What do you do in the evenings when you are trying to make dinner but you can't because your kids can't seem to keep themselves occupied without breaking something?

Answer:  BLACK BEANS!!!!!  Or any beans.  Or corn.  Or rice. 

I keep a jar of dry black beans on the counter.

The kids LOVE them.

Whaaa?  What'd I do?

We pull them out every week or two.

They're always a hit.

Ella's diabolical face.  She'll play Dr. Frankenstein one of these days.

The kids play with jars and kitchen utensils, or whatever else we can think of.  To contain the mess, I use two trays, but rimmed baking sheets would work just as well.

I use black beans because our floors are light and they are easy to see.  See them?

After we're done,  we sweep them up and put them back in the jar for next time.  Unless the floors aren't clean {but that never happens at my house}.

Ruffle flower pillow

I had leftover fabric from making this pillow and decided to use it in my piano room.  I was going to make a tutorial for it, but realized after I had committed to my method that I could have done this WAY more easily if I had just made the flower separately and then attached it.  So I suppose this is a tutorial of how not to make this pillow.

I like it, but the material {not sure what it is anymore} was difficult to work with.  It kept stopping up my machine.

I made the flower by finding the center of the front of the pillow and hand stitching a strip of the fabric around and around until it was full.

Again, if I had it to do over, I would make the flower separately and then attach it once the pillow cover was sewn.  It would eliminate puckering and make sewing the body of the pillow cover much easier.

I tried different embellishments on the front, like a brooch that was my grandmother's.

I decided in the end that it would be dangerous to have jewelry on a pillow that would be most likely used in playing house, pillow fights, etc.  Not to mention that pillows are suppoed to be soft and squishy and comfortable! 

Instead, I opted for a simple black button. 

I like it.  It was a pain to do because of my material and my method, but I do like it.

Visit with the In-laws {pt. 2}

This weekend, Handsome Hero's parents and sister came to visit. We had a wonderful time!  We went to the children's museum.

Whoopee!

 What does this button do?

Okay, do these two not look alike? 

The beads really set off my fireman outfit, don't you think?

I am not so sure about this. 

 I'm getting sleeeeepy.  Is water supposed to be hypnotizing?

We played at the park.

 

Enjoying the weather on the way to the park.

Jack:  Must. Eat. Banana. 

My pretty girl. 

My handsome boy. 

Is this my best side?  Do I look like I'm posing?  I'm going for natural and carefree.  Too much?

 I take my hat off to all you ladies out there.

We hung out at the house.

Ella enjoyed cuddling with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Joyce.

Handsome Hero tickled Jack to death while I got really annoyed by Ella.

It's just a game. She's only four. It's just a game. She's only four. It's just a game.

 I am, like, so relaxed.

Hungry Hippos is my kind of fun! 

We had lots of fun with our Lewis family.  We miss you guys already!

Parks aren't just for kids!

My inlaws were here over the weekend, and we had a lovely time. 

On Monday, we went to the park.

 Ella said she had her head down because she was sad, but she didn't know why.

Ella loves her Grandma Joyce.

They raced to the park first.

Grandpa Bob pushed the kids on the swings,

And couldn't resist explaining what a transformer was to Ella.  He's an electrical engineer.  I'm sure it was shocking, electrifying, enlightening very interesting. 

Meanwhile, Handsome Hero's sister, Merilee, tested gravity on the wheels.

And Handsome Hero tested his fighting skills on the rings.

I showed off my one-arm pull-ups.  My feet are totally off the ground.  I promise.

Stand in awe of the raw power! And the spiky hair!

We learned that Merilee is training for a triathlon.  The first leg is the car race.

The second leg is arm-pump swinging.

The last leg is roller sliding.  What form!  It's exhausting.

I tried my hand at the car racing, but I am just not cut out for that stuff.  Too hard core.

More pictures from this visit to come.  The ones you want to see.  The ones with little kiddos in them.

The Farmer's Market

We often go to the farmer's market on Saturdays.  I love the farmer's market.  It goes on all summer downtown, and we go whenever we can. 

I love the smell, I love the produce, I love the stalls, I love the girls dressed in cute skirts and dresses {not that you can see them in these pictures}, I love the crafts for sale that I will never buy, I love the atmosphere. I love the whole thing.

 A crisp, chilly, sunny day. Perfect.

Handsome Hero also enjoys himself, though you wouldn't know it from this picture.

Huh?  Why are you taking my picture?  Quit embarrassing me just so you can have pictures for your blog! 

At this time of year, the produce is more reasonably priced, and we usually come away with lots of yummy veggies like green beans and Brussels sprouts. 

Did you know they are called Brussels sprouts, and not brussel sprouts?  I thought that was interesting.

I love the farmer's market.