Mom of Four

Star Wars, Part 2

2012-01-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

Right now I am reading the kids The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. This really has little to do with Star Wars, but you get to the funniest thing about Star Wars and that is talk like Yoda once in awhile.

It includes directions on how to make an origami Yoda, but I watched the video on YouTube instead.

(Darth is from the sequel, Darth Paper Strikes Back, which we plan on reading next.)

May the Force Be With You as you go create paper finger puppets.

Star Wars, Part 1

2012-01-21T19:53:00.000-08:00

When we were dating, Paul took me to see Star Wars. (I guess you do things you wouldn't normally do when dating.) I fell asleep in the movie theater, but the thing is I want to like Star Wars, especially since all 3 of my boys are all about Star Wars. I would love to know what the difference between a Clone Trooper and a Storm Trooper is and who killed Count Dooku (Mitchell read this and answered "Anakin Skywalker." What up, Nerd?) Ok, I could care less, but I want to want to know. This year it's my New Year's Resolution to watch all of the Star Wars. (That and learn all of the words to Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice.)

Long story short (too late,) whenever I see a Star Wars project, I jump all over it. I found the Toy a Day website (there are a ton of other characters on there, too, not just Star Wars) and immediately printed out a bunch of Star Wars characters. Super fun. Here's GOOD VS. EVIL (with help to find out which side the troopers were on):

(our printer never prints colors correctly so we had to color them in with markers.)

Parts 2 and 3 coming.

M is for Monster

2012-01-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

We haven't had Mom School at our house since beginning of summer when we did O is for Octopus and the kid's have been asking to have it again (can't say that doesn't make me happy!) Part of the reason is that I tend to go overboard and create a bunch of work for myself so I kept things simple this time.

We read The Monster At the End of This Book. Does anyone else remember this from your childhood?

Grover tries several tactics to stop the reader from getting to the end of the book where the monster is. Of course, he IS the monster at the end of the book.

My kids loved it. They were ~~asking~~ fighting over who got to turn the page. They were also laughing and asked to read it again once it was over.

We made Monster M's. I just set out some paint, crepe paper, and googly eyes.

Bryce and Ellie made mummy monsters:

Cole wasn't really interested in doing this so I covered his in green crepe paper and he added the eyes:

My kids love mazes so I printed them some M's.

No pictures of this (I'm sure you've all seen ~~cookies~~ kids covered in frosting before), but we made monster cookies. I just gave them each a sugar cookie with different sprinkles and frosting and told them to make monsters out of them. They obviously loved this part.

It doesn't have anything to do with monsters, but we threw in a science project and made iridescent ice.

And by this time, they were done, but I sweet talked my 7 year old into lending me his hand so I he could make these cute handprint monsters.

And by that time, I was done and sent them outside to ~~give me a break~~ enjoy the freshly fallen snow.

Sweets without the Sweets

2012-01-12T17:54:00.000-08:00

We just talked about Jesus' birth at Sunday School this past Sunday. I wanted to do a birthday project for the kids because that is something they can relate to and I liked the idea of decorating a cake, but I, for one, am sick of candy and sweets. (Can I get an amen to that?) Then, I came across scratch 'n sniff paint. You just mix a package of kool-aid in a couple of tablespoons of water.

I printed off birthday cakes on cardstock:

The kids had fun guessing what each flavor was.
I brought home the leftover "paint" for the big boys to try:

Christmas Ornaments

2012-01-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

I realize it's too late for these for this Christmas, but I'm going with the "better late than never" approach. Besides, I'm looking for Christmas ideas all year long and Pinterest makes it super easy to keep track off.

Every year I make picture ornaments for my kids, nieces and nephews and some friends. It may be my favorite tradition. Sometimes my sister even ~~watches me work~~ helps. Here's a look back at previous ornaments:

2010: May be Crooked, I Couldn't Let All That Vodka Go to Waste
I followed this tutorial from Photo Jo Jo.

2009: Punches, Worth Their Weight in Gold
I bought a bucket of Wilton party favor boxes (can't find them on-line, but we got them at Michaels) and a a scalloped circle punch set to punch out colored cardstock. I then taped 2 circles back to back with a line of ribbon sandwiched in the middle. I used the crop-a-dile to punch a hole.
***I think this would make a great teacher gift with all the student's pictures.

2008: By Extra, Acrylic Cracks
I bought acrylic frames (similar to these,) added embellishments and tags and then used a crop-a-dile again to punch a hole in the top. I never did figure out the trick to making holes and a couple cracked.

2007: Glass balls, More Fragile Than You Think
I printed photos on fabric sheets made for ink jet printers and decorated with rub-ons.

2006: The ornament that started it all.
I bought unfinished chipboard ornaments and covered them with scrapbook paper and added a tag.

Here is this years final product, 2011: The Year We Cursed Ourselves For Picking Long Names For Our Kids

These are plain wooden cubes decorated anyway you like. I chose paint, scrapbook paper and glitter.

After all sides were decorated, I glued the pictures down and then coated the whole thing with Mod Podge (don't worry, it dries clear.)

I took washers and stamped the names and year and then hot glued them to one side.

Finally, I added mini eyelets (found in the wood section of Michaels) and added ric rac.

I'm already planning next years!

What's for lunch?

2011-12-14T06:44:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, me and my sister had to have hot lunch every day and I hated it. (I remember once when in 1st grade I got to take cold lunch and there was a blueberry muffin in it. If I remember that ~~30 years~~ a few years later, it shows what a special and rare treat it was.)
Now that my kids are in school, they have to take cold lunch and they hate it. (Funny how that works.) Eating hot lunch at our school (in my opinion,) is the cost and health equivalent of eating out. (Pizza sauce and ketchup count as vegetables. Enough said.) I do let them eat it once a week and they get to pick which days (usually pizza or hamburgers, which are choices every week.) That leaves 10 cold lunches a week to pack for (Ellie takes lunch to preschool 2 days a week) and even more frightening, 16 lunches a week next year if I follow the same system (which I don't think I will.)
They can only eat so many sandwiches before they get sick of them. (Like approximately 150 give or take last school year.) This is what I've made so far this year:

Homemade Pizza Lunchables: I made homemade mini whole wheat pizza crusts and sent a little container of sauce and another of cheese and sometimes some pepperoni. We also used mini whole wheat pitas in place of the crusts. BIG hit.

Homemade Lunchables: Cut up cheese and salami and add crackers. Another hit, although not as much as the pizzas.

Homemade Peanut Butter and Jelly Uncrustables: I saw these many years ago and have wanted to make them ever sense, but I didn't want to buy special ingredients (potato flakes and dry milk specifically.) So, I hit up my bff, Google, and found these, but I modified it.

They do take awhile to make and are kind of a pain in the butt, but it's worth it to just grab one from the freezer and throw them in lunch boxes in the morning.
I don't like peanut butter and jelly, so I didn't eat any, but the kids loved them. Not only my kids, but other kids that got some as a result of sharing/trading. I even received a request from another 2nd grader for the recipe.

Homemade PB and J Uncrustables:

2 ½ to 3 cups white whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 packages active dry yeast

2 cups milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

Filling:

Peanut butter

¾ to 1 cup of jelly mixed with equal parts of cornstarch

In bowl of Kitchen Aid, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast; blend well.

In small saucepan, heat 2 cups milk until very warm (120 to 130F); Add warm milk and 1/2 cup peanut putter to flour mixture.

Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed.

Add an additional 2 ½ to 3 cups flour until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl.

Mix on medium spread to knead until dough is smooth.

Place dough in greased bowl; cover loosely with cloth towel; Let rise in warm place (80 to 85F) until light and doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide into 16 – 20 balls. Roll into circles. Add some peanut butter and jam.

Fold in half and press edges down with fork. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and let them rise until puffy - but not doubled in size - about 1 to 1 1/2 hours depending on the room temperature.

While they rise, preheat the oven to 375.

Place baking sheets in the oven and cook until golden brown - about 10-15 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly. Freezes well.

She's Crafty

2011-12-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

She's crafty - she's get around
She's crafty - she's always down
She's crafty - she's got a grip
She's crafty - and she's just my type
She's cratfy

December brings about my craftiness....when I don't force it.
I made these (semi-ugly) snowman for super. They included chocolate and were out of the ordinary so the kids love them:

Last week, Cole picked out some drinkable yogurts for his treat (I let him pick out one thing for a treat when I go grocery shopping, usually he picks junky cereal.) I took some marshmallows and covered them with chocolate, put them on a straw and took the empty, cleaned out containers and decorated them. Easy peasy.

Glitter Reindeer Ornaments

2011-12-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

We got a little crafty this weekend. I love ornaments. Whenever I go on vacation, I try to get one. I like looking at them and remember who/where I got them from every year, but I can put it away in a box for 11 months of the year and not feel guilty about not having it out cluttering up the place.

Perhaps you've seen glitter ornaments on the web. Perhaps you've seen reindeer thumbprint ornaments also. We combined the two.

Bryce's. It's a little hard to tell, but he chose to mix green and blue glitter in typical Bryce fashion.

Mitchell's

And perhaps my favorite part, their names in their own handwriting:

We also make some paper plate Santas (inspired by Learn Create Love.) I love that even though this is a simple, straight forward project, everyone's turned out different.

Bryce, Cole, Mitchell, Me, Ellie

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T05:23:00.000-07:00

Ellie's school snack - pumpkin muffins and ghost bananas

Halloween breakfast (on the Saturday before) - ghost pancakes and pumpkin oranges

Just playin'

2011-10-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

So, I'm currently taking 2 photography classes - one on-line and one at a local technical college. I feel like I want to improve my photography, but I think I've taken it as far as I can by myself. So far the local one has proved to be...not as useful as I had hoped. Although the 45 minute drive there and back IS quite nice. It's in my nature to quit these sorts of things straight away (does that sound English? I hope so, I've always wanted an accent,) so I'm impressed with myself for going back. (OK, it's only been twice, but I plan on going back a third time even though I don't really plan on doing the assignment....)

Maybe it's the post editing? I never did buy myself a birthday present. I found this tutorial via pinterest. What do you think? It's hard to tell on my laptop (not a good computer for a photo editing.) An improvement?

A Book and a Project

2011-10-23T05:16:00.000-07:00

We started by reading Twas the Night Before Halloween by Natasha Wing. It's written from the monster's view point as they get their haunted house ready for Halloween. Wing's "Twas the Night Before" series is one of our favorites. They are poems set to the same pattern as the real "Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem.

For the project, I drew a pumpkin shape on a piece of paper and they painted watered down glue onto it. Next, I cut a strip of orange crepe paper for each child, but you could also use tissue paper or construction paper. They cut the strips into little squares and stuck them on. A simple project, but it kept them busy (and more importantly, quiet) for quite a while!

I also used this for a Sunday School project so I added this Pumpkin Carving Poem to it.

My 8 year old even wanted to do it. He chose to cut his out....and make it into a Frankenstein pumpkin, with, um, blood.

10 years

2011-10-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Impromptu Photo Shoot

2011-10-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

We have about a 1/2 hour between picking up Chicky La La from school and picking up the Bigs. Usually we spend it sitting in the car, but one day last week it was sooooo nice out (each nice day in October is a precious, precious gift in Wisconsin) we jumped out and had a little impromptu photo shoot.

They usually have their own ideas about what they should be doing when I take their pictures. Ellie wanted to skip. This is so her right now. She's almost always happy and bubbly, I find it difficult to believe that she's 1/2 King....or Starry for that matter.

This is also so Cole right now. He wanted to snuggle in with Ellie. (See the love in his face?)

OK, Ellie is done....

but Cole is not.

And it ended the way most outings with Cole do - him trying to physically stop me from leaving by standing in front of him because he has some crazy idea that's not happening.

This week in the kitchen

2011-10-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

+I've been making lots of smoothies. They all have the same basis: coconut milk, vanilla protein powder, and flax seed.
Fruit smoothies (frozen mixed fruit and a handful of spinach)

Pumpkin pie smoothies (canned pumpkin, frozen banana)

And peanut butter cup smoothies (chocolate protein powder, frozen banana, peanut butter)

+I've made 4 batches of dried beans. The first 2 I forgot about and cooked to mush, the 3rd I cooked perfectly, but then dropped them on the floor, and the 4th turned out great.

+They are waiting for me to make them into cookie dough dip.

+Missing the two batches of Carrot and Zucchini Bars I've made.

+Loving these Fluffy Whole Wheat Pancakes.

Library Bags

2011-10-03T05:42:00.000-07:00

We love the library and if checking out one book is good then checking out 20 is even better. Multiple that by 5 people and you have a whole lotta books (and movies) plus everyone's own library card = chaos. Enter the library bag.

I made Ellie's first using the envelope from here. It worked good, but for some reason, I could not get the size right again for the next one. I can't imagine it has anything to do with my "who needs to measure perfectly, it's good enough" sewing technique.

So, I switched to the pockets shown here for the next one. At that point, I wanted to be done with the whole thing, but knew 2 little kids would not let me get away it so I pushed on.

and on.....

In the end, they were a (mostly) fun little project that really do make trips to the library a little easier. (We're still pretty chaotic though. I don't think they make a bag for that.)

The camera doesn't matter

2011-09-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

I am making photo books for my kids so I was looking through old pictures. I'm doing them chronologically and I keep waiting (and waiting) to get to the point in my pictures when I don't cringe at them. I'm obviously glad I got them and because of them I did get better (practice makes perfect!,) but OMG. I had no idea what I was doing when I first got my Big Girl Camera. It totally proves that expensive cameras help make a good picture, but you have to know how to use them! I have a longggggggg ways to go with my photography skills, but looking at these pictures, I can see how much I've improved.

This is not the first picture I took with my new camera, but it's the first one that I kept. ***Proof that nice cameras can take (technically) bad pictures:

July 2006

Just for comparison, I took a random picture from July of each year:

July 2007

(waiting....)

July 2008

(still waiting.....)

July 2009

(Better....understanding aperture..... I spent a ton of time practicing and reading about photography this summer. I think this is the first big improvement.)

July 2010

(Got the aperture under control after a year+ of practicing, but funky color)

July 2011

(Better. I just started practicing on Manual mode. My colors are still a little off, but I'm getting closer!)

source

Noah's Ark

2011-09-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

This year I'm teaching the 4 year old's at Sunday School. Today's Bible Story was Noah's Ark so we made rainbows:

The clouds are made out of a mixture of shaving cream and glue. It dries puffy. Of course, you could always use cotton balls, but I highly recommend this homemade puffy paint.

Works for us

2011-09-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

We have one and sometimes two kids that do ~~most~~ all of the picking up when the time rolls around. I won't mention any names, right Mitchell and sometimes Ellie? Ahem.
To help combat this, I created this:

Each kid has their own room they are responsible for, which gets rotated everyday we use it. We don't use it every day, but quite often. I have to say that it's helped cut down on the arguing and the all of the kids know what they are responsible for. And anything that cuts down on the arguing and yelling in our house is a winner.
(It's made out of scrapbook paper slipped into picture frame and I use a chalk marker to write their names, but a dry erase marker would work, too.)

"Just one more (picture)"

2011-09-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

His response:

That's a wrap.

2011-08-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the first day of school. Summer is o.v.e.r. Over.

At the beginning of the summer, I had plans to make a "summer list" wall similar to this one. I even cleared a wall, but that's as far as it got (besides actually making a list.) Oh well. There's always next summer. Here are the things on our list we DID do (it's been a busy summer):

Things we didn't get to: Picking Strawberries, Iola Swimming Pool, Catching Fireflies (but we did watch them one night), drive-in movie, and make a stop-animation movie.

From Yesterday

2011-08-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Paul Stare-y

We love you!

Crafty

2011-08-16T06:19:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer, I set out a bunch of magazines and we did the classic make a collage out of things you like project. Here's what we came up with:

BRYCE:

COLE:

DONNA:

ELLIE:

MITCHELL:

Thirty-Five

2011-08-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

Thirty-five? THIRTY-FIVE? oh.em.gee.

I'm not ready to be closer to 40 than 30, as my sister so nicely pointed out. I'm entering into 35 kicking and screaming similar to how I imagined I was when I was born (via C-Section.)
I'm an all or nothing girl. Balls to the wall. This means learning something new is overwhelming to me because I'm not happy until I perfect it, which is NEVER.
Whenever I watch TV and the show/movie characters are parents, I wonder what their child would really look like if they actually had one together.
This past month when Paul was gone with the kids up north, I had a Brothers and Sister's marathon. I love that show, but it makes me a little scared for the future. They all love their mom, but think she is super annoying. I do hope my kids all get along when they are older (heaven knows they don't now.)
I love the Jillian Micheals Show podcast, but I do not like her on Biggest Looser. I find it really interesting that she called the producers on BL "scumbags." I love behind the scenes stuff.
I'm missing the CSA this year. Hopefully next year I can have a bigger garden. I miss beets. And garlic scrapes.
I wish I was the kind of person that had no regrets in life. That was thankful for every (bad) choice they've made because it's landed them where they are. But, I'm not.
I would almost always prefer to listen to a podcast or ~~books on tape~~ audio books than music.
I really like the saying, "Procrastination is self-abuse" because I think it's really true.
I was recently putting together Cole and Ellie's baby book and I'm horrified at the pictures I took (technically.) Every month I do, I wait for them to get better.
I'm so excited Project Runway is back on! And even better is that the full episodes are on lifetime.com because we don't get that channel.
I'm thinking of buying myself Clean Color for my birthday (editing picture tutorial for Photoshop). Should I?
When I wake up earlier than the kids, I have to decide if I want to take the risk of making coffee or not. Usually if I do, they wake up, but I love just sitting with coffee in the morning!
My sister once told me that food grosses me out so much that one day I would be eating nothing but bananas and bread. I have to disagree. Even bread is starting to loose it's charm. (It gets all soggy if you let it.)
I don't get the appeal of American Idol. At all.
One of the strangest people I know told me I was the most normal person they new. Is that a compliment?
All those Facebook Happy Birthdays feels strange to me. I haven't even talked to a lot of those people in years and years and years. On the other hand, it's nice they take the time because I don't when it's their birthday.
I start to panic around the 4th of July about summer coming to an end.
My favorite things about this house is the blackberry bushes around the yard and the walking trail to the park.
All I want for my birthday is for my kids to be nice to each other and a clean house. And a message. But I'll take a normal day, too
I started making our sunscreen this year because as Bryce says, the kind you buy has cancer in them.
You're still reading? I'm impressed.
I've recently started about 4 books, but haven't finished them. There are too many books I want to read to waste time on ones that are just ok.
I want to be one of those people that is always put together in cute outfits. For now, I'll just stick to jeans and t-shirts.
When I asked Paul what he would do differently, if he could, he said he would invest in different stocks. We think so differently.
If I could have any super power, I would pick flying, but being invisible would be fun, too.
I once cut the side of my hair really short - like mullet style. Gross.
When watching TV, I always check out the house decore, especially if they have white trim or not even if it's cartoons.
The thing I like least about myself is my temper.
This is the first year I've stopped getting carded when buying beer. I guess I should be happy it took so long.
Rice Krispie Treats are not at all appealing to me, but on the rare occasion that I eat them, I actually like them.
If I could move to another state, I would pick Oregon or Washington.
If I could pick one person (alive) to have lunch with, I would pick Kelly Ripa.
Before bringing your own reusable bags to the grocery store was common, I would bring my paper bags back to use and the baggers would almost always comment on how strange they thought it was.
My birthday was....... spent with family.

Bubbles

2011-07-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

One of the things I wanted to do with the kids this summer was to blow BIG bubbles. We used this bubble recipe and made wands out of straws and string. It took the kids (and me) a little while to get the hang of it, but once we did, it was really fun as you can see from their faces!

I was playing with the camera trying to get this- a half popped bubble.

PS I think I fixed it so you don't have to register to leave a comment!

PPS You can check out other cool bubble pictures here:

Book Review

2011-07-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

I used to read all the time before I had kids and then not so much until lately. I think I was just too mentally drained to put the effort into picking up a book. But lately instead of watching TV after putting the kids to bed, I have been reading until it was time to go to sleep.

One of my biggest pet peeves (probably the biggest) is when people say, "I don't have time to (fill in the blank.)" You are just choosing to spend time doing something else. I had someone tell me once that she didn't have time to scrapbook. When I asked her how she spent her Friday nights (when I would scrapbook,) she replied that was her movie night. I told her I didn't have time to watch movies.

I don't usually know what a book is about until I start to read it. I find if I read the summary before hand, I think "I'm not interested in that" and put it down. More often than not if I just read it I would find that I DO find it interesting. That was the case with The Book Thief. It takes place in Nazi Germany. In this case, I do find it interesting, but I tend to stay away from depressing books. I'm gonna give it 4 out of 5 stars. Engaging and interesting.

You've heard of this book, right? I would definitely have not read this if I'd known what it's about. It's very creepy, but I could.not.put.it.down. Totally twisted and appalling. I caught myself thinking, "Good thing this could NEVER happen in real life," but then I remembered The Book Thief and that while this exact thing never happened, equally horrible stuff did. It's a trilogy and I have the next book on hold at the library. I can't wait. It's also being made into a movie. 5 stars!

This is a book that I sought out. I have a fascination with the Mormon religion. Interestingly, the more knowledge I have on it, the stranger I find it is that people really believe in it. Just for example, they believe in different levels of heaven and at the highest, they become a god of their own world. WHA? Anyway, super funny and entertaining book. 5 stars

This was written about the time after the Germany occupation of Guernsey. It's still mostly a light-hearted book. I didn't like that it was written in the form of letters. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

This book was about Scientology. I really wanted to learn more about what they believe (as strange as it is.) I think the author could have written a really good book with her experience as a Scientologist for many years, but I found many parts repetitive and not nearly enough information in other parts. I skimmed the last 1/3 of it. Fascinating topic, but could have been written better. I spent some time Googling Scientology and am disgusted with how many celebrities buy into this ridiculousness. The book gets 2 out of 5 stars.

This was a quick, light read based on a healthy living blog by the same name, Carrots 'n' Cake. I don't think any of the tips are earth shattering, but I do plan to try a couple of the recipes. I thought it was interesting to read about a "normal" person's everyday life and I'm glad she included her struggles with eating and exercising as well. 4 out of 5 stars.

I've got a bunch more books from the library waiting for me!

Success

2011-06-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

I'm threw flipping burgers and frying fries, I'm getting it together and I realize that to be a success takes determination, that's why I'm applying to the college of _____________. S-U-C-C-E-S-S Success

Does anyone else remember that commercial from the late 80s? I remember the whole song except the name of the college. (Marketing FAIL.) Anywho...

I refuse to focus on all of things I didn't get done today like folding the laundry, giving Mitchell a haircut, giving the kid's a bath, cleaning the bathroom, weeding the garden, taking a shower.... (see, I'm not focused on those things at all) and instead think about how much I DID get done:

Taking Mitchell to Tae Kwon Do

Running a mile

Spending two hours at the library playing games with my kids

Bryce found a Lego game there and spent most of the time building it.

~~Making~~ Directing Paul to make a healthy supper
Doing one load of laundry
Reading a new book
Going to Vacation Bible School with the Littles
Reading books with the kids
Picking up the house
Putting the 3 loads of laundry away that have been waiting all week
Making lunch
Cleaning the kitchen including empty and filling the dishwasher
Making it all day without loosing my temper even though one certain little boy was, shall we say, having a rough day. And let's face it, even if I didn't do anything else all day except that, makes my day a total success.

Oh, yes I did.

2011-06-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

I made my own lipstick today. Out of a crayon. For realsies. At first glance, you may think that I've taken DIY too far. Here's how it went down....

With only a few hours to go 'til Ellie's dance rehearsal, I searched for the lipstick I've had kicking around since my sister's wedding awhile ago (along with mascara, foundation, blush, and curled piggy tales we were instructed to don our children with.) I must have thrown it out. My choices were a.) haul the kids to Kmart b.) turn to my BFF Google or c.) boycott 4 year-olds wearing make-up.

A. was out since I hate Kmart and I'm still having nightmares from a certain little boy taking off in the last store we were at (I'm sure almost all mother's know the panic followed by relief and finally pissed off chain of events.)
B., as tempting as it was, wasn't happenin' and so C it was!

My Google search led me to Instructables. It was my lucky day and I had everything I needed: a little Shea butter, jojoba oil and 1/2 crayon! Was I worried about putting crayon on my kid's face? Not really. I'm willing to bet crayons are less toxic than the lipstick you buy in the store. Although, in reality, I prefer neither and after these shenanigans, will keep it that way for as long as humanely possible.

And now a ridiculous amount of pictures:
(freckles leftover from rehearsal)

This one cracks me up. Ellie just wanted to model her lipstick (which she was thrilled with) and Cole wanted to....um, be Cole. He turned around, hugged her, and without missing a beat, she repositioned herself and the lipstick towards the camera.

O is for Octopus

2011-06-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

1. Star Fact: 7+3=10

2. Read:

3. Glue the tentacles. I gave the Bigs each two ovals. One says "Long O (says its name)" and the other says "Short O" and some tentacles with words written on.

I gave the Littles and oval with their names and tentacles with the letters. They had to match and glue.

4. Letter O search using their dot painters.

5. O is for Octopus for our alphabet books

6. Snack from Family Fun

7. Take a much needed break from children.

2011-05-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

You already know I love Pinterest. Apparently, the more popular it's getting, the longer it takes to get an "invite" (basically a way to join.) When you do join, you get to invite 10 people so they can sign up right away. Some blogs are even having contests to give away their invites. I still have 9 so if you want one, let me know. No contest involved.

C is for Crab

2011-05-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

which was especially fitting since that's what the big kids were acting like tonight. Wow.

We started out with a "fact of the day." A random addition fact (8+9=17) that I would say whenever I thought of it. Hopefully, this will help Bryce memorize them.

Next we read two books:

Commotion in the ocean came with a CD. The kids have been loving listening to CDs with books lately. They also love the TumbleBooks website which reads books to them. (Bryce saw the site open while I was getting the link info and now he won't stop asking me to go back to it.)

This doesn't really go with the ocean theme, but the kids didn't care....or notice. I gave the littles the circles with their letters on and had them put them in order. (Source of printout is Confessions of a Homeschooler.)

We played a fishing game. The fishing pole is a dowel with a string attached and a magnet on the end. The fish had numbers on one side and words with a "C" on the other.

The littles got the number sides and would give them however many bubbles the number said. (Idea from Little Page Turners.)

Bryce got the words. He had to either put word in the "S" bucket or the "K" bucket depending on if the C made a hard C sound or a soft.

I drew out crab parts on a plain white piece of paper and had the kids paint them read. Then they cut them out and glued them on another piece of paper. It's our (sideways) C!

And their favorite part that they kept asking for the.whole.entire.time, a jello treat. (Idea from I can teach my child.)

We also did two nights about bugs and caterpillars, but I guess I didn't take any pictures and have since threw out the projects, expect this little guy:

Tis the Season

2011-05-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

for gifts.

First up, homemade sugar scrub. It's just sugar, dish soap and a little food coloring - except that separated, as seen in the bottom one.

Next, Hershey Nugget teacher appreciation gifts. I just made a little box using the template, covered Hershey Nuggets in scrap paper, stamped the "Thank U" and Bob's your uncle. (I will never tell how many of those little candy bars were eaten in the making of these gifts.)

Then I made 20 of these little teacher treats for phy ed, art, bus driver, etc at school.

In other news, I've been trying to write down 3 things I'm thankful for each day ala Oprah. Here's today's (very random) list:

Veronica Mars
Glue guns
Libraries

Lunch

2011-05-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

I usually eat the same thing for lunch every day until I get sick of it and then switch to something else. Lately, I've been eating wraps made with brown rice wraps. Super good. You can put anything you want on them, but my favorites are hummus, avocado, a little Feta cheese, spinach (microwaved for a few seconds to shrink it), tomatoes, cucumbers, red pepper strips and carrots. I make about 4 of them at a time and then wrap them in foil to so there easy to grab and eat. Yum.

B Man

2011-05-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Since I didn't get many pix of Bryce on our Mother's Day shoot, I ~~talked~~ tricked him into taking some on the walk to the park.

Whooo's my favorite sista?

2011-05-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't been sewing much, but when I was at my sista's house for Easter, we whipped up this little ~~guy~~ girl for her daughters room. I think she turned out pretty cute.

Don't feel bad for her, she likes it in her little cage. Really, she does.

More...

2011-05-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

As a side note, why is it that everytime I drag the fam out, something on my camera isn't working? This time it was the remote so I would have to push the button and then RUN to get in the picture.

I'm not sure why there aren't many pictures of Bryce. I think he stayed out of my periphery and was busy playing with his Buzz Lightyear lego.Plus, he doesn't particularly like getting his picture taken and is less than cooperative. Must get more pictures of him.

Family Photoshoot

2011-05-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day in our house means a family ~~photo shoot~~ torture session. I've had my eye on this really cool old building (warehouse?) in the 3rd ward since last year's photo session. We just wore whatever clothes we happened to put on that morning because 1.) I like things natural and 2.) when I suggested to all 4 kiddos (separately) that they change, they all resisted. Getting all 6 of us out of the house in clean clothes and half way decent moods takes a miracle in of itself. Here are my favorites:

And my #1 favorite picture of the day....

POTD

2011-05-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

Screen shot:

Yeah, she looked at me strange, but I acted like it was no big deal to be bringing out my big honkin' camera in the middle of a doctor's appt. and besides, who cares? I'm not ever gonna see her again....well, probably 'til next year and by that time she'll either be working somewhere else or have forgotten. SO TAKE OUT YOUR CAMERA!!!!

It's never ever gonna warm up here and the sooner you accept that, the better.

The babies picked me some "flowers." Note is written by Cole and interpreted by Ellie. It says, "We picked these flowers for you. We love you." Duh.

Would it be a bit dramatic if I told you Pinterest has changed my life? It has. I cleaned out my "bookmarks" on the computer and the 10ish binders in my room. It's a "why didn't I think of that?" kind of ideas.

We hit the first 2 rummage sales of the year. I got some kid's books and some kids clothes. Score! Ellie was especially excited about her 2 "new" dresses she got.

Bossy E

2011-04-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

Last week during "no screen week" (that's actually 3 days), Paul and Mitchell had gone to Tae Kwon Do and I was at home with the littles and Bryce. We couldn't watch TV and the stars had aligned perfectly providing me with a little extra energy to actually DO something after supper so I brought out some of the E projects for C and E. Bryce is almost always up for an art project and soon we were playing school. (YES! Maybe all of the college years of sweat, blood and tears (literally, especially the tears part) earning my teaching degree is paying off. (Obviously my degree is not in Language Arts as shown by the overuse of parenthesis.))

Bryce has been asking to have school again ever since. (Who knew something so good would come out of "no screen" week?) I decided to seize the opportunity (after all, my high school class motto was "Carpe Diem") and use this as a way to help Bryce brush up on his reading skills. Continuing on the letter E, we learned all about "Bossy E." We read the story and then they all created their own version of the Bossy E:

Next I had Bryce word sort (I have no idea why that is good for them, but it is because my sista says so):

We concluded "school" with sharing of our Bossy Es and Bryce reading us a book (His idea! I'm controlling my urge to follow that with a ridiculous amount of exclamation marks to show my excitement.)

Also: Have you heard of Pinterest? You can check out things I've pinned here, if you're interested. (I'm gathering ideas for our next "unit" in school --> Bugs!

E is for Elephant, Easter and Egg

2011-04-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

Feed the elephant (number recognition):

How cute is that elephant? I'm such a sucker for hand prints:

Match up the chicks to the heart shells (super cute, but not really a hit with the littles):

Marshmallow art (as the days went on, the marshmallows got less):

Bryce came home and made a chick:

Egg treats:

Clothespins and egg game (hit!):

Dot to dot letter E:

E is for Elephant:

Review! Hide the eggs and then name/match them!

Next up: Not sure!

POTD

2011-04-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I haven't been posting much is that since December 1, I've been taking a picture of day for my Project Life. I love it! Here's a few from a couple of weeks ago:

(March 21: Newspaper clipping)

S is for Shapes, Snake

2011-04-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

I cut a bunch of shapes out of fabric and the kids made their own monster t-shirts. I added their ages and they wore them for their family birthday party.

We also sang the Herman the Worm song. Remember that one? But we changed the words.

Sittin' on the fence post, chewing my bubble gum

playing with my yo-yo (wooo-wooo)

And along came Herman the Worm and he looked like this (hold up a shape)

I said Herman, what happened?

And he said, "I ate a triangle."

And not pictured, we used different shaped cookie cutters and paint and made pictures.

Currently in progress, the letter E.

And another one from R is for Rainbow....

I cut out circled letters for the babies to match and "spell" the word. All of the letters are capitals to make the matching easier except the letter that we're working on.

R is for Rainbows

2011-04-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hello? Anyone there?

(insert crickets chirping)

Oops, guess it's been awhile.

I'm in a panic to get the babies ready for school. I'm not sure why. You would think they were my 1st kids instead of 3rd and 4th! Plus, it all of a sudden hit me that all the kiddos are going to be in school soon and I won't be able to do crafts, etc. with them. I wish I would have started this months ago because I love doing them and Ellie does too. (It's hit or miss with Cole.) Ellie already knows her colors, but Cole only knows them depending on his mood!

I printed these off cards (grrr, I can't find the link right now), laminated them and put the the colors on envelopes. Ellie loved just putting the pix in the corresponding envelopes, but Cole needed a little more fun. "I'm a red pepper, help me find my home. I hope that ladybug in there doesn't bite me!...."

What better way to get Cole engaged than candy? (Game inspired by Katherine Marie Photography)

We also dyed pasta:

And then used them to make number charts:

We went on a scavenger hunt for colors in the house (I think this was their favorite activity, besides the candy, of course):

R is for Rainbow:

And a letter R hunt:

This was done in lots of 30 minute increments spread over 2 1/2 weeks!
Next up: S is for Shapes

Paint

2011-02-25T07:36:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you have to tell your to-do list to eff off and paint.

It almost always turns into a color mixing experiment. Ellie always requests red and white.

"It makes pink!"

And Cole just mixes whatever colors are closest to him.

Well worth the mess.

Super Food (to the rescue!)

2011-02-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Alternative Title 1: I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes.
Alternative Title 2: In which my kids willingly eat greens, Part II (Part I includes green smoothies of which I can not find a pix of at the moment.)

Last night I made Kale (you know, the sturdy greens you see as garnishes sometimes) Chips. I found the recipe at allrecipes. (Click on "allrecipes" to go to the exact recipe.) I didn't know what to expect because I am def not a fan of kale and I certainly didn't think the kiddos would eat it. But what do you know....

Not only did they eat it, they gobbled up every last bit and wanted more. I liked them, too (the few pieces I got before they were inhaled.) The taste is...interesting, but they are strangly addicting. Maybe it's the salt on them.

I am also not a fan of oatmeal. Until I came across this recipe at Kath Eats Real Food. There are tons of different options on her site, but this is how I've been making mine.

1/3 c. oats
1/3 c. almond milk
1/3 c. water
1 sliced banana
1 Tbsp. chia seeds

Place in a pan over medium heat. Once it starts to bubble, keep stirring until it's at the right consistency. Top with 1 tsp. brown sugar and a big spoonful of almond butter.

Yum. It's super filling. I haven't tried it out on Paul or the kids, but hopefully this weekend.

Snow Day!

2011-02-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

It must be all of those years of conditioning because I still get excited for a snow day even though they are decidely more work for me rather than less.

We made homemade scratch paper:

Played SWAT Team:

I wowed them with a magic trick:

Made snowcones (with real snow since we have approximately 76 feet of it.)

And then it was time for breakfast. I kid, but it felt like it.

Gettin' er done

2011-02-04T08:14:00.000-08:00

Need some motivation to get some stuff done over the weekend? Check out Creative Organizing.
Here's mine:

Help the boys get Valentines done for school
Make a packing list for trip!
Finalize childcare for trip.
Taxes?
Exercise on Saturday
Polka and Potato Night tonight (my goal is to make it through without being too crabby. Wish me luck.)
Get camera(s) ready for taking preschool pix on Monday and Tuesday
Pick up a few things at the grocery store
Baby shower on Saturday
Finish getting Sunday school lesson ready
Read (recently started The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book.)
Mitchell haircut
Clean bathroom

Marshmallow Sculptures

2011-01-31T05:53:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago the boys had off of school so we made marshmallow sculptures. Just mini marshmallows and toothpicks and let them go. (I did set the marshmallows out on a cookie sheet for a few days ahead of time so they would be hard.)

(Wearing a super hero cape made out of a kitchen clip and towel is always helpful, but not necessary.)

Entertainment with little mess. Just keep the final product away from the dinosaurs.

Chocolatey Pumpkin Bread

2011-01-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

When I asked the babies what kind of project they wanted to do, they picked baking. (Of course!) We made these Chocolatey Pumpkin Bars from the Meal Makeover Moms. Yum!

I'm pretty sure that when I'm old and I think of baking with any of my kids, I will think of them scooping flour out onto measuring cups placed on paper plates.

Remember when you thought cleaning was fun? Me either, but I'm sure I did.

Product

2011-01-22T06:17:00.000-08:00

I have to keep this (part) short because if I don't, I get all fired up and then I can't write coherently. Here it is: almost all of the skin/hair/etc. products contain KNOWN CARCINOGENS . Products (or is that "Product?" It always sounds funny yet slightly cool when people don't add the 's') that don't contain that are expensive. So I decided to make my own.
Last month I ordered a butt load of stuff from Mountain Rose Herbs to make a few recipes. First up was Vanilla Body Butter. Smells really yummy. It does go on a bit greasy, but soaks up right away. It's also slightly gritty. Ellie said it felt like it had rice in it.

Next was the Geranium Almond Face cream. I can't say that I really like the smell all that much, but it wares off fairly quickly. What I do love is that it's super thick which means only one coat of it, unlike the stuff I was using. In these cold winters, I would have to apply 2 or 3 coats.
Finally, I borrowed Organic Body Care Recipes from the library and tried the Vanilla Velvet Honey Lip Balm. Yummy.

Here's a couple of other recipes I've tried with only the ingredients I had on hand:
Martha's Lip Balm

Deodorant (Yes, really. I put it in an empty deodorant container and use it like that.)

Moisturizer (also goes on greasy, but soaks in right away. I'm not sure where which site I found this on)
3 heaping tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup organic safflower oil
1 tablespoon shaved beeswax
10-20 drops of essential oil or tee tree oil (optional)
Heat first 3 ingredients gently just until melted. Take off of heat and stir in essential oils.

Check out my helpers:

Making Bread

2011-01-17T19:06:00.001-08:00

Quick Project

2011-01-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

I've been busy trying to keep up with my Picture of the Day (using Project Life) which is usually PictureS of the day for me. But I've just finished turing my blog into a book from last years post and I love it so much, I would like to keep up with this, too.

This morning I saw this cute little activity on my new favorite blog, Katherine Marie Photography. The babies have been really interested in letters, especially those that are in their names so I grabbed our Scrabble tiles, grabbed the ones that are in their names and buried them in a jar of popcorn:

Coming Soon....

2011-01-07T06:22:00.000-08:00

It is an on going quest of mine to get rid of clutter around here. I have a really hard time letting go of stuff (I might need it some day) even though it feels so nice once I do. For me, it's much easier or I should say less difficult, not to buy stuff in the first place. I really, really try to just buy stuff that I love or that will be useful. So when I was contacted to do a review, I had to look to see if it would be something that I would love.

Good thing CSN Stores sells tons of stuff I would definitely love to have. Maybe I'll pick some modern decor (wall stickers anyone?) or some new colorful (turquoise!) plates or maybe a toy (whahahahaha - yeah, right). I'll let you know...

Recipe for a Fun New Year's Eve

2011-01-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

1. Lots of good food.
2. PJ's
3. Photo Shenanigans

4. An early bedtime.
5. Cherry on Top = Friday Night Lights on Netflix.