I have dreams of not only sewing more and more clothes for Isia, but also sewing with her. She's been practicing with a plastic needle off and on, but it's not really kept her interest. I kept seeing this buttoning activities in the blogosphere and thought they might capture her interest.
They're easy to create! A piece of ribbon with a button sewn to one end and a piece of felt sewn onto the other. Then you cut as many felt pieces as your heart desires. At first I was cutting out a multitude of shapes- stars, diamonds, etc. I then decided to just cut out squares and circles since Isia knows her shapes. Our purpose will be to practice threading versus shape recognition.
As soon as I finished it she wanted to start playing with it, which made me think- how could I add more variety to extend her interest even more? Since I had extra ribbon and buttons I decided to create another buttoning activity, this time with a row of buttons sewn flat onto the ribbon. Well, not completely flat because they're buttons and I looped the thread underneath them... but you get the picture.
She ended up playing with them for about ten minutes, but hasn't wanted to touch them since. As it goes. I'm not worried about it though- soon enough she'll "discover" them again and they'll be the best thing ever. Is that the way it works for your household too?
We woke up to a frost advisory this morning. I knew it was coming and have been collecting all the ripe cherry tomatoes, as well as our largest tomatoes to ripen in our window, to store away before the frost hit them. This year was definitely a tomato year and I finally learned how to best care for our tomato plants... by leaving them alone. No over-watering or over-pruning this year! We could have used a couple more large tomato plants and a few less cherry tomato plants, but that all goes into the plans for next year. In the meantime there we had a large collection of cherry tomatoes to contend with. Too many to eat, too small to can- just what on earth do you do with large batches of cherry tomatoes? I started looking around and came upon roasting and freezing. Roasted tomatoes to add to soups and quiches and pasta throughout the long winter to come? Yes, please!
And the steps couldn't be easier either. First you wash the tomatoes, then you cut them in half and put them on your roasting pan or cookie sheet (lined with aluminum foil if you'd like). Drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt & pepper.
Roast at 300 degrees for about two hours. After an hour and a half I recommend start peeking to make sure they don't go from roasted to burnt...
...especially the teeny, tiny cherry tomatoes. As you can see, I didn't start checking them early enough.
Note: Have larger tomatoes to store away instead? Same technique and temperature, but longer roasting time. Start peeking at them at two hours. Enjoy!
"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."
(words and inspiration via Soulemama.com)
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Papaw and Billy
These were inspired by Pinterest, which I'm really enjoying these days. I knew there would soon be a day when we would absolutely need to have Rainbow Pancakes in our lives. And sure enough, yesterday was just that day. Within five minutes of Isia being awake, I could just see where the day was heading. Now I'll admit I'm a bit selfish about our days. I know our time together at home while they're little is limited, so I'm not willing to surrender to crankiness so easily (See cranky crafts, here). I also understand "off" days- and sometimes a whole week- are inevitable and that sometimes nothing, not even the best art project in the world, can turn it around. But I'm an eternal optimist, so I want to try everything in my arsenal first.
And then, of course, something novel that we can all enjoy together. She, between outbursts, enjoyed watching the batter change color. and staying that color as they cooked- "Mama, they're still yellow!" And I enjoyed the process of making, which is also very calming for me.
Sometimes a few Rainbows, and a full belly, can help remind us that it's not so bad to be little- and that we are much loved. That can be very helpful indeed!
My first plan of attack is dressing her as cute as possible and insisting on doing her hair. Striped stockings and braided hair on little girls have a calming effect on me. While her actions insist she's "so big," her attire reminds me that she's still oh so very little.
We used food coloring to tint our batter, dividing the batter between five bowls (I forgot all about purple until we were all done, oops). I only used a few drops per bowl so the colors were a little muted, although they still looked really pretty once cooked...
...especially when we cut them open. If you want really vibrant colors you'll probably want to use gel tints, but these suited us just fine. They filled up our bellies and brought giggles along the way- "Mama, we're eating rainbows."
Right now I'm...
...enjoying the last of the flowers from our garden as we say goodbye to summer.
...displaying a few small pumpkins alongside them as we say hello to autumn.
...excited for a pumpkin patch visit this Friday to find our own Great Pumpkin.
...wondering if Isia will carve our pumpkin with me.
...laughing as I remember Isia stomping her feet last year in refusal to scooping out the seeds.
...planning to finish the kiddos' Halloween costumes soon.
...finishing up our little room as well. Not only is it grey, but it's also (slowly but surely) getting a handmade rug and pillows too!
Wishing you luck with all of your projects and transformations this week!
