Just a midnight post.

4.28.2008

I tend to get swept up when I log on here. I'll google one thing and then go somewhere else and on and on, you know how it goes. Each time I do this that old faberge shampoo commercial....and so on and so on plays over and over in my head. Every once in awhile my wanderings stray from the usual crafty, mommy type blogs to others and I have turn away. Really a girl can only have so many intrests and spend so much time on the computer. So great gardening blogs, nope not even going there and food blogs nope not gonna do it. But today I stumbled upon this little blog and thought maybe I could do this. Weekly baking challenges using the same recipe...hmm sounds familiar...and the first post I see is all these yummy homemade marshmallows.YUM. and then she goes on to say there are more blogs like this out there. Really more people all baking and cooking away with the same recipe and sharing it. But no, I am not going to follow those links, not going to get lost in the whole food blog world,(I don't even have time to cook dinner). But maybe one of you all will and then you can tell me about it and maybe send some homemade marshmallows my way.

Also, kidmade challenge #1-Self-Portrait are due on the 30th so start painting, or drawing or sculpting or whatever just send them in details here. The second challenge should be up on May 1st and I'll have the gallery up by Friday.

A few more handmade gifts....

4.25.2008

This one is from a bit back. I am always a bit stumped by the boy gifts and this time I was a bit short on time so it was more hand decorated.



The girls each drew a picture for the 3 year old boy and then I scanned and printed them onto transfer paper. We ironed them onto t-shirts from Target. Pretty quick and the girls were very proud.



The next weekend was a birthday for my 2 year old cutie of a nephew Mikey. I had no gift on Sunday morning but had seen this post via the Crafty Crow. I had about an hour so a felt board seemed perfect. I used a plain black frame, only a couple dollars and self-adhesive felt. It really did take less than an hour. I think I need to make one for the girls.

Sketching in Nature

4.24.2008

We've been following along with the art classes over at Camp Creek Press. Yesterday we packed up a little picnic and our pencils and sketch books and headed to our favorite park. We had a yummy lunch by the river and then headed off to play at the park. I figured we would get some of our energy out and then take a walk and wind down with some observational drawing.
The girls dug around in the sand for a bit and then Maddie found a little butterfly that decided to hang out with them for a while. They built a sand house with lots of sticks for the butterfly to sit on and made a nice little cave.



When it is was set I asked Annie if she would maybe like to draw the butterfly. She asked for her sketch book and a pencil and started. I was surprised she wanted to take time away from the building but she was enthusiastic.







Not a lot of detail but she was happy with it and it was a good introduction to drawing outdoors. As she drew one of the little girls she had met at the park seemed very interested. We shared a piece of paper and pencils and she joined in. Our own impromtu art class at the park.

Shooting myself in the foot...

4.23.2008

Never, ever, ever decide to change your whole blog look at 1:00 in the morning. You probably won't remember to save all your widgets and back everything up and then well then you know, you shoot yourself in the foot. And you know I don't even really like it. Off to bed with me.

Cooking with Maddie

4.22.2008

My lovely day on Sunday also included a stop at a garage sale in route to the library. I always start with a tentative walk through, eyeing everything a bit before I really start digging around. Nothing was tagged at this one so I picked up a few items and heard them say "Fill a box for $5.00". I didn't fill a box but picked up a great bunch of stuff including a vintage apron, some cookbooks and a potato mill. I spied the little cart you see above and asked how much- $3.00. I didn't really need the cart nor did I have any idea what to do with it, but you know $3.00.
Silly me for worrying about what to do with it. Maddie was instantly taken with the rolling aspect and woke up Monday morning knowing that the cart was supposed to be a stage for "Maddie's Cooking Show."

Wanna see a bit of the show?



I was having a bit of trouble uploading the video to dropshots and then I forgot my photobucket password and was shut out when I remembered that you can now upload video to flickr. So very convient, all my stuff in one place with one password. Flickr happiness.

Yesterday....

4.21.2008

spring arrived here in full force. Coats and shoes were tossed aside. An enitre day was spent outside taking it easy. The flower beds were cleaned up and signs of life were discovered under the decay of the last year. The girls found a nest of baby bunnies, rode bikes, swung on swings, hunted for worms and more worms. We snacked on lemonade and popsicles. Daddy cleaned up the grill and dinner was served al fresco as the sun began to set. We dined to the music of the red winged blackbirds and a neighborhood with the laughter of children in the air again. Ice cream cones melted in our hands on the front porch.
I felt the dirt between my toes and in my hands. The warm sun reddend my cheeks and the girls took turns sitting on my lap and sharing thier days adventures. After a day of good hard playing we all enjoyed the sweet smells of a warm bath and the kinda sleep that comes while the book is still opened in your hands.

I wish I could scoop up days like yesterday and put them in a jar only to open them in the darkest days of the winter.

Turning 4 means....

4.18.2008

Starting out the day by seeing how much you've grown. And wearing your new "4" shirt.



Homemade cards and Skittles way too early in the morning.



Finally getting to play the crane game at the grocery store and learning that you don't always win even if mommy keeps shoving quarters in the machine.



Checking out the lobsters...



and checking out.



Cracking the eggs, baking your cake and decorating it with lots of star sprinkles.



Opening the best gifts... the ones handmade by mommy and your sister.

Turning 4 also means your cousins over to play, hiding the birthday candles and your choice of dinner: salmon, tomato and mozzarella salad and cheetos.

I was so happy to follow along on your big day Maddie. I know that on your birthday you are the one that is supposed to get the gifts but since your birth each day with you has been a gift to me. I love ya baby, I can't wait to see where year four takes you.

50 singelton socks......

4.09.2008

Sorry to have disappeared for a week or so. Sometimes life just gets the best of me and all I have the energy for is a bit of reading and not much typing. Tonight is my only night home this week and the absolute chaos that is my home was finally shouting at me to attend to it. Usually when things hit this point I am so overwhelmed that I spend most of my day just moving from room to room never really accomplishing anything.

While the girls were getting ready for bed I decided to dive into the one task that is easy enough to do while sitting down and always makes me feel a bit more organized. A bit of sock matching. I have a big basket in my room that I toss all the socks that come out of the laundry into. Usually I just rifle through the basket for a matching pair, shove the basket back in the closet and close the door. Every few months the basket starts to bug me and I decide to sort it all out. Easy right? Wash socks, put socks in basket, sort socks. Ummm, not so much. I dumped all the socks onto the bed and laid them all out looking for some easy gratification. Ya know what I found 1 matching pair and 50 singleton socks-50 singleton kids socks.



Seriously, what 2 children need 50 pairs of socks, let alone 50 mismatched pairs of socks? Dan came looked at the socks and said "Toss them all, not put them in a bag to wait for the mate or try to donate, recycle, freecycle, just toss them." Never gonna happen. Here's the thing, I never buy socks. Everytime I buy Annie socks they are too small or too big, they slide off her heal or stretch out to fast or just seem too cost way to much for socks, you know socks. This must be an after effect of 12 years of wearing a uniform. So, I know your thinking, if you don't buy socks then where did these all come from? That would be hand me downs. I get bags of gorgeous clothes with piles of socks from the best people in the world and I could never begin to express my graditude for all the loveliness those bags contain but I have one question for ya. How the hell do you keep all those pairs of socks together so that you have anything left to give me?

Launch.......

4.01.2008

I'm an idea kinda gal. Not many days pass by without me coming up with some grand scheme or two. None of these ideas ever see the light of day. Sometimes my idea is to set-up a little stand like Lucy of the Peanuts with the 5 cents sign and just sell the ideas. Usually the ideas stick around for a few days, I work out the kinks, obsess a bit and then move on to something new.

Well, one idea I had just kept nagging at me for the past year or so. I would start a bit of work on it, get frustrated by my lack of html knowledge or get busy with other stuff and shelve it. I knew that my 2 year blog anniversary was on March 3rd and really wanted to see this idea through for an anniversary launch, no such luck. So here it is April 1st and it's time to get this out there instead of reformatting, tinkering and the like. I am doing a bit of a soft launch, putting it up there for you, my friends that check-in to try out first. I am hoping that all of you catch my mistakes and give some great feedback, as you always do. I know there is a bit of updating to do and I have been working on a trickly little problem with secret codes. (if any of you have a bit of widget and coding knowledge I would love to ask for some help).

www.kidmade.typepad.com

Allright, what are you waiting for go check it out.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more info and hopefully a little catch-up around here. I've been terrible about replying to comments and there are a few memes and awards I need to attend to.