Like Mother, Like Daughter

Here are some pictures of my newest sewing creations! While surfing the wonderful worldwide web I found some super cute ballet slippers and I just had to make them. I found lots of different styles with lots of cute features and basically decided to take what I liked from all of them and come up with my own. It took some time to get it right, but I just love the end product!! Check out the fabric...amazing, right?

Ta Da! Ballet Slippers!

Me, modeling my ballet slippers (please excuse my freakishly vein-y feet, I know gross!)...they are super comfy!!

And, I finally figured out how to make those adorable kimono baby shoes in Penelope's size, yeah!! So, I just had to make her a miniature version of my newest shoe craze...awwww, like mother, like daughter...now we can match!

Penelope's kimono baby shoes

Painted Bowls and Tie-Dye

Ok, so my day ran away from me yesterday and I forgot to post the art project for the day...so without much ado, here it is! Noah and Penny's newest project was to make some little tie-dye bags that they can use for going to the library and then a t-shirt for Noah since the smallest size they had at Michaels was a 4-6T, sorry Penny! Super easy. And then we have the long awaited for Paper Mache project. Here is how we did them:

Paper Mache Painted Bowls

1/2 cup flour
1 cup liquid starch
newspaper, construction paper, brown paper bags
balloon
plastic drinking cup

Blow up the balloon until it fits nicely into the opening of the plastic cup. The cup is just used as a holder for the balloon. Mix together the flour and liquid starch trying to get as many lumps out as possible. Tear the paper of your choice into 2-inch thick strips. Dip paper into the liquid mixture and place all over the balloon, pressing paper so that it lays flat and letting excess liquid just drip off. You may want to put a paper plate under the cup to catch all the mess. Make sure there are no parts of the balloon showing and it is okay for there to be paper hanging below the balloon and onto the cup itself. Let dry for a minimum of 24 hours. Once paper is dry, you can pop the balloon and flip the paper bowl right side up. Decorate with paint or other fun crafty supplies. Put m&m's in your bowl (yum!) and admire!

Noah's bowl

Penny's bowl

Tie-Dye Fabric Project

t-shirt, bags, pillowcases (whatever fabric items you want to dye)
lots of rubberbands
fabric spray paint (found in the fabric paint section at Joann's)
the great outdoors

Grab whatever item you decided to dye and pull up the fabric in various places all around the item so you can wind the rubberbands around the puffs of fabric. Use as many rubberbands as you would like...and don't forget about the back of the item! Go outside and put your desired item on the grass. Spray all sorts of fabric spray paint colors all over your item. Go wild, this is the best part! When you are happy with your color scheme take the rubberbands off. Let your fabric item dry for 20 minutes or however long your fabric spray directions state. Enjoy the fruits of your hard labor and show off that cute item you just made!

Tie-dyed t-shirt and library book bags!

The Little Village for Little Ones

This morning we took the littles to visit the Little Village Play Place in Arlington Heights. It is a really nice set up for parents. There are lots of different themed rooms the kids can pretend play inside all while mommas and dads can have a cup of coffee or do some wireless web surfing from their laptop. Noah and Penny enjoyed the grocery store and construction rooms best. And no child can go here without a little bit of dress-up! Here are some photos of Noah and Penny enjoying the little village:

My two little cashiers

The youngest USPS worker ever, coming to a neighborhood near you!

Watch out fires, Penny's on duty!

Anyone know of a good handyman? Call 1-800-NOAH

Where big brothers go, little sisters follow...so true!

My New Mobile

So, I finally put the finishing touches on my bird mobile last night. It is so freakin' cute! The pattern is from Spool, what a cool idea, gotta give the designer a shout out, it is just so awesome! The hardest part for me was getting it balanced just right. This was the last step, I actually finished the mobile over a week ago but wanted to try to get it balanced even better than it was...hummm, don't know if I achieved that yet! Well, now I need to decide where to hang it. I'm thinking Penelope's room or maybe as a fixture above our kitchen table...what do you think?

My little flock of birdies

Are they eating? So sweet!

My new mobile, I'm crazy in love with it, can you tell? Note Clif, my arm model!

A Clif birdie and a Maggie birdie...awwww, a pair of love birds!

And a sprinkling of some Penny lovin' just to spice up this post! Can you see Noah in this picture!?

Peek-a-boo, I love you!

A Momma's Best Friend...

...Chocolate that is! I have found the ultimate chocolate bar if you can believe it. It's called Truffle Pig and WOW! is it good. It comes in lots of scrumdidiliumptious varieties too, like peanut butter, raspberry, and mint just to name a few. Although, my favorite hands down is the original milk chocolate one...Mmmmm! I find myself stocking up on them when I see them because they are just so darn good, then I eat them little by little, savoring each bite. I usually do this during nap time or after the kids are asleep for the night so I don't have to share! Is that bad of me? My littles shouldn't be eating chocolate anyways, right? We'll save that addiction for when they are older!!

Looks good even from this vantage point

Check out the cute little piggies

Truffl-ly goodness in the center...to die for!

Sew Busy Lately!

Here are some pictures of some of my latest sewing projects. I made the cutest little baby shoes for my friend Lindsay and her newest addition, Matilda! The shoes are a pattern from Aimee Larsen of homespun-threads.com. I'll be taking this little baby gift to her with a homemade dinner on Monday. I am trying to figure out how to make these shoes for Penelope in a 12-18 months shoe size...these are 0-6 months size. I also made little Matilda an owl dollie from a pattern from here in the cutest girlie fabrics, love it!

Kimono style baby shoes

Another view

Owl dollie and baby shoes

And an owl dollie for the big sis too!

Oh, and just so you are wondering, this is what my littles are up to when momma tries to get some sewing done...never a dull moment! YIKES!

Kazooooooo!....Gesundheit!

Art class today was about instruments! Noah and Penny played with lots of different instruments, one of their favorite being the rain drum...one of my favorites too...I mean, c'mon, anything that sounds like rain is so calming, right? Noah also made a kazoo and at the end of class all the kids marched around in kid parade fashion. Noah loves to march thanks to his kiddie music class so we all know he loved that part!

Noah's new kazoo

A demonstration of how it works

Toilet Paper Roll Kazoo

one empty toilet paper roll

markers

foam stickers

construction paper

glue

waxpaper

rubberband

This is one of those simple projects that can really take up so much time just letting your kid be in their creative zen. All you do is decorate the toilet paper roll with all the fun things listed above. Then you just wrap one end of the roll with the wax paper using a rubber band. Have your little one blow/hum into it and magic! a kazoo is born!

Me and my littles at the blueberry farm AGAIN...check out all the blueberries we picked this time...15 lbs worth!!!!

**We also did some paper mache but I'll post more on that next week since there is some drying time involved so that project isn't quite complete. I know, leaving you all in suspense, muuaahhh!!

Crockpot Roast Chicken Dinner

Tonight for dinner I am making my super favorite and super easy Roast Chicken recipe in my all-time favorite kitchen appliance currently to speak of, my crockpot! You will be amazed at how simple and easy this recipe is that you will want to make it often! It is just like the rotisserie chicken you buy at the store, yummy!

Roast Chicken Dinner
serves 4 to 6 with leftover option

(2) 4 lbs whole chickens or some variation on the weight
*I like to get a 6 or 7 lb chicken and that way I have leftovers for a few meals

1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp paprika
2-4 tsp salt

Rinse and clean your chicken with cold water. This means take out the giblet packet that is hidden in the open cavity for those that never even knew this was in there! I like to cut off as much of the skin as possible so your end product is not super greasy. Mix all of the seasonings together and rub all over the chicken. Place the chicken breast side up and slow cook for 6-8 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. That's it...really could it be any easier!!

Here is a look at all the spices...I like a bit more cayenne but you could omit it totally if you don't like some heat.

The chicken all rubbed down...note the skin is, for the majority, removed

Breast side up in the crockpot. If you can get a chicken with those pop up thermometers that's even better. Love those things! The last hour or so I add potatoes...or carrots or onions, whatever you like. That way your veggies aren't mushy in the end.

The finished product. The meat should fall off the bone when done, that's an easy way for you to tell if your nervous about undercooked chicken. Not a bad meal price point either, a 6.73 lb bird at 79 cents/lb! Mmmmm...can you smell the goodness!

So, that's it. Super simple and super good. Now just sit back and listen to the oohs and ahhs from your hubby and your kids as they devour this delicious meal that they think you spent all day cooking. Then relax this evening as your hubby watches the kids since you slaved in the kitchen all day *wink, wink*

Another Thursday Art Class-Chia Pets

So, today in art class we learned about growing things. We read a book about seeds turning into flowers and talked about all the pretty colors in nature. Noah fingerpainted flowers and decorated his design while Penny became our little pickpocket trying to get into all the other mommas' diaper bags. Nothing says "hi, nice to meet you" like your baby digging into someone else's personal belongings! Our next project was to make a chia pet. What a neat and easy idea! Loved it!

'Chia Noah'

Where the hair will grow

Picasso at work

The masterpieces unveiled

Here is how we made our "Chia Noah":

Chia Pet

1 knee-high nylon stocking
moistened soil
grass seed

markers, foam pieces, sticky eyeballs, etc.

Take a tablespoon of grass seed and place it in the very bottom of your nylon stocking. Next take a baseball-sized lump of soil and work it down ontop of your grass seed. Twist the nylon so as to keep the ball of soil and grass seed at the bottom. Wrap the twisted nylon around the ball and turn the open end inside out around the ball. Hope this makes sense...if not hopefully you can get the gist of it from the pictures above. Decorate with markers, foam pieces, eyeballs, or whatever your little one's heart desires. Water the top of the head and watch it grow!

Buckets of Blueberries

Ahhhh...behold the BLUEBERRY!

Penny and her bucket

Noah finding the perfect blueberry

...or should I say blueberrIES

A boy, his bucket, and his blueberries!

Our little taste tester..."mom, these ones are just right!"

Chasing down her morning snack

Noah!

This morning we went to McCann's Berry Farm and picked blueberries! It was simply so much fun! It seemed like Noah and Penny both ate their weight in blueberries and I almost felt as if I needed to place them on the scales to see what I owed for the digested blueberries in their tummies. Penny had fun walking the bushes and we saw that she is able to get up by herself from the middle of nowhere! What a big girl she is becoming right before our very eyes. Noah loved finding blueberries, big and small it didn't matter, and putting one in his bucket for every one he put in his mouth! Taste testing I am sure! I had thoughts of making a homemade blueberry pie later today but I think Noah and Penny have put a good dent into the bag we brought home so there isn't enough now...looks like we'll have to go back and do this again another day!!