Rainbow Day

I just love getting messy with food, don't you?  This weekend we decided to focus on rainbows as it rained nonstop the week before.  We checked out "A Rainbow of my Own" by Don Freeman at the library.  Very cute book!

Then we decided to paint.  I used a recipe from Pinterest that was non-toxic since I was mainly working with Lindsay.  I knew that most of her "art" would end up in her mouth.  Super easy and used things that I had around the house.  Condensed milk mixed with drops of food coloring.  It actually goes on the paper and dries shiney.  Do note that it takes a LONG time to dry.  Lindsay enjoyed painting but quickly lost interest as a butterfly fluttered by or an airplane flew overhead.  I will try this again with Emily who will appreciate the "sparkle" of the condensed milk. 

 

 

What rainbow day is complete without whipped cream!  Lindsay's lunch consisted of strawberries, shredded cheese, banana slices, broccolli (which only was included to make the rainbow correct as Linds didn't touch it), blueberries and grapes with whipped cream clouds.

 

 

Bon appetit!

NC Summers

What do you do when its 103 for seven days in a row?  Anything possible to stay cool and drink lots of water!!  I was just telling my mom how lucky we were that it had so far been a mild summer and then we get hit with a heat wave.  Both Lindsay and Emily beg to be outdoors 24/7 so I had to think of a few cool ways to have fun.  First I froze food coloring to make fun paint ice cubes.  Emily loved watching them melt and Lindsay kept trying to put them back in the bucket.  Good activity for a hot day though.

We made popsicles with Kool-Aid and fresh blueberries.

We have alot of extra blueberries from last week's produce box so we also made a healthy blueberry ice cream that I found on Pinterest.  Just blend frozen blueberries, vanilla Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey.  I had to pop it back in the freezer for it to get to the right consistency but it was great and the girls loved it!  

Emily's First Sleepover

My little girl is growing up (cue tears).  We are very blessed to have great friends who have great kids so we decided to invite Emily's friend Caroline over for a sleepover a couple of weekends ago.  Carolina is 5 and is one of the best behaved children I know.  I always tell her mom Shannon that she has an old soul. 

I think I was more excited than the girls.  I LOVED sleepovers when I was a kid.  I lived out in the country of Roxboro, N.C. which is almost an oxymoron since Roxboro was an extremely rural city when I was growing up.  Lot of farmers and lots and lots of tobacco plants.  We lived on 10 acres or land so I didn't get to see my little friends very often.  Sleepovers meant a full day and night of girl play.  So fun!  I don't remember anything from before I was 10 and even after that most things are fuzzy until high school (darn those ECU parties in college.  Too many brain cells killed obviously).  So I know realistically that Emily will not remember her first sleepover but maybe Carolina will or maybe Emily inherited her aunt's photograhic memory.  Either way, I was going to do my best to make it special.  After some time outside, we made cookies.

The girls played dress-up, watched Disney's Tangled and then "tried" to go to sleep.  We quickly learned that Emily is a very active sleeper so the trundle bed was used.

Whenever I had friends sleepover, my mom would make monkey bread.  That was a special treat that we only got on holidays and I loved it!  Maybe that's one of the few things from my childhood that I actually remember.  I put my own spin on this recipe and omitted raisins and nuts.  I love traditions!

Burlap Everyday Wreath

My fingers are covered in blisters but I'm super happy with how this wreath for my sister and her husband turned out.  Their last name obviously starts with a "B"!  

I cut about 1 1/2 yards of burlap into 2x2 inch squares.  I folded the corners together and secured with hot glue and then repeated with the other set of corners until a balloon was formed.  This tutorial has nice pictures of how to fold each "bubble".  I used pins but found they didn't stick in my straw wreath for very long so changed to hot glue.  Don't know if I would do this again.  Definitely a labor of love!  

Super Towel

I'm a little obsessed with hooded towels these days.  After my first sewing project of a dress for Emily, I have been making towels.  Not that I really have alot of time to sew but these are so easy!  I used a tutorial from Creative Mommas blog that I found on Pinterest of course.  Here was my first try:

We were invited to a little boy named Cole's 2nd birthday party.  I decided to put my new found skills to use!  I have no idea what little boys like.  I have two daughters, three nieces, I am one of two girls and my mother is one of three girls.  In my mind boys like dirt, worms, super heros and trucks.  Nothing at the toy store spoke to me.  What is something unique that I can give that a boy will like and I actually know how to make?  A super "Cole" towel!       

Rainbow Sand

Everybody loves rainbows, me included.  They just make me happy.  It was rainy last weekend so we couldn't go outside.  We didn't see any rainbows and decided to make our own!  Very easy recipe and the kids absolutely loved it.  We have hard wood floors so clean up was a breeze.  I do suggest laying out a sheet if you have carpet as there is no way the rice will all stay in the box!  

Rainbow rice recipe:

• Buy the super big bag of rice at Walmart.  I measured out about 4-5 cups per gallon Ziploc bag.
• 5-10 drops of food coloring.  I really just did this by sight until I got the color I wanted.
• 2-3T of rubbing alcohol.

Easter Basket

I am SOOO proud of the Easter baskets I made for Emily and Lindsay this year.  They both have wooden traditional Easter baskets where the Easter bunny leaves their goodies.  I wanted them to have something soft for Easter egg hunts where they could hit other kids without leaving splinters or a boo boo.  Both can tend to be a little aggressive when it comes to competition.

Each girl has her name bonded to the right ear.  Really wish Lindsay had a shorter name, or I had a Silhouette machine as the tracing and cutting was a pain...but so worth it!

My inspiration came from a little basket I saw in Chasing Fireflies.

There are tutorials on-line with how to make a felt basket but I practiced my new mantra "Just because you can/could make it, doesn't mean you should", and instead bought two.  Amazon.com had these 8 in. white felt baskets by Total Class Creative for only $3.99.  Can't beat that!  I then used cut out two felt ears for each basket and used Ultra-Bond to permanently attach the fabric letters for their name on one ear.  Two black buttons for eyes, a pink felt triangle sewn on for a nose, and a hand-stitched mouth completed the face.  I then used a blanket stitch (followed this awesome tutorial by Futuregirl Craft) for the pretty stitching around the opening of the basket and the ears.  Can't wait to see the girls get their egg hunting groove on with these baskets!! 

What's Up Doc? - Class Easter Treats

There are a bunch of Easter class "carrots" on the internet so I thought I would add mine to the mix :).

I learned a very valuable aspect of my personality while making these.  Cheese balls are my weakness.  Diets don't stand a chance if we are under the same roof.

Happy Saint Patty's Day Breakfast

I just love Saint Patrick's Day.  Maybe its all that green and promise or rainbows and gold.  Or maybe its the green beer.  Either way, its a fun and imaginative holiday.  I decided to celebrate a little with the kids to today and give them a St. Patty's Day breakfast.

These were the BEST pancakes ever!  I used the recipe on the back of vanilla Chobani greek yogurt and it was great.  Here it is:

• 1 1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients.  Whisk wet ingredients, pour into dry mixture, and stir just until combined.  Over medium-high heat scoop 1/4 cup batter onto skillet per pancake.  Flip when bubbles appear.  Cook until golden brown.

The girls loved them and what holiday is complete without props?!  Princess Emily eating her green pancakes.  

Lindsay just loves headbands.  Maybe its the fact that she can be a part of Emily's girly girl team without wearing bows (considering she still doesn't have enough hair for that).  I made her a plate with a green pancake smiley face with green kiwi for eyes.  My artist skills were lost on her but she did clean her plate!

Trash to Dress - First Big Sewing Project!

One of my goals for 2012 was to teach myself how to sew.  With most craft projects (crochet, scrapbooking, painting) I don't really like the process but really want that finished product.  Do you know what I mean?  I actually LIKE the sewing process though.  It makes me stop and think.  I tend to rush through things and you cannot rush through sewing unless you want to waste a lot of time ripping out seams.  Rushing is something I obviously need to work on as I keep hearing how these are the best days of my life but it seems everyday I am counting down the minutes until the kids are in bed so I can relax or more likely - clean.  Does that make me a horrible mother?!?  I also learned that sewing is not a project that can be enjoyed with a glass (or two) of wine!  I made that mistake while making the skirt and had to restitch three times!  Anyways, I am very happy with the way it turned out!  I used a tutorial from Made by Lex.  I didn't add pockets and since I guess my husband's shirts are bigger than hers, I had to use a gather stitch for the skirt to make it fit the chest band.  Look, I'm using sewing lingo!  Ha!

Sushi Bonding

I am loving the age/stage that Emily is in right now.  I can teach and tell her things and she actually comprehends what I'm saying.  Yes- teaching is an everyday part of life and yes- I realize that kids absorb alot they are taught without verbalizing.  But I am an instant gratification kind of gal!  I really like the positive feedback when she asks questions about something we just did or she repeats to Matt what I told her in the car.  She's also old enough to take new places and not have to worry (usually) about having a potty accident or that she will have a melt down if she doesn't get her 1pm nap.  She's a little person instead of a baby so I find myself wanting to expose and show her everything! 

One of my goals this spring is to get Emily out of her chicken nugget comfort zone.  As a family we eat pretty healthy.  Maybe lacking a little in the vegetable department but we rarely eat fast food or go out to eat.  I made all of Emily's baby food and exposed her to different and even exotic foods from an early age.  Somewhere along the way though, she decided to become a picky eater and if a food looked new, it was not good.  She also went through a stage when eating itself was overrated.  At that point I was just happy to get her to eat something and hence the chicken nugget comfort zone emerged.  I don't ever want food to be an issue or a big deal so I haven't pushed.  This spring though I want to do more with our garden and make food fun.  Sort of like those cute bento boxes where they have the food cut up to look like animals or people.  Like this:

Source

I really can't see myself going all our or making elaborate scenes with food.  That just takes too much time but a little creativity goes along way in munchkin land.  Tonight we had sushi.  Here is mommies yummy plate:

And here's Emily's version.  Just strips of bread spread with cream cheese and ham wrapped around cucumber sticks and cheese.  Bon appetit! 

Llama Llama Red Pajama Party

My best friend's daughter turned one this year.  I just loved the fact that I had another beautiful little girl to help plan a party for!  John & Kelley call her "Baby Bug" so I first thought a bug theme was in store but then decided that would be better for when she was a little older and able to hold a magnifying glass (yes, I have already started thinking of activities!).  I absolutely love the Llama Llama series by Anna Dewdney and since llamas were always sort of a joke with Kelley and I in college, Kelley decided that it was a good idea.  Then, we found these red pajamas on Walmart.com and decided it was a PERFECT idea!

Cecilia's invitation complete with Llama Llama appearance in a paper red pajama.

The food table.  Since Cecilia was born in January (yes, I am super late posting) we had decided to do a hot chocolate bar.  We weren't planning for it to be 70 degrees in North Carolina!!!

The FABULOUS fondant cake topper from Edible Details.  She does wonderful work that I have always admired on facebook and was so excited that she agreed to make her interpretation of a llama in red pajamas.