Making snacks easier

Before Caleb arrived, I was already feeling the need to make my kitchen a little more efficient. It's pretty efficient when I'm in it (I don't want to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm kind of a whirling dervish when the need arises), but my kids getting to the age and our family is getting to the size that they are going to need to be a little more self-reliant and less expectant that I wait on them.

Snack time is when I saw this in particular. Coming off teaching, chasing kids into the dining room, pulling things out of cupboards, finding an alternative for the inevitable kid who doesn't like what everyone else is getting (or dealing with the pouts because they won't be catered for)...ugh. They would be more than happy to help themselves, of course, but between the horrible mess they'd leave behind and the knowledge that most of my kids are not graced with much self-control (dreadful gluttons, all of them), I was breaking out in a cold sweat.

I truly think my solution must have been a divinely-inspired, and so I thank God for The Snack Bucket.

I got a bunch of snack bags and put a different type of snack in each: raisins, goldfish crackers, pretzels, graham crackers, cashews, etc.  Then I found an empty 5L ice cream tub, labelled it, filled it with snack pouches and stuck it in the pantry.

Now, when it's snack time, one kid runs and gets the bucket, they pass it round the table and each take their pick of what's available, and back it goes. Everyone gets what they want (within reason) and we reuse and refill the empty bags for next time.

It's such a little thing, but this has been so helpful! I reckon it could easily be adapted for the fridge to store sliced fruit, yogurt, and applesauce cups. Even my husband, who has endured many of my weird-and-wonderful schemes, has complimented me on my excellent idea. :)

What's a good snack I can add to my bucket? What does snack time look like at your house?

I don't normally do this...

...but this time, I reconsidered.
After seeing the appeal for the Barlow family through the Simple Mom feed, I almosted moved on, but this time, I paused. I thought about this family whom I don't know and will likely never meet, who just lost a husband and father so suddenly. Then I thought about my family - what it would be like if Toby was suddenly gone. Tragic doesn't begin to describe. I'm not sure there really are suitable words to express what we would feel, what this family must now be feeling.
I thought about what a blessing it would be to be cared for by friends who endeavored to help in whatever way they could. What a balm it would be to a broken heart to know that they not only offered their services to help me, but also shared the need and widened the circle of help on my behalf.
And so, I made a purchase. After all, what's five bucks when you're husband comes home every night? We can swing that. I think most of us can.
Would you please consider going over to Simple Mom,  NOW, following the link and making a purchase? It's only good for another day or so, so please head over now. It's such a little thing that can be such a comfort to a hurting family.
And if you're of a mind to, pray for them. God binds up the broken hearted in ways we could never do.

One Month In

It's been a little over four weeks this little person has been here. In that time:

• We've been cuddling
• We've been kissing baby head and cheeks
• We are stunned by how much bigger Dan suddenly seems
• We're thankful that Caleb and I were able to leave the hospital after 24 hours
• We are rediscovering the joys (and occasional trials) of breastfeeding

• My mom came for a few days and let me nap.
• Toby's mom came for a week and let me nap. 
• Toby's dad came for a week and let me nap.
• Dan started creeping out of his room during nap time, waking me up from my naps.

• Abi turned 10.
• We went to the DC zoo.
• I turned 35.
• We went to Ladew Gardens. 
• We went out to eat - a lot.

We are now learning the new normal. That tends to mean lots of tweaking, rather than all change. I am grateful for the systems and schedules I put in place before Caleb's arrival, but now it's time to adjust them to accommodate a nursing infant and sleepy mommy. I have a list of projects as long as my arm, but happy to tackle them when I'm able - life is definitely taking a slower pace. I'll endeavor to keep interested parties (all 3 of them) up to date!
 I'm looking forward to re-entering the blog-world, but don't be surprised if it resembles more of an elderly shuffle than a full-on run...

And just like that...

 

...we fall in love all over again.

Caleb Michael Gayner was born on August 30, 2012 at 1:01pm, 7lb9oz, 20 inches long. He's healthy, handsome and perfect. Pardon us while we delight in this newest blessing. :)

 

My Messy Nest

Have you seen these on Pinterest? Aren't they lovely?

 I wanted to make one. I had all the stuff to do it...everything except a talent for jewelry making. Still, why should I let a little trifle like that stand in my way? Needless to say, mine doesn't look as lovely at the original...

 

Also, needless to say, I don't really care. I love it. It's something I made, and it is a sweet reminder of my own little brood, whose nest I keep. It's often a bit messy, but it's mine, and I love the little eggs it holds.

 

I may well try again another time, and maybe my wire-bending skills will improve with practice. Until then, I'm going to enjoy my little slice of creativity and the wonderful meaning it has for me.
Visit the artisan's blog and have a go yourself - and don't worry if it doesn't come out perfectly. Sometimes just giving it a try is the most important part.

Made from Scraps - Water Bottle Sleeve

I have this water bottle. I use it a lot, but it's ugly. I like cold drinks with a lot of ice, but they tend to leave puddles on tables and counters. This makes my husband growl.

None of these are a problem any longer, though. The answer to my problems were just in my sewing closet, awaiting a moment of inspiration - the Sleeve:

The tutorial I used referred to the slightly odd shape of a fountain drink cup, but I modified mine to fit my straight-sided bottle. It was also easier because I used some scrap felt inside, rather than quilt batting that needs to come between two layers. I like me some shortcuts.
I'm thinking this would work not only as an absorbing tool for cold drinks, but an insulating one for hot drinks as well. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to modify further for to-go mugs or even a large thermos. The possibilities are...quite a few!

Made from Scraps - Bookmarks

This family is made of readers. As book-lovers, we need bookmarks. And in my quest for near-instant gratification and less scrap material in my closet, I met a need: more bookmarks!

 The tutorial I used for inspiration called for several small pieces stitched together, but I went for single pieces with fusible interfacing in between. Some I made according to the instructions (turning right side out and top stitching) and adding a ribbon, but a couple I made by just sewing the wrong sides (fused) together and trimming the raw edges with pinking shears. Both were fun and easy.

I have no idea why the photos came out upside down (camera phone!), nor why I couldn't seem to turn them around in my picture file. Whatever - I think you get the point. :)
For the record, I did make a couple of non-girly bookmarks for the boys, but they never made it to the camera stage - they were run off with too quickly. I think that's a good thing.

Made from Scraps - Preemie Hats

Every Monday morning this summer, several young girls and their moms would come on over to my house to visit, play and knit. Some had an idea of what to do with needles and yarn, some were totally new to the process. Regardless, everyone learned, which was the point of our little endeavor, and I think (hope!) everyone had fun in the process. A couple of my knitters were ready, by the summer's end, to have a go at doing some small hats. In light of the fact that I should soon be visiting the maternity ward myself, we decided to make a few hats to donate to the NICU there. Aren't they cute?!

 

 All the hats pictured were made from yarn I already had leftover from other projects, and all but one were made by casting on 60 stitches onto double pointed needles and knit for about 2 inches. To decrease, k8, k2tog until the end of the row. Next row, knit. Another decrease row: k7, k2tog to end. Knit row. Continue decreasing every other row until there are about 4 stitches left, then tie it off and weave in the ends.

Lovely soft yarns for lovely little heads, and I have a little more room for a little more yarn. Everyone wins.

Made from Scraps - Coasters

I've been on a mission to use up some scrap material. Some I have been able to re home, and some I've used to good effect. Like in this little project - aren't they cute?

Using 2 contrasting materials, some quilt batting and this tutorial, I've got some new coasters that aren't totally dog-eared and do a good job of soaking up the condensation, rather than allowing liquid to pool until you lift your glass and dribble it everywhere.

It would also seem I have issues with run-on sentences. Who knew?

Summer School Sum Up

This week has seen the end of our summer school and the beginning of "proper" full-time homeschool. Overall, I'd say that summer school was a success, though it didn't exactly go to plan... (for an overview of "the plan", visit here)
We moved our school room from the dining room to the "study" - a large, unused bedroom in the subterranean level of our split-level home. It has plenty of room, a computer in a closet, and its own bathroom. It also has windows, which can make or break a basement-type school room. So far, being downstairs has worked well for us - it was cooler in the hotter parts of the day, no one would disappear for 20 min for a "bathroom break", the rest of the house wasn't awash in school supplies, and I could keep a better eye on the little people playing in the family room down the hall. The plan is to continue down there, though it might be a little different in the winter months - it can get pretty cold down there! I may need to step up my persuasive arguments on why we need a pellet stove downstairs. :)
Doing work in the afternoon also worked well for the limited summer requirements, but now that we are back to full time, that simply won't work. The afternoon's work, though, consisted of :

• Bible study - this went very well and I'm so glad we did it, even though we didn't finish
• finishing the year's math - we were able to finish at an unhurried pace and I think it served the girls well, overall
• writing exercises - this happened very little. I think I was often too tired in the afternoon to keep on top of it, but it did serve to reintroduce the concept for when we do it this year.
• reading list - this did help to direct their reading a little but we didn't stick to it the way I thought we would. We also didn't use the reading log very much, but they did read some books that they wouldn't normally have chosen and got into them, so I'm pleased with that.
• Hymn writers - we did spend some time learning about Isaac Watts (When I Survey the Wondrous Cross) and John Newton (Amazing Grace), but we didn't do as much as I would have liked. This was, in part, because there is a shocking lack of juvenile works on these people - there's not even very much in the way of picture books. Book publishers, note the gap! The upshot is that we missed a few people that I wanted to cover (I really wanted to look at Horatio Spoffard, the writer of It Is Well), but there's nothing stopping me from doing it another time, and the girls did learn two new songs this summer that they are still playing.

Now, we're back to the real deal. I'm certainly glad we were able to dabble a little in some gentle summer school, but I'm even more glad to be back to a normal school schedule. I guess that means that the summer was a sufficient break for us, since even the kids have been looking forward to doing some new school work.

What were some of the things you particularly enjoyed about your summer, school-related or otherwise?