Big Sister Blues

Amelia: I need jammies on.

Me: What about a bath?

 Amelia: I don't want a bath, I just want to go to bed.

Me: You don't want a bath?!

Amelia: No, Marinn poops in it every time.

After cleaning up a mess the past two nights, I can't say that I blame the kid. Marinn, what are we going to do with you? So sad to think this sweet little face may have forever ruined baths for big sister.



A Very Merry Homemade Christmas:Sew With Me

As soon as Amelia was big enough to talk, if I was sitting at my sewing machine I would hear, "I sew with you?"

Much like anything else I do, she wanted to be a part of it. Not willing to risk little fingers getting poked or pinched I would hand her scraps of fabric to occupy her. As she's getting older she's not as easily entertained by mere fabric. She watches closely as I work on projects and mimics what I'm doing. When I saw her get a baby spoon out of the drawer to use as her needle I knew I needed to come up with something better for her.

This project was inspired by something I remember doing in grade school, sewing with laminated paper and yarn. I wanted something sturdier than paper so I opted for a piece of hardwood. Together with some yarn and yarn needles Amelia now has her own 'sewing kit.'

For this project you will need:
Saw
Drill
Sandpaper
Paint
Small detail paint brush
Spray laquer
Krazy glue
5 1/2" x 36" piece of hard wood
4 Wooden spools 1 3/16" x 5/16"
4 yarn pieces cut to 50"
4 Yarn needles
Optional: cute painted box with fabric modge podged into the top

Start by cutting the wood into four equal parts and sand the raw edgeds until smooth. Next draw your design onto a piece of paper and mark where your holes will be (I spaced mine 1" apart). Each piece of wood will need its own template.I did simple shapes for these using Micrsoft word.
Tape one template to a piece wood and using a drill with a size   drill bit, drill holes through paper and completely through the wood. Remove paper and sand any rough areas that may be around holes. Repeat with remaining pieces.
Using acrylic paint and a small paint brush number the holes as if it were a dot-to-dot puzzle, lable the shape and allow to dry completely.
Once dry, spray with a coat of laquer and allow to set the reccomended amount of time.
Next take a spool and use krazy glue to glue one end of one piece of yarn to the spool. Hold in place until set and allow to dry completely. On the other end of the yarn lace one yarn needle on, leaving a 1" tail. Using the glue again glue the tail back to the yarn, securing the needle onto the yarn. Once the gule is completely dry, wind the yarn around the spool and secure into place by tucking the needle into the yarn. Repeat with remianing spools.

Marinn Was Here

I have a dreaded feeling third grade Marinn will be in trouble for etching into a desk

 'Marinn was here."

Let It Snow!

I woke up entirely too early this morning to nurse my now one year old (seriously kid? I thought we would be done with this by now-or at least only do so during normal waking hours.) and looked out the window to see snow falling.

As an adult I find the snow less appealing than I did as a child. I guess when there is no such thing as a snow day and you DO feel when your fingers are going numb from being outside in the wet stuff too long, it looses a little bit of its magic. I also know my husband has to drive an hour to work in the stuff long before the plows make their appearance. I was a little annoyed by it all, kissed my husband good bye and went back to bed.

When morning came (the real morning, when the sun is at least starting to make its appearance and mostly when you cannot convince children to sleep any longer) Amelia came bouncing into the room and pulled the blinds to check to see if it was moring (and therefore if she could be up.) She started bouncing, yelling, "It's snowing time! It's snowing time!" She excitedly ran from room to room lifting blinds and announcing, "It's snowing time in my room! It's snowing time in the living room! It's snowing time in the kitchen too!"

The snow hasn't lost it's magic for her! She begged me to open the front door and she and Marinn watched out the screen door as the snow continued to fall. She cried when I told her we couldn't go out and play and informed me that she and Daddy would be making a snow man.

Because recently sick children will not be going out to play in this snow we made snowman pancakes to compensate. I'm sure it will only be a little while before she's begging to go outside, but for the moment she's satisfied!

 

 

 

I think there will be hot chocolate and Chritmas movies in our future today!

Cowboy Campfire Baby Shower

I had the privilege of hosting a shower for a friend today and I thought I would share a few pictures from it.

Once we knew she was having a boy I was certain of what I wanted to do for a shower theme. The baby's father's nickname is Cowboy Junior (Grandpa is "Cowboy") so Cowboy Junior-Junior needed a Cowboy campfire shower in his honor.

Homemade chicken noodle soup served out of tin cans, made from scratch biscuits, and a s'mores bar seemed appropriate for the occasion. (Is it weird that the tin cans were inspired by the scene in Dennis the Menace where the guy eats all the beans??) It was unseasonably warm, but comfort food was good none the less.

I used lots of bandannas incorporated into the decor courtesy of the farm/cowboy party from earlier this year and I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

A Very Merry Homemade Christmas:Pajamas

Every year as a child we were allowed to open one gift from under the tree on Christmas eve and that gift was always new pajamas. I don't know how the tradition was started but apparently it is a very common one. I tip my hat to the person who came up with the idea because I personally think there is something so great about new, warm pjs when you go to bed on a magical night like Christmas eve.

This year I made the girls pajamas to wrap and put under the tree. Pajama pants are a fairly easy project and inexpensive too!

Materials

1 yard snugly soft fabric (this made 1 pair 3T and 1 pair 12 month)
Elastic (1" thick)
Thread

Directions

To start I used a pair of well fitting pants, folded with legs together, as my template. Fold your fabric so that right sides are together the width of the widest part of your pants plus 1/2".  Lay pants on top of fabric with the front of the pants touching the fold of the fabric. Using a fabric pencil trace the back edge of the pants leaving a 1/2" allowance on the side, 2" at the bottom, and a 3" at the top. Cut through both layers of fabric, this will be your first pant leg.

Leaving the pant leg folded, sit it aside and reposition the remaining fabric so that it looks as it did when you began, with it folded onto itself the width of your pant leg. Place your first pant leg on top of the fabric and trace around it and cut.

Take one pant leg and sew the length of the leg to the crotch using a 1/4" seam allowance. (With the extra fabric at the top it may be easy to confuse the top with the leg so it may be helpful to mark one or the other.) To keep stray threads from tickling tiny legs sew the same seam using an overcasting stitch. Repeat with the second pant leg.

Now you're ready to hem the pants. I left a 1" allowance at the bottom to give me a 1/2" hem. Turn the bottom of the fabric up 1/2" and press. Fold again and press (you may want to pin at this point, however I find that pressing holds the fabric in place well enough.) Sew along the bottom edge of your pants using a 1/4" seam allowance. Repeat with second pant leg.

The next step is sewing the legs together. Turning one pant leg right side out, place it inside of the other pant leg and line up the raw edges. This should create a U shape. Starting at the center,where all the pieces/seams meet up, pin together. Sew along the U shape using a 1/4" seam allowance. Follow the seam using an overcast stitch. Pull the inside pant leg back out, making sure the pants are still inside out.

Now we can sew the waist band. I left a 3" allowance at the top giving me a 1 1/2" waistband. (I wanted enough room for my 1" elastic to slide in.) Like with the pants, begin by folding the fabric over 1 1/2" and press. Fold again and press. Sew along the bottom edge of the fold using a 1/8" seam allowance, leaving a 2" gap at the back seam.

Cut the elastic to size (you can find many different ways of determining the correct size, the way I did it was flat the pants out flat and measure across one and a half times) and using a safety pin attached to one end feed it through the pocket you made. Once all the way through pull until it overlaps the start by 1" and sew the two pieces together. Fold the gap closed and sew closed.

I may embellish the pink shirts I got to go along with these and if I come up with something good I'll share!

Updated 12/20/2012

I tried my hand at some embroidering and added the tree and moose to the plain pink shirts I bought. What do you think?

A Very Merry Homemade Christmas

The first Christmas that I was a mother I found myself quite concerned with what Christmas would be like for our family. I knew, above all, I was determined not to be excessive and to raise grateful children whose sense of appreciation for the holidays came more from the events than the gifts. That being said, I think there is something ingrained in us that makes us want to pile up the presents under the tree. There is an appeal to seeing little faces light up when they awake to a mountain of gifts that magically appeared overnight. Maybe it's because it makes me reminiscent of my childhood.

My husband and I have talked about this (and things like birthdays as well) and I think we have a good grasp on a healthy balance. We try to base our gift giving off of needs, what will have longevity in our house, and quality over quantity. The biggest thing I've had to do is STAY OUT OF THE STORES! It is so easy to get caught up in all the hype and advertisements (and finding great bargains seems to be my knack, but if we don't need it or won't use it for long how great of a deal is it really?) And we also are setting traditions like tree decorating, cookie baking, family movies nights, and other things to make sure the holiday season is more than the gifts on Christmas morning.

This year we have made a good effort for the majority of the things going under our tree to be homemade or something we have had our hands on in some way. I'm excited to see the girls rip open packages and find things to love that we have already poured so much love into. Amelia has helped with the making/baking of gifts for family and friends this year so hopefully she will feel that same excitement as we share them.

So far we have decorated our tree, hung our stockings, torn our rings off our paper chain, watched Christmas movies, baked breads and cookies, and sipped hot chocolate. Here's to a very merry homemade Christmas 2012!

Ice Cream Shoppe 3rd Birthday

 

It's official, I have a three year old! We celebrated last weekend with friends and family and had a great time. My favorite part of the whole day was seeing how excited Amelia was to blow out her candles. She stood on her chair in front of everyone (her favorite place to be) and sang "Happy birthday to me!" and blew out her candles. I had to relight them so everyone else could sing to her, silly girl!

 

It's hard to say who had a better time with the sundae station because the adults were just as excited about it as the kids were! Amelia has told everyone who has asked her about her party about the toppings she chose, nothing else. I think that is a good sign that it was a success.

 

 

Birth Story:Amelia Ann

After continuously telling myself over the past three years that I would sit down and write the story of Amelia’s birth so that when she’s old enough to care I can recount for her the torture that is child birth I’m finally doing it. I actually would sit down to write it and get distracted by the many things that parenthood entails thinking to myself; ‘it’s not like you’re going to forget any of it. Who would forget something that big and important?” Oh, maybe me?

With a little collaboration with the husband here is the story of Amelia’s birth.

Be warned, this is not an ‘envision the flower opening, take a deep breath, and push out new life’ kind of story. I guess I’m an over sharer.

Framed Number Party Decor

The big #3 birthday is quick approaching (as I am reminded daily by Amelia). Slowly but surely I am marking projects off the list in preparation. Since her age is her favorite topic and we are working on learning numbers right now, this seemed like an appropriate decor piece for the cake table.

The best part of this project is I made it using things I already had so it didn't cost me anything! I borrowed the frame (size 11x14) from the girls' room and used the remainder of the half yard of polka dot fabric that I also used for the drink toppers for the party as well as 1 1/2 yards of shimmery pink fabric I've been holding onto for some time now. Sharp scissors, a glue gun and a piece of cardstock and you're set to go!

To start I removed the back and the glass from the frame and stored the glass in a safe place. Using the polka dot fabric and glue gun I strecthed the fabric over the backing and glued the corners down on the back of the board. (I tested it out and if you use thick lines of glue from the gun they remove easily from the backer board as well as the fabric so after the party is over you can use it again for another project!)

Next I drew the number 3 onto the cardstock and cut it out. I wrote it in good ol' cheerleader-style bubble letter, slightly streched/thin looking, as it will fill out as you continue the project. (Clearly I was never a cheerleader because it wasn't pretty, but that's ok because it won't show)

Next cut the shimmery fabric into circles approximately 3" across. These do not need to be perfect so don't take too much time on them. I folded the fabric many times and cut cirlces from it that way.

Now begin placing the fabric pieces onto the cardstock. Using the glue gun and one circle at a time, place a dot of glue in the center of the circle, pinch it in half and roll it between your fingers, making it into a flower-like shape. Starting in the center of the number begin gluing them down close together, working out as you go. Once the cardstock is covered you may need to tack down some of the edge pieces to give the number a little better shape.

Using thick lines of glue from the glue gun, stick the number down centered on your fabric lined backer. Place back into the frame and it's ready to go!

Baking Pumpkins

My mother-in-law took Amelia to the Red Barn Farm for a little Nanny/Amelia date. She came home telling me all about the baby animals they saw and the hayride they went on. She also came home with two pumpkins; one for Amelia, and one for Marinn.

I'm sure these were intended to be for decorating for Halloween, but every time I looked at them sitting on the table I had visions of pumpkin whoopie pies dancing in my head. After about a week of refraining I got Amelia on board with the idea of cooking one up to see how it tastes.

Cooking a pumpkin is really simple! Much like the squash we cook, we simply washed it well, cut it in half and baked it face down on a baking sheet in an oven heated to 350. The only difference is with the pumpkin you scoop out the insides and add a half cup of water to the pan to make sure it doesn't dry out. (I used a melon baller to scoop it out and it made quick work of it.)

Simply bake until soft, about 45 minutes. You should be able to easily push a fork into the meat of the pumpkin. (Time will vary depending on the pumpkin size, however keep in mind that smaller pumpkins are better for eating.) Once it is cooked, remove from pan and allow to cool. Scoop the meat out and puree to use in pumpkin recipes! I found that my puree as a little thinner than the store bought so you may need to adjust your moisture content in some recipes.

Each of our small pumpkins made 3 cups of puree. It can be stored in the fridge up to one week or the freezer for longer storage.

Also, don't throw away the insides you scooped out until you remove the seeds for baking!

For toasted pumpkin seeds rinse them in cold water and soak them in a bowl of salt water over night. Drain the seeds and spread onto a baking sheet and allow to dry. Toss them with a little olive oil and sea salt and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until crispy.

We made some with a little chili seasoning mixed in that were a hit! I also tried soaking the seeds in chai tea (I hate throwing away the tea bags after one use because there is still so much flavor in them, so instead I steeped them again and used them here.) and I tossed them in olive oil and cinnamon sugar. They were a little bitter, however I think adjusting the cinnamon to sugar ratio will solve that problem.


Updated 11/15/2012

 Yay! A fix to the watery puree problem!

My pumpkin bread recipe was an easy fix when it came to the thin puree, simply cut back the water. Whoopie pies however were not so easy. I ended up mixing in an extra 1/2-3/4 cup of flour to get my batter thick enough to bake correctly. After this many years of making them, I have become quite accustom to having them made a certain way so I was less than impressed with the results.

Before going round two with the pumpkins we are preparing for Thanksgiving I decided to hit up the web for some ideas on how to fix the issue with the fresh pumpkin being watery in comparison to the canned. There were a couple of ideas so I did both, which resulted in a much thicker puree.

Fix #1
After baking the pumpkin until soft flip them cut side up and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes. This allows some of the excess moisture needed for the pumpkins to cook evenly to cook off a bit before you puree it.

Fit #2
Place pureed pumpkin into a mesh strainer and allow excess water to drain off. This step took a lifetime, but I ended up with a cup of water drained off of each pumpkin I cooked

Little Bo Peep and Her Sheep

Little Bo Peep lost her sheep and didn't know where to find her....

Just leave her alone and she will come home, bringing her tail behind her

I must say, I am quite pleased with the costumes I made for the girls this year for Halloween. Inspired in part by Amelia's obession with Toy Story 3 earlier this summer and by the classic nursery rhyme I came up with the idea of making Amelia a shepherdess and Marinn her sheep. As is apparent by Amelia's first two costumes(a baby bird and a pig), I love seeing babies dressed as animals. You can only get away with doing it for so long so I figured I needed to take advantage!

I made both cosutmes with no patterns, using their exsisting clothing as templates.  Bo Peep's outfit consists of a dress, pantaloons, and a bonnet (that were made by myself) as well as tights, boots, and a shepherds hook. I added the tutu I made for St. Patrick's Day to give the dress some volume. The sheep costume is a onesie style, fuzzy outfit that I made over top of black tights and a black shirt topped off with a headband complete with ears that I made from a pair or mens dress socks.

Marinn was less than pleased about painting her nose, but has done surprisingly well keeping her ears on. Amelia loves being Bo Peep and has been haming it up while in costume, eliciting many 'awes' over the pair.

Reusing Frappuccino Bottles

When I went to visit my mother in Texas over the summer I exploited my mother's guilty habit of consuming bottled frappuccinos and had her collect the empty bottles for me. I thought they would be good for drinks at the girls' birthday parties and rather easy to pretty up. With a little fabric and thread I whipped up these toppers to coordinate with Amelia's Ice Cream Shoppe party.

To begin I removed the labels from the bottle and washed it in hot soapy water and scrubbed the sticky off. (A little Bar Keeper's Friend help do the trick for the stubborn spots) Next I traced a circle roughly twice the size of the bottle lid onto fabric and cut them out. (One fat quarter made 12 toppers.) Using the sewing machine set on an overcast stitch I followed the perimeter, overlapping where they meet to ensure they wouldn't unravel. Taking one circle and a small rubber band (the kind made to go in littlekids' hair) to hold it in place, I put it on the bottle and marked where I wanted the straw to be. I cut a small circle out and using the same stitch I stitched the perimeter. Make sure the circle you cut isn't too large as it will get bigger after you stitch around it. All that's left is to fill the bottles with your drink, put your toppers on with the rubber band, and put a straw in!

 

I think these will be great for the spring and summer when the bugs fight you for your drink when you're outside.

Bacon Mac & Cheese

Chilly days call for comfort food, don't you think?  Maybe that is just my excuse to get into the kitchen where I can warm up a little next to the stove. Either way, the change in weather is to thank for this tasty (and oh so healthy-ha!) dish.

Ice Cream Shoppe Birthday Invitation

Party planning/prepping for Amelia's third birthday is well underway in our house and this week Amelia got to deliver the invitations. (I really like hand delivering the invitaions, Amelia gets to participate and I don't have to spend a fortune on postage!) Needless to say, she is very excited and we will probably be talking about her party every day now until it comes!

The theme for her party is ice cream shoppe so we made up these inviations to ask her friends and family to join us to celebrate.

To make these I used blank cardstock cards (5"x7") with coordinating envelopes from Hobby Lobby and some scrapbook paper (8.5"x11). These items frequently go on sale for half price, making this project realtively inexpensive.

Using Word, I printed the front of the card reading: Amelia's Ice Cream Shoppe 2.5" from the top, to ensure it would show under the awning.
Next I cut a piece of the pink stripped scrapbook paper down to a 3"x5" rectangle, stripes running vertically.
Folding in 1/2" at the top and 1/2" at the bottom I created an awning.
Next I cut one edge to make it scalloped using a pair of scissors (they have fancy scissors that can do this for you if you don't wan to free hand.)
Using a glue stick, glue the non-scalloped fold to the top of the card, folded edge to the top. This will make the awning stick out.
To make the ice cream cone I used solid colored cardstock, cut to a triangle, and a brown marker to make the cross hatches.
I topped it with three scoops of ice cream (also using solid color cardstock) to represent Amelia turning three and used left over scrapbook paper to add a couple stripes across the bottom of the card.
For the interior I typed the party information into Word and printed them onto the stripped paper, four per page. Then all I had to do was cut them down and glue them into the card.

I'm trying something new with this invitation; using 'regregts only' rather than 'RSVP'. Perhaps this will allow people to feel more comfortable with declining the invitation and I will be able to get an accurate guest count? I guess we shall see!

I Heart Antiquing

I can remember being in middle school and going antiquing with a friends mom and thinking it was the most terrible and boring thing ever. Store after store with old furinture and funny smells and absolutly no touching. The only up side was bailing out on the shopping to find ice cream. I don't know if it's coincidental or not, but where there are antiques, there is usually ice cream or some other form of sweets.

I'm still a fiend for anything sweet, but these days I'm just as pleased to do a little antiquing. Furniture isn't my thing so much as little trinkets and housewares and I'm pretty sure I could waste a few days browsing booth after booth in antique malls.

I stopped in a store in town in search of an old tin for a sappy anniversary gift for the husband and I accidently spent way too much money and bought way more than a tin. (Not to mention the fact I found the most amazing Christmas present for the girls that I'm pretty sure I'll be returning to get soon!)

I didn't have time to look around at everything they had in the three story floor but I think I pulled a pretty good haul for a "quick trip" in! I found an amazing bread box, which I happened to be in the market for, an egg beater, some old sewing needles, a Cream of Wheat print, an old Folgers tin (the one thing I intended to buy!), a cracker tin, and a gift to put up fpr Christmas for the husband.

Take a look...

Not too bad, huh?