The Ballard Bunch

Thursday, February 10, 2011

{craft exchange part deux}

3 comments Posted by Evie B. at 11:52 AM

So our Valentine's Day Craft Exchange

was such a success (love my crafts!)

that I'm putting together another for Easter.

Same as before: create a home decor craft,

make enough for each person to have one,

swap with everyone and leave with a great variety!

Deadline to sign up: February 18th

Deadline to deliver crafts: March 18th

Join us, won't you?

p.s. I'll be posting pics of all of the Valentine's Day crafts ASAP.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

{eighty bones}

10 comments Posted by Evie B. at 12:22 AM

$80.43 to be exact.

Why haven't I been doing this sooner?

$319.36 worth of groceries for $80.43.

My first time out. Alone.

Seriously folks, it's insane.

And seriously addictive...

...I can't wait to go again next week!

I'll be planning as many meals

around that week's deals as I can

and will be building up a pretty decent

food storage at the same time.

{hello, canned foods}

Please, if any of you are interested, let me know.

I can put you in touch with a super easy,

FREE!, quick {minutes, not hours}

and rewarding program that shows you how

to save tons of money on your groceries.

I'm a sucker for a deal.
p.s. Here's what I got:
5 - Arrowhead Water 24 Pack
6 - Ajax Cleaner
2 - Icy Hot Gel
2 - Neuragen Gel (normally 24.99 alone!)
2 - Advil Congestion
2 - Arnicare Pain Relief Gel
2 - Betty Crocker Mixes
4 - Vlasic Relish
4 - Vlasic Sandwich Stackers
1 - XL Jar of Kosher Dill Pickles
3 - Colgate Toothpaste
1 - Marie Calendar’s Frozen Dinner
11 - Campbell’s Chunky Soup
10 - Rotel Diced Tomatoes
10 - Hormel Chili
10 - Hormel Chili Masters
3 - Packages of Hot Dogs
2 - Medium Cheddar Cheese 2 lb
1 - Gallon Milk
12 - Valentine Tumblers (plastic cups)
1 - Kikkoman Soy Sauce
1 - Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce

Thursday, January 13, 2011

{valentine's wreath}

0 comments Posted by Evie B. at 11:09 AM

I'm feelin' the

Valentine's Day love.

And this is the first of many projects

I have in mind before the 14th.

Inspiration found here.

p.s. There is still room for

participants in the Valentine's Day Craft Exchange.

Check it out and let me know if you are interested!

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

{be my valentine?}

4 comments Posted by Evie B. at 7:47 PM

So I failed.

Although I had every intention,

there was no ornament exchange

organized at Christmas.

I wanted to.

I really wanted to.

And I know there were those of you that did, too.

Sorry.

But never fear, Valentine's Day is drawing near.

So...why don't we do a Valentine's Day craft exchange?

You know you wanna.

Here's what I'm thinking:

We find 10 {maybe more?}

fabulously crafty and lovely ladies.

Each of them make some kind of

Valentine's Day home craft

and mail {or hand deliver}

one to each of the other ladies playing.

In summary:

- mass production of crafty goodness

- mailing of packages to new {maybe old} friends

- receiving packages on your doorstep {always exciting}

- a home full of totally awesome Valentine's decor

And if we rellly like it,

maybe we should channel

the Easter Bunny next.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

{crazy december}

3 comments Posted by Evie B. at 1:13 AM

Dude, I'm exhausted.

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

{hayden's favorites}

1 comments Posted by Evie B. at 2:27 PM

Monday, December 06, 2010

{from santa}

2 comments Posted by Evie B. at 11:21 AM

Enjoy!

Tatum's Message from Santa

Hayden's Message from Santa

Layne's Message from Santa

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

{let it snow}

21 comments Posted by Evie B. at 4:23 PM

Cheap and Easy!

{the snowflake, people}

All you need is:

package of jumbo craft sticks (found mine at Robert's)

small wooden discs (also found at Robert's)

white craft paint (you could spray, too)

a hot glue gun (have you gotten one yet?)

glitter (any color you choose)

Using hot glue put arrange craft sticks

following my pattern (or make your own!).

Tip: The angles @ the center

(underneath the big disc)

should all be 60 degrees.

Once dry, paint with white glue.

While that's drying, paint your discs and immediately add glitter

(they'll stick to the wet paint).

Adhere painted and glittered discs with hot glue.

That's it.

You're done.

Really.

Inspiration found here.

Monday, November 29, 2010

{teacher gift}

25 comments Posted by Evie B. at 4:39 PM

Super Easy.

All you need is:

a foam wreath (found mine at the $1 store)

scrap material (i used pinking shears to avoid fray)

a hot glue gun (if you don't have one, get one)

boxes of crayons (also from the $1 store)

Adhere the scrap material around the wreath with hot glue.

Glue crayons to back side (flat side) of wreath.

Make simple scrap material flowers

(or any other embelishment you choose).

All-in-all this project took me about 20 minutes

and cost less than $5.

I love it!

{november in a nutshell}

4 comments Posted by Evie B. at 4:37 PM

The second-to-last month of the year

included {but was not limited to}:

Leaves

Tantrums

Treats

Face painting

Sleepovers

And lots, and lots, and lots of

SNOW!

Come On, December!

Friday, November 05, 2010

{my toy story 3}

5 comments Posted by Evie B. at 8:13 PM

Cowgirl Jessie

Bo Peep

& Woody

Some were into it

and some totally weren't.

Happy Halloween!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

{preschool, here they come}

1 comments Posted by Evie B. at 11:15 PM

If you even knew

how much driving around I did every day,

your head would spin.

Pick up, drop off, pick up drop off...

and on and on and on.

But seeing how much they

love school makes it all worth while.

Hayden started preschool this week

and just so happens to be

in the same class as her friend Kaden

And, we even have some carpool action going on.

Soccer moms have nothing on me.

Good Luck Hayden!

Saturday, October 02, 2010

{busy}

2 comments Posted by Evie B. at 1:11 AM

I've been swamped.

Please forgive me for skim blog posts.

I'll return to normal soon, pinky promise.

{p.s. aren't they gorgeous?}

Thursday, September 09, 2010

{back to school photos}

0 comments Posted by Evie B. at 3:45 PM

Saturday, September 04, 2010

{it's about that time}

2 comments Posted by Evie B. at 11:59 PM

Family Photo Season

{book now to save your date}

Friday, September 03, 2010

{kindergarten}

2 comments Posted by Evie B. at 10:52 AM

It's here.

The day I knew was coming, but wasn't sure how I'd receive it.

My heart, my baby, my first born,

my sassiest and most stubborn of children

enters the world without me always by her side.

And, I won't lie - I'm a little scared.

Not questioning if she's ready or not (she's ready),

not excessively sad that she's growing up

(she's 5 going on 15, I'm used to it),

not even totally sad that I won't

have her with me 24/7 (the break will be good for both of us).

What scares me the most

is that this is the begining of the world creeping in.

The world of you're not good enough.

It wasn't that long ago that I was there

(and in some part, still am)

and I'm kind of sad for her.

I don't want her to lose her innocent and non-affected confidence.

I love that she knows she's cute and struts her stuff.

I love that she relishes in being smart and wants to learn new things all the time.

I love that, even though she might fight

with her brother and sister, she really is a kind and empathetic child.

I love her stubbornness and her razor sharp memory

(I can never go back on a bribe or promise with that kid - she never forgets).

I don't want her to be told that she's not smart enough,

funny enough, tough enough, pretty enough,

skinny enough, popular enough,

spiritual enough, outgoing enough,

perfect enough.

Because she is.

She's exceeded all of my expectations

of what motherhood would be,

of how much I could really love another person unconditionally.

She's taught me so much about being self-assure and letting go.

It sounds crazy, but at the age of 5,

she has a better grasp on who she is than most people my age.

And now, she steps into the unknown

with her stylin' new outfit and shiny new shoes.

Kindergarten, here she comes.

Please, treat her well.

Tatum Gayle - Kindergarten

Age: 5

Height: 43 inches

Weight: 50 lbs

Hair color: Light Brown/Blonde

Favorites

Animal: Baby Elephant

Food: Turkey Sandwich

Game: Wii (she is a killer bowler)

Toy: Barbies

Thing to Do: Playing w/ B

Book: Pinkalicious

Color: "Pink, like my mom"

Movie: Princess and the Frog

TV Show: iCarly

Song: California Gurls (Katy Perry) and Hey, Soul Sister (Train)

Primary Song: Follow the Prohpet

My best friend is: B

Other friends I like to play with: McKenna, Holly, All My Cousins

Things I like to do with my friends: Play house, play babies, do art projects

When I grow up I want to be: A rock star and a firefighter

Pets: Emmit

If I had a new pet it would be a: “Baby Kitten and I would name her Ellie like the cute girl on 'Up' ”

What people like about me: "That I‘m cute"

Things I can do really well: "I’m really good at coloring inside the lines. I can do a cartwheel and a front flip on the tramp. I try really hard to be nice and to share. I‘m good at babysitting babies like Greydie. I‘m really good at singing and dancing and make up my own songs all the time."

Good Luck, Tot.

We sure do love you 'round these parts.