Stuck in the House 'Ness

I have been holed up in the house (too cold, too cloudy, too snowy). So here's what we've been up to!

I have been dying to use my new Cricut, so here's my first project:

Old Salvation Army frame -

Turned learning board for the kids!

From Untitled Album

I put the vinyl behind the glass so it wouldn't get destroyed every time a dry erase went on top of the words. It was very time intensive, but something I'd been meaning to make for a long time. I should have also added "Number," but who needs numbers?



N has discovered the stairs... Here he is in action.



He also enjoys playing with his carseat.




Tyler got N a Johnny Jumper. I don't think this is exactly what it was meant for, but he likes it.





Violet has an amazing talent for falling asleep wherever she is, no matter what is going on around her. Nothing ever changes around here.

Happy Earth Day

I was totally bummed because our Earth Day plans fell through when I discovered the Expo we were going to was on Sunday, not actually Earth Day. So I had to come up with some alternate activities.

First we learned about the earth and undertook the #1 messiest craft we have ever done. We shaved crayons on a grater in blue and green. The shavings got everywhere and somehow got a little static cling.



We used an earth template, overlayed it with freezer paper, and sprinkled the shavings on the blue and green parts of the earth. I then covered the shavings with another layer of freezer paper and melted them with the iron on low. This part was relatively easy. We should have done some more shavings so it was a little thicker, but it turned out really pretty.




Then we ventured into our next craft: learning about picking up trash and making trash collection boxes. We just painted boxes with tempra, let them dry and then ventured outside to the park. We filled all 3 boxes relatively easy.

Ava was really into it. Violet not so much.



Our findings included: a quarter (it pays to recycle! :), a pair of baby shoes, baby toys and a garter. We then played at the park for a bit. The sun is so amazing. I love it!! We've gone to the park every day. Sand seems to be the only thing that entertains my kids for a long period of time.

Although I've never been particularly into earth day, I was horrified a few weeks ago when Ava was throwing trash out the car window. I'm sure whoever was behind us thought we were terrible parents... This spurred our lesson on the earth and trash pickup. It was also nice to read about the creation and tie that into our activities.

Cute craft and more updates

Here is the little Ikea table I painted a couple weeks ago. Super easy. It can also be done on a canvas. How I did it is below:



1. Get craft paint from Joanne's or Michael's. Make sure you get a clear coat too.
2. Measure surface and mark light guidelines for lines (they may show, so the lighter, and less lines the better)
3. Paint. It may take several coats. I had to cover up marker and paint, and in the end it didn't cover all the way, but good enough. My lines aren't perfect either.
4. Print word(s) you want off the computer. Use any font you want. Make sure it is the exact size you want too.
5. On the back side of the word(s) you printed, color heavily in pencil. Do several "layers." This is a cheap, easy substitute for graphite paper. Only do behind where your word is printed.
6. Lay on surface exactly where you want letters to occur graphite side down. Tape so paper doesn't move. (although I didn't do this. I just eyeballed it)
7. Trace letters on printed side with pen or pencil
8. Lift off paper.
9. Color tracing with black sharpie. This is MUCH easier, and more accurate than painting.
10. Use clearcoat of paint to cover entire surface.

Enjoy!


This is Ava's shopping cart. She certainly loves her "stuff." She always has bags, pillows, blankets, purses, papers, little toys, big toys, etc all crammed in it. And she knows exactly what's in it. Maybe it's a stage, but it is really funny. Or maybe she's just rebelling against mom's decluttering.


Preschool has started up again and we have started with a vengeance. Here are some apple seed shakers we made. We put some seed inside the apple aka beans, and danced around. We also made a book of a few "A" words. This week we're on to the letter B!

Here are some more fun pictures from the game a couple weeks ago. It was HOT and we got free towels to wave in the air.


The main reason I like the picture below is because I don't look pregnant. I'm not, but big yellow t-shirts tend to accentuate the midsection. Our seats are pretty good!! All the student section tickets have "Maize out" written on them so you're supposed to wear yellow.


Us :)

Knitting Project

The past few months, well, since it was cold out - so at least 6 months, I've been working on my first big knitting project. I picked a baby blanket. It has been a real challenge to finish but it was well worth it. It turned out way better than anticipated! It's made of green organic wool. :) I'm saving it for the next baby, whenever that is. It took too long to give away. Sorry my PG friends, you'll have to settle for something else..




In case you haven't seen it lately. Check out Violet's hair. Light brown spiral curls.


Ava and her uncle Spencer.

A little project

I've been working hard on knitting some leg warmers as baby presents. I'm a complete knitting novice, but for little kids and babies, I think these are really easy! For the girl ones I knit 2 pearled 2, casting on 36 stitches. I then did a criss-cross all the way down along the seam. I chose pink and brown. For the boy ones I did a plain brown, and stuck to casting on 36. I knit 2 pearled 2 for about two inches. I then knit a row then pearled a row to get the plain area. I made them approximately 12 inches long (maybe a little shorter). Babies are so small!

I think leg warmers are a cute option instead of tights or snow pants. They also pad little knees as babies start to crawl.