Turning A Storage Box Into A Traveling Car Center

9 1/2 hrs in the car. ONE WAY! That's what I'm looking forward to at the end of the month. I've been racking my brain with how to keep them amused and entertained for that long of time because my boys do not like to draw or write or even color. So the traditional coloring books and what not are out. So I was at Big Lots today looking at little toys. My requirements were:
1) not too many loose parts to lose.
2) nothing that can be thrown at the driver or other passengers if we stopped suddenly or they got frustrated with it.
3) nothing too expensive. I'm on a budget here.

We already have the DVD player that we put in the car for long car trips. My rule is that it only goes on for trips longer than 1 1/2 hrs. (The time it takes to get to the closest grandparent) That way they don't get bored with it or I don't have to hear the same episode of Tom & Jerry for the 100,000th time!

So some of the things that I found:
Gone Fishing Magnetic travel game
Maze puzzles (the type you wiggle to get the ball to go where you want)
Hungry Hippos travel
BINGO
3 Lego knock-off sets (yeah this one broke my little pieces rule... I find I'm apathetic to losing lego pieces)
Dry Erase boards
Dry Erase markers
and last but not least
2- 12 qt tubs to store it all in
no slip shelf liner

I debated about how to contain the chaos. I had read on one of the pintrest pins that one lady had found shower caddy's and attached them to the back of the front seats... and I REALLY wanted to do that. But could NOT find anything remotely suitable to hand from my car. So I had to come up with plan B. Plan B was to find storage tubs that they could also use as desks because I was not going to also pay $10-14 for a lap desk that I would also have to find space for in my car. So I decided to turn the lids of the storage tub into the top of the lap desk.

How I started. First I took a fleece blanket that was too little for anyone to use anymore and I found some leftover batting from a previous quilting project. So that part didn't cost me any money.

Then I cut the batting and fleece so that it would be thick enough to pad their legs and still not take up too much space. I think I decided 3-4 layers of batting and about a 1 1/2 inch bigger on the the fleece.

Next I grabbed a handful of heavy card stock out of my paper supplies (if you don't have this cut up a cereal box or any heavy duty box you have on hand to stiffen the whole thing up a little bit. And I sewed the whole thing shut like I was upholstering a chair. Tucking in the corners first and the pulling the edges taut. This was my first one... my second one came out a little neater because I had practice. The only reason I sewed it was to make it easier to handle when I flipped it over. You can hot glue this step to save yourself some time. I just happen to not have a hot glue gun.

Glue it to the lid. Make sure it's pressed on there well by using something heavy. I used gorilla glue because that's what we have in the house. Use what you have on hand.

The storage boxes cost me $3.50 each at the Dollar General. I think it's totally worth it. If I throw some of their other toys in there and some snacks. I think we all may just survive the drive!

Lego Landspeeder Cake

A friend called me to invite my son to her son's birthday party, while we were on the phone she was listing all of the stuff that she had to do yet for the party and since I had just thrown a Lego themed birthday party for my 7yr old I was willing to give her all of the help and resources that I had already found. Then she mentioned that she was just going to go to the store and order a cake. ~Wait!?! What!?!~  The last time I ordered a store cake my then 2 yr old pulled the firetruck off of it, licked the icing off the wheel and that was the last time we've ever seen that wheel! If we're lucky it's passed through him by now (he just turned 7) but I'm not willing to bet on that.

So I volunteered (OK honestly I insisted) that I be allowed to make the birthday cake. PLEASE!!!!!!!! She relented, probably happy to have one more thing checked off of her ever growing to-do list. After finding out that I'm not willing to make a cake with 100 storm troopers on it (I was pushing for the Death Star), the birthday boy, mom and I decided on a Lego Landspeeder. Because just like my 7yr old he's infatuated with the Wii Lego games and he's currently playing the Star Wars game.

It started with the basic shape. I used a square pan and just kept cutting until I got the shape I was happy with. I will admit I did bribe my son to rebuild his Landspeeder so that I had a 3D model to work from.

 

Then the dots. Lots of dots. I rolled out fondant. Then I used a straw that I cut down dipped in powdered sugar and then just started making lots of little tiny circles. There was only about a 60% success rate of getting them out of the straw still in the shape of a circle. So if you try this method be prepared to use all of your patience up in this step.

Next came the fun task of putting it together. After cutting out all of the dots the fondant had pretty much dried to rock hard. So I used my handy dandy pizza cutter (normally I use the dull side of a butter knife) to make the individual Lego block impressions. I then rolled out the sides and attached those with pretzel sticks to hold the engines on. And my dear sweet husband made the figures, Luke, Obi-Wan, R2-D2, C-3PO and a Jawa. 

Close up of some of the guys.  

Here is a side by side comparison of the actual with the cake. The Lego Luke and the Fondant Luke are sitting together. 

Here is the actual finished cake. I used crushed up Nilla waffers and Choc animal crackers for the sand and jelly bean rock candies. 

Cruising on Tatooine in Luke's landspeeder. 

 This cake even comes with a Lego instruction manual, and the best part? The book is edible for those who choose not to read the book. 

Thanks for getting this far..... 

Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow

My oldest's school was having a fund raising event. So for the cake walk I decided this year to get cupcake boxes. Each box holds 4 cupcakes you can get a pack of 3 boxes for $3.50 at your local chain store that sells cake making supplies. I bought 2 sets and that took exactly 1 box of cake mix. Since the fundraiser is the day before St Patrick's day I thought it'd be ok to go with a St Patty's theme, rainbows and pots of gold.

I frosted each rainbow cake blue and then added a cloud. I cut a rainbow sour candy ribbon in half and used it for my rainbow. SUPER EASY! Then I used a large round tip to dab on some gold "coins" and a green strip around the outside. These were the fastest easiest cupcakes to make EVER. I saw the rainbow cupcakes on Pintrest here's the original site that I used. Thanks for the inspiration!  http://monicajoy.tumblr.com/post/1264292112/late-post-but-i-finally-made-rainbow-cupcakes  

Lego Birthday Party!

My 7 yr old had a birthday blast! At the very last minute he changed his mind from an Angry Birds birthday theme (I had some really cool ideas) to a Lego themed birthday party. Ok I can roll with that, I'm nothing if not flexible. So I printed out the invitations. I like using postcard paper because it's one size not too big and not too small. I can fit a lot of info on the front and the back. 

So the day of the birthday. I didn't find a whole lot in the way of games that didn't involve the annihilation of my son's lego sets which he would not have been happy about. And we didn't quite have enough of the same pieces so the whole build a bridge/car/building with the exact same blocks game was out. (That seemed to be the primary game that everyone chose for their lego party.) But since I had been planning building giant Angry Bird sets I had my husband's office save all of their brick shaped boxes. (boy did that come in handy!) 

So my first game was a shuffle board using the wrapped boxes and throwing them into a grid taped on the floor using painters tape. It was a HUGE HIT! The kids loved it! The only suggestion I have is don't get the cheap rolls of wrapping paper. I bought two .99 rolls and one good roll... the good roll was the boxes that held up the best. Or you can use contact paper if you can find it in primary colors. (I did block the people's faces for their privacy. Bear with me my photo editing skills aren't that great today!)

Next we did some free play. I just threw some legos on a table and let them go at it.  

Then onto the chopstick game. By this time I had lost some of the kids interest. They just wanted to keep building. But enough wanted to play. Even with the "Cheater Chopsticks" (regular chopsticks with a piece of paper and a rubber band around them both) it was a tough game. 

Next onto cake!!! I made a Lego cake out of a sheet cake and a loaf cake pan. Then using marshmallows that I cut in half I placed those on top of the icing and then put a layer of fondant over the whole thing. It was one of the easier cakes to make. 

 

But since I didn't know what size marshmallows would look best I bought both the regular sized and the new fist Jumbo sized marshmallows. Well the regular ones were the ones that I needed but then I had to decide what to do with jumbo marshmallows. SO I decided to turn them into lego heads. I used food grade markers and drew faces on them. It was a lot like making pumpkins except no messy insides to deal with and there were A LOT more of these guys!

Then we had one more game. Pin the head on the lego man. Can you sense a theme?  I'm apparently obsessed with these heads! I had the hubs draw a pic of a lego body and then cut out lego faces on construction paper. (Thank you Sis-in-law and Mother-in-law for that little bit of last minute help!) 

A good time was had by all. Even if I do think my 4 yr old cheated at this game! It was all in good fun. 

I MUST HAVE CHILI NOW!!!

I am certifiably crazy! It's 1am and I woke my hubby up to ask where the hell the chili I made today was.... There's more to the story! (there's always more to the story)

I woke up with the worst migraine I've had in a while. Some I can muscle through and take meds and pretend I'm still a functioning member of society. Not this one! This was a flat on back migraine. This was a curl up in a ball crying your eyes out because all of the drugs just got laughed at by your migraine type of  headache... but it did have it's ebb and flow. So in one of my more "well" moments I decided I absolutely wanted chili for dinner, not my brightest idea I know but when you're hopped up on goofballs sanity isn't your strongsuit!

So I went downstairs to make chili... I was doing great had it all spiced and just needed it to simmer when the WAVE OF TOTAL NAUSEA hit me like a mack truck. Now from years of experience I know I have two choices.... I can either lie down RIGHT NOW or I can throw up. I chose the first option. I shut off the stove (I'm not a total idiot) and made sure Evan was happily unable to tear the house apart and went to bed.

After Matt got home I gave him instructions to simmer the chili and when I was feeling a bit better I asked him to bring me some and I stayed in bed for the rest of the day. Well I never was able to eat more than a bite or two. But the little bit I had was so yummy (if I do say so myself!) Well at 1 am my migraine broke and I woke up STARVING! So I stumbled down into the kitchen looking for the chili....

And I couldn't find it! Now I know Matt can eat.... but there's no way that he could eat an entire pot of chili in one night!! I checked the fridge, nope, the freezer, NOPE!!! So I woke Matt up. It's in the garage freezer WHY??????  So at 1:30am I am defrosting chili to satisfy a craving that I had a 2pm... Yes I am that crazy.

Beware Of Declarative Statements!

Every time I think that I wouldn't be "that MOM!" I have to stop and think... I've said that before. And something has always come up where I've had to make an exception to that rule. You're at the store and shopping and it's late. Later than you think kids should be awake. And you think I'd never let my child stay up till 10pm! Until you've been there... and your child has been sick for the last week and suddenly his sleep schedule is so far off he doesn't even know there's a sun... so he's up at 10pm. Not because you're a bad parent. But because you're trying to get his sleep cycle back to normal... But in that one snapshot at the store all anyone can see is a child up riding on the cart begging you to buy them fruitsnacks! And they judge "How dare they keep that child awake! That child should be home in BED!"

I've done it... I did it a whole lot more before I had kids. I made declarative statements to my parents when I was in my teens... "when I'm a parent I'm gonna let my kids stay have a 3am curfew! Just you wait and see!" My parents just shook their heads and nodded sagely. OK we'll see and we'll be so sorry that we didn't let you run around and get into trouble!" I'm sure they went to bed giggling to themselves more than once... Want to know how I know. I do it now with my two boys. Ian tells me when he's grown up he'll get to do whatever he wants! Those are the nights I go to bed giggling to myself because I know that when he actually gets to that stage of his life... he'll see why I've made the decisions I have and he'll send his little kids to bed at a decent hour.... whenever possible!

The Rest Of The Directions!

Have you ever been watching one of those cool cooking shows? I happen to love them and one of the hosts says something like "Here's an easy tip for you.... Just pop your cake into the freezer and the crumbs won't be a problem!" in one of those ultra perky voices. Yeah you know those ones that I'm talking about!

HOWEVER what they don't tell you is so much! Because then they continue on in that same perky voice... "for more tips check out our website at youcandoitifyoucan'tthenyou'reatotaldweeb.com (not a real site BTW) Where I'm assuming that they actually put the whole instructions on the site... but who actually looks. I know I don't.

So I was making my son's 6th birthday cake. It was a super cool superhero themed cake and I wanted to have his favorite superhero scaling a building. To do that I had to make a building.... Which is not that easy with cake. So I took two loaf pans and put them together and then cut the sides down... but I knew if I just iced them that I would have crumb city... So I remembered the freezing trick. I stuck it in the freezer over night. This should be easy-peasy right? Just like every cake baker on food show has proclaimed. WRONG!!!! What they don't tell you is this: Frozen cake makes for frozen frosting. You have a limited amount of time from the time you slap that frosting onto the cake to the time that it hardens up from the cake freezing it! That means you can't help your son with his homework, you can't answer the phone and heaven forbid you have to pee before that thing is 100% perfectly smooth!

Eventually I got it all... I cheated. I heated the frosting to a near boiling point and prayed that it didn't condense when it came in contact with the cake. Slapped it on and worked very quickly. So next time I'll know. And I'm sure I'll make some other dumb mistake but hopefully it won't be this one. I'm getting better each time.

That's NOT Love!

I was driving and a song came on the radio, something about a guy crooning about how he would Catch a grenade for love but the girl wouldn't do anything like that for him. Here's the video if you haven't heard the song.



Now I don't know about most women, but I know that isn't my definiton of love. Yeah grand gestures are great and all but they don't cut it in the end. A grand gesture isn't going to make a relationship work in the long run. They look great in the movies right before they cut to the credits but what happens after the couple kiss? After you "jump in front of a train" who's there to change the children's diapers? Wake up with the kids in the middle of the night? Be there day in day out working 9-5 to make sure the bills are paid and there is food on the table? That to me is REAL LOVE. That's is my defintion of a the real deal. Stay by my side for 10 plus years and put up with my mood swings and that'll show a lot more courage than "catching a grenade for me".

So thank you to my dear husband for sticking with me and putting up with my mood swings for the last 10 yrs or so. And for continually making everyday small gestures like the cups of coffee that you bring to me while I take a shower (with a lid so it won't get wet) And getting up with the kids in the morning because you know I'm not a morning person. That means more to me than anything. I love you.

Pulling My Hair Out!

Dear Herbal Essences,

I'm very disappointed in your latest business practice. I've been buying your Hello Hydration shampoo and conditioner for about 3 yrs now and have RAVED about it! I've told my friends and extolled the virtues of your product. I've also stocked every bathroom in my house with your product. But no more. Now I have to find a new shampoo and conditioner :( When you switched to the new labels I got a little concerned. But I bought 2 bottles and found that the product hadn't changed. Well apparently you were only finishing off the last of the old stuff because when I cracked open this new bottles of both shampoo and conditioner today was I disappointed!

The once familiar smell of coconuts was replaced with that of crayons! Then when I looked at the bubbles that the shampoo made instead of being a rich lather of white lather... the bubbles had an eerie blue tint. Almost like you had to add an extra dye to the product that stayed after it lathered up. But I used it and it did it's job. I wasn't thrilled but I could live with it. No so much with the smell, because I have small boys and the shower is the only time I get away from the smell of crayons but I could cope if the product still worked.

Until I used the conditioner. I have very thin hair that knots and tangles very easily. I have tried a lot of products that have left me unhappy that either don't work, or that cost an arm and a leg. So I have happily bought your Hello Hydration conditioner for at least 3 yrs because I've not only enjoyed the scent, but it's actually WORKED! Now it doesn't do either! The coconut and orchid that is claimed to be on the front of the bottle is no where in the scent... and I spent about 10 minutes trying to get the tangles out of my hair.

So I guess my question to you is... was it really worth it to lose your loyal fan base? Do you have any plans to change your formula back? Because of your actions I will forced to find be find a new shampoo and conditioner.

Your Once Very Loyal Customer,
Kim Holbert

Talk To Me Doc!

Have you ever walked out of your Doc's office more confused than when you walked in? Happens to me all the time. I've been to hundreds of doctors, all shapes, genders, ages, race, and it always happens. They give you an exam, diagnose your condition using technical terms, write a prescription; then walk you to the front desk for a follow up appointment. HUH? What just happened? Do you remember the name of the condition? Sure it's easy if it's something you've heard of before... high blood pressure, overweight, high cholesterol, migraines, rosacea but what about if its a new one. One that's not got a snazzy new ad on TV? I had that happen to me the other day. It's as if they don't realize that I don't have a medical degree.

I don't have the time or interest to go to 8 yrs of medical school . I really appreciate that they have, don't get me wrong! But when I get diagnosed with something I want to know what it is! I go home (if I can remember the name) and look it up on the internet. I've been in the exam rooms, I know what doctors think of patients who look up info on the internet... I've been there when they mutter comments about "self diagnosing" and "think they can do a better job!" or even the sad head shake and the gentle reminders that you "shouldn't believe everything you read" But what other option do I have? When was the last time your doctor sat down and talked with you about your conditions and potential repercussions? Yeah you know if you don't lose weight you're at risk for a heart attack... But what happens if you skip one of your blood pressure meds? No one has ever explained that to me. I've learned by reading on the internet or by cause and effect. They know... but they don't have time to talk.

Now on the other side of the coin I KNOW they're over worked, underpaid and under appreciated. I'm not trying to start that discussion! I'm just saying that if you want me know what's the right thing to do... have your secretary/assistant send me a hyperlink with good quality info on my condition... or tell me. And if you don't, you can't complain when I look it up by myself. Give me a printout with the do's and don'ts of what I should be doing. WRITE down the NAME of the rash that I have on my arm so I can look it up for myself if it's just cosmetic or not... don't just write me 4 prescriptions and tell me I don't really need them. But here they are anyway, what do I do with those?

I've had some exceptional doctors. In this last year, I've gotten my migraines under control, which is something that hasn't happened in the last 10 yrs. So this is not a criticism of my primary care doctor or any one doctor. But please, help me to help myself!