A Little Blue Horse for a Girls' Room

I've been threatening to paint some of the walls in our rental home for months but Paul suggested I channel my house frustrations in other ways, so I did. 

This mural was created to liven up the girls' little bedroom.  I got the idea from this site and allowed the girls to select their favorite mural.  Of course the little horse lovers chose the horse mural.  It is designed after Franz Marc's Blue Horse painting but we didn't discuss much about it because the creative tension was too strong for even a few words - we just dug in silently with our pastels and loved it!

This was declared as the one of the best art projects ever.  I agree, it was super exciting to see how the colors blended and how it all came together.  We mounted it on an old Ikea box (as a homeschooler I save all sorts of strange things "just in case") and it was just right.

Dont' mind the messy kitchen behind me as I steadily moved forward with this project.  After trimming it down I painted the outer edge (cardboard frame) red with and added an outline of glitter.

Here it is again mounted up with Scotch tabs above the girls' beds.

  Seeing how the girls act at bedtime I'm not sure how long it will last up there but at least cardboard and paper are harmless, there's no way I'd put any piece of glass in their room, but I learned that the hard way years ago.

Now the boys want one of their own but I've got to find another large piece of cardboard first.

Thank you Guardian Angels

My heart is still pounding from freaky episode that happened in our home yesterday.

I was upstairs changing a diaper when I saw a bright flash and heard a sharp bang.  I immediately ran down stairs to investigate but found nothing.  As quick as Paul was to announce we had lost power I was back up the stairs and smelled something funny.   Moments later Maryanna slowly tiptoed out of her room, her eyes wide, and face white carefully cradling one of her hands.

She didn't answer when I asked what happened but it didn't take long to figure it out.  In her room there was a burnt smell coming from the outlet where her lamp was plugged in.  Here's what else I found:

I got it out of Maryanna that she was trying to hide the Caprisun pouch of crayons from her sister.  She was trying to jam it behind her dresser but on the way the pouch got sandwiched between the plug and outlet, thus the flash, bang and loss of power.

Maryanna is fine.  I checked her had for a burn but there was nothing, she probably just suffered a little shock.  But I'm still wondering how the plug was pulled safely out of the wall.  As I surveyed the scene my heart raced with gratitude.  

My mind also raced back to probably the most traumatic event of my childhood when I was electrocuted at just about the same age as Maryanna.  My Dad saved my life that day but that is another story.  

In the case of Maryanna it is kind of funny to see the evidence of my caution with the outlet covers in the  above photo - of course we do everything we can to keep our children safe, but in most cases it is out of our hands and that is where we turn it over to the protection of guardian angels.  In our family prayer yesterday morning I specifically remember praying for protection from harm, I believe that request was granted and as a result, I am more than grateful, my faith and confidence have grown.

As for Maryanna, the spirited one who probably has more energy than a live circuit, she thought I was upset over her hiding crayons from her sister.  She apologized with tears and I showered her with hugs and kisses.  What a great reminder it was as to the special gift she is to our family, but even more so the reminder that miracles do happen in our very homes.           

 

Jogging Suit for Baby

My sister Bina will be having a baby girl in just weeks so I took that as a chance to sew.

It will takes months for the sweet baby to grow into this and perhaps even longer for it to be cold enough in CA to even need to wear it.  But I call it a "jogging suit" because Bina enjoys exercising with her babies in tow, she has a funny little blog about it.  This is to keep the baby warm and comfy while her mom is enjoys fresh air and exercise.  Here is the back:

The pattern is from a Japanese pattern book and you can read more about it here.  The fabric was a great find at the Scrap box in Ann Arbor.  And since Bina loves cute Japanese design as much as me I had to throw in a cute pair of leggings to wear under.

And of course the soon to be big sister (and my special little name sake Ally) needed something of her own so I whipped out another pink twirl skirt.

Right now we are suffering from an over abundance of clothes in our home so it was fun to sew for another family.  Next up on my list may be dress-up clothes, finishing up the crazy quilt, bedroom pillows or Spring/Summer play clothes.   

Oatmeal Cake

As requested, here is the favorite oatmeal cake that Peter was served for his birthday.  My sister Cheryl is the one who first introduced this recipe to me but it is originally from The Nourished Kitchen.  It is helpful to read through the comments because just like us everyone has their own way of preparing it.  

To start you need a large non-metal bowl.  I use a 1 1/2 lb box of steel cut oats (I bought a few cases when they were on sale - great deal with the addition of the case discount).  The original recipe calls for just 1 lb. but I make a smaller cake without eggs for Henry and George so I use the whole box.

Dump in the oats and cover with filtered water.  Add a bit (I don't know just dump some in) of buttermilk and a dash of salt, cover and soak overnight for 8 - 12 hours.  I've also soaked completely in buttermilk before and it makes it very soft and rich, but that is only when I have a lot of buttermilk on hand.

In the morning the oats should be a bit soft.  Strain them and maybe find something good to do with the discarded water?  I tried it on my plants, thought to serve it to my dog and really want to put it in my hair - just not last Sunday though because I was too busy preparing a lesson and Sunday mornings before church are not a good time to experiment with hair (learned that from using Coconut oil as conditioner once).  

Please note: on the occasion that I soaked solely in buttermilk I found most had been absorbed so there is no need for straining and not as much milk was needed.  

Now add in the ingredients (remember I started with 1 1/2 lbs oats unlike the original which calls for 1 lb.):

3 cups milk

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup coconut oil (this is solid so you can mash it a bit but it does bake in nicely)

1/4 cup applesauce (I add this for texture since a portion will not have eggs)

If the batter seems too watery I'll toss in a bit of rice or millet flour (we are mostly gluten free)

If the batter is too solid I'll add a bit more applesauce or milk

From here I'll take a portion of the batter and pour it into a greased bread pan for Henry and George.

For the rest I mix up 6 eggs (or less if I don't have that many on hand) and 2 Tbs. cinnamon.  Slosh it all together and pour into a greased cake pan.

It takes at least 45 minutes to bake at 375, sometimes more, sometimes less all depending on what I felt like dumping in or what I actually had on hand.  But again I recommend skimming through the 99 comments on The Nourished Kitchen because I'm not the only one getting sloppy with this recipe - and I'm not the only one finding it delicious no matter what the variation.

The one complaint I've heard was the oats being too crunchy - maybe I didn't soak them long enough?  or not enough liquid.  

On the Sunday morning that this was photographed it is a little over cooked because I was busy preparing a lesson and did not hear the oven timer.  It was still good enough to eat and lucky for us we had some leftover whipped cream, usually we just top it with plain yogurt.

Digging in

And done!  The original recipe suggest 12 - 16 servings, there are 9 of us and I added an additional half so I guess we're eating more than we should.  But paired with a kale/berry smoothie it is good for you and an especially great filler before church.  

Just a little added warning though, this could also be called "clean-out cake" because it really gets digestion moving, but that is also a good thing.

Anyone want the egg-free, brown rice, millet, ginger muffins from George's birthday?  Probably not and I don't blame you!

Baby boy turns 1!

Look who's so happy to be 1!

Has it really been a year?

Can you believe how much this sweet boy loves broccoli?  We indulged him for his birthday.

He also got a sweet little taste of an egg-free brown rice millet ginger muffin (since Henry's trouble with food allergies I'm playing it safe with George).  They were really quite good!  

Originally I purchased a vintage Fisher Price little people castle off ebay for his birthday but it got damaged in shipping.  So a quick trip to our favorite thrift stores found us a few other gifts to wrap for George.

He'll have to grown into this next one but in the meantime it serves as a walker and entertainment as siblings as old as 9 race it around the house.

As for the crown, I made it while the muffins were baking.  But that cute outfit is one I made for my nephew 4 years ago, it is the same kimono pattern and pants I made for Clara Christmas 2007.  My sister is always kind in passing on clothes and this one, made out of another one of Paul's old shirts, was especially appreciated.

While fishing out some felt for the crown I came across this old project that was worth finishing for George's birthday.  It is a fuzzy glove for finger rhymes and stories.

Brave big brother William burned his finger a few times with hot glue while assembling these cute fuzzy creatures, James typed out the words and I sewed the glove.  But I give credit to my sister Mary, a gifted speech pathologist, for the idea to start this project in the first place.

Not sure who enjoys this more, the little kids watching or the older kids performing.  Below you can see how William turned George's tears to smiles with this little kit.

Hard to believe how much a baby can learn and grow in just one year - but even harder to imagine our life without you sweet little boy.  Happy Birthday!

A Piece of the Peace

Contention levels have been on the rise recently.  Maybe it's being cooped up in close quarters for the winter or maybe it is just our humanness.  In most cases it is the boys vs. the girls (even mommy and daddy having at it at times), sometimes it is as innocent as an inconsolable baby at dinner-making-time that robs us of our peace,  or something as silly as one person merely looking at another that sparks rage.

Just like a "good mom" I intervene.  But honestly, I often get drawn in with my own emotions and in those cases the the tension only escalates.  

Yelling at child to say they're sorry or to be nice to another sibling is kind of like forcing a child to smile, sure they can physically move their muscles but there is no smile when there is no emotion behind it.  Just like William in our Christmas card photo below - after 20 some tries he just did not have it in him, he was done with the photo shoot and you can see it clearly on his face.  Just so, there is no real resolution between two parties unless heart is involved.  For that reason I decided sometimes it was better to back off a little and then realized it was better for a child not to say "I'm sorry" unless they really felt it.  And in the end when they finally felt it, sometimes taking hours to surface, I discovered the feelings to be tearfully sincere (even in older boys).

Backing off and observing (even just observing myself) is powerful.  It is the catalyst to change because then we can recognize what it is we need to change.  In our case at this time we recognized the need for greater unity, for working as a whole.  That just as there is not one person at fault for all the contention, there is not one person capable of holding all the peace.  We each are a piece of the peace.  

We assembled our picture puzzle, read some scriptures on peace and discussed how it related to similar themes and interests in their lives.  

Often as we thumb through world news the children throw out their "why"s relating to the confusion of war and hostility.  On this family home evening I threw the "why"'s back at them....."why do we have to be at war amongst ourselves"? and then asked  "how can we ever expect or hope for world peace unless we can first find in our home"?   

We also gave examples from the football field and explained how teams are designed to work together.  One powerful comparison for the boys was: "criticizing your sister's singing is just like knocking down your own teammate just yards from a touchdown".  That was an "ah-ha" moment.  We huddled together as a team and ended up in a giant group hug (except for George who took that as an unsupervised opportunity to quickly crawl away and make a noisy mess).

Is our family now perfect?  No way! just tonight there was an episode of someone throwing a few cantaloupe rinds across the kitchen.  But we are taking this "season" of discomfort and contention as an opportunity for growth and learning.  

So I have since found it within myself to respond as peacefully as I can to quarrelling.  Instead of frantically yelling out "stop fighting" or  "why isn't anyone listening to me"! I can calmly say "be a peace maker", or "please be a piece of the peace".  When I feel my blood start to boil just whispering "peace" to myself has been effective.

We saw success on Sunday.  We got home from church late in the afternoon during a time when Henry is usually napping.  He fell asleep on the short ride home and was so mad to be woken up and unbuckled by not his mother but his brother.  He kicked and screamed all over the front hall with his down puffy coat still buttoned.  He was so mad at me for not getting him out myself that I was unable to console him.  Paul joked out, "quick we need some peace"!  Peter's fast little legs came trotting to the rescue with a sippy cup of milk and a funny little Thomas the Tank Engine tune to his lips, Henry was soon contented and Peter was praised as a peace maker.  

I may not be able to change the world but I can certainly change my heart, and any heart at peace is an important piece to the peace.  That is the lesson I wish to instill and practice in our home.  It is my hope not just to be a patriot of peace myself but raise a houseful of them along side me - for now, that is my contribution to world peace.     

Stenciled Mug

We had a mug exchange party with our local homeschool group last weekend so I took that as a chance to do a craft.  After a few failed attempts I came up with a stenciled mug.

The mug is from a whole crate of commercial grade mugs (among other things) that Paul picked up at the U of M disposition center in December, there really is more to that story so hopefully I'll get to blogging it.  

The idea to embellish the mug came from Design Mom awhile back.  Using a similar technique William successfully drew a picture of walking the dog on a mug for Poppy (Paul's dad) for Christmas, it turned out great but unfortunately I was too busy to photograph it.  Now a month later the original  black porcelain pen we used gave me too much trouble.  I frustrated myself through two attempts at a simple line drawing (even just a simple heart filled in) but the pen did not co-operate and it was too streaky.   So back I went to Micheals and bought a small jar of porcelain paint instead.  Luckily the paint is easy to wash off and will not be permanent until it dries 24 hours and then baked.

I stopped at the PTO thrift store just before and found a book on silhouettes so I thought to incorporate the two ideas.  I could tell you the process but perhaps the photo below is enough of an explanation.

I am pleased with the end result as is the recipient, just hope the paint sticks with the test of time.  And I would be happy to write out written instructions to anyone interested .

How to Celebrate 7

Here is the now 7 year old Peter!

When celebrating 7 it is fun to wear a felt crown, this one was made quickly the night before.  It is also a good idea to open presents in the morning because 7 year old boys get anxious.

Any cake will do, this one (Peter's choosing) is actually made out of soaked steel cut oats, raisins and a little bit of cinnamon and maple syrup, it is really tasty topped with whip cream.  Be sure to cover younger children's mouths when blowing out candles, this photo was take II so Peter could get at it himself.

Little girls love parties, making their own party hats (out of poster board, tissue paper, modge podge, netting and pipe cleaners) is a good way to keep them busy and involved.

Don't forget a free birthday meal at Northside Grill, it was just Mommy and Peter this time, he brought along his new set of blank Russian nesting dolls so he could plan how to paint them.  There are 6 of them and it didn't take long for Peter to decide they will be painted as football players, in order of his favorite teams largest to smallest, Michigan, Alabama, Boise State, Nebraska, USC, Utah.

No need to go to the toy store for birthdays, ebay and thrift stores have really cool stuff for 7 year olds.  Does anyone know what this is?

This is what Poppy played before the age of video games, this is what the boys (including Paul) played all day.

Other favorite gifts included:  an old pinewood derby car, wooden archery set, old US map puzzle, modeling clay, and a watch.  Here is the clay in action, he sculpted his Opa below.

Here is the US puzzle map in action, I thought it would be good geography practice but really the kids just argued about regional college football conferences as they assembled it.

You may break down and stop by a toy store if the 7 year old boy questions why he didn't get anything "new" like Legos or Playmobil.  Because it is hard to not to give into to such requests after sharing lunch with a 7 year old wearing a felt crown and holding a set of Russian nesting dolls (after all his lunch was free and the other gifts, most thrifted, didn't add up to much).  

And because it is fun to share birthdays with the cousins, invite them to a night at Pinball Pete's.  405 tickets!  That's enough for a 7 year old to come home with a set of handcuffs!  What a day to remember.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Peter!  How blessed we are to share not just a day but many fun (and funny) filled moments with you in our life.