Africa

Last month my family traveled to South Africa. I don't think I can do it justice with words, so here are some picture highlights (click on them to make them larger).

Best Weekend Ever- 5 3/4 Years Old Style

I think that six is a golden age. It is old enough to be a bit independent, still young enough that you have very little actual responsibility, and simple enough that most problems can be solved with an ice cream cone (or maybe a balloon). It is a great age. Eve isn't quite 6, but she is definitely in that golden age of simple pleasures.

 A few weeks ago, Eve's class got a new "student". Puff, a little dingy white teddy bear, joined the class. He arrived with a backpack, a journal, and a request for friends. Puff visits this kindergarten class every year.  Each child in the class gets the opportunity to take him home for a night and journal how they spent their evening with Puff. When Eve's turn came up, we hit the jack pot. We got Puff for a WHOLE weekend. The second she got in the door from school she was off. You see, Puff didn't come with clothes (with the exception of some jammies the child before had gifted him) and in Eve's world, EVERYTHING wants to wear clothes. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Approximately 90 seconds later she emerged with a newly outfitted Puff.

This is a look I like to call "Pimpin' Puff". I guess Hello Kitty graciously opened her closet, and since it was cold outside, My Friend Mandy pitched in her coat. Awesome. Puff played a little Wii, tagged along and cheered at basketball games, and even joined the weekly pilgrimage to Costco.

At some point, Eve made a plea on Puff's behalf. As cool as dressing in borrowed rhinestone pants and a fur trimmed corduroy coat is, Puff wanted some clothes of his own. I decided that we could accommodate.

Eve's response? BEST WEEKEND EVER!!!

I think Puff approved too. :)


P.S. I had intended to show you something I finished this month, but since its recipient has yet to receive it, I am holding off. I will, however, give you a sneak peek of another something I am working on right now (I am SO excited about this!)

Maybe, just maybe, I will break tradition and give you a peek of the two (plus a few) projects together at mid month. Oh, and put April 2nd on your calendar. I have something SPECTACULAR to show you! :)

Favorite things: January 2011

This blog title makes me feel like I am Martha Stewart or Oprah and I should be giving something away. I am not giving anything away...wait maybe I am, but you will have to read through my favorite things first.

January was a busy month. I think I should have some sort of exciting story, but it was everyday life busy. Nothing exciting or fun, just a whole lot of obligation and over committing converging into one glorious month. Because of this I was at a loss for what I should blog. Crafting was pretty sparse, and I was too busy to take pictures. Even if I had a hundred pictures, there was nothing interesting to photograph. What to blog? Then it hit me! I have stumbled into a few things I really like this month. So lucky you, you get to read about the things I found and love.

1- My favorite parenting guru:

Barbara Coloroso

I am taking a parenting class at my daughters' school. It is sort of a kinder gentler version of Love and Logic, and a lot of what we are learning comes directly from Barbara Coloroso. We have been watching her video "Winning at parenting, without beating your kids" I swear everything this woman says is GOLD! Her basic idea is that every child needs six critical life messages: I believe in you. I trust in you. I know you can handle this. You are listened to. You are cared for. and You are very important to me. Love her. I need a Barbara Coloroso App for my phone (seriously, if I knew how to make one, I'd do it). Or better yet, she could just whisper in my ear 24/7. I would be such an amazing parent. As it is I am trying. I just got her book Kids Are Worth It! from the library. Google her, watch a few of her videos and thank me later. Really. Her approach is firm, yet kind, and is all about respect. I love it. Plus, in her video she looks like Dorothy from the Golden Girls. Two words: White suit. LOVE IT!

2-Sock Buns:

Sock buns before bed

Something you should know about me. I love sleep. LOVE IT. So while, in theory, I like to look nice everyday, I like sleeping a lot more. What does this mean? Pony tail. Why get up 30-45 min earlier just to make my hair nice? That is crazy. Who am I trying to impress? No one. The problem is that every time I see a picture I think WHAT?!?! I do NOT look like that. Only I do...and worse. So when BFF Janelle showed me these videos it was revolutionary. I can go to bed looking like Princess Leia, and wake up with curled hair! Sign me up!

Sock bun curled hair at 9 am

And, the curls lasts all day! (excuse the picture, my husband is seldom an enthusiastic photographer)

Sock bun curled hair at 9 pm

As an added bonus, it keeps my hair out of my face when I sleep AND my hair isn't getting damaged by a curling iron. Win, win, win! I will warn you that those videos are crazy long, on the first one, once you see how to make the sock bun, skip to 3:53. On the 2nd one just skip through her talking. She likes to yammer.  As pictured above, I like doing 2 sock buns instead of one. I get better curl that way. And if you have really fine hair like I do, you might want to use a child's sock. Also, saying sock buns is fun.

3- My new favorite "fun things to do with the kids" website:

2 of my puppets

I like to color. So do my kids. This month, at her daughter's birthday party, my business partner introduced me to http://www.pheemcfaddell.com/. There are hundreds of coloring pages and articulated puppets to color, cut out and put together with tiny brads. I love them! They keep my kids busy for hours, and they are fun to play with. You should hear the adventures the fairies have at my house. They are pretty girly (what can I say, my house is oozing glitter), but there are boy fairies, a cool dragon, and even Harry Potter has unicorns, so boys don't need to feel left out. Do yourself a favor and run to Michael's for the brads first though. Otherwise pieces get lost, children cry, there is much sadness in the land...not that I have any experience there. I'm just sayin'.

4- Pay it Forward swaps:

I did a pay it forward swap ages ago (at least 2 years ago). The rules say you have a year to get the gifts out to the takers. I broke that rule, by at least a year. In fact, I think my cousin Karley is still waiting. Sorry Karley! So what does a girl with an over due, unfinished PIF obligation do? I agreed to do another one! Then totally forgot about it. I know. Fast forward a year and a few weeks ago.  I got a package in the mail. I love packages! It had that adorable pink bag (Picture borrowed from Beth's blog) in it, a little bottle of Best Press, and some candy. Sweet! So, good news Karley! I am doing it another PIF, and you will be my extra special first receiver. Here are the rules:


1. I will make a little something for the first THREE people who comment on this post with PIF in their comments (Three plus Karley). It will be a surprise and it will arrive on your doorstep when you least expect it!

2. I will have 365 days to do it in. What's the catch? To get a handmade present from me, you have to play too. This means YOU pledge to send a little handmade something to people you know. (you don't have to sew, cookies are handmade too!)

3. You must have a blog. Skip that, you can do what you want. Facebook, neighbors...whatever.

4. Once you comment here, you must post about your Pay It Forward on your blog to keep the fun going, with the Pay It Forward badge.  Meh, just pay-it-forward. Blog, Facebook, a note on top of the cookies, your call.

If I don't get three takers here, I will put this on my facebook too. I am a little excited about my PIF plans. They'll be good. Or at least I think they will be, if you disagree...um, you have bad taste ;)

So there you are. My favorite things from January, AND I am even giving things away. Wow, now I know what it feel like to be Oprah.

December Blur

December is one of those months that always seems like a blur. I think I will get started early, and instead I find myself up all night Christmas Eve. This year was no exception...but before we skip straight to Christmas, I will show you a tiny bit of the build up.

I am not sure if I actually made this in December, but the pictures were taken in December, so I will say it counts.

This summer my sister hosted our extended family IN HER HOME for a family reunion. Over thirty people. Jenny is amazing. Not only was it a great time, but the reunion also happened to coincide with her birthday. Because of this, and as a thank you, I promised her an apron. It took me four months to deliver, so long that Jenny had completely forgotten about my promise. The sad part is that I think I picked out the fabric for her apron over 2 years ago. It just went to the bottom of the project pile and out of sight out of mind. *sigh* It is done now, and it did make for a great surprise.

My second project was something I never thought I'd take on. At the beginning of the month a parent in Eve's class asked if I thought I could make a Cabbage Patch doll. She had found a head at a thrift store, but didn't want to take the project on. I knew I should decline, but I like to help out, and I wanted to see if I could do this. I am SO glad I did! It was a fun project, and I think there will be more of these in my future.

Isn't she cute? I had so much fun recreating the look of a real Cabbage Patch doll. Aurora and Eve would now like their own dolls with purple and blue hair respectively...I am not sure I want to start making custom heads, but I would like to make a few more. My favorite part about this doll (aside from her bum and belly button. They were really cute!) is that I couldn't find fabric the right color for the skin, so I dyed it. To my surprise, it was a perfect match for the face! WOO HOO!! (really I yelled that when I pulled the dyed fabric out of the dryer)

And now to Christmas. Oh Christmas. I had such good intentions. Matching outfits and jammies, some blankets and maybe even some doll things. I also had plans for a few special friends. Well, my poor friends got left behind (I do love you all I promise!!) and my kids got store bought jammies. The matching outfits did happen, but only under the pressure of a Glee concert.

I have mentioned my kids' total inability to pose in a normal fashion haven't I? Good. Then you aren't surprised by the picture. :)

The only "momma made" gifts the girls got on Christmas morning, were name blankets. They have both been getting jealous of all the new babies getting blankets with their names on them. When I made their cousin Juliana a big sister name blanket, official requests were made. So I stayed up late late late on Christmas Eve making blanket sets for the girls. One for them, and one for their dolls. They were very well received. (which made the late night very worth it)

After Christmas we made a long snowy trek to central Wyoming for New Years. It was VERY cold, but the kids had a great time sledding, ice skating, jumping on snow filled trampolines, and hanging around with cousins. It was a great way to round out 2010.

December also meant saying goodbye to some amazing friends. Somehow, this was yet another thing that I didn't manage photograph. We do have some excellent memories. Kim, Jeremy, Seth, Amelia and Libby, we miss you all terribly. It wasn't the same ringing in the New Year without you....and we'll Skype soon (don't get any ideas Kim!) :)

Hope you had a fantastic holiday season, and may you have a wonderful 2011.

P.S. I am not one for resolutions. I only break them, but I am not opposed to a goal or two. Last year, I set a goal to read 24 books in 2010. I made that goal by the skin of my teeth. (see list of books read in my sidebar) This year, I would like to up the ante and read 36 books. I have a few books in queue, but if you care to make a recommendation, I'm all ears!