Wordless Wednesday: Swinging

Over the Mess

My boys have way too many toys.  I can't keep up with the mess, Matt can't keep up with the mess, and Lucas... well, he just adds to the mess.  Their room is the last place in the house I want to clean.  I thought practical storage solutions (in the form of two Cubeicles) would help.  They do, to an extent, but my boys, especially Lucas, tend to play with EVERYTHING at once.  So even though all of the cars have their own cubby drawer, even though all of the castle accessories have their own cubby drawer, even though all of the Potato Heads are in their own cubby drawer...nothing is actually *in* the drawers.  It's all over the floor.  Every.  Single.  Day.

It doesn't help that Lucas is systematically dumping things behind us when Matt and I tackle the disaster.  We never make any ground!  A part of me thinks it wouldn't be so overwhelming if they had less toys.  Another part of me reminds me that the toys that they have, they *do* still play with.  It's not like we have baby toys collecting dust.  I get rid of toys they don't play with at least four times a year, and still they have a ton.

I told Eric that I don't even want to get them toys this year for Christmas.  I'd rather get them things like new bedspreads, new curtains, maybe some shelving to keep the DVDs out of Luke's reach, a new DVD player because theirs recently died.  They'll get plenty of toys from my parents, his mom, his dad, and his sister.  Not that they won't get anything "fun."  We've already decided to get Matt an original DS and have a game for him.  Lucas will probably get one thing from us that he'll really love.  Other than that though, do we really need to get them a million toys?  Why not go for quality over quantity this year?  Matt doesn't need any more cars or blocks.  Luke doesn't need anymore anything, because he plays with all of his brother's toys.  Until they can keep up after themselves, I'm throwing my hands up!  I refuse to add to the burden.

Eric's not completely sold on the idea, and I get it.  He wants to give the boys those magical Christmases.  I'm just so over all the excess.  Am I wrong to feel this way?

A Really Fun, Easy, & Cheap Craft

Matthew's back from Florida!  He's been back since Monday, and I've just been trying to get back into the swing of things.  I've barely been on Facebook, not at all on Twitter, and I don't think I've even checked my gmail yet.  I told myself I'd get started on Monday, but I know that's the lazy way out, and truthfully, this post should have been done last week!  So here goes!

I love my subscription to Disney's Family Fun Magazine.  There's at least one thing I want to try in every issue, be it a recipe, a craft, or even clever mom solutions that readers submit.  I'm not much of a crafter or a chef, but I have tried many of their ideas, and have many more ripped out and stashed away because I really really want to try them!

In the latest issue there were a bunch of crafts that featured using sticks and stones.  The one that caught my attention was the Pebble Plaque (Family Fun Aug 2012, pg 63).  This looked so cool and easy that I couldn't *not* try it!  Basically it's a mosaic using simple dough for the base and pebbles for the design.

"This project starts with a trip outdoors to collect a basket of small, beautiful stones for an all-natural mosaic."  So, outdoors we headed.  Living so close to the Lehigh River has its advantages.  One of them being an endless supply of river rocks!  Lucas helped me pick out rocks he liked.  He also threw back the rocks I picked that he *didn't* like.  In the end, I had to give him the bucket to fill with whatever he chose, and I put the smallest, flattest stones I could find in a plastic zip bag.  I didn't bring home nearly as many as I wanted to, but it turned out I had plenty!

When we got home I rinsed all the dirt, mud, and grime off of the stones and gave them time to dry.  Then I tried to figure out what designs I would make with them in the dough.  Once I had my rocks set up the way I wanted them, I went off the grid... I painted them.
With nail polish.
I don't have any other paint in the house, ok?  Yeah, I could've left them unspoiled, but my creative side was waking up, and I couldn't leave them plain.  Except for little turtle-y over there.  I don't have green nail polish. ;)

The next step was to make the dough, so here's the recipe and instructions for that:

3 cups of flour
1 cup salt
1 1/4 cups water (plus up to an additional 1/4 cup as needed)

Heat the oven to 275.

Use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat the ingredients together until a ball forms.  If the mixture is still crumbly, add more water.

Knead the dough until it's smooth.  Divide the dough into three balls (I got a little creative again in this part.  After dividing the dough, I added food coloring, and kneaded it in.).  Place each ball on a piece of foil and flatten it into a disk.  Press pebbles into the dough to create a design.

Transfer the foil and dough onto a baking sheet.  Bake the plaques for two hours, then let them cool completely.  Check to see if any pebbles are loose; if so, remove them, add a drop of tacky glue, and replace them.

Here's our end result:

 

I think they came out great, and they were super easy and fun to make, not to mention free!  I would definitely recommend trying it yourself.

Bridal Shower Punch

My sister in law's bridal shower was on Sunday.  I'm so excited for her; I can't believe how quickly her wedding is coming up!  Here are some pictures of her and the bridal party, and a recipe for the punch I made, which was awesome!

Bridal Shower Punch

• 1 can of frozen orange juice
• 1 can of pineapple juice
• one bottle of 7 Up
• 1-2 bottles of Verdi Raspberry Sparkletini
• raspberry sorbet

 Make the orange juice according to the instructions.
Add pineapple juice.
Add about half the bottle of 7 Up.
Add a bottle or two of the Sparkletini
Mix well.
Float raspberry sorbet on top.
YUM!

Missing Matthew

Oh, what was I thinking when I told my mom she could keep Matt for a couple of weeks?  It just doesn't feel right at home without him.  The longest and furthest he's ever been away before is a weekend and a 20 minute drive.  Now he won't be home for another 11 days and he's 1000 miles away!  Of course I know he's in good hands and that his days are full and happy while he's with my family but I still miss him fiercely.

And my poor Lucas is lost without his big brother!  He keeps wanting to look at all the pictures of Matt, bringing out Matt's toys, "This Matty's?" and he's even been having trouble getting to sleep at night without his brother in the room.

We've talked to Matt on the phone a couple of times, and oh, his voice just sounds so small and innocent and.. excited.  Excited to tell me about all the really cool fun things he's been doing, and excited to talk to Mommy.  We just can't wait to get him home, though.  There's something missing!