One thing that is so much fun to make with kids around the holidays is a gingerbread house because they just love the piles of candy to choose from. But who has the time and patience to make an actual gingerbread structure that will hold up to young kids' hands? So cheat. I had Gabe bring home four milk cartons from school. Milk cartons are harder to come by now-a-days, but a school will give them to you if you go in and ask at lunchtime, as long as you are prepared to dig them out of the trash yourself. Me, I let my kid do the dirty work. Crafty, I know.
After washing them and letting them dry. I hot glued them shut and then glued two together so I had one long ridge line on the roof.
Then I hot glued graham crackers to the milk cartons. You heard me, hot glue them. For mine I used half a graham cracker that I had to trim a bit with a knife to make it fit on the short end. I glued those on first.
Then one full size graham across the long side. There was a bit of a gap from the edge of the graham to the top edge of the wall, but this will be covered by the roof, so don't sweat it.
Next, the ends need triangles. This is a little trickier, but not hard. I took half a graham, laid it on my cutting board, and used the house itself as my template. I laid it on top and used a knife to cut it to size, and then hot glued it in place.
Last, the roof, each side needs a full size graham. The cracker is slightly larger than the roof itself, allowing for a little overhang like a real roof. When you glue them on, make them meet on the ridge line.
Now you need glue. Here's a good stiff frosting recipe that makes great glue:
Cast of Characters:
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. water
Beat until frothy.
Slowly add 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, beating after each addition until you achieve something inbetween soft and stiff peaks. It will be thick and pasty. Perfect for strong glue.
Now the fun part. Use whatever candies you desire. (I rotated this picture, but it didn't want to stay and I give up. You get the point.)
Just plan on extra for eating. For the boys, especially Chi, it was easier to just cover a side at a time with frosting and let him go nuts adding whatever he wanted. If you wanted to be more sophisticated about it, you could just put the frosting where you wanted glue something on. But that's all there is to it. Fun and simple. 
(Obviously, don't eat the graham crackers now that they have glue, but you can pick at the rest.)
Church was interesting today. Chi serenaded everyone with high pitched screaming which led to his banishment to the nursery, where in desperation for quiet, calm children, "A Goofy Movie" was enjoyed.
During the prayers I had a moment. I guess we were praying for all the things that sustain life like water and such, and I heard "the hair that encircles the earth." Hair? or maybe that was hare; there are a lot of bunnies. Oohh, AIR. That makes more sense. Pretty much giggled the rest of the way through.
During the Great Thanksgiving, the bulletin shows the start of the sentence, then ..., followed by the closing of the prayer. Gabe groaned, "Not the dot, dot, dot. That takes forever!"
Yeah, church was interesting.
Matt actually came up with a Christmas gift idea for himself if you are looking (or I guess birthday): http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC-113-837-219-AM
He would like two of these VW key blanks.
Gabe and Chi are in choir at church. This is just okay for Gabe, but for Chi it is the best thing in the world! It's the only activity he's old enough for, the only thing that the poor thing doesn't have the door shut in face as big brother goes off for the fun on the other side of that dang door. So, Chi sings all the time. Only his pronunciation is slightly off.
See if you can figure out what he's really singing when he sings, "Hi-gouda. Hi-gouda. Hi-gouda. Amen." Ah, bless his heart. People don't often sing the praises of cheese (I mean literally sing the the praises.)
He also switches it up and yells, I mean sings, Beck. "Where it's at! I got two turntables and a microphone!"
I'm just tearing up...I see Grammy's in our future. ;)
I still can't believe Thanksgiving is almost here. A couple weeks ago, it felt like a couple weeks was a nice amount of time, but now I'm "what? where'd the time go?" Mostly the only stress that causes is with school, just making sure I get all my assignments done on time.
Today I am bouncing around between projects. I am on a mission to add texture to my home. At first I was just thrilled to paint color on the walls, but after living with that awhile, I realize that it doesn't do much more for me than rental white walls. So, in the long hallway I am drawing pattern on one wall with sharpie markers. Although it kills the sharpie fast, it's still a bit easier than messing with paint or stencils.
I am also working on painting. I am sticking with watercolor right now. I'm a bit surprised with myself, but I don't know. I guess I'm just feeling the medium right now. But I have to take lots of breaks because I have to wait for things to dry. It's not exactly a speedy medium.
Basement update: we have picked carpet and had the measurements done. There isn't enough in stock, so it has to be order so it will be at least another week (plus some because of the holiday) and we will have carpet. I am so excited to be able to use the basement!
There is really not much to share from the home front. I did discover this week, after all the rhetoric from the various Republican victors that I am not really an American because they know what ALL Americans think. Since what they say is not what I think, I guess I'm not American. Interesting. Explains a lot, I think. Oh, well. It's not the first time I was called out on my lack of American-ness. So, I voted, and the chips did not fall my way, and I do truly believe America is going to have one hell of a hang over from this vote, but I can't change it. So, I'm mostly (not completely) ignoring it all now.
Chi decided all day Friday and Saturday to pee wherever he happened to be standing. Annoying as he never has accidents at daycare. So after throwing lots of clothes in the laundry, I put him back in diapers. Maybe bad parenting choice, but it was a choice for self-preservation. Actually, strike that, it was a choice for child-preservation. I was really getting mad. Then, for no apparent reason all day Sunday he had zero accidents, and ran in and used the toilet all by himself several times. When we did know he was going, he kicked us out so he could do it himself. Hey, I'll take it. Actually, not having to physically take him to the bathroom and remind him all the time is awesome.
The basement remodel is coming along, but it's a big headache. I think (fingers-crossed) all the painting will be done today. This week we will go pick out the carpet. I'd love it to be installed before Thanksgiving, but we'll see. The built-in bookcases, cabinets/entertainment center will not be done before Christmas, but once we get the carpet down, the space will be usable again. Really, that is all I'm going for with my low expectations right now. On the up side, we really like the wall color and the drop ceiling looks ten times better with just the addition of a fresh coat of white. Part of the reason I am impatient is because I know what I want to do with some other projects now, but I am not going to spend any money on other things until I know what the finally tally on the basement is. Some other stuff may have to wait.
Halloween was fun. Gabe was Han Solo (and I am quite proud of myself for figuring out how to make the boots and the holster out of pleather), and Chi was the Cat in the Hat, but he refused to wear his red bow tie. Oh, well. They did not trick or treat long because they were cold and because my kids felt like 2/3 full buckets were plenty full. I love that they don't feel like they need mounds of candy. We are very socialist with candy and treats around here; they were automatically going to combine it all into the candy/treat jar for everyone, but, partly because they ought to enjoy their own loot, and partly because it wouldn't have fit in the jar, I had them keep their buckets separate for now.
Gabe picked an elaborate Star Wars plan for his pumpkin, so I had to carve his, but for the first year Gabe did carve a pumpkin himself. We bought extra this year for decoration, so he was able to have his Star Wars, and still have one with a simple face he could try. He did alright. Chi just got to choose the shapes for his pumpkins face. Neither of my kids like pumpkin guts so Matt had a lot of scooping to do since I was busy drawing and carving.
I was accepted into a juried art show (juried means a judge decides if you get into the show or not, so it's more prestigious than an open call). It's at an art center here in town. The theme was Crystals and Wonder: the Art and Science of Snow, so I did a watercolor of a single snowflake. It's a microscopic view that is semi-abstract, meaning it looks like a snowflake, but it's simplified down to it's essence. Now, we will see if it sells. Part of me would like it to because I have never sold any art work (I give it away usually), but I don't have great shots of it for my portfolio so part of me hopes it doesn't so I can get better pictures. But that doesn't really matter. I am just proud of myself for get out there with my artwork. It's hard to risk the rejection.
And an update on school for Gabe: we've talked (and talked) with his teacher and principal and I think things are going to get better. They are finally addressing the advanced readers with a separate reading group and Gabe likes that so far. They are also address the math with an advanced group that does do extensions now instead of just working fast and sitting around. I'm still doing spelling and flash cards at home, but Gabe really likes doing it and now it doesn't feel like I have so much extra to do. The important thing is that they are taking it seriously now, and they aren't annoyed with us yet. I do feel like everyone is wanting what is best for Gabe.
(Obviously, don't eat the graham crackers now that they have glue, but you can pick at the rest.)
