Finger Puppets

Okay, I hate to dwell on the OBVIOUS, but Pinterest is awesome. Justin always disses on it, but seriously, I have found so many valuable ideas on there! Delicious recipes, fun projects, cool ideas, things to do, etc. And here is another one. Finger puppets! Felt is cheap, like 30 cents for a sheet of paper sized piece at Joanne Fabrics. When I came across this idea, I already had several colors of felt, and I already had googly eyes, so it essentially was free. Since they have proved to be a good investment, I have gotten a few more colors and bumped the cost up to a good 2 dollars or so. You do need a glue gun, so I guess you would have to add that cost in as well, unless you have enough patience to wait for Elmer’s glue to dry. I do not.

Here is the link that started the whole thing:

http://www.theidearoom.net/2010/05/finger-puppet-patterns-and-instructions.html

To my credit, I did not purchase any patterns (come on now, be serious). I just copied their idea for free. You’re welcome, People-Trying-To-Make-Money. To THEIR credit, theirs are better than mine. More intricate, and a little classier. But come on now, in the words of Woody from Toy Story, “You are a child’s play thiiinnnggg”. They get the job done.

The first few that I made were in preparation for our upcoming zoo trip Memorial Day weekend:

Justin had looked at the zoo’s website, so we knew what animals they had, and what we could anticipate seeing. (The weather was a little chilly that day, which was awesome, because it meant the animals were up and moving around). So, knowing what was coming, I made Thad a giraffe, a zebra, an elephant and a lion. He absolutely loved them. He thought it was so cool having them on his fingers. (Side note: he also becomes devastated when they fall off his fingers, which happens a lot, so we also use wide popsicle sticks that I had for other crafts labeled for each animal).

For the next couple of weeks, here and there, we would make a few more as our “project”. Once I got going, I got ideas for more and more animals. Actually, I have a few on my mind right now…. Anyway, we have MORE than 2 hands worth at this point. He gets a big kick out of them, and we bring them out every few days so he can fill up his hands with them.

                                                                 OUR WHOLE ZOO:

It has also inspired Thad to make “fingerpuppets” out of many different objects, such as:

Shotgun shells:

And marker caps:

What can I say, whatever floats his boat, I guess…..

Animal Projects

I am always on the lookout for things to occupy time and interest for Thaddeus. Especially now with Thatcher, I like to try and make the most of any one-on-one time together. Since he is getting a little older, we have been able to do things that are a little more involved. Pinterest is always a great source of inspiration for me, and a while ago I came across this:

Found HERE

Thad is big into animals, so these are a hit with him. Like everything, it takes some practice. The first one he did was kind of crazyness, and not very structured. Now when I say we are going to do a “project”, he knows what I am talking about, and what is going to happen. I have found that consistency is really key with him, and when he knows what is expected of him, and what is coming, things go much more smoothly. Understandable.

There are a billion craft ideas for toddlers out there, but there are a couple of things that I really like about this particular blog. First, the crafts are practical. They don’t require a lot of equipment. Mostly construction paper, scissors and glue (Remember Thad’s 2nd birthday gifts? Booyah. Do I know how to plan ahead, or what?). Which only makes sense….do you really want to spend money on something that they may decide they have no interest in, or destroy 2 minutes later? Second, book lists are included with each animal project. I thought that was actually a really great idea. We go to the library a lot already, just for something free to do to occupy our time. Typically, I would just browse the shelves, looking for something up Thad’s alley. Now what I do is pick a couple of animals off the craft list, and get on the library’s website ahead of time, and search for beginner easy books about that animal. Some are better than others, but it makes the craft a bigger deal.

What we do then, is have 5 or 6 books about our project animal that we read, and then we do our project. Like I said, it took some practice, but now we are on a roll. We have done several projects at this point. Each a little different, and really, each have been a success. He gets excited about it, enjoys doing the project, and really likes to show it off to Dad when he comes home from work.

Whoopie Pies

I had never even heard of whoopie pies until maybe 6 months ago when the girls from my old job decided to have a whoopie pie baking contest. They professed great love for whoopie pies, and since I wasn’t working the day they had the contest, I couldn’t argue. There are endless varieties of whoopie pies, apparently, but they all consist of 2 cookies with frosting sandwiched in between. A couple weeks ago, 2 of the girls from work came over to watch the boys one evening while Justin and I went out to dinner. I made them dinner, and some dessert to take home with them as a thank you. I always have a million dessert recipes that I want to try, but decided on this doozy since I knew it was up their alley. The recipe is from Pioneer Woman, one of my tried-and-true recipe resources.

Oatmeal Whoopie Pies

Oatmeal cookies are one of my moms go-to dessert recipes. I have never loved oatmeal cookies themselves, but I do love the dough. This recipe was a bit different from my moms, the cookies were really soft, and almost a little cake-like. My favorite part of this recipe though is the frosting. It is easily the best frosting I have ever made. It is fluffy and delicious. I will make these again just for the frosting, but the overall cookie is ridiculously good too.

Friday Fun Facts

Just a couple of random facts for a Friday afternoon.

1. You can substitute applesauce for oil in a recipe, with minimal difference in final product. I made banana bread today and on a whim decided to try using applesauce, like you always hear people talk about. Delish. FYI, oil has 14g of fat per tablespoon, and my recipe called for 1/2 cup of oil. That would equal 84 grams of fat in one loaf of banana bread. You know how much fat is in applesauce? Zero.
2. Ricky Martin is gay. What? You have know this for a decade? Well my husband just found out. And he was surprised.
3. You know you really love your previously mentioned husband when you are willing to dig through this to find his missing wedding ring. Yes, that is garbage. Yes, that garbage contains cat poop.
4. Justin will be getting his ring sized so that it stays on his finger.
5. Happy Friday!