children

We Moustache You a Question…

February 13, 2012 By Ruth H. 1 Comment

…are YOU ready for Valentine’s Day?

I am happy to report that everyone at our house who is elementary school IS ready for Valentine’s Day. Check out these DIY personalized Valentines:

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We whipped out these funny valentine cards using Picnic (free for EVERYONE, right now!) and I had them printed out using Target’s 1 hour photo service through Shutterfly. It cost about $10 to print enough to hand out to both classes, BUT if I had been on the ball and used a Shutterfly promo code, I probably could have spent less than $6 for them.

The good news is that I still saved lots of time, because these handy cards already have my children’s names on them and don’t need to be folded or punched out or have stickers added to them. Hooray! Here’s how we did it:

I took a picture of each child.

I downloaded the pictures to Picnik. I used Picnik’s “Add a Sticker” feature to attach the mustaches. (Many mustache choices are available in the sticker files.)

Then I used Picnik’s collage feature to put the pictures on a colorful background and add text. It took a whopping 10 minutes.

Instead of candy, my children will be handing out mustaches-on-a-stick along with their Valentines. Much cheaper than candy, since we have all the supplies we need to make them. And I’m pretty sure the mustaches will be a hit with their friends.

Have you had any great ideas for Valentines, this year? If you are in need of any inspiration when it comes to doing something special for your spouse, check out the ideas I shared this weekend over at Infarrantly Creative.

Filed Under: A House in Holland, Holland for Families Tagged With: children, DIY projects, DIY Valentine cards, holidays, Justone, Superkid, Valentine treats, Valentine's Day, Valentines

What’s On Our Shelf This Christmas?

December 19, 2011 By Ruth H. 2 Comments

You may have heard of the Elf on the Shelf. Perhaps it’s a long standing tradition in your home.

Source

If you haven’t heard of it, you can check out the Elf on the Shelf official website, or check out some fun Elf pictures here.

Well, we don’t have an Elf on the Shelf at our house. That doesn’t mean our shelves are entirely empty. Nope, we have something on our shelf.

Brace yourself. [Read more...]

Filed Under: A House in Holland, Holland for Families, Postcards from Holland Tagged With: Bionic Man, birthdays, children, Christmas, Elf on a Shelf, Endeavor, family, humor, Justone, lobster, seafood, traditions

Ordinary Days

December 1, 2011 By Ruth H. 1 Comment

I’m very sad that I’m down to something like one post a week on this little blog ‘o mine. Sorry! I’m not even going to promise to do better, because things have been a little crazy at our house.

The good news:

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. Loved having family (Uncle Dustin and his A Team) with us. My nieces are adorable, and we were sorely tempted to let their parents leave them behind.
I’m determined to post pictures of the pies I made for Thanksgiving dinner, because I’m that proud of them. Stay tuned.
Christmas shopping is DONE–at least for my children. Still working on a few things for the extended family. But I’m feeling good about it. I’ve got momentum. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Postcards from Holland Tagged With: CHD, children, Christmas, medical issues, pneumonia, Superkid, Thanksgiving

Family Picture Outtakes

November 1, 2011 By Ruth H. 4 Comments

I meant to take pictures for our family Christmas card over a month ago. It just didn’t happen. A few days ago, we decided at the last minute to drive a few miles out of town to our favorite orchard. I grabbed our tripod, made my kids and husband put on clothes that coordinated with what I was wearing, and told the two youngest and my husband that they OWED ME–big time–for all of the help I’d given them on their costumes, and so it was time to grin and bear it. Literally.

Attempting to take our family photos by myself reminded me of something important: JUST FORK OUT THE MONEY NEXT YEAR AND LET A PROFESSIONAL DO IT. Let’s face it, no one’s going to look good when their mother is yelling at them, “Turn this way! Drop your chin! I said don’t move! Hold on a second, I have to figure out how to use my camera. Don’t squint!” And the other reality? My kids will actually cooperate better with a stranger behind the lens than they will with me behind the lens.

Here are my two favorite pictures from our trip to the orchard:

Filed Under: Holland for Families Tagged With: children, fall, family

Mother Sews Best

October 30, 2011 By Ruth H. 5 Comments

Have I told you that I’m pretty sure a man invented Trick-or-Treating? A man without any children of his own? Because seriously, folks, would a woman–a mother–invent a tradition that involved elaborate costumes and unlimited candy for children? I rest my case.

Despite the fact that I had to pack for, unpack, and organize two back-to-back out of town vacations in the past week…despite the fact that I had several writing deadlines…despite the fact that just the mere effort of turning on my sewing machine these days causes me to say creative non-swearing epithets…I told two of my children I would make their Halloween costumes.

This is what my sewing room looked like by the end of the day, yesterday.

Though it may look as if poor Hunter the Dog got too close to my sewing shears, or as if I sacrificed some small animal to appease the evil spirit that dwells within my sewing machine, I can assure you that no animals were harmed in the making of our Halloween costumes. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holland for Families Tagged With: Bionic Man, children, costumes, DIY costumes, Endeavor, Halloween, Halloween costumes, Justone, Mother Gothel, sewing, Superkid, Tangled, Trunk-or-Treat, Viking Warrior

I’m Not in Holland, Today

September 28, 2011 By Ruth H. Leave a Comment

That’s right, I’ve left the country, so to speak. I’m actually spending the day over at The CSI Project, where I’ve been invited to share a favorite fall project.

Kind of fun to write as myself this time, and not as the oh-so-elusive writer!

So, if you’d like to join me, come on over and read about my favorite fall project…the tiny/fall-themed party I threw for Superkid last year.

FYI…The CSI Project has grown quite a bit over the last year. So have the other sites that my employers, The CSI Girls, are running. For various reasons, they have decided to sell The CSI Project, and are entertaining all interested bidders. No, my services aren’t included in the sale, unfortunately, but I would love to see The CSI Project go to someone who will enjoy it as much as I have. (Or someone who wants to keep me on as the writer!) If you think you might be interested, you can learn more about this opportunity HERE.

Filed Under: Holland for Hire Tagged With: children, guest post, parties

The Things We Do for “Fun”

September 23, 2011 By Ruth H. Leave a Comment

The Bionic Man and I have a rule that our children need to do some kind of activity on a regular basis that will keep their bodies moving. Our goal is not to produce Olympians, it is simply to give them the opportunity to find activities they will enjoy that will help them stay healthy.

Fall means cross country season for Endeavor.

This is her second year as part of her middle school’s cross country team. Last year, when she started, it took her 23 minutes the first time she ran the 3K course. This year, she can do it in less than 14 minutes. Running has helped Endeavor to deal with stress. She’s learned that she feels better after she runs, even when she’s had a hard day at school. Running has also taught Endeavor to eat. She has learned to recognize the connection between her body and it’s need for healthy food to power it up. She’s ravenous after she runs, and I’ll tell you: for the mom of what used to be three very picky, sporadic eaters, it’s good to be down to two. (Her grandmas will be interested to note that Endeavor still won’t eat cereal with milk, though.) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Healthy in Holland, Holland for Families Tagged With: children, cross country, Endeavor, family, fitness for children, Justone, running, soccer

Adventures with Superkid

September 22, 2011 By Ruth H. 4 Comments

Here’s the report on yesterday’s trip to the children’s hospital: Superkid was a superstar!

If I haven’t told you before, you need to know that Superkid considers all trips to our children’s hospital–for any reason–to be primarily a social outing. Any procedure or examination that the trip entails is secondary to the opportunities for social networking and the gathering of prizes, as far as Superkid is concerned. A true performance artist, Superkid also feels that every person encountered at the hospital is a fresh audience ready to be delighted with her medical history, family history, favorite songs, new vocabularly words, and dance moves.

I don’t know where she gets that. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holland Has Hospitals, Postcards from Holland Tagged With: artificial heart valve, bravery, child life program, child life specialist, children, children's hospital, hard things, medical issues, nosebleeds, Riley hospital, Superkid

Healthy Superkid Update

September 1, 2011 By Ruth H. 1 Comment

I have not found much time for blogging this last week, and I’m afraid that’s going to be the case until sometime next week. I somehow think I’m going to have all this extra time when school starts, but I think the reality is that I spend the morning recovering from getting everyone out the door, and the afternoon gearing up for everyone coming back through the door. Once they arrive, then the action and noise involved makes up tenfold for what wasn’t there during the day. School totally wears Hunter the Dog and I out, I’ll tell you that much.

Anywho, it’s late, and I’ve got lots to do tomorrow, so this has to be quick. I just wanted to share the good news that Superkid’s cardiology appointment last week went really, really well. It was her first cardiology visit in over a year, and her heart looked so good that they told us not to come back again for another year! That, my friends, is quite a record for us. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holland Has Hospitals, Postcards from Holland Tagged With: artificial heart valve, cardiologist, cardiology, CHD, children, congenital heart defect, coumadin, Hunter the Dog, medical issues, miracles, nosebleeds, pediatric patient on blood thinner, Riley hospital, Superkid

Oh What Do You Do In the Summertime?

August 5, 2011 By Ruth H. Leave a Comment

“Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool, or swing in a tree up high?Is that what you do? So do I!”

- Songs for Children

Great-grandpa has some of the best trees for climbing my children have ever seen.

Hunter the dog thought they were okay, too. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holland for Families, Uncategorized Tagged With: backyard, children, dog, Endeavor, family, Hunter, Justone, summer, trees, vacation