Easter Projects

I love Easter.  I think it's really neat that we celebrate the death of Jesus and his resurrection at a time of year when everything is being reborn - plants, bugs, baby animals...it is a hopeful holiday.

A yummy one, too.  Check it out!  This year I made little Easter eggs for kids to take home when they visited.  I dyed some chicken eggs, made a hole in the bottom of the shell and let the egg out.  We dined on scrambled eggs that night.  After washing them out and letting them dry, I filled them with candy and glued muffin papers to the shells to cover the openings.

 They were fun to crack open!  The kids really got a kick out of them.

I tried something new this year, too.  Egg planters!  Originally I saw these made out of porcelain, but farm eggs are so much cheaper.  More unique, too.

 Here's a quick tutorial:
First, poke holes into the shell with a push pin or sewing needle.  Something with a blunt end is a bit easier on the finger pads.  Make the holes close together and the shell will be a cinch to break away.

 Drain out the eggs.  Make a quiche with it. 
Clean the shell out (use soapy water).  Don't skip out on this step.  You know the rotten egg smell?  It's for real.  Fill the shell with wet sponge or cotton balls.  Sprinkle grass seed onto it.

Put them on a pretty shelf and wait a few days, keeping the sponges moist.

Ta da!  Cute little Easter planters! 

Had I started them earlier, I think the grass would have been more impressive.  Next time I'll give it a couple weeks, not just a few days.  It's kind of like a Chia pet.  You could totally draw faces on the shells and give them haircuts if you put the seeds in more densely.

Happy belated Easter everyone!

How Deodorant is Wrecking My Marriage

Sobeys had a 2 for 1 sale the other week, and Soft & Dri gel antiperspirant was on sale.  I'm not normally a gel kind of gal, but I am the kind of gal who'll do just about anything to save a buck or two. 

I don't like gel deodorant.  It's icky, it's wet and you have to stand around with your arms straight out while you wait for it to dry.  But, like I said, I'm saving up for a new basement.

So, one morning I showered, dressed, applied the DriGel, assumed the "hands on hips" position to allow for drying, and went to join the family downstairs.  Rich looked up from the book he was reading.

Rich:  What?

Me: Nothing.

Rich:  What's wrong?!

Me:  Nothing.  I'm fine.

Rich (increasingly annoyed):  Well, if you're not going to tell me, then forget it.  Something's obviously wrong.  What'd I do now?

Me (increasingly baffled and frustrated):  Nothing. Is. Wrong.  *glare*

Rich:  Then why are you standing around like that, all mad?

Oh.  Darn you, sticky gel.  Next time I'm letting you dry in the bathroom.   

Good-bye! Good-bye!

I have been pretty quiet on my blog as of late.  My friend, J, and I have decided to participate in another craft fair.  We're talking a whole new craft level.  Whereas we counted ourselves lucky to have 100 people pass by our table at the mall fair, we're now looking at a table at a trade show that had over 8000 people attend last year.  Gulp.  We are clearly insane.  I have chained myself to my project table, and will return to real life in a couple weeks.

Quick update, though:  The kids are awesome.  Maddie surprises me daily with questions and conversations that I never dreamed possible with a 7 year old.  Eva is growing up, too.  She is finally outgrowing the boisterous puppy stage, and is showing signs of becoming a lady.  Graedy is, well, fun.  He's less and less toddler and more and more boy.  He is lonely for male company, though, and loves it when Rich gets home to wrestle and watch racing on TV.  Thankfully, his little friend A comes to visit once per week.

Gen is well.  In the last couple weeks she has started to clap, wave and blow kisses.  She reminds me of those old movies where the women wave hankies from the train caboose to their dear ones standing on the station platform.  I think she's telling me she wants us to go on a cruise.

*whip sound*

Ah!  There's my sewing machine calling...

911

With a family of 4 young kids, it's a wonder we've made it this far without any serious injuries or sicknesses.  I can count on one hand how many prescriptions each of the kids have needed, they've never had ear infections, no broken bones, and only some minor scrapes and bruises. 

It was bound to happen, then, I guess. 

Gen was playing quietly on the floor when Richard noticed her gagging.  He yelled for me (I seem to be the designated scooper of stuff in the mouth) and on seeing her face, I knew it wasn't just an ordinary pick the lint out of her cheek occasion.  I fished my pinky into her mouth and found nothing.  I pried open her mouth and peered down her throat and saw nothing.  Meanwhile, Gen was an unhealthy shade of red, her eyes watery and repeatedly gagging.  I flipped her over and, her head down, whacked her between the shoulder blades like they taught us in First Aid.  Nothing.   So we called 911. 

It probably only took them 10 minutes to get to our house, but it seemed like a very long time.  The only way we could keep Gen from gagging was to hold her head down on her tummy.  Even then, she retched every few seconds.  She was screaming one second and silent the next as drool and mucous streamed from her mouth.  This was not good.

The ambulance finally got there and I carried her into the back.  We rode, tense, as Gen screamed and screamed.  The paramedic radioed in that she wasn't able to get any vitals.  Terrible choice of words, since that was interpreted as "not having vitals" instead of "in too much of a fit to properly listen to her heart and breathing". 

At the hospital, we were met by a nurse who quickly checked her breathing.  They didn't seem too concerned until Gen started choking again at which point half a dozen nurses came out of the woodwork and busied themselves over my baby.  They suctionned and x-rayed but found nothing.  Richard joined me, and I could have cried with relief.

A couple hours later, Gen had screamed herself to sleep in my arms.  No amount of coaxing could convince her to nurse, but with her breathing settled the doctor sent us home with the assurance that she had probably swallowed whatever it was and would be back to normal soon.

She wasn't.

The next morning, she was obviously in a lot of pain.  She'd cry, gag, cry, and drool massive amounts of spit and snot.  She was definetly not okay. 

I made the decision to bring her back to the ER when suddenly she gave a great heave and for the first time in 12 hours, looked at me clear-eyed.  She was chewing on something!  I scooped her mouth and there, in her cheeks, waiting to be re-swallowed was a plastic snowflake.  A stupid, party confetti, plastic snowflake. 

And she's been A-1 since. 

I thank God that that snowflake had ragged enough edges to get stuck in her esophagus and not slip into her larynx.  I thank God that when we were sent home, she didn't aspirate the flake in her sleep.  I thank God that it scared me so much that I didn't put her down the entire morning until she finally coughed it up, allowing me to catch it before she re-swallowed it.  I thank God for my little girl. 

For a Better Start in Life, Start Cola Earlier!

Or so these vintage ads claim! 

It's a bit small to read, so here's what is written on the ad:

"Laboratory tests over the last few years have proven that babies who start drinking soda during that early formative period have a much higher chance of gaining acceptance and "fitting in" during those awkward pre-teen and teen years. So, do yourself a favor. Do your child a favor. Start them on a strict regimen of sodas and other sugary carbonated beverages right now, for a lifetime of guaranteed happiness."


And the third ad:

"So completely wholesome that even the youngest can "fresh up," just as often as they want...and with as much as they want too."

Hunh.  That's some laboratory.

Ah, pop (or "soft drink" or "liqueur" as I grew up saying)!   We rarely partake, but every once in a while we'll buy a 2L to serve at a birthday party.  Sadly, most of it goes flat in the fridge.

I'm not a pop extremist.  I treat it like any other junk food - once in a while, in small doses.  A bottle for my baby while we visit the zoo, though?  Um, no. 


Thanks to Time Warp Wife for the good laugh :)

Chatahoochee

We're not above kickin' up our heels...Graedy especially.  We're saving the world, one dance party at a time.

'Round About Home

What have we been up to lately? 

We've been up to no good, learning how to bum-scootch and getting into drawers.

We made Irish Soda Bread for Saint Patrick's Day.

We've crafted.

We celebrated Richard's birthday.  Don't you love how children shop?  They gifted their dad with princess books, their favourite teddies, and a wallet that Maddie sewed herself. 

 We've had fashion shows.

We've been busy.  It's been good.

April Showers Bring...a New Baby?!

Wow...we weren't expecting this!

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...and we still aren't!  Happy April Fools' Day!!