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button sudoku game

I've been a little lax in posting the stuff I've been making lately, (which I think may have been the original intension of this blog. ahem.) so I wanted to take a moment to share some pictures of this cute quilted game I made. This is a little quilted, button sudoku game! There are nine sections, and each is divided into nine squares. It could not be easier to make. I got the pattern from the lovely book "A Month of Sundays" by Cheryl Arkinson. This is a great "new quilter" project. The hardest part is finding 9 buttons in 9 different colours in your button box! And I have to say, it has been very well received by my 4 and 6 year olds. The play value is pretty high, because when it is not being used as a sudoku game, it becomes a sleeping bag for their stuffies, an Island to stand on, a picnic blanket for pretend-food picnics, and the bag of buttons is very popular as "a bag of fake money".

Here's how you play it: You need to reach into the bag of buttons and pull one out. And preferably, you should close your eyes and make a squinchy, hopeful face while you do. 

When you pull out a button, you should be surprised and delighted by the colour. (Unless it is white or black. Apparently those are boring, disappointing non-colours).

You then place your button on one of the nine squares' little segments. But be careful, each different square can only have ONE button of EACH colour in it. Like real number sudoku, but with colours. 

If your kids are really little, just make it a matching game and designate one square for each colour (this is the "green square", this is the "red square") which makes it a little simpler.  

They are so fun and easy to make that I made three of them, to have on hand for gifts. The tops are mostly made from "new" fabrics, as I don't have very many neutrals in my stash, but the backs and bindings are all made from vintage sheet fabrics. So if you happen to be the parent of a small child who is related to me, try to act surprised when you open up the package that came in the mail….

In the meantime, I need to go and replenish my button collection. I've got a whole box full of the darn things and did not realize how few orange ones I have!

 

a new fort

We used to have a trampoline in our backyard.  But as you can see from this photo, it has seen better days. This particular trampoline is what would currently be charmingly classified as "vintage". Though it might more accurately be referred to as a "death trap." My Dad installed it in our backyard when I was but a wee girl, and had the brilliant and literally groundbreaking idea of digging a hole and making it flush with the lawn. The better for us not to injure ourselves on it my dear. And it was a very good idea. There were no falling off the trampoline accidents in our back yard thankyouverymuch! This was all in the olden days mind you, before the advent of fancy net-surrounded, spring-free trampolines. Ah yes, we were the last generation that was free to take the exhilarating risk of injuring ourselves while at play. The good old days.... But sadly (or not) those days are no more. And we thought about refurbishing our in-ground trampoline. It was an excellent back yard amusement. Cheaper than a pool, (and possibly safer, even with the exposed springs and metal edges) and just a fun. But upon considering the considerable expense of replacing the springs, the matt and buying safety pads to go around it, we decided that perhaps it was time to pack in the trampoline. It had a good 30 year run, and it was time to move on... ...to an in-ground fort!

Hubs, being both handy and thrifty, has masterminded this project. The materials were salvaged from some industrial crates he found in a nearby parking lot last year. Those triangular cut-outs were already there, and are proving to be the most popular feature of the fort so far, as they make it climb-able. 

And who doesn't like to climb?

Those leaves will eventually be raked out of there, and there is talk of flooring and a small stove (!) so that it can be a winter fort. But for now there is much jumping into leaves. And then much picking slugs off your jacket. Ah, nature. 

While Hubs and the boys were working on this, Grandpa was busy bombing around the valley in his skid steer, doing a little last bit of landscaping before the frost really sets in. 

The Little Guy called him away from his work to show him the fort, and then called him away from the fort to inspect the machinery. 

L.D. and Hubs were still hard at work. Its not done yet, but there is talk of tarps and wind-proofing. I'll keep you posted. And perhaps someday we'll be able to sit in our cozy underground fort enjoying hot cocoa while the wind and snow blow outside. 

 

Mister Dress-up

This guy is killing it in the wardrobe department lately. I mean literally killing it, what with the swords and all. (or should I say literally imaginarily killing it? I don't know, then we're arguing semantics and that just sucks all the life out of it. You know what I mean) 
I love how intense this mask makes him look. And I love that you can still see his eyes. I'll bet he's smiling. 

Or how about this:Another intentional mash-up of super hero goodness. The Iron Man one-piece is a little big on him, but he pretty much only gets to wear it when his big brother is at school, so he's living in the moment. 

Just in case you weren't sure, that's his fearsome, snarling face. 

And now for a little something slightly less threatening.  A pretty chill little robot. Please note the mittens. It was, like 25 degrees (celcius) that day, but there was no way he was taking off the mittens. "I NEED them," he protested, "because I a ROBOT". Well obviously. 

Also the shoes were important to him. "These are my best." he declared. When I was finally allowed to peel this all off of him he was so sweaty, his hair all wet and stuck to his neck. Apparently it was worth it though. 

three

Well, today was the big day. My baby is no longer a baby. He is three. THREE! How the heck did that happen? And on the other hand, how did it take so long?  This was an exciting birthday for so many reasons. First of all, the Little Guy totally gets it. He knows that today he is three. He knows that means he is older than he was yesterday. He knows that it means accomplishments and privileges that were not his purview when he was two are now his. Its a whole world of big boy chairs, and big boy beds and big boy underwear (I hope) and loose teeth (he hopes). A world in which he can do it himself and can do what his brother does. Oh, he has such hopes for three. Boy does he want a loose tooth!

But I have to say, one of the things that I have loved so much about this birthday celebration (and we are by no means done it, we are only half-way through his birthday-day, we haven't even gotten to his party with friends on Saturday and his party with extended family on Sunday) is the way that his big brother has shared in these celebrations. Yesterday we went to the good 'ole dollar store and bought balloons and wrapping paper and tape and whatnot, and when we got home the Little Dude (who is five) in his excitement wanted to bust it all out and decorate. And I, in my mid-afternoon slump, did not. The Little Guy was down for his nap (yes, he still naps, thanktheLord) and then people, all I want to do is sit. the eff. down. But L.D. wanted to blow up balloons. Which means that I have to blow up balloons for him. Nope. Not going to happen. 

So as a compromise, and to get him to leave me in blessed peace for a half hour or so, I told him that we had to wait to decorate and wrap presents until after the Little Guy was in bed for the night. So that he would wake up on the morning of his birthday and there would be the lovely surprise of balloons and banners and bunting. The Little Dude saw the logic of this, and we thrilled with the idea that he'd get to stay up late to help me decorate, and happily ran off to play we lego and leave me with my tea and my book and my silence. 

So that evening, Hubs tucked in the Little Guy and L.D. and I got down to work. Lots of balloons, lots of banners, lots of tape and ribbon and string and more tape. And it was a lovely, lovely time. He was so full of ideas ("we should tie all the balloons to one long string mom, and then it would be a balloon streamer!") and so industrious ("I used up all the tape mom!") that it was a joy to do it with him (I LOVE decorating Mom, its my favourite thing!). I wish I'd had the presence of mind this morning to take more pictures, as he had decorated the Little Guy's door all by himself, with balloons and string and random pieces of ribbon taped all over it. So funny, and so very done-by-a-five-year-old. His excitement was just palpable, and as I tucked him into bed after we'd finished our decorating job to our mutual satisfaction he sighed and said to me, "I have such a good feeling inside Mom." "You know what that is?" I said "That's the feeling you get when you are excited because you've done something nice for someone else and you just know its going to make them happy." "Oh," he says, "is that what that is?"

So this morning, the Little Dude had to get up early for school, and was hoping that the Little Guy would get up in time for him to be able to give his birthday present before the bus came. And as luck would have it, the Birthday boy was up bright and early. And the balloons could be admired and presents could be opened. 

There was a wooden play-sushi set from Hubs and I. which as you can tell, he's pretty happy with. He loves both sushi and pretending to make/serve/eat food, so it was a win-win.

And then L.D. gave his present. 

A little toy snow mobile. And I have to say, this is one of those parenting pay-off moments. I mean, parenting is hard. Really hard. Most of the time it is difficult and requires an enormous amount of effort and patience and hard (seemingly endless) work. And just when you think it couldn't get any harder you go and have a second kid! What were your thinking? Amirite? But then you get one of these moments and you see it. You see why you had that second kid. For this moment right here when the excitement of the giver was equal to (if not more than) the excitement of the receiver of the gift. When they throw their arms around each other and proclaim their birthday love. When they joy is literally reflecting off their faces and being magnified in the joy of the other. And it is gorgeous. Just gorgeous. 

Right, on with the birthday. There was also a little puppy. Because he loves puppies these days. And they are all named Milo, because his cousin has a dog named Milo, and therefore, there can be no other name for a dog.

So we ate our birthday oatmeal under a halo of balloons...

...and headed off to story time at the library, where the nice library lady led all the kids in singing "Happy Birthday" along with the usual "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes".

And everybody went crazy for bubbles, as per usual. 

And we stickered ourselves up a monkey mask.

And hardly ever let go of our new puppy. And got to wear our new shoes again. And the day was not even half over! Ah, birthdays are good when you are three. 

 

 

big clean-up

You may wonder what the point of this picture is. This is our lego table. Central Station. Mission Control. The place where the Little Dude (and often the Little Guy) spend most of their days. But can you tell what is unusual here? Sure you can. SURFACES! open space. YOU CAN SEE THE TABLE! You must imagine me using my Eddy from Ab Fab voice "SURFACES darling, where have all my surfaces gone?" (If you cannot imagine this, you must go to the link and cue it up to 3:28 and watch it till 3:42. That's what I'm talking about.) 

Because I spent all morning doing this.Organizing, organizing! I'm telling you, I spend so much time doing this that organizing lego is basically my new hobby. 

(And note that I said "lego" not "legos". Hearing people say "legos" is one of my pet peeves. The plural of "lego" is "lego". Unless you're British maybe. Then I might cut you some slack. Since you refer to "math" as "maths". So you have precedent.)

This is my 'piece de resistance' . The partitioned box of little technical grey bits. There is a whole methodology here, with pieces sorted by size (one bump, two bump, four bump, etc) with a spot for those weird blocks that have a flat, unbumped surface. This took some time, but I cannot tell you how much easier it is going to make my life. "Mooooom, can you help me find something? I need a piece that has two bumps, with a little holdy thing on the side that is sort of shaped like a T, but kind of not." Oh, that piece. sigh. 

Anyhow, I'm looking to acheive the level of organization that allows him to play independantly because he can find what he's looking for (and more importantly, knows where to put it back). He is only five, but he loves to build and it can be very frustrating to not be able to find what you are looking for. 

Of course, within fifteen minutes of his arrival home from school the lego table looked like this:Which is fine (I guess) because I cleaned it up so that I could be used more easily. And since I did my cleaning in the morning, I had all day to walk by and enjoy my clean, clear surfaces. 

Also, in reflecting on how I'd spent a large portion of my day, and how my life is now (after children) as opposed to what it was before (before children) I'd like to mention that I went to University. Twice. Just sayin', good thing I went and got all those degrees so that I could spend my day trying to decide how to categorize lego most effectively. *sigh*

pillows

So, if anybody is at a loss as to what to buy for my two year old this year for Christmas, I'll tell you what you can get him. Throw pillows. Lots and lots of throw pillows. 

Its so funny, the Little Dude, who is five, has NO PROBLEM whatsoever articulating what he wants for Christmas. There is a very, VERY long list of Lego kits he wants (LOTR, TMNT, Star Wars, City, Chima, oh the list goes on and on), and playmobil kits, and random stuffed toys (a snake) and robot toys (hex bugs) etc, etc. Frankly, I'm getting a little tired of hearing about all the stuff he wants, and helping him add to and amend that never ending list. 

But this little guy.... well, sure, he'll play with the ubiquitous lego and cars that are always lying around, but he never really asks for anything. (Now before you get any ideas that Thing One is materialistic and Thing Two is not, I should tell you that I'm pretty sure this is just a developmental thing. The Little Dude did not have a Christmas list at the age of two either. I know its only a matter of time.) He mostly likes to play pretend using the things at hand.

And these days his favourite things are pillows. They are just so versatile, and can be made to stand in for anything. Bricks, hills, walls, funiture. The possilibites are endless. And although he will press any decorative pillow into service when required, he does have his favourites. That's "Log" on his shoulder there. (Ren and Stimpey Fans, feel free to sing along....)

It really is a pillow shaped and printed to look like a log. I bought it in Montreal about 5 years ago, and our Little Guy has adopted it as his very own. Not only is it great for stacking and piling, but also is very useful for whacking and hitting. All of these are activities he enjoys. 

This one is probably his most favourite though. I picked it up at the Value Village because, well, look at it; it is amazing! Well worth the dollar-fifty. 

I was going to use it for art purposes, or just for a little studio decor. But it was quickly commandeered by the Little Guy. It makes a perfect bed for Baby Nolan, his doll. And yes, that is his name. Baby Nolan. (because we have friends who had a baby and named it Nolan, so, you know, it works) Also, he sleeps on it every night. It looks like the most hilarious kitschy halo when he lays his little golden head down on it. Like's his the patron saint of nick-nacks. 

Baby Nolan gets tucked in under a blanket of course. Its winter time after all. Oh, and in case you are wondering why my two year old is wearing mittens inside the house, its because he is being a pirate. Yeah. Though he could also be a cowboy. Or a "workin' man" or any number of things because according to my Little Guy, no costume is complete without mittens. In fact, LIFE is not complete without mittens because he wears mittens all. the. time. He loves his mittens. It is pretty much the third thing he asks me every morning. Right after "Where Daddy?" and "I so hungry. Where my oatmeal?" which is almost always swiftly followed by "Where my mittens?" I should have a holster for those darn things. Do you know how hard it is to keep track of a tiny pair of mittens that get taken off all the time, left in random places (under the pillows, in the bathroom, in the lego drawers) only to be requested with great urgency moments later? Its the worst. We've lost his favourite pair (grey fair isle, oh the grief!) and he'll have nothing to do with the back-up pair I suggested (charcoal merino) but he's very happy with this little blue pair at the moment (he likes that they match his shirt). Until they get lost too. I'm telling you, there are not enough mittens in the world. 

So yeah, if Santa wants to know what to get him, whimsically shaped throw pillows and knitted mittens please. Best presents ever. 

sigil

I had to run a few late afternoon errands after Hubs came home the other day. Its so much easier to make a few quick trips without having to snap a few kids in and out of car seats. I felt a little bad leaving him alone with the kids at "the witching hour". (Everyone knows that that the pre-dinner hour is the single worst time of day to be a parent) But not too bad. I know he can manage. And sure enough, when I came home they had made themselves some new toys!

Woohoo! Swords and shields for everybody! And since we've been watching all that "Game of Thrones" lately, (and by "we" I mean just the adults around here, don't worry)  Hubs felt that the boys needed their sigil emblazoned on their sheilds. So he asked The Baby what animal he should have drawn on there. 

And he said "A bunny and a kitty."

So basically we've decided his house motto is "Cuteness is my strength". 

The Little Dude of course was perfectly capable of drawing and writing on his own shield. 

And he was happy to tell me all about it. 

Basically its him versus the dragon. It makes more sense when he explains it. 

And oh! The running, the gesturing, the menace, the swashbuckling stances! It was a very fun and action filled half hour previous to dinner. And quite surprsingly no one was injured. And though they are made of cardboard, I have a feeling those weapons are going to be with us for awhile and see a LOT of action.

tea time

We have a new late morning ritual around here. Tea time! The Little Dude was digging around in the cutlery drawer the other day (don't ask, I don't know why) and he found a little tiny spoon. "Why is this spoon so little?" he asked. "Its from that tiny play set that came with the little tea set of cups and saucers and stuff." I told him. And he got all excited, as he always does when he remember stuff from his "past". "I REMEMBER that!" he crowed. "It had all those little cups and a teapot and stuff. We need to find that! And have tea!" And so we did.  We've had tea parties before. I mean, who doesn't like a nice warm sweet little cuppa and a biscuit? But what was fun about this particular tea party was this was the first time that I set it up so they could do all the 'steps' of preparing their cup of tea themselves. I put actual (decaf chai) tea in the little pot, and sugar in the sugar bowl and (almond) milk in the teeny little milk pitcher. 

So there was all the fun of scooping and pouring and stirring. Which of course is no challenge for the Little Dude, who is five and can scoop and pour like a boss.

But the Baby finds it a bit more challenging, as the scattering of spilled sugar and milk in this photo will attest to. But oh how he loves to do it all, just like his big brother does. And his concentration, as he holds the pitcher just so and pours so carefully is beautiful to behold. 

And though his actual drinking of the tea could be a bit more, erm, graceful in its execution, the gusto with which it is enjoyed is evident.

Gran dropped by at just the right time to join us, and very kindly modeled her much more refined tea drinking skills. 

And as with most activities you do with kids this age, we made pretty quick work of that tea. Even a half-dozen little cups of tea get downed pretty quickly and of course, the cookies last bit a moment. And then it was time to clean up. The Little Dude, who is not normally one to be very, um, helpful when it comes to chores, surprised me by getting into the washing up. He was just so enamoured with his re-discovered tea set, that when I cunningly filled the sink with warm soapy water and pulled up a chair and suggested that he was the dishes for me, he surprised himself even, by agreeing to it. 

And happy as a lark he chatted and scrubbed and messed about with the bubbles and just made himself generally useful. Which was nice for a change.

And the Baby helped too, by clearing the table and bringing the dishes over for his brother to wash.Oh, and also by chugging what was left of the now cold tea directly out of the tea pot. Yep, he's a real class act, that kid. 

fort improvements

Hubs and the Boys have spent their free time over the last couple of days working on our fort. You may remember it in its earlier forms. And at the rate that Hubs is going, I think when we finally have to move out of the house we live in right now, we'll actually be able to move into our fort.  It doesn't look much changed from the front, but when you walk around the back....

...you can see that we've got quite an addition on the back. We now officially have a lower level and an upper level. 

The upper deck is perfect for all your standing-up-high-and-shouting-out-loud needs. 

And the lower level has a door on one side and a nice little round window on the other. 

A window perfect for making faces through. 

Now really, this is an ideal photo op, and we had three adorable little guys (we had a friend over for a play date) and three 'windows' to poke our heads through. But do you think I could for the life of me get them all three looking out of three windows at the same time? No. Completely undirectable each and every adorable one of them. 

So I had to settle for individual shots. And stuck out tongues. 

Though if you bide your time, and wait for a distraction....

...eventually you'll get a smile. 

 

can you tell me how to get....

Are you ready for this?

Because oh. my. gosh. Look at what we got!

The Fisher Price Play Family Sesame Street playset, first produced in 1975, but this one was produced in the last year of production, 1977 because our Oscar the Grouch has no handle on the lid of his trashcan. (Thank you internet for your incredible minutae)

I know, I know. I kind of started hyperventilating a bit when I heard it was coming our way. You see, my Mom is probably the most active disseminator of my blog links (and if she was just a little more social media savvy I'd be all over the freakin' internet) but lets just say that among her friends and family, this blog is very well read. (Hello all my Aunts! Thanks for reading!) So my Aunt Marg saw us this summer and said "oh, I heard you like Fisher Price Little People. I have a couple of old sets that I saved from when the kids were little. I thought you might like them." Um, yes please. 

So there were two sets, but I'm going to make you wait awhile for the second one. And this one deserves its very own post. Because it is AMAZING. Please sit back and enjoy while I dork out over the amazing details. ahem.  This is the Hooper's Storefront view. Note the awesome architectural details. The stained glass transom window. The moulding. The awning. The brickwork. The tiles. Ach, there is so much I love about this. 

And look inside the store! There is a diner counter piece that fits in there so customers can sit, and a little magazine rack thing on the right there, with merchandise and stuff that is also a seperate piece. And of course, Mr. Hooper and Susan. SUSAN. Best FP little person ever, with her magenta dress and her natural style hair. The Best. 

I can hardly stand how cute that background litho is. Cake is 25 cents. Can I get a piece of that cake please?

Then, when you go around the corner you get a litho with Luis' fix-it shop and also, Big Birds alley-way home. 

And then around front is, of course, the Brownstone that you'd find at 123 Sesame Street.

And then the last side has the tire swing and fire escape stair way. I love those ripped posters. And the round window. And that light above the door. Details!

Of course, 123 Sesame Street is where Bert and Ernie live. And thier little apartment does not disappoint. 

Their twin beds are monogrammed for Pete's sake. And yes, that is a framed pigeon picture up on the wall. And Ernie's rubber duckie can be glimpsed on the edge of the tub through the open bathroom door.

And there's also an apartment above Hooper's Store. I'm not sure it's where Cookie Monster actually lived (because then where would Mr. Hooper live? What's the point of having a small corner store in a big city if you can't actually live above it? I'm just sayin') but he's hanging out there, watching a little TV for now. 

Yep, the inscription on Big Bird's signed and framed photo on the wall proves it. Definitely Mr. Hooper's apartment. 

I'm just so pleased with this addition to our toy collection. And the Boy's just love it too! It has been played with lots, the Oscar in his trashcan in the Little Dude's favourite, and for some strange reason, the Baby just loves that white ladder/stairs thing. Oh, and the mailbox is a favourite bit too, as a little person child can fit underneath it and that is apparently hilarious. We are going to get so much fun play time out of this. And its a nearly complete sit. The only thing missing, is the chalk and earaser for that chalkboard bit in the middle, but those are almost always missing from these old sets. And the only character we don't have is Gordon. I may have to start trolling around on esty looking for a Gordon because I don't want Susan to be lonely. 

This is such an amazing gift, from my kind Aunt and Uncle. The Boy's faces just lit up when we pulled this out of the bag. I'm telling you, it was like Christmas, for all of us. And I have to say a special thank-you to my Aunt for keeping it is such good condition, and keeping all of those many, many little pieces together. As a parent myself now, I know whenever I find a good quality vintage toy with all or most of its parts intact and together that there is a mom somewhere to thank for it. Because it was she who picked up and gathered together those pieces so many, many times at the end of a long, hard day. It was she who got down on her hands and knees and pulled these little people out from under couches and chairs before she vacuumed, so that they did not get sucked up and disappear along with the broken bits of crackers and popcorn and buttons and dust bunnies. It was she who, with little thanks, found stray Cookie Monsters and Grouches and herded them back into their plastic fold, to be played with another day. So its nice now, as a mom to say "Thank you Aunt Marg! Thanks for being a great mom. Thanks for cleaning up the toys and keeping these guys together. Thnaks for holding onto them, even though it was big and bulky and the kids were all grown up. And thanks for thinking of us when you cleaned out your basement. Because we love playing with them."