Fred&Toots

Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Well I wasn't planning on a blog break but it just kind of happened.  We've got a no TV/no computer rule going on in our house when the kids are awake.  I can check emails or look up something but replying to emails and making my rounds in blog-land has to be done when the kids are asleep.  So without the ol'boob tube to entertain the kids I've been filling in leaving me with no energy to post at the end of the day. 

It all started with my son's strong desire for a WebKinz (they are all the rage right now and every one of his friends has one - even three year olds in my daughter's preschool class!)  A stuffed animal that comes with a code so you can look after it in a virtual world on-line, ugh.  I told him 'never', 'they're a waste of time & money', 'you have your own real-live pets you can play with and look after' and the list goes on.  Well, J.T. (softie!) said he'd buy the kids each a Webkinz if they could do no TV/no computer for 3 weeks.  It has been a couple of weeks now and my kids are getting along better then ever and their play is so much more creative.  We are on a roll but unfortunately part of the fun of a Webkinz requires going on the computer.  I'll definitely be controlling 'when' and 'how long' much more then I used to.  As for TV, the kids don't miss it a bit.  Before the TV/computer ban Mister C was asking me like one hundred times a day if I would buy him a Webkinz.  I'll be interested to see how great he thinks it is once he's got one.  I don't remember wanting any toy that badly.  I don't think I had lots of toys (my mom may beg to differ?)  I guess I would of liked an EasyBake Oven and there were Barbie things I would of loved but nothing I begged for...you?  Was there a toy or something you just had to have? 

Mini-Swap Sneak Peek

The kids & I had great fun today getting our package put together for mini*swap2.
(more peeks over at my flickr)

What's up?

Not much going on around here. A couple power outages this weekend (about 26hrs. in total) which spurred me to clean out my fridge...

and on a crafty note, the kids are working on some 'thank you' cards for all the goodies they received this holiday season...

On a recent trip to the local art store I saw this speedball rubber stuff for making prints. The kids drew a picture for their cards and I transferred it to the rubber and carved away and voila. For Miss Z's card we rolled out just some black tempura paint and stamped away. Cam's picture stamp was just the perfect size for a stamp pad we had on hand.

Swap

I just signed up for my first swap! Well, actually, I just signed my kids up for their first swap. I'm very excited! Sign-up ends today. Visit mommycoddle for more details.

Santa is kind of freaky...

That's me in my Gramma O's arms (about 3 yrs. old - so quite some time ago) receiving a present from Santa.  I look a bit scared and unsure possibly because Santa's beard is falling off!  This is one Christmas tradition (??) that irks me slightly.  When I had my first child I thought it would be fun to take him for a photo with Santa, something to send out with the Christmas cards.  It was never easy and I questioned my motives every time then after 3 years of doing this (I'm a slow learner) I decided I would never do it again.  If my kids showed an interest in going to see Santa then I might reconsider but they get enough Santa sightings without having to go to the mall and sit on some strangers lap. 

I saw one of these links last year and well, it makes you think twice about that photo with Santa.  The poor dears!

Scared of Santa 1

Scared of Santa 2

December!

Here we are...December!  I have a few Christmas decorations out but not many.  This weekend I'll 'haul out the holly' and such and speed up the crafting. 

One craft project I have completed so far is a button advent tree.  I got the idea from a friend whose mother-in-law quilted one for her.  There are 24 buttons and you hang a small ornament (leaving the top for last) each day in December until Christmas Eve:

While crafting up this appliqued/quilted tree thing Miss Z was busy 'creating' as well. 

Before starting a project I always make sure the kids are either a: out or b: set up with a craft of their own.  On this occassion I set up the kids with a selection of 3D objects (like boxes and wood) and paint to decorate them with:

The more I got 'lost' in what I was doing the kids moved on to other things and when all got a little too quiet I thought I better check on things...

Miss Z had gone from paint to scissors.  The sides got chopped off and there was a big chop off the back and one off the front.  She was very proud of her work - what could I do but pull out the camera.  One of the first things that popped into my head was 'thank goodness school photos have already been taken'.  It's only hair, right?  It will grow back.  I did take her to the professionals to get it tidied up a bit...

(please excuse the lens flare blur)

I love how she loves her new cut!  I've always had my hair on the long side so I just naturally assumed that it would be an adjustment for her but she loves her hair.  She's only been mistaken for a boy once (as far as I know) but my little tomboy took it as a compliment.  Go figure.

Other crafty things on the go:  felted snowmen

Here's one Miss Z & I worked on together.  She said that the snow'lady' needed purple lipstick and a pink scarf.

Here's a closer view of her head.  It kind of reminds me of one of those fancy flower swim caps:

* my apologies to the MAC users out there.  Every now and then my site does something wonky and the text appears as one giant link.  I don't know why this happens but I'll see what I can do - I have to think back to how I fixed it last time??? Any ideas?

Gimme Five!

First of all, thank you to anyone who did a little sundance for me...it worked!!!  Saturday it was raining cats & dogs but Saturday evening the sun began to poke through the clouds and it hasn't stopped shining.  Hooray!  The party would have been fine but with 2 girls and 11 boys all five and under, being able to spread out outside was optimum.

So, as promised, some ideas for your very own Wheelie Extravaganza.

It all started when I found some little wooden race car kits for a dollar each.  There were only eight left on the shelf so my father-in-law helped make some more.  Using a 2X4 he did a nice swoopy/angled cut down the centre.  Days before the party J.T. primed them all and added some wooden wheels and other embelleshments.  At the party I provided the children with a variety of stickers and markers to decorate their race cars. 

Let the races begin...
J.T. made a long ramp that we rested on a lawn chair.  The kids took turns racing against one another.  Blue ribbons were handed out to everyone when the racing ended.

there was ice cream cake,

and the grand finale, a Monster Truck pinata

I don't know where the time goes...I can't believe my baby boy is FIVE!!! 

New Dress-Ups

Monday night was Knaughty Knitters which I sooo look forward to every month.  It's such a nice night out with a great group of gals.  I've been fiddling with a red crochet hat (since my girl's weekend away!) for lack of a better project.  I say 'better' because hats are what I always make and it's time for something new.  So now I have the inspiration I need to make a felted tea cozy thanks to my cousin Robin!  It's quick to make and keeps the tea noticeably warmer!  Not only did Robin give me the incentive for my next project she also had a special delivery for me, I mean Zoë - new dress-ups!!!  Why knit another hat when Zoë and I can now sport a stylish safari hat and golden fortune teller hat!  Thank you (:

Living With Kids

There is a toy truck stuck in my toilet!  Other foreign objects that have been in my toilet are: contents of my make-up bag and one cell phone.

Stinky

Part of the bedtime routine with Cam is that we 'draw' on backs with our finger and we have to guess what eachother is drawing.  Then we hum songs and have to guess what the other is humming.  Cam usually starts off with 'Self-Preservation Society' from the original 'Italian Job' and I usually start off with 'Baby, You Can Drive My Car'.  Having done these things we then look up at his ceiling and check out his glow-in-the-dark stars.  Last night having gone through the routine Cam said:  "Mom, can you go have a shower or a bath now?"

Me: "How come?"

Cam:  "You kinda smell.  You smell like wet dog."

Me:  "All right then.  See you in the morning."