90 Minute Shirt

Here is my first version of the 90 Minute Shirt.  I was inspired by this shirt back in February when one of my favorite blogs, MADE, co-hosted a month long series called Celebrate the Boy.  It was a month of boy crafts, tutorials, and projects to drool over.  When I saw how easy this shirt was to make, I knew I had to try it.  Hop on over to Dana's site and check out the tutorial for yourself.  She gives instructions of making your own pattern, and creating this shirt.  I'll be making a few more soon, I need to work out some issues in my pattern and perfect the sleeves... 

Aren't they SO super cute?!  Next up are a couple striped ones made from thrifted shirts!

Traveling with Kids.... Time to break the rules!

We had a great time this past weekend on our first overnight trip with both boys.  It was a lot of fun, but as I had learned before with just Lucas, it was a completely different kind of vacation now that we have kids.  Here are some things we learned, most of them were learned the hard way...

Do get your kid his own suitcase

Don't expect him to actually carry it.

Do pack more than you need, of everything. 

Don't expect that you'll find anything when you need it.

Do bring water bottles, sippy cups, and snacks.

Don't leave them in the car when you visit an amusement park or attraction ($6.68 for two small bottles, seriously?!)

Do try to relax and just go with the flow.

But...

Don't have high expectations.

And....

Don't plan on getting any sleep.

Do plan the best routes ahead of time, and include a few pit stops on the way... Unless you want to be like us, searching for a McDonalds with two screaming kids in the backseat, while going about 5mph in really crappy traffic.  

Do pack everything in the car, take showers, and make snacks the night before to make a quick getaway in the morning.

Don't leave at rush hour.

Do plan driving time around naptime... makes life a little more enjoyable.

Do whatever you need to make things easier and less work for mom and dad - fast food, tv in the car, unlimited juice boxes, and keeping the kids up late.  It won't kill them.  It's vacation, time to break the rules.

Most of all, have fun, take lots of pictures, and bring home lots of good memories.  Here are some of ours... 

Kids treasure box

My high energy kid doesn't do well in restaurants, or long lines, or anywhere that he is not allowed to roam freely. I needed a solution. Coloring books don't work, his two year old brain just won't have it. I've tried distracting with snacks and juice, but that usually ruins dinner. I didn't want to spend any money (we have that thing called a mortgage now) so without running out and buying the latest and greatest electronic gadget, I came up with a solution!

I found a cute blue pencil box at the 99 cents store, and filled it with treasures I had around the house. We all have a junk drawer or basket somewhere in the house where we throw old party favors, McDonald's toys, and trinkets the kids get out of the quarter machines at the grocery store. They don't play with these toys at home, they just act as junk. Put them to use! They are the perfect solution when out and about, and when all packed up in a little treasure box, they are SO appealing you won't be able to take them away.

Mother's Day Painted Picture Cards

For Mother's Day this year we decided to hand make some cards for everyone. The paper was designed and created by Lucas. Here are some photos of his first attempt at finger painting.

We started at the kitchen table, but ended up with paint on the chair, the wall, and all over him...

So we moved it outside where we had a little more space and room for messiness.

Ruffy and Gizmo were very curious as to what we were doing as well.

Lucas loved squishing the paint between his fingers and toes.

I had to hold on to him to direct his hands to the paper, otherwise we would have had a rainbow colored back yard.

We smeared color after color, made hand and foot prints, and had so much fun!

When it was time to clean up, Lucas wanted to head in the house....

We attempted a quick cleanup, but that didn't work.

This kid really needed a bath!

Sorry, no pictures in the tub, but I'm sure you can imagine what color the water ended up when he was all cleaned off!

Here are some photos of our masterpieces!