ketchup ice packs

Here's a nifty little tip for your Tuesday.

Put ketchup packs in the freezer.

They get super cold but not frozen solid so they can easily bend around the invisible owie on your little munchkin's finger.

Pretty cool.

Now I just need to learn how to crochet a nifty little ketchup ice pack cover so I can pin these on Pinterest and become famous. 

Or I could open up my Etsy shop (remember how I want to open an Etsy shop and call it The Tangled Squid?) and sell my crocheted ketchup ice pack covers and become rich.

Don't anybody go stealing my idea before I have time to make it happen, ok?

 

snowflake ballerinas

Saturday night I stayed up late cutting out snowflake ballerinas for Cate's room. What a way to spend a Saturday night! Woo hoo! I made quite a mess of teeny tiny white bits of paper too. That was fun to clean up. While I snipped away I watched old episodes of The X-Files. Like way old. Season 1 that began in the early 90's. Oh, that was so fun and I kind of feel old now because I was a real live adult in the early 90's. Whatever. I love that show. Agent Mulder is dreamy (I'd say he's a fox but how corny would that be?).

I had this plan to hang up the snowflake ballerinas on the wall above Cate's bunk bed. It's empty. I like to think I'm just waiting for her to be old enough to decide on her own taste in decor instead of the truth (I have no idea how to decorate anything). First I wanted to hang up the C A T E letters I've had since she was a teeny tiny baby. Seriously. They stayed in their boxes for a few years and then out of the boxes and on top of her bookshelf collecting dust for another few years. I have no idea what I'm doing. Or a big fear of commitment.

So with no help from her (even though she'd tell you otherwise), I got the letters up. Then I told her she had to leave the room while I hung up the snowflake ballerinas. I wanted to surprise her (and I was desperate for a little quiet time). So she left and I got busy taping.

When I let her back in the room she screamed with a big smile on her face.

Score one for me.

Her walls are pale pink and the ceiling is beige but you can't really tell in the picture. If you look closely you can see the green paint peeking through where the wall meets the ceiling. I still haven't done the touch ups. I'll give it a few more years in case she decides to change the color some day. And I'm a lazy decorator.

a tisket, a tasket

I found a fun new way to deliver goodies to the neighbors.

A paper plate basket. (or is it a box? a bowl? I don't know.)

Adorable, right?

The little girl's kinda cute too, if I do say so myself.

And the cookies (since I know you're very interested), peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

Yum. Yum. Yummy.

mama bird

I made this necklace today.

It's my nest.

All the lovely little birdies I get to take care of every day.

The big green egg is Dan. The emerald signifies wisdom, growth and patience. I'd say that's him.

The little orange one is Danny. Topaz symbolizes love and affection. Danny was happy to know the orange one is him since that's his current favorite color. Did you know that topaz is the state gem of Utah? Pretty cool.

And the little white egg is my Catie Bug. The pearl is a symbol of purity. I like that since my birthstone is a pearl too.

The young women in my ward will be making a mama bird nest necklace this week for their moms for Mother's Day. I think it's pretty safe to say none of their moms read this blog so I haven't ruined any surprises. At least that's what I'm hoping.

I followed this tutorial to make my mama bird nest. It was super easy. I think there might be some other ladies in my life who will be receiving one of these sometime in the nearish future.

I really like my little nest.


Speaking of Mother's Day...

Look what my mom sent to me this week.

It's my early Mother's Day gift from her and my dad.

I love it.

Thanks to my own mama bird.

just another chalkboard project

Here's the thing.

I feel like I spend most of my days cleaning things and folding things and washing things and wiping things and disciplining things and cooking things and picking up things and brushing things and flushing things. All day long.

And then once in a while I have a little idea about something I'd like to do around the house that could possibly make my kids happy and me happy and so I do it. But because I take the time to make that little idea come true, all that cleaning and folding and washing and wiping and cooking and picking up and brushing and flushing gets put on the back burner and then I feel like I should be doing all that instead of this one little thing that I actually want to do. It's a vicious cycle.

Have an idea. Really want to turn that idea into reality. Think about that idea while doing all that cleaning, folding, washing (you remember the rest) and then feel like there's no time. NO way I could do that one little thing I just really want to do. Feel guilty. Do that little thing I want to do anyway. Feel guilty some more. Then feel a little bit happy that I did it. Feel proud of myself for accomplishing something that day besides all the boring stuff I have to do. Take pictures. Blog to show off that little thing that I did because what else am I going to show you? Pictures of the laundry I folded? The dishes I washed? The bums I wiped? I didn't think so.

So here's what I did.





I painted the closet door. It's in the dining room because that room used to be a bedroom.

I like it and it makes me happy.

I know that chalkboard paint is all the craze now a days. I get it. But I don't care. I really like it. Maybe because it reminds me of school and I like school. I always have. I used to hate summer break because I just wanted to be in school. I absolutely hate the feel and sound of writing on chalkboards but I sure do think they look nice.

The best part about this chalkboard project is that it was free (besides all the guilty feelings it cost me from not doing my housewifery duties). Aunt Judy let me use her chalkboard paint. That cute little roller and tray were free too. There was some kind of facebook thing a while ago from Sherwin Williams for a free paint sample. I signed up. When it came, that cute little tray and roller were included. I love free.



Cate likes the new chalkboard too.

I love watching her draw. Danny never cared about drawing. He'll color in a coloring book but rarely ever just draws something. Is that a boy thing? I don't know. Cate just loves to draw though and her creations are adorable.



I found this little box of chalk in the cleaning/purging/organizing spree I went on a while ago. Dustless white chalk. Can't ask for more than that right?





Know what I love about this picture?





Her belly.

The look of concentration on her face. That tongue that just wants to poke through her lips to show she's really thinking. Dan does that too. Must be hereditary.

Her candy pants.

Her feet. She's got some cute ones.

Danny got in on the action too. He drew a road.

Yes. He holds his chalk/crayon/pencil/pen/marker the wrong way. I've tried to help him. I even bought one of those do-hickeys that you stick on the pencil to help him hold it correctly. He just gets frustrated and quits. Ah, the joy of preschoolers.



So there's my chalkboard project. I like it. I did something semi-crafty and DIY and home improvement. Yay for me!

car t-shirt for daddy

Dan had a lovely Valentine's Day. Can you tell?

The kiddies and I gave him a new shirt to show him how much we love him.

Except it was just one of his old t-shirts that I drew on but still...we love him!




And now he can have free back tickles any time he puts on that shirt and lays on his belly on the {hopefully} freshly vacuumed floor.

When I saw this tutorial for a car shirt a while back I knew I had to make one for Dan.

I thought it was cute and probably pretty easy (my kind of crafty).

I just downloaded the template and traced it with a black permanent marker. Then I kept on going because I don't know how to leave well enough alone.




I added some stuff to make his car t-shirt town more personal. I do my best to make him feel special.



The library with pink doors. Even though I haven't brought my kids to the library since I don't even know when. And from what I can remember it doesn't have pink doors.



A nice big welcome sign (that was on the original design, not my own creativity). I think it's a nice touch though.



The grocery store. I added the big flag in front because this particular grocery store is Macey's and that's where we shop. Cate calls it the God Bless America flag and insists on singing God Bless America in its general direction whenever she sees it. Adorable. I know.



McDonald's, because I'm just keeping it real here. We go to McDonald's sometimes. My kids eat fries. It's true. Please excuse the wonky yellow M. I did my best. Don't you love the pink slide in the window? And the big parking lot out front? The beauty is in the details, right?

I bought a Diet Coke at McDonald's last week. I took a sip when we got home. Danny looked at the cup. He said, "Hey, it's MICK-Donald's, not NICK-Donald's!" I asked him how he knew that (he pretty much always says NICK-Donald's). "The M on your cup!" He's a bright one right? All the times we've driven past or gone inside McDonald's and he never noticed the Golden Arches? They're huge! He noticed the little M on my cup though.



And of course, if we're going to have McDonald's on the car t-shirt we certainly better have a school on there too. Of course, Danny's school isn't red with a cute little bell on top but who cares? A school's a school.




I also added another house to the shirt. One is for the cousins (Jarrett and Kris) because Danny tells me several times a week that he thinks he should just live there. The other house is ours. Danny's pretty sure the blue house is big enough for Grama Bama to live in too. I added a few trees and bushes. I like the greenery.

I love how it turned out. I only wish I'd left room for the post office, Target and the dinosaur museum. We certainly go to those three way more than we go to the library or the hospital. I thought about making another t-shirt. One for me to wear and then Dan and I can both lay on the floor getting our backs tickled by the hot wheels. And then I remembered, moms don't lay on the floor (at least this mom doesn't).


* * *

Know what else I did on Valentine's Day?



Heehee.

Stole all their chocolate.

I like to call it Cavity Control.

sleep tight

A few months ago I came across these sleeping bags for the three little bears and I knew I just had to have some. Mostly because just a few nights earlier Danny had asked me for a tiny sleeping bag for Hard Puppy. Talk about perfect timing.

I can't sew. Well, I can sew buttons onto shirts and back in the day I could do a mean cross stitch. I could probably stitch up the holes in our socks if I really tried. But the sewing machine and I are not besties. One day we will be.



I posted the link to those cute little sleeping bags on facebook along with something like, "Hey, these are cute. Somebody make some for me." And what do you know? Somebody made some for me!

It's nice to be nice to the nice. This proves it.

It's not Debra's first time to whip up something for me on her sewing machine. Remember the baby diapers she made for Cate? And the light saber popsicle holders last summer? Maybe I don't need to learn how to sew after all. Debra's taking care of us.

She made three little sleeping bags for Danny's stuffed friends and three for Cate's (which are used mainly for babies, not stuffed friends).

I love them.

Cate did too.

And Danny?

He was thrilled. More excited than I expected him to be about a sleeping bag for Hard Puppy.


And Deeda (or is it Didda? I can't keep track) has been nice and cozy too.




p.s. In case any of my sewing friends want to make other stuff for me, I've got plenty of projects saved under When I Learn How to Sew on my pinterest page.

countdown to kisses

I like Valentine's Day.

Any holiday that celebrates and encourages love, chocolate and kisses is a holiday I support 100%.

My kids like countdowns.

I made this paper chain for them today while they were at preschool (their first day back since being off for 3 weeks and let me tell you it was heaven!).

Best part about me pretending to be crafty: it's free. I just used the paper I already had in my stash. Can't beat that.



Pick your paper and cut strips for the links.

Cut out hearts (I just did this freestyle because I'm crazy like that). Make a slit on either side. I used my scissors because I'm not a craft pro. They probably use exacto knives.

Slide the strips through the heart. Repeat until you have as many as you need (or until it's time to pick up the kidlets from preschool).

I used a smallish pink loop in between the big loops so that my hearts wouldn't be all wonky.




After everything was stapled in place, I wrote the names of our loved ones on the hearts. I kept families together. That's how they're supposed to be right? (Plus, if everyone got their own heart we would've had to start this before Christmas.)



The kiddies and Dan each get their own heart.

And I saved the best for last.



I'm quite proud of myself. It turned out exactly how I planned (while I was laying in bed at 3:00 this morning not being able to go back to sleep after being rudely awakened by a certain 3-year-old).




I've got 32 links up there. We won't be starting the countdown just yet but it doesn't hurt to have your family stuck on the wall now does it?

Here's my plan.

When we tear off the second link of each heart, we'll write a little letter (or card or cheesy Valentine) to that person and send it in the mail. So family (if any of you read this blog anymore), when you get some random piece of love mail from us, that's why.

And just so you know, it might be a countdown to kisses but I'm not promising kisses to everyone on the hearts.

That would just be weird.

sweetened condensed milk paint

Here's my little disclaimer right from the start.

I read your little mommy blog. I even sometimes read your little crafty blog. I try not to but I get sucked in. I see how you do fun stuff with your little kids. They're smiling and creating and you're snapping pictures in the perfect lighting. You're probably happy while you're doing it too. Oh, you crafty little mommy blogger you.

Then I'm left sitting there wondering a few things.

Am I a crappy mom because I don't do artsy fartsy stuff with my kids more often?

Is there a pile of dirty dishes in your sink because you're helping your kids do fun stuff instead of washing them? (the dishes and the kids too I guess)

Is it ok that I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown while I watch my kids paint with sticky sticky milky stuff?

Is it ok that I'm hoping they'll just paint fast so I can hurry up and clean? (their mess and them and those dirty dishes)

Do your kids think you're so awesome because you do artsy fartsy stuff with them?

How often do you really do this artsy fartsy stuff? (because if it's every day then I'm going to have to hate you now)

Will my kids think I'm cool if I do lots of artsy fartsy stuff or are they ok with how infrequently I do it nowadays?

Will they remember this sticky sticky milky paint stuff tomorrow and want to do it again? (because I seriously almost had to go put myself in time out to keep myself from having a serious panic attack...or heart attack, one of those)

* * * * *

Another little disclaimer, I don't know where this idea came from. Certainly not my own little brain. I'm not clever enough to create my own paint from sweetened condensed milk. I have no link or credit. Sorry. I searched my Pinterest "For the Kids" board and it's not from there. I thought it was but I was wrong.

On to the reason we're all here today.

Part Two of How We're Going to Survive Being Cooped up Inside All Winter (part one was the super cool geoboard I made! still feeling proud of that one.)


Sweetened Condensed Milk Paint

Here's what you need:




Best part of this one, I already had all the supplies in my house. No buying anything special. Hooray.

Notice that my little bottles of food color expired back in February. I know. I was taking a risk but I used them anyway.

Just plop the goopy stuff in the muffin tin, mix in your drops of color, stir and then let the kids at it. My kids sit on the counter and paint on the other counter. That's how we roll. We also do artsy fartsy stuff in our pajamas because morning is when they're happiest and most likely to do stuff like this without fighting with each other.



I will never get tired of seeing that protruding bottom lip of concentration.



See that gloopy drippy stuff coming off the paintbrush? That's what darn near made me go crazy. I am just not good at the messy stuff. I'm trying my darnedest to let them have fun anyway.



Oh, be still my heart. I tried to teach them how to wipe their brushes a little bit on the edge of the muffin tin but they weren't having any of that nonsense. Drip drip drip away!



Smiling like his picture.









And then we were done. I think they each painted on two pieces of card stock. I recommend a heavy paper because that sticky paint stuff gets heavy on there. Cate was very generous in her application too.

They thought we were running out of paint at one point (we weren't) so I added more. That's why there's some white swirling around. They didn't do a very good job of stirring it in. Kids.



When the fun was done I stuck the muffin tin in a baggie. It fit perfectly. Then I stuck the baggie in the cupboard where the pots and pans go. I haven't looked at it since. I probably should have stuck it in the fridge. I don't know. I'm afraid to see what it looks like now.



I think we'll try this one again soon. The paintings turn out pretty cool once they've dried.

Nice and shiny.

weekend potpourri

I think I figured out the key to success and happiness this week.

Extremely low expectations.

That might not work for you but I think that's how it's gotta be for me.

I didn't wash the dishes Monday night (probably because I'd already washed them once or twice already that day). Tuesday we went to a preschool open house in the morning. Then we got ice cream and played at the park. The kids played at Aunt Judy's for a while so I could be at the vet without them. We went to walk around the gardens with cousins after that and then home with two extremely cranky, hot and tired kids.

So when I saw that growing pile of dishes in the sink I decided I just didn't care. We played and had fun. The cleanliness of my house suffered but it was worth it (that's for you, Candis). I'm not trying to be all inspirational and cheesy or anything but sometimes I just have to walk away from that monster pile of dirty dishes and forget about them (and hope that nobody comes over to visit to see that I'm neglecting my dishes in favor of my kids).



Somebody found Mama Cat in Spanish Fork. She's been missing for about 2 months and somehow trekked her way across Utah County. I like to think she hitchhiked at least part of that. Or maybe it does take 2 months to kitty walk 25 miles (or something like that). I took her to the vet. She spent two nights there. I paid $495 and they let me take her home. Dan gets to give her medicine twice a day and she's eating special soft food that smells like puke. I sure do hope she makes a full recovery and never pulls that kind of stunt again.

I know pets are part of our families and we love them like they're our children and blah blah blah but I can't remember the last time I spent $495 on one of my human children. I'm crying softly inside about this one. I'm glad she's home but holy crap. Sure glad I could help the vet buy Christmas presents for his kids this year. Sheesh.

The assistant lady actually told me I should really think about having her microchipped. You know, in case she gets lost again. Um, she was returned to us because she had on her collar with our address and phone number on it. Don't you think that proves that a name tag works just fine? Call me crazy. She's just trying to get me to pay for her kids' Christmas presents too.



I took the kidlets to the dinosaur museum a few weeks ago. Near the entrance is a dark room to walk through with just these little blue dots of light. The stars of the universe. Where the earth beings, the sign says. Cate was scared to walk through without squeezing very tightly to my hand at first. Then she watched Danny go through over and over and over again and she got brave.

I started singing the Imperial March song (you know, Darth Vader's theme) since there was nobody around and I wasn't worried about making a fool of myself. Cate thought that sounded fun so she sang da da da da da da da da really loud (to hear her echo) over and over and over as she went through the dark room over and over and over again. That was a nice way to kill some time.



We have melons! Homegrown organic (I suppose since I haven't sprayed with anything to keep the bugs off and the only fertilizer in the soil was cow poop) melons! Dan thinks this is a Crenshaw melon. It's yummy. Kind of tastes like a cantaloupe and a honeydew. I'm just excited to have fruit from our garden. I like vegetables of course, but fruit is just so much better.

Next year I want strawberries and raspberries too. Oh, and cucumbers, beets and green beans. Maybe no zucchini. I'm getting tired of zucchini. I have two ginormous ones sitting at my house right now if anybody wants them.

Maybe no big tomatoes next year either. Just my pear and cherry varieties. Although we did have some really yummy BLT's last night for dinner and again today for lunch. I'm just not big into the whole canning and salsa making thing so all these tomatoes can get a little overwhelming and boring.



I took Danny to see Cars 2 last Saturday during Cate's Quiet Time. I'd have to give it two thumbs down. Danny seemed to enjoy it so that's all that matters. It was fun to be with my favorite boy for a few hours though. I can't complain about that. Or the popcorn and Diet Dr. Pepper. That was good too.

* * * * *

Top Chef Desserts is on again. I'm happy about that. There's a chef on it named Katzie. I'm not usually a big fan of weird, funky, made-up names but I kind of like that one.



We went to the splash park again yesterday. It was my first time being in charge of three little ones. I think I did ok. Danny's been loving this whole babysitting Cousin Ray Ray thing. They're very cute together. Ray Ray pulls on the bottom of Danny's shorts to get him to come with him. Yesterday morning Danny wanted to lay on the bench in the front yard to wait for him to come.



And since it's September now and there's a teeny tiny bit of a chill in the air at 8:00 in the morning, he decided I needed to get out his winter clothes so he wouldn't freeze out there. I said no so he settled for a blanket and pillow instead.



Here's a few cute things Danny's said about babysitting Ray Ray lately:

"It's a two person job to keep an eye on one baby."
"When will Ray Ray be two so we won't have to keep an eye on him?"
"This is the easiest babysitting job EVER!"

* * * * *

I'm ready for fall. So ready that I pulled out all my flowers in the front on Thursday. September 1st means summer is over, right? The flowers were kind of sorry looking anyway so it's ok. Cate was excited because she found 2 snails to play with in the dirt after the flowers were gone.

I also mowed the front and back lawns on Thursday. First time ever doing that by myself. Usually Dan gets it started for me and then I mow (and by usually I mean that one other time I mowed, not like it happens a lot). And being the super woman that I am, I mowed it all by myself, no auto pilot (or whatever it is you call it when the lawnmower pulls forward and you don't have to push...just steer).

Ok, so maybe a little bit of super woman and a little bit of clueless when it comes to knowing how to use a lawnmower. Next time it'll be a way faster job but I won't get nearly as good of an upper body workout.

* * * * *

Cate put her finger in between her teeth and said she lost a tooth. Then she went to her room to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. She didn't really lose a tooth, of course. She just has small gaps in between each tooth. She's a funny kid.

* * * * *

She calls popsicles pock-uh-sulls. Makes me smile every time.



I made blueberry muffin cookies yesterday. Danny wanted cookies. I had a blueberry muffin mix and ideas of making something yummy. I just added eggs, oil and a little bit of flour until the mix looked like cookie dough. I must say they ended up quite tasty. Ray Ray wanted one in each hand. The kids raved about them. They were amazed that they tasted like blueberry muffins. Imagine that. Dan thought they looked like muffin tops. I'm thinking they were more like biscuits. Definitely best when they're warm out of the oven.

* * * * *

I'm loving this thing on facebook that reminds me what my status was on this day in the past. On this date in 2009 I wrote that I sent a two-year-old back to bed in his Halloween costume. I remember that. He woke up before 6:30 and wanted to wear his fireman suit. I put it on him (minus the hat) and then made him get back in bed.


And that helped me remember that it's time to start thinking about Halloween costumes again.

And planning a birthday party for a five-year-old.

Yikes.