No Homemaking this week....

Boo hoo...no fun crafts this week. Its all about my Ebay business. Trying to get caught up on all that I have been behind on. I have 2 boxes of spring stuff to start listing soon as well!
So this week is just "maintenence". Keeping the dishes clean, trying to work my way to the bottom of the laundry pile, and running after Ezra who is into everything nowdays.
These are fun times too, though. I love it!

A Collaberation....



Canaan drew his first "real" picture recently. It was the first thing we could actually figure out. Anyhow, it was an octopus. I took that drawing, copied it to fabric, and embroidered the outline of it. After that, I sewed it on a pillow and framed it with rick rack. I think it turned out perfectly! Its fun and quirky--just like Canaan! :)

Canaan's first stitching project





Today I taught Canaan how to stitch. He loved it! He held the rings for a while but his hands got tired so I held it for him. He got the hang of it really fast!

Valentines, Guitars, and Birdhouses...






Here are the Valentines we made for Canaan's class Valentine party. They were a hit!

I love this picture of Canaan with his guitar. It is hard to not take a picture of him nowdays without his guitar...he has it with him morning until night!

And finally a picture of a side table in our dining room. It has our sterio and these great birdhouses that Canaan painted. This old New Tribes sign is one that I rescued from the dumpster at the New Tribes Bible Institute in Michigan.

Mini Apron Swap Meme

1. What is your first food memory?
I remember loving brussel sprouts as a child. My mom was not much of a cook though. I remember her making them in the microwave with butter for me all the time.
2. What was your favorite dish/food as a child?
I have no idea what my favorite food was except for those darn brussel sprouts! :)
3. Name one of your mini's favorite foods:
Canaan is a hummus man. Hummus and chips or hummus and veggies all day long!
4. What was your mini's first solid food? Did they love it or hate it? Besides rice cereal which he liked, we went to Papua New Guinea for 5 weeks when he was 5 months old. While in one of the tribes he had "kau kau" which is their equivelent to sweet potato. He loved it!
5. What was something you were excited to make for your mini for the first time? Canaan's first birthday cake was fun to make. I was very anal about keeping him off sugar, etc... when he was starting out. I researched and made a banana cake with all natural-no sugar or dairy. He loved it!
6. What is your favorite food memory?
My favorite food memory....oh man there are so many! One of my favorites is at a great little restaurant in Montreal on my husband and my honeymoon. It was super late on our first night there and we sat outside on the verandah overlooking the city. I got a simple olive oil and garlic angel hair pasta with a glass of red wine. It was so simple yet so delicious and memorable.
7. Your mini's birthday party : All out theme with perfect kid food ala Martha? or Quiet family home party with scrumptious cupcakes? Something in-between? Definately the quiet family event. Canaan shuns away from too much attention on himself. He loves family time so thats what we do! We try to keep the day focused on him and on having fun doing what he wants to do.
8. Name one thing you absolutely love to make and eat when you are feeling like a kid again: I have heard that when you are an only child (like I am) it is harder to remember your childhood. This must be true b/c I just don't have alot of childhood memories including those fuzzy warm "feel like a child" foods,etc.... I do love Donatos Pizza which originated in Columbus Ohio (where I am from). Now they are in many States but when I eat it I always think of Columbus and watching the Buckeyes play football!
9. Name something you ate as a kid that you now look back on and wonder "what were my childhood taste buds thinking??" : Again...the brussel sprouts!
10. Name 3 things your mini loves (doesn't have to be food related):

Playing guitar
Cooking in the kitchen with me!
David Crowder Band (and music in general)

Johnny Cash and Painting

Valentine Quesedillas





It is so hard to find things to make for lunch. Sometimes I think Canaan may turn into a peanut butter sandwich because he eats so many! Today he wanted quesedillas. But I had no flour tortillas! So I pulled out my Joy of Cooking and quickly whipped up a batch of flour tortillas. They were very easy to make and tasted better than store bought. Since it was Valentines Day, I cut them into heart shapes and served them with sour cream and salsa.

Valentine Craft--Thanks Martha!





This is a great Valentines craft and a neat idea if you need to make multiple Valentines for your childs class or for work.


This Valentine’s Day, encourage kids to show sweet sentiments with tokens of affection that go beyond the store-bought card. Most of the projects require only a bit of cutting and some gluing; all can be decorated to their heart’s desire. Crayons, rubber stamps, ribbons, and pretty pictures cut from magazines or taken from scrap-art catalogs are just a few of the items kids can put to use. In no time, they’ll have an array of adorable valentines whose messages come straight from the heart.







Heart-and-Lollipop Flowers
With just a little TLC, colorful hearts flourish as the petals of a new flower variety—one with a lollipop center and stem.

1. Use card stock to make a half-heart template about 3 inches high and 1 1/4 inches wide. Fold a 12-by-3 1/2-inch piece of construction paper in half vertically, and trace four half-hearts along the fold.

2. Cut out hearts; unfold.

3. Stack hearts; punch a hole 1/4 inch up from bottom. Position petals to form a flower, making sure holes line up. Secure by applying glue around holes; let dry. Write name on a petal. Insert lollipop.

Things for his wrist


Can I call it a bracelet??? I don't know what you'd call a boys bracelet. Anyhow, Canaan and I created this fun little "bracelet" the other night. He loves it and it looks so cool on him! I made a couple of girls ones to send out as Valentines gifts.

Snow.....


Lots of snow nowdays.....really really cold.......
I seriously think we have only ventured out 2 times in the past week. It hasn't been easy trying to entertain Canaan and Ezra. What to do for 8-9 hours a day????? We just craft and clean and cook and craft and clean and cook.....
If you have any ideas please send them my way!

Canaan's Dinner




I never could have imagined that a 3 year old could be so comfortable in the kitchen. Canaan loves to cook. Always has and I imagine, probably always will. (this along with many other things that he loves doing like painting, cleaning, taking walks, and collecting things). Anyhow, for Christmas we bought him his first cookbook. A really cute kids cookbook with washable pages and such. He has been planning out his menus for weeks now and finally we got around to making one of the dishes. He wanted to make the chicken and fries from the cookbook. So I stood back and read him the directions as he raced around the kitchen getting ingredients, cracking eggs for the batter, dredging the chicken, and coating the potatoes with olive oil and s&p. He was astonishing. Of course he has been doing most of these things for months now, but to see it all come together and him literally make his own dinner from scratch was crazy!! The only thing I did was cut his potatoes and stick it in the oven. He cleaned up as he went and looked like he had spent his life in the kitchen....well I guess he practically has!

My find at the Thrift Store



About a month ago I started learning how to stitch. I absolutely love it! So the other day I was thrilled to find this kit at the thrift store. It is a kit to make these funky handmade dolls. There was this fisherman and a police man. Both for $3. Its a fun little project. Who knows when I'll get it done. It definately isn't on the top of my priority list. But I have finished stitching his face and his arms and legs.

Alot to do on a cold day....

It has been a busy few days. Our wonderful friends, Randy and Linda Wood, came in for a visit on Friday night from Milwaukee. I made a lasagna and served it along side a salad, garlic bread, and tiramisu. We had a wonderful time catching up on news and visiting together.
Saturday was a fun day. Canaan and I went on a date! A fun time with my little soon-to-be four year old. We went craft shopping. First we hit the Goodwill where we didn't find much. Next we headed to the Salvation Army where we scored with a hand puppet making kit. Complete with eyes, glue, etc....
Then it was off to JoAnn Fabrics where we totally hit the jackpot. They were having amazing sales and all of their clearance fabric was $1.00 a yard!!!!! I bought upholstry fabric, quilting fabric, pillow fabric, etc..... We walked out with a heaping bag of fabric and notions for $28.00.
It has been SOOOOO cold here. Today Canaan had school cancelled so we've been bundled up inside playing with clay and making bracelets (pictures to come---my batteries are charging for the camera).
This week I hope to finish a pillow Canaan has been waiting for, send off a couple birthday packages and my parents anniversary gift. Also we are working on compiling a CD of Canaan's favorite songs to send out to his friends. And lastly, Mike is determined to get our candle company launched--soon! So we need to put some finishing touches on the label and scents.