Hurricane Irene

We are preparing for Hurricane Irene to hit New England. Yesterday I picked a few flowers from the yard. I knew the gladiola wouldn't last through the wind and rain and then picked a sampling to remind us of the beauty of nature during the worst of the storm. There are forget-me-nots, lavender, black-eyed susans, hydrangea and the gladiola.

I've also been sewing away. Here is a quick preview of the skirt I made for Hazel the other night. I'm working on a cute outfit right now.

Stay safe and dry!

Fairy Garden with the Three Little Pigs

Three Little Pigs and Their Houses

Hazel decided she wanted the Three Little Pigs and their houses to live in her fairy garden, so we got creative. Using little wooden bird houses we made the Three Pigs' houses. Our plan is to change the decorations for the seasons. So soon the flowers will change to leaves and then snow, etc.

Fairy Bed and Hazel's Must-have wagon

We glued stones and made the stream and sand paths around them. We figured it was appropriate to have characters from a fairy tale in a fairy garden.

Table is set for tea

Stay tune for the autumn changes!

Hey, Diddle, Diddle...And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon

Hey, diddle diddle

The cat and the fiddle

The cow jumped over the moon

The little dog laughed to see such sport

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Hazel has fallen in love with Hey, Diddle, Diddle and many versions of the story in different books we have read. In particular she loves the dish and the spoon. In one of the stories (more about the cow than anything) she likes to point out where the dish and spoon are in every picture. So I got to thinking about how easy it would be to make a dish and spoon with her.

Mine

Supplies needed are a paper plate (I used a small one), a plastic spoon, three pipe cleaners, small googly eyes (optional) and larger ones (also optional), glue and/or tape, and crayons, markers, paints, stickers, etc. to decorate.

The Spoon:
Cut one pipe cleaner into two pieces: 4 inches and 8 inches roughly. Use the 4-inch piece to be the arms on the spoon by wrapping it around the spoon a few times. Then use the 8-inch one to be the legs. Wrap it around the bottom of the handle and bend it to look like legs and feet. Glue the small googly eyes on the top of the spoon (or draw eyes) and draw a mouth. Decorate as child wishes.

Hazel's creation

The Dish:
Glue one pipe cleaner across the back of the plate to be the arms. Bend the last pipe cleaner in half and twist the top to be legs and then glue to the bottom of the back of the plate. You may want to tape both of these to secure until the glue dries. On front glue on googly eyes (or draw them) and draw a mouth. Then decorate the plates. I used a cow sticker and drew on a moon for the cow jumping over the moon. Unfortunately I didn't plan so I didn't have dog and cat stickers.

Finally I attached the hands of the dish and spoon since they are running away together.

Books to use besides any Mother Goose book:

• And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens
  
• Moonstruck: The True Story of The Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon by Gennifer Choldenko
• Hey Diddle Diddle by Kin Eagle (I picked this one up at a used bookstore for only $1.29)
• The Adventures of The Dish and The Spoon by Mini Grey

Please note I provide the link to Amazon only so you can see the book and whether it is available new. In no way am I supporting that you buy it there. Also, I listed these in the order of my favorites among them.

Now, we are off to the library for Move and Groove. Enjoy your day and stay safe this weekend especially those of us on the East Coast.

Nightgown versus Pj's

On Monday, I came home to discover water all over our bathroom floor. It ends up to be a problem with our central air conditioner. We haven't been running it too much since the repairman cannot come until next week and luckily it hasn't been too hot or humid, though that may change today. Hazel always seems hot and sweats. Unfortunately I think she gets some of this from me. I notice after sleep that she is covered in sweat. I figured without our full air conditioner it might be cooler for her to have a nightgown.

I looked for a very simple pattern since I didn't have much time to work on it before I left for my tutoring job and since she did not have a nap I knew she would be asleep when I came home. I chose the pattern from Making Children's Clothes by Emma Hardy. I chose it for its ease. I used the fabric I had left from a dress I made for her earlier this summer. She loves wearing monkeys ever since we went to the bouncehouse place called Monkey Joe's. This nightgown took me at most 90 minutes including tracing the pattern. I did not add the bow to the front yet, more due to time to find which ribbon to use, etc., but she is happy with it and did not wake up this morning sweaty even though we did not have the air conditioner on as high as we usually do.

Well we are off to make the stick house for Hazel's Three Little Pigs in her fairy garden. Look for pictures tomorrow. Have a great day!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

So after being away, I realized my dear husband did not eat any of the bananas I left him. If he has cereal he wants a banana, but I never know when he will want cereal. Anyone else have a similar problem? So we had four very ripe bananas. Instead of making muffins or bread, I thought I would look for a cookie recipe. Well I did a google search and found several that looked good. I took them and combined, added and adapted to my recipe. Here are links to where I started: Oatmeal Banana Cookies, Old Fashion Banana Cookies, Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies. And here is my recipe:
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs beaten
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (Mashing is a good job for a little one)
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1 cup chocolate chips (I used mini since it was what I had) (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)

1. In electric mixer beat butter, shortening and sugars.
2. Add eggs and mix well. Then add banana and mix well.
3. Combine flours, baking soda, spices, rolled oats and flax seed meal in a separate bowl. Then add to mixer and mix well.
4. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts and/or raisins.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375.6. Drop by the teaspoonful and place an inch apart on cookie sheets covered in parchment paper (for easy clean up). Bake 12-15 minutes watching carefully. Reduce heat if browning too quickly.

I find refrigerating helps to form balls and Hazel can form balls, but cannot drop by the teaspoon, but this dough was too mushy (I used more than a cup of banana since I had so many). The cookies are delicious though!If I make them again, I think I would leave out the chocolate chips. They takeover the taste.

Oh, and hopefully you will not have to clean up the mess I had. Poor Hazel fell off her stool taking with her most of the eggs. Luckily I had already cracked two and was able to save one, but egg is not fun to clean up off the floor.

Enjoy your day!