All Things Girlie

I know, y'all, that no one is out there. You left me long ago when facebook entered the picture. I'm not mad, I left you too. But try as I might, I can't keep myself from posting pictures of our kids parties. So without further ado, here are pictures from Esther's birthday...3 months ago. It was awesome, and over-the-top-pink. And full of ah-DOR-able girls, covered in pink.

 

Children's Books about Early Americans

As we geared up for the Little House party, I looked for some books to give us some insight on life in those days. Since I am a experiential learner, I feel like it's helpful to engage in activities alongside book learning. Here are some of the books we found while researching pioneer life (Note: We did not read all of these!). Anyone else have recommendations of children's books about early American pioneers?

• Going West, by Jean Van Leeuwen
• The Floating House, by Scott Russell Sanders (set in 1815)
• Don't Know Much about Pioneers, by Kenneth C. Davis
• The Oregon Trail, by Mel Friedman
• Into the West, by James M. McPherson
• Lawmen & Outlaws, by Jess Bard
• Dandelions, by Eve Bunting
• The Pioneers Go West, by George Stewart
• My First Little House books (and of course the regular Little House on the Prairie series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder)
• Welcome to Kirsten's World (1854) American Girl Series
• Meet Kirsten, by Janet Shaw
• Westward Ho! The Story of the Pioneers, by Lucille Recht Penner
• Daily Life in a Plains Indian Village (set in 1868), Michael Bad Hand Terry  
• Welcome to Addy's World (1864), the American Girls Collection  

Little House Party Posts are here: Party Overview, Mega Roundup of our party activities, Making Butter, Prairie Bonnets, and Beginner Embroidery.

Little House Party Activities

Another successful party for a special little 5 year old. She had never even seen the "Little House on the Prairie," but I sold her on the activities, so that sealed the deal. Awesome. I kept worrying that she would change her mind at the last minute, but she stuck with me and had a blast. Here are some of the details of our party, and the activities we did.

• Coloring - This is always a great starting activity, or something to pass a few minutes.  The girls colored this and this picture.
• Read a "My First Little House" book. 
• Washing Clothes - I cannot overstate how big a hit this was. We probably could have done this the whole time. I had a huge stack of old stained onesies that the girls dunked and hung on the line. They were a perfectly fun little size for them to hang.
• Write with a Feather - The pioneers may or may not have done this, but we enjoyed it all the same. You could also write with a chalk and chalkboard, that would be fun too, I imagine.
• Make necklaces with "Indian Beads" - 5 is a perfect age for Pony Beads and plastic thread. The girls really enjoyed this. I imagine you could turn any number of beads into "Indian" beads, based on age of the kids.
• Guess the # of Clothespins - Wow - 5 year olds are not great estimators. I missed the boat on that one, but the clothespins looked cool in the jar, and it didn't require much effort.
• Making Butter - As I mentioned, if I had fewer moms around this would have been a mistake. But since mommas helped with the shaking, it was pretty interesting.
• Shop at Oleson's Mercantile - I sewed them each a goody bag with their initial on it. I also sewed each a tiny bag, which contained 10 pennies. They got to shop - old fashioned candies (from Cracker Barrel), a little notebook, and corn husk dolls. I think that's it. My least favorite activity. They just all gathered around me while I passed out stuff. Maybe if I organized differently, it would have gone better. This girl seemed to have fun doing it at her party. But it was cute seeing the old timey candy sticks, taffy & mints. Pictured below is me, giving them all a giant lecture about how sugar used to be special.
• Sewing - Picture of their sewing hoop here, and then the overview of my "how to" here. Big hit, I think.

We piggypacked her party onto a lot of other historical discussions and crafts we did this summer, so you might notice our Pretzel Cabin and Covered Wagon in the background. The best "Little House on the Prairie" invitations came from here.

Get more inspiration here: adorable Little House party, American Girl Kirsten Party,  another AG prairie party, this Prairie Girl's party, Homespun Heart Prairie party, a supercute vintage sewing party,

Making Butter

Did you know you can make your own butter by just shaking whipping cream? Add a little salt too if you like (don't forget to drain the buttermilk!) Sure, it's not a huge shocker, but sometimes we forget how food really works. Don't we? At our "Little House" party, the girls got to make and take home their own butter. I just took baby food jars, spray painted the lids, and let them make their own! I'll be honest, this was interesting, but they lost interest quickly. Moms ended up finishing the task. I'm glad we did it, but if I did not have moms hanging around, I would probably not attempt this again. The girls got to taste the butter on homemade bread and were all impressed! Here are 2 posts about butter making, if you would like to read. (Note: We did not use a marble in ours). Read I am Momma or Apartment Therapy.

Little House on the Prairie Party

You've seen the cute birthday girl, and the bonnets, here are some more pics from our Little House party. It was super cute, and if someone cares to hear about the activities, I'm happy to share! I think I have at least ONE reader! I have more fun pictures too when I can squeeze out a moment to post them. Cake by Sarah Wilson. Cookies by Michelle Martin. Making Butter Post here. (**Additional post about all of our activities here.)

Prairie Bonnets

My sister-in-law made bonnets & aprons for the Little House on the Prairie party. Aren't they so cute?? The fabrics: Happy Land Eloise Light Blue,  Amy Butler Love Tumble Roses Pink, Sugar Hill Birdie Pink, Happy Land Claudia Sky Light Blue, and Tea Cakes Tea Rose Vanilla. And here is the tutorial she used. Each bonnet used 1/4 yard of fabric. Much to my surprise, most of the girls kept their bonnets and aprons on the whole entire time! Here are the girls coloring their little house on the prairie pictures.

 

My sis-in-law is a great seamstress and can tackle your project too. Let me know if you want her number!!! Thanks, Renee!!!

Happy Birthday!

My little Katie Belle is turning 5! We had to celebrate a little early, so she is still my little 4 year old for a few more weeks. I'll post more pictures soon of these precious little pioneers! I forgot how cute her 3rd birthday party was (we do big celebrations every other year)! Noah's Ark Party, Part 1 and Part 2.

Learning Embroidery

Since I wanted to do some sewing at our Little House on the Prairie party, I've been looking for easy hand sewing projects for my 2 & 4 year old. I thought I'd report on our projects. The problem is mainly about that sharp needle. It needs to be sharp enough to go through the fabric, but safe enough for their developmental stage. I did a little research into what would be best for my little ones.

Here are my recommendations if you are looking to begin hand sewing with little ones:

1.  Age 2 & Up - Shelf Liners (yes, that's right!) and a Plastic Sewing Needle. Have them trace along a line you have drawn.
2. Age 4 & Up - Large Designed Fabric (this was perfect) and a Tapestry Needle (size 22 was perfect for us). This 6" Susan Bates embroidery hoop was perfect for our little cat fabric. Have them outline a picture or pattern on the fabric.
3. Age 7 & Up - We're not there yet, but I loved the sewing idea from this supercute vintage sewing party (see picture below, and check out the link, for sure). You need a sharp needle & a steady hand, however, to go through those stacked layers of felt.

Hope this info is helpful to others teaching their kids to sew! I did so much research into needle sizes that would work that I thought I would share it with others. Have fun sewing!

Bug Party - End of the year!

Last month, we hosted an "end of the year" party for Miss Phyllis' class. The party moms & I decided to have a bug theme. Here are pictures!

One party mom crocheted caterpillars for the kids, my sister-in-law made the cutest bumblebee cookies, and another mom made these adorable ladybug and bumblebee bean bags!

One party mom made the adorable cupcakes, and another made the caterpillar grapes! We had an awesome time!! We sure will miss Phyllis though.

Steel Cut Oats for Jenny

Our family loves steel cut oats. Have you ever tried them? If not, you don't know what you are missing. And typically, people make these way harder than needed. Really, they are EASY. If you browse the web, you will find a variety of recipes, and I've tried lots of them. But there is nothing simpler than this one below. Ready for something complicated?

1 Cup Steel Cut Oats
3 Cups Water

Directions: Before bedtime, bring water to a boil, along with oats. When it boils, turn water off & put top on the saucepan. In the morning, they will be done.

That's IT! Works every time for me! I've tried other water-to-oat ratios, and they didn't work for me. Also, if you double it, still use the 1-to-3 ratio. (2 cups oats/6 cups water). I eat them with butter & brown sugar, but you could add eggs, salt, jelly, fruit, nuts...and a variety of other add-ins.

(Jenny, this post is all for you!!! I barely even know how to blog anymore!!!) Here are a few other variations you might like to try. But seriously. My recipe is simpler than all of them.
 The Kitchen's Overnight Steel Cut Oats (photo from here. but these look like mine)
Sugar Free Cocoa Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Pumpkin Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Treasure Hunt Party

I like home birthday parties. I know they are not the norm these days, but I just enjoy having my kids friends over, and getting creative with some party themes. But first grade boys. Plus a January birthday. Shew, that's tough! Boys need to be outdoors! Thankfully, we had unusually warm weather that day, so the boys enjoyed some playtime outdoors. Also, we had a treasure hunt! We had 10 clues which took the boys throughout the house on a hunt to find the treasure. It went even better than I could have imagined. The boys darted through the house to find their clues, which I had "aged" with coffee.

After the hunt, the kids had some nerf guns and they took aim at the bad pirates. Another big hit. And finally, we topped the afternoon off with everyone's favorite - a pinata! A successful party, and a sweet birthday boy to celebrate. Happy Birthday, Ethan!

A Great Yard for Sledding!

It wasn't much snow, but it was enough to make some great memories in our new house!

October 2012

This picture from a few months ago. Pretty awesome kids, right?

Cuties

Life Lately

Making cookies! This Nestle Tollhouse cookie recipe is my favorite. What's your favorite cookie recipe?

Oops! Left some cookie dough behind!

Baths

These are days you'll remember.

Teddy Bear Picnic - 2 Years Old!

Jewell turned 2! Can you believe it? We've crammed a lot into her 2nd year of life. A new sister, a new house, living with grandparents.

Here's a look back at her 1st birthday. A little celebration with just a tiny cake. I throw a party for my kids every other year. I sure do love kids parties. So this year it was teddy bear picnic.

How sweet are these girls with their teddy bears?

And their little teddy bear ears?

Pair those with some good food, good crafts and good friends, and we had a great time!!!