Watching the Rain

This past weekend was predicted to be rainy, so I decided to finally make the weather chart that I had been eyeballing on Pinterest and talk with the boys about rain and other Pacific Northwest weather.

They love the chart and have come up to me and said, "Mama, I think the weather is somewhere between cold and burning hot!"  Yeah, an outside thermometer is next on my Home Depot shopping list.

Since the weather app on my tablet said that we should expect 1"-4" of rain over the weekend, I made our own rain gauge using one of my canning jars, a permanent marker, and a ruler.  The boys were so excited to watch the jar slowly fill up with rain.

Monday morning, I brought in the jar to see how much rain we collected.

We collected 1 1/2" of rain over the weekend. Beniah begged me to put the jar back outside so we can collect more rain. I'm thinking a rain gauge is going to become a permanent fixture in our garden.

Crafting Closet Update

Originally, I had planned to make some elaborate blogposts about the different crafts that I have completed on my to do list.  Then I remembered that I had small children and just completing these projects was an achievement and there is no harm in a massive blogpost.

February's crafts to do were diaper boxes turned storage boxes, an infinity nursing scarf, and mending Tim's baby hat for Isaac to wear.

I made two storage boxes (one to hold scarves and winter items in the hall close and one to hold Elijah's pull-ups so he can easily get them himself). 

I really enjoyed making the infinity nursing scarf, but unfortunately it's not big enough to use for a nursing cover for my son.  Isaac is a squirmy eater which doesn't bode well for a modest feeding session during a mixed group Bible study.

 

Isaac's hat from his Daddy needed just a bit of mending to make it fit correctly on him.

March's crafts to do list wasn't that big, but I didn't get to work on it until last week.
For Christmas, my sister in law bought me some frames and miniature clothes pins so I could make a gallery to hang my sons' drawings.  Now, I don't have random drawings taped to the wall anymore!

I decided to add to my list some toy hammocks that I saw on Pinterest.

Finally this last Friday, I melted down all of my broken and wickless candles and made some emergency candles for when the power goes off.  I realized towards the end of the candle making experience that I really don't enjoy making candles.  I would rather scrub toilets then make more candles. So, from now on, I'll just leave the candle making to the experts and buy my candles.

My crafting closet is now a little bit more organized.
Next month's craft: Real Hope Blankets

The Ol' Bag Lady

This past month, my sewing machine has been putting on a lot of miles...er...stitches. So far, my favorite has been all for me! I found a messenger bag pattern online at ocd: obsessive craft disorder and decided to put my fears behind me and sew myself a new, durable, large purse. Why do I kid myself? It's just going to end up being a toy carrier. However, it will be a cute toy carrier! A word to the wise. If you have children under the age of 5 this project will take FOREVER! It took me four days of naps and evenings to cut, pin, sew, by sewing notions, take back too small sewing notion, and buy the correct sized sewing notion.  I am now done and very happy with the results.

Now that I am out of my crafting trance, I see a kitchen and a bathroom that is pleading for a good scrub down.

Angry Bird Attacks Writer's Block

I hate to admit it. I have terrible writers block! I heard somewhere (maybe in my own mind) that to get rid of it, just start writing.  I have been crafting a lot lately, so maybe that is where my creative juices are flowing.  My earliest February creation was the Yellow and Black Angry birds. My nephew, Jeshu, turned 4 at the beginning of the month and had a very cute Angry Bird themed party. So, I found a pattern at Obsessively Stitching and whipped up one Black Bomber bird and two Yellow birds (Beniah had to have one).

Beniah has been asking for more Angry birds and the piggies, until I told him, "Not right now! Please stop asking for them!"  To which he replied, "Mama, I have three Angry Birds. Elijah doesn't have any. Will you make Elijah an Angry Bird. He wants an orange one with blue on it."

My little manipulator!

I am planning on making some more for the boys Easter baskets. Hopefully, I won't put it off like I did our Christmas cards (which are on our dresser). Hmm... Easter cards anyone?