A little sewing.

I'm not the best seamstress in the world and I'm not the worst.  I'd place my sewing skills squarely in the middle--not a novice at all but by no means an expert.  I am self-taught and have found that I'm pretty good at figuring things out.  And I'm loving this current bloggy craft movement where you can find a tutorial online for just about anything.  There are so many projects I want to try!

But last week I didn't attempt anything new.  I made some embellished burpers and a minky blanket for friends to give as gifts to new babies in their families.  I sometimes sell these on Etsy in my "shop" but I haven't listed anything in forever.  Maybe someday....

 

The burpers are just embellished with quilting cotton and ribbon at the bottom and I add a handcut applique over the machine-embroidered name (I have a small embroidery sewing machine which is fun).  The blanket is so snuggly.  I use super plush dot minky on one side and coordinating quilting cotton on the other.  I have yet to figure out the trick to working with minky!!!  It slips so much--and I even use a walking foot.  It always ends up a bit wonky but I think I'm the only one who can tell.  Please pass along any tips if you have them. 

I hope to do more sewing as the school year picks up.  It's one of my favorite things to do during any down time.  But right now, after the boys are in bed, I am tackling rooms and closets in the house on an organizing mission.  The older boys pretty much wrecked any systems I had in place before summer.  I love that they are getting to be so independent in getting out toys and craft supplies, but sheesh!  It comes at a price.  A messy, stacked-bins-defying-gravity price.  I am saving my craft room for last because it is the room that needs the most work--I let them loose in there to make some cards and now there are bits of this and that everywhere.  I plan to post "after" pictures.  And if I can stomach showing its current blitzed state, I'll even post "before" pictures...but I wouldn't count on it!

Recycled windsock.

Today's "keeping it summer" craft was making a recycled waterproof windsock, courtesy of Valerie over on Frugal Family Fun Blog.  I love her ideas!  She also has a post on garden stones that we have planned for later--hopefully this weekend.

The windsock couldn't be simpler to make--and I'm sure you have everything on hand--so it's perfect for an after school craft.  First, check your recycling bin for something plastic that you can cut into rounds to use as the base.  We used a yogurt cup.  Then, cut up several plastic bags into long strips.  The more colorful the better, though our selection was pretty sad (we're down to the last few since we don't accumulate them like we did before switching to reusable bags).  Next, loop your strips around your base, attach a handle, and hang outside. 

I had to help our four-year old as he couldn't quite master the ends-through-the-loop technique.  Our windsock is destined for the boys' new clubhouse that my husband built this summer.  But first, Leo needed to test it out indoors. 

Next up are pie pops from Luxirare (found via Bakerella)--as soon as I can get my act together and make up a batch of pie dough that is.  Have you seen these?  Individual pie servings.  On a stick.  Um, yes please.

Back to school and ice cream in a bag.

Today was Max's first day of first grade.  I have no idea how that happened.  Not in a, "hey, wait, it's only the beginning of August?" kind of way--I know how that happened (he goes to a year-round school so his summer is only six weeks long).  No.  More in a, "how on earth can you be six??!  Six!  And starting grade school?  Where they don't have snacks in the morning or bathrooms in the rooms?" kind of way.  It's killing me.  And although I was more of a mess on his first day of kindergarten last year, I still managed to puddle things up a bit.  Okay, a lot.

Now, I should say that I actually like the year-round format of our elementary school.  It's very nice to have a few weeks off in the fall and spring, as well as an extra couple of weeks during the holidays.  But the end of summer break is hard--especially when most of Max's play friends have another month before their summers end.

So I have some activities lined up for August that will hopefully keep summer alive and well around here.  Today's project (and treat) was making ice cream in a bag.  You will need some milk or half and half, sugar, vanilla, ice, two quart-sized ziplocs, one gallon-sized ziploc, rock salt and any mix-ins you'd like--unless your kids are straight vanilla types like mine (are you shaking your head in wonder?  Because I don't get how they can love every candy on earth as long as it is NOT in their ice cream).  Oh, and mittens or other means to keep little fingers warm.

I scribbled down the instructions for this at the start of summer--I think from Family Fun magazine but I'm not 100% sure.  We made two batches which was enough to serve four.  We must not have used enough ice as the ice cream never set up much past soft serve.  I just stuck it in the freezer for a little bit (like 30 min) and it was perfect.  But don't take my word for it.  Take the word of a first grader.  Sniff.

Ice Cream in a Bag (adapted from Family Fun Magazine)

Click to read more ...

Pajama party.

Last month I posted the sugar cookie recipe that I always use.  And this weekend, I cajoled my friend into letting me make them as favors for her daughters' birthday party--see, I really, really like to make them and won't let anyone else do them (though this does not apply to you--you should indeed make them.  Unless you invite me to your party, in which case I will).  Her girls had a pajama party and it was really fun.  Look at these super cute invites (how-to here:  Parents Magazine).            

    

The guests were asked to show up in pjs and there was a craft where the kids decorated pillow cases to take home:                 

And just look at these cupcakes (yes, from that cupcake book again).  I have to make these soon.  I've seen a version with little teddy graham crackers tucked in as lovies--too cute, right?

I could not find a pajama cookie cutter anywhere.  But discovered that in a pinch, headless gingermen work just fine--oh, and for the nightgowns, I cut off the footsies and smooshed the legs together.  For the cookie recipe and a rather wordy explanation complicating my simple tip for decorating (dipping vice frosting the cookies), see this post. 

And if you are considering hosting a pajama birthday party, I need to add that the most genius part of it is you don't have to get dressed the day of the party--assuming you have cute enough pjs like my friend. This is huge for me as I never seem to leave enough time during pre-party preps to personally get ready. Sadly my guests will often find a nicely staged room but a hostess dressed in her crafting clothes (you save your college tees for painting/moving/gardening?  I save 'em for crafting). 

Beach trip.

We went to the beach for a few days and had a great time.  And by a great time, I simply mean that in the end, the effort and pain of packing, sitting in traffic, trying to convince two older kids that they can hold it, unpacking, shush shushing so the baby can nap, hauling 5 beach bags, 3 kids, and a stroller 3 blocks to the beach, constantly finger-swiping mouthfuls of sand, promising to scotch-tape broken shells to avoid meltdowns, refereeing who got which bucket, shovel, toy, etc. even though there were plenty to share, having a side of grit with every bite because little sand covered hands could not keep out of the snacks--then repeating everything a la Groundhog Day until it was time to reverse the order and head home--was worth it. 

Because Will got his first beach trip.  

And Leo, who would not let his bare feet touch sand a year ago, is evidently over that quirk.

And Max spent hours lost in a sandcastle mission and his first try at boogieboarding.

And the older ones laughed and smiled, screamed and hooted like we've never seen on an assortment of amusement rides.  

Oh, and I'm pretty sure that eating french fries and ice cream every single night helped color my memory of the trip a bit, too.  Hope you are having a wonderful summer.

 

Interview with a four-year-old.

 

In case you can't read the above, it says:

My mom is 8 years old.

My mom is the prettiest when she takes a shower.

My mom likes to make everything that is good for me.

My mom always says, she doesn't tell me secrets.

My mom is funny when she does tricks.

This poster is one of my favorite projects that our four-year-old, Leo, did in preschool last year.  His teachers asked the questions and wrote down his first response.  It has hung prominently in our breakfast nook since Mother's Day and I don't know if I'll ever take it down. 

There are two answers I especially love.  First, the shower one.  All of the other moms laughed when they read it, saying, "oh yes, me too, I went days without a shower when there was a baby in the house!"  I chuckled along but silently was confused as I--shocker--manage to shower daily.  Did Leo not notice?  And so I asked him what he meant and he said, "oh momma, you look so pretty in the shower."  All righty then.  Guess it's time to be a bit more discreet! 

Second, the "tell secrets" one.  Years and years ago when I was a new mommy, I was practicing law and was sent to some training for victim advocates.  One of the best pieces of advice I think I've ever heard came from a child abuse specialist talking to us about simple things we could do with children in our efforts to keep them safe:  tell them that there are no such things as secrets in the house and that no one should ever ask them to keep a secret from their mommy or daddy.  For birthdays and holiday fun, just use the word surprise (because eventually you reveal whatever the surprise is) but no secrets.  I'm a big believer in the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure so Leo's response makes me smile--he apparently "gets" this house rule. 

Butterflies.

Recently a neighbor asked me if she could hire me to do cupcakes and the cake for her daughter's First Holy Communion celebration.  I was flattered that she thought of me--but there was no way I would charge a friend for cupcakes and cake.

I only had a few days notice and had a hard time thinking of an appropriate decorating theme.  Then I remembered some flagged pages in my Hello Cupcake cookbook. I love this book.  It's filled with the cutest ideas for just about every occasion. Except, of course, a First Holy Communion.

But it does have butterflies. Beautiful and delicate, they look like they might flutter off the page as you're flipping through the book. And with three boys, I doubted a butterfly-themed party was in our future so here was my chance--how perfect. Because, you know, First  Communion ...butterflies ... get it? Fine. I was reaching but look how pretty.  

Supplies: At least two different colors of melting candy wafer or chocolate (I buy the melting wafers at craft stores like Michaels or A.C. Moore); wax paper; butterfly template; permanent marker; sandwich sized ziploc bags.

Click to read more ...

Birthday times three.

 

Our boys' birthdays are fairly close together, so as long as we can get away with it, I plan to combine their birthday celebrations. I know many folks tsk tsk this practice but the thing is, our boys share the same group of friends and it simplifies travel plans for the out of town grandparents. Besides, we celebrate their birthdays, need I say it, on their actual birthday, plus they typically get a school party, PLUS this combo one so I think they're covered. This year the theme was a "Master of Disguise" party--we were going to throw a basic costume party but then our oldest wanted a spy theme, so there you go.

Everyone was invited to dress up to be "in disguise"--I thought other moms might appreciate their munchkins getting another wear out of a Halloween costume.  Then surprise!, even though it was April, it was unseasonably hot, so none of our boys could wear what they had planned and instead wore a mish mash from their dress up trunk...for exactly 11 minutes until it was too hot for even that.  We also had to strike the spy obstacle course because standing still outside without sweating proved impossible, so running/leaping/tummy crawling/etc. were, in my mind, out of the question.  But I should have channeled the mind of a six-year-old because oh, my, my, how this executive decision nearly brought down our oldest.  I still think it was a reasonable decision (kids were in polyester costumes!), but made a note to self that "just playing" is evidently not a suitable enough birthday activity once you turn 6.  I really should have known better.  Sigh.

 

We had party bunting (I may post a tutorial on this later, though plenty abound online already), mini cupcakes, a moon bounce, piñata fun and three birthday cakes.  I used a jumbo cupcake pan for the cakes and tragically learned that it produces a shape not at all compatible with my homemade cake recipes (too delicate of a crumb--each cake collapsed as soon as I unmolded it).   As I was predictably doing this the morning of the party, I had no time for major reconstruction.  I ended up wrapping each cake with some pretty scrapbook paper to make a cuff that kinda, sorta resembled a cupcake liner, effectively holding the cakes together.  I added frosting on top, muttered my discontent, and away we went.  Luckily the boys thought they were perfect and watching them blow out their candles with such happy faces helped me remember to stop sweating the small stuff (a constant battle for me).

Click to read more ...

Pick.

 

A few times each summer, we try to go to various area farms to pick fruit.  I think strawberries may be the boys' favorite--perhaps since it's always the first outing.  By the end of the season, let's just say they don't jump into the car and buckle up by the mere sight of a U Pick flat like they did this week.

Our youngest was pretty funny to watch.  I thought maybe he'd understand--after all, picking berries isn't that different from fetching his scattered Hot Wheels cars or other colorful items and depositing them into random containers (beware what lurks inside a tissue box at our house).  But no.  He definitely did his share of the eating though.

We went to Homestead Farms in Poolesville, MD, which we like because:  1.  there are farm animals to mix it up a little;  2.  you can walk to the fields without having to haul the kids, your gear, and a jog stroller onto a wagon; 3.  you can walk back to your car because if you have kids you will probably need to--diaper duty, forgot somebody's favorite truck to play in the dirt, etc.; and 4.  there is no admission fee.  We're also fans of Great Country Farms and Butler's Orchard but you usually need to take a wagon on those farms and Great Country also charges admission unless you belong to the farm, which we do but I'll review it later.

We usually get carried away with the quantity we pick.  It's pretty addictive when you get on a roll, especially if you tend to be a little OCD about things (ahem).  Looking at a couple of flats of berries can be daunting, so I like to can jam and also prep batches for the freezer to use later in desserts.

This year I wanted to try a pectin-free jam recipe and turned to Ina Garten.  You will soon see that I have a thing for Ina.  I made her Easy Strawberry Jam, which uses granny smith apples in lieu of pectin to firm things up--though you will never get a firm, firm set (but that's okay because I don't like gummy jam).  For canning, I get most of my info from a website called Pick Your Own.  

It's basically the end of strawberry picking in our area.  Next up, blueberries and peaches so go forth and pick!