thread pudding

I've Moved...

2009-10-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

Please come visit me at www.lissybug.com!

Playdough Raceway!

2009-03-02T13:25:00.006-07:00

I have to admit- when I saw this idea in Making Make Believe (I love this book) I thought it seemed like nothing special. Little did I know the power of just a little suggestion to spark imagination.
We rolled out snakes of playdough and made this track for the cars. Soon cars were zooming, parking, towing and racing along. Leland went down for a nap and I went into the other room and James continued to chat and play away. When I came back the playdough had been all mushed up into a ferry (this was explained to me. Lumps made by three year olds can be hard to interpret, you know.) Next James want's me to make green playdough so it can be used for "walls and rails and tracks."

Here's the playdough recipe I used.

The other fun thing that resulted from this playdough play? The next day we played car wash and rinsed all the little blue bits off the cars that had been transported by playdough ferry!

Learning Curve

2009-02-27T14:59:00.002-07:00

Whew- you know, before I had kids I never realized how nice it was to be able to sit and concentrate on one thing for LOOOooong uninterrupted pieces of time. I'm working on learning wordpress amongst other things, but quiet computer time and small boys don't actually mix. at all. So it's taking a while. Frustratingly I feel like all my creative energy is being sucked away by the computer and yet I need to be on the computer in order to get things moving along. I guess the benefit of the poor Boy-Os being sick today is that they're both napping at the moment. So I'll get back to work. I just want to get past this learning curve and get going again!

Some Vintage Clipart to Distract You...

2009-02-04T10:19:00.013-07:00

From the fact that I haven't been here for some time! Excuse me, I've been absent lately- I'm in the midst of getting together a logo, graphics, fonts and whatnot so I can move onto my own domain (It'll be lissybug.com once it's up and running.) Once I have that all together I have a bunch of vintage and second hand fabrics to list. I'm developing a little sustainable sewing shop focusing on vintage, second hand and upcycled sewing notions and fabric. Some organics may show up as well. Until then- if you like vintage images here are a few great sites I've come across with some wonderful, free vintage clip art and fonts.

Beautiful stuff at The Vintage Moth- this is my favorite recent find for vintage images:

Vintage Images and old photographs at Old Photo Album:

Clipart ETC is full of black and white line drawings such as the one below. A great source for botanical drawings as well a animals and insects.

Full Moon Graphics- Not only does she have oodles and oodles of free and wonderful graphic sets, she also has tons of resources to find even more graphics and fonts. Careful, you may not get off the computer for a long time ;)

Do you happen to need and authentic looking document from the 1920s/30s? Here ya go- The HPLHS Prop Document Project has you cevered. Also they have a list of 20s and 30s fonts for free.

And if you love Mid Century Modern (and more!), you must go to Tack-O-Rama. What a great resource for retro clipart and fonts. The background for this blog is from there.

Creative Doldrums

2009-01-21T15:28:00.003-07:00

I was reading a book a few months ago that talked about the creative ebb and flow. The book, 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin, talks about the way our creativity cycles through high and low points. So right now I am in a lull which can feel rather uncomfortable. I don't have that wonderful feeling of moving along with exciting projects, brimming with excitement at the next wonderful idea. I've spent the last few weeks figuring out priorities, ridding myself of excessive commitments and extraneous STUFF. Yet facing what amounts to a blank slate, instead of feeling invigorated I feel murky and uncertain. McMeekin says, "Whenever and however we arrive at the void, the experience promises to give us a close encounter with fear and insecurity. As we release an old identity and move into a sense of being lost, purposeless, undefined or confused, we must encounter the darkness in ourselves."

So here I am, fears bubbling up and not a lot of inspiration coming with them. But instead of panicking and packing up my schedule again with things I don't actually want to be doing, I am looking at my goals. I am hanging out with these uncomfortable emotions and trusting that this is part of the cycle. I am continuing to clean out and clean up and make little steps forward. I am trusting I will reemerge from the creative void and thanks to the time spent creating space and order I will be prepared for the rush of creative energy and opportunity that is sure to come along.

Preschooler Cookin'

2009-01-09T20:04:00.003-07:00

I'm loving the Preschool Cookbook we got James for Yule. The book is Pretend Soup, by Mollie Katzen. It's got pictures with each recipe so even my three year old can see what to do next. The recipes are just right for preschoolers too- not too complex, and tasty. James gets very into selecting what he'd like to make and we put the ingredients on the grocery list. You can see the book in the recipe stand below.

We've been making Chocolate banana shakes the past couple days and I love seeing him proudly pour his brother and I our drinks the he made (almost) all by himself.

Chocolate Banana Shake:
1 Cup Milk
1/2 Banana
2T Cocoa
3 Ice Cubes

Put all ingredients in Blender. Blend. Pour. Drink.

Yes it sounds simple, but the magic is that James is getting to flip through the book, decide from the pictures what he'd like and see how to make that very thing, and then find that he actually is able to do it.

For more recipes, you may enjoy The Kids Corner on Mollie's website as well.
http://www.molliekatzen.com/kids.php

Lists Keeping- On Wall and Online

2009-01-04T22:58:00.006-07:00

I use lists all the time. Below you see a picture of my list wall in my craftroom. The cabinets are our old metal kitchen cabinets, so I can stick my lists to them with magnets. I used to write these types of lists in notebooks and on slips of paper, but then they'd disappear. Now I always know where to find my lists, they're visible and easy to get to. I do still keep a notebook in my purse for when I'm out and about. The napkin's just stuck up there because I kept needing reminders on how to miter a corner the other day. This is excellent for me in the craftroom because when I get going on anything creative, my brain wakes up and thinks of bunches of important little things that must be written down. Now I can just turn and write on the appropriate list and get back to work. This is particularly good for those great ideas that I just MUST stop and do now. No, no, no, stay on task and write the idea on the "Ideas To Make" list.

Also on my list wall:
-Goals For the Month
-Sewing Room Improvements
-To Look for at Bookmens (local used book shop)
-Gift Ideas
-Wish List
-Menu Plan
-Things to Ask Michael (my husband)
And on a white board not pictured-
-To Sew
-To Do Online
-To Do
-Thank You Notes

For online list keeping I've recently discovered Springpad. ♥ This is a free site dedicated to lists. They have loads of suggestions and pre-formatted lists for things like houshold management, menu planning and recipes, trip planning, and holidays. (There's a great holiday card planner on the site.) You can also make your own Springpad from scratch.

I'm loving the ability to write down my household routines, schedule them if I like (it links up with Google Calendar) and also be able to edit them easily. I can make whatever diddly little list I like and know where to find it again, search it, tag it, share it. Yay. I function much bettter when I write things down instead of trying to hold onto skittering bits of information in my often-sleep-deprived brain. Now that I can easily find my lists when I need them, I'm sure to accomplish great things. Or at least I might remember to send a card to Grandma Rose on time next year.

Wish Boats and Burning the Tree

2009-01-01T22:29:00.003-07:00

Happy New Year! This has got to be one of my very favorite family traditions- burning the Christmas tree. What a send off to the previous year, and a bright hello to things to come.

This year we also made wish boats (if you'd like to make these there's a great tutorial HERE on youtube) out of folded paper. We stood around the familiar oak table and creased and folded and laughed as we followed my mom's lead to make boats for our candles. The room got quiet as we wrote our wishes for 2009, slipping into a reflective calm as we focused on the year ahead.

Wishes inscribed, we made our way down to the pond. One by one, we lit candles and sent the wishes sailing.

Wishing you a year of wonder and connection with those you love.

A Doll Sling for James

2008-12-30T09:40:00.003-07:00

Just as with a real baby, a sling is a must for carrying around your doll.

I had to (really, I just had to!) make James the sling after we went to the library and he wanted to take his doll, but all he had for carrying was the Moses basket bed. So he lugged that thing around with his doll and two blankets draping out of it.

I have to say, either way, there are few things more satisfying in life than watching your child play with a (and love) toy you made them. So sweet.

Wishing You Yuletide Cheer

2008-12-23T22:35:00.001-07:00

Here's the doll I made for my niece, all dressed now. She wishes you all a happy holiday, good company and much cheer. We celebrated the Solstice on Sunday with a feast- lots of family, tasty food and presents. Santa came that night and brought a few more goodies. I can't wait to show you all the dolls I made for James and Leland. These dolls are fun! We're taking it easy this week, visiting with friends and family- and watching it snow and snow and snow! Best wishes to you and yours!

Yule Tradtions and Naked Dolls

2008-12-20T23:20:00.001-07:00

No- naked dolls are not the Yule tradition I wanted to show off. I'm working diligently to clothe them. Here's the doll I made for my niece keeping watch while I sew her dress. It will be done tomorrow even if I'm falling asleep in my Figgy Pudding (which IS one of our Yule Traditions.) After I get her dress done I just have to sew clothing for James' doll and I'm done- whew, just in the nick of time. Next year I am starting earlier, I swear. I'm sure I've said that every year, maybe I could predate a blog post that says "GET TO WORK ON HOLIDAY GIFTS!"anyway...

What I wanted to show off is the ornament I made for Michael. One of our holiday traditions that we started when we first got married is to make each other an ornament each year.

In April of this year we got five hens (ha! or so we thought.)As it turned out one was a rooster. As it also turned out our big black menace...err dog found chickens running around in the yard sufficient motivation to push open our screen door. So just when we were asking ourselves what we should do about the rooster- she took care of it. I learned how to pluck and butcher poultry and the resulting meal was quite tasty and well earned and this is the wishbone from the rooster with "wish" embroidered behind it. Yes it's a little odd. I think it'll make us laugh when we pull it our years from now.

OK, the doll is getting impatient. She's just staring at me. I better go finish up.

Sling Instructions- Done!

2008-12-09T14:20:00.002-07:00

I've finally finished writing out my instruction sheet for the ring-slings I've been selling. Having no instruction sheet to give out has really held me back on even wanting to sell any slings, but now finally they are DONE. Whew. One thing off my plate. Still yet to be accomplished- finish sewing gifts for Solstice.

I'm feeling a little discombobulated with the holidays approaching. I have a custom apron order to sew, dolls to finish for the kids and no decorations up yet. My husband moved his office into the back of our house a couple weeks ago and that's just been a bit odd. We're working out the kinks still. Leland is getting in molars and just screams at anything that doesn't go his way, and being that his way is the fickle way of an 18 month old, screaming happens a lot. As my grandmother would say- good thing he's cute.

Making the Holidays Meaningful

2008-12-02T13:06:00.006-07:00

We're really focusing on cutting the stress and enjoying our family this year for the holidays. The gifts we're giving are simple, handmade things like cards or baked items. We decided to make our own little family the priority then look outward. This way the neat things I've wanted to make for my husband and kids or the fun activities we want to do don't get buried at the bottom of the list. So my kids are getting mama made dolls and my husband can read, and just might read this blog, so he doesn't get to know what he's getting. A link to a really great guide that talks about avoiding the Holiday Hype came in my email today, and I thought I'd share it: Commercial Free Childhood's Holiday Guide

Thanksgiving

There's also a section on their website with lots of fun and creative ideas for Gifts in a Shoebox that you can put together possibly with things you already have. I'm thinking for my niece I'll make a shoebox kit of the Paper Dolls that James and I had so much fun decorating.

We started things off yesterday with an advent calendar- I was going to get complicated, but instead I took out the calendar that I forgot about last year and wrote little activities on the back of each flap, so when they open the flap it says things like "pancakes for breakfast" or,"make cookies."

We also swapped family advent calendars with my siblings and my mom, but I'll post about that later.

Raisin Pie Update

2008-11-29T10:06:00.003-07:00

Well- the pie below? Wrong pie. It wasn't the one my mom ate growing up. It tasted alright, even though it was very unattractive and we didn't even serve it at dinner (not like we were lacking in the dessert category anyhow.) The good news here is that when I got home, I looked at the recipe I had from my grandmother (I'd forgotten it here) and even though the one I found online looked similar, they're not the same. So I may yet be able to recreate this family favorite. For the moment though, we're rather satiated as far as pie goes so I think I'll wait a bit on that experiment. I'd post a picture of the pie I did make, but my camera's gone a little bit missing in all the Hoopla.
ETA- found the camera:

Oh- I've also decided that I just don't like that vodka pie crust recipe. I'll stick with the Cooks Illustrated (other) best pie crust instead.

Sour Cream Raisin Pie

2008-11-26T11:19:00.007-07:00

My mother has often told me about a raisin pie that she and my grandfather loved. The other night I was at my grandmother's for dinner and asked her if she thought she still had the recipe- and she did. We dug through her recipe box and eventually found a little slip of carboard from the back of a SunMaid Raisin box with a recipe for Sour Cream Raisin Pie. So I'm baking this today for Thanksgiving!
I hope it turns out well enough to evoke the memory of the pies my grandmother used to bake. I'm at my mother's and forgot my usual pie crust recipe at home so I did a search online. I like to use the best pie crust recipe from Cooks Illustrated, which I did find a version of HERE but I also have tried their recipe with Vodka in it a couple times. I'm not totally sold on it (the dough is really soft, thus sticky), but it's so interesting that I have to try one more time to see if I like it or see if I for certain DON'T like it. I'll chill it for longer than I have in the past I think... I'll let you know how the pie comes out!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Button-down Shirt Sleeve Pants

2008-11-22T10:48:00.003-07:00

Leland's got some new pants made from Papa's old shirt. I made these just like you'd make pants from a sweater, though of course, with cotton shirts there's no felting involved. Leland wears about 18 mos. clothing and I don't think you'd be able to make these much bigger than that. Well, nevermind- with MY husband's shirts I couldn't make them much bigger.I'm thinking these would be cute with a pocket on the side- maybe from the shirt front?

Really Easy Applique

2008-11-20T14:09:00.001-07:00

About a year ago I read instructions on Melissa Haworth's Blog, Under Construction, about how to applique by sewing your applique piece onto iron on interfacing. Though I left an enthusiastic comment I still didn't get around to actually trying it out until recently while decorating some bibs. When I wrote Melissa to tell her I'd finally used the idea, she told me that her new favorite way of doing applique is to just sew the piece onto another piece of that fabric, then stick it onto whatever she's decorating with a bit of wonder under if she wants to stick it on. This has become my favorite way of making little decorative patches (though I have yet to use the wonder under tip. I think that'd be quite helpful for hand applique though.) Here are my own little instructions.

James wanted to get in on all the sewing I've been doing and dug through my scraps to find this cowboy. He told me he wanted it on his stripey shirt so I created this little tutorial in case you'd like an easy way to add a bit of decoration to...anything fabric.

Cut out your image- this can be much rougher than I did in the picture.
Choose a fabric for the backing- interfacing works, a piece of the same fabric, or for this one I just chose a scrap of black fabric.
Right side to right side, sew all the way around your image. All the way, closing the gap.

Cut out right next to your sewing line. I find using pinking shears carefully works very well.
Cut a slit in the back fabric that you will turn the piece through.
Turn your piece inside out and use a finger or bonefolder to press out the seam.

Iron.

Sew onto intended item. You can hand applique, top-stitch or use your machine's applique stitch. Some patches look really cute when sewn on with a decorative stitch.
My model was none too cooperative. He's trying, in this picture, to hide the cowboy and take the camera from me, but it's the best one I got.

Another blog tutorial that was helpful is on Stitch Rip Repeat.
Thank you Melissa and Beth!

Could This Be Our Daily Bread?

2008-11-19T10:35:00.001-07:00

Last month Stefani at Blue Yonder wrote about her family's, "Daily Bread." Thank you Stefani! The recipe she posted sounded simple and tasty and I love the idea of making our own bread, but also find it somewhat intimidating. So we tried it out the other night and I'm hooked!

The boys helped out of course- though when took the dough out of the Cuisinart to knead it some by hand, neither of them were interested in touching it. We live at 7000 feet so I'm never sure how well baked goods will do, but this came out great. The only adjustment I made was to cut down the rising time the second rise. Oh, actually I substituted brown rice syrup for honey since I was out of honey. Oh, uh, I also took it out of the oven a bit early because we were HUNGRY. So this is a forgiving recipe! Next time I will let it bake longer though to get a nice crust.

After trying this recipe I got all brave and made rolls the next night. I think I could be into this homemade bread. We'll make Blue Yonder's Daily Bread again today. I may have to slow down (but not really just yet)- all this tasty bread drastically increases butter consumption!

Test Shots- Product Photos

2008-11-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

Aack! Last night I spent some time trying to get a few decent photos of things for my shop, but no. They came out all wrong. The first one- well that apron not actually 'on' someone just looks like road kill. No good. I'll have to get my sister over here and take pictures of the aprons on her.

This bib with the harsh shadow I don't like and I think I need it to be really easy to take the pictures, so probably just laying things down, not hanging them.

Which is what I did here, (not that I expected to like the look of my carpet in the photo.) I'm thinking though, with the intensity of the flash on my little digital camers, I'll have to take the pictures during daylight in a well lit place so the flash isn't necessary. It just is too bright and ruins the color. Gee, that sounds doofus-ly obvious when typed out.

Oh well, here's to getting pictures taken today and actually listing things!

Paper Doll Papas

2008-11-16T12:45:00.005-07:00

This is SO much fun to do with the small person of your choice. James chose "Special Art Time With Mama" as a reward he could earn recently and yesterday he cashed in his certificate while Leland napped. To make it special I made up a basket of supplies and brought them into his bedroom at his little table and cut out these dolls we could decorate, figuring I'd give them as an idea and then let him take the lead. It was great. I just dove in and started drawing faces and he grabbed his own and got to work.

What was most fun is was hearing him tell stories about them. His were "all Papas." One of them didn't like clothes, one liked hats and one wanted a face. Once he had a face he started demanding food and we had to make him a plate! He was so excited that I'd made them hold hands and wanted to know how I'd managed that, and then he wanted to know all about my dolls, and eventually took to helping me dress them too. After maybe 20 minutes he said, "Ok, Mama, I'm done!" and then helped clean up. We will be doing this again for sure. I left all the doll supplies together so we can grab them easily. Whether you have paper or fabric you've got to try this sometime. You never know what those Papa dolls will be up to!

Vintage Fabric Bias Tape

2008-11-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Ooh- I'm just loving this bias tape I'm making. I'm just using the Clover Bias Tape Maker (which I only got recently, and it's so much easier to make this now). The red fabric came from an antique shop in Oregon and the light green is from a friends attic. I can' wait to see it sewn up on an apron. I think this tape looks so cute, I'm thinking of making up a few yards to sell. It's the sort of thing I'd like to find. I wonder what other seamstresses think... Maybe I'll check out what other homemade bias tape goes for on Etsy.

Caledar Cover in Progress

2008-11-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a little calendar cover that can hold a calendar, a pen and a note pad for lists.

This is what I've got so far- it holds a 3x5 note pad on the right and on the left flips open to a small calendar.

Then it folds up with a flip, flip.

I was going to make it a button closure like the crayon wallets, but since it would probably be in and out of purses or pockets I think instead I'll just make a longer elastic loop that can loop around the entire thing to hold it closed. I've got to futz with the length of the fabric a bit too to make it right.

Coloring Wallets

2008-11-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

In a couple weeks my husband is moving his office into our house and the whole place has been in one big upheaval. Of course this is happening right while I'm trying to get ready for this craft fair, but oh well. Luckily my mom is making some stuff for the booth too. Also, I'm so glad I found his pattern for a coloring wallet from JC handmade.

She sells the PDF pattern in her Etsy site and it's easy to follow. These are fun to put together, she allows for you to sell what you make and my son loves his (the one shown below). Last time we went to the grocery store he told me- Don't worry mama, I have my check book! as he carried his coloring wallet to the car.

Saturday Studio Shot

2008-11-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

Sitting in my comfy chair, about to put Halloween pictures on the computer I looked across the room and liked the little collection of thread and other flotsam on top of my drawers on my sewing table.

Elephants Make Everything Taste Better

2008-10-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

Below is one of our favorite snacks- quesadilla with cookie cutters on the side in order to make animal and leaf shapes, and sometimes letters. Elephant shapes are a firm favorite and will turn nearly anything cookie-cuttable into something that will at least be tasted, and often enjoyed, when otherwise the food would have been refused.

At Jamies birthday (this was back in April, but we just pulled up the pictures again and he's STILL delighted with the elephant strawberries) I made a strawberry cake and cut little elephants out of sliced strawberries. He informed me that he wants this same decoration next year. Maybe I'll go with that, but NOT the cake I made this last year. Uck- that was terrible. I am not one who usuallly has baking flops, but this was strawberry yuck, not strawberry cake. At any rate James liked it and was thrilled witht the elephants. Much like ketchup, elephants just make everything taste better.

Art on the Walls

2008-10-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes coloring is more interesting when done in a new way, like with paper taped to the walls.

I visited a house once where the bottom half of the kids room was papered with news print so they had bedroom had walls that could be drawn on. I thought that was great, but there isn't space in the boys room. I think we'll do this again though, for what ever reason I hadn't thought before to just tape up the paper just for the art session.

Welcome Scott Jeremiah!

2008-10-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

Here's my brother with his new son

Waiting to hear more details. For now, Hooray!!!

Baking While Waiting for Baby

2008-10-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

My niece is here tonight because her mama (my brothers wife) is having a baby! We don't know if she'll have a new brother or a new sister. Well, I don't think Elizabeth's quite aware that's she'll have a new anything, but I'm sure excited. We baked mini pizzas for a fun dinner. The kids helped put on the toppings (while also helping themselves to generous handfuls of grated cheese.)

After they were cooked I think Leland is the only one who actually ate more than the toppings.

For James and Elizabeth I might as well have just left them little piles of cheese and pepperoni to eat. Oh well.

They were tasty (just italian bread with left over marinara pepperonis and bell peppers), and a fun way to pass some time this evening. Now all the kids are asleep. I just know I'm going to be waking up all night hoping for a text on my phone about the baby. !!!

A Tail of Cuddle Kitty

2008-10-24T07:30:00.001-07:00

**Note- If you 'd like to make your very own Cuddle Kitty you can find a tutorial HERE. My Sister-In-Law made CK for James last Christmas.

Last month, when we went to Oregon, we accidentally LEFT Cuddle Kitty at Grammy's house. Oh no! We hemmed and hawed at bed time for a couple nights and then told James the sad truth. Luckily, by that time, we had established CK's whereabouts and knew Grammy would be sending her home. Naturally James was concerned, seeing as how "Post men don't like to have animals in their trucks!" I reassured him that Cuddle Kitty would be traveling in, "a kitty carrier box." (AKA a shoe box....)

He asked me to draw him some pictures about what would be happening. So I drew them on the calendar showing when she'd be arriving.

Then we waited...
And waited...
And waited...

Finally the day came (three days is a pretty long time for a three year old) that Cuddle Kitty came home! She was better than ever! Grammy had even given her a new tail to replace the one that had fallen off!

James showed off her new tail for the camera.

He took Cuddle Kitty to the calendar and showed her the pictures of her journey. He wanted me to go back and draw in her new tail on all of the pictures.

Having Cuddle Kitty home was so nice he just wanted to take a nap with her, and they snuggled into bed.

The Way to Spend a Fall Day

2008-10-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

We've been hanging out with neighbors on their front drive all day. Impromptu jam session and cribbage followed a successful yardsale. This sort of spontaneous neighborly get together is one thing that makes me love where we live. Jodi there in the sunglasses, says she'll teach me guitar.

A Sick Shnoog

2008-10-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

Poor Leland, this is all he wants to do- cuddle nurse and sleep. So that's what we're doing. He's very persuasive.

Wardrobe Refashion: The Pledge

2008-10-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

I'm signing up for the six month Wardrobe Refashion Pledge. I'm not too worried about not buying any new clothes, as I made a commitment at the beginning of the year to stick to recycled and thrifted clothing, and have been able to stick to it. Now I'm excited to get into embellishing and decorating more of the kids and my wardrobe! Here's the pledge. Choose 2, 4, or 6 months. It actually starts on November first.

I Alissa pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 6 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovated, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed me.

Instead of a Snappi

2008-10-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Out of necessity I am continuing my cloth diapering creativity. With all the 'first choice' diapers in the wash, all we have left are prefold and these really big covers that require the prefold be fastened around the baby in some manner. Usually that means a Snappi, but those must have a hang out next to the missing sock pile, because we're down to one, and I can't find it lately either. Instead I wound up cutting a length of the hook side of velcro to go around Leland's back (the hook sort of helps hold onto the diaper.) Then I cut a shorter length of loop velcro to go across the front.
The system's not perfect, but in a pinch- hey, it holds on the diaper! I had to share since I was feeling a little clever about my ingenuity, but I didn't want to suffer my husband looking at me with that LOOK if I tried to explain it to him. You know that look, right?

Jeans Leg Apron

2008-10-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

Probably I should come up with a better name than, "Jeans Leg Apron." That just sounds odd. I'm happy with how these are coming out though. I had a hard enough time getting a picture of the front, so I have none of the back to show, but it goes over your shoulders and criss-crosses and then ties at the waist. I think it winds up looking flirty and fun.

Converting Pocket Dipes to Pass-Thru Pocket Dipes

2008-10-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

YAY!! No more standing over the diaper pail shaking out diaper innards from my pocket diapers! Even better, no more having to fish them out with my fingers if they're being stubborn. I am not squeemish, but still, I am not so fond of standing over a dirty diaper pail.

Well, now I've solved my problem. I'd seen pocket diapers online that have an opening at each end so the insert just comes out in the wash. I've sewn a few of these even, and they work great. But I already had a collection of only-one-end-opening diapers and figured I just had to deal with those. I didn't want to spend the time to make a whole new diaper stash. Then the other day it occurred to me that it would be really easy to just make a second opening in the dipes I already have and sure enough it IS super easy and it works! Now I can just toss these in the wash without removing the insert and they wash up just fine. Here's what I did (I have some dipes with a front opening and some with a back opening, I think most diapers have the back opening, so I'll show that):

First I sewed down the fleece across the front. ( In my diaper shown it was not already top stitched and I didn't want the inner fabric popping up out once it was cut.) I just sewed across the velcro strip. If it had snaps I think I would have sewn it down below the snaps line.

Then I snipped open about a 5 inch cut just below the stitching line. Fleece won't unravel so I didn't have to finish this edge. I was feeling paranoid about all the washing these get though, so to help the strength I zigzagged back and forth at each end of the cut, just to reinforce where it might get the most tugging.

And there you have it. Done. It looked just the same as before once I had it on him.

Here's one that has a front opening. For this I had to stretch out the elastic in the back as I sewed down the fleece. Other than that the process was just the same. You can see in this picture where I reinforced the opening with zigzags- that thicker stitching at each end of the stitched line.

If you have any questions just leave a comment and I'll answer them in the comment section!

Last of Summer's Treasures

2008-10-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

We've had our first freeze and have said goodbuy to our garden until next year. This summer was very sweet because each time we'd pick a tomato James would exclaim, "Oh! The FIRST Tomato!!" Not accurate exactly, but the enthusiasm was wonderful.

James

Leland

Cute Cuffs

2008-10-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

We, in this family, have no claim to height. But if we're gonna have to shorten everything it might as well be cute right?

Digger Pants for James

I really like the way the cement mixer looks on the back of the one leg.

I get to walk with the fishes.

Must. Sew. For Craft Show.

2008-10-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

One 10 x 10 craft booth, one mom of small children, one sewing machine...lots and lots of fabric and luckily one babysitter. But I've only got her one morning per week! I am doing a craft fair in November and I really have nearly nothing ready for it. The good thing is having to sew enough for the booth will allow me to stock an Etsy site, which I've been wanting to do for a long time. The trick is fitting in time to sew. I wind up with time at night, but eventually my brain just starts shutting down. During the day James always wants to press the pedal for me- an adventure in sewing when the three year old is controlling the speed. I'll post more photos as I sew thing up. I'm really glad to have this little push to sew sew sew- and I better go do more of just that!

Autumn Clean Out

2008-09-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

With Fall here I feel a pull to turn inward a bit and prepare for Winter. We're in total purge mode- selling and giving away things like mad. My house isn't horrible, but it needs better base organization and we still have too much STUFF. I'm ready to be living in a home that supports my life, rather than hinders it.

I'm thinking that I'd like to have a goal to be done cleaning out by Halloween, working through my whole house room by room. I've started with the kitchen and am working through it (clockwise so I know where to go next) cleaning out and also keeping a list of what storage items I might need so I can be keeping an eye out for the right container for the job.

This is how James sees me in the kitchen. Hmmm.

Play food Swap Goodies!

2008-08-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

What fun! Yesterday I received my box of play food goodies from a swap on Sewing Mamas-
Those talented Mamas sent me: a basket of strawberries, a sack lunch with a sandwich, cookie and even a banana that come out of the peel, a bag of pasta and a cannoli, a pita, and bacon and eggs. Breakfast, lunch, dinner- even dessert and snacks!

Here's a picture of the Pizzas I sent out (yeah, I took it with my cell phone shortly before dropping them in the mail.)

Now I've got to make a pizza for James (all I have here are wonky experimental ones :D ) I'm tucking away the loot to give at Yule.

Sewing Room Labels

2008-08-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

I'm (ahem, finally) getting things labeled in my sewing room.

I've just got to get more organized in here so I can use the little snippets of time I get between fixing snacks, changing diapers, and running cat/chicken/dog/boy interference.

And (lest you be fooled by my closely cropped little tags)- to be conquered this evening:

Gathering Momentum

2008-08-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

When confronted with an availability of time I often feel lost, unsure of everything except the fact that I will make a mistake. This feeling is paralyzing, and often, instead of sitting with the discomfort, I fill the time with things that are unimportant to me, things that make me busy again. Things I can use as excuses- oh, I would make something, but I've got XYZ going on. These things keep me from creating the life I'd like because they suck away that empty time. Some of these things LOOK valid from the outside, like volunteering or babysitting, but they don't truly reflect who I am, or who I'd like to become. They are not bad things to do, but are bad when done just to keep me from facing myself.

The thing is, it's really scary to take your life into your own hands and give a try at doing what you really want to do. What if I try and fail? What if I go out and do the things I think I'll like and it turns out I don't like them? What then? Dreams are so much safer up on a shelf in shiny packaging where they can't get dragged through the dirt and muck of everyday life. It's so much easier to fill that time and bemoan my cluttered house and lack of creative life than it is to jump in and risk ruining the shiny dream on the shelf.

So here is my collage to that effect. This collage says, go ahead, give it a try, make your life your own, and make it look and feel the way you'd like. Make the first mistake and get it out of your of the way, you know it'll be so much easier once you've broken this stand still and have got some momentum going...

"All that is needed to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: act as if it were impossible to fail." ~Dorthea Brande, Writer

Striving for Balance

2008-08-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Of course I am- what mom isn't working at keeping a balance between life for self and life for others?

I just got back from a weeks vacation and I feel like I'm at a starting point, or rather a re-starting point. Rebirth, renew, reemergence. So I am questioning things like- blogging and computer time, childcare (or lack thereof), sewing time and time for other creative persuits, making money from my sewing... Just trying to find the shape of things. Trying to make my life the shape I want it to be.

I'll have to think more on whether I want to continue to begin this blog (that's what I feel I'm doing- still beginning) Maybe I just need to find more of a direction for it, or get more comfortable with writing more on it. I don't know. Anyhow, I may be quiet for a while.

Thinking.

Aprons For My Assistant

2008-08-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

First there was only this- Funky, yes (and I think pretty fun), but a boy needs an apron and using one of Mama's half aprons tied all intricately is just not as great as...

The Wonderful TRAIN apron that Grammy sewed! And it matches Mamas. Too cool.

I Love My...

2008-07-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

Silicone Baking Cups.

They are basically non-stick, they're reusable and I don't have to deal with cleaning out the muffin tins. Hooray! Now I need to get about 12 more, but in what color?....hmmm...

My Gentleman

2008-07-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

Holding the "combrehwla" for Mama

Being as how James is an Arizona child umbrellas are... pretty novel. He's loving Monsoons this year and wants to get the umbrella out at the slightest hint of rain. Notice I say the umbrella- singular. Yeah, we had two, but the only umbrellas we own are ones that have come free (with luggage I think...?) and are fairly cheap. The other one bit the dust. This one does alright for keeping rain off of one small boy. I'd do terribly living somewhere like Seattle. Rain makes me feel like I have to stay inside and not do anything, except maybe bake.

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong

2008-07-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

Oh the perils of having small children in a sewing room!

SO disconcerting to see this view of my sewing machine. Do you know why it's upside down?

So I could extract the seven pins that were stuck into it while I wasn't paying attention!

I am SO glad I was able to do this myself without having to bring it to the repair shop! I'm thinking I need to keep a closer eye on things in there...

You know You're a Mom When...

2008-07-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

You microwave your coffee twice...

Only to pour it down the drain that afternoon.

Clean Plate & A Glazed Cake

2008-07-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

To glaze the cake and keep the cake plate clean I tore strips of parchment paper and placed them in a square on the cake plate before putting the cake on. Then poured the glaze on and spread it down the sides. I let it harden a bit before gently sliding out that paper bits leaving...

A nice clean plate.

Happy Birthday Bumble Bee!

2008-07-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

Happy first birthday to my sweet Leland boy.

Ladybug Wings

2008-07-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

Lady bugs have two hard wings, and two soft wings underneath.

I made our top wings from felt I had around and the bottom wings from plastic bags. I would have sewn them all together, but *someone* (small and blonde about 1.5 yrs) filled my sewing machine with pins while I was distracted cutting out dots with the James boy. So instead I stapled them together onto the remnants of a sweater sleeve (the sleeves we have seen before) that I'd cut a hole in so that the wings fit on like little vests on the kids.

Went camping...Forgot shoes for my kid

2008-07-06T21:27:00.001-07:00

But it was OK-

because me and duct tape are likethis.

Why is my three year old still awake?

2008-07-03T21:52:00.001-07:00

No this is not a real creative post. It's nearly 10pm-what's up with this guy tonight?!

Busy Bees

2008-07-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

Our whole family's been into bees lately. Michael wants to have a backyard beehive, which I was not too keen on until a couple weeks ago when we saw Silence of the Bees on PBS. Wow- these creatures are amazing! Fully one THIRD of the food in the US relies on bees for pollination. I had no idea. And, for a number of known and unknown reasons bees are disappearing, so having a hive would be good. Also, I like honey. Anyhow- James is interested in them too so we've been reading about bees and the other day made the bee below out of a toilet paper tube, an old envelope and a magazine, pipe cleaners and glue. I am really having fun making things with James now that he's getting old enough to get into it.

Creative Goals

2008-07-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

For the next six months:
July
Get back into my sewing room!-Make a first birthday present for Leland, make a fun cake, make and send play food for swap, organize in sewing room, play more

August
Harvest time- Learn to can tomatoes, Prep and freeze other veggies, Consider what I want to make for Yule & make a plan & get together supplies, sew something for myself

September
Sew for Michael & the Kids-What exactly is TBD

October
Sewing gifts

November
Thanksgiving- Make and prepare to send holiday cards, Finish gift sewing, wrap gifts

December
Holiday time- bake with the kids, make ornaments and decorations for fun

No More Splinters

2008-06-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

One kids picnic table

One vinyl table cloth and a staple gun...

And, Ta Da!

No more splinters, and easy clean up. Yay.

High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-05-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

This is a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies if you live at high altitude. We're at 7000' and most cookie recipes turn out flat and crispy here. This one makes nice soft cookies. The original recipe calls for 2/3 C butter, but I use only 1/2 C and it's fine. Also I usually use all whole wheat flour.

And, uh, just as a warning, recent experience tells me that if you eat too much raw cookie dough, though it will radically fulfil your need for a sugar fix, it will make the baked cookies sadly-not-as-appealing.

High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pre-heat oven to 375f

1/2 C Butter
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 3/4 C Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
Chocolate Chips
Nuts (optional)

Beat together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a seperate bowl combine flour baking soda and salt. Blend dry ingredients with wet and add in chocolate chip (and nuts if you're adding them). Form balls of dough about two inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Make coffee.
Enjoy!

Happy Bread

2008-05-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

I left bread to rise and when I got home I found it smiling at me! Nice Husby.

We live at 7000' elevation so baking can be wonky. I'm a total novice when it comes to bread baking, but this high altitude bread recipe came out alright. In fact I have no pictures of the finished bread because it was gobbled up before I remembered. I've been in a slump (with the whole Big Organizing Goal and yet still teething baby and fast-growing-up-and-needing-moms-help-to-do-so three year old. You know.) So what do I do when I have no solutions and don't know what to do? Usually...I bake something, and truly as I was smelling fresh baked bread things just started to turn in my favor again, or it smelt that way. The bread was a bit dense and benefited greatly from the slathering on of butter (but then what doesn't?) The best part though, was that James invited me into his secret fort to eat some with him while Leland napped, and we sat in the tiny cozy interior and ate warm bread with jam and butter together and whispered about how we loved it.

Menu Planning for the Sleep Deprived

2008-05-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit (a bit- hahahaha, more than a bit) tired today. Did NOT want to up and go to the grocery store. So I was very pleased to find out about this site today: SuperCook (thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom) In no time I had over 1000 recipes available to me that I can make from what I've got on hand; I'm making Inside out Ravioli tonight.

No Grumps in the Kitchen

2008-04-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today around five pm I was trying to pry clinging crying kids off my legs, rumbling and bumbling about making dinner, about to turn into the Mama-I-don't-like-very-much and instead (yay! Thank you brain for still working just a little even through sleep deprivation and teething baby care.) *bing* I realized I could change the situation. I stood the (protesting) three year old on a chair and told him he would be cooking dinner with me, "and you can crack the egg!!" Sidestepping the still sniveling grump crawling around on the floor, I put a bowl and Ricotta out, handed whining boy a spoon, and told him to put all the cheese into the bowl- he quieted down as now he had A Job To Do. I swooped up the grumpaluffagus and calmed him with the magic of Mama snuggles and cheerios. Since his older brother was no longer howling, he was willing to sit peacefully for a while in his chair at the counter. Whew, quiet, a chance to calm my own self down- and feel happy making dinner with my boys. I love it when I am actually able to put on the brakes and make a complete turn around. This turned into a lovely evening. Oh, dinner by the way was a lasagna-ish casserole, always a nice sort of dish because it makes for left-overs and an easy lunch the next day.

No-sew Baby Leg Warmers

2008-04-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling clever about my real quick leg warmers for Leland. They're just the sleeves cut off of a sweater I was going to get rid of. Instead the sweater is now a (kind of ratty) tank top, and Leland has warm leggies when he's in the Ergo.

Celebrating Spring Activities

2008-03-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

My hard drive is shot, so computer is catch as catch can for now!

We're happily celebrating the arrival of SPRING. I'm just doing a little activity each day with James. Well, Leland is here too, but not participating in quite the same way.

For the week:

Monday- Leave out fuzz and yarn bits for the birds to pick up and make cozy nests.
Tuesday- Make Angel Food Cake and save the shell from all those eggs (12 egg whites!) to make these really neat candles
Wednesday- Use a few of the cleaned out shells for flower vases.
Thursday- Dye eggs, Celebrate the equinox with a big dinner and family.
Friday- Egg hunt
Saturday- Dinner at a friends house
Sunday- Renaissance Festival

Makin' Menus

2008-03-03T08:42:00.000-07:00

Most Mondays James visits his Grandma for a couple hours in the evenings, giving Michael and I a chance to do some planning (funny how with two kids, if we just have the baby with us it feels almost like kid-free time). Anyhow, I always forget to plan something easy so I don't have to focus on dinner, but this week I already have the soup and the cooked ham in the fridge, so dinner tonight should work well.

Monday- Pumpkin soup, Ham Slices, Cut up veggies
Tuesday- Quiche, Salad
Wednesday- Roast Chicken, Salad, Potatoes
Thursday- Chicken Eggplant Tomato Stuff, Rice
Friday- Chicken Soup
Saturday- Pork chops, apples, green beans, Rice
Sunday- BBQ Chicken Pizza, cut up veggies

Breakfasts- Banana Muffins, Oatmeal, Cereal, Egg veggie scramble, Dutch Baby on Sunday
Lunches- Left-overs, Tuna Salad sandwiches, Salad with Chicken on top
Snacks- Celery w/peanut butter, Yogurt with jam, fruit

Other Tasks- Make Yogurt (Organic milk is on sale this week) Bake muffins, Friday make a lasagna to parcel out and send to work with M.

Cough gasp sputter wheeze

2008-02-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

That's my immune system trying to get rid of evil clinging germies. I think we're all finally close to being healthy again. We all got some form of the flu and passed it around and kept each other up at night coughing. So all I've been up to is trying to keep thing running on very little sleep and a sore throat. But I think that's all really going away now. Good thing too because when I have days and days of no energy my temper gets real short and the kids get real crabby and bored with their cranky-pants-pulled-up to-her-armpits mama; it doesn't make for a good cycle. So off to bed with me.

2008-02-14T22:40:00.001-07:00

My sister in law came over today with my niece and we baked Valentines Cookies together. I'm so happy to find a roll out cookie recipe I like, because I have a mob of cookie cutters (a herd?) and yet can't stand sugar cookies. Really when I'm making cookies I want them to be chocolate chip, but those won't work so well with the cutters. Anyhow, the following recipe is pretty tasty and as an added bonus there are no eggs in it- perhaps a good thing when the 16 month old is eating her share raw.

(From My Big Back Yard Magazine)

Heart-y Cookies- preheat oven to 350F

1 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Flour
1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda (I live at high altitude and used a tiny smidge less than this)
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
4 Tablespoons Melted Butter
1/3 Cup Milk

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add sugar, Butter and Milk and mix well. Form dough into a ball and refrigerate for an hour (or we made it into two disks and froze it for about 15 minutes). Roll out dough 'til it's about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out your cookies and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool before decorating.

James and his cousin Elizabeth taking a little break from eating the cookie toppings.

Leland after he (Doh! Gahhk! Yeuhhhk! Bleck!) tried a Strawberry.

Butterfly, Cat, Dog, Caterpillar or Bug, Fish?, and Heart

Heart and Arrow Valentines

2008-02-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased with these- they may get to the recipients a bit late, but they're darn cute. I wrote instructions for making them, just click on the picture below.

Valentines

Menus

2008-02-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

ETA- Husby quite sick all week. Plans pretty much went out the window.

Leland wasn't able to tolerate me eating dairy for about the first six months of his life (the dairy proteins pass into the breast milk and can be hard for some babies to digest). Now it doesn't seem to be affecting him so much; I feel like I have a whole new world of foods available again. I am happy he showed me I can live without dairy though- that stretched my cooking in a good way.

Monday- ~~Chicken breast with sauteed onions, mashed cauliflower, cut up avocado (never did make that soup, or the cauliflower)~~ Onion Soup
Tuesday- ~~Bacon wrapped pork chops broccoli, rice~~ more Soup
Wednesday-Roast whole chicken, salad, rice
Thursday- ~~Dinner at brother's house, or~~ left overs
Friday- ~~Salad with sliced chicken~~ left overs
Saturday~~-BBQ chicken pizza, sliced veggies~~ Chicken Enchiladas
Sunday-~~Baked Manicotti- Husby saw them make this and has been requesting it, might be fun to make together. Also Salad~~ Took the kids and had dinner at my Grandma's

Breakfasts- Breakfast sandwiches with bacon, cereal, yogurt with jam, eggs and toast

Lunches and snacks- Leftovers- from this week and from the freezer, veggies with dip, fruit, crackers and cheese, PB&J on tortillas

Other food related tasks- Seriously, I'm gonna make that pie. Meat for this week is defrosting already, Check with Sister-in-law about Thursday, Figure out what I need for the Manicotti

Menus for this week

2008-02-04T10:08:00.001-07:00

Monday- ~~Ham, Potatoes, Salad~~ Totally forgot about the ham until way too late, ate frozen pizza with ham and pineapple instead
Tuesday-~~Savory Bread pudding, "Mashed" Cauliflower~~ (Forgot the ham again) Brats, Apples, Salad
Wednesday-~~Brats, Apples, Broccoli~~ Ham, Potatoes, Apples
Thursday-~~Quiche~~ Left over Ham and whatnot
Friday- Dinner at friends house
Saturday-~~French Onion soup~~ Dinner at Mom's house
Sunday-~~Roast Chicken, Something green~~ Things from the freezer

Breaskfasts- Cereal, Eggs, Yogurt & Jam ETA: and Breakfast Sandwiches, mmmm

Lunches and Snacks- Sandwiches, Quesadillas, Left-overs ETA: Also celery with peanut butter. alot...may wish to think up new snack ideas before we all tire of this one.

Other Food related Tasks- Must bake that pie that I owe Husby, Defrost Chicken midweek, prepare for roasting on Saturday using Cooks Illustrated directions ETA: Note that none of this happened. M. probably thinks I will never bake the pie. I will have to bake it and write a blog entry about why it is that I owe him this pie in the first place.

That which is haunting me

2008-01-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

Window seat cushions. I NEED to get these done and out of my sewing room. Look at them there. Just sitting there all mashed together, not getting sewn, threatening to take over the whole room...must. sew. cushions.

Morning Snacks

2008-01-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

Crackers and cheese, sliced apple, and hidden under the cracker cup, a wrapped chocolate.

We are really working at eating out less- not so much a problem for me, but Michael is at work all day, often on the road. His day goes much better (and healthier) if he brings food from home. I used to feel too pressured and wierd about packing food for him- (He's a grown up can't he take care of himself?) Eventually I realized that, yes, he can take care of himself, and he will, but he will eat better and cheaper if I pack lunches or snacks for him. So I don't HAVE to do it, but it is one way I can say, "I love you." in a tangible way.

For this snack I thought it would be a nice little surprise for him to find the chocolate, but before he left James picked up the container, saw the chocolate through the bottom and said, "Oh Papa, you need to get this open and so then you can eat that chocolate!! Mama is there chocolate in there?!"
Oh well.

Free really fun graphics from Full Moon Graphics

2008-01-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is part of a great set of graphics called kitty cooks from Kitty at Full Moon Graphics. So many other fun graphic and font goodies await you there!

Monday Menus

2008-01-21T11:43:00.001-07:00

Monday- Winter Squash Chowder, Crackers, Salad
Tuesday-Asian Stir-fry, Rice
Wednesday- Whole Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Salad
Thursday- Calabacitas, Tortillas
Friday- Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce, Garlic Bread, Salad
Saturday-Chicken Fajitas, Avocado (if on sale)
Sunday- Beef Pot Roast, Veggies, Steamed Broccoli

Breakfasts- Dutch Baby one day on Weekend, Cereal, Eggs, Pumpkin Pie!
Lunches- Left Overs, Turkey Sandwiches (early in the weeks from same turkey as Asian Cx dinner)Chicken roll-ups
Snacks- Hard Boiled Eggs, Apples, Bananas, PB&J
Other Food Related Tasks- Make stock from Chicken carcass, Bake Pumpkin Pie to pay off bet.

Not-Very-Good Brownies

2008-01-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

I have been sick the last few days and have done nothing useful. Two days ago I baked brownies that turned out to be a bit too cakey and overall pretty unimpressive. But since they've been around, and I've been feeling crummy all I've been doing is eating not-very-good brownies and sluggishly taking care of the kids. I know eating brownies is not the best thing to do when you're sick, but, well...they're here. This tells me a couple things:

I need to find a better brownie recipe.
Maybe I ought to realize I have no chocolate self control and make only a half batch?
MAYBE making chicken soup would be a better choice next time I'm starting to feel a cold coming on.
Maybe I shouldn't alter the recipe and should have all ingredients on hand if I want something to come out well. But hey, I can at least say that this recipe is too cakey dry and bland if you do not add the chocolate chips, only have 1/2 C of walnuts and replace 2 oz of unsweetened chocolate with 6 oz cocoa powder and a tablespoon of butter. ::shrug::

Come by for some muffins and...

2008-01-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here's how I looked when I served muffins this morning...

hee hee- NO,

of course not. Actually I was still in my PJs with unbrushed hair when Husby unexpectedly dropped back by the house with a work colleague, and when I turned towards Jamie saying, "and this is our son James." I had to add, "Oh, who has peed all over his step stool." As James stood there in that awkward wet underpants pose. Seems I forgot to get him to the potty this morning.

Menus for the Week

2008-01-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm dragging a bit today, but I want to at least get this weeks menus planned. I plan on putting these up on the blog for the next month so I can look back on them for future inspiration:

Monday- Meat Loaf, Peas with butter, Rolls went out for dinner while Kids #1 was at Grandmas
Tuesday- Chicken & Veggie Curry, Rice
Wednesday- Burgers, Rice & Salad cut up veggies
Thursday- Pork Loin, Butternut Squash, Broccoli peas in butter & bread
Friday-Chicken Enchiladas, Salad Left-overs
Saturday-Green Chili Pork, Tortillas, Cut up Veggies Pesto Chicken, Salad
Sunday- Spaghetti Squash with Marinara Sauce ( made with 1/2 that pre-cooked turkey breast I have in the freezer, reserve other half for Asian stir fry next week), Garlic Bread, Salad Green Chili Chicken, Cornmeal Spoon Bread

Breakfasts- Cereal, Eggs, Bacon on one weekend day
Lunches- Left Overs, Sliced Chicken Sandwiches
Snacks- Need to eat more veggie/ fruit snacks this week: Apples or celery with peanut butter, banana rolled in nuts ( want to try crushed sunflower seeds) bell pepper with hummus, just plain veggies and fruit, etc.

Alright now I just need to put a few things on my grocery list. Well, that and actually go grocery shopping, and cook the meals and so on. But making the menus is a big help for me, the week just goes better if I've planned our meals.

Pumpkin Cakies

2008-01-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last night I was going to make pumpkin pie without the shell and got a bit carried away singing about "pumkin custard cups" to Jamie and somehow the thing I was singing about turned into pumpkin cakies (maybe it was rhyming better with making...?) Anyhow, James got all excited about cakies, so we changed to making these from a recipe in my old Betty Crocker cook book. This is the first time I've used any shapes silicon baking cups and they came out very nicely. I sprayed them with a shot of Pam type baking spray, and had no trouble getting the muffins, errr- cakies out.

By the way. These muffin cups came from the dollar section at Target and they were all connected together like a muffin tray, but I wanted to be able to use them as a cup in Husby's lunches as well so I just cut around them. I'm so pleased at their usefulness. Now I want to get some in other shapes for other seasons.

And what better way to enjoy a cakie than in a giant cardboard box with your Papa?

Lunch for the Road

2008-01-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Chicken and avocado sandwich, cheese and crackers, broccoli florets, and a little chocolate.

Husby is on the road all day today so I wanted to pack him something so he wouldn't wind up eating fast food. I like it when I can pack him a tasty lunch for work, but I don't always manage to do it. One of my goals for this year is to make more of these- packing lunches is fun and feels like sending a little love note when I try to make them attractive. It turns something mundane into something creative- not that the lunch above is all that attractive, but it IS packed nicely together.

Advent Calendar

2007-11-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about this advent calendar that my sister and brother, our respective spouses and I (quite the group effort) have put together for my mom. We're celebrating on the Solstice so I sewed all these little bags, and we made 21 little packages. We put in things like chocolates, coffee, buttons, ribbon and little objects for these neat found-object art pieces my mom makes. Also a cute spoon rest, ear rings my sister made, and for day 21... drum roll.....a framed picture of the three of us kids.