The Meanest Mom Ever

Tonight I put my two oldest kids to bed in tears. I had confirmed their worst fears- that after they go to bed, mom and dad stay up and have a party without them, complete with movies, treats, and board games. And I did it on purpose.
Lately, Lenna and Andrew have made quite an effort to keep the door closed on all of their games, purposely excluding Rebecca. It is quite heartbreaking to watch her stand with her nose pushed against the window most of the afternoon, watching for the school bus. She runs to meet them with open arms and squeals of delight. They return her hugs, greet her just as eenthusiastically, then run away as fast as they can. Then they slam and lock the door on her nose, leaving her in tears. They are worried that she will grab their cars or somehow interrupt their game.
Mike and I have tried everything we could think of for several weeks now. Protecting their games for a while, then letting her in, bribing them to include her, planning things for them all to do together, letting her in in spite of their protests. So tonight, I thought I would try another tactic.
The third time they locked her out after dinner, I loaded her into the car with instructions for the big kids to be in pajamas before I returned. We drove to the grocery store and filled the cart with party food- ice cream cones, chips, candy, and a copy of a movie they have been waiting to see. We came home and were of course greeted by oohs and ahas. Their faces and spirits fell as they were told to brush their teeth and go to bed while Rebecca settled in with snacks and a movie.
I explained that I wanted them to know how it felt to be excluded from something fun, when it wasn't fair, and it wasn't nice, and there was really no good reason for them to be left out. Because that is how she felt every time- that she was being left out of a really fun time for no good reason. They stomped and cried and screamed and begged and protested and finally went to bed in tears.
We will see how it goes tomorrow afternoon when she wants to play along. Sometimes it is hard being the meanest mom ever.

Camp W Finale- Back to School Bash

To wrap up the summer and as our final Camp Wannalaffalotta activity, we had a back to school party. I sent out electronic invites, Lenna planned the activities, and we invited a bunch of people to pot luck at the park with us.

For your first homework assignment of the year, a little addition problem:

Two minivans carrying five passengers each, are traveling in opposite directions at an average of 25 miles per hour, and they meet at the local park with six other families with 2-6 children each, and everyone brings something to eat. 36 hot dogs, 27 juice boxes, 8 bottles of water, 3 bags of chips, 2 dozen doughnuts, one chocolate sheet cake, and one pinata full of candy have all been eaten. There is one parade that lasts 4 minutes and features 2 pairs of roller blades, 5 bikes, 2 scooters, 2 strollers, 3 tricycles, and 23 musical instruments. There are 2 playgrounds and 1 splash fountain that result in 1 sprained ankle, a scraped knee, and 1 bruised forehead. In the 3 hours the group occupied the pavillion, what is the total amount of fun had by all?

Answer: A whole bunch!

Next summer is going to be even better! You are all invited to join Camp Wannalaffalotta season two premiring in May 2011.

Camp W- Marsh Models

In my attempt to educate my children so their brains didn't turn completely to mush over the summer, we did some research at the library. After looking at a few books on the 7 wonders of the ancient word, we decided to make some of our own.
I gave the kids a few bags of marshmallows, and handful of toothpicks and cut up drinking straws, and let them go. They both decided on pyramids. Lenna went for the Mayan model, while Andy did the traditional Egyptian one.

Andrew decided on a concrete model with solid walls, while Lenna opted for the minimalist approach with just an outline.

Rebecca ran quality control on the building materials.

A few design flaws to correct- perhaps she switched to the Leaning Tower of Pisa?

 Wait, was this supposed to start to look like something by now?

Much better! Ta-da!

 A modern version of what the pyramids look like now!

There, brain rot avoided! If only we could say the same for their teeth after they had to clean up. . .

Berries for Becca

A Trip to the Country- WV 7/10

What do you do when it is hot and humid outside, your A/C isn't working, your morning sickness gets worse with the heat, and the kids will tear the house down if they are trapped inside for one more day? Head north to the mountains! 

Enjoy the scenery

Every night is a sleepover!

Enjoy wide open spaces, perfect for chasing butterflies.

Get to know the neighbors.

Catch a lightening bug.

Enough to fill a jar. 

Play in the rain. 

Ride an ATV.

Spend an entire day with nothing to do but play. 

Eat every meal outside.

Try your hand at fishing. 

Throw it back so you don't have to eat it. 

Try express fishing, never leave your line in the same place for more than 20 seconds. 

Don't forget your cool glasses. 

A pond with a view.

Go pick some blue berries.

And eat them by the handful while drinking fresh lemonade.  



Then return home refreshed and ready to tackle real life again. After you get the A/C replaced.

Camp W- rained out

Summer is the rainy season here. Every evening, no matter how hot and sunny the day has been, a thundershower rolls in. Good for the plants. Bad for outside plans like pool picnics. However, if the lightening has stopped, you might as well go get wet anyway!

Count down

66 Days Until Santa Comes

 Ho! Ho! Ho!

Sneezing, coughing, and other matters

Andrew went to the allergist this morning. He has been having trouble breathing at night with snoring and coughs and hasn't been able to breathe through his nose for months. I finally took him to an ENT after getting no results or help from our pediatrician (just wrote him a prescription for zyrtec) or even the allergist (he looks healthy and seems to be ok, bring him back if he gets worse). We found a great dr who Andrew really likes and was able to see us and help us right away.

Today was the testing day and next week is the diagnosis and treatment day. I was so very proud of him for being so brave- about 30 little pokes in his arm, that he watched and tolerated very cooperatively. We finished the morning with a CT scan, which he thought was really cool and now has an interesting picture of the inside of his head to show his friends. I eased my mother guilt by taking him to lunch and buying him a new toy. He won't be scarred for life, right?

The entire time he kept saying ho much his big sister would have hated it and cried the whole time. :) Funny, as soon as she walked in and saw the pricks on his arm and read his list of allergens, she burst into tears of sympathy. I am so not looking forward to the whole group flu shot thing next week.

We got results right away- Andy is allergic to...everything! dust, mites, 4 kinds molds, 11 different pollens, our cat, and we are still waiting on food allergy results that required a blood test. Basically, he is allergic to Georgia air outside, and our house air on the inside. Time to go spend money on mattress and pillow covers, air filters, air purifiers, and who knows what else. Starting in his room with deep cleaning and covering, then moving on to the AC system. Then the rest of the house. I am hoping that will keep it manageable and not overwhelming. We will tackle food issues when we have more results.

Anybody want a cat? He's trained to potty outside (no litter) and brings presents like birds, squirrels and mice. Just have to let my girls come pet him once in a while. :{ Right now we are compromising by just banning Mr Kitty from the bedroom and soft furniture.


So that's that. Fun stuff. I am thankful for results and hopeful for improvement.

A Quiet Book for Busy Fingers

My latest late night sewing project- a cloth activity book for my toddler.

I wanted something soft, portable, interesting, silent, durable, and inexpensive for her to play with while we were out and about and waiting. Places like office waiting rooms, church, club meetings, car rides, older sibling lessons, etc.  Something that would be engaging, age appropriate, and educational. I saw several for sale in specialty stores or etsy shops and really wasn't impressed. I thought most of them were over-priced, too small, or too simple and didn't include the activities that I wanted. So I decided to make my own. I looked at all the links on this site, took a few notes on the pages I liked, and made a plan. I had about 25 pages worth of really great ideas, and about 15 pages worth of supplies and attention span for the project. So I narrowed it down with a few requirements: it had to be simple, made with materials I already had in my stash, and adaptable for several skill levels (I know big brother is going to swipe it, and I want it to be just as fun next year when she can do more).

I am not a perfectionist or one who obsesses over details. I just made things up as I went. I sketched things freehand, so have no patterns for you to print out. I like to cheat, so if I could glue it with liquid stitch, I did. If I could stick it together with fusible web instead of sewing and turning, I did. If I could use the print on the fabric or draw it in with a sharpie instead of sewing on details, I did. I used fabric scraps from my stockpile and looked specifically for pieces with interesting and varied colors, textures, and patterns. So that is my little disclaimer.

Now, some pictures for you:

 The front cover- I used an old pair of jeans for the cover so it would be durable and thicker than the inside pages. I fused on my hand print, which I had traced onto corduroy, and hand lettered the title. A big colorful button and an elastic loop provide a simple closure.

 Snap on cupcakes and ice cream scoops. The cone and cupcake wrapper are fused on, I hand-sewed on the snaps, and used fusible web to make the scoops thicker and double-sided. I just picked out prints with interesting color combinations. My daughter is really into yellow, so I tucked some in wherever I could.

 Apple tree with birds and apples. The apples and tree are made from felt, so I only had to put velcro on the apples and they stick to the tree anywhere. The birds are just cut out and glued on. The basket has a pocket to keep the apples in.

Button on flowers. I took this pic before my glue dried- oops. More little birdies glued in place, along with the stems and grass. I sewed on the buttons, fused some fabric together and cut out flower shapes, then cut a button hole in the center of each flower. Easy but cute.

 Write a letter. or scribble for a few minutes, whatever! The pocket holds a small notebook and a pencil or crayons. The mailbox flap opens so you can stick a note inside to mail it.

 Fishing pond. My daughter's current favorite. I cut out some fish from an ocean print and fused it to a solid color backing. I put a paperclip in between the layers first, so each fish will stick magically to the magnet on the end of the pole. A piece of old shower curtain sewed on top of the pond makes a fun pocket. The pole is just a kitchen skewer, a length of yarn, and two sticky-backed magnets sandwiched around the yarn end. Right now, she just likes to pull all the fish out by hand.

 A bead abacus. Beads on yarn, sewn behind two fabric scrap poles. Simple but surprisingly engaging.

 Alphabet page. The pocket at the bottom holds velcro backed letters that stick to the velcro lines at the top. I found a package of sticky-backed felt letters, stuck them to the flat side of a strip of velcro, and sewed two lines down the center of the strip, catching as much of the letters as I could. I figured between the glue and the stitching they would stay on ok. I started by making sure I had all the letters required to spell her name, then added her sibling's, and threw in a few extras just in case. I figure I have a few years before she can actually start spelling words.

 Old McDonald's farm. Another favorite. Simple barn shape cut from red felt, with some white details.

 Open the barn door to reveal a felt pocket holding some animal finger puppets. I tried to keep them simple with just enough detail to tell what animal it was. Glue and sharpies and one zigzag seam to reinforce the glue on the edges.

 A big felt piggy bank with a slot cut in the top. I didn't sew around the head so the coins can be pulled back out by reaching through the neck opening. A stack of plastic coins (too big to swallow!) from the party favor store are great for counting.

 A dolly with yarn hair for braiding, tying, putting clips in, or just running tiny fingers through. The dress is a pocket to hold hair clips and ribbon scraps.

 A shoe to tie. I traced my daughter's foot on the green fabric, sewed it down, then added the white felt details. I added a yard shoelace.

The last page. A vinyl pocket (that shower curtain again) under some felt mittens I made by tracing my hand with fingers together. the mittens pull back to reveal a family picture. Babies and toddlers love peek-a-boo and looking at pictures of people they know!

 The last page just tells other families who to return the book to when my kids leave it under the bench at church. After all the late nights I gave up tv to sew, I figured it was worth trying to get it back.

Back cover. The pocket of the jeans and a fused on tiny hand print. A snack baggie full of snacks fits just right in the pocket, as well as cast off hair clips, hot wheels cars, or stray crayons.

So there you have it. I had to scrap a few pages because I knew if my ambitions were too high, I would just give up. But If I ever decide to add to it, I love the dinosaur eggs with little plastic dinos in them, the Noah's ark with jungle animals in a zipper pocket, the cupcake oven, and so many more! This is one project that will go on forever if I let it.

One quiet book, made by a very beginning sewer, for free! If I can do it, you can do it!