Author Archive

17
Sep
You can make this today!
Little Mama

Muffin tin crayons!

You can do a quick google and find lots of posts on how to make muffin tin or chunky crayons.  I used the instructions from Make and Take and a saved bowl of crayon pieces.

Littlebit likes to “pop” crayons, meaning she colors with them once and breaks them. I buy crayons on sale cheap, but I hate throwing the broken pieces away.

Littlebit and I sorted the colors into tins and then I allowed her to combine the left over pieces to make an uber crayon.  I threw the pan in the oven while we finished baking our zucchini bread.

Littlebit is overjoyed.

If I hadn’t already done favors for her party this Saturday, we would totally do this for a cheap, but really cool favor.  In a cute little bag with some bright ribbon?  Fantastic!

Also, they are far less breakable than the stick crayons and Littlebit’s uber crayon makes some awesome results on paper so don’t be afraid to let the kids combine.  They actually don’t turn brown. ;)

Category: Gettin' Crafty, Let's Get Cheaper, LittleBit  Tags: , ,  2 Comments
15
Sep
Things I would like to do (but won’t)
Little Mama

1. Run away and join the circus.

Depending on the day, this is very attractive.  Big Daddy says he’ll hunt me down, but I call bullshit.  I don’t know what I would DO at the circus though.  No beard, not interesting appendages, not that flexible, not into heights or sticking my head into large carnivores mouths, so that’s probably out, but I like to think about it

2. Put the baby down to sleep over night on her tummy

I’m afraid of SIDS.  Really afraid.  Super afraid.  I was worse when the Princess was little.  Nearly hysterical. Now, I’m just passingly afraid, but scared enough that I won’t put Baby Bee to sleep over night on her tummy.  I wish I could.  She sleeps so well on her tummy.    So, instead of getting more sleep, but being afraid, I wwait with baited breath for the day that she starts rolling over so I can put her down to sleep peacefully on her tummy with less concern.

Not NO concern.  Just less.

3. Ban Football

I don’t hate football, per se.  It’s okay.  It’s really just a fall interlude to distract us on weekends before hockey comes on, but the reason I really don’t like football?  It screws up m DVR’ed shows.  I hate watching 45 minuts of “60 Minutes” and 15 minutes of “The Amazing Race” because the Raiders game ran over.

However, one thing I DO like about football is Brian Urlacher’s name.  I get great phonetic satisfaction out of saying his name and since you can’t just ru around yelling out “URLACHER!” in the summer, football season is a great excuse to do it.

4. Never have to do laundry.  Throw out dirty clothes and buy new

Not that i like new clothes or clothes shopping that much, I just hate doing laundry.  You could also add toilets and showers to the list because I don’t like cleaning them either.  Disposable toilets and showers would be so great.

Category: Soccer Mom Musings  2 Comments
19
Aug
(mostly) Wordless Wednesday
Little Mama

Who am I kidding?  These are never wordless.

Some bird and what are probably some weeds at Peninsula Cellar’s vineyard and tasting room on Old Mission Peninsula.

Check out more mostly wordlessness at 5 Minutes for Mom

Category: Photos  Leave a Comment
14
Aug
Vacation with Kids-Summer ‘09 edition part 1
Little Mama

Last week, we did the circle tour. If you’re not from the Midwest, or maybe even Michigan you might not know what that is. The circle tour is the trip around lake Michigan. We start in Chicago, travel up the Michigan coast, cross “the bridge”, traverse the UP, move into Wisconsin and back home to Chicagoland. It’s a long trip. About 19 hours when it’s all said and done (more in traffic and was there EVER traffic).

Let me start off by saying that if you live in the Midwest, Michigan is a fantastic vacation destination. I could go on for weeks about places to go and things to do in Michigan and that’s just on its west coast. Our first destination was a small town about an hour southeast of Traverse City, but you can skip that, though you can Kayak on a lovely little lake were you so inclined, but my first focus is on Traverse City itself. Can I talk about how beautiful it is? And how it’s parent AND kid friendly? Best of both vacation worlds. Here’s why:

1) Tons upon tons of kid friendly activities for varying prices.

2) There’s that little winery thing for the grown-ups.  It’s not kid unfriendly, either, and tastings are either free or super cheap.  Most of the tasting rooms have lovely outside areas that you or your partner could entertain the kids in.  My favorite winery always has families wandering up and down the rows of grapes.  Just make sure you have transportation in place.  No good getting tanked and driving with kids in the car.

3. Adorable downtown section with fun little shops.  Admittedly, you can find tourist trapesque places where you can get a sweatshirt, but Traverse City is a neat little enclave and the downtown area is full of little botique shops.  My favorite is American Spoon. I always leave with a jar of their awesome mango habenero salsa and we love to eat at North Peak Brewing Company, but that’s just one option.  You can spend as much or as little as you like (there’s a subway on the main drag) and have the experience of your choice.  Additionally, if you go in August, Traverse City hosts a film festival that has a huge turn out.

My point?  It’s not really BFE.

And the beaches?  Oh the beaches.  Michigan has fantastic beaches. Midwestern folks, you do NOT need to drive to the shore in the summer to have a good beach experience with your kids.  Michigan boasts so many, they’re lovely, the water is blue (so so SO blue) and you’ll shave 10 hours off of your drive time.  My favorite beach in TC is at the end of the Old Mission pennisula.  It’s not the prettiest beach in regards to clear sand, but it has the lighthouse…and a lovely state park (with not too icky outhouses).  We love to stop along the way and pick up food from the farm stands along the path; usually some fresh fruit and a loaf of fresh baked bread.

Part 2: Camping with a two year old and 6 week old isn’t REALLY crazy.

Category: Family, Soccer Mom Musings, Travel  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment
27
Jul
Waiting is the hardest part
Little Mama

Today, as I swept and cleaned and washed the dishes and folded the laundry, I did it all with an ulterior purpose.  I was spending the day waiting for a phone call that would announce that my Grandfather had been removed from life support and had passed away.  We got the call on Wednesday night that my Uncle had stopped by my Grandfather’s house after work and found hi on the floor, alive but having suffered a stroke.

He was taken to the hospital, intubated and on Thursday afternoon we were told that he had no brain function.  He was brain dead.

And so on Friday, today as I write this (though it will post in my absence on Monday) we are waiting for the news that the doctors have allowed my Grandfather’s body to go (as I believe his spirit has already left).  There are lessons here, in my Grandfather’s life but ultimately in his death.

He, Papa (pronounced in such a way that no one who isn’t related to him can’t seem to do it.  Maybe you southern readers will have better luck with it) wasn’t a fan of modern established medicine.  He treated himself through diet and herbs and other holistic treatments (including building his own inversion table a few years ago).  Despite this distrust and dislike (he was non compliant in regards to treatment when they discovered the condition which was ultimately the cause of his demise) he never made out a living will.  As I write this, we are waiting for him to jump through the hoops protocal dictates he must to be allowed to die.  Which is  NOT what he would have wanted.

And so I’m back to waiting for someone to die. Can I just say how absolutely surreal that situation is. Maybe surreal isn’t the right word? Freaking weird? That’s closer. There are, of course, situations where you pray for the dying to have every availble moment with those that love them. Praying for every minute and every second. My last two experiences, this one and the one before, were marked by people so ill that there was no only no chance of recovery, but no chance for meaning to anyone anymore. There would be no conversations, no last minute goodbyes, no waiting for someone to come. It just was just pain and anguish for those left and the shells of the people who were still here.

The clock ticks. Time seems to stand still. Has it only been 10 minutes since I last checked the clock. It feels like an hour. Did I hear the phone? Should I call and check? Call and ask? Wait, wait, wait, wait.

I’m not patience. It’s my biggest struggle. I LACK patience. I hate this wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.

My Papa passed away on the evening July 24th, 2009. We were due to see him at a family party in a week where he would have met Baby Bee, his fifth great-grandchild. He informed me a few weeks ago, when he called to congratulate me on Baby Bee that he was emptying out his leg so he could put more booze in it. Yes, I have THAT kind of family. When we travel north for our vacation, we will be raising a glass. Godspeed, Papa. I’m sure they have guitars in Heaven.

Category: Family  3 Comments
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