DIY wrapping paper

Birthday season is officially upon us, which means that lately, A. and I have been wrapping lots of gifts for friends of all ages. I've mentioned before that Anne isn't the craftiest kid, but something she's always up for is making some DIY wrapping paper to use for our presents. It might be because it's always more fun to make something for someone, it might be because it's a really free-form, unrestricted activity -- there really are no limits, no rules.

I used to buy a lot of gift-wrapping stuff, and dedicated a good amount of space in our tiny apartment to wrapping paper, gift bags, boxes, and bows, which was all pretty bad for the environment. But these days my wrapping paper stash takes up approximately 1% of what it used to. A roll of (recyclable, compostable) craft paper, some dot markers, and a couple of stamps are all we need. The results are always festive, if not professionally perfect. It feels nice to give our gifts a personal touch and to know we're not creating a lot of extra waste.

A couple of our favorite finds are the to/from stamp we bought from Etsy to use in place of tags, and rolls of colorful baker's twine to add a little pizzazz to our designs. Do you create your own wrapping paper or cards? What are some of the supplies you use?



Have a happy weekend, all! And happy birthday to all the birthday boys and girls we've celebrated with recently. :)

Easter at Fort Monroe

We celebrated Easter with my extended family by going out to brunch at the historic Chamberlin Hotel -- a whole crowd of us, 22 people in all. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, the works. People you love + good food + chocolate bunnies and jellybeans for all = what's not to get excited about?

The Chamberlin is located on the grounds of Fort Monroe, in Hampton. Because the base was decommissioned in 2011, after we ate, we were able to walk around and explore everything. James, Anne and I set off down the seawall to Overlook Beach and took in the sights: the old fort, which replaced an earlier one built in 1609, the Civil War-era barracks and batteries surrounded by an imposing moat, and the tons of beautiful historic houses. Since the base is being partially reclassified for residential use, some of these old mansions are actually for sale! We spent a long time picking out our favorites -- I eventually chose one with sleek white columns for my dream house. I think I could even handle having to drive over the bridge-tunnel all the time if it meant I could live there.

But the most exciting part of the day by far was getting the chance to see a panoramic view of the base and bay. During brunch, I asked our maitre'd if there was a place I could go outside to take photos, and she kindly offered to take us up to the top of the hotel where we could see everything -- almost the entirety of the giant stone fort, most of Old Point Comfort, and across the bay to Fort Wool and Rip Raps just offshore. So much history in one glance! It was amazing.

Above: A view of Robert E. Lee's quarters, from when he was stationed at Ft. Monroe.
Below: my beautiful cousin on the roof deck of the Chamberlin.  

All in all, it was a very special day and a holiday to remember forever. We're planning to go back to Fort Monroe when the weather is nicer to visit the Casemate Museum and see a little bit more of the grounds. And James really wants to take his kayak over to Fort Wool (I think I'll wait for the boat tour).

Happy Easter to you, if you celebrated! And if not, hope you had a happy weekend.

Grassy grass grass

With all of the gardening prep going on at our house lately, Anne has started to get very interested in plants and seedlings. I thought we should try to grow something, to give her a sense of the process. It's still a little early to start our seedlings for our garden, and besides, I wanted something a little more toddler friendly (i.e., able to be touched/experienced/loved on without too much damage), so I searched for another plant that would make a good project.

We decided to grow wheatgrass. It's the perfect plant for kids. It's hardy, it doesn't ask for much, and it grows so quickly that sometimes I feel like I can see it growing, which means that it offers pretty quick results, nice when you're dealing with toddler-sized attention spans. Not to mention that it will make a perfect Easter centerpiece, and we won't have to use that crinkly cellophane grass that makes the cats throw up. We could even harvest it for wheatgrass juice once it's full grown, if we were so inclined (I'm not -- whatever the health benefits might be: YUCK.)

Here is how we grew our wheatgrass. First, we ordered some seed online (Todd's Seeds offers inexpensive, organic products, so that's where we got ours). Once it arrived, we sprouted the seeds for a day in a jar of water that we changed every eight hours or so. Then we filled a small pot with a layer of rocks (for drainage -- if your container has drainage holes, you don't need to do this). Added some pre-moistened potting soil, scattered the sprouted seeds in a thick layer on top (so that almost no soil was showing), and covered the whole thing with a damp paper towel. And waited.

Within two days, our sprouts were an inch high, so we took the paper towel off and moved them to the light. Wheatgrass doesn't like direct sunlight, so we keep our pot on the radiator cover in the kitchen, just under the window. We've been watering our seeds twice a day with a plant mister and they've been growing like crazy.

Anouk thought the little seeds were babies, and she calls her grass her "baby grass." Several times a day we take the pot down and check to see how it's grown, check the soil, and give it a nice stroke. The other day I caught her trying to brush the grass with a tiny Barbie brush, and that was my cue to move it to higher ground. :)

Here's the Woody Guthrie song that this post title comes from, btw -- so simple that it shouldn't be a favorite but it is. Have you ever grown anything with your kids? What did they think?

Mixtape Valentines

Anne and I have a Valentines Day party tomorrow to look forward to! Over the weekend, we sat down to put together our Valentines. We thought just a simple card would do, no candy, nothing edible -- because there's going to be enough sweets to go around, we didn't want to add to the sugar rush. 

I broke out the stamps and we had a good time inking up our paper, but our Valentines just didn't seem as special as they could be. While digging through my craft box for extra glitter, I came across a stack of CDs and had a flashback to the 1990s. I thought: why not make each of A.'s friends a Valentines mixtape?*

Anouk was in charge of stamping the covers (and her face, and hands, and stomach, and the placemats...) while I was in charge of scrolling through our music library to pick the best kid-friendly Valentine-themed tracks. Anouk was surprisingly helpful on this point: for her favorites, she bobbed her head like crazy; if I picked a song she didn't like, she let me know with a resounding "NO, mama." 

Finally we had a playlist of the five head-bobbingest songs burned to disc** and it was time to put it all together. I used the CD cover insert as a template and cut our stamped cover papers to size. Then we slid them into the case and used a Sharpie to write "Love Anouk" on the CD itself.  

Et voila! A truly rocking Valentine for a truly rocking Valentines Day. 

*OK so, technically, they're mix-CDs, but that doesn't sound as cool as mixtape, does it?

**The songs on our CDs were purchased through iTunes and burned to disk on an external CD drive for noncommercial use. In summary, no recording artists were harmed in the making of these Valentines.

____________________

What are some of your favorite romantic, Valentines-worthy songs? I love pretty much anything from the WWII era, especially this song by the Kay Kyser Orchestra. 

From us to you

It took us four hours spread across three separate days to do our Christmas card photoshoot this year. And for all that, we ended up with a grand total of ONE shot in which the light was right, we were all looking at the camera, and nobody was crying. 

Still, I can't help being a little in love with some of our outtakes, so I'm posting them here.  Even though they aren't cardworthy, they still make me smile. Yes, even this shot of A.'s "missing-my-Santa-hat" meltdown of epic proportions: 

So for your viewing pleasure, I give you our perfectly imperfect Christmas. 

Merry Yule! And since we'll be out of town for Solstice celebrations this weekend and I probably won't have time to post again before the big day, Merry Christmas, too! Here's to a heap of those perfectly imperfect moments that always turn into the best kind of memories. 

Three last minute Christmas crafts (and a cookie recipe for good measure)

If you're like me (and you blithely declared you were going to hand-make all of your Christmas presents this year and are now feeling the burn of a deadline looming), you're looking for a few easy, low-maintenance kid-crafts to keep the wee ones occupied while you pull together those last few holiday loose ends.

Voila -- I give you three Christmas crafts that will keep even the littlest hands busy (and out of the way of grown-up projects). Bonus: they all look pretty festive around the house!

1. Baking soda clay ornaments




There are several recipes for baking soda clay floating around the internet; we used this one. Unbaked, the clay is a thick, playdough-esque consistency. Once it comes out of the oven, it is a beautiful matte white, and looks gorgeous painted or plain. We invited friends Z., A., and Miss Molly over to make ornaments with us and used cookie cutters to cut shapes, and rubber stamps and our imaginations to embellish them.

After we'd taken them out of the oven, our ornaments still needed to air-dry overnight, and so Anouk painted them with tempera paint the next day while I wrapped presents. We used a few of our favorites for gift tags, and the rest we hung on our tree, where I am sure to get misty-eyed at the sight of them for years to come.

2. Pinecone pom-pom trees

Anouk and I made these adorable trees when we visited Z., A., and Miss Molly at their house. Mini pom-poms + craft glue + pinecones = kitschy retro decor. We put the glue on paper plates for little fingers to dip the poms into and sat back to watch to see how each kid would interpret the idea of holiday decor. (Anouk's friend A. put one pom right at the top of each "tree" and that was it. So minimalist -- I love it!)

3. Cut-paper stars

These stars are a fun alternative to the traditional cut-paper snowflakes. They are also deceptively easy to make -- it only takes a few folds and one cut. Big kids can find instructions here (or a video tutorial here) and make a bunch on their own; I made a quick batch for Anne after breakfast yesterday morning and coloring them kept her entertained for a solid hour. Strung on a little bit of baker's twine, they make a festive homemade garland.

Aaaaaand, speaking of being in love with things, there's this Christmas cookie recipe, which produces the most perfect, easiest to handle/decorate sugar cookies on the planet. They lift up easily, they don't tear, they don't spread while baking, and they taste perfectly scrumptious. Highly recommended, if you've got cookie plans on the docket for this weekend.

T-minus five days...

Family Day at the Chrysler Museum

The Chrysler Museum will be closing its doors for renovations on Dec. 30th. Some museum exhibits will still be open to the public in other locations, but the museum itself won't open again until early 2014. As such, we wanted to be sure to take advantage of the last Second-Saturday Family Day because it's going to be a long time before we get the chance again. (I keep thinking about how A. will be almost three by the time the museum reopens and it blows my mind). On Saturday afternoon, we met up with friends in the gorgeously decorated Huber Court and decided to have one last hurrah.

The Chrysler has several family-friendly events throughout the month, but Family Day is our  favorite, hands down. There are crafts, music, and stories. As usual, admission to the museum is free (although donations are appreciated). It's a great bargain and wonderful resource for art lovers.

This Saturdays theme was Build It! Accordingly, we stopped by craft tables in the courtyard to build miniature houses and Sculpey snowmen. While we waited for Anouk's snowman to dry, we heard a few stories in one of the galleries, and then roamed around some of the exhibits, including the amazing Diamond Dust and Anouk's old favorite by Pinaree Sanpitak. This time, she wasn't a bit scared of the chiming stupas, but she did try to lay down and snooze on a few, thanks to missing her nap (will she even still be taking daily naps by the time the museum reopens?)

Of course we also stopped by the beautiful poinsettia tree for some holiday pictures. None of which were very blogworthy (see above: nap, missing), but would make perfect additions to awkwardfamilyphotos.com. You'll just have to trust me on this.

This storyteller was amazing...every single eye person in the room, kid and adult, was rapt.

People are always saying, when they hear we're from DC, that we must miss the wonderful museums in the city. But the truth is, we don't, so much, and the Chrysler is one of the big reasons why. It's a fabulous, carefully curated place with wonderful staff and we're going to miss it. Goodbye for now, Chrysler! Although we're excited to see you in all your glory when you reopen.

The Chrysler will be open Wednesday through Sunday through the end of the month, with a big sendoff party on Dec. 26th! More info about that here and other events here.

Children's Museum of Virginia

Ever since we moved to Hampton Roads, we've had people telling us that we simply have to visit the Children's Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth. You know how sometimes EVERYONE tells you you just have to do something and then you do and it's not awesome? Our visit to the Children's Museum last Sunday was the opposite of that.

In fact, there was SO much to see and do that we spent nearly three hours at the museum and didn't even make it to the second floor. Over an hour of that time was spent in the bubble room; another good chunk was devoted to the train room. Each exhibit was so enthralling to Baby A. that when it was time to move on to the next one, she had a meltdown of major proportions. (No! No! Fun! HELP ME!) It seems strange to have a tantruming toddler be an indicator of a good time, but you'll just have to trust me on this one.

Greatest hits from our visit? The bubble room, where J. spent a long time trying to perfect the art of the human-sized bubble, the toddler play area, where A. and I lounged in the nest with the big blue egg pillows, and the replica HRT bus, where we spun the steering wheel and joined a crowd in as many refrains of the "Wheels on the Bus" as we could think of. There were no misses.

Anouk was so sorry to leave that I was afraid we were going to be arrested for kidnapping on our way out.

Yeah. It's that awesome.

Right now the Children's Museum, Porstmouth Art and Cultural Center, and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum are offering a Winter Wonderland Holiday Pass: $12 admission to all three sites, valid through December 31. It's an amazing deal and one we made sure to take advantage of! More details here.