Trying New Techniques

Today feels kind of bittersweet.  After 10 days of having hubby home and enjoying our cheap-day-trip vacation, I miss having our whole family together and the sense of excitment we had as we did something new and fun each day.  On the other hand, by the end of the day yesterday, I was completely exhausted!  And I did enjoy my sweet Noah-snuggles in bed this morning...when Daddy was around, I was chop liver, but now that life's back to normal, I get all the snuggles and love I could ask for.  Besides, it's good to have time to play around with some of my hobbies...I couldn't believe I went a week without making anything notable {although I did really enjoy the gardening work we accomplished as a family}.

So, we're back into our routine; grocery shopping and storytime at the library this morning, and then a fun playdate with a good friend and her cute kiddos this afternoon.  My friend April is into fashion and jewelry like I am, and she just bought a great black and white dress to wear to a wedding this weekend.  She had seen a pair of earrings at NY&Co that she hoped I could imitate, and also had visions of a matching necklace.  She bought the beads and brought them over this afternoon, and I had fun showing her some of the basics.  Here's the necklace we came up with:

I love it!  I'm actually pretty bummed that I don't get to keep it...lol.  Here's how to make one.

Materials: 3 tubes of large seed beads in different colors, stringing wire, crimp beads and pliers, 2 jump rings, clasp

Instructions: Cut three seperate pieces of stringing wire to your desired length.  String each one with one type of seed bead.  Carefully twist the strands around each other.  Slide a crimp bead onto the wire ends, thread your clasp or jump ring on, then thread the wire ends back through, pulling tight.  Crimp the bead shut and trim off excess wire.  If necklace is too short, you can always add a chain of jump rings to lengthen it.

I really enjoyed the challenge of making this because in all my jewelry work to date, I hadn't yet used crimp beads or stringing wire.  Thanks, April, for the inspiration!  Hope you enjoy wearing your new jewelry.  I know you'll look fabulous, and don't forget, I expect pictures!

I've also been playing around with a few other new tools and techniques, particularly using shaped jump rings to form a funky chain in between beads.  First, I made this bracelet with some fun turquoise beads from the Potomac Bead Company...I loooove the square shape!

I got a pack of oval shaped jump rings in a mixture of small, medium, and large sizes at A.C. Moore and decided to use those with my beads.  I put the square beads on eye pins {along with some seed beads on two of them for an accent}, then just joined them to the jump rings in a pattern of medium-small-medium-bead that repeated around the bracelet.  Of course I had to make matching earrings too!

I liked the effect so much I decided to try a necklace.  I had made a pair of earrings {there's a pair like them available in my Etsy shop} with these super fun sparkly black beads.  I love the way they look when they catch the light.  I got 5 more of the beads and made this necklace.

It's the same idea as the bracelet...the beads are on eye pins, then I attached jump rings in this pattern:

med-small-large-small-med, in between the beads.  The picture isn't great because of the shadow, but you get the idea.  It's an easy way to create a unique, fun-looking chain to showcase your favorite beads.

Well, time to get cleaned up from all my beading fun and think about starting dinner...only 40 minutes till hubby gets home!  I sure have missed my best friend today!

Remembering

Freedom is not free.  Today, from our family to yours, thank you to all who have served in the military, past and present, and to their families.  Thank you for the sacrifices you have willingly made to defend our freedom and protect our country.  We are grateful for you.

We wanted to make sure that we helped Noah to understand what Memorial Day is all about, as much as a two-year-old possibly can, so we started by placing a flag in the front garden and talking about its symbolism.  I asked him what shape he saw in the corner, then explained that each star represents a state in our country.  We talked about things we've done and seen in a few different states to help him comprehend that.  Then, I asked him what colors he saw and told him that the red was for the blood of soldiers who fought for our country's freedom.  In "Noah language" here's what we told him.

"Freedom is being able to pray to God if we want to, praise Him how we want to, say and think and do what we want to.  Sometimes, one country fights with another like in your movie Duke and the Pie War.  You know how those people are angry with each other and they fight?  That happens in the real world too.  Soldiers are men and women who fight to protect us and defend our country and make sure we still have freedom."

I asked him if he thought that was a good reason to be thankful to soldiers.  He did.  Here's a Noah-salute to prove it.

Next, I explained to him that there were some soldiers in our very own family.  My hubby's cousin Caitee married a soldier named Austin who is serving right now.  I explained to Noah that he has to sacrifice being with his family, including his new little baby girl, so that he can protect our country.

I also showed him on his special family tree who the veterans were.  Hubby's grandfathers both served in WWII, one flew planes and one was in the Army in the Pacific Theatre.  My father's father was also in the Army, working in communications, and my other grandfather served in the Navy.  We pointed these men out to Noah and told him as simply as we could that they were soldiers too; one in a plane, two on land, and one on a boat, and that they had stood up for what was right.

Then, it was time for Noah to make Thank-you cards.  He made one for Austin, and one for Great-Grandpa L., the only one of our grandfathers who is still living.  We just took white cardstock, cut it in half, and folded it to make the card base.  Noah then colored on it with red and blue crayons.  We used a Stampin' Up! star punch to punch out red and blue stars, which Noah was only too happy to glue on "all by hisself."

Finally, we took a trip to the War Memorial in the center of town to see my paternal grandfather's name on the plaque honoring those who served.  We showed Noah, who was excited to see that not only does he share a middle name with his grandfather, he shares it with his great-grandfather as well.

I think seeing the name and thinking about him as a soldier gave Noah a special connection to him, which means a lot to me since they never got to meet.

He enjoyed seeing the statues and other things around the memorial too.

All in all, I think it was a success.  He surely doesn't understand in full, but at least he comprehends on some level that there are men and women who choose to be soldiers and to protect us and our freedom.  And for two years old, I think that's a good start!

Thank you again to all who have taken on that role and served our country so selflessly.  We are grateful for your service.

Painting and Planting

Family Fun Week: Day 6

After a "breakfast date" at Starbucks and a brief detour to Michaels for flowerpots, we headed to Spring Meadow Farms, a local garden center.  My wonderful mother-in-law gave me four different herb plants when I saw her on Thursday, and I wanted to get them potted today.  We also wanted a few more flowers for the front garden and some mulch.  At first, Noah said he didn't want to go, and wasn't even tempted by the promise of a wagon ride.  So, I asked him if he'd pull me instead.  He thought this was hysterical and it was enough to convince him that this would indeed be a fun trip.

He also got to see more animals at their petting zoo {more goats, sheep, and chickens, plus a turkey and horses} and he got to ride a cool little-man-size tractor.

He was happy, I was happy, everyone was happy except Daddy who bumped into a hanging basket and got water all over himself.

After we got home, I put my little helper to work.  His job was, according to him, "Put dirt in da pot."

Which he did.

He also put it ALL over himself.

Sometimes he's just too cute for words!

He also helped me to paint garden signs just like the ones in his vegetable garden for my various herbs.

Click HERE for the tutorial on how to make your own.  Oh, and I highly recommend super glue if you give it a try!

Here they are, successfully planted in these cheerful pots I got on sale {$2.99 each!} at Michaels.

I love how bright and cheery they are!  And I'm so looking forward to having fresh herbs to use in the kitchen!  Thanks, Mom L.!  Now, hubby and I are going to tackle the front garden while Little Crafter naps.  Hope you have a great afternoon!

Linked up to: Delicately Constructed Fridays, Debbie Doo's Newbie Party, and other parties on the sidebar.



Free Fun: Take 4

Family Fun Week: Day 4

One thing we knew Noah would love to do during "vacation week" was go to a pool.  He absolutely loves it when we're at the beach and would spend all day in the water.  Unfortunately, though, there aren't too many pools to choose from where we live.  We had gotten a pass to try out the YMCA's indoor pool for free when we went to the Flower & Jazz Festival earlier this month, which was our original plan, but then we found out that the pass only covered one person's admission; the other two had to pay full price, which is $10 per adult and $5 per child.  So, we made a plan B.  We visited the local sports complex and told them we were interested in finding out about their swim-only membership plan. {which we legitimately were, up until they told us it was $450 for three months!}  Anyway, they gave us a guest pass for the day and we got to play in the lap pool.  You can see how Noah felt about his special surprise!

After we finished playing in the water, we headed back to Baugher's Orchard where we picked strawberries on Monday.  Why?  We ate them all.

Yes indeed, we ate 5 lbs of strawberries in four days.  And the berries we picked today were even better!  They're bright red, juicy, and oh-so-sweet!  So those of you who are in the area, now's the time!  Go!

Noah had a ball once again and got really excited about riding the big tractor.  This time, we also explored their free petting zoo.  At first, I was a little unnerved by the fact that you can just walk around with the goats and sheep and donkey without anyone else around...especially when I thought the goat was chasing us.

Hello, donkey.

As I was taking this picture, I got gently bumped from behind.  Mr. Donkey apparently wanted my attention.

I love how the look on both of our faces is like, "I'm not so sure about this but I'm smiling anyway..."

There was a pretty little lake with a fountain, which Noah {of course} loved.

Our personal photographer is getting better and better, don't you think?

It was another fun day, and it was absolutely FREE except that we did have to pay $10 for the strawberries.  But hey, I'd have bought fruit at the grocery store instead, so it just comes out of the normal food budget.  Fun in the pool, a tractor ride, strawberry picking, and up close and personal animal encounters...no wonder Little Crafter was zonked.

I feel the same way.

Feelin' Hot Hot HOT!

Family Fun Week: Day 4

Today our destination was, according to Noah, "a big big big big big big big big playground."  That's right, 8 "bigs" to describe this thing.  According to grownups, it was Lake Waterford Park.

There's also another entire swingset you can't see in the photo.  There were tons of slides and tunnels and things to do that you don't find on just every playground, like this fun balance beam.

Noah's Grammy usually comes to visit on Thursdays, so as a special surprise for Noah, she met us there at the park for a picnic lunch and playtime.

There was also a lake, which Noah enjoyed because he could throw sticks in and watch geese.

Let me start by saying that Noah had a fantastic time.  He loved the playground and didn't want to leave.

The reality, though, was that for Mama {and Grammy and Daddy, I think} it left some to be desired.

Fail #1: The weather.  It was at least 91 degrees today with 100% humidity.  Can you say "uggggh?"  I kept feeling like something was crawling on me only to realize that it was drops of sweat running down my leg/arm/shoulder/back.  Ewwwwwww!

Fail #2: The crowd.  We happened to pick the same day to visit that at least one school group did.  There was a huge kindergarten group there, which meant swarms of children on all the equipment.  Let it be known that I normally love little kids.  Mine in particular, but other ones too.  I enjoy spending time with them, playing with them, reading to them....  But only when I'm not vastly outnumbered.  It's a shortcoming of mine, I suppose, but large numbers of small children haphazardly running, screaming, and shouting makes me cringe.  Actually, it makes me want to run far, far away.  So, not my ideal environment...

Fail #3: The lake.  It stunk.  It was dirty and littered and gross, despite how pretty the picture looks.  Major "ew."

So, we ended up calling it a day around noonish and heading to a local Starbucks.  Aaaah, now we're talking vacation!  Peppermint Mocha Frappucino, I love you.

How about you?  How are you beating the heat?  I can't divulge tomorrow's big plan yet, but I will tell you that it's INDOORS!



Family Fun Week - Day 3

For the third day of our free-or-cheap-daytrip adventure week, we headed to Wheaton Regional Park, which has lots of fun things to do and see.  First of all, it's home to Brookside Gardens, a gorgeous 50-acre public display.  It's totally free to walk the gardens, so we explored what they had to offer...besides this cool froggy statue in the Welcome Center.

There was a fun children's garden with a treehouse, a "gnome home", and other fun things for little folks.

Noah's favorite thing, though, was all the fountains.

When he saw this one, he ran full speed ahead and got himself up on the edge like this so he could splash his hand in the water.

Mama's favorite part was the gorgeous rose garden that was in full bloom.

I love how this one has different colored blooms on the same bush.  The name of this particular rose is 'Rio Samba'.  Samba!  That has to be a sign that I need one of these, right?

A close second favorite for all of us was the "Wings of Fancy" butterfly exhibit.  This part wasn't free, except for children 2 and under, which included Noah.  Hubby and I had to pay $6 a piece, but it was worth it, especially since the rest of the gardens were free!

They had a neat little hands-on station for kids where they could touch and feel, look through magnifying glasses, and learn about the butterfly's life cycle.

Noah thought they were all like the Very Hungry Caterpillar. :)

When we finished at the gardens, we headed to a different part of Wheaton Regional Park that was by far Noah's favorite.  We didn't tell him what we were going to do there, just promised "a special secret surprise."

First of all, they have a carousel, which he loves.

...and the best part is this really really cool miniature train!  You get to ride it for 15 minutes on a track that goes all over the park, through the woods, over a bridge, and through a tunnel.  It also has a great whistle, just like good old Thomas the Tank Engine.  Noah got really excited about riding it and grinned from ear to ear.  He thought it was James, since it was red.

Noah rode for free, and adult tickets cost $1.75 a piece, which I thought was a small price to pay for the look on his face.

Hope your day was full of fun like ours was!  Meanwhile, I thought vacation was supposed to be nice and relaxing...let me tell ya, I'm exhausted!  I could fall asleep right here and now....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz