Somewhere in the Middle

Carving Pumpkins + English Conversation

This year I've decided to take on more responsibility with the English conversation groups. It's a group I'm really passionate about so I'm enjoying my new role. With so many international women in our community wanting to practice & improve their English, we have a huge demand for native speakers. So my first goal is to recruit additional native English speakers. But it's tough finding people who are willing to set aside time to help.

Being in a community with so many international women is such an incredible opportunity and if you can make friends with these ladies it makes the time here in Belgium so much more enriching. People just don't know what they're missing. Of course, there is a comfort level when you surround yourself with women from your own country but really? Once I move back to the US I'll have lots of opportunities to make American friends but for now I'm focusing on my international Grrrls! 

After talking with an acquaintance from another conversation group, I decided to spice things up with my group. Since I love crafts I thought it would be fun to incorporate some holiday activities.

And with Halloween just around the corner I decided to have a pumpkin carving get together with my group. It was a lot of fun.

For most of these women, it was the first time they've ever carved a pumpkin. I'm happy to say that they really enjoyed the activity.

We talked about Halloween and how it's a big tradition for many Americans to carve pumpkins especially if they have children. And I explained as children when you're trick-o-treating, a light pumpkin is a sure sign that that house is giving out candy!

Before we started I showed them lots of online images of carved pumpkins. But my group is a creative bunch and they came up with some interesting ideas.

Everyone went home with a really cool pumpkin they can use this Halloween.

Happy Valentines.

Today, I surprised C with a Valentine project... window art. Fun stuff! It's been such a long time since C & I sat down to create. I've miss doing projects with him. Things are just super busy around here. Especially now that we received our long-term shipment. I've been organizing and recycling things like nobody's business but I still feel there's no end in sight.

After dinner, C & I sat down and worked on these little hearts I made earlier in the day. C really enjoyed decorating his little hearts.

I love this heart he created. Love how colorful it is and the little rainbow in the center is adorable.

Crafting is our special time together. We talk and really enjoy each other's company. I really need to set more time aside so we have time for fun projects. It's easy to lose sight of how important quality time is when you're constantly rushing from one place to another, getting dinner/lunches prepared, helping with homework, on the phone, and on and on...

Tonight, letting go of our usual bed time was a great idea. C loved staying up pass his bed time to finish his hearts. ;)

So what did we do?

Written a week ago...

Sleeping in, making brunch, and lounging around in our pj's is officially over. ;( Yesterday, C went back to school. It's only been one day and I already miss him. He really is a wonderful kid and I'm not saying this just because he's my son. ;) I truly enjoy spending time with him. How could I not want to spend time with someone who is funny, creative, imaginative and just about the smartest cookie I know. I'm so very thankful for C. He adds so much joy to our lives.

This was our first spring break in the past four years that didn't involve traveling. Staying in Belgium was actually nice. We didn't have a set schedule so we had the freedom to enjoy the days as we liked. And every day was absolutely beautiful. Sunshine EVERYDAY!!

Over the two week break we had a couple of playdates which were fun. Besides taking walks & bike-riding through our neighborhood, C & I did a few science experiments like making our own home-made gum.

Initially, I thought making gum would be a very cool project but it slowly turned into a hot sticky mess. lol! Let's just say all the tools we used to make our gum had to be throw away.

Not only was the project messy but I was a bit worried about how hot the melted pellets became. At one point the plastic container got so hot I was sure the pellets would create a hole in the bottom of the pan.

And when I mixed the paste with a plastic spoon it began to melt into something that no longer resembled a spoon. Hot stuff I tell you! That's when I decided to use one of C's baby metal spoons and let's just say that spoon is no longer with us nor is the turquoise cutting sheet. The gum paste would NOT come off. It was super sticky.

C thought it was cool though. He did a great job kneading the gum into a ball. He made cherry flavored gum while I made a cinnamon flavored gum.

The cherry tasted much better than the cinnamon. But because I was worried about the plastic melting in the mixture we had a quick taste of both flavors and threw the gum away. ;(

We also had fun making our very own geyser with the "Amazing Geyser Tube Card".

The first attempt wasn't very successful.

The top wasn't secured properly so the Geyser was tres petite.

But on the second attempt the soda shot out of the bottle. It was very cool to see.

Of course no spring break would be complete without decorating Easter eggs. C & I really enjoy this fun activity.

While taking out my Easter decorations, I found these little flat eggs I'd painted years ago but just never knew what to do with them. But after reading this blog post about mandalas I was inspired to draw some on my little eggs.

This year C also decorated some little wooden eggs I purchased on Etsy.

Here the little eggs are sitting on a coach watching TV. There were four different pictures... I mean channels for the little eggs to watch. Don't you love the watercolored mandala rug. And just in case you want to eat a snack the dining table is right next to the sofa.

The little eggs are watching an Easter show right now.

And this is me cooking in the kitchen. What am I cooking?

Maybe these yummy chocolate chip cookies.

Paper Cut Creations

Look who flew back home? C & I made this paper mache owl representing the Goddess Athena for his Greek history project. This was my first attempt at working with paper mache. The process took several days but the results were completely worth it. We used white crepe paper for the feathers and acorns for the eyes and nose.

C's really taken an interest in paper crafts. Just the other day he told me, "I can make anything out of paper." And my the looks of things I think he may be right.

Take a peak at these fun paper creations C created on his own.

High Heel Shoes

C made these while we were visiting my sister's family in California. These shoes were  inspired by a pair of neutral colored Charles David heels I brought with me. C even made a box with a label that says "Clyley paper high heel shoes" to store the paper heels. It was really cute too because C actually placed the box outside and rang the doorbell like we were receiving a package from the mailman. When we opened the door... Viola, a new pair of heels! We were all really surprised.

Birthday Cake

This beautiful three tier birthday cake was presented to me the morning of my birthday. I love how he created the tiers & the decorative tape he used.

Daddy's Birthday Cat

C came home from school and made this little cat to give to S for his birthday. S absolutely love it.

Puffy Painting

Over the weekend, Little C & I got working on a painting project I read about on Ohdeedoh. I love how simple the recipe was to make.

Here's the recipe via "One Crafty Mumma"

• 1 Tbls self-raising flour

• Few drops of food coloring

• 1 Tbls Salt

• Paintbrushes or Q-tips

• Pieces of heavy weight paper or recycled cardboard

Mix the first 3 ingrediants with some water to make a smooth paste. And start painting.

Once you've painted your image, put it in the microwave for a few seconds.

We put the first painting in the microwave for about 30 seconds but it was a bit too long.  When you see your microwave filling up with smoke you can be sure you've overcooked your puffy paint! C's painting was more toasty than puffy. We learned our lesson & cooked the second painting for about 20 seconds which worked out much better.

And voila!

Valentine Kisses

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines day filled with an extra dose of love!

With all the decluttering I've been doing these past few weeks, I had little time to decorate for Valentines except for these cute little peg dolls I painted last year. 

S & I have just finished watching the 1st season of "Hoarders" and I think the show has scared us straight! lol! We're not hoarders by any means but this show will definitely make you want to get organized. So right now I'm all about putting things AWAY not take new things out! lol!

Now just because I didn't decorate doesn't mean we didn't celebrate the day. In fact, I told Little C that we should celebrate the whole month of February with Valentine projects.

Little C made these adorable little bags that we filled with love notes and treats.

C came up with the idea of attaching a little brown piece of paper that said "Presents" to the paper clip and then he'd sneak up behind you and attach the clothes pin to your clothing.

Last night I cooked a nice meal for my two special boys... grilled chicken with penne topped with a delicious tomato sauce.

This year S & I decided not to exchange gifts. After the huge organizing + purging we just did neither one of us really wanted anything. Normally I give Little C a toy or book but this year I decided to give him some Valentine coupons.

I downloaded the coupons from this great blog. Lots of other cool templates to encourage children to write. I was a bit worried that he'd be disappointed since the night before Valentines he told me that he couldn't sleep because he was so excited to get a new Playmobil. But I just couldn't do it. He already has about 100 playmobils. I just can't bare to see another itty, bitty flower or wig careless thrown on the floor. Plus I want to teach Little C that holidays aren't always about gifts. We don't have to show our love by buying things. I think experiences are so much more memorable. So before S came home from work, I gave C four coupons and explained the whole coupon concept and asked him to come up with his own gift for me & S.

While we ate dinner we opened our coupon envelopes. C's initially expression was priceless. I knew right away that he loved his coupons or as Little C kept calling them "croutons". lol! Here are the coupons I wrote for him:

Coupons Good For:

~ Skipping a bath for one night (C's in this phase right now where he doesn't want to take baths - so I knew he'd like this one.)

~ One breakfast in bed

~ A dinner and dessert of your own choice

~ One slumber party in Mommy & Daddy's bed

~ Movie night any day of the week

~ Playing a game of  your own choice with Mommy & Daddy

~ A special treat made by Mommy or Daddy

We also told Little C that we had a really big surprise for him this Valentines.... a trip to Germany to see Little J, his best friend. He was absolutely thrilled and is already counting down the days until he can see her.

These are the croutons coupons Little C gave to us. I especially loved the drawings C created on our envelopes. Too cute.

Daddy coupons - Good For:

~ A foot musash (massage)

~ A big dinner

And my coupons - Good For:

~ A picture

~ 2$

Since Little C loves tart flavors I made this yummy Lemon Icebox Pie with lots of home-made whipped cream.

C is crazy and I mean crazy about whipped cream. I think he'd add whipped cream to everything if he could. lol!

And because I just couldn't resist... I got S a little something too - gourmet marshmallows from Whimsy & Spice - Cardamom, Maple, and Caramel flavor.

S loved them and best of all it's a consumable gift. lol!

Just add glitter and soak.

Honestly, I just don't know where the time goes! Easter has really snuck up on us this year. My Mom sent C a package with an egg decorating kit and all sorts of other Easter goodies. Decorating Easter eggs is one of my favorite holiday projects especially with Lil' C. But finding the time was a challenge this year.

We had a sleep over last weekend and with our normal schedule we just kept postponing the project. But yesterday after school, I got everything ready and we started decorating. Even C's little puffle helped with the decorating. lol!

This year we decided to dye white & brown eggs. The colors we produced were beautiful.

Using the same color dye, the white eggs resulted in bright, vibrant colors where as the brown eggs produced deeper jewel tone colors. Both colors were gorgeous.

Love that little green egg. C decorated it to look like a fairy for a school contest. Too cute.

C really enjoyed double and triple dipping to create interesting colors. Once he was satisfied with the color he added glitter, gold flecks and rub-ons.

Our Family Heart Maps

The Heart Map C created last year was such a fun project that I want to make it a yearly project. I think it'll be a great way to see how C's interest change not to mention his handwriting, spelling, and drawing skills.

This year though I thought it would be nice if S & I made heart maps too. S isn't necessarily your "Arts & Crafts" type of guy... electronic & science games are more his style. So asking him to create a map of the things he loves and paint a heart using watercolors wasn't really his idea of a fun project. But he was a good sport and created a map - one without words mind you but a very nice one indeed! ;) Here they are in more detail...

 

I'm excited to frame our maps! I think they're going to look great in our house.

Salt Dough Ornaments

Last year, C & I made these Cinnamon ornaments for the holidays. But this year I decided to mix it up a bit and we made salt dough ornaments. The recipe seem easy enough... salt, water, and flour.

A little mixing and kneading...

A bit of rolling...

Using cookie cutters...

We used a variety of stamps to cut and imprint the dough.

We let the ornaments dry overnight but they were still moist in the morning so I baked them for about 20 mins. Next time, I'll definitely go the baking route. 

This is where the really fun part comes in...

C wasn't the only one who decorated ornaments. I made a few too. I think I'll use these for name tags next year. The recipe was so easy I think we may try to make some more ornaments for Valentines or Easter.

Gingerbread Houses :: Which is your favorite?

Of all the craft activities I've done for Christmas, making Gingerbread houses is my favorite. You can get as creative as you want. And when you bake your own houses the possibilities are endless. All of the houses turned out beautiful. Don't they look lovely all together? Like a little Candy village.

Putting the houses together was a lot easier this year. Instead of using frosting, I used my hot glue gun - a tip from my girlfriend that saved me a lot of time. Of course, if you plan to eat your houses you'll need to use frosting. Since we don't eat ours the hot glue worked like a charm. It was super easy and you can begin decorating your houses right away.

Even though I used hot glue to assemble the houses I still went through a lot of frosting! I wonder why??? lol!

We get a bit competitive when it comes to decorating our gingerbread so it can take several hours. Knowing this we waited until after Christmas. As you can see it can also be a bit messy. There was frosting and candy everywhere.

We had a lot of fun bringing our personalities into the houses. Sometimes we'd see something really cool another person was doing and we'd take the idea and apply it to our houses of course with our own little touch. C did a great job with his house but he wasn't as interested as last year... I suppose all those cool toys Santa brought were a bit more fun.

So here are our houses with some close up views of the exterior.

House #1 ~ Peppermint Love Cottage

House #2 ~ Marshmallow Coco Haus

House #3 ~ Winter Flower Cottage

House #4 ~ Starry Farmhouse

So tell me which is your favorite?? Can you guess which one S, R, C, and I made?