It was only 64 degrees this morning when she woke up!
She was mad that I wouldn’t turn the “warm air up,” so she had to put a jacket on to eat breakfast.
What a kid!
Aaack!
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Monthly Archives: April 2012
Final Curtain Call.
Oh, hallelujah…the variety show is over. Not only was Em in the show again this year with her best friends, but Addie decided she was going to be in it, too. And not just one act – but she was in two different ones. And Mama was co-chairing and organizing the whole thing. Yes, many lessons learned – and many things we will NOT be doing next year. I’m lobbying for skipping a year and just attending the variety show as an audience member next year!
At any rate – the girls were fantastic! In retrospect, it was so fun and I was incredibly proud of the girls.
Addie and her friend Emma Jean sang and danced while dressed up as – what else? – CATS!
I give you the Stray Cat Strutters…
Then she had a quick change and she joined her other four friends to be a Lollipop Doll… (Addie’s the second from the right – turquoise leggings!)
And then Em and her girls kicked off Act II. They called themselves En Fuego…
All in all, I’m pretty impressed with all of the girls. There is NO WAY that I’d get up there and sing and/or dance in front of a PACKED auditorium. But it didn’t even phase them.
I’m just so thankful that it is over and to have one more thing done and checked off our list of to-dos. Bring on May!
(Thank you, J. for taking photos and videos of all of it while I ran around and tried to herd cats…er, I mean…children. Thank you too for the flowers and for being my rock when I’m about to crack. You are MY superstar!)
Snapshot Sunday ~ Growing
Thanks to the beautiful sunny weather sprinkled with some rainy days, Addie’s and my garden is booming. Our tomatoes are just hanging out waiting to ripen. Makes me happy this lovely Sunday morning.
Crafty Tuesday ~ The Rest of the HP Story
Okay. So we had a lot of last minute craftiness going on last week. And when I say “last minute,” I mean we were literally crafting up to the very last minute before kids starting arriving for Em’s party on Saturday.
So you saw the invite last week. When the kids arrived to “Kings Cross” to find platform 9 3/4, they found this…
If you’ve read the HP books, you know that the witches & wizards must run into the wall between platform 9 & 10 at the train station (platform 9 3/4) and they will magically be transported into the other world. So we set up a “fake wall” that the the Hogwarts’ students could “run into.” The brick fabric is gossamer that I got from this place. I had intended on putting it all over the dining room and hallway to turn it into a castle. But, I ran out of time…and realized that our house, with the brick and stucco walls was close enough to a “castle” for a 9-year old’s party!
Once all of the guest arrived, we had a sorting ceremony where all of the kids put on the sorting hat and pulled out a card telling them which house they had been placed into. I just made up cards for Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff because Em was adamant that none of her friend would want to be a Slytherin. Our lovely Professor McGonnagal (Audrey’s older sis, Yvette) helped “sort.”
Addie was so excited to be a Gryffindor!
Then each student got to pick a wand.
J. and I made wands using this tutorial. And we also handed out their textbook – which was full of the most crucial Harry Potter spells…
and some potions and ingredients…
I found a similar book and copied the idea. I collected the pieces, laid the booklet out in InDesign, printed it on fake parchment paper and then just “bound” it together with some twine. It was a huge hit. As we were walking to school this morning one of the kids ran past and tried to cast a spell on Em. Apparently we turned out some pretty good students in our short little day together.
Once we had our supplies and were sorted into houses, the students got their schedules for the day.
Then they were off to class. In Prof. McGonnagall’s Transfiguration class they practiced casting spells. Then each of them were “transformed” into a character from Harry Potter. They had to ask their classmates questions to try to figure out who they had been turned into.
And then they moved onto Herbology with Professor Sprout. There they learned about an important potion ingredient, and planted some ginger. (It was the weirdest plant/seed/root I could find for them to plant!)
And finally, they went to everyone’s favorite class, Potions with Professor Snape. We had the most fun coming up with all of the potions.
All of the potion ingredients were edible. Not necessarily delicious…but edible! We had a lot of gatorade, lime drink, strawberry syrup, dark syrup, coconut, cherry juice, pixie sticks…oh, and POP ROCKS!
A few of the bottles I borrowed from friends, but most of these bottles I have collected over time. I used labels from DreamLoft on Etsy and just added text in Illustrator and printed them on adhesive backed paper so they were like real labels.
Most of the kids actually tried their potions. Although, I’m not sure I would! They were all very pretty and colorful, but I’m certain didn’t taste as pretty as they looked!
(Charlie came straight from a baseball game, so he was a little smudge-y!)
After classes, there was a final exam (it wouldn’t be school without a test, right?!) which I am pleased to report ALL students passed.
And then we had ButterBeer (delicious recipe here!) back in the Great Hall…
And Cauldron Cakes…(cupcakes dipped in chocolate with caramel – gold – frosting!)
And, to top it all off? A little bit more sugar. We re-created the Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe that the characters in the books visit on their Saturday trips to Hogsmeade.
The students got to “shop” and fill their goody bags to take home. (Again with the label paper. I printed out the Honeydukes logo and we stuck them onto small white craft bags.)
Of course we had chocolate frogs…
And Bertie Bott’s…
We also had Acid Pops, Fillabuster’s Fizzes, Professor Sprout’s Magic Mushrooms and Dumbledore’s lemon drops!
It was a little too hot for a quidditch match, so we finished with a little viewing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The planning and execution of the party was so much work, but so very fun. All of Em’s friends are so sweet and ensured me that it was the “best Harry Potter party ever!” And that made the birthday party hangover on Sunday, all worthwhile.
Snapshot Sunday ~ In Bloom
We inherited a rose garden full of very old bushes. In December I chopped all of them back, kind of half hoping that they would finally give up the ghost and I could plant some new ones…but they all came back with a vengeance. Each bush has 12-15 blooms on it. I guess they just needed some tough love.
Crafty Tuesday
If you ever need to put together a Harry Potter party…stick around. I have been buried in the ol’ internets the last few weeks, culling ideas for Em’s party this Saturday. First craft on deck – the invitation. I found this cool “owl delivered invitation” on Pinterest and couldn’t find the source, or the original creator of the invite. I’m embarrassed to admit, I became a bit obsessed about these adorable balloons. I even googled “owl balloons” until it dawned on me. “Uh? Ohhhhh….it is just a white balloon with the owl drawn on it with Sharpie markers.”
Ahem. Yes. So…we got to work.
We started with an invitation that ripped off the acceptance letter to Hogwarts printed on some tan paper.
I wanted it to look old, weathered and parchment like, so after I printed them out I tried to use some vinegar and was about to bake it when I realized that it was just smearing the ink and making me crazy. I couldn’t “parchment” the paper up first – because then it wouldn’t go through the printer.
So I crumbled them up and started to wander through the my craft bins for something that would help age the paper.
Score! My parents got me this distressing kit that I had forgotten about. It has a little brown chalk pad that is perfect for rubbing over the wrinkled paper and makes it look perfectly aged.
And then I burned the edges a little bit to make them look officially old.
And rolled the scrolls and tied each to an owl balloon. All of the owls here are just waiting to deliver their invites…
We even got an owl rsvp back!
NOW…on to the list of other crafts that have to be done by Saturday’s party.
Snapshot Sunday
Spending our allowance at the used bookstore – a perfect Saturday afternoon.
Getting Her Chime On.
Em was thrilled to get to ring not only chimes but BELLS as well this past Easter Sunday. I absolutely love to watch her sing, play, and just thoroughly enjoy music so much. As I might have mentioned a time (or twenty) before, the musical genes skipped RIGHT over me. So I’m thankful they came out in her, and grateful her very musical Daddy can help cultivate her mad musical skills. Meanwhile, I’ll just sit back and enjoy the shows.
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today:
Chimes: (I missed half of this because I was trying to get my offering out of my purse…and couldn’t find my purse…and well, just completely unprepared!)
And the last song: (and a wink and near miss from Em – but nice recovery 😉
Wednesday Love.
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a “Love,” and usually it is Friday Love, but I’m feeling particularly amorous today. So here is what I’m lovin’ this fine Wednesday.
Rainy Days. Mondays might get me down, but rainy days NEVER do. I think it is one of my favorite ways to wake up. After the initial panic of thinking there is running water somewhere in the house, and once I realize it is rain, RAIN(!) on our Spanish-tiled roof, then I snuggle down under the covers to listen to it for just a few more minutes and it always makes me smile. Even better is when I wake up early and realize it is raining AND I still have a few hours left to sleep, and then I can fall back to sleep listening to the rain.
It is still so bizarre to hear native Californians complain about the weather. “One day it is 80, the next day it is 60 degrees and SO cold! And then it rains!” Grumble, grumble, grumble.
Um, yes. That is kinda the best weather you are going to find anywhere…should not be spending time fretting over it. But I guess people have to have something to talk/complain about. Anyhow, I enjoy the break, and we always really need the rain.
Gardens Planted. Addie and I worked all Easter afternoon on the gardens. I’ll have to catch some photos of it to show you our handiwork. We have a very good start and now the plants are all enjoying our rainy day, too!
New Wipers. Okay, this might be a little bit odd, but bear with me. I just ran out to take the recycling in and I sort of absent-mindedly flicked on my windshield wipers as it started to rain. You cannot imagine my immense joy at wipers that actually work – and work well! “Aaaaaahhhh!” I think I actually heard angels sing as a golden beam shone through my windshield! I have had my Volvo for 5-years – in fact as a “yeah! we paid you off” gift to the car, I took it in last week for the 30K mile checkup. I was very good in the beginning about taking it to the dealer for oil changes (um, they were free in the beginning!) but when I had to start paying for them, I quickly found cheaper alternatives.
Apparently Volvo has really weird wipers that are expensive – and need a special “Volvo tool” to put on. Over the years, I’ve “tried changing them myself” several times to no avail and at every oil change I ask them to try, but nobody has been able to do it for me. You can imagine how crummy my wipers were starting to be after 5-years of baking in the California sun. When it DID rain, I would just not use them because the wipers were making it worse! So last week, ‘lo and behold, when I took it to a Volvo service center they were finally able to switch them out. They were expensive, but with no car payment now and the happiness I felt this morning….it was oh, so worth it!
Fruits & Vegs. Every other Wednesday we get a CSA box from a local farm with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. Each time I open the box it feels a little like opening a special surprise gift. You never know what you are going to get, but we are always hoping for the carrots! We got some in today’s box and I so LOVE me some of these carrots. I am normally not a huge carrot fan, but these? I call them “carrot candy” they are so sweet and delicious – you almost forget you are eating something that is good for you. Maybe it is because we are used to eating the little baby carrots that are packaged up and not nearly as fresh, or maybe they sprinkle a little crack on these ones – I am not sure, but at any rate they are fantastic and a definite reason to love farm box Wednesdays.
Good Doctors. Everything has checked out a-ok with our little Addikins. I am grateful that we have a great doctor that jumped on the ship the minute she saw us last week. Addie had four, back-to-back, major nosebleeds within twelve hours last Tuesday. Accompanied by headaches (which really freaked me out) and an upset tummy (hers, not mine although mine was in knots a little bit, too.) and lots and lots of blood. Our doctor rushed us into a pediatric ENT who quickly cauterized her right nostril. He was awesome and she such a trooper. And Mommy did ok through all of it, too.
Our doctor then ordered blood work as well to make sure that there was nothing else lying underneath the nosebleeds. Ugh. That was not nearly as smooth a visit. And Mommy did not do nearly as ok on that one either. Let me tell you, it is torture to have to hold your practically bucking child (who is seriously strong) down and listen to her cry, “Please Mama, don’t let them do it.” She was crying, I was crying. It was a little bit of a mess. But blood work came back fine and (knock on wood) we haven’t had any more nosebleeds either! Love to Dr. P. for making us go through (what seemed at the time) endless appointments and tests so we all have some peace of mind and less blood in our life.
Coffee. Oh, come on! You don’t really know me at all if you think I would not include my elixir of choice here! Coffee on a rainy day is the ultimate treat. Ok, coffee on any day is a perfect treat. This here coffee will give me the quick energy I need to go tackle that playroom that I’ve been putting off for weeks now.
Happy Wednesday!
Crafty Tuesday ~ All Things Birthday.
So, it was a little someone’s birthday around here. And you know how we love to do it up on our Birthdays in our house. It gave me a few opportunities to break out Eva and make some tees…
Our traditional “number” t-shirt to wear on birthday day:
Next year we will have to get a bigger shirt, big enough for 2 numbers. (sigh)
Birdie #2 and I are a little bit obsessed with the British “Keep Calm & Carry On” signs, (or anything British, really) so when I saw these being knocked off, I had to make a volleyball one for Em:
And for Easter we made carrot whoopee pies. It was a mix I found at Target, but the packaging was so stinkin’ cute, I couldn’t walk away. I mean, look at it!:
They were ok. And then Em decided for her “treat” to give her classmates, she wanted to do whoopee pies as well, except in chocolate. Seemed easy enough, I mean…easier than the cakepops, right?
While I was reading the recipe, I realized they were just using a cookie sheet to make the “cake part” of the pies. Now, thanks to JB, I do own a lovely whoopee pie pan, but it only makes 6 pies at a time. I needed 36! So I decided to try the cookie sheet to speed things along. Epic fail. So worth the extra time it takes to make the pies in the proper pan – or buy a second pan, I suppose.
Not that they tasted bad, but those irregular blobs that didn’t quite puff up like they were supposed to kinda grated on my perfectionist sensibilities. I mean look at these:
And now look how pretty these are:
See? At any rate, the pies were finished and delivered to school to the delight of all the third-graders (and a few choice first-graders, too!):
And I’m sure the kids didn’t get my pun, but I liked it and I guess that anything to keep Mama happy when she is covered in flour and frosting is good:
And the birthday girl enjoyed them, so that is really all that matters:
