It's almost your granddaughter's 5th birthday, and I have a few ideas for you... (Ok, so they are more for me, but still...) I would get them myself, but
- They are too expensive to buy.
- I am not half as talented as you are to replicate them myself.
Now, these are fun ideas, but I know you could do an even better job. Why? I have seen your work, and you are UH-MAZING! So... (in your spare time)... if you are feeling inspired, here are the two items I love:
The tutorial for this birthday card holder can be found HERE. I think it's adorable, but could probably use a few more wires.
Remember how I asked you to make a felt playhouse for over our dining room table? So much for thinking I was original... In case you need more inspiration, you can find more pictures HERE.
Sincerely,
Your loving daughter
I would have to say that summer is my least favorite season... I am just not a huge fan of the heat we get here! However, there are a few things I love about the upcoming season; one of them being fresh fruit! (I also love fresh veggies, summer evenings, the beach, and our neighbor's pool, but I digress...) My in-laws have a loquat tree, and we were blessed with a giant bag, yesterday. They are so juicy and sweet. I can't even tell you how many I've eaten. Allison loves them, too. Of course, Natalie won't even try them. (After all, they are part of the fruit family, you know! Strange kid!) If the birds and squirrels stay away, we'll have a truck load of apricots soon, as well. Woohoo! I'll keep you updated...
Today is my Sweetie's 35th birthday... gosh, we're getting old! We drove to Monterey Park for a wonderful family celebration of dim sum this morning, but I forgot the camera... bummer! Anyway, Daniel spent the afternoon washing his car while the girls played in the sprinklers!
Meanwhile, Sierra and I finished up a project we started yesterday... sweet sushi! It was Allison's idea, actually. She thought we needed a theme to celebrate Daniel's birthday, and thought sushi would be perfect. Hooray for a creative daughter!
The top, of course, is rice krispy treats and Swedish fish with green fruit roll-up "seaweed." The bottom is cake, homemade lemon frosting, and "roe" sprinkles! It was a fun surprise, which he seemed to enjoy!
Now the girls are almost down, and it's time for the birthday boy and me to watch his birthday present, "The Blind Side." I have wanted to see it for a long time, and I am so excited!! (eh-hem... I mean, I really thought Daniel would enjoy it, so I got it for him! :) ) (Notice Allison wearing Papa's new shirt; so sweet!)
One good thing that came from my diabetic diet: my daily salad for lunch! (Well, almost daily!) With a yummy crusty bread from Costco, (not permitted on the diet, but oh so good now!)... the perfect lunch!
- Brianna's dressing (any flavor; I have 5 favorites!)
- toasted almond slices (I use Trader Joe's and toast them in the toaster oven!)
- avocados ( I wouldn't be a true Californian without them :) )
- protein (either chicken or eggs!)
As promised, our home preschool theme for today was "teeth day." Ms. H did most of the work, and she did an amazing job! First, she read a poem about teeth for the kids to try to guess the theme.
Next, the kids all looked in the mirror to count their teeth. Then we graphed the results! (Can you tell both Mrs. H and I are math teachers?)
Next we counted out the same number of marshmallows as teeth we had counted. Then we folded red paper plates in half and glued the marshmallows on.
Mrs. H cut out some giant teeth that were yellow with "plaque." So, we brushed them with "toothpaste" (white paint), until they were completely white.
My favorite part... Look at this snack! Too fun... and somewhat healthy... and yummy!
We learned to brush top, bottom, front, back, and in-between using egg cartons and shaving cream!
Oh, wait... I have another favorite part! "Mrs. Floss!" She had eaten some green "play doh" and the kids had to floss it out of her teeth.
Floss art -- a messy idea, but fun none-the less!
Finally, a maze to determine the healthy way to take care of your teeth. A perfect way to review all that we learned.
Oh -- and, once the marshmallow teeth dried, they chased me all over the house! :)
Remember how I asked you to make a felt playhouse for over our dining room table? So much for thinking I was original... In case you need more inspiration, you can find more pictures HERE.
I would have to say that summer is my least favorite season... I am just not a huge fan of the heat we get here! However, there are a few things I love about the upcoming season; one of them being fresh fruit! (I also love fresh veggies, summer evenings, the beach, and our neighbor's pool, but I digress...) My in-laws have a loquat tree, and we were blessed with a giant bag, yesterday. They are so juicy and sweet. I can't even tell you how many I've eaten. Allison loves them, too. Of course, Natalie won't even try them. (After all, they are part of the fruit family, you know! Strange kid!) If the birds and squirrels stay away, we'll have a truck load of apricots soon, as well. Woohoo! I'll keep you updated...
Today is my Sweetie's 35th birthday... gosh, we're getting old! We drove to Monterey Park for a wonderful family celebration of dim sum this morning, but I forgot the camera... bummer! Anyway, Daniel spent the afternoon washing his car while the girls played in the sprinklers!
Meanwhile, Sierra and I finished up a project we started yesterday... sweet sushi! It was Allison's idea, actually. She thought we needed a theme to celebrate Daniel's birthday, and thought sushi would be perfect. Hooray for a creative daughter!
The top, of course, is rice krispy treats and Swedish fish with green fruit roll-up "seaweed." The bottom is cake, homemade lemon frosting, and "roe" sprinkles! It was a fun surprise, which he seemed to enjoy!
Now the girls are almost down, and it's time for the birthday boy and me to watch his birthday present, "The Blind Side." I have wanted to see it for a long time, and I am so excited!! (eh-hem... I mean, I really thought Daniel would enjoy it, so I got it for him! :) ) (Notice Allison wearing Papa's new shirt; so sweet!)
One good thing that came from my diabetic diet: my daily salad for lunch! (Well, almost daily!) With a yummy crusty bread from Costco, (not permitted on the diet, but oh so good now!)... the perfect lunch!
Tonight Daniel was gone, so it was time to try another kid-friendly recipe. I found a fun food blog called Our Best Bites that I've really enjoyed getting a few recipes from, and they came through for me tonight! (Well, mostly... it turns out my girls don't like pineapple in things, but they easily pulled it out!) You can get the full directions and recipe here. 
As promised, our home preschool theme for today was "teeth day." Ms. H did most of the work, and she did an amazing job! First, she read a poem about teeth for the kids to try to guess the theme.
Next, the kids all looked in the mirror to count their teeth. Then we graphed the results! (Can you tell both Mrs. H and I are math teachers?)
Next we counted out the same number of marshmallows as teeth we had counted. Then we folded red paper plates in half and glued the marshmallows on.
Mrs. H cut out some giant teeth that were yellow with "plaque." So, we brushed them with "toothpaste" (white paint), until they were completely white.
My favorite part... Look at this snack! Too fun... and somewhat healthy... and yummy!
We learned to brush top, bottom, front, back, and in-between using egg cartons and shaving cream!
Oh, wait... I have another favorite part! "Mrs. Floss!" She had eaten some green "play doh" and the kids had to floss it out of her teeth.
Floss art -- a messy idea, but fun none-the less!
Finally, a maze to determine the healthy way to take care of your teeth. A perfect way to review all that we learned.
Oh -- and, once the marshmallow teeth dried, they chased me all over the house! :)
