DIY Diaper Box

Like so many moms out there I have quite a few diaper boxes laying around the house. I have tried the diaper hanging contraptions and the pretty storage boxes but none hold the entire box of diapers. I buy diapers at SAMs and they come with almost 200. It is a giant pain to try and store the diapers without it just looking like a pile of junk shoved in a corner. So,  I turned to Pinterest. There are several DIY box transformation pictures and it gave me an idea. I have a few bolts of fabric stacked in the basement and a hot glue gun. No reason why I couldn't make this happen. 

Box before:

Box after:

Success!! 

Simply cut the fabric in a line long enough to wrap around the box. Hot glue in place. Fold the corners so they don't hang over and hot glue. Fold in the center and glue. All done!!

Happy crafting! Until next time. 

A Letter to Moms Around the World

Dear mom,

You, with the crying baby. You, with the screaming toddler. You, with the child throwing a temper tantrum. You, with the messy house and the sticky floors. This letter is to you. Yes, you! 

I understand! I understand your frustration, your despair, your anger. I know you love your children. I also know that you are at your wits end. You are tired of the moms in the store with the perfectly behaved kids smiling at you when your child screams. You are tired of doing dishes all the time. You are tired of the never ending laundry. You are tired of stepping on toys you just picked up 5 minutes ago. You are tired of being bossed around by a 3 year old with a God complex. But mostly, you are just tired. You are so tired that you miss the forest for the trees. You are missing the amazing things your child does because you are so consumed with the frustrating parts. Your children may seem like they are out to get you in every way possible but it is the exact opposite. They love you!! They need you!! 

These days are few. Fill them with love! Fill them with happiness. Fill them with kindness. Fill them with memories of you and your children. When you look at your screaming child or your messy house remember that it will not always be this way. They will grow up and move out. You will call them for a few minutes every few days and they will tell you they have to go. That they are busy. Your house will be empty and you will long for the days when you stepped on a random toy. Remember that time is fleeting. Time is a gift. 

So to all you moms out there I say this, you are a good mom. You are doing the best you can. You love your children.  I understand. Don't be discouraged by the bad. Relish the good. Embrace these years for what they are. A gift of time. 

With all my love,

A mom who understands

Stop Eating My Crayons

Myles has always had a very adventurous palette.  Yesterday afternoon I found him chewing on a crayon.  After pulling tons of tiny little blue crayon bits out of his mouth with much protest from him I decided that I needed a better solution to my crayon storage.  At this point Scarlet had broken most of them in some way or another and all the little bits are just kept in a tub.  Myles pulls out a tiny piece and hides it to munch on later.  I pulled out my silicone mini cupcake trays and started putting the tiny crayons in them.  I decided that I needed bigger crayons so even it he tried to eat them he would not choke on little pieces.  This is what I came up with.

I peeled all the crayons and put them in the baking trays.

Tossed the full tray in the oven at 275 for 5 to 10 minutes until all the crayons were melted.

Cooled the melted crayons and put them back in the crayon tub.

Worked like a charm.  This way Myles can't choke on them and Scarlet can't break them.  This made life so much easier.

Until next time,
Stay crafty.

Egg Pillows for Breakfast?

It is always a struggle to find something new to make for breakfast.  Of course I have my staples like sunny side up eggs, pancakes, sausage, or the occasional omelet. These are usually a hit for the kiddos but sometimes they want something different.  So, as any normal mother would do, I turned to Pinterest.  I'm not sure who posted this idea but I stumbled upon these beautiful little egg pillows.  There was no recipe for these beauties but after a little trial and error I came up with something close.

What you'll need:
Mixer
Eggs
Cream of Tarter
Salt
Some sort of side (I used sausage)

What you'll do:
Separate the eggs.  Be very careful not to get any yolk in the whites as it will prevent them from making a good foam.

Whip the eggs with a pinch of cream of tarter in the mixer.  Add a pinch of salt. Continue to whip the eggs until you have soft peaks.  When you remove the beater the foam peak should just slouch at the tip. 

Dollop the egg white foam on a baking sheet (with either parchment paper or pam)

In the center of each foam pillow add back in one yolk.

Bake the eggs at 350 for about 15 minutes.  Keep an eye on the eggs.  You want the foam to be brown on top but the yolks to still be runny.

Serve with sausage or bacon and enjoy.

These where a huge hit.  The kids have already asked for them again.

See you next time and Happy Cooking!

Chicken Roll Ups

As I stand looking into the refrigerator I ponder the question that every mother has pondered at some point. What can I make for dinner? Pay day is a week away and the fridge is starting to look more like a staple pantry. Gone are the baby squash and fish filets. Gone are the asparagus and the steaks. Gone are the potatoes and fancy cheeses. What's left? Well, now that's the question of the day. 

As I rummage around pulling out random food I come across a package of raw croissants. From this I know I have everything I need to make one of my families favorite dishes. Chicken Roll Ups. 

Here's what you'll need:

Chicken (breasts or thighs)

Cheese (Swiss or provolone)

Ham or prosciutto

Pesto

Canned croissants

Here's what you do:

Open the croissants and pull apart 4 squares. You will need to pinch the triangles together on the perforation. 

Slice the chicken and sauté until cooked through. 

Build the rolls:

Lay down one slice of cheese and top with a scoop of pesto. 

Top with a slice of ham and the chicken. 

Roll them up and pinch together the seam. 

At this point all croissants are different. Everything in your roll is technically already cooked so all you need to do is cook the croissant. I bake mine at 350 for about 20 minutes. After 15 minutes I check on them and if the dough is still raw I bake a little longer. 

When they are done the cheese will be melted and the croissant will be golden brown. I serve mine and my husbands with Siracha sauce. The kids love them plain. 

This is one dish that never fails to satisfy in my house. With the exception of pesto and croissants these are things most families already have. 

A little tip about pesto:

You can buy a large jar of ready made pesto at SAMs and Costco. Since the average family will not eat that muchv before it goes bad put it in ice cube trays and freeze it. Then toss the cubes in your trusty zip top bag and you always have them on hand. Use them in this dish, pasta, salad, or to cook veggies. The possibilities ate endless. 

Happy cooking. 

Polymer Crochet Hooks

Today I finished my very first order of custom crochet hooks.  It was for a client who ordered them for his mother's birthday gift.  Because it was a gift and my very first order I also made him 3 matching stitch markers.  It took several days for me to finally decide on a color scheme to match what her requested.  His mother loves sunflowers and he wanted something to reflect that.  Of course I first thought of yellow and white.  After thinking about it for a while though I decided that I did not like the basic colors and I wanted to do something that was more exciting to look at.  I finally decided to do a pearl green, yellow, and white marbled design.  Do to the fact that the kids were running around and pulling out every single toy in the whole house it took me longer than expected to make the marbled cane for the hooks.  Before I even started on the hooks I made the stitch markers.  I used the skinner method to blend the yellow into the brown so that I would have a nice dimension to the petal. I then went in search of something that would work to connect the flower to her crochet project.  I finally decided on lobster clasps from the jewelry department. They work great.  After posting the picture of the finished hooks to a few crochet sites that I am on I was flooded with orders!!  I am so excited! This little bit of extra income will make a huge difference to our budget.

Autumn Leaf Imprints

As the days get colder and the leaves begin to fall it is always more difficult to keep the kids interested in staying inside.  Today was a warm day and the perfect day to go pick leaves for our leaf imprints.  This is a fun way to keep a bit of autumn when the snow starts to fall.

For this project you will need:
Leaves (leaves that are still on the tree are best but fresh fallen leaves will work too. Just don't pick crunchy leaves)
Paper
Crayons (this is the PERFECT project to use up old broken crayons. Peel the paper off of the crayons)

 

Arrange your leaves with the veins facing up on your table.  Place your piece of paper over your leaves carefully. Holding the crayon sideways, gently rub over your leaves.  This will leave an imprint on your paper.

This project is so easy that once Scarlet understood what she was supposed to be doing she went through a whole stack of paper! You can use any color you want and make the leaves amazing.  To bring a bit of summer to your leaves use a bright green.  For more of a fall feeling use a light brown, yellow, or red.

You can also use a white crayon and then use watercolors to paint over the crayon.  The crayon wax will resist the paint and you will end up with a beautiful painting.  Use blue watercolor and glitter to make a winter painting.

I think that this project was a huge hit.  Even Myles had fun arranging the leaves and trying to color on the paper.

Have fun creating!! And remember, children are only little once!