January 27 - Samuel and I were feeling a little sentimental about not seeing each other for four days, so we decided to do something fun together and bake cookies for him and Scott to eat while I’m gone. I told him what ingredients to add, but he made them almost completely by himself! Now if only I hadn’t burned half the cookies… My activity idea must have worked, though, because he later asked me if I would leave after his nap today instead of tomorrow morning.
January 26 - This coming weekend, I’m meeting a friend of mine in a mutually adjoining state for a fun weekend of scrapbooking and girl time! I’m horribly behind on my scrapbooking and am determined to make the most of this opportunity. 250+ pictures, 28 layouts, 60 pages, and countless pieces of paper later, I am ready.
January 25 – Samuel and I spent some time coloring trains this afternoon (his latest passion).
January 24 – I found Kaelynn today reading to her baby doll.
January 23 – We took the kids to a friend’s birthday party today. It was a cooking theme! The kids made little pizzas, fruit snowmen, and “dirt” (Oreos with gummy worms and Cool Whip). The family had made personalized aprons and hats for each of the kids! Samuel and Kaelynn had a blast! Hands down, the coolest kid’s birthday party I have attended.
I must have drooled over the idea of play silks for several years. I love the concept and the endless creative play possibilities that they offer. But the standard size silks (35″x35″) sell for $10-12/each, making a small set cost a small fortune. That didn’t even account for my dream of a bigger play silk collection that included multiple sizes.
1. Order play silks in the sizes you want. I chose a half dozen 35″x35″ silks this time, but I have plans to expand our collection someday with various sizes. I bought mine from Dharma Trading Company for $3.75/each.
2. Bring a pot of water to boiling. Add a cup of vinegar and remove from heat. Soak all the silks for about an hour before dying.
3. Put on a pair of plastic gloves. Mix 3 cups of hot water, 1/2 c vinegar, and 2-3 packets of Kool-Aid (see the note at the bottom of post for a Kool-Aid color guide). Immerse a silk in the colored water and stir slightly until fully immersed. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. Remove and stir again. Cover and microwave for 3 more minutes. Repeat the cycle a third time.
4. Remove silk from the bowl and rinse with soap and water until the water runs clear.
Keep dyed, wet silks separate until they are dry. They can bleed onto each other (voice of experience speaking).
5. Dry on low in the dryer. Iron.
Red – Strawberry, Cherry, or Black Cherry (Note: I wanted more of a salmon/dark pink color, so I just used two packages of Strawberry. A combination of Cherry and Black Cherry will get you the truest red.
January 22 – Eating blueberries.