Skit Skat Skoodle Doot

I've been wanting to make something for one of Doug's favorite books for a long time. By Thursday afternoon I'd already been to the gym, the house was clean, I was caught up on my bible study, Doug was down for a nap and the banana bread was in the oven baking (believe me, I'm not nearly this organized with life) and I found myself with some time on my hands. Break out the craft box!

Doug loves the book 'Chicka Chicka Boom Boom' by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault. He can recite long bits of it with you. Frequently when I'm trying to corral him into the car because we're running late (so normal) I'll say to him "Skit skat skoodle doot!" to which he'll reply "Flip flop flee, everybody running to the coconut tree, mamas and papas, uncles and aunts, hug their little dears and dust their pants!".

Anyway, I've been wanting to use it to help introduce lower case letters to him, as the book is very familiar.

So I cut out a strip of brown felt for the trunk of the coconut tree. I cut it diagonally to maximize the amount of felt I had to work with. The pointy, Washington Monument-y end of it is also a great place to attach the   palm fronds.

 

Then I took two different shades of green felt to make the fronds, I made five fronds in all: 

Next I took some fabric glue and glued them all to the trunk: 

Next I cut out three brown circles for coconuts and glued them to the tree: 

While I let that sit and dry, I got to work on the letters. I used Times New Roman for most of the letters, except 'a' and 'g' because I wanted them to look more like they do when you write them. I used 200 point font for them. Each upper and lower case pair are the same color. I printed them out on cardstock: 

Yes, it's been a long time since I've had a manicure.

Then I fired up my trusty laminator and laminated all the sheets. After they were laminated, I cut them out and applied some sticky back velcro to their backs. The squares I had were on the larger side, so I cut each square into quarters. 

That was probably the most tedious part of the project.

The finished product: 

I made a felt board a while ago by taking some felt and stretching it over a thick craft board and stapling it on. Actually, Jeff did the stapling, you need some serious muscle to do it.

Doug was elated. He made sure some letters were falling out of the tree.

Time to flip flip flee!

Just the Two of Us

I cherish my one on one time with Doug. We go to story time together. I ferry him to his gym classes and to pre-school. We run errands to Target and Walmart and to the grocery store. We explore new places together, Wegman's, the bouncy place and new playgrounds. Sometimes we stop for snacks when we're out running around. We'll have some coffee and juice and split a muffin at Starbucks. We'll share an order of medium Mcdonald's fries at Walmart. He is my little buddy, my side kick.

 He wants to be like Daddy, but he wants to be like Mommy too. He insists on getting a box of animal crackers at Wegman's because he needs his "purse" (the box of animal crackers comes with a string handle). I feel like we're on a team when we're out and about together. As much as I'd love an addition to our family, I'm glad that Doug is getting so much one on one time with me. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

2009 Called, It Wants Its Jeans Back

So over the spring and summer, Jeff and I decided to work harder to eat better foods and exercise more. Jeff is doing really well, and I'm getting there slowly and surely (read: I'm considering mailing my thyroid death threats).

Anyway, I wore the same pairs of capris and shorts all summer long. Yesterday it was finally cool enough for me to drag my jeans out of the closet (less than 60 degrees means I put on jeans, 58 is when I consider sneakers instead of sandals). So I wore my favorite pair of jeans to Doug's preschool and then to a few errands afterwards. The thing with most of my jeans is that they have a bit of stretch in the denim. This usually makes them quite comfortable. However, they were already a bit big due to my weight loss. So as the day wore on, they stretched more and more. After dinner I was getting ready to head out the door for the evening and I wanted to look like a nice pulled together person, I didn't want to go for the 'frazzled mom' look that I so often employ. So I took a shower and threw on the same jeans I'd been wearing all day. The crotch had now almost stretched down to my knees. Not a great look. Running late and frantic I began to tear through my closet for the jeans I bought after Doug was born (pregnancy was evidently a great weight loss tool, who knew?). I managed to find one pair that fit really well except that it was longish and needed to be worn with boots. I found some thick soled mary janes and a nice top and was finally on my way out the door.

That evening when I got back I resolved to rescue my smaller jeans from storage in the basement. I found my fugly maternity jeans first. I have no idea who thought pregnant women wanted whiskered jeans, but I could never find a pair that wasn't. I finally located my smaller jeans, and lo and behold, they are whiskered too! Ugh. My jeans are evidently trapped in the 2009-2010 fashion season. At least I promise (for now) not to wear my crocs with them.