Pinteresting Creations

Pinterest can definitely be a source of good or evil in my life.  For example, when I accidentally let an hour go by totally immersed in finding pins about being a better parent, instead of actually paying attention to my daughter who is whining for attention at my feet- not so good.  Also, it's probably a bad thing when all the blogs of amazing stay at home Moms who are accomplishing amazing things- lead me to feel completely overwhelmed and insignificant.  Seriously, us women are so good at comparing ourselves to others.  Now thanks to Pinterest (and the internet in general), we can compare our weaknesses against the strengths of MILLIONS of other women.  Who's idea was this anyway?

But- man I love how Pinterest helps me copy other people's smart ideas.  All of my adventurous cooking has come from pinterest.  I've found some great food.  I've also found some crappy food.  I now have two recipes boards.  One is for "untested recipes."  After I've cooked it, if it's good, I move the pin to my "Recipes that I've actually tried and liked" board.  I like to think that this is helping my followers find the good stuff that's out there.  I've learned to ignore the pins that say "This is the BEST recipe I have EVER eaten!   This will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!  MY HUSBAND WANTS TO EAT THIS EVERYDAY!  IF YOU ONLY PIN ONE THING THIS YEAR...!!"  etc., etc.  You're overselling, people, and I find it suspicious.  But seriously, you should make this mulligatawny soup:


http://www.made-famous-by.com/2011/06/german-chocolate-cake-and-mulligatawny.html

and this sweet and sour chicken
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/07/sweet-and-sour-chicken-updated.html

They will change your life.  

In February, Hubby was in charge of "treat day" at his work on Valentine's Day, so Pinterest and I went a little overboard. 

Our dinner table that night

Strawberries with cream.  The cream was only okay, and I couldn't make it look cute like the pinterest picture. Meh.

Valentine's chex mix.  Good, but I've had better mixes.

The pizza with heart shaped pepperoni was the best part.  We decided to make it a Valentine's Day tradition.

I didn't get up close pictures of the Valentine's candy and the rice krispy treats in heart shapes.  They were about as exciting as one would expect. 

In March, I helped plan two showers.  Pinterest to the rescue again.  Here's the owl cupcakes I made for my sister-in-law's owl themed party:

Pretty cute, right?  Just add Oreos and Reese's Pieces!

I got some ideas for games and activities on Pinterest as well.  I kind of hate shower games, but I found some less awkward ones.  At the first shower (for a girl in the ward) we played Baby Mad Lib, Present Bingo, Photo Scavenger Hunt, and a trivia game about the Mom and baby.  We had the same games at my sister in law's shower, but no one played them, because we were busy with another Pinterest Idea- a headband making station!  It took some money and preparation, but it kept everyone interacting and entertained without a bit of awkwardness.  Plus Heather got some really cute headbands!  (I made some for Claire with the leftovers, too!)

In May, I was in charge of a Mother's Day activity for our Young Women.  (Remember how I planned a tea party last year?  Hey, that was the first post in this blog.  Ah- memories.)  This year, I planned an Amazing Race for the Mothers and Daughters to do together. 
I had fun making the invitations, signs and game tickets:

The Moms and daughters raced to three stations: The church, where they decorated cupcakes, Value Village, where they found clothes to fit a challenge and had their picture taken, and the common room of my apartment building where they completed a "Mom Relay."  As a part of the relay, the Moms got to sit and relax while their daughters put on dresses and aprons, did chores, and took care of their Moms for a change...

Changing Diapers

Packing Lunches

Pedicures

Manicures

Vacuuming

When everyone was done, they headed back to the church to step on the finish line.  Then they enjoyed cupcakes and candy.

 I took the picture of the refreshment table before I added my favorite part- water and lemonade with some Pinteresting ice... cut up strawberry and lemon frozen in.  Seriously- so easy, pretty, and tasty!

I hope the girls and their Moms had fun at this activity.  It sure was fun to plan. 

Also in May, I tried some activities to keep my kiddos busy.  Here's June-bug (the cutie I babysit) enjoying the "edible finger paint" we used to make a mother's day card for her Mom.

It took about 30 minutes to set up, 20 minutes to clean up, and 5 minutes for her to get bored of it.  This seems to be the case for every "How to entertain your 1 year old" pin I try.  Maybe things will get better when I'm entertaining a 2 year old.  

Anyway, I've enjoyed many other pins, but those are the ones that stick out in my memory at the moment.  Yeah Pinterest!  (When it is used for good.)