Why the World Needs More Uncles

Last week, I had my brother come over and watch the younger children for a few minutes while I picked up Mr. One from preschool.  Not only did he come over willingly, but he volunteered to stay a bit after we returned and play a few games with them.  Mr. One was having a particularly rough day, so my sweet 19 year old brother, scooped him up, hugged him and talked to him for a good amount of time to encourage and help him feel better.  We need more young men like this.  We need more hugs and encouragement.  We need a cool uncle to listen.  If we all had that, the world would be a lot better place.

Love is taking a few minutes out of a busy schedule to scoop up a nephew and let them know you care.

Valentine Pillow

Love is in the air.  Here is one of my Valentine's projects from last year.  I found the idea for this pillow here (via Tip Junkie), then changed it a bit.

I used some white cotton fabric I had on hand for the pillow case and turned it into a slip cover instead of making it a complete pillow. I basically made a pillowcase and sewed in ribbon ties on the open end to tie the pillow closed.  (I'm sure Martha Stewart has a good tutorial for doing this in a more precise way.)  I used red thread and straight stitched two rows of stitching to frame out the pillow.  I used a combination of red and pink buttons I had on hand to make a more folk-art inspired heart (I didn't want it to be symmetrical).  It was a simple way to jazz up a boring old pillow, and I can recover the same pillow when Valentine's Day is over with something different.

Four Year Old Logic

A few funnies from Mr. One, who is 4, almost 5.  (Don't you love this adorable face?!)

Mr. One loves to sit by me and often asks to feel the baby move.  One day, he put his hand on my ever-expanding tummy, right on my belly button and exclaimed, "Mommy, I feel my brother's tiny foot!"  To which I had to reply, "Sorry darling, that is my belly button."

On Sunday, we were over at my parents' home for a get together for my brother who is leaving on a mission for our church to Brazil in a little more than a week.  There were lots of chairs up for visiting family and friends.  In between waves of people over, Mr. One was playing around in a large director's type camping chair, leaning forward and tipping it over.  I explained that he needed to stop, not only to keep himself safe, but especially because he was teaching his brother unsafe things as well.  He stopped for a minute, then started dragging the chair around behind the sofas.  Then, I heard him explain to my sister, "I need to move this chair away from my brother so he can't see what I'm doing.  I'm going to do something really cool now."  That gave us a good giggle or two.

Gotta love that four year old logic!

The Anatomy of Peace

In the book club I belong to, our book for February is The Anatomy of Peace:  Resolving the Heart of Conflict by the Arbinger Institute.

I'm not really an avid non-fiction reader, and even more reluctant to pick up books that are heavy on philosophy or psychology, so I hesitated to open this one up.  Nevertheless, I heard from several people that it was actually an engaging book, and the title did have peace in it...

It is actually written as a story, with a group of parents who have just dropped off their children at a survival camp for troubled young adults.  So, most of the book, while delving into the heart of conflict and peace in relationships, is written in a conversational style, with two teachers, the founders of the camp, talking with the parents and responding to their questions and hesitations.

This was a great book for my new year's goal of peace.

It contains so many thought-provoking ideas to help people resolve conflict and find peace, as individuals, as families, businesses and even countries.  It made me really think about how I interact with my children and family, and how I perceive others in my life.  One of the most powerful concepts it taught was that we choose whether to have a heart at peace or at war, by seeing people as people or objects, and based on this choice, all other choices flow from this simple decision.  The other important concept is that there is hope to resolve conflict.  We have the power to make lasting changes in ourselves, and then we can begin to heal any damaged relationship.

I can't even adequately explain this book, but it will be one that I will add to my library and look forward to revisiting.

ABC Magnet Spruce-Up

Somewhere in blogland (or was it a magazine or at a friend's home, I wish I could remember where...)  I saw the idea for this project.  The idea was simple:  Take a set of primary colored, kids abc magnets and personalize them with your choice of colors to match your decor.  I love having abc magnets on the fridge for my kids to use, but the bright primary colors don't appeal to my design aesthetic.  Here is the perfect solution.

I have been wanting to complete this project for a long time.  I finally accumulated the supplies I needed and found the scrapbook paper that I liked, and went to work.  (The hardest thing for me was finding the paper I liked.)  This project took two days for me to finish, all in all, about 4-5 hours (I worked on it throughout the two days when I had time).

Here's what you need:

One set of alphabet magnets.  I used a Melissa and Doug set that I bought on sale.
Mod Podge (I used matte finish because my paper had glitter embellishment on some of it)
foam paint brush
x-acto knife
cutting mat
either a scrapbook paper pad or select your own coordinating scrapbook papers to match your decor (cardstock papers will work best on this project)  I used the DCWV Garden Party Stack.
paper cutter and/or scissors
cheap nail files or sand paper (I found a package of 4 files at the Dollar Tree)

The Directions:

1.  Lay your letters on your paper and cut rectangles slightly larger than your letters.  (My picture makes it look as though I cut the paper smaller than the letter.  It's just the camera angle.  Sorry!)

2.  Use your nail file (or sand paper) to rough up the front of your magnet letters.  This will help the paper adhere better to the fronts of the magnets.

3.  Apply a layer of mod podge to the magnet fronts and adhere the paper to the front.

4.  Lay magnet, paper side down on a flat surface to dry.  (This is where I stopped working on day one, allowing plenty of time for the mod podge to dry.)

5.  With an X-acto knife, cut along the letters.  Don't worry about being precise, just get close.  You will be sanding the letters to get a smooth edge as your next step.

6.  Using your nail file (or sand paper), file along all the edges of the letters to file off any extra paper create a smooth edge.  For the small spaces, like the curve in the s and the insides of the the letter B, I cut the end of my file off and cut that in half to make a narrower file.  (If you buy cheap ones, no worries about ruining one.)You can file along the top as well to give the magnets a more distressed look.

7.  Wipe magnets with a cloth to remove and dust from sanding.

8.  Apply a solid coat of mod podge over the tops of the letters to seal them.

9.  Lay letters, paper side up on a flat surface to dry.

Before

After

10.  Put them on your fridge, or any other magnetic surface you want to spell on and have fun!

*My boys have already gone to town with these letters, ith Mr. One spelling their names, and things they like, such as "Zurg" and "Buzz" and Mr. Two rearranging them...

*Hop on over to Today's Creative Blog to see what other crafty projects are being posted!

Penguin Books

It's no secret to those who know me well that I adore penguins.  I have a massive collection (that I have paired down over the years) that usually comes out during the holidays in full force.  We have several fun penguin books in our home, and here are some favorites.

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

Tacky is an odd bird, but a very nice bird to have around.  See how Tacky saves his friends from some fearsome hunters who arrive at their home in Nice Icy Land.

This is my very favorite bird, maybe one of my all-time favorite children's book series.  Did you know there is a series?  There are, in fact, seven books about Tacky.  I won't summarize all of them for you, so you'll just have to take my word for it and assume they are all wonderfully fun and entertaining!  Helen Lester is a favorite author and has several delightful non-Tacky stories as well.  Here's the Tacky Stories list:

Tacky the Penguin
Three Cheers for Tacky
Tacky in Trouble
Tacky and the Emporer
Tackylocks
Tacky and the Winter Games
Tacky Goes to Camp
*Her website says she's working on a Christmas Tacky book.  I can't wait!

Little Penguin's Tale by Audrey Wood

Nanny penguin settles her grand-penguins around her to tell the cautionary tale of a little penguin who foolishly wanders away on a wild adventure, and the consequences of his actions. 

Penguin Pete by Marcus Pfister

Penguin Pete is too small to venture for a swim in the ocean with the others, but he manages to find lots of fun while he waits, learning to ice skate and making some new friends.

(There are a few more Penguin Pete books in this series as well)

The Little Penguin by A.J. Wood

 

This is the story of a little penguin who gets separated from his parents as they travel to the sea.  Worried as he begins to lose his soft gray "baby" feathers, he searches for his mother and father, not realizing he is just growing into his adult feathers.  This book has sweet and reassuring text, but the real reason I love it is for the beautiful illustrations.  The pages are embossed with details to add even more depth to the pictures.

The Emporer's Egg by Martin Jenkins

 

This is a perfect non-fiction penguin book for younger children.  It is written in a casual, easy to understand voice with simple penguin facts.  It explains how the Emperor Penguins take care of their eggs and then the babies that hatch.

Penguins ABC by Kevin Schafer

 

Great alphabet book featuring penguins.  Each page has a photograph and a simple sentence using the letter and accompanying word.  For example, "D is for dive" and "M is for Macaroni Penguins."  There is also a nice list of fun facts at the end of the book for those who want to learn more about penguins- a fact to explain each letter page.

Waddle on over to your favorite library or bookstore and pick up a penguin book or two!

*All images found on barnesandnoble.com*

Arizona Mittens

A few days ago, Mr. Two came over to me with his socks on his hands and exclaimed, "Look at my mittens!"

Being Arizona-raised boys, I guess this is as close to mittens as we get!