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!

Staying Sane

It has to be said: I don’t like infants. I love my baby, he is precious and a wonderful gift from God. But I haven’t slept for more than 3 hours since March 20th. It’s seriously wearing me down. Every single part of my body is tired. Worse, I am emotionally tired. Try dealing with a toddler when you are emotionally tired. It’s not pretty. Thatcher is no where near as difficult as Thad was, but he is definitely not one of those mythical happy babies. I am the only one who can hold him. I am the only one who can soothe him, and the only one who can put him to sleep. Which basically means that I feel like every single moment of my life is centered around him. Well duh, he is a baby, what do I expect, him to change his own diapers? No, I’m not saying that any of this is abnormal, I am just saying that it is incredibly hard. And exhausting. I feel like I am teetering on the edge of full breakdown, and I have been to this point many times in the last 2+ months. And then we have a good day, or a good night, and I feel like I recuperate a bit. And then it gets gnarly again. It is very easy to forget that this will eventually get easier. I wasn’t that long ago that I did this with Thad, and I felt like I was living a never ending day of screaming baby. But gradually it got better, and easier, and involved more sleeping. This will too.

In this moment of trying to convince myself that things will get easier, and my life will return to it’s more typical state, something soothing came to mind. My MindMap. It’s nothing really, just a little exercise that I came across, I think on a blog somewhere. When I feel like my life is out of control and no longer my own, I like to check in, re-center myself and remind myself of who I am. The kind of person I want to be, the wife, the mom, etc. It is a way to visualize those compartments of yourself. Here is what mine looks like:

If I made one based on today’s life, it would look a little different. I am not currently spreading myself evenly in these areas. BUT, someday, I will again. (Laundry, I’m looking at you…hang in there…we’ll catch up some day). Looking at this makes me reassess some choices though. It’s true that I don’t have time to spend on “Everyone Else”, for example, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t take any time to “Be nice” to my husband. Definitely some things that I can work on. And, ultimately, it’s not just for his sake, but for my own.

So, Self, I am talking to you: check yo’self before you wreck yo’self. Or something like that.

Monogram Mug

On one of my Pinteresting expeditions, I came upon this fun project:

DIY Monogram Mugs. I am a fan of cheap, easy, fun crafts, especially when they make good gifts. Extra bonus, I made this project even cheaper and easier than in the tutorial. Her supply list includes scissors, pen, tape, graphite transfer paper, Black Pebeo Porcelaine Pen in Fine Point ($4 at Michaels, also available here) and a print out with the family’s initials. My supply list includes:

1. Black oil-based Sharpie
2. Dry erase pen

Bam. That’s a short list. The project started off with a bang when in an attempt to improve Thatcher’s scream attack, I walked across the parking lot from Five Guys where we had dinner, over to Michaels. I intended to get the pen she used, but after 15 minutes of wandering around the store looking for either the pen or an employee, I was told by the sole person working there that they were out of such pens. Fortunately, this particular 15 year old Michaels employee happened to be well versed in the art of mug drawing and told me that a oil based Sharpie should do the same thing (meaning it can write on porcelain and won’t wash off). Done. I picked out my pen (I used black, medium tip size) and headed up to the register where I then stood in line for another 15 minutes (while trying to jiggle my fussy child into submission…I’m only halfway joking). At one point I honestly considered shoplifting the pen.

Finally they allowed me to pay for the pen ($3.99), and I woke my by-that-time-sleeping-baby back up by putting him in his carseat. He then proceeded to scream the rest of the way home. But that’s a different story.

I was planning on just free handing a letter onto a mug that I had purchased at Goodwill for $0.49. There’s no way I’m paying money for transfer paper and going through the hassle of printing and cutting out letters. Silly. Another bonus of using the Sharpie instead of the suggested pen is that once you write it, it’s permanent. No baking of the glassware is necessary. Before I started working, I realized that even better than free handing, I could just draw out my letter with a fine-tip try erase pen that was in the kitchen drawer before drawing the final letter with the Sharpie. Worked perfectly.

Obviously, there are a million different font styles you could copy, and a billion different things you could put on there. Pictures. Song lyrics. Names. Etc. This first mug I made to give to my sister, with her initial as well as a Bible verse that I know is meaningful to her. I have a second mug to do, but I’m not sure what to put on it yet. I really like how they did a collection of different sizes and shaped mugs to make a whole set. For $0.49 per mug, and the pen already purchased, there’s not a whole lot to loose. I think they will make cute little “Thank You” gifts, or whatnot. Score another point for Pinterest.

Reading with Kids

When we were kids, my mom used to read to us every night. Over the years, she read us TONS of books. Lots of classics like Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, etc. Growing up, I was a huge reader, and I still love to read, I just have less time to do it. Thad and I read all the time. He has his favorites, but I can’t wait to read him some of my favorites, especially as he gets older and we can read big books. I have already started to stock pile some of the classics:

(Note also the sweet bookends that Justin made me out of some fire wood he was cutting up).

Here are some that cannot be missed:

1. Chronicles of Narnia

2. Where’s Waldo

Not exactly a chapter book, but definitely one of the favorites in my family while growing up; Who doesn’t love Waldo. I saw these at Costco for like 5 bucks apiece a few years ago. Couldn’t pass that one up!

And what childhood will now be complete without reading these new classics:

3. Harry Potter

If I have said it once, I’ve said a millions times: my husband is a genius. But the boy does not read. I should re-state that: he does not pleasure read. He does not read fiction. He reads boring stuff. While I have voluntarily read hundreds and hundreds of books, he has probably read a dozen. That may be an exaggeration, but not by a whole lot. One of the few books he has read (and so have I), is this series:

4. The Lord of the Rings

If I had girls, I would add these to the list:

5. Girly books: Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, plus 2 of my all time adult favorites, The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End