Finally finished, only 3 years late!

Three years ago, Kade asked me for a sock lion for his birthday. That was his favorite animal at the time, and his favorite color was yellow. I bought some cute yellow socks, cut and sewed them up, and set them in my bin full of projects I needed to finish. And there they stayed, getting covered up with more and more unfinished projects.

Kade asked me about his sock lion the other day, and I immediately felt so guilty! I've made close to a hundred sock creatures in the last three years, plus countless other stuffed animals and other things. But I forgot about his little sock lion. I can't believe Kade didn't forget about it too, since it's been so long!

In a way, I'm glad I made this lion now instead of three years ago. I don't think it would have turned out looking anything like a lion back then, when I was just getting the hang of sock monkeys! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It took hours to hand tie each hair of his mane to his head, but it was worth it!

Now, three years later, Kade's favorite animals are turtles. His favorite color is "all the colors but pink!". But I think he will still love his finished sock lion that I will give him as part of his Easter basket. Better late than never, right?

Still to do in my huge pile of halfway done projects-
~King size jean quilt
~Three sock monkeys
~Owl purse
~Two fabric first name puzzles
~A few pairs of baby booties
~A summer shirt for me
~A wallet for Jer

....plus more! Am I the only one who has this problem? It's a personal goal of mine to start finishing all the things I've started, to make way for new things. I *love* getting something done and checking it off my mental list. I'm not going to procrastinate any more. This yellow lion is the first of many, and I'm so excited to move on to the next!!

***Just thought I would add the link to the tutorial I used, years ago, to learn how to make sock monkeys! They are easy, and with just the basic sock monkey form you can also make lions like mine, cats, dogs, bunnies, monsters, and lots of other things! There are also lots of other sock creature tutorials out there if you just search for them. I highly recommend it, they are so fun to make!***

Looking good, but needs a gnome

If not a gnome, some other little nicknack, maybe a little red mushroom, an owl, or deer...


I started this little moss terrarium a couple weeks ago after reading through this post, which has lots of cute pictures and great information throughout. I found this jar at a thrift store, and thought it would be perfect! Kade and I took a walk to collect our little specimens.... rocks from the road by our house, 3 different kids of moss, and a cute little lichen... baby fern??... that I had to practically climb a tree for. Surprisingly, the hardest thing to find was soil. We finally used a stick to dig a hole in the hard pebbly ground, and a couple inches down was some nice damp soil. We carried everything back home in our pockets, with our hands stained green and dirt under our fingernails.

That was the fun part for Kade. I can't wait to see it in a couple more months, once it starts really growing. Once it was all put together (I think maybe I used too much soil?), I excitedly showed it to Kade, who shrugged his shoulders and said, "it's not doing anything. It's bored."
I think maybe a little miniature character to live in this mossy forest would spark his interest and imagination. Any ideas where to get such a thing?

I'm thinking it would be REALLY fun to make these for Christmas presents... I just don't know if it's the kind of thing certain people would appreciate. I know some that would, but a few I am not sure of. I don't want them to think, "thanks so much for the old jar of dirt and weeds". Some people might not get it, you know?

OK, so my terrarium isn't looking that beautiful yet, but here are some I found on Etsy which I am SO tempted to buy! I want them so badly! I could cover every windowsill, table top, and bookshelf with these... there are even ones to hang up on a wall or wear around your neck!! Take a look at some of my favorites:

Terrarium Pendant from WarmCountryMeadows
Vintage casserole dish terrarium from madebymavis

Hanging Terrarium from TheOakLeaves

***Thanks for all the Spider-Monkey love yesterday!! The guy is going to pick it up tomorrow, and I'm so excited for him to see it that I might just scream and throw it at him as he comes through the door. Or I could wrap it in 15 layers of tissue, newspaper, wrapping paper, kraft paper, plastic wrap, duct tape, and 4 boxes... just to build up the anticipation. "HAHA! You thought you were finally going to see it, but NOPE, it's the Sunday comics!!! How crazy is that?!?!?" Or, maybe I'll just casually say, "what? Oh yeah, that thing I made for you. I had forgotten. Here ya go," and then sit back down at the computer to look at the new LOLcats.

The first year he didn't need me

I am so used to Kade clinging onto my arm or leg, hiding behind me, not wanting to do anything by himself. This year at the fair he completely took me by surprise. He would not allow Jer or I to do any of the rides with him! Well, actually, Jer did go on the first two with him, but only because we thought Kade didn't really mean that he wanted to go by himself. After those two, however, we were officially pushed to the sidelines. Jer was fine with it, but someone told me I looked a little sad... and I kept thinking to myself, "he better not unbuckle himself!" I guess I was a little forlorn at first, because he didn't need me... wow, how selfish am I?! Mostly, it was really a relief to me to see him being independent, especially with him starting preschool this year and being away from me for the first time. It's great to see him making these steps on his own, happily and willingly. My shy baby is growing up and starting to come out of his shell, little by little.

I'm drowning!

That's what it feels like, at least!
I was curious this morning so I went outside to check the outdoor thermometer.

"123 degrees", it said.

"Pfft, I knew it!" I said.

Jer thinks we are both being overly dramatic. Or maybe we just need a new thermometer.

Really, though, it's not so much the heat that gets me, it's the humidity. It gets to Kade, too. The sun sucks the energy out of his little body, replacing it all with torrid exhaustion.


I guess one nice thing is that even on the burning days of August, we still get to see sights like this:

Perfect Peanut Butter Bars

Hey, are you here to check out my giveaway? If so, scroll down to the post below, or just click here! There is still one more week left to enter, so don't miss it! :)

Our church is having a dessert auction tonight, to raise money for Wordsowers International. Since Jeremy and I love peanut butter and chocolate so much (remember these Buckeye Balls I made in April?), we decided to stick with that theme.

Jeremy made the most delicious peanut butter bars ever, and I cut them up, drizzled the white chocolate, and did the fancy display. There wasn't enough room on the platter to include all the bars, drats! I guess I'll have to eat some myself!


The pressed glass serving platter was a thrift store find, in perfect condition, so pretty and only $2! I also found about 2 yards of gorgeous linen (the background for these pictures!), a wooden spool and bobbin holder, 4 Land Before Time movies for Kade, and a cool old glass jar I'm going to use for a moss terrarium! I love thrift stores :)

So, these bars are too good to not share the recipe! Here ya go:

*Perfect Peanut Butter Bars*

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons peanut butter
• .5 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. Refrigerate.

2. In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

3. Melt the white chocolate chips in a glass or ceramic cup. Pour or scoop into a zip lock sandwich bag. Cut off one of the corners, make the opening as small as you can. Squeeze the bag gently and move your hand back and forth to drizzle the white chocolate over the bars. Refrigerate until white chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes.

********

I hope they do well at the auction, especially since all the money is going towards a really great organization! I know bars aren't the fanciest dessert ever, but that's about as fancy as we get here in this house! Unfortunately, Kade has one of his mysterious fevers again, so we are stuck at home snacking on the leftover bars, while Jeremy goes to the auction. Now I'm going to go read, "Are You Ticklish?" for the 8th time! :)

10 things I do for fun...

...which may or may not be considered fun by anyone else:

1. Sew. Doesn't matter if it's a project for me, for my shop, for a customer... it's fun to have something to work on!


2. Listen to music. Right now, I LOVE Regina Spektor!



3. Scrapbook. I like to go slow (hmm maybe that's why I haven't even completed my wedding album yet...). I take a long time looking at all my pictures, finding ones that inspire me to scrapbook at that particular moment, look through hundreds of saved files of layouts to glean ideas, go through all my papers to find just the right ones, re-position all my photos again and again... it's like therapy for me!



4. Drive. Sometimes when I've had a long day I like to go for a quick drive by myself. I turn my music way up, drive down to the park less than a mile away from my house, maybe take a sketchbook or cell phone, and hang out by myself for a while.

5. LOLcats. http://icanhascheezburger.com/ ... I'm probably too addicted to that site.



6. Call a friend. 'Nuff said.

7. Surf the internet. I am a pro! I usually like to read craft sites, other blogs, news, helpful "tips" websites about sewing, parenting, cooking, etc.

8. Play with my kid. Just yesterday I went down the slide 4 times :) I also think it's a riot to play puppets with him- he can carry on 3 characters all on his own- talent. Building tinker-toys, train tracks, marble tracks, and watching Peter Pan... it's fun to be a kid.


9. Letterbox. Have you ever heard of it? Stamps, treasure hunts, navigation, clues, secret hiding spots, sneakiness, adrenaline, determination... you must try it!


10. Sleep. Yes, this is fun to me! Sleep isn't something I take for granted. It's a real treat when I get a good block of sleep in. (Maybe this means I'm just lazy? No, I would be lazy if I slept all the time. WANTING to sleep, and rarely getting to do so, is not lazy at all! Just... pathetic!) So comfy, so warm, and I feel so great when I wake up! Sounds like a pretty good idea right now... goodnight!

Parliament of Owls

Last night I only got about 2 hours of sleep, so me brain no worky today! There is hard evidence too...

*Invisible exhibit one (my exhibits have no pictures, so just use your imagination):
I was doing laundry today. Thought I was doing great. I heard the machine end it's cycle, so I went to change the clothes to the dryer. I opened the lid, reached in, and then groped around confusedly for second before realizing.. THERE WERE NO CLOTHES IN THE WASHING MACHINE. I ran the cycle without clothes.

*Invisible exhibit two:
Kade was going to lay down for a nap, so I took off his glasses for him. When he woke up, I couldn't find the glasses anywhere. After giving up the search, I opened the fridge to get out the milk. You can see where this is going. At least his glasses were nice and cool...

*Invisible exhibit three:
Late last night when I was not sleeping, I decided to list an Owl Messenger, and later this morning I logged into Etsy and found that I had titled it, "Purple and Gay," instead of, "Purple and Gray." Oooooops.

On an exciting note, I made it to the front page of Etsy today!!



Also, I am addicted to making these little guys. Now I have a whole parliament!

Oh, sunny day!

A while back, I posted about some wallets I made. The sunshine one went to my sister, and she asked me to make her a matching messenger bag! She left for Greece last week, and I barely got the bag done so she could take it with her. (My sister is now completely accessorized with stuff made by me, she is like a walking advertisement! haha). Once again, my machine fought with me throughout the making of this bag. However, I conquered in the end, and my machine submitted to my demands. I could hug it, I am so happy!

So here are the pics of the Sunny Day messenger bag!


(You can't see very well but there are orange sun rays sewn onto the flap)





I love this blue ticking! The orange zipper opens up to a nice bright blue lined pocket.

Next on the list (OK... not next... but definitely on there somewhere) is a bag for myself. I want a cute large bag with different compartments and pockets so I can take my crafty stuff with me to my nanny job to work on when (if?) the baby is napping. Right now I am using canvas shopping totes and plastic bags. Doable, but not very stylish :)

I need to run to the store today and buy some more thread, and then I'm going to finish sewing up some really sweet sock monkey ornaments and post some pictures!

It's 1:30 AM. Why am I still up?

I'll tell you why!

First of all, it started with a certain 4 year old who needed to use the bathroom at midnight, right after I finished watching "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" on TV, and layed my head down on my pillow. On cue, I hear bare feet padding down the bunk bed ladder.

45 minutes later, plus 2 more bathroom trips, 6 times up and down the ladder, a few sips of water, 7 denied requests for chocolate milk, 3 monsters vanquished, 1 fan adjusted 2 times, and some stern words, he is asleep. Or so I thought.

I wait up for 10 minutes to make sure he is fast asleep. Satisfied, I climb back in bed, pull the covers up, set my alarm, and close my eyes. Immediately I hear the footsteps again.

"WHAT is it NOW?!?!?!?!"

"I just wanted to say sorry,"

*sniffles a few muffled sobs* (Not me, I don't cry until later in this story.)
*lots of hugs*

"Thank you for apologizing, honey. It's OK. I just want you to stay in bed so I can sleep."

"Oh, ok. Goodnight. Love you mommy. Sweet dreams mommy."

That was the last of it. My brain, though, had been tricked into thinking it was going to get to sleep one too many times. Not anymore! I have passed that point of being sleepy tired, and gone into the zone of insomnia. I am tired, yes, but my body has to torture me and make me stay awake until I am a walking zombie.

I got online, looked at some blogs, searched for some scrapbook inspiration, and edited some pictures. Somehow, I ended up on YouTube. I am going to embed the video that I saw here, because I will need to see this again. Some day I am going to be depressed or stressed, and if I can just pop over here and watch this, I'll be OK.

Once in a while, something strikes me so hard that I just crack. It doesn't necessarily have to be really funny- once it happened because I saw a dead deer on the side of the road. (Which usually makes my cry). I laugh so hard that I don't even know if I'm laughing or crying anymore. My eyes are blurry with tears. I snort, I squeak, I gasp, I choke, I hiss, I make the weirdest contorted faces. I literally can't breath sometimes, and I laugh without making a single sound, until my face turns blue, and I gulp in air like I had just been underwater for 20 minutes. It is uncontrollable, and at times extremely inappropriate. (Try church, during a long solemn prayer). I just can't help it. Rather embarrassing!

This video did that to me. I was worried I would wake the neighbors up. Seriously. Something is wrong with me. Doesn't it feel good to get all that emotion out, though? I'd rather have a laugh attack than a good cry (only because a good cry requires something bad to happen, usually, and I'd rather die laughing than find out my cat had been ran over), and I end up feeling equally better after each one.

Without further ado, the one that almost killed me:

Fevers, rain, seahorses, and pirates.

It is fast becoming a family tradition of ours, that one of us is sick for every vacation or holiday. It never fails, wheee! Two days before our recent vacation to the Oregon coast, Kade came down with one of his fevers. When he gets these sudden miserable fevers, it could be a day or it could be two weeks before he is well again. Ya never know. Usually daytime is alright, but in the evening his temperature rises to 103+ degrees.

So, we had to decide whether to stay home and waste the reservation, or go. We went. For the first evening, Kade was too sick to do anything. Hooray for portable DVD players and chocolate milk boxes!


We couldn't have gone outside anyways, because it was so stormy that evening and through the night, that the cables holding our tarp over the camping chairs snapped! Thank goodness we were in a yurt, or we might have had to pack up and leave. Yurts are great. Power, heat, floors, beds, protection from the weather, a door that locks... along with most of the charms of real camping: campfires, sleeping bags, and sneaky raccoons.


After the first night, Kade's fever went away for good. The bad weather stayed. So we headed into town for the day and visited the aquarium. Have you ever petted a sting ray? I can now say that I have! They feel soft, velvety, and slimy all at the same time. So much cuteness! Kade was entranced by all the beautiful fishy displays. He really liked the huge spidery looking crab. To me, it seemed like a scene from 1000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was dark, and those crabs were moving very slowly and creepily. I could almost hear the music of doom working it's way up to the climax, in which this crab captures my son and holds him for ransom.


Here are a few of my favorites that I was able to get pictures of:


I wish I could remember the name of this next little sea creature. It's method of getting around is so funny, I need to share it with you! It's a fish that doesn't swim!! I need to use more exclamation points!!!!




After the aquarium, we went to the little (deserted) touristy part of town and visited a glass blowing studio, thrift store, and a pirate shop. Kade got his picture taken with a couple scallywags, stood at the helm, steering the ship and avoiding certain demise, and followed in the footsteps of an old pegleg pirate. It was a good day.


Tomorrow, I'll take you to the beach.

I've been a bad blogger

.... a bad, bad blogger!

However, I feel blessed that too many exciting happenings have been going on lately for me to even think about blogging! And now that I have some spare time, I shall share all the excitement with you. One thing today, more later.

Last week, I took Kade to visit a few local preschools. After seeing them all, I asked him which one he liked best, because you know, his opinion is important too! He told me which one, and I was so relieved- it was my favorite too! It was closest to home, nicest facility, best price, perfect schedule, etc. Upon me asking Kade why he liked it best, he replied,
"well, she gave me a yellow sunshine sticker to put on my hand, and I saw a really cool camera that I want to play with."

Oh, priorities!

Well, this little guy is now enrolled in preschool for next fall!

PRESCHOOL! That means I almost have a school-aged child.

***gulp***

I never thought of myself having actual kids. Only babies. Kids are only for old people, right? One of the most shocking "he's growing up" moments for me, was the fact that he has a list of supplies to bring for the classroom on the first day. I know, it doesn't make sense why that makes me go, "awwww!!" This is only preschool, for goodness sakes! Someone needs to slap me or something. I can see myself swirling uncontrollably into the life that is homework, show and tell, bullies, lunch money, girlfriends, sports, and book reports. Suddenly it feels like high school graduation is not that far off.

And it all starts with this piece of paper before me, asking for 10 glue sticks, a box of kleenex, and a sack of gummy bears.

I can see you shaking your head at me right now. Go ahead, I know I'm crazy. I probably need help of some sort. Just feel free to laugh at me, I can take it! At this rate, I'm going to need an ambulance standing by for me when I have a heart attack the first time he rides a school bus.

But, I'll be fine, I just need to take it one box of smelly washable markers at a time.

1,393,602

That's how many projects I have to finish! Ok, not quite that many. But close. It seems like every time I finish one project, I take on 3 more. I can't say no! Or is it that I don't want to say no? I like doing things for people, I need to do things for myself, my house, my family, I feel obligated to do things for other reasons.

I know I'm able to say no. For instance, all those telemarketers that call me 10 times a day. The last one was for "Celebrity Meats". I usually just hang up without saying anything, but sometimes I like to let them get excited and think they're going to make a sale, before I give them the bad news. I let him go through his whole speech about how convenient it would be for them to deliver all my meat needs right to my house, every week. Then I told him I was a vegetarian (I'm really not, anymore, but I would like to be!). All he could think of to say was, "Well. Thanks for not yelling at me. You have a very pretty voice. By." I think he said that thing about the pretty voice because the first thing he said at the beginning of the call was, "Aww, hey! Is your mommy home? Can I talk to the grown up?"

Back to saying no... I think I really like having so many projects to work on! I get bored working on the same one, so it is good being able to switch gears and do something else for a while. It sure makes for a cluttered house at times, though. We live in a 900 sq. ft. duplex, and there is no special room for these things. The living room and kitchen end up also being the scrapbooking room, sewing room, school room, and office. Luckily my husband doesn't mind eating dinner on the couch!

Did all you mothers out there in internet land have a happy mother's day?


We went to Carkeet Park in Seattle. Bubble Man was there, with thralls of children running after hundreds of bubbles bigger than their heads. Kade was my tour guide through the kids area. He was born for this job, I think. I don't know where he gets some of the phrases I hear coming out of his mouth!

"Come right this way, we are on the best adventure of your life!"


"Careful over the Bridge of Awesomeness. It actually is supposed to wiggle like that, you know."

"Step on over, crawl through the Tunnel of Darkness! You go in this side and come out that side! And, it used to be.....a......TREEEE!!!!!!! I cannot believe it!"


"Now be careful and step on these rocks. Don't put your foot on the ground because it's lava! And that means it's hot!"

"Finally we are to the ULTIMATE POWER FISH SLIDE!!!!" (Insert echo microphone and strobe lights here)


On our way back to the car, Kade tripped over a rock and scraped up his palms. Something like that always happens, right when he's the happiest, right when I am thinking, "that went well." As soon as the screaming was over and bandaids were applied, all was calm again.

Next, we had a campfire, complete with hot dogs and smores. There is something about campfires... listening to the warm crackling, staring into the dancing flames, having family around... it was like a mini vacation! Makes me really excited for our "'real" vacation in a couple weeks. I can't wait to play in the ocean, and to sit at a campfire way past dark, with a blanket around me, with nowhere else to go.

Lessons Learned

It's amazing how much you can learn (or be reminded of) in one day!

• Even if the forecast says sun, it looks like sun, and feels like sun, bring an umbrella for the six random 10 second hail storms you will encounter within as little as 30 minutes.
• Being charged by a big fat squirrel is a LOT scarier than you might think. Seriously. Although he probably only wanted food, I was sure he was going to latch onto my face and scratch out my eyeballs. Luckily, a toddler with a french fry distracted him for me.
• Don't laugh, don't even crack a smile, if your kid gets lost in the vast, 4 story, intricate play system in McDonalds! That desperate face peering out of the plastic bubble 30 feet above you, crying in a tiny voice that sounds like it's at the bottom of a swimming pool, "I can't get out of here! Heeeelllpppppp!" may seem cute, but the other mothers will shoot you "the look." Directing a dyslexic 4 year old through the maze when you can't even see them is no less difficult than directing a blind monkey through an active mine field. Especially when, "the girrrrls! Are chasing me!!! I don't thiiiink I really liiiike it!!" happens. It all turned out fine, though. Within 2 minutes he was out, without me having to come up there and get him, and as a bonus, he still had all his clothes on! He stumbled over to me, wiped his forehead, collapsed into my lap, and said, "Phew. That was a close one. Those girls were chasing me. I didn't like that. But, I do like girls."
• This one I knew already, but I have a knack of forgetting until it's too late. It is a never failing Murphey's Law of motherhood that if you even whisper quietly a comment such as, "Wow, I'm surprised he is being so good right now," that child will immediately grab a handful of snack food from the bowl in the waiting room, throw it at the grumpy old man in a nice suit seated across from him, and scream, "MY MOMMY IS A BANANNA! I DON'T LIKE BANANNAS!!" and then proceed to ram his own head repeatedly on the coffee table. My friend just leaned over to me and said quietly, "you know you're not supposed to say that until we leave." And the grumpy old man in the suit? He stood up, dusting the chips (haha) off his shoulder, "harrumphed" dramatically in my direction, and stomped out into the showroom.
• Even if you spend 2 weeks preparing your child for what should be a simple, quick, easy, painless procedure, that doesn't mean he will be cooperative! In fact, the procedure did not even get done. What should have taken 10 minutes to complete took 3 hours to decide to give up and try again another day.
  

Although yesterday was quite a challenge for me, this sweet little face can still melt my heart.


I love him more than anything.... temper tantrums, defiance, frustration and all. None of that puts a damper on the happiness he brings me every day.

Bored?

Grandma: Kade, we're going to go on a board walk now,
won't that be fun?

Kade: Umm, I don't like bored walks.

Grandma: I'm sure you will like this one, we'll have a great time!

Kade: No. No! I really don't like bored walks! I don't like being bored!
I don't want to go on a boring walk!
Boring isn't fun, and I don't ever like to be bored!


Needless to say, when he found out the difference between "board" and "bored", he was pleasantly surprised. On the same note, the other morning I woke up to Kade yelling, quite dramatically,
"MOMMY, you're boring me! Stop being so boring!
NOOO, you're boring me mom, I'm bored, I'm BORED!"
I suppose I am pretty boring when I sleep, can't argue that....

On the other hand, Kade is the opposite of boring when he sleeps.
In fact, he's no less than fascinating.

Elephant Art

I was amazed when I saw this video on Youtube:
(please watch the whole thing to the end, it is really quite incredible!!)



As I was looking through the comments on that video, there were a lot of people who were very concerned about the elephant. Was it being forced to paint for crowds of people? Did it get beaten if it did not paint? Do the elephants even like to paint? I was curious too, so I did a little searching and found this website:

The Elephant Art Gallery -Authentic and Inspiring Paintings by Elephants

These elephants live at the National Elephant Institute in Thailand. I'm not sure if the elephant in the video above lives here, or somewhere else. Apparently there are other places that have taken teaching elephants how to paint as well. The paintings on this website are mostly abstract, rather than lifelike, but I don't see how the video could be a fake.

Here are some interesting quotes from the website about the art, how the elephants learn to paint, and more:

"I am certain that our elephant artists know what they are doing when they paint. After I have handed the loaded paintbrush to them, they proceed to paint in their own distinctive style, with delicate strokes or broad ones, gently dabbing the bristles on the paper or with a sweeping flourish, vertical lines or arcs and loops, ponderously or rapidly and so on. No two artists have the same style."

----------------------------------

"...we have truly discovered an activity which the elephants thoroughly enjoy.”

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"Although elephants are very intelligent and naturally creative, painting with their trunks is not an activity that any have been found to perform in the wild. Therefore all the artists first have to go to school to learn how to paint... It takes only one day to discover if the elephant has real interest in the activity and any aptitude at art. Once the most promising students have been selected, they then continue to be taught for up to a week before they are considered ready to make a living from it...

They are taught by first showing them how to hold the paintbrush. While some curl the trunk around the brush instinctively, the preferred method at the Center is to hold the brush in the ‘nostril’ at the end of the trunk, which gives the artist greater range of movement for the brushstrokes. For this purpose the paintbrush is modified so as to be the right length and thickness to hold easily.

Next they are introduced to the easel and taught how close to stand to it so that they can extend their trunk comfortably. Finally they are guided by the mahout to apply the brush to the paper. Some artists take to this quicker than others, but all of them need time and encouragement to learn how to apply the paint within the confines of the paper, to know when the paint has dried up and to develop a style of brushstroke that suits them.

During the training the artist’s natural instinctive style becomes evident. No two elephant artists have the same style and just like human artists, their style develops and matures over time.

It is quite unnecessary to force the elephant to learn how to paint. Those that do not seem to enjoy the activity are introduced to other activities. Today there are 14 elephant artists at the Center and all of them thoroughly enjoy painting."

I, for one, would LOVE to own a piece of art by an elephant! They have always been one of my favorite animals. They are so intelligent, they have feelings, and I think they are amazing! I have also seen dolphins and horses painting. What I wouldn't do for a whole collection of paintings done by animals :)

The last snow of the..spring? Maybe? Hopefully?

Last year, it snowed on April Fool's day, and I thought J was playing a joke on me when he came and woke me up at 5 AM to tell me. This year was a little better, the last snow (I hope!!) was on March 29th. Sunday morning, K got to play in it a little bit before church. He would have liked to have a snowball fight, build a snowman, make angels, and the whole shebang... sorry kid. Running in circles will have to do this time. Luckily, I think he had just as much fun anyway.


OH! Look what I made! I had to snap this picture secretly, before I announced they were done, because they promptly disappeared afterwards.


You *have* to try this recipe. If you like Reeces peanut butter cups, you will love these! Maybe I am the only person who has never heard of these before. That wouldn't surprise me, I guess. Sometimes I am so excited to tell J the latest news on whatever, and he just finishes my sentence and says, "yeah yeah, I heard about that 2 weeks ago." Why does he always know everything first? What inside contact does he have, who is his source? He even knew about these Buckeye Balls, and when I made them, he said, "finally!! I have been wanting you to make these for like the past 10 years!!" Well, there's nothing like asking!!

On with the recipe! It is so easy, you can't go wrong with these. I have a very hard time with anything fancy, like fudge, candy, even frosting (yes, I consider frosting fancy... that's how bad I am). However, these were simple and look great too!

*Buckeye Balls*

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening

DIRECTIONS

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar with hands to form a smooth stiff dough. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball. Place on prepared pan, and refrigerate.

3. Melt shortening and chocolate together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. (Or in the microwave for 15-30 seconds at a time.) Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.

4. Remove balls from refrigerator. Insert a wooden toothpick into a ball, and dip into melted chocolate. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining balls. You can smooth over the toothpick hole with your finger, and you can't see it anymore. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.

Yum yum! That recipe made enough to cover 2 dinner plates - maybe 40? They are already gone! I think K has been sneaking them in the middle of the night, because I only let him have one or two a day. He thinks he deserves one every time he does something right -

"Can I have chocolate ball? I slept last night!"
"I want my chocolate now, I went potty!"
"Where is my chocolate? I didn't eat my buggers!!"
"I'm going to get my chocolate now, I drew a circle!"

And when I say, "sorry kiddo, no more," apparently it is the end of the world. So many disappointments, life is hard when you're 4 years old!

First week of SPRING!

Well, it's been almost 10 days since I last posted. That is entirely too long! Here are some little tidbits on my life:

• My husband is now the proud owner of a Wii! I wasn't too excited about getting it, but I have to admit... the first night we had it, I stayed up 'til 3am playing Lego Star Wars. Making all the Miis was a lot of fun, and even K was excited to play. He is really good at the boxing (which is almost like working out!), and he giggles the whole time. I can tell I'm going to have to set a daily time limit on this or he'll want to play it all the time! I am really, REALLY good at bowling... which is odd, since my average score at *real life* bowling is about 60. Oh well, I'll take it! :) I haven't played Nintendo for a billion years. I used to LOVE it... all the good old games like Zelda, Turbo Challenge, Mario Kart, and Donkey Kong. I think some of these games are downloadable on the Wii. Just what we need, something else to keep us indoors! Don't worry, I set limits that many children and husbands would claim were unfair. And, the Wii is on my side. It suggests quite often to take a 15 minute break and head outdoors. They do care!

• It is Spring already, even tho the weather might not be cooperating. The days are getting longer, the chance of snow is still there but I can see a glimmer of hope that one day it will be warm enough to go outside in shorts and a t-shirt again! Fall is my favorite season, but Spring comes in a close second. It is just so nice to get out of the dreariness of Winter. Here are some pictures of some beautiful flowers from my sister: Coincidentally, today is National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day!!! Those are one of my very favorite indulgences, so I think I will have to celebrate.
  

• I have been working on some wallets (both girly and guy types), business card organizers and holders, needles and pins keepers, and some other fun things. Once I get my designs down, I will start listing some on Etsy! I also just finished a new design for my BusyFingers BabyBuddies. He is the green dino, and he is so cute: It is so incredibly exciting for me to see my little business start to grow! My things are being featured in more treasuries, and one of my sock monkeys is even on the first page of the Children's Gift Guide!! I also got my first potential wholesale order! All of this makes me so happy, because being with my son and crafting are two things that are very important to me! It is great to see that it might be possible to stay at home and earn a little bit of money at the same time.
  

I'm off to do more fun "at home" stuff, like laundry, dishes, vacuuming, and such! TTFN! :)

Floods, flaming tea kettles, and tattoos.

My sister came over last week and we took some fun pics, so I thought I'd share them! They were lots of fun, however, I think my neighbors are scared of me now. Plus, I live next to a major highway, so I'm sure lots of people happened to glance over and do a double take at two adult women and a little boy laying on their backs on the concrete with their feet in the air. Oh well, what fun is it being normal? :)

This picture is of me, tattoo is K's exact footprint from his birth certificate. He was so tiny once!

Couldn't leave K out! He was a bit of a camera hog, he wanted to be in every single picture with his auntie. Notice his stylin' hair and sunglasses, you can even see me and my sister in the lenses!
This is my favorite picture ever! Poor girl, I made her jump a thousand times. It was worth it though! I love how it seems she is 5 feet off the ground. She is a rock star!!


What else has been going on...

Well, there was the washing machine issue. My in-laws got a new stackable washer and dryer set so they gave us their nice heavy duty side by side ones. We installed them on Saturday, I ran my first load of clothes, and the washer drain overflowed. And overflowed. While I was trying to stop/clean up the overflow (our whole house is carpeted...), I forgot that I had been boiling water in the tea kettle for some cocoa. Did you know that tea kettles can catch on fire? And melt onto your burner? And fill your whole house with horrible smoke that smells like burning chemicals? Yeah, it was fun. I hope to never again have a fire in one room and a flood in the next. I will miss my wonderful giraffe tea kettle. It claimed to make the "sound of a giraffe" when the water was boiling. I had always wondered what giraffes sounded like.

I called the plumber on Monday, they were busy.

I made an appointment for Tuesday afternoon. They never came. My mom bought me a new tea kettle and toaster (Saturday had been a bad day for appliances at my house), which was really nice! It cheered me up quite a bit.

Wednesday I called plumber again, they apologized for not showing up the day before and made me an appointment for Thursday morning. They emphasized I should get the FIRST one of the day, to make SURE they wouldn't get held up at another job and not come again.

Thursday morning came and went, no plumber. I called them again, and they said no, I don't have an appointment. Oh wait, there it is, 9-11PM. I mentioned that I didn't know they worked so late, and they said that, in fact, they do not work that late. However, that is when they scheduled me. Hmm... I got a little frustrated on the phone and told them I NEEDED someone. Today. (Between Saturday and Thursday, multiple people had been over multiple times trying to fix the drain, to no avail.)

(I know you are sitting on the edge of your computer chair, exclaiming, "but what next??? Does the drain ever get fixed??
Is there no end to the insanity??"
Keep reading - the conclusion draws near!!!!)

Finally, Thursday night at eight o'clock, a plumber drives one hour to come fix the drain. He fills the washing machine with water, drains it.... and comes out to tell us, HOORAY!! there is no problem, it works perfectly!!! He's got the magic touch! After I fainted/pulled my hair out/insisted he was wrong, he tested it 3 more times just to make sure. Yep, it is miraculously fixed. Plumber leaves. I start a load of clothes. The drain overflows. I call plumber, who is halfway home, and he turns around to come back. He ended up staying until 11:30 that night, walking around on the roof in the pitch dark, cutting a hole out of my wall, and sawing off a section of pipe. I'm sure my neighbors appreciate all that late night sawing.

The drain is now fixed! I can't believe what an ordeal that turned in to. We still have a whole in our wall, too. It is conveniently covered up by the ironing board. Life goes on.

*******

In other news, remember that purse I am supposed to be making, from a few posts down? I am half way done and can't wait to finish it and post some pictures!

Also, my sister and I got tattoos yesterday!! That is her birthday present to me, it was SO much fun, and I couldn't think of anything sweeter to do with her!! Aside from a little guy I know STOMPING on my fresh new tattoo with his dirty shoes, it is healing really well. We will take pictures soon!

That is all for now, and if you read that, thanks!! I'll be back in a few days with more pictures and some new crafty things. Have a great weekend!