Big man, Little man

Here are the after and after pictures of my latest refashioning project.  Paul grabbed the scraps while I was cooking dinner and had us all cracking up imitating poses from the Brooks Brothers catalog.  

Even clothes that are too small for him are still big enough to cut out more than one baby/toddler outfit. I'm not sure what it will be but the scraps are going back into my bins and the buttons are going into my button tin.

The wrinkle free fabric is nice for men but I'm finding the propertites of such do not work well with a teething baby. That picture was taken just minutes after I dressed him, fifteen minutes later the drool was beading across the whole front of the kimono so I reversed it.

 

reversible baby outfit

Here is Henry's new go to church outfit.  It is a reversible kimono top with reversible pants just like I made for Clara in 2007.  Sticking to my challenge, I cut up some old pants, a t-shirt, and wrinkle free dress shirt of Paul's.

I like reversible clothes for several reasons.
-assuming you use soft fabric they are more comfortable
-you can turn them around if they get messy (2 outfits in 1)
-it is a clean finish

One problem I ran into was figuring out the appropriate closure opening for little boys.  Did you know girls are always right over left but boys are left over right?  So on the reverse side Henry will be dressed like a girl but it will only bother me if I let it - most people don't know right?

Clothes for a growing baby

Henry is growing and there wasn't much available for him in my baby boy storage bin.  Either the older boys wore them all out or he is off season for this size.

I traced 7 patterns from various Japanese pattern books and have them all cut out.  I challenged myself to use only what I have; that means I was even cutting into some of Paul's old clothes.

This little jacket was made from the denim I picked up at NPS and lined with some green sweatshirt fleece that I picked up on my second trip to NPS. I would have liked to use corduroy and a more neutral color lining but I stuck to the challenge and am pleased with the result. It is actually reversible but I think he'll wear the denim side out more.     

Kids in action

Today we joined up with Cathy and other moms at the State Capitol in a rally for clean air. You can see Cathy and Phillip on ksl wearing face masks. My boys made signs which read:

"Keep us Healthy
Think Green with fresh air"

"Keep our air clean"

Unfortunately we missed half the rally because it took us quite some time to climb all those steps up to the Capitol (I had one in the back pack was also dragging both our stroller and a reluctant climber). But the kids enjoyed this outing and have requested we go back when there are less people so they can see more of the actual building.

History lesson?

We've been planning to clean out our "spider room" (storage room) for months.  Last week as we begun pulling everything out we came upon this box containing Paul's old Nintendo from 1993.  It was complete with Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Super Punch Out, Super Tennis, Madden '94, NHL '94, and Rad Racer.

The spider room clean out was once again put on hold and the kids gathered all around cheering as we cleared 1-1, 1-2...... up until 8-4. It is amazing the way it all comes back, kind of like playing the piano or riding a bike, I knew just where to jump and when.

We actually don't own any other game console in our home.  Christmas 2005 Santa brought a Gamecube which was fun for a while but with it came many challenges for our family.  There was increased contention between siblings and homeschool became a constant battle so we gave it away.  

For now we are enjoying the old school games and that is only late in the evening when Daddy is home and after all other responsibilities have been met with cooperation.  Perhaps we can call it history because these games certainly were a big part of our youth.  

Tortilla Soup

There were no leftovers.  Even my pickiest of eaters declared "this has good flavor".  

The original recipe comes from Suz who is able to use her skills as a scientist in the kitchen to perfect just about any recipe.  I think the original recipe (posted below) is great but after living in Mexico for a couple of months she said her tortilla soup is now perfect and I may be able to replicate it if I make a trip to the Mexican market.

Here it is:

2 dried ancho chilies or 1 Tbsp Ancho chili powder
2 Tbsp canola oil
6 corn tortillas (blue or yellow)
1 Onion; chopped
4 Garlic cloves; minced
8 cups chicken stock (reduced-fat) or veg stock
2 cups tomato puree
1 Tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp oregano
¾ tsp. salt
2 limes, juiced

Optional Garnishes:
Grated Monterey jack cheese,
Avocado, diced
Sour cream
Minced cilantro
Diced cooked chicken

Remove stems and seeds from ancho chilies. Place chilies in a saucepan, cover with water and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain chilies, let cool, then puree in a food processor or blender. While chilies cook, cut up two tortillas into small pieces. In a large saucepan, sauté tortillas, onion and garlic in 2 teaspoons canola oil until onions are soft. Add ancho pepper puree or chili powder, chicken stock, tomato puree, cumin, oregano and salt to saucepan. Bring soup to boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Puree soup in a food processor and return it to saucepan. Stir in lime juice and reheat. Slice remaining tortillas into ¼ in x 2 in strips. Heat remaining oil in a medium skillet. When oil is hot, add tortilla strips and sauté until crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer tortilla strips to a paper towel to drain. Ladle soup into bowls and top with tortilla strips, cheese and garnishes, as desired.

I could not find Ancho chilies so I used dried California ones instead. Reading about chilies I discovered that ancho chilies are mild, dark and pungent. The California ones are a bit spicier and are red. I think they were an okay substitute but I'm not going to make it again until I find ancho chilies or whatever other secret ingredient that Suz suggests.

Also I did my stock in the pressure cooker and was quite pleased with the flavor and the ease of it all. The meat just fell off the bone and I didn't have to sit long picking the bones like I usually do when I make stove top stock.

One more tip - the soup is suppose to taste better after one day but I don't know because ours didn't last past dinner. Next time I'll double it.

Messing Up and Cleaning UP

Messing up and cleaning up seems to be our daily routine and what keeps me from not only blogging but also conquering the laundry.

The messy project of the week goes to Maryanna's new Calico Critters house that William and I worked on together.  First we cut a box and spray painted it white.  Next we glued down the wall paper and rugs.  Meanwhile, James was cooking up some Jell-o (which was also very messy) so William made a bed out of the box and used some scrap cardboard for the table.  He also created an oval mirror for the bathroom.  The other items, except for the bedding which I sewed, were $.25 purchases collected from garage sales last summer - I knew we would enjoy them but I just forgot about them until now. 

Now Maryanna has her own little house to mess up and clean up.  She has enjoyed it so much I wish I would have thought of this earlier, it would have been a perfect homemade Christmas gift.  She is also still enjoying the movie Annie and requests to watch it frequently.  If you are wondering what she is wearing it is an undershirt and bloomers because she wanted to be "just like Annie".

Since the completion of the Calico Critters house the boys have been building and painting airplanes, boats and cars.  I don't think they'll let me throw away or even recycle any boxes for awhile now - each one is a new creation.

As for less messy projects James has been working on his new blog:  toyboxnews.blogspot.com