tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59842026716593123242024-03-18T02:08:16.633-07:00RootsAndWingsCoRootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.comBlogger499125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-68857739158142812462012-12-05T08:39:00.000-08:002012-12-05T08:39:21.336-08:00Preschoolers' Christmas Books<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For Christmas this year I wanted to make an Advent calendar for my family. I have seen all over Pinterest making the Advent calendar out of Christmas books, so for weeks I have been searching and scouring the internet looking for good suggestions for books. I had compiled a master list of the best books. Or so I thought.</div>
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<img alt="Christmas Book Advent" class="PinImageImg" data-componenttype="MODAL_PIN" src="http://media-cache-ec4.pinterest.com/upload/233765036877876793_U1KtRHh5_b.jpg" style="height: 229px;" /></div>
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Image from http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2011/11/christmas-book-advent.html</div>
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I placed holds on these books over Thanksgiving weekend. When I got them all home I was devastated. These were books for children 8 years old (or so) and older. My kids are 3 years and 6 months old. We need more pictures and less words. </div>
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I returned 90% of the books I checked out and went on a search to find age-appropriate Christmas books. What you will find below are the books that we have read and like for this Holiday season. Some of the books are religious, some are Christmasy, and some are just winter books. I don't have any suggestions for Hannukah, Kwanzah or other holidays. In fact I am on the hunt for a good preschool St. Lucia book. Please let me know if you have one! </div>
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I have included a picture for each book and have also hyperlinked the title so you can easily find each one. </div>
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First up, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=room+for+a+little+one&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=7142011725&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1436346286594358469&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_51b98flges_e">Room For A Little One</a> by Martin Waddell. This one takes place in the manger and is simple enough for my son to understand. He LOVES reading and talking about the animals in the manger.</div>
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<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/101480000/101485385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale" border="0" class="product-image product-expand-view image img book" data-bn-cache="%7B%22values%22%3A%5B%22Product%20Image%22%2C%22Hero%20Product%22%2C%22ProductImageMain%22%5D%2C%22isPageAware%22%3Atrue%2C%22nodes%22%3A%5B%5D%7D" data-bntrack="ProductImageMain" id="yui_3_7_3_1_1354723825158_1073" itemprop="image" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/101480000/101485385.jpg" style="max-height: 420px; max-width: 260px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snowy-Day-Ezra-Jack-Keats/dp/0140501827">The Snowy Day</a> by Ezra Jack Keats. I grew up reading this winter book. I used the board book version and my son has loved looking at the winter scenes. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and so I remember reading about snow with wonder. Now reading it and living in Salt Lake City I understand the story better. Although my son doesn't exactly understand why the snowball disappears. haha.</div>
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<img alt="The Snowy Day: 50th Anniversary Edition" class="product-image product-expand-view image img book" data-bn-cache="%7B%22values%22%3A%5B%22Product%20Image%22%2C%22Hero%20Product%22%2C%22ProductImageMain%22%5D%2C%22isPageAware%22%3Atrue%2C%22nodes%22%3A%5B%5D%7D" data-bntrack="ProductImageMain" id="yui_3_7_3_1_1354723870981_741" itemprop="image" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/106280000/106286397.jpg" style="max-height: 420px; max-width: 260px;" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Mice-Usborne-Touchy-Feely/dp/0746056605/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354725332&sr=1-1&keywords=the+christmas+mice+by+fiona+watt">The Christmas Mice</a> by Fiona Watt. This has been one of my favorites. It's a touch and feel book and the best one I have come across yet! I love that on each page there are multiple items to feel and different textures on each page. This is how all touch and feel books should be! I get so tired of having the same single texture on each page. </div>
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<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="225" data-width="225" height="225" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTtNR0aUt8fX7lNEnVBLcRWFuy2adN766t68LsdddhIlrdxpy6n" style="height: 225px; width: 225px;" width="225" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elmos-Merry-Christmas-Sesame-Street/dp/0794423264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354725370&sr=1-1&keywords=elmo%27s+merry+christmas">Elmo's Merry Christmas</a> by Lori Froeb. This is my son's favorite, but it is my nemesis. It has flaps that open up on each page, which Stephen LOVES. Eh, not so much for me. There's 10+ flaps on every page and my son takes FOREVER to open each one. I will be taking this one back soon, but I am sure children love this book.</div>
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<img alt="Elmo's Merry Christmas" class="product-image product-expand-view image img book" data-bn-cache="%7B%22values%22%3A%5B%22Hero%20Product%22%2C%22ProductImageMain%22%2C%22LinkedImage%22%5D%2C%22isPageAware%22%3Atrue%2C%22nodes%22%3A%5B%5D%7D" data-bntrack="LinkedImage" id="yui_3_7_3_1_1354723988518_406" itemprop="image" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/106340000/106340005.jpg" style="max-height: 420px; max-width: 260px;" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Llama-Holiday-Drama-Anna-Dewdney/dp/0670011614/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354725402&sr=1-1&keywords=llama+llama+holiday+drama">Llama Llama Holiday Drama</a> by Anna Dewdney. I found this one from a Christmas book list. It is perfect for preschoolers. It talks about the excitement of waiting for Christmas that can become too much for a little one. We are going through this exact thing. My son has asked almost every night if we can have Christmas already, "Please, Please, Please, Please!"</div>
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<img alt="Llama Llama Holiday Drama" class="product-image product-expand-view image img book" data-bn-cache="%7B%22values%22%3A%5B%22Product%20Image%22%2C%22Hero%20Product%22%2C%22ProductImageMain%22%5D%2C%22isPageAware%22%3Atrue%2C%22nodes%22%3A%5B%5D%7D" data-bntrack="ProductImageMain" id="yui_3_7_3_1_1354724853344_1080" itemprop="image" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/101860000/101861387.jpg" style="max-height: 420px; max-width: 260px;" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Christmas-Look-Holiday-Book/dp/0807589586/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354725435&sr=1-1&keywords=what+am+i+christmas">What Am I? Christmas</a> by Anne Margaret Lewis. Each page of this book has clues for the child to figure out what the Christmas figure is. Stephen LOVES flipping to see the answers to the clues. It's a cute one.</div>
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<img alt="What am I? Christmas" class="product-image product-expand-view image img book" data-bn-cache="%7B%22values%22%3A%5B%22Product%20Image%22%2C%22Hero%20Product%22%2C%22ProductImageMain%22%5D%2C%22isPageAware%22%3Atrue%2C%22nodes%22%3A%5B%5D%7D" data-bntrack="ProductImageMain" id="yui_3_7_3_1_1354724883757_1008" itemprop="image" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/107670000/107676562.jpg" style="max-height: 420px; max-width: 260px;" /></div>
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Any of these books would make a great addition to your home library, and only one of them has gotten on my nerves. I will continue to add to this list as we read more of our choices. </div>
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RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com306tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-11434830685075956542012-03-28T21:34:00.001-07:002012-03-28T21:34:24.418-07:00Winner of the Vinyl Decal Giveaway<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xVdv13PdOlI/T3PmSmKLIJI/AAAAAAAAHyc/5Nk5fO_dacE/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-HhhgUYGsVCQ/T3PmThJjAhI/AAAAAAAAHyk/aVdR47nNjDY/image_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164" /></a></p> <p>And the winner is…</p> <p> <br />“<a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/07305723527884801037">Regena</a> said... </p> <dd> <p>I just got an ipad for my birthday...the big 5-0, and i would love to make my little bit of electronic heaven personal! <br />Going to peruse their etsy shop now and plan for if I don't win.</p> <p>21/3/12 10:36 AM”</p> </dd> <p> </p> <p>Thank you so much, Regena, for entering this giveaway.  Kati, of <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaisyDecals?ref=seller_info">Daisy Decals</a> will be contacting you to find out which decal you want!</p> <p> </p> <p>Thanks again, to Kati, of <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaisyDecals?ref=seller_info">Daisy Decals</a> for this giveaway.  Be sure to check out their shop and give them some love! <img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" alt="Winking smile" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Qpq-YVVtcq8/T3PmTxa8UPI/AAAAAAAAHys/9QL4PLrI0fU/wlEmoticon-winkingsmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" /></p> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-49071289064349084772012-03-21T07:00:00.000-07:002012-03-21T07:00:02.044-07:00Personalized IPad and a GIVEAWAY!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-e1T6QQCdREY/T2lrshVAHEI/AAAAAAAAHyU/owF089Ry-jc/s1600-h/Daisy%252520Camper%252520Decal%252520IPad%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Daisy Camper Decal IPad" border="0" height="253" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QAaMTEyUoNA/T2lrs-ZTk5I/AAAAAAAAHyY/C1p0FLD5uMk/Daisy%252520Camper%252520Decal%252520IPad_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Daisy Camper Decal IPad" width="369" /></a><br />
I love a little personalization! So, I am super excited about how cute my IPad and IPad cover look with their new, super cute decals!!!<br />
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Enter Kati, of <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaisyDecals?ref=seller_info">Daisy Decals</a>. She and her Mom have a new Etsy shop that specializes in selling retro and vintage decals. I fell in love with <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaisyDecals?ref=seller_info">Daisy Decals</a> when I found out they are a mother daughter duo (a stay at home mom & a struggling college student). I have been both of these things and so I can completely relate! Then, I actually got a peak at their designs and they are darling. They sent me my favorite, which was the vintage camper. And they sent me an extra one to boot, a cute retro flower decal they are still in the process of working with!<br />
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You must peruse <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaisyDecals?ref=seller_info">their Etsy shop</a>, as they have many other super cute decals for sale!<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/93809120/retro-typewriter-macbook-decal-laptop" target="_blank"><img alt="image" border="0" height="400" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Zqt4zsmoGeI/T2lrtUZOVdI/AAAAAAAAHyE/HJ3IXG-iQOc/image6.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a><br />
Check out this <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/93809120/retro-typewriter-macbook-decal-laptop?ref=v1_other_2">Retro typewriter</a>, that I am in love with!<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/93555879/view-master-macbook-decal-macbook?ref=v1_other_1"><img alt="image" border="0" height="400" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-H2egZB94BZE/T2lruMNSbDI/AAAAAAAAHyM/Nv2KHTYh63w/image7.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a><br />
Or this <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/93555879/view-master-macbook-decal-macbook?ref=v1_other_1">View Master</a> brings back so many memories for me!<br />
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So, Kati is going to give one of my readers a free decal of their own! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. The giveaway will end on March 27. I will randomly pick one winner on March 28! You can get an extra entry by tweeting, and/or blogging about this giveaway (so really that is two extra entries you can get). Just leave me another comment (or two) letting me know you did.<br />
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Make sure to check out <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaisyDecals?ref=seller_info">Daisy Decals’ Etsy shop</a> and give them some love!<br />
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Rebecca</div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-41534681330957880332012-02-29T06:00:00.010-08:002012-02-29T06:00:15.648-08:00An Announcement and Out of This World-Party Invitations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-VXsi6s1dvlE/T01Eh7lefwI/AAAAAAAAHxc/Az0wt-C9UVw/s1600-h/alien%252520party%252520invitation%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="alien party invitation" border="0" height="266" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-OSKjXzRV-c4/T01Eiqkp-vI/AAAAAAAAHxk/Tsuf5SS4mgI/alien%252520party%252520invitation_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="alien party invitation" width="400" /></a><br />
Well, I’M BAAACK! It is official! After so many years of going to school at night, after putting my amazing kids to bed, I have my Teaching Degree! I cannot believe it! Now I just need to get a paying job! <img alt="Winking smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jIcviYG1KXc/T01Ei5UcxrI/AAAAAAAAHxs/3qDNjPVrgB4/wlEmoticon-winkingsmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none;" /><br />
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So, I’m ready to dive right back into sharing my fun world with everyone. <br />
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My Son just had an <span style="color: lime;">Alien </span><span style="color: blue;">Party</span>. It was so much fun! I drew up about 12 different Aliens to use for his party. I cut out the Aliens and flying saucers with my cutting machine. The above were the invitations that I came up with. Those fun flying saucers were 3D because I used pop dots to pop up the dome part! Then, of course we had to add googly eyes as the finishing touch!<br />
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*A quick tip! <br />
-I cut out the blue rectangles with my cutter (though if you don’t have a cutting machine you can cut the rectangles out by hand and round the corners with a corner punch or by hand).<br />
-Then, I go into my printing program and print up the words that I want to use, on white paper. Make sure to space your words so that the actual rectangles will fit on the paper.<br />
-Next, I gently tape my rectangles onto the white printed paper, using that as my guide as to where to place the rectangle. (Where you printed the first time will be directly underneath your taped on rectangles).<br />
-Run your white paper, with the now taped on blue rectangles back through the printer, printing up the exact same thing you did the first time. <br />
-This will give you any cutout shape you want, with any words you want, printed right onto them!<br />
I do this ALL the time and love it!<br />
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We went with bright green, bright blue, and black for my Son’s Birthday colors. <br />
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Check back with me to see how the rest of his party turned out! I will also show you more inspiration for you to host your own Alien party!<br />
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Rebecca<br />
PS I can’t wait to catch up with everyone!</div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-70989453482202454452012-02-20T07:00:00.000-08:002012-02-20T07:00:08.311-08:00Sewing Tips for BeginnersI am pretty much a beginning sewer. Anjeanette is the one who is much more proficient. Thankfully I have had some time to learn some of her sewing skills. I have come up with a list of decent tips for any beginner.<br />
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<b>1. </b><b>Use measurements and not clothing sizes to purchase patterns.</b> I LOVE browsing the patterns at any sewing store and I am surprised at how many people buy clothing patterns based on their clothing size. THIS WILL NOT WORK! Unfortunately most clothing pattern sizes run SMALLER than our typical retail store sizes. So measure yourself before buying patterns and you will be much happier.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU3Kje-17z7jlmHAmHCbDliuzz98duKTw2sBAHMexPoxvK9uuKoGRVJAV1plpmq41q5-IxllJZuk8IS0_35zbmzJebcFQtxSYOvWuNlCxqGavOL8wXjD2oMyycqvmBPQXlkOG4G3isb4/s1600/McCalls+sewing+pattern" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU3Kje-17z7jlmHAmHCbDliuzz98duKTw2sBAHMexPoxvK9uuKoGRVJAV1plpmq41q5-IxllJZuk8IS0_35zbmzJebcFQtxSYOvWuNlCxqGavOL8wXjD2oMyycqvmBPQXlkOG4G3isb4/s320/McCalls+sewing+pattern" width="250" /></a></div><br />
<b>2. </b><b>Buy patterns on sale.</b> Awhile back I went craft shopping and somehow managed to convince my husband to come along too. He was pretty bored the whole time while I was sitting looking at all the patterns that were on sale for $.99. I picked up 10 to buy and Stephen was shocked that I was going to buy so many when I hardly ever sew (it's true!) but I knew what a great deal I was getting and we went to check out. When the cashier handed me my receipt she joyfully pointed out that I had saved over $100 and had only spent $10, my husband was again shocked.<br />
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The point of this story is that patterns can be expensive. Some of the fancy dress patterns I purchased would be $16.99 regularly. Now, unless you are talking about a vintage/specialty pattern, I would suggest NEVER paying full price.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ucXIt-59WG2vemkkS5YZksEFDuQtk9U-IEHoYpP1rnS-OYaz8Us2f2j6dvuJArNJa3chyphenhyphenj_i8MJey0nkY_Tqlc2w4Zq0kWZu7Y5CBF7bkxJIEz_y_6B8atestcvFtsjr7Ug8maVK1BY/s1600/Seam+ripper" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ucXIt-59WG2vemkkS5YZksEFDuQtk9U-IEHoYpP1rnS-OYaz8Us2f2j6dvuJArNJa3chyphenhyphenj_i8MJey0nkY_Tqlc2w4Zq0kWZu7Y5CBF7bkxJIEz_y_6B8atestcvFtsjr7Ug8maVK1BY/s320/Seam+ripper" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<b>3. </b><b> A seam ripper is supposed to be your best friend. </b>Even professional seamstresses uses seam rippers...often. Don't be afraid to rip out what you have sewn and to resew it. Plus, this just gives you more times to practice your sewing ;).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZx55QeQlAWiwoOsOv0a3IailHMjKLKZGGtRe1zwYI7hgwc9RSyt0h4-S0Yo4_T0M1_l40h_trHLNGbqU67tMSelWZgBgpJ9bODJVHacjMPrjRxvGV4un9lCMJlgmgraepA-Bc6BhJuUE/s1600/Pin+Cushion" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZx55QeQlAWiwoOsOv0a3IailHMjKLKZGGtRe1zwYI7hgwc9RSyt0h4-S0Yo4_T0M1_l40h_trHLNGbqU67tMSelWZgBgpJ9bODJVHacjMPrjRxvGV4un9lCMJlgmgraepA-Bc6BhJuUE/s320/Pin+Cushion" width="308" /></a></div><br />
<b>4. Buy good quality pins and a pincushion.</b> Pins are so important for holding your fabric together. Even if you are just sewing a straight seam and think the fabric will not slip...think again. Then as your seams become more complex, the pins will become even more valuable.<br />
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Pincushions are not just for decoration. As you are sewing, you will need someplace to put the pins you are pulling out from your fabric. Putting them in a box makes it hard to get out one at a time...but a pincushion makes things tons easier. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbv7Wmr3aTMp4I5RQaBhnMSivk-yGcNkxyphRyYr3D-WTEMjf3mhtHrNfVXUGUIjaRmqUGtnmtPHe0270LyQwCuLOESGmKruIMU4TEMnEzHsJFzpYqEbJhgcq6JRoWqwHmklrJYTLXWA4/s1600/testing-stitches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbv7Wmr3aTMp4I5RQaBhnMSivk-yGcNkxyphRyYr3D-WTEMjf3mhtHrNfVXUGUIjaRmqUGtnmtPHe0270LyQwCuLOESGmKruIMU4TEMnEzHsJFzpYqEbJhgcq6JRoWqwHmklrJYTLXWA4/s320/testing-stitches.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqLSN3L61r-sZmB0ABEXYm8jXDOgnh6iXX0i-YAsPQp9DEBw-7qofPpmGKpscb5Hm6lstQoBeyY2Em0-Q-3bye50rlx44TENImcjHL3gKjUg4D4pWeAUm4Bg8Drcg89sjpuiIEHPQdBg/s1600/Sewing+Supplies" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<b>5. Test your sewing on scrap fabric.</b> Different types of fabrics will require different thread tensions and stitch lengths. Testing out your fabric will prove to be beneficial, and playing around with thread tensions and stitch lengths will help you feel comfortable in your sewing skills.<br />
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I hope these tips help you in your sewing endeavors! And let me know of any tips you feel are valuable to pass along to others.<br />
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~ErikaRootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-37698264403907293442011-10-19T04:40:00.001-07:002011-10-19T04:40:32.721-07:00In this Home ~ pushing paint<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0YaLG2rXUIA/Tp63JvZdPoI/AAAAAAAAHvQ/oIUGXxmnEx0/s1600-h/20110525_999_73.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="20110525_999_7" border="0" alt="20110525_999_7" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lMX9zkKHoIA/Tp63KBYcEqI/AAAAAAAAHvY/SIxZFtt6f4M/20110525_999_7_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="604" /></a> <br />I love to push paint. Do you? </p> <p> <br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-giRuN6lANXc/Tp63KSrqbOI/AAAAAAAAHvg/wcb2fjIyvT8/s1600-h/20110518_9993.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="20110518_999" border="0" alt="20110518_999" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Fo6mzrxHwco/Tp63K16p7sI/AAAAAAAAHvo/YXflj634t5k/20110518_999_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a> <br />I love the feeling of slippery paint being pushed by a brush on canvas. The bumps of the canvas make me happy. Sometimes I will use a brush smaller than necessary to paint the canvas so I can feel the bumps and sliding of the paint longer. </p> <p> <br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6e5c2N6uG24/Tp63LAcSZuI/AAAAAAAAHvw/TnT7rEIChZo/s1600-h/20110518_999_33.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="20110518_999_3" border="0" alt="20110518_999_3" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ixD-b_f8Fng/Tp63LWnPy3I/AAAAAAAAHv4/7dPncryXSyY/20110518_999_3_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="556" /></a> <br />It just may be a sickness, I’m afraid. Aren’t all those nooks and crannies awesome? </p> <p> <br />I’ve seen this saying floating around blog-land for a while and KNEW I had to have it in my home. I do have a mild obsession with houses so I had to put a house behind the saying. Also, I know usually you see this as subway art, but I’m not the subway art kind exactly. I like a handmade thing that looks a little imperfect. I am imperfect in a big way so this was more me than subway art. </p> <p> <br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ffN47B0jUy0/Tp63LzpEBXI/AAAAAAAAHwA/OWtcUTfvTx0/s1600-h/20110525_999_13.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="20110525_999_1" border="0" alt="20110525_999_1" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-pqqNJ5ZGU3o/Tp63MAo3PDI/AAAAAAAAHwI/vjc5gG-2fLs/20110525_999_1_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="604" /></a>  <br /> <br />Anjeanette </p> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-66184954633132771772011-10-11T05:33:00.001-07:002011-10-11T05:49:05.797-07:00String quilt and hex log cabin pillows {spinning some webs for Halloween}<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-RXSg_XFJ9bg/TpQ7PCNAPAI/AAAAAAAAHuw/WVneiizCunU/s1600-h/4%252520log%252520cabin%252520hexagon%252520spiderweb%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="4 log cabin hexagon spiderweb" border="0" alt="4 log cabin hexagon spiderweb" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-bRyLmC72Co4/TpQ7PQqZIEI/AAAAAAAAHu4/A0UUFYW6xk0/4%252520log%252520cabin%252520hexagon%252520spiderweb_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a> </p> <p>I wanted to make some spider web throw pillows for my couch. When we moved, we purged a lot of things that now I’m wondering why we purged them. We had a 9 foot Christmas tree that never made it off the moving truck. Of course we didn’t figure it out until Christmas last year. I fear that some of our decorations didn’t make it to our new house either. All of our holiday decorations are quite …uhm lacking. </p> <p>I had a lovely idea to make a string quilt block into a spider’s web. I made wider white strips and teeny colored strips. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ppA8e56DDG4/TpQ3j8aoAwI/AAAAAAAAHtE/mhZ1DIF4Egw/s1600-h/1%252520string%252520quilting%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="1 string quilting" border="0" alt="1 string quilting" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_biqZ3AZ2Pw/TpQ3kMTUMiI/AAAAAAAAHtM/coNLYXxv2sQ/1%252520string%252520quilting_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="604" /></a> </p> <p>The strips ended up being 1/4 of an inch. If you can imagine, when you put them together, there was quite a bit of bulk. I pressed them every way I could and still it just seemed a little bulky to me. My kids loved it though. I added a button spider to the web. Of course, those same sweet kids that love it, also told me that my or “Spee-I-der” is missing two legs. </p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-EQG8cenbOOk/TpQ3kZk1iLI/AAAAAAAAHtU/8yuxzApPWmY/s1600-h/2%252520string%252520spiderweb%252520quilting%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="2 string spiderweb quilting" border="0" alt="2 string spiderweb quilting" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-OzYdGJ1M-W0/TpQ3k9pvZsI/AAAAAAAAHtc/A9Tna6rNhBM/2%252520string%252520spiderweb%252520quilting_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a> </p> <p>I fussy cut another spider out and hung it on the back. The kids approved of that guy.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-FU19Y9-joSc/TpQ3lQDXmMI/AAAAAAAAHtk/FibMjAALN2Y/s1600-h/3%252520back%252520of%252520string%252520spiderweb%252520pillow%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="3 back of string spiderweb pillow" border="0" alt="3 back of string spiderweb pillow" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JhthGzxfZ3Y/TpQ3lty_cgI/AAAAAAAAHts/VHItMnxgAFw/3%252520back%252520of%252520string%252520spiderweb%252520pillow_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a> </p> <p>Since my first one was a bit too bulky to make me want to make another one just the same way, I decided to fussy cut the center spider in a hexagon shape. Then I did a kind of Log Cabin pattern. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2rZuFkAk1LU/TpQ7P-brRqI/AAAAAAAAHvA/l08vubgz7kA/s1600-h/4%252520log%252520cabin%252520hexagon%252520spiderweb%25255B15%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="4 log cabin hexagon spiderweb" border="0" alt="4 log cabin hexagon spiderweb" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RbKEeYC2_0U/TpQ7QV0R1eI/AAAAAAAAHvI/J0p6uiIj4rE/4%252520log%252520cabin%252520hexagon%252520spiderweb_thumb%25255B7%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a>  </p> <p>I love the way this one came out! </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-IRhYXrShYUg/TpQ3m_fLWsI/AAAAAAAAHuE/5it043UzzmI/s1600-h/5%252520finished%252520web%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="5 finished web" border="0" alt="5 finished web" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-TBh5MJGNSkY/TpQ3nFXxmiI/AAAAAAAAHuM/XcXnCXDWjvc/5%252520finished%252520web_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="604" /></a> </p> <p>Together, they are quite the pair!<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LMlnZ6k6K10/TpQ3ntzevMI/AAAAAAAAHuU/fAUb0_K5WuE/s1600-h/6%252520finished%252520both%252520pillows%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="6 finished both pillows" border="0" alt="6 finished both pillows" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-62d-74zG-VE/TpQ3n4UfgCI/AAAAAAAAHuc/gjgG068Vp2E/6%252520finished%252520both%252520pillows_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a> </p> <p>How are you decorating for Halloween?</p> <p> </p> <p>~Anjeanette </p> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-90463893873346415262011-10-04T06:49:00.000-07:002011-10-04T17:54:12.186-07:00My exciting news…and a Giveaway!<script language="JavaScript1.1" src="http://oascentral.blogher.org/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/blogher.org/CoverGirl_Sep11_Review_014/@x13"></script> <br /> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on">     I have amazing news!  I’ll get to that in a minute but how was that for a nice long summer break from me?  <img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-smile" alt="Smile" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_ldC7mmHbfI/TosN_6RzTFI/AAAAAAAAHso/a5ofbxocCR8/wlEmoticon-smile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" />I had a wonderful summer with my kids.  It was great to spend some down time with them before school kicked into high gear again!  And WOW has it kicked into high gear!!  My awesome news is that I have started Student Teaching!  I know that Anjeanette already spilled the beans for me on this one, but I’m so excited about it that I wanted to tell you all about it!  It has always been a dream of mine to be a teacher.  When I became a Mom, I put that dream on hold to be a stay-at-home Mom (which was my number one dream).  I have loved every minute of being home with my kids.  While I have been busy raising my kids, I have also been busy going to school to be a teacher.  There is finally a light at the end of my tunnel.  I am Student Teaching Kindergarten and could not be happier about it!!  Seriously, I have a grin on my face ALL DAY LONG!!  I already have so many stories I could tell you about the amazing kids in my class!  I just adore them all! <br />     As you can imagine, this is a HUGE change in my life.  I have run a daycare out of my home for the last 10 years, but that is from the comfort of my home, with myself as my boss.  Now I am venturing out into the outside world and it is exciting, intimidating, and overwhelming all at the same time.  I have never had to worry about getting myself and my kids ready for school every day.  For now I am loving that I’ve had to step up my dress attire.  I do have a love of shoes, and to have HAD to buy new ones for work has been quite fun.  I was lucky enough to have an amazing BFF who has given me a work wardrobe (seriously amazing, right?).  To complete the polished look that is now required of this new step in my life, I was lucky enough to get to review COVERGIRL LashPerfection Mascara.  This could not have come at a better time for me, could it?  As a stay-at-home Mom, and in-home day care provider, I mostly went with the au natural look, and hair pulled up into a ponytail.  It’s a scary thing going into any field right now.  So, I need every advantage that I can get as I’m stepping into a new career.  I think that looking and feeling my best will certainly help me as I am interviewing for my first teaching job soon, and even right now as I am trying to make a great impression during my Student Teaching. <br /> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-owlmjZNYfOM/TosOcZfiDJI/AAAAAAAAHss/cPxjgrirk8Q/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PuEg-TITcmk/TosOclEclBI/AAAAAAAAHsw/WDbjYSpeeUs/image_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="168" height="244" /></a> <br />    COVERGIRL LashPerfection Mascara works great.  I went with black because I have really dark (and full) eyebrows so my eyelashes really need to step up to be seen against my eyebrows! HA!  It goes on great, with no clumping (which is a pet-peeve of mine!).  I’m so glad I got to try out this product right now, when it was the perfect time for me!  While we’re on the subject of make-up and looking great, you might want to check out the “<a href="http://goo.gl/K1rSL">Looking Your Best</a>” posts in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com.  There are some great application tips and ideas for switching up your look for fall!  <br /><strong></strong> <br />Want a chance to win a $50 gift card to drugstore.com?  In the comments, tell me about a time when using makeup gave you the added confidence you needed for an important event in your life. <br /> <b>Sweepstakes Prizing will be a $50<a href="http://drugstore.com/">drugstore.com</a> gift card.</b> <br /><strong>The Official Rules are available here.  Enter between October 4th-November 4th.</strong> <br /><strong></strong> <br /><b>Rules:</b><u></u><u></u> <br />No duplicate comments. <br />You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:<u></u><u></u> <br />a)      Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post<u></u><u></u> <br />b)     Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post<u></u><u></u> <br />c)       Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post<u></u><u></u> <br />d)      For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.<u></u><u></u> <br /><u></u><u></u> <br />This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.<u></u><u></u> <br />Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.<u></u><u></u> <br />You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.<u></u><u></u> <br />The Official Rules are available <u><a href="http://www.blogher.com/covergirl-lash-perfection-sweepstakes-official-rules">here</a></u>.<u></u><u></u> <br /><u></u> <br /> <br /> <ul> <li>BlogHer.com Promotions & Prizes Page:(aka Round-up Page):<a href="http://www.blogher.com/life-well-lived-covergirl-reviews">http://www.blogher.com/life-well-lived-covergirl-reviews</a> <u></u><u></u></li> <li>Sweepstakes Rules:<a href="http://www.blogher.com/covergirl-lash-perfection-sweepstakes-official-rules">http://www.blogher.com/covergirl-lash-perfection-sweepstakes-official-rules</a> <u></u><u></u></li> <li>CoverGirl’s Website:<a href="http://goo.gl/qHO5q">http://goo.gl/qHO5q</a></li> </ul> </div> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com130tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-18536385917836524442011-09-26T09:06:00.001-07:002011-09-27T05:30:15.779-07:00Super Easy No Sew Halloween Table Runner<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-35dqBLk9sSc/ToCjDvHX3PI/AAAAAAAAHr4/6BTuuS2RqnI/s1600-h/no%252520sew%252520halloween%252520table%252520runner%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="no sew halloween table runner" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-El8u2uZFW4Q/ToCjDzjUu7I/AAAAAAAAHr8/z_fROihPqMM/no%252520sew%252520halloween%252520table%252520runner_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="no sew halloween table runner" width="404" /></a><br />
Who doesn’t like super simple? I know lots of our followers aren’t fans of the sewing machine. How this can possibly be, I just can’t understand. I mean, doesn’t everyone dream in fabric like I do? I start to wonder about non-sewers and my mind just goes into a blank dark place and I have to have a Pepsi Throwback STAT to come back to normal. But I guess there are people who don’t like to sew. Ouch. That hurt to even type out. <br />
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This was so easy, that I won’t fault you for wanting to try it. It was super simple and quick. The hardest part was wrestling with the contact paper. I am not kidding. It should be a sport like putting a sports bra should be a full exercise, but I digress.<br />
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Get yourself some contact paper, a ruler, paper cutters, paint, stencil brushes or dauber, and your material. (This would also look super cute with black rick-rack glued around the border, but you know I don’t like glue, so I didn’t do it…although, I REALLY was tempted to buy a glue gun to try it out.) When I did my little <a href="http://rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/2011/09/smart-fab.html">post about Smart-Fab</a>, I was left wondering if you could really paint on it. Yes, you can! If you don’t have Smart-Fab, don’t worry. This would be totally cute on burlap or any other coarse weave fabric. <br />
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Start by making your template with your contact paper. I am a huge fan of pinwheel quilts so I went with a pinwheel pattern for this. Essentially, you could do any kind of design. I drew out a square on the paper side of the contact paper. Then I drew diagonal lines and then a horizontal and vertical lines intersecting in the middle. I just cut out every other triangle and left the negative ones attached. <br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-iFDhgaAFO3M/ToCjELBol0I/AAAAAAAAHsA/pWBFNcvHwzo/s1600-h/1%252520make%252520a%252520template%252520with%252520contact%252520paper%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="1 make a template with contact paper" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-R-QPq3FYGNY/ToCjEkwM4FI/AAAAAAAAHsE/JckBwwVk8Yg/1%252520make%252520a%252520template%252520with%252520contact%252520paper_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="1 make a template with contact paper" width="404" /></a> <br />
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Since the contact paper wanted to roll on me, I used a (gasp) glue stick (it is my kid’s glue, honest) to the cut contact paper to hold it for positioning. Think about transfer tape used to install vinyl. That is basically what I did here. Apply the contact paper, sticky side down on your fabric.<br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-F9QB9YIZrHw/ToCjEi4_S6I/AAAAAAAAHsI/ulGk9AoQZWI/s1600-h/2%252520use%252520paper%252520to%252520back%252520for%252520a%252520minute%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="2 use paper to back for a minute" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-nc73YGzL8TM/ToCjFNjtqHI/AAAAAAAAHsM/WYlZr5c8kwk/2%252520use%252520paper%252520to%252520back%252520for%252520a%252520minute_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="2 use paper to back for a minute" width="404" /></a> <br />
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Using a fairly dry paint, carefully daub the paint on. I just used acrylic craft paint. Make sure you have a washable surface under the fabric incase it bleeds through. When stenciling, make sure you don’t shove the paint under the stencil. Move the paint away from the edges of the template. <br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1HQtnqRvQd0/ToCjFdHU5mI/AAAAAAAAHsQ/2_P0shKXXNg/s1600-h/3%252520using%252520dry%252520paint%25252C%252520paint%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="3 using dry paint, paint" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yelB9qEUU08/ToCjFrij1BI/AAAAAAAAHsU/898-KPSDxWA/3%252520using%252520dry%252520paint%25252C%252520paint_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="3 using dry paint, paint" width="404" /></a> <br />
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Remove the contact paper and admire you quick paint job! It was super quick for me because I didn’t make sure it was perfectly painted on. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-k4-47w0AtWo/ToCjF2oN7rI/AAAAAAAAHsY/7JZOnAuZJSo/s1600-h/4%252520take%252520off%252520contact%252520paper%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="4 take off contact paper" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ODI-N22Iixg/ToCjGYXxwiI/AAAAAAAAHsc/VtCLzmnY1VU/4%252520take%252520off%252520contact%252520paper_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="4 take off contact paper" width="404" /></a> <br />
<br />
I added some polka-dots to every other pinwheel and Viola! You are done! Took less than an hour. Most of the wasted time, as I stated above, was wrestling with the contact paper to make it lay nicely on the fabric. The edges are not stitched one bit. Just cut evenly with the dimensions I wanted for my little table.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-FQPpe8jyQ0U/ToCjGaNo-EI/AAAAAAAAHsg/wQyv7iP_Avw/s1600-h/no%252520sew%252520halloween%252520table%252520runner%2525202%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="no sew halloween table runner 2" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-OSnUs_Zgxlg/ToCjG7OAC7I/AAAAAAAAHsk/ag3PFXgLCGE/no%252520sew%252520halloween%252520table%252520runner%2525202_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="no sew halloween table runner 2" width="404" /></a><br />
<br />
You could totally do this with freezer paper, or vinyl if you have either of those. I just happened to have contact paper handy.<br />
<br />
Enjoy! Let me know how much you loved this quick project and send me pictures of your finished projects. Hurry up. You could totally have one (or five) of these done in a jiffy!<br />
~Anjeanette<br />
<br />
This is another project using <a href="http://www.smartfab.com/">Smart-Fab!</a> I have to say what a fun medium this is turning out to be. I don't have to worry about the edges unraveling on this and there was no sewing needed!</div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com111tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-49574114467529768992011-09-22T02:00:00.000-07:002011-09-22T02:00:11.854-07:00Savoring Spring with Dump Cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This spring, we went and picked cherries for the first time. <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lEP7tJp0vF4/Tm6w-E9Q6eI/AAAAAAAAHqI/nkpTrzmAUNA/s1600-h/1%252520cherry%252520picking%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="304" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-JCXy01zqB88/Tm6w-jdIEmI/AAAAAAAAHqM/5vN_JPtnEg0/1%252520cherry%252520picking_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="" width="404" /></a> <br />
Have you ever been cherry picking? It was a great family activity. We picked about 15 pounds in just over half an hour. Next time, we need twice that.<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Mp9rCezbAVI/Tm6w-wKujJI/AAAAAAAAHqQ/Vhphi-pGdzE/s1600-h/2%252520lots%252520of%252520cherries%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="304" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-veDWPecrFZ0/Tm6w_BiZ_SI/AAAAAAAAHqU/VtIpQoRbLyE/2%252520lots%252520of%252520cherries_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="" width="404" /></a><br />
As it turns out, my kids really like cherries. They ate more than they pitted. After they filled their bellies with cherries, we made some yummy desserts then froze the rest.<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-lsTrhfW9Zz4/Tm6w_dOExQI/AAAAAAAAHqY/xqmLfIrKHG8/s1600-h/3%252520helper%252520eating%252520the%252520cherries%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="3 helper eating the cherries" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LopwhpjA0zI/Tm6w_yrO2mI/AAAAAAAAHqc/ziP5loa3aRQ/3%252520helper%252520eating%252520the%252520cherries_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="3 helper eating the cherries" width="404" /></a> <br />
We have made lots of things with the cherries, but this just may be my favorite because it is so simple. I am sure you probably know what a “Dump Cake” is. You open a few cans of fruit, dump them in a pan, cover with cake mix and bake. You can still do that with this recipe, but I kind of upped it a little by making my own cherry pie filling with cherries my family picked. It seems like the more times my kids hands touch something, the more likely they will eat it. (But maybe I don’t want them eating this because that means there is less for me. Hmmm. I’ll have to rethink this one;)<br />
I froze the cherries in 3 cup servings and this works well with the recipe I tweaked for this. <br />
I mix in a saucepan:<br />
1/2 cup sugar <br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1 1/2 Tablespoons arrowroot starch (you can use cornstarch)<br />
Add: <br />
3 c frozen cherries<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla (homemade is best…It is time to start mine for Christmas this year but that is another post)<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-WCDxxCu7dZo/Tm6xAGbu8FI/AAAAAAAAHqg/0pXOKeTu3f0/s1600-h/4%252520cooking%252520down%252520the%252520frozen%252520cherries%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="4 cooking down the frozen cherries" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CxXlvjqwsGM/Tm6xAQla1BI/AAAAAAAAHqk/NRuNAFYqs6g/4%252520cooking%252520down%252520the%252520frozen%252520cherries_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="4 cooking down the frozen cherries" width="404" /></a> <br />
Simmer for 25 minutes. Then cool completely.<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-eTUAEp_csS4/Tm6xAv9T22I/AAAAAAAAHqo/VJtqUGtA1z0/s1600-h/5%252520mix%252520in%252520some%252520crushed%252520pineapple%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="5 mix in some crushed pineapple" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-oZp0zs501UE/Tm6xA_0ciYI/AAAAAAAAHqs/aP0XX1_0VPY/5%252520mix%252520in%252520some%252520crushed%252520pineapple_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="5 mix in some crushed pineapple" width="404" /></a><br />
In a pan, mix together a large can of crushed pineapple and the cherries. <br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-JVf5HBwCulQ/Tm6xBYXkjTI/AAAAAAAAHqw/G9a2nmIjWls/s1600-h/6%252520mix%252520butter%252520and%252520a%252520cake%252520mix%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="6 mix butter and a cake mix" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-DoxOlIOc8Rs/Tm6xB2hZmbI/AAAAAAAAHq0/pFDuZSxkDGA/6%252520mix%252520butter%252520and%252520a%252520cake%252520mix_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="6 mix butter and a cake mix" width="404" /></a><br />
Take about 3/4 of a box cake mix and mix it with 4 Tablespoons of butter until all the mix is crumbly. This part is important to me because I don’t want to eat dry cake mix if it doesn’t have enough butter to saturate it. Blech. Spread the mixture over the fruit and bake for 40-50 min on 350.<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-F4IU3A2NsFY/Tm6xCDqo16I/AAAAAAAAHq4/liImUl-dqbg/s1600-h/7%252520make%252520sure%252520it%252520covers%252520the%252520pan%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="7 make sure it covers the pan" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Wbqf2X6oXg4/Tm6xCTQZjLI/AAAAAAAAHq8/7GfnTAaOirI/7%252520make%252520sure%252520it%252520covers%252520the%252520pan_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="7 make sure it covers the pan" width="404" /></a><br />
It is ugly, it is heavenly, it is easy. Go forth and make some dump cake!<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kb-48OUDP78/Tm6xCzn55LI/AAAAAAAAHrA/ib0LSgH1RAM/s1600-h/8%252520dump%252520cake%252520is%252520done%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="8 dump cake is done" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gOsLPPYL1ic/Tm6xDGwOERI/AAAAAAAAHrE/_Vr46ITcKUU/8%252520dump%252520cake%252520is%252520done_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="8 dump cake is done" width="404" /></a> <br />
Of course, if you don’t have frozen, handpicked cherries, you can use a can of cherry pie filling and still enjoy this super easy and yummy treat.<br />
~Anjeanette</div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-26696843988782639762011-09-19T02:01:00.000-07:002012-01-05T07:52:25.679-08:00Smart-Fab!<div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on">(As seen on Roots and Wings Co blog)</div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Something fun about blogging is getting to learn about things that I may otherwise not have known about. The kind people from Smart-Fab contacted us and asked if we would like to try their product. Uhm…you had to ask? Of course! <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-PbtZCAQCMnU/TnZc5Z4bRpI/AAAAAAAAHrY/QBewfgu5FOU/s1600-h/Smart-Fab%2525201%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="Smart-Fab 1" border="0" alt="Smart-Fab 1" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-RO6h4l4YxyI/TnZc5xxjAxI/AAAAAAAAHrc/v510X1EQCtQ/Smart-Fab%2525201_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a> <br /> <br />I looked at the <a href="http://www.smartfab.com/">Smart-Fab</a> website to see just what it was they were going to let me play with. It looked like a perfect product for schools, PTA and churches. You could make the most amazing 3 dimensional bulletin boards with this stuff. It isn’t fabric and it isn’t paper. It is a combination of the two. Once I got my hands on it, I have to say that although it is PERFECT for schools, PTA and churches, it is also an awesome crafting and creating medium. <br /> <br />If you know me, you know I dream in fabric. Yes I do. So when I saw that you could sew with it, I was ready to create. I received lovely fall colors just in time to decorate my house for fall. And now that I live in Maryland, I actually do get to enjoy and experience Fall! <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ps5Ud2bNJgQ/TnZc6IPxZcI/AAAAAAAAHrg/DK1uMLAWChU/s1600-h/Smart-Fab%2525203%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="Smart-Fab 3" border="0" alt="Smart-Fab 3" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-FliKYUXYqsY/TnZc6rcdRcI/AAAAAAAAHrk/QFBSJK_ii34/Smart-Fab%2525203_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="627" /></a> <br /> <br />For starters, Smart-Fab cuts like buttah! It isn’t as hard on my scissors like paper is (although I didn’t use my good sewing scissors). It is stretchy and doesn’t seem to want to rip or tear. It has a texture almost like a fabric paper towel. Sounds strange, I know, but it is a lovely cross between paper and fabric. It stitched up nicely and was so much like working with fabric. Ooh I love it! <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-FnI8z1zb6-c/TnZc6wupxqI/AAAAAAAAHro/Oc5HS4KjM-U/s1600-h/Smart-Fab%2525202%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="Smart-Fab 2" border="0" alt="Smart-Fab 2" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5043qBBEPJE/TnZc7N8e-DI/AAAAAAAAHrs/PlSuMXaMq6U/Smart-Fab%2525202_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a> <br /> <br />We have only painted one room in the house (and it isn’t even quite finished yet.) My half bath is really drab and needed some seasonal color. It is small and strange to take pictures in there so stick with me here. I stitched up some fall leaves freehand and I love it! My bathroom is happier now too. <br />   <br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ZLvoZjmDm1o/TnZc7WoxXyI/AAAAAAAAHrw/dizMHLmDXjM/s1600-h/Smart-Fab%2525204%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="Smart-Fab 4" border="0" alt="Smart-Fab 4" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-G9WR_uaT9zI/TnZc7xy_6pI/AAAAAAAAHr0/eXUGiCam6nE/Smart-Fab%2525204_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a> <br /> <br />I would never have found Smart-Fab had they not sent me some samples. But I am happy to be able to suggest to you the use of Smart-Fab. You can purchase it online through their website. It comes in long rolls like you would see in schools. There are a lot of different colors to choose from. The colors aren’t supposed to fade. It is supposed to be water resistant so you can use it in a lot more ways than just paper. You are supposed to be able to paint on it and that is my next challenge. <br /> <br />The two bummers I see about it are: <br />#1 it isn’t available in craft stores or local teacher supply stores. But I find I order a fair amount of my supplies online now days. <br /> <br />#2 I am not sure how well it would work with glue. I am guessing white glue wouldn’t really work. (I did not try to use glue with it at all.) I don’t actually own a glue gun anymore and I’m not a fan of glue anyway. I think it would work with some real crafting glue like E-6000. But that is just a guess. Since I’m not a fan of glue anyway, this isn’t a downer for me. <br /> <br />Thanks so much Smart-Fab for turning me onto a great product. I’ve only just begun to figure out what it can do. <br /> <br />~Anjeanette</div> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-24038746554912642402011-09-13T01:00:00.000-07:002011-09-13T01:00:07.415-07:00Slow Cooker Applesauce with Little Hands<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-HH8m9GMv6z0/Tm6sNaAK1TI/AAAAAAAAHpY/OFZVbUXpm2M/s1600-h/5%252520drag%252520crackers%252520in%252520and%252520enjoy%252520your%252520slow%252520cooker%252520applesauce%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="5 drag crackers in and enjoy your slow cooker applesauce" border="0" alt="5 drag crackers in and enjoy your slow cooker applesauce" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cVKCZnvxfAU/Tm6sNk5cU5I/AAAAAAAAHpc/Dqh26B3322o/5%252520drag%252520crackers%252520in%252520and%252520enjoy%252520your%252520slow%252520cooker%252520applesauce_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a></p> <p>It is Fall here in Maryland. The leaves are just starting to loose some of the beautiful green. The air is crisp in the evenings and the mornings are often foggy. I didn’t get to enjoy real seasons in Arizona. It always seemed like we had two seasons: Hot and Hotter than HOT!  I am totally enjoying each season and each change of the season now that we are in Maryland.</p> <p>I thought it would be fun to smell applesauce cooking  the other day while I was doing some other baking for a Sunday dinner. I had my 9 year old make the applesauce. He loves to help and this was something he could almost completely do by himself. </p> <p>We started with a bag of about 10 large apples. I just used what we had. My little helper cut and cored them. I did a quick rough chop and we put the pieces in the slow cooker. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vV95LOAUFno/Tm6sOI_YDsI/AAAAAAAAHpg/JG6mqNsD3-Y/s1600-h/1%252520core%252520and%252520cut%252520the%252520apples%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="1 core and cut the apples" border="0" alt="1 core and cut the apples" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2BRhYkO2fws/Tm6sOQWBhrI/AAAAAAAAHpk/el7p3vquPrk/1%252520core%252520and%252520cut%252520the%252520apples_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a></p> <p>He sprinkled some cinnamon on top of the apples and added about 1/2 inch of water to coat the bottom of the cooker. We set it on high for 4 hours.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-vA8v0g5BGNM/Tm6sO_3LyDI/AAAAAAAAHpo/Ntx1PN6TIRY/s1600-h/2%252520chop%252520and%252520sprinkle%252520with%252520cinnamon%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="2 chop and sprinkle with cinnamon" border="0" alt="2 chop and sprinkle with cinnamon" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4_OjWSdsjq0/Tm6sPFqx9zI/AAAAAAAAHps/wy8YbXYQhLc/2%252520chop%252520and%252520sprinkle%252520with%252520cinnamon_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="604" /></a></p> <p>Oh, it smelled so good! My guy kept peeking in on the apples to see if they were breaking down yet. </p> <p>He said he didn’t want lumpy applesauce so we scooped them into the food processor and pureed them a little. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-kY6jj-wshB0/Tm6sPasGSGI/AAAAAAAAHpw/p8Wfn9oSFyA/s1600-h/3%252520put%252520in%252520food%252520processor%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="3 put in food processor" border="0" alt="3 put in food processor" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jP-zPFaw6kM/Tm6sP5IfRaI/AAAAAAAAHp0/6JDshwZyQ2g/3%252520put%252520in%252520food%252520processor_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a></p> <p>We put them back in the slow cooker to keep warm.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-LhkQMNn8uSw/Tm6sQGeEyPI/AAAAAAAAHp4/i4Br9Hy80mA/s1600-h/4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="4" border="0" alt="4" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Q605-Buj60Q/Tm6sQtNbF0I/AAAAAAAAHp8/o1uGGjYFSIg/4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a></p> <p>Oh my! Have you had warm, homemade applesauce? It is heavenly. Two ingredients: apples and cinnamon. No sugar needed. My kids like to eat them with animal crackers. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-P-X9AYLWpvI/Tm6sQx25uxI/AAAAAAAAHqA/g4g14O-XISc/s1600-h/5%252520drag%252520crackers%252520in%252520and%252520enjoy%252520your%252520slow%252520cooker%252520applesauce%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="5 drag crackers in and enjoy your slow cooker applesauce" border="0" alt="5 drag crackers in and enjoy your slow cooker applesauce" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XABxWvnEIq8/Tm6sRI17vcI/AAAAAAAAHqE/eZwoIJocqI0/5%252520drag%252520crackers%252520in%252520and%252520enjoy%252520your%252520slow%252520cooker%252520applesauce_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a></p> <p>The best thing about this, is my son felt like he really contributed something special to our dinner. </p> <p>What do you like to make with your kids?     </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>~Anjeanette</p> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-74089612284185066962011-09-09T05:03:00.001-07:002011-09-09T05:24:04.522-07:00Pinterest is calling<p>No silly, we aren’t just discovering Pinterest. But I thought I’d share our boards with you so you can see what we are loving right now.</p> <p>My most favorite recent pin is all about <a href="http://www.cooklikeachampionblog.com/2010/09/pumpkin-spice-syrup-for-pumpkin-spice.html">making your own Pumpkin Spice Syrup</a> for Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Cook like a Champion blog. I personally should not even have it, but it does smell divine! (I was in Starbucks the other day and managed to escape there without a single thing for me! Now don’t start thinking I have great will power…I can’t have a lot of the stuff in there;)</p> <p>Find <a href="http://pinterest.com/anjeanettem/">me...Anjeanette</a> on Pinterest pinning everything from stuff I can’t eat, to things to help me with my quilting obsessions. My profile says it all “I love pinterest because I hoard ideas already;)” So glad they aren’t only being kept in my head. It is getting out of control up there. Now I can keep ideas and inspiration on someone else’s computer! Brilliant.</p> <p>Rebecca is still the one mostly pinning under <a href="http://pinterest.com/rootsandwingsco/">Roots and Wings Co's Pinterest</a>. She is stacking up a ton of resources for teaching kiddos. </p> <p>For Erika and Rebecca’s birthdays this year, I went through their pins to get their birthday gifts. So much fun! “I was doing research, Honey.” I said after spending oodles of time looking through their pins. </p> <p>We are getting rained out here in Maryland. We are hoping for a break for two soccer games tomorrow. <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-h-1Jg6WodbQ/TmoFYnBXCxI/AAAAAAAAHpQ/rrCx2fOrggY/s1600-h/soccer%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="soccer" border="0" alt="soccer" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LDPInoJLOj8/TmoFY-A3hQI/AAAAAAAAHpU/mPhlO7ZvCXc/soccer_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="604" /></a>  Hope your weekend is great. What are your plans?</p> <p>~Anjeanette</p> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-69559687413700518682011-09-06T03:34:00.000-07:002011-09-06T03:34:30.872-07:00Send a hug to a far away family member!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Last year, we moved from Arizona to Maryland. That is just about as far as you can go in the same country, don’t you think? My kids miss their cousins and I miss my family a lot. We would love to be able to reach right through the phone or Skype and give them a hug. But as you all know, that just isn’t possible. Instead, we thought we would mail some hugs!<br />
I had this nice roll of paper in the kid’s art stuff. I rolled out some paper and had them lay down on it. With their arms outstretched, I traced around them with a pencil. With little ones you may need to hold their arms and fingers still so they don’t end up with monster limbs.<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PnmssQeNqzM/TmHEd7WBjpI/AAAAAAAAHnU/KkladKMg_dY/s1600-h/1tracewitharmsstretchedout3.jpg"><img alt="1 trace with arms stretched out" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-u5qetczjI9U/TmHEeGe0bLI/AAAAAAAAHnY/-0wMyYm_dZM/1tracewitharmsstretchedout_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="1 trace with arms stretched out" width="404" /></a> <br />
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I went back over it with a Sharpie to kind of *tidy* things up. <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-PbdSdQb9Tgk/TmHEec9cgJI/AAAAAAAAHnc/kzyfb0PAjxU/s1600-h/2gooverthelineswithasharpietomakethe.jpg"><img alt="2 go over the lines with a sharpie to make them darker and fix any mistakes" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fpcpVHaJfoY/TmHEeotuxfI/AAAAAAAAHng/IwG8nJqCtgk/2gooverthelineswithasharpietomakethe%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="2 go over the lines with a sharpie to make them darker and fix any mistakes" width="404" /></a> <br />
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Then the kids got to make their hugs. <br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2YAk8aUCyKg/TmHEe2Zs3qI/AAAAAAAAHnk/qPZV6NbBgWY/s1600-h/3letthekidsdrawthedetailsandcolor3.jpg"><img alt="3 let the kids draw the details and color" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-gvD-RiiOWFM/TmHEfIvGP_I/AAAAAAAAHno/SQUKJTXGE9s/3letthekidsdrawthedetailsandcolor_th.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="3 let the kids draw the details and color" width="404" /></a> <br />
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They got to add any details they wanted and color however they wanted.<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-w36dP7E5Ttk/TmHEfsLL_jI/AAAAAAAAHns/HFJ31fz3qeI/s1600-h/4color3.jpg"><img alt="4 color" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-tpkeCZvJZwU/TmHEfxCnmaI/AAAAAAAAHnw/aulAjyxc0a4/4color_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="4 color" width="404" /></a> <br />
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All colored in.<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-VPtxagyRtgc/TmHEgI_nU5I/AAAAAAAAHn0/Jjm50Pq-iS8/s1600-h/5allcoloredin3.jpg"><img alt="5 all colored in" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-t7t8nooyOIA/TmHEgUrX0HI/AAAAAAAAHn4/IfECaaFKJqk/5allcoloredin_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="5 all colored in" width="404" /></a> <br />
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Then I carefully cut the hugs out.<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Dthzu61LBiI/TmHEgiHAPxI/AAAAAAAAHn8/Eo5mKf7tgNM/s1600-h/6cutoutaroundsharpieline3.jpg"><img alt="6 cut out around sharpie line" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-dt2Y6S1-s2Y/TmHEg5zxqrI/AAAAAAAAHoA/v3MVJAX_WBk/6cutoutaroundsharpieline_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="6 cut out around sharpie line" width="404" /></a> <br />
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We folded the arms in like a hug.<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-W9RjnsNAE2I/TmHEhLZ0XVI/AAAAAAAAHoE/QVXEbTBAbcg/s1600-h/7foldarmsinlikeahug3.jpg"><img alt="7 fold arms in like a hug" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-3H8ShAjsiJw/TmHEhmv7J6I/AAAAAAAAHoI/Gbjf1Rsq7NA/7foldarmsinlikeahug_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="7 fold arms in like a hug" width="404" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-i5D4MYzrkTc/TmHEh9YwwCI/AAAAAAAAHoM/rnqO3hJa-Sw/s1600-h/7foldthearmsinlikeahug3.jpg"><img alt="7 fold the arms in like a hug" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-OuRz5MJOhsc/TmHEiGCVO_I/AAAAAAAAHoQ/1LZBooWOS9Q/7foldthearmsinlikeahug_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="7 fold the arms in like a hug" width="404" /></a> <br />
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I wrote out a little note on the arms.<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7kleM8ZCeZQ/TmHEiriaRvI/AAAAAAAAHoU/5uyxuwkPcx0/s1600-h/8writeanote3.jpg"><img alt="8 write a note" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CHupX-9RJBw/TmHEi5c1s9I/AAAAAAAAHoY/L28uEIjrkHc/8writeanote_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="8 write a note" width="404" /></a> <br />
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And we packed it in an envelope with some drawings.<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-GJTmkvx-3kw/TmHEjLbUmQI/AAAAAAAAHoc/ZGpKI1akkqA/s1600-h/9mailitaway3.jpg"><img alt="9 mail it away" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8gz8NDVAIc8/TmHEjeSSedI/AAAAAAAAHog/sj34gzkQ10c/9mailitaway_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="9 mail it away" width="404" /></a> <br />
I guess my nephew loved his hug from his cousins. He came out of his room with the hug around him and told everyone he was getting a hug from my kids. Sweet! Years ago (when my son was much smaller and fit on the paper better) I traced up his whole body. He colored it in and we mailed it to my Grandma. She had it on her wall for a long time and thought of my son every time she walked by his outline. I love that. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to let someone faraway know you love them and miss them. Send them a hug!<br />
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Wouldn’t you love to get a hug in the mail? I know I would;)<br />
<br />
~Anjeanette</div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-63153052566639899312011-09-04T05:10:00.000-07:002011-09-04T07:22:35.284-07:00Annnnd we’re back!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Did you miss us? <br />
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Anjeanette here. Right now Rebecca is knee deep in student teaching, the rest of her teaching classes AND still being Mom to her three amazing kiddos. She is loving student teaching and I think falling in love with her students. Did I mention she is teaching Kindergarten kiddos? Perfect match for her, don’t you think? As you can imagine, being knee deep in the thick of it all, she needs a minute to get her breath. <br />
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I was talking to Erika (our youngest sister) the other day and we were both talking about missing the blog. So, we are back!<br />
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I moved from Arizona to Maryland a year ago. Both my kiddos started school this year. The kids wrote <a href="http://rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-are-you-going-to-be-when-you-grow.html">what they wanted to be when they grew up</a>, like I shared with you a two years ago. This year, the 4th grader wants to be a singer.<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ScXDLtOJnS4/TmJMfkKYZoI/AAAAAAAAHoo/yy7eyGCs-Cc/s1600-h/20110824_999_93.jpg"><img alt="20110824_999_9" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ne4OfGEwF3I/TmJMgH4AjEI/AAAAAAAAHos/Jzu9SjIxFr0/20110824_999_9_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="20110824_999_9" width="404" /></a><br />
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The Kindergartener wants to be a scientist. Don’t let that cheezy smile fool you. He even has his evil scientist Mwa ha ha laugh.<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-65eBB8BKs-4/TmJMgGZ69BI/AAAAAAAAHow/Q7nDhAtLC9k/s1600-h/20110824_999_63.jpg"><img alt="20110824_999_6" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hIKrZRHm7pE/TmJMgmiryVI/AAAAAAAAHo0/wYUv5ypwKm4/20110824_999_6_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="20110824_999_6" width="404" /></a><br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-RpG7Bh_sx_E/TmJMg_C-RYI/AAAAAAAAHo4/EfkRbqbP-z8/s1600-h/Mom3.jpg"></a><br />
And here I am. I was so busy getting the kiddos where they needed to go and all the right pictures, I barely was able to run a brush through my hair. But after the kids were in school, I was a little homesick for our usual <a href="http://rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/2009/07/first-day-of-school-boo-hoo-breakfast.html">traditional Boo Hoo Breakfast I used to host</a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-RpG7Bh_sx_E/TmJMg_C-RYI/AAAAAAAAHo4/EfkRbqbP-z8/s1600-h/Mom3.jpg">. <img alt="Mom" border="0" height="504" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-65uBTAtId7Q/TmJMhIfxzjI/AAAAAAAAHo8/9V_PD21wDA8/Mom_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="Mom" width="404" /></a><br />
Both my boys were in school for the first time. So I wrote out the one constant thing I wanted to be when I grew up. I’ve wanted to be lots of things. I still do. But I’ve always wanted to be a Mom. <br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-zi8gm2l6PlE/TmJMhUk5dwI/AAAAAAAAHpA/ZK2S2UCaM2E/s1600-h/erika3.jpg"><img alt="erika" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VaceV8cwRy0/TmJMhpEFsbI/AAAAAAAAHpE/ZuHNvEzzwjM/erika_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="erika" width="404" /></a><br />
Here is a picture of our spunky littlest sister Erika. Erika is like a bubble of life and I do so love talking to her. Erika and her little family moved to Utah are are remodeling our Grandmother’s house. Makes me feel nostalgic for our childhood when we Skype with her. (Thank heavens that ugly fuzzy picture from the 70’s is no longer gracing those walls. Still gives me nightmares thinking about it.)<br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1rFWT9AzGdQ/TmJMh6jSbgI/AAAAAAAAHpI/umHoZm2IH24/s1600-h/293527_10150744281580268_765210267_19896986_4526343_n%25255B1%25255D%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="293527_10150744281580268_765210267_19896986_4526343_n[1]" border="0" height="608" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1GlkJO_xlsA/TmJMiCAtyDI/AAAAAAAAHpM/mfpDAmgUYgM/293527_10150744281580268_765210267_19896986_4526343_n%25255B1%25255D_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="293527_10150744281580268_765210267_19896986_4526343_n[1]" width="404" /></a> <br />
Her son is a little genius. They all came to visit us earlier in the year and let’s just say he knew the alphabet and all the sounds the letters make better than my little one after two years of preschool. I’m not sure what Erika is feeding the little fellow, but I totally want to eat a bit of it myself.<br />
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Anyway, hang tight and come back to see what we are up to. <br />
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~~Anjeanette & Erika<br />
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Oh would you please leave us a comment and tell us if you missed us at all? I totally missed the lovely comments from our dear readers. </div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-49378408092270256572011-07-05T07:59:00.001-07:002011-07-05T07:59:55.793-07:00Summer Camp Counselor<p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TfpG4IHtwwc/ThMm6aBWqII/AAAAAAAAHnM/v0p1lLQ-I_4/s1600-h/summer-camp-banner-large%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="summer-camp-banner-large" border="0" alt="summer-camp-banner-large" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7xojh3FtyMU/ThMm6iIU22I/AAAAAAAAHnQ/Rpx6_UmExFU/summer-camp-banner-large_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="181" /></a></p> <p>Well today I am very honored to tell you that I am being featured as a Summer Camp Counselor, over at <a href="http://designdazzle.blogspot.com/2011/07/summer-camp-rubber-band-gun-fun.html">Design Dazzle</a>!</p> <p> </p> <p>I’d love for you to go over and check me out over there.  I have been light on my posting here because I am busy enjoying the summer with my kids!  Last weekend we went camping and I brought along our Rubber Band Guns.  That is what my post is about over on Design Dazzle.  </p> <p> </p> <p>Then, be sure to keep going back to Design Dazzle because Toni has fun posts, with some other fabulous bloggers, for her <a href="http://designdazzle.blogspot.com/2011/06/summer-camp-series.html">Summer Camp</a> for the rest of the month!  There will be ideas and projects for summertime fun with kids!</p> <p> </p> <p>I hope you guys are all thoroughly enjoying your summer as well!</p> <p> </p> <p>Rebecca</p> <p> </p> <p>PS  Happy Fourth of July!  I hope you all had great celebrations.  I was lucky to be surrounded by family watching those beautiful fireworks from the comfort of my parents home!  Lovely day!</p> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-56477827130990513832011-06-14T07:52:00.001-07:002011-06-14T07:52:50.384-07:00Summer Fun With Books<p><a href="http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/tag/summer-camp-2"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TdngxHkW1_4/Tfd1mSSOZmI/AAAAAAAAHlo/iPjsHCkyCd8/image%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="404" height="157" /></a></p> <p>Every summer I hold summer school/summer camp for my children.  I want it to be so much fun, and be educational!  Here is a list I am gathering of fun for us to do, with books!</p> <p>The above button is for Alison, from <a href="http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/tag/summer-camp-2">Oopsey Daisy’s Summer Camp</a> which is a summer camp all about books!  Go check it out!  </p> <p>Next up are my two favorite sites for crafty fun:</p> <p><a href="http://www.dltk-teach.com/books/index.htm"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-n88HeVnU4Y0/Tfd1m686ExI/AAAAAAAAHls/U68fuEeig6k/image17%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="304" height="94" /></a></p> <p>Dltk has a great section covering <a href="http://www.dltk-teach.com/books/index.htm">crafts to go along with books</a>!</p> <p><a href="http://www.starfall.com/"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-DBl4kTz02Pk/Tfd1nXO1aXI/AAAAAAAAHlw/R8qyTM50JcA/image21%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="304" height="82" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.starfall.com/">Starfall</a> is absolutely a great go-to site for reading fun!  My kids have used this site for years and this year both of my younger two kids’ teachers recommended using this site for extra reading help at home!  </p> <p><a href="http://www.scholastic.com/parents/"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-OetlE65tARE/Tfd1no959FI/AAAAAAAAHl0/z9VInbYRyp8/image28%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="304" height="60" /></a></p> <p>Ok, one more of my favorite go-to sites is the <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/parents/">Scholastic</a> website! It has so many fun activities for enjoying reading as well as fun activities that incorporate reading with other subjects!</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-J7tyKGYcAN8/Tfd1oWpfNUI/AAAAAAAAHl4/aZAe6Vrmao4/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-AEiwNBH1b-c/Tfd1piKV8lI/AAAAAAAAHl8/fHSuAGJ1hdM/image_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a></p> <p>Sara of Super Saving Sense gets crafty with the kids: <a href="http://www.supersavingsense.com/2011/05/life-of-caterpillar-craft-project.html">bringing one of their favorite books to life with a display</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BTTE-Ns89Do/Tfd1qEXKJNI/AAAAAAAAHmA/qpthMg_cj_c/s1600-h/image3%25255B1%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-AJ-1sFPFS6I/Tfd1rnQBd-I/AAAAAAAAHmE/TXmd896Vy1E/image3_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="304" height="279" /></a></p> <p>How about activity books?  Pragmatic Mom got a <a href="http://networkedblogs.com/i8vOl">bunch of Klutz Activity books.</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.justsofestival.org.uk/"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-oK4Pbm16bCM/Tfd1r9hGMsI/AAAAAAAAHmI/E6-hCuEMRVM/image6%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="304" height="92" /></a></p> <p>Oh my word, if I could only go to <a href="http://www.playingbythebook.net/2011/05/21/your-very-own-kidlit-correspondent-from-the-uks-best-family-festival/">this arts festival</a>!  Maybe you have one near you this summer!? Playing by the Book has many great ideas for book fun on her website.  She is the correspondent for this festival and has already started posting about it!  Go <a href="http://www.justsofestival.org.uk/">here for information from the festival</a>!</p> <p><a href="http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/editorial/shops/instore_events.jsp"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xNoaCwbgRvU/Tfd1ssA93lI/AAAAAAAAHmM/T8Gga4BTicw/image10%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="304" height="222" /></a></p> <p>What about a <a href="http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/editorial/shops/instore_events.jsp">Festival of Illustration</a>?  Check out your local events to see if you have something similar going on around you this summer!</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1LF8dauA3Wk/Tfd1uy07FyI/AAAAAAAAHmQ/E781fJdtvRo/s1600-h/image14%25255B1%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-phcIQtk5eNI/Tfd1wVk_FVI/AAAAAAAAHmU/afjZJZ1jHuo/image14_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="304" height="348" /></a></p> <p>I am a sucker for a great reading list.  Check out <a href="http://www.babble.com/summer-guide-2011/summer-products/summer-reading-kids-books-children-young-readers/">Babble’s list</a>!  It is full of action packed books to keep readers interested!!</p> <p> </p> <p>Here is a <a href="http://kidzbookbuzz.com/">book blog tour</a> that looks like so much fun, from KidzBookBuzz!</p> <p> </p> <p>Please share any summer book fun that you have going on!!</p> <p> </p> <p>Rebecca</p> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-20833381871942491442011-06-09T09:11:00.001-07:002011-06-09T09:11:47.698-07:00Mommy School-Top 10 Ways to Make Sure Summer Is Fun And Educational!<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-B5eEtpKX-DE/TfDwv9HEQFI/AAAAAAAAHlc/LhXKwWp3v7Y/s1600-h/IMG_2053%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_2053" border="0" alt="IMG_2053" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-taMtYcwNBAA/TfDwwTV8bqI/AAAAAAAAHlg/U0P42nYt8mo/IMG_2053_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="271" /></a></p> <p>I love teaching my children!  I guess this is why I am finishing up a degree to be a teacher! <img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" alt="Winking smile" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0mieM2cJTGw/TfDwwsGhnTI/AAAAAAAAHlk/PCrL99yN3Hk/wlEmoticon-winkingsmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" />  During the summer I try to make things as <em><strong><u>educational and fun</u></strong></em>, for my kids, as I can.  So, I come up with as many fun ways of learning during the summer as I can.  I also make a list up of what things I really want to teach my children, in addition to just keeping up with their normal studies.  </p> <p><strong><font size="3"><u>Here is my list of Mommy Summer School:</u></font></strong></p> <p>1.  <em>Teach my children the “other” subjects that I feel are important</em>.  I try to do one of these things each day.  My list is Sewing, Manners, Photography/Videography, Crafting, Fixing (Home repair, bike repair, etc), Baking/Cooking, Outdoor Information (gardening, places, plants, “green” topics), Astronomy, and Sports.</p> <p>2.  <em>Go to the library</em>.  I pick books for them and they pick books.  We usually check out about 45 books a week.  Make sure to participate in summer reading programs at your local library!</p> <p>3.  <em>Read Mommy choice books for 30 minutes a day</em>.  We are avid readers and so they will read a lot more during the day but the other times are all free choice reading.  I make up a new “book nook” corner every summer to entice them into more reading.  This year it is beanbags in the corner by 2 bookcases.   I would love to put up a tent but my house is too tiny.</p> <p>4.  <em>Writing for 30 minutes a day</em>.  They can choose what writing they do.  We are writing a family book where we pass the book from person to person and each person adds as much to the story as they would like.  We have no plan for the book and anyone can add anything they want, as long as it makes sense in the story.  We will end the book at the end of the summer.  2 of my kids are writing their own stories as well.  Write up a family newspaper.  Each of my kids has decorated their own book to use as a journal.  I also made and printed up journal starters.  This is a question or journal prompt at the top.  Then, there is space for their answer and a drawing to illustrate.  We also are writing letters to friends and family members and mailing them snail mail style.  Who doesn’t love getting something in the mail?</p> <p>5.  <em>Family newspaper</em>.  I am paying my kids $1 per newspaper that they write.  The newspapers are something my kids started on their own.  They include cartoons, ads, coupons, articles about our family life, etc.  I love them!</p> <p>6.  <em>Science Fun</em>.  I have put science experiment books on hold all summer long to give my kids plenty of new ideas to choose from.  Some of the experiments that we do will take all summer long!</p> <p>7.  <em>Fun educational games</em>.  I pull out a few things each day.  They tend to automatically gravitate towards whatever I put out.  One example would be flour in a cookie sheet, with a list of spelling words next to it.  My kids then write their spelling words into the flour with their fingers.  They LOVE this.  I try to pull out games that will help my kids work on the skills they need help with and those that they enjoy the most!</p> <p>8.  <em>Fun worksheets and workbooks.</em>  I have bought workbooks (and printed free fun worksheets) for each of my kids for the year the came out of and the year ahead.  I let them choose what they want to do in these.</p> <p>9.  <em>Educational Computer Games</em>.  I have a list of online games for my kids to have fun with (like Starfall).  I just put the game up on the computer and they jump right on it!  I have to drag them off of these.  I do limit computer playing to about 30 minutes twice a week.  This also includes fun educational apps I have on my IPad, and they have on their DS’s or electronic reading programs.</p> <p>10.  <em>Keeping up with the news</em>.  I get the newspaper every day and I go online to get my news every day.  During the summer I have the kids do these things with me.  It is a great way to pick and choose what we read, as opposed the the nightly news on TV where they might show things I don’t want my kids to see.  Plus, I think the TV news tends to be negative.  I don’t view the world as a negative thing and so I always search out the positive stories, as well, for my children!  Keeping up with the news obviously is great to open their minds to what is going on in the world.  It also helps my children be thankful for what they have (we live in Phx, no flooding, no wars, no tornadoes, etc) and to have empathy for those that are having hard things happen to them.  And I let my kids try to do the soduku puzzles, crossword puzzles, read the comics, etc.  Every few days I have my kids go and highlight specific things throughout the paper or do newspaper hunts (where I read through it first then come up with questions for them to find the answers to by reading through the paper).</p> <p> </p> <p>I’d love to hear what other people do to keep their children’s brains moving during the summer!  So what are your plans?  What do you do to educate or teach your children?</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Rebecca</em></strong></p> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-64537801468407435762011-06-08T07:28:00.001-07:002011-06-08T07:47:17.414-07:00YEEHAW! It’s officially summer here! Super great summer fun ideas!<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2gME0Q6riv4/Te-GzEm1vZI/AAAAAAAAHkY/08eGunX206w/s1600-h/image%25255B1%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-FyHDtP3qdEk/Te-Gzr0yklI/AAAAAAAAHkc/XPqYAQQMLEA/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="404" height="79" /></a></p> <p>I LOVE summer!  Actually, my kids have been out of school for 2 weeks now!  I am one of those Mom’s that absolutely LOVES having my kids home for the summer!  </p> <p> </p> <p>I’m already farming my kids out to different relatives to spend time away from home, and to get to enjoy more time with cousins, aunts, uncles, and of course Grandparents.  They’ve stayed with both sets of Grandparents and my Brother and his family (thanks, Katrina).  I think the time away from home is so important and fun for kids! Next week it is church camp for my daughter, we have a couple of trips to San Diego planned (to visit my BFF!!!). Squeee!  I’m trying to squish in a few camping trips, too!</p> <p> </p> <p>Other parts of my summer that I LOVE is the stuff we do at home.  I’ve got science fair books on hold at my library so we can have lots of science fair fun all summer long!  We are also busy gardening, hiking, movie watching, snuggling, popsicle eating, baking, cooking, crafting, and having Mommy Summer School. Tomorrow I will tell you all about my Mommy Summer School, <a href="http://rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/2009/06/oh-what-do-you-do-in-summertime.html">here</a> is where I have talked about it before and it gives GREAT ideas of super fun and educational stuff to do with your kids!!  So, I’ve compiled a list of all sorts of different summer fun for you guys to peruse, of really amazing Summer Fun stuff to do.</p> <p>Amy at Positively Splendid has a great <a href="http://www.positivelysplendid.com/search/label/Summer%20Survival%20Guide">Summer Survival Guide</a>!</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-08TynUjv-dA/Te-Gz2BfRJI/AAAAAAAAHkg/PAFlxbTmVgQ/s1600-h/image3%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XKczb4E5jgw/Te-G0-ScPgI/AAAAAAAAHkk/NckSevYPUNk/image3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="204" height="204" /></a></p> <p>Mique from Thirty Handmade Days is running <a href="http://thirtyhandmadedays.com/category/funner-in-the-summer/">Funner in the Summer!</a></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-sqllx_QwLdY/Te-G3ln7h0I/AAAAAAAAHko/fn_EQvm74-k/s1600-h/image9%25255B1%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ZTM72cZJfFM/Te-G8iGfxII/AAAAAAAAHks/QYoGqmkSunA/image9_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="404" height="102" /></a></p> <p>Megan with Brassy Apple has <a href="http://brassyapple.blogspot.com/">S.O.S Ideas to keep your summer</a> fun running!</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Uf1Ur6G8gP8/Te-G8_QifVI/AAAAAAAAHkw/bKmBwoqrFw0/s1600-h/image12%25255B1%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cTFGnjO3NvQ/Te-G9uDhQ3I/AAAAAAAAHk0/pj2qZ-sErfc/image12_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="204" height="204" /></a></p> <p>Kojo designs and Delia Creates just had a <a href="http://deliacreates.blogspot.com/">Color Your Summer Contest</a> going on in the month of May.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vYIuMtsWGoE/Te-G-CovC0I/AAAAAAAAHk4/RyvA9ryRq4c/s1600-h/image15%25255B1%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-6hsShdbU5os/Te-G-5IdrDI/AAAAAAAAHk8/okVDXCmRTRQ/image15_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="404" height="157" /></a></p> <p>My friend, Alison from Oopsey Daisy is hosting <a href="http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/search/label/summer%20camp">Summer Camp, every Friday</a> this summer!</p> <p><a href="http://nurturestore.co.uk/join-the-play-academy-idea-swap"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-raLUJsOfx9Q/Te-G_lWxh8I/AAAAAAAAHlA/Qh0VdxTcwzE/image7.png?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a></p> <p>I follow The Nurture Store on Twitter and they always have fantastic ideas.  Here they have a <a href="http://nurturestore.co.uk/join-the-play-academy-idea-swap">Play Academy Idea Swap</a> going on!</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-VRxyR2vwXuk/Te-G_15O9JI/AAAAAAAAHlE/lqve1GVk2Co/s1600-h/image111%25255B1%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-lMLwtGqMXnY/Te-HFpwUgUI/AAAAAAAAHlI/JfZpT-p53Qs/image111_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="204" height="204" /></a></p> <p>Oh what fun!  An <a href="http://www.anamazingchild.com/kates%20blog/files/b59a407b13da72db6f8b8f5d9959a6c8-55.php">Outdoor Play Link Up</a>, filled with great ideas!!  This comes to you from An Amazing Child!  Also check <a href="http://www.anamazingchild.com/kates%20blog/files/16033111da028f691327ee293c815a05-51.php">here for ideas for how to spend your week outdoors</a>!</p> <p><a href="http://www.digitalreflections.typepad.com/digital_reflections/2009/06/100-free-things-to-do-with-your-kids-this-summer.html"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4LYgcjQdb3Q/Te-HGbJ9pRI/AAAAAAAAHlM/TvoBGF65II8/image41%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="244" height="244" /></a></p> <p>Digital Reflections has this fun list of <a href="http://www.digitalreflections.typepad.com/digital_reflections/2009/06/100-free-things-to-do-with-your-kids-this-summer.html">100 free things to do with your kids this summer.</a>  </p> <p><a href="http://www.spelloutloud.com/p/big-summer-fun.html"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ipFsIeyR3OE/Te-HGzroZdI/AAAAAAAAHlQ/q2JnfbDIhd0/image5%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="204" height="204" /></a></p> <p>Also brought to you by Digital Reflections  and Spell Outloud is a fun gathering called <a href="http://www.spelloutloud.com/p/big-summer-fun.html">Big Summer Fun</a>!</p> <p><a href="http://www.tipjunkie.com/crafts-boredom-busters/"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-BNevPhppyoI/Te-HH-FwwAI/AAAAAAAAHlU/nGRqGeaonbA/image4%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="244" height="212" /></a></p> <p>Tip Junkie has <a href="http://www.tipjunkie.com/crafts-boredom-busters/">38 Craft Boredom Busters</a> and <a href="http://tipjunkie.com/the-dog-days-of-summer/">Summer Boredom Busters,</a> and <a href="http://www.tipjunkie.com/summer-kid-crafts/">Activities and Crafts for the Kids</a>, and more <a href="http://www.tipjunkie.com/spring-break-activities/">Activities for the Kids</a>!</p> <p><a href="http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2011/05/80-inexpensive-or-free-summer-activities-for-kids/"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vcV-kPhwPxM/Te-HIq5NeUI/AAAAAAAAHlY/5f3M8orrWuM/image1%25255B1%25255D%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="204" height="155" /></a></p> <p>Crystal and Co has <a href="http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2011/05/80-inexpensive-or-free-summer-activities-for-kids/">80+ inexpensive ideas for summer fun</a>.</p> <p>Fun-Attic has a great list of <a href="http://www.funattic.com/game_summer.htm">summer fun ideas</a>!</p> <p> </p> <p>And of course don’t forget to peruse all the <a href="http://rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer">summer activities</a> we’ve shown here, on Roots And Wings Co!</p> <p> </p> <p>Also, do you Pinterest? I LOVE it! I have been compiling my own list of fun summer stuff to do. Check out my <a href="http://pinterest.com/rootsandwingsco/summer-fun-to-try/">Summer Fun board</a> for all the things I want to try/do with my kids!</p> <p> </p> <p>How fun, on Blog Frog right now there is <a href="http://www.internationaldelight.com/community#/1417735/forum/109643/what-do-you-do-for-entertainment-in-the-summer.html">a discussion</a> going on, about the topic of Summer Fun!  Check it out! </p> <p> </p> <p>Seriously, go check out each and every one of those sites!  You wont be stuck wondering what to do this summer!</p> <p> </p> <p>I’m off to go and play with my kids!  Can you tell how much I LOVE when I get my kids to myself during the summer?!  I just never get enough of them!  What should we do first?  A science experiment? Gardening? Finish their Doll Beds? or Camp out in our house?</p> <p> </p> <p>Rebecca</p> <p>If you are holding a bloggy summer camp of some sort let me know and I’ll add you to this awesome list of fun!!</p> RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-17695544472981423272011-06-02T09:41:00.001-07:002011-06-14T23:55:40.017-07:00The Romeo Cupcake Stand<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-tKPaoxYRVE0/Tee9FWUcCbI/AAAAAAAAHjw/YRt-wKW3YAM/s1600-h/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520i%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="romeo cupcake stand i" border="0" height="289" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-cleQ2NdK9BM/Tee9F3vzVKI/AAAAAAAAHj0/JeDbcO4GpVA/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520i_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="romeo cupcake stand i" width="404" /></a><br />
<div align="center">This is the Romeo Goblet Cupcake Stand!</div><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-lzArWCpiYLo/Tee9GRa3ExI/AAAAAAAAHj4/66z4eFM2hCo/s1600-h/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520e%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="romeo cupcake stand e" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TnZiSh7XV-g/Tee9HEHPAmI/AAAAAAAAHj8/w2GsVl3FfX0/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520e_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="romeo cupcake stand e" width="404" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HNWm90FSBzA/Tee9HqjJh9I/AAAAAAAAHkA/3sxQwFt8YRQ/s1600-h/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520a%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="romeo cupcake stand a" border="0" height="565" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-IO39mUYQADI/Tee9Id7F86I/AAAAAAAAHkE/zYzSKB2_ueY/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520a_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="romeo cupcake stand a" width="404" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-wZLNDWj2jwk/Tee9JNcDOSI/AAAAAAAAHkI/lBhhgpxiorA/s1600-h/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520b%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="romeo cupcake stand b" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tCuxBuxRqFQ/Tee9JbdBz_I/AAAAAAAAHkM/-jDixTS903Q/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520b_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="romeo cupcake stand b" width="404" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-XcR8b434GTM/Tee9KG7t3AI/AAAAAAAAHkQ/vRoMSIreNNo/s1600-h/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520g%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="romeo cupcake stand g" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4zWty7XHV2Q/Tee9KpfafGI/AAAAAAAAHkU/Ldax_ShDofs/romeo%252520cupcake%252520stand%252520g_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="romeo cupcake stand g" width="404" /></a><br />
I think these are super cute and we have so many more ideas for really fun cupcake/cake/dessert/condiment stands. It is fun thinking up all of the things we can make to match parties, get togethers, or just for gifts! This is made from acrylic, just like yesterdays <a href="http://rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/2011/06/cupcake-holder-like-youve-never-seen.html">Flower Cupcake Stand</a>. My friend and I are collaborating on these cupcake stands (he has a laser cutter, oh yeah!). We would love feedback on them. What do you like? What don’t you like? Any ideas to change/fix? Would you want something like this?<br />
<br />
Rebecca<br />
<br />
I am linking up to <a href="http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2011/06/show-and-tell-linking-party-5.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20BlueCricketDesign%20(Blue%20Cricket%20Design)">Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design</a></div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-47983252256609013562011-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:002011-06-14T17:46:23.213-07:00Cupcake Stand Like You’ve Never Seen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GWNh_V94okg/TeXg8xGeI-I/AAAAAAAAHjQ/Syfuwu9HvO4/s1600-h/flower%252520cupcake%252520holder%252520a%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="flower cupcake holder a" border="0" height="540" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bgrrRB-Cmb4/TeXg9xrDkGI/AAAAAAAAHjU/acRvCoKM0RU/flower%252520cupcake%252520holder%252520a_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="flower cupcake holder a" width="404" /></a><br />
What would you do with acrylic and access to a laser cutter? Here is what my friend and I did. <br />
<br />
Check out this amazing cupcake holder! My friend and I are collaborating on some really cool cupcake holders! We would love your feedback!<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-yaa4Fdv4_KM/TeXg-32kCKI/AAAAAAAAHjY/M7WInt152u4/s1600-h/flower%252520cupcake%252520holder%252520b%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="flower cupcake holder b" border="0" height="302" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VIp2xoEXD0A/TeXg_dD5KVI/AAAAAAAAHjc/81AYiw3MXy8/flower%252520cupcake%252520holder%252520b_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="flower cupcake holder b" width="404" /></a><br />
My friend has a laser cutter and so together we are brainstorming some innovative designs that we hope you have never seen somewhere else before. Isn’t that flower shape fun?<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MHeCgpe128A/TeXhAHrEURI/AAAAAAAAHjg/APvcs7xpX4Q/s1600-h/flower%252520cupcake%252520holder%252520d%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="flower cupcake holder d" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-iG22jH77B-g/TeXhAoE2_XI/AAAAAAAAHjk/rvS8EMhVzac/flower%252520cupcake%252520holder%252520d_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="flower cupcake holder d" width="404" /></a><br />
Check out the details on this like the top of the flower curling outward.<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PyJrd2MvDH8/TeXhBTwBNYI/AAAAAAAAHjo/1dU3tdaHJmc/s1600-h/flower%252520cupcake%252520holder%252520g%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="flower cupcake holder g" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-6N_JiCn2p0Y/TeXhCH4sk3I/AAAAAAAAHjs/P-EjXnF2UJM/flower%252520cupcake%252520holder%252520g_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="flower cupcake holder g" width="404" /></a><br />
The bottom is 1 inch high to support anything you want to fill it up with. We used one small bag of Jelly Belly’s to fill this one up. <br />
If we had finished these sooner they would have been my teacher appreciation gifts! They would also be fun to customize the color of the flower to the recipient’s favorite color, or to match the décor of a party! Wouldn’t a yellow one look like a pretty tulip?<br />
We would love your feedback about this. We have a ton more designs that we are working on. I am going to show you our prototypes and am asking for any and all feedback on them. I would love to know what you think of them, how you would change them, what you like best, and any ideas you have for future design ideas. <br />
<br />
Thanks so much,<br />
Rebecca<br />
<br />
Linking up to <a href="http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2011/06/whatever-goes-wednesday-68.html">Someday Crafts</a>, and the fun at WhipperBerry.</div><br />
<center><a href="http://www.whipperberry.com/"><img src="http://www.callmekristin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Button.png" /></a></center><a href="http://www.flamingotoes.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" height="150" src="http://www.flamingotoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ThinkPink_Button150.gif" width="150" /></a>, <a href="http://todayscreativeblog.net/get-your-craft-on-10/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+todayscreativeblog+%28Todays+Creative+Blog%29">Get Your Craft On</a></div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-77807229834512419692011-05-27T04:00:00.000-07:002011-05-27T04:00:13.873-07:00Strawberry Lemonade Slush<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-FWg9VVi3XrY/Td6xJtpdXmI/AAAAAAAAHiE/J3xn12PKWbY/s1600-h/IMG_0019b%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0019b" border="0" height="244" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-rTwg8ahY33M/Td6xKGYaR9I/AAAAAAAAHiI/DCPsMdNsL58/IMG_0019b_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0019b" width="184" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I found this recipe a while ago and I LOVE it! It is so cool, light and refreshing. Just a few days ago I was out shopping and I saw an advertisement for McDonald’s Strawberry Lemonade Slush. I thought it would be the perfect treat. Not so much. It was gloppy, and didn’t taste any good. My Strawberry Lemonade Slush is sooo much better! And it’s easy too.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZSaEaEYP2jE/Td6xKea2_PI/AAAAAAAAHiM/e3vfLh1aiG8/s1600-h/IMG_0001b%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0001b" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-r6T3-S0tVNc/Td6xK8NG1DI/AAAAAAAAHiQ/BbC2J0eDdKg/IMG_0001b_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0001b" width="244" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">You need water, ice, Country Time powdered Lemonade, and strawberries. And I’m sure the top to my lemonade container is in the trash. Lovely.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-z-AeDAKxTjo/Td6xLNf3NoI/AAAAAAAAHiU/WJu7FN5H0BY/s1600-h/IMG_0002b%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0002b" border="0" height="244" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-LccxDTJEz3Y/Td6xLWYW1vI/AAAAAAAAHiY/SZpYi4m-vTw/IMG_0002b_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0002b" width="184" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">First off you need to put 1/3 cup of the Country Time Lemonade powder into a blender.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xGDnjs6Mfpc/Td6xLwE8EFI/AAAAAAAAHic/kKqkS8yDPLI/s1600-h/IMG_0005b%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0005b" border="0" height="244" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-5y2-1vZKHyY/Td6xMYqae7I/AAAAAAAAHig/CpomRzuHmMo/IMG_0005b_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0005b" width="184" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Next, add 1/2 cup of water.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-FlsaPiXat8Y/Td6xMlEniQI/AAAAAAAAHik/rMiQAhsT7GA/s1600-h/IMG_0007b%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0007b" border="0" height="244" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-sdlRyW1tGWg/Td6xM27Dt0I/AAAAAAAAHio/HyHvACp_YNk/IMG_0007b_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0007b" width="184" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The recipe calls for three cups of ice. I eyeball it. I add some in first so that my blender can handle it. Blend until smooth.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-WwWAiZQcpiE/Td6xNCkCvtI/AAAAAAAAHis/QxYKeQcDz1w/s1600-h/IMG_0010b%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0010b" border="0" height="244" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WMKxk9utGBs/Td6xOWuu6yI/AAAAAAAAHiw/3toka4CykOU/IMG_0010b_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0010b" width="184" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Add in more ice and a cup of strawberries. I chop off the green tops and then quarter the strawberries so my blender can handle it. If you have a nicer blender like a Vita-mix, you could add all the ice at once and wouldn’t have to chop up the strawberries. Lucky you. <img alt="Winking smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xD_Q0upwkLA/Td6xOeun9OI/AAAAAAAAHi0/ONoxqZOM_RE/wlEmoticon-winkingsmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2A1Enz2fT8E/Td6xO8tdZtI/AAAAAAAAHi4/FWDKuWRokLQ/s1600-h/IMG_0011b%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0011b" border="0" height="244" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JvRX6cJvXJk/Td6xPefqUwI/AAAAAAAAHi8/w16nkbKR8jI/IMG_0011b_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0011b" width="184" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Blend until you reach the desired consistency. It should be icy but not have any large chunks of ice in it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-1V0d3AzsKJw/Td6xPu7sgNI/AAAAAAAAHjA/f1GgozCK-Lk/s1600-h/IMG_0012b%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0012b" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-SxNNpd6gg-k/Td6xP45faaI/AAAAAAAAHjE/6E46vSp3H10/IMG_0012b_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0012b" width="244" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Here’s the recipe I got this from. They show such a deeper colored drink, mine NEVER looks like that! And it still tastes amazing!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-E9gVa0iYz2w/Td6xQFLvUUI/AAAAAAAAHjI/OCYveZBR5g8/s1600-h/IMG_0015b%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0015b" border="0" height="244" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-nHW-zEKfQMY/Td6xQnlYV2I/AAAAAAAAHjM/0YS597ckNS8/IMG_0015b_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0015b" width="184" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Garnish and enjoy. It makes two servings. The leftovers can be frozen and thawed for later use. Like if you make some for your husband and he doesn’t want it. More for me! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Strawberry Lemonade Slush</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/3 cup Country Time powdered Lemonade</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/2 cup water</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 tray of ice (eyeball it)</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 cup of fresh strawberries</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">~Erika</div></div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-19140606939348177402011-05-25T07:07:00.000-07:002011-05-25T16:36:05.317-07:00Chocolate Chip Cookie Tip<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I love to make cookies but I've often complained that mine never look as good as those in the stores. This is purely a presentation tip, if your chocolate chip cookies don't turn out I'm no help. And I'm still on the quest to find that "perfect" chocolate chip cookie recipe. The ones I photographed were made with vanilla pudding as the secret ingredient. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now onto the tip. When making your dough, don't add in all the chocolate chips, save some for adding to the top. Once you've placed the dough balls on the cookie sheets, then add some of the extra chocolate chips to the top of the cookies, pressing lightly to secure in place. Here are the dough balls before.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqbksGFa1Wu7AOwEPf5P84D2NdqVSnT585NfLVnc6efNC5swX2DyH1KNgr4ZoWbRW4_Dsh0whbXKgCK7atMM9CFndu7X_UUaInQomAohT8hoK_4xjQ2wCHw5inQdyWmdlOIZI_8NZEOc/s1600/433b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqbksGFa1Wu7AOwEPf5P84D2NdqVSnT585NfLVnc6efNC5swX2DyH1KNgr4ZoWbRW4_Dsh0whbXKgCK7atMM9CFndu7X_UUaInQomAohT8hoK_4xjQ2wCHw5inQdyWmdlOIZI_8NZEOc/s320/433b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And after. They already look better, right?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOy80CeR4zC_NMiXeI8hixcNidBZbjLu7pN7wnsRwLDyyxFAGKX2S9r2IH9-Kve84apGbRTZBjdQtwTF_grsbJhTQBdkbBFx2bDxljKgabTJjroEjgVgUmCsp1wJwAOP-wxfUAdBgQW7I/s1600/434b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOy80CeR4zC_NMiXeI8hixcNidBZbjLu7pN7wnsRwLDyyxFAGKX2S9r2IH9-Kve84apGbRTZBjdQtwTF_grsbJhTQBdkbBFx2bDxljKgabTJjroEjgVgUmCsp1wJwAOP-wxfUAdBgQW7I/s320/434b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> And here's my cutie-pie helper. He HAS to watch the cookies as they bake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2HhOlr-XwRjmC8bC6X5_79A47fqBbmIMuMSavZrne6oE1LaVUkzxlWT-rXEUOQKKgH4mVQWF2wopBDpnWxCK-q-dYpoyLJ-hnizMy3sMq0AykFbytmSIxV-igA0ilvxtzPm3mqqD8zw/s1600/437b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2HhOlr-XwRjmC8bC6X5_79A47fqBbmIMuMSavZrne6oE1LaVUkzxlWT-rXEUOQKKgH4mVQWF2wopBDpnWxCK-q-dYpoyLJ-hnizMy3sMq0AykFbytmSIxV-igA0ilvxtzPm3mqqD8zw/s320/437b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The final product. I did one pan with the extra chips and one without to convince you that the cookies look better this way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBthTuup4tsI7-IzwdOHYg_pFuB5tDFRGozX9BqWSv5QnWV8l7gYfgshxGWdWylYJmANxQGnGwphkA4zNqkGPPKBDWFRWT5BSt6MSc8h2GCQyZgM1O-ghpuwquop5NTwf1uM8ISQD_sVw/s1600/444b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBthTuup4tsI7-IzwdOHYg_pFuB5tDFRGozX9BqWSv5QnWV8l7gYfgshxGWdWylYJmANxQGnGwphkA4zNqkGPPKBDWFRWT5BSt6MSc8h2GCQyZgM1O-ghpuwquop5NTwf1uM8ISQD_sVw/s320/444b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4qS_OoZI1WVrqatPqL6fhw77Sppx_W4PcBbefspKxWgVs9RtZdkKqcQ8EycWH0RkMXhpHzJTyKDY-8pCVUV7tS-GoLN7doFZL2IgJ8oeuNVPSMdaTbC-1IBCraE0Fl1w_eBmhzWad_E/s1600/446b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4qS_OoZI1WVrqatPqL6fhw77Sppx_W4PcBbefspKxWgVs9RtZdkKqcQ8EycWH0RkMXhpHzJTyKDY-8pCVUV7tS-GoLN7doFZL2IgJ8oeuNVPSMdaTbC-1IBCraE0Fl1w_eBmhzWad_E/s320/446b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHXwQlcV2vSdFPREq596093iehn8ayBgkJtTzk0NORO71Yd7naSi606CbY4KBBILNceyw84Bt3xdZQ7Wp-ll53XED3a6jQ5fQpS8dMzI2zTMLmuWWUY7qKM2UQjh1kpWNoGxTM_CTdFk/s1600/447b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHXwQlcV2vSdFPREq596093iehn8ayBgkJtTzk0NORO71Yd7naSi606CbY4KBBILNceyw84Bt3xdZQ7Wp-ll53XED3a6jQ5fQpS8dMzI2zTMLmuWWUY7qKM2UQjh1kpWNoGxTM_CTdFk/s320/447b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Yum!<br />
<br />
~Erika </div></div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-44171326848689308032011-05-23T06:27:00.000-07:002011-05-25T16:36:30.153-07:00An Easy Way to Cube a Watermelon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was visiting a friend the other day and she served us cubed watermelon. I was totally in awe of how she cut it and decided to show how it's done. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> First you need to cut the watermelon in half.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFIs74O9UbDZooG5SD3krOXIJ39ds8JWIS9XLAY-75kkMiC-Ssy858ownoqq6_JRbhYyxVIrs9bajKbi_RtMOxB8zHJv94hBHSNlliFOtVUweXB4HVPBh32Zbxca23ceQw7jDozGYB48/s1600/739b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFIs74O9UbDZooG5SD3krOXIJ39ds8JWIS9XLAY-75kkMiC-Ssy858ownoqq6_JRbhYyxVIrs9bajKbi_RtMOxB8zHJv94hBHSNlliFOtVUweXB4HVPBh32Zbxca23ceQw7jDozGYB48/s320/739b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Then you want to cut it in half again. (So we have a fourth of the watermelon).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_ifPtcLhok6549yZcP2JaTcS8cO2yuvEMDk8ahNVvPGmx9rgxK6v_45L3qb_1Wgc8fCLxxhDFgtR7f4niNsieuWRW0ZpO0Qm0wOpF9M4QAIBLuQsc5xQXZmja2zEUMFaIrWr6tL1vfw/s1600/740b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_ifPtcLhok6549yZcP2JaTcS8cO2yuvEMDk8ahNVvPGmx9rgxK6v_45L3qb_1Wgc8fCLxxhDFgtR7f4niNsieuWRW0ZpO0Qm0wOpF9M4QAIBLuQsc5xQXZmja2zEUMFaIrWr6tL1vfw/s320/740b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Next, you will make vertical cuts into the watermelon. You won't just be able to slice straight up and down, you will have to take the tip of the knife and swipe down right along the rind. Don't worry about accidentally slicing through the rind, it is much harder to cut through than the pink flesh.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8y6zEYZO4q7MzdPNaCrV_ti5Bt6WkIijx8DWvN0Kp-FsSBqm9xbvDXZXii12YLOk1STJcGz2k-MrRSmQ1QtnODMIaD9nfnSu_2MgjQ3kErw2MCB8aTc5-2nAdp4pm37uglpxvFM3rdE/s1600/742b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8y6zEYZO4q7MzdPNaCrV_ti5Bt6WkIijx8DWvN0Kp-FsSBqm9xbvDXZXii12YLOk1STJcGz2k-MrRSmQ1QtnODMIaD9nfnSu_2MgjQ3kErw2MCB8aTc5-2nAdp4pm37uglpxvFM3rdE/s320/742b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Next, turn the watermelon on it's side and make cuts parallel to the cuts you just made and parallel to the other cut side of the watermelon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hC1OfwwriA1OqMom-6lTzdO3GienyT-G-os4Q6B3quIaRMuXoUybCNDmUNYl7yJt6mYZThGUEUpZYdQ-Nx1wqM2X0ate4hmOKvruTfJ-0qovkN6IEXthz8t0uZjIczAOvmI4Dzl36oA/s1600/744b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hC1OfwwriA1OqMom-6lTzdO3GienyT-G-os4Q6B3quIaRMuXoUybCNDmUNYl7yJt6mYZThGUEUpZYdQ-Nx1wqM2X0ate4hmOKvruTfJ-0qovkN6IEXthz8t0uZjIczAOvmI4Dzl36oA/s320/744b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Flip the watermelon to the other side and make cuts on the other side as well.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgme-Ta_KMVKaSqmJnvXvNyjKUyKt0CObUgLvdVCErW5_FBHTFOR5h5moCSVMJYxJu2ig-qE_bFAnsvxFCZylEEtsGRSJAjdghsngOiMnDRXttxSmRoRPVEGZ5LD3T1dP9v_wTA7iFi-A4/s1600/746b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgme-Ta_KMVKaSqmJnvXvNyjKUyKt0CObUgLvdVCErW5_FBHTFOR5h5moCSVMJYxJu2ig-qE_bFAnsvxFCZylEEtsGRSJAjdghsngOiMnDRXttxSmRoRPVEGZ5LD3T1dP9v_wTA7iFi-A4/s320/746b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The picture below shows how you really have to cut. You have to swipe the knife tip close to the rind at the back of the watermelon. Again, it is really easy to tell when you are close to cutting the rind because it is much harder to cut through.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFu6_2AZynAe0tqZsQoqYGRSnGW33E6K0BTzJJnaB1oLpWLAYCM9AULA7PndPoFcqbYLLp1hLeHRh7k3aE-6EGiwKB09nn3Oeen0qkTJ9ogBdoYBj7fdMgpPHOMh5nKT7pPYv3SkTl9NA/s1600/IMG_0789b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFu6_2AZynAe0tqZsQoqYGRSnGW33E6K0BTzJJnaB1oLpWLAYCM9AULA7PndPoFcqbYLLp1hLeHRh7k3aE-6EGiwKB09nn3Oeen0qkTJ9ogBdoYBj7fdMgpPHOMh5nKT7pPYv3SkTl9NA/s320/IMG_0789b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Here's the finished watermelon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmr8FBCIKQgEwFMkl3aCE4lq_g6lieY3OMMpAqYGqEF6rRKP66QjiazASM5n4WI8K5QgxIHLkoV2Bd5H4T7O9OGSbY5v_x25jTw0ZOEgmUeU8EEpJkOr9RYdu1qivSg4htbX1PvbdDE8/s1600/748b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmr8FBCIKQgEwFMkl3aCE4lq_g6lieY3OMMpAqYGqEF6rRKP66QjiazASM5n4WI8K5QgxIHLkoV2Bd5H4T7O9OGSbY5v_x25jTw0ZOEgmUeU8EEpJkOr9RYdu1qivSg4htbX1PvbdDE8/s320/748b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Once you have found a bowl big enough, put the watermelon inside and using a fork, pull out the pieces.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_R8yZXFnf6_Wv9a0f0tcgLlHGhRm8rVKhLE6PF_8V2_mA8p3n4_tu7J3ZYFeGJubTjVWjw_nwwNVdI9SamppwIE6ygM-Uy6mV-cvDXXcJVtkpPnb6jbC8qD7FVBWkQPlIaDPm7kB2Lo/s1600/749b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_R8yZXFnf6_Wv9a0f0tcgLlHGhRm8rVKhLE6PF_8V2_mA8p3n4_tu7J3ZYFeGJubTjVWjw_nwwNVdI9SamppwIE6ygM-Uy6mV-cvDXXcJVtkpPnb6jbC8qD7FVBWkQPlIaDPm7kB2Lo/s320/749b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you have cut it right it should actually just fall out of the rind.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4IqX5MvmHv2Kzopc6Enw4BJGnLNvSl1_X2NHDD-TdkxXZ4JmBeBh9RuKsSZW3Np4jcAyC1hsOHEKqvLJA11hl88cx-7cQZQvjj46Y9OyeqTa5TPXv0aJQV2-73gEQII0f38fZyFnmQI/s1600/IMG_0793b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4IqX5MvmHv2Kzopc6Enw4BJGnLNvSl1_X2NHDD-TdkxXZ4JmBeBh9RuKsSZW3Np4jcAyC1hsOHEKqvLJA11hl88cx-7cQZQvjj46Y9OyeqTa5TPXv0aJQV2-73gEQII0f38fZyFnmQI/s320/IMG_0793b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is what you will have afterwards.</div><div style="text-align: center;">The hardest part of this whole thing is cutting out the last pieces. And even that isn't too difficult. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvQSq83kK9bMpp1n-kOcA5HWB4Mpu8yeLgm0IUmHs7m-sqoRBz57o9m2_wmU0yyu8QIS5RuGrnSDz17c0a_Yv6VtD2iGdgws0GhAszbg4W11tekfG5vYGpNk_QHcqRdTUxiQLK39Wnz0/s1600/751b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvQSq83kK9bMpp1n-kOcA5HWB4Mpu8yeLgm0IUmHs7m-sqoRBz57o9m2_wmU0yyu8QIS5RuGrnSDz17c0a_Yv6VtD2iGdgws0GhAszbg4W11tekfG5vYGpNk_QHcqRdTUxiQLK39Wnz0/s320/751b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I begin by slicing the leftover watermelon where I had cut the watermelon before, I just cut through the rind this time. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTDT1gb8nn_Ll2XioGebSlaN09Au5r9UQwQmnnl2x7c1iDiwbt_xpfTWzJbgVLVK4sBuV1IVZ9u6rlancacNDp4w1zx4lu-oS51_PYGLaPC6xaZQmw3seNC66QUcMViSfcDJpUt0qxMU/s1600/IMG_0794b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTDT1gb8nn_Ll2XioGebSlaN09Au5r9UQwQmnnl2x7c1iDiwbt_xpfTWzJbgVLVK4sBuV1IVZ9u6rlancacNDp4w1zx4lu-oS51_PYGLaPC6xaZQmw3seNC66QUcMViSfcDJpUt0qxMU/s320/IMG_0794b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then I flip those pieces on their sides and cut the pink flesh out. Pretty easy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lIHTDRhgivQk-JAQIQG_fgaGGmWDF2ETt3qUZOzHJN1HfMob-fvdm8d2jjYc5gJgNKq9uDhEVqaLsjffAwheWLx8oBOabkOZRNi4uQ1yRtnTMWRzBT2TY5OdB39DgEM0Ytc4mK5sGk4/s1600/IMG_0795b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lIHTDRhgivQk-JAQIQG_fgaGGmWDF2ETt3qUZOzHJN1HfMob-fvdm8d2jjYc5gJgNKq9uDhEVqaLsjffAwheWLx8oBOabkOZRNi4uQ1yRtnTMWRzBT2TY5OdB39DgEM0Ytc4mK5sGk4/s320/IMG_0795b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Ta-Da! A big bowl of watermelon ready to eat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSxdd0zHrRlDNXBbpfp_iJEd2YHHXO6Jf2ObUA6z99lkrnw3lM9MtWgF7LfKUWjwynqPazLFLPpn8toEqhgt90h0IqUfq7Jr3ArjKKyTCPrI_uoG_CUm-nBSwvd_g9lPMPWwSqvvtYoI/s1600/IMG_0796b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSxdd0zHrRlDNXBbpfp_iJEd2YHHXO6Jf2ObUA6z99lkrnw3lM9MtWgF7LfKUWjwynqPazLFLPpn8toEqhgt90h0IqUfq7Jr3ArjKKyTCPrI_uoG_CUm-nBSwvd_g9lPMPWwSqvvtYoI/s320/IMG_0796b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">~Erika</div></div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984202671659312324.post-7488115418105687862011-05-18T03:00:00.000-07:002011-05-18T03:00:07.349-07:00Differences and similarities for kids with EE. National Eosinophil Awareness Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Thanks for stopping in again. There is really a lot to say about EE and I don’t want to go on for ever and ever. But I do want to help with awareness for this one week out of the year. This is my last post about it this year. Thanks for sticking with me for three days;) <br />
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Here is a video for National Eosinophil Awareness Week<br />
<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:8dd0ed45-f24d-45bb-947f-face1daad292" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div id="69ec0a8b-16ee-4c56-89b7-9d0d64886da4" style="display: inline; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIqLRVf7oQo" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('69ec0a8b-16ee-4c56-89b7-9d0d64886da4'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/vIqLRVf7oQo&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/vIqLRVf7oQo&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDIgTlPPsI/AAAAAAAAHgA/ceQCQj9FbYw/video58b87ff0445e%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" /></a></div></div></div>There are a lot of heartbreaking videos about kids with Eosinophilic disorders on the internet. They make you cry. I can’t watch those because I live it. I can share this with you because it is just informative;)<br />
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My son is able to do all the things your kids can do, except when it comes to food. <br />
When he had his ng-tube (nose tube) he could do anything but swim. He is pretty fearless. Here he was at 3, climbing a wall with a tube up his nose. Seriously, that boy is unstoppable!<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEJCTEe_I/AAAAAAAAHd4/kyC9JuDCctU/s1600-h/20090404_029%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20090404_029" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEJYv1s_I/AAAAAAAAHd8/C-YoACBvEzg/20090404_029_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20090404_029" width="404" /></a> <br />
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As soon as his belly healed when he got his g-tube, he started swimming lessons. He does wear a shirt when he swims just as one layer over his button.<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEJvXfOHI/AAAAAAAAHeA/QW7gV1KrQp4/s1600-h/20100129_145%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20100129_145" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEJ3MAnfI/AAAAAAAAHeE/BNzvz4MzsGk/20100129_145_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20100129_145" width="404" /></a><br />
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He has dreams just like other kids. Last year he wanted to be a cop when he grew up. This year he wanted to be a Karate Master. (That’s what we all want to be when we grow up, right?) <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEJyArJJI/AAAAAAAAHeI/XMBcoeX_xh0/s1600-h/20100907_999_5%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20100907_999_5" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEKAh7-GI/AAAAAAAAHeM/-4xGB5D4jh0/20100907_999_5_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20100907_999_5" width="404" /></a> <br />
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He tries everything and does it with everything he has!<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEKWv6g5I/AAAAAAAAHeQ/0DhSlHrTldc/s1600-h/20110205_999_82%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20110205_999_82" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEK-81HsI/AAAAAAAAHeU/WdDIt1QNh2I/20110205_999_82_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20110205_999_82" width="404" /></a> <br />
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He has fun parties like other kids. He laughs and cries too. Mostly he is a very silly kid!<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEK7bxsjI/AAAAAAAAHeY/f7mp5GAnsno/s1600-h/20110219_999_25%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20110219_999_25" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDELF6_woI/AAAAAAAAHec/CVX44UrcduI/20110219_999_25_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20110219_999_25" width="404" /></a> <br />
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He plays ball. He runs and jumps and plays.<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDELRq0DOI/AAAAAAAAHeg/Tk09J9_qwAY/s1600-h/20110429_999_26%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20110429_999_26" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDELtb5z-I/AAAAAAAAHek/eNwcly0iBs0/20110429_999_26_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20110429_999_26" width="404" /></a> <br />
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There are some things that are different.<br />
He gets sick more easily. Like I mentioned yesterday, he still does get sick and we don’t always know why. He throws up at the drop of a dime if he is sick. We aren’t always ready for it, unfortunately. <br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDELoJbBhI/AAAAAAAAHeo/DPseDH-xbhE/s1600-h/001%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="537" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEL1Q7N0I/AAAAAAAAHes/YGeY8Mwvm7M/001_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="" width="404" /></a> <br />
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This one kills me. It kills him too. It is very hard to go to restaurants or people’s houses where food is going to be served. Two years ago, he didn’t have as many “safe foods” as he does now. In this picture we were with Rebecca’s kids, our Grandmother and some other family at a restaurant on vacation. My son wanted to eat real food with us. Unfortunately, all he could have was cotton candy at that time. He wants to eat the same thing other people are eating. Oh this is heart breaking! Imagine sports games where they pass out snacks after the game. Nope, he probably can’t have the snack. He usually can have the drink though. We do take our own replacement whatever it is to each thing. But it isn’t always easy to not be doing the same thing as everyone else. <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEMJ-pGpI/AAAAAAAAHew/nwJDR01mjFU/s1600-h/20090527_016%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20090527_016" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEMY-ZyjI/AAAAAAAAHe0/skbDIihSlIg/20090527_016_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20090527_016" width="404" /></a><br />
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For Easter he really wanted his own chocolate candy. We have found one kind of chocolate that he can have that he likes. I made some peanut butter candy for him. I can’t go to the store an pick up any random candy for him.<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEMUaDfiI/AAAAAAAAHe4/uWcR8XG--So/s1600-h/002%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="537" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEMnq8FCI/AAAAAAAAHe8/1y2xJGZbxEo/002_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="" width="404" /></a><br />
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When each new school year starts, I have already met with the staff and gone over what he can and can’t have. It is so hard to let him go and trust that someone else will make sure he is not eating food that will make him sick. I send him with a sticker for the first few days that says something about not feeding him anything I didn’t send in. It is hard to not be with him all the time and know he is going to be ok. Next year he will go to Kindergarten and I’m a bit nervous about how it all will go. I am not worried or sad about him going to Kindergarten. I am worried that his teacher or other adults in charge of him, won’t understand the severity of him accidentally eating a food he is allergic to. <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEM71007I/AAAAAAAAHfA/AYq94F53hOM/s1600-h/20090909_012%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20090909_012" border="0" height="556" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDENUjeCHI/AAAAAAAAHfE/9719lNs_5TY/20090909_012_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20090909_012" width="404" /></a><br />
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I can’t think of a holiday or celebration that doesn’t involve food. I start to dread each holiday or celebration because of the whole food thing. I always try really hard to have a replacement thing for events and celebrations. For example, for Halloween we do the game where you eat a hanging donut. (See Rebecca and I posing for our donuts? I do think her mouth is bigger than mine is. She does talk more than I do at least;)<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDENkhkOJI/AAAAAAAAHfI/U1QRsw8bwcI/s1600-h/20091024_183%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20091024_183" border="0" height="271" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEN1JRbBI/AAAAAAAAHfM/q_IMKpBKL1M/20091024_183_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20091024_183" width="404" /></a> <br />
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We hung an apple for my son instead of the donut. We have to get creative about his alternative choices for everything. <br />
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For school celebrations of birthdays we have to get creative. One year we sent in bananas that we decorated with stickers for his snack to share with the kids. <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEO0Awe9I/AAAAAAAAHfY/-Cf-ti4fi3U/s1600-h/20100216_502%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20100216_502" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEOzYHLpI/AAAAAAAAHfc/WWECaEI_o4Y/20100216_502_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20100216_502" width="404" /></a><br />
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He has had birthday cakes for the last two years. I just make them specially for him.<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEPEqifVI/AAAAAAAAHfg/2M1_2oRfnb0/s1600-h/20100227_985%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20100227_985" border="0" height="520" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEPcJuJyI/AAAAAAAAHfk/7P9tc0j5DLo/20100227_985_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20100227_985" width="404" /></a><br />
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He still Trick or Treats for Halloween. We come home and sort out the candy into piles of candy he can have and candy he can’t have. We give him a nickel for each piece of candy he can’t have. We donate the candy to <a href="http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/">Operation Gratitude</a> where they send your candy to the troops. You can tell that it is bitter sweet for him. He knows he will get something out of the candy. But he really just wants to eat it like other kids do.<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEPkLoTXI/AAAAAAAAHfo/RbQ13sdsSB0/s1600-h/20101031_999_81%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20101031_999_81" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEP6NcLEI/AAAAAAAAHfs/_mnrEpzMkQc/20101031_999_81_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20101031_999_81" width="404" /></a> <br />
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We still do activities with food he just can’t eat it.<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEP8icTdI/AAAAAAAAHfw/nE7N6ohlW3w/s1600-h/20101212_999_32%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20101212_999_32" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEQFFJFWI/AAAAAAAAHf0/ykJBtnFieKs/20101212_999_32_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20101212_999_32" width="404" /></a> <br />
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This one kills me. This year at preschool they had us bring in a dozen filled eggs. They hid all the eggs and the kids each got to collect a dozen. The part that kills me is that our eggs were accidentally used the day before his class. I had no idea that happened or I would have brought more in. He was so crushed that he didn’t get any eggs with candy he could eat. There was one person that brought in Play doh filled eggs and he did get two of those. But he was really crushed! <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEQVwjHZI/AAAAAAAAHf4/xRXqD9ht-Q8/s1600-h/20110421_999_23%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20110421_999_23" border="0" height="604" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_nqVdAi6xuHk/TdDEQhFzkiI/AAAAAAAAHf8/lTtvAg801tQ/20110421_999_23_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px currentColor; display: inline;" title="20110421_999_23" width="404" /></a> <br />
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Something that I wish people knew about kids with food allergies is that it is hard for the kids. They want to be like the other kids. I can’t always make the exact thing other kids are having, but I can make a replacement that my son would be ok with. I believe it is my responsibility to provide alternatives for my kid. But what I would really like, is for people to tell me they are going to have this snack or that food. If I don’t know you are taking cupcakes or cookies to school for a birthday, I can’t provide a replacement. I am more than happy to bring anything in, I just need to know about it. <br />
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Thanks for following along with me these last couple of days. I hope you have learned a little bit about Eosiniphilic Esophagitis. There are different kinds of Eosinophilic disorders. Whatever part of your GI tract the Eosinophils are present in, is the second part of the disorder. Since our Eosinophils are present in our Esophagus, ours is called Eosinophilic Esophagitis. There are all kinds of life paths that kids with Eosinophilic disorders/diseases take. Some kids will never have more than a handful of foods they can eat. Some kids never have even that and are on elemental formula only. Sometimes you can suddenly become allergic to a food that you have eaten forever, and you have to take it out of your diet. Some families need medication to help them manage this thing. It is like any other challenge where they don't really know much about it. Even the name changes. Sometimes you will see the word "Disease" and other times you will see "Disorder". Sometimes the initials for Eosinophilic Esophagitis are EE and sometimes they are EoE. There needs to be more breakthroughs for this thing whatever it is. <br />
<a href="http://www.apfed.org/">APFED</a> and <a href="http://www.curedfoundation.org/">CURED</a> are two places that are working on figuring this thing out. Check them out and donate if you feel so inclined.<br />
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This was a very basic run down of what it is like for us. But hopefully it is enough to make you think a little bit. I wish there was a cure and my son could eat like other people do. I wish we didn't have to have 3 Epi-pens in the house. I wish I didn't have a cabinet full of medical supplies. I wish I didn't have a monthly battle on the phone with the insurance to cover his needs. I wish driving for hours to specialists and doctor’s appointments and biopsies and endoscopies weren’t a part of our regular lives. I wish we didn’t have scrutinize every ingredient in every food we eat. I wish I didn’t have the knowledge of hidden foods in places you would never suspect. (Did you know powdered sugar is made with cornstarch almost all the time? Did you know there is maltodextrin/aka corn in chicken at Boston Market? Did you know that there is barley in enriched flour?) I wish that I didn’t need to know about a week set aside for Eosinophilic disorders. But I do know all these things. This is part of my life. Of all the challenges in life that we could be handed, I am thankful this is ours. That is what life is...challenges and how you navigate through them, right? Rebecca posted this saying on her Pinterest "Be Kind: for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." So true. My husband and I have two amazing little boys. We are very thankful to have them. It was a tough road to get them and we are amazed by them every day. That doesn't mean that sometimes I am not very graceful navigating this. I stomp my feet and yell at the holiday and wonder why food has to be part of our lives. I do. At the end of the day, I accept that this is just a part of our lives. It isn't what defines my son. It isn't what defines me. It is just part of how we live. I realize that many other battles other people are fighting are much harder than ours. <br />
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I hope that by sharing with you, maybe you will maybe have a better understanding about what it is like for some people to navigate through this food filled world. Hopefully you learned a thing or two about our challenge. That is what this week is about...awareness. <br />
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Thanks for indulging me;)<br />
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Take care!<br />
Anjeanette </div>RootsAndWingsCohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17941828347260961696noreply@blogger.com11