I am excited to bring you my very first tutorial.  I have always wanted to write one, but just have never taken the time to do it.  It really wasn’t that hard and once I got started I really enjoyed it.

This tutorial is for the cute little travel bags in my last post that I made for Sean and Erin.  If you want to make one of your own, check out the tutorial here.

If the directions are clear enough and you are able to complete one, please share a photo of your completed project with me and I’ll post it to Flickr.

Since this is my first tutorial, I’m sure there are many edits that need to be made.  So, please  let me know if  I need to change anything to make it more clear.

Enjoy!

When I have to take all three kiddos out and about I’m always stuffing things into a catch-all bag and running out the door.  I throw in some pads of paper and a bag of colored pencils for the times we have to wait when we are out.  I end up carrying a very heavy bag because it also contains a snack or two and probably a few water bottles.

I kept thinking about making these handy bags that were just their size and a possible pencil roll with individual slots for their pencils.

I managed to carve out some time in the sewing room and came up with this design.  A simple rectangle perfect for a coloring book or two with short handles, pockets one side for stickers and crayon/marker slots on the other side.

Now, they can carry their own bag and have something to keep their little hands and minds busy.

On my trip to Utah, I brought back some gifts for the kids.  Including a book about a coyote-based on a Wasco Indian Legend, some arrowheads, little rocks and a small drum.

There was much excitement for the gifts and a fury of creating happened first thing the next morning.  It started with making necklaces out of the arrowheads I brought home.  I shared my stash of beads, which by the way were everywhere at the end of the creating process.  Many deep breaths were involved there.  Once the necklaces were made, we were off to paint bodies with some leftover Halloween make-up.

Ian had made this small shelter earlier which gave my little Native Americans a spot to hang out and drum and make treaties.

In the end, I found the brother’s like this and had to capture this moment.

Who would have thought that a few things from out West could inspire such fun and learning.

Here are some other book ideas to go along with a western/desert theme:

Roxaboxen

Cactus Hotel

Coyote and the Laughing Butterflies

There are two things I can count on to make a very bad day better around here and grab the attention of the little ones around here.

One is sit down and read a book on the couch with all three kids.

The other is bake/make something with the kids in the kitchen and then eat it.

If things are going crazy, I just start getting out the bowls and flour and at least one comes running pushing a chair over to see what’s up.

It’s not always smooth sailing when there are 3 children helping me or even just one.

There are some things I’ve learned along the way that I thought I’d share:

• Be organized and have all your baking supplies in one place, so it’s easy to get to on the spur of the moment.   [Note:  Like when a little one says, "hey mom, can we bake cookies?"  you can say, "sure honey, I'd love too!"  Just like June Cleaver, is that her name?]
• Make sure your baking pantry is well stocked with butter, flour, sugar-brown and white, vanilla, baking soda and powder, salt, eggs, chocolate chips, etc.  [See note above.]
• Assign each child a job.  For example, child one is the stirrer, child two is the dry ingredient pour-er, child three is the wet ingredient pour-er.
• Sometimes the jobs get switched up and the stirring is done by all three for a designated time or the ingredients are alternated by all three.
• Sometimes a child is sent out of the kitchen for throwing a fit and then gets to come and lick the spoon if they get over it quickly!
• Relax and let them try the dough, mix or batter.  They’ll love you for it!

Having all three with me at once is happening less and less, since my oldest is reading and can go off and work on a project by himself.

The time in the kitchen with me is considered a privilege and I like to sneak one in by themselves to do everything with me without sharing, which is a nice treat for me and them.

Everyone enjoys the result of time spent in the kitchen cooking with mama, so if they miss out, they are usually not upset for long.  Once they taste that warm cookie it’s all over!

Here are some links to some cooking with kids inspiration:

Southern Living: Cooking with Kids

[Try the stuffed french toast and the really cool chocolate-sprinkle coated rims for a milk shake are a must!]

The River Cottage Family Cookbook

[Love, love, love the pizza dough and sauce recipe, the dough is on page 41.  I knew that from memory.  I make it once a week people, it's that good!]

The Kid’s Around the World Cookbook

[This one's great for discovering new foods and has funny facts.  The kids love the Spiders from Austrailia]

Our kids are water babies and have enjoyed the pool from an early age.  Ian started going to the pool with me at 2 or 3 months old in South Florida.  He was jumping off the diving board with arm bands at 18 months.  When he was 3-1/2 years old- off went the swim vest and he was swimming on his own.

Now at age six, he is on the Dye-Clay Dolphin swim team competing for that 1st place blue ribbon.  His first meet was last Saturday and he didn’t even realize he was competing.  He just went where his coaches told him to go and swam straight to the other end.

For the next 5 weeks, swimming will be a part of our lives- practices, swim meets, chlorine, goggles and sunscreen.  Summer has arrived!

Here is a taste of my trip to Utah.  It was amazing and relaxing and fun and just an overall great experience.

I’ve never been out west, as an adult, in the summer.  I was surprised by the natural beauty.  

The landscape.  The birds.  The clean air and the quiet beauty all around me.  

Much gratitude goes to Kelli, my personal tour guide for the weekend, and to her sweet Mama for the yummy meals and great hospitality.  

I want to go back for sure and I might just bring some other folks along.

I’m all packed up in anticipation of my trip out west.  I have a really great friend, from my college days, that lives out in Ivins, Utah.  It’s near St. George, which is where I’m flying into.  I don’t know anything about where I’m going, except that it gets really hot (90’s) and it has great hiking ops, oh and I get to be by myself for a few days, that’s another one.  It’s very needed right now, since Jay just returned from a trip down the Colorado River and was gone for 5 days.  He had a great time with his Dad, brothers and nephew.  There were many flights, a helicopter ride and horses involved.  Sounds like that City Slicker movie to me.

I’m hoping to have some great pictures to share when I return.  Something totally different.  See you next week!

Stepping and punching, attention stances, bowing, kicking, sit-ups and push-ups.  

These boys have been learning it all.  

We signed the boys up for Karate in January and they recently had a promotion ceremony.  They performed in front of a very large group of parents and students and received their new belts- red with a white stripe for Ian and purple with a white stripe for Sean.  Ian is getting very serious about Karate and wanting to know more about Japan and the language.  Sean is having fun and was a crowd pleaser at the ceremony, getting a few laughs and “awwws” when it was his turn.

 For me, it’s the uniform.  There is something about a man in a uniform.  Well, my little men that is.

Are perfect for…

:: watching the bees gather pollen and 

:: picnics with sister.

Have a great weekend all!