The Best Of 2011 #1

So we've made it to number one. At first the top post surprised me. It's not about a crafty, or refurbished furniture, or a Goodwill find, not even a recipe. It's about a rough morning with the girls turned around by a thoughtful neighbor. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that is was completely and utterly perfect. Hanging On By A Thread is about balancing work and home life, finding time for yourself while making sure your family knows how much you care about them and realizing that by doing something you love makes you a better mom, wife, and friend. We all struggle at times to keep things together (we're all just hanging on by a thread), and we get through it all with the love and support of our family and friends. 

Happy New Years to you all! Thank you so much for making 2011 so wonderful for me. I am thankful for each and every one of you!!! I'm looking forward to 2012 and all the fun, craftiness and surprises it may bring!

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Best Of 2011 #1

9:24

9:24am

By 9:24am yesterday I knew it was going to be "one of those days"...we were already "hanging on by a thread"...

By 9:24am

• We already had experienced 3 time-outs
• My youngest had lost all of her TV tickets for the day
• My oldest had had 5 meltdowns, 2 with full-blown tears
• Our dog ate her food too fast and started choking and making the worst sound I have ever heard, I was seconds away from googling "how to give your dog the Heimlich" 
• My dog proceeded to barf on our kitchen rug
• My youngest had drawn all over her face with markers
• My youngest (It really wasn't a good day for her), while in her 2ndtime-out, pulled down all the decorative wall decals in her room and crammed them into a teacup 
• Our play date that was supposed to come over and help entertain our girls canceled 
• I had drank 2 Diet Cokes and was contemplating drinking a 3rd or perhaps something stronger
• I had heard more than a days worth of whining, fighting and unkind words
• My children had asked me for a snack exactly 17 times
• My children were already complaining they were bored
• I was already counting down the minutes to nap time
• We had used 4 band-aids

And then at 9:25am I got the call.

There is some old saying that "Good fences make good neighbors" but yesterday I knew that "Crafty Mamas make wonderful neighbors!"

The call was from my neighbor and friend Kathleen. She told me she had put something fun in our mailbox for the girls. Something to keep them entertained. She joked that it might not be the 34 minutes I'm used to having but that they'd love it.

Yesterday 9:25am was my favorite part of the day!

We found these in the mailbox:

Bubble Guppies printable Puppets!!!

(Bubble Guppies are a relatively new show on Nick Jr. and are our newest favorite thing. So far they have only had 10 episodes and this Mama is REALLY hoping they come out with some new ones soon!)

She also included LAMINATED collector cards

And coloring sheets too

It was just the distraction we needed.

The girls even stopped fighting long enough to put on a puppet show.

Such a great and thoughtful gift!

I checked out NickJr today and was amazed at all the cool crafts, recipes and online games they have to go with their shows. I'm not sure how I missed such a great resource! If your child has a favorite NickJr show there is sure to be a ton of different activities that you can do together. Check it out!!!