Homemade Candy Canes

One of Deidra's favorite Christmas traditions is making homemade candy canes. Every Sunday night after Thanksgiving until Christmas she is likely to be found making candy canes with friends.

She made this short Instagram video a few weeks ago of the process.

And here's the recipe, if you feel adventurous and want to try it yourself!

Merry Christmas! Wish you were all near and could taste a warm, fresh candy cane!

Round Friendship Bracelet Tutorial

Growing up we spent many hours with thread pinned to couch cushions making friendship bracelets. I'm sure my mom saw the benefit of keeping our hands busy. This round bracelet is one of the easiest and quickest to do.

Start with embroidery floss. You can find embroidery floss at JoAnn's, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or Wal-Mart. Any store with a craft section will have embroidery floss; it's a basic craft supply.

To begin, pick your colors. The more colors you use, the thicker your bracelet will be, and all the steps will be the same no matter the number of threads. Each thread will be about an arm length. Cut all thread and tie a knot at the top. You'll want to leave a bit of a tail to use when the bracelet is finished and you are tying it on. Tape the bracelet to a counter or table, or you can use a safety pin and attach it to a pillow or the thigh area of your jeans.

First, pick the color you want to use first and separate it from the group. Take the thread over the others and then under, like you are tying a knot.

 

Hold the group of thread tight and slide the yellow to the top and pull tight and repeat, I did each color 5 times here.

Then return the yellow to the group and choose your next color.

And repeat 5 times. You can do each color however many times you want to, but for even blocks keep them all the same.

Repeat with all the colors in the order you choose until the bracelet is long enough to wrap around the wrist, or ankle if you are making an ankle bracelet.

Tie a knot at the end, cut with a tail and tie. I recently taught a group of 8-9 year olds how to make these and they had so much fun!

Trash Talking Onesie

 Pinned It: Taking pins and using them!

Last week I saw this burp cloth via Pinterest just as the husband was walking in the door after work. I loved it so much and I knew the perfect candidate for one of his own.

Not only is he a spitter, but his dad is a superfan. Maybe not a paint-his-body-blue-and-stand-out-in-subzero-temperatures superfan, but still a superfan.
The very next day I came up with this version:

The hardest part was deciding which opponent to feature, but since our Aggies are playing Utah tonight it had to be the Utes. But there's probably a Cougar one in his future too!

I cut it out using my Silhouette. And using the freezer paper method, I stenciled it onto a onesie for the little guy.

 

Go Aggies!

Find me on Pinterest.

Swim Bag

I'm breaking the silence on what our dad is starting to refer to as "that sad, pathetic blog." Unfortunately, he's right.

Our old gym had the best pools. Indoor lap, indoor warm 'therapy' pool (can't be beat in the winter), outdoor lap and an outdoor kiddie pool. It was heaven. And since we didn't have to pay to use the pool, we could go as often as we wanted, for as short as we wanted. I was kid-free back in the those days, but Nikkala never felt bad leaving after a half hour if her kids had melt-downs.

We might not have the awesome pool hook-up anymore (our Y only has one indoor pool that's always just a bit too cold), but I've learned how to pack an awesome pool bag from my years spent there. With this ready to go I spend less time getting ready for the pool than we actually spend in the water.

Here's what's in my bag. For real. Not things I wish were in my bag, but my tried and true go-to items.

1.  Swimways inflatable baby float- twists down small, pops up big and dries pretty quickly
2. Diapers- both swim and regular. That way we never get to the pool and realize we forgot to grab one (or two)
3. A beach towel- some random ones I got on closeout at a big box store years ago
4. Toypedo Bandits- these toys win us lots of friends in the kiddie pool
5. Dove gofresh Cool Essentials deoderant- for after the shower and still lounging around the pool deck or under the umbrella on the beach
6. Camelbak kids water bottle- for keeping the mini fish hydrated
7. Spray on sunscreen- this one comes recommended by Real Simple. It's in my bag, but we haven't been swimming outdoors since I bought it
8. Snacks- granola bars live there all the time and I throw in fresh produce
9. Chaco flip flops- fancy embellished sandals may look cute, but these work well for the showers, too
10. Land's End extra large canvas tote- I could pack a few small children in this thing. I know there's always room for whatever else we might need (like change of clothes, toiletries, a whole lunch, more toys, whatever!)

With the crazy hot and humid weather we're having, we're putting our swim bag to good use. We went swimming this afternoon and just got invited to join some friends at the neighborhood pool tonight. Guess it's time to restock the supplies!

Do you have a swim bag? What are your essentials?

Campfire Trail Mix

Perhaps it's the new sleeping bags we bought over the weekend, but there's definitely a spring fever running high in our house. This Campfire Trailmix is as close as we are getting to a camping trip right now--it just happens to be the treat of choice for my boys and the husband.

And it couldn't be any easier to make. All you need are mini marshmallows, Golden Grahams and chocolate chips. Add enough of each until the ratios look just right and you will have portable s'mores!

Package individual servings in ziplocks to go, or it would make a cute party favor with a tag and ribbon on a cellophane bag.

What's the favorite snack time treat at your house?

Results of Our Valentine Manners

Did you play along for the 5 weeks of Valentine manners and etiquette dinner?

Our boys did pretty well over the course of the 5 mini-lessons, but when faced with the final tests we experienced a few snags.

Saturday, we took them to a nice sit down restaurant. It wasn't anything fancy, but definitely a different atmosphere than home. After some consulting with Dad, our 5 year old gave his order to the server. Manners were being used and we had a nice conversation waiting for our meal. And we waited and waited and waited. Our server apologized for the delay several times. During the wait our 2 year old turned into a total monkey and was climbing under the table, laying on the floor. Basically he was behaving like a hungry two year old. The long wait was not an ideal situation for well behaved kids, but they did an okay job considering.

On Valentine's Day the boys and Dad fixed dinner and we sat down to a candlelit dinner. Which quickly turned into a spooky ghost story telling dinner. Not what I had in mind when I lit the candles, perhaps, but a fun time no less!

Where there ghost stories at your Valentine dinner?

Creating Creativity

Heather Bailey's Studio via Flickr

 

I remember reading an interview with Heather Bailey where she said nothing in her craft room is off limits to her kids. They are allowed to use whatever they want-without limitations.

That statement left me with all sorts of feelings--jealousy of the Bailey kids.Can you imagine free reign in Heather Bailey's craft room! Oh the possibilities! Then I thought how there was no way I would ever give my boys that kind of freedom--what if they used something I was saving, or something expensive? What if they made a mess? Really, it would be a waste of fine crafting supplies.

And that is when I realized Heather Bailey's kids would grow up to be creative and know how to sew and make cute little animals, and most importantly they wouldn't be afraid to try. Mine? Well, they would be paralyzed with the fear of "wasting" supplies. Afraid to try.

I wish I could say from that day forward my kids were granted freedom in the craft room, but they weren't. My craft budget is much, much smaller than I picture Heather Bailey's being. Instead, I pick up inexpensive supplies that my kids can use whenever they want. Most only cost a dollar. Dollar stores, Target's dollar spot, and Micheal's and JoAnn's dollar bins provide a good selection. Back to school sales in August provide good prices for glue sticks, markers, crayons, and construction paper. They are allowed to use my decorative scissors and punches, which, to a 5 year old is pretty awesome!

I'm not ready to have a craft-off with the Baileys, but do feel that I'm trying a little harder to instill creativity in my kids.

5 Weeks of Manners and Valentines Dinner

Valentines Day is in 5 weeks and if your kids are like ours, there's much room for improvement at the dinner table! One of our sisters mentioned she was doing this in their home and we thought it was a great idea. For the next 5 weeks (now until Valentine's) we'll work on our table manners (1 manner per week) and then on Valentine's Day we'll have a fancy dinner where all manners will be used.

If you have older kids then your manners will hopefully be more advanced than ours (I'm really hoping we grow out of "don't put your hand/food in your drink!" at some point).

 

This cute place setting is from Martha Stewart. Print on cardstock and cut out to help the kids learn how to set the table. Maybe once they know where each utensil goes and what they are for they'll start using them!

Some ideas for the weekly etiquette practice:

• Chew with your mouth closed.
• Don't talk with food in your mouth. Chew, swallow, then talk.
• Use please and thank you. "Please, pass the...." and "No, thank you."
• Use your napkin and utensils and leave unwanted food on your plate-not on the table or the floor.
• How to set the table.
• Eat slowly
• Don't make rude comments about the food being served.
• Ask to be excused from the table when finished.
• Thank the cook

Are there other basic manners I am overlooking?

When I suggested 5 weeks of manners and a fancy Valentine's dinner to my 5 year old he responded, "Okay, but me and Dad get to make the dinner!"