Monday, September 22, 2008

All I Want For Christmas

Is THIS!!!


This stuff comes in Glow-In-The-Dark, Temperature-Sensitive Colors, Marbleized Colors, and even a Magnetic putty!

Plus, it's cheaper per ounce than Silly Putty, and it comes in a larger amount for adult-sized hands and in a very nice tin to store it in!

Now, if I could only afford the $500 to buy just about all I really want of it! Of course, they also sell 1 lb. bags of the stuff, and even customize colors with PMS charts or for promotional items the tins can carry your logo!

But there's more...if I can get a tin (or three?) before Christmas, I could enter this contest. Talk about incentive! The only thing is, it's hard to tell what would win since I think a lot of the previous submissions were better than the chosen winners....

But it says that EVERYONE who enters gets SOMETHING...so I'm now starting to really think about this!

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Anyway, non-putty related news...

Rugger pedaled off two days after Pumpkin, and they've been fighting over the pedal bike ever since. I'm waiting until Spring to see how tall Pumpkin is then, though I may ask our friend and neighbor (who is more like a Grandma) what size her son's are that he's selling when we see her tomorrow.

Another reason I want the putty is because I like clay of all types, really. And one thing I want to do with the kids sometime is make our own clay-mation video. It wouldn't be that hard, just time consuming.

Today I helped them (okay, did most of it!) paper mache a few balloons to make into pumpkins to decorate for fall (Pumpkin always wants to be official and is excited that TOMORROW is fall...or today as I'm writing this after midnight...)

So we have to wait, like, 5 days for the stuff to dry because I put all three layers on at once because when am I going to find the time or desire to get that messy all over again? Then we'll paint our pumpkins on. Pumpkin says her's is a baby pumpkin so she'll paint it green :)

Here's the list of other stuff I want to do with/for them:

Make corn husk dolls. This one I think they will actually be able to do apart from tying the string.

Make wrinkly apple dolls. Again, if I help, they can probably carve them somewhat. Then just wait to dry.

Make magazine paper bead necklace and bracelet. They already made a shell bracelet and necklace, but this one will look more "cool" in my mind, and they'll have fun rolling, I think. And they'll be able to string them easier than the shells, which will be nice.

Make a button-man key chain. I need to buy some elastic string for this one, and I'm not sure I have colorful buttons, so I'll have to check.

Either way, these will be fun and something for them to look forward to. Now if I can only convince them I need to pay my bills and clear off my desk first!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Fudge-cycles

No, that's not a typo, it's just a summation of the last two days and new things we are doing in our household!

First off, Pumpkin and Rugger have been accompanying me on our walks with their balance bike, and are really doing quite well. So well, in fact, that I thought they should try their pedal bike.

Well, first they did it on our mini-hill in the backyard (gliding about 20 feet or so), and then I said to glide and then lift their feet up, and eventually to add the pedaling motion in.

Pumpkin was the first to get it, and took off really well, though stopping quickly because the grass is just plain hard to ride in, especially for an almost-6 year old. Rugger does okay, but mostly when he touches the pedals he loses faith and just doesn't think he can do it. He's actually better than Pumpkin at the balancing and will turn his bike around and off-road and everything, but just doesn't want to try the pedals.

Anyway, last night we took Pumpkin and Rugger over to the school parking lot (can't do it without someone to help with the babies) and Pumpkin took right off pretty much on the first try, and by the third try I was jogging to keep up with her! She was great! Had to work on her breaking a little, they're the back-pedaling kind, but other than that, she now has it down.

Rugger on the other hand, still wouldn't do it, but went EVERYWHERE with his balance bike. Up the curb, jumping off the curb, squeeling away and going round and round....so when he DOES learn to pedal, I'm in trouble!!!

Can you say Emergency Room??? I just closed my eyes a few times because I was sure he would fall. Of course, last night he DID fall, and because I hadn't thought to have them wear their helmets, he now has a big shiner on his forehead. Bad mommy....

Anyway, this morning I tried my hand for the first time at fudge making. It wasn't very hard, and I did the complete bare-bones kind - no chocolate chips, cream, or corn syrup. Just butter, milk, sugar and cocoa. I also did a peanut butter kind with brown sugar, milk, butter, then corn starch and water with the peanut butter. And both had vanilla.

Anyway, they turned out DELICIOUS!!! Boom likes fudge, and so I made it officially for his birthday, which isn't technically for another week, but since my parents were here we celebrated anyway.

Here's the recipes if you want to give it a try:

Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge

Cathy's Peanut Butter Fudge

Ignore the pictures - this stuff is great!

Also, read up on HOW to make fudge correctly, because the directions don't include the "no stirring while cooling to 110 degrees" thing...

I also got a few new shelves from my parents (they didn't need them anymore since my dad make built-in shelves in their new room that he made from their porch), and I had fun putting my pottery out where I can actually see it for once. I was then able to get rid of another plant stand that I've never liked but needed for the space. Overall I'm happy with the rooms, if I could just get rid of all the junk! Toys, toys, and more toys....

Anyway, here's the video of Pumpkin and Rugger. Ignore me and my awful pink pants and frizzy bed-head hair. I promise, some days I actually DO get ready in the morning!

Monday, September 08, 2008

Moving On

Well, last weekend I rearranged the living room, and then this past week I cleaned up the kitchen, so it only seemed appropriate that I finally address the bedrooms.

It started when Pumpkin and Rugger decided to play in their "club house", which happened to be our bedroom. And so I decided to ask them if they'd like their own room to play in, and sleep in, with all of their toys (which the babies can't get to with a gate on the door) and they enthusiastically said, "YES!!!"

So I began moving. Beds. Dressers. Shelves. Without Boom home, I used some muscles that I haven't felt in awhile. And with the humidity, I was dripping more than once. And I realized again just how much JUNK (oops, I mean TOYS) we really have. Finding homes for all of them is a day-long job....actually I was up way past bedtime still putting things away.

But I finally got it all done. And with two mattresses I got from my midwife we now have Pumpkin and Rugger upstairs in the big bedroom, with the little bedroom serving guests and a toyroom for the babies. And downstairs is Boom and I with the babies next to us in a twin bed. Which is still being worked out as the babies are used to sleeping in certain positions...namely against me and Boom!

I did miss the two older ones, though they didn't miss us. (Rugger DID burn his finger on the new lamp I put on their beds, but didn't even cry out, and the blister is HUGE, which he then TORE OPEN....!!!) I guess he isn't one for talking during Children's Church on Sundays, but yesterday he told the kids all about his new lamp, and the burn (which I didn't know about) and how he picked it (Pumpkin's idea as she told him she chews her fingers - which she gets from Boom), and then the bandaid I put on it....the whole shebang. He had the older kids rolling on the floor laughing because they've never heard Rugger say so much before. And the teacher (our pastor's wife, a wonderful, funny Irish woman) kept trying to continue with the lesson, but then Rugger would jump right back in with, "...and then my DOG..."

I also found a lot of stuff to get rid of or send to the Outpost (our church's local hand-me-down store which is non-profit, doesn't pay the volunteers, and the proceeds go to local needs.)

The only thing that made me really sad was all the baby blankets. I'm keeping the ones that are so familiar that looking at them is like looking at me oldest daughter's smile. They are the ones I can still see her in, all the way through her brother, and even down to the little ones. They'll stay for playing with, and then eventually as keepsakes.

Well, I don't really want to end this post, but the babies are both climbing on me, and are trying to destroy the computer, so sianara!