Big Changes

 There are some big changes happening in our home. A lot of things in our house are starting too look different. Those used to be honey colored stair rails, linoleum floor and boring trim.

We are up to our armpits in paint. I mean that almost almost literally. I am growing weary of painting.

Hubby is growing weary of cutting, measuring, measuring some more, and nailing. Putting new trim in your entire house is time intensive. Especially when you do it one-man-show style like hubby.

Little Men are intrigued by all the cutting and nailing.

Yup, things are starting to look different here. Fresher. Cleaner.

Can you believe we have done all this in basically 2 weeks? I can't. Our household has been on speed, no not literally, lately trying to get all our projects done FAST. These projects have been the only thing I have been doing. All of my normal projecting has been put on hold just so I can devote all my time to fixing our house.

Why?

Well, that will have to be a surprise...

Week In a Nutshell: Family, Flying, and Crying, OH MY!

Most of you know that I was out of town for a week. I bravely took to the skies with my three Little Men all by my lonesome. That's right, I made a cross country trek with three kids simply armed with electronic entertainment and lots of food. 

Man was I nervous. 

Mostly because I didn't want to be "that mom". You know the one that all of those without kids, or have since long forgotten what their kids were like, judge and sniff at and roll their eyes. The Mom that they already assume you are because you come walking into the boarding area with 5 travel bags, a giant stroller, and three very excited wiggly kids.

I know...I care WAY too much what people think.

BUT my boys were angels...

at least in the beginning.

I got compliments and accolades in the first airport and on the first plane. I mean look at them...

Even Oldest Little Man who had to sit by himself, just sat there quietly. Well except for the rare occasion he forgot he was wearing headphones and would cheer out loud when he defeated a level.

Ah, but it couldn't stay that easy could it?  Nope, definitely not.

I will try to make a REALLY long story short, so here is the run down...

end of first 50 min flight in sight
airport closed
circle for 20 min
deterred to a different airport
another 50 mins on plane
land in unplanned airport
they won't give me my stroller
2 year old on the loose
new flight plan
flying to Vegas
3hrs
get to Vegas 5pm PST 8pm our time
no stroller
2 year old on the loose
3 hr lay over
no where to eat
$34 on one sandwich and 3 smoothies
Little Men punch drunk from lack of sleep
leave Vegas at 11:25pm our time
arrive in Portland 1:45 am our time
original arrival was supposed to be 8:30 our time

There was a lot of tears...mostly mine.

All things considering my boys did the very best they could.

Little Men eating their $34 dinner

The Momma overlooking the filth and letting them lay on the ground in the Vegas airport...

yes is rather disgusting.

All worth it to spend time with our family.

We met cousins/nieces and nephews for the first time. Saw family and friends. Played around and all together had a really good time.

My Little Men had a wonderful time. I wish I had more pictures. My battery died and I had left the charger...duh. We have not gotten to spend this much time with so much family for a really long time. I am so grateful that we did.

I can also happily report that the flight back was a complete dream with no unexpected hiccups.

Itty Bitty Skirts

I know last week I promised the bitty version of this skirt. 

Well I made them, I promise. Then I gave them to my oh-so-sweet itty bitty nieces. Then I forgot to take a picture, and now I am far, far away from them. 

So today I am showing you some other itty bitty skirts I made for my newest and tiniest niece.

I used Jill's tutorial for these itty bitty denim skirts. I do alter her instructions a little. Instead of sandwiching the skirt into the folded band, I place the band with raw edges at the top and right sides facing. Then I stitch and then I fold the waist band up.

I also made another version. This time I used material from dress slacks underneath and then layered lace. Just add lace and get this lovely confection.

Every once in awhile I do enjoy sewing something all girlie and wonderful. Nieces are a perfect excuse.

Lemon Sour Cream Pie: Perfect Mother's Day Dessert

Seriously SO yummy. It is light, refreshing, and delightfully lemony. 

We actually made this pie for Easter, but it really would be perfect for Mother's Day too...okay it would be perfect for any day.

I mean really, it has homemade whipped cream, what is not to love.

I got this recipe from Your Homebased Mom. If you like lemon, she has a whole array of lemon recipes. This one called out to me immediately.

Lemon Sour Cream Pie

First you need to make a graham cracker crust...or just buy one.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/4 C graham cracker crumbs

5 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp sugar

Toss the graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar together thoroughly with a fork.  Pour the crumbs into a pie plate.  Press crumbs into bottom and sides of pie plate.  Bake at 325 until the crust begins to brown – about 15-20 minutes.  Allow to cool

After you have set aside the crust, it is time to make the filling for the pie.

Lemon Sour Cream Pie

1 C Sugar
3 Tbsp plus 1-1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1/2 C lemon juice
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 Cup milk
1/4 Cup butter, cubed
1 Cup (8 ounces) sour cream
graham cracker crust
1 Cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
   

Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon peel, juice, egg yolks and milk in heavy
saucepan; cook over medium heat until thickened. Stir in butter and cool mixture
to room temperature.

Stir sour cream into pie shell. Spread with whipped cream. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Serve. Eat. Die from yumminess.

Project Leaving On a Jet Plane: PLANEGO

One of the things that keeps my Little Men happy while traveling is playing games. Two of my LM are too little for electronic games, so I came up with a small version of our favorite board game Zingo, a bingo type game.

I call it PLANEGO, get it, a version of zingo but played on the plane.

      

I made 10 game boards using picnik, and then printed them off. They are all different and are meant to be played with corresponding playing pieces which can be printed off (I recommend 1 page per player) and then cut into to small rectangle pieces.

I put the pieces into a small bag inorder to pull them out one at a time during the game. With board in hands, each player waited for me to pull out a picture. Whoever called it out first got to put it onto their board. Whoever filled up their board first won.

My LM loved playing this game. Even Littlest One could play by matching up the pieces to his board.

My original plan had been to print them out and laminate them. I totally ran out of time, but I will definitely do that in the future.  The boys loved playing it so much the cardstock boards kind of got mangled. I also think that I will modge podge the playing pieces to wooden tiles next time.

I am going to share my little PLANEGO game with you. Feel free to download one or more planego boards. I also included a PLANEGO master board so that you can go into picnik and make more of your own boards if you want. Just click on the link below and download them to your computer.

planego master

planego 1

planego 2

planego 3

planego 4

planego 5

planego 6

planego 7

planego 8

planego 9

planego 10

planego markers

I know your kids will enjoy this game even if it is not being played on an airplane. AS for airplanes...as you read this I am most likely on one of those giant metal birds. Hopefully my journey home is way easier and timelier than our first flight.

home we go

Linking:

Strut Your Stuff Thursdays: Somewhat Simple