Exciting day here...small craft to share

Well we went back to school today. We also made a step forward in potting training again (finally!!). She was almost completely trained this summer and then decided she didn't want to be a big girl and wanted to wear diapers. I appeased her thinking it would last a week at most. Four months later, we finally have taken a step forward. She used the toilet by force and had success and wanted her big girl panties back on. We'll see how it goes. We made a huge deal out of it, so hopefully it will stick this time.

Play Kitchen

So about a year and a half ago, Hazel and I were taking a walk when it happened to be trash day in our neighborhood. Three houses down out with the trash was a play kitchen. It was dirty and didn't have any of the drawers, etc., but otherwise was in good shape. And it was large. I called my girlfriend to see if she could come watch Hazel so I could get it into my car and then while waiting for my friend I happened to mention it to the general contractors who were doing our addition at the time. They of course said they would take a coffee break and go get it for me. Then the next day, one of them brought me a cleaner that works great on plastic and helped me clean it up. So here is the kitchen we got for free if it was new:

Source: http://www.kaplantoys.com/

I went to the Dollar Tree and Target and bought various baskets, etc. to fill in the holes and bought the accessories: pots, pans, dishes, food, etc. We have been slowly replacing the plastic food with nice wooden food and have even made some ourselves. Hazel loves playing in her kitchen.

This Christmas Season we seemed to get every toy catalog possible. I would give them to Hazel (as well as any other catalog that came that we didn't want) and she would pretend they were magazines. Well she fell in love with a pink and white wooden kitchen with curtains. I believe it was this one.

Source: http://www.cptoy.com/

Which of course is almost $400. Needless to say she isn't getting her dream kitchen. However she began asking me to make curtains for her kitchen. Well I went to Joann's and picked out some pink and white fabric and then bought more recently when it was on sale--enough to make a table cloth, napkins, curtains for all the openings that shouldn't be there and probably I will make some potholders and an apron to match and possibly some seat covers and cushions. While I was at it, I also printed out new stickers for her kitchen and personalized it. My dear babysitter put them up for me today while Hazel was napping and I was tutoring. So her almost finished kitchen now looks like this:

Yes, these curtains open so you can still see the lovely view they printed on the window!

I added a Command hook for potholders, but since her glove potholder was the one I found in her mess and it didn't have a loop, I hung her pink frying pans instead. Well, actually I hung one of them. When I got home she asked for another hook for the other one. I haven't put it up yet.

Needless to say she is pretty excited over the makeover of her kitchen. It is not her dream kitchen, but it certainly cost less than $400. Oh, and I mentioned to the neighbors who were getting rid of the kitchen that we had taken it (we don't really know them), and they were very happy someone took it since they couldn't find anyone who would. They also gave us their daughter's tricycle when they bought her a bicycle, so Hazel now gets her hand-me-down toys and we are not complaining.

Now if I can just get her to clean her kitchen up. Every time I organize it for her it stays that way until the next day (I do it after she is in bed), but it certainly does not last long. Oh, well she has fun with it! (As you can see we have discovered Starbucks kid size hot chocolate recently, so we washed  the cups so she could pretend to go. I also gave her my empty gift card so she could pay when she goes. I found a cute tutorial to make their coffee cups from felt and will try to adapt it to her hot chocolate and my chai latte.)

She also found a new place for her Caillou figures (and her treehouse family and many other things) to live. While cleaning off the top of the kitchen I took an old broken toy down. Unfortunately I haven't gotten around to fixing it, but she didn't care. My father and I made it this summer for her, but one of the supports gave way. Oh, well, now she has a home for her new toys. I moved the plastic furniture my mother-in-law gave her into it as well.

Quick Craft

Today we headed to my doctor's for routine blood work and to see someone about my feeling yucky since Saturday afternoon. Then we came home and did some crafts. Well, started some crafts. We painted some objects for crafts for tomorrow and we did one complete craft.

I was trying to figure out what crafts to do for January. Christmas is over, Valentine's Day seems so far away, what is a crafty mom to do...then it hit me...snow. Since we haven't really had snow except that storm in October, I'm not sick of it yet and Hazel keeps wanting to make a snowman, snow fort, etc. So today we made a snow picture. I got the idea from Pinterest with the original idea coming from Playing House. There are some great snow crafts there. Luckily Hazel didn't figure out she could eat the marshmallows so we used them on the craft. She did figure out she could mush them though as you can see in the lower left corner.  Oh, well glitter glue and marshmallows, what more could she want.

Hope you are having a great day!

Quick post...after birthday celebration

Ok, I may have over done it for Hazel's birthday party because I haven't been feeling so good the past couple of days. So this will be a quick post. A reminder that Sharing Saturday is open please come share all your fun activities you have been doing with or for your kids and check out everyone else's!

I thought I would share a few of our favorite gifts that Hazel received.

My favorite: A Waldorf Doll that was my grandmother, Hazel's. My parents bought this for her after my mother made my nephew one and she decided she really wanted one. They saved it for Hazel and gave it to her for her birthday.

From my sister and her husband, The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pickney. A great book with no words (a few sounds, but that is it) and gorgeous pictures. They also gave her a savings bond, but I'm more excited about the book.

From Hazel's Australian penpal, Master D and his mom, Kelly over at Happy Whimsical Hearts, a beautiful gnome in a sleeping bag. Ok, this was actually her Christmas gift from them, but it is so wonderful, I had to share it. They sent her a great book for her birthday, Around the Year by Elsa Beskow.

From us, Melissa and Doug's cupcake set. I was so upset when Steve's mother bought this for Hazel to use at her house a few months ago since I had bought it on sale and put it away knowing she would love it. But she loved it so much she kept asking for one at our house as well. So now she has one. Highly recommend it for anyone whose child loves to pretend to cook.

From her godparents, a toy mixer that spins. It came with measuring spoons and cookie cutters as well. She loves it!

You can also see pieces of her new tea set from Steve's mother. We sent it over to her house since we already have two here plus the one I needle felted for her.

From a neighbor and friend of Steve's mother, a furry hippo backpack with a nap blanket rolled in it. Needless to say she was wearing all day.

Another one of Hazel's favorites: Caillou figurines. She loves Caillou and Rosie. In fact she named her favorite duck Caillou and its twin (though she can tell them apart) Rosie. This was from good friends. Although they are plastic they are the only Caillou things I have ever seen besides the books and dvd's. She put them in her tree house.

Also from Steve's mother, a doll carrier. Right now it has Elmo, Ducky/Caillou, and a naked baby in it. Something for her to carry her babies around is always good.

We also received many good books and some clothes. And of course some donations for the charity which is what we requested.

Our favorite wrapping was this wonderful gift bag/backpack.

Isn't it adorable?

The final thing to share, Hazel's birthday countdown wheel. She loved this. We started on the first (it works nicely having the last day be your birthday) with the number 31 and by your birthday you get: "Happy Birthday".

Well those seem to be the favorites right now! Hope you are having a great day!

Happy New Year!! And now onto the birthday party pictures

Happy New Year to you and your family!! I hope 2012 is your best year yet in every way!

I promised to share pictures from Hazel's third birthday party, so this is the post. You may remember I shared the invitation, the favors and some decorations, decorations done with My Memories, and birthday hats and more decorations previously. So I won't repeat those at least not too much.