Two's Crafty Gift

A crafty girl needs a crafty gift!
And at 5yrs old, it needed to be "big girl".
I picked out an embroidery hoop
and loosely woven embroidery fabric
needles, needle threader, and needle holder,
embroidery thread in her favorite colors,
and her own pair of craft scissors



and packaged it in a cute carrying case.


It was a total hit!!!

She loved it and very much appreciated
what a big deal it was to get real crafting materials.
She's already asking for a sewing machine!

Memorial Weekend Friends & Crafts

We had wonderful friends come visit
over Memorial Day Weekend.
Our children's god-parents.
Their children are the closest thing
our children will ever get to cousins.
We loved having them here.
But six kids, three days....
We needed some plans!


So we roasted marshmallows:



Had a huge sleepover:

(Yes, that's 5 out of 6 kids down there on the floor!)


Played outside:


Went to the park:



Ate outside:

(Our dog thought it was her lucky day! All those food-dropping-kids at one table!)


And of course, crafted!
I went for double duty.
One day we painted small flower pots,
the next day we planted flowers in them!







So now, even though we live far apart,
we can grow our flowers "together".



Here is Three's traced hand and Two's princess
(how happy was I about that request?!?):


ps. I'm going to spray them with some
clear coat spray paint
so they can endure a life outside.

By the way, these little pots
would make great gifts for the grandparents!

Pipe Cleaner Rings

I saw these cute pipe cleaner flower rings
over on Martha Stewart.

They were so cute
and came together in a flash.
The tutorial is here.

Kids loved them!
They'd be great party favors!

Kid Achievements

One sewed on a button!

He visited a history museum
with the scouts.
DaddyMan was shocked
when they handed out
regular, sharp pointy needles
to a group of 5 & 6 yr old boys.
Seemed dangerous.

Don't know why.
They had them shooting guns
last summer.

I guess it's a matter of opinion
as to which one is more dangerous.

:o)

Valentine Week, Day 5: Scratch -n- Sniff Paint

Did you know that painting with kool-aid
gives you scratch -n- sniff paint?

I picked out what I hoped
would be pink and red:


Added a little bit of water
to about half of each package,
and used water-color brushes:


Two wanted me to draw shapes for her.



And that's it!
When the paint dries,
it's scratch -n- sniff!

Teacher Christmas Gifts

So this post might be a little late to help with teacher gifts.
Mostly because I was late getting to it myself.
Like, the last day before break is tomorrow?

Oh well.

Teacher's don't get much.
They don't get paid much.
They don't always get much respect.

When I taught,
the most precious gift I ever got
was a letter.

I was teaching fourth grade in Seattle
and there was a big earthquake.
We're talking damage to the building,
the kids couldn't even enter the building afterwards.
But the next day a mother wrote me a letter
thanking me for looking after and caring for her daughter
on such a traumatic day.
It was so special to me and I still have it.

And you know what?
It was free!

Never under-estimate the power
of a heartfelt card.

So I made this for Two's teacher and asked Two to decorate it:



Then she cut off the corner of an envelope with fancy scissors
to make a corner bookmark:
(You could decorate yours with scrapbook paper
or a photo of your child...
These bookmarks are great for family too!)


See how it works?

One made one for his teacher too but of course I forgot to take a picture of it before putting it in the envelope.

Remember, special gifts don't
have to be expensive!

Halloween Party

Cute kids, fun games:

and some creepy cuisine:

Make for a fun party!


Btw, One's friends favorite part?
When we went outside to ride scooters....

Hmmm.

Money, Money, Money

I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey.
And who would think a financial planning book
could be such a good read?!

Part of his book details how to teach your kids about money.

Money jars were in order!

Supplies:

Cut your white paper into 2" strips.
Have your workers tear the edges off.

Then go feed your baby and put him to bed.
Have your workers get ready for bed too
but make sure you reassure them
it is not bedtime!

Then"decoration" it, add your money, and take a picture!

Then, the next day, you can explain to them that
'no, they don't get money every day...'

Sleep Tight

We drove home really late from our last road trip and the kids sleeping in the van was a disaster. One kept falling forward, trying to lay down and get more comfy. Then Two would reposition, start crying, and then that would wake up Three.... Yeah, that happened about three times in our hour and a half trip back home.

So I decided to whip up some travel pillows for the kids. These came together soooo easily. I followed this tutorial. One's is actually made with scraps from these pants!

And look, they're already sleeping....


I couldn't ask for more! :o)

ps. Don't you love that Two is in a cami and One is wearing a fleece?!

Randomness with tons of pics

Wow! So I didn't mean to take a two-week break from blogging!
I even kept crafting and taking pictures
so who knows what happened?!

Here is the big catch-up:

We went to story time about alligators
and my craftiness didn't quite extend to cutting in between every single tooth.
Two seemed happy enough with it.
Here she is roaring at the camera because what other sound does an alligater make?



We went for a walk in the park back behind our library:



But walking was not enough for Two, she preferred to fly:



I made Three his own set of keys, complete with key fob.
The finished product is somewhere in my mama van,
but as a consolation prize
here, at least, are my materials:

(Materials were about $2, then throw some old keys that you don't remember what they belong to or go to any place that makes keys and ask for a few from their "mistake" bin (free).)


As an only child who had a sibling for a short little while, watching my kids play together is always one of my greatest joys and something I make a point not to interrupt.
Here is One with his legs wrapped around Three
so Three wouldn't fall down
all while rockin' the baby toy air-guitar style!



I planted flowers.
Here is one that is still alive:



And some impatiens look adorable in these pots on my patio table:

(Do you see the roses in bloom in the background? Love them too!)


We got goofy at the mall:

(Then got issued a new credit card when the photobooth company got hacked into... Oops!)


One got his bobcat badge
and some really rockin' make-up:



I'm working on making a reusable snack bag:

The process is slow going because I am making a go of it without a pattern and, oh yeah, I like my sleep.
The fabric is a leftover scrap from this skirt.
Mental note: next time fork out the money for the pattern!


We went camping with friends over Memorial weekend.
DaddyMan made paper airplanes for the kids to throw into the campfire.
It was such a hit, I'm pretty sure it is our new tradition!

Breakfast



And most recently we've taken this guy back to the kidney doctor.

His bad kidney is still several times "normal" size. Another function test is back on the books. Hospital gowns, IV's, catheters, radio-active dye followed by radio-active diapers... We've got our fingers crossed and prayer chains full of prayers for good results because I'm pretty sure bad results will send him to surgery.


Up next are some grad gifts but those will need to stay top-secret for now since I know my favorite grad reads the blog.
(HI Kimiiiiiiii!)
Stay tuned!



Whew!
It's good to be back!