My Busy Book...

While the girls were away at church camp, I had fun working on a project. My husband teased me because I became completely immersed, to the expense of housework and meals. But he survived just fine...he still got fed & had clean clothes. ;) And I enjoyed the chance to be creative and see something move from imagination to completion.

When Abbie was little my sister-in-law sewed a busy book for us. She was only in high school, but spent countless hours working on this "labor of love" and didn't make one book, but two. Despite missing a few pieces, our "busy book" has survived our family, seen a lot of Cheerios, and helped our little ones sit quietly through many sermons. It is still around to entertain company and hopefully grandkids someday. I had wanted to make one for my nephew & was inspired to do different animals/creatures that corresponded with the seasons. Abbie liked it so much she wanted to know if I could make one for HER. ;) I told her to give me a few years & I will happily hunch over my sewing machine to make one for her little one...

Therapeutic

This may look like a big mess...

...but it's really therapy.

The best kind of therapy. And relatively cheap.

I even went a little crazy and pulled out the ribbon. Watch out!

Fall projects

I'm not feeling so great today, so trying to get housework accomplished seemed like an impossibility. I was getting no where fast, and was feeling worse in the process. So I decided to scrap my dreams of a clean house & have a little fun instead. I "stole" the idea from school. The kids made pumpkins on Friday, but I realized we could print off any coloring page & make all kinds of different designs.

It's really easy. Just print off any coloring page & tape to a piece of construction paper. Lay the paper on a rug or carpet. With a push pin, gently poke holes through both papers, being sure to leave space between each hole. (If the holes are too close together, the paper will rip.) Make sure you get all the lines. Remove your "guide" & tape your picture to a window or glass door.

Here are a few others we made. They're all taped up in our living room window & it's fun to see the sun shining through the holes.

I love art!

Though I'm not teaching in an official capacity, I still love to teach. These days, I'm just doing it for free. :)

That's why I look forward to Fridays. I have fun serving lunch with the 6th grade students. Plus I get to see & love on my own kids. Then, after we clean up, I head over to the 4th grade class & teach an Art lesson. It's not as consistent as I would like, as there are always a lot of activities planned for Fridays, but these are examples of a few of the projects we've done so far. I love getting to do art as much as the students do. Most of my ideas have come from this great website.

A mosiac

Optical Illusion: contrasting colors

Painting & blending colors/perspective

I'm usually too busy helping kids to take pictures, but I plan to get some "action shots" this afternoon. It's fun to see what they come up with. They are all so creative! We only have about 6 Fridays left, but I'm excited about the 6 things we'll get to create. I might even brave a tie-dye lesson! We'll see...

And the winner is...

Our boys had fun making their cars. Daniel made "The King" (from the Cars movie) with his Dad's help & Noah designed his own "Nike" car & faithfully sanded it smooth. But they were both disappointed they didn't win any trophies. I told Daniel he was a winner in my book, but he wanted to know where my book was; he wasn't at all thrilled with the "in my heart" answer I gave him.

Abbie chose a flip-flop car this year. Not only did she win 1st place for design, but it was fast! We saw her waiting patiently for the final results & laughed at her "fist pump" & "YES!" when they called her name.

Grace's "remote" car won 1st prize for speed. Her daddy is pretty proud of that accomplishment, as we've had cars in the past that never even made it to the finish line. She informed me before the race that she was pretty sure she'd win, since her daddy had put the four fastest wheels on her car. She is very self-confident.

We had one last race to see which Voth car was the fastest. Grace kept her title...this year. (You like how they're all fighting at the end? Just keepin' it real, people!)

Martha Stewart, here I come!

The other day I was watching Martha Stewart. That's about all I do...watch & chuckle at her obsessive-compulsive "ness" - things all in order, perfect projects, need for control...

Anyway, she had a guest on that had published a book on how to make no-sew or low-sew purses. She & Martha created a tote bag with material, iron-on vinyl, staples, & duct tape. I was fascinated. I even took notes. A week ago I had eyed some cool fabrics at Hobby Lobby that reminded me of scrapbooking papers, but I couldn't think of anything to make with them that would be quick & easy. I couldn't find the iron-on vinyl (to make it water proof & stiff), so I had to modify. I modified a lot. I decided against the staples & duct tape, for the traditional sewing method. And I loved how it turned out. In all it took me just a little over 30 minutes to make. So now I'm dreaming of what I can scrimp on so I can buy more material to make more cute bags!

Unfinished projects

Anyone that knows me well, knows I like to keep busy. And not just busy with housework & raising children, but busy with projects - like painting, crocheting, sewing, stamping, scrapbooking, tie dying, you name it. The problem is that I'm notorious for leaving my projects half-finished. This drives my husband crazy. He also doesn't understand why I don't have time for doing paperwork, balancing the checkbook, & making phone calls for his business, but I do have time to crochet. Duh! Anyway...I have been working on a baby blanket for my cousin, whose daughter is now 18 months. The problem is, it's tedious work, it takes full concentration (you have to count stitches), and it takes a lot of time to get one section finished. I have been frustrated with it, so naturally, I started another baby afghan. This one I finished in a day & a half. I have no idea who it's for, but I'm certain it will come in handy someday. And besides, it has given me a sense of accomplishment & boosted my confidence so that I can begin work again on the other one. I wish I could be more like my sister-in-law, Ruthie, who faithfully labored for months to crochet an afgan for a friend, who has made her fair share of full-sized blankets...and finished every one of them! The last full-sized one I made took me 5 years, and when I laid the finished product on our bed, I could see where two rows had become one. I vowed never to crochet a big afghan again. I have a half finished painting of two lilies on my mantel that mocks me every time I am in the living room, cross-stitch projects have been neatly tucked away in some crate, and sewing supplies strewn all over my craft table. When I finally finish something, not only is there pride in the work I've completed, but there is determination not to start another thing ever again...until the next great idea comes along!

Manners?

Today I served hot lunch at the kids' school. I was impressed that most of the kids remembered to say, "No, thank you." and "Yes, please." A few came through with grunts & "uh-huhs", but for the most part, everyone was very courteous and one even called me "Mam". I was impressed at how the school is instilling something as simple as manners in the kids. It's really taken for granted in our society anymore. I didn't eat with them at their tables, but I know how my 3rd grade eats at home & her manners...or lack thereof...drive me crazy. Nagging wasn't working, so I had to think of something else. Thankfully, there's always Supernanny to the rescue with great tips & suggestions. Recently she made a flower arrangement with little reminders of what behavior was expected at the dinner table.


I came up with 6 "flowers" - Keep your elbows off the table; Eat with your mouth closed; Use your silverware, not your fingers; Ask to be excused from the table; Don't forget "please" and "thank you"; and Don't reach! Instead ask, "Please pass..." Noah let out a big burp at supper, and when we reminded him it wasn't polite & he needed to say "excuse me", he quickly pointed out it wasn't a manner flower! Of all the kids, our oldest has the worst manners, and it has been helping her to remember on her own without having to be constantly reminded. The only thing I would have done differently is put my flowers in a shorter pot! It's hard to see past it to the kid across the table, so it usually gets displayed on the counter behind us. Oops. But at least it's working, right?

It's about time!

Okay, so I know I ranted & raved about the famous AWANA cars, but I never shared photos with you. So here they are. Enjoy!

Abbie won 2nd place for design. Her bunny lost to a cute mouse atop swiss cheese. Grace won 1st place for design in the Sparks division & Noah won 1st place for design in the open class. Phil said he felt bad that we dominated the competition, but I know that inside he was beaming with pride. And I laughed at him when he told me, as he always does after all the work has been done, that NEXT year he will just let the kids paint their block of wood. I always know that by the time NEXT year rolls around again, he will have been bitten by the bug & will spend countless hours & sleepless nights designing exquisite cars in hope of winning the trophy for design. (Oh, and by the way, we know that the honeybee doesn't have antenna; there's a size limit & that would have exceeded it.)

Favorite Things

This past month I discovered two new favorites: one old, one new. Someone told me about this 3D snowflake & my Sunday school class had fun making them last week. They turned out really neat. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-3D-Paper-Snowflake

The second is my sister-in-law's granola recipe...tweaked. For some crazy reason I was compulsively buying canisters of quick oats (thinking I was out), until at one point, I had 5 stashed away in various cupboards. The kids love this & we alternate between granola & oatmeal w/ raisins for breakfast. I still have yet to figure out if it's cheaper than cold cereal, but I'm pretty sure it's better for you. :)

1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. sliced almonds
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. wheat germ
1 c. ground flax seed
2 1/2 c. quick oats
2 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. honey

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl & mix well. Take 2 9x13" pans & cut 1/4 c. butter in each pan. Place in the oven until butter is melted. Add 1/4 c. honey to each pan & return to oven until warm & able to stir; add vanilla. Divide dry ingredients between both pans & stir to coat. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 7-10 minutes, until browned & crunchy. Let cool & store in a Tupperware container.