An Eggstra Surprise

I was awoken at 6 this morning, but Jack sweetened it up by whispering "Happy Easter Mommy" in my ear as my head lay on the pillow.

We've been enjoying the Easter weekend with the kids. Yesterday they put on their special Easter outfits and rode their bicycles to church.  This was a rare moment when we were ready early enough to snap a photo on our way out the door.

My mom came over in the afternoon and set up an egg hunt on the front lawn, leaving the kiddos to scavenge for their afternoon snack.  The grass was ripe for mowing and ideal for hiding those eggs good and well.  

Jack went for it full speed.  Daisy picked up one egg and stopped there to enjoy the snacks before going in search of another egg.  She has yet to embrace the joy of deferred gratification.

After we woke up, I spent the first hour enjoying their Easter baskets with the kids while I simultaneously injected coffee into my veins.  Then Jack and Daisy played with their new treasures while I made an Easter cake for us to enjoy this afternoon.  It's Mango Carrot cake and it's on the April cover of Better Homes and Gardens.  There's even a video of how to make it, which is helpful if your brain is still waking up like mine was.  This cake actually reminded me of a carrot cake some lovely Jamaican ladies made for my husband when we lived in Wales.  The fresh nutmeg really comes through in a welcoming way.  Here's a shout out to Sweet Maggie May for sharing the recipe here.

On Friday I whipped up a last minute surprise for the kids' Easter baskets.  It was inspired by some Christmas Surprise Balls we made a few months ago with my MOPS group.  I took the ball idea and tweaked it, aiming for an egg-like shape.  Here's how to do it:

Gather a selection of tiny treasures.

Rummage through your cupboards for some leftover party streamers.

Start with your oddest shaped toy.  This spinning top had all kinds of crazy angles, so I started by wrapping it with paper party streamer.

Keep wrapping it until it's totally hidden.  Here's a shot with the camera sandwiched between my neck and chin.  The aim was a little low.

The technique is to keep adding toys to the little bundle and wrapping wrapping wrapping.  So turn on your favorite flick and enjoy some multitasking!

 If you run out of a roll and you still have more treasures to wrap, grab another color and keep going.  Try to get it snug, but not too snug that the paper tears. But if that happens just overlap the rest on the back of the torn part and keep on wrapping.

If you're making these into Christmas balls, aim for a ball shape and stop there.

To get the egg-like shape add a smaller toy to one end of the ball and keep wrapping until all your surprises are snuggled up and hidden away.

Finally your egg shape should begin to appear!

When that happens, grab some glue and secure the end of the paper to the egg.

Wrap a ribbon around it and hide it in the grass for your kids to discover on their Easter Egg Hunt.

And if you're wondering about how long it takes, after a bit of practice I'm able to do one egg in approximately 15 minutes.  Not to shabby for some extra Easter morning fun.

Hope you enjoyed some Easter Joy with your loved ones today!

xo,
Crafty Mama

Let's fly!

Love is in the air!  Bring on the pink and red, and all things sticky with glitter.  Jack had his preschool valentine exchange this morning. That stuff is serious business.  He came home with his goody bag filled to the brim with valentines.  

I promised we'd dive into it as soon as he wakes up from his nap.  So the nap is happening now.  During which, I'm taking a sneak peak for a photo opportunity, knowing that when we do it together it'll get thoroughly torn into, pulled apart and loved up in a flash.  Here's the loot. 

 

The school valentines exchange totally rocked my socks as a kid, so it seems only logical that the #2 reason God made me a mom was so I could still have a little fun with it in grown up world (as long as the kiddos are willing, ya know. Btw, wondering about reason # 1? Check over here.)

Before the big reveal of Jack's 2013 valentine, here's a close up of some valentine awesomeness in his bag.

I'm all over the felt superhero cape and goggles this tootsie roll pop is sporting.  And what's a valentine without a knee-slappin' pun?  

Also, check out this  heart-shaped lump of melted crayola goodness, and accompanying pun, just in case your other knee feels left out.

Jack's Valentine has been in the laboratory for a few days.  It started on the weekend when we went out to grab this pic.  We have a lot of aviation stuff where we live, so it wasn't too hard to find the right backdrop.

PicMonkey helped me turn that into this.  

Then we grabbed some smarties, sticks of gum and lifesavers from our local 99cent store, and put them together like this with some rubber bands stockpiled in the office drawer.

The photo was printed onto wallet sizes at Costco.  I picked up the Cellophane at Michael's with a 50% off coupon, and the white card stapled over the top was some that we already had.  

Jack was totally jazzed to take them to school this morning to share with his class.  

Wanna see his Valentines for 2012?  Check 'em out here.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!  

Our latest Endeavour

I'm talking about the one that flew over our home this morning.  Final voyage, check it out:

That's the pic my husband took with his phone while he drove Jack to pre-school.  I'm sure he pulled over.

Daisy and I viewed it from the backyard.   Our glimpse was only a split second, but here's Daisy standing next to me on our backyard brick wall as we waited for the fly-over.



I was totally overwhelmed with one hand on the camera and one hand keeping the 2 year old from falling off the brick wall.  So I have nothing to share of the Endeavour's final flight except for these jet tracks it left behind right after it zoomed over.

But I just have to take a quick memory lane stroll and show you some pics from my childhood. This is my sister and I watching the shuttle get transported from the factory where it was made over to Edwards Air Force Base.  Check out the shuttle approaching.  

It was the Enterprise.  We were so close.

We watched it pass by.  I think I was around 4, and I remember this so, so vividly.

And because we gotta keep it real, I had to include this pic.

It blows my mind how close we were to it. 

So all this talk about Shuttle sightings got me in the mood for getting crafty.  And Jack read my mind, because before I mentioned it, he asked "Mommy can we make a space shuttle craft when I wake up from my nap?"  You know I was so onto it!

I had this idea to make an orbiting shuttle using the technique of some of the kids' sliding/pull-out books we have.  So we gathered a few materials: black paper for 'outer space,' a space shuttle printed on card from a google images search, star stickers, a blue planet earth, and some green paint to paint the continents on earth.

To get started, I penciled the lines of the continents, then jack filled them in with green paint.

Next up we fixed the shuttle so it would orbit across the sky.  I reinforced some black construction paper and taped it to the back of the shuttle.

I taped the end of it to the back of the shuttle on each side, so that when you open it up it would look like this from the side.  But then when you fold it, the black 'handle' would lay flat.

Next I cut a 4-inch slit in the black Outer Space paper.

When the paint dried we put it all together, and it was amazing! Jack glued the planet earth into place, and added the star stickers.  I helped him slide the handle into the hole.



Then we watched as the space shuttle orbited when he moved the handle back...

...and forth!

But we couldn't stop there.  Our space shuttle sighting day ended with a grand finale.  We've done an Alka Seltzer rocket trick with the kids a few times in the backyard.  But today's rocket launch had a space shuttle blast-off twist.  To start, I printed some pictures (again, from Google Images) onto card of the space shuttle in its launch position.  Here it is, cut out, along with three Fugi film cannisters.  And you know I had to include my brown grouted countertop - the real backbone of this blog.  

So once the shuttles were cut out, I glue-gunned them to the film canisters, with the open end of the canisters facing downward.  Here they are waiting for take-off in front of our garage door.

This rocket launch needed a few other supplies to work: Alka Seltzer tablets broken in half, some water and a little measuring cup to pour it into the film canisters, as well as the lids.  Also, I turned the shuttles around in this pic so you could see how the canister is glued to the back.

To launch these, each cup needs half an Alka Seltzer tablet, and about a Tablespoon of water (or filled approximately 1/4 full).  Then I quickly snapped the lid on, and set it out to launch.  It takes a few seconds, then flies into the air with a little "Pop!"

Jack covered his ears the duration of our launches, and Daisy refused to look saying "Shuttle is scary!"  But when we were finished she said "I like that Space Shuttle."  I know a video would be an amazing finale, but I'm just going to end it here and leave you to try it for yourself at home.  It's amazing and addicting, so try it this weekend!

Remember to keep creating, and may all your endeavours have just the right ending!

xo Crafty Mama

Summer Lovin'

The summer of 2012 has been amazing!  The kiddos both had their birthdays, which reminded me that I need to just chill and take some deep breaths, slow down, and enjoy every moment with them.  So here are some memories from June til now that I'm still lovin' on.

We took a trip to Minnesota back in June...business for Mr. Crafty Mama, and pleasure for the kiddos and I.  They were excited to fly on "The Big Airplane."

Flying was a first for Daisy.  Once on solid ground the kiddos enjoyed checking out the landscape, and couldn't get enough time throwing rocks in this Minnesota river.

Speaking of flying machines, they also got up close and personal with a live helicopter landing.

After our 10 day trip, we filled a few summer days with trips to the bowling alley.

The kiddos threw together some 4th of July spin art.

We strung it up as backyard decorative bunting for a house party.

With the sun so bright, Daisy mastered the art of wearing sunglasses.

She also got to see her star go up on our Library's summer reading club wall of fame.

Jack test drove the set of golf clubs he got for his birthday.

Daisy also enjoys bringing her set to the driving range.

Right after his 4th birthday, Jack figured out how to swim on his own!  This pic is a screen shot from the actual video of his very first solo attempt.   He's been a little fishy ever since.  

Also in the backyard, we grew a whoppin' crop of veggies!

And we rocked out at our church's Sky VBS...definitely a summer favorite!

The kiddos were lovin' our local county fair.  Jack made this giant bubble.

Daisy learned to milk a cow.

They team-worked it at the water pump.

And Daisy paid a quarter to win a prize at the at the very same wheel I used to spin every year as a kid.

A few weekend beach trips were squeezed in.

The kiddos became cricket playing experts, thanks to their dad.

We reunited with old friends.

Took a camping trip to the beach.

And roasted marshmallows on our evening campfires.

My kids are growing up!

Here's our latest attempt at a family photo.

Recently Daisy has begun expressing herself with her wardrobe selection.

And Jack was totally giddy about his first day of pre-school as a 4 year old.

I'll leave you with a wall quote I saw at the St. Paul Children's Museum.  Sometimes I get sidelined with the stuff that comes with staying home with the kiddos...the messes, the noise, the fussing, the laundry, the cooking, the spills, the play dough stuck in the carpet, the cat throw-up, also on the carpet (this morning!).  But I'm going to let this quote carry me and be a theme for our home.  I want to remember to play with my kids,  to be involved with them and thoroughly enjoy them.  Because playing leads to creativity, and creativity turns chaos into order.

So keep playing and creating, and enjoying every moment!

xo  Crafty Mama