Illustory Pt.2

We received our published Illustory books in the mail the other day- just in time for Father's Day! The girls are quite proud of their work, and love seeing it all bound up and looking "professional."

I think we have read these books 100 times since the package was opened. The girls are giddy with excitement.

Now we just have to keep it a secret until the big day. If we succeed, this may be the longest kept Father's Day present secret to date.

For more information on Illustory, go here.

Have S'more Peeps and Jelly Bean Bling

I'm not going to tell you to do something other than eat your Easter candy...because that's exactly what I'll be doing.  The reality is that in our family we eat our candy.  And we like it.  

I figure I'm making the world a better place one sugar coated confection at a time.  Instead of watching our landfills become piled with Peeps that will never decompose, I am repurposing them for a better cause...S'mores!

As kids we enjoyed watching marshmallows balloon in the microwave.  Their cousin Peeps respond the same way.  You could do it in the oven, but the microwave is faster.  And while you're at it, why buy more chocolate when you could just use a chocolate bunny you already have?

My Microwave Peep S'mores directions:

1.  Top 1 graham cracker square with crumbled chocolate bunny.

2.  Microwave a few seconds to soften the chocolate (microwaves vary)

3.  Add the Peep on top.

4.  Microwave for only a few seconds, and do not walk away.  It will take only seconds for an unattended Peep to plaster the walls of your microwave (this is the best part, why would you want to walk away? Your kids will love this). 

5.  When it balloons, take it out and put the top square on.

6.  Enjoy the snack that took only about 30 seconds to assemble.

And for your jelly beans...

Delay eating your jelly beans for just a moment by using this idea from last year's Easter ideas. I think we will make bracelets, and we'll be using some stretchy jewelry cord.  A fun activity for the kids during spring break!  But of course, I will still be eating my jelly beans.  It will just be off my wrist instead of out of my hand.

Peeps image via seriouseats.com

Read It: The Tale of Three Trees

retold by Angela Elwell Hunt

illustrations by Tim Jonke

Sometimes things don't always work out the way you'd planned.  Three trees on a hill had great visions for their futures.  One wanted to become a beautiful chest to be filled with treasure.  The second wanted to become a great sailing ship to travel mighty waters and carry powerful kings.  The third wanted to remain on the mountain and grow so tall, people would see her and think of God in heaven.

But all three met a woodcutter's ax and turned out to be something far different from what they had dreamed.  One became a feedbox, the second became a fisherman's boat, the third became a beam, tossed aside in a lumberyard.  But that wasn't the end for those three trees.

Like I said before, sometimes things don't always work out the way you'd planned.  However, when we fashion ourselves to be useful to God's purposes, we can become so much more.

It may be too late to get this book before Easter, so I've attached a youtube reading of this book.  The actual book has full pages of pictures.  The video only shows small sections of the pictures on each page.

Have a wonderful Easter.  

image via ebooknetworking.com

Natural Egg Coloring

photo via

One of our yearly Easter traditions includes egg decoration. In the past we have used food dyes from the grocery store, or a PAAS brand kits.

Throughout this past year, I have made an effort to eliminate artificial food colorings from my children's diets, so it didn't make sense to go the traditional dye route. How many times have you dyed eggs, only to find the egg white inside almost the same color as the shell? My kids love, love, love to decorate eggs, so I was excited when I read more about natural egg coloring.

Dying your easter eggs with natural colorants will take more preparation time, and will often not produce immediate results- most ot the dyes we used had to soak overnight. With that said, it will be a fun and educational process.

My kids were quite excited to find out that we were going to color our eggs with food. Yes, magic food! For our eggs we used beets, tumeric, and grape juice.

Here is what we did:

For the Beets: (Red/Pink eggs)

Cut about three beets up into large chunks. Place the chunks in a pot with your non-cooked eggs. Add enough water to cover the beets and the eggs. Add two tablespoons of vinegar, and boil for twenty minutes. Remove the eggs. If you desire a bolder color, return the eggs to the beet colored water after it has cooled, and store for additional time in the fridge. If you desire a lighter pink color, boil the beets separate from the the eggs, then add pre-hardboiled eggs to the beet colored water after it has cooled. Allow the eggs to sit in the beet water until desired color is attained.

For the Turmeric: (Yellow Eggs)


Add water to just cover the uncooked eggs in your pan, then add 3 Tablespoons of Tumeric, and 2 Tablespoons of White Vinegar to the water. Boil the eggs for 20 minutes, then remove the eggs. Again, if you desire a more intense color, return the eggs to the tumeric colored water for additional soaking time.

For the Grape Juice: (Blue/Purple Eggs)




You can use either frozen concentrate, or actual grape juice for this. If you use concentrate, to not reconstitute, just allow the concentrate to thaw and use the syrup to color. No cooking is required, but you will need to soak your eggs in the juice or concentrate for several hours, or possibly overnight depending on the intensity desired.

These are the combinations we used, but there are so many other possibilities out there! Red cabbage and onion skins are two other very popular choices. Use the time you are preparing your egg dye to have a very scientific talk about plant pigments :). These pigments are what give the plant its color, and what dye the egg.

Beets: Betalain

Grapes/Cabbage:Anthocyanin
Turmeric:Curcumin

All of these pigments are considered to be health beneficial. In fact, several of them are considered to be cancer preventative (especially curcumin). Much better than the alternative


Here are eggs are, in all of their glory. We used brown eggs (for some reason I can only find brown organic eggs out here in NYC)- so we knew the colors would be a little muted and darker. If you use white eggs, the colors won't be so dark, and your beet colored eggs will appear more pink. Not quite the cute pastel ones we are used to, but my kids were still very excited about how dark these turned out, especially the purple ones. Afterward, we even took some time to paint with our left over dye- which makes a perfect all-natural watercolor.






I am very tempted to get these cute egg holders from to display the eggs in on the table. The set is 50% off right now....however, this recession will probably convince me otherwise.

Any of you have some Easter egg dying/decorating tips that you want to share? Leave a comment!

Have fun with your Easter preparations!

April Fools!

Looking for some sneaky tricks to pull on your loved ones this year? I have never been a huge fan of April Fools day, but my children sure are. They are loving the idea of a holiday that celebrates silly practical jokes.

Looking for some good April Fools fun? Every year, Family Fun manages to deliver some pretty cute ideas.

This year we will be dining on "cupcakes" for dinner. Of course these are not real cupcakes.

I am sure my kids will enjoy constructing a April Fools Day card that doesn't open (ha, ha!) for their dad. A template is found here, but I think you could just as easily have your kids make their own card out of cardstock, and glue it closed.

I can see the Suprise Balloon Swarm being a hit in our house.

Any silly tricks you will be playing on your family/friends this April Fools Day? Do share!

Celebrating Presidents Day

If you managed to do any presidential celebrating this past Monday, I salute you. My family was busy spending time with Dad, who rarely gets a weekday off. If you, like us, did not even take a millisecond on the 16th to honor George and Abe, there is still time.

Technically, President Washington's birthday is on the 22nd of February (as was Presidents Day before 1971). And technically, Presidents Day is still formally called either Presidents Day or Washington's birthday. So, you can feel well within the holiday "boundary" if you are a little late taking some time to talk with your children, or doing some activities to honor these great men. I am feeling like this is one of those "better late than never" kind of moments.

You could start by explaining what exactly a President is. This link will help. It provides information about where the president lives, how he travels, and even provides pictures of presidential pets. I think it makes it easier to comprehend Presidents from the past, when the one presently serving seems more tangible.

Here is a list of all the Presidents, and when they have served. Here is a slideshow of what our past presidents looked/look like, and a link to each individual's biography. My kids think Van Buren's sideburns are hilarious. Actually, they got a kick out of quite a few pictures.


Presidents' Day officially became a Federal Holiday in the 1880's (as Washington's Birthday), and at the time celebrated only President Washington achievements. Officially, this holiday still only honors George Washington, but our country has become more inclusive of other presidents in the celebration, specifically Abraham Lincoln- whose birthday is February 12th.


Here are some craft/activity ideas for some belated Presidents' Day festivities:

George Washington Coloring Page

Abraham Lincoln Coloring Page

Abraham Lincoln Hat











Pretzel Log Cabin

Presidential Pins

Several Presidential Activity Books/Coloring Pages- these are great, especially if you have a child in Pre-K to 3rd grade. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see them.

Top and Log Cabin Picture via Martha Stewart

A Valentine Medley

With Valentine's this week, I have pink, red, hearts and love on the brain.  Here are three things we are doing in our house.

1) Valentines for classmates = Heart Flower Lollipops

You will need Valentine paper of your choice (something sturdy like card stock is preferable), scissors, glue, a hole punch and of course lollipops.
Cut out hearts (the size will depend on the size of your lollipop...eyeball it).  Using 4 hearts at a time punch a hole through all of them at the bottom of the heart.
Line up the hole and hearts to make a flower.  Glue the layers together.  Write "to" and "from".
Insert lollipop and you have a Heart Flower Lollipop Valentine for your classmates.

2) This little number is for my hubby.  He loves herbal tea.  I like the idea that each time he takes out a tea bag he finds another love note from me...the gift that keeps on loving.  I was thinking you can do this to anything your hubby uses over time, maybe even notes in different pant pockets.  Just an idea.

3) Now lets not forget the old time classics.  Roses from chocolate kisses for the teachers.  You will need red cellophane, thick wire, green paper hearts (for the leaves), floral tape and chocolate kisses.

Put bottoms of kisses together.  Wrap with cellophane.  Hold firmly with wire and tightly wrap with floral tape around the kisses and wire adding in leaves down the stem.

A bunch of these cute things, a ribbon and a simple tag made by my daughter will be the perfect gift for her teachers.

Please share any fun ideas you have going this Valentine's week.  

Happy L O V E Day!

Crayon Hearts

I was inspired by Martha Stewart today.  My daughter and I had a fun afternoon putting these cute Valentine hearts together with a few things we already had at home.

Start with unwrapping some Valentine color crayons; pink, red, purple, and even some red-orange.  I went over board on this step.  We really only ended up using about 10 crayons, but hey they are ready and unwrapped for the next project.
Ellie used a pencil sharpener to create her crayon shavings while I used a vegetable peeler.
Place a piece of paper, brown paper bag or newspaper on your ironing board to protect it.  Then lay down a sheet of wax paper.  Lightly sprinkle on your crayon shavings.  Be mindful to evenly spread your crayons throughout. 
Apply another sheet of wax paper on top of the crayon shavings.  Then add another sheet of paper, brown paper bag or newspaper on top of that.   This will protect your iron. 
With your iron on medium heat, make several passes over the papers.  Check often.  Once  your crayons have melted and your wax paper seals then you are done.  Allow to cool.  We decided on a marbled look.  The more you melt the crayons the more the colors blend and disperse throughout.  For a marbled heart, be careful to check often and stop ironing just when the crayon melts but doesn't quite blend.
We traced hearts in three different sizes using our cookie cutters.  Cut them out.   Thread with string and hang them on a window.  The picture doesn't really show how the light shines through.  They are a happy addition to our Valentine festivities.

Christmas Around the World

As a young girl, I loved to hear Christmas traditions from my heritage; my father is from Mexico, my mother is Dutch, my grandfather is Indonesian, my great grandmother is Japanese.  Each country holds different traditions or celebrations during the Christmas season.  Learning about them helped me feel a special bond with my heritage and with people around the world.  Even if you don't have close relatives from other countries in the world, children love to learn about the world they live in. 

This Christmas gather your kids to look at a globe or map of the world.  Have each child choose a country they are interested in and learn about their traditions.  You may even find a new tradition to add to your own.  Click here or here for a list of countries and their respective Christmas traditions, celebrations or activities. 

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Friday Book Recommendation: An Orange for Frankie

by Patricia Polacco

I love true stories, even if they are only based on a true story.  Patricia Polacco is well known for the beautiful accounts of her own family stories.  This book tells of Frankie, who is Patricia Polacco's grandmother's youngest brother.  It is the story of Frankie's last Christmas and the power of giving when you don't think you have anything to give.  

Frankie's mother was a great example of giving.  She generously made breakfast every morning for the train engineer and "hobos" who hopped off the train when they made their stop near the Stowell home.  The best part is, she always recruited her nine children to help.  It was on one of those mornings that Frankie saw one old man who drew his attention as being particularly cold in the December snow.  As the man washed up, Frankie could see he had no shirt on under his tattered jacket.  Quickly, Frankie ran up to his room and grabbed the only sweater he knew would fit the man.  It was his best sweater. 

Frankie didn't want to tell his mother he had given away his best sweater, especially because money was so tight and the sweater had been a gift from his sister.  The night before Christmas Eve Frankie's sister tells him that she's made him a muffler to match the beautiful sweater.  Frankie believes he has done something wrong, and holds it all in to not spoil Christmas for everyone.   

Although I think this story could have held up on its own as a great read just with that story alone, Polacco continues on to tell about Frankie's father getting stuck in bad weather while on his way to get the traditional family oranges for Christmas.  There is a lot more to this story, and in the end I think it sounds like she tacked on the ending of "The Christmas Orange," but it's still a fantastic book and well worth the read.  And if it really did happen, I love the story all the more!

So peel open a Christmas Orange and read a good book!

images via www.patriciapolacco.com

2 favorite, easy Christmas crafts

Our family loves making snowflakes, especially my husband.  Years ago we made intricate snowflakes to adorn our Christmas tree.  We still use them.  I love that the dark green Christmas tree provides a nice backdrop for the white snowflakes.  

Last year my husband spent hours cutting small snowflakes for our Christmas cards.  I attached them to green and red card stock using spray adhesive.  Simple and inexpensive. 

This year my daughter is interested in making her own.  Our secret: use tissue paper.  Its light-weight feature is perfect for tiny hands and scissors.  

My snowflakes never turn out as impressive as my husbands.  I finally found out why.  There is an art to making the perfect snowflake.  Click here for step by step instructions.  You can't go wrong.  These whimsical art pieces are perfect for decorating this holiday season.

These adorable mini stockings were a cinch to make.  The template comes from Martha Stewart and is easy to follow and takes little time to whip up (there's still time).    Using felt means no lining.  Don't even bother to turn them inside out.  Cut the hem with pinking shears for a cute zig-zag edge.  

I love the versatility of these small beauties.  Martha suggests using them for an advent calendar, which I love (maybe next year).   I've used them on a garland swag, as a gift card holder, to decorate a present, to hold a special treat or note and even as a Christmas tree ornament.

There are hundreds of Christmas craft choices our there....these are 2 of my favorites....because they are easy.  Happy holiday crafting.  

Friday Book Recommendation: The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza

You just put gingerbread cookies in the oven... one hand is on the phone with Kohl's customer service letting you know you left your credit card behind while buying something for your sister that you ended up replacing with something better and returning anyway... the other hand is finding a family picture for those cards that you've got to get out-but why is no one looking in the same direction in any picture?  Your left foot is trying to keep the tottering toddler from climbing the Christmas tree---again, and your right foot is, well, holding you up...barely.  And then you realize...when was the last time I thought about WHY I am doing this?  

It's a great reason why we do it all, but sometimes we get so caught up in the everything-else of Christmas, we start to forget the important parts.  

by David Shannon

The story of Mr. Merriweather, a man who usually celebrated Christmas with a wreath and some simple decorations on the tree.  One year, to his family's delight, he decided to really go out and add a small string of lights around the window.  When teased about the lights by his neighbor, Mr. Merriweather decides to make a few improvements...but then he doesn't stop.  He eventually creates what can only be described as a Christmas Extravaganza.  People flock to his home to see the lights, traffic backs up around his neighborhood, brown outs blanket every other house, and Mr. Merriweather doesn't realize everything else that he is missing while he's caught up in making the display bigger and better.  Unfortunately, his neighbors finally get fed up and instead of talking it over with Mr. Merriweather, take matters into their own hands, which they eventually regret.

I like that Mr. Merriweather's intentions are not to outdo the neighbors, but just to make a grand display to celebrate Christmas.  Sound familiar?  Reign in excesses, and you'll be amazed how much more you can enjoy the holiday season.

Want to read the story of a real-life Christmas Extravaganza from the house photo above?  Go here to read it on the Boston Globe.  Seriously, the book sounds like it was written straight from the article.

house image via ecomorons.org

book image via overstock.com

Christmas Tradition: Christmas Books

Traditionally, our family purchases our Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. By December 1st, the tree is lit, decorated, and has 24 presents beneath its branches.

These "presents" aren't typical Christmas gifts. They are our treasured Christmas books we have collected over the years. Some of them tell the story of the Nativity, some of them are strictly Santa Claus, but all of them have something to do with the holiday season.

Every night until Christmas Day, we unwrap one "gift" and read it together as a family, just before the kids head to bed.

The first year we started this tradition, we only had a few books- no where near the 24 needed. So, I headed down to the local library and checked out 20 Christmas books to wrap up.

Each year, I have purchased a few books, and we have recieved some as gifts, so we have had to rely less and less on the library for our Christmas book collection. One hint if you use Library books: wrap them in different paper than your other books. Have your children choose from those books under the tree first, so they can make it back to the library before they are due.

Some of our favorites: Christmas Oranges, A Christmas Dress for Ellen, Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and of course, T'was the Night Before Christmas.

At the end of December, the Christmas book collection gets boxed up with the rest of the decorations. This keeps the books in good condition, and also keeps the excitement alive for the next year. "Oh yes, I remember this one!!" has already been heard a few times this year at our house.

I am on the lookout for a Christmas book to add to our collection this year. Any recommendations?

Turkey Favors

I found a version of this cute little turkey over at Make and Takes.  (Take a look, there are tons of easy crafts for you and your kids.)  Since our Thanksgiving table will be full of children, I thought this would be a festive way to decorate, but this turkey would also be great to give to teachers, classmates and friends for the holidays.  They only take a few minutes and a few pennies to make.

Here's what you need:

autumn colored tulle cut into 9x13 rectangles

brown pipe cleaners cut in half

red pipe cleaners cut into little snippets

candy

Wrap the candy in the tulle.  Twist the brown pipe cleaner to secure.  Bring the pipe cleaner towards the bottom of the candy "bag" so the "bag" rests on top of the pipe cleaner.  Shape the pipe cleaner to resemble a turkey head and beak.  Twist a little snippet of red pipe cleaner around the head to create the wattle.  

Easy, right?  Your kids will love it.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Give Away: How Fast They Grow Scrapbook Pages

I am not a scrapbooker. Don't get me wrong, I wish I could do it. I just don't have the time, the money, or the ability to envision the 4 different patterns of papers with the perfect photos, and the accompanying doodads all coming together to make that great looking page. I know what a great page looks like, I'm just not good at making it with paper and scissors.

The only way I can claim to know anything about scrapbooking is because I have an obligation to make at least 2 scrapbook pages a year for my in-law's scrapbook at Christmas. I love the idea of doing it, and the in-laws love it, but after making only 6 pages by hand, I've been on the lookout for simplifying the process.

HowFastTheyGrow.com has by far the cutest templates I've seen on digital scrapbook pages. They use designs from Boatman Geller and a designer from Pottery Barn Kids, among others. So it's cute, and it's easy! They claim to be the "home of the 7 minute scrapbook page," and it really does take that long once you get the hang of it.

The printed page quality is Kodak processing, and I was impressed with the quality. Each page is $7.50, so the quality is reflective in the price. Shipping was around $9 because the packaging is fantastic, so I highly recommend joining (for free) and waiting for a great free shipping or other discount offer.  Also check out their free digital scrapbook sharing!

So if you're looking for a creative (but not like the singing reindeer socks kind of creative) gift for grandma and grandpa this year, consider getting the siblings together to each give 2 pages that summarize a year of growth in each family. Whether you make your page with scissors or by computer, it's a gift everyone in the family will enjoy far beyond Christmas.

Who wants to win a $50 gift certificate from HowFastTheyGrow.com? Just leave a comment and tell us which template collection is your favorite before Midnight on Tuesday, November 11! Winner will be selected randomly. Shipping to Continental US only. Thanks HowFastTheyGrow.com!

Give Away: $50 Gift Certificate to Paper Shouts

It may seem odd to talk about Holiday Cards during a week when Halloween festivities are underway, but the reality is this: If I do not start thinking about my Christmas Cards by November, I might as well send out Valentines to my friends & family- for that is how late they will be.

Holly reviewed Paper Shouts stationary here a few months ago. Paper Shouts specializes in personalized stationary and cards. Now, they have included some very cute Holiday cards to the mix.


Some of the styles allow you to upload a picture to make your cards even more personalized. I am a big fan of the "vintage" card selection that Paper Shouts carries.


In the spirit of holiday giving, Paper Shouts is donating a portion of it's holiday cards sales to OCF (Our City Forest)- which is an organization that funds and promotes urban tree planting. To make your white Christmas even greener, the entire Paper Shouts line is printed on 100% post consumer waste recycled paper.



If you already have your holiday cards in the bag for Christmas 2008, ( you are officially the most organized person I know) never fear, you can use the gift certificate (contest details below) to purchase anything Paper Shouts has to offer, including: baby announcements, party invitations, personalized stationary etc.

Who wants to try some Paper Shouts?!? One lucky citrus reader will win a $50 gift certificate. Enter by leaving a comment detailing which of the Paper Shouts holiday card styles are your favorite. Contest will be open until November 3rd at midnight. Winner will be announced the morning of November 4th. Continental US shipping only.
Thank you Paper Shouts!

Use coupon code "citrus" to get 10% off your order at papershouts.com before December 1st.