Tomato

So, I posted earlier about my tomato plant. I got the upside down tomato planter. That plant has grown HUGE. My other tomato plants haven't even blossomed (in the shade) I will have to get another one next year. I am waiting for my first tomato. I am hoping the squirrels don't get it before I do.

Pool time

It has been REALLY hot here, so we are spending a lot of time indoors. But that leads to kids with too much energy. So we have been spending some time in the kiddie pool. they love it and it gives me time to take pictures.

Painting day

Princess has been bugging me lately to paint, she asks me almost daily. I finally gave in. Actually all 3 kids got to paint today. At least it was only watercolors and not the poster paint. I am not ready for that mess.Now I need to make a new apron for Munchkin, she is wearing mine from when I was about her age.

Buddy

Somedays my children surprise me. I usually let me kids pick out all their own clothes. This is what Buddy picked out this week for church. (on a 95 degree day) He was very proud and asked me to take a picture. He even remembered a belt.

Parade of Sail

Harborfest was this weekend. It is a huge festival with tall ships and lots of music and pirates and cornhole and dog competitions.... It is usually very hot and a lot of people. Not the best environment for small kids. This year, I decided to take the kids to the parade of sail. It is on Friday afternoon, so not too busy. We parked across the river and took the ferry boat. (Buddy's favorite part) Then we wandered around, got some ice cream and watched the boats. There was firefighter ships and tall ships, and sail boats, a camouflage army boat, a police boat and even one big Navy ship. It was still hot, and we drank lots of water. Both Camelback were empty by the time we got back to the van. Good thing I had more water in the van.

Marshmallow shooters

I found the coolest toy to make for older kids. Check out the link and how to make them here at Skip to my Lou They are marshmallow shooters and the big kids can easily shoot them across the yard.(notice the marshmallow by Buddy's head) Actually, I made 3 and then realized that mom and dad could not be left out. I went back to the store and made 2 more. The guy at the plumbing supply store thought I was crazy, but they cost less than $2.75 each. Now I just need to stock up on mini-marshmallows. Munchkin got one, but hasn't figured out how to use it, she just walks around and picks up and eats all the other marshmallows that the other kids have shot out. I think I need to make some more for the next birthday party, if it is decorated, it would be a great present. If you make them just remember that you put the marshmallow in the same side that you blow into. Just don't spit in the shooter, because marshmallows can get nasty easily.

T-shirt

I finally up-cycled an old T-shirt. I made this cool one, It was supposed to be for cousin J, but Buddy decided he liked it. The reverse applique and the sleeves are from one of my old T shirts that had some holes. The red is new fabric. It is still not perfect, but I kind of like it. Maybe Cousin J will see it some day.

Train

I love imaginations at work. Check out the train the kids made. Buddy was the engineer. (and yes he did wear a turtleneck in 90 degree weather. )

Smoothie's

I thought I was being a great mom, I was in a good mood and wanted to kick off our first full week of no school. I made strawberry smoothies for the kid's breakfast. They even helped make them. Then they tried them..... the first few sips were good, but then they decided they weren't that good. I ended up drinking them for my breakfast and they had cereal. Oh well, I tried. Now I won't be asked to make them anymore.

Camping

We had our first camping trip of the summer, and of course it was HOT. But we had fun. The hammocks were the biggest hit, and we spent a great day on the beach. Spent some time hanging out around the campsite, and making S'mores. Buddy got to go hiking with Daddy and Munchkin while I gook Princess to her Violin Recital. I also finally got a decent picture of all three kids. Of course we also got a lot of pictures like these.

Zoo

We went to the zoo already once this summer. It wasn't too hot, so it was a great day. We took the zoo train for the first time and it was cool to see the construction of the new tiger exhibit. We did get to see the snakes and they had fed the snakes all rats and mice that morning and the kids were fascinated watching the snakes eat. Buddy's favorite was of course this one. The camouflage snake. I tried to get a good picture of all three kids for the header of this blog, but it didn't work. this was the best I could get and it wasn't working very well. I will try again another day.

Zucchini Relish

We made Zucchini relish again this year. The last time we made it was 2 years ago, see this post here. It turned out great this year, but now I have been asked for the recipe.... Here it is guys.

Grind a lot of zucchini, about 10 cups of zucchini. Add four large onions. I usually grind them in an old fashioned hand crank meat grinder and grind them together to measure about 12-13 cups of mush. (You could probably use a food processor.) Place in a pottery, crock, glass or stainless steel bowl with 5 tablespoons of Canning salt (non-iodized) cover and leave overnight.

The next day:

Rinse mixture with water and drain in batches. Squeeze out moisture. Place in large pot with a
1 finely chopped green pepper
1 finely chopped sweet red pepper
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp tumeric
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 tsp celery seed
1 heaping TBS of cornstarch
6 cups sugar, less if you don't like sweet relish
1 tsp dry mustard

Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, then put in canning jars and water process for 10 minutes or let cool and put in freezer safe containers and freeze.

It is not a big deal if some of the measurements are not exact, it has never turned out wrong. Leave me a comment if you have any questions, Enjoy

Busy Summer

We have had a busy start of the summer. I have been working on a lot of sewing projects. When my mom was here we re-arranged my sewing area. Now my machines don't sit on my cutting area, and my machines can be set up at the same time. I have been getting a lot done, and I will post about some of my other new projects soon. Now it is fantastic. It has been great to be able to leave my stuff a mess and no one usually gets into it. However the kids want to be near me, so it is not unusual for this to be the scene behind me. (her skirt is some spare fabric.) This was the scene in the next room, they were having lots of fun with the dress up box.

Paper Dolls

One of my other projects was one that I was not planning on. I saw this project at modabakeshop.com thought it was cute and sent it to my sister, thinking she might try it... she did, but then I thought if she could make it, then so could I. It is cloth dolls similar to paper dolls. The clothes stick to the doll with velcro. They now have quite a wardrobe and I am done with this set. I may make another set later, but for now I am sick of sewing velcro.

Kids crafts

I am not the only one in the family who loves to work with their hands and make stuff. The kids have been asking more and more to help with stuff and cut and glue and staple. They love it and the more mess they make the better they love it.

Mulberries

We found a mulberry bush along one of our walks through the neighborhood. It is along the road and the kids LOVE to eat the mulberries. It adds a fun new diversion and an evening's entertainment. Of course half the fun is watching my kids have fun walking and enjoying each other. The girls walked together, but this night Buddy was a little bit occupied with his berries. They taste Soooooo good.

Baby blocks

I had a birthday party to go to for a set of twins 1st Birthday, knowing I did not want to go to the store with 3 kids, I decided to see what I could make. I found this fabric and figured to try some blocks. I cut apart the fabric, sewed and stuffed them, but they were looking a little round. So I modified them with some upholstery thread, basically pulled in the middle to make them a little more defined as squares. I think they turned out cute and if you throw them at someone's head they don't hurt. Always a bonus with small kids. I also found a jingle bell in my stash and added it in the middle of one. So one of the blocks makes noise. Not a perfect present, but decent.

Little project

One day last week, Princess asked me to make her a little book for her to write a story. It had to have small pages and maybe a spiral thing on the top, and maybe some lines on the pages, and maybe she could help me make it and maybe.... She was a little detailed. We made this, it does not meet all of her criteria, but she LOVED to help me make it. I ended up making a bunch for favors at a party, they were easy and everyone loved them.

All we did was cut some double sided cardstock and some lined paper. I sewed a simple seam up the middle and tied the threads together before cutting them. Each book had about 8 pages and fits perfectly in a purse and can keep a fidgety child happy for at least 3 minutes.