Duct tape wallet

John's class recently took a field trip to the library and he received his very own library card.  He was pretty excited about this, to say the least.  John was wondering where he should keep his card, so we brainstormed a bit and decided to try making a duct tape wallet.  We already had colored duct tape, so it was free (an extra bonus!), and I found an easy to follow tutorial on YouTube.

I love it when I can find projects to work on with the older boys.  It takes a little more creativity and thought to find things they're really interested in doing, but when we do, it's time well spent together.  I had to do most of the cutting, measuring and folding, but John enjoyed being in charge of playing and pausing the video as we worked. 

 Now John can keep dollar bills in his wallet, and coins in his money jar.



We found an old wallet sized picture he could put in the wallet (although he requested I get an updated one with Will in it).

And a nice little pocket for that library card.

From wheat to grass

The first day of Spring is quickly approaching.  Normally I would be more excited, but winter here seems to be dragging on and on.  No real "spring" is on the horizon.  Temperatures here are in the 30's and below all week, but we're surviving.  We're planning on more sewing, crafts, and lazy afternoons!

At the beginning of March we started our wheat grass in hopes that it would be ready to go for Easter.  9 days later, the blades were more than a couple inches long!  

We used Delia's method for soil-less wheat grass.  It was a bit high maintenance the first few days, having to rinse the wheat a few times a day.  But fun to watch.  This is the wheat on day 5, just after it came out of the jars.

And by day 8, here's what we had!  Beautiful long blades of green grass.

The roots of the grass had grown right into the paper towels, so all I had to do was cut the rugs of grass into circles and place them in our pots.  I found these pots at Ikea for $1 each, then filled them each half way with rocks.



You can still see the wheat berries down by the roots.



I thought the grass would look good under our Easter egg garland.  We come up with a new method to decorate eggs every year then string them all together for display.  I'm still trying to decide what to do this year...

So now I have something beautiful and green to look at when I look out the window!  Although we won't see the real stuff for some time now.  Until then, this will have to do.

And I just found out that my pictures that I linked from Flickr are not working with Pinterest.  Grrrr.  So I'm going to try to load them right onto blogger and hope that that works.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

**Update: Unfortunately, about a week after we had this beautiful green grass, it all died from mold.  And I'm not quite sure how we could have avoided it.  So no green grass for Easter.  Although the process of growing the grass from wheat was fun to watch, next year we might just go with plain old grass seeds planted in soil.

Painted money jars

The kids needed a place to keep their money, and I had been wanting to paint jars.  So we combined the two and came up with these money jars.



I had John, Dan and Joe each pick out 2-4 colors they wanted to use.  They poured about a tablespoon of each color into the bottom of the jar, then rolled the jar around until it was sufficiently covered with paint (we used acrylics).



I wanted to make sure the paint was completely dry before they used them, so we let them sit for about a week.  For the top, I cut a circle out of some clear plastic, then cut a rectangle to put the coins through.



I was nervous that the coins would chip the paint, but surprisingly, they haven't chipped a bit.  I hope our jam jars are happy with their new life!  The kids sure love using them.  And I do think they look nice sitting up there on the dresser :)

Surviving the transition from winter to spring

We've entered the time of year when everyone is getting tired of the dirty snow, the rain, the gray skies, the mud and the cold weather.  Even John has admitted he's tired of the snow... and that's saying something!  But with this slow transition from winter to spring has come some downtime that has been quite enjoyable.  I haven't filled up our days with too many activities away from home.  Instead, we've settled into a slower routine, read a lot of books, played a lot of dragons, checkers and hide-and-seek, and worked on a few projects.



We all seem to migrate to the couch by the window when the sun is out.



I don't think the kids are used to seeing me lay down so much.  But I could get used to this.



Even Will will lay still for a few... seconds.



Many forts have been built in our front room.



And many games of checkers have been played.



And of course I can't lie around all day long... this is the time of year when I do the most sewing.  I have about 10 projects floating around in my head, it's just a matter of deciding which ones I should actually do, what I actually have time for.  Currently a jean picnic blanket is in the works (don't look too close, I'm a beginner quilter).



Our wheat grass continues to grow.  Yes wheat!  It's actually growing!  Who would have thought.  A couple days more and we'll transplant them into something better looking.



Our garden plans have begun.  We made garden markers last year for Pete's mom but never got around to making our own.  We'll use a wood burner to trace the letters, then nail the signs to stakes.  Even though planting most of the garden won't happen for a couple of months, just the thought of it is exciting.





What do you do to survive this time of year?

Fabric napkins

I made some fabric Christmas napkins last year for our family to use during the holidays and decided it might be nice to have some plain ones for every day use.  I basically sewed two rectangles together, turned them right side out, then sewed around the edge.



I love using them most for muffins, bread and cookies.  Sometimes you can get away with just shaking them off and reusing them.  Other times I throw them in the laundry basket.



Will didn't use a napkin, but this was his first time eating a cookie.  We make a lot of cookies around here, so it will not be the last.  And my baby turns one in 2 weeks!  I can hardly believe it!

Oil painting

For our Christmas homemade gift exchange, John drew Will's name.  I went over a few ideas with John, but he knew exactly what he wanted to do.  Paint a picture for Will.  He remembered the mobile we had made for Will before he born and wanted him to have something new to look at when he wakes up in the morning (those are John's words, not mine).



I bought some canvas and unburied my dusty oil paints that hadn't been used for probably 10 years (!)  John drew the picture with pencil first, then set to work filling it in with color.





I love the texture you get with oils.  But I do not love the mess that comes with them... we may just bury those paints for another 10 years or so.  Stick to watercolors and acrylics.



Will really does love the painting.  Although when I hold him in front of it, he always tries to grab it.  Such a naughty baby :)

Finding joy in each season

I never thought I would say this... but I have loved the snow, the ice, and the subfreezing temperatures this winter.  Yes, even the cold!  Because with those things have come many hours spent outside playing in the snow, ice skating, skiing out the back door and on trails, many, many cups of hot chocolate (way too many to count), cuddling underneath blankets on the couch, playing make-believe dragons, reading books, catching up on mending and sewing projects, and slowing down a bit.  Pete has always said he couldn't live somewhere without the seasons, and I have always said I could do without winter.  But this year, instead of dreading the cold and being stuck inside, I have decided to simply enjoy winter for what it is.

This is the first year that John and Dan have been able to put on all their snow gear by themselves.  Snowpants, coats, boots, hats, gloves and scarves.  It was so fun to see them come out of the laundry room together, all geared up for a snowy adventure.  And even more great that I didn't have to help them and they didn't have to ask.  John is the snow king, he LOVES the snow.  I've never met another boy who loves the snow more.  He hung up signs he made on all the windows that said, "Let it snow!" and looked out the window first thing every morning to see if it had.  He often got ready for school as fast as he could so he could get outside and play before the bus came.  I think John's love for the snow rubbed off on everyone.

Even though John and Dan can get ready themselves, it was still quite the process getting the whole family ready to go anywhere.  There was one morning in particular when I thought it would be fun to take Dan and Joe cross country skiing while John was at school.  It was a sunny day (and there aren't a whole lot of those in the winter here) and I was feeling extra adventurous.  I spent the whole morning getting everything ready.  A thermos of hot chocolate, packing the car with everyone's skis, the chariot for Will (we have ski attachments so I can pull him behind me), making sure everyone was fed, had gone potty, and was properly dressed.  After a couple hours of prep we finally arrived at the park I wanted to ski at.  Then it was setting up the Chariot, getting everyone's skis on, putting some heating pads around Will (it was sunny but still below freezing) and trying to stay positive and happy so everyone would have a good time.  As soon as we all started skiing, I knew the hard work had been worth it.  The sun felt warm on our faces, the snow was soft, the kids were excited (it was Joe's first time), Will was content and the path we went on was beautiful.  

Pete and I left the kids with a babysitter a few Saturdays so we could ski together on one of our favorite trails.  Since it takes a lot of planning and effort to go anywhere without the kids, I feel like I have to enjoy every minute.  Not that I don't enjoy being with the kids, it's not that at all.  I just don't get to be out in nature by myself (or with Pete) without loud, sometimes needy, children very often.  It's quite nice.

Will got to experience snow for the first time this year.  Let's be honest, there's not a whole lot a 9-month old can do in the snow, but he did seem to enjoy being outside if he was all bundled up.  And by the end of the winter he really did like sledding.  I love watching the kids try and experience new things.  Their excitement and curiosity is contagious.

Unfortunately for Will, he has spent a lot of the winter gazing out the back window, watching his brothers have all the fun.  Surprisingly he hasn't seemed to mind, just looking outside was enough I guess.  But I am getting excited at the thought of him being able to crawl and roll around on warm, green grass.  

And since we still have a while until that warm, green grass will actually be here, I decided to give a go at growing grass from wheat kernels this year.  We followed these instructions and will hopefully have some green grass growing by Easter.  The winter and the snow have been fun, but I must say, I am now really looking forward to Spring, and everything that comes with it.