Green Eggs & Ham!

March 2nd is the birthday of Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.  Last year, we celebrated by having our very own meal of Green Eggs and Ham!  Well, sort of, anyway.  I forgot that it was Dr. Seuss' birthday until the kids came home from school and told me.  They were all excited about it, so I scratched my original dinner plans and improvised.  I didn't have any ham, so we used pork chops (hey, they both come from a pig, right?) and scrambled eggs.  All I did was add a little green food coloring to the eggs as I scrambled them.  For the pork chops, I simply pan fried them, then added a little bit of water and green food coloring to the last few minutes of the cooking.  The kids LOVED it!!

This year, I'm going to try to be a little more authentic.  I picked up a ham steak which I'll cook just like the pork chops and I'm going to try fried eggs.  I'll separate the egg whites from the yolk.  I'll add green food coloring to the whites, put it in the frying pan, then add the yolk.  The yolks will still be yellow, but I think it will still look a little more like the book.

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

No Sew Fleece Pillows

My oldest daughter (8 years old) and a few of her friends are in a little book club.  Once every month or so, they get together to read a short book and do a little project or activity that relates to the story they read.  This past Friday, we hosted a Valentine's themed book club.  The girls had a great time ~ the book we chose was really cute, they did an awesome job on the craft, we made some yummy little homemade pizzas for dinner, and then they played with the Chocolate Playdoh we'd made here a few weeks ago.

First, the book!  We read Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine.  I always chuckle at Amelia's literal interpretations of people's comments, and the girls got a kick out of the character too.  The girls even learned about the literary term, idiom, since there were several examples in the story, like "wearing your heart on your sleeve".  (Although the similarity between the term "idiom" and "idiot" just sent them into fits of giggles!)

Next, we did our little craft project ~ some No-Sew Fleece Pillows.  Unfortunately, I don't have photos for each and every step.  I was either trying to clean my house while getting all the project prep work done or engaging five giggly girls while doing the actual craft.   However, I'll do my best to explain it and will gladly go into more detail if you have any questions.  I did steps #1-3 prior to the girls' arrival, the rest were done at the book club.

Here's what you need:

* fleece (we used two coordinating colors, each piece approx. 18x22" )

* polyester fiber fill ( a 20 oz. bag was more than enough for 5 pillows)

* cotton fabric ( for the initials )

* Thermoweb Heat'n Bond Ultra Hold Iron-On Adhesive ( I love this stuff!!)

* Scissors

* washable marker

Here's what to do:

1.  First, I cut two large heart shapes out of my fleece.  My hearts were approx. 17" x 21" .

2.  Next, using a light colored washable marker, I drew a smaller heart about 3-4" inches in from the outside edges.  This line gave me the guide of how far in I should cut my fringe strips (you can kind of see the faint yellow line on the picture below) .  I then cut 1/2" strips all around the perimeter of my heart.

 I cut the little pieces off the bottom so the heart comes to a point.

3.  Then, I ironed the Heat'n Bond to the wrong side of my cotton fabric. (directions are on the package, just a few seconds using the medium iron setting).  I traced each girl's initials onto the Heat'n Bond paper, making sure the letter was flipped backwards so when we cut it out, the letter would be facing the correct way on the right side of the fabric.

4.  Next, the girls cut out their initials.  Thanks to the paper backing of the Heat'n Bond, they were able to get nice, crisp cuts of the fabric.  We peeled off the paper from their letters and ironed it on the fleece.  (Be careful not to hold the hot iron in one spot for too long on the fleece or it will leave a mark!)

5.  Now, it's time to tie!  Line up the front and back pieces of each heart (wrong sides together), then tie each set of strips in a double knot.  Go all the way around your pillow until there's only 5 or 6 strips left untied.

6.  Before we stuffed the pillows, I had each girl write a little message to each of their friends on a small paper heart.  We then tucked those little friendship notes inside the pillow as we stuffed them!  Taking a handful of stuffing at time, push it into the opening until the pillow takes its form and reaches the desired firmness.

She looks so serious here, but the girls really liked this step!

7.  Tie up the remaining 5-6 strips and your pillow is complete!!


Sharing the fun at:
Sugar & Spice @ seventhirtythree 

Portable Kisses

It's back-to-school time! Time for nervous excitement, smiles and maybe even a few tears (for both kids and moms! ;) ) As we celebrate this time of new beginnings, I thought I'd share a book and little something special I did a few years ago for my youngest when she was having a really tough time leaving me each morning for preschool.

First, we came together to read the book The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. It's an adorable story about a mother raccoon easing her child's anxiety by kissing his hand.





Next, I grabbed a scrap of fleece fabric that I had left over from another project. ( any fabric or even paper would work ). I traced my hand on the fabric, cut it out and painted a little heart on the palm of my handprint. I explained that this was her very own, special and secret "kissing hand".

Before she went to preschool each morning, I took my fabric hand and kissed it a bunch of times to "fill it up" with my kisses for her. Then, before she went into her classroom, I tucked it into her pocket. I told her that any time she felt sad or missed me, she could take out the hand and hold it up to her cheek for a kiss from me. It worked like a charm. Each day was a little easier and soon the tears were a thing of the past and she would go into her room with a smile and a wave.