I don’t get a whole lot of time each day to sit on the computer, but when I do I like to read other blogs. I have 230 blog subscriptions on Google reader, and usually every couple of days I get to browse through the most recent 50 posts or so. So I know I’m missing a lot, but I get my fill of inspiration, motivation, and awe in all the amazing posts and photos. Anyhow, quite a few blogs do a weekly roundup of sorts, where they post favorite things they’ve seen during the week. Off the top of my head, there’s Amy’s Notebook on Mom Advice, which I always love, Craft: Weekly Roundups, and Weekly DIY Roundups at ThreadBanger. Since I see so many interesting things while I surf, I thought I’d start a [possibly] weekly roundup of my own. For now, not all of my entries will be recent happenings on the web, but they will be favorite things that I’ve Stumbled, or bookmarked that I’d like to share.

Easy Valentines Chocolates @ Gourmet Mom on the Go

These look amazing and actually not very difficult to make! They remind me of all the wonderful chocolates my brother, Matthew, and his girlfriend, Adria, made all his family for Christmas. Yum! I don’t think I’ll get to try these in time for this Valentine’s Day, but maybe I will next year, or this Christmas, or just one day I’m craving chocolate!

Rainbow Pancakes @ i am mommy

This poor gal has gotten a ton of criticism via blog comments for something as silly as making these crazy colorful pancakes for her little ones as a treat. I definitely don’t want to pack the boys full of food dye, sugar, etc daily but I don’t see any harm in pumping up the fun factor in foods occasionally. These awesome pancakes remind me of the wonderful colorful cakes (like my 4th of July cupcakes) and I definitely will make some colorful breakfasts for the boys in the future!

Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal Video Version @ YouTube

My friend Liz linked this on Facebook and I cannot get enough of it! I’d never watched a “literal version” of a music video but considering how Matt and I adore MST3K, it’s not surprising that we enjoyed this sort of humor. This particular video was done by dascottjr, and there are some other wonderful literal versions of videos on his site. My favorites, not including the awesome Total Eclipse of the Heart, are definitely Jingle Bell Rock, Separate Ways, and the choreography part of Love is a Battlefield!

NZ Book Council – Going West @ YouTube

This is a short animated film narrating part of the book Going West. It’s a stop-motion of papercutting, which is absolutely stunning. I highly admire papercutting and hope to do some of my own someday, but I cannot imagine the time and skill required to produce a project such as this. Amazing!

Bunny Hop Slippers @ Craft

The cutest! I’ve always wanted a pair of bunny slippers, and these are the most adorable I’ve seen. I can’t wait to knit them up! I’ve never made thrums before, so that should be fun, too.

“So Easy, A Toddler Can Do It” Snowflakes @ Frugal Family Fun Blog

We made these in our Wednesday night King’s Kids class (Flyers; 4 &5 year-olds) a few weeks ago. It really was easy and the results were wonderful! I let the kids place their masking tape however they wanted, so some of the snowflakes were a little creative and free-form, but that was sort of the point! It’ll be fun to make these one winter when the boys are a little older.

9 Ways To Encourage Your Kids to Live Simply @ Simple Mom

This is my goal. I fail at it often, though. I really do want to instill simplicity in the boys as they grow. Simple Mom has many great articles like this to steer us in that direction. By the way, I’d love to make the boys’ toys! I have knit, sewn, and crocheted a handful for them, but I’d love to pick up some woodworking to make them some terrific, sturdy toys, too!

How to Get Back in the Groove of Reading @ Mom Advice

This term I’ve had to do so much reading for my literature class, as well as the half a dozen textbooks for my other class, that I feel so burnt-out on reading that I don’t want to do. I am trying to put these points into practice in order to read for pleasure. Oh, it’s hard and I feel like I don’t have the time to read, but I’m going to start taking advantage of those reading windows now.

Prayer: Why We Struggle (and how not to) @ holy experience

This really spoke to me. I don’t have much more to say about it. Just read it.

Inspiration: “Tips for Capturing Newborns” @ i heart faces

Now that Heron’s getting so big, I feel like I wasted time that I could have been photographing his tiny newborn bottom and wrinkly little fingers! I wish I had played around more with my camera like this. I am still enjoying photographing the boys as they are, but hope to have another bitty baby someday to capture in this way!

On this day..

• Game Doldrums - 2006

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