Drawing 101

I've always enjoyed drawing, but am not one to sit down and draw very imaginatively. I'm more of a still-life, figure-drawing type. Just meaning that I feel like I need to look at something to draw it successfully. That's probably why I don't necessarily enjoy drawing with my kids. It seems like drawing with kids is usually, "Here are some crayons and blank paper. Go for it."
Well, recently, I've been seeing these Ed Emberley books highly recommended (on several blogs. You know, all bloggers are reading, making, cooking the same things). So, of course, I gave in and bought some. Not really....I told my mom I wanted one and she bought some for us. I'm really glad she did. My daughter has so far enjoyed drawing animals with these very simple step-by-step instructions and now my husband and I have a book to go to when the kids ask how to draw a specific animal. This book starts with instructions for a simple ant and ends with a more complex dragon. In between are fun animals like happy pollywog, turtle skating in the rain, pig with trousers, goats butting, and mean octopus. The pictures above are my daughter's first attempts at smiling spider, bug, pollywog, caterpillar, rooster and porcupine. The pictures below show the book's images compared to her drawings.

I think this afternoon we'll try still-life drawing. Such a simple activity, and yet I had to read the suggestion somewhere to realize I could try it with small children. I think I'll let them choose a piece of fruit or vegetable and a toy to set up on the table and we'll all draw them together. Hopefully, this will be fun for them, but as a bonus, it should be fun for me to get my drawing fingers going again!

Homemade granola bars

Two recipes for Chewy Granola Bars.
Last week, my kids and I made these yummy granola bars I found at Make and Takes. These are chewy and sweet and hard to stay away from, so make at your own risk. They're super easy and the recipe seems flexible enough to toy with to suit your own tastes.

Chewy Granola Bars
2 1/2 c quick oats (I used part quick and part old-fashioned)
1/2 c Rice Krispies
1/4 c coconut
1/2 c M&M minis (I raided the fridge and used chocolate, peanut butter and butterscotch chips instead-all refrigerated and then thrown in the food processor for a bit)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 c honey
1/2 tsp vanilla

Add all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together (using wooden spoon or similar) until combined. Press into a square 8x8 pan (I used a 9x13 instead). Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars. Let it set completely and then cut into bars.

We've also made the Chewy Granola Bars from the Summer 2006 issue of Good Things for Kids (not sure if this little magazine is still around). These are a bit more complex in flavor, ingredients, and steps-to-make.

Chewy Granola Bars
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temp, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
4 1/2 c old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1/3 c packed light brown sugar
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans (2 oz)
1/2 c golden raisins
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c sunflower seeds (I recommend against those weirdly coated dry-roasted ones)
1/2 c wheat germ
1/2 c dried apricots (3 1/4 oz)
1/2 c honey
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking pan; line bottom with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together oats, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Stir in pecans, raisins, chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, and wheat germ; set aside.

Place apricots in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth, about 60 seconds. Add butter; process until smooth. With the machine running, add honey through the feed tube, processing until smooth. Transfer apricot mixture to bowl with oat mixture; fold in until thoroughly combined.

Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Using an offset spatula, press firmly into bottom and edges of pan, and level the surface. Place in oven; bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

Invert onto a baking sheet, and lift to remove pan; peel off parchment paper. Reinvert onto a cutting board, and cut into 24 bars (8 rows by 3 rows). Bars can be wrapped in waxed paper and stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

My Good Old Desk

I thought it was time I took a couple pictures of my little school desk as it usually goes uncredited as the backdrop in my other pictures. I purchased this vintage double school desk before my first child was born thinking (first of all, that it was really cool) that it would be great for kids to work on at home and that it would be an easy piece to use for other purposes before they grew into it. It has been used for toy storage, as a diaper-changing station, keyboard stand, and finally, work/play station. I looked online, briefly, to try to find out when/where this desk is from, and I only found 2 similar ones on the UK Ebay claiming they were made circa 1930. (The chairs came from a neighborhood school purging). This desk appears so often in my photos because it's the one uncluttered, large, flat surface near a window in our apartment and, additionally, I have always liked the feel of worn, honey-colored wood.

Shrinky Dinks

One of my daughter's friends gave her a shrinky dink set for her birthday. We opened it this morning and made bracelets. These are suggested for children over age 7, but with close parental supervision, it worked well. Of course, now the hard job is keeping them away from the baby, but that's a constant challenge when you have two older kids.
My daughter and son both made one bracelet for themselves and one to give away (most likely as a birthday gift to the girls who gave them the shrinky dinks...is that lame?) The set also comes with accessories to create hair clips, cell phone charms, magnets, and necklaces. It's nice to pull a ready-to-go project out of a box once in a while instead of creating, gathering/preparing the supplies myself.
I think it would be fun to create their own shrinky dinks, too, with blank shrinky sheets. Sometime.

I love strawberries

I LOVE strawberries. Mainly, eating them. But they also happen to be my favorite color and sometimes the subject in vintage kitchenware, which I also love. We got a delicious box of strawberries from the store yesterday (above) and I am reminded that it's time to research the local fruit-picking schedules. If you've never picked your own fruit fresh from the orchard, you need to try it! As a family, we've been picking blueberries and apples for the last few years and have also picked blackberries, peaches, and cherries. Somehow the strawberry-picking has not worked with our schedule, but I'll try again this year. For you-pick orchards, I always check the Pick Your Own site and this one (which is limited to just a few Midwest states). You can also check your state's Chamber of Commerce or tourism site.

Here is an old family favorite strawberry pie recipe:

Bake your favorite pie crust and allow it to cool.
Fill with fresh, washed, cut or whole strawberries.
Make filling:
1 c sugar
1 c water
2 Tbs cornstarch
1 small pkg strawberry or raspberry jello

Mix sugar, water and cornstarch in a pan. Heat until boiling and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in jello. Pour over berries in crust. Refrigerate until set. Top individual pieces with whipped cream, if desired.
(This is also great for fresh blueberry pie!)

Update: Oh yeah, makes a great peach pie, as well.
And we did get to pick strawberries this year, with a blackberry bonus!
See blueberries here.

Celery update

Now you can really see the color changes (see project description here). The celery in the red water turned yellow with red veins, the green turned more green (not quite as interesting), and the blue turned greenish blue with obvious blue streaks and spots. Wow, science is fun!
Not much happening with the potatoes yet.

Earth Day

The Lorax is such a great book for teaching your children about caring for the Earth, I can't believe I didn't think of it today (yes, I can, what am I talking about??) I was reminded of it when I found this new earth-friendly edition and this related website full of earth-friendly activities. (Adding this to my book wishlist).

I'm really not on-the-ball when it comes to finding activities/events for our family to attend and missed a slew of great Earth Day happenings, but we did participate in one meaningful activity today with our playgroup friends. One of my girlfriends brought Target reuseable shopping bags (by Green Bag) for each of the kids in our group. After a brief Earth Day themed story/discussion time, we sent them shopping in the pretend grocery store where they collected pretend food items (used, empty boxes) and real food items (their portioned snacks for the afternoon). They practiced emptying their bags on the counter, paying the 3-year old cashier's dictated amount ($5.05, repeatedly) and filling them again to take outdoors for our picnic.
Now to tackle that old item on my to-do list: make more reusable shopping bags for myself.

Wonderplay and celery

So today's on-the-fly experiment: Capillary action with celery and potato plants.
Inspiration from: Wonderplay, Too! Another book that's great to just flip through and find a quick and doable project right when you need it. (Also great for bigger projects or outings when you have more planning time).
For the potato plants, take a white or sweet potato, stud it with toothpicks so it's bottom rests in a clear container of water. This one will require a few days' observance as it sprouts roots and leaves. (We'll get back to you with our results). I like the book's suggestion to have your kids draw the changes they see in the potato. Keep enough water in the container to wet the bottom of the potato.
For the celery, make a fresh cut at the base, drop the stalks in food-colored water, wait a few hours and then observe. You should be able to see that the stalks and leaves have perked up and that the water has traveled up through the veins and into the leaves. After seeing our results, you may decide to try darker water and colors other than yellow and green (I wasn't really thinking when I did it).



This bottom picture compares a blue stalk and a yellow stalk. You can actually see the yellow in person, and a marked difference between it and the blue, but not as much in the picture.

Nature Can...

Nature can keep a child busy and amazed for hours and provide numerous opportunities for teaching. Not to mention, provide much-needed refreshment for you and your kids (I can't believe it's almost 70 degrees here today! I'm looking forward to my nature-refreshment this afternoon!)
Kids love inspecting and collecting every little, or big, thing that catches their attention. Our kids always try to pick up the largest stick their little bodies can maneuver and carry it around until it turns into a weapon and they're ordered to drop it. Then they stuff the bottom of the stroller with bits and pieces of found treasure.
Now, instead of filling and dumping our stroller and pockets, my kids can carry their own nature collection box, fill it with whatever they choose and keep it or dump it as they like. These are our new Nature Cans.
These are made from emptied oatmeal boxes and fabric scraps. It's such a simple and satisfying project to make for your kids, with your kids, or with your kids for a kid! (We just gifted a 5-year old friend with one who happens to be starting a nature class).
Here's a little tutorial if you're interested in making your own Nature Can for your next outdoor collecting trip (or birthday gift).

See materials above.

1. Rip paper off oats box.
2. Measure your box. If you're using a full-size box, you can use these measurements: 9" high by 16" around.
3. Cut and glue your fabric to the box. (I'm not a good one to ask about best glue. I used some combination of glue stick, Fabri-Tac, Tacky Glue, and super double-stick tape).
4. Cut out designs for decorating your box and glue them.
5. Locate spots on opposite sides of your box, about an inch or two down from the top, and cut a small X for inserting your strap ends.
6. Measure and cut your strap according to the size of your child. (I used a seam from an old pair of jeans for one of these and short pieces of scrap fabric knotted together for the other).
7. Push the ends of your strap through the Xs and knot inside the box.

Start collecting!

Earthquake!

We survived our first earthquake. Or, rather, we felt an earthquake for the first time today. It was about 5am. I had just nursed the baby and gotten back in bed. I heard rattling in the walls (these old plaster walls tend to spontaneously crumble so we're accustomed to that noise) and general rattling around in the room. Then I felt the bed shaking. Pretty roughly, really, but it was shortlived. Then I felt several lighter shakes of the bed, like someone was standing at the foot gently nudging it back and forth. None of that lasted very long, but was certainly out of the ordinary and actually made me think, "Hmm, I bet that's what a little earthquake feels like." Sure enough!

The theater, the theater...

Today we made a portable theater for our stick puppets. I was pleased that the kids enjoyed using it.
If you'd like to make one, but don't want to waste 3 minutes staring at a cereal box (or waste a cereal box), then here are some quick instructions:
Open a cereal box and turn it inside out.
With scissors, cut off one side panel and half of the top and bottom panels, keeping the little side squares attached to the side panel that you're also keeping. (Hmm, not very good at describing cereal boxes. It may help to tilt your head and look at the bottom picture here to see what I mean).
Cut a rectangle out of the front.
Decorate if desired.
Tape two fabric scraps to the inside top of the rectangle.
Tape the end of a long ribbon to the center of the back panel.
Fold the stage side up and fold back the top/bottom flaps which are now on the sides of your theater.
Flip up the little squares and tape them to the side flaps. This will help it stand up.
Leave the back panel flat on the table during performances.
When the show's over, fold up the back panel and tie the ribbon around the top of the stage.
You're officially on tour.

Get ready to romp!

Random, but sort of related, links and recommendations.

We checked this book out from the library recently and my kids have been LOVING it. It has great rhythm, rhyme, repetition and encourages movement (and conversations beginning "Why don't we see dinosaurs outside?"). Mine have memorized portions of it and insist on reading it multiple times throughout the day. Here's an excerpt:

Laurie Berkner's We Are the Dinosaurs cd is great, too, for dino-song and dance (and a bunch of non-dino song and dance). We've never seen the video, but I hear it's fun. I feel like her music is unique because it's sing-along/move-along kids' music without being cheesy or annoying. Most of her songs are original so it's not the same old repetitive action songs you're used to. We just recently took this one out of our car, after an extremely long run, and replaced it with her Victor Vito album. I've enjoyed both.

Jean at The Artful Parent has a great post on picture books about making music. Be sure to read the comments for further recommendations.

A friend of mine has recently checked out a load of art books for kids including some in these series: Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists, Artists in Their Time, and Smart About Art.
The Crafty Crow lists several books for teaching kids about art and for encouraging making art. I'm sure the library would be very helpful, as well. We have yet to tap into this category so I don't have any personal recommendations, but I'm looking forward to trying some of these next time I'm at the library thinking, "Now, what should we look for?"

I may have to get a copy of Mollie Katzen's Pretend Soup for helping my kids with reading recipes, following directions, and having fun in the kitchen. With illustrated instructions, it sounds so much more interesting for them than watching me read from my own cookbooks or scribbled recipes. Check The Artful Parent again for pictures from the book and a more detailed review.

Recipe: 2 for 1

I'm so in love with baking and eating sweets that I usually end up posting a recipe in that category, but today it's main dishes. I'm going with two of my favorites: a pretty quick noodle salad and a rich, comforting potato dish.

Peanut Chicken Soba Salad

2 cups water
2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked soba noodles (about 4 ounces uncooked)
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
4 teaspoons chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
Lime wedges (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan, and discard peppercorns, bay leaf, and cooking liquid. Shred chicken; place in a large bowl.

Combine vinegar and next 5 ingredients (vinegar through salt), stirring with a whisk. Pour over chicken; let stand 5 minutes. Add soba noodles and the next 4 ingredients (noodles through chopped basil) to chicken mixture, and toss well. Sprinkle with peanuts. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.

(I often use part of a rotisserie chicken to make this meal even faster).

Recipe and image from Cooking Light, May 2004

Sausage and Potato Casserole

1/4 c oil
1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 c milk
7-10 potatoes, boiled, peeled and sliced
1 lb. ground sausage, browned
1 c shredded American cheese

Combine oil, flour, salt and pepper in a large skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat until hot. Whisk in milk, stirring constantly, until thickened; remove from heat. Layer half of potatoes, flour mixture and sausage into an ungreased 13"x9" baking dish; repeat layers. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese begins to brown slightly.

(I have no idea where this recipe comes from and haven't taken the two minutes to call and ask my mom.)

Stick Puppets

Sigh. Maybe someday I'll teach myself how to arrange photos in some interesting fashion. In the meantime, here's my stick puppet line-up. I mentioned having the idea for these, or what I thought was my idea until I realized I'd seen it on the craft foam package, and now I've finally finished some. The package had a picture of a frog and a fish so my kids requested those (I did stray from their design a bit) and then I decided on the other animals. I'm pretty pleased with myself for the armadillo, I must say. I asked my husband if he thought it was funny or original, but he said, "I don't know, we're from Texas, I just thought it was normal." Oh well.
I used craft foam (5 1/2" x 8 1/2" sheets purchased in a 24-piece package at Target), some hand-drawn patterns on paper (some freehand cutting), craft glue, scissors, a few sequins, and popsicle sticks, in case you're interested. A pretty simple project, overall, but you have to factor in time for the glue to dry. Speaking of which, I'm in the market for a different kind of craft glue. I used Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue, but I'm convinced there must be something faster-setting with a strong bond. Maybe one of these from Beacon? Let me know if you have one you like.
Oh yeah, there's a funny crease in the middle of the octopus I didn't notice until I'd already cut it and then sure didn't want to cut that shape again.

Rainy day snack

Ingredients:
Crackers
Peanut Butter
Fruit Dip (approximately equal portions cream cheese and Marshmallow Creme mixed together)
Raisins
Wheat Germ
Bananas
Or any any other combination of stackable, spreadable, sprinkleable foods you happen to have on hand

In general, my kids like to eat, but we don't often have the kind of snacks they can actively participate in creating. This was a treat for them and easy for me (versus really cooking or baking something with them).
I spread the peanut butter and dip onto several crackers, filled small bowls with toppings, then let the kids build their own little masterpieces. Pretty good!

Paved paradise

It's another gray day in Chicago and we've got sickies here again (colds, this time). Hurry spring! I was planning on making some little stick puppets today, but the kids needed something immediately (it's little-celebrated Italics Day), so we have a masking tape parking lot. I just read this idea on someone else's blog, but with all the blog-hopping I can't remember where I saw it. Please tell me if it was yours!
I have the habit of getting an idea in my head, thinking it's so original, then seeing it somewhere else. Not like someone else had the same idea at the same time, necessarily, but like I already saw it somewhere, liked it, thought about it so much I made it mine and forgot I saw it elsewhere. Like these stick puppets I want to make. I thought, "I'll use this craft foam and popsicle sticks, cool!" So, I pull out the craft foam today and it has pictures of foam/stick puppets on the front of the package. Hmm. Guess I saw that when I bought it. Still gonna do it, but won't claim it as mine.

Completely unrelated: I just saw R.E.M. performing "Furry, Happy Monsters" (previously performed as "Shiny, Happy People") on Sesame Street. Fun.

Money laundering

I really like The Preschooler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner. I've mentioned it before, but this is my official recommendation. I know that means a lot. I like, first of all, that she is honest about being crazy at home with multiple small children. Then she offers planning systems for overcoming the long days at home. But even if you don't get around to making a schedule for your time at home, you can still use the 365 +/- suggestions for rainy days, craft days, holidays, cooking days, etc. It's full of ideas that you may already know but appreciate being reminded of and activities you may never have thought of in a million years. And they range from simple enough to pull together at a moment's notice to slightly more complicated requiring a bit of advance planning. I love creating new projects for my kids and myself to work on, but I also love being able to pick up a book, flip a few pages and say, "Okay, we'll do this now!" Definitely worth it.
So, today's project: Clean Coins. You just put some soapy water and dirty coins out, let your kids scrub them with old toothbrushes, dry them with towels and that's it! The book suggests this will actually clean the coins, but my kids' scrubbing wasn't so effective. They take after me, I suppose, when it comes to cleaning. But the condition of the coin didn't matter a bit as my kids just enjoyed the process and the bubbles.

Sometimes Jane Austen Wins

It feels like we've been so busy recently and I feel so tired, not to mention I have homework from a couple different classes (CBS, Tuesday's Child) to complete, so crafting and taking pictures and all that blogging stuff is on hold today. I'd like to say I'm going to buckle down and finish my work, but Sense and Sensibility is calling me. The last two movies we watched were Syriana and I am Legend, so I'd say it's time for a good Jane Austen flick. Especially one I haven't seen. So, anyway, I know I'm being irresponsible, but sometimes Jane Austen just wins.

Unconventional Carrot Cake

We celebrated my daughter's 4th birthday this weekend. She had specifically requested a "big cake," instead of the small cupcake variety, cookies, and a pinata. She really only wanted one friend at her party and reasoned out that they would get more whacks at the pinata and more cake if they were the only guests. Impressive reasoning from a 3-year old, I thought, but we went ahead and invited some other good friends.
I decided to go with a subtle storybook theme for her party. Mainly, because I wanted to make this cake. The rabbits in the very cute book Shall I Knit You A Hat eat a layered carrot cake with whole carrots poking out the top and sides and I think it's great. Also, I want to live in their house. I brought the book and propped it up next to the cake to be available for reading and to prove I'm not crazy.
I made M&M/pecan/raisin cookies and displayed Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons next to them.
We had a little face-painting station with The Penny Pot (story of kids using money to pay for face-painting at the fair) on hand.
I had a games corner (sewing animals, puzzles, Memory, Cariboo) with Charlie and Lola's I've Won No I've Won.
A book corner made several of our favorites available to read and produced Giraffes Can't Dance to be read aloud.
Finally, The Perfect Pinata made way for our own pinata thrashing.
I intended to have a craft project inspired by a book (much like our Alice the Fairy crowns), but didn't have a chance to make the necessary preparations. Turns out, it wasn't really necessary, after all.
The party was fun. Faces were painted (my kids did a number on mine), the games were played, the food was yummy (thanks to a couple good friends for providing some great fruit and veggie platters!), the pinata did eventually burst spilling out lots of chocolate to be quickly snatched up and several tiny boxes of raisins to be left sitting neglected on the floor for the parents to pick up. Kids.
By the way, the cake you see in the picture was dumped onto the floor by my son, landed upside down in it's carrier and managed to get away with only scrapes and scars where the icing clung to the lid. That's Krazy cream cheese gluing that cake together.

FYI: Most of these books are in our home library and are read frequently, a couple are public library finds that suited our occasion. You knitters out there may enjoy Shall I Knit You A Hat if you'd like to share your knitting love with your kids. Instructions for a simple knitting project are included with the book.

Squash balls and other secrets

Don't tell my kids: The squash you see mashed into a ball is the same squash that sometimes comes to you mashed in a mound.
Not that this trick will work every time, but it's amazing what a new presentation of an old food will do for little eyes and mouths. Of course, these were also sprinkled with cinnamon after they found out it was, indeed, squash, but often cinnamon alone doesn't cut it.
I'm not necessarily in a position to give tips on getting your kids to eat, but I thought I'd share some of my well-received secrets (which are probably not-so-secret) and you can take them or leave them.

So, number one...squash balls. Just change the shape of their food into something different or unusual. I have never gone the distance of making faces with their sandwich toppings or anything, but I can squish something up, cut out shapes, cut into skinny strips, etc. It may not work every time, but I count once a success.

Two...I make a batch of pizza sauce and freeze it in small containers so it's easy to pull out later. I buy wheat pitas and keep shredded cheese on hand. What does that make? Pizzas. Good ones, too. You can certainly add some veggie puree to the sauce, but I often spread very finely chopped, cooked broccoli over the sauce before topping with cheese (maybe seasoned ground turkey, mushrooms, pineapple, or something else if I think the kids are really hungry and not in a really discriminating mood). Then I slice the pitas up like a regular pizza and you get cute little slices. Alternately, just get the kids to assemble them and that usually makes a more eager eater.

Three...Steamed and finely chopped spinach makes a great addition to tuna salad and deviled eggs. If you don't have the kids who pick out every bit of green they see.

Four...Canned pumpkin mixed into refried beans is virtually undetectable. We use this as a dish by itself, with cheese or on nachos.

Five...It's okay to serve "dinner" food for breakfast and vice versa. For example, when my oldest daughter was a baby, I'd mix butternut squash into her oatmeal. This gets a veggie out of the way before you've even started your day. We have since gotten out of that habit, but do occasionally mix yogurt or unsweetened applesauce into oatmeal to help cool it off in a hurry (my kids tend to wake up extremely eager for breakfast). My youngest is about to start solids so we may be revisiting the squash mix soon.

Six...Grandma's Wholesome Candy. I don't know what book this came from (probably many), but it's exactly what it sounds like. In addition to being a healthy "candy," though, it's also an activity.
Ingredients:
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c powdered milk
1/4 c honey
Mix all together.
We let this firm up in the fridge, then set it out alongside dishes of wheat germ, raisins, rice krispies, etc. The kids roll the candy into shapes and add edible accents or roll the candy through the add-ins.

I may have other tips, but am too tired to think of them. Pardon me if these are so obvious, but you never know what other people are doing. When talking with friends, it usually seems like my boring ideas are new to someone else and their boring ideas are new to me. So, I figured it may be worth it. Of course, for "professional" tips on getting picky kids to eat, check out The Sneaky Chef, Deceptively Delicious, Feed Me I'm Yours!, and the many other baby/kid cookbooks out there.

(This post also serves as my atypical entry for Randi's Recipe Box swap today).

My new favorite storage boxes

Peanut butter jars. Plastic ones. Not much to say about that, really. I'm sure it's easy enough to figure out. They're such a good size for small toys and art supplies. And the kids can maneuver the lids pretty well by themselves.

See the updated version here.

Soap Buddies

I've seen soap pockets around on the web, but didn't consider them seriously until I reread the idea today in The Preschooler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner. It was a slow day here as we're recuperating from illness and this struck me as an easy spur-of-the-moment project. I took an old washcloth and cut it in half. (The half piece is just the right width for a bar of soap and long enough to wrap around about a time and a half, creating an opening in the back to insert a new bar of soap, much like a pillow-cover). I stitched one end closed, added silly faces, then stitched the other end closed. We call them our "soap buddies." Now if I could just get around to putting the kids in the tub with them.