Coloring Wallets

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

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

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

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!

Here's my brother with his new son

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

Baking While Waiting for Baby

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

**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.