Mamma, Look!

Ooops!

2011-10-23T22:34:00.001-07:00

I’m in the midst of my annual flurry of making Halloween costumes. At the moment, I’m struggling to make a dress for my daughter. While working on the dress, I realized I never blogged about last year’s costumes. So here they are:

Last year, was the year of Harry Potter. My daughter and her friends read all the books, watched all the movies all in preparation for the release of the “Deathly Hollows, Part I” film to be released. To coincide with the release the kids all dressed up as characters from the Harry Potter movies. Instead of choosing Hermione, my daughter choose to be Bellatrix LaStrange and what a great villain she was.

They could be twins, don’t you think?

The Bellatrix costume wasn’t so bad. The skirt was harder to sew than I anticipated. Her jacket was a Goodwill find, and her shirt was embellished with silver fabric paint. Overall, fairly easy for a wizard costume.

My oldest son wanted to be an Ewok from Star Wars. An Ewok???? How do you make that costume? And not make it too cute!

In the end, I adapted a bear pattern, and with a few embellishments: A hood made out of fleece, a fabric print belt, and a bear turns into a cute, but fierce Ewok.

Not to bad. I have to say. All the Dads, who were out trick-or-treating, thought his costume rocked.

Hopefully, in a few days, I’ll have this year’s crop of costumes for you.

Magical Moment of the Day

2011-09-14T19:03:00.001-07:00

While describing the day’s craziness to a friend, on the phone, I drove by a young doe walking by a fence, about to hide in some trees.

This is Why I had a Third Child

2011-09-08T08:43:00.001-07:00

Years ago, a friend of mine showed me the crankypants website. There were the cutest knitted baby pants, are they not?

However, I didn’t have a baby or even a toddler. Michael was a very cool four –year-old, that no matter what the reward would NEVER EVER put on those pants. I longed for these pants, they are a knitters dream project. Just cute and spunky at the same time.

Well, a few years later, lo a behold,I now have John. After months of hard work (I will not fess up exactly how long) the shorts are done. He may not be crawling, but he’s still a toddler! John loves his new monster shorts and at two-and-half years of age, he wears them with pride! Whew, got them done just in time, before he grew to old and before the weather turned. Because I don’t think a fourth child would happen, just so I could knit these pants! Because quite frankly, three is enough.

I have to thank Purlbee for helping me figure out what type of pants I wanted to knit and Smoochie helped me figure out the pattern for the face. Now off to the next project~

Tapas!

2011-06-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

One day, while enjoying a few moments alone shopping at Marshalls. Yes, I never thought I’d enjoy shopping by myself, after 8 p.m. in a store. But sometimes, when you’re by yourself and the shopping cart, strolling through a store, you can actually breathe. I digress. I found a Tapas book for $3.99.

Tapas? I’ve heard about them, but what are they? I picked up the book, to find out there was a secret tapas lover hiding in my soul. They’re like appetizers, but really they are the whole meal, just little quick courses. Not to heavy, easy, and oh so good.
So I’ve instituted Tapas/Appetizer Fridays. Which has happened once in the last 7 or 8 weeks. I try, someday when the planets align it’ll happen again. We enjoyed “Porterhouse Steak with Sherry,” it was tender and delicious. The stuffed tomatoes were scrumptious, believe it or not the kids liked the Tapas more than they liked the mini pizza bites. Which brings me to today.

At 4:30 today, while defrosting the chicken that I had forgotten to taken out. Thinking to myself “what am I going to make for dinner?” I realize, that not only was my daughter hosting a sleepover after my son’s 6:15 soccer game, but I had rescheduled his piano lesson for 5:30 (oops). What am I going to make in 30 minutes? Panic! What am I going to do? I will just die if we do fast food again (whine). Ah ha! Tapas book to the rescue. I was able to throw together “Chicken in Lemon and Garlic,” home made Cole slaw, and some Watermelon slices. Dinner was on the table at 5:05 and we were out the door on time. Yes, miracles can happen.
The Tornado warning part of the story can wait

What’s Wrong With The Breck Girl Look?

2011-05-14T10:46:00.001-07:00

The act of blow drying my daughter’s hair, has been an act of torture for both her and I FOREVER. I brush and she screams, I yell, we huff and we puff, it is a regular old nightmare. Tonight, the light bulb finally went off. She’s going for this look:

While, as a child of the 80’s, I’m going for this:

Really, truth be said, I’d love to see this:

Sigh, I guess there will have to be some compromise found. I understand the Susan Dey look, but really is there anything wrong with being a Breck Girl?

* For those of you who know me. Yes, I realize I would have hated being a “Breck Girl.” I recognize the hypocrisy.

TGIF

2011-04-08T14:51:00.001-07:00

They say color effects your mood, I think I proved it this week. Or at least color affects your attitude. That’s especially true, when you add childhood indoctrination. Monday morning, I looked in the morning and I realized I was wearing green and black, i.e. I looked like one of these guys:

Gais YUCK!!!!!! These guys stink more than a 2 year-olds diaper. They are the antithesis of good. They are pure E.V.I.L. You know, how the Steelers are, but worse. Yes, I live in Cleveland. I would say my Swedish cousins indoctrination would have made Pravda proud. I soaked it up as a little 5 year-old. I think I was feed of anti Gais bottle of milk, and told that IFK Blåvitt were the Angels. I haven’t seen a Swedish football match in years and years, but I know these truths to be true.

So Monday morning, I looked in the morning and “Yuck” came out of my mouth. As a result, one kid was sick, our TV died (it has resurrected though, for now) another kid had a second round of antibiotics, one kid was stung by a bee in his cleat, everything took forever, etc. and all because I choose to wear a green shirt with black pants. Now, if I had worn blue and white, it would have been a much better week. I would have looked like one of these guys…the good guys.

April’s Fool

2011-04-03T19:18:00.001-07:00

This year I took it easy and served up some tomato soup for the kiddos.

With a little banana pudding and some spray food coloring and there you have it.

School Box Top Contest

2011-03-24T11:16:00.001-07:00

After weeks of anticipation, the winners of our schools Box Top competition have been announced. After tons of clipping, and scrounging, the grade that had the most Box Tops turned in is……was the First Grade class. To celebrate they had a dance party and snacks during recess. Look at this incredible cake a couple of moms made. Just amazing, wonder what their prize is going to be….

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-23T17:58:00.001-07:00

What’s A Hero

2011-03-15T19:35:00.001-07:00

In my mind heroes are: the firemen that ran into the Twin Towers on 9/11, the policeman who saved a battered woman or child, a soldier, an astronaut, a teacher who provides a snack for a needy student, etc. Now there is another set, these engineers who the Fukushima nuclear plant. There are 50 of them, working while being exposed to unbelievable levels of radiation, just like a doctor or nurse who works on a heart attack patient for over an hour, never giving up hope. Are these fathers and mothers, grandparents, newly graduated engineers? Do they even know the fate of their families and homes after the Tsunami? They must know they’re giving their lives to stop the meltdown. This whole experience is just drawn from a disaster movie. Those things just weren’t ever supposed to happen. Now, they happen every year it seems. These people remind me of the characters from “Armageddon,” just your average Joe, who is now charged with saving many. What can you say about people who do that? Hero is not a big enough word.
Here is an NPR article regarding these heroes. God speed to them.

Oh, The Possibilities

2011-03-12T22:22:00.001-08:00

I don’t know if it’s part of the American fabric, or my grandfather’s seaman's blood, but there is nothing like being on the road. Especially, when it’s dark and the only vehicles on the road are you and a half a dozen semi-s making your way to nowhere. There’s a world of possibility on that road in front of you. Tonight, I drove for the first time in a long time, listing to R.E.M., Alanis Morissette, Natalie Merchant, and some other college favorites, with two of my kids sleeping in the back of my car. As usual, Melissa Etheridge describes it the best.

Call ME: Land Line, Cell Phone, E-mail, Etc.

2011-03-03T12:09:00.001-08:00

Unbelievably, I’ve entered another new stage of my life. I’ve begun to work outside the home again. While I’m at home waiting for Little John ripening a little bit more before I can let him loose, I’m substitute teaching.
I’m so excited to finally work in my field again, and every once in a while I am able to teach a Social Studies class. It just makes my week when that happens. Unfortunately, I rarely interact with the teachers I work for, which brings me to this post. I need to leave my contact information in case they have a question and I rather not leave it in my horrible scrawl. Calling cards are my answer. I came across How about Orange, a lovely blog, which not only had calling cards, the calling cards have a Kurbits print and they are orange. Just two of my favorite things.

Snow Day

2011-02-28T08:10:00.001-08:00

last Friday the sixth snow day of the school year hit us in Northeast Ohio. Wendy finally decided it was time to build her Lego Pirate ship, that had been sitting in the closet. She spent the day working on this project, without letting her brother (who was circling) divert her attention.
It always amazes me that this:

Can turn into this:

Scenes from the plunder:

What’s your Ikea name?

2011-02-22T19:59:00.001-08:00

What better subject to resume blogging with. If you’re curious what you’d be called if you were a prepackaged bookcase from Ikea, you can find out here.

Moose

2010-11-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

Second Star to the Right and On’Til Morning

2010-11-26T19:10:00.001-08:00

My baby is not a baby anymore. He’s starting to put two words together, he wears a size 8 ½ shoe, he runs and jumps, an d he can even throw a tantrum or two. The time has gone so fast. As a result, we’re getting rid of our baby things slowly but surely. Three will be it. So, the items we’re not keeping for mementos or any possible grandchildren are finding their way into the donation pile. So it’s time, before his room changes too much, to document it. It’s a bit narcissistic, but what about blogging isn’t?

I planned for years for this room. The blue is my favorite color, sort of a Wedgewood blue. The stars were in a Pottery Barn catalog years ago and I kept the clipping, for just the right time. The time finally came. However, I had tremendous carpel syndrome due to my pregnancy, that my incredible friend and my mother helped me paint the fine details of the stars. My daughter helped with Big Ben and I was able to paint Peter Pan and the Darlings. The wall decal was special ordered from Just Ad Words. Luckily, the bumper and valance that my incredibly talented mother made for my first child fit wonderfully in this room. All I had to buy was the quilt for our extra bed for guests.

After all that work, the room was complete and waiting for my little baby boy. He’s so big and just ready and willing to go find some adventures with Peter. So, here’s the snapshot of my baby’s nursery as he’s headed for the second star to the right and on’til morning.

Shhh…Don’t Tell Anyone

2010-04-01T18:57:00.001-07:00

It’s not as though I don’t love my kids and love being with them, but it’s just so rare that I’m by myself for any length of time during the day. Then there was today. My kids, all three of them were at my mother’s, so I could go to a Doctor’s appointment downtown. Amazingly enough I was out of the office in 30 minutes. That never happens, any pediatric appointment takes at least two hours, I have spent literally a total of weeks in the waiting room and examining room over the last 10 1/2 years, but not today. I didn’t even have time to flip through a magazine.

“So what do I do now?” I thought sitting in my car at 10:45 on an absolutely gorgeous day. I could go get my kids, but you know they’re at Grandma’s the last thing they want to see is, well, ME. There is some Easter shopping to do, yard work, and about a million and half other things I could be doing, but you know what I had in my wallet? A membership to the Cleveland Botanical Garden,which is about a mile away from the parking lot. Shhh, don’t tell anyone, I went to the garden and walked around looking at the daffodils and crocuses. I even sat down on a bench and didn’t have to answer to Mom, Mom, Mom, MOM, or chase anyone, shhh, don’t tell anyone. Then the church clock struck 12 and I had to go…

Sometimes life just hands you gifts.

Just Plain Fun

2010-03-24T17:43:00.001-07:00

I thought I’d share this. My daughter is looking for ideas for her school’s talent show, so we ended up on YouTube. This video, the Evolution of Dance, just is plain silly fun. I thought you guys would get a kick out of it.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-17T13:09:00.001-07:00

So How Does a Dairy-Free Birthday Cake Work?

2010-03-14T20:23:00.001-07:00

My little caboose turned one! Can you believe it? Xander is an entire year old! As many of you know, he has been kicked off of dairy again! That means some of life’s greatest pleasures are withheld: cheese, milk, yogurt, sour cream, are taboo, gone, struck down, not to be had. Oh, the agony…. I digress.

We had to restart Xander’s dairy/soy free diet again, one week before his birthday. A few days into the diet, it hit me, his cake! How am I going to make him a dairy free cake? There is no way I’m going to make this little guy a birthday cake that he can’t eat, NO WAY! I’m crazy about birthday cakes, especially first birthday cakes. Over the years I have made some horrible, ugly, birthday cakes (see an example below), but they have been made from the heart, except for one. It’s one of my biggest guilts (ok, I know it’s trivial) is that I bought an ice-cream cake for Daniel’s first birthday. So, there is no way that my caboose, is not going to have a homemade first birthday cake.

The research began and I settled on a Cherrybrook chocolate cake mix. I know it was a mix, but it was dairy and soy free. I then tried their frosting… it was awful. I don’t know if it was the shortening that I used, but it was too sweet and had an awful texture. After some goggling I found this recipe, it’s essentially a meringue frosting, and super easy to make. I whipped up three batches of frosting and decorated the cake, and I must say it looked and tasted pretty darn good. Yippee!!!

Now, on to my confessions. Number one, I was so focused on making a successful dairy free/soy free cake, I didn’t make enough. So pretty much only the kids got a taste of the cake, seriously only an idiot does something like that. My second confession is that by the time I had the last quarter of the cake to cut, it just started falling apart. The frosting became too warm and started slipping. I sort of suspected this might happen, while I was decorating the cake. I had a conundrum. I have started freezing my cakes before I frost them, because it is so much easier to decorate them. But now I have a frozen cake, that needed to thaw, but the frosting had to stay cold….why does stuff like this always happen to me? Someone explain, I swear, I try to think things through. At any rate, we left the cake in the garage overnight, and we took our chances and brought it in to defrost in the morning, and the cake started falling apart. So next time I use this frosting the cake won’t be frozen. I will use the frosting again, because it tasted pretty good and didn’t have any of the forbidden ~~fruit~~ dairy. What matters, is in the end, Xander ate his homemade dairy/soy free cake, and loved it!

Check Off The List

2010-03-12T06:57:00.001-08:00

I love my curtains, but they have had a major flaw. The hem was not straight. I took them apart and now the hems are straight, whew, that was harder than you would think with a plaid pattern. Oh, well they are corrected ironed and hung up…on to the next project.

Did You See That One?

2010-02-27T05:35:00.001-08:00

I HATE commercials, rarely in my life do I like to sit down and watch a commercial. Then these commercials came around and I love them so much that I’m writing a blog about them. There is something amiss in this world.

My family has really enjoyed the Olympics, and what can be funnier than grown-ups having a snowball fight.

Then there are the P & G Mom commercials. Lately, as a Mom I think, I’m really gaining a deeper understanding what a marathon this is and how encompassing it is. Don’t get me wrong, I got it when my little girl was born, but now that we are running to practices, dance lessons, piano lessons, working on homework, dealing with bullies, changing diapers, trying hard to fit in playtime, and make a nutritious meal every once in a while, I’m getting it on a much deeper level. A commercial is successful when it connects to you and boy does this one get to me:

Then they had to go and make this one:

Where did I put that tissue?

One Last Hurrah!

2010-02-26T18:36:00.001-08:00

As you know my son has been sick most of the winter. At his well appointment, my pediatrician and I decided that it coincided with the introduction of dairy to his diet. As a result, we are now dairy free again. I have to abstain, because I’m going to try and keep nursing until the end of winter, to boost his immunity. It has just been so much easier to figure out what to feed the little, and enjoy some yogurt. It’s come to an end, so this afternoon, I pretended that I had the appointment in the afternoon, and had a slice of coffee cake with a bit of butter (just like my Mormor used to have) and enjoyed my last dairy hurrah for a while.

Not to blame anyone…

2010-02-22T19:42:00.001-08:00

Ok, I’ve been in a rut. I just haven’t been able to bring myself to blogging lately. I’m so sorry. It may have been the five weeks of illness, winter sports leagues, other responsibilities pulling me left and right, but to be honest it wasn’t any of those excuses. It was this little angel:

This little angel, despite having Roseola and RSV this winter, has decided to go on a developmental spurt. He has started walking, crawling only when needed and as a result do this:

and some more of this:

And on top of that, he’s only wanted to take his naps while picking up my kindergartner from school in the middle of the day or his sister in the afternoon. Don’t tell anyone, I have resorted to letting him nap in the car. If I run my errand remotely around 10:30 a.m he is guaranteed to be asleep wherever I’m going. So, I have sat in my car trying to give him a few more minutes of sleep, I have even left him in the car parked in the garage, I do check in on him.

This has resulted in my free time being spent, picking up after him, rearranging my cabinets and placing locks on them, checking in on him and trying to get him to sleep in his crib.

I don’t want to jinx myself, but I think we have baby proofed the house fairly well, and best of all, I think he’s getting the idea that he needs to sleep in his crib. That may possibly mean that I may have more than 20 minutes to get my head together in my house, not in my car. Shhh, I didn’t just say that. You’ll know if it works, if I start posting more. Keep those fingers crossed if for no other reason for my sanity.

Look What My Dad Made

2010-01-07T18:40:00.001-08:00

My father has been fascinated with glass blowing as long as I remember. Any historical village that has a glass furnace our family would go and inspected it, any factory that we passed, we would take a “quick tour.” So these days while my dad is “retired” and working more than ever, my brother and mother gave my father glass blowing lessons, and here is a vase he gave me. Isn’t it cool? I just love it!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-06T19:42:00.001-08:00

Almost made it to the Epiphany

2010-01-03T18:04:00.001-08:00

It used to be that decorations were put up closer to Christmas and stayed up past New Years until Epiphany I believe, unfotunatly that’s not the cast anymore. Once Thanksgiving rolls around, the marathon starts and you hardly take a breath until Christmas. At that point you are just TIRED of Christmas and can’t wait to put it all away. Usually, I try to get everything packed up by the second or the third. But since the kids are going back on the fourth I didn’t want to waste a day packing everything away. This year I’m almost going to make it to the Epiphany. Tomorrow, the fourth, the decorations go away for another year. Tonight, I’m going to have a glass of glogg and enjoy the lights for one more night.

Knitting Graffiti

2010-01-02T20:31:00.001-08:00

I enjoy the act of knitting graffiti, it is just adds a piece of love or maybe comfort hidden behind an act of rebellion when something has been draped with a knitted piece of work. Here is Medina’s latest knitting graffiti, it’s planned and not secret, but it is still fun. You can find it on the square outside of Studio Knit.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T19:50:00.001-08:00

A couple of friends of mine did a summary of the last decade and the upcoming decade on Facebook, and I thought that would be a great post for my blog.

In the last 10 years, I partied like it was 1999, I have earned my graduate degree, had two children, that were joined by our third this year. I lived in two houses, said good-bye to two kitties and hello to two more. Have witnessed three children rolling over, and crawling. Sent two children to preschool, kindergarten and one to elementary school, often with trepidation, but only to be won over by incredible teachers. Witnessed these children develop into interesting, caring and wonderful human beings. I’ve been blessed by good friends, a great family, and a terrific husband.

The next decade will bring one child to her freshman year in college (she says Stanford), one will be navigating his way through high school, and the baby will be in elementary school. There will be two more drivers to insure, boyfriend and girlfriend dramas, some of our soccer days will be ceasing, only to start again with the baby. My husband and I will be chip away at our 1,000 things to do list. My friends and family will be healthy and joyous and there will be more peace and love in this world.

I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-09T20:58:00.001-08:00

My Garden

2009-12-03T17:43:00.001-08:00

Lotta, from Lottas Trätdgård, asked me about my garden, what must be forever ago. I went outside and took some lovely photos. Which, I have to say, just seemed pretty dreary in late October, but now that it is December, it looks so warm and inviting. It just a lesson, I need to learn, love the place and time that you are in, you’ll miss it when it’s gone. I’m sure the heavy cold drops of rain that are falling tonight will be nostalgic at some point in my life…well maybe.

Lotta, so you know, I live in a new housing development, so everything from the grass, and even some of the dirt has been brought in over the last three years, much of it by my husband and myself. Now that I’ve said that, I’m pretty happy. There is a TON of more work to do, but it is coming along and starting to come together. So here is the peak at my garden.

PS the birch gives me a taste of home, I hope to have two more in the upcoming years.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-02T06:27:00.001-08:00

My Husband Called Me a Geek

2009-12-01T06:59:00.001-08:00

While I was reading some blog about Donny Osmond on Dancing with the Stars, I was lead to a link on Hulu. Hulu? What is that? It's cable for your computer.

I don't know about you, but I really can't stand to watch TV these days. My favorite day is Wednesday because I can watch NCIS on USA. Otherwise there really isn't a lot on. There is V, but I'm forgetting to TIVO it, then there is Desperate Housewives, but otherwise, I'm just flipping around just trying to find something with a storyline.

So today, I found Hulu. It’s a website that offers tons of shows for free, and return you have to sit through a couple of 30 second commercials. Honestly I don’t think there are two minutes worth of commercials. There are tons of shows to click on, such as the pilot for V that I missed the first critical 15 minutes. I'm going to watch it, but today I watched a Lou Grant episode. It was great. I loved looking at the dial telephones, metal desks, and the 70's cars driving by and in fact I enjoyed storyline. Next time Monday or Tuesday rolls around and I want to watch some TV and WWF is on instead of NCIS, I am tuning into Hulu. So, my husband has called me a geek for watching 70's and 80's programming. What can I say, I'm a child of the 70's and the 80's. I’m sure I will be watching Rhoda, Mary Tyler Moore or even 21 Jump Street down the road.

PS my husband is watching Lou Grant right now, who really is the geek?

Chocolate Balls

2009-11-28T16:08:00.001-08:00

Got to love Swedish chocolate balls, they are a no-bake, kid friendly dessert. The kids can help, and you are done in minutes. Pumpkin jumped out of her skin when I asked her if she wanted to make a batch.

They turned out great, but I think I may try margarine instead of butter, because the sprinkles just don’t stick like the should.

The Debate

2009-11-24T19:22:00.000-08:00

So I have three kids, I talk about them in my blog, but I'm not comfortable using their names. So I have been calling them Pumpkin, Sport, and Tiger, which my husband loves. However, according to the blogging experts, people would rather read real names, so I have been contemplating pseudonyms. Some of the choices are Kirsten, Nina, Han, Leif, or Daniel.

So, now I come to you for advice. Should I keep the nicknames or should I rename my children? If you choose to rename them what name do you like the best?

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-18T15:59:00.001-08:00

Things That I Love!

2009-11-17T21:23:00.001-08:00

Every once in a while you just come across things that you love and you want to share them, what better place than a blog. This weekend, I came across an idea I just love opposed to an item, it’s going to sound corny, but it’s Title IX.

Let me explain, I have a daughter who loves soccer. She is good at it and doesn’t think twice that she isn’t as good as anyone else, no matter what their gender is. Pumpkin knows that she has a shot to play soccer for a long time if she wants to, there is no doubt in her mind. In contrast, when I grew up, if there was a boys high school team, there probably wasn’t an equivalent girls soccer team, because my generation was just receiving the benefits of Title IX. Now, I didn’t mind, while I grew up, I really just didn’t notice it. I occurred to me recently while watching my daughter play. I realized one of the reasons I didn’t continue playing after 7th grade was because there just weren’t any teams to play on. All the Rec boys went on to high school sports, and there wasn’t a pitch for the girls to join. Never mind enough girls to make a team, since we all played co-ed at the time. I’ll say it’s still not perfect, but the girls have access to the locker rooms, the coaches, the weight rooms, the fields, and a number of other things that weren’t guaranteed before and they all do so well.

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Which leads me to this weekend. Pumpkin and I drove to Columbus, to watch our local High School Varsity Girls Soccer Team win the State Championships. It was an inspiration, these girls owned the field, they played tough and there was no question that they belonged there. I just want to thank everyone who paved the way and fought for Title IX, otherwise these girls wouldn’t be on the field paving the way for my daughter wherever the road takes her. Go Bees!

If You Are Going to Have a Star Wars Party,

2009-11-10T20:17:00.001-08:00

Then you have to go for it and hope the force is with you. Sport turned 6 recently and since he has been diagnosed with Star Wars OCD, we had our theme. Now mind you I couldn’t get my head around this for weeks, so about 5 days out it all finally started coming together thanks to Google.

I was lucky enough to have Padme and Anakin (my daughter and my neighbors son, both third graders) stop by and help with the Padawan training.

The Padawan’s were greeted at the front door and were given their their vest and told to start building their own lightsaber, as all Jedi must.

The lightsaber consisted of swim noodles cut in half, that had been taped with duct tape on the ends. The Padawan’s built their light saber buttons out of yellow and black duct tape. The vests, were pieces of felt that I cut a V shape opening for their heads, then uses some ribbon as the belt.

Then the training began. In the garage, there was reflex training. They had to hit the balloon with their lightsaber. Then the Padawan’s flew to the Dagoba system a.k.a my basement, for agility training on an obstacle course.

Upstairs, Padme and Anakin trained them with a game of Yoda says. Touch your toes, you must. Use the Force you must, and if you must was not said, they were out and had to work on their listening skills. The next game was Star Wars Charades, where they had to pretend to be a Star Wars character, such as R2D2, C3-PO, Darth Vader, Anakin, Jabba the Hut, etc. We also played a game of pass the detonator. While the Catina band played, the Padawan’s passed the detonator until the music stopped. That child was then able to give the birthday boy his present.
What’s a birthday party without cake? So we had an R2D2 cake this year. I finally learned this year to freeze the cake before you cut and frost the cake. R2D2’s legs were falling apart like crazy, and luckily I had a ghost cake in the freezer for an upcoming Halloween party. I grabbed the frozen cake and made a refurbished R2D2 leg and it worked out wonderfully. So from now on, I will be freezing my cakes a day before and they will look a little less homemade.

That was our Star Wars party, thank you for everyone who has gone before me and come up with wonderful ideas, my Padawan and his friends had a great day.

Star Wars Halloween

2009-11-05T08:05:00.001-08:00

In case you missed it, but it was Halloween last weekend. I have three, well two kids that are influencing the baby, who are gaga for Star Wars. Sport knows more about George Lucas’ creations than my brother does, I just never thought that that could be possible. In fact, almost every breathing moment is spent informing me or someone else what this clone did, this droid, etc. Speaking from the Crib describes this obsession to a T.

I digress, back to Halloween. My daughter, Pumpkin, broke away from the Disney Princesses last year and wanted to be Padme (for those of you who don’t know she’s from Episode I, II and III). Since, I want a strong independent daughter I was all on board. To be frank it was the easiest costume ever. I purchased white leggings, a white top and sewed a table runner into a cape and there you have Padme.

This year, has sadly marked the death of the princess fascination in general, this year she really wanted to be a Jawa. So I pulled out the sewing machine and began goggling. I found this pattern, and modified it, by taking a shirt pattern and making the arms a little more fitted. I have to say I think I did a pretty good job.

This year my son, Sport, wanted to be a Clone Trooper. So I could make a Clone Trooper costume or I could buy one. Yes, I bought it. I have to say it turned out to be one of the hardest costumes yet. Silly me didn’t think that the 8-10 sized costume would fit my newly turned 6 year-old, but it was. My Mom made a mad dash to Target and bought the correct size, then we figured out the costumes seams were torn, probably because some 10 year old squeezed himself into the costume splitting the seams and mommy returned it without telling Target. So at 5:30 on Halloween, Cinderelly whipped out her needle and thread and sewed it together. Here are Sport and Pumpkin ready for Trick-Or-Treat by 5:45.

Now here is my favorite costume of the year…baby Yoda. Thanks to Four Little Sparrows for the hat pattern. It worked wonderfully. The only change I made as I sewed a crease in the middle of each ear. The cloak is made from felt, I simply cut a hole for the head and there was his costume.

The Star Wars Halloween has come and gone, The Clone Trooper, Jawa and Yoda costumes are now in the dress up box. I wonder who will visit next year? Will princesses be back? Will Star Wars still be the thing? Will we go gory or cutesy? I can’t wait to see.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-04T09:20:00.001-08:00

Octopus for Dinner

2009-11-03T19:42:00.001-08:00

Here is the latest meal made especially for my finicky eater.

My daughter will eat just about anything, my son is another story. He likes the usual kids stuff: sloppy Joes, spaghetti, chicken nuggets and spaghetti. I usually serve some kid friendly meals two to three times a week, but there are days I just can’t do it and I make meals for Mommy and Daddy. Then there are days that I just make dinner for them, and this was one of them.

I made a pasta salad with, mixed vegetables, served with octopus, a.k.a. a hotdog, and sprinkled with goldfish crackers and parmesan cheese. The trick to the hotdogs, is after you cut the legs, boil the hotdog until it’s heated through. This meal was a HUGE hit.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-28T20:42:00.001-07:00

Cooco for Couscous

2009-10-16T11:53:00.001-07:00

Milk and soy allergy you say? How can that be? But it’s true my little guy is allergic to soy and and dairy, which sent me reeling a few months ago. I had to kick the dairy habit, which for a yogurt and butter lover such as I was hard. I’m sorry did I just whine?

Well, now little guy is a seven month old with two teeth and ready to move on from strained peas. What do I feed him? He’s not quite ready for table food, and quite frankly, with two other children in the household prepared baby food is so handy. Don’t you know I have to read the labels of baby food for milk as well??? I just didn’t think baby food would have dairy in it since so many kiddos are allergic, but they do.

So what are my choices…there’s Gerber of course. But the ones I found have dairy in them. Organics' Best had a couple of choices. Then there is Nestle which owns Gerber, they seem to be an option, but I can’t find them in the states. I have a couple of samples from my parents brought back some from their trip to Sweden this year. Which brings me to the title of the blog, they brought back Couscous with Chicken. Couscous for babies? Babies can eat couscous? They sure can, and little guy loves it. Since I only had one jar, I am now making couscous with chicken at home, and it’s pretty yummy. He loves it, and it wasn’t that bad to make. Here’s the recipe if you would like to try it at home. Big people like it as well, you just may want to add some salt and pepper and maybe a spice or two. Enjoy!

Couscous with Chicken
1 lbs. Ground Chicken
1 package couscous, cooked according to the package
1/2 cup pureed mango
1 zucchini
1 red pepper
4 carrots
1/2 onion
Heat about a Tbs. olive oil and sauté the onion and brown the chicken at the same time. When the chicken has browned, set it aside (remember to break up the chicken into very small pieces). Meanwhile I pureed a mango, with a little bit of water. I cubed the zucchini and three of the carrots and boiled them until they were very soft. Then using a food processor, I essentially pureed the vegetables. The remaining carrot, I cut, into very small bite size pieces, just big enough for the baby to have something to chew on and boiled those pieces until they were extremely soft. Then I combined, the chicken, prepared couscous and the vegetables, and the mango and we had a ton our own Couscous with Chicken.

Now I have to say, that it doesn’t have the same jelled consistency that a lot of baby food has. I think that’s because I didn’t use any cornstarch and flour to make a gravy, but it really wasn’t needed. He loves it just the way it is. So, I’m not changing a thing. In my mind if it works stick with it.

So this is the start of my baby food making journey, how long, and how intense of a journey it is going to be is still in the works. This or one other recipe may be the entirety, you just never know. But so far it’s been fun and rewarding.

An Award, who me???

2009-10-12T20:55:00.001-07:00

My first award, and I don’t think any other will ever mean the same. My friend, Hurst burst, just game me the “You are my sunshine” award and said the kindest things about me. I’m speechless, really they were some of the nicest compliments I’ve ever gotten. Go check her blog out, she has the greatest stories and makes me laugh daily. In fact, she is pretty good at spreading sunshine herself.

So it is my turn to bestow the sunshine award, the best that I can. As far a crafting website goes, Little Cotton Rabbits deserves this award. Every time, I visit her site, I am amazed by her talent and inspired. In fact, her Knitted Cupcake pattern decoration, inspired me to embellish a t-shirt for my daughter with a knitted heart. Two Valentines later, she still adores it. I can’t wait to make the cupcake someday.

Every time I look at Lotta’s garden, I smile. The photos are always beautiful, and let’s me get a taste of home every once in a while. And to top it off, I have a chance to practice my Swedish with every one of her posts.

Karen, at And So I Sew, makes me smile. I love the glimpses into her life, it reminds me how I want to parent, and she even has time to sew. Her sewing Pledges for 2009, made me laugh, because in my mind I have the same goals. I hope she reaches her goals.

Lastly, there is Overseas Living. I love to read this blog, it reminds me how wonderfully exciting the whole world is. Through her eyes you get to see the craziest things, then the next day she’s busy parenting her children, just like any other American mother. It’s a big adventure, that I have the privilege to see through her blog.

Ladies, thank you for filling my life with sunshine, I really feel honored to peak into your lives.

Unrequited Love

2009-10-11T18:44:00.001-07:00

I have to confess I have an unrequited love, my Brio stroller, baptized “the Cadillac” by my father. Of all the material things in my life, I have to say I love this the most. I used to think it was plain snobbery. I liked my Graco stroller I had when my daughter was first born, but it was hard to walk with unless the pavement was next to perfect. The wheels began disintegrating immediately, and I couldn’t see Pumpkin, she faced out into the world. But in the end, the Graco just didn’t hold a candle to the Cadillac. You see, my stroller is made of steel, has a suspension system (which means my children don’t have whiplash every time I drive them over a crack in the pavement), and the seat can face forward or backwards whenever I choose. But no, it’s not snobbery… it’s a cultural thing.

For those of you who don’t know, I spent most of my childhood summers in Sweden and I lived there for a few years as well and every once in a while my Swedish side pops up in the strangest ways. After reading Linköpinglivin' I had an aha moment last Spring. It’s not just the engineering of my stroller I love, but just what it represents. If you read that post, it really sums up how I feel about parenting. Growing up strollers were just a part of life, you see them shopping, at restaurants, on boats, trains and trams. Everyone helps you through a door if you have a stroller, upstairs, and into the bus. In fact, trams and busses have a special place for strollers. If the baby falls asleep while shopping, so be it, you wheel it into your house, and that is where the baby sleeps. Babies are just an integral part of the culture. Now, I know most Swedes live in a walking culture, that American’s don’t have, that’s for another blog. Back to my unreasonable, undying love, it was rekindled this past week.

In the search for better mileage last year, we downsized our minivan to a Mazda 5 before baby number three showed up. To my great sadness, I haven’t been able to use the Cadillac as much as I like, because it’s only drawback is that it’s HUGE and doesn’t fit in the car when I have all three kids with me. However, things changed this last week, I was giddy, my kids began to walk to school and I follow right behind pushing my stroller. I love it, I forgot how great it rides, it can take uneven pavement, it even has a raincoat, and just like the Swedes, in my hallway, my baby took a cozy nap in the stroller. Cadillac, I love you even though there are newer and fancier strollers out there, even the US has the Bugaboo now, after nine years, there is no other stroller.

Chokeables Everywhere!!!!

2009-10-04T19:44:00.001-07:00

There is this cute little guy, that came into our lives about 7 months ago. He’s cute and sweet, but he won’t stay put. As of this morning he likes to play sitting up more than laying down. He rolls, he crawls, he scoots, you name it he moves that way. Sport thought his police car, that was 20 feet away and behind a chair, was safe…oh no, not for our little caboose. Needless to say we are in a rush to baby proof the house before he decides to walk, oh I don’t know tomorrow. Among many things that means LEGOS, are now restricted to the kitchen counter or our rooms. And it means I have to tackle the kid’s art table, UGHHHH.

The art table, was a wonderful present from Santa, I guess about 5 years ago. It’s been great. The kids draw, paint and periodically have lunch on the table. But the stuff that goes with the art table, yikes! I have paint, pipe cleaners, beads, you name it stuffed in closets and cute little bins beside the table. But as with everything else my kids seem to have, if it’s not out they don’t use it. So today, in the interest of the little one’s safety, I proclaimed it was time to get rid of the art table or at least move it out of the kitchen. I lost.
So, this is my happy medium. I decided to put everything in this little chest from my grandmother. The chest is going to be right beside the art table and if they have to get anything it is right there. The paper bin will sit on top, because if the baby gets into that he won’t choke immediately and it’s heavy, so it will make a large sound as it hits the baby to the floor before he reaches the chokeables. I may have to find a lock…. we'll see.
I have told the older angels, that I want wonderful little art projects from them, since they have all types of creative stuff at their fingertips. But, if there is one chokeable left out it is getting ditched. All for the safety of the baby. Seriously, I’m not sure if this baby is going to survive…

Garden Update

2009-09-30T21:11:00.001-07:00

Here’s the last harvest from the garden. Unbelievably, the garden grew even though it didn’t get planted until the end of June. We’ve enjoyed, salsa, bruschetta, plain tomatoes, salads, and peppers for the last 6-8 weeks. It’s been a great project for the kids, they’ve loved picking what we need for supper, and watering the garden every now and then. It sure helped that this summer was pretty cool and had a good amount of rain.

The highlight of the tomato harvest I have to say was the Krim tomato. It doesn’t look like anything at all. It is blackish green on top when it’s ripe, the pulp is even green. So it appears as though it isn’t ripe. But with a little touch of salt, it’s one of the best tomatoes, I’ve ever come across.

Cheers to the harvest!

Harry Potter Cupcakes

2009-09-30T21:04:00.001-07:00

Technorati Tags: food,Harry Potter

It’s Pumpkin’s 9th birthday tomorrow. To celebrate I’m taking in cupcakes for the 23 kids, and their teacher. These are the famous Weasleys’ Every Flavor cupcakes, that I’m bringing to her class to celebrate her birthday tomorrow afternoon. They are decorated with the Gryffindor colors and the Every Flavor jelly beans (from Harry Potter) for decoration. I wonder which kid is going to find the ear wax bean. Aren’t they cute?
I digress, as I was finishing up the cupcakes, I realized my rows didn’t match. I counted up my cupcakes, and there is one missing!!! Somebody snuck down this evening and had a snack. Now using my NCIS training, I’ve discounted Sport, since he is much more of a follower in these types of matters. Since the baby isn’t crawling, that leaves Pumpkin. I believe she had the motive and the means to commit the crime. So now the question is, since there isn’t enough for all the kids and the teacher, do I make the birthday girl give her cupcake to the teacher. Or do I let her think I didn’t catch her and let her enjoy her sneakiness. I’m leaning towards not letting her know that I know there are 23 cupcakes instead of 24. But then there is the chance that she will enjoy a life of crime because I didn’t stop her now. I hope she gets the ear wax bean :-)

So how much candy did you get????

2009-09-21T23:03:00.001-07:00

Cleveland has this little gem of a store off of Interstate 480, it is called b.a. Sweetie Candy company. I think every known American Candy is within it’s walls. There are the typical M&M’s, Jelly Bellies, and the more exotics such as clove gum and candied crickets. Yes, the crickets were real.

I was in the neighborhood, and since I have two birthday parties, Halloween (our neighborhood has to have 200+kids) and a little decorating project all in the next month, I decided to take my kids and a friend to the Candy Store.

So, here is the loot…

Do you think we need anymore candy in the near future? I’m sure I spent less than if I had gone to Target. I am sure, that this year, trick-or-treaters won’t get the run of the mill candy from us. That has to be worth something right?

Oh and by the way, here is my little decorating project that was the primary reason for the trip.

I am Back!!!

2009-09-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's 1:15 a.m. and I can't sleep, because a) I had an incredibly emotional day. Really had to do some soul searching on what I believe in and that has resulted in some incredible restlessness. Why didn't anyone tell me that this would still be going on at my age... b)I feel like blogging all the posts that have gone through my head over the past month or more. So I have decided to take that next step and BLOG finally, because I just love it. I don't know why I love it, it's partially because yes it documents my life, and my children's life. But also it clears my head and helps me figure out what is important in life. And after today I really need that. So here is to you, my one or maybe 100 readers, and I hope you get some enjoyment from what I have to say...

Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies

2009-06-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe and I had to try it. The timing was perfect, I had a huge box of strawberries and bookclub was meeting at my house. They are from Martha Stewart Living Magazine (June 2009). The recipe makes a ton of cookies and they are delicious especially if you want something to do with those extra strawberries before they go bad.

Garden

2009-06-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

This is the story of my garden, partially written to answer my neighbors who are asking,"Why did she plant her garden in mid-June at 9 p.m.?" Here is the tale:

So this was the year I was going to put in a little garden. I had a beautiful garden at our old house a few years ago, and it is time once again to have our own Victory Garden. The spring chores had another idea, after a few additional beds, lots of mulching, planting, soccer games, end of school events, and a new baby April and May disappeared.

Then much to my surprise, in early June after I told my husband that it was getting to late for a garden, he rented a tiller and prepped my new garden.

It was way to late to start plants from seeds, but the next week the kids and I stopped at Hirt's Greenhouse on the way home from swim lessons to pick up a few plants. A friend had mentioned the greenhouse, and she was completely right the place was amazing. Talk about an incredible variety of everything. The amount of tomatoes was overwhelming, and suddenly Sport became enthusiastic about peppers. So with about 10 different types of peppers and two other trays with plants inside our little Mazda 5 the kids and I went home all excited about the garden.

Then the brakes hit. Mastitis with 102 degree temperature attacked me for three days. I was completely useless. I could barley feed the baby let alone plant a garden, let me tell you I was sick!!! I don't remember being in this much pain after my C-sections. However, my mother reassures me I was indeed in that much pain just so doped up I can't remember it. After several good doses of antibiotics, I felt better by Tuesday night. That night after putting the kids to bed, I looked outside at my tiny baby plants who were struggling to be alive and decided I had to plant them. So at 9 p.m. and a storm brewing, I planted our tomatoes, pumpkins, lettuce, squash, beans, cucumbers and don't forget the peppers. I was putting the garbage away when the first drops of rain hit.

This is what it looks like, I'm hoping that we see something out of this garden. We at least tried, and next year there will at least be a garden to start with.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Summer Lunch

2009-06-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

Above is my solution for hectic summer lunches. I don't know about you, but I am awful at packing lunches the night before an outing. Which means I'm constantly trying to get us out of the door at 10 a.m. or even later to go to the zoo.

So last year I started taking two loafs of bread, peanut butter and jelly and whip up about 20 or so sandwiches that I throw into the freezer. It's my own version of the Uncrustables. I can't tell you how much easier it makes getting ready for the park, zoo, or pool. If nothing else it makes me feel like I have it together.

Summer's Here!!

2009-06-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting her recuperating from our last Soccer Saturday with the kids watching Mamma Mia. I am warning you I may break into song, you never know...It has been three days since Pumpkin's school ended and it has occurred to me that now is the time to plan our summer schedule or else: Sport will become more addicted to Wii and will be limping around with some game related injury, Pumpkin will be bored and I will lose her to the wilds of the neighborhood having never connected with her. Then there is Tiger...he may never crawl if my head isn't on straight. So this years there is going to have a plan, and we will get the most of these lazy hazy days of summer.

8:30 Get dressed/clean rooms

9:00 Family Time

10:00 Snack

10:15 Open

12:00 Lunch

12:30 D.E.A.R. time

1:00 Quiet time/desk time

2:00 Open

3:00 Snack

3:15 Open

4:30 Make Dinner

6:00 Dinner

6:30 Open

8:00 Get Ready for Bed

9:00 ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

So hopefully this will be our guide to follow on the days when we are home and a place to start off with when we come home and Sport says what can I do, what can I do. The goal is to keep them out of the peek sun, do a little school work, plenty of free play, limit the amount of T.V. and computer games played and most of all have fun. "Mamma Mia, here we go again, how can I resist you..." Oops sorry, time to go enjoy the movie. Here's to a great summer!!!

Hot Cocoa

2009-05-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

My tenure on the Teacher Appreciation committee is over for this year. I wanted to post what we did this last year, because I was desperate for ideas last summer. The parents were kind enough to bring in dinner for Parent Teacher Conferences, and appetizers for a teacher in-service day. The PTO purchased doughnuts, and during Teacher Appreciation week had a lunch brought in and on Friday we brought in pies, which went over very well.

In addition, to the food during teacher appreciation week, we brought in mints with the sign "You are worth a "Mint" to us", and cans of pop with the message "'Soda you know how much we appreciate you." The children brought in flowers, cookies, drawings, notes and other individual tokens of appreciation during the week.

The picture above is from January. They are hot cocoa packets with the not "Here's a cup a cheer for all you do."

It was a fun year, and overall I think the teachers and school staff saw how much we appreciate all the effort they put into our children.

Chippewa Lake Park

2009-05-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

Circa 1900’s, because of Industrialization the middle class began earning enough cash that they were able to spend a little money on entertainment. A popular past time during the weekend was taking a train out to the country and picnicking. Eventually many of those places turned into amusement parks. Coney Island, Cedar Point, Idyllwild and Chippewa Lake Park are just a few places that saw their start that way.

Chippewa Lake is right around the corner from us. For a hundred years it entertained people around the area, and then it closed its doors in 1978 and the woods took it over. The ballroom was a happening joint, apparently Lawrence Welk’s first broadcast originated from Chippewa. There was a hotel, roller coasters, a steam boat, and much more on the property. The old park is in the process of being cleared for a new resort. On the weekends, the property owners are allowing people to visit the site and take a look at the rusted remains, and we did just that last weekend. Here are some of the photos that we took, it’s just amazing how quickly and thoroughly the woods took it over in just 30 years.

The old entrance sign

Sport by the old roller coaster

The Ferris Wheel and landing dock

The kids just having a "blast"

Teacher Appreciation

2009-05-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

Teacher Appreciation week is here and in full gear. For Monday, a friend and I made our own version of Stamp's and Smiles water bottles for the staff at our school. I think they came out pretty well. Here's to the teachers!

Wedding Gift

2009-04-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

So my brother was getting married, my family and I weren't able to attend. I wanted the kids to note the occasion and make something for my brother and his new wife. Through a lot of deliberation we came up with painting a vase. So off to the local pottery painting store we went. At home we practice what we were going to draw. The kids made drawings out of their fingerprints, including a bride and groom, two cats, two monkeys, a butterfly and a bee. This is the result:

Earth Day

2009-04-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

I was told last summer, that I had changed since I was 20. Instead changing the world I had become a domestic diva, (I'm sure there is a compliment in there somewhere). I actually disagree with that statement. Yes, I'm not working with a group that is tackling environmental issues on a daily basis and considered radical. I have implemented many of those ideas in my household and I have seen many of those ideas become mainstream, such as organic foods, CSA's, fuel efficient cars, and everyone seems to want access to solar and wind power, not just those granola loving hippies (which of course I try to channel that side of me every once in a while). I think my friends and I were ahead of the trends. In fact, we might not have been the environmentalist of the 70's, but this green awareness has been boosted by the environmental work of my generation. In fact, many of the attitudes of this "green" generation have been en grained into every one's psyche from their parents and that is what I am in the process doing to my little ones every day with our little day by day routines.

So as a domestic diva (I think I have someone fooled) I use rags as much of possible, instead of paper towels to clean up messes, dust, etc. I avoid plastic baggies as much as possible and use reusable containers instead, for leftovers, freezing items, and my daughter's lunches. I am one of those people who uses alcohol, vinegar, and even baking soda, though I just love my Fantastik. The thermostat has been set to 67 degrees for the past few years, though with the newborn we raised it to 69. We try to use fans in the summer instead of air conditioning, though we still use it. We turned in our minivan and are now driving a smaller car that gets 9 miles more per gallon, though with the new baby I see a minivan in our future...hopefully there will be an affordable hybrid version down the road. Then there are the electric bulbs, shorter showers, energy efficient appliances, etc.

But there is still much more to do, so in the next year these are my goals:

1. Join a CSA

2. Grow some vegetables successfully of course

3. Use my own shopping bags more often

4. Teach my children to turn off the bathroom light-may not be attainable, probably really frustrating

5. Get my compost pile going

6. Reduce our vampire appliance use of electricity

7. Recycle more glass

8. Use my own coffee cup

Let's see what happens next year and maybe change the world just a little bit at a time.

Monster Mouth

2009-04-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

This is what sports eating habits have driven me to! He ate it!!!

April Fool's

2009-04-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

My daughter LOVES April Fool's day, just loves it, partially because it lands on her "half birthday." So, I think somewhere deep inside her little mind it is all about her.

This year I was going to make it special because we have Pumkin's four-week-old baby brother around, and I wanted to make sure she felt a little special. Now Buddy, my five-year old, really doesn't care one way or another, I thought this would be the year for him.

I packed up my recipes, made a special trip to the store and destroyed my kitchen for our lovely dinner of "Chicken Pot Pie" with a "Berry Pie" for dessert.

Meanwhile, Pumkin ended up coming home from school with a fever and an upset belly, which of course we found out later was strep. I finished up diner, the chicken pot pie was so convincing, that my husband wasn't sure I had gone through with the prank. I was still excited, thinking this would make my sick daughter feel better.

So when I dished up our lovely dinner, Pumkin had her head on the table and was groaning. Her brother, thought a miracle had happened and vegetables had started tasting like candy, but was grossed out when he found out the vegetables were indeed candy. The idea of pudding instead of chicken pot pie, whigged him out and he just couldn't get his head around the idea that the pie was meatloaf and it was OK to eat it. So he stopped eating, which left my husband and I to enjoy our meatloaf pie and pudding pie.

APRIL FOOL'S

Obamaicon

2009-02-19T12:19:00.001-08:00

What else is there to say, I love this photo. You can customize any of your photo's at http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/

Swedish Sandwich

2009-02-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

It’s funny how things stick with you. I was reading The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo, by a Stieg Larsson and it gave me the funniest craving. This book is placed in Sweden, and one of the constants in this book was the main character trips to the local Konsum (a grocery store chain) and picking out items for a sandwich. This book made me crazy for a good open face sandwich. After a trip to Ikea I was able to get my craving satisfied. Here’s a picture of a perfect open faced liversausage sandwich on real bread, with a Swedish pickle and mayonnaise on top. It was wonderful; it just shows there is more to Swedish food than meatballs and Lutefisk, even though I know most people aren’t huge fans of liver sausage. I on the other hand really enjoyed my lunch.

Knitting Graffiti

2009-02-11T13:35:00.001-08:00

On a visit to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum, I came across this piece of knitting graffiti. I love this is. It's a rebellious hug. I think this site started the movement http://www.stickkontakt.blogspot.com/, these knitters have a zest for life.

Let's Try This Again

2009-02-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

I meant to make this a blog about different craft projects I have completed by myself or with the kids. It didn't quite go as planned. So I'm starting over.

Here is one of the projects the kids and I did during Christmas. We decided to decorate our new evergreen tree in the backyard with Oranges, apples and cranberries. It was a great project for my kids and their cousins from the age of 12 to 5. Even my five year old was able to poke a hole in the cranberries and make a few strands.

My First Post

2008-04-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

Here it goes, my first post for Mamma, Look! This is my place to show what I've been working on and what takes some of my time these days. I think it'll be fun to see things that I've accomplished and hopefully had fun doing.

Here is my daughter, Sweat Pea's, Valentines Day shirt. I've wanted to post this shirt for a while. It's was inspired by Julie Williams' cupcake pattern http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/free_knitting_patterns/2007/06/knitted_cupcake.html It's just the cutest idea. Sweet Pea, just loved the shirt for Valentine's Day and it's in her favorite color red.