DIY: Airhead Valentine Craftiness

Heyyy, let's make a few cute Valentines out of Airheads! (and pssss, hopefully I'll win a ticket to Alt NYC).

Mini tutorial starts now...

You're kind of getting two DIY's for the price of one here... I'm going to start with the napkin ring tutorial. It's the first step in crafting the lollipop above:

1. Remove Airheads from packages and let sit until they become soft and just a bit more pliable.

2. Use a sharp knife to cut strips of each color.

3. Take six strips, three of each color and stick them together at the top, and two contrasting colors beside each other.

4. Braid the strips in a standard three string braid.

5. Attach ends and circle around a pretty napkin! Voila.

NOW, say you don't prefer the napkin ring because most people don't use them that often. Here's how you make a lollipop for your kids' friends at school:

1. Take that braid and begin looping it around itself (pardon the fact that these photos show a slightly messier braid. It's way prettier with the braid above.

2. Take a lollipop stick and stick it on the back of your pop.

3. It stays balanced if you cover the back of the stick with additional airhead "material."

4. Your kids will thank you and give you extra kisses.

There you have it! A Valentine lollipop. Who knew Airheads were such a sweet material to be crafty & creative? Go buy yourself a whole bunch. You're right if you're guessing that I ate my fair share through this process.

Love,

Kate

Puddle Jumping

Last night, I promised Sophie that when she woke up in the morning we'd go outside and eat breakfast and she could ride her bike as we took a walk... Then I woke up to rain. Lots and lots of cold rain. The whole idea sounded a lot less awesome, obviously, but when you promise your kids something, you have to deliver.

Thankfully, her gramma & papa had just gotten brand new rain boots for her, and she's on restriction from wearing dresses and skirts (when she throws tantrums the most effective form of punishment is to require her to wear jeans for a week), so it all panned out perfectly. By the time we were all bundled and outside, the rain had stopped, so it really panned out perfectly. Maggie had some worn-in chucks and she wore them in quite a bit more. She was dancing in an enormous puddle and Sophie took running starts to splash the dirty water everywhere. Perfection. They brought their favorite ducks to swim while they played, of course.

Being a kid is so great.

Love,

Kate

Hey Homies!

Good morning! I'm pretty pleased that we got nominated for a Homie Award in the Apartment Therapy "Best Family and Kids Blog" category. Would LOVE if you'd go on over and vote for us and make your friends do it too! You only have until tomorrow...

The link to vote is right HERE. More later!!

Love,

Kate

Maggie Girl

Both of my girls woke at 8:30 this morning... yes, you got that right. 8:30. This does not happen at my house. They're 7-7:30 wakers every single day. It was amazing. I stayed in bed like any good procrastinator should, cuddled in heavy blankets and thinking about life and thankfulness, and about how timely this surprising little quiet morning was for me.

It is the best thing in the world to be a stay-at-home-mother. It really is. It's also insanely exhausting in a way I could never really explain. There are little lives dependent on me to keep them fed, warm, entertained, safe... every moment of every day! By the time I sit in the evenings, I can barely move. It's kind of amazing really. I'm only 30, but my muscles actually get sore from playing all day. True story.

Maggie is really the culprit (Sophie seems pretty mellow these days). She is a burst of sunshine everywhere she goes. I mean, burst. She rolled over at 5.5 weeks old, and that should have been an early indication. She's pretty obedient, but man she moves!! She also climbs, opens doors, moves furniture so she can reach anything, and if I turn my head- no exaggeration- five seconds from her, she'll have run off and be making mischief somewhere. This week I've caught her on the dining room table, grabbing knives out of the SINK (using her kid chair as a stool), and eating chocolate chips she hunted down at 9am.

But she is also the sweetest. You can see it all over her face... those sweet eyelashes and pink mouth don't lie. She's as gentle as can be, and smiles & giggles all.day.long. She adores jackets and shoes more than a 17-month-old should, but she basically follows and adores her big sister in every way, so I have a good idea where she gets her wardrobe opinions... if I give her just a sweater to wear, she'll point to a coat. When we're just hanging around the house, she'll get her pretty shoes and bring them to me and point to her feet.

I always thought I would have a family with three boys. I was such a tomboy as a kid, I figured I'd have no girls... or maybe two boys & a girl. Never did I imagine I'd have two girls who are as girly as can be.

And never did I imagine it would be this good.

XOXO,

Kate

(Janie & Jack hat, Old Navy shoes & coat, Gap jeans)

DIY: 5 Minutes Puff Ball Necklace

I definitely don't take crafting very seriously around here. I don't have/make the time to do "real" DIY's, but sometimes I just want something without spending money on it. Sophie loooovvves necklaces, so I tend to attach things to strings, tie, and there she has it! A free necklace. This is the one she's been wearing this week. It's little puff balls and beads in bright colors, with a pink string I thread through and tied behind! Piece of cake. Everyone's happy! Try it!

Love,
Kate

A Post About Football

The 49ers did not pull off the win on Sunday.

The whole thing was a bit strange. When the 49ers go to the Superbowl, they're supposed to win. When I was a child and knew nothing about football except that I liked the niners, my question every year was "who are the 49ers playing in the Superbowl?" never "are they... or will they win?" After they inevitably won, the city would erupt in chaotic joy and horns beeping and crazies sticking flags out their car windows. My brother would be videotaped with his friends singing the 49er rap with their hats, jeans, and shirts backward because it was the 80's/early 90's and kids did things like that. The girls would make up weird little cheers and force the family to watch during get-togethers through the year as we would wave red pompoms & chant in all truthfulness that we're #1 (or maybe "we are the niners, no one can be finer," which only kinda rhymes) at family functions.

So this is how it feels to be the "other" team. I didn't doubt for a second during the first dreadful half of the game that they would come back... they would come back to win, of course. The food and beverages and hosting we did wouldn't be in vain. We'd then run outside with the rest of the city and watch people be crazier than ourselves and take a lot of pictures and post them on every social media we have later that night, and go through the streams and "like" everything anyone says that agrees... (aka everyone I know & associate myself with). The plan was perfect.

Instead, we had four chances to get into that end zone and we didn't. It was convenient for Baltimore that the refs were rooting for them and allowed some serious holding... (I will be having someone else come and teach my children good sportsmanship, because I'm clearly not a good fit).

A hush came over the crowd at our place, and apart from the guests being required by Sophie to sing Happy Birthday to her imaginary friend Sally, the chatter was kept to a minimum as guests filed out. History was made, but instead of it being a dual championship year with the Giants and Niners, it was our first ever superbowl loss.

I'd like to tell you I was one of the finer higher-road types that took to the computer to say a congratulatory "good game," or something...

...instead I retweeted the brilliant girl who said "they still live in Baltimore. We still live in San Francisco. #winning."

At least we have good leftovers.

XO,

Kate

Ps. More later... something that has to do with "style" and "smallers"... ;)