GET OFF MY SHIP!!!!

These are the words I hear as I stare into the face of the adorable, preschool aged boy at the playground.  I wonder if this is akin to looking upon Satan who masquerades as the Angel of Light and is in fact strikingly beautiful. But is really the Prince of Darkness. (reread that last sentence like you are telling a spooky story). Very dramatic, eh?

Because I can assure you this little boy was no angel.  He was, in fact, a playground bully. Bullying MY kid.

Oh, it's on.

Now drink that in for a sec.  He was maybe 4.  A cute little thing.  And began harassing my Cati the moment she started climbing on up the ladder to get to the slide on this playground built to look like a pirate ship. Now understand he has just sprinted from across the playground from who knows where to inform Cati she is trespassing on his territory.  He dashes across the bridge and stoops down to be nose nose to her while yelling...

"THIS IS MY SHIP!  GET. OFF. MY. SHIP!!!!!"

My first reaction was that he was just being silly.  Then slowly shock set in as I realized he was about to step on my daughter's hands as she climbed the ladder to keep her from getting up.  Before my better judgment was lost and took this kid by the ear and yanked him off his beloved ship, I finally asked him to stop yelling at my daughter and to let her up the ladder.

Then he looked at me...and I tell you it was chilling...he says in a deliberate voice.

"NO."

Say what?  Am I or am I not a grown up?  Does this not hold clout in the minds of small children? Where did my authority go in this moment? I mean, I was already starting to feel triumphant that I am a Mommy and what kid would possibly  disrespect another grown up with his own Mommy in the vicinity?  Um, this one apparently.

Am I crazy here?

So when he blocked her path yet again and kept yelling at her I had had enough.  Cati looked at me with a nervous look and said, "Mommy.  That boy is NOT nice."

"I know, Baby.  Don't listen to him and you keep playing."

I turned to this possibly demonized child and said, " Where is your Mommy?"

Mean bully child says" Hmmm.  Let me see if I can find here.  She's overrrrrr...hmmm...."
I stand there waiting for him to locate his mother while growing increasingly alarmed that perhaps I have encountered an actual motherless demon. Until he looks at me and says something that made my heart stop.  He says,

"My Mommy is really fat...oh, there she is.  Do you see her?  The fat one?"

I nearly fainted on the spot. I was so appalled by his behavior, his words, his very demeanor that I actually lost all my anger and just felt heart broken.  Sick to my stomach. Crushed to my bones that this little boy was acting like this and would speak of his mother in such a way.  I could cry just typing it. What has happened that this is OK for a child or any person to speak of another person like that?

So I march over to this mom who is with a sea of other moms and their kids in what looks like a mommy group of mass proportions.  Feeling like the fink I was, I tattled on her son feeling a bit in the spotlight in front of all the other moms.  And let's face it. Those groups can come in two forms. Sometimes they are a blessing and encouraging group of friends. Or it can be like the worst sorority hazing known to man.  Or woman.  Or mommy.

Anyway.

So I ask the woman, who is super nice, if the little boy was her son and her guarded and petrified look confirmed she concluded he had been up to no good. I informed her of what happened and then walked away feeling awful that it even had to happen in the first place.  She called him over and dealt with it but I was left feeling deep sadness for her and for this little boy who must be hurting in some way to act like this.  Or he is just plain evil.

I choose to believe that something is amiss in his little life and I am going to pray for him. And his family. I think it is because I have never encountered a kid who sought it out to be mean.  To intentionally try to hurt another child.  On purpose. I know what normal, disobedient behavior looks like and this was NOT it.

I felt it was important to immediately talk to Cati about the incident and told her that she was to never act that way to another child and to always be a friend.  I also told her she needed to forgive that little boy and move on. But I kinda would not let her play with him either.

Is that bad?  I was just so astounded by this entire situation I had no idea how to go about it.  It did not help that these moms kept looking at me.  I am still not sure what they were thinking but I am choosing to think they dug my visor, sunglasses, pigtails, and yoga pants look I had going on and they were intensely curious at my savvy in playground fashion.

But there was a funny moment that came when Cati was playing on the bridge of the ship and she sees bully boy across the way and yells,
"
Hey Kiiiiiiiid!  I am playing on your shiiiiiiiiip!"

Look at her getting all brave.  She even said it in that playground, sing song voice.  Is that an innate ability?


OK.  It was so wrong and I totally corrected her. But I thought it was hilarious.

Two Tips Tuesday: New Life for Shower Curtain Rings & A Shoe Box

TIP #1: Other Uses for Plastic Shower Curtain Rings

I am not really sure why I have these in my possession.  I must have purchased them to have a spare set on hand.  Perhaps I thought all 12 of my current set would spontaneously malfunction and I needed a back up set?  Dunno.  What I do know is I never used them and as I was packing boxes I came across them and have been burning the brain cells to come up with ways to use these. So what did I come up with?

Exhibit A:  Fun Bracelets for my Girls!

The girls were the ones that actually came up with the idea when I saw that they had got into the box and were wearing them as bracelets.  Being that I need everything to be pretty, I decided that I would use ribbon to beautify them up.  I just used a little hot glue to secure one end, wrapped it all the way around and secured the other end with another little dab of glue.  Easy peasy! Ella will model them for you...

She literally sat there putting each one on and then would take them off one by one, line them up on the floor and start all over.  Gotta love her. She is too darn scrumptious and cute. Cati loves them too but all my pics of her wearing them were blurry since she can not sit still. Oh well.


Exhibit B:  Rings to Hang Scarves and Belts and Other Hangy Things

What makes this work is the ribbon keeps the hangy things from sliding off and the fact that they are shower curtain rings helps you to put them on the hanger when you unclasp them.

And no.  I did not pick some of my favorite clothes to go on either side of my hangy thingy and make it look like it was haphazardly placed in my closet but I really put it there next to my favorite top and dress.
Not uh.  Not me.

TIP #2:  Shoe Box Chic

Of course you know I am packing.  I mention it in like every post.  Is it getting old?  Because it is sooooo getting old on this end too. But anyway, in my efforts to try to find new uses for old things or just try to breathe new life into something that can be easily tossed, I came up with a fun way to dress up this old shoe box from a pair of my daughter's shoes...

Do you love it?  Cuz I sure do!!!!

All I used here was some scrap burlap and that old, white bed skirt I have mentioned a few times. 

(Sorry for the blurry picture) I made the flower rosettes by merely twisting the material and gluing them as I rolled them in a spiral.  The sash across the box is just a section of the hemmed part of the bed skirt folded in half and glued to the top of the box.

It took me less than an hour to make and I ended up with a gorgeous box to display or even a custom made gift box.  So much fun and all free from what I had in my stash!  YOU GOTTA LOVE THAT!

Happy Tuesday to my Friends on...

Exposing the Truth

Help me.

WHAT?

Help me. Please.

   

I can't hear you!  Speak up! 

I don't want anyone to hear me or to know. 

WHY?

Just help me. Quickly. I need help.

WITH WHAT?

Feelings of failure.  

Inadequacy. 

Sin I keep carefully hidden. 

Being authentic.

Spiritual doubt.

Depression and anxiety

Courage to cry for help. 

Admitting I am weak. 

Sitting down for God when He calls me to STAND.

Becoming easily angered.

Feeling out of control and admitting it is inevitably true.

Trusting the love of others.

Knowing all situations and hurts can be redeemed.

Proclaiming my faith.

Putting my hope in people and being angry when they let me down.

Letting God be a trophy rather than LORD. 

Arrogance that I know ENOUGH that there is to know.

Being rejected and knowing I often will be.

Loving people who don't love me back.

Hating people who actually love me.

Seeing a mirror and being disgusted and believing others feel the same.

Remembering my past and letting it shackle me.

Living a life for today rather than living a life preparing for eternity.

Intense, paralyzing, life debilitating... 

FEAR.

I once heard someone say that the opposite of faith is fear.  I believe this with everything in me. And I believe I live with fear. And almost every item on this list. Lately I am realizing that perhaps I am not alone.  That others feel things but fear keeps them quiet. In hiding.  From exposure. 

I know that I am often lighthearted and like to pack a post full of humor.  But I am also intensely passionate about being real. Transparent.  Honest.  AUTHENTIC.

Especially as a Christian.

I often wonder if anyone reads this blog or other bloggers who proclaim their faith and wonder why Christians believe what they believe.  Especially since the images I often see depicted can be summed up to all Christians being just like Ned Flanders from The Simpson's.  And that Christians have never watched The Simpson's because if we do, we will be opening a portal to the gates of hell. Or that we never say hell. Or type it.

Or they may think Christians are Judgmental. Pious. Dogmatic. Closed Minded. Backward Thinking. Old Fashioned. Disillusioned. Believer of Myths. Misguided. Hypocrites. Maybe it has gone as far as being said Christians can be Cultish, Segregationists, and maybe a lot of them are REPUBLICANS (insert falsetto scream here).

And here is what I have to say about it...

It is all TRUE.

Now before you quickly scroll to the bottom and rapidly type out a comment to frantically pull me back from the flames for my erroneous theology here, let me explain.

How on earth can we be human beings and not be grossly fallible? We have all fallen prey to these colorful titles and there is a good reason why. We sin.  We make mistakes.  We are human beings who wing this life that we are given; sometimes with haphazard foolishness.  Sometimes with keen discernment born of wisdom.

And so often, we try to be perfect.

But because there is no person who possess even a smidgen of the fullness of perfection...we need a STANDARD. There are many viewpoints out there that can be considered "standards to live by."  But my personal belief is there are only two options available:

1.  Our Own Standards
2.  God's Standards

And I believe God's standards are perfect.  (At this point,  I wonder if I were speaking to a large audience that I would hear crickets or some feedback from the microphone).

Ahem.

This is where I become afraid to offend someone.  That someone saw my blog and thought, "This chic is cool.  She makes canopies from a hula hoop and napkin rings from hair rollers. Let me follow this clever and strikingly beautiful girl RIGHT NOW."

And then I proclaim what I believe and suddenly my world collapses in on me because I lose a follower or offend one of you precious people who I only want to encourage. I then want to sit down for my King and hide behind humor and the superfluous.  But I am now trying to stand up and get real.

But I have still not gotten to my point.  I know. Shocking. That first list at the top.  The one where a small voice was crying for help? Has that not been the cry of every heart that exists?  Every person who walks this earth?  Is it not what we all confront in the battlefield of the mind?

So here is my question...to myself and maybe some of you.  Why do I hide behind funny comments and a particular image I want to portray?  Of course, that is a big part of my personality but why don't I write like this more often? What will happen if people open that locked door and see the real thing?  I mean, a blog is a fantastic way to fabricate a persona.  You can be anyone you want to be.  It is like being on a stage but you control your lines, your character, your story.  But what if you are caught?  What then?

I, for one, know that when I see the transparency of another person, I feel like I am breathing cleaner, fresher air.  I suddenly feel connected to that person of beautiful imperfection and no longer feel like an island that is slowly eroding into an endless ocean.  I feel understood without ever saying a word.

And as Christians I think we can easily hide behind the stuff of life that so easily ensnares.  Homes and toys and clothes and image and jobs and success and  kids and...you get it.  But we need to get real.  Let our guards down and just relate to one another.  I feel like we are so busy texting, facebooking and NOT communicating. Connecting. Doing what the whole point of my post is...reaching out to others from the recesses of my own pain.

Because God calls me to love others.  More than myself.  And I sometimes can find myself putting on my "Christian Suit" with my "Christian Smile" and acting like being saved by Jesus solves everything and puts a nice bow on it.

The real story is...I acknowledge my need for a Savior and I am fully forgiven and free.  And He continues to save me every day. But life gets hard.  And the hard stuff sucks.

So I want to confess that all those things I wrote at the top of this blog are everything I have felt in this last month.  Every thought, every distressing conviction, every lie.  And I say this so that if any of you have felt like a failure, rejected, weary, bogged down by sin or full of despair I just wanted to say...

Me too.

Playing Catch Up, Cute and Choclatey Girlies, and Maybe 1 Tip for Today

So this is me yesterday when I realized the next day was Tuesday and I had no tips and I completely have forgotten what day of the week it is...

 Then I remembered that all of you are awesome and you come here because you dig my chile. This was actually an expression I used as a teenager.  Is it any wonder I was a geek?  I actually thought that expression was cool. This is my face after I revealed my high school coolness to all of you...

But I remembered that I make being a geek...cool. You know it's true.

So I am good now.  

Moving on...

On Sunday I got a craving for ice cream.  And not any ice cream. I wanted GOLD MEDAL RIBBON ice cream from Baskin Robbins at Dunkin Donuts.  Oh, that creamy vanilla and chocolate goodness wrapped in tons of sticky, gooey ribbons of caramel.  Really, it is a sweet, scrumptious treat that is pleasure beyond reason. 

And my girls agree.

I think Ella felt her girled out t-shirt with a glittery rainbow and hearts needed some edge so she browned it up with some chocolate.  I like it. 

Oh yeah.

On the pants too.

Even the shoes.  Brand new shoes I might add.  But whatever.

And chocolate kisses are always fun too.

So then I got to thinking.  Do I have a tips?  AHA!  I remembered something from the weekend. Cati and I were playing tug of war with her dollar tree hoola hoop (Have I ever mentioned I often lack maturity and good old common sense?) Well the obvious happened.  It broke.

But you know me.  What can I do with this now that it is broken?  So I did this...

A Canopy Made From a Hoola Hoop!

I was so excited!  This is probably already out there but it was fun to imagine I am the only person on the planet to come up with this.  All I used were sheer curtain panels, and some leftover tulle I had.

 I peeled off the ribbon from the hoola hoop and taped the broken part.

 If you want to try this without brilliantly breaking the hoop during tug of war, just take off the ribbon and pull it apart here. Then slide the panels on.

I don't think this should go over my mischievous daughter's crib but I thought it might work on a covered porch or even in the corner of one of the girl's room's as a little reading nook.  We shall see what I come up with at the new house.

What do you think?

Hope you enjoyed this Tuesday's utter randomness!  Hugs to all of you dear friends!

I Have Another Blog!

I have been so busy with packing lately that I have not been blogging.  

The only thing I have to talk about is this move, the new house, and I felt like if I did this too much on my blog (and I already felt like I told you too much as it is) I would start being one of those friends that just talks about one thing every time you saw them. So I decided to just to stay busy and break from the blog.

But the thing is...I always need to vent.  Plus, I am learning so much about this process.  Since we are buying our first home, preparing to do some remodeling (which is so new to me), and basically starting from scratch, I figured I should create a journal of sorts to document this momentous process.

Sooooo..my new blog was born that will strictly be focused on the house, home decor, remodeling, and DIY projects for the home. I am NO EXPERT but I think it will be fun to see what happens.

 

Hummingbird Lane

I am not sure if I will do all the bloggy pizazz with this blog and have a button or fun fonts. It is actually pretty simple.  I just want to document this amazing home adventure.  I have no idea where it will go or if I am even kidding myself that I can do a HOME DECOR based blog. Or maintain TWO blogs. I am not one to easily stay focused which is the beauty of Two Shades of Pink.  I gave myself permission before I even started writing to be random, crafty, talk about my family, my girls, and my faith to give you a picture of me if you knew me in person.

So if you want to check it out, please do.  If you want to stay with me though this whole process then follow along.  I have been pretty overwhelmed with all of this but it always makes me smile when I remember that all of you have been so encouraging and with me through it all.  Thank you so much.

Just click on the the little hummingbird above and it will take you there.

Thanks for being my friends!  You have come to mean so much to me!

Two Tips Tuesday: Guest Post

OK, I am seriously ecstatic to introduce you to Keren.  I can honestly tell you that her blog is like a hug and a cup of tea with a close friend. Also, with that kind of blog title, I was an instant follower. :)

Keren is so sweet, so creative, and so lovely. Her creativity is a merging of simplicity, feminine loveliness with an "I can so do that" ease.  Her blog is wonderful to visit. She is the kind of person you meet and instantly want to be friends with.  Not to mention getting peeks of her off the charts beautiful, baby daughter every once in a while. Honestly, I am just so excited that she is here today.  Please go visit her and give her lots of love. 

 

Hello Everyone!

I'm Keren from Free PrettyThings For You!

Thank You Jessica and Everyone for welcoming me here today!!

I'm a SUPER Fan of Jessica's and I am Honored to be her guest Blogger on this fantastic

2 Tips Tuesday!

 Lets get started!!

 

Tip  1:

 

 As all my followers know already, I am a Mega fan of Martha Stewart and her amazing line of products!  But they also know that I am on a budget and sometimes ...  OK all the time MS is a bit pricey.

So today I am going to show you how to Save $ and get super similar results by Doing It Yourself!

 

 In one of my trips to the ever fabulous Michael's I stumbled upon the new MS Flocking Powders.. they looked So yummy in all their pastel color glory ...But... I had NO CLUE on how to begin to use them or what they were even for!

 

Of course I had to find out so I GOOGLED it and came across this wonderful Blog called Such Pretty Things!!  She had this AMAZING tutorial on how to use them and I fell even more in love with the Powders!

Take  a look for yourself here!  They make pretty paper even More pretty with fuzzy texture! :)

 

Here is how I did my own Flocking Powder:

 

1.  I Started with MS Craft Seam Binding  ribbon I already owned  2.  Used pretty leaf heart punched paper
3.  Cut small piece of Craft Seam Binding ribbon
4.  Unravel it
  5.  Cut it super fine
6.  Collect the  fuzzy powder
7.  Spread glue on desired area
8.  Spread fine fuzz over glued area   -shake excess off-  

and your done!!

Now you have a super cute gift tag ready to adorn a special gift!

Tip 2:

 This is a SUPER easy DIY Tip for you to try next time you want to personalize a gift for a loved one :) 

 1. Peel off the Logo Sticker

2. Choose your Rub on transfer image

3. Rub it on

 

And there you have it!

your own personalized budget friendly beautiful candle!!

 

 

Front                                          Back 

 

If you have any questions or just want to say hello please feel free to do so! 

Thank you again for having me Jessica my dear! Love ya!

Take care Everyone and God bless!

XoXo's

~*~Keren~*~

 

 

Isn't she fabulous? Go visit her and say hello! 

 

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Flashback Friday...on Saturday

People, I really need to get on it. I miss writing. We are living in a sea of boxes and the process is progressing as slow as my weight loss but with a numerous hitches along the way.

BUT...I had an idea to help me stay on top of the blog without actually needing to overcome this blogger's block I am experiencing.  How about revisiting old posts?  Ones that make me smile and maybe you have not read because I wrote them when I had 3 followers and still trying to comprehend what a blog actually was. It will probably not be every Friday but I hope for those of you have only starting visiting me here will get a glimpse of me.  I love to craft, share with you about my faith and family but the heart of this blog is my writing.

So here you go.  This one is probably my very favorite, numero uno post because I literally wrote minutes after encountering this bizarre experience.  Hope you enjoy.

Go HERE.

Easter Photos...A Little Late

I meant to post this Monday and time just got away from me.  I wish I had photos that were  more exciting but I was not on the ball that day plus I kept forgetting to get a family photo.  But my girls are always worth every picture even if it is only the tops of their adorable heads.  They looked so cute and I was so excited Ella was ready to do the the egg hunt this year.

If you notice the above pics, I got their cute, little bonnets from the dollar tree.  I removed the pink ribbon, added my own, and made the flowers from an old bed skirt that I use for scrap material.

Before

 After

The girls love hats.  Which I love because they look so precious and girly. And my hubby told me this sweet story about how his pastor from the church he grew up in always had the women and girls wearing Easter bonnets to stand up so he could ooh and ahh over it. I love that story and since the girls were all for it, I had them wear them.  But did you notice that little piece hanging down on Cati's hat?  She apparently wore out that hat because it started unraveling. Too funny.

After church I made banana cream pies.  I do it each year for Easter dinner. The girls got to lick the beaters.  I always loved that as a kid.

Cati is such a ham.  Takes after her momma.

The egg hunt!  

I bought these cutie baskets at Sam's Club last year and they have held up so nice!  I looooove anything felt so I snatched these up. I use them for different things throughout the year too.

The lollipop flowers worked out OK.  They were much bigger in my mind's eye. Next year, I will cluster them together or make bigger flowers. The kids loved it and that's what matters!

A fabulous day to celebrate our Risen Savior.

Two Tips Tuesday

I am in MAJOR packing mode.  So this may be my last two tips unless any one of you lovely people will graciously volunteer yourself to guest post for me.  There are a few of you I have in mind to ask for help but I am so busy I don't even think I have time to do that.  So today's tips are born of desperation coupled with a desire to salvage anything even if it is merely to post it here.  None of it is new but may inspire some of you as you embark on Spring Cleaning or an urge to purge!

TIP#1:  Other Uses for a Plastic Placemat

 I had this placemat (bought at Target) for Cati because I found myself scrubbing the table for 5 minutes after one of her many meals turned Frenzied Dining Art. It helped a lot but after cleaning it all the time it was showing some wear and tear.  Not to be one to just throw it away, I figured I could use it for something else. Here are two ways I came up with...

 Mouse Pad

Do you like my retro chic mouse? I so looked for our more current one but I think it broke and we had to go back to this one.  Disregard dusty desk as well.

Coasters

TIP#2:  What to do with Mis-Matched Picture Frames

A lot of these frames are great and I have been trying to figure out which stuff will go in the yard sale, donate, or trash piles.  And pictures frames have always baffled me.  Often, they come as gifts in all shapes, sizes, colors and tastes but the photo is the important part!  But I am always left feeling like I am unsure how to make these  look unified. Other people make it look easy (probably many of you) and it was long time coming for me to finally get it. So I decided to throw some of my frames together and give them some new life.

For me, the key was to not be afraid to work with what I had and just change them.  So a fresh coat of spray paint did just the trick. I think I will carry out the unified theme and just do black and white or sepia toned photos.  I am excited to salvage some picture frames and be able to put them to good use in our new home. Now let me go wrap these up and put them in a box.

Happy Tuesday! 

Saying Goodbye to Cati's Room

As promised, I thought I would show you Cati's room before we leave this house that saw the beginning of a family.

Before you come in you need to know that this was the room that we initially readied for the precious foster kids we cared for.  We poured so much prayer and anticipation into this room. Who would have known it was the beginning of parenthood for us bringing our firstborn home in a matter of months?  Below are some pictures of hubs and I painting the room.

I do believe the hubs may threaten me bodily harm once he gets wind of this photo out there for all the webby world to see.  But it is so cute.  This is his "beachy look" stage where he grew his hair long and wanted to buy a jeep to restore.(I am totally laughing right now and I keep hitting delete because I can't stop cracking up).  If you don't hear from me soon, check in on me as I may be trapped under something heavy.  A supposed "accident."

So to soften the blow of this reveal, I have posted this very unflattering picture of myself as well.  Wielding a paint roller and like always...talking nonstop.

This is when Cati occupied the room but I wanted you to see how I stenciled all these happy words around the room like Sing, Cuddle, Hug, and Explore.  We wanted this to be a safe and happy place for these kids.

That dresser was in my apartment during my senior year of college.  I can't believe I bought a kids dresser but I was a poor college kid.  It came with these bright primary color slider things to put on the front of the drawers. Came in handy here!  Those valances are a Kmart special and I have had them forever.  I think they were in my kitchen in my first house.

Cute Cati hard at play and wanting to become one of her stuffed animals.

This is her room now.  
She loves the color pink (I wonder why) and wanted a pink room.  I bought this bedding for a song at TJ Maxx and Cati's sweet daddy painted this room during a weekend Cati and I went away. And see?  Decor on the ceiling.  It is a must.

Her living and kitchen area.  Ha!

Her dress up clothes which are a daily pleasure around here with 2 girly girls. They wear it ALL!

This is the molding around the closet door.  The paint is cracking and it is dirty with filthy zebra stripes where I clean in between the lines. We started a height chart for Cati here and there is no way I am risking wiping it off.  I finally took a picture of it and this is part of the sweet history I am sad to walk away from.

This is a precious doll house she got for Christmas from her grandparents.

As I backed up to take a picture for ya'll, I stepped on the corner and heard a crunch.  Shoot!

Look at this cute thing!  How adorable but look at the door on the right hanging off because I am a klutz.

So then I am fiddling with it to see if I can glue it and I snap it completely off.   

JESS! STEP AWAY FROM THE DOLL HOUSE!  

Cati came up to me later on with the whole door in her hand.  Oh well.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of Cati's room.  I am not sure I can show you the rest of the house as I have been packing like crazy and we are drowning in boxes and chaos.  But I will see what I can do.

But get ready.  I will be asking you fr advice about the new house.  I will need HELP!

POST SCRIPT:  I am a liar, aren't I?  I told you in another post that I have no pink in my decor and here you see it gracing the walls of my daughter's room. And I did say there is almost none of it in my decor.  But come on?  A pink bathroom vanity with pink sinks?  I draw the line somewhere.