star wars birthday bash

Lance decided awhile ago he wanted a Star Wars birthday party this year.   Thanks to Pinterest I got a lot of great ideas and was able to have a party without spending a lot of money and needing an inflatable or another form of paid entertainment.  I had a great time and look forward to more party planning in the future.

the invitation, I was so thankful I found a Jedi font that made everything easy

We made light sabers out of pool noodles, Jedi robes from fabric on sale, and Jeff dressed up as Darth for the final battle at the party

 So the week before the party I was very busy sewing robes and taping up light sabers for the kids.

Lance was my pattern

Since I had to make 13 robes, I needed something quick and easy so I did not use a standard pattern.  I measured Lance from shoulder to feet, doubled the measurement, cut the fabric folded it so the fold was at the top and then folded again to make a mirror image so when I cut it out the sides would be the same.  I cut a straight line from his hand to his armpit and then at an angle from the armpit to the corner (I also cut along the crease to it was a robe and not a tunic.  I then sewed up the sides and hemmed all edges (yeah I am a perfectionist).  I then cut out a rectangle and made a hood, attaching the hood was the most difficult part and unfortunately hoods 9-13 were much better looking then hoods 1-4.  I kind of used the instructions from here as a guide. 
The light sabers were a lot easier to make and so cheap, I found light sabers from the dollar store, cut them in half with a bread knife and then wrapped duct and electrical tape around one end and I had a light saber that was better than the inflatable ones you can purchase at Target and soft enough to not hurt anyone to badly.
I also made a black Darth Vader robe for Jeff, but actually it was more of a long vest since I didn't make sleeves because the fabric wasn't wide enough, if I had more time I would have put in more effort, but it worked so I wasn't disappointed.

the girls had white Princess Leia robes, the boys Jedi robes

My goal for the party was to keep the kids busy.  We had four activities other than food and cake to keep them busy.  These activities made up the "Jedi training."  The first activity was an obstacle course.  The kids had to show their agility and speed by throwing bean bags through a circle (bicycle tire), jump over hot lava, walk across a balance beam to avoid the hot lava, crawl through a tunnel, cross the monkey bars, down the slide of the swing set, and duck under the hot lava hanging from the top of the swing set (hot lava was red tablecloths).  When they had completed the obstacle course they "earned" their Jedi robe.   I unfortunately did not get a picture of the obstacle course, I was really thrown off by the weather that day and was setting up the course a few minutes before the party started and never got around to taking pictures. 

Lance practicing part of the obstacle course

After earning their robes, they came inside and used the "force" while blindfolded to place a blaster on a spaceship (pin the tail on the donkey).  After demonstrating their ability to use the force aka peek through the blindfold they earned their light saber.    The next activity was to work on saber skills and this was the favorite activity of the party. It was also amazing to see 10 boys who went from screaming, running, and fighting to concentrating and quiet.  Each child was given a balloon and was told to keep their balloon in the air because if it hit the ground it would pop.  The kids had a blast and took this game VERY SERIOUSLY! 

Lily trying to keep her pink balloon in the air

After the light saber skills the kids were ready for the ultimate Jedi training test, battling Darth Vader.

getting ready to battle Darth

Jeff was a great sport and let all the kids surround me and whack the heck out of him. 

battling Darth

The kids also got to battle Darth separately and they did a great job sitting and waiting for their turn.

trying to keep a balloon in the air

The original plan was to have a picnic outside but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate.  The sunny, 10% chance of rain, and high of 63 was really: cool, wet and 49, it was quite chilly so we ate inside which was quite crazy.

the cupcakes

After pizza, light saver pretzel rods, carrot sticks, and grapes on a light saber it was time for cake.

the cupcake toppers from Williams-Sonoma

The kids liked being able to pick out their favorite figure.

cake time

So despite the weather and trying to squeeze 13 kids in my living room, the party was in the words of Lance "AWESOME."   I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was so busy enjoying the party and corralling kids I didn't get many.  I am kicking myself that I didn't get a group shot with everyone with their robes and light sabers.  Oh well, they had fun and that is all that mattered. 

the great re-arrange

A week ago Friday we began the Great Re-Arrange. I was really frustrated with our house arrangement and since buying a new one is not an option we decided to rearrange. Our house is a cape cod with two bedrooms upstairs and two bedrooms downstairs, this wasn't a problem until we threw Lily in the mix. For the last 13/14 months lily has been in our bedroom, which was starting to become a problem, she was getting up a lot at night and since we were right there she never could get herself back to sleep. Also with her in our room we were never in there since she was in there asleep a good deal of the time. Also our living areas were divided up, their were toys in Lance's room, in Lily's room (though her bed wasn't there, but my sewing machine was), in the living room, and in the guest/playroom (where my computer was). The house was always a mess and we never had a central location to hang out. I was desperate for change, I couldn't keep everywhere picked up or keep my eye on the kids, someone was always somewhere different. Option 1: just move Lily downstairs, it was the easiest, but I didn't like the thought of her being downstairs by herself and it didn't solve the divided work/play space problem. Option 2: move both kids down which was an option I had liked months ago, but began seeing problems and I was still a little uncomfortable about both kids downstairs. Also it didn't solve the living space issue, we needed more living space that was a combination of adult space and kid space. So we decided on Option 3: we move downstairs, lily moves downstairs and we turn our large bedroom into a playroom/den. Our old bedroom is the same size or bigger than our current living room. We are now in the playroom/guest room and though it is smaller than what we had we really only sleep in a bedroom anymore and don't need extra space. So all the big furniture has been moved and everything has its place except I have to organize the stuff that was in both closets and figure out what to do with my chest of drawers. I love the new arrangement and am thankful that I can sew, pay bills, or work on my graduate work in the same room as most of the kids toys. I miss our big bedroom, but this makes the most sense, we are using the biggest spaces for living spaces that we use the majority of the time, now I can hopefully keep the living room tidy and won't have so much picking up to do, but I'm not crossing my fingers, I do have two small children who can trash a house in no time flat.

apron projects

I have been working on completing some aprons for the craft show and this is what I have so far:

the vintage turtle apron, me the perfectionist is disappointed the pockets aren't totally in line, but I had already ripped the seams and redid so I didn't want to try again

love this one, though I don't think the picture does it any justice, so cute and fun

and my very favorite, it is Christmas birds and flannel and oh, I just want to make everything and then some with this fabric print

giddy

Where to begin. . .
Last Christmas I made some a few felt ornaments for Christmas presents. For some unknown reason I was remembering them this summer and started making some more to try and sell on Etsy. Someone locally saw them on Etsy and invited me to take part in a craft show next month in a city West of here. The craft show is a juried show where everything has to be approved beforehand. So last Friday I submitted my sample ornaments as well as an apron and placemat sample to my sponsor. I was nervous that they would not like my stuff, especially my apron since it was my first sewing project in a year and it wasn't my best work. Well I heard back today and everything has been approved. My sponsor said that everyone loved my apron, the one thing I was most worried about which just makes me plan giddy. Someone really liked my stuff, people might buy what I have created, WOW!! I am so excited! I have four weeks to get everything done, I am going to be a busy little bee. I don't think I would normally agree to a craft show except that I don't have to set up and sell everything, it is on consignment which is perfect for me because with two small children I can't drop everything and work a craft show. So despite being slightly overwhelmed with my to-do list, I am just so darn giddy that I have made cool.

on the hottest day of the year

i wanted to be crafty so i made Christmas ornaments while the kids napped, don't ask me why
i decided on Christmas ornaments of all things on the hottest day this summer
there are so many projects i want to complete, i just need the time, maybe when lance starts preschool i can carve out more time to create
maybe

new beginnings

The new shop location has an occupancy permit and is ready to go, well almost, but we have enough to get started. Last night we went by and hung up the skateboard decks to see what they looked like on the new rack Jeff built.

Jeff wants the new shop to have a artsy feel to it and the way the decks are arranged, I think he pulled it off. The decks look more like art then skateboard decks that will be destroyed after purchase.


Lance even has a favorite and would be very sad if we sell it too soon.


Lance trying to help with his favorite deck:

So tomorrow the new shop will be open, we still have a long ways to go, but we have a space, have some product and have a start. I am excited to get everything completed and get back to normal.

cooking with lance

I use to just find recipes that were easy to make because I usually have a grumpy child that wants to be held when it is time to cook dinner, but now I try and find recipes that can involve Lance. He loves to be a helper in the kitchen so finding recipes that he can help with are important. Cooking together also is a great way for us to spend some quality time together. So two weeks ago we cooked dinner together and it was a lot of fun, easy to make, and for the most part pretty stress-free, which is rare when in the kitchen with Lance, he usually is getting into everything. Here is what we made:

Foil Pack Taco Chicken from kraft foods:

Cut up red potatoes in thin slices and place on foil (we use the non-stick kind and place potatoes in a single close layer together)

Sprinkle taco seasoning on potatoes
Place a chicken breast on the potatoes
Sprinkle taco seasoning on chicken
Pour some salsa over top of the chicken
Sprinkle with cheese, we use the fiesta cheese
then it is time to wrap up the foil into packs
bring two sides together, roll down, then roll up opposite sides leaving a bit of space at the top for cooking (not wrapped up super tight against the chicken
Bake for 45 minutes to an hour in 375 degree oven, then enjoy with sour cream on the side!

easter fun at home

Last year I didn't do a lot at Easter, actually I don't think I did much of anything. No egg dying, no cards, no crafts, no cookies or sweets, I think we hid a few eggs around for Lance to find, pretty lame holiday last year I must say. I have a good excuse though, I was pregnant which made me tired, easily grossed out, overwhelmed, impatient, and not a lot of fun to be around. So this year we had some fun, and having Lance older made the activities easier to do and more fun.
Last weekend we made Easter sugar cookies. Lance had a blast cutting out the shapes and sprinkling the colored sugars. I was tempted to decorate them with icing all fancy and pretty, but I have realized that Lance decorating them is special because it is something we can do together. I am learning to let go of my perfectionism and embrace my little helper.

(lance got fancy, two handed sugar application)

Last night we made Easter cards for the family. Lance helped a lot on those, he cut the paper into small squares, glued the squares onto egg shaped cards, and wrote his "name" on all the cards. The cards turned out nice looking and it was fun, especially since Lance could do so much on his own.

(our finished card)

This morning we dyed Easter eggs and that was a bit chaotic. We set out all the cups, he put the tablets in, he poured in the vinegar, and then he did not like waiting for the tablets to dissolve, and got quite impatient. He kept trying to pour in the additional water before the tablets had dissolved.

(lance using his favorite scissors to open up the package of tablets)

Setup for dying was hard, but once we introduced the eggs, things got even harder. Gentle isn't a concept he seems to be familiar with.

(lance wanted to do everything himself, even attempt to remove the eggs from the dye)

He kept trying to drop the hard boiled eggs into the dye which cracked a few of the eggshells because they landed with a thud. Once they were in the dye he would pull them out immediately and then want a new egg. He lacked a lot of patience in this whole project. It was hard to dye the egg, help him get the eggs in gently (he wanted to do it himself), convince him to let the eggs sit for a minute or two, help him get the eggs out without getting dye everywhere, and to leave the eggs alone while drying. As the eggs were drying he kept trying to pick them up, getting dye all over his hands, it was a bit hectic since I was trying to finish dying the eggs.

(showing off his dyed egg)

The eggs did turn out nice looking, not Martha Stewart quality, but good for a toddler.

(notice the finger prints on the pink one? on the green and blue I tried to do a design with a crayon, but was a little too harried, but they are fun)

We had a couple of causalities, but for the most part we have a quite a few to enjoy. He was quite proud of himself and I think he had a good time which is what it is all about.

(i took this right after he dropped an egg into the bowl breaking the shell of the green egg on top, as you can see- gentleness isn't something we have mastered yet)

beside the refrigerator there was a piece of glass

Miss Susie stepped upon it and broke her little,
ask me no more questions, tell me no more lies,
miss Susie is in the bathroom zipping up her
the flies are in the kitchen, the bees are in the park,
Miss Susie and her boyfriend are kissing in the D-A-R-K, D-A-R-K, D-A-R-K, Dark, Dark

I think I am missing the beginning of that rhyme
we use to sing that all the time in elementary school
I wish I remember how it started
well speaking of refrigerators,
our fridge door handle broke shortly after we moved in
it took us almost 5 years to replace it, PITIFUL, i know!
Last week Jeff ordered a replacement part (he tried to replace it a year ago, but he couldn't remember what color our fridge was when he was at the parts store and never forgot about it)
well the part came in on Tuesday and while Lance was napping Lily and I fixed the door handle, I must say I am pretty handy with a screwdriver!
I had told Jeff the part came in but I didn't tell him I fixed the door handle because I wanted to see if he would notice it.
when he got home from work I was feeding Lily some cereal and I decided to ask Jeff to get things out of the fridge that we needed to make dinner so that I could see how long it would take him to notice the new door handle.
I first had him get out the half-n-half, he didn't notice the door, he also didn't use the handle to open the fridge. I made sure the door was shut and asked him to get out the Parmesan cheese, he once again didn't use the door handle to open, but he did use it to shut the door. At this point I was crying because I was laughing so hard, he had used the door twice and he even used the door handle and still hadn't noticed the change. He of course asked what I was laughing about and I told him to see what was different about the fridge, he opened the fridge once more and started looking at the fridge contents trying to figure out what special treat might be in there that he hadn't noticed before. I of course was dying laughing, especially when he gave up and shut the fridge using the door handle. I told him to look at the door with and that is when he realized that I had fixed it and he was so surprised that he hadn't noticed it himself. We both laughed till our stomachs ached because he was complete clueless to the change right underneath his hand.
I am happy that our fridge handle is now fixed, but someone else has now learned how to open the fridge all by himself, Lance!
Lance can now open the fridge which he couldn't do before. He opens it up and stands there trying to figure out what he may want, usually it is cheese, but he is wasting a lot of energy in the process and he doesn't always close the cheese drawer and door when he is done which means it stands open. He can also now can get a juice box out if he so desires, and juice is his favorite thing. I am not quite sure I like this new power he has. Maybe the newest will wear off in time, that or he will get constipation from eating so much cheese and learn his lesson, just kidding. So the fridge is now complete and has a new user. Just shows there are highs and lows to everything!

his new bed

Back in July with Lily's arrival a few weeks away and needing Lance's crib for her we purchased a bed for Lance. The bed was unfinished so Jeff stained it a dark espresso color and finished it before Lily's arrival, but Jeff didn't set it up until a week ago. It took 10 weeks for Jeff to finally bring it over from my mom's and fortuantely I was able to convince him to set it up right away because who knows when he would have done it and I certainly didn't want twin bed parts sitting in my living rooms for weeks. We were hoping that it would fit between the door and the front wall, but it was a hair too long, so we have it facing towards the window and blocking it a bit, but it will work until we don't have to worry about him falling out of bed.

I am very happy with how it turned out. It is quite cozy with the low ceiling and in the corner. It is the perfect setting for spending a rainy day reading in bed, too bad you can't convince a two-year to read in bed all day.


The only problem is that I need to get a fitted sheet to cover the bedsprings because the rail exposes the mattress underneath. So I love the new setup, too bad it is a pain to make and change.
Lance seems to be enjoying it too.

I will never name my child Ivy

no offense to my friend named Ivy, but I hate IVY, the plant that is!!!
We have lived in our house for almost four years and have had an ongoing war with the ivy that grows EVERYWHERE! I am constantly pulling it up and trying to win this war which is oddly resembling the war in Iraq in that there is very little progress being made and areas that were once victories get overtaken easily by the enemy. I am amazed at how the ivy can grow into cracks, the vents of the crawlspace, under the porch, underneath the siding, all around the base of other plants, and it is so irritating to pull it up and see it take off paint, thus creating even more work to do. Three years ago we got rid of a ton of it and in some places it is back to the way it was as though we had never cleared it out in the first place. This morning, I don't know why, I waged war with the ivy once again. I pulled and pulled for about an hour before I got hungry and had to go eat lunch. I wanted to work on it now before the spiders and bugs come out and make yard work icky. I couldn't believe the large pile of Ivy I collected when I was finished, it is as large as a leaf pile you might play in and it is 75% Ivy (25% leaves). The area that was overrun with ivy doesn't a lot of bushes or plants so I need to figure out what to plant there in hopes of keeping the ivy in retreat. I realize I will probably never win this war, but I at least want to make it look like I have as long as we own the house. Though it makes good ground cover it is trying to take over our house year after year and it does more damage then good.

opening a whole can of worms

Why can't things be simple? They seem to be for others. Why can't I have an easy button, or get a get out jail free card? Nothing major, just it seems like small things turn into big things. For example, we replaced the railing on our front porch and I want to finish the project by repainting the whole porch. How difficult can it really be? Dumb question. As Jeff was scraping paint he realized that the top of the post is rotted and needs to be replaced. So one side of the porch is currently supported by a ceiling jack, we are getting quite trailer trashy over here on plymouth. Of course the side railings that we just replaced have to be taken down to replace the posts and who knows how long it will take to get this project finished. We did discover under the post that the front porch use to have fake grass on it, real classy let me tell you. So like most projects we start, it is much more complicated then it seems.

rearrange, then arrange some more

Yesterday I wanted to arrange the playroom/guest room so it worked a little better, felt cozier, wasn't so messy, etc. I rearranged and rearranged and after having the futon on every wall I moved it back to where it was. It is so hard trying to get that room so it can be workable for all of the many purposes it has. One of the problems I encountered was my very large bookcase, I didn't like it where it was, but I also don't like it where I have it, I do use it for books, I just can't figure out where it looks best. After much trying to figure it all out, I realized that I need to switch some things around. The rocking chair that doesn't really go anywhere should go up in Lance's room and the rocking chair that is there should go back to mom's for storage. I also decided to switch out side tables. I love my house, I just wish we had a bit more storage room because we are maxed out and things get messy pretty fast. So I am doing some fall cleaning and organizing and hopefully will simplify my living area to keep it easy to clean, but also functional.
On a totally random note, I am done with breastfeeding, the only problem is Lance doesn't know it yet. Last night when he got up at 5 while I was feeding him he bit me and right then and there I decided that was the last feeding he was getting from me. That makes two kind of three bites in about two weeks. I don't know how this is going to go, but I had hoped that Lance would just quit on his own, but it hasn't and I am tired to hurting. I feel bad because I know it is a comfort to him and I would like to think it still helps because he still gets good stuff, but I just think it is time. I know 17 months to some isn't that long, but I wanted to be done by 18 months. So who knows if I will be able to hold out, but I am putting forth a good try, my biggest obstacle might not be Lance, but Jeff. When Lance is up in the middle of the night it is Jeff who tells me to feed Lance so we can all go back to sleep. So it is me against the boys, man, that sounds so evil. It is extremely rough on lance I know I will give in, but let's see what happens!

what have I got myself into?

So the house was a mess, laundry needs to be done, playroom picked up, living room picked up, dining room floor mopped, and what am I doing? Rearranging the playroom. It is always a mess and it doesn't seem to really work the way I want it to, something bothers me, but I don't know what. I think it might be all of the square furniture in the square room, but nothing quite works right because every wall has a door or window. So far I have moved the futon, but I don't like where it is and it is too crowded where it is going right now. I hope I can get it done before Lance gets up from nap or it will never get done and there are many dangerous things all over the floor so it is back to moving and sneezing, i don't know where this dust is coming from.

late nights

This weekend I did a few things that are a bit out of character for me, I did not keep a strict bed schedule for Lance and we are out in the evenings past his bedtime. I have been quite neurotic in the past about staying home in the evenings to make sure that Lance goes to bed at the same time in hopes that he would sleep all night, but now that he is sleeping, I have eased up. Friday night we headed to Target to get a wedding present for our friends who were getting married on Saturday. Saturday we went to our friend's wedding minus Lance, which was nice and stress-free. We then headed downtown to see an outdoor movie. Going to see the movie was a huge experiment because it could be fun or a nightmare if he ended up screaming and crying, but fortunately it was a success. Lance loved watching the people and the trains that passed by. Once the movie started he ate some goldfish, snuggled in with me, and eventually went to sleep. I had to hold Lance while he was sleeping, but it wasn't too bad because it was kind of chilly and he kept me warm. The movie playing was "The Birds." It was very entertaining despite the volume being a little too loud which made the bad sound effects even worse, the sound of the birds hurt my ears. We didn't get to stay for the whole movie because Jeff was tired and it was pretty late (11pm- well late for us). Then last night we went to dinner with friends which was stressful because Lance wanted to walk all around, he wanted nothing to do with his high chair, and he wanted to dip everything in the ranch. After dinner we went to go see a friend's house they are fixing up and we didn't get home until 9:30 which for the third night in a row was past Lance's bedtime. Jeff went with the guys to go see a movie and me despite being exhausted waited up for him. By the time I got into bed I was so tired I was nauseous, fortunately I fell right to sleep and I don't think I got up until 6:30 this morning. One thing that stinks is despite what time we go to bed (Lance included), Lance gets up at the same time which stinks if you stay up late. On a positive front- we bought some wood to fix the railing on the front porch and some paint swatches to look at colors for repainting the shudders/ doors and our bedroom. We started working on the porch by tearing one side down, but that is as far as we have gotten and hopefully we will have at least one side done this week.