Springtime, almost.

Signs of spring...oh, how I adore them.  More than I can say.  Mostly because each of our boys were spring babies.  And each year as their birthdays approach, I am always taken aback--although I should see it coming--when we emerge from winter and are confronted by growth everywhere.  The garden, the trees, the grass we've tried to grow in our splotchy yard for years.  But mostly, it's our boys and how they've grown in ways I could not have guessed.  I mean, do they eat weeds or something when I'm not looking?

I had one of those moments on a recent spring-like day when Leo decided to take on his big boy bike (the fact that I ran over one of his training wheels might have had something to do with it). 

After removing the trainers, there was--as far as I could tell--merely a soft whisper of encouragement before he zipped off. 

Charlie and I were rather stunned.  We were poised, ready to jog alongside him to lend a steadying hand.  But it simply wasn't necessary.  I barely had time to put my camera to my eye, he was so fast.  He did not wobble or stop...he rode like he's been doing it for ages, taking on curves, curbs, sidewalks, even menacing older brothers who couldn't believe how quickly he got it--you name it, he handled it.  

Makes me convinced he he was ready months ago when he politely declined to give it a go.  But now?  Now, there is no stopping him.  Way to go, Leo, my goodness.  But slow down.

As for littlest one, who we suspect will be trying out a two-wheeler at least two years before we're ready...I was delighted to see that he had not outgrown his front yard swing.  I am not ready to say goodbye to many baby things that fill our home, though it's hard to reconcile my sentimental urges with my spring-cleaning agenda.  It was a no-brainer with the swing, at least.  It's staying.

I'll say it again.  I love spring.

Sandra 

Valentines.

Last year, we did the lollipop Valentine's Day cards, which were a huge hit.  The older boys want to do them again, so we will.  Just need to, ahem, get those shots.  But there's a glitch in my plan to repeat what I did last year--sadly, the laptop with my beloved graphics program installed recently kicked the bucket.  And my tech support (brother) has yet to get all of my goodies off of the computer.  So this year, I will just go with a shot in front of a blank wall, then use Picnik to add some heart stickers and text. 

Will was up first because his party was yesterday.  He was excited to participate this year.

Super excited. 

Here's the shot before the lollipop treatment. 

And a shot of the finished product (another poorly lit night time shot, sorry.  I know...I know...)

The older boys' celebrations are on Monday.  So, let's see...that puts me putting theirs together Sunday night, right?  Right.  Happy Friday!

Sandra

Gingerbread decorating party, 2010.

   

At our annual "gingerbread" decorating party, our day was filled with candy-laden graham cracker houses and bits of frosting everywhere.  This year, I decided to go with traditional royal icing for the mortar rather than the melted sugar like last year. 

To make house construction go a bit faster and easier, I did two things.  First, I used one cracker for a bottom base, gluing it to the cake board then building the sides around it--it made a huge difference in stability!  And second, I did not make gabled sides...doing those pointy sides always made for dozens of crumbled and unusable crackers.  I wised up this go and simply cut crackers in half for the sides.  I then added a cookie to cover most of the gap.  I thought they looked like wreaths.

We had 37 kids this year.  And as luck would have it, it turned out that the holiday party for my new job was the night before this party.  Charlie and I had a great time at the business party.  But it left me in no shape to get the house ready for our party.  Luckily, no one seemed to mind and my good friends helped shoulder many of my hostess duties.

Notes to myself for next year:

*  First and foremost, do not drink wine hand over fist, no matter how good it is or how fancy the bottle, on Gingerbread Eve.  Just don't do it.

*  The bag of 8 lbs of mixed candy, available at Costco, is a bargain and works great but takes a bit of time to unwrap the individual pieces.  Do it ahead of time--the candies will not stick as long as no other soft candy is introduced to the mix (keep away mini marshmallows and any soft mints!).   

*  Open House style and brunch time worked well as did the simple menu (bagels, salmon, fruit, breakfast casseroles, coffee, cider, and then pulled pork sandwiches for lunch). 

*  Cake pops were probably not necessary as there were plenty of sweets.  But they still went! 

Check out the cake pop stand Charlie fashioned--details to follow...

Every year we wonder whether we'll do it again the next year.  But so far, we don't think the boys are outgrowing it, so odds are we will.  I hope so; I love this tradition.  And I love how proud they are of their creations. 

 

Hope your holidays are as sweet as can be, too!

Sandra 

Fly.

As you may know, I have three kids.  You probably also know that kids like to be entertained.  So it follows, then, that I spend a lot of my time trying to keep my kids entertained.  Here's one of my party-tricks, let's call it.  I wouldn't exactly say it's the gateway to being a super-cool-mom-to-kids (especially boys).  But if you did, I wouldn't argue. 

I am talking about paper airplanes. 

A bit ago, we received a kit from my fabo Uncle and Aunt.  It came with fun printed papers and a cool book of directions on how to fold different types of airplanes.  Many designs are very involved, requiring me to do the folding, as the boys hang on my elbows. 

But for our every day planes (yes, every day, at least in the winter) I use these instructions--it makes one of our favorite styles and is pretty durable if you reinforce it with tape.  If you memorize it, I can assure you, your fan-base will go nuts.  Don't do it at large playgroups, though...unless that's all you want to do.

Sandra

2010 Halloween Recap, part II.

We skipped town last weekend and headed to a lovely cabin in the Shenandoah mountains.  It was really a great way to kick off the season...a little respite before the crazies set in.  I will post more pictures soon; it was a great setting to play with the camera and my newish lenses.

I wanted to mention that I'm using Giver's Log's Handmade Holiday Organizer as a template for my own holiday ambitions.  I didn't start nearly as early as she (drats!) but I do think it will be helpful to prioritize creative tasks.  We're talking all my addictions here: baking, cooking, entertaining, sewing, knitting, paper crafting.  I may even be constructing a little something, good grief, because nothing makes you feel as optimistic as an adorable and blank to-do template.

But first, I wanted to tidy up my Halloween recap for future reference.  I'm sure you've moved on so this is really just for future me.

I made cake balls (like cake pops, but just not on a stick) for the annual pumpkin carving party.  It is hosted each year by the same generous family.  They let the entire neighborhood make a royal mess of every inch of their home--they are saints!  For the cake balls, I made ghosts, eyeballs, jack o'lanterns, and one-eyed-purple-people eaters.  My attempt at decorating them was sad.  Not starting until two hours before the party began was not the brightest idea, I'm afraid.  But they were still gobbled up...       

My favorite part of the party is playing the Mummy Mommy Wrap, pretty self-explanatory when you see the pictures, I think... 

We did not win.

This mummy did.

But my goodness do my boys love wrapping me up.  They said we could practice for next year using rope.  Hmmm.

Sandra  

2010 Halloween recap.

It seems strange to discuss Halloween at this point.  It feels as if it were ages ago, not days.  But this time of year is always a blur to me.  So I've decided to really, really try to confront my odd mix of ambitious/slacker ways--I have high hopes of actually planning a realistic to-do list and getting those things done ahead of time. 

I am fully aware that I have friends who, upon reading that proclamation, just spewed coffee.  And to you I say with fingers in my ears:  I can't hear you....

Why?  Because I have a certain memory fresh in my mind of last-minute crafting.  And it is something I don't care to repeat anytime soon.  I am speaking, of course, of the older boys' Halloween costumes.  An experience that had me quoting my second favorite procrastinator saying:  "the sooner you fall behind, the longer you have to catch up"--my favorite procrastinator slogan is discussed here.

Max and Leo asked to be Clone Troopers.  Actually, they first asked to be Jedis.  Specifically, Jedi Masters (not merely Jedi Knights).  They changed their minds, predictably, after I bought the supplies and yes they are getting Jedi robes for Christmas.  They started asking if I could make Clone Trooper armor.  Because evidently, since I am the crafty type, I should be able to make my children's Halloween wishes come true no matter what--and molding armor should be within my capabilities.  Nicely played, boys.  Nicely played.

For the uninitiated like me, Clone Troopers are not Storm Troopers.  I recommend never confusing the two, else you will be on the receiving end of a glare/stare that smacks of a certain questioning-your-intelligence vibe.

I actually toyed with the idea of not making their costumes and took a look at the ready-to-wear offerings.  Unfortunately, I quickly dismissed the option because not only were they pricey--the armor didn't look very good.  And it didn't even cover the back of the costume. 

As luck would have it, the week of Halloween, I found two Clone Trooper costumes (non armor, just jumpsuits) in the right sizes on Craigs List.  The nice seller gave me both for $20, which included masks.  The new plan was to doctor these up.  Enter Charlie, our hero. 

Much like his gladiator costume, Charlie cut out armor from plastic garbage cans.  I drafted a pattern for him of all the pieces to make it a bit easier.  We spray painted everything white and tied the armor together with elastic.   We also spray painted black a couple of water guns to serve as Clone Trooper blasters.

A self-serving note about these pictures.  I was a very sad photog last week and weekend.  For about ten days, I suffered a freak neck injury (pinched nerve?  neck spasm?  doctors are unsure) that kept me stiff and moving about unnaturally.  And so, almost every shot I took was blurry.  I tried to make them look a little better with some free effects in Picnik.  I plan to ask the boys to fully dress up again so I can take better pictures.  But first I need to properly prime and paint the armor with plastic spray paint as the paint we used is chipping like crazy. 

In the end, it was worth it.  The boys had a blast and received a ton of attention.  And William was over-the-moon to be their Master Yoda and haul home his first full trick-or-treat bag of candy.  

I am packing up all of the Halloween decorations this week and moving on to Thanksgiving.  I can't believe it.

Sandra

A Yoda costume, I made....yes.

This costume was easy to put together--it is not the one causing angst.  Some brown knit fabric for a robe, no pattern necessary.  I just cut it in the same fashion as Max's wizard costume from a couple of years ago, opening up the front and adding a belt and hood.  For the Yoda look, I felted an old sweater to make a quickie hat and added triangular shaped Yoda ears.  

Will wore his costume today in his preschool's parade.  It was an unseasonably hot day--much too hot for a wool hat. 

The poor thing spent more time sweating and scratching than waving.  I may need to line the hat with cotton if the weather doesn't cool off.

He fussed and tugged and suffered, but he would not take off his hat, bless his heart.  And when his little friends (who do not have Star Wars obsessed older brothers) questioned who he was, he replied, matter of factly, "Master Yoda, I am."  You can imagine how happy that made me.

And, now...to keep my momentum going, I will try to channel my resolute little Yoda.

Do more sewing, I must!  Every year I procrastinate, why?  Hmmmm.

Sandra

Another random tip (I need to start numbering these).

Last year, as I recapped Halloween, I promised myself that I would finish costumes early.  See this post because I even had the gumption to write it down.  Well, the 15th has come and gone and there are exactly 0 of 3 costumes finished (0 of 5 if you count the adult costumes but I'm not going to because then I might really panic).  It seems I do not respond to artificial deadlines.

Part of the problem is that the boys are waffling a bit.  I guess there are too many Star Wars characters to choose from.  But tonight I make them commit!  And if you've ever tried to pin down a two-year-old, you know what I'm in for this evening.

Speaking of the iron will of a two-year-old, I thought of something recently that made my life a tad easier so I thought I'd share. 

Two of our boys are crazy over yogurt.  The oldest, however, runs screaming (I am not exagerrating) from the sight of yogurt--dunno.  The five-year-old has the dexterity to handle yogurt tubes...something I frankly don't get the fuss over but he loves them.  And of course, once the two-year-old saw yogurt tubes, there was no deterring him.  Does he have the dexterity to eat them mess free.  No, not at all.  Instead, the tube contents are routinely flung about the kitchen as he struggles, insistently, to feed himself. 

This is an unwelcomed mess in any household.  But if your home is also a yogurtphobe habitat..well, you can imagine how much nicer it is for everyone if yogurt bits are not dotting random surfaces.

This was a very long way of introducing you to this idea--stick a straw into the yogurt tube before you hand it off to your two-year-old.  It gives the tube some much needed structure as well as ample access to the yogurty contents. 

So there you go.  Merely a week and a half to go until Halloween and I have nothing to show for it.  But at least I'm not scrubbing yogurt off the ceiling tonight!

Sandra 

Birthday present stash idea.

In my world, having a birthday-gift closet is a blessed thing.  It's not that I don't try to tailor a gift choice to the recipient--I do indeed.  But my to-do list is much more manageable if I try to shop ahead for items that I believe will make nice gifts.  Then, all that is left is some personalizing. 

Case in point--I happened upon quite a confection of a tutu while in Costco the other week.  Yes, Costco.  I knew it was a perfect gift-closet choice because:  a) my boys wouldn't touch it; and b) I could add a few embellishments and accessories to make it a one-of-a-kind gift.

The skirt was really full, more like a petticoat than a tutu.  And as a crafter who has made her fair share of tutus for gifts, I was impressed.  To make it a little more special, I added a fabric rose and some streaming ribbons...

I also decided on a larger size because I knew I could manage a quick alteration--a hidden ribbon belt to make the skirt wearable for many years.

Next up was making a felt-topped wand to properly equip any princess, fairy, or other tutu-wearing magical creature...

I hear it was a hit. 

As an aside for any locals out there, the birthday girl's party was held at the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center.  It was our first visit and I thought it was really something.  The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and are quite proud of their masterpieces--I recommend it, especially if you have an art lover.

Sandra

Little people and their things.

A certain little person in our house fell in love with another little person's knitted bag, seen here.  So, I made him his own.  Same general idea, though this time I did it by memory during park outings and lessons.  The proportions are a bit off, causing its wonkiness.  But I'm inclined to call it its homemade charm.  It was also my first go at working Fair Isle--again, wonkiness ensued.  But how fun; winter hats, here I come!  I used a tutorial on two handed knitting found here.  And I must say it was not very difficult.  But I think I had a head start because I originally learned to knit in the Continental style.  

  

As soon as I gave it to him, he was off...

 

 

...packing it full for his many adventures...

 

 

And what tiny treasures does he currently like to keep close?  Some Little People of his own and his beloved Cars characters (we're working towards a full set).

 

 

In other exciting-to-me knitting news, Shalom is done!  Just waiting for some buttons and then I'll share.  It was a super quick knit (i.e. roughly 10 days of knitting at night).  I highly recommend it for any other newbie knitters out there.

Happy Friday!

 

Sandra