Encouraging the love

Last fall John played soccer, and I couldn't help but notice something the coach of the team they were playing against was doing.  The coaches stayed on the field since the kids were just learning, and every time one of his players made a goal, this coach would run around to the other players and tell them to go give that person a high five.  During the first few goals, the kids on his team just cheered where they were until their coach came along and told them what to do.  But by the end, the teammates were running down and giving high fives on their own accord and cheering each other on.  I would imagine most of the kids on that team didn't know each other at first, but they had clearly bonded by the end.

I've thought a lot about what this coach was doing for those kids since then.  He was encouraging them to cheer for each other and interact with each other, when they might not have done so on their own.  And I've thought even more about how I can do this for my own kids.  One of the things that makes me the very happiest is to see my kids getting along, loving each other, playing well together and laughing together.  And I want to encourage that behavior as much as possible.  My kids definitely have their moments of fighting, screaming, teasing, name-calling and hitting.  Daily.  But overall, I feel like they really do love each other.

Here are a few things I have done to try to encourage the love:

* Telling each other "bye" and "hi."  Maybe some kids do this on their own, but mine didn't.  And I noticed it when John started going to school.  John would just walk out the door to wait for the bus without saying anything to his brothers, and Dan and Joe would just continue playing.  Sometimes Joe would come outside to see the bus, but still nothing would be said between the two of them when John left.  So I started saying things like, "John, say goodbye to your brothers!" or "Dan and Joe, say goodbye to John!" or "Look who's home!  Say hi to John!"  And sure enough, they are starting to catch on.  It made my heart leap for joy the first time I saw Joe running down the driveway when John got off the bus yelling excitedly, "Hi, John!  Hi John!"

* Helping the kids serve each other.  One really easy way I do this is to have the kids share treats or snacks that I give them with each other.  For example, if we're having cookies for an afternoon snack I can call Dan over and say, "Go give one of these to John and one to Joe."  Then even though it's me who got the cookies for them, Dan gets to feel like he's serving his brothers, and John and Joe think Dan's being really nice to share those cookies.

* Helping the kids feel like they have some ownership of their baby brother.  My babies have never been off limits to their older brothers.  I think I would go crazy trying to keep little hands off of the babies.  Rather, I have tried to encourage gentle touch (I guess this may not work for all children... you may have to set some boundaries).  When Will is awake and at his happiest I'll ask the kids if anyone wants to hold him.  Dan especially loves to hold his baby brother, and will sit on the couch with him for up to 15 minutes sometimes.  Just talking to him and looking at him.  Will isn't just mine.  He's all of ours.

*Having the older kids help the younger kids.  This is win win win.  The older child gets to show that they know how to do something, the younger kid gets helped by his older brother, and I don't have to help :)  Putting on shoes or socks, getting some water, opening a door, cleaning up a spill, getting out a toy, or putting a binkie in a mouth, to name a few.

* Teaching by example.  Probably the most important.  Yet sometimes the hardest.  All the time I find the kids talking exactly like me.  And that's not always a good thing.  My hugs and kisses, tone of voice, service, patience or the lack thereof does not go unnoticed.  Kids truly learn by example.

* Saying "I love you."  I think we first encouraged the kids to say "I love you" to each other before going to bed one night.  It's not a routine thing, but every once in a while those sweet words will be said before going to bed or at any time of the day.  A little while back, John and Dan were coloring next to each other, and out of no where Dan said, "I love you, John." And John said back, "I love you, Dan."  Music to my ears.

Do you have things you do to help encourage the love?

Top knot baby hat and matching onesie

Well, now that I've got a baby in the house again, a lot of my crafts and projects might reflect that...
so here we go!

I have quite a few friends/family having baby girls soon and have been wanting to make something for them.  I was at a cute boutique last week that sold every baby item you can imagine, and saw these hats there.  For $12 each!  I immediately knew I had to try to make them.  When I got home I found a free tutorial and pattern online (at Prudent Baby), grabbed a couple DownEast shirts that I never wear because I don't love the colors on me, and got to work.

And they proved to be as easy as they look!  I decided to make a matching onesie by sewing a flower on that I made with the same material.  I cut out 4 circles, folded them in half, overlapped them, then sewed a button in the center.  (Try to forget the fact that I don't have any girl models around here... sorry Will!) 

Homemade (and very inexpensive!) gifts all ready to go.

Onesie face lift

Since I haven't done too many projects of my own these last couple weeks, I thought I'd share someone else's. My sister-in-law gave us these onesies when we had Will. Such a fun and easy gift idea! And all you need are some onesies, scraps of fabric and Heat N Bond Iron-On Adhesive. No sewing machine required.

Here are some tutorials I found online:

DIY Iron-On Onesies @ Tatum Family
DIY Iron-On Transfers For Onesies @ Wee Baby Stuff
Baby Shower Onesie Craft @ Mommyinthemountains—this woman made these onesies at a baby shower... cute idea!

Hanging paper organizer

I have recently been brainstorming ideas of what to do with all the clutter that accumulates on our kitchen counter.  It drives me crazy.  Mail, receipts, projects the kids and I are working on, papers Pete brings home from work, keys, phones, magazines, bills... it all seems to pile up in one place.  And we don't have much counter space as it is.  So I came up with this hanging organizer to hold the kids papers, coloring sheets, and anything they're working on at the moment.  (This obviously doesn't solve all of my kitchen counter clutter problems... but it's a start).



I'm sure you can buy something like this at a pretty low price.  But I have a hard time spending money on something that I can make using things I already have.  So I hot glued together foam core, then covered it with paper from a brown paper bag and a few pieces of scrapbook paper.  I hung it at the kids level so they can easily access their folders.  And yes, it is right in our dining/kitchen area.  I knew if I put it anywhere else it wouldn't be used.



Now I just need to make one of these for all of my papers!

The arrival of boy #4

You may have guessed the reason for my absence the last week or so... our baby arrived!  William Hirschi Jackson was born on Thursday, March 22 at 1:04 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs. 15 oz.  We feel more than blessed to have little Will join our family.

As is expected, along with a new baby comes the need to let certain things go... so I may not be posting too much on here for the next little while. Instead I will be feeding, changing and snuggling my little one :)

A rainbow of cards

The first day of spring was calling out for an art project at our house. So we got out the watercolor paints and made "rainbow cards." We started out by painting rainbows, then I showed the kids a few different techniques and let them do their thing.



I always end up liking their paintings more than my own! Mine tend to be more methodical and thought out. They just go for it.



After they dried, I used the paintings to make cards. Now we have a fresh new stack to be used for birthdays, anniversaries, and thank you's... and I may just hold on to a couple of my favorites :)

Diaper changing pad

An exciting new item for this upcoming baby (due in 1 week!!) is a changing pad. Another creation by my friend Hilary. I'm surprised I never carried one of these around with the other kids, but it will be perfect for diaper changing when I'm out and about and is small enough that it can be folded up and stuck in the diaper bag.



The size is 18" x 24", which seems about right. One side is terry cloth and the printed side is from the "A Walk in the Woods" Collection by Aneela Hoey. I love the print and that it's not blue! We have plenty of blue things around here.



Now all I need is a little body to lay down on this. The constant diaper changing is about to begin :)

From pants to shorts

Over the winter we slowly built up a small pile of pants that had holes too big to mend. It's unavoidable with boys. John comes home from school with a small hole in his knee, I'm lazy and don't make him take the pants off right away so I can patch them, and by the end of the day the hole is all the way across and starting to rip up his thigh and down his shin. So the pants go in the pile waiting to be turned into shorts.



With the warm weather we've had lately, this project was calling out to me. I essentially took scraps of material or old clothing, used them to make bias tape, then sewed them around the bottoms of the shorts.



Now we're all ready for this beautiful weather!



Joe was feeling left out of the photoshoot :)



You can go to the HBfabrics giveaway post from last week to see who won!

HBfabrics giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed.

Today I'm excited to bring you a giveaway from HBfabrics! Hilary and Chris sell designer fabric out of their home. Hilary also has her own line of products (Hilary Brooke Collection)... totes, wallets, iPhone and iPad cases, pack-packs, hooded towels, kids belts and ties... all made with beautiful fabric. In her own words:

Hilary Brooke Collection started out after I got together with a good friend and she taught me how to make a diaper bag. I was hooked! I quickly learned that many other women had the same desire as I did to have a bag that no one else had! That is when Hilary Brooke Collection began. I started buying fabric in bulk and filling up our formal dining room with wall to wall fabric. The small bag business quickly turned into our fabric store (HBfabrics) and Hilary Brooke Collection. I joined forces with my husband Chris and now we both love to find great fabrics and patterns and we continue to fill up our home with lovely fabrics and my own creations for HBC. We enjoy shipping great fabrics and unique handmade products out to our wonderful customers.

HBfabrics can be found online, on Etsy and on Facebook.



Today they are generously giving away a Charm Pack—42 squares from the "Ruby" line by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics, PLUS 2 yards from this line of your choice (valued at $27 + shipping!). It can be any combination in 1/4 increments... for example, 1 yard of one fabric and 1 yard of another, or 2 yards of 1 fabric, or 1/4 yard of 8 fabrics and so on. Oh, the possibilities!





Could there be a cuter line?! Can I enter the giveaway? :) I'm in love with these colors.



Here's how to enter:

Simply "like" HBfabrics on Facebook then leave a comment on this post (one entry per person, please).

The giveaway ends Sunday at midnight. Winner will be announced Monday morning. Good luck!

And the winner is...



Ellen! Congratulations!

The diaper bag

I've used the same plain black diaper bag since John was born, so when my friend Hilary said she wanted to make me a new one for this baby I was thrilled! And let me tell you, Hilary isn't just anybody. She and her husband started a company (HBfabrics) selling designer fabrics out of their home, and Hilary even has her own line of products (Hilary Brooke Collection) that she sells online and on etsy. But for this bag she used an Amy Butler Pattern, the Sweet Harmony Tote. I couldn't love it more.



Hilary let me choose the fabrics I wanted the bag to be in from her shop. I went with Full Moon Polka Dot Slate and Wallflower Sky from Amy Butler's Lotus Collection.



Thanks Hilary!
Check back tomorrow for a fabulous giveaway from HBfabrics!

Easter Egg garland

So maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but with the warm weather we've had I just couldn't help getting out the spring and Easter decorations... all 2 of them :) We put on the kids Easter pillowcases then made a garland with the Easter eggs we've decorated over the years. Every year we blow out a bunch of eggs and come up with a new way to decorate them. It's fun to look back and see what the kids have done. We started by simply drawing on eggs with permanent marker. The next year we cut up different colors of tissue paper and mod-podged them on, and the year after that we cut out pictures of things that reminded us of spring from magazines and mod-podged those on. This years eggs are yet to be decided...

Babysitter notes dry erase board

I got this idea from a small boutique in our town a few months ago. A dry erase board for babysitter notes. Why haven't I thought of this before?! Brilliant. You write all of the information that isn't going to change right on the paper, then stick it in a magnetic frame and use a dry erase marker to write what time you should be home and any special instructions (what to have for dinner, bedtime routine, etc.) If there's an emergency or if the babysitter has a question, she can simply refer to this.



Feel free to print mine, or create your own!

Jeans bucket

I've been eyeing these fabric buckets lately (also found here and a pattern found here) and knew I had to make one. They combine my love of sewing, organizing and repurposing all into one perfect project. I used some old jeans of Pete's for the outside and one side of an old blanket for the inside. I basically followed the tutorial found on Design Sponge and then added handles.



For this large of a bucket I started with 13"x13" squares (oh, and I also used batting to help the sides stay a little stiffer... but I won't get in to that, it complicated the project quite a bit). If you're going to make a bucket this big just make sure to use fabric that is fairly stiff so that it will hold it's shape.



As I was sewing the bucket I didn't know exactly what I was going to use it for, but quickly thought it would be the perfect place for all of our stuffed animals that needed a home.



You better believe there will be more of these sewn up in the near future! Smaller buckets for the kids for Easter and buckets filled with diapers and baby essentials for baby gifts are now on my list of projects.

Nesting: mobile and nursery

Daniel came down from bed earlier this week with some toys strung together with a shoelace and told me it was for our baby. He was all too excited. Looks like it's not just me anticipating the arrival of this little one! That gave me the idea to help the kids make something for the baby. Since we've never had a mobile above the crib I thought that might be a fun project, so we got to work.

Family Wheat Bread

We finally used up all of our bread from last month, so had another bread making day. This time we went with honey whole wheat. I let all three kids join me on this one so they could each make their own little baked goodies.



I love this recipe I received from a friend of a friend a few years back.

Tutorial: reusable food bags

I have slowly been collecting the transparent, plastic bags that sheets, toys and other things come packaged in. Never throw these away! There are SO many different ways to use them (an obvious one being to store other toys, art supplies, or clothes in.) I used a few of these bags for the windows in our table fort, and have been meaning to turn a few more into reusable food bags for quite some time. I was finally forced to when we started running low on sandwich bags, and I was determined to not buy anymore. Lately I have noticed how much waste goes out of our house, and how many things get used once only to be thrown away. So this is one (very small) attempt to "reduce" and "reuse" (which, in my opinion, is even more important than "recycle"... but more on that another time.)



I plan to use these bags for any dry foods (crackers, cookies, etc.) and continue using small plastic containers for the more messier foods that would be harder to rinse out (like apples or oranges). But we'll still keep a box of sandwich bags around... they're nice to have when sending people home with cookies or to use when traveling, but hopefully with these bags we can cut back a little bit.

The greatest gift you can give your children...

My grandma used to say that the greatest gift you can give your children is the gift of each other. My mom spoke at her funeral last summer and included those words in her talk. Grandma always encouraged her girls to have a lot of children. As our boys are growing up, interacting more with each other, playing, wrestling, laughing, and yes, sometimes fighting, Pete and I often talk about how true those words are! It makes me so happy to watch these little ones grow up together. And with our move away from family and friends, I have watched them become even closer, having to rely on each other for friendship and security. Nothing makes me happier than to see my boys sitting side by side reading books, playing Legos, getting their dinosaurs ready for battle and laughing over silly things. They give each other something that no one else can. It's hard to believe we'll be adding another little boy into the mix in the next few weeks. I can't wait.

Tutorial: how to cut boys hair

Yesterday was hair cutting day. One of the many things I wanted to get done before this baby comes (although I could still have another 4 weeks... and by that time they'd be close to needing another hair cut... oh well!) I've cut Pete's hair ever since we were married, so I never thought twice about not doing the kids myself. It saves money (especially with a growing family), I don't have to load the kids in the car and take them anywhere, you can do it on your own schedule, and, once you have it down, really doesn't take too much time. It takes me 15-20 minutes per kid. I am in no way claiming to be a master of cutting boys hair... this is just the way that I have found works for me, I'm sure there are many other ways to do it (and let's be honest, probably better ways!) But if you're new to cutting boys hair, here's somewhere to start...

Nesting: night time baby station

I've always had my newborn babies sleep right next to me (not in the same bed... in their own little bed) for the first few weeks before moving them to a separate room. I would probably have them stay in the same room as me longer than that, but I have become a super light sleeper since having kids, and I eventually wake up to even the slightest movement of the baby. So for my own sanity and needed rest, I put some distance between us early on, and I figure if the baby really needs something I will easily hear him from one room away.

With the first two boys we borrowed a basinet to use. But with this one I thought I would simply use what we had and make it work—maybe it will work even better. I transformed our port-a-crib into this baby station. I really wanted everything I might need in the middle of the night and wee hours of the morning within reach, so I made this pocket storage to go on the front from an old curtain we weren't using. It houses the diapers, burp cloths, diaper cloths, lotions, change of clothes, pacifiers, bedding and a few other things I might need.



Inside the crib is a changing pad that the baby will sleep on, extra blankets, and a basket for the wipes and my books. I always read when I nurse and already have a growing stack of books just waiting to be read. I'm rather excited to have something to force me to slow down and pick up a book.

Doctor Dan

We celebrated Dan's birthday on Tuesday, and after seeing this little nurse kit that my friend made, I knew I wanted to make Dan a doctor kit. Since Pete is a doctor I thought this gift would be most fitting. Dan can dress up like daddy!


I started out by making this little white coat. Pete donated an old white coat for my cause, so all I had to do was adjust it to fit Dan. Much easier than starting from scratch.


These candy pill bottles were the biggest success in the kit (of course!). Made from old spice bottles.