What? No Internet??

Our trip to Idaho was wonderful. We went boating and swam in Lake Pend Oreille and spent most of a day at Silverwood Theme and Water Park, and had a great time with my cousin and her family.

We had brought the lap top expecting that we would be able to hook up to the internet somehow. Our expectations didn't quite match with what was probable. We could get dial up for $10 a week, but our lap top doesn't have a phone jack! What?!? So, no internet. I did manage to sneak on at my cousin's house where they too can only get dial up, wow, that is one slow connection! I have forgotten all about my dial up days. I didn't have the patience or the time to wait for pages to upload. So, a week with out the internet...what did we do?

Read books, talked(!) to one another, I got some knitting in, swam, went for a drive, hung out!


Finding round granite stones on the river.


Violet and I being pulled by the boat on the tube!


Denny and Violet swimming in Lake Pend Oreille.


Wren "wading".

I have market pictures to show you from the last two Saturdays. The bread posts are almost ready, I'm making one batch today! And I'm excited to show you my new pin cushion.

Fourth of July

We were invited to spend the 4th of July with some friends at a State Park for a BBQ.


Violet spent most of her time stomping on the many mole hills that were at the picnic site.


The park was by a river, the kids always enjoy the water and sand.


Violet with her friend who really got into the sand!


Here I am, looking very patriotic!

We had a relaxing time and enjoyed the holiday, hope you did too!

Ah, Summer

Summer is here. At least school is out, now we are waiting for some hot weather!


Wren graduated from preschool on Friday. The kids made tie-dye shirts in class to wear to the celebration, so there was a sea of color.


My little grad!

We have a few things planned for the summer, but mostly we will be spending our days around town and at home. So, I need to get organized! I decided that every night I will write a list of things that I want to accomplish the next day, then when I wake up I will have some guidance. Otherwise I'm afraid we will end up spending too much time in our pj's wondering what there is to do. Of course, some days like that are OK!

Whew!

Wren turned 5 on Saturday! The party was such a whirlwind, I barely got pictures.



Denny and Wren made the bean bag toss using one of Wren's drawings and the huge box our gas grill came in. The kids thought climbing into it was more fun than anything else. Here is Wren and his cousin peeking out. So, the bean bags I made hardly got played with at the party. That's OK though, the kids each picked one out to take home.



We also made pop-up monsters with paper cups, craft sticks, construction paper and googly eyes.



I made the Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake from Baking Bites and went with a fancy look rather than a monster cake.

Our little house was just about bursting at the seams, Wren had the best time of all. At school on Monday, he ran up to his friend and asked excitedly "Do I look like I'm 5?!"

Tuesday Night Already?

We had a great long weekend together.

The kids helped shovel dirt out of the truck for the garden box.



Wren personalized his party invitations and drew silly monsters on every one, front and back! He told a story about each one as he drew. I really enjoyed listening to his little mind go! These are a few of my favorites.



Wren spent much of his time playing in styrofoam inside the enormous box that our gas grill came in.



Here is a shot from the top to give you an idea how big this box is. Wren has always enjoyed playing in boxes. Violet will get in and play for a bit, but its not really her cup of tea. This box is going to be transformed into a bean bag toss for his birthday party.




The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning and tidying; talking and relaxing. We did have a BBQ on Monday, of course.

Wren's birthday is in less than two weeks and I've still got quite a bit of sewing and things to do. That's what I will be doing with all my extra time for now. I've got quite a few things on the back burner that I'm eager to get to, but must finish making silly monsters! AH!

Got Some For Sale?

Where does one find motivation, time, energy? I am in need! It is Wednesday and I've got nothing but a messy house and a HUGE list of 'To Do's'.

Alright, I'm making a tiny goal: I'm going to make a couple of Silly Monster Bean Bags TONIGHT! So, I've cemented it, I've thrown it out into the universe. I don't want to disappoint.

Here is what I do have though,



they keep me going.

The Beach Is...

Like a big sand box.







A great place to explore,



and fill buckets.



To splash and get your feet wet.



To sit and reflect.



And to catch up with friends.

I don't know what happened to the forecast for rain, but we are definitely enjoying the sun. We finally made it out to the coast to visit with friends and to fill the soul.

It Was A Sunny Weekend!

The kids played in the sand box,



and blew some dandy lions.



It takes total concentration.



The chickens scratched and pecked, like they always do. See the red beak? That's from a beet, looks kind of gory. She does have an evil look in her eye... Attack of the chickens!



Wren climbed a tree, much to his delight



And I noticed this! I can't wait for them all to bloom so the air will be filled with their luscious aroma.

Amongst all this lovely weather, Denny was sick in bed. Poor guy. Now, the rain is back and Wren is sick. I'm glad he got to enjoy the sun.

'S' Is For Sewing: part 1

I was inspired when I read Linnea's post about her son's first sewing project and wanted to see if Wren might be interested in giving it a try.

I thought I should start with something where the stitches were visible and it wouldn't be too hard to poke though, plastic canvas fit the bill.



Both of the kids had fun 'sewing' and Wren was eager for more!

"I want to stuff something!" Wren declared. So we set about making a little stuffed guy that he could give to a friend for his birthday. He really enjoyed drawing the circles and cutting them out. And he was very ambitious when he started sewing the circles together. But after just a few stitches, he was ready for something new.

"Well, you could finish it" he said, as I reminded him we needed to sew it together before we could start putting the eyes and mouth on. I encouraged him to do a few more stitches and finished the rest. Stuffing and decorating were right up his alley though and I think his little guy turned out pretty cute.




Violet went right to work trimming pompoms.

GAK!

Here's something fun to make with the kids. Its easy and fun, and a bit scientific.


The ingredients, Elmer's Glue, liquid starch and food coloring.


Pour 1 c Elmer's glue into a bowl, then mix in the food coloring.


Pour in 1 c liquid starch and start stirring.


This is where it gets fun, when the two mix, they start to get thick.


Pretty soon it turns stretchy.


Violet is looking a little bit concerned.


After a bit more stirring, it all comes together into a solid mass. It is sort of stretchy, sort of gooey and lots of fun.



A few notes:

If it seems too sticky, mix in more starch.

It does stick to clothes and the carpet. Don't worry, it comes out easily in the wash or with warm water and a bit of rubbing. You might want to keep it on a tray or in the kitchen. Wren stuck a glob on his head once, AHH! I just stuck him in the bath and it pretty much dissolved with warm water and a wash cloth.

Not all glue is equal. Elmer's is the best, and glue you get from school supply stores works. But the glue I bought at the dollar store did not work!

Gak should last for a month or so if kept in a tight container.

Endulging The Craving: Carrot Cupcakes

I just needed to make them, Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Wren saw me peeling the carrots and was intrigued. What was I doing? Why was I doing that? Could he do it too? I set him up with some carrots and the peeler and he diligently sat and peeled. "Look mom! I can do it! I'm getting all the parts!" I really wish I could post all the pictures I took. It's amazing how he was sitting in one spot, completing his task, but not actually sitting still!

He actually wanted to peel the whole bag, but then decided that he would eat one of the carrots he so carefully worked on.

As I was putting together the food processor, I discovered that the piece that attaches the shredding blades was no where to be found! So I ended up grating them all by hand with my handy little grater from IKEA. It was quite meditative, actually. I sat and pondered life, my mind wandering. I remembered Diane from CraftyPod commenting that she is a "total process-crafter" and at the time I didn't quite get what she was talking about. But it was starting to make sense to me. I'm all about the process when it comes to cooking and baking. I love to knead bread with my hands, make chicken stock from scratch, I don't mind grating carrots by hand on occasion. The rhythm becomes my mantra clearing my mind of all worries, at least for the moment. Then the task is completed and life rushes back in.

The cupcakes did hit the spot. They were moist and not overwhelmingly sweet. I wont feel bad at all eating some for breakfast tomorrow.

Home Again, Home Again...

Here are some pictures of the kids on the ride. We rigged up some lap trays from IKEA so they could have a nice surface to play on. It worked rather well!


Robots and notebooks, the perfect combination.


I'm trying to get us back into the swing of things, getting up, getting dressed, getting out of the house.

I also started on a reversible wrap skirt from a pattern in Craft Magazine. I bought the material while at my mom's and wanted to get started on it right away. The green reminds me of Starry Night by Van Gogh and I love the delicate leaves on the grey.



This has proven to be quite the undertaking. I had to print 49 pages for the pattern, piece them together, tape them and then change the width since it is sized for a 30 inch waist. I don't have a 30 inch waist!

Thoughts of running to a fabric store and buying a different pattern crossed my mind, but I persevered. If all goes well, my efforts will be rewarded with a cute skirt and a pattern that I can use over again.

I'm learning that sewing is the easy part, getting the pattern and the material ready is the hard part!