What's up Chuck?

Hi everyone!  Happy Monday!

This weekend we ventured out to Hoboken to enjoy the lovely, sunny weather.  It felt so nice to get out, stretch our toes, and take in the last couple weeks of summer.  

We're pet-sitting.  Isn't Henry cute?

Sun-worshippers enjoying the day in Hoboken

Heart-attack on a plate....but wow... what a delicious way to go...

Have some bacon, mom!

Bicycle riding with daddy

Even Pink Pig got a chance to enjoy the day.  Can you spot her?

Hope you had a good weekend too!

What's up Chuck?

You know that line from Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times?"

Well, this past week kind of felt like that.

We worked to fight computer failure.  But it's now official, the computer is dead.

We battled illness.  (Chuck had a cold.  Then I caught his cold... and then I caught some sort of tummy bug.  Ick. I'll spare you the details.)

And throughout the week Chuck and I engaged in some pretty epic battles of wills.  (His new favorite word is "No.")

But amidst all these tough spots, we've also shared some wonderfully sweet moments.  As Chuck gets older, he's also becoming more aware of the things and people around him.   One of his favorite things to do is copy others.   

He copies the older kids at the sprinklers

He noticed that I wore a ring, so he wanted to wear one too

He and daddy wore matching outfits to church

He saw some kangaroos on tv and wanted to have a baby kangaroo in his own "pouch" too

Pretending to be a kangaroo from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.


Life is tough, but there are also such beautifully sweet moments sprinkled throughout. 

Have a good weekend, friends.  Stay cool and we'll see you next week!

Make a Cardboard Taxi Bank

The last time we visited New York, Chuck got the chance to ride around Manhattan in a taxi.

He absolutely loved it.  Not only did he not have to sit in a baby seat, but he got to ride alongside mom and dad.  Whoa!  Too much coolness.

Now whenever we see a taxi (or really, any yellow car), he calls out, "Taxi! Taxi"

His love for those yellow vehicles and the ever growing pile of cardboard diaper boxes in our apartment prompted me to make him a small taxi bank.

Beep Beep! 

It was a pretty simple craft to make.  Older kids can help with making or assembling the pieces and younger kids can help paint the car once it's built.

Materials:
- Cardboard <-- crap!
- Scissors
- Exacto knife
- Masking Tape
- Packing Tape
- Paint
- Paint brushes
- Mod Podge
- Foam Brush
- Black Sharpie Marker

Directions:
1.  Cut out two identical car pieces and two long rectangular strips out of cardboard.  The strips should be identical widths.  Cut out a small slit in one cardboard rectangle for a place to insert your moola.

3.  Slowly bend and tape the rectangular strips to the edge of one of your car pieces.  Use packing tape to tape the cardboard together.  When you reach the point to where you want the trunk to be, cut out a small opening (for coins to escape.)  (Note:  I kept the non-printed brown side on the outside of the car because I thought it would be easier to paint later.)

4. Now you'll have to be dextrous and tape the other cardboard car piece on top of your structure.  (I used packing tape and tried to tape everything on the inside.)  Then, use masking tape to cover your edges.  (The masking tape gives the piece a less crapty, cleaner look.  Plus, it helped to keep everything attached together.)

5.  Paint your car white.  (This will make sure your colors pop.)  Then, paint your taxi.  You can also use a Sharpie marker to outline shapes or write out the license plate numbers. 

6.  Cover your car with Mod Podge to protect your lovely paint job.  Voila!  Now you're done.

Hmm.... looking back I probably would not have made cardboard wheels.  Instead, I would have made them out of milk caps so that they could really turn.

I added a small rectangular piece to the trunk to give Chuck something to grip.  Eh... he ended up ripping it right off.. so I'm not sure if that was too important to do....

Taxi, taxi!  (Don't worry.  Chuck's leg isn't hurt, he's just likes wearing hubby's leg band.)

Right now Chuck has about five cents in the bank.  Hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?  We're hoping that by the end of the year, he'll have enough to buy something from the 99cent store.  :)

Happy crafting!

Domino's gluten free pizza

One of the toughest things about having a child who's allergic to wheat (among other things), is that hubby and I very rarely eat wheat too.  Sure, we sneak in the random cookies or pasta when we're out on date nights or late at night when Chuck's asleep (oh boy, do I feel naughty then).  I usually don't mind the sacrifice, but there is one wheat-filled goodie that I sorely miss:  pizza.  It's one of my favorite foods.  And as a longtime lover of that holy trinity of cheese, tomato sauce, and crust, it's been really really tough not eating  pizza and not passing on my love to my son.

By now you're probably thinking, "Boo hoo.  Cry me a wheat-filled river.  Leslie, haven't you heard of gluten-free pizzas?"  Well, sure, there are gluten-free options out there... and trust me... we've tried a whole bunch.  But the resulting pie is always the same.  The pizza looks like a re-heated frozen disk and the crust tastes like dirty cardboard.  Sacrilege!  Poor Chuck usually just pulls off the cheese and eats that.

So when we found out that Domino's made a gluten free pizza crust, hubby and I were.... well... skeptical.  

But, we really didn't need to be.  Chuck loved it.  He ate two whole slices- crust, cheese, sauce, mushrooms and all.  Hubby and I even snuck in a couple of bites (while Chuck wasn't looking) and we were quite surprised by how good it was.

Now, Domino's does note that the pizza shouldn't be eaten by people with Celiac's disease.  Although the crust is certified to be gluten free, they just can't guarantee that any cross-contamination didn't occur at the restaurant.  So maybe this wouldn't be a solution for everyone.  But, since Chuck didn't break out in any hives or develop a rash after eating the pizza, hubby and I are deeming it a win..

In case you're curious, here's what the gluten free pizza looked like in the box:  (minus the 2 slices that Chuck devoured)

 And here's what the pizza looked like up-close:

Oh yeah, and here's Chuck.  Now he's a bona fide pizza lover too, just like his mama.

Have a great weekend!  See you next week!

What's up, Chuck?

Hi everyone!

 Did you have a good weekend?

Last week hubby had to work some pretty long hours, so Chuck and I really looked forward to the weekend.  Thank goodness everything was low key and relaxing.  We ended up visiting some nearby relatives and shopping for supplies for a new project...

Here are some photos from last week:

Chuck and I continue to really enjoy music time at the library.

Thanks Vanessa for taking such a lovely photo!

We celebrated St. Patrick's day: 

I think Chuck looks good with a beard, no?

Leprechaun?  Nope.  It's hubby!

And this is why toddler time rocks....

It's so sweet how Chuck's face lights up whenever he sees this little girl.  

Hope your week starts off well.... (and if not, well, there are only four more days till the weekend... woo hoo!)  Today I'm taking Chuck to the dentist for his first checkup. *Gulp.* We'll see how that goes....

What's up, Chuck?

Lately Chuck and I have been going outside to feed the birds and blow bubbles.  

These are some of my favorite moments of the day.

"Hello" stamped pants

Since I've been making tons and tons of stamps, I thought I'd take a short break from card stamping and decorate a pair of pants for Chuck.

They were really easy to make, but I'm just going to include the tutorial down below in case anyone feels the urge to stamp "hello" on a bunch of clothing.

Materials:
- pants
- fabric paint
- pencil
- paper
- scissors
- craft knife
- glue
- cardboard
- paint brush
- craft foam

Directions:

1.  Create your stamp.  I just wrote out the word "hello" on a piece of paper in a font that I liked.  Then, I cut out my word, traced it onto a piece of foam, and used my craft knife to cut it out  Then, I glued the word backwards (mirror-image!) onto a piece of cardboard.  Then, I just trimmed my cardboard. After letting the glue dry overnight, I had a lovely "hello" stamp.

2. I followed directions on the fabric paint bottle to properly prepare my pants for painting.  (Ooh!  Alliteration.)

3.  I slipped in a piece of cardboard into my pants leg to make sure that my fabric paint didn't go through to the other side.  Then, I painted fabric paint onto my stamp, and pressed down onto my pants.

4.  Hmm. The initial results weren't quite as bright and vibrant as I had hoped.  So, I took out my paintbrush and carefully painted over my word.

5.  Then, I just followed the directions on the bottle and laid the pants flat to dry.

We've already worn the pants once and put them through the wash.  The paint stayed put  and still looks good.  Phew!  Now Chuck has some happy and friendly pants to wear around town.  Easie-peasie.   I'd like to decorate some other clothes.... once I emerge from my card-making dungeon.  (Ack! Is anyone even going to buy my cards?  Freak out time!)

What's up, Chuck?

Guess who struggled with a cold, teething, and a tummy bug? 

  As you can guess, Chuck and I stayed indoors for most of the week.

Here are some photos (and a video- ooh!) of the little guy playing at home.

  

P2261691.AVI from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

Little Masseuse

Baby Chuck heard that Nana liked getting massages, so he's practicing for when she visits us this April.


0202131323 from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

What's up Chuck?

Hooray!  It's finally the weekend.  Do you have any fun plans?  We're aiming for a nice, relaxing weekend.  Now, for those of you who miss seeing Baby Chuck's little face, here are some recent photos.  

Currently, our funny little guy enjoys...

wearing daddy's shoes

and eating ketchup... sans fries. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Weird, wonderful snow dough

What does the weather look like in your area?  Around here it's been wet and cold.  Ick.  We had a bit of snow last week and then yesterday it ice-rained.  Ick ick ick.

As you can probably guess, Baby Chuck and I have been staying in quite a bit.  To battle the stir-craziness, I've been crafting and crapting things for him.

Feeling inspired by the snow, I made snow dough by mixing 2 C of cornstarch and 1/3 C of vegetable oil.*   The resulting dough was velvety soft and crumbly.  (Hubby described it as having the consistency of wet sand.... except that it's dry.)

Everyone had fun playing with it.  I enjoyed making "snow balls" and Baby Chuck liked crushing them with his tiny fists.  


Ooh.  I see a patch of sunshine.  Ok, we gotta enjoy it before it disappears.  Hope the weather is nicer where you are!

(*Sorry.  I had a brain fart and completely forgot where I found this recipe so I can't properly cite it.  Big thanks to one nice blogger.)  

We ♥ music class

You know when you're in the middle of doing something you love.... and you just don't want to stop because you love it so much?  That's how I feel during our weekly music classes.

Seeing the kids' responses to the music just makes me so happy.

Music time from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

Special thanks to quick thinking Elizabeth for capturing this special moment on her iPhone.

Mess free toddler paint (using Ziploc bags)

Now that Baby Chuck and I've already tried one finger paint recipe, I figured we'd give another a try.  We found a nice and easy recipe for finger paints from Easie Peasie and then we learned of a great mess free trick from Housing a forest   Here's what we did:

Ingredients:
- 3 T sugar
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/2 C cornstarch
- 2 C water

Materials:
- saucepan
- fork
- measuring cups and spoons
- Ziploc bags
- masking tape


Directions:
1.  Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Warm until you get a thick goop.

 2.  Once thickened, remove saucepan from the heat and let it cool.  Then, pour your sticky goo into different containers.  Add food coloring into each container and stir until you get your desired color.  (Don't taste the goo.  It's gross.  Just thought I'd put that out there...)

 3.  Pour your paint into the Ziploc bags.  Squeeze out the air from the bags and seal them shut with masking tape.  Then, let your child squish to his heart's delight!

 Disclaimer:  Baby Chuck enjoyed squishing the paint around for a couple of minutes... and then he moved onto something else.  But not to worry, Hubby and I then had a go at the bags.  It was quite relaxing to squish the colors around.

Have a great weekend!

Smiles

Oi vey, it's cold outside.  Baby Chuck and I are fighting the winter doldrums by visiting the shops and hanging out with friends at the library.  

Here are a couple of photos to cheer you on throughout the rest of the week.

Only two more days till the weekend!