home because she 'wants to write pretty like mommy does'. I think the area she most needs to work on is spelling and sounding out words when writing. That's one area I plan to focus on withe her during summer homework.

We sent her off this morning fro her last half day of the year! She wanted to wear the same dress as her first day...which makes for good comparison pictures, too. (mama-razzi approves!)

Favorite #2 was part of her teacher gifts:

She took some necklaces for her teachers, along with a handwritten card including drawings of their favorite things by Kinsey.

I know plenty of kids still have a few weeks of school- so I'm attaching a link to this cute little notecard I designed for her teachers. It's FREE and prints two to a page.

click here for MediaFire Free Download

Favorite #3 is this FREE printable Summer Schedule from my last post!

Favorite #4 is one simple word: SUMMER

We will be making our summer bucket list soon- the girls and I are ready for days spent in swimsuits, barefoot and eating popsicles on the porch!

Linking up:

A Little Bit of Everything Blog

Grace and Love Blog

Momfessionals

As always- please leave a comment or pin my blog image if you download the FREE printables! Thanks!

Free Printable: Summer Schedule

Summer with kids out of school. You either love it or fear it. 

My plan is to love it this year, so I've got some tools up my sleeve to help summer be smooth sailing. 

Plan #1 is simple- a 'daily theme' to give each day something to center around

Don't worry- it's not anything crazy that requires loads of planning, effort or stress. Just a basic theme for each weekday, so that the kids can look forward to a certain activity daily. 

Here's the summer schedule I came up with for our family.

It's filled with pretty low key, cheap and flexible options for each day. 

The best part is- I have 4 different versions available as a FREE download today!

Anchors                                                                                   Arrows

Scalloped Teal                                                                           Scalloped Grey



Just click on the link under the version you like to be taken to the MediaFire download!

I'll keep ya posted on how this works out for my little tribe of gals.....only 3 more days of school!


I'm also working on a daily 'timeline' of events to help our days run smoothly. 
Hopefully I'll be back with a peek into that soon.

Do me a favor and Pin or comment if you download! Thanks!

Hands Full. Heart Full.

When you have three girls it's like there's a flashing sign above your head that reads:

***Make a comment about my family***

Because these phrases are said to me on the daily:

"You trying for a boy next?"

"You sure have your hands full"

"Oh, what a beautiful baby....oh, wow....and you have two more kids!"

"You know what causes those right?"

etc.etc.etc.

I'm 100% sure moms of four or more kids get these types of comments, and moms with three boys, and moms with both boys and girls. Heck, I got the "you trying for a boy next" comment all the time when I had two kids.

Basically, people like to point out the obvious.

 Apparently they think I don't know I have my hands full 

and the drama from 3 teenage girls will age me 10 years?

Trust me, I know my hands are full. I feel the fact that I have 2 hands and 3 kids every.single.day.

But I also know that all that makes me crazy also makes me happy beyond measure.

Those three little ladies make my heart burst on the daily.

So join me in celebrating the craziness that is having your hands full with children.

 Because it's also what makes my heart the happiest.

Click here to download this free, hand drawn "Hands Full, Heart Full" 8 x 10 print

Can be printed at any size desired

P.S. This is my 100th post! Only took me 6 years of blogging very irregularly to get there.

Linking Up To:

Strawberry Mommycakes

Updating the Laundry Room

Since moving into our house in late September, we have been knee deep in need-to do's, want-to-do's, dream-to do's, and everything in between! 

Some things have been as simple as buying and installing cellular shades for privacy, while others are more time consuming yet boring, like sanding and staining weathered wood on all the surfaces of our home's exterior. Other projects have been more rewarding- like taking out the ugly and falling over mailbox and building a new one to match the style of our house. 

Still, there is loads of work to be done! We've got a large property, measuring just under 1.25 acres, and it's allllllllllll dirt, and tumbleweeds, with a few yuccas for variety. 

tumbleweed pile #5

The tumbleweeds on the majority of our property got the axe about a month ago. That was a very prickly process! But even as I sit here in the breakfast nook typing, a random tumbleweed rolling by will often catch my eye. 

Welcome to the wild west, southern gal. 

You have long sense traded green grass and lightening bugs for tumbleweeds and scorpions.

 I'm not sure I like that trade. 

Anyhow. Back to the subject of today's post. The laundry room. It's a bit of a pass-through room, with a door to the side of the house, and another door to the kitchen. We mostly leave the kitchen door open to let the light in, so it's a place visitors can clearly see when they come to our home. It was looking a bit blah, and with the decline of our old dryer it was also time to purchase a more efficient washer/dryer set. We got these lovely granite colored laundry wizards through my husbands handy work discount program (a perk of working for a company that owns a lot of brands!) 

I was hesitant to jump onto the front loading washer bandwagon. I'd always heard they were finicky, needed to be left open to 'air out' and could have issues with too much soap/suds. Well, this model does all the soap dispensing for me (thank goodness I can't screw it up!) and I figure in our dry as bones climate, the door will only need a little 'open time' after a wash and won't stick out too much. 

Truth be told, I was mostly on board with the idea of a front loader so we could do this.

Add a much desired countertop for spot treating, flat drying, folding, etc. 

My awesomely handy husband took on the task of turning an empty space into a custom fitted laundry haven, and I have to say  he did a fantastic job!

I now have a countertop, new base cabinet, and the washer and dryer switched places to be more comfortable in the load switching process. He also built a false wall that is easily removable to cover the washer hookups that, due to code, were higher than the units and clearly visible. 

The countertop we chose matches the existing vanities in all the bathrooms, leading to an 'original to the house' and cohesive look. 

All it needed after all his handywork was a little 'dressing up'- so I picked up a cute little pot and cermanic owl at Michael's, filled a jar with as many clothepins and I could scrounge up

 (note to self: buy more clothespins for decorative purposes only), 

stuck a plant in the pot and called the countertop decorated! 

I also created this simple print that I'm sharing as a FREE download. 

You can click on the link under the image to download through mediafire, and if you download, make sure you share the love pin the image....pretty please!

download 8 x 10" print here

The other print shown is a free download from A Pop of Pretty  that I found on pinterest!

Recycled Crayon Storage + a FREE printable

Today I'm sharing a free craft, 

that like most of my other DIY/Printables 

is designed to help keep your home better organized. 

This is a craft I made about 6 months ago, 

and so far it is holding up great and getting daily use from my 2 girls!

This one is simple- I know it's not a *new* idea, but it is a *cute* and *free* idea.

Both of which make me very happy!

1. Take a large plastic container and clean it out

(I used a Costco Animal Crackers bin, 

but Target has similar animal cracker and cheese ball containers

 if you aren't a member of a Costco/Sam's Club)

This is a great size for LOTS of crayons & the lid screws on tight

2. My Rainbow Chevron 'Crayons' label downloaded for free

(I recommend printing on cardstock 

and printing a front and back copy, 

mostly because I was too lazy to scrape the old labels off

 and I needed to cover both sides!)

3. Scissors and Packaging Tape

Cut label to desired size and tape in layers on the entire surface

 (so the label is almost 'laminated' on)

Fill with crayons, give the kids some paper and CREATE!!!

What ways do you often re-use old plastic containers? Leave a comment and share!

Keep Calm and Drink Lemonade: Free Printable

In my last post covering Makayla's Pink Lemonade 2nd Birthday Party,

 I shared a photo of a "keep calm" style print I designed for the lemonade stand.

Today I'm sharing it as a FREE download!

download

If you download it, please take the time to pin it on pinterest, 

share via facebook or Twitter,

 or best of all follow my blog(via blogger or bloglovin')

and leave a comment!

Please check out the other party printables available for purchase in my Etsy Shop ModInk Design

Celebrate Dad

Father's Day, as you may or may not remember, is just around the corner. 

In my house it usually involves lots  of family time, maybe a little golf, and a yummy meal or two. 

In past years I have done framed photos for my hubby as a simple but meaningful gift to celebrate his role as the father of our two girls, most of which hang in his office. 

This was 2011, 

when Kinsey was 2 and we were expecting Makayla the following month.

This was last year, 2012,

 where I made a 'D' and 'A' out of a cardboard box 

and painted them for the girls to hold. 

This year I haven't finalized our gift,

 but it will probably contain some pictures from this past year 

and maybe some artwork from the girls. 

So if you are, like me, still looking for a little something special to say 'I Love You' this Father's Day, 

I made up a cute poster you can download and print for FREE!

It comes in 3 colors, Royal Blue, Orange, and Mint Green.

Download

Download

Download

Here's the Mint Green framed as an 8X10 print, and as a 5X7 with Kinsey's artwork as a mat. 

So please, download, enjoy and make sure you celebrate all the Father's you know next Sunday!

Teacher Printables in the shop & FREE Thank You Tags!

The end of the school year is upon us- in your house is that a good or a bad thing? ;)

Whether you have a preschooler or a high schooler, 

it's always nice to say 'goodbye' to the teachers

 and school staff that help our children grown and learn in a thoughtful way.

Today I finished up some cute new Treat Bag Toppers and listed them in my Etsy shop, Mod Ink Design. 

These thank you tags are a great way to give a little treat to your child's teacher, librarian, teacher's aide, therapist, administrator, secretary, bus driver, janitor or even crossing guard.

 They would also be a great gift for the parents in your carpool group, a dance teacher, or a sports coach.

I also designed a couple FREE printables for you to download and use on your end of the school year gifts. 

Download Here

These tags would be perfect on a gift basket, bag of candy, gift card, mug with cocoa mix,

 cookie on a stick, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Download Here

Lastly, I designed a simple candy bar wrapper in a school assignment theme. 

This is also available to you as a FREE download. 

It's a bit larger than most candy bars to accommodate different varieties. 

Just download & print, snip the ends to desired length,

 and wrap the candy bar up and tape closed. 

It's adorable with a ribbon accent or without, and you can have your child hand-write their name.

Download Here

If you like these freebies don;t forget to show me some love! 

Pin them, tweet them, share them on facebook 

and I would love to see pictures of your final gifts ready to be given via instagram!
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Linking up @ Blissfully Ever After

Menu Planner Printable

Another organizational tool I've been using lately is a menu plan.

The concept is nothing new, but I love the weight off my shoulders when the old 'what's for dinner?' line comes up. Check the fridge! If that doesn't sound good, skip to the next day!

 I go through the weeks circular, as well as our calendar, and plan out 7 meals before shopping. Usually I try to keep a rotating 'staple' or two on the list, something that I can almost always whip up with ingredients in the pantry, fridge and freezer, no matter when I last visited the grocery store. This helps when we have an unexpected change of plans, something that usually happens at least once a week around here. 

Today I'm sharing with you another FREE printable, click the link below to download, print, and place into a page protector or frame and you are set! 

Download Free Printable Here

Printable Chore Lists

My life is in need of some major organization lately! Do you ever stop and take a step back and wonder how things got so messy? I have a pretty good idea of when my order turned to disorder...it's was the moment a became a mommy! Since there's no going back, there's only moving forward with better organizational tools to keep life on track and hopefully keep me sane.

I've been searching the depths of pinterest and google for ideas to sort order from the disorder that is running a household of four, and my first stops were simple and pretty papers to keep me on track with cleaning.

In the past I always did laundry on Monday, Shopping on Tuesday, Cleaning on Wednesday, etc. But with 2 munchkins life sometimes gets in the way of that strict of a schedule. I've been trying to do a load or two of laundry daily to keep that overwhelming laundry pile at bay, and I've recently found that one day for all the errands isn't always feasible when one munchkin needs a nap and the other decides to pretend she is the spawn of Satan in Target. It's life. You gotta roll with the punches sometimes.

So this little list was born in an effort to keep things orderly and make sure they get done on either a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. When placed into a frame under glass or a simple page protector on the fridge, a dry erase marker is an easy and reusable way to keep track of tasks.

I'm currently using the teal chevron print because it matches my kitchen/dining room, but I was nice enough to put together some other pattern & color combinations for those of you wanting a FREE download!

Grey/Teal Chevron                       Green Chevron                           Grey/Yellow Chevron

Tan Damask                                 Yellow  Moroccan                                   Grey Damask

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

A verse recited during our wedding ceremony 8 years ago. A typical wedding reading, I suppose, but true words nonetheless. Thought I would turn it into a wall hanging so I whipped up some type today-

Hopefully I'll have a finished product to show off on the walls soon!

Download Here

Free Printables: Kids Storage Labels

In recently re-organizing my oldest daughters very small room, I used a variety of bins, baskets and buckets to keep sets of similar items together for her. At almost 4 she needs to get better about putting her toys away, so in an effort to help her in the process I designed some simple labels for her. The ones that she will be able to reach on her own (and be expected to put away on her own) have labels with pictures, the ones that are kept high out of her reach (and her little sisters) have word labels. 

Nothing fancy, nothing new, but I thought I would still offer them up for free to anyone who needed a little labeling in their life! Click each page to download and enjoy!

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