sewing for the home.

i always do this.
before i sew, i make a page of all the ideas i've collected and print it out.
i like to have these idea sheets near me as i sew...
so i can modify and copy.
i need to get busy... only 2 more weeks with my kids in school all day.
perhaps the professor will make dinner?

good times... together

Saturday Night Football... The last couple of weeks we've watched Tech WIN!! So FUN! On our way home from Soccer games, we've stopped at the store and let the kids each pick one thing for our football party. (I don't even care if it is a balance meal or a healthy meal... Oh, I've come a long way baby.) --good times at the store (drew- Sprite, jakob- egg rolls, anna- nachos, ellie- avacado and pigs in a blanket) --good times at home preparing, each kid makes their own food to share (or, they take an hour showering and getting on pjs so we just make it for them) --good times watching the game (at least till half-time when Yo Momma is done telling the kids to sit down and watch... and announces- BED TIME!) Jakob's fleece blanket... Texas Tech on one side, and Texas Longhorns on the other... --good time shopping for fabric together (read about it here) --good time cutting it (4 inch long strips about every inch along the edges and a 4inx4in square cut out of the corner) and tying the edges with the whole family on Sunday afternoon --good that he remembers how much his mom loves him every night when he cuddles up $4.99 kit for fake nails --good times anticipating our nail salon day (Sunday after church and before mom's nap) --good times putting them on (actually they were annoying to apply until I started putting the sticky stuff on the fake nail, not on the girls' nails) --good times playing all Sunday with the fake nails (well, sort of. there were some tears when the nails began to fall off... i explained that these were toys for dress-up and that even if they didn't fall off before school i would make them take them off... once expectations were minimized the girls had a blast.) Game Time with Dad...

I've heard it said that one of the main responsibilities of a father is teaching their children how to play. The Professor is really good at that. He has the patience of a saint during Sunday afternoon game-time (while yo momma is napping). Some may have wondered if the Professor enjoys the actual process of playing games with his young or if he merely enjoys the fact that he always wins... hmmm. [The Professor insists that Jakob won the game pictured... that's probably why he wanted it photographed, he does let them win every now and then.] Bubble Bath time!!

We don't do this often because its not so good for little bums... but, it is SO fun when Anna is at a soccer party and the boys are at Pack Meeting and we need a quick idea for the little girls. I use Palmolive dish soap-- you can use kid shampoo, but if the kids see you do that they will make bubble baths any time you leave them alone in the bathroom. Not that we would ever leave them alone in the tub... AND, remember to wash their hair first so that when (yes, when not if) they start splashing and making a mess you can just grab them out for... BED TIME! Cooking with Phyllo dough...

I just bought this dough in the freezer section and printed out a recipe for Spanakopita and Baklava... Todd and I loved the spinach one, the kids not so much. But, they all had good times helping me put it together. So fun...

The Professor LOVES when I cook him international recipes!?!

Yo Momma: "What do you want for dinner this week honey?"

The Professor: "Have you ever wanted to learn how to cook Indian food?"

Yo Momma: pause. "NO." pause.

Yo Momma: "The correct answer would have been, how about grilled cheese and tomato soup like we have every week... Minus 10 points."

a saturday for goals...

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i had the kids each write 3 goals today... it could be anything from make cookies or write a song, to read a book or clean a window... their goals could not include playing gameboys or playing with friends...

this made for a fun day... we made sugar crystals (hopefully- they are still "growing"), sewed beanbags (the boys bragging about how fast they could sew by themselves on my machine), made a princess/dress-up tutu (the wedding veil had to be postponed to a later date)... and we got a pattern off the internet for a stuffed bird (Ellie spent over an hour stuffing the bird and sewing the tail closed). poor todd spent the whole day in the library.

i asked jakob if he learned anything accomplishing his goals... he said, "Yeah, i can make a beanbag by myself now." i asked him how that could help him and we discussed the possibility that he may one day find himself on a mission where little kids don't have any toys-- he would be able to sew them beanbags... i'm not sure that this could ever really happen, but hopefully they each learned something during this day of goals and random projects...

"wicked" window fun...

this was a surprisingly fun and time consuming project for the kids...

even my boys said that they were "wicked" (which means really cool)...

Thank You Wal-mart for another productive afternoon...

applique anyone?...

ok... todd just asked me if i was planning on going to bed anytime soon... you do realize that tomorrow is my last day of infusions (i've already had 4 iv's full of pure iron) so i am tanked up and flying high... (corrie, i thought of you when i saw these cute trees)

Check out this store-- Cocoon Couture... there is adorable stuff to buy if you have money. And, if you don't there are some really cute fabric animals that would be so fun to copy onto a quilt or two... isn't that the cutest owl?

ahh, so many projects... so little time... (too many kids??)...

cute blocks...

todd's cute cousin Jilene made these blocks for her little guy, Eli... cute huh?!
then i found these eric carle cute blocks and thought--

wouldn't this be the cutest baby gift ever?

you could just cut up an old book and give some lucky rascal the cutest blocks in the world...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRp3Q0xe9zo this is a link for the video on Martha of how to make cute scrapbook blocks... One girl who sells kits for them has a blog-- hiccup inc.

oh the possibilities... modge podge is so much fun...

mentos and POP!!...

DOESN'T THIS LOOK LIKE A MARVELOUS MESS?

Let's make Mento's Geysers
This activity is probably best done outside in the middle of an abandoned field, or better yet, on a huge lawn.

Carefully open the bottle of soda. Position the bottle on the ground so that it will not tip over.


Unwrap the whole roll of Mentos. The goal is to drop all of the Mentos into the bottle of soda at the same time (which is trickier than it looks). One method for doing this is to roll a piece of paper into a tube just big enough to hold the loose Mentos. You'll want to be able to position the tube directly over the mouth of the bottle so that all of the candies drop into the bottle at the same time.


Don't drop them into the bottle just yet! Warn the spectators to stand back. Okay, you're going to drop all of the Mentos into the bottle at the same time and then get truckin' (move out of the way... so long... bye- bye... hasta la vista!)
It's just like fireworks on the 4th of July. The spectators erupt, of course, in a chorus of ooohs and ahhhs. Someone yells out, "Do it again" and you do.


How does it work? you'll have to ask Steve Spangler... i just know it looks like a mess of a great time... my boys are going to die when i show them this... yeah- this is how i win mother of the year... :) (after they tell me i'm the worst mom in the world for making them READ instead of play Gameboy all day)

bubbles of fun...

my friend sent me this link... http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/... it's a REALLY fun site for cool science projects.

Here is a recipe for the best bubbles ever, we are seriously going to have some bubble fun next week... they have a video where they show kids playing with a baby pool full of bubbles... it looks like hours of fun... i tried to copy it onto this blog but couldn't figure it out... you should really try to watch it-- so FUN!! oh-- and a bubble tip- steve says the best bubbles are made the night before...

Super Bubbles

1 cup distilled water

2 Tb. Dawn

1 Tb. Glycerin

kid paint projects...

isn't this adorable? i like a project that can take a long time, can be done with children, and ends up looking cute... since i don't know how to program in the words to link... here is the real link...
http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2008/06/modern-art-mast.html
have fun and let your kids make a big mess for me!!

We LOVE Crayola Crayons...

Yeah, we made these! Can I tell you how many broken crayons came out of the kids' backpacks? I've always wanted to make Chubby Crayons and today, we did it.
STEP ONE- Peel and break the crayons into small pieces. Add 1/4 teaspoon of vegetable oil to each container.
STEP TWO- Melt for about 8 minutes in the oven on 275*.
STEP THREE- Wait for them to cool and the seriously just POP! right out of the tin. (Don't get nervous... just wait till they are completely cool...)

So Fun!! This was a great hour long project that just made a fun end to our school stuff organization.