sandbox

sew fun wednesdays

this is a new blog series i will be doing for the next few weeks.

i am taking a sewing class on wednesday nights. i already know

how to sew, but i take the class just so i can have three hours

of uninterupeted me time. my first project was a sunshade

for the car. i know i could have easily just gone to target

or babies "r" us and bought a generic one, but i don't like to

be generic. so here's my cutesy sunshade and how i did it...

what you need: fabric of your choice, measuring tape,

heat-n-bond vinyl, 4 suction cup hooks,rotary cutterand mat,

sewing machine, and thread.

first: measure window you will be using the sunshade on

and cut two pieces of fabric according to the measurements.

next: measure and cut two pieces of heat-n-bond vinyl the same size as the fabric

then: iron on the heat-n-bond vinyl to each piece of fabric.

(follow package directions)

next: put pieces right sides together and sew around the

outer edge approx 1/2". leave a 5" opening so you can turn the shade

right side out. once you have turned the shade right side out stitch

1/4" around entire shade. this will close up the space that was

left open for turning and give a nice finished look.

finally: apply grommets to each corner

thanks to the mister for helping me with the grommets

viola! a very cute and non-generic sunshade now fashions your car window. enjoy!

the mister makes a sandbox

trying to figure out space for your kiddos to play can be

challenging when you live in a small apartment with a very

little yard. so when i told the mister i wanted a sandbox for our

little ones he thought i was crazy. "where are we gonna put it?"

was his first question. well, of course i have an answer for everything.

so, his next question was "how big do you want it?" i showed him the

area i want to put it, which is under the stairs in our front yard.

so, he took some measurements, drew up some plans and off to

home depot he went. this is what he came up with...

the box is 4x4 square and he used redwood

the mister getting all fancy adding a nice edge to the top

he put a coat of varnish on it and added 14 bags of sand

(yes, 14 bags which = 700 lbs of sand)

which i am hoping will amount to tons of fun!

more sandbox pics coming soon...

feeling domestic?

i sure am lately. i made chocolate banana muffins this morning

and last night i whipped up a pretty tasty chocolate mousse, which

you can find here at fly through our window. for some reason

i have a sweet tooth lately and i just can't get enough sweets.

it's probably because i just spent my whole life savings (not literally)

on fixing my teeth this last week. who knows, but i have been

enjoying these yummy treats. here's what you need if you

want to satisfy your sweet tooth...

i got this cookbook through dole.

i think it cost about a buck and they have some pretty good recipes.

the idea being that your kid eats at least five fruits and veggies a day.

i followed the raisin buddy banana muffins recipe,

but i changed a couple of things.

the recipe calls for raisins but i didn't have any so i reduced

the amount of cocoa powder to 3 tablespoons and added

1/2 cup chocolate chips instead. yes, i know that chocolate

is not a subsitute for a dried fruit, but i told you i have a sweet tooth, okay?

and there you have it, tasty, yummy, satisfying banana muffins

which makes this little miss one happy girl!

the recipe:

2 very ripe, medium bananas, peeled

1 egg beaten

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

6 tablespoons cocoa powder (reduce to 3 if you are following my version)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dole raisins (or chocolate chips if you are following my version)

preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray muffin pan with cooking spray or line with liners. mash or blend bananas until smooth. scrape bananas into a mixing bowl and combine with egg and oil. in another mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder. add banana mixture, and stir until moistened. stir in raisins (chocolate chips). spoon 1/3 cup of batter into 10-12 prepared muffin pan cups. bake for 20-25 minutes. enjoy!

goth baby

is the little fella going goth on me?

is this a sign of our future?

no and i hope not. it's just

from a washable black marker that

the little miss left out and he was sure to find.

let me just say the little fella is keeping quick on my feet these days...

freeze frame...four

bubbles

this little fella got in there too

thanks to the mister for the photos except for this last one i have take the credit

mouse pad makeover

the other day i decided to clean our home

office. it was time and it very much needed it.

when i finished tackling the stack of papers piled high

on the desk, i found our mouse pad. our poor, sad,

dirty mouse pad. it needed a makeover bad

and what better time than now. so i took a little break

from cleaning the office and squeezed in this project...

what you need: an old mouse pad, scissors, cute material,

heat-n-bond adhesive, heat-n-bond vinyl, and an iron

first: cut a piece of heat-n-bond adhesive a little larger than

your mouse pad and iron on to your for fabric.

(follow the directions on the heat-n-bond package)

next: trace the shape of your mouse pad onto the fabric

and cut and apply to the mouse pad

then: trace the shape of the mouse pad to the heat-n-bond vinyl and

iron (follow directions on heat-n-bond vinyl package)

viola! you're done and have a new, happy looking mouse pad

freeze frame...three

easter 2010

what's goin on outside

we've been enjoying the

sunshine around here lately, so we've been

working outside digging in the dirt

and tending to our garden...

we made a little terrarium which includes 2 worms,

a pill bug, 3 slugs and a recently added centipede

my little rainbow beauty

our lettuce that resprouted from last year - cool huh?

cucumbers

thumbs up from my little farmer

don't toss it...fix it!

my little fella received a series of books by karen katz

before he was even born. they are the cutest books.

they have great colors, nice large black print,

and an opportunity for the child to interact with the

story by lifting flaps to uncover the cute baby illustration

that is under it. This my friends is why i am doing this post.

my little fella, even though he completely loves these books has

completely destroyed them. he has ripped off all the flaps and isn't able

to enjoy the books as much as he use to.

so here is my quick fix to this little problem...

what you need: clear contact paper, scissors, hot glue gun

and 2-3 glue sticks, velcro and the book of course

then cover the ripped off flap part of the book

with contact paper. i tried to skip this part, but the contact paper

really does help. it makes the page sturdier and harder to rip off again.

cut a strip of velcro the length of where the flap

will be attached. glue one side of the velcro to the book and the

other side to the flap. now your ready to reattach.

viola! your book is repaired and ready for some more fun.

the cool thing is even though my little fella stills rips the flap

off i can reattach it over and over again. now if i can just figure

out how to keep him from closing the doors on the t.v. cabinet....

we've been busy little bunnies

the little miss and i had a good time dying eggs on easter morning.

she decided to dye all but one of her eggs pink and yellow creating

an ab pattern in the egg carton. on her last egg the little miss

experimented with dropping the egg into all the colors,

which turned out blue with a hint of purple, green and

pink. i had a good time dying a few eggs with her and

taking pics of this amazing little lady.

here are just a few of our easter morning pics...

and our final results. the experimental egg is the first one from the left in the front row.