Monday, March 18, 2013

First Sale

Just made my first Etsy sale, so thought this would be a good opportunity to do some self promotion.  Please visit this store:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchedtoaTea


Friday, March 8, 2013

Why Do I Buy My Children Toys?

It is becoming increasingly more obvious that I really shouldn't be buying my children toys.  After the first twenty-four hours most toys have made their way to the bottom of the toy box never to be played with again. The best toys my kids have played with have either been found free or cheaply at places like the dollar store. Here's some of the improvised toys we've come up with.


  • Sticks:  Sticks are Holly's favourite.  The first thing she does when stepping out the front door is to look for a fallen stick.  This stick will not leave her hands for the rest of the day.  Some days she will collect sticks and come home with handfuls, some days she breaks the one she has into smaller pieces but it all boils down to she loves her sticks. [Husband's note: Or the car. There's enough twigs in the back of my car to start a small campfire.]
  • Sponges:  I bought a 10 pack of sponges from the dollar store and cut them up.  Jack in particular loved these.  They were light blocks and he made towers, constructed a train out of them, and threw them around (my favourite part about them being sponges).  His favourite game was making towers on each others heads and seeing how high they got before someone inevitably moved.  The sponges I found were also in primary colours so I snuck in some colour lessons while we were playing.  Yes you could do these games with any blocks but for a dollar the price could not be beaten. [Husband's Note: The more astute of you may have gathered that my wife isn't from around here. She is from England, where they insist on putting "u's" where they don't necessarily belong.]
  • Cardboard boxes: I don't think this one needs any explanation, kids love boxes and I knew this before having children.  What I have learnt though is young children love the toy boxes.  Jack has spent more time admiring the picture of Thomas on the box than the train that came in the box. [Husband's note: For extra fun, toss your cat in the box with your kids! Make sure you have plenty of Neosporin, Bactine, or your other favorite brand of disinfectant.]
  • Balloons: As you saw from the last post Jack just had a birthday and as part of the decorating we bought some balloons and blew them up.  He had the usual fun with the balloons scattered around the room but it wasn't until the next day the real fun was had.  My husband would blow up the balloon and then let it fly around the room.  Both kids went into hysterics ran after the balloon and brought it back. [Husband's Note: Fellow husband's, take note: this activity can be done sitting in your couch drinking beer. I know, I AM a genius.] 
  • Laser Pointer:  We got a laser pointer for the cat but our kids have played with it more.  Holly wanders around holding it and Jack chases the red dot.  [Husband's note: That's not entirely true. While Jack has a similar reaction to the cat upon seeing the offending dot the laser produces, Holly realizes that the doohickey that I'm holding is creating it, and thus, SHE MUST HAVE IT! So far, I have succeeded in keeping it from her grasp. I fear with her persistence, it's only a matter of time.]

Monday, March 4, 2013

Dinosaur Party and Pinterest

Like many people I enjoy browsing on Pinterest.  My husband will say that I need a "pintervention"[Husband: She does. Remember, the first step is admitting you have a problem] but really I don't go on that much nor do I attempt to do many of the projects I do find.  However, when I was a planning a mini dinosaur party for my sons third birthday I had to give some of the ideas a try.
My favourite was the hats:


The kids didn't like wearing them (they don't wear many hats) because of the string underneath their chin but they were so simple to make and so fun I didn't care too much.  A little bit of construction paper slipped into the seams of the hats and voila cheap generic hats are now fun and interesting.

This idea I couldn't take credit for....my mother was in town and saw a picture of this watermelon dinosaur head and was determined to do it.  Unfortunately the watermelon we grabbed was far too ripe and juice got everywhere and made the whole project harder. But it certainly impressed me, as I would have surely cut a finger (or two) off attempting it [Husband's Note: My wife is the single most accident prone woman I know. If she's not careful, she could burn down the apartment making cereal].

 The main part of the theme was the cake. That I didn't find on Pinterest, but in a quick google search. It was based off many cakes of a similar design.   I am definietly not a cake decorator but considering how it could have come out I was happy. The little touches I-again-have to credit my mother.  She roasted coconut for the base and made tree out of long biscuits and parsley.  The look on Jack's face made all the work worthwhile. [Husband's Note: There I am, resplendent in my polo and dinosaur hat. Bask in my magnificence, muahaha!]