What do you think? Will Elliott make it as a tattoo artist someday? I'm impressed with his "Ed Hardy-esque" skull contrasted next to a heart with an arrow through it... Elliott's got skillz--watch out!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Future Tattoo Artist?
What do you think? Will Elliott make it as a tattoo artist someday? I'm impressed with his "Ed Hardy-esque" skull contrasted next to a heart with an arrow through it... Elliott's got skillz--watch out!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
DIY Piñata
What is more fun than hitting something as hard as you can and then
being showered with loads of candy you then get to eat?? Not too much,
I'll tell you that. Having a pinata at your party is pretty cool.
Having a pinata you made yourself is even better!
Here's what you'll need:
1) A large balloon
2) Newspaper or grocery store ads cut into roughly 1 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches long
3) Liquid Starch (or a mixture of flour and water works, too)
4) Paint and/or tissue paper to decorate it
What to do:
1) Blow up your balloon to your desired size.
2) Pour the liquid starch into a wide and shallow container such as a pie tin.
3) Submerge paper strips into starch and begin to place on top of the balloon overlapping the pieces as you go until you cover the entire balloon, leaving an opening around the top of the balloon where the knot is. (This is where you will insert the candy.)
4) Let the first layer dry. (Be careful not to leave it to dry in the sun if it is very hot or the balloon will expand and crack your paper mache.)
5) Do 2 more layers going in opposite directs, drying in between layers.
6) Once dry, hold the top of the balloon while making a slit in the rubber and the balloon will pull away from the paper mache as it deflates.
7) Paint the piñata and/or glue strips of tissue paper in a pattern around your balloon to decorate.
8) Fill with candy.
9) Make a small hole on both side of the balloon near the top where you can put a rope through. (I leave the candy filling hole open since it is at the top and doesn't really matter)
10) String up your pinata and let it be smashed to smithereens!
1) A large balloon
2) Newspaper or grocery store ads cut into roughly 1 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches long
3) Liquid Starch (or a mixture of flour and water works, too)
4) Paint and/or tissue paper to decorate it
What to do:
1) Blow up your balloon to your desired size.
2) Pour the liquid starch into a wide and shallow container such as a pie tin.
3) Submerge paper strips into starch and begin to place on top of the balloon overlapping the pieces as you go until you cover the entire balloon, leaving an opening around the top of the balloon where the knot is. (This is where you will insert the candy.)
4) Let the first layer dry. (Be careful not to leave it to dry in the sun if it is very hot or the balloon will expand and crack your paper mache.)
5) Do 2 more layers going in opposite directs, drying in between layers.
6) Once dry, hold the top of the balloon while making a slit in the rubber and the balloon will pull away from the paper mache as it deflates.
7) Paint the piñata and/or glue strips of tissue paper in a pattern around your balloon to decorate.
8) Fill with candy.
9) Make a small hole on both side of the balloon near the top where you can put a rope through. (I leave the candy filling hole open since it is at the top and doesn't really matter)
10) String up your pinata and let it be smashed to smithereens!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Monday Mom Moment
Today my job pretty much resembled that of a bridesmaid. There I was, sitting on the couch, trying to recover from a Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout (which is excellent, by the way) when out tromps Caiden dressed like this:
I was compelled to take her picture to record this amazing presentation and immortalize it in history before I let her go back to playing her imaginary game. She then took apart a very carefully built lego ship her brother had built. I scolded her and explained how I didn't think brother would appreciate her wrecking his creation, so she somehow managed to put it all back together again.
Then the pirate princess had to use the bathroom. "This dress is really fluffy!" she cried from the bathroom as I hurried in to help. "I got it!" she yelled just before I got there. And there she stood with all of her layers of skirts and capes held up in her little arms just like a wedding gown. "...Ummm... Can you help me get on the toilet?" she asked. So, I lifted her up and there she sat, clinching her toes to try to keep her plastic heels from falling off. I left. Pretty soon I heard the sound of the plastic heels clopping around on the bathroom tile and hurried in to make sure she could wipe. There she stood in front of the toilet with all the layers of her gowns still in her arms.
"I'll do it." I said. And I did. The end.
Then the pirate princess had to use the bathroom. "This dress is really fluffy!" she cried from the bathroom as I hurried in to help. "I got it!" she yelled just before I got there. And there she stood with all of her layers of skirts and capes held up in her little arms just like a wedding gown. "...Ummm... Can you help me get on the toilet?" she asked. So, I lifted her up and there she sat, clinching her toes to try to keep her plastic heels from falling off. I left. Pretty soon I heard the sound of the plastic heels clopping around on the bathroom tile and hurried in to make sure she could wipe. There she stood in front of the toilet with all the layers of her gowns still in her arms.
"I'll do it." I said. And I did. The end.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Happy Birthday, Caiden Keats
Something crazy happened when we all weren't looking. Caiden turned
four! I never gave her my permission to do that! But time keeps on
flying by whether we want it to or not, right?
I enjoy watching my kids grow, though, and it is a pleasure to see what
kind of lady she is turning out to be. One thing I know for sure is
that my girl is decisive! She gave me lots of very specific details
whenever we would talk about her birthday and I would judiciously and
furiously be typing them into my notepad on my phone so that I wouldn't
forget. This is not the kind of girl that tells you details lightly.
She means what she says!
She told me that first of all, she wanted a party hat--a rainbow colored, cone shaped birthday hat. Also, a pink cake, please, with white frosting and sprinkles! The next thing she hit me with was the fact that she wanted her presents hidden and wanted to have a treasure map and do a treasure hunt to find them! When asked by her Aunt what colors she would want for her party, her reply was, "Orange, yellow, red, blue, black, gray, and white." There is no room for error here, people! She was even specific about what she wanted to wear on the day of her party. In the morning, she wanted to go get donuts with Dad and wear regular clothes, "And then later right before the party starts I'll wear my princess dress." She ran around her party clickety-clackety in her plastic high heels and told me she would wear her crown until it was time to have cake and sing and then she would put on her party hat.
Well, we did the best we could and started inviting people and as I was talking to Caiden about the people, she says, "MOM. I don't want a lot of people at my party! I get nervous when there are too many people!" So we didn't have too many people and the party turned out super fun!
We barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs, had lots of macaroni and cheese,
destroyed a homemade pinata, went on a treasure hunt for Caiden's
present, played dress up, ran around, and had cake and icecream.
At the end of the day, Caiden declared, "That was a FUN, FUN, FUN, party!!!" I asked her what her favorite part of the party was and she said, "The part where you were singing happy birthday to me and I was coughing and trying not to cry!" Earlier she had confided in me that she kept coughing during the song to keep herself from crying. I think it makes her nervous having everyone looking at her!
My baby girl is FOUR! What a happy, intense, and laughter filled four years you have given us, Caiden... You make our family kind of magical and fill our home with glitter and joy. Happy Birthday, Caiden Keats!
She told me that first of all, she wanted a party hat--a rainbow colored, cone shaped birthday hat. Also, a pink cake, please, with white frosting and sprinkles! The next thing she hit me with was the fact that she wanted her presents hidden and wanted to have a treasure map and do a treasure hunt to find them! When asked by her Aunt what colors she would want for her party, her reply was, "Orange, yellow, red, blue, black, gray, and white." There is no room for error here, people! She was even specific about what she wanted to wear on the day of her party. In the morning, she wanted to go get donuts with Dad and wear regular clothes, "And then later right before the party starts I'll wear my princess dress." She ran around her party clickety-clackety in her plastic high heels and told me she would wear her crown until it was time to have cake and sing and then she would put on her party hat.
Well, we did the best we could and started inviting people and as I was talking to Caiden about the people, she says, "MOM. I don't want a lot of people at my party! I get nervous when there are too many people!" So we didn't have too many people and the party turned out super fun!
At the end of the day, Caiden declared, "That was a FUN, FUN, FUN, party!!!" I asked her what her favorite part of the party was and she said, "The part where you were singing happy birthday to me and I was coughing and trying not to cry!" Earlier she had confided in me that she kept coughing during the song to keep herself from crying. I think it makes her nervous having everyone looking at her!
My baby girl is FOUR! What a happy, intense, and laughter filled four years you have given us, Caiden... You make our family kind of magical and fill our home with glitter and joy. Happy Birthday, Caiden Keats!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Watch Out, World: Elliott's in 1st Grade!
Problems uploading have delayed this post...
From August 30, 2011.
My Elliott is a worrier if ever there was one. He worries about anything and everything you could possibly imagine. So, of course, I was a little hesitant to talk to him about starting public school for
the first time ever (we homeschooled him for Kindergarten). But, what do you know, he wasn't worried at all! Only excited--full of hope and anticipation. This is Elliott on his first day of school: anxious to see what its all about. (What a blessing, thank you to those of you who were praying for him for this transition!)
There also happens to be a very large hole in our kitchen ceiling (and water falling out of it...) so we decided to have dinner out tonight, partially in honor of our crippled kitchen and partly in celebration of
Elliott making it through his first day of school! Just like the day he was born, Elliott had a lot of people rooting for him today and we couldn't be more proud of him!
Good job, Elbow! We love you! Keep on punching your fears in the face and we'll be right here for you to help you through it.
From August 30, 2011.
My Elliott is a worrier if ever there was one. He worries about anything and everything you could possibly imagine. So, of course, I was a little hesitant to talk to him about starting public school for
the first time ever (we homeschooled him for Kindergarten). But, what do you know, he wasn't worried at all! Only excited--full of hope and anticipation. This is Elliott on his first day of school: anxious to see what its all about. (What a blessing, thank you to those of you who were praying for him for this transition!)
Elliott's first day of first grade was today. All things considered, he did great! He only cried once... The only problem is that although his first day began with hope and excitement, now that he knows what's what, the anxiousness and worry has set in for him. We're talking it out and praying with him, encouraging him. He could use your prayers, too!
There also happens to be a very large hole in our kitchen ceiling (and water falling out of it...) so we decided to have dinner out tonight, partially in honor of our crippled kitchen and partly in celebration of
Elliott making it through his first day of school! Just like the day he was born, Elliott had a lot of people rooting for him today and we couldn't be more proud of him!
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