Babbling

Happy Independence Day! Happy 4th of July!

We had a nice day (though I did break down at one point feeling like a complete and utter failure - gotta love hormones!) that started (not exactly but close enough) with making biscuits. That followed at some point by attempting to make a craft with T. He was all into it, but then it took me too long to gather the supplies, read over the directions, etc. so that he threw the beads we needed, which meant I had to crawl under the bed, which meant he stepped all over me, which meant I yelled...

Then it was hard for him to do much... so that he unwound the entire roll of bakers twine (using it as a leash for one of the fire engines), and generally did not enjoy crafting. Oh well?

Below is the boy with the rocket we finished (please ignore cockeyed curtains etc) just prior to his pulling the string to hopefully be showered with confetti.

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Except that it didn't shower, it trickled and then got stuck. Lesson number two (or perhaps four or five) don't mush a bunch of confetti in or it will stick and not fall. You can see a little falling, but B had to get in there and shake it. Not what any of us were thinking. T was unhappy, I felt sad.

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While T napped I finished making our blueberry tart to take to a friends. While in the photo it is still missing the last cup of berries, I stil think it is quite pretty. It was also tasty, though would have been much better with better berries. Lots of whipped creame masked that though. :-)

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I was trying to get his blueberry stained mouth, but think this photo is cute anyway.

Sunday morning we slept in. T woke at 7, played with B for about a half hour, then requested to be rocked. They slept for another two hours before getting up. We did misc stuff around the house and yard, including getting the pool together for some water fun.

Pool Cleaning

We had planned on getting T a Skuut running bike for his big birthday present, but when B went to REI to pick it up, they had just sold thier last one. So Monday he went to the other REI store and they discouraged him from buying it. Instead we settled on a bike with peddles that we took the peddles off of. The seat wouldn't go low enough for him so B put the peddles back on for him. T is not ready for peddles unless we want to endlessly push him - which I do not! This was quite disappointing 'cause I was very excited about getting T a bike for his birthday and now we have to make yet another trip and go through the process again. REI has a metal running bike from Raleigh that is our next thing to try.

Trying the new birthday bike

I posted a recipe once before about natural insect repellent, but I can't find it. What I did find, yesterday, was a spray bottle to contian the ingredients I purchased previously. After some searching online I am trying the following:

• 2 + Tsp witch hazel
• 5 drop tea tree essential oil
• 5 drops lavender essential oil
• 5 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 5 drops citronella essential oil

I'd rather hate to use it for this, but vodka was suggested as a base, and I have lemon vodka...I also have some almond castile soap and some almond oil that I could mix in, or use a different kind of base. The articles I looked at (E-How, Care2 to make a difference, Natural Products Suite 101.com, and About.com: Chemistry) also suggested peppermint oil, lemon eucalyptus, penny royal, thyme, cedar and many other essential oils to help ward off mosquitoes and various insects.

Wish us luck - the mosquitoes have been bad and T is covered with bites despite being doused in spray.

Tommy asked for a story about King Kong after he saw the gorilla on a mural. I was telling him about KK picking up the woman and I said, "She is really pretty, kind of like mommy. Do you think mommy is pretty?" He replied, "Yeah, finish the story please." (and of course I look nothing like a blond waif.)

From Craftzine

• Wrap around mailing labels at a Very Chocolate Wedding
• Easy 4th of July pom-poms at Make and Takes
• Threadbanger posted a video on making a $10 wedding dress from T-shirts. It's a bit thin and best suited to a skinny frame, but I think the idea could be adapted for a cute summer dress.
• Awesome paper rockets from Alpha Mom. Could be a lot of fun with T.
• From the Long Thread, firefly lanterns ala Eric Carle. This is a great blog and she has lots of good links.
• Ric Rac posted a pattern for cutie mousie twins, and see Jodie's great pattern for boy dolls with clothes
• Red Hot Pottery has cute vases with love birds
• Pretty tops and dresses at Lirola's shop
• Cinnamon ice cream recipe
• Waste Not Want Not bags for sandwich and snack bags
• Spin art in a salad spinner from Scrumdilly-do
• Lots o 4th of July crafts at the Crafty Crow
• Child's travel pillow with pocket tut at Maya Made
• A round up of goodies at Luv In The Mommyhood
• At Make It Do, a lavender bottle (lavender wand) tutorial
• Make panties with Belle and Berger
• Thirty Handmade Days posted about car travel books to make for kids

• Personalized and affordable jewelry at Simag on Etsy
• Cute little brag books you print and stick from ZoomAlbum
• Neato reverse alphabet t-shirt at Milalu. Another cool alpha T, and this cute number T are other options, and all are affordable at $18!
• Energy Bank bath and shower gel
• Cool cardboard plane to make and play with
  

• Check out the photo of the cool sailboat sandbox - great cover.

• cute baby project (laminate phots for your baby to look at and chew) on MSL
• Gorgeous shawl on Soule Mama, found here.