The unexpected milestones.

I've been reflecting a lot on the milestones of my children that I hadn't anticipated.  In a few short months, Elliott will turn 6 and Bennett will turn 3.  I've been hit with the realization that though I still feel like such a novice, I don't even have babies anymore!  It's both exhilarating and terrifying--moving into this new territory.

Along the way, there were certain milestones I looked forward to--like weaning, the completion of  potty-training, and sleeping through the night.  Honestly, we're still working on the whole sleeping through the night thing with Bennett, a milestone I'd assumed would happen a few months into her life, but (oops!) I was wrong.  Luckily, the other milestones have come pretty easily.

But then there are the unexpected milestones--the ones I never really thought about--the ones that once they actually happen, you realize how awesome they are.  Some are significant, others are not, but they're milestones nonetheless.

Buckling their own car seat. Who knew such a small and mundane task, when completed by my child, was cause for celebration?  Since my kids are on the small (err, like seriously small for their ages) side, I know that we are going to have a longtime love affair with carseats.  Not having to buckle both of those 5 point harnesses every time we load up?  Priceless.

Sitting on a park bench.  (Me, not the kids.)  At almost three, Bennett is now venturing away from me on the playground.  My friend Tabby and I often take our gals to the park and marvel at the fact that we now occasionally get to sit back and chat, guilt-free, while the kids occupy themselves.  It's a far cry from that chaos that park trips consisted of a few years ago, right Tabby?

Skipping a nap without major repercussions. I'm not going to say that I a fan of skipping naps--they're still a high priority on my daily list.  However, there's so much freedom in knowing that if we happen to have to shift or skip naptime, it won't be World War III.

Managing sickness. Without going into details, kids are gross.  Elliott, at almost 6, can handle the majority of her bodily functions on her own, and this includes maintaining good aim when sick (which thankfully is RARE).  Not having to change clothing and sheets when a bug hits is a bonus for everyone.  I can't yet say the same for little sis, so for now, Stanley Steemer and I are pretty tight and I know easier days are in store.

No diaper bag. No diapers, no diaper bag.  Niiiiiiicee.

Drinking from a straw. I think my girls each picked up the skill of drinking through a straw around the age of one.  This was a game-changer for me because it meant that I no longer had to be in constant possession of a sippy cup.  Don't even get me started on how much I hate the phrase "sippy cup", and even worse than that was washing the things and all those teeny holes and plastic valves.  I'm grateful that we're in the regular ol' cup stage around the house, but I do remember when the babes learning to drink from a straw was a game-changer.

A few of these milestones recently joined up to equal our family's first camping trip.  Like, a for real sleeping-in-the-tent-all-night-long camping trip.  And shocker--it was SO enjoyable!

I've been told that other unanticipated milestones are coming.  A very wise and seasoned Mom recently told me a neat milestone to look forward to is when the kids can bathe themselves.  I hadn't even considered this rite of passage, and I realize I'm still years away, but man oh man, the ability to say "go take a shower" without having to be involved?  That's going to be a good day.

I'd love to know some of your favorite unexpected milestones.

I give them gold; they give me grief.

Every now and then, I'm plagued with delusions of adequacy.  And yes, I mean it just as I said it.  It's a phrase my husband coined (at least I think he did--or did it come from The Office?) and it comes to mind often.

I was feeling rather adequate last night when I made a mean veggie stir-fry over steamed brown rice and homemade (yes, homemade) potstickers.  On a weeknight.

Honestly, it's not entirely out of the ordinary that I put this much effort into dinner.  I cook pretty much every meal every day, but I'm going to admit that I often get discouraged when my efforts are thwarted at every turn.  Mostly by the two rugrats that I brought into this world.

As soon as the red bell peppers bit the wok and the aroma filled the air, Elliott was inspired to remind me that, she in fact, does not like bell peppers.  "Well, I forgot to buy mushrooms," I told her, subliminally letting her know that this could have been worse--much worse.  Within minutes of remembering that the kids would not be pacifists and just eat their dang dinner without complaint and that I might be in for it, James called letting me know that he'd be home late and that we should eat without him.  Well, at least he called, I told myself.

The girls and I sat down for a daddy-less dinner and immediately Bennett started putting plum pieces into her water cup.  And then pouring her water out.  (She does this so fast and under the radar, I swear.) Ultimately my kids are good eaters, so dinner was choked-down.  Bennett picked around the stir fry and ate only the carrots and broccoli, and Elliott told me at one point she didn't like vegetables and was going to throw up.  For the record, she still ate her entire meal, including a strip of red bell pepper, and I made sure to thank her for doing so.

But Moms, do you ever wish that people would just shut up, sit down, and sing your praises?  Is it too much to ask?  With as much as we do, it's often only the things we don't do or things that the family dislikes that are mentioned.  Know what I mean?  Sure you do.  Am I discouraged?  Well, today, maybe a bit.  But don't worry, just like you I'll keep trudging through and doing what's right, despite their complaints and ingratitude.

Never fear, tomorrow's a new day.  And maybe I'll just give up and thrill the kids with the culinary masterpiece that is PB&J.

Week #1 Bentos

We made it through the first week of school!  It was easier than I imagined, thanks to a great staff and a little girl who never ceases to amaze me.  And call me a nerd, but I totally loved packing lunches this week.  Here goes:

Day 1: DIY Lunchables. Cheddar, ham slices, crackers, oranges, edamame, watermelon, and a cookie as a treat.
Day 2: Ham and cheese sandwich, oranges, cheese stick, and a cookie.
Day 3: Egg salad and baked tortilla strips, blueberry applesauce, grapes, and cocoa almonds.
Day 4: Corndog mini muffins, cheese stick, cucumbers and ranch dip, grapes, yogurt raisins.
Day 5: Heart-shaped PB&Js, strawberry yogurt tube, cukes and dip, cocoa almonds.

Worth mentioning:  I found a 12 oz. bag of cocoa almonds at Aldi for $4.99 and they're far more wholesome than the Blue Diamond cocoa almonds that most grocery stores sell.  The Blue diamond brand contains a long ingredient list including sucralose (brand name is Splenda) which I steer clear of, while the Aldi brand has cocoa and sugar and oil added to the almonds.  Better price and better ingredients?  Thanks Aldi.  I'm impressed.

I add a small treat to each lunch as incentive to eat--and she thinks this is awesome as I really don't incentivize good and timely eating at home--it's just an expectation.  Some days she hasn't finished her lunch entirely as I'm still feeling out how much I need to pack and she's learning to eat within the time allotted at school. Our deal is that if she hasn't finished her entire lunch, it's perfectly okay, but she can wait until she gets home from school to have the treat.  So far, so good.  But we'll adapt as necessary.

I'm loving the Goodbyn snack containers.  Seriously--they're perfect for a kids' snack.

Snack 1: Strawberries and homemade chewy granola bars
Snack 2: Whole grain goldfish and watermelon
Snack 3: Watermelon and chia pudding (I repeated this snack one of the days)
Snack 4: Cracker sandwiches with nutella and yogurt raisins

 

Embroidered TOMS

Before Elliott started preschool, I went on a search for the "perfect" everyday shoes.  She's a Florida girl through-and-through and lived in jellies up to the point that she was required by school rules to wear close-toed "tennis shoes".  Her narrow feet (SO unlike her momma's) don't agree with most kids tennis shoes on the market, and throw in the whole laces vs. velcro debacle and as it would turn out, picking shoes for your four-year old isn't so cut and dry.  Not to mention, this girl has her own preferences.  Sheesh.  

After much research and time spent reading reviews for all the shoes that hit my criteria (had to be able to be put on independently, option to wear without socks, breathable, good for romping on the playground, would look good with a variety of types of outfits, E likes the look) we settled for Toms. 

I may be a bit biased, here.  I have a pair of Toms, too, that I adore.  Navy blue, in fact.  Are you seeing a trend?  I think it's cool that for now she's excited to have matching shoes with me.  That day will pass, so I'm digging it while it lasts.

Elliott was SOO excited for school to start, but continued to voice one concern.  

"Mommy, what if you forget to pick me up?" 

It pretty much broke my heart.  I couldn't convince the girl that it was impossible for me to forget to pick her up, because when I am away from her, it's like a piece of me is missing and that I'm counting the minutes until it's time to get her again.  (Oh, I sound so sappy, but it's SO true!)  I decided I wanted to give her a symbol that would remind her that Mommy loves her and would always be back for her.  This symbol came in the form of a simple heart that I embroidered into the side of her shoe.  When she's sitting with her legs crossed, as kiddos in preschool do, she sees the heart that reminds her that Mom loves her and will be back for her.

Those worries have since left her tender heart, but my reminder remains, just in case they creep back in.

{Project deets: It's literally a freehand heart, backstitched with pink embroidery floss, a needle, and my hand. Cost is like 20 cents, if you have to buy embroidery floss.  Lucky for me, I have unimaginable amounts of embroidery floss, thanks to a momma who cross-stitched a lot in decades past.}

Fabric Dollhouse

Hey crafty pals!  I wanted to pop in to share my latest sewing project--a fabric dollhouse for my little gal!  What fun it was to create, too.  I don't sew as much as I'd like to (primarily because it's SO much easier to just grab a ball of yarn and a crochet hook and watch Downton Abbey mindlessly) but I enjoy it every time I pop up the ol' Singer.

This is a project from UK Lass in the US, and what a fun one it is.  UK Lass even has a fun flickr group to check out for fabric dollhouse inspiration.  You have the ability to make it super simple or get super-fancy--whatever you have the time/skill/energy/supplies for.  What fun!  (Warning, once you look at the Flickr group you WILL want to make one!)

I used stiff felt from my stash for all of the windows.  The little framed decorations you see on the inner walls are paper scrapbooking embellishments that I used a heavy duty no-sew iron-on adhesive to attach.  It worked like a charm--this little house is over a month old and has been played with a lot and they're still just as strong as the first day I attached them.

The outer woodgrain fabric was the only fabric I purchased specifically for this project.  Really, I could have just used scraps that I had on hand, but I wanted a certain "look" so I bought a small remnant of this fabric on Etsy. The fabric is a Joel Dewberry design called Aviary 2 Woodgrain in Bark and was purchased from Etsy seller HB Fabrics (I highly recommend the seller).

The rest of the fabric used was scraps leftover from other various projects.  I know I have already said it, but I had so much fun designing this little house.  It kind of made me feel like a kid again.

Remember how I said that it's easier to grab a ball of yarn and a crochet hook than it is to pull out all the sewing stuff?  It's partly my own fault because I'm so very messy.  I just can't be a neat and organized crafter, no matter what I do.

I made some small errors (some fixable, some not) but overall, I'm not complaining because this project ended with a HAPPY child.  Seriously happy.

I'd estimate that this project took about 6 hours to complete (mistakes included).  So yeah, no plans for making another any time soon.   You've probably noticed that I'm way more into the hour-or-less category of projects.  A girl's gotta sleep sometime, you know?  

So, are you putting this project on your "to-make" list?

P.S. 9 weeks or so until baby Bennett is expected to arrive... The countdown begins!

Kids say (and do) the darndest things.

In two months, I'll be the mom of a three year old.  How did this happen?!

In three months, I'll be the mother of two girls.  Pretty sure I know how that happened.

Our almost three-year-old with her almost three-year-old mentality never ceases to entertain us.  Elliott incessantly talks about her upcoming birthday party and specifies what she wants as a part of her special day.  Things that have been mentioned more than once as "I want that for my birdday" (misspelling is intentional as this is how she pronounces "birthday") are as follows:

1. Green
2. Hippopotomus
3. The song "The Greatest Love of All" by the late and great Whitney Houston

Let the party planning begin, right?!  Dang, that was NOT what I had in mind.  (If you're interested in MY party planning ideas, you can check out the Elliott is turning three, Come and celebrate with tea Pinboard on Pinterest.)

Elliott is majorly into pop music these days--specifically Bruno Mars.  If you ask her who her favorite musician is, without hesitation she will state "Bruno Mars".  I may need to nip this pop obsession in the bud--I still haven't gotten over the shock of hearing her try to beatbox to Jesus Loves Me during a song service at church.  (We worship without instruments, so believe you me, beatboxing children stand out like a sore thumb.)

In other musical entertainment news, she was recently singing along to some of her favorite tunes in the car (specifically they were tracks from NBC's the Sing Off) and she made a high pitched squeal when going into falsetto... and promptly stopped singing to say "Sorry guys.  I didn't mean to make that noise".  We're still laughing at that one.

Elliott's love of music is matched only by her love of dance.  Unfortunately, she inherited my dancing ability--or lack thereof.  What we lack in skill we make up for with unabashed enthusiasm, funny faces, complete obliviousness to the fact that we look like robots on crack, and plenty of pelvic thrusting.   The world is not ready for our dance parties, so we keep 'em in the safety of our living room, which, as long as my husband is not around, is a judgement-free zone.

Moms of gals out there--when is an ideal time to get your daughter's ears pierced?  I hear it's during infancy, though it's not something I cared enough to do at the time.  However, my little gal has really taken a liking to earrings.  Elliott is constantly asking if she can wear this pair or that pair of my earrings, to which I simply reply "You don't have holes in your ears so you can't wear earrings yet".  I guess I hope that she thinks holes will magically appear in her ears one day when she's ready for earrings.  She has different ideas, naturally, as you can tell by a conversation we had yesterday.

Elliott: Mom, I want earrings too.
Me: But Elliott, you don't have holes in your ears yet.
Elliott: Maybe Santa will cut holes in my ears.  With scissors.

Sheesh.  Remind me to lock up all of my scissors.  While most moms are concerned about the rite-of-passage self haircuts that so many toddlers manage to achieve, I'm concerned about my child slashing holes into her earlobes with my rusty coupon-cutting scissors.

In short, I'm rather enjoying this stage in Elliott's life.  I can't say I've enjoyed every moment like so many Moms seem to do (or at least they pretend better than I do).  I still remember Elliott's infancy as a thankless and frustrating time--and don't even get me started on the sleeplessness. Those beautiful Hallmark images of motherhood and warm embraces while light seeps through gorgeous open windows are truly few and far between here in our home--but laughter?  That's daily stuff around here, and I'll take it, thank you.

Til next time,
Tristin

Day 3: Sarahndipities shares a gift for a teacher

Hi!  I'm Sarah from Sarahndipities!  I'm so excited to be sharing this quick little project with you today!

My husband is a teacher.  He teaches the 5th grade.  Over the years he's brought home a lot of interesting gifts from students during the holidays:  body wash...candy...coffee mugs...hair gel...cocoa...and even a stuffed animal or two!

But guess what?  The best gifts he's ever received are the ones he can actually use in his classroom.

I asked him once what the best thing to give a teacher was and he said, "A raise."

But after that he said, "Hand sanitizer...and tissues."

He knows all about germs.  He's surrounded by them all day long...especially at school.

So when I was trying to think of a teacher gift for kids to give their teachers this year that's what I immediately thought of.

But how to make it cute...and something that the kids could actually help with?

Well, here's what I came up with!  It's soooo simple, and the kids can help with most of it (unless you don't want them to come anywhere near a permanent marker...which I completely understand, believe me.)

Here's what you'll need:

-  A Smallish container of some kind...I used an empty French's Onions can, because it was already white and had a lid...plus I have three of them left over from Thanksgiving meal preparations!
-  a couple packages of pocket sized tissues
-  a couple of sample size hand sanitizers
-  a bit of Christmas-y ribbon
-  a sharpie marker

First, remove the label from the container, and wash it thoroughly...you don't want it to smell like french fried onions, after all.

 Next, use your sharpie marker to draw eyes and a smile on one side of the container...

 ...and to color the lid black (like a hat).

 Next, tie a piece of ribbon around the base of the container.  You might want to secure it with a dab of hot glue or a couple of glue dots if you feel so inclined.

 Lastly put the hand sanitizer and tissues into the container, and snap the lid back on!

I included a note on the back of this little guy that reads:  "We TISSUE a Merry Christmas, and a HANDY New Year!"

There are so many cute ways to dress up a simple gift like this, but my kids loved that this was an upcycled project that they could REALLY help with!

Handmade gifts are always appreciated...so if you are looking for some great handmade items, hop on over to my Handmade Holidays Shop Guide to check out some wonderful gifts ideas!

Thanks again to Tristin for inviting me to be a part of the fun!  Happy Holidays!! :)

Amigurumi Tea Set (and an awesome party!)

Junebug and I recently went to her first "real" birthday party.  Let me qualify what I mean by "real"--it wasn't a family member's birthday party and it wasn't a one-year old "I-have-no-idea-what-the-heck-is-going-on-here" type birthday party.  It was a party that Junebug was invited to by one of her library time friends and this time, Elliott knew what a birthday party is (translation: there will be cake!) and was super-excited about it (again: there will be cake!).

For the birthday girl, I opted to make a gift since I had time and an itch to try my hand at an amigurumi tea set.

 

It came out great despite the fact that I was less than thrilled with the pattern I bought on Etsy.  I've never had a bad Etsy experience before, so I was shocked to know that it was possible.  For this reason, I won't be sharing which pattern I bought--but in the end, with some tweaking and note-taking, it worked.  Not only was the pattern poorly written, it took the seller over 3 days to email the pdf when the shop stated that I'd have it within 24 hours.  I was more than slightly annoyed.  I much prefer instant gratification.  Who doesn't?

 

The tea cups were my favorite part.  They're double-walled and surprisingly sturdy.   Perfect for teddy bear tea parties.  I'm planning on making a set for Junebug for Christmas but in a multi-colored way like this Anthropologie set that I pinned.

The birthday party itself was a blast!  The theme was Alice in Wonderland in the most awesome way possible.  The birthday girl, Kylie (you may remember her from her Medusa costume) was the perfect Alice and her momma did a great job making a special and memorable party for her.  Kylie's mom is also an amazing photographer--I ran across this collage she made and couldn't resist sharing (especially since Junebug is sitting with the birthday gal on the main picture).

 

 Since it's most of our un-birthdays, I wish a very merry un-birthday to you!

Tristin

Jack-o-Lantern Puppets

On one hand I can't believe it's almost Halloween because it feels like Christmas just passed. 

On the other hand, I can't get Tracy Jordan's Werewolf Bar Mitzvah out of my thoughtsicles, so I know it's definitely time for the spooky, scary holiday.  (Does anyone love 30 Rock like I do?  I secretly hope that Tina Fey, while on maternity leave, is sitting at home checking out crafting blogs when she stumbles upon mine and we become lifelong friends.)

Moving forward...  My mom is a veteran preschool teacher who now provides ideas and cirriculum to a few local preschools.  She recently stumbled upon these car mitts at our local Dollar Tree and instantly knew they'd be a great prop for her October planning. 

Somehow my big mouth got me the task of turning these mitts into jack-o-lanterns, so I took them home and got right to work.  Well, I took them home and left them on my dresser for a few days, and then I got to work.  My first thought was to applique felt pieces on to the faces but reason got the better of me when I thought about the fact that the mitt is already sewn together and the hand space is narrow.  What a pain that would have been. 

Then I thought I'd do some freezer paper stenciling to get the jack-o-lantern faces just right, but as I was reaching for my exacto knife, I stumbled upon an acrylic paint pen.  Aha!  Perfect.  An acrylic paint pen!

All I did was free hand the faces directly onto the mitts.  Not only was this a cheap craft ($1 each), it's also SO quick.  I made four in under 10 minutes.  Boo yah!  I think this particular mitt would also make great lion and scarecrow puppets. 

To make this puppet a fun prop for your little one, you can sing a fun jack-o-lantern song with it.  I found the following song on EverythingPreschool.com.

Did you ever see a pumpkin?

(Sung to: Did You Ever See A Lassie)

Did you ever see a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin?
Did you ever see pumpkin, with no face at all?
With no eyes, no nose, no mouth, and no teeth?
Did you ever see a pumpkin, with no face at all?

So I made a Jack O-Lantern, Jack O-Lantern, Jack O-Lantern.
So I made a Jack-O-Lantern with a big funny face!
With big eyes, a big nose, a big mouth, and big teeth.
So I made a Jack-O-Lantern with a big funny face.

The longest part of this craft was editing my sub par photos.  Does anyone else love Picnik like I love Picnik?  I need to take some photography classes so I don't rely on photo editing so heavily, but Picnik is an awesome free tool in the meantime.

Happy Werewolf Bar Mitzvah!

What would you do?

So, I may be slightly obsessed with sewing at the moment.  I've been working on some things and today I'm seeking your advice with a fabric choice.

I found this precious coat pattern on Etsy and I'm making it for Junebug.  I've chosen the main fabric--a gorgeous green corduroy.  Green is Junebug's color.  It has always looked good on her so that was a simple choice.  But the lining fabric is another story.

Which do you prefer?

Choice 1 - Mustard yellow with cotton blooms

 Choice 2 - Multi-colored fabric in a fun pattern:

 

If it helps at all in making a decision, Junebug picked out some buttons for the jacket.  They're orange and I thought they'd look great with the green.  (She already has great taste!)  The jacket is supposed to have a big bow on the front for closing, but if I know Junebug, she'll fight that tooth and nail (possibly literally) so we're opting for a button front (more like a pea coat).

 

Here's another view of the coat:

 

So, which lining fabric would you choose? Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

D.I.Y. Play-Doh

When I got married seven years ago, one of the most precious gifts I received was a collection of recipes from both sides of our families.  In the back of this treasured recipe collection my mom wrote out her trusty recipe for Play-Doh (and you know it's the real deal because she's a preschool teacher!).  She left this note along with the recipe...

"I'm sorry but I have to think of the grandkids" - Mom

Well, Ma, thanks for the recipe.  Today I'm sharing it with the world.

DIY Play-Doh

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 t cream of tartar
2 packages of Kool Aid (don't use purple, it turns grey)
1 T oil
1 cup water

Cook all ingredients over medium heat until it forms a ball (5-10 minutes).  That's it!

You can  enhance the colors by using food coloring if you like.  My mom does (I always seem to forget) and her Play-Doh is fantastically bright.  I love that the Kool-Aid makes the Play-Doh smell amazing!

Junebug and I have had hours of fun over the past few weeks playing with Play-Doh.  I think of it as stress relief for the two of us.  Afternoons tend to be the time where Junebug and I butt heads the most--but if we sit down with some Play-Doh, the tension eases.  My gal pal Suzanne dropped by after work a few weeks ago and ended up sitting down with a handful of Play-Doh--so it's totally stress relief for big people, too!

We like to press shells into the dough and make "fossils" and cookie cutters are an excellent way to learn shapes.  I bought the cuh-yoot alligator rolling pin at Target for $3.99.  They don't have it online (unfortunately) but it is still available in the baking supply section of the stores.

I think a pretty jar of homemade Play-Doh and a lovely tot-sized rolling pin would be an excellent gift idea for a little one.  Agree?

If you want more fun ideas for kiddos, check out my "Fun For the Kiddo" Pinboard.