#624 - dip dyeing coins

 Or more correctly, dip dyeing pennies.

 

I was going through our coin jar with the boys and decided it would be fun to clean some coins.  It's super easy and fun to watch.

Cleaning Pennies Recipe

1/4 cup vinegar (i used distilled white vinegar)
1 teaspoon salt (i used plain table salt)

Mix in a clear glass bowl.  Toss pennies in for 10-60 seconds (or longer). Rise with cold water.

 

And before I knew it I was half dyeing the coins.   I just held the half the coin in the "cleaning pennies solution" for about 30 seconds, pulled it out and washed it in cold tap water.

The boys were quickly over the excitement of dyeing coins (they were on to mixing up stuff in my cupboards - see below), but I was just getting started.  I was looking through my coins to find birth and anniversary years for my family, so that I could make "lucky us" keychain charms.

 Do you notice the different coin above?

I found my sister's birth year and put her name in vinyl letters on the coin.  ( I think you could make tape work).  I only dyed the coin for about 15-20 seconds because I didn't want the solution to get under the letters.

I'm so excited to try this again with initials, fun words, and cool designs.  And the awesome part is that I didn't deface the coins (at least I don't think it's defacing), because I was just cleaning them.

Let me know if you try this...I'd love to see pics!   I'm off to build a fort with Oster before he mixes up another popcorn kernel, balsamic vinegar, ginger, bouillon cube concoction.

ps, casi, this is in the mail (sorry to spoil the surprise on my blog and give away your age)

#536 - State of Idaho Pillow

 

I saw this Idaho State pillow and thought I could recreate it with some red corduroy I had laying around (thanks mom for the material!)  

Promise...the above photo doesn't do it justice.

Here's how I did it:

 

1 - found a map of Idaho on the internet and blew it up to the size I wanted (about 20 inches high and 12 inches wide)  email me if you want the pattern...i'll send it your way.  Then I pinned it to the corduroy rights sides facing each other.

2 - cut out pattern leaving about 1/4-1/2 inch trim

3 - use a white crayon (i didn't have a fabric marker) to trace around pattern (probably not neccessary)

4 - sew around pattern, leaving about 2 inches open to turn inside out.  I sewed it twice to make sure it stayed.  I also used black thread b/c I ran out of red.

5 - cut of corners, so turning inside out would be easier and turned it inside out

6 - sewed white felt heart onto our hometown location with black embroidery thread

7 - stuffed it with stuffing

8 - sewed up the 2 inch hole (with correct color thread)

I think this is a perfect gift for a college student to remind them of home, so I gave it to my sister Kar.

#511 - a new niece and a new nephew

So happy...within the past 3 days

my sister had a cute little girl (just yesterday)

and my sister in law had an adorable little boy (Thursday)

yeah for babies!

photo via

#493 - "U" is for...

"U" is for "Underwater Diver"

another page for Parker's ABC book

Doesn't it look like he is holding his breath?

Details:

Water - wavy blanket from my sister Casi

Fish - from the game "Gone Fishing"

Seaweed - Moby wrap (dark and med green), Oster's pajamas (light green), rod from a playmat (polka dot green)

Outfit - Carter's from Aunt Alyssa and Uncle Joseph

In case you missed the other letters, here they are:

G is for...

D is for...

S is for...

B is for...

#491 - Happy Birthday to....

Happy Birthday to Farley...nope...

Happy Birthday to Barley....no...

Happy Birthday to Harley...no...

Happy Birthday to Marley...nope...

Happy Birthday "Tarli" (that's how Oster says your name)...yep!  

Have a great one! 

ps...stole the awesome pic from your facebook page!

#490 - pregnant mom costumes

I've never been pregnant during Halloween (at least enough to show), but since my sister and 3 of my sister in laws are pregnant I thought that I would post these costume ideas for them!

just a small disclaimer:  if i ever was that pregnant during halloween...no way i could ever pull off these awesome baby bump costumes!

This smores halloween costume could be perfect if you were pregnant or not!

#484 - color coded bookshelf

This is mostly a post for my sister Kar.  She lived with us last summer and I think our unorganized bookshelf drove her crazy (she still asks me about it.)

color coded bookshelf

So, I color coded it.  I know it is super trendy right now, but I love how much more organized it looks!

How do you organize your books?

#477 - shout out

I've been super lucky and won 3, yes 3, blog giveaways in the past few months.  Ok, one of them was from my sister Casi and I was the only one that entered :)

Anyway,  I won a cool, super soft Scott Free Tshirt from Paige at I *Heart* You (seriously, i heart that blog!)

I also won this awesome book (I was hoping to win the bag of yarn) above from Donna at Bardsleyland.  You've got to read this blog...very honest and funny!

And from my sister, I won a C.S. Lewis journal.  If you know me, I can never have enough journals to fill!

Thanks to all 3 of you!

#400 - Happy Mother's Day! ~ a post for mom

OK, so I'm doing one better, I'm not just tweeting or facebooking, but I'm blogging about my mom on Mother's Day.

In fact, it's a blog from all of us (kids and grandkids.)

Why We Love You Mom ~

I love how you are always positive. - Brian aka BT

You befriend anyone no matter who they are. - Karli aka Kar

I love your positive attitude through all of life's roller coasters. - Casi

You are a strong, independent woman and you stand up for what you believe in. - me aka tvmom

We love that you are a giver. You always have something to give everybody. It makes us realize that you are always thinking of us. - Jordan and Rachael.

I also really love that you treat others with so much respect and kindness, that has been a great example to me of how to live my life. - Brian

You are a great example to look to. - Casi

I love how you are always thoughtful and thinking of others. - me

You send me postcards in the mail, play puzzles with me and skype with me. - Baby O

Memories Growing Up With You As Our Mom

When growing up I would remember riding the bus home, but I LOVED the days when I would see the blue suburban parked on the street because I knew mom was there to pick us up. Happy days. Love you Mom!!! - Casi

I remember mom would always get the end of a pen and tickle my face when I was younger. I also remember we put our bikes in the trunk and go on bike rides to the trail that goes along Highway 95. I also remember she would take me to go roller skating all the time when I was younger. - Karli

I remember (and still love) the back rubs, the tickling...just feeling relaxed and taken care of. - me

After Mae was born, Mom came down and stayed with Rachael and me for a week. She made dinner for us, she cleaned for us, and she watched Mae for us so we could get some sleep. Rachael and I were both so appreciative of her willing to sacrifice for us. I am very grateful for Mom and the example she is to me. -Jordan

We love you!
Casi, Jordan, Brian, Karli, Baby O, Mae, Pepe, Rachael, Pedro and me

#380 - flying baby

happy Sunday
this picture above reminds me of this
picture taken by my lovely sister, Kar

#377 - Obama poster in DC

Last summer when my sister was here, she found the coolest Obama poster, but never was able to take a picture of it (it's really not a great neighborhood.) Well, Kar and BT are visiting and guess what one of their first photos was? Yep, this poster. Seriously, if you go to this location to see the poster, you'll get it.

View Larger Map
And for the tech savvy folks, here's a interactive map to view this location.

*Note - no political statement here, just like the coolness of this photo and the location it is in...(keepin it neutral for the new baby coming.)

#336 - Chocolate Crockpot Cake

I really wanted to make this the other day with Baby O. I thought it would be fun to cook with him...he's even the one stirring the batter in the photo above.

Well, we probably won't be cooking together again for a while...it was a mess and I think he had 2 time outs during the process (am I a bad mom?...no need to answer that.)

Casi, do you notice the picture of the two of us in the photo above?

Here's the recipe in case you want to make Crockpot Cake:

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 container of sour cream (8 oz)
1 cup chocolate morsels
1 cup water
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil - i used some smart balance oil
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix - i used half vanilla and half chocolate

Spray crock pot with nonstick cooking spray (I forgot this step, whoops!) Mix cake mix, sour cream, chocolate morsels, water, eggs, oil and pudding mix in a bowl by hand. Pour into crock pot.
Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

I cooked this about an hour too long, so parts of it were burnt, but it sure tastes delicious! It's not super sweet, but it is really moist...and smells so good!

#324 - Day late

Ok, these Valentines are a day and a dollar late, but thought I would send them (via my blog) anyway.

Dear Mom and Dad,
I hope we didn't stress you out too much while you were stuck with us. I love you!via

Dear Brian & Karli,
Glad you had fun at the Olympics...jealous that you got to see Wayne Gretzky. Here's some hockey soap, since you were stuck in the car for over 1,800 miles. Only 400 more miles and you could have made it here. Love you!

via

Dear Jordan, Rachael & Mae,
Happy V Day and Chinese New Year! Love you!

via

Dear Casi and Pedro,
Here's a map to make it seem like we live closer. Love you!
via


Dear Pepe,
I thought about making you this, but think this is nicer. I love you!
via

Dear Baby O,
Seriously, I let you get away with too much, but you are so darn cute! I love you!
And to everyone else, hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day!

#311 - red prada purse...pink wallet

And even more red & pink...I really love my red knock off prada purse I got on the streets of NYC 3 years ago. It's still in really great shape and I think I only paid $15 for 2 fake prada purses (the other is the same color but more of a handbag.)

Also, my pink wallet from Target is so handy to keep all my credit cards and coins (thanks Karli for picking it out for me.)

#275 - smiling's my favorite

For Karli. Via

#270 - Classic Concentration

Remember the game Classic Concentration? My sister Casi loves to draw clues like the ones in the game.

I decided to do a little game for Casi (or anyone else) to show how Baby O is pronouncing names. I'm just doing my family's names, because Pepe's family is too big.

#1

#2

#3

#4

Answers:
#1 - car key (Karli)
#2 - ray shell (Rachael) or ray tell
#3 - key "c" (Casi)
#4 - gaw gaw (Grandpa) or gaw pa

Here's how he pronounces the rest of my family:
jordan - jor jor or jor dee
mae - mmmmeh
brian - bry dee or bry ee
pedro - pay jew
grandma - gaw ma
old fart - gaw gaw

#263 - Present for Kar

Since my sister Kar loved this so much, I'm thinking she'll love this beard scarf for Christmas. What do you think Kar?

via here

#243 - 6 layer chocolate cake

This was so good...six layers good! It was was sister's wedding cake (back in March '09)...yum, I want another slice.

#242 - Ice Cream Truck

Hello, who wouldn't love to own an ice cream truck? Pepe and I have been in the market for a used car and we ran across this ad. I was a little tempted to get it (or at least go look at it). . . look at all the features it has:

My sister had a ice cream cart this summer, maybe she could take it up a notch next summer???

#235 - Toy Trucks

This summer we were at the thrift store and Kar found these awesome solid wood trucks. Only two are in the picture, but there are actually 3. They are Baby O's favorite toys...he says, "bbbbbbbbbbbbb" when he plays with them.

I was happy when I found this link. These are now his most expensive toys and I scored all 3 for $8 total.