August update

Had a quick get away to Chicago - 4 hours on the train w/ 3 littles & we actually enjoyed most of the trip ;0) Little guy here cried the last 2 hours but it's all good - we had an awesome time with the Cheese Monger peeps!

I did a bit of painting & woodworking to update the hollow core doors upstairs - I'm happy w/ the results

I found this end table in the burn pile & made it into a play kitchen for Mac! The old one was pretty nasty after having 6 kittens use it for a litter box BLEH

Our wild garden....love it

Our 3 awesome boys soaking in the lake - Zach was giving his beloved some swimming lessons

I guess I was busy or feeling creative or something??  Made these sallopettes for Mac out of an old silk skirt.  Wears GREAT for playclothes & is solf as...oh wait....

another Chicago pic - "The Farm at the Zoo" in the park by JG & AG's apartment (not AJ anymore!).

    Do those handmade backpack thingies make them hipsters?

Papa J getting in his cuddle time

Let's all go buy westies & combis & live on the road, ok?? ;0)

Beeswax & olive oil finishes

Grating beeswax (I've read it's better to freeze it first)

We melted 1 oz of wax with 4 oz of olive oil, then wiped it on warm w/ a paper towel

As it cooled it was easier to just use our hands to rub it in like lotion - and it made our hands smooth, too!

We were just going to do our cutting board & rainbow, but Tweeters loved it so much we did all our tree blocks as well ;0)

Woodworking with preschoolers

Grandma & Grandpa L came to visit recently & brought a really cool woodworking set!  It was from Lowe's I believe, a Tonka product with precut pieces & holes....Tweeters & Jam loved it :0)

It's an ambulance - on the other side of the horse trailer - it came w/ the stickers.  I'll be looking for more of these kits!

Making stuff...

Nice title, I know, but hey it fits!

Caps for Sale peg people - now for a tree so the monkeys can hide!  I think Gpa L gave us a hand saw of some sort so I plan to whip that out soon to make some big trees & maybe one of those stacking rainbows.  Oh right, and I'll need to make some caps!

Tweeters wanted to make ice skates for Jam.  Here she is using a REAL saw to even up some scrap wood :0)

And getting it set in the vise.  We will see if her idea works when the lake freezes over!

Yep, we have a lot of crap sitting around - the dump is an amazing place out here.  Most of it is waiting to become a tree house on our acreage this fall, but in the meantime it has a new life as a play ground!  This is a 4-way balance bean invented & mostly built by Tweeters & Jam.

The far right side of the balance beam triangle goes to this scrap wood pile with pallets for a mini tree house - they love to play out here & I love that it is homemade & didn't cost a dime :0)

More handmade dollhouses

Another nifty tutorial showed us an easy peasy portable dollhouse - so we just whipped one right up ;0)  First I sketched it out on heavy cardboard, then cut it out.  Tweeters & Jam played w/ the cardboard version all day, then that evening Tweeters traced it onto some thin underlayment (for flooring) that we found Grandpa J's house.  She & Jam stood on it for Papa J while he cut it out, then we all took turns sanding the cuts to make them smooth.  The little dremel tool was handy for this & a bit faster, but I still like old fashioned sand paper!  It slides together & you're ready to play - slide it apart & take it with you in a little baggie for church or quiet times.  Here is a link to the tutorial:
http://knechtruprechtdolls.blogspot.com/2013/02/portable-imaginative-play-dollhouse.html

cardboard model

helping Papa J cut out the wooden version

wooden one in action

paper prototype for 6 room house

Lots of fun pretend play!

Woodworking with Grandpa J. & Flash

Back in March "Mr. Michael" gave Flash a very nice (sharp) birthday present.  It is the same as his favorite knife to work with when he's helping prepare a catered event or pop up dinner - but it didn't have a case to keep it safe.  So, he & Grandpa J. sliced up a nice cedar log from the neighbor & made one!

The knife fits right down inside w/ a holder - really cool & no one lost a finger ;0)  When we get them moved out here (soon I hope!) he plans to set up a workshop & make stuff all the time!

Handmade tree blocks!

If you look online for these, you can very easily get overwhelmed with how complicated some people make it!  Papa J just cut up a neighbor's old dead tree & made these for me :0)  We've been hand sanding here & there as we feel like it & they're now all nice & smooth...now for either a coat of tung oil or honey & olive oil to seal them a bit.

Jam still loves to play 'baby Moses' - here's the Nile River & the baby in the basket....

Tweeters continued the game by adding Pharoah's daughter & hand maiden - and making the palace very tall!

Try it!  And let me know how they turn out :0)

Birthday Boy!

Not a big party, but a fun, relaxing day :0)  Grandma & Grandpa L came, and later a 'big boy' friend with the same birth date!  He shared the cake - that's why there's a groovy 18 in roman numerals behind the 3 candles!

Jam woke up to 3 of everything!  3 balloons, books about things in 3's, 3 kisses & hugs!

 what to do with your trampoline net when it starts falling apart....tie up your baby brother!

Jam loved unwrapping his present - a big workbench!  A great thrift store find, with all the pieces still intact!

The cake for Jam & "Charlie" - it is my favorite: chocolate chip cake with cinnamon sugar on top!  I got the recipe from a lady I cleaned house for back in my college days.

Papa J loves to sing opera with me ;0)

"Charlie" brought Jam one of his old matchbox cars, so of course that took center stage over the workbench!  He loves his cars & Charlie knows just what he likes ;0)

Some of my Waldorks

Gma L reading Jam's card!

One of his books - he colored all the vehicles in it in the first 2 days!  Now to go back & color the dinosaurs!  He covers the whole page with color - sometimes just one color & sometimes several different. He doesn't seem to prefer markers or crayons at this point, just getting that color everywhere!  Thank you Gma & Gpa L!

Tweeters worked on her fun sticker book from Gma & Gpa L - I have actually been very impressed with the learning activities in this one :0)

My girlies

My 'other' Zach....we may have anywhere between 4-10 children here on any given day - this one is 'Charlie's' brother, but to mine, a brother from another mother!  He'd been building a retaining wall all day & was sooo tired!