Painting Day

So many weeks have passed without a field trip, but this stop at Uncle Dave's store, Creative Art Studio in Royal Oak, is an annual favorite so we made it happen.  Living way out in the country adds just enough driving time to wear me out even before field trips begin so I was very grateful to Paul's parents who said they'd be happy to join in and give a hand.

This was George's first time painting on his own.  Last year we simply stamped his hand onto a bowl and he spent the rest of the time wrapped on my back.  He picked out both the little hedgehog and paints on his own and I was impressed by his concentration and he seemed thrilled about a new found independence.

Henry painted a new bank since his frog bank got busted in the move.  Just like George he was independent in choices and work.  But I have to say it wasn't always so, even last year I was still hovering over how and what they painted.  And I also have to say that this year's pottery painting day was a lot more fun than any others in the past.

Clara chose a fairy sitting on the moon.  She was especially careful in her painting choosing a fine tip brush and waiting patiently between coats, she was the last one finished.  

Maryanna picked out a cupcake box.  She wasn't feeling very well that day because earlier in the morning she hurt herself.  I don't know exactly what she did but I heard a scream from the stair well and she could not straighten up her head.  On the way to Royal we made a quick stop to see Linda Diane Feldt and she gently adjusted her neck back to normal.  It still took her couple of days to be bouncing around like normal and nothing seems normal until Maryanna is bouncing around with her boundless energy and spirit.   

Peter painted the base of a gum ball machine.  He plans to store some of his tiny treasures in there and in scripted "reserved for Peter, do not touch".

For the love of chickens William could not resist this hen tea pot.  He painted it just like one of our Rhode island reds using three shades of red.   

James painted a football snack platter and he was careful in painting it just like one the many footballs that decorate our playing fields. 

After painting the kids practiced lining up (they always joke about not being good at standing in lines because of homeschool).  At this station they got to make wax dipped hands.

I'd say it is kind of creepy and kind of cool.

Here they are, my five biggest helping hands.

Thanks Uncle Dave for once again treating us to such a fun outing!

Leftovers for Breakfast

This recipe is from my midwife as printed in Whole Family Recipes For the Childbearing Year & Beyond.  It makes good use of savory Fall dinner leftovers and makes for a yummy breakfast.  A few of my kids called it pie, one called it cake but really it is a rice pudding.  

Here is the original recipe and then I will make note of what changes I made.

Pumpkin Pie Rice Pudding

3 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup maple syrup or honey

2 cups leftover baked squash or yams (be sure these were not peppered)

1-2 leftover cooked rice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Whip the eggs then the milk and add everything but the rice.  Fold in the rice and pour into a buttered 9x9 casserole dish.  Bake for 40-50 minutes.

Here is a good action shot of Henry going after it.  The most exciting news this week is Henry is back on eggs!  We tested him with our very own chicken eggs and there was no reaction.  Maybe because they are fresh, maybe it's the organic soy-free grain or maybe it's all the sunshine and love our chickens get.  I am so excited to add new menu items to our family meals!

I basically followed the recipe doubling it.  I used half sweet potatoes and half kabocha squash and instead of rice used up some leftover buckwheat porridge.  I will say it was a bit too salty since I used salted butter on both the sweet potatoes and squash the night before, I may half (or even omit) the salt next time.  Some of the kids liked it hot and others liked it better once it was chilled but one thing they all requested was whip cream on top, next time.  And yes this is a recipe we'll continue making throughout the chilly months to come.

Halloween Highlights

I love Halloween for the fun of dressing up, carving pumpkins, and running through crunchy leaves with an open invitation to stop by any neighbor's door and say hello.  I can't say I love all the candy or over the top creepiness but we always choose to celebrate in a way that enlivens us.  Here's what we did:

The girls baked up some yummy gluten free pumpkin bars for lunch. 

The boys worked on pumpkins.  This use to be a family event but they (actually it was mostly James) took over completely this year.

This was the first one done.  At first I really couldn't tell what the design was and wasn't too impressed until we lit them up (as shown farther down the page).

Henry napped in his costume.   This penguin suit has been his choice of outwear for about a week straight and is covered in a nice layer of dirt.  It also has one singed wing after a campfire incident where William was quick and heroic in stomping it out.  As of today the costume is now complete with a layer of sticky candy drool.    

George is wearing a size 4T Michigan Football costume and with all the warm layers beneath he really does look tough and ready to play.  The penguin suit was originally picked up at a thrift store for him but as I've already mentioned it has been hard to keep Henry out of it.

James wasn't sure he wanted to dress up this year.  He tried to convince me he was too old and mature for it, but when he got a Denard Robinson jersey for his birthday it was easy to persuade him to make a costume out of it.  The pants are real practice pants that Paul picked up at a U of M garage sale several years ago.  Anyone notice how he purposely left his shoes untied?

The base of this Jango Fett costume was picked up at a thrift store.  We made the belt and gun holsters out of vinyl, the helmet out of foam sheets and jet pack out of an old Muesli box, toilet paper rolls, paper cups and spray paint.  William is always enthusiastic not just in dressing up and acting the part but also taking part in the making of the costume.

Peter pulled out his old army costume and I suppose I should not be surprised at how quickly it seems he is out growing it.  This costume sees frequent use and I was relieved of additional sewing duties when Peter said he wanted to wear it for Halloween.  

Maryanna's Wonder Woman costume was also picked up at the thrift store.  I simply had to make the crown, belt and arm bands to complete the look.  She really took to this character and has been "flying" all around the house attempting to pick up both family members and furniture in an attempt to "save the day".  Needless to say those episodes usually ended in some sort of a crash involving crying so I've since convinced her she could "save the day" by lifting loads of laundry and flying around the kitchen with a cleaning cloth.  

Clara was sure she wanted to be a pink ballerina.  For as much as she wears her pink princess dress I couldn't get her to commit to it as a Halloween costume.  So with a pile of tulle and my favorite leotard pattern we were able to sew something up in just one afternoon.  The problem is now Maryanna wants one as do both their dolls. Hmmmmm....

And here's Henry the penguin again, awake and ready to hit the houses.  He kept saying, "Nanny and Poppy are going to love my costume!"

On our way to Nanny and Poppy's I made a little detour to the home I grew up in.  I've always wanted to stop by there but felt awkward doing so for no reason.  But on Halloween any home with lights on is fair game so I watched with a huge smile as my children ran across the same lawn I use to play and run across daily.  The kids were also very amused when I pointed out the very window I'd climb out of and roof spot I sit while chatting down to Paul below during his occasional late night visits.  

Of course I couldn't resist an additional stop at Mrs. Breer's house next door.  That was always my first stop trick-or-treating.  She still looks the same and still just as generous with her candy hand outs.

The next stop was Nanny and Poppy's.  We were treated not just with treats but also a warm and filling meal.  We trick or treated their neighborhood and Paul was amused to stop by some of the same homes and say hello to the same neighbors he knew as a child.  My favorite stop was a surprise visit to one of our old friends from school who has since settled in that neighborhood as well.  When it comes to old friends, face to face is way better than facebook. 

We counted and weighed the candy - Peter won with 4 lbs. 9 oz!  James, William and Maryanna were around 3 lbs. 10 oz and Clara and Henry came in just under 2 lbs.  That is way too much candy for our family.  We counted it, gave a nice pile to Poppy and will reserve some for gingerbread houses.  The rest I'm not sure if I should toss out or donate.

Back at Paul's parent's home we were treated to a magic show by James and then each child decided they wanted to put on a show with their costumes on.  William and Peter put on a dual, Maryanna lifted some furniture, Clara danced, Henry slid on his tummy and we all laughed and ate candy till our tummy's hurt.  

And here are James' pumpkins, they were much more impressive with the candles lit.  I have to say Halloween gets better every year, simply by the joy I feel in celebrating it in simple ways with those I love. 

Bird seed cookie ornaments

I promised a few friends I'd post the instructions on the bird seed ornaments we made as party favors for James and Clara's birthday bash.These favors were among one of many ideas pinned for the event and it was also the only one that was attempted.  Here is the link to the original pin.

Our first batch was a flop, maybe because we used a coarser blend of bird seed, or maybe we made them too thick? Either way we found we needed more wet mixture than what was called for in the original recipe.  We also found it was very helpful to have a package of wipes on hand and essential to use cooking spray on the cookie cutter.

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup water

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (2.5 teaspoons)

3 tbsp corn syrup

4 cups birdseed

We poked a hole in them with a chop stick while they were still sticky then let them sit over night. 

This was a great messy project for kids and good alternative party favor.  

But did the birds like it?  I don't know because I must have hung ours too low,  our dog Archie got to them and all that is left is nasty pile of bird seed (with string) dog throw up by our side walk way.  I'm hoping some birds will come and clean that up and planning to make another batch this winter.  The kids are even talking about decorating one of our evergreens in Christmas shaped ornaments for the holidays. 

Fall Birthday Bash

This past weekend we celebrated Clara and James' birthday with a bunch of our friends and family.  This was our first big farm party with over 50 guests and the kids had so much fun they are already making plans for the next big party here.

My mom is a very experienced entertainer, she still hosts crowds of 50 or even 100+ guests every few months and does so effortlessly.  I don't have as much experience and still feeling like I dropped the ball on the decorations, food spread and planned activities.  But no one seemed to notice except me.  It was a perfectly beautiful day so most the kids were happy to just run free, visit the animals and climb trees.

James did manage to organize a few games for the older kids including eating doughnuts off a string and toilet paper dodge ball.

Clara had helped me make her pink cupcakes that morning and James baked two batches of brownies instead of a cake.

But by the time all the toilet paper was cleaned up from dodge ball, all the brownies were already devoured and there was nothing left to light a candle in for James.  So we made due with a plate of whip cream.

 And I'm sure you can guess what happened next.

Then this.

And it didn't stop until two cans of whip cream were empty.

Instead of gifts we had requested a small donation of food that we plan to deliver to Food Gathers, instead of party favors we made bird seed cookie ornaments. 

We wound it down by the camp fire and are grateful to all who made the effort to travel out to the country and help celebrate with our family.

Birthday Sewing -a Waldorf inspired doll

 Clara's been asking to go to Build a Bear for her birthday but I somehow convinced her we'd "build a doll" instead.   

I've been eyeing the bamboletta dolls for over a year and have yet to be quick enough to add one to my cart, it seems they sell out in less than 10 seconds.  Over that time the demand has pushed the price high enough that I decided we'd try to make one ourselves.  But even making it ourselves was not inexpensive, I think I spent over $50 on supplies and I'm sure later down the page I may mention the hours of concentration involved.  All that said this was a worthwhile project and Maryanna almost has me convinced to make her one as well.  

This was not mindless sewing. One day in the middle of it I had to put two Netflix on in a row for the younger kids to allow me the concentration I needed for sculpting the wool stuffing and hand sewing.  And then the hair kept me up till 12 am until I got it the way I liked it.

I did use a pattern and that helped, but I didn't like the body proportions so I ended up taking the doll apart and remaking it.  I used Joy's 16"Honey doll pattern and though I made adjustments to the actual pattern I found the booklet of instructions invaluable.

All of the supplies were ordered from Weir Crafts, as of now they are only selling online but since they are located right below my midwife's office I was able to hand pick up the supplies and get a peak at all the great products they offer.  The fabric is a cotton knit and the hair is a combination of mohair and worsted wool.  The body is stuffed with wool batting, the shoes are felt and the outfit was put together from my scrap pile.  

She even has a set of underwear which were also made from my scrap pile (that's what I love about doll clothes)!

Clara has named her Rosie and has already requested a ballet outfit, night gown and a few more pairs of underwear for her.  

She has already been played with, danced with, hugged, in the swing, to the chickens, to the fire pit, dressed and undressed, slept with and gotten dirty and wiped clean.  Which makes me think it was worth the effort in making it.  

Warm wooly gnome hats

Good news - I finally set up my sewing room yesterday.  In the meantime however, I took to knitting to fill some of my creative urges.  

I found this pattern on etsy and when I went to pick out the yarn at a shop in Ann Arbor, the owner informed me it was designed by a local woman, I think that makes me love it even more.  

The hats were quick and easy to knit up.  As I was knitting them I kept singing Heather Forest's song The Cap that Mother Made from this story.  I would sometimes work on the hats while tucking Henry in bed and while laying next to him make up all sorts of stories about a magical cap that would make him invisible and able to chase down dragons, he was the most excited for me to finish. 

I experimented with different yarns and sizes and after three I think I have it figured out. George's was the first one done, I used the Malabrigo Rios super wash Merino and size 6 & 8 needles for the children's size but it was too small for anyone but him.  Here he is trying to break into the sheep's pen. 

  For Henry's I went up to the adult size but it is too big, I used another merino worsted weight called  artful yarns water fall.

Clara picked out her own yarn, it is a Malabrigo worsted weight.  I went back to the children's size for hers adding a few inches to the neck length and it was just right.

I love how adorable they each look but I am especially pleased with the insulation it provides for their necks.  Paul's mom is making a few more for Maryanna and Peter but I don't think I could persuade the older two to wear one, maybe if they felt how warm and cozy they were.

While Maryanna is waiting for Nanny to finish hers, she's opted for more of a city girl look for outside play.  I am cracked up by the way she's been carrying her purse around just in case she found an egg or something.