This Is Just Wrong...Very Funny, but Wrong

I was in Reston last week and there was a Paper Source store there. I am a sucker for all things paper and I just had to go in. I found all sorts of fun gifts (for myself and for others) The first thing I bought is a Fringe Flower Kit. I am in charge of the craft for the twins' Spring Party on Thursday and I thought they might be fun to make -- and they would be if we had a week to make them).

As I was paying for my gifts, I looked up and saw this in a box by the counter.

It is a pencil sharpener. You stick the pencil in the cat's rear end and it meows while you sharpen the pencil. The pencil shavings land in the "litter box" tray. I had to have it. I planned to give it to someone as a gift (I had yet to decide who was going to be the lucky recipient of this charming gift); however, it kept speaking to me from across the room. I opened it and used it for the first time today. I can tell you that it is a great pencil sharpener, but there is something really sick about hearing it meow while you are sharpening the pencil. Really, really sick.

I went to the website of the maker of the sharp-end pencil sharpener and guess what...

You can get a dog! Now, that is just wrong.

By the way, Ammy found the cat...

Laxin' It Up

This is how I spend Monday and Wednesday evenings...on the lacrosse field. I spent yesterday playing with a different lens on my camera. When I looked at the pictures I took, I realize how small my child is in comparison to some of the kids out there. Yikes, what do they feed these kids?

Thankfully, he likes to run which is going to come in handy when he is running away from all the huge children who want to smash him.

He loves going after ground balls.He's still working on catching and throwing. I believe he actually caught this one!

He's not afraid to get into the mix.

Even though those kids coming towards him want to smash him.

Good thing he's tough!

I wish I knew what they were talking about!

Guess What I Got Today

Last year, The Pioneer Woman mentioned a blog on her website, The Fat Cyclist. I don't know what made me check out Fatty's blog, but I did, and have been checking it daily since. Fatty rides bikes and blogs about it. He's very funny. Also, Fatty's wife, Susan, has been battling metastatic breast cancer for about two years and as of last October has moved to hospice care. In addition to taking care of Susan, their four kids, working, blogging and biking, Fatty raises money for cancer through the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

In January, Fatty set an ambitious goal for 2009: to raise $1,000,000 to help the Lance Armstrong Foundation fight cancer. Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan (Team Fatty for short) has raised over $100,000 so far. Susan has always loved to make jewelry and since her neuropathy has backed off, she has been able to make jewelry again. She made these bike chain bracelets (Fatty cleaned and degreased the chains) to raise money for the fight against cancer. Fatty offered people these awesome bracelets if they made a donation of a certain amount to the LAF. Within no time, over 80 people had made donations that qualified for a bracelet! Susan has been very busy!

Mine came today! How neat is this? Like a yellow bracelet, but cooler!

I will wear my bracelet with pride and I will tell everyone who asks about Susan and her story.

Win Susan!

If you would like to help Fatty, please go here.

Beef and Romaine Stir-Fry

I made this from Paula Deen's Quick and Easy Meals Magazine.

It makes about 6 servings.

1 pound flank steak, sliced 1/4 inch thick against the grain diagonally
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon garlic-chili sauce (this made this dish VERY spicy. You might want to cut it in half)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sherry
2 red bell peppers, sliced
1 romaine heart, cored and sliced crosswise into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 package rice stick noodles (my grocery store only had chinese noodles)
Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro

In a medium bowl, combine beef, cornstarch, salt and pepper.

In a large skillet or wok, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture and garlic to pan and cook for 2 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine water, soy sauce, garlic-chili sauce, sugar and sherry. Add to beef mixture and cook for 2 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Add bell pepper and romaine and cook for 2 minutes. Add rice stick noodles to pan and stir to combine. Garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately.

Tyler told me this is the best dish I've made in a while...PUNK.

Spring Shearing

Guess what we did today...

Three down, two to go.

Next up...shopping for outfits for Easter. The fun NEVER ends around here.

Do You See The Similarities?

You Would Think We Grew Up In The Dark Ages

The other night we were getting ready to watch 24 and the kids realized that we didn't have any more microwave popcorn. We had a bottle of popcorn kernels left over from a Christmas gift so I decided to save the day and teach them how to make popcorn the way that we made it while we were growing up... you know, in a pan on the stove.
You have to shake the pan back and forth? This is work! Don't they look amused?

This second child of mine is going to realize that I will still use pictures of him when he sticks his tongue out.

They actually did have fun and each one of them ended up making their own batch so that they could shake the pan.

Another skill taught. My job is done!

Again

I might have to start borrowing money from her soon.

I Am In Laundry Hell

The worst part of coming home from vacation is the huge amount of laundry I have to do.

What To Do With An Energetic Child

Kellen has a lot of energy...especially when he has been cooped up for any period of time. He was so crazy one day at the beach that I had him run up and down a sand "mountain" in Bethany Beach, Delaware.
He absolutely hated it. Can't you tell?

He ran up the "mountain" over and over again.

The closer he was to doing a face plant, the happier he was.

He raced his sisters.

Of course he didn't push or cheat.

Starting to get ahead.

This is where he totally beats her up the "mountain".

Goodbye Ocean City.

We will miss you!

The Many Uses of Freezer Paper

We are always on Spring Break for St. Patrick's Day and every year we dress up and go out. You can always find cute shirts at Target, Aeropostole, and the Gap, but this year I came across this shirt to make at Skip To My Lou (a great crafts blog) and knew I just had to make it. In the process, I have discovered the greatest secret to making t-shirts...Freezer Paper. Who knew that freezer paper could be used as a stencil, ironed on to a shirt, and then peeled off. It can and it works beautifully!

Trace your shape onto the dull side of the freezer paper. Make sure to use a permanent marker. There is a template for a shamrock (as well as step by step directions) that Cindy (Skip To My Lou) posted at Alpha Mom.
Cut out the middle of the shape so it is a stencil. Make sure to leave room around the stencil especially if little kids are painting the shirt. Iron the stencils shiny side down onto the shirt using an iron on medium heat--I turned it up a little higher. Make sure that all of the edges of the stencil are ironed down. This will prevent paint from going outside of the shape while you are painting.

Paint the stencil with fabric paint. Paint around the stencil first and then fill in the middle. We used foam brushes and painted from the outside of the stencil into the opening of the stencil. It is important to not go back and forth with the brushes on the outside of the stencil because you can accidentally lift up an edge.

We also added glitter specifically designed for t-shirts. We just shook the glitter over the stencils and let the shirts dry for awhile. The glitter was very pretty but I am not sure that I would use it again. It rubs off of the shirt onto everything that comes in contact with the shirt. When I washed the shirt, a lot of the glitter came off in the wash.

Peel the freezer paper stencils off when the stencils are dry and here you go... I am already thinking of the ways I can use the freezer paper stencils again. At the twins' school they always make t-shirts at the end of the school year and all of the kids sign them. How cute would it be to make a stencil of the school mascot (my kids' mascot is a racoon) and have the kids paint them in different colors and then sign the mascots once they are dry. You could also use the stencils to make a director's chair for a teacher's gift. The possibillities are endless!

SPT

EIGHT is GREAT!

Each Tuesday of March, your challenge is to feature the number 8. you have free reign each week to decide how you will include the number in your post. the only rule is that the numeral itself must be part of the photograph!!

Standing on 8th Street in Ocean City on a very windy day.

Go here to see other 8's.

A Beach Day

Another sunny day in Ocean City! We went to the beach in Rehobeth, DE today while the boys were golfing. It was a tad chilly, but they had to put their feet in the water.

Assateague Island

The sun finally came out yesterday and we decided to take a drive to Assateague Island to see the wild ponies.

We have been once before and this is usually as close as you get to the ponies.

We drove down a side road and happened upon these ponies. It was really cool to be so close to them.This particular pony had some serious hair. We called him Rat after a lead singer of some band.

Rat had some itchy back issues...

This was Rat's friend. He was a little skittish.
This pony could have cared less that we were near him. He just kept eating-didn't even bother to look up.

Rat and his friend reminded me of my twins. He kept trying to get Rat to get up and play.