Crayon-fest for Muffin Tin Monday!

We made crayons!

I've always wanted to do these, and Monday was the perfect day to give it a go.

The kiddo was fascinated, although honestly frustrated with peeling the crayons (I won't talk about the painful smidges underneath my thumbnails - ow!) - which is hilarious to me as she used to do that all the time when she was little.

And eat them, too.

But that's a whole nother ball o' wax. *Did you like that? A little crayon humor? No? Me, neither.

We started off with the batch of broken crayons I've been collecting for a while. It's a much smaller batch than I thought we had. And because of that I decided to just do a 6-pack of crayons. Smaller, less, simpler and less mess!



After peeling and dropping into the muffin tin, we popped them into the oven at 250* and set the timer for about 12 minutes.

I checked them a few times and we definitely had a few stragglers that wouldn't melt. I used a plastic spoon to disperse (all clinical here - right?) the extra crayons throughout and was honestly thinking we'd be disappointed with the colors. I don't have a shot of them in their liquid-state, but they looked all greenish-blueish and I was a little worried.

After taking them out of the oven (a few extra minutes of checking and swirling) I let them cool for a bit in the microwave. No special reason they're in the micro, they're just up there to be away from tiny hands before they're ready.

Once they seemed to start to solidify, I moved them to the freezer, set the timer for 15 minutes (probably not necessary but I wanted to give her a timeframe) and we took them out. Once we flipped them over they looked so pretty!

She loved them, was all excited that we created them, and was ready to draw!

So if you're looking for an easy and super simple craft idea for your kiddos, this is definitely the one for you. Have fun. Your kids definitely will!

I'm linking up this week with Muffin Tin Monday. It's been a while since I have and I know this isn't a meal, but it's still Muffin Tin Fun and kind of goes with the Spring theme for the week. For more info on Michelle and her cool weekly meme, click the button below and enjoy!

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Masterpiece in the Making

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The Rest of the Year ...

And the things I want to do ...

Call it a fall/winter bucket list. Or my 'rounding off 2011 Bucket List. Or something like that.

* Dye my hair. Maybe. I keep thinking I will. For the first time. Ever. But we'll see.

* Get my learner's permit. What? Shut up. You didn't know?

* Get a massage. For me. Soon. Or acupuncture. That would work, too.

* Get the kiddo a big girl bike. Because looking at her today on her tiny trike-type-bike was just kind of sad. She's way too big for it. Santa may bring it. Or Chanukah Harry. Whatever works. We just need to get her one. And soon.

* And speaking of ... Go see Santa. Somewhere. Anywhere. My Jewish Southern Princess isn't afraid of the big man anymore. Or so we think!

* Get to an ENT. Yep. For me. I need to. I have to. I'm too congested to explain further at this time.

* Get to IKEA. I'm in unorganized hell over here. I need to get there before 2012 hits.

* Read at least 20 more books.

* Get some good bras. TMI? Sorry. I had to say it.

* Build a snowman (assuming it snows in December).

* Make at least 4 things off of Pinterest (2 recipes and 2 crafts).
Then there are the few things I am going to add because I know [hope!] we're going to be doing them and I am totally the kind of person who likes crossing things off my lists.

* Go to Disney. Yep. Family trip. Planned. ILs and all. Looking forward to it and a little nervous at the same time. Yikes.

* Disney on Ice. Don't detect a theme. It's all good. It's just two things. I promise.

* Get our inflatable turkey up for T-Day this year.

This is a pretty mellow post, (fine, it's lame - I get it) but I'm out of ideas. I should have created a must do list for my daughter, but kind of got wrapped up in my inability to breathe and horrible shoulder pain all at once. So I stuck with me and my needs. With a few things thrown in for her. I'm still a somewhat good mom, right? Cause if Mama ain't happy - - ain't nobody happy. Isn't that how the saying goes?

And if not, well, I tried. Sorry, kiddo. Mama needs to go to bed now.

(Hmmn, I could totally cross that off my list after I add it ... trying to get to bed before midnight at least twice a week ...)

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Friends You Love: Guest Posts Everywhere!

Hey, everybody - - I'm not here today. I'm actually posting over at Jackie's place so I hope you'll go by and say hi to her and check out the yummy fall recipe I've shared for her Menu Monday post this week.

But first, stick around and check out this cool craft my friend Jamie has in store for you all today. Seriously. Don't think you're in the wrong 'hood. You're not. I promise!

And when you get a chance follow up with Friends You Love so you can see what we have in store for y'all, as well.

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Hello to all the Good Girl readers out there! My name is Jamie and I am the sometimes inspired, occasionally creative, and almost never still voice over at Mama.Mommy.Mom. I live my life totally stressed out and in-over-her-head, as a wife, mom and professional nothing who cooks, takes pictures and blabs about the adventures of raising my kids.

My two cuties are Cullen, my 2 year old boy, and Addison, my almost 5 year old girl. Addison is very into crafts and art, so she always has some grand project on her mind. She's been proficient at using my iPhone for a while, but recently developed an affinity for YouTube. She discovered that she can find projects there, and that's where the idea for today's project came from.

Trick or Treat Halloween Soaps




These soaps are so easy to make, it's a bit scary! There are parts that need adult assistance, but for the most part, this is a very kid friendly craft too!

The Supplies (all available at your local craft store):
Clear Glycerin Soap
Silicone Cupcake Pan
Skin Safe Soap Color
Small surprises to go inside the soap

We totally lucked out and found a silicone cupcake pan that had a pumpkin shape, but any shape you want to use will work fine.



First things first, pop out the soap block onto a cutting board. The soap is already pre-scored into cubes. Using a knife, cut the soap into individual cubes along the score lines. The soap is dense, but the knife cuts in fairly easy.



For each soap, you'll using the equivalent of 3 cubes of the glycerin. Because of the shape of our pan, we decided to chop the blocks down a bit smaller so they'd pile up a little better, but each cup still only contained the 3 cubes allotted per soap. The pan goes straight into the microwave to melt the soap. There's no messing pouring with this project! Depending on your microwave, it'll take between 1 and 1-1/2 minutes for the cubes to melt down completely. We only did three at a time, just so getting it in and out of the microwave wouldn't be so tricky. Once melted, carefully remove the pan from the microwave and move it to the counter.


This is the point where you'll want to color your soap. There are many, many soap colors available but we chose to buy a pack of primary colors and do a little mixing. It made for a great opportunity to practice color concepts. Once you drop in your coloring, you'll want to give each soap a careful stir. Since this is soap, it'll wash right off! You can use a spoon to stir or do like we did and grab a disposable drinking straw.



Once you've mixed in the color, it's time to drop in you surprises. We chose a bag of assorted Halloween rings. Just drop one into each soap and give it a little push into the melted soap with the spoon/straw. It'll float back up a little, and that's fine. Once the surprises are inside, simply leave the pan sitting on the counter for the soaps to cool. Once the pan is completely cool to the touch, you can flip it over and pop your soaps right out.



The pan can be washed when you finish with the soaps and used over and over again for anything from crafts to cooking.You could even use the pan to make shaped ice cubes with water and food coloring!

I hope you enjoyed this craft and will stop by and visit me at Mama.Mommy.Mom.

Thanks for sharing such a fun craft with us, Jamie. I'm so glad to have you come spend some time in my neck of the woods! If anyone has any questions about the craft feel free to leave them in the comments and I'll drag Jamie back here to help answer them.

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Sometimes I can't breathe

Any other moms or dads out there have this overwhelming frustration when your child is playing with something and makes a mess and it seems like it's taking over the entire house and/or your entire mind and focus? Like I have my 4-yo playing with "sparkles" - which, thank the good world that it wasn't glitter - was just some sparkly pieces that I gave her to glue to paper. And all of a sudden, I'm sitting here at the computer and I hear a splattering of the sparkles hit the floor.

Thing is, it could be easy enough to clean up, but I'm by no means Suzie homemaker (apologies to any Suzies out there who aren't and don't understand how the name got assigned to them and they have to bear that burden) ... so what SHOULD be easy enough to clean up isn't quite as simple as I had hoped. Sigh.
See, cats and dogs (just one, we're not that crazy yet) shed a lot. A lot. And I sweep up as often as I can, as often as I'm able to, as often as I have a minute to use my feet to somehow clean the floor quickly ... I'm being honest, ya know? ... and so the sparkles are amidst the cat hair and it's driving me batty and my heart is clenched and my heightened anxiety is all over the floor - so to speak.

Sigh. And so here I am. Trying to zone out and figuring, well, this is the perfect PYHO post for me. It's hilarious how life leads to blogging, right? It's a positive of the day-to-day. This blogging. This outlet. This way of remembering I'm not alone. Other moms and dads have the anxiety, the messes and the emotions of parenthood (is that even a word? For realz?) like I do.

So thanks for letting me pour my heart out. I'm kind of doing better right now, as this post was just written (the linky is tomorrow - but I'm posting right now cause it's real and on my mind and it's happening this minute) -- and MAN I used a lot of parenthesis in this post, didn't I? -- and dashes. I'm a big dash person.

Anyway, I feel better now. I've had some WhoNu cookies, and my kid is eating some now while watching Phineas & Ferb, and we have a playdate at 4pm, that I can't tell her about for another hour or so, but she'll be excited when I do. And we may even grab dinner out with friends. Ah, the joys of motherhood on the go! So thanks for listening, for not judging, and, if you're willing, for sharing the things about parenting that heighten your own anxiety and make you feel like crawling through the window or to the roof when they happen. I promise I won't judge and I'll laugh a little. But WITH you, not at you. Never AT you. Peace out.

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Flower Craft!

Looking for the perfect craft for Spring? Mother's Day? Or just to keep your little ones busy enough and indoors (away from the real flowers that cause awful allergies - oh, is that just me?)? Here you go:

I wasn't quick enough to take pictures for this step by step tutorial, but I do have pictures of the finished product, so that has to count for something.

Materials needed:

- craft sticks
- tissue paper in a variety of colors
- glue
- scissors

Take the tissue paper and let your kids go crazy with the scissors. Safely, of course.

You can also use coffee filters (we did this craft previously) and markers to create your own fun and funky flowers. Pretty much whatever you have on-hand will work for these.

Dab some glue on the end of a craft stick, and fold up the freshly cut tissue paper to attach. Once attached, continue folding and snipping extraneous paper to create a *flower* that meets your liking! Or your child's liking. We did these together and had a lot of fun.

Basically that's it. A few quick steps to make your little one happy with a fun and simple craft. If you have a pretty vase you can use, pop your new flowers in there and pop them up on the mantle like we did. They really look pretty! Not quite as pretty as my floral arranger, but still ... pretty!

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Walking away

Is it wrong that every now and then I walk away from my child?

I mean, shouldn't she, at the ripe old age of four, be able to play on her own without needing me to come to her call every waking second?

And when I do come back. After stepping away - is it wrong that I am immediately exhausted at the fact that she has nearly used up 75 craft sticks and simply stuck random drops of glue on them? I mean, I walked away, and she was working on a pretty craft. But stupid me, I left the rest of the bag there - too close to her small hands. Too close to pass up.

And so when I return to the table and find the glue there, am I wrong to want to beat myself up. Kick myself. Make a fist and bite it for lack of another way to hold back the frustration from her, and keep it directed at the stupidity that is me?

The mother. Mommy. The one who should know better but never seems to?

I know she's four. I know she's creative. And I know that kids make messes. But you'd think by now I'd learn that messes come when I leave things out for her to reach for. Leave things too close to those little fingers. As beautiful as they are. And all I start wishing is that I had left the TV on for a little bit longer and skipped the mess that is now my kitchen table.

I kept the paint hidden because it's a disaster waiting to happen. It's dry. Goopy. Needs to be thrown out and to be honest I just was not in the mood for that kind of mess today. And instead I chose glue.

How stupid can a person be, right? I mean, how stupid can I be?

Am I allowed to kick myself? Am I allowed to feel exhausted and recognize that I am feeling so after only having been home with her one day after an emotionally long weekend?

I love my daughter with all that I am and all that I have. But sometimes I just feel like walking away, finding some breathing time, and tuning out for a short while. And when I do I just wish that I re-focus and return to a child playing quietly and nicely, and without a disaster waiting for me.

Is that so wrong?

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Fun Ideas for the Kids!

I'm still on the road, and I'm lazy, and I didn't schedule something for today, so I'm thinking I'd come up with a few links to share that give you some fun ideas for the kids (and you!) to do ...

Lisa over at Two Bears Farm has some great ideas of what you can do to entertain your kids with sidewalk chalk.

Michelle over at Muffin Tin Mom shared a yummy recipe for Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips! Mmmn. These look SO good. YUM!

If you're looking for a giveaway so you can take your chances at winning something fantabulous, head on over to Blue Violet's place. She has over 200+ giveaways linked up on her Saturday linky. Crazy! You've got a chance to win that many prizes? You'd have to be a fool to skip this post (I know I'll be tossing my name into the hat via a few links later today!).

So, that's it for today. Oh, yeah, after I submitted yesterday's post, I turned around to find my husband headed to the cellar to catch my 3 year old daughter ... with strands of hair in her hand. She cut her own hair. In a few spots. Serious spots. It's not nearly as awful as it could have been, but I cried my eyes out. Seriously. Cried. My. Eyes. Out. Why there were REAL scissors downstairs where she was playing with her 5yo and 6yo cousins, I couldn't say, but I was not happy. Not in the least. If you want more info on how pi$$ed I was, check me out on Twitter @goodgirlgonered. I promise I b!tched a bit. ;)

And don't forget to come by tomorrow for a guest poster in my 'hood! I have a few lined up for this coming week and would love for you to get to know them!

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Review: Little Tikes Picnic Table from CSN Stores

This table is a lifesaver!

My child loves it!

And it has not even left our house yet!

I recently had an opportunity to review any item of my choice (within a certain $ parameter) from CSN Stores. As many of you know, CSN stores have such a variety of inventory it's nearly impossible to choose. As this is one of the first opportunities I have found to review an item of value not just to me, but to my child, as well, I took it. I mean, wouldn't you?

I decided to review the Little Tikes Picnic Table seen here.

And it was actually pretty easy to put together, although I had to wait for my hubby to do it, as I was afraid I might break it before we had a chance to use it ... oops. That would have been bad.

And so, we have it in our living room, as you can see from the pictures below. It's our arts & crafts table, it's our snack (or sometimes meals) eating table, it's our collect things that don't belong on the floor table, too.

It is super easy to clean, and does fold up so we can put it away, or bring it out with us, and it'll be great when it cools down enough and we can BBQ and eat outside. It even came with an adorable umbrella, which I had to hide so my daughter wouldn't decide it belonged in and open INSIDE the house.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this product. I expected nothing less from Little Tikes, as they always make the best of everything. The process of ordering through CSN stores was really easy, and they sent me updates as I waited for the item to arrive. It actually got here before they thought (and told me) that it would. And that was excellent! I definitely will be shopping with them again, and look forward to checking out the over 200 stores they have available online.

**This review was done on a product I received for free from CSN stores. I did not have to pay for the item, or for S&H. I was not compensated in any other way for this review. **

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Lazy Days ...

If I weren't lazy I'd be doing these crafts instead of having made fresh-baked (ie: Pillsbury Ready-to-Bake) peanut butter pb cup cookies with my kid. Yes, I was so lazy I didn't even feel up to doing cookie cutter cookies. Le sigh ...

How to Make Muffin Tin Crayons -- Over at trianglemommies.blogspot.com

DIY Sidewalk Chalk with Alicia over at A Beautiful Mess

Recycling Brown Paper Bags with Lisa over at Two Bears Farm

Tents and Smores over at Superheroes and Princesses

Muffin Tin Mom's Guest post on how to make a Handprint Caterpillar over at No Time for Flash Cards

So, maybe I'll kickstart the week with one of these fun ideas. Or maybe I'll just be lazy tomorrow, too. We'll see. Enjoy!

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Wordless Wednesday ~ Results!

Well, many of you were right! It's a dragon. Or a dinosaur. I think it depends on when you ask. But mostly a dragon. And now she wants to make more dragons.

But I most especially enjoyed NYCgirl0501's answer:
"I'm going to step outside the box and says its a man leaning back in an office chair wearing a tu-tu! :)"

You rock, Chica, thanks for the chuckle!

Here are a few more pieces of the little one's artwork, just because ... Enjoy!

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Wordless Wednesday ~ Can you tell?

What this is ...?

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Putting myself in Time-Out

Right now. Right this second.

See, I created a fun bucket (sort of) for my daughter last night. It's filled with pasta and rice, more specifically, orzo, white rice, pastina and alphabet pasta. I should have known it'd be messy, especially when it comes to this kid, but I figured what better way to play her own version of search and rescue, so to speak?

I put 15 beads in there, and yesterday we played for what seemed like hours. This morning she wanted to get on it, ASAP. So we played some more. The most important instruction in this game is that she MUST PLAY OVER THE BIN. 100% of the time. Otherwise it's noodle/rice central all over my friggin' floor. Anyone else struggle with this? Creative time = making a mess? Well, let's just say Mama may need an extra happy pill this morning. Or at the very least it truly was a prediction when I asked hubby to bring me home an iced chai latte from B&N yesterday, and he brought me a Venti (as if he even knows what that size means!) And this AM when I opened the fridge to get a beverage for Happy Pill #1, I nearly cried with relief when I saw it there. For it's so easy to forget you have the beverage of your choice waiting for you.

And so, when the child made her first mess of the morning, I was calm. And I told her if it happened again the TOY gets a time out, but she does not. Of course, stupidly, mommy gave her a small car to play with in the bin. D'uh. Stupid mommy. Stupid -- stupid mommy. Sigh. Mess #2 has mommy pounding the table and about ready to bite my own arm. I'm so serious. So the toy got a T-O, the TV got turned on and I have Team OomiZoomi or whatever the he!! they're called mesmerizing said child. And here I am.

Is that bad? Is that OK? Please validate me. It's so little for me to ask of you, isn't it? Just that small request. And so, here I am. Dog barking outside. Several memes awaiting my attention. And me, sitting here. With you. Well, not WITH you, but talking TO you. Which I guess may mean I'm talking to myself. But hey, what the heck? Why not do it on paper (electronically) as opposed to sit on the couch and actually DO it? Talk to myself. What? You don't do it? Dude, I was walking around Target yesterday and got caught doing it. Guy laughed and said he does it all the time. Thank goodness. Another similar soul. Whew. As I was saying ... what WAS I saying, anyway?


btw: This Team OomiZoomi guy totally sounds like Joe from Blues Clues. I mean it. I need to go google him now. Uhm, the show. I have no idea, well, no, that's a lie. Him name is Donovan Patterson? Something like that. [I checked - it's Patton!] Holy cr@p. And I only know that because he has done some crazy Noggin/Nick JR commercial for reading or something and SAYS his name. At least I think that's it. OK. I'm done rambling about Joe now. I much prefer Steve, anyway. [And it's TOTALLY HIM!!!! I'm so smart in the world of Kid-TV!]

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Kool Aid Mix + Water = Painting Fun

That actually adds up to a bit of a mess, stained red fingers [it doesn't really come off!] and one happy kid!

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I picked up the needles today ...

Not that my little girl let me get more than a few rows done, but I picked up my needles and started working on the "scarf" that I started back in, well, October of last year, give or take a week or two.

It felt nice to give it a go, and I was pretty happy that I was able to keep the rows even, which hardly ever happens.

I think that's the hardest part about knitting for me. I read a book to help me cast on, I knit pretty well (a little too tight sometimes, but pretty well, for a novice knitter!) and then I end up with totally uneven rows. At least the first time I did some knitting my piece turned into, well, you don't really want to know what it looked like. I do still have it, so I'll have to post some pictures sometime to embarrass myself a bit.

But for now, I'll stick with my sort of scarf with 26 "stitches," and when I'm done I'll be sure to show it off!

Remember, if you're a knitter or know any that are out there in the blog-o-sphere, let me know so I can find you and follow you!

**And OK, so to REALLY freak me out a bit, I submitted this entry and on my blogspot page there was immediately an ad for a yarn website. WHAT!?!?! Who is watching me, cause I'm not sure I like this!**

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Any knitters out there?

I learned to knit from my aunt many years ago. She basically taught me a single knit stitch, and that was it. My first attempts were hilarious, I never did get to show her how I'd improved over time (my regret) but I've since done a small scarf or two, and would love to continue working on one that I've been into lately. But I'm a slacker!

I just started reading The Friday Night Knitting Club, and of course I miss it! I wish there were groups or classes nearby that would be perfect for helping me to learn, and really know what I'm doing to the point that I could get a pattern going and actually MAKE something!

I have never known anyone to work the way my aunt did, she was the queen of knitting and crocheting, and although I'll never live up to her amazing talent, I'd love to get some lessons and take it up again, a little bit for me and a little bit for her.

In the meantime, I'll just keep reading this book and live vicariously through the characters. But if you know of any knitting groups in Raleigh-Durham, NC, or know of any knitting bloggers or online groups and resources, please let me know. I know I could do some digging on my own, but I'd love to have some suggestions from anyone out there. Thanks!

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