Welcome...

Hey girls! It was so great to see everyone this morning. Welcome Tracey and Kacey and welcome back Darcy. I'm planning on keeping our blog address as it is "Group4Girls" even though we have changed to "Group 5". Newbies please let me know if you are new to the blog world and don't know how to sign in or post to our blog. This blog is a fun way for our group to keep up to date with each other or post pictures from group events. I will change the background and heading as soon as I receive pictures from Tracey, Kacey and Darcy. See you all in 2 weeks!

Craft Night Take 2

We missed most of you at last night's craft session! We made these easy and pretty necklaces from washers and ribbon. It was definitely easier than carving paper for 3 hours!

This one's for you Tracy!!

We took frames from this style . . .

to this! Now we just have to glue some ribbon to the backs and we'll have bow holders for our girls! Shannon, I will spray yours for you since you are preggers!

I hope everyone can make it to the next but I know it's so hard with all of our different schedules! Miss you all!

Craft Night: Take 1...

Wednesday night was our first craft night at Jill's (thanks for hosting & planning). We made these cute hide-a-books. Not quite as easy as they look, but fun non the less. The cutting was monotonous enough that we had a great time chatting it up for the 3+ hours we were there. Luckily no one lost a finger, but I know a few of us had sore hands the next morning. Can't wait for our next craft...

Summer Craft Night Preview

Thanks so much for hosting dinner for us last night Tracy!! When you get really inspired . . .maybe you could post the recipe for us! You all seemed to be excited about craft night so I thought I'd give you a preview of what I had planned for us this summer! They are all simple (and if they look more complicated we will have easy-to-copy templates) and inexpensive (about $6-$15 at the most each).

The first one I thought we could do is the hide-a-book. Thanks to Goodwill's 50% off stickers, I found us books last weekend for the project. I thought it'd be super cute and simple to decoupage the inside of the book with some fun paper.




These washer necklaces are so affordable and cute! You can leave the washers blank or decoupage them to match the ribbon!

Don't worry ladies, I am on the hunt (and have already found some) for some funky frames at Goodwill or garage sales to make these awesome ribbon holders below.

While we're at it, we might want to make some of these charming flower clips! Christa made Jetty a few and they are so cute and EASY!!!

This tooth fairy pillow is so cute too! It requires a little hand sewing but trust me when I say I am BAD at sewing and know we can do this so cute! This will be one of the crafts where I'd have a bunch of templates cut out for everyone to trace before cutting! And I will experiment with the glue gun to speed this one along!

How cute is this birthday wreath? This one is EASY!! (have I already said that?)

It's kind of hard to see in the picture below, but I decoupaged this table for Jetty before she was born and she's been eating on it ever since. This is her and Keegan (Christa's son) a few years ago. This is a great gift or fun table for your kitchen or playroom.

I used an old Mexican style book I had and the table is under $10 from Ikea. I have a ton of Cooking Light magazines that we could use for this or if you get a subscription to a colorful, picture-filled magazine - start saving them for this project.

I hope to get some dates out soon for the craft nights so we can get started! This will be so fun! I plan on getting all the materials for each night as long as everyone is good about RSVPing so I can know how many to buy and then pay when you come.

Things to start gathering around the house for the hide-a-book:

-an exacto knife (or box-cutter knife) - ask your hubby cause i'm sure you own one (it's probably gray and covered in stucco or dirt but it'll work)

Cupcake Bites

Easy Cupcake Bites
1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
2(14oz) packages Wilton Candy Melts for bottom (I used dark cocoa mint or dark cocoa)
2(14oz) packages Wilton Candy Melts for tops - so pick 1-2 colors (got these at JoAnn)
Candy cup molds (I bought 2 at Joann- makes 22 at a time)
Sprinkles and m&ms for decoration

Directions:
After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. (The texture should be fine/fluffy)
Using the back of a large spoon, mix thoroughly with 1/2 can cream cheese frosting.
Roll mixture into quarter size balls (make sure they are smaller in diameter than that of your candy mold) and lay on wax paper covered cookie sheet. (I just put them on cookie sheet without the wax paper and they were fine).
Chill in the freezer for a few minutes, until they are slightly firm, not frozen.
Or you can put in the fridge for a few hours if you need a break - I have kept them in fridge overnight and done the rest of the steps the next day.
Melt chocolate bark and candy melts in microwave per directions on package. (I melt about a third to half of the package at a time in a small ramekin).
Using a spoon, fill each mold cavity with a small amount of chocolate. (about half or a little more than halfway up the mold).
But as soon as you fill the cavity, go ahead and place one of your rolled balls into it. Carefully push it down until the force causes the chocolate to push up and fill in around the sides of the ball. You may have to experiment with a couple to get the right amount. Stop pushing once the chocolate reaches the top edge. (I fill about 6 and then put the balls into the mold and the chocolate is fine)
Place the mold tray filled with cupcakes in the freezer for just a few minutes to let the chocolate set. Remove and then gently pull up on the cake ball top to release from candy mold.
Now, holding the bottom of the cupcake, dip the top in another color of melted chocolate.
Decorate.
And, probably impress your friends and family.
Makes about 50. Store in an airtight container and they will last for several days. (Mine made about 60)

Recipe and photos courtesy of http://www.bakerella.com/ Thanks Bakerella!

Girls' Night Out!

Tracy...

Hey Girls It's Christa posting...I just realized that you probably aren't seeing Tracy's posts because they are comments under another post and I am the only one getting those emailed to me, so here's what she wrote.

February 25~
Ok gals, I was feeling much more committed and inspired after seeing everyone yesterday! I sent my text about Olympic Events under the sheets and now I am off the hook for the bonus project! I plan to do a little lingerie shopping too. Thanks for the inspiration.

March 7~
Well, I just got a gushy thank you email from my husband thanking me for all I do so the project must be working even though Monday's treat was a Godiva choc. caramel bar with a bite out of it! This weekend we are planting some spring plants and I already cooked for his whole office this week (40) people so that should count. Still need to go Lingerie shopping! Best wishes to all in your hubby projects.

Just a li'l something to tell him . . .

Since S and I are having a weight-loss contest I decided not to go too crazy on any fattening treats (I want to win the bet fair and square) so I ordered one of his favorite hot sauces from Peru. Hopefully he will be thinking of me when his mouth is on fire!

If he read the list he found, he's doing a great job at pretending he knows nothing is going on. I haven't been to good about doing each thing everyday but I have definitely been more aware to be pleasant and appreciative and he likes it!

Week 1...

Week one went great. I'm so happy with how things are going. The change in my attitude has had a positive effect not only on B, but the house in general. We have been having so much fun together. I'll have to figure out something different for today's project though, "special treat in a special place". I planned ahead and bought B his favorite candy last week, and hid them in the pantry. I planned on hiding them in his desk drawer today, instead little B found them and left them on the floor in the butler. B went to make coffee on Thursday and almost stepped on them. He called me and said, "I found a package of cinnamon bears on the floor, are they for me?" Special place alright... Perhaps I'll just jump to the bonus project, when all else fails...I may wear out the bonus project this week, Anniversary (9 years) on Wednesday and Vegas this weekend...

Busted!

So maybe it wasn't a good idea to have a printed, condensed version! Especially if you're completely scatter-brained like me and leave it in the printer. S handed it to me today and said, "I only read the first 2 lines and thought I probably shouldn't read any more." I feel deflated. Boo. But maybe it'll be fun for him to wonder what I am going to do for him that day and hopefully he'll forget about it???? Hopefully - cross my fingers!

I bet $1000 that in reading the first 2 lines his eyes still managed to make out the word lingerie in the middle of the page!!!!!

Last Night...

Since I switched day 1 and 2 around I planned on letting B unwind yesterday after work. It's a little hard to do since he works from home, so I figured rather than going outside and bugging him about coming in for dinner I would get everything cleaned up and prepared and then go let him know it was time to eat. I had planned ahead and made homemade wheat rolls to go with our dinner, B loves homemade bread. I was making a veggie stir fry and rice. I had the rice cooking and was cutting the veggies when B came in on his own, earlier then expected. He commented on the yummy smelling bread and started helping me with dinner, this is rare. We had a great time cooking together. I told Jill today that I'm starting to think that he's secretly doing a similar project.

Day 1

Last night I combined day one and two! I made T dinner that he loves and made sure the house was quiet when he came home. I hadn't ever thought about the hectic home that he comes to every night. I was actually pleasantly surprised that T cleaned up the whole kitchen when we were done eating. Then he asked if I wanted to lay together on the couch....that hardly ever happens, he hates to cuddle - he says I make him too hot! :) So far so good!!!

Going well

Hi all...day one down...massaged K's hurt foot for 1 hour while he watched a favorite tv show. I was also able to ask him questions to help me plan for future days. When I asked him what he missed about life before kids he said 'naps'. So this weekend I will have to get the kids out of the house for a few hours so he can have a good long nap. Planning on another massage tonight for him since he worked so late. Now let me spread some gossip about my man.....K is a wonderful father. I could not ask for a better partner in life to help raise up these three gifts from God. He is a loving thoughtful man with a kind heart. I thank God everyday for having him in my life. I have started remembering in our prayers at night with the kids to now also thank Daddy for all he does for our family. I want the kids to know all he does for us even though they do not see it.
Hope all is going well with all of you. See you Wednesday.
Amber

Having a great attitude...

Hey Amber, and everyone else...I really think the main purpose of this "project" is to change your attitude toward your husband (page 38) and to be more intentional in how you treat him. I don't think you have to follow everything exactly on a specific day, just be mindful of blessing him. I did this last year with the church group and stopped following "the list" about 2 weeks in. I found that I really did a bunch of the stuff already, and that I just needed to be more intentional and do it more often. It really is amazing how your husband will respond when you do little things and he feels special.

I switched Day 1 and 2 around, since it was Sunday and he wasn't coming home from work and needing to unwind. Instead, we put the kids down and watched TV together (we aren't a big TV family and hardly ever have it on). We used to do that almost every night before we had kids. It wasn't a big adventure, but some of the "events" on the list are going to be hard to do when you have small children that require babysitters. So improvise and just do something together at home.

This will be a hard week

K just informed me that he will not be home much this week. Has dinner meetings or going to golf tourney all week. So I might have to switch the days or think of other things to do for him. Humm....Anygood ideas for a hubbie away all week.

Emailing...

Hey Girls...I have added everyone's email address to the blog so you will get an email every time someone posts. Look forward to starting tomorrow. :)

Bonus Project...

Since I'm sure you are all really excited about the "bonus project" and have been scouring the internet and local stores for great lingerie deals... I found some really cute, inexpensive stuff today at H&M, at the Scottsdale Quarter.

Off the Subject . . .

Christa and I ran into Kim, Stephanie & Amber at the park on Monday and it was so fun to chat (even for a minute between kids with sand in their eyes and screaming 3 year-olds who's life was ruined when some strange kid tried to use their buckets). So this is totally off the subject but we should try and ALL meet on purpose at the park during this awesome weather.

Back on task: I finished the book yesterday and am going to try and write my plan tonight or tomorrow. If you haven't read yet, at least flip through the tasks because there is definitely a little planning needed! There's already been a few converstions that have just happened where I was able to naturally insert a question about something I'll need to know in the coming weeks, like a favorite meal that I haven't made in a while, and which article of clothing of mine he doesn't like (weird that he said none {maybe he thought I was setting him up} but I've resolved to stick to the more fitted cute jammies tops and bottoms instead of the baggier, but-oh-so-soft gray cotton tees that i love to sleep in). I've already felt convicted on a few things and have made adjusments this week and S seems to be responding well!

xoxo, Jill

PS - I like how Christa called her other half B so I will call mine S. When I see DH on mothering blogs, I always think designated hitter! But to each her own :)

Last Night...

So Last night after the kids when to bed, B and I were taking and of course the conversation turned to "you know what". Some how we got on the subject of lingerie and I was talking about how it's so overrated, and how most women feel that way, but how our speaker at MOPS was encouraging us to get some new stuff. He was like, "yeah, I really only need to see you in it for a second and then I have the mental picture." Truly, he said just that. I started laughing and said our speaker said that too. That guys really don't need us to wear it for very long, it's just the thought of us having it on. He then said, "you need to become friends with that lady. I don't care where she lives we'll move there. I like how she thinks." To which I added, "great, she lives in San Jose, CA." The house go on the market today...Just Kidding.

Wow! Christa you did such an awesome job creating our blog. Thanks so much. Can't wait to start our project and blogging about it!!!

Getting Started!

Remember to start reading The Husband Project, ASAP. We will officially start on Sunday, February 21st. Happy Reading!