Muffin Tin Monday - on Tuesday again

I've been very tired and unmotivated lately. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the change of weather here, coming out of being sick for several weeks and the stress of holiday shows on the horizon. So, doing a muffin tin lunch for Lyssie this afternoon was the perfect solution to not wanting to put together a lunch for her.

Muffin Tin lunches are great because you can just pull out anything you have in the fridge and stick it in one of the cups. Lyssie helped as she wanted Mac & Cheese (I think she just wanted to help make the Easy Mac as it's one of the few things she didn't eat in the whole tin).

Contents: Carrots, Edamame crackers (from Trader Joes - surprisingly good), Mac and Cheese, Goldfish and raisins and the PB&J sandwich that her dad made for her this morning.

Yes, she was still in her jammies at noon. I have since dressed her... but I'm still feeling very unmotivated to much more. I have lots to share - some tutorials, some fun finds, current projects, etc. Just need to find the time (and motivation) to do it. Stick with me though... I'm working through this current slump!

Homemade Costumes

Having a shop of imaginative play items does mean a bit of pressure to make my kid's costumes (I'd do it anyway) and to top previous ones I've done. It is hard sometimes because they are choosing the subject and I just have to go with it. Luckily, the kids chose things that I was actually inspired to make. Okay, truth be told, my daughter was manipulated a little bit as she originally wanted to be Han Solo and I couldn't figure out a way to represent him without the gun and holster... and I refuse to have my three year old daughter carrying around a gun. As it was, she kept asking me where Princess Leia's pocket was for her gun. This is what happens when you let your kids watch something that is really a bit inappropriate for their age. Oh well!

Anyhow, I was pleased with the way our costumes came out this time... especially my daughter's. I made hers entirely from recycled materials and it was not only a fun challenge... but a rewarding one as well.

I was a little less pleased with my sons because I couldn't get the front of the robe to lay down flat (the fleece kept stretching as I stitched it to the flannel and I didn't have time to tear it out a third time). Of course, my son didn't know the difference and was pleased with the result. His costume also has elements of recycled materials including the belts and the pouches on them. Oh - and the piece of droid that he's carrying. He made that with his dad. I would have missed this little detail as I did not realize that Jawas collect droids.

I had trouble making his eyes glow and finally came up with glasses with the glow bracelets wrapped around them. I had also bought him a ski mask to black out his face but the "one size fits all" didn't fit my son's large head :)

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating with my son's best friend. I'm happy to put, yet another, memorable Halloween behind us. Hope everyone had a safe and fun filled Halloween! I'd love to see your costumes... so leave a link in comment section so that I can check them out!

Thankful

It's the first day of November and I am reminded that we have so many things to be thankful for. Today, while I was out with my family, a stranger treated us to a free lunch. We were actually having a pretty horrible experience... long wait to order... long wait to get food... food that comes is incorrect... little attention... you get the picture.

While my husband and I stewed about it - sitting for an hour and half with hungry kids in uncomfortable seats is not fun - a nice gentleman approached our table and insisted on paying for our lunch, slipping some money under my husband's plate. It was the oddest and most wonderful thing we have experienced in a long time.

We suddenly felt awkward about accepting the kind gesture, amazed by our renewed faith in people, conflicted in our annoyance with the restaurant staff... One generous stranger made our day with one kind gesture. It really had nothing to do with the money. It was the ease of his generosity, his lack of need for acknowledgement and the influence that the gesture had on us.

This month I hope to make a point of telling me kids each day what I'm thankful for. I often go through this exercise every night before I fall asleep - but I've always kept it to myself. I hope to have my kids do the same.

Tonight I am thankful, not only for generous strangers, but for that stranger's timing.

Busy October

Doesn't it seem like sometimes life gets in the way? I've been wanting to blog for a week now... but never seem to find enough time to do it (the only reason I have time now is that I'm stuck in bed with horrible back pain - sometimes I'm forced to stop). We have our bedroom torn apart (carpet torn up) trying to figure out where a leak is coming from. My father-in-law came up from California to help us out (thankfully) and he's been sealing everything he can on the outside of house. We also had a roof issue (did I mention that we have a fairly new house - just 4 years old). Hurray for family!

We've been very fortunate that while things are falling apart a little... we've had luck on our side and it hasn't caused a huge disruption. But as it always is in October, things have been hectic.

We attended the EtsyRAIN Halloween party over the weekend and my husband and I won the costume contest (we were the Wonder Twins). Now proud owners of purple sweatsuits with classy collars! It was a lot of fun - but only the precursor to a very busy Halloween week.

Halloween party in my daughter's classroom tomorrow and I'll be helping in my son's on Friday. I'm taking advantage of having my husband's parents in town and trying to work in the kid's classrooms while I can. We still haven't made it to the pumpkin patch. Don't think it's going to happen this year. Hopefully I'll at least be able to pick a pumpkin up from the market so that we can carve it before Halloween. We'll see how my back cooperates.

While I've done little work these last two days, I have a lot on my plate. I have several dresses to post (and a hood) and even more in the works. I've taken a small break from costumes and hope to get back into production at the beginning of next week to gear up for the holidays.

It's such a busy time... and aside from my house still suffering, I'm loving it. Looking forward to a fun holiday season!

Wordless Wednesday - Robbie's Word Search

Fall is here

Lately, I've been inspired by the cooler and breezier weather that we get here in the Pacific Northwest during the fall. I'm also inspired constantly by my growing stash of tshirt scraps. So... here's the latest creation - you can find them in the store now!

I made these hooded scarves with teens in mind... although they fit all sizes. I only have young ones to model for me... but these do fit me as well. I figure my son is a good example, as that boy has a large noggin :) They can be found in my Etsy shop: NueToMe.

I hope to have more added after Halloween. I've been crazy busy making custom orders for the World of Whimm shop these last few months... now I have to take a break from custom orders and get my kid's costumes made.

Muffin Tin Monday - No Theme

Is it possible for my busy schedule to get even busier? I feel like it has. This weekend, we did the muffin tin for the kids. 1 - so that I wasn't trying to fit it in after the pumpkin patch excursion that Lyssie's class has... and 2 - because Robbie never gets to participate anymore. Oh, and then there's the simple fact that it's one of the easiest things to serve when you have a refrigerator fill of random items.

Contents: Ham sandwich on the best bread ever (Oroweat Sandwich Thins), carrots, Macaroni and Cheese (this one is Easy Mac), raisins and cranberries, and whole grain wheat thins.

Remember to check out the other Muffin Tins this week! We are off to the pumpkin patch - the nice wet and muddy pumpkin patch... fun!

5 Little Pumpkins

I've been meaning to spend more crafty time with Lyssie while Robbie is at school. Robbie and I used to do these things all the time when it was just the two of us - but with the addition of Lyssie, it just never seemed to fit well into our schedule. Now, I'm forcing it into my schedule. It was a good thing that I chose today to do this. While Lyssie and I were in the middle of our project I got a call (thankful I had my phone working again) from Robbie's bus driver. Apparently, today was a short day and I missed Robbie at his bus stop. After picking up a distressed kid... I was thankful that I had a project already planned to distract him.

We started off my making pumpkin faces with the print out from here. I printed it up on orange paper since it was originally for Lyssie and I wanted to make it simple for her (I would have lost her interest if she had to color it as well).

Then I made a page with 5 pumpkins on it (I'm including the picture of them in the hopes that you can click on it and print it. If not, I took the pumpkin clip art from here - and then changed the shape of it and flipped it a few times to make each pumpkin different.

I had the kids cut the pumpkins out first (this was my primary objective - to get Lyssie cutting something other than confetti). I worked with Lyssie in how to hold the scissors correctly and how to turn the paper while cutting. It took us a bit, but I think she did a great job, never cutting into the pumpkin... and not cutting herself or me! Then I had them make a face on each pumpkin. We taped Popsicle sticks to the back of the pumpkin - and voila! They have their own set of The Five Little Pumpkins.

Lyssie chose to glue googly eyes on hers... but Robbie insisted that googly eyes would just be too silly for halloween.

Wordless Wednesday

Muffin Tin Monday on Tuesday - AGAIN

Yep, still behind. But, I've decided that being behind is okay. My mom and aunt were in town until yesterday, so getting back onto a schedule the very next day seems pretty good to me. Lyssie got hungry early this morning and I needed something easy to make her.

Yesterday's Muffin Tin Monday theme was kabobs... so I did my best. I really only had toothpicks (until I remembered the picks that I have for bento lunches). Luckily doesn't know what the theme is... and she doesn't know what a kabob is. I do have to admit that she was a little annoyed that I "tied" her ham up.

Contents: Chicken "kabob", grape "kabob", edamame and carrot "kabob", ham "kabob", strawberry yogurt (I thought that this would be a treat because she used to love it... but she informed me today that she doesn't), string cheese (I got tired of kabobing)

It's busy day today. I have tons of things to list, a house that is even worse than it was last week and I'll be working on the EtsyRAIN show this afternoon. In addition, we have our normal Tuesday schedule with homework and karate after school. Good times people!

Don't forget to visit Her Cup Overfloweth for more muffin tins!