Summer Diary Day 41: Pazely's Birthday

Dear summer diary,
Today is my youngest kiddo's birthday. Happy 7th birthday Pazely!!! It was a busy day, but we managed to squeeze some fun in! Fairy toast for brekkie, prezzies opened, swim lessons in the morning & Italian sodas at the coffee shop. Then home for some quick play time with new birthday toys. Then it was off to the Library Summer Reading Program where the kids all created a flag for their own made-up country. Then, daddy took the birthday girl out to lunch while I had to scoot off to work for an afternoon shift. But then I came home to make a pancake dinner, complete with bacon & scrambled eggs per Pazely's request.
Then, friends came over for those crazy brownies I made yesterday. Side note: I made another batch this morning & it came out soooo much better! I nixed the wax paper & used a light spraying of non-stick oil instead. I also set the oven to 325 degrees & cooked it for one hour. The brownies were still a bit gooey, but it beat the rock hard dessert concoction I made the day before. We warmed the brownies up, topped each piece with ice cream & drizzled with hot fudge. Do you think Pazely liked them??

The house was filled with lots of noise & happy people in the evening. Some played Monopoly, others played Guitar Hero, Legos, or dollies.
Then, mommy went to bed, happy for the coming weekend! (So she can recover & be ready for the REAL birthday party next weekend!)
♥
Nikki

Summer Diary Day 40: Kitchen Play

Dear summer diary,
Zoey asked to play with her Easy Bake Oven today. We looked up some recipes online & found one for tea cakes. (I LOVE that I don't have to buy those expensive little pouches of food mix!) Zoey made up one big cake for all 4 of us to share. (And those Tupperware accessories are my favorite, by the way!)

While Zoey baked away, Pazely & I chose to make a dessert in preparation for her birthday tomorrow. Though her swimming party is not for another week, we decided we couldn't let her REAL birthday pass by without dessert! I found the recipe HERE via Pinterest. (I'll post the link soon---pinterest servers are down at the moment.) The bottom layer is chocolate chip cookie dough (I bought the tubes!), the next layer is Double Stuffed Oreo Cookies, & the top layer is brownie batter.
I'm afraid I may have baked them too long though. So, I might have to head to the store tomorrow for round 2 of ingredients. (Only because we're having a few friends over to help eat these. And I can't have them chipping away at a rock hard dessert.)

My wax paper stuck to some of the sides of my brownies. That was a bummer. And it kinda smoked real weird in the oven & smelled funky. But the recipe said to line the pan with wax paper---it helps to easily get the brownies out after cutting.
I'm excited to try the brownies, even though I seem to have had such a difficult time with them.
I'll let you know how many pounds I gain when I'm done.
:0)
Oh, real quick: Pazely fell asleep on the couch tonight with her sister, watching a movie. I scooped her up & carried her off to bed. She sort of woke up as I was tucking her in & she said to me, "I'm going to wake up tomorrow & then -BOOM!- I'll be 7!"
Right she is.
♥
Nikki

Summer Diary Day 39: Rain Cloud Mobiles

Dear summer diary,
The girls & I sewed up another little project I've been seeing around the internet & have been wanting to try out: Rain cloud mobiles.
The girls cut out a pattern from brown kraft paper & then pinned it to a piece of felt & cut them out. They cut out two shapes like this.

I helped sew up the clouds on the sewing machine, leaving an opening for stuffing. After the clouds were stuffed, we sewed up the opening. At this point you can use your scissors & snip any uneven edges.

For the raindrops, the girls cut out raindrop shapes & I used invisible thread to stitch through each raindrop, knotting each at the top to secure. Once the string of drops was threaded, I stitched it to the bottom of the cloud. I forgot to sew on a ribbon to the top of the girls' mobiles, so I stitched some invisible thread to the top, ready for tying or hanging to anything.

I decided to mix things up a bit & try sewing a cloud mobile using an old tattered vintage quilt piece. My cloud, on paper, looked awesomely perfect. Once it was sewn up, it did look a little wonky. I needed to make it more fluffy & less curvaceous.

I did remember to reverse my pattern when cutting out the second piece of fabric. AND, I did remember to attach a hanging device: i.e. a vintage lacy bit of trim. Sandwich the fabric, right-sides together with the hanging ribbon laying INSIDE. (I often get that part wrong!)

Sew along the edge, leaving an opening so you can turn the cloud inside-out & stuff. Slip stitch the opening closed & attach the raindrops as I did on th girls' mobiles.
Here is the final {slightly wonky, yet whimsical} mobile. I used large oversized cream-colored felt for the raindrops.

I made a second mobile using vintage chenille fabric for the cloud & rainbow colored raindrops.

♥

Nikki

Summer Diary Day 38: Finger Knitting

Dear summer diary,
Today the girls saw me knitting on the couch & decided to grab a skein & finger knit. We learned to finger knit last winter & it's such a fun creative activity that they can now pick up themselves & do on their own. Click HERE to view a youtube video on how to finger knit. (That's how we learned how!)
♥
Nikki

Week in Review: June 20-26

Last week the hubby & I got to go on a date!! That doesn't happen too often these days. We recently decided to swap every other week & plan dates for each other. It was the Mr.'s turn first. He thought we should go to Walmart & get groceries & things we needed. But first we got hungry so we stopped by Taco Bell for dinner. (I ate 3/4 of my 7-layer burrito & all of my cinnamon twisties.)  It was nice to be on our own. We even got to watch a lightning storm off in the distance on our 45 minute drive back home late at night.

I actually got to watch 2 lightning storms last week. SUCH a fantastic show!!

At Walmart we had fun filling 3 shopping carts with 20 giant bouncy balls. We got so many looks & comments rolling through the store, toting those things around. (The balls are the party favors for Pazely's swimming party next week.)

I made the MOST amazing grilled cheese sandwiches last week. Oh yum. My mouth is getting all drooly just thinking about them... Fresh bread from the bakery that I sliced in thick slices & grilled 'til golden brown. Basil pesto, fresh mozzarella, roma tomatoes & avocado. I even found a website that is dedicated to grilled cheese sandwiches: Grilled Cheese Social.

This week is the calm before next week's storm. I've got to plan a scavenger hunt for the youth group, plan for Pazely's birthday party & plan for Crafty Night on July 12th!!

♥

Summer Diary Day 37: We took a day off!

Dear summer diary,

Today I kinda took a break from preparing something "fun" per se. But fun was still had. Funny how that happens. It started out as kind of a funky weird day, but then it turned good, but then it got weird again & I don't know. I'm ready to knit in bed & get cozy with a movie.

Things began to get all wonky with worship at church this morning. I lead the worship team on the keyboards & vocals. And my voice was all groggily & the instrument/microphone sound was not set properly & sometimes I feel like I am singing to a group of mannequin-like human shapes. I tried my bestest. I wish I could sing behind a giant sheet.

Then, I tried to listen to the sermon, but got sidetracked in my thoughts: thinking of things I had to do, & thinking of my grandmother & thinking of the eggs I had to boil for the macaroni salad we were bringing to a BBQ after church.

The BBQ was amazing. My friend Pedro makes the most tasty burgers. A big group of us played Dance Central on Kinect. I am a horrible dancer. But I wasn't always. We set up a tournament ---brackets with elimination & everything. Sometimes it's humbling & necessary to make a fool of yourself in front of your friends every once in a while. I've been working on eating healthy & have lost 9 pounds since being back from Washington. I'm feeling all sassy & skinny. But I know for certain it's all in my head. That Kinect thing shows your silhouette while you're dancing & also takes pictures of you. I just looked like a blob. Gross. More motivation for me is all that was.

We left our crowd of friends & came home. Exhausted after my dance battle, I decided to take a nap. And then I woke up to the same gang of friends at the WhiMSy love house playing Monopoly.

The kids have had a blast playing all day with their friends.  And dancing on Kinect. And racing on Wii. And eating watermelon. And M&M's. And sandwiches on the kitchen floor. (All the guys are using the chairs to play Monopoly.) And playing Legos & Littlest Pet Shops. And watching Matilda.

I'm trying to get Pazely's invitations addressed & sent out. But having trouble collecting addresses to kids I don't know. And the printer is being a pain. I think I should wait until tomorrow to tackle that project.

I need to take the ponytail out of my head. I put a ponytail in Pazely's hair this morning & she BEGGED me to wear one in mine. It's not my favorites style, but I did it for my 6 year old.

I'm feeling all jumbly inside & nothing I think to do sounds satisfying. It's that restless feeling.

And, really, this post has nothing to do with summer or what excellent exciting thing we did today. But that's how some days go I suppose...

♥

Nikki

Summer Diary Day 36: Silly Snack

Dear summer diary,

Tonight the girls had some friends over & watched a movie. I recently saw the most amazing fun & silly snack on pinterest & thought it'd be the perfect tasty eat for the kids! Click HERE to view it. (Does that link even work when people click on it??) Ok, I should be embarrassed by how horribly mine look. haha! But, SCORE: The kids loved 'em! Yes, sadly, my apples weren't all red & shiny & pretty like in the pinterest photo. And I didn't have mini marshmallows so I had to cut big ones with scissors. But my girls knew exactly what they were supposed to be: a mouth with teeth.

♥

Nikki

Summer Diary Day 35: Biscuit Mini Pizzas

Dear summer diary,
I got this fun dinner idea from my friend Tia. Mini pizzas using those refrigerated tubes of biscuits as the crust! You simply pop 'em open (I scream every time. Does anyone else?) & shape the biscuits into a mini pizza crust. I put 2 biscuits together to make a tiny bit bigger pizza crust than the eensy weensy ones that one would make. You want to smush it out pretty good. No big globs or nuthin'. 

Put out whatever toppings you want. These are the toppings we had: pizza sauce, bbq sauce, artichoke hearts, green onions, mushrooms, fresh basil, fresh garlic, pineapple, parmesan cheese, olives, canadian bacon, basil pesto sauce, & mozzarella cheese.
(My favorite combo: bbq sauce, artichoke hearts, green onions, fresh basil, garlic, canadian bacon & mozzarella!)

My kids love any kind of meal where they get to make it themselves or choose their own personalized toppings. It was a bit sticky making the pizzas on our plate & then transferring it to a pizza pan. It would prolly be easier to just make it on the pan.

Here's all our pizzas ready for the oven. Or rather, round one of the mini pizzas. Pazely loves olives. Can you guess which ones are hers? And don't be afraid of my pizza pan.

They really puff up---like a biscuit would. Follow the package directions to cook them. Ours said to heat the oven to 450 degrees. We baked them for about 8-10 minutes. I never set my timer when I make pizzas though. I just keep peeking to see that everything is golden & bubbly. I also reached inside the oven with a spatula & checked the bottom of the mini pizzas to see that they were not getting TOO brown. They turned out perfect!!

The family enjoyed them---in fact, daddy ate some as a midnight snack. It was a happy yummy meal!
♥
Nikki

Summer Diary Day 34: Mini Campfire & Accessories

Dear summer diary,

Today I asked Zoey what she wanted to do for our "fun thing". How about making something for my American Girl doll?", she asked. Perfect! At Christmas she received an American Girl doll craft book & it is full of so many adorable crafts! Not only perfect for American Girl dolls, but for any kid who loves playing with tiny things!!

We chose to make the mini campfire & marshmallow on a stick. To make the marshmallow on a stick, you simply gather some twigs, &  pieces of packing styrafoam. Cut a piece of foam to a marshmallow shape, glue it to the tip of a stick---& yer done!!

For the campfire, we went our own route. The book used cinnamon sticks & tissue paper. We chose to use actual twigs (more realistic, dontcha think?) & felt for our firey flames. You can see how Zoey created her logs in a triangle shape underneath her hand in the next picture...
(We hot glue everything together.)

Then we decided to make some s'mores on our own! I just cut little 1 inch squares of tan felt for the graham crackers, two skinny dark brown pieces for the chocolate, & a cream-colored wobbly circle shape for the melty marshmallow. I used a dark brown Sharpie to add dots to the crackers.
(Again, we used a dot of hot glue in the center of each s'more shape to hold it all together.)

Here's Zoey's campfire set up in the living room:

Zoey also followed the directions in the book & made a fishing pole with a dowel, string & a fish shape cut out of paper. (She wound the string up for the picture, but it does hang down.)

We love making tiny things!!
♥
Nikki

Summer Diary Day 33: Pencil Eraser Painting

Dear summer diary,
The girls weren't totally into the project today, but they played along anyway. I've seen this sorta painting done before, but just recently saw it done with rubber stamp ink on Pinterest. Very adorable done that way---& I love the rainbow ink pad! (That's a much cleaner version than ours.) I don't have rubber stamp ink pads. We opted for acrylic paints & had some messy fun.

I even got Pazely's birthday party invites painted up! Her polka-dot themed party has taken a mild detour. After planning a polka-dotted theme (on paper & in my head & even after ordering plates, napkins & straws), the Mr. & I decided to rent out the community pool for her party instead. It's gonna be a hot day & we want the kids to have some cool fun. So it's less polka-dotty & more....well, wet.

I've picked up several more hours at work to help out at the newspaper, & that means I get a tiny bit less summer fun time with my girls. I'll have to work extra hard to squeeze some organized fun into our days...

♥

Nikki

Summer Diary Day 32: Movie Theater

Dear summer diary,
The Mr. & I took the girls out to dinner & then a movie. We saw "Mr. Popper's Penguins".
Zoey thought it was kind of a sad movie.
Pazely liked it & said "there was a sad part & a happy part."
I thought it was a good family movie. For some reason the girls just remember the part that made them sad. But don't let their review fool you. It was a funny silly flick!
Daddy thought it was "alright" & was happy the girls had a good time.
After the movie we drove thru Arby's & got turnovers for the girls. (Ok, Zoey & I split one.)
We're headed home now with sleepy girls in the backseat.
♥
Nikki

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

YARD SALE!

YARD SALE!

WhiMSy love is having a yard sale!

I'm making room in my studio, clearing out a bunch of stuff. 

(It's gettin' a little crowded in here!)

I'll be adding items daily throughout the next week & I'm slashin' prices until they're gone!

So, if you see something you like, snatch it up quick!

Click HERE to be taken to the "YARD SALE" section of the shop.

Happy shopping!

♥

Summer Diary Day 31: Fabric Houses Part 4: FINISHED!

Dear summer diary,

YAY! We finished the fabric houses!! After sewing on all the details yesterday, we sewed the front & back of the house together---wrong sides facing each other. We stitched up all the sides, but left the bottom open for stuffing. After stuffing the houses, I turned the bottom edges in & sewed along that edge. Done!

And look at these happy faces! Honestly, these girls have struggled these past few days. Being kinda little stinkers & not into the project. But I pushed them through because I KNEW they'd be so happy in the end. And they were! They immediatley played with their little houses when they were done sewing.

Pazely needed a little more help with her house, but Zoey pretty much sewed hers all by herself!

These little housese make me seriously squeal so much! I decided that I would like some giant house pillows for the couch. So, I'll have to make those later on my own.

These houses were inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest, which came from the blog Syko.

♥

Nikki