Explorers Extraordinaire!

We spent the beautiful day outside, like everyone else in the Midwest, with 85 degree temps on April 1st.  My little girl loves her Fancy Nancy books.  I don't get excited about the girly stuff, but Fancy Nancy is cute. Harper loves all the french terms and big words and shares Nancy's love for all things purple.  The kids spent the morning being Explorers Extraordinaire in the backyard.  They had so much fun.  (And no worries, Elliot spent all afternoon at the skatepark with a bunch of boys!  He just does this sweet stuff for his sister.)

 Showing off the book, we had to get the details right!

 Loving her pink fort!

 Notebook. check. Purple marker. check. Sack. check. Binoculars. check. Maracas. check.

 Suiting up for the exploration.

 I asked if he was a bird-watcher.

 He said he was a "Mommy-watcher."

 Collecting specimens. 

 2 caterpillars on our rope swing.

 E had his boy fun, too. 

 Looking serious!

Some of our nature collections. Purple flowers, of course!

Baby Ruby's Quilt

Why, oh, why don't I sew more often? Oh, wait.  That darn husband and kids.  And cooking, and cleaning and laundry.  All those reasons.  Oh, well. 

Just finished up a baby quilt for a new little cousin of ours to be born in June.  Currently named "Ruby" till her parents agree on something else.  It is really a blessing to give these to family and friends.  It does my heart good to know that it means so much to them.  I pretty much fell in love with this fabric the second I saw it.  The colors and the adorable images for the girl reading and the kids playing Ring Around the Rosy pretty much sealed it.  I didn't realize how cute it was till I got the set of Fat Quarters home. 

The sewing specifics: a Turning Twenty pattern using a fat quarter set of Little Apples by Aneela Hoey for Moda Fabrics.  I purchased the fabric at http://www.fabricnosherie.com/, which is a fantastic little fabric/sewing shop in Webster Groves.  I have been to a "gazillion" fabric shops with my Mom, all over the place, and I can honestly say that this is my favorite.  Modern, inspiring, well organized and thoughtfully presented.  They don't have the most fabric to pick from, but you will find something you love here. 

So here it is. 

Up Close of the adorable prints

9 Blocks of Turning Twenty

30 Day Pinterest Challenge: Day 5

Today was our first day of Spring Break, so we had all day to embark on some kind of activity.  We ended up having a ton of fun, in unexpected ways. 

Our Pinterest inspired activity was a Scavenger Hunt.

http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/06/childrens-scavenger-hunt-free-printable.html

This actually prints off and can be cut into 4 seperate cards.  That came in handy because the first two got very wet and we we circled the dry ones in the car.

We did most of our Scavenger Hunt in Forest Park because we went to the History Museum for storytime.  Harper decided the storytime looked like it was "for babies" and it was a little cramped so we bought tickets for Mammoths and Mastadons (which was AWESOME!) and is free on Tuesday afternoons. Go! We had a great time learning about that, then headed back out into the rain. 

We found everything except a squirrel and a broom.  We substituted a worm that we found for the bug, because finding a worm is SO MUCH COOLER!  The worm is the STAR in many of our pictures below. 

 I don't know why Elliot is always scrunching up his face and giving me the "Ole one eye" but he has been doing it since birth. Hmmm...

Showing off his rainy day find.

Filling out her Scavenger Hunt. She is left handed.

Filling out his Scavenger Hunt.  He is NOT left handed, but he wasn't putting down his worm.

Our friend, the worm.

Showing off the Mario and Hello Kitty key chains they got at some comic book store in the Loop.  A good use of the quarters they brought with them. 

Between the terrible storytime, the rain and the last minute decision to go to the Loop (Delmar) and have a Fitz's rootbeer and get rained on some more, it was a pretty normal parenting day.  You just have to roll with it, even when things don't go as planned.  We ended up finding a great little toy store where I was able to get a set of blocks which includes the Alphabet in a traditional sense and Braille, which made it a perfect birthday gift for a visually impaired baby we know that just had his first birthday.

30 Day Pinterest Challenge: Day 3 & 4

Day 3: Salmon w/Pomegranate and Fennel Salsa

Day 4: I Spy Quilt progress

I have been wanting to make an "I Spy" quilt for a long time. I finally got around to stealing bunches of my mom's fabric and cutting 5" squares out.  Now I have lots of novelty fabrics to make quilts for my friends. I found a few I Spy quilts on Pinterest and decided I liked this style, with a little "frame" around each block the best.  I am happy that I purchased a bunch of denim fabric for another thing, because I think it makes the perfect border for this kid quilt.

My vision is this becomes a favorite blanket to play on or take to the park.  When the quilt is finished, the family will be able to play two games with the quilt.  1) " I Spy with my little eye: a sunflower" and then the kids can find those on their blanket.  2) Matching, as there will be 2 owls on each quilt.  Somebody can point at one owl and somebody can find the other. 

Some of my favorite moments as a mom have been spent on a blanket outside on a nice day.  My kids are already too big to spend very long on a blanket now. And it has to be a much bigger blanket. :)  Time to make new memories of fun things to do together, but those times as babies crawling around were super sweet. 

My kids have fun helping me pick out the fabrics for my sewing projects and arranging the squares out on the floor.  E doesn't have as much patience as H does, but he likes it for a few minutes at a time.  You can learn a lot about colors and patterns.  But, the most important thing is they know how happy someone is to get something homemade. 

30 Day Pinterest Challenge: Day 2

Our activity for the day was to play a game that went along with a book we have all ready been reading this March, Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.  We had a bunch of fun and were impressed with how well Elliot did, even on the tough questions! Love that kid.  The leprechaun masks came from their morning at the Craft Caboose.  Elliot looks like a tipsy leprechaun and I look like a very tired leprechaun in these pictures, but it was a beautiful 70 degree afternoon in our backyard.

30 Day Pinterest Challenge: Day 1

Oh, it has been so long since I blogged about family and the kids.  I have been really busy getting my cooking/paleo/recipe improved.  Check it out at www.picketfencepaleo.com.  It is much nicer and well organized than it used to be. 

It is kind of a running joke with all husbands and boyfriends these days about Pinterest and how much the ladies are using it.  It is a well deserved joke.  I try to limit myself to 5-10 minutes a day.  It is so useful, though. Cooking, sewing, home decorating and kids ideas abound.  However, probably more time is spent accumulating ideas than actually doing them.  So, I embark on my 30 Day Pinterest Challenge.

My Crossfit & paleo friends get really geeked out about their 30 day challenges.  We are getting ready to start another one soon.  They do serve their purpose though, breaking bad routines or refocusing on something that has gone to the wayside.  So, for 30 days I am going to DO something inspired by my Pinterest boards everyday (and briefly blog about them.)  Special emphasis on stuff involving the kids, although I am sure a few dinner ideas or something will have to qualify as life tends to get crazy. 

Today's activity:

Vinegar and Baking Soda Science Fun!

Wrapping Paper

   The kids and I are embarking on a very serious task for Christmas. Homemade wrapping paper. It's a pretty awesome concept, right?  I hate spending money on something that gets thrown away immediately.  I am constantly recycling gift bags for birthdays and such, but I like for Christmas gifts to be wrapped. Weird.  Also, I had a ton of paper grocery sacks that were piling up and I HATE TO SHOP.  I bought all of our gifts on Amazon in 8 minutes.  Then they were delivered to our house in 3 days.  I picked up some tape at Walgreens and we are all set! 

  The process goes a little like this.  First, make hot chocolate.

Then get out paints, cookie cutters, markers, etc...

And ignore the messiness that is my basement. I just had it finished and moved my craft/sewing stuff yesterday.  It is still a disaster.

Dip and stamp away!

Proud moment: My Kindergartener wrote out "stocking" and "Merry Christmas" by sounding it out all on her own.  I mean it doesn't look anything like "stocking" or "Merry Christmas" but that is still some amazing emerging literacy skills! BTW, if your Kindergartener can do better, don't burst my bubble. :)

My Snowmen handi work.

H's Christmas trees, decorated.  I liked the way she put a print in them.

Jingle Bells

 E and I practiced printing the trees evenly

 H's favorite ---I traced the Gingerbread Boy and Girl stencils. She got busy decorating them.  She is working on another set as I type.

Stars

Finished product

(You can't see it from this picture, but H wrote "HO HO HO" on the package.  I thought that was pretty great as I didn't tell her to write any words on anything.  She was so proud of herself that she wrote "HO HO HO" correctly.  "I can't believe I can write HO!" she said.  Giggles.)

Family Holiday Activities in the St. Louis Area

     Last year I made a calendar from Thanksgiving to Christmas that was filled with holiday activities for us to do as a family.  Each day had something special planned.  The kids loved it and it kept us in the Christmas spirit all month.  Some days were as simple as reading a certain holiday book and doing an activity or making Christmas cookies. Multiple times we took an early bath, put on pajamas and drank cocoa while driving around the neighborhood to see Christmas lights. I don't know about you, but my kids can't get ENOUGH lights.  It is their favorite thing about the holidays. It may have been mine, too.

    We are starting off a little early by going to visit the Gingerbread House display at Plaza Frontenac today.  If you have never been, it is a lot of fun to look at. It is sponsored by Lydia's House and although it is free, to vote for your favorite house you make a donation. We grab some hot chocolate and look at the fancy Christmas displays throughout the mall.  It ends up costing less than $10, because we can't afford to really shop at Plaza Frontenac anyways. Hee, hee. 

                                                 Kids Posing in Front of Fancy Window

Our favorite Gingerbread House

(Done by a group of High School students, WOW!) 

   I don't watch TV, the news, or read the paper very much and I get frustrated sometimes when I see there was an activity or show in town and I didn't know about it.  I also think that it is really frustrating that there isn't a more comprehensive place to look online for family friendly activities.  I was putting together a list for myself of things we might like to do for the holidays and thought I would share it. 

  Some of these are free, some have minor costs associated with them, others like the theater tickets are what you would expect.  The Botanical Gardens requires its regular admission, but the Wreath display is included, Train Show is extra.  Check the websites for details.  I believe I have working links for each one.  I don't mind paying a little to do some of these activities, we don't do a lot of gifts at Christmas and I would rather teach the kids that spending time together is more important than buying things. 

  Also, don't forget to check your local church, school, venues for activities.  For instance, I know that Webster Groves is doing a Nutcracker on Ice performance that will be a whole lot closer and cheaper than the one at the Peabody Opera House and I am not for sure that my young children will notice the difference.  We are very lucky that my husband's work is celebrating the holidays by treating us to a performance of The Grinch that Stole Christmas @ the Peabody Opera House! What a blessing and I am sure that our kids our going to LOVE IT!

  I think the most important thing isn't where you go or what you do, but that you took time out of each day to turn everything off and spend time together.  But, if you like to see the twinkle of the lights, here are some of the events I put together.  Feel free to suggest some more, if I missed something!

Missouri Botanical Gardens  http://www.mobot.org/
Deck the Halls Wreath Exhibit November 19-December 28 9-5
Gardenland Express Flower and Train Show
Christmas Carols in the Garden December 10 & 17
Victorian Christmas @ Tower Grove House Wed - Sun 10-4 & Storytelling on Wed & Sat at 11 and 1
Chaunkah @ the Botanical Gardens December 18
Kwanzaa: First Fruits December 28, 2011
We have been to the Botanical Gardens during the holidays and the Train Show does cost extra, but it is a pretty neat set up and good for all ages. I really want to take the kids to the storytelling this year at the Tower Grove House. 

St Louis Science Center
IMAX movie : Santa Vs. The Snowman  December 2011 http://www.slsc.org/
We liked this so much last year we went twice.  Might have been my favorite IMAX movie ever.  If it almost makes you sick, that is good, right? ;) 


Breakfast with Santa
 @ Zoo December 3,4,10,11,17,18   http://www.stlzoo.org/
 @ Magic House December 4
 @ Eckherts Orchards November 26,27 December 3,4,10,11,17,18

Holiday Santa Walk  @ Suson Park December 10 www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation
Never been, but we love Suson Park.

Poinsetta Show @ The Jewel Box in Forest Park
http://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/parks/parks/Jewel-Box.cfm
December
One of my favorite places to go. Period.  Doesn't take a long time to do, so plan something else to see in Forest Park.


Gingerbread House Contest --Plaza Frontenac Upper Level 
November 19- December 4
http://lydiashouse.org/news-and-events/gingerbread-house-contest/
So glad we found out about this last year.  The kids can't wait to see more  houses.  Supports a great cause.

Wehrenberg Cans Film Festival  Saturday December 3
http://www.wehrenberg.com/
5 Cans of Food = Free Movie before 5 P.M.

Christmas Lights
Way of Lights, Bellville, IL (Our Lady of the Snows Shrine)
http://www.snows.org/
November 18-Jan 1 5-10 PM
Never been, but there are multiple kids activities here other than seeing the lights.


Wild Lights @ the Zoo http://www.stlzoo.com/
 5:30-8:30 PM Nov 25-27 & December 2,4,9-11,16-23, 26-30
Excited to go for the first time this year. They always do a great job with the Halloween walk. Prepare for this to be busy! Get there early.

Santa's Magical Kingdom http://www.santasmagicalkingdom.com/
 November 18-January 7
This is in Eureka, near Six Flags.  We have gone every year since H was little.  It is about $20 per car.  It is amazing, gaudy, random, overwhelming, tacky and WONDERFUL.  We all love it. 

Winter Wonderland @ Tilles Park www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation
November 23-January 1 5:30-9:30, Carriage Rides ONLY on Saturdays
So doing this!

Christmas Wonderland @ Rock Spring Park in Alton, IL
http://christmaswonderlandofaltonil.net/
Nov 25-December 28 6-9 Mon-Friday, 5-9 Sat and Sun

Celebration of Lights @ Fort Zumwalt Park
O'Fallon http://www.ofallon.mo.us/

Shopping & Celebrations
Christmas Traditions Festival - Downtown St. Charles Main Street
http://www.stcharleschristmas.com/
Nov 25-Dec 24 Wed, Friday & Saturday stores open til 9 PM
Lots of press this year because of the dismissal of the Sugar Plum Fairy.  I have heard it is a MUST SEE.

Skate with Frosty & All That Glitters - Downtown Clayton
http://www.claytonmo.gov/
December 2 at 6 PM

Christmas in Kimmswick
http://www.kimmswick.com/
December 2-4

Cherokee Antique Row Cookie Spree
http://www.cherokeeantiquerow.com/
December 3 & 4 from 11-5



Plays, Concerts & Shows
Nutcracker on Ice in Webster Groves   December 10 & 11
http://www.nutcrackeronice.org/

How the Grinch Stole Christmas December 7-18 @ The Peabody Opera House
http://www.peabodyoperahouse.com/performance/scottrade-presents-dr-seuss-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-the-musical
So excited to see this! Thank you USA MORTGAGE!!!

Black Nativity: A Holiday Celebration Nov 26-December 18
http://www.theblackrep.org/
I have heard their shows are incredible.

Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker Nov 30-Dec 1
http://www.peabodyoperahouse.com/performance/moscow-ballet-s-great-russian-nutcracker
My kids love the Nutcracker. Even my little boy.

Beauty and the Beast @ the Fabulous Fox December 20-24
http://www.thefabulousfox.com/
I didn't even know that this was going to be in town.  See what I mean about missing stuff? Grr.

Missouri Ballet Theater "The Nutcracker"
http://missouriballettheatre.org/
Edison Theater Washington University Dec 16-20

Miracle on 34th Street November 30
Touhill Performing Arts Center http://www.touhill.org/

A Christmas Carol December 1-4 @ The Fabulous Fox
http://www.thefabulousfox.com/

Christmas with the Rat Pack December 6-18 @ The Fabulous Fox

http://www.thefabulousfox.com/

Mom, are you on Pinterest again?

The kids and Matt have been giving me a hard time about my most recent addiction, Pinterest.com.  If you don't know what it is, you are probably a guy.  Matt calls it "Google for Girls." Mostly I look up crafts, sewing projects, decorating/organizing ideas, and paleo food.  You know, girl stuff. Matt's aunt often says, "If it weren't for women, they would just still be happy in a cave." So true.

Thanksgiving Turkeys on Canvas 

H is on the left, E is on the right.  As you can see, the body is made out of their footprints.  H did hers EXACTLY as I showed her.  E only wanted 4 feathers, so it looked more like Superhero wings and 3 googly-eyes because it is an alien turkey. He is SUCH A BOY!  (Might I add that this week he said "I'm a magician!" Then he farted.  )

Junk Picture

When we moved over the summer, I started collecting little odds and end toys, knickknacks and broken stuff in a box with some ambition to do something like this.  Now my little guy has a fun initial for his room.  Total cost of 8 bucks for canvas and epoxy! Only problem with this project was E had to be talked into gluing his old stuff on there, suddenly he had an overwhelming interest in all the toys.  Kids are like that. You have to send them to Grandma's to do any kind of toy sort or cleanup. 

I have some girly stuff to get working on an H in the near future.

My boy is 4!

This is just one example of my son demonstrating his genius abilities.

Yes, the truck pushes the bottle across the floor, carefully balancing the golf balls.

And no, it isn't beer, it is pear cider, because we are gluten free. And no, he didn't drink it, his daddy did. I think it is a remarkable way to incorporate a few of their favorite shared interests. 

Birthday boy manning the train at Eckert's.

Icing his own Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip birthday muffins.  He loves to eat and loves to cook!

Toothfairy Visit

It truly seems like I was just excited because H got her first tooth. Now I am watching them get loose and fall out.  She lost this one on the way home from a shopping trip at Whole Foods.  Her smile as I have known it for 5 1/2 years has changed forever.  Now she has a "window." (Thanks to Sharon from the Craft Caboose for the term "window", she is so excited about it!)

The "tooth." H made me take a picture, before we never saw it again.

With the tooth box she got from her cousin Taylor.

Hamming it up.

Showing it off!

Kirkwood Farmer's Market

So lucky to live so close to a year round Farmer's Market. For the fall they have added a pumpkin patch, mums, playground and a "corn pool." We probably went 5 out of 7 days last week! It truly feels like Autumn in Mayberry. :)

My handsome nephew on the slide

H climbing her favorite tree

Boys having a blast in the "corn pool"

My niece

My niece is a stinker!

Our windowbox with Mums and Pumpkins from the Farmer's Market.