Syrup

Syrup

Syrup.  Super sweet.  Leaves a sticky residue.  Just like my children. Welcome to my journal where now that I am getting some sleep, will share my crafts, and muse about my journey to raise two confident, creative, innovative girls who appreciate that everything is sweeter when it's handmade (or as I put it to my 4 year old, "not all good things come from Target.")

Santa, we are ready for you

We do not have a fireplace.  Each year my husband crafts one out of foam core. A quick $6 project that brings me Christmas joy.

Hello Harvest

I like a good cooking adventure.  Every other week we receive a box of seasonal fruits and vegetables from local farms.  If you live in Southern California check out Hello Harvest.

When the kids bring it in, we put it down on the floor and they tear into the fruits and veggies like it was a Christmas box filled with candy. Snapping off pieces of cauliflower, crunchy grapes, berries.... Each week it poses a challenge to me.  I do not have much of a history cooking vegetables.  We would often make steak and potatoes and then after a few bites realize we never made the brocolli.  I would hate to know how many heads of lettuce while bought with good intentions have rotted in our crisper.  So, I see what's been delivered and go to epicurious to see what we can make.  

This week we received two lovely eggplants, basil, strawberries, apples, zucchini, melon, spinach and tomotoes.  This is my first eggplant.  We are making roasted vegetable lasagna.  

 -- We made the vegetable lasagna per a recipe from epicurious.  Won't be sharing it. The kids ate out the eggplant and that's about it.  It called for no boil lasagna noodles.  Maybe I'm just use the boil ones. I thought the no boil were gross, kinda rubbery. Will never use them again.  Sad, so much effort went into a dismal dish.

 

into the woods

Jr.'s preschool has an amazing program where they go on nature's walks once a month. Kids, teachers and parents explore nature together and gather for some art and exploration of what they found.  I missed the first walk because I was jammed with work.  My huband and the girls had a lovely time.

What a beautiful palette to work with.  I think these greens and blues are inspiring.  At first I think no matter what they paint it will look lovely.  

Then on further thought I see what her teacher is offering her.  It's not about a pretty or pleasant to view painting to hang on our wall and think "wow, my kid is clearly an artistic genious, look at that it's beautiful."  It's about allowing her to really represent what she sees.  In nature a leaf may be many shades of green or as they turn, a range of green to orange to brown.  When a child wants to paint a leaf just one green won't do.  With one shade, a child can paint a leaf in a few seconds.  There's no time in that exercise to truly think about what they are seeing. It's just leaf.. green... done.... next.  Here there's time for analyzing what they see, thinking about the colors, thinking about what paint most represents it and then... leaf. Even if what they paint doesn't look like a leaf.

My husband took this photo because he knows I love squirrels. Squirrels at a safe distance. He knew this squirell would have been way too close for comfort for me.  And he's going for my girl's cauliflower.... Jr. Jr. shewed him away.  Good girl.

Labor Day

I just don't learn.  My husband asked me to make a pie to bring to his brother's labor day bbq.  I thought I'd just whip up a Martha Stewarts Fourth of July tart with creme fraiche filling.  It'll be easy. Just make the creme fraiche the night before... next day bake the tart shell... fill and decorate. I just don't learn.  The creme fraiche was a breeze to make. Just pour buttermilk and cream into a bowl and let it sit.  Then I read my recipe (which I had completely forgotten most of the steps since I made it a year ago). The creme fraiche is just part of the filling.  Many hours later it was time to go to the bbq... and time to decorate the tart.  This is my favorite part and I had like, five minutes.  I made the peace sign as an ode to my sister-in-law who likes them.  It's a bit of a pie-representation of what I am lacking... peace of mind. One of these days I will remember to read my recipe first.  One day I will remember you don't just whip up a tart.  I'll bring a fruit pie next year.

It was delicious.  Every bit was eaten.  Thank goodness that's all that matters.

a picnic with Stillwater and Koo

I picked Jr. up from school and it was too wet and chilly for the park so I decided on an indoor picnic. We took a little inspiration from "Zen Ties" of Stillwater and Koo having their tea.  We did a little version of our own at home.

embroidered art

There is a space on Jr. Jr.'s wall that is calling out for some art work.  I bought two frames and decided to embroider something. I had been using Jr.'s art as my source for embroidery but decided to try my own.  I wanted something fun and personal.

Ever since we showed Jr. a clip of the Cirque du Soleil there has been a lot of talk around here about being Chinese acrobats.  She is in training.  I drew upon that and their love of animals and put them in the circus.  Jr. Jr. is on the elephant's back, her essence captured in a perfectly executed traditional pose.  While Jr. is doing something "so hard" and "dangerous." My husband helped me with the drawing and I transferred it onto the fabric via a light box and a disappearing pen.  I stitched away at it here and there for the last two months.  I wanted a more delicate look so I used 2 to 4 strands of embroidery thread for each element. 

For the next piece I think I may shoot them out of a canon....

lovely day to paint

Art & Max by David Wiesner

Art & Max won us over with its few words and beautiful illustrations. Max's enthusiasm to join Art in painting  reminded me of Jr. so I gave this to her for Christmas. Right now the girls are really into analyzing the expressions on the three lizard "assistants." 

Pigs from A to Z by Arthur Geisert

I grabbed this book rushing through the library and really ended up with a gem.  At the end of last year Jr. knew all her letters but refused to put them in order from A to Z.  She liked "my own way". When we would sing the alphabet song at bedtime Jr. Jr. seemed to be on the verge of doing it before her.  Then we started looking at this book before bed each night with Jr.  It is the story of seven pig brothers building a tree house. On each page you can find all seven brothers (who sometimes hide) and 5 of  the letter, with one letter of the preceding letter and the letter that follows.  The great thing is that the letters can be made of anything from pieces of wood, to a fungus on a tree to a pile of nails.  Within a few weeks Jr. was going the alphabet perfectly. Soon after she had the whole book memorized.  We had it checked out of the library for two months.  She wanted to read it as our last book every night.

She made a game of going through the pig alphabet at the beginning.  

There is something in her brain that responds to seeing letters in a unconventional way.  I recommend this book to any parent who says their child isn't interested in the alphabet.  This will interest them.  My husband admires the illustrations and I love finding all the pigs.  There were several who eluded me for several days.

noise machine cover

We haven't tested it but I bet Jr. could fall asleep with flood lights on and a train roaring by.  Jr. Jr. not so much.

Jr. Jr.  likes it dark. You just never know when an ill timed car horn could wake her up.  Not as much anymore but I'm not kidding when I tell you the sound of my embroidery needle passing thru fabric has woken her up.  During the Dark Days (as we refer to the year she woke crying multiple times every  night and we never got 5 straight hours in a row), we use to be afraid to even rustle the sheets in the other room after bedtime.  Anyhow, we bought a nose machine long ago to try and drown out our neighbors late night noises. The light from the clock on it kept her awake.  We covered it with a fort of books and then a piece of black cloth.

Her nocturnal needs lead my to my next craft, a request by my husband to make a cover for the noise machine.  The books and cloth looked messy.

My instincts said make an owl.  I thought  "an owl, are you crazy, owls stay up all night." As if making an owl would make her wake up at night.  Irrational, I know.  Still, I couldn't exactly do it.  If you've had a night waker you know what I'm talking about.  We are still a bit shaken by the effect it had on us physically, mentally and emotionally.  I'm not completely crazy... I made a sleeping owl.