Last Minute Mel

Photo Candle for Mother's Day

2011-05-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

I've been away, and have just realized that Sunday is Mother's Day! Luckily I found this super easy project on the web last night via bhg - personalized photo candles - and whipped it out in no time...the perfect solution for a Last Minute Mother's Day gift.

You don't need much for this project and I had everything on hand, so it didn't cost anything. Gotta love heartfelt gifts that are thrifty, too. :)

All you need is:
Candle (I had a vanilla one, which smells heavenly)
White Tissue Paper
Printer
Glue/Hot Gun

Directions:
1. Find a photo you want to use. I converted mine to sepia tone, and dragged it onto a Word Document to print.
2. Tape a single layer of tissue paper onto a piece of printer paper. See below. Make sure the tissue paper stretches tightly across the paper so you don't run into printing issues. I just taped a large piece onto the paper, and then made sure that the photo was lined up on the page on my computer so that it printed onto the patch of tissue paper.
3. Print
4. Cut out carefully
5. Because I wanted to play around with the positioning of the photo on the candle, I used a glue stick to glue the photo onto the candle. BHG recommends using a heat gun. I will probably do this later as I am now happy with my placement of the photo. I am going to use a hairdryer. The heat is supposed to melt the wax enough to adhere the photo to the candle. Pretty Cool.

And here is the end result:

Below, I added some raffia

 linking here

x0x

Mel

Marshmallow Bunnies

2011-04-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

A quick, fun Marshmallow Bunny treat...

and all you need is marshmallows, scissors, food pen!

(inspiration from Family Fun)

1. Marshmallow

2. Cut with scissors just less than half way through marshmallow.

(horizontal cut as shown)

3. Make another cut to form ears.

(vertical cut as shown)

4. Gently push the body part of the marshmallow towards the ears to cover the gap made by the cut.

5. Add tail by cutting a new marshmallow into little squares and rolling into a ball shape.

(Attach to marshmallow bunny by the sticky part of the tail, or with a small amount of icing.)

(scuz terrible photography...kinda cracks me up...the more I looked at these photos,
the more I started laughing hysterically (a trait I have inherited from my mother)
at the fact that I am actually posting these awful photographs...
but I have 4 kids and little time, and the kids have already eaten these treats! so NoCanDo on the re-photographing option...
but note to self...horizon lines!!!...and Take Photography Lessons ASAP!!! ;)

xox

Mel

Bunny Crackers

2011-04-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

A fun snack for kids using cheese sliced and cut out with a cookie cutter;

ritz crackers and some lettuce and carrots.

Mayo eyes and lettuce-piece smiles!

xox

Mel

Easter Bunny Placecards and Banner

2011-04-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

On the weekend I made some Easter Bunny Placecards...

I just used some heavy card-stock scrap paper and cotton balls
(and some yarn for bunny necklaces.)

Glue a cotton ball close to the base of the bunny so that it can support the weight of the cardstock.

Mine cooperated, but they do fall over pretty easily so I made a little support
(pic on left)

It is just a strip of card stock taped on along the base for the bunny to lean on.

If you add the support, just place the cotton ball around it, to hide it.

Here's what they look like from the back...

View from back and front
(I made little yarn necklaces and cut out a flower from cardstock scrap.)

I will probably personalize them later, by adding names across the bottom

They were so cute, I made more to hang as an Easter banner in the window.

update:  linking here

xox

Mel

Cake-Mix Cookies

2011-04-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a super quick and easy treat to make this weekend with the kids...cookies made from cake mix. These did not last long in our house ;)

{recipe from parents.com.}

ps. I know I am a not the world's greatest photographer, but I just could not stop photographing these things ;)

Happy Weekend!

xox

Mel

Rejoice with your Family

2011-04-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Loved this quote I came across today over at Jenny Springer Photography:

xox

Mel

Chick Nuggets

2011-04-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

To make little Chick Nuggets you will need:

* Chicken nuggets

* Carrot

* Cheese

* Fruit Leather

* Pasta

* And probably more patience than me ;)

Peel carrot and cut a little bit off the top.

Cut a v-shaped groove into one end.

Cut a hole into nugget to hold carrot in place. (I used the end of an apple peeler)

Using kitchen scissors, cut a small slice of cheese into a heart shape with a "stem"

Cut a round hole into the top of the nugget and insert stem of cheese.

Using kitchen scissors, cut out eye shapes from fruit leather.

Or you can use corn instead of cheese...

xox

Mel

Free Printable Quote

2011-04-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

I came across this quote today on tumblr and really loved it so I whipped up my own version to put on my desk...

Here it is in my dining room

* * * you can print your own by double clicking on the quote and saving it to your desktop. Then drag the file into Word. I made the quote to fit inside a 4 x 6 frame but you can resize by clicking on the image in Word and dragging the handles. Hit Print and you're done!

x0x
Mel

No Bake Marshmallow Lamb Cookies

2011-04-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

While flipping through a magazine a while back, I saw some really cute lamb cookies made with meringue. I am quite aware of my shortcomings in the kitchen, and so I know that meringue is something that I should never even think about baking...so I felt a little sad that the cute little cookies were not in my future until last weekend, when I was looking through the pantry and spotted some graham crackers and mini marshmallows.
Hello, lamb cookies....
No bake "anything" is the perfect match for me!

All the ingredients were already in my kitchen:

*Graham Crackers
*Mini Marshmallows
*1 T Confectioners Sugar (and a drop of milk to make icing)
*Blueberry Craisins (although raisins should work fine)
*Black edible pen

To get the shape below, cut the graham cracker gently in a sawing motion with a serrated knife

The icing acts like glue so that the marshmallows stick to the graham cracker

Fill the graham cracker with the marshmallows...in terms of number or order...whatever works is my style, I just made sure the marshmallows slightly overlapped the edge.

Microwave for approximately 10 seconds on high...the marshmallows should be just slightly puffed up and look like this...

Gently push the marshmallows together and flatten slightly...

Becareful because they could be very hot.

Add your blueberry craisin and draw in an eye and maybe a smile :)

The kids absolutely loved these and thought that the blueberry craisin was a perfect complement to the overall taste. However, after eating about three of them, one of my children remarked: "Mom, these are SO GOOD...what are they? Little Fishies?

So much for my little spring lambs...but I guess at least they tasted good ;)

update: linking here

Painting with Bob The Builder

2011-04-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

My little guy loves Bob the Builder and is always playing with his "Bob and the team" toys. He either spends hours playing with all the vehicles (especially in the dirt outside) or he dons his Bob toolbelt and ~~destroys~~ fixes the house for me... such a helpful little chap ;)

So I thought he would really enjoy painting with Dizzy, Muck, Scoop and Rolly

The great thing about this project is that it uses supplies on hand:

*Paper (I have a jumbo roll which I am always using for kid related fun)
*Paint
*Apron
*Paper Plates
*Bob the Builder's Team

(I just used paint colors I had on hand, but if I had had yellow and green paint, I would have co-ordinated the paint with the vehicles.)

He really had a lot of fun with this, but I think the funnest part was cleaning up...

(which is always a good thing for us mothers)

Surprisingly, this project did not make a lot of mess...maybe due to the large roll of paper...we will definitely do this again.

update: linking here

Easter chick cookies

2011-04-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the very talented Maki Ogawa's cute little chick cookies, I decided to make my own version, and we all know how that goes....

While searching for a ball shaped cookie recipe, I found a recipe for Snowball Cookies at The Baker Who Cooks and thought the kids would love the surprise of the chocolate inside. However, I wanted to make mini-cookies, so I exchanged the Hershey Kiss for butterscotch chips.
(I also made some non-chick cookies with white and milk chocolate chips inside).

Some notes on the process:
* As I was rolling the dough into balls, I realized that I could use the pointed end of the butterscotch chip as the chicks beak.

* For the eyes, I melted some semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl, and used a ziplock bag as a pastry bag to dot on the eyes...not the greatest method, but it worked okay.

* To make the nest, I just used the left over melted chocolate to scribble onto the plate in a nest shape. I then put it in the freezer for a half hour or so to harden. Very easy!

* Maki used chocolate pens to decorate the eyes and beaks...but I had never heard of such a thing...so I looked on Amazon and found this cool product - Cuisipro Food Decorating Pen, which looked like it could be very useful.

* The cookie recipe calls for nuts, which I didn't have, so I just omitted them. (I don't get too hung up on the details when baking, but luckily it worked out this time.)

* The recipe also does not use eggs, which makes it a good one to remember late at night when you have a sudden craving for something sweet but don't have any eggs...and let's be honest, how often does a lack of eggs in the house thwart all plans of making a decadent midnight treat.

The kids loved the little chicks, and devoured the entire batch in about an hour. I think it was partly because I obviously wasn't monitoring them too closely and partly because the cookies were so small it made them very more-ish and hard to keep track of how many you had actually eaten.
Oh well, that just means no cookies for me for breakfast tomorrow ;)

Below is the step-by-step process:

1. Divide up the cookie dough

2. Roll into ball shape

3. Push butterscotch chip into the center

4. Roll the dough around the chip

5. Make sure the top end of the chip sticks out slightly to form the beak

I made some plain ones, too, with chocolate chips and white chocolate chips

update: linking here

April Fool's Day Fun for kids

2011-04-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

I know April Fool's Day has been and gone, and I am just getting around to downloading my photos...

We had a fun day, and at dinner time, my husband commented on the fact that April Fool's Day seems to be my favorite holiday! It made me chuckle, because I have never really thought much about how into it I get each year. April Fool's Day is the perfect day for spur of the moment tricks and general silliness and it doesn't require too much foresight and planning. And because "on the fly" is how I roll, this is a match made in heaven for me.

Also, I think I enjoy it because right now, I am the one in charge of all the tricks...but soon it will be the other way around and I will be subjected to goodness knows what, with three cunning and creative little boys in the house.

They started off with JUMBO bowls of Cocoa Crispies...

...only to discover that when they dug their spoons in, there was a huge chunk of ice in the bowl and in fact, they were only getting their usual serving size of cereal. But they were so happy to be allowed to eat cereal on a weekday, that they weren't too bothered about the reduced portion.

For lunch, I just mixed up all the packaging

(fruit cocktail trick inspired by Come Together Kids)

At snack time, I told them I was making fried eggs, and they actually got really excited about it. I think the yogurt and half a canned peach (inspired by the very clever Meet the Dubiens) was a bit of a let down!

But I let them have two gummy worms, and they were happy :)

For dinner I made the usual meatloaf and potato frosting cake...which didn't fool the older boys, but the youngest one was super excited to get "cake" for dinner.

They all loved the jello "juice" trick (from ivillage)- especially since they were actually allowed to eat the jello before the meal!

The Chicken Pot Pie dessert idea was from Family Fun and I must say, I didn't think it was going to come out as well as it did..but it really did look like Chicken Pot Pie and the kids loved it!

And to top it all off...a little bit of "raisin in the toothpaste" trickery.
After they went into the bathroom to brush their teeth, I hovered outside and overheared the older boys in a heated discussion about it...
"I think there's a booger in the toothpaste....wait, its a....a....a RAISIN!!!"
And then they proceeded to put the toothpaste on their toothbrushes and brushed away happily as if it was the most usual thing in the world for a raisin to pop out of their toothpaste!
BOYS!!!

It was pretty hilarious!

Do What You Can

2011-04-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

via imgfave

More Skip Hop Love

2011-04-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am just loving these colorful products from Skip Hop...

Palette Plate

Mate Stay-put Placemat & Plate

Zoo Bibs

Jersey Shore Body Suit

2011-04-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

This cracked me up!

via SkipHop

Spring and Happy Things

2011-03-31T20:07:00.000-07:00

Around here there isn't much of a feeling of Spring in the air, but this beautiful image from Dana Made It reminds me that Spring really is just around the corner.

These super cute accessories from briarclaire

(via Somewhat Simple)

made me smile :)

A fun jingle bracelet from Heather Bailey

Flower stationery from Kates Papiere

A perfect cupcake from Food Network

L'Occitane Pure Shea Butter

More fun stationery from Kates Papiere

April Fool's Day Fun from the past

2011-03-31T12:14:00.000-07:00

With April Fool's Day coming up tomorrow, I am starting to wonder what little tricks to put up my sleeve...

Here are some ideas we have done in past years...all inspired by Family Fun...

I always start by sneaking into their rooms while they are still asleep and drawing on eyeliner moustaches...this is becoming trickier as they get older, though.

For Breakfast:

We have frozen water in cereal bowls (about half full) overnight and then placed a thin layer of cereal on top. The kids were so excited to get sugar cereal for breakfast (sugared cereal is a HUGE treat around here ;) )...only to discover that in fact, they were only getting a very thin "layer" of cereal.

Another year, we tried the "turn the milk blue" trick, which involves putting a few drops of blue food coloring in the bottom of the cereal bowl and covering it with cereal. When the kids pour the milk, it magically turns blue! They loved this one.

For Lunch:

I always put a gummy worm in their apples.
Last year, I saved a MacDonald's wrapper from lunch a few days before. MacDonald's is also a huge treat in our family because we are more health food inclined, but my oldest had somehow convinced me to buy them a burger and since I had this trick in the back of my mind, I consented. They were so excited when I told them they were having MacDonald's again for lunch....bet that PB&J sandwich that was hiding inside the wrapper was a huge let-down. All this trickery can be quite disappointing sometimes ;)

For Dinner:

We have made meat loaf cupcakes (dyeing the potato pink with beet juice) and served grilled cheese sandwiches for dessert (yellow cake with yellow frosting).

We have also made meat loaf cupcakes with mashed potato and chocolate sprinkles to make it look sweet instead of savory. For dessert, we did the "spagetti and meatballs" - with spagetti frosting, strawberry sauce pasta sauce and maltball meatballs. I think this has been the biggest hit so far.

...what have been your best kiddy April Fool's Day tricks?

{update: linking here }

This is how I feel today...

2011-03-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

This made me laugh...does anyone else feel like they spend a large part of each week cleaning their house, only to have their house almost instantaneously unclean itself?

{image from here}

Easy Homemade Granola Bars

2011-03-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Last week I made granola bars for the first time. I didn't realize how easy they are to make and they were a huge hit with the whole family.

I used this recipe from Eat Me Delicious.

{But since we are a chocolate loving family, I added white and milk chocolate chips.}

***The key to this recipe is in making sure the mixture is very tightly packed before baking.

Next time I am going to add a layer of melted chocolate to the top instead of the chocolate chips inside...mmmm, yum.

...my little side kick was waiting on the sidelines, hoping to score some crumbs...

as was my other little sidekick, who it appears had built himself the world's smallest train track

Lego Ski Resort Fun

2011-03-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Like most kids, my children are crazy about Lego, and like most homes across the country, there is Lego lurking in every nook and cranny of my house. I try to designate specific areas of the house to Lego playing, but I guess it is just not part of the nature of Lego for it to be confined to a specific space (or I guess, neither is it part of the nature of children to be confined to a specific space in the house!) ...and so Lego has just become part of the decor in our house. And to be quite honest, I don't know what I will do with myself when part of the vacuuming experience doesn't involve emptying out the canister and fishing out tens of the tiniest pieces of Lego. But it is all worth it when you see how Lego sparks their imaginations and that the kids can spend hours totally immersed in putting together new and different creations.

Last weekend they had grand visions of transforming our living room into a ski resort, with Lego Ski Guys and chair lifts and gondolas strung across the living room. When their vision included large sheets of cardboard and vast paper backgrounds, I we decided that it would be a much better idea to make the ski resort in their bedroom, where they could make their resort as large as they wanted to, and could keep it up as long as they wanted. And it is always a bonus when one can enter the living room without unsuspectingly being half decapitated by barely visible string hanging from wall to wall to wall!

It was a very easy project - all you need is:
Cardboard
Tape
Large roll of paper
Paint
String

We had all the supplies on hand, except for cardboard, which required a quick trip to the recycle center. We cut the cardboard into two ski runs and covered them in the paper - since ski runs are white, that was all that needed to be done. Except, of course both ski runs had to have ski jumps, which were playmobile bike ramps that the kids taped on.

Then we rolled out the paper and painted a mountain landscape for the background. We taped this to the shelving in the kid's bedroom and left a little shelf space for the catwalk! Lastly, we hung the string across the mountain peak background for the gondola and chair lifts to move along.

The kids spent hours making the gondola and chair lifts and putting together the skiers and snowboarders, which is always a good thing for a mother of four :)

update: Linking up here

Make Your Own Lego Mini-Figures

2011-03-27T17:55:00.001-07:00

A little while ago AshleyAnn did a post about making lego mini figures with her kids... and since my boys are equally as lego-obsessed, I thought that they would love to do this too.

The boys had so much fun deciding on what characters to make. However, we used modeling clay instead of salt dough, and I just assumed that all modeling clay hardenend, but apparently we had the non-hardening kind, and so ours never hardened completely. Next time we will try modeling clay that hardens, but the softer counterparts have held up remarkably well.

Anyway, this is a great project to have in your back pocket for a rainy day.

All you need is:
Salt dough
Lego Mini-figure tray
Sharpie (to draw faces and details)

Suzanne Kasler Design Studio

2011-03-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

Since my own studio (aka miniature home office) is located in a tiny corner of our dining room, and seems to be swept along by a wave of perpetual motion as it constantly creeps into the dining room and covers the entire surface of the dining table every evening by dinner time, I am always daydreaming about my dream home office space.
Today I am having serious studio envy after seeing these pictures of Suzanne Kasler's design studio over here. I love the neutral palette with pops of color, the spring blossoms and mini eiffel towers...sigh...bliss.

Hearty snacks for kids

2011-03-25T12:29:00.001-07:00

With boys in the house, the most often used phrase I hear on any given day is:

"I'm hungry."

So the other day, when I noticed the organic mac and cheese on sale at the grocery store, I started loading up my grocery cart, thinking that it would be a healthy and filling snack alternative. But by the time I reached the checkout, I realized that it would be just as easy for me to boil pasta from the cupboard and just add butter and parmesan cheese. DUH?! Why have I never thought of this before? Seriously?!

I use the organic pasta from Costco, which is really tasty and comes in a pack of 6. I think each bag costs just over a dollar. I have been making a full bag's worth of pasta on Mondays. I cook the pasta, add a few tablespoons of butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese and a little salt. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days and I change it up, adding hotdogs or microwave bacon occassionally. I keep the servings smallish, so that it is more of a snack than a meal. It's also great if we are having a super busy day and I don't feel like cooking at the end of the day... then I just use the pasta base and add to it for a quick dinner. In our family, the one bag I make on Monday, usually gets around three days worth of snacks, so I usually offer it every second day and when the batch is finished, I wait at least a week or two, to make more, so the kids don't get sick of it.

Also, I buy a big block of parmigiano-Reggiano at Costco, and cut it into smallish blocks. I cover them with cling wrap, ziplock them and freeze them until I need to use them. Freezing cheese is great, especially if its a type of cheese that you buy specifically for a recipe, but then don't want to use the rest of it right away. Although I have only tried freezing hard cheeses, not sure about the soft ones.

Felt Flower Headband Tutorial

2011-03-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

After having a house full of boys, I am having so much fun having a little daughter to share my girlygirl-ness with. My little baby girl has been unwittingly immersed into a world of pink, pink, pink. I am constantly dressing her in pink girly outfits and there is absolutely no mistaking that this baby is a girl...

And if all this pink isn't enough to clearly identify my child as female, then these pink headbands ought to do the trick!

For the dark pink headband, I followed this tutorial here but as I was hotglueing it all together, mine got a bit out of hand and I ended up with this instead. I do still want to go back at some point and try to get the same effect as icandy's very cute one.

The light pink headband was very simple and only required a hot gluegun, needle and thread, and some felt. I had a pearl bead in my craft drawer which I sewed on at the end.

1. Cut out your small petals (9) and large petals (9) - my diagram has a different amount for both, but I ended up using 9 each!
2. Pinch the ends, and then hot glue together as shown.
3. Cut out a small circle of felt (not shown) to use as a base to hot glue the large petals together in a circle. Hot glue the smaller petals together (not on a circular base, though).
4. Hot glue the smaller petals (now one piece) onto the larger petals (which are also now one piece).

Lastly, either hot glue or sew the flower onto an alligator clip or a headband.
The whole project took me less than 10 minutes!

She didn't mind having her photo taken with the first headband, but was totally over it when I tried to put the second one on!!!
The color of the second flower is a bright pink, but it looks red in this picture for some reason.

Spring!

2011-03-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

With the first week of spring upon us, we decided to get into a flower theme around here...

First up, a flower inspired lunch (although the older boys did NOT want to eat flower shaped food...apparently it is way to girly!), but the youngest boy demolished his, so at least my efforts weren't all in vain.

Tomorrow I am going to attempt to make flower headbands for my little ~~live doll~~ daughter ;)

Japan

2011-03-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

Came across this great image of Japan from wheatpennyjenny via giddy giddy.

Our hearts and prayers go out to Japan.

Donations can be made to Japan at RedCross

St. Paddy's Day fun

2011-03-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

I know St. Patrick's Day has come and gone...but here are some photos of the carrying ons that occured at our house, as we celebrated all things green...

Firstly, the kids set out an elaborate trap to try and catch a Leprechaun...it involved a shoe box balancing precariously on the laundry basket, some green beads, and some gold coins strategically placed at the bottom of a black pot that was covered in shrink wrap, except for a tiny hole in the middle. The idea was for the Leprechaun to jump into the pot to retrieve the gold coins and then be trapped by the shrink wrap and fallen shoe box...
Unfortunately, the Leprechaun who visited our house during the stealth of night, was able to retrieve the gold, and escape, but he did leave some green gum and candy behind, which pleased the kids immensely, and the kids were delighted to discover that he left behind a green felt boot at the bottom of the pot! This led to much discussion about the mystery life of the Leprechauns!

The Leprechaun also left behind a little coloring-in book which had interesting facts about St. Patrick's Day, a map of Ireland, Leprechaun jokes, mazes, word search puzzles etc. I figured that this would be a good way for the kids to learn a bit about Ireland.
(To make this, I printed off some free printables I found online at dtlk.com and familyfun and kaboose, and made a little booklet by stapling the pages together and then "binding" the book by gluing on a strip of green card stock.)

We made rainbow cupcakes...

For lunch we had Leprechaun sandwiches (inspired by familyfun magazine) accompanied by green jello, green grapes, green fruit roll and tic tacs...

For dinner, I wanted to make a traditional Irish meal to make the day more meaningful and somewhat educational. I was going to make a lamb stew, but wasn't sure where I would find lamb, and I didn't think that corned beef and cabbage would be a hit...so we ended up going with Shepherd's pie, which I think is more English than Irish... but the kids loved it because I made individual pots and the kids will eat pretty much anything if it is served in an individual serving sized pot. I tried to cut a spinach leaf into a shamrock shape for a garnish, but my shamrock shape cutting skills clearly leave a lot to be desired.

I also made Irish Soda bread, which was a huge hit. I probably shouldn't have added the raisins, since the bread was being served with dinner, but the raisins actually went surprisingly well with the meal.

For dessert, we had Irish Apple Cake, which was also a hit, although when I told an Irish friend that I had made an Irish Apple Cake for dessert, she said she had never heard of it...so not too sure how authentic the dessert was, but it was well received and we served it with mint chocolate chip ice-cream (because its green!).

The kids got to drink green cool-aid (lemonade cool-aid with green coloring)...the Leprechauns had cheekily turned our water jug in the fridge into green cool-aid.

We also wore green hats and the boys wore orange beards (found here) and we made some orange pigtails for our little lass.

All in all we had a fun day filled with all things green and I must say, for someone who is very challenged in the cooking department, I did have fun researching and making some traditional Irish fare. Hope you had a wonderful St. Paddy's Day and may the luck of the Irish stay with you all year long :)

St. Patrick's Day Craft - Pipe Cleaner LEPRECHAUNS

2011-03-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

These cute St. Patrick's Day Pipe Cleaner Leprechauns were inspired from this article. This craft is quick, easy and mess free (that is, if your kids don't end up drawing on your ~~dining room~~ craft table ;)

All you need is:
Green Pipe Cleaners
Orange Wool (optional)
Card stock
Markers
Scissors
Tape

Assemble as shown:

Be careful though, the Leprechauns will try to steal your gold...

And if you have a pot of gold lying around, they will jump in and party...

... grab your gold...

...and run for the hills...

At least that is what our's tried to do...

Click here for Linky Parties

Valentine's Day pirate ship treat box

2011-03-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

This year we decided on pirate ship treat boxes for the kids to take to school for their school Valentine's Day party. The kids had so much fun putting them together and decorating them. The great thing about this project was that they have been playing with the pirate ships ever since, so it is not a lot of effort for just one day!

I wasn't feeling very creative in the card department, and come to think of it, we should probably have made pirate themed cards to go with the pirate ship treat boxes (duh!) but we I decided on these cute cards instead...inspiration via eighteen25.

For pirate ship tutorial click here.

How to Make a Cardboard Pirate Ship

2011-03-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

This year we were very late with our Valentine's Day preparations. No big surprise there! Fortunately, since Valentine's Day fell on a Monday this year, we had the weekend to come up with a fun idea for the Valentine's Day Treat Boxes. We wanted to come up with something a little different as our Monster Valentine's Day boxes from last year were such a hit.

The kids love pirates, and have both had pirate parties in the past, and so the consensus was to make pirate ship boxes. They were really easy to make. Below is a picture tutorial of the process I used...it may very well be the internet's worst tutorial to date...but after trying a few different approaches, this is the one that worked for us. And the kid's were able to put them together themselves with a little bit of guidance.

*these would also work great as party favor boxes for a Pirate Party*

All you need is:
A piece of cardboard (hello, recycle center!)
Scissors
Duct tape
A thin stick or a food skewer for the mast
One sheet of printer paper
Markers and stamps to decorate

1. Cut the following 4 pieces out of the cardboard (see below for enlarged measurements)

2. Start to assemble the box by bringing up the sides and then bringing the front 2 flaps of the ship together (see hand below). Make sure the tab is on the inside of the pirate ship and duct tape the seams on the inside and outside of the ship.

3. Once the front is secured with duct tape, place piece C in position. Duct tape underneath as well as around the top edges. (I cut my duct tape length wise to make a smaller seam on top.)
As you can see, there will be a rectangular shaped hole at the bottom - you may want to try and address this before you start....we didn't end up losing any candy so it didn't matter too much to us!!
Did I mention that this tutorial leaves a lot to be desired ;)

4. Next, position piece D as shown. Secure with Duct tape underneath.
5. Attach piece B. Fold in the tabs and duct tape underneath as well as along the outer seams.

6. Lastly, place a long twig or food skewer through the hole punched in the middle of piece D.

Now it is time to decorate your pirate ship as well as the sail.
Finish by punching two holes in the paper, one near the top, in the center and another near the bottom in the center of the page. Thread through the mast, and ye pirate ship is ready to sail over to yer Valentine's Day party to collect lots of Booty, me Hearties.

Happy New Year!

2011-03-06T21:51:00.000-08:00

I know that we are a week into March at this point...hope the new year is off to a super start!

Happy New Year word art from Rhonna Farrer's New Year '06 Kit from 2 Peas in a Bucket

10 lessons for young designers

2011-02-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

Came across this via Swiss Miss...

10 lessons for young designers. by John C Jay of Wieden+Kennedy

1: Be authentic. The most powerful asset you have is your individuality, what makes you unique. It’s time to stop listening to others on what you should do. 2: Work harder than anyone else and you will always benefit from the effort. 3: Get off the computer and connect with real people and culture. Life is visceral. 4: Constantly improve your craft. Make things with your hands. Innovation in thinking is not enough. 5: Travel as much as you can. It is a humbling and inspiring experience to learn just how much you don’t know. 6: Being original is still king, especially in this tech-driven, group-grope world. 7: Try not to work for stupid people or you’ll soon become one of them. 8: Instinct and intuition are all-powerful. Learn to trust them. 9: The Golden Rule actually works. Do good. 10: If all else fails, No. 2 is the greatest competitive advantage of any career. (via Edwin Himself)

Ode to President's Day

2010-02-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

Well, more of a picture ode than anything else...

Inspired by this fun powdered wig craft, we decided to celebrate President's Day in between heated rounds of Indiana Jones Wii, by dressing up like two of our favorite presidents, namely George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (and I think they are the ones whom the holiday is for...) Although we only got as far as the head gear. Abe's bushy eyebrows and beard are pretty horrible replicas, and while the wig looked cute on the Bubs, it didn't really fit the oldest child and it looks more like a big marshmallow hat than anything else ...I will gladly admit that craftiness is not my strong point. But the kids did have fun wearing the hats for a grand total of 25 seconds - and thats what really matters, right.

And the Last Valentine's Day post of 2010

2010-02-15T08:48:00.000-08:00

I got some roses from BigP - the night before the actual day! Very impressive - he got them early becasue he wanted to get me pink roses (my favs) but they only had red ones left. Still very beautiful and I have since rearranged them in a much nicer fashion!!!

Our dinner of mini heart-shaped pizzas and a salad was a huge success. I have the easiest pizza dough recipe -it takes about 5 minutes to make and the kids loved having their own little pizzas. Needless to say, they were all devoured. We just used ingredients we had in the kitchen - cheese, hotdog slices and pineapple for the kids (!) and cheese, pineapple and bacon for BigP and cheese and pineapple for me. Very, very tasty.

For dessert, we went with the Toblerone chocolate pots (see previous posts for recipe link). It is the easiest dessert on earth to make - it took 2 whole minutes plus cooling time in the fridge - and was out of this world delicious. Very, very rich though. (When I mentioned how rich they were to the boys, one of them replied: "Thanks so much for making us such an expensive dessert, how much exactly did it cost?!")

Lastly, the boys going through their Valentine's Day stash from their classmates...they spent hours reading each note and made up all kinds of games and goodness knows what entertained them for so long, but any peace and quiet a mother can get, she will gladly accept...that is until the sugar buzz kicked in....

Happy Heart's Day!

2010-02-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Heart's Day!

We will be having a lazy day at home, probably in our PJs, with the boys playing some version of a Star Wars game and me playing some version of "Go find the ....." (pig, horse, cow) etc. with the Bubs. He spreads his plastic dollar store animals all over the living room and runs off with much excitement to find each requested animal. It keeps him entertained for quite a while, which is always a good thing =)

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) bigP has to work today, or else we would be enjoying some kind of family outing, but when he returns, we plan on making mini heart-shaped pizzas for dinner, followed by reading our little love notes to each other over either this dessert, or this one.

And to end this post, a quote from Euripedes to remind us that love isn't just about smooches and soul mates, it's about loving each other...

" Love is all we have,

the only way that each can help the other."

LOVEly things

2010-02-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

Some LOVEly things for the Valentine's Day weekend....

...these beautiful words to remind us that we are in charge of our own happiness.

...a super fun way to reuse heart shaped candy boxes

...this awesome heart scarf

...a cute CD cover if you're in the mood to burn a playlist of your favorite tunes

......and who couldn't resist a Big Love Butterscotch Cookie

image via omnia

Heart Shaped Food

2010-02-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

Heart shaped food for a Happy Heart's Day

1. Heart Shaped Eggs - Bake it Pretty

2. Heart in my Cappacino - Ginko Papers

3. PB&J Sandwiches - image source unknown

4. Heart Shaped Pizza - Family Fun

5. Souffle - Real Simple

6. Oreo Cakester hearts - image source unknown

7. Raspberry Tart Cookie - Family Fun

8. Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake Bars - All You

Valentine's Day Cards & Printables

2010-02-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

Some fun Valentine's Day cards and printables from around the web...

Click on the links to find even more fun cards from these stores:

1. English Muffin Shop

2. Scenerie

3. Hello Lucky

4. Up Up Creative

5. Monkey Moo Moo

6. Puppy Love

7. Kates Papiere

8. The Paper Peony

9. Night Owl Paper Goods

10. Pup and Pony

She sells seashells...

2010-02-10T09:52:00.001-08:00

"She sells sea shells by the sea shore" - get a rundown on your personality type through your writing here.

One

2010-02-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

Recently I came across the following quote from a book called 1 (How many people does it take to make a difference?) by Dan Zadra, Kobi Yamada via Deb_S Photographs on Flickr.

image via Amazon

"one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself or anyone else is inspiration. inspiration to get in touch with your dreams. inspiration to see out your deepest passions. inspiration to make a difference in the world, a difference that only you can make. this is not a book about success; it's a book about significance. it's not a book about making a living; it's a book about making a life. it's not about fame or acclaim; it's about contribution and service. instead of asking, 'what can i get from life?'. watch what happens when you ask, 'what can i give?'"

It sounds intriguing and a good one to start the year off with. While others may have a few books under their belt by now, my grand total of books read this year is a big nada...need to get back to my Book Club - its the only way I make time to read these days, although last year my track record of actually reading the books was terrible. So I shall add to my list of resolutions: read more! And this book is on my list... as well as the first book, called 5 (Where will you be 5 years from now?) by Dan Zadra, Kristel Will.

image via Amazon

Fun Kid Stuff

2010-02-08T19:25:00.001-08:00

Fun stuff from around the web:

Mimi'lou Wall Stickers

Digital Stamps from Katie Pertiet

http://www.ferm-living.com/kids-wallstickers/

Making Lunch Fun!

2010-02-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

These lunch products from Shinzi Katoh are too adorable for words...

all images from Shinzi Katoh

1. Ringo Sprinkle Case

2. Ringo Plastic Cups

3. Ringo Five Faces Forks

4. Ringo Lunch Flags

5. Ringo Sauce Case

6. Ringo Five Faces Spoons

7. Ringo Sauce Case

8. Ringo Mayo Case

9. Lunch Basket

10. Lunch Basket

11. Lunch Basket

How fun would it be to pack some of these in the kids' school lunch boxes each day. Only problem would be that they might not make it home, they're so cute.

Valentine's Day School Gifts

2010-02-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Day each year, the kids always make a home-made Valentine for each child in their class. This year I showed the kids some pictures I found online and each child immediately chose the Valentine that they wanted me to make. The oldest child chose to make a paper airplane carrying a message, inspired by the one from While She Naps.

We weren't so ambitious as to make an origami plane, we just made the standard paper plane, which he decorated with markers and rubber stamps. I thought it would be a bit much for him to write the message (U R plane awesome!) over twenty times (one for each child in his class), so I had him write it once and then I scanned and copied it, so all he had to do was write the name of each child, which was much more manageable. He was thrilled with the finished planes, and wanted to make an extra one for himself to play with.

It's always the simplest things that kids love playing with...I must remind myself of this at Christmas time and Birthday time.... And I liked how it didn't have any candy attached to it, since they end up with so much candy anyway.

His brother chose a downloadable guitar valentine from Zakka Life. This wasn't much of a surprise as he really really really wants to learn the guitar. But not just any guitar - a rock ‘n roll guitar “and if I can’t learn on a real rock ‘n roll guitar, then I don’t want to learn to play at all.” Okay, you might be waiting a while then, little buddy....Anyhoo, he was very excited to assemble the "guitars", and totally stoked that his valentine involved a lollipop.

Then we made the boxes that they take into school to put all the Valentine's Cards that they get from their classmates into. We decided on robot/monsters and I spray painted the boxes for a rustic, recycled look. For a more polished look, covering the box in construction paper, or scrapbook paper, or gift wrap, would be better, but we were going for the beaten up look, so the spray paint worked fine. I only put on two coats because it was in the teens, temperature wise, outside...so the robots were lucky they even got two coats.

We made cardboard heart feet and cardboard tubes for the arms. The eyes were styrofoam balls attached to the box with craft wire that was twisted to make the googly eye effect. The kids were kind of worn out at the end of this project and so they weren't really interested in adding heart stickers or stamping etc. but they might do this between now and Valentine's Day.

And this sets an all time record in the Household - a project complete with five days to spare...amaaaazing.

Love Notes

2010-02-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

Each year our family begins the month of February by decorating the living room with cardboard and cardstock glitter hearts and after dinner each night, we write little love notes to each other. Last year we each wrote a love note to each member of the family every evening, but this year we decided to change it up a bit and we have made it more into a game. One person gets to start and they write a note to someone and when they're finished, everyone closes their eyes and they pop their note into the recipients mail box and then we all check to see who the lucky recipient is. Then that person chooses someone to write a love note to, and so the game continues until everyone has a love note. The kids are still young enough to be filled with anticipation as they wait to see who will receive a love note next…

Then, on Valentine’s Day, we each have a mailbox filled with heartfelt, handwritten love notes. It’s just a fun way for the family to interact as well as a way of trying to take the commercialization out of Valentine’s Day for the most part. I’m not saying that if a certain person wanted to buy his wife some diamond earrings as an expression of love, that that would not be totally okay, but otherwise (and since that will not be happening any time soon), its all about the “gifts from the heart” theme around here.

For dinner I made stew in the crock pot and my husband could not believe his eyes and (his nose) when he arrived home last night to discover that dinner had already been made. Over dinner we realized that we have owned the crock pot for well over 10 years and have never used it and we were wondering what on earth had possessed us to buy one in the first place. This was followed by my husband wondering what on earth had possessed me to suddenly bring the thing out and made a stew with it! But that’s just my style…total randomness and always some element of surprise…

I served the stew in bread bowls and the dinner was a huge hit. For dessert, I made Bakerella’s Peach Crunch Cake. Let me say, it was as if she concocted this recipe just for me – it is totally foolproof which is exactly what I need, judging from my near disasters here and here. My photos do not do the dessert justice, see hers here.

The First Day of the Second Month of the New Decade...

2010-02-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, when I started to write this post, it was titled: The last Day of the First Month of the New Decade – which sounded much more catchy. Anyhoo, since I started writing it just before midnight, I wasn’t able to finish it and so today demands a different title.

And now we are one month into the year and the brand new decade brings with it a fresh perspective. We are naturally moved to think in terms of a wider time frame - the next ten years – and life seems fresh with possibilities and hope.

Looking back, the last decade (for us) was about creating a family. The years when the children are young are so rich in love and joy, but they also require a tremendous amount of energy and patience…especially once the third child comes along…and especially if he is the type of child that shows absolutely no signs of caution or fear and will dive head first off a couch without a second thought, or could climb out of a pack n play before he turned one, or had mastered every milestone that took his older brother’s at least another year to master (except for walking and talking) before the age of one… So energy and patience (along with the love and joy that children always bring) was the name of the game for the 00 decade.

And now a bright, shiny new decade looms before us…and with the kids a little older, I’m hoping that it gives us (the Hubster and I) a bit more breathing room to enable us to follow our dreams. In the meantime, it looks like I have some tidying up to do ;)

Just like his Dad, it takes a whole lotta mess in order to cook up something good!

Super Bowl Sunday

2010-01-31T22:50:00.000-08:00

With the Super Bowl about a week away, I can't say that it's exactly Super Bowl Mania around here since we do not have TV. We go to a Super Bowl party every year but the kids just run around like hooligans and so are pretty much oblivious to this great American tradition. So in order to instill some true American spirit - we decided to make Super Bowl Bobbleheads. Because, really, what shouts Super Bowl more than homemade bobbleheads?!

We decided on the Colts, since that is their father's pick (I had to ask who was playing....) and after some googling to see what the Colt's uniform looks like, we followed the instructions from Family Fun.

The craft was pretty simple and straight forward, although some of the bits were a little tricky for little hands. The kids opted to paint the helmets (white styrofoam balls) instead of using tissue paper and a glue mixture to cover them. After dilligently painting the helmets the perfect shade of blue, I happened to look at a picture of the uniform again, only to discover that the Colt's helmets are actually white with a blue stripe. So all that painting turned out to be in vain but thank goodness for washable paint, because after much scrubbing at the kitchen sink by yours truly, the helmets were almost restored to their original glory.

Other than that little hiccup, it went pretty smoothly and they were pleased with the end result. After that, we headed to the kitchen to whip up some Super Bowl cupcakes (from Family Fun). Since we didn't have any black liquorice for the helmets, I had to substitute using black strips of paper! The boys didn't mind a bit, they are very used to all my shortcomings when it comes to crafting and baking and a whole lot of other things...they were just thrilled to have cupcakes for afternoon tea. Boys are so easy to please!

Here are a few ideas for kid friendly football shaped snacks and yummies for next Sunday...

1. Super Bowl Mini Football Subs - Family Fun

2. Super Bowl Football Turnovers - Family Fun

3. Super Bowl Football Grilled Cheese Sandwiches - Family Fun

4. Super Bowl Football Brownies - Betty Crocker

5. Super Bowl Football Candies - Amazing Moms

6. Super Bowl Frosted Peanut Butter Football Cookies - Betty Crocker

Valentine's Day Photos

2010-01-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

Since I've started this blog, I have really been trying to think ahead and plan ahead, which is the only reason that I am even beginning to think about Valentine's Day in the month of January. Usually I wait until a few days before and then turn into a frantic mess, trying to help the kids write Valentine's Day notes to every.child.in.their.class, and quickly trying to come up with an idea for the Valentine's Day photo I take of the kids holding up red hearts each year; and then designing the photo card to send out to friends and family.

But not this year. This year I am ahead of the game - instead of the kids making hearts out of card stock for their classmates, we discussed a special project we could do and I ordered the supplies a few days ago. Will post about it when it arrives and the kids start working on it. As for the photo, I am thinking about a few options, which is always the first step... will post after its done.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of past Valentine's Day cards of the kids. I'm pleased to see some improvements in my photoshopping ... although I still have a looooooooong way to go - it's definitely a never ending process when it comes to that program. The third photo was my first foray into scrapbooking and my friend Andrea told me how to do it - I basically just copied hers, but it got me started!

I have no idea how to get these pictures any bigger... they are at s640!?

...Blogger has the tendancy to baffle me ALOT.

For some cute Valentine's Day photo ideas for kids - see Jolieanne Photography on Flickr and Daily Relish.

Haiti

2010-01-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

While looking around the web I came across this great T shirt from Doubletake Clothing. According to their website, all net proceeds go to your choice of one of the following: UNICEF; Doctors Without Borders and CSI Ministries. According to their website, as of 1/24/2010 over $7000.00 has been raised. For more information or to order one, please click here.

image via Doubletake Clothing.

Some other donation suggestions:

Red Cross

United Way

Hope for Haiti Now

Hope for Haiti Now Album

Ralph Lauren is donating 100% of proceeds when you purchase the Haiti Relief Polo Shirt.

(Click here for more details about the donation and how to purchase.)

MTV has a 20 Things You Can Buy To Help Haiti

Chaos vs. Keeping Calm

2010-01-26T15:57:00.000-08:00

Would love to get one of these for the kid's bedroom (since it is also their playroom) and this is the general theme in our household...

To purchase one (they are available in many colors), visit Peta Mazey's blog.

Then, I would absolutely have to get this for my home office (otherwise known as the dining room)...

From now until Feb14, 2010 a $5 donation from every sale will be made to the Red Cross Haitian Relief Fund - see here for details.

Making Photos Look Better

2010-01-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days - the kind that just follows their own course entirely without any regard to what one was hoping to accomplish or the items on one's never ending To Do List. It started when the Bubs went down for a nap and I had a few free moments to myself. Instead of sticking to the schedule I had planned the night before, I decided to 'quickly' hop onto Google to find a few ideas for Valentine's Day. And just as the internet has a habit of doing to a person, before I knew it, one thing led to another, and I didn't get to anything related to Valentine's Day at all. Rather, I found myself in a hundred different places and ended up reading a very helpful post that contained some great tips on how to make photographs look better.

It must be noted that one of my guilty pleasures is reading Photography Blogs. The common theme with the particular blogs I read is that the photographers are all, for the most part, mothers, who have chosen photography as a career path. I am in awe of the photography they produce and wish that my photographs would come out looking anywhere in the vaguest region of that good. I realize that photography is a career for them, and that they have mastered the fine art of it, but oh, how I wish I could make my photographs come even just a little bit close to the superbness that they are creating.

But, alas, I just do not have any particular interest in learning photography. I just want the seemingly countless photographs that I take of the children to look great. At least some of them. I know that is like saying: "I want my meals to look and taste like Julia Child's, but I don't want to follow a recipe." My husband has tried to show me how to shoot on manuel and adjust the ISO and some other things, the names of which I can never remember, but I admit that I am just a lost cause. And so whenever I pick up the camera I just flip the switch to Program Mode and hope for the best.

So I was excited when I came across this post on the "new to me" blog - Beyond Snapshots. While I understand that you have to start with a technically correct and basically good photograph in order to get to an even better photograph in post production, and that it is pretty impossible to transform a bad photograph into anything other than possibly a minimally less bad photograph - I decided to snap a quick pic of my Bub and go through the steps listed in the post to see if I could at least add the slightest of improvements.

Although it is far from anything I see on my favorite photo blogs, I was happy with the results and I think it is as much as I can hope for unless I step it up a notch and actually listen to my husband's words of wisdom.

Hopefully this will help out some other moms out there that like to snap a hundred photos of their kids every second and are hoping to be able to tweak some of their fav's before printing and framing.

As a side note: it must be noted that my computer is quite old (as is my version of photoshop) - so this might actually look quite terrible on anyone else's computer screen (!) but I hope it provides you with the same inspiration I got from reading the post over at Beyond Snapshots and that you have fun playing around with different settings until you find something you are happy with!

Whenever I whip out the camera, Bubs always goes into super ham mode and pulls the funniest of faces - usually he scrunched up his nose, squeezes his eyes shut and lifts up his chin! Here I caught him in the middle of doing all three...

So my day turned out to be just perfect, even if I didn't accomplish anything I was hoping to, and learning some new things is always a good thing. My next step might even be ACTIONS!

Mini Snowmen on a Snowy Saturday

2010-01-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

This morning we awoke to fresh snow on the ground and the kids were very eager to get outside and play. They wanted to take their little red sleds to play with in the snow and before long I found myself outside helping them to make tiny little snowmen to ride on the sleds...

After they had been outside for quite some time (it's amazing how long they can stay out in the cold...) they came back inside requesting hot cocoa...and we ended up making some skiing mini marshmallow snowmen.

It's at times like these, when you find yourself unexpectantly celebrating the small things in life, like a fresh dusting of snow on the ground with the ones you love, and you feel your heart burst open with joy and gratitude for everything around you, that you find yourself knee deep in the heart of life. Recognizing that joyfulness is a gift that sometimes comes from being fully immersed in the moment...a gift that allows you to forget all about your silly frustrations about how you can "never get anything done" and instead of viewing certain things as distractions, you realize that, if you allow them to be happy moments, they are really the marrow of life. And when you look back, these moments will all string together to become the great garland of what you remember, for you certainly won't be remembering what it was you were distracted from...

Mini Champagne Bistro Chair

2010-01-17T21:54:00.000-08:00

I am loving miniature things right now, and so I loved this post from Design Sponge about how to make a mini champagne bistro chair. Wish I had seen it right after New Year's Eve, but heres hoping that there are many more opportunities to crack open a bottle of bubbly in the new year. Click here for the tutorial.

Organizing...

2010-01-16T13:26:00.001-08:00

There is something about the start of a brand new year that inspires a grand sense of organization. At least that has been the case with me this year. Last year I started the new year completely inspired by some wonderful food blogs and I went roaring into the month of January and even well into March (if I remember correctly) menu planning and experimenting with all kinds of tasty dishes. Lets just say that my husband was a very happy man. However, by the end of March I was pretty much over it - I am just not a "foodie" kind of person and cooking, rather than being something anywhere close to a "passion" is very much just another item on my To Do list. When people describe it as being relaxing, I drop my jaw with the sheer weight of incredibility. I feel like I spend the entire day trying to do at least five things at the same time and most of the time I feel like I am just running around like a chicken with my head cut off, so to spend an hour in the kitchen, with the simultaneous chopping and slicing and sauteing and boiling and frying is the most stressful thing to me.

So I resorted back to my handful or so of trusty favorite recipes, and every once in a while added a few new ones to the rotation. One of the wonderful things about the really good food blogs, the ones where the blogger has so much passion for cooking, you get excited just reading and looking at the photographs and you want to run out and buy the ingredients to make something that you would never have made before. Thats inspiration. And although I will never share their pure passion and love for food, my life will be better for having shared in theirs through their blogs and through the recipes I try myself.

So that said, the food inspiration simmered down to a try something new a few times a month kind of deal. This year I have felt the great desire to honor the new year with a clear desk, a clean, clutter free house and a clear mind. While I can't say I have achieved the latter (although I suppose that is another item to add to my list of resolutions....the ever present wishing for a mind that is clear, sharp and focused.) I feel pretty good with the external organizational aspects of my life so far this year.

With a lot of team effort, the house has stayed toy-clutter free. When the children have finished playing with their toys, they have been putting them away without being asked and have been such a help in picking up after themselves. I must say that when the house gets over run with toys, it is because I am not being an effective organizer and task master. I just let things slide into a state of chaos and then get upset that the house is in such a state. The kids are generally always eager to help, and so I need to make sure that I keep reminding them.

So we started the new year with each room in the house looking neat and tidy and organized, but my goal this year is to try and come up with a plan to make the most out of each room, in terms of storage solutions and utilizing the space in the most efficient manner. Living in a small space demands a lot of functionability out of each area, and I feel like our rooms are not as space efficient as they could be.

The boy's room is on the top of the list, since they all share a room and space (or lack thereof) is a huge issue. We don't have a playroom, so all their toys are kept in their room. My husband's solution for the Toy Dilemma is to just get rid of half their toys. However, I don't think that they have a lot of toys, it's more an issue of there being too little space to put the ones that they have.

Dreaming of Paris

2010-01-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

I am just not in the mood to do much of anything today, least of all start that Christmas Album (!) although this morning I did manage to cross off a large number of items off my To Do List....
Now that lunch has been served (the children like to ask for a meal by asking when I will be serving it)...I happened across this lovely Paris Loft at Cookie Mag and I am dreaming of Paris...I wish I could spend the afternoon here...

this master bedroom looks a little like ours...I think I might try to copy the heart shape polaroid ideas above the bed - perfect in time for Valentine's Day...

i also heart the hot air balloon in the child's bedroom...

Tiny Things

2010-01-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Right now I have a huge To Do List that I am avoiding. One of the items on the list is the task of making a December Daily Christmas Album. Last year I was inspired by Ali Edwards and her annual December Daily Project and really wanted to make an album of my own, since we do so much fun Christmas related stuff in December, but I never did get around to doing it. So this past December, I resolved that I would do it for sure this year, but now it is almost mid January and it is still just an item on my To Do List.

I know the point of it is to try and complete a page a day in December, but I knew that I would never accomplish this before Christmas, so I gave myself some leeway and felt for sure that I would begin the project right after the mayhem of Christmas had subsided. Uh-huh. I imagine it is one of those projects that you just have to start, and then the creativity will flow from there...and I imagine that having some kind of album would probably be a very good starting point. I'm sure if I just read the "instructions" on her blog, all this would be layed out very clearly... but when I popped over there a short while ago to find out about the Album details, I got sidetracked by a great post about what she does with all the photo Christmas cards she receives from family and friends. She cuts them into squares (using a square punch) and makes a scrapbook page out of them all. Very clever, although I don't know if I could be as fearless as she is, when faced with having to choose which part of the card makes it into the perameters of the square punch. I might try it, but I will only allow myself to do so after I have completed my Christmas Album. The Album which is now causing me guilt and anxiety and dread, and is forcing me to look around the web for Valentine's Day ideas, in an effort to rid my mind of anything at all Christmas related...

And so I was delighted when I came across The World's Smallest Postal Service from Leafcutter Designs. How tiny and adorable are these little letters? They would make for some very cute Valentine's Day notes...

Happy New Year Mini Banner

2010-01-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

While i am still procrastinating like crazy over sitting down to actually think about my resolutions and goals and plans for the year, someone else has been diligently working on his....

I just love how he dragged a chair over to the wall, then found his brother's booster seat and placed it on the chair and then climbed up, found a pen, and started to "write."

And while he was busy working on his project, I decided to make a Happy New Year mini flag banner for my computer - because that is what you do when you are avoiding a 356 item To Do List. (Inspiration via Paper Source)

Resolutions and a whole lot of rambling

2010-01-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!
2010 has a great ring to it, and since it wouldn’t take a lot to beat 2009, let’s hope the year is a good one for everyone. We had a lovely evening at home saying goodbye to ‘09 and welcoming the New Year. Big P came home with some party hats and noise makers, so all I ended up having to make was the 2010 eye glasses, which the kids decorated. They also filled in a 2009 Favorite Things Worksheet – which basically consisted of a blank piece of printer paper, with a spot to write their name and the year on top, and then I wrote out a list of their Favorites Things of the Year, such as friends, sports, games, video games, colors, animals, candy, food etc. and they filled them in. They actually quite enjoyed thinking about all their "favorites" and so we shall do this every year, and re-read the lists every New Year’s Eve.

Last New Year’s Eve, we had family in town and after dinner we discussed each person’s Funniest, Happiest, Worst, Best etc. Moments of The Year. I had taken down notes, so we could look at the list again the following New Year’s Eve (which would be this one…) but I could not find where I had put them. Surely with the Christmas stuff, but apparently not…. I do this all the time, so it’s not surprising to anyone…and of course I will find the list sometime in January…

Anyhoo, on that note, the year is off to a good, but disorganized start. I haven’t had a chance to sit down and really think about my goals and hopes for the year, but there are some very obvious Resolutions, such as Get Organized, that seem to have a permanent place on the top of any list of Resolutions I will ever make for myself. Specifically, Household Organization. My husband and I like things neat, tidy and organized, however, to walk into our house, you would never imagine that we are actually like this. Unless, of course, you let us know ahead of time that you will be coming over, then I will go into a frenzy, picking up, tidying up, neatening and straightening and not allowing the children to touch Anything In The House. Not Even Their Toys - Especially Not Their Toys. After all, that is the cause of most of the chaos to begin with....
But since most of my friends are always popping in ~~uninvited~~ unexpectantly, they know to expect a well lived in house...

I find it is next to impossible to keep an organized house living in a small space, but I know that I am full of excuses and that it can be done…with a lot of consistency and effort. But for someone who is not a big fan of domesticity, it is a bit of a challenge. I love my family and family life, I am just Not A Fan of the constant cleaning and tidying up and laundry and cooking and general menial household work. I know some Mother’s live for that stuff, or maybe some Mother’s just do it gladly without complaining, but I am a bit of a dud in that area. I mean, I do it, I just do not enjoy doing it.

I wouldn’t mind so much if it was every now and then, but it seems like every second of the day there is something to pick up, something to put away, dishes to wash, laundry that piles up, floors needing to be swept or mopped... It makes me wonder if living in a small house is a good or bad thing. Good, because there is less of it to keep tidy and organized or Bad, because within 5 seconds of the kids walking through the door, every single square foot of space in the house is covered in an explosion of hats, gloves, boots, toys, art work and everything else under the sun.

I know I should not complain – I should be more American and resolve to become super proactive about my shortcomings, but I blame the British in me…the truth is that I do like a good bitch and a moan. Did Lily Allen sing that? (Must get one of her CD’s this year…) But in all seriousness, I need to shift my focus away from the drudgery and focus more on the bright side and be thankful for every single thing I have.

And I do try – I do stuff like put up little signs, like the one that used to be above my kitchen sink that says:

“Thank God for dirty dishes, they have a tale to tell.
While others are going hungry, we are eating very well.
With health and home and happiness, I shouldn’t want to fuss.
For by this stack of evidence, God’s been very good to us.”

Author Unknown

I know, I am such a nerd, but that leads me directly to New Year’s Resolution Numbah 2, which is...Shifting My Perceptions. To shift my focus away from disliking the menial stuff to being thankful that I have a house to clean; a husband and kids to pick up after, clothes to wash; food to cook and dishes to wash. Not to mention a dishwasher and clothes washer and dryer to help.
And, in the words of Sarah Ban Breathnach (Simple Abundance), I must strive to “find the sacred in the ordinary.”

I will sign off with a quote from A Course in Miracles:

“A Miracle is a shift in perception.”

May 2010 be a year filled with Love, Gratitude and Miracles…

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

There are always others who will say it better, so in the words of Martin Luther:

"Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth."

and Edith Lovejoy Pierce:

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called "Opportunity" and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

Goodbye 2009

2009-12-31T16:42:00.000-08:00

Goodbye 2009. It was a good one – filled with growing children, a good life in a beautiful spot in the world, a loving family, wonderful friends, fun times, laughter, and dreams that will have to wait another year to be fulfilled…

On New Year's Eve in an alternate reality, the kids would be home with a sitter and Big P and I would be partying up a storm at some glam party - and I would look like this...

But in reality, I will probably be wearing jeans and will ring in the New Year at home with the family on NYC time – we have decided to skip the parties and hang with the kids. We are starting a new tradition by surprising them with a very early dinner at a local pizza restaurant (Big Treat since I think McDonald’s was the only place they got to eat at this year!) Then we shall head home and they have some friends coming over for a sleepover. I have some New Year's Eve arts and crafty things lined up and the night will probably include some sort of Wii marathon. We will try to watch the ball drop in NYC on the computer (if that’s possible) since we don’t have TV. I bought some non-alcoholic sparkling apple juice for the kids so they can say a toast to the New Year with us.

Hopefully BigP and I will get some alone time after they’re all asleep and play a little bowling ourselves– and hopefully I will retain my title as the 2009 Bowling Champ of the family.

May 2009 be filled with love and peace – in our hearts and in the world…

And in the words of ‘someone’ via BHG:

“May all your troubles during the year be as short as your New Year's Resolutions."

New Year's Family Fun

2009-12-31T14:30:00.000-08:00

In true last minute style, I am quickly looking around the web for some fun ideas to do with the kids tonight...
So far this is it:

1. Fortune Bubbles - BHG

2. 2010 Glasses - Family Fun

3. Water Bottle Noise Maker - Kaboose

4. Mini Silver Disco Balls - Social Couture

5. Happy New Year Garland - Kaboose

The How-To's can be found by clicking on the links. And it's too late for the Mini Silver Disco Balls - but how much fun would they be??? Mental Note for next year!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

2009-12-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

...but a little thing like below zero temps isn't stopping the kids from playing up a storm outside. (At least it feels like below 0 temps - our temperature gauge is broken ...and there's no fresh snow - it's just frightfully cold.)
Inside, however, its warm and cozy and after whipping up a batch of Peppermint Bark...

image via Williams-Sonoma

...the boys read books on the couch while I got started on our Christmas Card Thank You list. The boy's did their Thank You cards yesterday, so they are one step ahead of me...

I guess I am not feeling so "last minute" today...

Living in Small Spaces

2009-12-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

We life in a home that is the size of a shoebox. Well, not really, but it certainly feels that way - with all five of us crammed inside like sardines and no room to swing a cat. So I love it when I stumble across websites featuring how others manage to get by living in small spaces.

The other day I came across the Finger Residence at Dwell. The apartment is in NYC and the boy's bedroom is quite a feat - his desk during the day swings around to transform into his bed at night. Every space is utilized, including storage under the floor boards!

Pics courtesy of Dwell and No Roof.

A Tale of a Merry Christmas

2009-12-27T18:23:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas – it was very quiet and relaxing and we didn’t leave the house at all. And after the total craziness of the month and all the activities and parties, we were absolutely fine with that. The day got off to an early start with the kids waking us up at 6.30 am, which was quite a bonus considering that I had given JJ my alarm clock with strict instructions that they were not allowed to wake us up until 6.00 am. I was hoping that they would sleep in a little since we had gone to a Christmas Eve party the night before and had arrived home around 10.30 pm. By the time the kids were in bed, it was after 11.00 pm and so the thought of them waking up at 5.00 am and being tired and cranky all day was not very appealing.

So our Christmas day began at 6.30 am with two very excited little boys chomping at the bit to start opening the presents that Santa had left for them. Bubs was quite oblivious to the whole thing, but once he got into the swing of ripping open presents, he got quite excited, too. After all the present un-wrapping, while the boys were completely immersed in playing with their new toys, Big P and I made a big Fry Up for breakfast. We fried up diced apples and sliced bananas, a mini Christmas Pudding given to us by my parents after a trip to Ireland in the late Fall, eggs, bacon and toast. The boys drank OJ while the adults got to sip on Mimosa’s.

After the huge feast, I decided to take a nap as my Christmas present to myself. I never ever nap during the day, and so it was quite the treat to sneak off and catch a few z’s while the boys began a Wii marathon which lasted until I woke up four hours later! I thought for sure that I would only sleep for an hour or so tops, but it ended up working out well...I spend so much time with the kids and Big P works such long hours that it was a great Christmas treat for him to spend the entire day just hanging with the kids and doing whatever they wanted to.

So we ended up spending the entire day just chilling at the homestead, which was perfect. With the kids in school full time, they are always so happy when they get the chance to just stay home and play with their toys. We had vaguely planned to take the kids either sledding or ice skating or even a little day trip to a ski area, but the day played itself out in its own perfect way.

We ate a very early dinner – Australian style – thanks to Big P. Every year, friends of ours who live in Australia, send us a different Australian Christmas book along with a few gifts. So this year, as Big P was reading one of the Australian books to the kids one evening, he decided that this was the year that we would celebrate Christmas Australian Style! Since we didn’t have any family fly in for the holidays, and we had celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents with a huge Turkey dinner, we thought that the more informal Aussie style dinner would be perfect. Initially we had planned to sit outside around our outdoor fire pit and pretend the knee deep snow covering our yard was actually the Pacific Ocean…but the temps were so cold – below 0F – that we nixed that idea pretty quickly. So we stayed indoors, cranked up the heat and pretended to be in Australia while we ate a tasty meal of BBQed ribs, mashed potato and a big salad. ( I substituted the ribs for veggie bacon). It was delicious and the boys almost polished off the entire rack of ribs!

Then it was off to bed for the boys since an early night was very much in order. I think they were fast asleep by 7.00 pm...woop-woop! Then Big P and I had a date night, bowling. Well, it was in our house, playing Wii, but it was still really fun just to have the evening to ourselves and have some good laughs.

So all in all it was a fabulous Christmas. We are so blessed to have a loving family, a roof over our heads, presents under the tree and so many wonderful and caring friends. Although the month of December sped by like the speed of light, I tried to savor the moments, and to fill my heart with love and gratitude – not always successfully, but I at least felt like I was on the right track.

We managed to squeeze a lot of fun activities into the month:

The chocolate Advent Calendars and the unwrapping of a different Christmas story each evening were a huge success.
The Elf on the Shelf was the source of much excitement each morning as the kids rushed downstairs to see where the little Elf had decided to perch. (Even if it caused much anxiety for the parents to try and remember to move the bladdy thing each night…)
Anyway, keeping with the spirit of Christmas…we also squeezed in three visits to Santa,
we drove around looking at Christmas decorations in the evenings;
and we decorated sugar cookies (well, technically we started to decorate cookies until the Mother realized that we were out of red food coloring – which was essential for the present shaped cookies, the santa shaped cookies, the candy cane cookies and the stocking cookies…) and we ran out of time, so maybe we shall bake some more cookies and decorate them before the New Year.
The Family Secret Santa went off well – and will definitely become a new family tradition from now on. On Christmas morning, we each revealed who we were Secret Santa for (although everyone had figured it out…) and each person announced all the good deeds they had done for that person during the month. It was mainly a way to be mindful of the true Spirit of the Season – for the kids to get their minds off their Christmas Lists and be conscious of being kind and giving and loving to those around them. I must admit, I had to remind one particular child to try really hard to be a good Secret Santa on numerous occasions throughout the month…but it was always a good opportunity to reiterate the ‘reason for the season.’
We also went to various holiday parties and I hosted an impromptu Ornament Exchange Party at the house one evening, which was a lot of fun. On Christmas Eve, we went to a delightful party, with lots of caroling by the piano and delicious food and wine. Towards the end of the evening, we did a Gift Exchange which is always a good laugh, especially when one of your children is brutally honest with the gift he picked and then proceeds to critique all the other gifts that were opened from a standpoint of whether they would be totally awesome for a young boy or not…good times!

Now there is that seeming lull between Christmas and the excitement of New Year’s Eve. A time to recuperate and relax and reflect on another year that’s passed, before another year begins in earnest…

Christmas Place Cards

2009-12-23T23:32:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I made some Christmas Place Cards for the dinner table and we have used them ever since. Next year, I think I will change up shop and update my design...

Below are some fun ones:

1. Ceramic Ornament Place Card Holder - Beau-Coup

2. Twig Reindeer Place Card Holder - Pottery Barn

3. Glass Rim Place Holder - Family Fun - these are for your drinks!!

4. Tree Place Card Holder - Martha Stewart

5. Snowglobe Place Card Holders - Crate & Barrel

Christmas Gift Tags

2009-12-23T23:15:00.000-08:00

I have never really bothered much with Christmas gift tags - I usually buy them on sale after Christmas in big sheets for a couple of dollars. But after reading a post about gift tags at Elle's Studio, about how each year, she decides on a gift tag theme and how each year her family and friends look forward to seeing what she has come up with, and what will be adorning their presents...I thought that was fun and I was inspired! Not for this year, mind you...it's just before mid-night on December 23rd - but next year I might just have to get my ducks in a row and hand make my gift tags...

Here are some fun and inspiring Christmas Tags...

1. Polar Bear Tag - Amuse News

2. Snowball Fight Gift Tags - Crate & Barrel

3. Joy Tag - I have no idea where I found this - but it is so completely adorable -

hopefully I will find the source and add it later.

4. Christmas Mitten Tags - Elle's Studio

5. Vintage Gift Tags - Paper Source

6. Snowman Gift Tag - Kate's Papiere

7. Save the Date Gift Tag - Better Homes & Gardens

8. Santa Gift Tag - Kate's Papiere

9. Reindeer Postcard Christmas Tag - Seasonal Delights (Etsy)

10. Christmas Holiday Gift Tags - Just Smitten (via LMNOP)

11. Photo Tag - I have no idea where I came across this one, also.

But it is is such a cute idea - I will try to add the Source later.

12. Paper Stocking Gift Envelope - Martha Stewart

13. Holiday Jumbo Tag - Eat Drink Chic

14. Frosty Gift Tag - Better Homes & Gardens

15. Lump of Coal Gift Box - Martha Stewart (I love the tiny stocking gift tags - totally cute.

And also, I would certainly not mind a lump of coal this year if it contained a pair of jumbo diamond studs ;)

Christmas Ornaments

2009-12-22T19:50:00.000-08:00

With Christmas only 3 days away, I seem to have run out of time for arts and crafts...but here are some that caught my eye...

* Oops - I forgot to add the links...*

1. Clothes Pin Doll Ornaments - Martha Stewart

2. Christmas Paper Doves Kit - Paper Source

3. Picture Frame Ornaments - Martha Stewart

4. Holiday Card Ornaments - Martha Stewart

5. Click and Print Ornaments - Martha Stewart

6. Tinsel Snowflakes - Martha Stewart

7. Cookie Cutter Ornaments - Martha Stewart

8. Paper Ornaments - Elles Studio

I loved this idea for Baby's 1st year.

1. Christmas Keepsake Ornament from Better Home & Gardens

2. Time Capsule Ornament from Family Fun

Next year I will definitely make this really cute Family Photo Wreath from parents.com, especially since our family is spread out across the country and the world.

This afternoon I made a big batch of sugar cookie dough and tomorrow will see us baking and icing up a storm. I wish I had these books for inspiration...maybe next year...

Kids in the Holiday Kitchen by Crate and Barrel

and

Cookie Craft Christmas available at amazon.com

Christmas Crafts Fun Stuff

2009-12-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

One of the things on our Family Advent Calendar this year was Family Movie Night. The boys were very excited about it, probably because as a *very special treat*, we made Coke Floats for the occasion. So we had an early dinner, and then, with Coke Floats in hand, we all watched the Polar Express.

I came across these really cute printable trains from Family Fun a week or so ago and so printed out two copies for the boys. Since they are still a bit young to assemble the trains themselves, I glued them together and gave them to the boys the next morning. They were thrilled with them, and I got a good hour and a half worth of train play out of them until the Bubs woke up from his nap and started sabotaging the trains attempts to pick up children to take to the North Pole...

Here are some more fun crafts and printables to keep the kids busy (or to do yourself):

1. Buildable Bird from Family Fun

2. Jolly Elves from parents.com

3. Snowball Soap Surprise from Family Fun

4. Glittered Santa Treat Boxes from Martha Stewart

5. Felt Tree Bottle Covers from Martha Stewart

6. Jellybean Christmas Tree from Family Fun

7. Dipped Candy Sticks from Martha Stewart

8. Sparkling Snowman Treat Boxes from Martha Stewart

9. Christmas Papercrafts from Mibo Studio

8 more days...

2009-12-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

more days until christmas...

…and our Household is in a frenzied state of excitement. The kids are dutifully counting down the days on our kitchen chalkboard and just as dutifully, eating their chocolates from their Advent Calendars every morning after breakfast. That reason alone would make Christmas awesome for them – being allowed to eat chocolate for breakfast totally rocks!

As for me, I am trying really hard to savor the moments of the season as much as possible this year. I try to every year, but then it seems like Christmas is over before I know it and the Holiday Season seemed like it was more rushed than savored. So this year I really want to make the effort to just slow down every once in a while and fill my heart with the true Spirit of the Season. I’m trying to be more present in the moment and let my heart be opened by the love and blessings that are all around me – on a more consistent basis.

The past few years have been such a whirlwind and I have had a really hard time adjusting to life with three children. I always wanted three kids and I love them all more than anything – I’m not complaining – I know I am incredibly blessed - it’s just that the arrival of the third child was an adjustment that somehow just threw me for such a loop. I didn’t anticipate that life would become such pure and utter craziness and I feel like life is passing by in a blur.

So I constantly need to try and remind myself to slow down – smell the roses – appreciate these moments – in all their sweet and sometimes flawed glory, because they are so fleeting when the children are young. I must try to love it all, even after I repeat myself over ten times in the morning for every request I make: Put on your shoes; Brush your hair; Put on your coat; Where has your backpack disappeared to? Did you not have a sweatshirt on a minute ago? Where on earth could it have gone to in 60 seconds? For the 11th time- PLEASE Put On Your Shoes….by 7.45am I feel like its around midnight already and the day is still a puppy…

So, in this vein, I am trying to be more mindful and organized so that I do not leave all the Christmas stuff to the last minute, leaving me stressed out and overwhelmed. I want my heart to be full of the Spirit of Christmas – so that my real gift this holiday season can be the gift of my time and attention and love. Especially to my family and friends, but to every one whose path I cross this month. I can at least try.

So in the afternoons once the kids are home from school, I have been making the effort to really give them my full attention when we spend time together – be it reading a book, playing a game or completing homework etc. I know that is something that I should do everyday, but the reality is that there are times while I am reading them a story, that I am also thinking of my 1000 item To Do List, or thinking about what to prepare for dinner, or any one of the countless other things that are constantly swirling around ‘upstairs’.

And so this afternoon, after I asked them each to choose a Christmas book that they wanted to re-read and we were all snuggled up on the couch reading the books and chatting and laughing, my heart felt full and happy. Just the simplest act of giving them my full, undivided attention was very rejuvenating. It recharged my batteries and I could tell that they really appreciated the time together as much as I did. It is such a cheesy cliché, but just being present with whoever you are with, is truly the greatest gift. One that I must strive to do more often.

So, on that note, I am feeling good about things so far this Season. I am trying to give the gift of a loving presence to my family each day and my Christmas To Do List is in good shape. I have crossed off the big things on the list, and the latest item to get a strike through was Christmas Cards – which is a lengthy and time consuming process involving multiple steps. The first of which is going out and taking our Annual Family Christmas Card Photo. So on the weekend we went out to a very snowy spot and took some family portraits, and then got some fun shots of the snowball fight that followed. I then designed the Christmas Card, printed them out and they are mostly signed, sealed and out the door, with a Christmas poem written by yours truly included.

Admittedly, I didn’t have much time to spend on the design or on the Christmas poem – *mental note: November is a good time to start thinking about such things* – not so much mid-December, especially when many of our Christmas card recipients are based around the globe and time is of the essence if the card is to actually be received by Christmas. But I am not focusing on what I coulda shoulda done this year – rather, I am reveling in a To Do list that is slowly but surely being completed.

Another huge relief is that I think I have all the Christmas presents on my list taken care of – there are just one or two still left to finish, but that is completely do-able. Of course, I still need to wrap the gifts for the kids from Santa – we don’t give the kids Christmas Presents from ourselves – they only get presents from Santa (and of course they get some gifts from family and friends) so there are less than a handful of gifts per child to wrap, so that will not be too time consuming - but I must avoid the temptation to do it at the last minute. 11.55pm on Christmas Eve usually sees me in a frenzied state of Christmas present wrapping, with a tired and weary wrapping assistant husband trying to add some humor to my last minute chaotic-ness.)

So here’s to 8 more days of Christmas Spirit, days that are hopefully filled with love and joyful giving from the heart…my husband would especially appreciate that right now…and hopefully it will become a mindful habit to bring into the New Year.

Christmas Cookies and Festive Drinks

2009-12-17T19:48:00.000-08:00

So far this holiday season I have been very slack in the baking department. I had to pass on a Cookie Exchange party due to a super crazy busy weekend, but maybe this coming weekend will bring forth my inner baker and I will produce something yummy in the kitchen. In the meantime, some tasty inspiration to urge me in that direction...

1. Santa Cookies - Martha Stewart

2. Betty Crocker - fudge inside a cookie cutter - cute gift idea or Cookie Exchange idea

3. Stained Glass Trees - Martha Stewart

4. Sugar Cookies - Sweet Avenue Bake Shop

5. Gingerbread Snowflakes - Martha Stewart

6. Snowmen - Cookie Couture

7. Triple Chocolate Christmas Pudding Cookies - Cherrapeno

(*brilliant* especially for those among us who aren't big fans of real Christmas Pudding!)

8. Hedgehog Truffles - Plow & Hearth

9. Crunchy Cereal Wreaths - Parents.com

10. Snowglobe Christmas Cookies - totally cute

11. St. Nick Cookies - Parents.com

12. Melting Snowman Cupcakes - Cherrapeno

13. Cake Bonbons - Betty Crocker

And after all this sugary sweetness, we'll be needing something to wash it down with....I think I might try to make a non-alcoholic version of some of these for the kids...

1. Gingersnap - Fine Living

2. Chai Toddy - Fine Living

3. White Chocolate Rum Shake - Hostess with the Mostess

4. Candy Cane Cooler - Fine Living

5. S'more Delight - Fine Living

6. Chocolate Raspberry Fizz - Fine Living

7. Butterscotch Bliss - Fine Living

8. Egg Nog Peppermint Stick - Fine Living

Santa Visits ... One, Two and That's It!

2009-12-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

A huge part of the Christmas holidays for little boys and girls everywhere is the annual visit to see Santa. Usually at Christmas time, we make a few trips to visit Santa. There are always at least a couple of really fun Christmas events around town and Santa is usually present at them, which is why there are usually multiple visits involved.

This year JJ is really questioning the true identify of Santa as well as the role his “Santa Helpers” play in the whole scheme of Christmas. (“Santa Helpers” being the Santa’s who he goes to see at stores etc.) He is really questioning why they all look so different and where they all come from etc. And he’s not really loving my vague kind of answers. I told him that no-one ever gets to meet the “real” Santa – but assured him that the “Santa Helpers” diligently report back all the information that they gather from meeting with girls and boys all over the world - directly to the Real Santa himself. I think he is secretly hoping that maybe one of the Santa’s that cross our path will really be the real, genuine Santa Claus. So, with all those thought swirling around in his overactive brain, we went off for our first visit to Santa.

The boys were super excited, and in a very fortunate turn of events, it turns out I had the time wrong, and so we arrived at our destination a few minutes early. JJ could not believe that we were the first ones in line. In fact, that could have been his Christmas present right there, he was so happy. Sadly we are never early to anything, and mostly we are very, very late. It’s so bad that I have got to the point at which I don’t consider myself late if I am within two hours of the start time. So to be the first kids there to see Santa, probably ended up being even more exciting than the actual visit with Santa!

Since we were a few minutes early, Santa wasn’t quite ready, and after a minute or two he appeared from a back room and sat on the red velvet covered bench that had been prepared for him. The kids sat on his lap and Santa asked them what their names were and what they wanted for Christmas while the lady from the store and I snapped some photographs. It was pretty short and sweet – not a very memorable experience, or so I thought.

As we were walking back towards the car, JJ was very quiet and after we drove off, he told me (with just a teeny tinge of disappointment in his voice) that he could give me three good reasons why that was NOT the real Santa. Both amused and curious, I asked him what those three reasons might be.

He replied that firstly, the real Santa knows every boy and girl’s name and because that Santa had to ask him for his name, he clearly wasn’t the real Santa. Reason number two involved Santa’s beard. It seems that this Santa’s beard was made of yarn, underneath which was a “scraggly beard just like when Dad hasn’t shaved in a few days.” This was obviously quite unacceptable. The last reason was related with much eye rolling as he told me quite disapprovingly, that the REAL Santa does NOT travel with his mom. Surprised, I asked him why on earth he thought that Santa’s mom was there. The answer: “because Santa kept calling the lady who was taking the photographs ‘mom.’” So, since his mother was there– he was NOT the real Santa!

While all of this went straight over the heads of the younger two kids, JJ’s questioning and skeptical brain was in super evaluation mode during the visit, and this Santa had not passed the test! Here’s hoping the next Santa on the calendar fares a little better in the eyes of a skeptical seven year old.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Our second visit to Santa took place at our town’s annual tree lighting ceremony. It seemed to go a little bit better, maybe because it took place at the tail end of a fun evening that included strolling carolers filling the air with Christmas Carols; little indoor mini-markets and the kids playing in the snow with their friends as they waited for the Christmas Tree lights to be turned on.

We stopped in to see Santa at the end of the celebrations. The older kids appeared pretty ambivalent about the visit - probably because Rocky had been very “challenging” for a good hour before we left the house and after multiple threats reminding him that Santa was watching his every move, I think he was a tad nervous about actually sitting on his lap and having to tell Santa that he was a good boy.

JJ, at least, didn’t have to worry about his behavior, but it seems like he has resigned himself to the fact that this whole Santa Helper thing is just a wee bit confusing and that there is something going on that he just can’t put his finger on. With this frame of mind, he approached Santa with a very watchful countenance about him.

Bubs, on the other hand, was about as excited as he could be. While most one year olds are terrified of Santa, Bubs could barely contain himself with excitement as he had to wait for a very apprehensive little girl who was ahead of him in line, and who, when it was her turn, stood about three feet away from Santa and stared at him in terror as her parents tried to prod and prompt her closer to the scary old man.

When it was finally our turn, Bubs ran up to Santa and gave him the biggest and longest hug ever!!! Well, maybe not ever…he L O V E S men. Whenever we are out and about and he is on the loose, if he spots a man – any man - he will run up to him and give him a huge hug around his legs and will then tug on his pants and try to have the person lift him up. Once in his arms, he will give him the biggest hug!

It is hilarious, but also kind of creepy because he has absolutely no discrimination as to who the person is – his sole criteria is that it is a male. The funny thing is that pretty much every male responds to him. He’s been held by every type of male, from completely normal looking dudes to down right scary looking possible gangsters and crack heads. It’s kind of embarrassing when I am very forcefully trying to remove my little Bub from questionable characters while he has them in a death grip and I am tugging and pulling while wielding a totally fake smile, thinking OMG what is this child doing?

Anyhoo, thankfully this Santa looked like he had at least showered somewhat recently and appeared as normal as a grown man dressed up in a Santa suit can look. So once the Hug was over, my little Bubs climbed onto Santa’s lap and smiled and stared at him, absolutely fascinated, while the other kids joined him on Santa’s lap. This Santa was not a man of many words, which was probably the best case scenario for JJ since every time the last Santa opened his mouth, it added to JJ’s list of possible Santa Fakedom. In this vein, I tried to keep the visit brief and since Santa wasn’t exactly yapping his head off, we were out of there before JJ’s brain could start dissecting Santa’s every move.

Note the way that JJ is looking Santa up and down....if I can help it, I think we will quit while we are somewhat ahead and that will be our last visit to Santa for this year…

Christmas Stickers and Rubber Stamps - Winter Break Craft Ideas

2009-12-15T21:52:00.000-08:00

When the kids are home from school during Winter Break and you are trying to fill in the days with fun activities, arts and crafts are usually near the top of the list. Below are some fun Christmas Stickers and Rubber Stamps from Paper Source.

Of course they are also great for sticking or stamping on the back on Christmas Card envelopes...or adding to blank notecards etc. Anything that adds a little holiday cheer is a always a good thing...

Letters to Santa

2009-12-15T21:27:00.000-08:00

On the weekend the kids wrote their official Letters to Santa. Since I didn’t have any Christmas writing paper, and I had left it to the last minute, I designed a very simple template to print out for them to fill in.

I numbered the lines from 1 -12, purely for aesthetic reasons – not quite expecting that they would fill up all 12 lines within about 3 minutes flat!!! I guess this year they really know what they want.

While the older kids were busy, Bubs was sitting on his chair very messily feeding himself - and his bib - some yogurt. At some point, he must have noticed that his brothers were writing up a storm, and he leaned over and was somehow able to grab an envelope and a pen that I thought were placed well beyond his reach, and he too, started writing up a storm. The funny thing is that I only noticed what he was up to after taking some photos of the kids, and then deciding to snap one of him eating his yoghurt. That's when I discovered that he was not about to be left out in the Letter Writing Department. He was going to make sure that Santa knew exactly what he wanted...(...which of course is to keep up with his Big Brothers.....)

After they were all finished furiously jotting down their lists, they addressed and decorated red envelopes, stuffed their letters inside and we carefully placed them on top of the Christmas tree for magical overnight delivery to the North Pole. Unfortunately, though, they didn’t quite make it to the North Pole that night (let’s just say their parents are hopeless at remembering things like that, and don’t get me started on the stress that is involved with making sure that the Elf is in a different spot each night – that is the subject of another post entirely…)

The next morning, the kids managed to get over their disappointment that the Letters had not been delivered to Santa, after I spun a yarn about one child’s behavior needing to be Extra Specially Good before the Letters were whisked off to the North Pole to be sorted into the Naughty and Nice pile. So when they arrived home from school later in the day, they were excited to see that the Elf had moved to a different spot in their absence and was now perched at the top of the tree, holding the Letters in his arms. I explained that Elf would probably personally take the letters to Santa himself that night, which made them very happy once again.

I made up for the delay in delivery by ‘arranging’ for Santa to send them a personalized video via email (complements of Portable North Pole) to assure them that their letters had arrived at Santa’s Workshop and that they were all on Santa’s Good List. (And let’s just say, one child looked mighty relieved when he saw for himself that he was on Santa's Good List!!!)

Christmas Card Inspiration

2009-12-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

Every year we are always trying to come up with creative ideas for our annual family Christmas card. Our theme always involves the snow, since we live in the Rocky Mountains. However, after coming across these really fun Christmas cards from pentlandpirate on Flickr, if we ever spend Christmas away from the snow, maybe we will try something zany like this:

Deck the Halls

2009-12-14T22:49:00.000-08:00

We got our Christmas tree on the weekend before last. We usually get a permit and spend an afternoon deep in the forest, decked head to toe in our snowgear, searching for the perfect Christmas tree. By December there is a lot of snow in the high country and it is one of our favorite family traditions. Sadly, this year it was not to be (and to be quite honest, last year also). Life is so crazy at the moment with Big P working on a hundred projects a second, so we decided that 2009 (and 2008) will be the years that we buy our tree.

The kids were just so excited that we were getting the tree they didn’t seem to mind at all. We baked cookies and sipped hot cocoa with whipped cream and sprinkles and listened to Christmas carols while they spent all afternoon rummaging through the Christmas box with much delight and excitement as they reminisced over all the ornaments and various Christmas decorations that had long since been forgotten about –a year is a long time for little children...

It was so sweet seeing their expressions as they discovered old favorite decorations and ornaments - *and* - to see them on their best behavior. Instead of fighting over a particular ornament that they both insisted on hanging, I heard JJ tell his brother:
“We must remember that the true meaning of Christmas is about helping others and being nice to others, so if you want to hang it, that’s okay, I’ll let you.”
…melt a mother’s heart. It made me so happy – moments like those are the true gifts of Christmas. It must be noted that the poor boy did not get much reciprocation on the whole “loving and sharing” Spirit of Christmas theme. His younger brother is too full of cheekiness and sarcastic (and hilarious) comments … although when he wants to be, he can be so sweet, like when he tells me throughout the day that he loves me toooooooooo much. But he does love to wind his big brother up, and he is such a card - I will be happily accept the spirit of who he is, in all his funny, sweet and sometimes growling glory, as his Christmas gift to me.

The kids did a great job with the tree. Of course, there is one high-density area smack bang in the middle of the tree which contains every single ornament that we own, and its dimensions are as tall as the tallest child and as wide as his arm span. The top and sides and back of the tree are completely bare, but compared to last year, when the kids seemed so much smaller, the decorations seem waaaaay more spread out.
Note: Bubs was put on official Clean Up Duty to distract him from diligently undecorating the tree as fast as his brother's could decorate it.

My initial thought was that I would wait until they went to bed and then redistribute the ornaments evenly and perfectly around the tree. And just for a second, in my head, I had visions of a perfect Pottery Barn style tree as the central focus of our immaculately decorated living room. The reality, however, is that I live with four male specimens. (Actually, eight male specimens since the Bubs causes so much chaos and destruction that he easily counts as four people). So, the reality of a Pottery Barn Christmas is just a dreamy illusion at this point. But I try to remember to embrace the chaos (although not always very gracefully, I am reluctant to admit). Because before we know it, the kids will be grown up and the house will be calm and orderly once more, and that will be the time for perfectly hung decorations and an elegantly decorated Christmas tree in an immaculate living room, but for now, as I gaze happily at our beautiful and disorderly Christmas tree, I can’t help but smile and my heart fills with joy as I think of the sweetness and love with which it was decorated.

Family Secret Santas

2009-12-03T23:20:00.000-08:00

This year we are really trying to emphasisize the true spirit of Christmas alongside the excitement and constant chatter about the writing of Christmas Lists to Santa and presents etc. We want the kids to know that the true spirit of the season involves thinking of others and helping others. And in the words of Christopher Dilts (via About.com):

"The true spirit of Christmas is generosity. Not the generosity of material gifts and presents, but the generosity of your own loving presence. Give more of your own loving presence and less of the token presents this year. Yes, there is pleasure in enjoying material gifts, but what is remembered, what lasts, is the presence of the loving soul giving love generously and unconditionally to another. This presence lasts for all time..."

and

"This is the highest gift of Christmas giving: to see the goodness in another, to recognize, acknowledge and reflect this goodness back to them. This can be done with a loving look, a kind gesture, a warm embrace, a few words of encouragement, or an expression that is as rich and elaborate as you wish. "

Or the words of Deanna Mascle (via Buzzle):

"In order to embrace the true Christmas spirit you must be willing to give. Give of yourself, your time and your love, and give of your worldly possessions. Do not think of the gifts you give to others as an obligation or duty, but think of it as a symbol of your love for them."

So with this in mind, last night we started a new Christmas tradition - Family Secret Santas. At dinner we drew names out of a hat, and each person has to do something nice for the person whose name they drew - each day until Christmas Eve. Then, before bedtime on Christmas Eve, before the kids are allowed to open one present, we will each fill out little postcards revealing who we were "Secret Santa" for, and jot down some of the nice things that we did for that person during the month.

Advent Calendars, Advent Books and 23 more days to go!

2009-12-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas Countdown

more days!

Inspired by this awesome Advent Tradition idea from Savoring the Details, I decided (at the last minute) to do a Book Advent Calendar this year, which involves reading a Christmas story for each day of Advent. I gathered all our Christmas books together and was quite surprised at how many we had. However, we were short of the required 24. Not wanting to buy any, I popped down to the library and checked out some fun Christmas stories to fill in the missing number. I managed to get the first book wrapped after dinner last night, while the kids waited expectantly on the couch for their “surprise gift.”

I chose The Elf on the Shelf for the first book, since the elf had made his appearance that morning and the kids were asking me where the book was. Then, after bed time, I printed out some number labels that I designed earlier in the day, and spent the remainder of the evening wrapping the other 23 books!!! I randomly stuck the numbers on them, so each day the kids can find the number corresponding to the date, and we will read that story before bed. I wrapped the library books first, so I can return them to the library every few days, so we aren’t hogging them through the holidays.

Although the children already love reading books before bed each night, I love how this idea will make the holiday reading fun and exciting, and who doesn’t like opening a present every day?! This is cheap and fun – and is a great example of how not all “gifts” have to involve spending money and getting caught up in the whole consumerism aspect of Christmas. I like it!

I was also inspired by the idea of a family style Advent Calendar from Oh Happy Day. I printed out a little calendar and stuck it on the wall with some holiday ideas at the bottom, so we can fill in the dates as we progress through the month. I like the mindfulness of it. Life is so busy and I find that after December 1st rolls around, Christmas is here before I have even blinked. This month I am trying to live in the moment more, trying to see life through the eyes of a child, trying to regain a childlike sense of wonder and excitement. Christmas is a good time for this.

Our holiday ideas so far include:
Take Family Christmas Photo in the snow

Design Christmas card and address labels, then print and mail

Finish Gift List for family and friends

Talk with the kids about how the true spirit of Christmas is about thinking of others and helping others.

Open an Advent Christmas Book Present each night before bedtime.

Get Christmas Tree and spend an afternoon or evening together decorating it.
Decorate the house for Christmas.
Make an outdoor garland out of fresh pine and hang.
Listen to Christmas CD’s
Spend an afternoon or evening making Christmas sugar cookies
Make a special Christmas treat or dessert at least once a week

Buy gifts for local toy drive

Take the kids ice skating

Visit Santa

Attend the local Christmas Parade
Take the kids to the holiday market.
Go on a sleigh ride
Take a special trip into town to see the Christmas decorations and Christmas Tree
Drive around the ‘hood one evening with the kids in their PJ’s sipping hot chocolate and looking at all the Christmas decorations
Donate food items and winter clothing to local food pantry
Christmas Family Movie Night

The First Day of Christmas...

2009-12-01T22:56:00.000-08:00

…and our house is abuzz with the excitement of the holidays. I love the month of December, and Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and even more so since having kids and getting to share in the wonder and excitement of it all through their eyes. We have an exciting month ahead of us, with the house to decorate, and Christmas music to listen to (yes, I am one of those people who LOVES Christmas music!), and a Christmas tree to trim and gifts to wrap and fun Christmas activities to attend.

So the start of the Christmas season started in earnest this morning when the kids woke up and discovered that the little elf that Santa sent to our house last year had returned. It was perched on the dining room chandelier. They were so excited and much discussion ensued about what the elf had been doing all year (making presents) and whether he would be reporting back to Santa each night. As far as I’m concerned, the elf couldn’t have arrived sooner, with one child’s behavior needing a little encouragement to stay on the right side of Santa’s Naughty or Nice list. Needless to say, the boy had one eye on the elf all afternoon and actually listened to suggestions about his tone of voice needing to be adjusted and such. Long may that last…

Another exciting thing about the First Day of Christmas is that the kids got to open up Day One of their chocolate Advent Calendars. I remember Chocolate Advent Calendars were always one of the highlights of Christmas for me, and now it is for the kids, too. It’s a fun way for the kids to Count Down and it always creates much excitement each morning.

Day One = a success
24 more to go...

Gingerbread

2009-12-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, Thanksgiving snuck up on me and I didn’t get to finish the Thanksgiving Quote series. I will try to plan ahead for next year (famous last words!)

We ended the month of November by making a Gingerbread Village and baking some Gingerbread Men. The kids loved decorating the little houses while eating the gingerbread men. Every year, it is my intention to make the Gingerbread houses from scratch, but always end up buying the pre-made stuff in a box and vowing to myself that “next year” will be the year for completely home-made. But, to be quite honest, the kids don’t really care either way. They just find joy in the fact that we are doing something together and that they can make as much mess as they like! And they were immensely proud of their creations and after I returned to the dining room a little while later, I discovered that our Gingerbread Village was under the armed protection of some of the Star Wars crew...boys!

I came across these little cottages from Martha Stewart, made from Graham Crackers – I am putting this on my list for next year…

And this totally cracked me up – imagine actually building a sugar cube house. If only I had that much time on my hands…

Let us remember...

2009-11-17T22:07:00.001-08:00

When asked...

2009-11-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

Feeling Grateful...

2009-11-17T20:58:00.000-08:00

Feeling Grateful...

2009-11-15T21:08:00.000-08:00

Gratitude goes beyond...

2009-11-14T22:55:00.000-08:00

Not what we say...

2009-11-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

“How wonderful it would be if we could help our children and grandchildren to learn thanksgiving at an early age. Thanksgiving opens the doors. It changes a child's personality. A child is resentful, negative—or thankful. Thankful children want to give, they radiate happiness, they draw people.”

Sir John Templeton

Inspired by the quote above, I am in the process of making a number of little Thanksgiving Quote Cards, and I plan to post a new one each day until Thanksgiving. I am going to print them out and each day the kids can take turns choosing one, which we will read together as a family, and then discuss the meaning. They can then hang the card on our Thanksgiving Tree. Even though the kids are still young, I think it will be a great Thanksgiving tradition to start. Gratitude truly is one of the most important aspects of living a good life, and yet it seems to be so easily forgotten in the hustle and bustle of modern living.

So today I shall start with this little gem:

Mess and an alternative reality...

2009-11-12T23:02:00.000-08:00

Apparently, after spending several hours vigilantly destroying the house, a little bit o’ down-time is in order…

In an alternative reality, the family and I would be living in a super cool, clutter free NY loft like this one...via LaughMakeNurtureOrganizePlay.

Someone's Ready...

2009-11-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

Mini Pot Pies

2009-11-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

Last night I made chicken pot pies for the first time. I was very surprised at how easy they are to make. Well, maybe they were easy because I used store bought pastry. I was not about to get all Martha like and make my own pie crust. I know my limits when it comes to the kitchen, and there are many. So, I used a recipe from bhg.com, slightly modified, of course, because I seem unable to follow any recipe to a tee, I am always adding ingredients, or leaving things out, either intentionally or completely unintentionally.

The process was a little time consuming, but that was probably my fault. It seems you are supposed to thaw the pie crust completely before using. The box stated: DO NOT MICROWAVE in capital letters. Since I had already made the filling and the oven was preheating and it was 6.45pm and I couldn’t wait 30 – 50 minutes for the pastry to defrost “naturally”, I decided to put it in the oven to help speed up the process. I do not recommend this method, though. The pastry got all gooey and broke apart when I tried to remove it from the oven and I had to roll it out again and it kept sticking everywhere and I had to use a lot of flour to get it to co-operate. However, I did manage to cut out pastry circles to line the bottom and sides of mini pie dishes (I used foil mini pie dishes, since I didn't have regular ones and they were on sale at the grocery store.)

Then I added the filling and topped it with another circle of pastry and instead of cutting slits, I cut out a smiley face. They turned out great, the kids loved them and my husband says that it is his new favorite dish!

At least I did something right, marrying a man who is easy to please…

and the Countdown's begin...

2009-11-11T22:21:00.000-08:00

I’m starting to think about Thanksgiving and planning and such, which is HUGE for me, since it is a whole 15 days away. Yes, I even have a countdown started! (I also have a countdown for Christmas started – well, by started, I mean that I am aware that it is 44 days away.) I have never even thought about Christmas so early – probably because 44 days seems like a.very.long.time.away for someone who likes to do things last minute. Unlike, shall we say, my Mother, who is known for being a tad obsessive-compulsive in the organizing department, and who reminds me every year on June 25th, that “it is only 6 more months until Christmas!!” And she actually starts preparing! Way too much for my brain processing facilities, but I’m trying to turn a new leaf, so for right now I am focusing on the 15 days until Thanksgiving…

In honor of this, last night at dinner, which, on a side note, actually turned out to be a big success. I needed to go to the store, but instead ended up making quesadillas with the tortillas and cheese we had in the fridge. I was concerned that the kids wouldn’t be thrilled about the dinner, so I squirted some ketchup on the quesadilla triangles and voila! Instant hit!

After dinner, we cut up some craft paper in the shape of leaves and everyone took a turn saying what they were thankful for, and then writing it on a leaf. We then hung them from some branches in a vase. We are going to write on a leaf everyday until Thanksgiving as a way to bring some thankfulness into the month. The only rule we have is that once one person chooses something, another person cannot choose it later. The reasoning behind this being so we don’t end up with “family” written on a hundred leaves, and secondly, so we use our imaginations and thirdly, so we all embrace what other family members are thankful for.

After all that, I decided to whip up this Pumpkin cake recipe that I found on lillyella’s blog. It looked delicious and pretty simple to make. It was really easy to whip up, and when it was in the oven the kids asked to lick the beaters. They seemed really eggy, so I said no, and proceeded to wash the dishes. Then, out of the corner of my eye, what do I spy, but a small bowl filled with flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. and I’m wondering what on earth it is… yeah, it’s the FLOUR mixture that was supposed to be mixed into the pumpkin cake that has now been baking in the oven for 5 minutes. My husband suggested (after first suggesting that I do not completely freak out) that I simply open the oven, and stir the flour mixture into the batter that is baking in the jelly pan in the oven…since the batter was lying on greased wax paper, removing it didn’t seem like a great option, so I stirred it all up – right in the oven – shut the door, reset the timer and hoped for the best. I so wish I was not being serious.

Let me just say that this recipe is pretty damn foolproof – it came out GREAT! The kids loved it, although one child is not a fan of cream cheese, so he spent a whole lot of time removing the cream cheese before he would even begin to think about eating it, but to the rest of us it was delicious.

I Heart Pearl

2009-11-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

Today I came across these adorable Pearl Paper Doll Prints from Egg Press. I don't know why, but I am a sucker for paper dolls and these totally cracked me up.

A Cold Day for Four Little Pumpkins

2009-11-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

Halloween Adventures

2009-11-06T19:17:00.001-08:00

October always ends on a high note in this Household what with Halloween falling on the 31st each year. The kids enjoyed the month immensely and there was no shortage of activities and fun. We went to the local Pumpkin Patch about half way through the month, and spent the rest of October listening to spooky Halloween music and carving pumpkins and playing in the autumn leaves that are scattered ankle deep across our lawn…
and then of course the Grand Finale…a Triple Trick-or-Treat Knockout.

The kids had decided on Star Wars costumes at the beginning of the month, but I hadn’t really given it much thought and just figured they would wear whatever they had in their dress up bin. However, after carving the pumpkins, JJ announced that he wanted to be Darth Vader. I wasn’t too keen on the idea, since we didn’t have a Darth Vader costume, but upon thinking about the Star Wars character choices for the other two kids, I commented on the fact that Bubby would make a really cute Yoda. Rocky, however, was having none of that. Yoda is his favorite character and he wasn’t going to let Bubs dress up as Yoda for a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. So with Rocky claiming Yoda as his Official Halloween Costume of ’09, that added up to two costumes that the kids had chosen that we did not own. Then BigP came up with the idea that Bubby would make a very cute R2D2…I agreed, but do you think we own a R2D2 costume? Hell, no we don’t. That’s when I decided I would have to go fabric shopping to make the costumes.

However, when the next morning rolled around, I did not feel like hitting the fabric store and so decided to get creative instead. I found an old black tablecloth that would work perfectly for Darth Vader’s cloak, and made the chest plate (?) and front control panel thingie out of cardboard. I looked up a picture of Darth Vader online and cut out a piece of cardboard in the same shape as the chest plate and control panel and then painted it. It was really easy and JJ loved it. The rest of the costume was easy as it simply required black clothing. And luckily we had a paper Darth Vader mask, which JJ was happy to wear.

Yoda’s costume wasn’t quite as “polished” shall we say. I found an old-ish plain light brown Tshirt in BigP’s closet, and cut it down the middle to make it look like a robe. I made the head and ears with some leftover craft foam which I painted green. It didn’t look *great* because of course I did it at the very last minute – literally an hour or so before our first Trick-or-Treating foray - and so ran out of time to paint in the details, but the child was pleased with it and he did look very cute.

R2D2 was made out of some cardboard that we rolled into a tube and then covered with white paper. Big P had the honors of painting in the details. Bubby looked so adorable as R2 and received many, many comments!

So with costumes made and ready, we headed out for the first stop on our 2009 Halloween Trick or Treating circuit – which took place on the Main Street. It was a big success and the kids scored enough candy to make them very pleased. We weren’t out for very long as it was pretty chilly and with the days getting dark so early, it was easy to reign in the kids and head home before dinner time.

Our second stop was a few days later at a nearby town that puts on quite a show. We met up with some friends and hit what seemed like every single store and house in the town. Twice.

The final stop on the circuit was back at home in the neighborhood adjacent to us, on the actual night of Halloween. This time BigP and I decided to add to the Star Wars theme and dress up as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. I found some white sheets that we weren’t using and quickly sewed up a (very basic) Princess Leia dress and Luke Skywalker robe. The kids were impressed and I was told that I was the most beautifullest Princess Leia that ever was!
The kids ran around like crazy from house to house and had so much fun. We ended up at the scariest house on the street and with buckets filled to the brim with candy, the kids were happy to head home so that they could have a turn handing out candy themselves.

Once we were home, they waited outside for quite some time for fellow Trick or Treaters to come by, whiling the time away by munch, munch, munching on way more candy than their permitted two candy allowance. Turns out our neighborhood isn’t too big on the whole Trick- or-Treating thing (or maybe it was just too late), but finally one little girl showed up and the kids jumped up with such excitement they nearly scared her off. After that, it was bed time and all three of them were asleep the minute their heads hit the pillows. Always such angels when they are sleeping…

So that is our story of Halloween…and now we have a stash of candy for the Halloween fairy to come and collect…I’d say the scariest thing about Halloween in our Household is that BigP and I will have polished off all the candy by the weekend, and by BigP and I, I really mean me; and by the weekend, I really mean before the weekend….

aargggggggggggggghhh the curse of a sweet tooth.

One of the crafts we did before Halloween was making candy Pumpkin faces (inspired by Martha.) So after Halloween, I removed the candy, cut the pumpkins in half, stuffed them and baked them. I googled stuffed pumpkins and then adapted the recipes I found, to my own version. Basically, I baked the pumpkins in the oven until they were cooked. Then I cooked some sweet Italian Sausage, fried up some onion, garlic, mushrooms and peppers and made some stuffing. Then I mixed it all together and added it to the pumpkin bowls and baked them for about ten minutes. Lastly, I grated some cheese over the top and broiled it until it was melted. They were a big hit and the kids loved eating out of the pumpkin bowls!

I think this meal is going to become an after Halloween tradition from now on.

Halloween Food - the good, the bad and the ugly

2009-10-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

Inspired by this tasty looking Halloween meal (from allrecipes.com), I made the kids a pumpkin shaped cheese quesadilla for their afternoon snack last week.

They were a big hit and I felt very proud. A day or so later, with the pantry (pantry in our case, being one cupboard) looking rather bare, and dinner needing to be made, I noticed a can of pumpkin at the back of the shelf and since we still had tortillas (and what with the pumpkin Q’s being so appreciated a few days earlier) I decided to make pumpkin quesadillas for dinner. Well, it sounded delicious to me. The reality, however, was a little bit different. I suppose I should have googled an actual recipe instead of simply assuming that heating up the pumpkin and melting cheese on it would be a good filling for a pumpkin shaped quesadilla. Let’s just say that the kids were not impressed from the start.

JJ: “What’s that disgusting smell?”

Rocky immediately deadpans: “Oh, that’s just the smell of Mom making dinner.”

And it kind of went downhill from there. The comments that were muttered while they were being ~~forced~~ strongly encouraged to eat their dinner, were not very complimentary. Words such as dirt and mud were used repeatedly, along with unpleasant sound effects. Even BigP, who always says thank you for every meal, muttered an almost inaudible thank you on this particular evening.

Aarrrrrgghhh…cooking is just not my thing. But I did seem to fare better on the snacks I made over the past few weeks...

The Ghost Crackers made with cream cheese were a big hit - I used chocolate sprinkles for the eyes (Kraft Foods uses raisins.)

The mini pumpkin pies were a combination of Bakerella's Pumpkin pie bites and Martha's Jack-o'-lantern tarts. I used Bakerella's recipe because it looked easy and delicious - although everything she bakes looks delicious. However, true to my style, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I had every intention of doing so, but somehow I ended up adding an additional egg and I didn't have pumpkin pie spice, so had to make my own and added too much of it. So my little pies were not bright orange looking like hers and the taste was good but not great. Which is why I typically stick to things I can bake out of a box, but I'm trying to expand my horizons...I will definitely try baking them again, maybe trying Martha's recipe, which I think uses cream instead of cream cheese. But they were so cute and irresistable that disaster nearly struck when I took the little pie crust Jack-o'-lantern faces out of the oven (they get baked separately and simply pop on top of the pies once everything is cooled). My husband was hovering in the kitchen and thought I had baked a batch of cookies and went over and started eating them...I had only made a handful or so, and so the poor unsuspecting chap got quite the earful...but the kids (and the hubby, once he was officially allowed to taste them) thought they were really fun and were very happy to have them in their lunch bags for school snack for the week.

The pear mouths didn't come out as well as the apple bites from FamilyFun, but we had just bought pears and the kids really wanted a pear for a snack, so I quickly cut them out to look like mouths - next Halloween I will try this again with apples, though.

don't scream...it's almost HALLOWEEN

2009-10-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to believe that we are in the last week of October already. October is such a beautiful month in the Rocky Mountains. The month starts with autumn in full swing, with the valley cloaked in all her Fall splendor and ablaze in the brightest oranges, yellows and reds. The mornings and evenings have a nip to them that warns of the coming winter, and yet the days are mostly sunny and the beauty of the colorful forests and snow capped mountains warms the soul. The days seem to get shorter quickly in October and we tend to put a tad more energy and effort into embracing them. Whether it’s going for an early evening walk, or taking the kids to the park - we want to get as much out of the last precious snow free days as possible, before we find ourselves knee deep in snow again. And then towards the end of the month, with the Apens and Cottonwoods and Mountain Maples mostly bare from the chilly October winds howling through the valley, we prepare for Halloween.

I think while Big P and I appreciate the month of October for the sheer beauty of it, the kids see it as the prelude to one of their favorite holidays - HALLOWEEN. The entire month of October, and probably a good chunk of September, is devoted to constant chatter about Trick or Treating and ghoulish costumes and lots of low whispers that they think I cannot hear, about what they would like to do if someone denied them candy and they indeed were allowed to "Trick".

Usually we have the house decorated around the beginning of the month – mostly spider webs strung across the mirror in the dining room and around the dining room light fixture, as well as some paper cut outs on the windows, and fun little bits and pieces here and there. Outside we hang skeletons and witches and ghosts from the trees. But this year I have been terribly disorganized and finally last weekend we got out the Halloween box and began to decorate. In the box we found our old Halloween CD - every year the kids play it constantly until the 31st and so Ghostbusters, Purple People Eater and Monster in the Tub and such are the soundtrack to Halloween in this Household. JJ both loves and is terrified of Halloween simultaneously. He loves the CD but there are two tracks on it that he just cannot listen to and has to leave the room. Rocky, however takes it all in his stride and gives me a sarcastic smirk when his brother rushes out of the room. Bubs, on the other hand doesn’t pay too much attention to the music at all, since his attention is usually focused solely on implementing his important daily secret missions, of which there are many. Some of these include inserting puzzle pieces and crackers into the DVD with laser like precision and speed, or seeing how many DVD’s he can jam into the VCR slot before his mother comes flying across the room at him (he has a tendency to turn stone deaf while completing said missions). Or, grabbing a container full of his brother’s markers and writing on the walls with them. I must say, though, that although he writes on the walls, that is not his intention. A little while ago Big P and I taped a sheet of paper on the dining room wall so we could jot down some notes and goals (obviously, we still have “Buy a Corkboard” on our list of things to do), so the Bubs sees us writing on this paper on the wall, and simply wants to add his two cents.

Anyhow, I digress, with Halloween less than a week away, the kids are amping up for the Big Day. On Sunday we carved pumpkins, so at least we can tick that off the list. It was a cold and breezy fall afternoon and for some reason we decided to do our pumpkin carving outdoors. The boys drew their faces on the pumpkins and then quickly retreated inside, leaving Big P and I outside to carve the things. Oh, and of course, Bubs wasn’t about to go inside. He had not yet completed his in-depth inspection of every toy and structure on the property. I don’t know why we stayed outside to finish the job, but we sat out there freezing our butts off, while carving out the intricate designs. We did have a few good laughs while we were at it, however. I wanted my jack o lantern to look friendly and fun and Big P wanted his to look terrifyingly scary. Ironically, mine came out looking quite frightful and Big P’s looking quite happy. It was almost as if our personalities possessed us and came through on the pumpkins… hmmm.

With pumpkins carved and everyone back inside, the boys decided on their costumes. This year I swore I was going to make the kids chose costumes from their dress up bin in their bedroom, because buying food over costumes would be a wise choice right now, but I am such a sucker for home-made stuff and have always made their Halloween and birthday party costumes and accessories, so I guess I am off to buy some cheap fabric tomorrow to whip up some scary costumes…