Artistic expression in a toddler

Our family loves taking pictures.  Ever since I was little, I've always enjoyed taking what was in my brain and splattering it on paper, sculpting it with clay, creating a miniature model, or taking pictures of the beauty I see.  I guess that's why I enjoy this blog so much.  I find pictures that explain a lot about our life.  It's another creative outlet that helps me appreciate and reflect on my life.  

Anyhow, while taking pictures for the blog, #1 asked if I would take this picture... 

I wonder if she is going to love artistic expression like I do.  Her imagination could certainly support it.  She has already made a sample wedding dress, and her newest thing is to scrape crayons with her fingernails and display them on a piece of white paper.  She calls it color snow.  


As I sit here looking at her work of art above, I am thinking about the perfect place to display if it were in a frame.  The front hall has a lot of empty wall space, so maybe that will be our creation wall.  It would surely make her proud!  :o) 


Now I want to go brush something...  :o)

Creative outlet... cake decorating!

Since having  kids, my scrapbooking days are non existent to say the least!  This is very sad because it used to be one of my favorite stress relieving activities.  On a bad day, I would go home and start creating pages with some of my favorite memories on film.  I loved arranging the pictures perfectly on a 12x12 page and embellishing them with stickers, cutouts, magazine clippings, etc.  Two of my most cherished items in the entire house are my wedding scrapbook and the one I started of the kids.  Writing down the details of specific pictures that will disappear from memory with time.  Ahh... there will come a time where scrapbooking will be easy again. 


For now, my creative outlet is CAKE DECORATING!!  


#1 loves to help me when I bake, and I use it as a reward for not hitting, talking back, etc.  Recently, we (more like I) was in the mood for something sweet, so we decided on cupcakes.    

This was supposed to be a lady bug cupcake.  Ha ha ha!  You would never know by looking at it.  We were thinking it looked more like a pig, but my uncle mentioned "bat", and I couldn't agree more.   


This monkey cake is one of my favorites, and possibly one of the easiest cakes I've ever made. 

#1 helped me with this one too.  I pulled this one from Parenting magazine.  They have such awesome ideas.  I was thinking of making a train cake for #3's birthday, but it looks a little complicated.  We are thinking of hosting it at a local park, so these frog cupcakes instead.  #3's tong is always sticking out, so it fits!  :o)  


Now I want cake!!!

Out with the old, in with the new

Old sink

This is our old sink.  I don't want to sound ungrateful, so let me begin this blog by saying that it has been a wonderful and perfectly functional sink up to this point.  We have washed dishes that came from a number of birthday parties, a baby shower, several cook-outs, etc.  #'s 2 and 3 have had baths in the left basin.  The first Thanksgiving turkey we served as hosts was defrosted in the right basin.  When it's clean, it has a nice shine to it. 


While it served our family well over the years, there are a number of things I didn't like about it.  For one, it is entirely too shallow for this family of five.  Even with a working dishwasher, our dishes pile up.  For some reason, they piled up higher in this sink!  DH makes pancakes every Sunday morning before church, and dishes from that meal alone take up every square inch in each side.  


Another problem is the size of each basin.  What isn't shown here is my little compost bucket.  To keep things as neat as possible (I have OCD), I keep it in the sink.  It takes up about 1/3 of the basin on the right, which made that side practically unusable.  

THIS IS MY  NEW SINK!!!  I LOVE IT!!!

It's a Kohler sink and Kohler faucet and I LOVE IT!!!  The right basin is double the depth of the stainless sink.  I can fit the pancake breakfast dishes in it, can wash my pots and pans in it without hitting the faucet head, and all three children have had several baths in it already!  That might sound gross, but I assure you... it is thoroughly cleaned after each bath session!!!  The kids love playing in it, and I can put them in there and clean up the kitchen after dinner much easier!  Plus, they are at my level and my back doesn't hurt after washing three little people in a regular bath tub.  :o)  


The left basin is as shallow as the stainless sink, but believe it or not, I like that part of it being shallow.  This is where the compost bucket sits, but it's the "splash zone" when the kids take baths.  They like to measure and pour on that side.  


It sounds silly to love a sink as much as I do, but that's what happens when you get married and start a family.  You take pleasure in the "simple" things.  Like giving your kids a bath in the sink!!!  Happy washing!

When it's freezing out, make tea!!!

It is freezing outside today, but school day equals errand day in our house!!!  While #1 is in school, #2, #3 and I do tons of errands.  It is much easier to do this with two kids than three.  We had to hit the supermarket, post office, bank, sporting good store and the co-op... all in 2.5 hours.  Surprisingly, we were able to do it, but not without freezing our keisters off!!!  

When we got home, we were all freezing... all the way to our bones.  I walked in the door, turned the kettle on for tea and let it boil while I got the kids settled and in for a nap.  By the time they were all tucked in, the whistle was blowing!  I went back to the kitchen, poured the water in the teapot and viola!  Rosehip lemon mint tea!  It is the perfect way to start my afternoon down time!!! 

I made this out of rose hips picked from DH's family summer cottage this summer, some dried lemon rind and some organic mint tea from the local co-op.  

Pardon me while I go enjoy my down time... :o)

Frosty and snow!!!

January means snow if you live where we do!  We spent our New Years weekend building the biggest Frosty ever!  We guesstimate it to be about 9 feet tall!  :o)  

9' Frosty

The pole in the back was used to get his mid section to where it is.  We took a piece of plywood and shimmied it up.  Quite a process considering I am not that strong.  The kids were so funny.  #1 kept saying... "I can't wait to see him come to wife wike in the movie."  I had to think fast... think of a reason why this wouldn't happen.  Yes!  That's it... I explained to her that this was not Christmas snow.  Frosty will only come to life if it is Christmas snow.  This will work for now, until next years questions begin.  But, there is time!


We made him in the morning, and unfortunately, he didn't last the day.  As the temperatures climbed, Frosty began to get smaller and smaller... until he fell flat on his face.  He was a beautiful Frosty, so I will not show you his current state.  He deserves more than that!


Here is a picture of him getting his nose though.  Such a handsome guy...

Resolutions

A friend of mine said they wouldn't be making any resolutions this year because they never end up sticking past the first few weeks.  While I see the point in that statement, I figure there has to be a way to be somewhat successful.  So, instead of saying "get in shape" or "lose 10 pounds", I will try to set up smaller goals.  Here is what I would like for the year 2011:

Blog once a week.  As I sit here and think about that, it seems like I should be able to do more than that, but the proof is in the pudding.  Don't look at my blog history please!!  :o)

Eat less red meat (once a week at the most)!  Every time I eat it, it drags me down!  I have less energy and it makes me feel like my thoughts aren't as clear.  Could be psychological, but red meat is not good for the heart, so it can't hurt to cut back!

Make healthier choices for food: Soups are a fantastic option for lunches, and this has to be one of my favorites... for boxes soups anyways. 

  

Date night!  Go out on a date once a month with my husband.  Another requirement would be to get ready like I did before we had kids.  It's pretty evident that I've let myself go since having kids, so to blow dry my hair and apply make up would be a requirement!  

Save $$!!  More specifically, try to save up 1/12th of our monthly expenses each month, so that by the end of the year, we will have one month of expenses in the bank! 

That is all I have for now.  There isn't anything regarding the kids because I already do a lot with them.  They aren't lacking, that's for sure!!!  :o)