Making Lemonade

Exploring the 5 Senses: Activities for Kids

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the very first (and very wordy, sorry) Totful Tuesday!

As you may know, I'm part of a fabulous online book club called From Left to Write. Each month we read a book and commit to writing a post inspired by it. This month's novel was a fictional story-- info and giveaway at the end of the post-- called The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. This beautiful story made me realize how we rely almost exclusively on sight as a primary means of absorbing information, ignoring so much of the world around us along with the other senses.

What would happen if we closed our eyes and were to use our other senses-- hearing, touch, smell, taste? How would our world, and world view, change? The lessons below are inspired by that thought, especially since sight is one of the last ways we learn as an infant. Babies use taste, touch, and sound just as much as their {underdeveloped} sight. Somewhere along the way, we've lost that ability. Perhaps it's adults that need these activities instead!

The following activities on the five senses can be adapted to almost any age, from infancy on up. Consider the ideas suggestions and use them in ways that fit your child and family.

1. Hearing

First explore sound by trying to be silent for one minute and just listening. You can use a timer if you'd like. Older children can write what they hear, younger ones can draw. Preschoolers can hold up a finger when they hear a new sound, and if they can contain themselves tell you about it when the minute is done. Isn't it amazing how much you can hear even in silence?

{empty Puffs containers make good sound shakers}

For the second activity, make some sound shakers! In the 'good old days', we'd use empty film canisters for this one. Nowaways, those are hard to find. Empty Puffs containers work well, or a toilet paper roll with both sides taped shut. You could also use empty baby food containers spray painted or wrapped so they aren't transparent, but that's a lot of work. I used the empty Puffs container, and simply switched out the objects each time. For each round, add something into the container, shake it around for a bit, and guess what's inside. Interesting things to add:

dried beans (try different sizes and shapes)

pasta

crayons

nuts and bolts

soil

water

marbles

2. Taste

Time for a blindfolded taste-test, Top Chef style. Tie a blindfold around the child's eyes and have them identify various foods through taste alone. If foods are either liquid or chopped up into fine pieces then they'll really be relying on taste and not also touch. Most kiddos will want to tell you how they feel about it: "yum!" or "gross!", so encourage them to move past that and describe if it's sweet, sour, salty, bitter. And if your child says it's umami, it's time to send them to culinary school! Foods to try:

pickles

cinnamon

anything citrus

chips, Fritos, pretzels

unsweetened chocolate (bitter)

candy or dried fruit

peanut butter (IF NOT ALLERGIC!)

3. Touch

This cool "What's Inside?" box was given to us by a friend, but you can easily make it at home with an empty tissue box or even a plain tote bag. Doesn't have to be fancy to be fun! Place objects inside and have the child use their sense of touch to figure out what it is. If they need help, prompt with questions such as "what do you feel? is it hard or soft? is it rough or smooth? what shape is it?" Older children could also try drawing what they "see" with their hands before they guess it. Depending on the age, here are some fun things to place inside-- you can do it thematically or randomly, depending on the level:

toy animals

plastic shapes from the shape sorter

ABC magnets or foam letters (or numbers)

play food

objects from nature

toy cars/boats/trucks

4. Smell

{source}

Cottonballs dipped in various liquids make an interesting game. You can store them in an egg carton with each compartment labeled by number. For young kids, have them tell you what they smell. Older children can either match up pre-written index cards with each number or write a list of what they think each smell belongs to. Questions to ask: "what does it remind you of? Does it smell sweet or sour? Where would you find this smell?" Items to use with the cotton balls:

vanilla extract

peppermint extract

orange juice

apple juice

water (this would be a hard one!)

liquid soap

perfume (go easy on the amount, little noses are sensitive)

cinnamon

coffee

5. Sight

Since the whole point of the book was to look beyond sight, I'm keeping this one simple and calling it a "color study." Have kids walk around and spy objects of a certain color. Draw a picture, using only one color crayon. Make a book of colors-- use stickers or cut out images from magazines of objects, and group together by color. The sky is the limit when it comes to exploring color.

Book tie-in: A favorite children's book on the subject of senses is Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan. This lyrical book makes a great springboard for exploring the senses... plus my kids love it as a bedtime story.

Your turn! Do you have a favorite book or activity related to the five senses? Has there been a time when you've lost a sense, or needed to rely on a sense other than sight? I'm giving away a copy of the book The Art of Hearing Heartbeats (which I really enjoyed) so if you'd like to enter simply leave a comment. I'll choose the winner on Tuesday, February 7th at 11:59 PM. Good luck!

In The Art of Heartbeats by Jan-Phillipp Sendker, Julia travels to Burma to search for her missing lawyer father and discovers much more than expected. Join From Left to Write on February 1 as we discuss how the story inspired us. As a member of From Left to Write I received a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions are, of course, my own.

New Series: Totful Tuesdays

2012-01-30T15:03:00.000-05:00

I've been tossing around the idea of a new series for awhile, and the book The Art of Hearing Heartbeats (see tomorrow's post) was the impetus to just do it.

"Tot-ful" Tuesdays will be a weekly series with ideas, activities, questions, fun discussions and more related to children of all ages. Since we were all children once, and presumably know a child (our own, a grandchild, a niece/nephew/neighbor, etc.), I thought this was one topic we could universally share about and offer diverse viewpoints and ideas. Plus, it gives me a chance to stretch my teacher-brain muscles so the cobwebs from my former career don't get too big.

You know me well enough to realize I'm a mother first and blogger second, so if Totful Tuesday gets posted on a Wednesday or Thursday, or not at all one week, I'll thank you in advance for being awesome and understanding. However, the beauty of this series is if I have my hands full of sick babes I can simply post: "Help! What's your favorite remedy for feverish kiddos?" and know I'll get a slew of amazing information on one place. Or perhaps I'll feature a few things from Pinterest that I you'll love. Or... well, you get the idea.

If you have a child related idea or question you'd like answered or featured, drop me a line at MakingLemonadeBlog at gmail dot com {sorry to spell it out that way, gotta get around naughty spammers}. And with that, I'm off to write tomorrow's Totful Tuesday post. Hope you'll join in the fun!
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Mommy Misadventure: Tiny Dancer

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Every Monday morning I look forward to hanging out with one of my best friends while our daughters attend a class together. We started with gymnastics, and that was great-- except a spirited Noodle would run around the gymnasium barely keeping herself from falling into giant pits of foam pieces or stumbling over balance beams. She loved it, but mostly for the chance to run around like a maniac and ignore everything the instructor said.

Thank goodness for patient teachers.

Soon our daughters began to talk about tutus and ballerinas. Noodle loves reading Angelina Ballerina and twirling like her favorite dancing mouse. Perhaps a dance class would provide the structure she needed to follow directions and help her succeed? My friend scouted out a class, and while it's a hike for me to get there (an hour with Monday morning traffic, on a good day) we signed up.

Pink leotard (with a skirt), tights, and ballet shoes were purchased. Fees paid. By Monday morning, Noodle was in such an excited tizzy she couldn't contain herself. The entire drive down, she kept repeating, "I go to dance class, mommy? I dance in the class? I do a twirl?"

Of course we were late, darn traffic. The parking lot is a mile long, so you can imagine how I looked-- holding Noodle, her skirt flying, pushing Ben one-handed in the stroller, possibly balancing a cup of coffee in my "free" hand (hey, it was 9 AM and I needed it!)-- and running through a parking lot of cars cursing the architect who planned this crazy-long parking area/entrance.

Then we had to use the elevator, thanks to the stroller. Insert Jeopardy music here as I attempted to catch my breath and wait for the elevator to rise up one floor in 5 minutes.

Doors open, we dash in, and repeat the running/pushing/carrying thing until we get to the classroom. Stripped off Noodle's coat, changed her into her ballet slippers, and pushed her into the room.

From the window, I watched my little ballerina ignore everything the teacher said and instead stand watching herself in the mirror for the entire class-- smiling, posing, and twirling. She was in heaven.

Okay. It was her first class, and we joined it in the middle of the year after most of the other girls had been dancing together for months. We didn't have a 'gentle landing' to get her ready for it. Perhaps she missed the part where she figures out she's supposed to listen to the teacher. There's always next week, right?

The following week was the observation day, where parents got to sit in and watch the class. I watched my daughter once again ignore the teacher, run around the room, dance alone in the mirror, hop when the other girls were twirling, twirling while the others were doing pliés. At one point she hopped to the middle of the room and put on her own dance show. My thoughts ran from being mortified to laughing uncontrollably. I *may* have taken a cell phone video and put it on my personal Facebook page, where it got quite a good reaction from my fellow Noodle fans.

"It's only her second class," I told myself.

"She's incredibly happy here and full of joy," I continued to rationalize in my head.

"Your daughter is so cute!" the other mothers told me.

"Thanks! It's only her second class and she's incredibly happy and full of joy!" I responded with a smile plastered on my face.

Class #3 was over a holiday, so daddy joined us to observe the fun. When the other girls lined up to practice a move, Noodle ran down the line three times tapping each little ballerina on the belly.

Class #4 was also on a day daddy could join us. Noodle enjoyed the ribbon dancing so much she ran around like a Tasmanian Devil and refused to put her ribbon away.

The week before each class, we talked about being a good listener and what listening looks like. We played "Mirror Mirror" to get her in the habit of following directions and practiced common ballet moves that I looked up online so she'd know what the words meant. "This is so FUN, mommy!" she'd say as we practiced. "Again, again!"

This was not one of the ballet moves we practiced.

"I touch my toes!" she gleefully exclaimed as this photo was taken.

Finally, by class #5 I watched through the window as all the girls lined up and danced in a circle following each other. My tiny dancer, a good head shorter than the others thanks to her years of feeding issues, ran the opposite direction-- smiling, laughing, but going the wrong way. She stood when they sat. She sat when they stood. At one point, she danced around the Christmas tree that stood alone in the corner, several weeks past Christmas. Apparently the tree didn't follow rules, either.

It was too much. Tears appeared out of nowhere, invading the corners of my eyes. They burned there until one dripped down my cheek. My heart felt like it was being squeezed, and it hurt. We are so blessed-- SO BLESSED-- that she has come this far. According to the doctors she should be a vegetable. She was never supposed to walk, let alone run or think or wear a tutu. But sometimes the 'being different' is like an invisible weight. From the outside she looks normal, but inside harbors something that makes her different. Why can't she listen? Why can't she understand directions? Why won't she do what she's so obviously supposed to be doing? What part of the trauma of her early years gave her ADD, was it something I did???

Even in hindsight, tears still fall recalling that moment. It's hard to watch your kids be different, even in a household that encourages individuality. Sometimes being different means more than just "she's having fun" and encroaches into will she be able to learn in school or remember the rules when it comes to driving a car or hold down a job territory. As the tears stung my eyes, my loving friend hugged me and it felt okay. This friend who has known Noodle since she was in the NICU and loved her every step of the way, no matter what the outcome would be, made it okay. Somehow, that hug made me feel better and before the other moms noticed I swiped away the tears and took my last few sniffles.

That week I gave up playing Mirror, Mirror and faux ballet practice at home. For class #6, I let her walk into the room with a simple 'have fun!' instead of 'listen to the teacher! watch what the other girls are doing, and do the same thing!' She scurried in and joined the girls sitting in the circle.

She also sat in the circle.

When I tortured myself by peeking in the window a few minutes later, she was in line with the girls happily following the dots on the floor. A few minutes after that? Dancing with the ribbons, and while she was the last to do so she still placed hers in the box. Then she cleaned up a few straggling ribbons and joined the others at the ballet bar.... where she danced the moves the teacher was modeling with the other girls, beaming when she caught a glimpse of my face in the window. When it came time to jump, she jumped. Plié time? Pliéd. Oh, it's time for a pirouetté? Let me show you how it's done.

I'm sure in between my peeks in the window she didn't do a thing she was supposed to, but you know what? That's okay, too. She showed me she could listen and follow directions while still being happy, and still being her.

As class was dismissed, she accepted the lollipop from her teacher and handed it right to her brother because he wanted it. My heart swelled. She is such a beautiful person, whether she knows how to plié or not.

God, how did I get so lucky?

I'm sure class #7 will be full of surprises, Noodle-isms, and plenty of moves only my Tiny Dancer could make. The heavy heart over her special learning challenges will probably always be there. But just for one day, it felt amazing to watch her spread her tiny wings and think that maybe things will be okay.

The truth is, you can follow all the rules in the world-- and all the people in the world, for that matter-- and still be miserable. You probably will be miserable, actually.

For my baby? I'll choose happiness. Happiness beats just about everything else in my book.

Dance on, my tiny dancer. Dance on.

My dear Noodle, it's your mama who needs to learn what it means to march to the beat of a different drummer. And when I do, I'll be the one holding the drumsticks. Pinky swear.

Refresh Your Nest Friday #18

2012-01-26T23:07:00.000-05:00

Is it really Friday already? My mom arrived on Wednesday for a week-long visit so we've been wearing her out with lots of snuggles, storytime demands, and a few body slams from Bee. Little voices calling "yia yia" echo through the house constantly, I'm pretty sure she's going to go home and sleep for a week!

Before we get to the features, did you enter the giveaway from Pear Tree Greetings yet? There's very low entries, so go ahead and enter so you can win some sweet Valentines!

As for the features, ya'll brought your 'A' game last week. Not that you don't always bring your 'A' game, but seriously, I had an anxiety attack trying to narrow it down to just five featured projects.

So I didn't. Here's six featured projects. Even THAT was hard.

This bag makes me want to move to France and buy baguettes. And maybe ride around with them in a basket on my bike. Thanks to Ugly Duckling Transformations for the tutorial, and the dream of my faux Parisian life.

Michelle Lea Designs has some beautiful and free printables to keep you organized.

Check out this adorable Valentine Tree over at Alderberry Hill.

Teaching Good Eaters has a printable eating Report Card for teaching kids on how to eat balanced meals. Noodle would love this!

This post about sprouting seeds using newspaper cups from The Lingering Liveaboard kinda got my hopes up that spring might be on it's way.

OMG. Seriously, how adorable is this owl? His name is Hoo-ratio (um, an owl that likes math. Duh.) Scissors and Steam introduced him to us and explains why he's not made with vital organs (not a typo. You'll have to read it to understand).

Are you guys going to stress me out again with your amazingness this week again? BRING IT!

Ready for this week's party? Here's the guidelines to make this a party everyone can enjoy:

Here we go for this week, with the typical guidelines:

1. Link to the specific post, not just your blog's home page.

2. An active linky is a happy linky. PLEASE visit one or more links that interest you so that everyone gets some comments and traffic. There's nothing more discouraging than taking time to link up and no one visits.

3. Including a link back to this party at the end of your post allows others to play along or scout out inspiration for themselves. You would be even more amazing if you posted the Refresh My Nest button-- I've even made it super easy, just grab the code below the button and paste it in the HTML section of your post.

Here we go! Link up your favorite projects that 'Refreshed Your Nest' this week!

Valentine Card Ideas (+ Pear Tree Greetings Giveaway!)

2012-01-24T23:31:00.000-05:00

Popping in for a quick minute because I know you'll love this giveaway. One lucky reader will win $25 to spend on Valentine's Day cards Pear Tree Greetings! Aren't they adorable? You've got your classic (with an upgrade) photo cards:

And their interactive kid's Valentine cards, which I adore.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg, there's so much more over on the Pear Tree Greetings website.

I've been scoping out cards for a month only to find Noodle's preschool doesn't allow them this year. Which is sad, because those lollipop butterflies are the thing that dreams are made of. I'm hoping to live vicariously through someone, so here's how you can win $25 toward your Valentine's Day cards at Pear Tree Greetings:

I'll choose one winner from the comments below. Let's make this an easy one...

Initial Entry: simply comment with someone you'd send a Valentine card to this year.

Because I love you, here's an additional way to enter: comment with which card(s) you love at Pear Tree Greetings and you'll be entered a second time.

That's two ways to enter. Want a third? Give this giveaway a shout-out on Twitter and/or Facebook, comment about it, and you'll get entered a third time.

If you fall in love with the cards (like I did) and want to order them yourself, you can get 15% off your order of 3 or more sets with the code LOVE2SAVE. Deadline for the giveaway is January 31st at 11:59. Good luck, my dears!

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Superbowl Party Ideas

2012-01-23T00:24:00.000-05:00

Hooray Hooray! My team is heading to the Superbowl!

Which just so happens to fall thisclose to my *ahem* 30somethingish birthday.

Could it be time for a PARTY? A Superbowl Birthday party?!

If so, here's some inspiration from a few fabulous blogs I stumbled upon. {Okay, I found them on Pinterest.} Don't have an intervention for me yet, please. I can stop, really, I can. Soon. Sigh. It may be time for a Pintervention. Anyways, it's time for some...

First up, the FOOD. How about some Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls?

{source: Annie's Eats}

A nod to my new life here in Philly, the land of soft pretzels:

{source: Kara's Party Ideas}

And I love me some popcorn.

{source: Kara's Party Ideas}

I'm a huge cake person. Literally, I'm huge because I love cake. This double chocolate football cupcakes are a must.

{source: The Baker Chick}

But these cupcake holder are pretty fabulous, too.

{source: Kara's Party Ideas}

Or maybe... football CAKE POPS? But I'd make the Oreo Truffle version, I've learned it's so much easier.

{source: Sew Crafty Meg}

And some fun and festive decor, of course. Love the turf table cover (the whoopie pies are just a bonus):

{source: Kara's Party Ideas}

The pennant straws? So cute!

{source: Kara's Party Ideas}

Easy Football Garland, the kids (okay, just Noodle) could SO help with this:

{source: Pezzles Craft Room}

Wouldn't my little roundball be adorable in this football onesie?

{source: Lines Across My Face}

And my football-ette, Noodle, in this?

{source: Zoies Boutique}

What's that? You want to know which team I'm rooting for? Promise you won't make fun of my totally awkward self-portrait?

I hate having my picture taken, no lie, so this is BIG, friends.

BOO-YAH! Go Patriots!

Who did you cheer on this season? Anyone else rooting for the Patsies? It's going to be a GOOD game, may the best team win. And by best team, I mean the Patriots.

XOXO,

Carrie

Refresh Your Nest Friday #17

2012-01-19T17:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday, friends!

Welcome to Refresh Your Nest Friday #17. By the way, did you enter the $50 giveaway to Literally Inspired yet? If not, go, and meet us back here in a minute. We'll wait.

::: an elevator music version of Moves Like Jagger playing in the background :::

Did you enter? Good! Isn't her shop so pretty? Thanks for linking up last week even though I had my hands full of sick Noodle and Bee. They are doing better, we appreciate all the good thoughts and prayers so much. It's hard for anyone to see their kids not feeling well, but with Noodle, well... it brings back old feelings and vulnerabilities that are hard to explain in words.

But enough of that, it's Friday-- which means time to party!

As promised last week, it's a DOUBLE FEATURE using links from the past two weeks. Yes, there's TEN lovely projects to show off this week, so in no particular order here you go:

Michelle Lea Designs shows us how to make these fresh and beautiful framed calendars. They make me feel so relaxed, like every weekend through July isn't already booked up {mostly true story...}

I know I should be over the whole chalkboard trend by now, but that stuff is so darn useful. Thrift Me shows us the .02 canisters she snagged from Pier One, along with her kitchen countertop organizing plan. Even if I procrastinate and can't find the canisters at Pier One, I figure I can make them using a Walmart jar and chalkboard labels.

More chalkboard. But look! A school desk by Chatty Chics. Love it.

The 40 Bag Challenge from Inspired by Family Magazine would be a fantastic way to declutter.

THIS is what Bee needs! A sippy cup tether like the one made by Domesti-Cate to prevent him from "winning" the game of throw-my-cup-on-the-floor-and-laugh-hysterically.

I was never a fan of Southwestern style because all I can picture is peach stucco vases but Creatively Living shows how this trend might be coming our way in 2012 in a chic and updated way.

Casa de Luna shows us some simple but chic baby shower ideas. How great is that thumbprint tree?

It All Started with Paint has a lovely redecorated entryway to share. Love those colors!

Looking for a healthy classroom treat to share? This is a great idea from Local Fun for Kids.

Loving this furniture up-do from Made in a Day using fabric and nailhead trim.

Here we go for this week, with the typical guidelines:

1. Link to the specific post, not just your blog's home page.

2. An active linky is a happy linky. PLEASE visit one or more links that interest you so that everyone gets some comments and traffic. There's nothing more discouraging than taking time to link up and no one visits.

3. Including a link back to this party at the end of your post allows others to play along or scout out inspiration for themselves. You would be even more amazing if you posted the Refresh My Nest button-- I've even made it super easy, just grab the code below the button and paste it in the HTML section of your post.

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to make some lemonade. Freezing cold slushy lemonade, if you live in the area... we might actually see some snow this weekend!

Five Favorite Books for Toddler Boys

2012-01-19T00:32:00.000-05:00

I know book posts aren't my most popular, but I can't help writing them. As a nerdy school librarian, books are my thing. My nerdy, bloggy thing!

When Bee was born, I thought: "No problem. I GOT this, ya'll. This boy will READ."

Guess again.

Homeskillet wouldn't sit still for any books, not even ones with just a word on each page.

Reading with him was torture. He hated it. Time and time again, we'd sit down and he'd wriggle right off my lap.

Which kinda made me hate it.

I tried reading as he played. Nope, he'd crawl in the opposite direction.

Reading while he was in the bath. No dice, he also hated baths. Lose-lose.

Finally, I brought home That's Not My Plane.

First night we sat to read it at bedtime, he sat through the whole thing. I'm not sure he enjoyed it, but he sat there. Night #2, he touched the texture on each page as I read. Progress. By night #3 be was pointing at it and saying "plane, plane!"

SUCCESS! Needless to say, the rest of the books in the series are slowing making their way into our home whenever I come across them. And they are all tried and true favorites.

I know not all boys are reluctant readers, and certainly there are many girls who enjoy the following books too. But here's four additional Bee-approved books, the ones that keep him in my lap, engaged, and snuggled in for some special mama-son time. Finally!

Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathman

Hands-down, one of my favorites. Bee loves talking about the animals, and hearing the "goodnights" is various voices. Plus, we snore and shhhh and gasp as appropriate... we really do "read" this one together!

Trucks, Trains, and Machines at Work by Byron Barton

LOVE. The simple illustrations and text on Bee's favorite subject matter are a must-read every night. I'll often find him flipping through these on his own, staring at the pictures and pointing out the moon, banana, and cars. {note: I couldn't find new copies of Trains on Amazon, but keep your eyes open at used book or consignment sales-- I see them there often!}

Bathtime Peekaboo (and Bedtime, Playtime, etc.) by DK Books

Cute babies and patterned text make this a favorite series with both kids. Plus, each page has large flap with something hiding behind it. What's not to love?

Thomas the Train Box set

You have no idea the Thomas obsession going on right now in my house. Both Noodle and Bee fight over the books that came in this little box set. Noodle carries the box like a briefcase, tells me she's going to "work", and sneaks into Bee's room and reads them. The text isn't super, but I'll admit A Crack in the Track is growing on me and the kids certainly love it.

Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton

I confess. I snuck in a bonus title for me. Bee enjoys it, don't get me wrong, but there's something about a Sandra Boynton book that I adore. They make me giggle. My other favorite is But Not the Hippopotamus. Hilarity at it's finest, I tell you!

What are your favorite books for toddler boys?

Or girls, for that matter?

Which titles should I check out next time I'm at the library, should I decide in a moment of madness to go again?

{just kidding, we still go, but wait 'til you hear what the kids did to my husband last time they were there. Those stinkers.}

Giveaway: $50 Shop Credit to Literally Inspired

2012-01-16T23:13:00.000-05:00

You are in for a treat today.

My friend Ginger is offering a Making Lemonade reader a $50 credit to her shop, Literally Inspired. That's enough for quite a few goodies from her adorable Etsy shop!

Literally Inspired is one of my favorite places to {virtually} visit. I "splurged" on a yellow version of this vintage inspired cabochon necklace a few months ago, and get compliments all the time. In fact, I'm wearing it right now-- not on purpose, pinky swear! It's my sunshine on a cloudy day. ;-) And at $16, you can't really call it a splurge, right?

Guess who also loved the necklace? Noodle. She wanted it so much, she'd wear it around for days. Last Christmas, I ordered a smaller version in pink that she proudly wears on special occasions... like going to preschool, the grocery store, and playdates. Ginger was so sweet and even used a shorter chain so it wouldn't be too big for her.

My shopping spree didn't stop there. I bought a vintage rose cabochon necklace in purple for my aunt, and a "Bee" for my sister (similar in style to this "You Are My Sunshine" necklace.)

As you can see, I'm a teeny bit Literally Inspired obsessed. Probably because the pieces are so cute and Ginger is such a wonderful person I love supporting her shop!

Really, check out these beauties and try not to smile:

Look at these little ruffles, my new favorite thing to obsess over in her shop:

Wanna win that $50 store credit? Of course you do! Here's how you can enter for a chance to win:

Initial Entry: Pop on over and visit Literally Inspired and leave a comment with something you loved.

Additional Entries: LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH!

Follow Making Lemonade {via email or in a reader}
"Like" Making Lemonade and Literally Inspired on Facebook
Follow MakingLemonade1 and Literally Inspired on Twitter
Follow Ginger's blog
Blog, Tweet, or post on Facebook about it and leave a link (2 extra entries for EACH one!)

As always, you can find the rules here. The contest will end at 11:59 PM on January 24th. Winner will be chosen using Random.org. Be sure you have a way for me to get in touch with you, either by leaving your email address in the comments or have a link in your profile. Good luck!

disclosure: I was not paid or perked in the least for this giveaway. Many thanks to Ginger at Literally Inspired for sponsoring!

Refresh Your Nest Friday #16

2012-01-12T23:12:00.001-05:00

{via}

Touche, 2012.

I didn't mean to offend you with my comments in last week's post, really. You can go ahead and start being awesome now, okay? Since 2012 is coming in like a lion, I'm hoping it leaves like a lamb.

A really nice, quiet lamb that loves to snuggle and doesn't get pneumonia.

We're fine, really we are {and THANK YOU for the comments and emails, they mean so much even if I haven't had a chance to respond yet} but we've had another curve ball this week. Noodle's teetering on the edge of pneumonia at the same time my husband had a surprise business trip to the west coast.

Poor Noodle's had a fever since Sunday. According to the doctor, if she isn't better by tomorrow it's chest x-ray time. JOY.

Brother is looking awfully suspicious, too. Stage 5 clinger this week, so wondering if he's next?

On that note, don't hate me, I wasn't able to visit all the links last week or feature them today. But OH WOW, the thumbnail photos look amazing so I can't wait!

Which means that as long as Bee doesn't get sick, I'll do a double feature next week with two weeks worth of loveliness. I'm really focusing on my family this year {not that I haven't in the past, but you know what I mean} so I thank you for understanding I need to snuggle and don't have a free hand for typing much today.

But PLEASE, link up this week! As always, I love to see what you've been featuring on your blogs and I'm pretty sure it will cheer Noodle up too.

Here we go for this week, with the typical guidelines:

1. Link to the specific post, not just your blog's home page.

2. Including a link back to this party at the end of your post allows others to play along or scout out inspiration for themselves. You would be even more amazing if you posted the Refresh My Nest button-- I've even made it super easy, just grab the code below the button and paste it in the HTML section of your post.

3. An active linky is a happy linky. PLEASE visit one or more links that interest you so that everyone gets some comments and traffic. There's nothing more discouraging than taking time to link up and no one visits.

Love you guys. Ready, set, link!

Snow Day Treats

2012-01-12T22:16:00.000-05:00

Remember that snowstorm back in October, dubbed "Snowtober?" The one that made me think the winter ahead was going to be brutal, that I might as well pack our bags for North Carolina because we'd spend another winter buried under endless snow? Because last year the snow did. not. stop. and I probably posted once a week about how crazy we were driving ourselves being stuck inside?

Yeah. Since that freak October snowfall, we haven't had one flake of the white stuff. It's been unseasonably warm on some days, then "smack your mama"* cold, then back to warm. Yet, no snow.

* don't really smack your mama. Unless you are Bee, who has a habit of accidentally headbutting me in the eye socket. Daily. Stinker.

The kids are sad. They want to use their sleds, mittens, and snowman kit.

To cheer them up, I planned a Snow Day Treat. The forecast this week called for cold temps, and then torrential rain. We made a mock snow day, and since it was too cold and rainy to go outside so we had to bring some of the magic of a snow day in. Perfect timing, too, because Noodle is all kinds of sick so we've been stuck in the house all week long.

Kinda like a snowstorm! But not nearly as fun.

You can't throw a stick on Pinterest without hitting a recipe for Oreo Truffles. I found two recipes, one from Bakerella and the other from Chef In Training that inspired my version, the Oreo Snowball. If you made my spiced cake pops before, this is about 1000% times easier. It take three ingredients, you don't bake them, and they were ready in under an hour.

Oreo Snowballs

Alright, ready for the ingredients? It's a long list, so study carefully:

Cream Cheese (4 to 6 ounces)

Sandwich Cookies (one package)

Chocolate Chips (one package, I used white chocolate)

Toppings are optional, but you can use crushed oreo crumbs, sprinkles, mini chips, or flaked coconut to resemble real snowballs (if my kids liked it, I'd be all about that!)

Step One: Add whole cookies to food processor, and blend until all the cookies are in tiny crumbs.

Don't worry, Noodle loved it. That's a smile, not a grimace, scout's honor!

Step Two: Place in medium sized bowl. If you have cookie chunks, take them out and re-blend. Add softened cream cheese to bowl (I softened mine a teeny bit in the microwave) and stir into the crumbs. The amount of cream cheese you use depends on your preference, I used 3/4 pkg. of cookies and 4 ounces of cream cheese for this recipe and the cake balls were super moist. Then, go ahead and use your hands to blend it all together.

Just wanted to note the lumps in the above photo are not cookie chunks, they are actually crumbs stuck together. They came free with a tap of the spoon.

Step Three: Form into walnut-sized balls, and place on cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Remember that you'll be adding a layer of chocolate so don't make them too big. Once formed, place in freezer for at least 15 minutes but up to one week. I froze mine for 30 minutes and it was the perfect amount of time for me.

Step Four: Melt your chocolate. We have a new microwave and I was thrilled to discover it had a chocolate chip melting function! If you don't have that, be sure to use the defrost setting or a lower setting. Check it every 30 seconds or so, and stir. The chips will stay formed, even if melted, unless you stir so don't skip that step or you might burn them!

Step Five: Once melted, dip your cookie balls into the chocolate. Now here's where your snowballs can go really wrong. {don't worry, if you don't do the best dipping job they'll still taste good. and that's the most important part, right?} My biggest hint is use them right after you take the tray out from the freezer, and TAKE YOUR TIME. I rolled mine around once until it was covered, and took it out. TRY TO DO THIS AS EVENLY AS POSSIBLE or they'll be lumpy. You're going to have one part with less chocolate, fact of life, so that became the bottom. Once dipped, place back onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. The chilled cookie sheet will help them dry quickly.

If desired, add toppings while the chocolate is still wet. Once dry, I placed them into mini-cupcake holders where they looked darling.

Optional: use up any leftover ingredients by dipping oreos in to the melted chocolate. Did I mention I made these during my juice cleanse? No? TORTURE, I'm telling you. My husband assured me the were delicious.

Step Six: Serve to your sweeties. Pretend it's snowing outside. They are especially delicious with hot chocolate.

Or milk, if you are Bee.

I have to say, part of the fun was a mother/son trek to Weis Markets for the ingredients. While there, I checked out their Preferred Shoppers Club Card and Gas Rewards program. To see our experience, along with lots more photos, and hear more about the program check out my story on Google+. And while there, I'd love if you'd add me to your circle so I can add you to mine, mkay? I'm still figuring out this Google+ thing-- the more, the merrier I say!

What are your snow day traditions? Anyone "luckier" in the snow department this year? Do you have a fave snow day treat to share? I'd love to hear about it!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. As always, all opinions are 100% my own and I was not paid to publish positive remarks.

52 Week Home Organization Challenge

2012-01-11T15:26:00.002-05:00

Who else is joining in the 52 week home organizing challenge over at Home Storage Solutions 101? When I saw the link on Twitter, I knew I had to join in. So glad I did, the {free} weekly challenges are delivered right to my inbox-- breaking up a houseful of organizational challenges into small, easy-to-manage chunks. Apparently about 12,000 other people thought it was great as well-- the link went viral and crashed their mail system! But I think it's working now, so you should sign up along with me if you haven't already.

Last week's challenge was to organize kitchen counters.

I wasn't sure how much I needed to do that, until I did it, you know what I mean?

Since one of my 2012 goals is to strive less for perfection and more toward getting things done (because I'm finding perfectionism paralyzing, true be told) I took the photos for this post on my cell phone. That's right, no Pinterest-worthy photos here! Uh-oh, is my blog going to die a slow, agonizing death because of it? I sure hope not, but I'm willing to take the chance. My mom doesn't seem to mind if photos are pin-able or not, so I'm not going to either. {hi mom!}

If you promise not to be too jealous of my green laminate countertops, I'll show you how I organized them. Because I love you. You know that, right? Let's just pretend the laminate is actually granite, okay?

Spice Rack

A quick inventory revealed I needed more thyme {but, hey, don't we all? Haha!} Seriously, though, it the thyme bottle was empty, and a few others needed filling. After cruising my spice cabinet, I managed to combine several spices and get the spice rack full again. One trick to pass along it to save your empty spice containers (the ones from the store that you use to fill the ones on the rack if you have one) and fill with homemade seasoning mixes. Right now I have homemade salmon rub, taco seasoning, and poultry seasoning all sitting in old spice jars. Makes using and storing them a breeze.

I'm also taking deep breaths and pretending I don't notice how much the spice rack needs to be wiped down. I'm practicing letting go... deep breath...

Feeding Area

BEFORE AND AFTER

Most people probably don't need to designate an entire counter area for this, but thanks to Noodle's feeding issues in our home we do. It was also a handy area for Bee's bottles, back when he used them. Thankfully the pile is getting smaller as both Bee and Abby eat more "adult" foods. Each week I seem to manage to store more items needed for her frequent meals in the cabinets, and less on the counters. Having things within easy reach is nice, but I bet by her 4th birthday I can reclaim that counterspace completely.

Clutter Catchers

Ever notice clutter collecting in a certain spot, time after time? That's what I designate as an area that needs a clutter catcher! One of those spots is near Noodle's feeding area. It's also her toothbrushing/ hair salon/ meds area. {And... DVDs. No lectures on t.v. watching and baby brains, okay? It's doctor approved for Noodle's feeding therapy.}

Enter the clutter catcher, collecting all those important bits and pieces. After a cleaning out it was looking much nicer. And I love nicer.

Utensil Holder

BEFORE

AFTER

Until I thought about it, I didn't realize it wasn't necessary to have out every single large spoon, all my kabob holders (I mean, it's winter so it's not like we're grilling) and five spatulas. Okay, maybe the spatulas are safe because I use them all, but the others were hogging room in the utensil bin. Into the drawers you go!

Two things problems arose as I worked on this challenge:

#1: I need a bigger bread box. This small IKEA one isn't working for me anymore.

#2: Any ideas on knife storage? These sets date back to my wedding (possibly before), and I think I need a better storage solution. Drawers are out because I don't have many (and those I do have are within reach of The Danger Twins), and I don't have a good stretch of wall for a magnet strip. Any clever tricks to share?

This week's challenge is kitchen cabinet and drawer organization, but I might have gone ahead and done my freezer too. Wait 'til you see what I found in there. I counted 24 of them. Yikes.

Who else is joining along with this challenge? Any advice for countertop organization? Anyone else with bee-autiful green laminate counters as well?

Square One

2012-01-09T14:31:00.004-05:00

How was your weekend? After wallowing in my own misery on Friday, I woke up the next day feeling much better. The temps outside have gone from in the teens one day to 60 degrees the next and back again; I think all that fluctuation hit my body hard!

With no big plans over the weekend, we used the time to get back to square one. The tree went to the curb, we vacuumed up the last of the {visible} needles, and we spent time brainstorming and dreaming. Numbers were crunched, vacations mapped, renovations discussed {fingers crossed!} and budgets set.

{via}

As much as I love the magic of Christmas, getting back to square one feels so good.

After being betrayed by my body, I realized it was actually me betraying it. Deciding to show it some love led me to realize this week should be one of a food detox. I'll spend the next few days weaning my body off of dairy, grains, sugars, and... :: jitters :: caffeine. Then three days of a juice cleanse.

I'm halfway into day one and feel terrible and wonderful at the same time, which means it's working.

Anyways, I'm wondering what you've done to get back to square one. Or are you still living amid holiday decorations like Noodle wishes she could be? My little darling keeps asking where the presents and lights went. It's breaking my heart. Except the house looks so much neater I can't say I regret packing it away. Until next year, of course. When it becomes magic again. Amazing how that works, huh?

What's your favorite way to start fresh/ get back to square one?

So Far 2012 Stinks (and Refresh Your Nest #15)

2012-01-06T12:25:00.000-05:00

Hey, you.

How's 2012 going so far?

I've yet to post anything about goals for the year, probably because 2011 felt so great with the things I accomplished and this year... phhhhtttp. I know it's only been 5 days, but still. To sum it up: this time last year I was wrapping up a week-long juice cleanse and already crossing two things off my 2011 "Do-It" list (see sidebar). This year? I'm laying in bed with a heating pad and drinking herbal tea spiked with Benefiber.

TMI? Maybe. But I'm not feeling so great about myself right now so there it is.

I'll get out of this funk soon, and until I do I have your amazing posts to cheer me up! How do choose five favorites from the entire bunch? I don't. Here's 6 of them, with many more I wanted to include that didn't fit. Ah, well. There's always the "Best of 2012" wrap-up, right? Here's hoping I'll have more to show for it than heating pads and Benefiber.

{I promise I'll have some great stuff posted soon. Several projects have been completed I know you'll love, plus loads of exciting things planned and giveaways lined up... I JUST. NEED. TIME.

Where do you all find the time?!}

A few of my faves from last week's Favorite Posts party:

The Cape on the Corner rehashes 2011. Have you started off strong with lofty plans that got sidelined due to something completely unexpected? That pretty much sums up my life, and this post truly resonated with me.

Mel at The Crafty Scientist had lot of fun projects, but this yellow chevron "Lemonade" quote had me at hello for obvious reasons.

I'd file this post from Alderberry Hill as a "must read" with a roundup of simple "why didn't I think of that?" tips and tricks that will make your life easier. By the way, that baby powder sand trick works wonders-- you won't believe it until you see it. My beach bag now has it's own dedicated baby powder bottle. If only I could be on the beach right now...

If you've followed our story, you know feeding issues with Noodle consume my life. When Bee came along, I had NO idea how to feed a "normal" baby. Wow, I wish I'd read this post from Teaching Good Eaters on how to encourage good eating habits starting from the very beginning. Maybe Bee wouldn't be giving me such a run for my money right now. If you have a newborn, it should be required reading.

I WANT KELLY'S DINING ROOM. Here's her round-up of top posts at View Along the Way, but really, I got lost in the link to the dining room. It's definitely worth a read if you've ever had HomeGoods regret!

Here's an honorary mention to Natalie, who didn't link to the party but her recent post had me laughing and crying because I've been there. Transitioning from one child to two is difficult in and of itself, now imagine dragging both kids to court (!!!) post c-section with a nursing newborn and a spirited daughter. It's funny 'cause it's true. And, funny 'cause its... well, just read it.

There you go, six posts that are making my aching back feel better. Some days I make Lemonade, and others I wallow in it. I'm wallowing today. Hope to be back to normal by Monday.

Refresh Your Nest is BACK, and I'd love to see what you've got in store for us this week. Ready, set, LINK!

Another Use for Pinterest: Book Lust

2012-01-04T09:27:00.004-05:00

I've found a new {to me} use for Pinterest.

{via}

Previously when I heard about about a book I'd like to read, I'd do one of three things:

1. Reserve it at the library. {pros: it's free; cons: sometimes the wait list takes years, it could be ready in one day or arrive in the middle of my vacation, it can only be held for a few days and during busy weeks it's tough to get there}

2. Add it to my Amazon wishlist. {pros: I can buy it right then and there; cons: so could someone else, thinking I want my own copy when really I was just interested in finding out more}

3. Add it to Goodreads. {pros: connect with others about books; cons: I don't have time for one more social media site, even if it is for books!}

{via}

You can see where this is going, right? As I scanned through a "Best of 2011" list last week, I found some books that deserved bookmarking. Enter the pins! A pin onto my Book Lust board with a quick note and we are in business.

This is life changing, people!

Okay, maybe not life changing, but cut me some slack-- I was a librarian at one point in my life. True story.

{via}

Now I can reserve books at my leisure, add books as I see them on blogs and lists (like the NYT Bestsellers), and even add notes. Yay.

It's the little things in life, you know.

As for the notes, it's handy to note who recommended it, if I want to buy or borrow it, and other random thoughts. Once I've finished the book, I'll add a note with a few thoughts and have a list of books recently read. See? LIFE CHANGING!

Sorry, I'll settle myself down now.

i'll take one of these, please. plus a side of sweet tea.

{via}

Now. Can anyone pin me an extra hour in the day to read? Thankyouverymuch. ;-)

What have you devoured (book-wise) recently? Anything on your wishlist? I snagged a copy of this book at my library last week and am about halfway through but loving it. My Book Lust pinboard is looking a little wimpy, let's hear some suggestions!

linked to Wednesday Pinterest Favorites at My Favorite Finds

Favorite Posts in 2011 + a Link-Up Party

2011-12-30T09:43:00.000-05:00

::: If you are looking for the Refresh Your Nest Friday link-up, this is it! See below to link up your favorite posts from 2011. ::

Don't you love all the Top Ten lists popping up on blogs this week? 'Tis the season for year-end countdowns, wrap-ups, and lists... and why shouldn't bloggers play along? On that note, I spent a few moments dancing down memory lane and found the Top Ten Posts of 2011 on Making Lemonade. Hope you'll play along and link up a fave post or two from your blog below; I'll feature a bunch next week! As for me, here's my favorite posts on the blog from this past year:

DIY Deck Idea: Shady Seating

This herb trellis wall provided a shady spot on our deck all summer long, as well as provided ingredients for some mighty tasty dinners. As an update, the herbs did really well on the wall. It was the rainiest year, like, EVER here in Pennsylvania which means I did very little watering. Had it been left up to me, they might not have fared so well. I'm already looking forward to the spring when I can get my yummy fresh herbs growing again.

Sequined Pumpkins

My bedazzled pumpkins project started as a question from my friend asking how to recreate the look of a version in a high-end catalog for less than their $158 price tag. Thanks to her inquiry, this became one of my most visited links this year. Celebrations.com also listed it as a top project in 2011, which was icing on the cake.

Intuition

One of the most revealing and scariest posts for which I've ever hit the "publish" button. It's a post that had to be written, even if it was through sobs and tears.

Noodle's "Big Girl" Room Makeover

Over 50 of you fabulous people voted on her new room color, and you chose the bright and cheery Misty Aqua. We said "Bye Bye Birdie", painted the room and added some sassy accessories. Now Noodle has a whole new room, and I'm happy to report she actually sleeps in there! She used to sleep in our guest room {it's a long, long story} but once we kicked out the birds and bad memories she loved sleeping in her room. This project went beyond a room makeover to a life makeover, thanks to your input into our very own 'color therapy.' Since that post, I've added butterfly wall art and no-sew curtains if you want to peek at the updates.

Eat, Pray, Love Plates

This project also received quite a bit of traffic, perhaps because it was so very simple and cheap to make. I've since mounted them on these plate hangers, making them look cleaner with no visible hooks.

Mommy Misadventures: The Library

What makes me giggle about this post is the number of emails and comments asking how the Vera Bradley bag fared. I'm happy to report it's {almost} as good as new! In other news, the above photo is from my Pottery Barn Knock-Off Book Rack post. I'm pretty sure you'll thank me for not including an actual photo from our Library Misadventure. ;-)

Interchangable Chevron Doormat

I hopped aboard the chevron trend (just once, pinky swear) and guest posted on The CSI Project with a tutorial on how to make an interchangable doormat. Ya'll, this one took forever to make but it's happy colors and message make me super excited for summer again!

Pumpkin Spice Cake Pops

This was another tutorial I wrote for The CSI Project. I'm including it because my blog friend Jen made them and by her own admission they bombed. The problem? She had the audacity to use real ingredients-- fresh pumpkin she pureed, homemade cream cheese frosting-- and they turned out hard as rocks. I know, healthy ingredients? What was she thinking?! So I'm including it in my Top 10 with a warning to go for the fake processed stuff and not use your good stuff to make them... and to Jen, I owe you a batch! Maybe for Valentine's Day?

Bee's Nautical First Birthday Party

We had his birthday party in OBX, where 20 of us gathered for a long overdue family reunion. Despite the fact this party fell at the beginning of a difficult week for my family (my uncle had been diagnosed with terminal cancer just a few days before), looking back I'm so very thankful for that blessed time together. Seeing the handmade touches, good food, and smiles reminds me to be so thankful for all we do have, instead of the things we don't. When I wrote the post this summer, I tried my best to make it about my son turning one and not about the sorrow I felt. When I reread it just now it filled me with happiness and love, and fond memories of my uncle and how healing such a special place can be for those who need it most.

A Girlfriend's Guide to Charleston

My personal favorite, because we had the perfect weekend and I miss those gals so darn much.

Now it's your turn. Link up a few of your favorite posts from 2011. Visit a few as well. Feel free to add my button at the bottom so others can play along, though it's not mandatory. If you are a blogger and rarely comment or link, I hope you'll take a minute and do it today so I can stop by for a visit. Most of all, Happy New Year everybody!

DIY Wine Glass Charms

2011-12-29T08:42:00.000-05:00

Some people collect ornaments. Others collect spoons, stamps, snowglobes. We collect wine corks.

Specifically, wine corks that mark special occassions.

And, okay, maybe I collect a few other things too. But this post is about my corks.

After ~~gulping down~~ finishing a bottle of wine, we drop the cork into an apothecary jar. If the occassion or date was significant, I'll write it on the side.

It's my little memory jar, full of sips and gulps and good times.

The problem? What to do with all those corks!

Turning a few into wine glass charms seemed appropriate.

Not only can they spark conversation, they keep your drink from getting mixed up with others. Because, you know, after a few too many sips it becomes easy to misplace your wine glass. Your only job becomes remembering which cork was yours.

Once I figured out how to do it, I couldn't believe how easy they were to make. The hardest part was thinking through the process and standing in front of the earring findings at Michaels until I found the parts that would work best. And trust me, I don't mind staring at products at Michaels once you find the fun stuff.

Materials:

(I purchased the earring findings at Michaels for only a few dollars)

Earring Eyepins

Leverback Earwires

corks

beads (optional)

needle nose pliers (optional)

1. Choose corks with interesting names and images, or special meaning.

2. Insert eyepin through bead, and into middle of cork.

3. Attach leverback earwires (or other round earwires, leverbacks just happened to be the ones I liked best) and pinch to secure.

4. Cheers!

Have a safe and healthy New Years, here's hoping it's full of wonderful memories and lots of special wine corks!

Refresh Your Nest Friday # 14

2011-12-22T23:50:00.001-05:00

It's finally FRIDAY! And not only that, it's finally the Friday before Christmas Eve. The energy here is electric, Noodle is beside herself with excitement and just about ready to burst into a poof of candy-cane colored sprinkles. She's been singing herself to sleep every night-- with Christmas carols. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to run some post-Christmas intervention so she doesn't get too sad when it's all over.

Once again, your projects and Nest Refreshing continues to astound. Here's the Fab Five from this week (but you know you are all fabulous, right?)-- with a special one at the end for my friend Jenny.

Double Decker Fudge from Ladybird Ln. Need I say more? Okay, how about there's 83 other varieties of fudge linked up to that recipe. Don't say I didn't warn you.

See this cloche from Plum Patchwork? Can you guess what it used to be? An ugly brass light fixture! How 'bout them apples?

Renewed Upon a Dream built some box shelves. There are so many possibilities for these guys!

It's been awhile since I've seen truly unique stockings. Rinni's Playground made these sassy Monsters stockings for her twins, and they promised not to bite Santa's hand. The stockings, not the twins, of course. ;-)

Jenny, this one's for you. Hardly Housewives shares a recipe for Saltine Candy that's similar to the one our friend Mary makes. We lovingly refer to it as "crack". Stick a tray of that in front of teachers at 3 PM and see if you make it out alive. Enjoy!

Just a heads up, next week's party will be a "Best Of 2011." So you can link up any post from 2011, I expect all my friends new and old to be joining in!

Ready to link up? You know the drill... visit other people's blogs, it's super nice to link back to this party, and link directly to your post and not just your home page. And Santa will be extra nice to anyone with this button on your blog or post:

Love you guys! Have the happiest of holidays, no matter which ones you celebrate.

XOXO,

Carrie

Homemade Christmas Gift: Hot Cocoa Kit

2011-12-22T17:05:00.002-05:00

Hot Chocolate kits. The idea certainly isn't new, I've seen them around for years and years-- even before Pinterest and blogs, gasp! But since they make such easy little DIY gifts I thought I'd share our version. If you live in a colder climate, there's nothing like some hot cocoa to warm your spirit on a chilly day. These kits make great gifts for teachers, babysitters, neighbors, and friends. They ended up costing about $4 each. Here's how I put my version together. Enjoy!

Materials:
hot chocolate mix (Ghirardelli makes a delish one, found at the grocery store)
baggies for treats
a mix-ins like mini-marshmallows, peppermint chips, peppermint pillows
glass cracker jar (from the Dollar Store)
felt, paper, pens for the gift tag
elastic cord or ribbon or tying on tag
festive colored washcloth or tea towel for wrapping (optional)

1. Go shopping for the hot cocoa and mix-ins. We love Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa Mix, it's rich and decadent. Here's a homemade version, too-- yum!

Those glass cracker jars came from The Dollar Store. They are a little smaller than I would have liked, but they worked well for this purpose. Though I did have to leave out some peppermint pillows I'd purchased, so next time I'll splurge for the larger size. Walmart sells similar versions in a larger size starting at $3 if you want to go that route. Larger jars = more mix-in ideas!

2. Fill the bags with your goodies (make sure the size you are using FITS in the jar first, I had to do a few trial runs... it was kind of like Tetris trying to make sure they all worked together).

It looks prettier to fold them without twisting the top together first, but I went for practical over pretty. By twisting and folding, I hoped to make a better seal to preserve the cocoa for longer and prevent a blast of powder in the face when the recipient opened the bag.

Label the bags.

I placed the cocoa and marshmallows in the jar first:

and then the mini-melts on top. That's the only way all three things fit. {I had to squish the baggie of mini-melts a bit into a hamburger shape to fit on top.}

Tie it up in a red striped washcloth if desired, and tie with elastic cord (or any ribbon, of course, I just happened to have the red cord). They'd be pretty without the extra wrapping, but I found these striped ones at The Dollar Store and couldn't resist:

Create your tags. I used mittens cut from felt on the front, and glued on paper with the cocoa recipe and instructions on the back.

Now go deliver your cheery gift!

{And maybe hide one away for yourself; it's a nice little pick-me-up. You deserve it!}

What's your favorite type of handmade gift? Any great ideas for teachers/neighbors/friends you'd like to share?

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-12-17T00:48:00.000-05:00

With a week left to finish Christmas shopping (and just 2 more days to get Free Super Saving Shipping from Amazon, which is my favorite thing about Amazon), I thought it appropriate to jot down a quick list of some gifting favorites...

... plus maybe one or two things I'd love to see from Santa this year myself. {I've been very good Santa, I promise!}

Be sure to share your favorite gift ideas in the comments. If you prefer to make your own gifts, I'll be back later this weekend with a tutorial for an easy gift idea that I was able to make during naptime yesterday. And let me tell you, it was a short naptime. Have a great start to your weekend, friends!

Cool Ideas for Kids

Have a picky eater? This Ms. Food Face Plate might make her warm up to mealtime! What's so brilliant about these plates is you can make eating a variety of foods fun by creating interesting faces, and your kids will be so excited they won't realize they are eating, say, asparagus. Because they are ceramic, we'll use this for special occasions or when I can closely monitor my little eater. Wouldn't want Ms. Food to be smashed on our tile floor! Edited to add: just purchased the Ms. Food plate, and it won't arrive until after Christmas. However, this ceramic face plate will arrive before, and and it's the cheapest version I found-- at this moment, it's $10 but be aware Amazon changes prices constantly.

Up until a few months ago, Bee would NOT sit still long enough to get through a book, no matter how short the text. This is the book that changed it all. He loved touching the pages and the simple text: "That's not my plane! It's engine is too bumpy." Soon, he could sit through one book. Then two. Then three, and four... I have this book (and some perseverance) to thank for that. Needless to say, my little reader is getting a few others in this series under the tree this Christmas!

This Design and Drill Travel Toy gets rave reviews, but Bee is still a bit too young. It comes in a carrying case to hold all those pieces. It's a shoe-in for his 2nd birthday, though!

The price of these 60 Foam Magnetic Objects dropped 61% recently and now they are only $5.99! Noodle loves to tell stories, these are great for language development. Older children can use them for storytelling and ideas for writing prompts. If I still had a classroom, I'd probably buy two!

The Putamayo CDs are wonderful, we have several and luuuurrrrve them. Animal Playground is a favorite; the song "Littlest Birds" is my anthem for Noodle. World Playground should be fun as well, I'm adding it to our collection this year.

Noodle has been very interested in the nativity and Christmas story this year, thanks to preschool. This Fisher Price version is a fun way for little ones to relate to the story. You should hear Noodle sing her baby Jesus song from school, oh my goodness it makes me melt. I'm still not sure how it goes, something about a manger, my Lord, and baby Jesus. But it's cute for sure!

Great Gifts for Grandparents

My mother-in-law directly requested a GPS, and I'm buying her the one I purchased earlier this year for myself. My husband and I were both stubborn about getting a GPS since our phones have Map apps. After getting incredibly frustrated with my phone, I finally broke down and bought a GPS unit. It has proved it's weight in gold (and time saved, thanks to the traffic updates), and now even my once-doubting husband won't leave the house for roadtrips without it. This Garmin Nuvi with Lifetime Map and Traffic Updates is a steal at $112. It's the version I have, it's great! The price decreased because there is a newer version available, but if you are willing to "settle" for this year's model then it's a fantastic buy.

CVS had same-day photo gifts, plus a 20% off coupon code. I know a certain YiaYia and Grandma that would love a photo book, photo mug or calendar of a little Noodle and Bee. ;-) I wouldn't assume your CVS for sure can do it in a day, so maybe order sooner rather than later. Shutterfly and Mpix are two sites I've used for photos; again, not sure of the turnaround time but it's worth a shot!

Can't find a photo online and I don't dare take a pic to show you or my daughter will want to play it again and again and AGAIN, but we found a saxophone playing Santa toy at Home Depot for $13. Push the button and he plays a tune while his hat jumps back and forth and he wiggles his hips. Let me tell you, I can not WAIT to bring this up to Grandma's house on Christmas as a thank you for all the electronic talking toys shes given to my kids over the years. Just some sweet payback, one that's really funny to boot. ;-)

Handsome Ideas for Him

My husband loves to make pancakes. I call it perpetual pancakes, he makes a big batch of batter (say that 5 times fast) and uses it all week. Unfortunately, that takes up a ton of space in the fridge. This batter dispenser is the perfect solution, plus makes for mess-free pancake pouring!

These gloves from Block Headwear have slits for you to slide your fingers out to use touchscreen devices like an iPhone. I know, why didn't I think of that?

Beer soap. Like men don't smell like beer already (just kidding). This Etsy shop promises on-time Christmas delivery!

Speaking of beer, if your guy loves craft brews then they'll want a set of beer glasses for that purpose. Here's one that fits the bill, or this one that costs a bit more but comes with six different types (note: the set in that second link will arrive after Christmas, bummer).

Ideas for Me (ummm, I mean, for HER)

House Beautiful had a review of this cookbook, Plenty, and it sounds perfect for summer cooking-- vibrant ways to make vegetables from a famous London eatery. Yum!

Every year, I come across different magazines bragging about the amazing-ness of Touche Eclat from Yves Saint Laurent. I give in. Gimme some. It's the least my sweetie can do in exchange for all the traveling he's been partaking in lately. ;-)

I used to own a pink BPA-Free Nalgene water bottle, but now it's long gone (along with my waistline, ha!) Someone who loves me might want to replace it? No pressure, sweetie.

If I didn't already have these Magnetic Poetry Lower Case Alphabet Stamps, I'd buy them again. The font is modern and yet classic, and I've used them for several projects just in the past few days. Etsy sellers or fellow crafters will use them all. the. time. Trust me when I say I scoured the internet for weeks to find ABC stamps for crafting, these were the only ones I could find that were the perfect size and font. The limitations I found with them are as follows: I wish the metal piece they attach to was bigger to make for easier stamping, and the rubber part on one has started to separate from the magnet-- nothing a little glue won't fix, but still. All in all I love them!

Vests are just about the perfect outerwear in this climate. I live in them. This Thinsulate Vest from LL Bean is thin yet warm, and oh-so-chic! I'll take one in black and one in white, please.

I'm really trying to work on my photography skills, and photographing my kids is my number one priority in that realm. Mamarazzi? Sounds like the perfect book for me!

This book has been on my wishlist for years, full of projects for all those one-yard wonders of fabric I've been hoarding! Apparently it's good for those learning how to sew, a category in which I comfortably fall. {I started to write 'beginning sewers', but that sounds like sewers, gross, right?}

If you are looking for a gift for a foodie, chef, or anyone who enjoys spending time in the kitchen, here's a gift list I created last year {with a few homemade ideas, too!} I'll try to post some neighbor and teacher gift ideas later this weekend.

What gifts do you love to give? Any ideas for last minute? And what are YOU wishing for in your stocking this year?

*post may contain affiliate links, which help support this site

Refresh Your Nest #13

2011-12-15T23:51:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all your compliments on my Love Actually tree. The tree is so very special to me, and your comments and emails mean more than you know.

My husband was traveling this week, so once again I'm coming in at the last minute to get this written! It's not optimal, but I'm glad he's finally back and here's hoping we can finally start soaking in this oh-so-special time.

Noodle is just so amazed by it all; she literally gasps at Christmas lights, tells me "Merry Christmas" as I tuck her in every night, and screams "look, SANTA!" everytime she see's him-- anywhere, even on television.

I thought Christmas was great before kids. Little did I know how amazing the magic could be, seeing it through their eyes!

Your blogs are all wonderful. Due to lack of time, I didn't get to comment on them all this week but please know I visited every link. And I commented in my head, I promise, but by about the 5th word verification I knew I couldn't comment and get this post done at the same time. {thanks in advance for being so understanding!}

Here's the Fab Five Features this week:

See this fancy ornament? Hardly Housewives shows how she made it from an old CD. Now that's how you upcycle!

Apparently my head has been in the sand this season, I had no idea these ruffled tree skirts were so popular. Probably it's because they are awesome. JP and Jamie made this no-sew version:

and oh-my-gosh the ruffles on this one from Simply Chic Treasures are divine:

Freaking Crafts made these faux mercury glass trees for $1 each. Yeah, I KNOW! Love that idea.

Holly Jolly Cupcakes from The Seven Year Cottage. Need I say more?

Ya'll know I love vintage, especially when done in a modern way. These vintage inspired ornaments from Ugly Duckling Transformations are beautifully simple and classic.

And now, without further ado, let's get this party started!

The Ground Rules

1. Link to the specific post, not just your blog's home page.

2. It's not required, but always appreciated if you link back to this party-- and extra bonus points for including the RYN button!

3. An active linky is a happy linky. PLEASE visit one or more links that interest you so that everyone gets some comments and traffic. There's nothing more discouraging than taking time to link up and no one visits.

Got it? Great, let's get LINKING!

Love Actually Themed Christmas Tree

2011-12-14T00:45:00.001-05:00

"If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion...

love actually

all around."

It's hard to remember how or why it first happened. But for some reason, we inadvertently started a new Christmas tree decorating tradition a few years back. After the kids went to bed one December night, my husband popped in the Love Actually DVD. As we added lights and ornaments to our tree, one scene or another would make us stop for awhile, soak it in, and then continue decorating. Eventually drinks were poured, and by the end of the movie we were sitting on the couch with empty wine glasses in hand, glowing by the light of our now-decorated tree and smiling at the message of the story.

We've done it that way every year since.

For some reason, I knew I had to include that theme in our Christmas tree this year. It's been a difficult few months for my extended family, and I've learned never to take those you love for granted.

A few weeks ago, the new Pottery Barn catalog arrived and on one of those glossy pages they featured a $12 glittered photo frame ornament. You know I only see such a thing as a challenge. So I went about making my own version, which ended up being super lightweight on the tree (versus a heavy frame). It's probably silly to say, but these photo frames (which cost way less than $1 to make) are now by far my favorite ornaments ever.

Bee, Noodle, The Hubs, my nephew, sister, brother-in-law, parents, mother-in-law, uncle...

they all got the glitter treatment and hang lovingly among the branches of our tree.

I'll post the tutorial here next week, but if you'd like to see it today then visit The CSI Project on Wednesday. I'm guest posting there and as always would love if you'd stop by and say hello!

But... back to the movie. As I stared at all those beautiful glittering faces of the ones most dear to me, the words "love actually is all around" kept running through my head. How apropos that the movie and the ornaments went together, that my loves were all around our tree this year. And I knew I had to take it one step further.

Enter the Love Actually garland. After what felt like hours of stamping with my large lowercase alphabet stamps, I had my own handmade garland with that famous phrase. Scattered around it were also the names of family members and also the word "blessed." It popped into my head as I was stamping, and who was I to argue with it?

Now I have a tree dotted with photos of my sweeties and encircled by a garland full of love.

Look who I caught snuggling in front of the tree last weekend.

Love? It actually IS all around.

Do you have a special holiday tradition,
or favorite movie to watch each Christmas?
Am I alone in my adoration of Love Actually?!

look... hearts! can I get a collective "awwwwww?"

Simple DIY Christmas Centerpiece

2011-12-12T14:04:00.000-05:00

Oh, all you good bloggers with your finished Christmas tablescapes and fancy decorated trees.

I'm still trying to get the cranberry sauce stain out of my tablecloth from Thanksgiving.

{especially since I was the one who accidentally dropped it there, oops!}

Sheesh, can't take me anywhere.

Anyhow, here's a quick centerpiece I whipped up to join in the festivities. The rest of the table won't be set until December 24th or so, but this festive tableau will make it appear that there's some Chrismas spirit in our dining room in the meantime. Plus, my kiddos love looking at those little deer!

It was as easy as arranging some bottlebrush trees (under a dollar a pack at JoAnn Fabric last month) and two pinecone deer. The deer are ornaments (again, purchased on sale at JoAnn) with the hangers gently removed. Er, actually, I just pulled those suckers off and hoped for no residual damage. I noticed Martha Stewart had a similar line of animals made from natural elements, or of course you could easily make your own. Obviously, I took the ~~lazy~~ easy route.

The long bowl (or whatever the fancy name for it is, any ideas?) was a recent score from the Crate and Barrel outlet. After arranging the items inside, I applied a little dab of hot glue to the bottom of each piece to help them stay in place.

"Help, we look weird standing in a bowl and our feet are cold!"

Never fear, I have some filling (oh-so-handsomely stored in a Walmart bag) for just this purpose.

Ah, that's better.

Nestled next to the bowl are two pinecone candle holders snagged at a thrift store a few years ago. They are resting on top of some vintage linens that managed to escape my cranberry sauce slinging.

The centerpiece is ready; as it gets closer to Christmas I'll change the linens, add some fresh greenery under and around the centerpiece, and of course set the table.

Probably. :-)

Any special plans for your table this Christmas? Is there a special piece you must include, or do you change it up each year? And any wisdom for getting cranberry sauce out of tablecloths?!

Refresh Your Nest #12

2011-12-09T00:17:00.000-05:00

It's FRIDAY! Woot-woot! Hope you have some fun plans for the weekend. We're still decking the halls around here... and my husband and I really wanted to go to this but can't find a sitter. BOO. It's probably for the best, at least that's what I'm telling myself. Besides, there's no way I could drink $40 in beer ~~anymore~~. Any college friends reading this can just keep quiet, thankyouverymuch. ;-)

First order of business-- the winner of the Chesapeake Ribbon giveaway was #44, Barb from Turtles and Tails. Congrats! Barb says she'd like a turtle-themed ribbon dog collar, and from the name of her blog I'm going to say that's legit. ;-)

Next up: the fab five features.

This one is purely selfish on my part because I have these IKEA curtains and am now inspired to make them better-- Ugly Duckling Transformations shows us how.

It's nice to know people still take the time to make adorable ornaments like this one from Folk Haven. LOVE it.

If only I'd peeked at some of these links before doing my advent calendar round-up earlier this week, I'd have included some great ideas from you all. Here's one from Love of Family and Home that features my favorite color. Because, it's obvious, this week it's all about ME.

My kids have been happy little cookie bakers this week, and Mom on Timeout is about to save me some serious sprinkle money by showing how to make your own colored sugar.

View Along the Way may be my new favorite blog, because her tutorial on how to beef up a wimpy cheap garland made me laugh. Out loud. Scaring the sleeping husband. Ooops.

You know what? It's almost midnight here, so I'm going to skip the link party instructions. If you've never participated in this party or want a button, you can visit last week's for the low-down. See, I'm so tired I almost typed down-low. That would have been the wrong type of party. Gah, someone give me some caffeine. ;-)

And hey, before you link up, don't forget to enter my $75 Peet's Coffee giveaway OR all you crafty peeps might want to win one of two Elmer's prize packs up for grabs. But come back after entering, I want to see your amazing creative projects this week!

December's Helpful Hints

2011-12-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Notice the name of this monthly series has changed. "Monthly Reminders" made it sound like a list of things you had to complete each month, whereas "Helpful Hints" emphasizes the optional nature of these ideas. Sort of like a tip you picked up from a friend, versus a month-end checklist from an employer. ;-)

Since December is already busy, here are a just few ideas that will help keep your ship running smoothly this month-- no need to add additional to-do's to your extra long list!

Clean out old toys to make room for new ones. Whether you do this while the kids are in bed or with your children to teach them about thoughtfulness and sharing, it's helpful for both mind and home when you clear out the old to make room for the new. Old toys can be put in the garage/consignment sale pile or donated. That way, when Santa arrives there will be room for all those new additions.

Set up a wrapping station. Avoid last minute wrapping marathons by keeping supplies within reach and wrap gifts as they are purchased. Here's my wrapping station, set in the corner of my dining room. Confession: I'm not so good about this one. I'm working on it. There's nothing that takes the joy out of giving like spending 4 hours wrapping at 11PM Christmas Eve!

Stuff those stockings... on the cheap. I've cut back my couponing since Bee arrived since I just don't have the time, but that doesn't mean I don't hit up CVS every other week for oodles of freebies in the form of Extra Care Bucks. In fact, the night before Thanksgiving my sis and I raided the 24 hour CVS and got at least $90 of goodies for free. I've been stalking sales and Extra Care items and now have a treasure trove of stocking stuffers for the family. I love practical stuffers, here's a few on my list that ended up being free or close to free thanks to sales, coupons, and the Dollar Store:

batteries

candy bars

lip balm

jumprope

flashcards

crayons

Tylenol PM. For me. ;-)

coffee/tea/hot chocolate

snack bars

toothbrushes

Repurpose cards into gift tags. Ever wonder what to do with those free cards charities often send, or last year's non-photo holiday cards? It's a waste to throw them away, so reuse them! Cut around images, punch with a hole, and attach ribbon. BOOM, pretty gift tags! Wouldn't this be a great craft project for the kids? {as for holiday cards with photos, I group them by year and save them in a scrapbook to pull out and enjoy each Christmas!}

Stay safe. Kelly from The Centsible Life shared a great idea for creating a Christmas Morning Preparedness Kit with batteries, scissors, and all those other things you'll need to keep the gift opening running smoothly. BUT, even more interesting was the bottom of the post where she posted a short video warning about button batteries. I truly had no idea the array of common objects (often within reach of my kids) that contain these deadly-if-swallowed batteries. Helen Devos Children's Hospital had a helpful article summing up the dangers; if you have small kids, I urge you to read about this alarming trend so you are educated about keeping objects such as bathroom scales, musical cards and books, and keys out of reach of your little ones.

Have a wonderful month, hope these ideas help you spend more time with your family and less time running around like crazy. In the meantime, what stocking stuffers do you like to give and/or receive? Do you have a December Helpful Hint to share?