Hello to all, this is MEGAN again today.

I really wanted to post early this morning, but I have been having a creative block so to speak about what project I wanted to focus on.  Then I visited a blog called Baby Making Machine and read a heartfelt letter written by blogger Jen to her 2 year old daughter.  That is when I KNEW what my DIY for today would be.

Today's DIY is as follows:

Materials needed:

1 Mom/Dad, or both whenever possible
child or children
a little bit of thought
a whole lot of love
plenty of patience
your best pair of listening ears
and the ability to let loose and get your silly on



Project:

To build lifetime relationships with our children and to instill in them a value system, even as young children, to help guide and direct them.

HOW-to accomplish this:

Start today by committing to the responsibility of parenthood and all that that entails.  Don't leave the teaching and instruction to some one at Pre-school, or actual school, or even at church.  Children learn to value what they see that their parents value, and as the saying goes, "if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself"- in this case, ABSOLUTELY!  

If you want your children to learn responsibility, integrity, honesty, love, kindness, how to share, then this DIY is for you because it is DEFINITELY a Do It Yourself lifetime project.

As my husband would say when referring to my love for blogs and reading up on child psychology and learning about new crafts and DIYs and so on and so on...reading up and learning about those things is all good and nice, but "just be sure you don't spend all your time reading and never actually DO any of them".  It is the same at home, good intentions or thoughts are all well and good but child rearing requires action- not tomorrow, or when things calm down at work, or after this project is finished, but NOW.

This DIY will require practice and don't be disappointed or ashamed by struggles or failures, the key is to "try, try again".  That has become my motto, along with "always be yourself, but always be your better self" and I think that these two things go hand in hand.

So good luck out there!  Go on and try it out starting today, starting in 5 minutes from now.  Start it and never stop.  Your children depend on your for more than shelter, safety, and food (although, yeah, those are like SUPER important).  They depend on you to learn how to be happy, how to be polite, know how
to serve and love others.  And these are things that they will only learn at home.

Hey Everybody!  I am the MEGAN of the MEGAN JESS pair and I am super excited to be posting for the first time today.  Jess has been doing a great job of getting us started and I have unfortunately been lagging behind.  Our family has been living in Germany the past four years almost and we have been in and out of the country several times visiting family in the recent months and then dealing with sick kids in between...there is always something going on for a mom!  But, like I said, I am really happy to be posting this morning and today is our "Pin it" Monday.


 Here are my faves this week:


LOVE this idea! I have been thinking about how to solve my own "tablet/cook book in the kitchen" problem and when I saw this I knew I had made up my mind. It's creative, attractive, and totally unique. I plan on finding a small piece of trim to tack on with (ironically) tack nails and a little glue, I already have the cutting board, then I can paint both and rough them up a bit with some sand paper. For propping up the cutting board, you could use and easel or the prop from a picture frame (preferably NOT a heavy cardboard prop). Can't wait to try this out!



This is a project that I really look forward to. We are building a house starting this year and I "heart" the X-leg ottoman! Sophistication, style, AND on a DIY budget? What more could you ask for?





A hide-away printer is exactly what every family needs, especially in homes where separate office or even desk space is not an option. This particular example would be located centrally in the family room, and no worries about cables, not with the many WiFi/Blue tooth capable printers on the market now- even printers with the interfacing capabilities to print straight from your iPad/tablet. This is a great solution to aid in "de-cluttering" the house, hiding the millions of ridiculous power cables, and maintaining easy access.



Next time you're out scouring the flea market for a find, digging through the second-hand shop, or perusing a local garage sale- keep this cute little project in mind. It is AMAZING what paint and a little creativity can accomplish.




So, I hope you have enjoyed my Pin picks for this week. I am a DIYer at heart, as is JESS, so I have almost given you a taste of what is to come tomorrow for our "DIY Tuesdays" but be sure and check back for more great and inspiring ideas!

Soon summer will be here and soon my baby girl will be in KINDERGARTEN.  Although it can be sad, I am thrilled...I don't want her to grow up to fast but I know she will learn a lot and have fun doing so. With all that in mind I decided to post  about what your 4/5 year old needs to know by kindergarten. This list was actually given to me to help prepare my daughter for her Kindergarten Assessment.

Reading:

• familiarity with books
• letter knowledge (lower and uppercase)
• letter sound knowledge
• experience with rhyming words
• the difference between letters and words