August 25, 2010

Bubble Fun

 For Family Night this week we decided to have Big Fun. Or at least Big bubbles. We invited some friends over and talked about families. We talked about how we all have our own strengths and different qualities and how when we work together with our family we can create something better than ourselves. The kids all got one ingredient to mix together to make a giant bubble solution and told us what they liked about their families as they put it in. I don't think they had a clue what they were creating when we were mixing it together, but as soon as the bubble started flying, they were delighted. This was such a fun activity, my kids are asking to do it every day now. You really should give it a try. Instructions can be found here.

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August 22, 2010

I finished a Project!

Thanks to my understanding husband (who lets me sew and takes care of drinks and snacks while I do), I was able to finish one of the projects on my list of "want to's" yesterday. Well, this morning. I had it finished yesterday and when I went to put it on her today she decided that she couldn't wear it without pockets. So I made pockets and stitched them on this morning. It's adorable. One of the best parts of it is that when I went searching for buttons in my quart jars of buttons, she was fascinated. She sat there with me for an hour finding her favorites and stashing away the "beautiful" ones for later. And, of course, picking buttons up off of the floor. Lots of buttons ended up on the floor. Time well spent.


Thanks again to Christine at From an Igloo for the great tutorial and pattern. |The only things I did differently were adding pockets, per request, and I wanted the straps to be rounded, so I did that part differently.The straps are a little longer than I thought they would be too, so I need to shorten them soon. I think it's really cute and it goes together super fast, so give it a try.
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August 19, 2010

New projects

I have my eye on some new projects. People are so creative! I am grateful for it, now I can skate by with just making it and not have to come up with the idea on my own. Here are some things on my "list".  (You know, the one with the stuff you want to do that comes below the stuff you have to do, and usually gets pushed to the back burner? That list.)

First: This Bubblegum jumper from From An Igloo, Fun things to Make and Do. I LOVE it. I am not sure Short Stuff will, but I want to make it anyway.


This FamilyYahtzee game from The Thrifty Chick. Love her ideas. Sad story though, so don't go to the blog without tissue. And if I have your name for Christmas, act surprised.

Third: Giant Bubbles from Childhood Magic (who has retired her blog) but also posted on Indietutes (which I really love).
Doesn't that look like the best backyard fun ever? I also want to try the lanterns on Childhood Magic. So cool.

This Blueberry Ginger jam from Make it My Own. This girl rocks, and I am not just saying that because I have met her in real life. She's amazing. My sister made some and shared it with the girls she works with. She said it was a huge hit.

When will I get to all of this? Who knows. If I do, I'll let you know. What's on your list? Maybe there's something else there I need to add to mine. Go ahead, share.
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August 18, 2010

August 9, 2010

Potential Realized


Remember this? I got it at the DI in WA for $4.00. Yep, under 5. I loved it, but I knew it needed some TLC. Shortly after we moved to CA, I painted it to match the little red rocker we had. Still, it needed the seat recovered and I couldn't find something I was in love with. I found some curtains hanging at a friends house that I did love, but she wasn't ready for  new curtains yet. Oh well. This is just as good. I found this fabric as a remnant somewhere for under $5.00. Now I think I need to make a little throw pillow for the small rocker, don't you? Maybe by next year.



We also picked up this lovely secretary hutch for a random act of service. What comes around goes around. I love it!

Off to do summer stuff with the kiddos. Bird watching, library, naps and the first day of swim lessons. Have a great day wherever you are!
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August 8, 2010

A Mommy Superhero

Mom's are Superhero's. There's no other explanation for surviving our children's childhood. We must have some sort of super powers bestowed on us during pregnancy, just to make it through childbirth. I was laying in bed today, fending off children this morning thinking of all of the ways mom's have to have super power.

Super Mom's have super food sense. They can make breakfast out of bottled pears and peanut butter toast. They know what their children will absolutely not eat while still making an effort to expose them to new and different things that some day in the future, they may like. She knows that even when dining at the best family friendly Mexican restaurant in town, her kids will cry if they don't get to order chicken nuggets and french fries, or a grilled cheese sandwich, the small ones standing order at any restaurant. They can come up with a snack out of the bottom of a purse like magic. It may be a breath mint or an old, fuzzy piece of hard candy, but a Super Mom knows it will keep them quiet for at least 20 seconds, and that's all she she needs to recharge.

They have Super hearing. A Super Mom can tell what her child is up to by the sound of the toys falling on the floor, two stories and one wing away. "Domino's", she tells her friend, who nods with agreement. She also knows when something is not right. It's the super sonic hearing that allows her to sneak in the bedroom and watch silently as her toddler sits happily with a pair of scissors and My Pretty Pony with pink pony hair all over the floor. She's able to surprise the toddler into never, never touching scissors to hair again. So far. She can also tell when to check on the kiddos who have found the permanent markers, or precariously perched one step stool on top of another on top of a chair in order to get the piece of candy they somehow know is in the top of the cupboard. She can also hear them plotting in bed, and decode the phone tones to the texts the teens are sending. It's uncanny.

A Super Mom has Super Finding skills. She just knows where things are, probably from the millions of times she has picked up and put away things that her children never touch except when they are deemed unfindable. Where's the shoe? Under the bed on the left hand side behind the teddy bear. Where's your hat? You hate wearing it, so you always put it in the laundry. It's in the bottom of your dirty laundry basket. Where's the Lovey? In the car where you fell asleep with it last. A pencil? You had it in bed last night doing Suduko, so it's probably under the covers somewhere.The channel changer? She knows, but she's not telling you. Go find something else to do.

There are the Super clothes matching skills too. A Super Mom respects her children's desire for individuality, while carrying the understanding that there is only so far you can push fashion without getting laughed and pointed at. The toddler's 4th of July checked shorts are cute, but she just can't wear them with the blue and yellow striped shirt she's chosen. Shorts for big kids that are so tight you can't bend over in them, or conversely so big they fall to your ankles every time you stand up are also unacceptable. As for the husband person, a Super Mom knows to keep the blue socks in a totally different place than the black socks. The Super Power comes not only in recognizing all of this, but being able to kindly and firmly convince the rest of the family of the same.

A Super Mom also has Super Eyesight. Even if she wears glasses, contacts or has an astigmatism. She can spot the potty dance from a quarter mile away. She can find her tricky, fast children as they dart from place to place at a busy park. She can tell a child's mood as they walk in the door instantly. She knows when something is up by the condition of the clothing and backpack the child left in upon their return. She also knows that boys license plate number, even when he didn't come to the door like a proper kid and introduce himself. No date is safe. She can spot a child made hair cut a long way off and knows when an owie is serious or not in an instant.

There are many, many other Super Powers given to Super Mom's; a comforting voice, a healing touch, the ability to make up words to any picture book she comes across, and make 40 cupcakes at 10:00 at night for the school carnival. Story telling, teaching, listening, hoping and praying. The biggest one is love. Even when being awaken with a wet person next to you, even when the bugs somehow get out of the jar and escape into the house, even though the dog or cat got out again, even when there is marker on the wall and pretty pony hair on the floor, even then there is love. Mom's have the super capacity to love, no matter what and even when it's hard. What a blessing to be, or to have a Mom.