Afternoon Activity: Leaf Fairies

My favorite Afternoon Activity from last week was definitely the leaf fairies Kinsley and I made. They were so fun and easy to make. We got the idea from Twig and Toadstool which has a lot of incredible ideas we'll be using in the future. First you gather up your supplies:

Felt
Pipe cleaners
Wooden beads
Acorn Caps
Yarn or wool roving for hair
Scissors
Glue - You can use Elmer's, fabric glue, hot glue, etc. We used hot glue because I thought it would help the acorn caps stay on a bit better and we're obsessed with the hot glue gun around here.

We started out seeing if we could draw some pictures of leaves we found in the yard to give us an idea of what we wanted our fairies to look like. You can totally skip this step if you are awesome enough to free hand your leaves or you can print a template off the internet.

And then we had to do a little free drawing as well. This is what the leaves look like when they are falling off the tree in case you didn't know.

For Kinsley's first fairy I cut out a template and we traced around it directly onto the felt. This would be a much better idea if you used a fabric marking pen because it's fairly likely that some of the marker will end up showing. If you're doing this with older kids of course they can do all of this by themselves. For younger kids, if you're going to make several, I recommend cutting out the leaf shapes ahead of time. She got a bit impatient while waiting for that part.

But it worked out okay because I was able to cut out the rest of our leaves while she was cutting out hers.

Then you take your pipe cleaner, fold it in half and insert it into your wooden bead. You don't need to use glue if the hole in your bead is small enough. Ours fit snugly inside so we didn't worry about it.

See? This is how your fairy should look now.

Then you pick out your fairy's hair color and style. Kinsley thought this yarn looked curly like her hair so that's what she went with. Just cut the yarn to your desired length and glue on as much as you'd like.

Next pick out the perfect acorn hat and glue it to your fairy's head. Make sure you use plenty of glue on this step.

Then glue your fairy's body to one of your leaf pieces.

Sandwich the other leaf piece on top and glue around the edges. (Make sure you glue the top edge well.) And you have your completed leaf fairy!

This is my absolute favorite one that she made. We started out making these as a gift to give to Grandma but I had to keep this one with the ones I made for our house. Doesn't she look just like a little French Fairy? I love love love her! And I thought it was awesome that Kinsley decided at the last minute to add faces to hers and made each one a different face. So much fun.

Now get to making your own leaf fairies, but I'll warn you they're pretty addictive. I'm already thinking we'll have to make some with different shapes for every holiday!

Afternoon Activity: Acorn Picking & Sorting

Acorn Picking, originally uploaded by RusticOkie.

We've been trying to take advantage of the few days that actually feel like fall instead of winter around here. Sunday was one of those lovely days and so we spent the majority of it outside. Besides running around, chasing puppies and laying on quilts we picked up lots of acorns. We didn't even have to go far to get them, just barely off the porch in fact. Between all of us, although daddy did most of it, (thanks honey) we managed to pick a pretty good bucket full of acorns. I love being able to use natural and free materials for some of our crafts and afternoon activities.

These acorns are going to provide us with lots of Afternoon Activities. Sunday afternoon was finding and picking them up. Monday afternoon we spent sorting them.

This is a great activity for young kids. Not only is a great way to kill some time before dinner prep but it's a useful teaching tool as well. We got out three identical bowls and set to sorting. In one bowl we put all the acorns that were still wearing their "hats", in the next were the acorns without caps and in the last were the acorn caps themselves. Sorting like items is a great way to teach children about logic and organization. Sorting is an essential skill we all use in our daily lives from sorting clothes, the mail, putting things away and much more. How's that for learning from nature?

And we have lots more crafts in store for these little acorns, including the leaf fairies we just finished.

5 Months Old

Kaitlyn 5 mos, originally uploaded by RusticOkie.

Hey look we do have a second kid! No, we didn't forget she was here but people have been questioning the lack of pictures of her lately. I just haven't been posting many since we were so wrapped up in Kinsley's birthday stuff. But trust me, she's getting plenty of love and attention.

She's getting so big already. Of course that makes sense seeing as she's almost half a year old now. She is getting much better about sitting up on her own. At least until she sees something she wants and just lunges for it. Her hand eye coordination is incredible and of course everything goes directly to her mouth. She loves to interact with everyone around here and insists on being involved in everything her big sister is doing. She still wakes up full of smiles and ready to greet the day.

Still no interest in crawling and refuses to roll from her back to her tummy. But that's not surprising since she still hates tummy time and we rarely leave her lying down long enough to want to crawl. She loves to stand and bounce and play when she's not snuggling with us. And drools all over everything. But last night we discovered the reason for her sudden regression in the sleep department. TEETH!! Yep, her two bottom teeth are beginning to poke through. I was so surprised to see them this early but there they are. I'm a little concerned though because she's a bit of a biter. We're going to have to break that habit in a hurry.

This is a pretty common look in our pictures, the hand in the mouth. Better her hand than mine though. Those tiny teeth are sharp.

Return from Oz

Both girls closeup, originally uploaded by RusticOkie.

We're not in Kansas anymore (although I can almost see it from here) and we've escaped from Oz as well. I have to say I was beyond ready for these costumes to be finished and this chapter of our lives behind us but after seeing the girls all dressed up it was so worth it.

Things I've learned about the Wizard of Oz that I didn't know before this past week...

1. Dorothy wears blue socks not white ones.

2. A 3 year old can learn every line to this movie and will narrate the movie for you after the 50th time you watch it.

3. The flying monkeys aren't any less creepy than when you were a kid.

4. After watching the movie nine million times you sort of wish someone would drop a house on Dorothy.


Needless to say I've since hidden the dvd hoping it will be a long while before it sees the light of day. But seeing my little Dorothy get so excited to wear her costume and looking so darn cute helped to ease the eye twitching.

Okay so I know that isn't exactly Toto's twin but it was close and available. Besides she refused to carry it with her anyway since "that's where the candy goes mama". Yeah she knew exactly what she was doing.

And she got LOTS of candy. But wouldn't you give her a bunch too? I would.

And of course Dorothy wouldn't be complete without her ruby slippers. The shoes are what sealed the deal on the costume for sure. And they're going to serve double duty by becoming her Christmas shoes too. Score. But Dorothy couldn't just travel down the yellow brick road alone now could she...

This must have been after the Wizard gave her some courage. Look at that cranky face. No one is going to be messing with this lion! I swear she really did like the costume though. Honest she did.

And I have to say I was pretty dang proud of it myself. These costumes about sent me to the looney bin, especially this Lion. I don't think I'll be using any more McCalls patterns for a while. That's what the lion was. The Dorothy dress was pieced off a pattern and adapted because I have a ridiculous inability to follow the written directions anyway. I love the lion's mane. The pattern called to cover the entire head and under the chin as well but knowing my daughter I knew she'd simply eat it so I went with a simplified version. And she only pulled one ribbon off the entire night so I call it a success.

We had a great time trick-or-treating and I didn't take one single picture. Oh well. Since some of the area decided to do theirs on Saturday (which is when we went) Kinsley got to go trick or treating and then hand out candy from her Nana's house on Sunday. She was thrilled. We couldn't have asked for better weather for Halloween weekend. Sunday was so nice we spent the entire afternoon outside and picked up lots of acorns. There will be more on that later this week.

And now since the birthday party and Halloween are over I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog postings. I have lots and lots to share.

Three baby years...

Three years ago...

It's hard for me to believe (and harder for me to write) that the tiny little baby it that picture above turned three years old today. Three years ago I became a mama for the very first time, and nothing has been the same since. From the moment the nurses placed this precious little girl on my chest I knew I had become a part of something so very special. From that very first instant I knew that the purpose for my life had changed, and changed for the better.

It is my immense pleasure to be the mama to this extrodinary little girl. In nurturing and watching her grow I have grown as a person as well. I am no longer the person that I was before her. She has brought such depth, purpose and joy to my life that I will forever be thankful for. I now experience the world in a whole new light, through the eyes of a child. A brillant, intelligent, thoughtful and curious child.

The above photo is one of my absolute favorite from her infancy because it is so telling. I feel that it so perfectly captures the personality that has emerged from within that tiny girl. Her intensity for all things. She attacks every new experience with a focus and intensity that I have never witnessed before. With her, every movement is deliberate and important. Every action is planned and nothing goes unnoticed. She has a great eye for detail and an incredible memory that never ceases to astonish me. It shows in everything she does from her drawings to her imaginative play to the placement of her toys when she is no longer using them, everything is to her exact specifications. Sometimes her intensity and drive to do things "just so" gets the better of her and in that moment it is my job to step in and try to help her to understand that things do not always have to be perfect and try to show her how to color outside of the lines and soften her desire for perfection. I see too much of myself in that part of her and I want so badly to help to ease the frustration I know she feels when something isn't what she thinks it should be. To help her to roll with what life puts in front of her and realize that imperfections are truly what makes life worth experiencing. It might seem strange to you that I am typing these things about a girl who has just now turned the very young age of three years old, but to those that know her best these words ring true. She is the expression "old soul" personified. She is often surprisingly insightful for someone her age.

And I would not be doing her justice if I didn't right about her humor. She is such a happy and silly girl and brings smiles and laughter to all around her. She is fantastically funny. I relish the stories that she loves to tell and crack up at her funny little jokes. Not always because they are actually funny in a traditional sense but more often because she tells them with such humor and truly believes they are hilarious. Her laughter is so contagious and no one is immune. It doesn't matter how bad of a day you might be having, she can always make you smile.

Her loving nature and desire to take care of anyone and everyone who might need her assistance pushes me to be a more caring person to the world around me. Her kind spirit shines through in her desire to be the care giver to anyone who is hurt or upset. It truly pains her to see others hurt and her gentle soul will cuddle up next to them and do her very best to console them. Just today our neighbor stopped by and hadn't been feeling very well, later in the evening Kinsley told me "We need to take her something to make her happy". No prompting on my part, just from her reflecting on our earlier conversation with said neighbor she felt compelled to do something to make her feel better.

What more could a mama ask for than to have such a thoughtful and wonderful child? I have to say I feel so blessed to be able to call myself her mama and am striving to do my very best to nurture this beautiful soul that God has placed in my care.

Happy Birthday my darling Binkers. I look forward to sharing many more with you.

Birthday Ball

060, originally uploaded by RusticOkie.

Saturday's Princess party went wonderfully. The only negative was that while we were decorating the power went out and didn't come back on until after the party was over. The lack of power (paired with the cloudy rainy day) made for less than stellar pictures but it didn't affect the fun one little bit.

Here's the main table with all the food. I just realized I didn't get a good close-up of the fabric banner I made so it's hard to see the tiny details in the fabric, but it's so cute. I'm trying to find a place in the house I can hang a pink banner without hubby hating it too much. Too bad Kaitlyn already has one in her room.

There's my awesome cousin helping out! She volunteered to make the cupcakes for the party (which were a huge hit) and she also did Kinsley's beautiful princess hairstyle. It was a great to see her and she was such a big help.

Here are the cupcakes she made. Yum! That's strawberry icing. Sooo good.

The white chocolate covered marshmallow pops were the only thing I actually had to "cook" for the party. It was so strange to not have to worry about baking. But strange in a good way.

I was able to just walk up to the bakery and say "I'm here to pick up a cake". That was a first for me, but I'm thinking it won't be the last time. No more staying up until all hours the night before finishing a cake.




The "gumball" machine I made. I think instead of packing this away with the party supplies we're going to leave it out in the kitchen. It's kind of fun!

The table that we decorated for the kids.

They each had their own place setting with a wand, a ring and a crown to wear (although I don't think any of them wore their crown actually).

And I know you see these at tons of parties but I love them anyway and it's so easy to just hot glue some ribbon right on. Plus I can never have too many canning jars around.

We had a nice little group of princesses and one handsome prince.

Check these two out. Aren't they too cute?

After lots of running around and hitting each other with balloons it was finally time to light the candles and sing Happy Birthday.

And this is what happened. She didn't like it one bit. And even today she told me "Remember how everyone was singing? I don't like it". Yeah not a fan.

It didn't take long for her to perk back up though so don't you worry. Stealing Mulan's fan might have had something to do with it. Or maybe it was the presents, there were lots of presents.

In fact I think she wore herself out before she was even finished opening them up.

It was a great party and after we headed out to dinner with my family where she got even more cake. Talk about a sugar overload. But that's okay. I mean how could you resist such a gorgeous princess?

Or two? I just love this picture of them together. Such sweetness. Of course two seconds later Kaitlyn reached up and smacked her, but it was nice while it lasted. And aren't their dresses to die for. We went to the mall with grandma and grandpa on Friday and they picked up the dresses for them (Thanks Mom!).

I'd definitely say the party was a success. Especially when after it was over she said "That was the best birthday party EVER!!". It was definitely worth it. And you'll be proud to know I only teared up once on the way over there. Today, however, I've been teary eyed all day. Tomorrow my baby will officially turn 3 years old. Lord help me.

I just realized while looking back over these pictures that I forgot to go back and take a picture of the kids' table after I put the pails with tissue paper flowers back on the table, darn.

Getting Easier

Kinsley's year in recap 021, originally uploaded by RusticOkie.

I'm not dreading tomorrow's party nearly as much now that I've stopped thinking of it as her getting older since it's not on her actual birthday. So I'm just enjoying being excited about how much fun she and all her little princess friends are going to have running around. Now next week when her actual birthday hits I'm going to need your support, and chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

One thing I've learned over the last 3 years with Kinsley is to always carry my camera with me because you just never know when you might need to snap a pic or two. Hubby laughs at me because I've been known to get half-way to where we are going and turn around because I forgot the camera. But I look at it this way: If I don't have the camera I miss out on shots like this. We had an impromptu photo shoot while hubby was getting gas one day.

She's such a little ham. And no, I didn't pose her for any of these pictures. I remember she also insisted I take pictures of her shoe (a common request), her thumb and her nose.