Christmas Baking

In order to get my Christmas baking done I had to pull out all the tricks I have developed as a mom. We all know by now that Freckle Foot loves to transfer items from one container to another. She loves it when I bake because she likes to measure the flour and put it in the mixing bowl. I keep an extra stash of flour in my pantry just for her to play with on the floor while I bake. This activity kept her busy for about a while but it makes quite the mess. I figured I had to mop the floor anyways before everyone came to our house for Christmas eve. Although we had to once again confine Little Loaf to his high chair because she kept screaming at him to go away. We are working on her sharing skills but it's a slow process. As you can see Little Loaf enjoys tormenting his sister.

Christmas Revealed

I made a lot of handmade gifts this year. Unfortunately I only have a couple pictures of what I made. This is a Blue knitted poncho for my niece. She decided to sit on Little Loaf's lap; Little Loaf wasn't crazy about her idea.


My brother made a Barbie house out of wood for his daughter a few years ago. This year he made a log bed for Barbie and I offered to make the bedding. Anyone who knows me, knows I hate Barbie with a passion but I love making things in miniature. I made peace with Barbie and decided she deserves a cozy bedroom. I made her a quilt and matching braided rag rug. I made a lavender sheet set too but I didn't get a picture of them before I gave them to my niece.

New hair cut for Freckle Foot

After

Before
The battle of brushing Freckle Foot's hair has been wearing on me for months now. The tears the screaming, getting it caught in the car seat buckles. She had even asked in the last few weeks to put her hair in ponies because it was getting in her way. Since every time she eats jam or syrup her hair gets stuck to her face. It was time for a change. Thanks to Auntie Freckle Foot is as cute as ever. Although it was a strange day for me. Growing up I was never allowed to cut my hair so I felt like I had broken a house rule from my own childhood. I quickly got over it once we we able to brush her hair without tears.

More Rice

Freckle Foot has been having a difficult time lately. I am not sure if the growth spurt or adjusting to her brothers new found motility. I thought I would bring out an activity that I know is very soothing for her. I dyed rice orange and green back in October but forgot to get this activity out for her. I tucked the orange rice away for another day but got out the green rice, a few spoons and a container. It was amazing to watch how calm and relaxed she got while playing with the rice. I had to do this activity while Little Loaf was sleeping or in his high chair because he would have tried to eat all the rice on the floor. Freckle Foot's hands did turn green after playing with the rice. Does anyone know how to dye rice so the color won't bleed?

Christmas Sun catchers

Freckle Foot loves the sun catchers that Great Gramdma has on her windows. I found these Christmas sun catchers at the dollar store and thought it would be a great advent activity. We ended up putting them on the Christmas tree as decorations.

Advent Activities-Window Clings

Grandma brought over some fun Christmas window clings as an advent activity for Freckle Foot. This gave me a chance to get a massage before the Christmas rush. Freckle Foot was very excited. The only down fall is she wanted to play with them all the time which meant that I found them on the floor. I was afraid that Little Loaf would eat the snow flake ones. I did find one in his mouth so I ended up putting all the small ones away when Freckle Foot wasn't looking.

Just a simple update

Freckle Foot is having fun with some stir sticks I found on clearance at Walmart. She had fun making up her own game with the basket. She spends most of her day transfering items from different containers I have on hand. It was nice to see her coming up with new ways to interact with her toys. Little Loaf is now crawling around and getting into whatever his sister is playing with. Who knew the sibling torment would begin so soon.
Little Loaf is following in his sister foot steps and loves books. He loves looking at them, chewing on them. Sometimes you can catch Freckle Foot reading a story to her brother. Little Loaf is stand up and cruising furniture now. I bet he will be walking before his first birthday!

Not a fan of Mom's cooking

I was making some Peach freezer jam and I some left over. I though I would make some baby food. Well as you can see Little Loaf is not a big fan of my cooking. Really it's just mashed up peaches but you would think I put spinach in it. Well maybe it will take a little getting use to.

What to do with 200 egg erasers?

What to do with 200 egg erasers? Give them to Freckle Foot of course. She thought they were a delightful surprise. This adds to her now massive collection of miscellaneous items to sort and transfer. We figured out they are the perfect size to cover up the ladybugs on her table cloth. The down side is I am finding them everywhere in the house.

I covet her drawer

I have a friend we will call her the Queen of Clean. I am always amazed with how she utilizes the space in her home. We were trying to schedule some time to hang out. She casually leans over and opens a neatly ordered drawer with her day timer, calculator, one or two pens and a few other related items. I think I concealed my amazement and didn't openly let my jaw drop to the floor. Instantly my brain flashed on the drawer in my kitchen. Full of 100 pens that I am not sure work, cat fur ball medicine, chap stick, 100 tiny Easter egg erasers, caps that fit some container I am sure I have somewhere? But what do I do with those 1000 tiny items that have no home? Would I miss those 1000 items if I just chucked them in the trash? I am not sure but I am willing to make some changes so I too can have a neat scheduling drawer in my kitchen. Is there a place in your house you want to change? I would love to hear about it.

Ladybug House

Grandma had a wonderful surprise for Freckle Foot at our last visit. A ladybug tent. Freckle Foot was thrilled with it. Freckle. Little Loaf even enjoys hanging out in the tent. Thanks Grandma.

Clean nipples a sign of a good day

Before I was a stay-at-home mom I fantasized what it would be like. The house would be clean and orderly, there would be time to work in the yard and tackle that long list of projects I could never seem to get around to. Two kids and two years later I have to laugh at the my ridiculous fantasy.

As a Stay-at-home Mom my daily tasks are endless and monotonous. I am always trying figure out new little routine or sign of accomplishment. I was so excited to call my friend Sarah and tell her about my lasted discovery.

The conversation went like this:

Me: Sarah I just figured out how to tell if I have had a productive day?
Sarah: Really how?
Me: my nipples are clean and on the counter.
Sarah: (silence followed by laughter) What?
Me: Freckle Foot's bottle nipples.
Sarah: Oh, bottle nipples not your nipples
Me: They are always the sign that my kitchen is clean.

Here's to hoping you have a clean nipple day.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Freckle Foot got Chicka Chicka Boom Boom from the library she loves the book so much I decided to use a story extender from Kizclub.com. She liked it when I recited the book and she could put her magnetic ABC's on the coconut tree. Her favorite part is all of the letters falling off the tree and all over the kitchen floor. I just printed the black and white version of the tree and we spent time coloring it in this morning. Then I used contact paper to attach it to the dishwasher. I have been following the Tot School Blog about lap books. Sometime in the next few weeks I hope to print off the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom lap book.

Homemade

In an attempt to eat less processed food and more homemade I have been taking the time to makes the following recipes.

A few years before my Dad passed away he started making these pickles. We both fell in love with them. Since I was working full time he would make a double batch and bring them to me whenever he made them. I am not sure where he got the recipe so if there is some one out there I can give credit for these fabulous pickles I would love to know. My favorite way to eat them is to make a cheese bagel sandwich with turkey pastrami, with melted provolone cheese over the pickles so that they don't fall off the sandwich.

So-Sweet-Squash Pickles:
3 small yellow squash thinly sliced
1 medium onion chopped
1 large sweet red pepper cut into stripes (1/4 inch)
1 Tbl salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 tsp mustard seed
3/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp ground mustard

In a large bowl, combine the squash, onion, red pepper and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour; drain. In a large saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Add squash mixture; return to a boil. Remove from heat; cool.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 4 days before serving. Maybe stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Makes 4 cups.



Before I quit my gleaning job I was able to get 4 pounds of strawberries and borrow my Sister-in-Laws dehydrator. I sliced the strawberries all up and put them on the dehydrator for about a day and half. Freckle Foot loves these. I was getting freeze dried strawberries, apples and banana's from Costco but these work great.

Here are a few transferring activities Freckle Foot has been enjoying. She loves moving the white beans in and out of of the small glass jars.
I have been trying to work on colors with Freckle Foot so we used yellow split peas and green lentils.

Taking a moment

Today was rough. Little Loaf is getting his first tooth, yeah and ugh, he did a lot of fussing today. Freckle Foot said every swear word I have ever said about a million times this morning followed by "NO Mommy" and "Stop" at the top of her lungs. This all happened by 9 am. I tried to get some housework done

but as you can see I gave up. I decided we needed to get out of the house so we went to Target to get some storage bins that were on sale. Both kids went down for a nap after lunch. I decided I needed to read The Stay-At-Home Survival Guide by Melissa Stanton in order for me to regain a sense of sanity. It helped. I managed to arrange a play date for Freckle Foot at our house and I was able to get the kitchen clean while they had a snack. L still had to go out and get us all dinner but I was able to gain some sense of control today.

Early to Bed

It is amazing what I can get done when the kids go to bed at the same time. Freckle Foot is having a hard time with her colors. I made this matching game using color paint chips from the hardware store then covered the card with contact paper. We will see if she likes it.


This is a family and friends memory game. I got this off of Chasing Cheerios . The first picture is the first set that I made for Freckle Foot a while ago. Tonight I was able to add another 8 tiles. I used wood squares and Mode Podge the pictures to the wood. I have more tiles and more pictures but some of my pictures are missing so I couldn't finish the whole set. Oh well there is always tomorrow.

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I printed these mini books off of ABC Teach. These mini book are about 8 pages long and have a section that Freckle Foot can color. I picked out a few shades of red coloring crayon so she feels like she has some choices. Then I will take them to be laminated and bind them together somehow. I realize that I am always posting things I do for Freckle Foot and you might ask what about Little Loaf? Well I have a few ideas and I will post them soon.

The Ocean

Grandma G, Grandma M and Auntie and all four kids packed into two cars and headed to the Ocean for 4 days. We had a great time. Freckle Foot and Little Loaf had a blast with their cousins. We all worked on Father's day gifts. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Grandma G was narrating a Peter Rabbit paper doll story to the kids.


Freckle Foot has melt down every time we go to the beach. I haven't figured out why she is so overwhelmed at the beach. Auntie and Grandma M were trying to help Freckle Foot out of the water in the middle of a meltdown. Of course mom had to take a few pictures.
Freckle Foot did finally enjoy the beach. She liked using all the logs as balance beams.

Little Loaf might be a chess player when he gets older. Tiger to E4? We all had such a good time we are going to go next year too.

Finshing up a project

Since the theme of Freckle Foot's big girl room is lady bugs and she has been obsessed with them. I made a ladybug family out of rocks. We had fun taking them in the back yard and hiding them in the grass and her sand box.

A Difficult Day

Freckle Foot was in rare form today, her favorite word "NO!" She spent lots of time in and out of her crib having some attitude adjustments.

On a happier not Little Loaf went to his 4 month check up. He is a big boy weighing in at 15.6 pounds. He is in the 95% percentile for growth. He is trying to roll over but he is not quite there yet.

My Happy Place

Today I went to my happy place The Olympus Spa. My friend had her Birthday today so we got babysitters for our kids and headed to the land of no children. She had a scrub treatment which is my favorite. I didn't have any treatments today. I hung out in the hydrotherapy pools, read trashy magazines and drank lots of water. After the spa we headed to Olive Garden for lunch. It's amazing how therapeutic just a few hours without children can be. When I got home I was ready to be Mom again. I wish the house could of cleaned itself while I was gone. My sister-in-law did clean my kitchen, Thanks Sis.

The Rest of the Weekend

Freckle Foot insisted on wearing her swim suit over her pajama tops on Sunday morning. While I was making crepes for breakfast. Freckle Foot worked on transferring flour from the measuring cup to her play dishes.

L worked on the yard. I packed up the kids and headed down to the Farmer Market. This Sunday's paper is packed with coupons I want. I am going to buy 3 papers this week. There is a guy at the Market selling the Sunday paper for $1.00. That saves me 1.50 this week, it is worth the long walk.

Couponing

I will be quitting my gleaning job this next week. To fill the gap this will create in my household budget I am starting to use coupons more. This week is a great week for Albertson's coupons. I have been frustrated the past couple of months shopping at Albertson's because I never seem to walk away from the store with the deal I intended to buy. This week it worked out.

Transaction #1

4 boxes Boca bugers $2.50 =$10.00
$3.00 of when you purchase $10.00 of participating items which brings it down to $7.00
2 printable coupons $1/2 boxes = $2.00
2 Alberstson's double coupons = $2.00
Total =$3.00
This makes each box .75 cents

Transaction #2
I did another of the Boca Burger transactions.

Transaction #3

4 boxes Wheat thins $1.75 = $10.00
$3.00 off when you purchase $10.00 of participating items which brings it down to $7.00
4/$1 printable coupons for each box = $4.00
3 Albertson's double coupons =$3.00
This makes 4 boxes =Free

I bought a 1.00 box of taco shells just in case there was an issue of a zero value transaction. I am still learning the process and I wanted to get the Wheat Thins.

Total spent on all transactions $7.00

I talked to the checker about the details of the $3 off when you buy $10. You have to make several transactions of $10.00. They won't let you buy $20.00 worth of items and take $6.00 off. Then I asked how many times I could go through the line. The checker said the limit is three times. I might be getting the hang of using coupons to get some really great deals.

Animal Farm

I have been waiting all winter for the Animal Farm to open. I was so miserably pregnant with Little Loaf last summer I didn't have the energy to make the long drive.

Freckle Foot loved the "baby goats".



Little Loaf even woke up long enough to pet his first goat. It was a very fun day.

Freckle Foot's Rummaging

Today started early Little Loaf was up at 5:30 am. He is still fighting the cold that Freckle Foot and I had. We all headed to Grandma's house to help her with her new computer. While we were there I printed off some Color Matching Cards to use later.

After her nap Freckle Foot was rummaging through the house and found Times to Treasure Cards. I forgot I had these. All she wanted to do is take them in and out of the box. Although there are pictures on one side of the cards and I would ask her to name the object. She was also able to identify if the card was upside down. I think I will use these later to put in the Phonic Bags.

Sorting Activities

Freckle Foot has been enjoying sorting activities. I found this bank deposit bag while cleaning out my father's office. She has been having hours of fun transferring colored pom poms from the bag to different containers.

Blogging adventures

The past few months I have been enjoying visiting others blogs and decided to join the tech savy world.