L'Ella

Special guests last monday for dinner, mark, jun-E and phillip (courtney, too)! we loved having them to run around with. mark and jun-E make a terrific team.




Saturday at Waterloo Park listening to the Mess With Texas SXSW lineup:
eatin' an apple

sittin' with aunt charley

trying to escape

made friends with a pile o' wood chips

Girls Night

Warning: No PICS. I'll post pics soon.

While Zach is busy enjoying SXSW with friends, Ella and I have had the opportunity to share some much needed GIRL TIME! (Definitions 3 & 4 from the link) Last night we started by making m&m cookies together. She stood in a chair while I mixed the dough, approved of it through a taste test and then added the mini m&m's, one tiny paw-full at a time. She was very proud of her contribution and I let her know that I was proud of her, too.

While the cookies baked we painted her pigs to match mine. We both have shiny purple toes. This is the first time I've done this. I was too concerned with her squirminess, but it was not an issue as she sat still and contemplated what was taking place. She did test one toe with her finger, but realized her mistake and allowed me to make a little correction after her finger was clean.

We played outside a little (more) until the batches of cookies were complete. She got an early bath and then I set her up for dinner at her little pink table in front of the TV where we watched her "dog" movie together. This would be the Disney classic, 101 Dalmations. She loves this show since she watched it once at "Papa's House". Sorry Mimi, but you were not included in Ella's version of the story behind the movie.

We ended the night with a little "Mouse Cookies", which is listening to the CD from Ella's book Mouse Cookies and More by Laura Numeroff. Ella loves this CD because it is a mix of stories, told by famous actors, and fun music to dance to. We listen to it at least once a day while we play around in her room.

Time to Get Crafty

All the credit goes to my sister on this one. She has been wearing these cute little flower clips for quite some time. She ingeniously took a few scrapbooking materials, mixed them with some inexpensive hair clips and wah-lah: beautiful hair clips. I asked her about them for Ella and she gave me a big 'ole box of leftover supplies to get me started. Ella now has about 50 of these cuties and I've shared the recipe at a recent Mom's Night Out and we had a lot of fun putting together creative combinations.

DISCLAIMER: This is not for teeny-weeny's who enjoy dismantling and sucking on everything. This contains small parts and is not intended for those in the oral fixation stage.

That being said, let's get started:

1. Buy silk flower scrapbooking materials, brads, and plain ole metal hair clips like so:




Flowers and brads from Hobby Lobby (they often have them 50% off and it is worth the wait)

Hair Clips from Sally's Beauty Supply, 100 clips for $5.50

2. Put the brad through the stack of flowers you want for this hair clip:





3. Open the clip and thread the brad through the hole in the middle of one side of the clip and spread the tines apart so that it stays in place:



4. ALL DONE!



They are each unique because of the thousands of combinations of silk flowers and brads. You can get polka-dot flowers and jewel brads or brads in the shape of flowers, etc, etc. I love these and it is just a little touch to bring some sparkle to your special lady. These are for adults, too! My sister wears them all the time, but she mentioned they are perfect to add a splash of color to your wardrobe if you are going out in you favorite little black dress. You can throw on a purse/belt or heels to match your flower hair clip....LOVE IT!



Since this is a crafty post, I have to mention a blog called The Artful Parent since it is BURSTING full of toddler craft activities. This mom has a list up now for a crafty activity to do with your *little* everyday in March! You don't have to be crafty to do this stuff...just give your kiddo the supplies and watch them go.