Fun in the Day Light and Fun in the Black Light

Spring Break Continued :)

I finished taping up the plastic sheeting on the sides of the greenhouse today.  I got it all ready for tomorrow when Grandma and Uncle Mike come to help me plant my veggies.  I had just a little bit of sheeting left and I decided to try out an idea I saw on a blog via Pinterest.  It looked too cool not to try.  Here is a link to the original idea.  Theirs was way bigger and way cooler, but this turned out to be a big hit even on a small scale.  

Basically it is just duct tape, plastic sheeting, and a whole lot of water.  Add kids and have fun!

Bayne is the first one to cross the redneck waterbed!

It didn't take long for them to figure out how they wanted to play with it.

Lots of crazy jumps and spins!

Super fun!  I may have to try that on a larger scale this summer.

This afternoon we made some Easter cookies and decorated them after dinner.  So yummy!

Then after dessert we had fun with all our glow/neon black light crafts!  

We painted our shirts and puppets last night, so they had time to dry and be ready for the puppet show tonight.

I realize these pictures aren't the best, but I'm posting them anyway just for fun :)

I bought a couple neon balloons to play with in the black light ....

.... guess who liked that!?  Yep, my freaky balloon loving dog, Sippi.  She's all ready for the rave party.

The kids had fun drawing back drops for their puppet show with highlighter pens.

We made some silly accessories with our neon pipe cleaners.

Mom needs some cool glasses.

Bayne has a cool sword ring.

Aubrey has glasses and a sword.

The three amigos!

I also let the kids decorate their own shirts with fabric puffy paint.

Bayne's shirt - front

Bayne's shirt - back (it says, "I'm the" and an arrow is pointing to a bomb.  LOL!)

Mom's shirt

Aubrey's shirt - back

Aubrey's shirt - front

Puppet show!

Bayne's puppets

Aubrey's puppet - her other one was still wet

Mom's puppets!

Lots of fun, day and night!!!

Tomorrow night I have a glow in the dark Easter Egg hunt planned!!!!  

As much fun as this has been, I'm going to be so ready to send these kids back to school, so I can get a spring break!  :)

Spring Break ... So Far!

It's been so nice to not have to race off to school this week.  Unfortunately, poor Aubrey came down with a fever and yucky cough on Tuesday, so we really haven't been able to get outside much to play.  The weather is very cold here (for this wimpy So Cal girl) and the wind is brutal.  She seems fine when she's inside, but as soon as I take her out into the wind she starts to go downhill fast.  Aubrey has never been good in the wind.  As a baby she would cry and cry if she was outside in the wind and I had forgotten all about that memory until the other day when she looked so red and winded when we were outside playing.  Never fear, though!  I have lots of fun projects and activities planned indoors for us and Grandma and Uncle Mike are coming for a visit tomorrow.  That is ALWAYS a good time.  Grandma is bringing her garden gloves, so I will get a little help planting my garden.  I love all the hands that have come together to help me build my little greenhouse and garden in the back.  I love my unconventional family!  It's the best!

Here is a little picture diary of our Spring Fun so far:

I started out by making a huge batch of homemade pumpkin pancakes made with organic ingredients.  So yummy!!!  I froze the leftovers so I can pull them out and we can have an easy homemade breakfast every morning.  Along with my organic fruit from Farm Fresh To You.  Tomorrow I am making fresh squeezed orange juice from all my freshly delivered organic oranges!

We've been having fun watching our caterpillars grow.  Man they grow fast!  They have doubled in size since this picture taken a few days ago.

We made some thumbprint caterpillars.  Aubrey loved showing hers off to the caterpillars.  Bayne loved going overboard with the stamp pads. :)

Browsing through Pinterest I found this really cool idea from a great blog called Growing a Jeweled Rose.  She has lots of great ideas for sensory play and sensory baths.  Sensory play seems to be all the rage these days.  Even though my kids are getting a little older and aren't toddlers anymore, I still think they would enjoy some of these types of activities.  I decided to try out her Easter Bath idea.  I had all the stuff necessary.  I just had to pick up a few cheap toy prizes from the dollar store.  It was a HUGE hit!  I think they will always remember this and most likely ask for it again next year.

All you do is add a little food coloring to the water.  It doesn't dye your tub or your kid, I promise!  I added red to Aubrey's bath and blue to Bayne's bath.  Then dump a bunch of easter grass on top of the water.  I happened to have a ton that has probably been in my easter tote for years.  Then stuff prizes in plastic eggs and dump them in the tub.  I bought some beaded necklaces, little plastic bunnies, and those capsules that you put in water and they grow into little animal sponges.  

Aubrey discovering her treasure!  I couldn't get her out of the tub!

And if you think your 7 year old is too old for this ... think again!  

Pimp daddy Bayne sporting his jewels in the tub.  LOL

Ahhhhhh!!!  It's a Swamp MONSTER!

The Easter grass wasn't too hard to pick up.  Just use a big spaghetti strainer to scoop it up.  Bayne liked having the water being strained dumped on his head like a shower, too.  

I even tried out some of this homemade bath paint I found on the same blog.  It's just shaving cream mixed with non-toxic paint.  I noticed some of this stuck to my grout, so be warned.  I'm sure bleach will pull it right up, though.

Aubrey loves to decorate, so I let her decorate her room for Easter (and every holiday!)

Grammy gave us some easter egg lights, so I hung them from their bed.  I did this at Christmas, too, and they love it.

We attempted to go to the park the other day, but after seeing how bad the wind was affecting Aubrey I decided on heading to the mall to see the Easter Bunny instead.  Man do I miss the mall playground.  Would have come in handy this week, but I guess my kids are getting too big for those things.  Time sure does fly.  Luckily, they are not too old to visit the Easter Bunny.  

They don't allow you to take your own picture, (LAME!), but as you can see I am not very good at following the rules!

Bayne giving the EB a high five.

Aubrey giving EB a big hug!

Last night we did a really fun project.  I had a great idea to make sock puppets, but I took the idea a step farther and decided we would do a black light puppet show!  Super fun!  Last night after dark we turned on the black light and started decorating our socks and shirts, made accessories with pipe cleaners, and colored back drops with highlighter pens.  We are doing a little more work on our puppets and shirts this morning and tonight is the big show!

Here are some of the supplies we are working with.  

Stay tuned for some good old black light fun!  

Hope you all are having fun, too!

Spring Break!!!! Is It Really a Break?

FINALLY!  A week off from school and the early morning wake up and rush routine.  It's so lovely to not have to be anywhere by 8am.  Too bad the kids don't understand the luxury that is sleeping in.  I guess to them it's a luxury to be able to wake up and just play.  I don't know why they feel the need to do that at 7am ... but at least they let me lay in bed and slowly gain consciousness.  I think we all needed a little break from the routine, and while I appreciate not having to get these kids to school each morning, I wouldn't exactly consider this a "break".  We're having a stay-cation, so that means Mom is working full time to keep this house from falling into shambles while the kids enjoy their toys and pretend play all across the house.  Then there are the 3 meals a day, clean up that goes with them, snacks, projects, crafts, more play.  Stay-cations are awesome, especially when you live in paradise, but they are messy and require constant clean up from Mom.  No worries, though!  I love what I do and I'm happy to do it ... I just think lets call it what it is ... Spring WORK!  :)

I've got LOTS on my to-do list and I have multiple to-do lists.  Here is just a glimpse into what plans I have rolling around in this head of mine.  Who said stay at home mom's have it easy!?


My Sewing To-Do List:


1)  Make 18 pencil cases  - finished!
2)  Make 2 wristlets - finished!
3)  Cut scraps into coin purses and ear bud cases  - finished!
4)  Sew coin purses and ear bud cases
5)  Make shorts using new pattern and wool suiting
6)  Messenger bag with wool suiting
7)  Diaper bag with new pattern and wool suiting
8)  My new messenger bag design with wool suiting
9)  Cut up scraps from wool into coin purses, wristlets, and ear bud cases
10)  Sew the coin purses, etc from wool
11)  Make dress from new pattern and the organic cotton I purchased (got for free!  From Hemp Traders!  Making friends in all the right places!)
12)  Make rasta skirt with left over knit from rasta shirt
13)  Make pancho from rasta lycra for a beach cover up
14)  Make sewing machine table skirt
15)  Make a Jimmy Z style skirt - just for good retro fun!
16)  Make a jacket or pancho with left over organic cotton
17)  Finish hand sewing projects - button on shorts, Bayne's ripped jeans, JJ's patch
18)  Combine Bayne's favorite old shirt with a new shirt
19)  Make wristlet/purse with front pocket


My Kids To-Do List:


1)  We just got our larvae in the mail for our painted lady butterflies, so I wanted to make some little caterpillars ... maybe just with thumb prints - we have lots of stamp pads.
2)  Make butterflies from toilet paper rolls and decorate
3)  Make coasters from perler beads
4)  Make Bayne practice math 15 minutes per day on IXL while Aubrey practices writing her letters
5)  Make sock puppets with fluorescent puffy paint, pull out the black light and have a glow in the dark puppet show
6)  Go to the school and ride bikes a few times this week - although poor Aubrey has a yucky cough :(
7)  Pull out the old slides and have a slide show-  I've been meaning to do this forever!
8)  Make Easter cookies and decorate
9)  Go see the Easter Bunny at the mall


Around the House To-Do List:


1)  Laundry - oh how I hate you
2)  Touch up paint in kitchen
3)  Decorate for Easter
4)  Finish putting up the plastic sheeting on the green house
5)  Rake out the garden bed and add new soil - plant 3 veggie plants and prep the sides for herbs (I can only afford to do so much planting at one time)
7)  Un-decorate from Easter :)
8)  Figure out what is wrong with the damn printer!!!

My Work-Out To-Do List:


1)  Jillian (aka- Mean Bitch!) - No More Trouble Zones
2)  Play Punch out with Bayne and Jillian yoga
3)  Yard work and progressive pilates - 4 work outs
4) Arm workout + cardio (punch out or run)
5)  Progressive Pilates easy one + cardio
6)  Power Yoga + cadio
7)  Cardio + Abs


As you can see I already crossed a few things off of my list ....

Here are the 18 pencil cases I made for a friend and loyal customer:

She bought 15 for her daughters soccer team.  The good news is I have 2 more up for sale!

One has a blue zipper and one has a black zipper.  Both can be puchase here:

At my Etsy Store!

Just specify which color zipper you prefer.

 

I also made a wristlet in a purse style for her daughter.  She is young, so we designed it with a long strap that she can carry over her shoulder or across her chest, so she doesn't accidentally lose or misplace her money and phone.

Here is the other wristlet I made for a girl at the bank who is always bailing me out of trouble.  Love her!  She is getting married and I thought this would be a nice gift for her to use at her wedding and beyond.  I don't share my vintage fabric with anyone and the white is from my vintage stash.  

She is having an all white wedding with a crystal broach bouquet and peacock feathers for the men.  I thought the blue lining was a good touch, not only for the peacock feathers, but for the whole "something blue" deal.

Also, I would like to introduce you to my new friend!  I bought a serger!!!  I am so excited and terrified all at the same time!  It came with a instruction disc, but I don't have a PC, so I can't watch it, D'oH!  I haven't tried it out yet, but I plan on tackling that this week.  I guess that should have been on my to-do list.  I am saving all my knit work to be done on here.  I cannot wait to figure this thing out and get comfortable on it.  I think it is going to change my life.  It's a brother, so I named it after my brother ... Mike!

Meet Mike!

Welcome to the family!  Here is my trifecta, the trinity, the threesome and me!

Mike, my bro.  Ken, my best friend.  Conner, my boyfriend.  And ME!

I also decided to change my hair color for the spring.  I started doing it myself for cost reasons.  I'm pretty disappointed with box dyes.  I feel like they wash out within a few weeks and I want to re-do them within 3 weeks, but I don't want to dump a bunch of chemicals on my head so frequently.  I've been looking into trying henna on my hair.  It is very permanent, though, so I want to be sure I'm ready for it if I do it.  It has a very red - Lucille Ball - look to it, which I think I can pull off.  Box dye ends up washing out and leaving me with an orange coppery look anyway, so why not just embrace the red!  Before I dive into the henna world (it seems like a bit of a process at first) I decided to try out a natural dye from Whole Foods.  I went for copper reddish blond and MAN it is RED!  It's super fun and vibrant.  It makes me want to dress all fun, funky, and fresh.  I'm really feeling it.  My guess is this color will wash out pretty fast.  I went ahead and ordered the henna.  I think if I can handle this red, than I should be able to handle the henna red.  What I love about the henna is it is completely natural and 100% organic.  It's actually good for your hair and strengthens it.  It is safe to apply as often as you want.  It permanently dyes your hair red and applying more will darken it to a deeper red with each dye.  You can store any left over henna in the freezer and just pull it out when you need to do a root touch up.  It's also safe to use on your eyebrows.  I hate when my eyebrows are a different color from my hair for some reason.  Drives me crazy!  I will have to blog about it once I do it.  I'm a little scared because it does seem to take some time and patience and a few days to settle into it's color.  I worry I may look like Bozo the clown for a few days.  It also looks really hard to wash out.  Even this natural dye from Whole Foods was very hard to wash out.  I am sure it had henna in it.  Anyway, here is the new me!  All red and ready for spring!  What do you think?

Should I go for the henna and commit to being a red head?  

I hope you all have lots of fun plans for the Spring Break!!  If you are out in the world vacationing, enjoy yourself a little extra for me.  I'll be back in here to share some of our Spring Break stay-cation fun.