Sugar, shine and speckled.

Lots of pots brewing right now. None actually done cooking yet, though.

Spring Break is over and Easter is approaching fast. You know me and a good holiday...crafting galore. So, I am going to show you what is going down here, because it is quite possible that none of these things will actually be completed before Memorial Day. Or I may go into a caffeinated coma, due to lack of time (read: sacrificing sleep). Either is possible.

Project #1 is borrowed from my sister-in-law who tried this with G and her kiddos last week in Hilton Head. Called "Sugar and String Crystallized Easter Eggs". First of all, someone has got to change the name of it...something with a little more razzle-dazzle. Less chemistry lab.

Sugar shine eggs. Done.

Basic gist: You take a balloon, some yarn and a mixture of egg whites and sugar. Then you coat the balloon in the sugar/egg mixture (VERY sticky stuff), apply the yarn, let it dry...and continue to coat the balloon in the sugar/eggs and let it dry for days to come, so the sugar crystallizes into a thick, beautiful, sparkly egg shape. Sugar shine.

As it looks right now, I am not sure where this is going. But we are going to wait for the magic sugar crystal fairies to work their magic. Anyone tried this before?

Project #2: speckled Easter eggs. Found the idea here, as a tutorial for an Easter wreath. Love the eggs, but I'm not so much a wreath gal. I couldn't, however, just pass up a good speckled egg. Who can, really?

I'm on a good roll with this one...eggs are painted, and you may be able to guess what I am doing with them. I am, however, lacking the right color of ribbon and wire to hang these beauties, so I am off to my beloved Hobby Lobby tomorrow (trip #2 this week).

My goal, is simply, to complete one of my projects tomorrow. Just one. I'm reaching that stage where I feel like I am juggling 50 million balls at one time. All fun, but I need to start checking these babies off the list.

Bring it.

Yesterday's post casually mentioned our plans for Scavenger Hunt 2009.

It is on, like Donkey Kong.

Saturday, June 20, 2009. Time to be announced, but we are thinking of late afternoon...3 or 4:00-ish. Like I said, official save the dates will be out soon, for those of you who NEED-TO-KNOW.

2008 was the first year for the St. Louis Scavenger Hunt...a little idea Mike and I came up with on our way home from spring break in Hilton Head. We had some good ideas, but it took months--MONTHS--for it to all come together. And it did. Oh, it did.

This is not a run-from-place-to-place-and-make-an-ass-of-yourself kind of scavenger hunt. There is no dancing on bar tops or collecting random items from strangers. Only code deciphering, some math and crazy racing around town to get done first. We allotted 3 hours for our teams to complete the puzzle last year, thinking there was no way anyone would actually get to the end.

The winning team finished in just over two hours and was able to "decipher" the secondary numbers puzzle we threw in for bonus points. Players, you can expect us to up our game this year. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

For those of you who haven't experienced the glory that is our scavenger hunt, let me share with you the crowning jewel of last year's game...we planned the entire escapade around the St. Louis Cardinal's home game schedule, and our first clue was actually a ticket to that day's game, which was hidden in the basket of helpful items/ goodies we sent out with every team. Clue #2 was then stuck to the seat belonging to that ticket.

Where there is a will to plant a truly awesome clue and watch our friends kick and scream and claw to find it...there is a way.

We'll have you register in teams of 4, so be thinking of your smartest (or fastest driving) friends. There will be a small fee for each team participating, to offset costs a little...all to be detailed in our save the date. Our plan is to do a late afternoon thing and then reconvene back here for prizes and dinner. My only pictures of last years scavenger hunt were taken after the game was over...but the bouncy house we had as a surprise at the end was quite a hit as well!!

If you didn't play last year, are in St. Louis (or are willing to travel), and would like to play in 2009, post a comment and I will add you to my list and we will send more info your way!

Diary of a 13 hour road trip. With four children.

Multiple fried foods were consumed today. And 3/4 of a tub of sour gummy worms. On days when we travel back to reality, I really go for it on heart-attack-inducing foods.

Also, I learned my husband is a jellybean nazi. He bought a package before we left last Friday, and we have returned with some beans in tow. WHO DOES THAT???? He would only give me two at a time, when we all know it takes at least 5 to make chewing even worth it. Just to give you a comparison, I bought a king-sized bag of m&ms last Friday, and they were gone mid-week. Plus a bag of Cadbury mini-eggs, courtesy of my friend Ort, who knows these are my favorite candy of all time.

Oh, the joys of traveling with a very cranky, perhaps feverish child. Hard to tell, since those car seat covers are made of a heavy, unbreathable material, and he was sitting in one for 13 hours straight. Yes, I did have a thermometer handy (I am awesomely prepared, I know, I know), but I always get confused as to when to stick it in his ear and when to push the button, and then it beeps at me like I'm an idiot and I get frustrated that a $9.99 instrument is smarter than I am (awesomely challenged, I know, I know). At which point, I usually just holler for Mike, but today he was driving the mini...and if bathroom breaks are highly frowned upon on road trips, thermometer lessons are definitely a no-no. All this to say, I dosed the kid up with Tylenol twice, on the mommy hunch that something was not quite right.

Which would be a correct guess, as he had multiple...um, messy, bathroom incidents in the mini. Upon the kiddie potty that traveled in our trunk. Gotta love that he is so excellently potty trained. Not loving that this means he pooped (more than once) within 1.5 feet of each member of this family, on his own personal yet public toilet.

We did, indeed, stop at the gi-normous fireworks store outside of Chattanooga. Happy to say there were no swarms of large, yellow, gross bugs...which we have stumbled upon at this very stop. Must be a summer thing. I have, however, concluded that it is not the fireworks store that is particularly large...just the parking lot and signage. Very clever, fireworks peeps. Between that and the yellow bugs...I'll never forget ya.

Multiple movies were watched today (as witnessed by the picture above, where Little J is in fact, taking one of his potty breaks AND watching The Very Hungry Caterpillar). I think Enchanted, or maybe even Follow That Bird (Sesame Street full-length feature, circa 1980-something) are the funniest to listen to, when you are sitting with your back to the TV screen for 13 hours straight. Oh, and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is quite possibly the most depressing movie ever made.

People. Some serious work was done on the scavenger hunt. We're thinking June 20th. Save the dates to come soon. Holla! if you want in and didn't participate last year...this year we'll be having anyone who wants to play put together their own 4-person team.

That's my day in a nutshell...and now I am home! Yeah!

Totally normal.

"No, no. It always bleeds."

Pause.

"Yes, a lot. That's normal. It bleeds everyday."

This is, in fact, the kind of information we need to dispense, regarding our darling L. And her inseparable, nutrition providing, G-tube.

She loves green beans. Bowling pin kitty is packed in her bag. She'll want a sippy cup with bed. Oh, and her G-tube bleeds like a mother. Normal, right?

Quite honestly, we rarely mention the presence of the G-tube to innocent bystanders anymore, because it generally freaks people out...for absolutely no good reason. It doesn't hurt her. It doesn't even feed her anymore. And it is highly unnatural, as it causes her to resemble an inflatable pool toy/circus balloon (her G-tube looks just like the little doo-dad that you blow air in to on a swimming tube). Inflatable L...at night we just let the air out and fold her back into the box.

Tonight, however, L is at her first sleepover. With G, and her cousins Beau and Caroline. Fun stuff. Big girl stuff. But we probably should have warned Uncle Robert and Aunt Gina that her G-tube does in fact bleed on occasion.

Hey, at least they knew she had a G-tube. Like I said, we haven't brought that up in months.

Seagulls on roids.

Since we are officially on Spring Break, here are a few bizarre beach shots.

Today we learned what happens if you throw donuts at the seagulls. FYI, if you have a fear of birds, you should, under no circumstances, try this. They are relentless. Oh, and if you are done throwing baked goods at the scavenger birds (maybe for fear that they will mistake your eyeballs for donut holes, that's how close they get), you are going to want to tightly seal what remains of your "bait", as they will track you down and hunt you like a dog until you relinquish all rights to said Entemann's glazed donuts. Not sure if it was the quality of the morsels (donuts...good), or the general appearance of any sort of food in general--we'll test that theory tomorrow with Cheerios (in my opinion, a much less desirable food).

Seriously, I think this one is just going to take all of Little J. Close call, but at least we would have caught it on film if our sweet red head was, in fact, swallowed whole by a seagull. We would have been a hit on You Tube.

So, here is what else happens when I put bows in my sweet little girl's hair and give shovels to my wild boys. Wet sand and grossgrain ribbon do not mix. Luckily, we caught it all on film.

Happy Spring Break!!

My destiny. Or not.

I saw this picture of a fabric collection on Retro Mama. And I fell in love. With beautiful, glorious, wonderfully folded and displayed...fabric.



And I instantly told my husband that it was my destiny to collect cool fabric and store it beautifully. For use on projects yet to be determined/discovered.



To which he replied, "Yes, it's absolutely healthy for a self-professed hoarder to buy and store something she may or may not ever use in her lifetime."



Hmmm. He may have a point.



To which he added, "You know, there are places that will store fabric for you, and when you are ready for it, you can just swing by and pick it up. They are called fabric stores."



Smart ass.

The clipboard of fun.

On any typical drive to Hilton Head, we kill our 13-hour driving day with LOTS of movies for the kids. It is the only time they are allowed to use the DVD player in the mini-van...and honestly, they love the drive because of the potential to watch movie, after movie. After movie.

Since I have been more "creatively inspired" this year, and I was on my A-game with packing last week, I came up with a new little number that I like to call "The Clipboard of Fun".

A couple of weeks back, a friend of mine asked (via facebook) for suggestions on activities to keep kids entertained during long trips in the car. One of her friends mentioned a clipboard with coloring pages and crayons.

Lightbulb.

In my organized brain, I thought I had seen clipboards at the dollar store. So, as I was running around like a mad woman on Thursday morning, I was crushed to find there were, in fact, no clipboards for $1...and no time to deal with Wal-mart or Target, because it is impossible to simply "run in" to those stores. I passed this task along to my ever-capable husband, who managed to track them down on clearance at Office Max.

Game back on.

I did get some coloring books, but honestly, the biggest hits were coloring their name letters, and drawing the "story" of our drive. I had just enough time to xerox simple pages that said: "At 8:00 a.m., I saw...", "The weather during our drive was...", "For lunch, I ate..." and "In Hilton Head, I am going to...". Each child then drew an answer to finish these sentences, and I put a caption on (according to their narration). Also, I had found an idea on "Ramblings of a Crazy Woman" that utilized stickers for a fun counting activity, which was a hit, but was, unfortunately, not so numerically accurate for the littlest Denckhoffs. Oh well...fun, happy children were the goal, and we accomplished that. And maybe worked on their fine motor skills with the stickers.

My children are normally entertained by coloring for all of 2 minutes...but add a clipboard, and they own it! I had no idea it was that simple, but it did work...and I attached a plastic baggie of about 10 crayons to each clipboard, with a piece of string.

Happy road tripping!!

Llama and real chicken.

Now that you've all met Max (reason #1 for taking 2 days to get to Hilton Head), let me share with you another benefit to taking our sweet ol' traveling time.

On any of the other dozen road trips we've taken to get down here, Mike will barely allow us 5 minutes at a gas station for a bathroom break. Stopping for meals? Absolutely not, as we can pack those and eat them on the go. Although he will ALWAYS make an exception for the gi-normous fireworks store that sits in the middle of the highway outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Hmmm.

But with two days, there really was no rush. After stopping in Atlanta, day two's drive was only 5 hours. No biggie. And that, folks, is the laid back attitude that led us to this little gem.

Listen. If you ever find yourself heading South on Interstate 16, through Georgia, you will come across exit 98. Not much there. No major town, no fast food.

Just one awesome Llama. And some of his friends.

We randomly came across this gas station more than 4 years ago...and in the many times we've traveled back here since, we've always failed to find it again. Until now. And since our last visit, the gas station has added a fun new feature. If you buy something from their convenience store, you can purchase a $1 bag of feed.

FYI: feeding llamas (and their friends) is the equivalent of hitting the kiddie jackpot. Especially if you're children's FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME is "Llama Llama Red Pajama".

If you are wondering why we are standing so far away from the fence (so that the poor goat is practically strangling himself to get our oat offerings), it would be because the emu was a little intimidating. He wasn't mean or aggressive or anything (in fact, he was quite kind)... he just sent his beak straight for the feed bag with a lot of momentum.

So we fed the animals by hand, including the llama, who, despite having awesomely bad teeth, was the gentlest feeder of all. And then we packed up and headed on our way, only to stop a little further down the road for a proper diet coke. And that's when we found this little treasure.

Real chicken...as opposed to the fake kind. Oh, and the real kind that come without bones in their wings.

This goes down as one of the greatest road trips of all time. I'm not sure it can top Fall Break '97 when it took us 9 hours to get to Gattlinburg, Tennessee (should have taken 5) or our 24 hour excursion to the Florida Keys in March 1998...but as far as farm animals and ridiculous signage goes, this one wins hands down.

Meet Max.

Our yearly March pilgrimage to Hilton Head officially began yesterday at 5:07 a.m. Usually, we leave crazy early and drive the 13 hours STRAIGHT, with minimal stopping, to put us on the island just before bedtime for the kids. Painful, yes...but like ripping a band-aid off, we prefer to just get it over with.

This time around, however, we got a little crazy. A little jiggy-with-it.

Let me back up a quick second. Have I ever told you that I LOVED college? Loved it because I met some of my best friends there, and lived with them for 3 years straight. These days, these friends are scattered across the country, and I usually only get to see them once a year. And as they have started to have families, I have never had the opportunity to meet their children...especially not a brand new, 8-week-old bundle. But that all changed, yesterday.

Sweet, sweet, sweet Max...who received his first round of vaccinations less than 2 hours before we arrived, and managed to sleep off the entire evening, and wake up this morning fresh as a daisy.

Had this been anyone beside any of the college friends who have previously lived with my worst and most annoying traits, I would never have proposed a sleep-over that consisted of me, my hubby, my four children and her very new baby. But this is Ort (and her offspring!) and I would rather die than pass up a chance to meet him. Because if there was anyone I truly missed when I had my first baby, it was those friends who I knew I could be totally honest with about how incredibly hard and tiring becoming a mom truly is.

It is wonderful...BUT sometimes between the sleeplessness, the constant milking, the crying, the worrying and the general disappearance of the life you had before baby came along...well, sometimes, it doesn't quite feel wonderful until you get out of the trenches a little bit. I am totally confident in saying that you can LOVE a baby with all your heart, and still find the task of mothering completely overwhelming and difficult. Add to that the fact that there are few people out there who can give you the kind of encouragement that can keep you going, because most people who see you and your new bundle only ask you how much you are loving every minute of being a mom. And while you do LOVE your baby, it is hard to be a mom. Especially a first time mom. And when strangers ask you if you are just LOVING being a new mom, they aren't so much asking as making a blanket statement that can sometimes make you feel a little nervous that you are missing some natural instinct or gene that keeps you calm and singing when your newborn is freaking out. For hours.

So, the Denckhoffs hung with the Grant's for 17 hours before hitting the road again...and it was so worth it to break the trip up. Seeing my friend Kelly (Ort, as she's affectionately known) was soooo good for me! And for Mike, who found another kindred spirit in Ort's husband, Gordo. You need only check out the reading material stashed on Gordo's side of the bed to know that he is a guys-guy. Visions of welding and masonry and all things manly lull him to sleep every night. Right up Mike's alley.

So we were in and out like a crazy, messy tornado! But we met Max and we fell in love with him...and his mom (who I have loved for years) and his dad (who had me the second he sang an amazingly entertaining and vocally accurate rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" on some sort of mountain-vehicle, late-night in Vail, Colorado...story for another time).

Oh, and did I mention that on top of having a baby, Kelly also managed to find me some pictures of my beloved Marvins? Including a shot of the old kitchen. DePauw friends, you will appreciate that one, and maybe be a little freaked out to see the origins of the hamburgers we ate weekly.

Thanks Ort and Gordo....we had a blast!!

pillowcase dress

I was talking to a friend last week about these dresses. I made a couple for the girls last summer, and with all the warm weather lately, I'm itching to make something fun and springy.

The pillowcase dress.

This is, hands down, the easiest piece of clothing I have ever made for my girls. It takes a minimal amount of fabric, some ribbon...that's it. So, here is this years attempt at something whimsical.

This version is actually a top for G...I'm picturing it with a shirt underneath and a pair of jean capris for the crisp spring season, when we're not quite ready for shorts (and she can't wear sleeveless tops to school). Now that I've made one, I need to make one for L to match. Plus, I've seen about a million different fabrics that I would love to try this in. Typically, pillowcase dresses are not lined, but I have added a contrasting fabric to the inside of this one--it gives it a little more body, and covers all the rough seams (bonus).

Which got me to thinking...anybody out there (who lives in the St. Louis area) want to make one of these for your little girl(s)? I'd like to have some gals over to chat, perhaps sip some wine and sew a dress or two. Really, you can kick one out in 40 minutes. Maybe more if you're drinking wine. No sewing experience required. I'll set my machine up and we'll cut and stitch together. The sewing is minimal anyway...most of the work involved is in the cutting and arranging the pieces, I promise.

If you're interested, leave me a comment and we'll be in touch. And if you are one of my normal creative guinea pigs, I will be tracking you down for participation, don't worry.

In keeping with the theme...

For the past few days I have been searching for "green" themed activities (color, not eco-friendly)...and lo and behold, today we seemed to have green coming out of our ears without even trying. Go figure.

Big J and L were having a friend over after school today, so I spent a good part of the morning making chicken salad for the adults (kids were taken care of with the delicacy I like to call "Totinos Pizza"). Chicken salad, it seems, is a bit of an "involved" recipe. I won't call it high maintenance like risotto, but it has diva tendencies. Let's leave it at that.

Anyway, as I was cooking, chopping and mixing...Little J was getting bored. And here's how we came upon a new little activity I've titled "unconventional pantry cleaning":

A quarter bag of brown rice. Some chicken seasoning we NEVER use (but have a Sam's sized bottle of). A stalk of celery. And the split peas...they are so old, I'm not even sure where they came from. So never fear, we are not wasting food, just allowing a 3-year-old to have a little fun with perishables way past their due date.

Why is it that kids always know real from fake? Plastic kitchen food, no interest. Real food...game on. Fake cell phone...phooey. Real cell phone...oh yeah. You get it.

So, here is the mess that was left when all was said and done--however, he did enjoy himself for 40 minutes, leaving me enough time to get the chicken salad done AND straighten the house. Even trade, I would say.



And at the end of the day, the chicken salad was yumm-o. Here it is, in case you are looking for a new recipe (compliments of the Food Network):



4 cups diced poached chicken (this makes quite a bit...be warned)

1 stalk celery, diced

4 scallions, chopped

1 and 1/2 finely chopped fresh dill

2 tbsp. parsley

1 cup mayonnaise (I used light)

2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. kosher salt (I used one)

Freshly ground black pepper



Mix chicken, celery, scallions and herbs. Set aside.



Whisk mayo, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper to taste. Add to chicken mixture and gently combine. Refrigerate.



As for poaching the chicken: I used a half and half combo of chicken broth and water, added a carrot (cut in half), half a small onion and 5-6 sprigs of parsley. Bring that mixture to a boil and add chicken. I cooked it for about 15 minutes, but since I had cut my chicken breasts into smaller pieces, I overcooked it a little. Not sure what to tell you here, but mixing it with the mayo mixture made up for it.



Here are my green ingredients, in keeping with my unintentional theme. Oh, I did add a granny smith apple, chopped into tiny pieces. The crunchy-tangy-ness is a good add. And WOW, I am really good at this color game.

Enjoy!

Deviating.

As mentioned in my last post, we had a great St. Patrick's Day. Seventy five degrees in mid-March makes just about everyone giddy, so, it would have been tough to have a bad day. I did, however, push my luck.

Our days with four kids are pretty predictable. Routine and schedule are CRITICAL to operating a household dominated by little people, ages 6 and under. When we are rushed, or try to fit too much in, we lose it. Control, that is.

Weekdays are easy-peasy. The three oldest go to school and are out the door by 8:10. Little J and I have three and a half hours to play, and here is the chunk of my day that can be spontaneous. One child=spontaneous fun (I've learned that after having four children). When the twins return at 11:45, here's what happens: we play for a half an hour, I fix lunch (served around 12:15), it takes them forever to eat, they play for a bit and we read at 1:30, then head upstairs to naptime at 1:45. Wake-up, 5 p.m. (don't hate me). One video, playtime, dinner at 6:00. Play. Bathtime, 7:00. Bedtime routine, 7:30. Lights out, 7:45. It rarely changes.

But today we deviated. Big time.

The idea started brewing Monday night, when the warm weather seemed to be set in stone, and we were making shamrock necklaces. The Dogtown parade. No, no, no. Maybe. I can't. Three kids, by myself. With every Irish person in a 50 mile radius (lots of whom have been sipping green beer for...a while). This neighborhood has notoriously tight streets and I am a mediocre minivan driver, at best.

Fine.

I picked the twins up from school at 10:35. Loaded them in the mini (van, that is), headed east. Got within a mile of Dogtown and chickened out with parking. I figured pushing two boys in a stroller and guiding my half-blind L was a better option that trying to parallel park (yes, it was that crowded). Twenty minutes later, we could see the parade route...only it was already lined, 10 people deep. Chances of getting a double stroller through it...never gonna happen.

We started heading south, but found a spot off the street that was slightly elevated and gave the kids at least a view of the parade. Do-able. We watched for about a half an hour before we decided to head out (we are so spontaneous like that) and headed in the direction of the turtle park at the entrance to the zoo. Had ourselves a delightful picnic of pre-made PB&J's and strawberries. Played and hiked it back. No tears, no fights, no children running wildly into oncoming traffic. None of the feared scenarios that make me avoid spontaneous.

It did take me almost an hour of prep work to get us there, but the parade and picnic went off without a hitch. That is probably the heart of the issue. Being prepared. It's hard to carry off great plans with only 10 minutes notice. Mentally, it sets a horribly frantic tone for me...but physically, it just takes time to have everything I need to successfully entertain 4 kids. There was also so much that had to be sacrificed to make this work, but that's okay. It's okay. I chose this (repeated many times this afternoon when I felt like I was drowning in to-dos).

So worth it.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

What would St. Patrick's Day be without good craft? Nothing but corned beef and cabbage (listen, I'm Irish, but no way. NO WAY.). And green clothing.

So a little leprechaun is spreading the love today, in the form of glittery shamrock necklaces. Yeah!

G's preschool used to make a big to-do about St. Patty's day...they'd come to school to find their doors locked and their desks turned upside down. Seems that the leprechauns in Ladue are quite mischievous. She is very excited to see what they'll do at her new school tomorrow...but unfortunately, I think she'll be a bit disappointed. I'm not sure St. Patrick, mythical elves and green beer are the kind of thing typically celebrated at her Christian grade school. Listen, I'm not against that kind of thing, no matter which side of the fence you land on...I'm just saying that if they didn't acknowledge dress-up on Halloween or the possibility of Santa Claus at Christmas, I'm pretty sure a funky little bearded man in a green suit (who may or may not have indulged in a little green brew...I'm not judging) will not be making an appearance.

Sparkly shamrock necklaces will make up for it though. What girl doesn't love a little...bling.

The shamrocks are made out of salt dough. VERY easy. Take 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of salt and 3/4 cup of warm water. Mix. It will instantly turn to dough...you'll just need to get in there with your hands to knead it until smooth. I imagine you could add food coloring, but we painted ours after baking, so color was not necessary for us.

Once you have your dough, roll it out as if making cookies and use any shaped cookie cutter you'd like (imagine the holiday possibilities)! If you want to turn it into a necklace or ornament, you'll want to create a hole before baking.

I've seen various recipes for this dough out there on the Internet. Some say to bake your dough shapes, but I found a site that used the microwave. We cooked ours for about 2 minutes and 15 seconds (in batches of about 4-6). Yes, we burned a few, but overall, it was successful. Once cooled, paint to your hearts desire! I used acrylic paint, and once that was dry, applied a coat of mod podge and sprinkled the glitter to finish it off. Perfect for young kids!

The finished product...I think they are darn cute!! We made several, had Mike wear one to work and delivered a few to some friends. If I didn't spread the love to you this round, never fear, I see many salt dough projects in our near future.

Later tonight I will get around to sharing some photos of our day. Our marvelous 70+ degree day. I can hardly even stand it because I know that we are not done with the cold spells and the idea of having to let this weather go is heartbreaking. Kind of like the 5th day of vacation...you're sad because you know it's coming to an end, but yet you are still on vacation, so there's not much to complain about. Can you tell I worry about things being over and done with LONG before they ever are???

But, I'll never forget St. Patrick's Day 2009...what a beauty.

Spike and Leopold.

Meet my new friends. My new MASCULINE friends.

Spike and Leopold. Instant BFFs, bonded by weird eye issues and strange names.




Yes, my love of all things felt continues, thanks to yet another trip to my beloved Hobby Lobby. And ever since Mike told me that my monkey/bear was not fit to adorn clothing for his 3-year-old son, I set out to make something a little more boyish. My plan was to make a car, but it just didn't have personality. No pizazz.

Now these guys, they've got character bursting from their eye(s).

Gender differences.

So lately I have been really into watching how my kids love to be creative. Because, it's different for everyone. G has never really been a fan of crayons...but pens and glue rock her world. L is obsessed with tape, and while she is also a fan of markers, she prefers to cover every inch of her canvas (interpret: paper) with ink, of no particular shape or picture.

The boys. Their attention span for crafty projects is a little shorter (and messier). And today I realized that I am just really off base on the ways boys like to "create".

Take a looksy:

The largest boy (a.k.a. Mike) gathering his materials, or dead grass as I call it.

What's it going to be? The world's largest pile of dead grass? A cushion for children to tumble upon? The house of the not-so-smart piggie who built his home out of straw? Nope, nope...and nope.

The dead grass served two purposes. Fire starter and small climbing jungle.

And I just couldn't leave this picture of L out, because she is just too cool for school. Especially with her glasses upside down. Shhh, don't tell her.