Easter Weekend

Our family SO needed some sunshine this weekend - with a massive snowstorm headed to Orem for Easter weekend, we packed up the kids and headed for the desert. This has been the first family trip that my WHOLE family was able to make it down South at the same time.

I learned last year how much trouble it can be traveling with two wound-up kids for 4 hours, so we left at 4am - hoping that the kids would sleep right through the drive. It was perfect - except that Ethan was too excited to sleep! So he & I started our day really early. The drive was so great! There was no traffic, the moon was out, and I got to listen to a book while the family (sans Ethan) slept. I was wide awake - having gone to bed at 8pm the night before, and there were the most amazing cloud formations that were lit by the 3/4 moon. It was incredible.

We arrived in St. Geo at 8am & went to breakfast at Denny's - even though we weren't actually served for an 2 1/2 hours, we still had so much fun chatting with my sisters, nieces, nephews and parents. 

With the whole day ahead, we went to the dinosaur tracks - I haven't been there since I was 12! Braving an empty gas tank and really sandy roads, we arrived and had a great time playing in the sand and tracing our fingers in the tracks. Ethan loved the little baby dinosaur tracks the best, as his hands were the perfect size! Aubrey loved the big 3-toed tracks (about 12" square), and showing them to Grandpa Dino - who was also amazed.

 

 Ethan's favorite part of the weekend was playing with his cousin Eli - pictured here running along the 6 large dino tracks together - can't you just hear them roar?

Aubrey's new favorite person is Auntie Jen - who voluntarily became Aubrey's Sherpa for the hike - lucky girls! I'm not sure Aubrey was sold on Jen's favorite desert herb - Brigham Tea, but they had fun sliding down the rock slide anyway.

Our next stop was to Red Rocks, where we watched our little monkeys scamper up the slickrock.

Aubrey loved the mini Arch!

Jen took us through a great squeeze that was really fun, and we were so proud of Ethan - he was really nervous about going inside, but he DID IT! We also somehow convinced Mom and Dad to come through as well (nice job Mom & Dad!!)

 That night - after some much needed downtime, we met at Granny Morton's house for dinner with our whole family. Mom made really great-smelling BBQ pork - though I didn't taste it, as I was busy explaining to everyone the merits and pitfalls of my being a vegetarian. It was so great to chat with everyone - especially my nephew Steve who just got home from his mission in Texas. 

Ethan got to sleep over at his cousin's house that night - going to bed at 11pm I am told - which tally's his day at 19 hours of being awake. Poor kid. 

 

On Saturday, we had a picnic up in the Cedars near Jen and Eric's house, where somehow, the Easter Bunny left eggs for the kids! They had fun with their cousins searching for the remarkably well-hidden eggs. How does a bunny get 6 feet up in a cedar tree? Hmmm.

There was great sand at our campsite, and the kids played with their cars and of course, Ethan's Legos for hours.

 The drive home was amusing to see our little ones literally passed out from exhaustion (this pic was of course taken at a long stoplight).

On the way home we even managed to get the guys some fishing time in at a local pond on top of the bluff - the kids loved feeding the ducks and reeling in Grandpa's fish. (Notice my brother's feet - sleeping in the background!!)

On a side note, remember to tell Aubrey that St George mud is STICKY!

It was an amazing weekend all together!

My Budding Artist of Mayhem

I swear, having a 2 year old is having an eternal cyclone spinning out of control throughout the house. Can't leave them alone for a second, or mass-destruction levels the neighborhood.

Aubrey is definitely a budding artist. She loves to draw on everything from paper, to tables to walls - and most recently, her face. Brilliant. Maybe she is planning to move to New Zealand & join the Maori?

Then, last night, I was in the kitchen when that eerie silence that equals disaster drove me to find my little monkey.

Bathroom. Church shoes. Aftershave.

A normal, logical mind wouldn't immediately place these items together, but oh the lovely mind of a 2 year old is beyond such mundane order. Aubrey was delightedly dumping all of Austin's aftershave into each of her black church shoes. There are moments in parenthood where words fail. This was one of those for me. Only those sweet little repentant eyes kept me from losing my cool as we scooped the lotion back in the bottle, rinsed out the shoes and cleaned up the counter, floor & walls...

Cloth Lunch Bag Tutorial

As many of you know, I lived in Hawaii for 2 years while going to school at BYU Hawaii, and there made some of the most amazing friends and memories I will ever have. I miss my island home almost constantly and still await the day when I can visit my island Ohana again. A few years ago, a best friend sent me 2 stacks of 4" hawaiian fabric blocks for a Hawaiian quilt I was planning. Well, that quilt still has not been made and I have hundreds of these little squares sitting in my fabric bin. I pulled them out yesterday and decided to make some cloth lunch bags for E's school lunch. I had so much fun, I thought I would share them with you.

These bags fit sandwiches & snacks perfectly, and are completely machine washable. No more wasted money on garbage ziplocs! Plus, how fun to have these in your bag lunch! This pattern is a spin off from a great book called Cut Loose Quilts by Jan Mullen - my FAVORITE quilting book ever!

Materials Needed: 
(8) 4x4" squares of Cotton fabric
(2) 8" squares of Nylon fabric
1/2"x 4" Strip of Hook & Loop Velcro
Sewing Machine
Ruler
Rotary Cutter/Scissors

Lets Begin!

Step 1. Choose your fabric squares - I used 4 fabrics with 2 squares of each print. STACK all fabrics together into 1 stack.

 Step 2. Place ruler over fabric at any angle and cut all layers of fabric at once.

Step 3. Move ruler to another random angle and cut again. This is what your stack should look like (your angles will obviously be a bit different).

Step 4. Now separate the 3 cuts and lay them out, mixing up the fabric pieces with other colors so you get fun random blocks. Since you cut them all at the same time, they will all intermix perfectly. (The pic shown here only shows half of my blocks). These 4 blocks will make 1 side of the bag.

 Step 5. This part is a bit tricky, but you can do it! Take middle piece (A) and fold it over on top of (B), making sure to line up the edges along the dotted line. It doesn't matter that the rest of the edges are not aligned. Sew along the matched edges marked with the dotted line.

Step 6. Next, do the same thing with the remaining piece - lining up the red-dotted side and sew together.

Your finished piece will look similar to this. The edges will be uneven, but we trim them into a square next.
Step 7. Square up the block by using the ruler to get an even square block.

 

Step 8.  Repeat steps 4-7 with the remaining 7 blocks.
Step 9. Sew 4 of the blocks together to make a square. This is the front of your bag. Repeat for the back of the bag.

 

Step 10. Next, take 1 piece of the Nylon. place it against the right side of the fabric & sew along 1 side. Flip right side out.

 Step 11. Place 1 strip (either hook or loop side) of Velcro on the nylon side (notice the seam at the top of the bag). This will be the inside top of the bag. Sew on, making sure the cotton & nylon stay lined up as much as possible. Repeat with other side. You will now have 2 halves of your bag.

Step 12. Line up the 2 pieces, with right sides together. Sew along the 2 sides & bottom - I reinforced the top sides near the velcro, as this is a high stress area. Turn right side out - you are done!!

Here are a few more bags to give you ideas of what you can do! I would love to see pics of your bags - have fun!

Tea, Toast and Toe Socks

We have been having a little rough patch the last month with lots of sniffles and sneezes around here. It seems like when your kid is in school, he brings home every little communal bug and lovingly (or not so much) shares it with the family. We have had at least one of us sick for the last month. Right now, it is a double whammy with Ethan & I. Austin had it 2 weeks ago and Aubrey 3 weeks ago.

I can't decide if it is a cold or a flu - headache, nasty cough and super fatigued, though Ethan is sporting a lovely fever. So, as we camp out on our living room couch, watching endless episodes of the "Pink Panther" - (yes, the vintage 1960s classic) we are snuggled up in our warmest blankies, jammies and of course my zany toe-socks (which were lovingly given to me by Dad for my birthday, thanks Dad!), sipping our mint tea and toast and wishing this misery would end so we can get back to life. The worst part is that Ethan is missing his first school Valentine's party today. No worries little guy, we are making our own party!

Becca's FAVORITE treat

Ok, those of you who know me well know that I am a bit of a health freak. Granola. Crunchy. Whole-foodie. Whatever. Anyway, it is hard for me to find snacks and treats that taste good and that are acceptably good for me. I present to you my favorite.

This is a modified recipe I found in "Five Star Recipes" from Jeffrey L. Anderson. His version calls for 2/3 cup of sugar which makes them too sweet for me. I replaced the sugar with Stevia and let the natural apple, carrot, raisins and Stevia sweeten the cake much better than the sugar does.


Apple Carrot Cake - serves 9, or 12 muffins
2 Stevia packets
1/3 C. Canola Oil
2 Eggs or 1/2 C. Egg substitute (if Vegan, add 2 Tb. Flax meal & a little water)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/3 C. Soymilk (or Buttermilk/Milk)
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 C. Carrots - Finely grated
1 C. Apple - grated
1/3 C. Nuts (Almonds, Pecans etc)
1 C. Oats, Museli or 6 Grain Mix
1/4 C. Raisins

Grease an 8x8" pan OR 12 muffin tin, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix Stevia, oil, eggs, salt, cinnamon and milk until thoroughly blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Associated Press Interview

A few months ago, I was contacted by a reporter from the Associated Press, who had found my shop via Etsy and Twitter,  and was interested in interviewing me about my felt play food. By chance, I found that the article came out today!

I am so excited to share it with you as well! I found it on a few media websites, like sun-sentinel.com abcnews.go.com, and newstimes.com. I love that they mentioned several other Moms like me who are tired of worrying about the quality of items their children are playing with. It is wonderful to see the creativity of caring mothers, and the beautiful felt food they are making. 

I can't wait to hear what you think!

Balance...

I am having flashbacks of crazy college end-of-semester days - where deadlines loomed, art projects and final papers scrambled together, and last minute studying done in attempt to get every last bit of information stuffed into every spare memory brain cell? Then... the blissful moment when the last exam is done, all art projects turned in, and the feeling of numbing bliss washes over, and then utter relief. I am reliving those feverish days.

The prospect of a full day with no sewing before me is so unfamiliar. I see my empty, clean desk - no towering, toppling cutout felt stacks, spools of unraveling thread, random bits of scrap and fluff littering my space making my OCD brain crazy. For the last 4 months, I have been a whirlwind of planning, sewing, processing orders, trips to the post office, reams of paper, boxes and boxes of printer ink, and so many yards of felt - I don't even know the count. Now, finally, the quiet... My desk is clear - who knew it was white underneath? My sewing machine sits idly in the corner, cooling down for the first time in way too long. I still giggle at the weekly cleaning of my trusty machine - pulling out enough fluffy felt fibers to stuff an apple.

So, with the utter relief of all Christmas orders shipped out and no customer cue cards papering my computer monitor, I have days of freedom before me. I really do not know when my shop will reopen for business, but I promise myself that it will not be until I have had a great long rest, am restocked (I will NEVER sell items I don't have in stock again - playing catch-up sucks!) and am excited to sit down and sew again. I greatly look forward to my days of knitting, baking, making homemade marshmallows and being a lazy bum playing games and blocks on the floor with my two kids. I have been the Elephant balancing on the ball, and am ready for a more steady foundation.