Monthly Archives: July 2012

Olympic Party Food

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A few days ago we decided to invite a few friends over for an Olympics watching party.

Since it was so last minute, I didn’t whip up any decorations but I did have a little fun naming the food we served.

I cut out little place cards and placed them by the food:

Meatball Subs = Shot Put Subs

Grapes = Volleyballs

Mini Pitas & Hummus = Discuses

Salad = The Parade of Nations

Strawberries & Marshmallow Dip = Bengay for your tired muscles

Long Thin Chocolate Cake = Canoe

Cake Cones = Torch Cakes (looked something like these).

Around blogland there has been lots of wonderful Olympic food ideas. Some of my favorites include Michelle Paige’s Flag pizzas , all of the desserts on Miss Candiquik (the weight lifting cookies are the best!), and all of the foods shown on Tip Junkie.

Can you turn your dinner tonight into an “Olympic Meal”  like I did for the party?

Go ahead and give it a try!

Olympic Story – John Orozco

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I’m a sucker for a good Olympics story.

A story of struggling, a story of adversity, a story of conquering.

John Orozco, an Olympic gymnast from the Bronx, has such a story.

John’s dad saw a flyer for free lessons and jumped at the chance for his 7 year old to participate.

Once Orozco reached a certain level and needed more intensive coaching, the entire family worked at the gym since they were unable to afford it.

When the family would travel to away meets, they would cram John’s mattress into the back and sleep in the car.

Now when you see his mom and dad in the stands in London you just feel the overwhelming pride they have for their son.

I came across this music video starring John and wanted to share it with you.

I’m a fan of the music and of the athlete.

Is there a special Olympic athlete you’re cheering on this year?

Short

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Andrew had a friend spending the night so of course it involved a trip to the pool before bedtime.

Hey, this ain’t my first time at the rodeo people.

I know how to tucker those kiddos out.

No one is staying up late in this house, at least not on my watch.

So, as we were walking to the pool, Caroline kept saying, “Leo, you’re short, like me.”

She said it not just once, probably ten times.

I think she was just thrilled to have someone close in size.

And in fairness to Caroline, he was only about a head taller than her.

I finally had to tell her to stop talking about it since Leo could have been developing a complex with the way she was badgering him, “You’re tiny. You’re little like me.”

All was fine for awhile.

As I was handing the kids their homemade pizza and watermelon slices, Leo walked to our table and said, “This table is dirty. These chairs are dirty.”

I looked at him, looked at the table, looked at the chair…

And said, “Caroline, what were you saying about Leo being small?”

Felt Garland

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For my sister’s baby shower I created 2 felt garlands to help spread the colors around the room. It was my first time to create these but it certainly won’t be my last.

Since turquoise and hot pink were the colors of the shower I used those but also added a bit of yellow and white to make it more interesting. All of the felt (except for the turquoise) was the hard felt that is not floppy.

I grabbed 3 spice jars from the pantry and traced their tops in order to create circles. I used 3 different size circles for this garland.

I then cut out my circles and sewed them together with my machine. Sewing them together was by far the easiest part of this project.

Here’s one of the garlands at the shower (my sister is preparing for major renovations so hence the paint samples everywhere).

I really loved these and think they would be so fun across a nursery, a play room, or even a classroom. I’ll definitely be making a few more for different occasions.

For the shower’s food flags, go here.

For additional photos of the shower, go here.

 

The Socks Debate

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After scouring the area for a pair of Wonder Woman boots for Caroline, I finally found some at a consignment store.

Since they are black I will have to paint them but I’m happy since the fit is good.

While I don’t mind shopping at consignment stores, the shoes can give me the willies.

Dried stranger sweat tends to do that to me.

So each time we tried on another pair of boots I would say, “Caroline, leave your socks on.”

She promptly told me, “No, Wonder Woman doesn’t wear socks.”

Breathing deeply I would reiterate each time that she needed to keep her socks on.

We persevered though and finally found the perfect pair.

As we were driving home, Alex asked Caroline what else she needed for her costume.

She must have had our previous conversation on her mind because she said, “Wonder Woman doesn’t need socks.”

And yes, she occasionally refers to herself as Wonder Woman in the first person.

I said, “I think she does wear socks.”

“No she doesn’t.”

Alex asked her, “Does Wonder Woman fly?”

“Yes but she doesn’t need socks.”

I responded, “I think she wears the socks underneath her boots.”

Exasperated she let out a sigh and said, “No. She doesn’t wear socks. It’s not on the super hero show.”

I couldn’t let it rest, “Maybe you just can’t see them.”

“WONDER WOMAN DOESN’T WEAR SOCKS!”

I’m still not convinced.

Can you imagine with all the running around Wonder Woman does how sweaty her feet must get without socks?

Instead of her lasso and cuffs, she could use her stinky feet to fight for justice.

Food Flags

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For my sister’s baby shower we decided on the colors of hot pink and turquoise. Our theme of the event was “What will the baby be?” or “?” since Amanda is choosing to wait to find out if she’s having a boy or a girl.

One of the items I made for the shower were food flags.

I didn’t actually get any pictures of them at the shower but I dressed up our breakfast to show you what they looked like.

I started with a piece of card stock which I printed various lines onto it.

Click here in order to download this form.

Next I cut the paper into strips of the same size.

I then took a paper strip and a tooth pick and glued them together by placing some hot glue onto the paper and folding the strip together.

Finally. I used my scissors to cut the strip into a triangular shape.

And voila – stripped food flags!

In addition to the striped flags, I also made solid colored flags using some of the material I used in other baby shower projects.

I’ve never used food flags before but definitely will in the future since I think they added just an extra detail to the food table.

(For my 1st post about this baby shower click here.)


Crafty Confessions

Chef In Training Tuesday To Do Party

I’m Back

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I’ve been missing from here for the last several days since I was furiously preparing for my sister Amanda’s baby shower.

I was in charge of decorations so I’ll be sure to share that with you soon.

I left on Thursday night and flew back on the 7:20 am flight on Sunday. Early flights always seem like a good idea until the night before.

So I’m tired and plan on settling into bed early but I wanted to leave you with a few shots from the weekend.

and what did my baby prediction test say the little one will be?

though most people still believe it’s a little boy 🙂

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday 🙂

Wonder Woman Crown

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So the Wonder Woman crown and cuffs are done.

I’m pretty sure Linda Carter would be impressed.

So far they have made an appearance at the grocery store, the shopping mall, and swim practice.

They were quite simple to make so I thought I’d show you.

First, draw the crown shape you desire on a folded piece of paper.

Once you are happy with the shape, cut it out and you have the front shape of the crown.

Measure your child’s head and figure out how much more paper you need to add to the sides. It’s important that you leave about 2-3 inches in the back free (you will be putting elastic back there eventually).

Cut out 2 crown shapes – one a little bit larger than the other.

Find an old red t-shirt and cut out one star from the fabric.

Sew the red star onto the crown that you would like to be in the front.

Sew the crowns together inside out first. Remember to leave a little opening to pull your fabric through.

Pull the fabric through so that the outside fabric is now on the outside.

Place a little bit of stuffing into the crown.

Sew on a large piece of elastic on the back of the crown.

(In the picture you can see that I used 2 smaller elastic pieces. If I make another crown like this I will use thicker elastic – less things for little hands to pull on).

Connect the 2 sides of the crown by hand sewing the elastic to the second side.

Have your very own Wonder Woman model the final product.

(I forgot to take a picture of the cuffs but trust me when I say there is lots of posing going on when they are worn).

Caroline loved her crown so much she insisted on putting it in her bed the first night.

Now onto finding some Wonder Woman boots – in a teeny tiny size.

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1:15 Appointment

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My husband is so funny.

I called him the other day and asked if he could meet me to watch our three kids for my 1:30 dentist appointment.

He said, “Sure, I’ll see you there at 1:15.”

Ha!

Buddy, if we come flying into that parking lot by 1:29 it will be a miracle.

Did you dress up and get your free meal today at Chick-Fil-A ?

Word has it that our family is going as “Super Cows.”

I’ll take pictures and share soon.

Have a great weekend!

Pioneer Camp

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My 7 year old is attending pioneer camp at a local farm and museum.

Everyday he comes home from camp saying, “I love this camp. I’m so glad I have 3 more days of camp.”

From what he’s told me it sounds like a wonderful camp – playing stick ball, walking in the creek, making quesadillas over an open flame, as well as many other activities.

I think the people who created this camp are brilliant, but it’s not because of the stick ball or walking in the creek or even cooking over a camp fire.

This has been my conversation with Andrew every day after camp:

What did you do at camp today Andrew?

Monday: “Today we played with water guns and also cleaned out the sheep area.”

Tuesday: “Today we went into the pioneer school and also cleaned out the chicken coop.”

Wednesday: “Today we went on a hike and also cleaned out the donkey stall.”

Are you noticing a theme?

The people who run this camp have hit the jackpot.

Do they have to clean up after the animals for 10 weeks of the summer?

Heck no! Get those city kids to do all the cleaning and washing – they’ll think it’s fun.

I’m thinking of running a camp over at my house next summer.

Just imagine, the kids could go home saying, “Today at camp we went swimming and then scrubbed the floors.”

“Today at camp we went to a movie and then washed the windows.”

“Today we did arts and crafts and then washed Mrs. Mac’s car.”

Yes, I think I’ll start creating the flyer right now.

 

***Tomorrow is dress like a cow day at Chick-Fi-A – check their website for details ***