Boxketball!!

 Yesterday was full of activity, so today things were going to the opposite extreme. Everyone was starting to zone out and stare at screens. I suggested going outside to play, and the kids upped the ante. They wanted to play basketball, but we don't have a hoop. There is lots of cardboard though, so we decided to make our own. It's pretty tricked out, with a ball return, and jingle bells that ring whenever the box is hit or a basket is made. There is some pretty extensive tape and toilet paper roll action on the inside, but overall it's a success. I'm not sure it will last the rest of the week, but it's still going strong after an hour of heavy use, so it is well worth the cost of materials :D. They have come up with an interesting variation of basketball that involves jumping on the mini trampoline and throwing the ball from there. Bedtime should be fast and easy tonight.

Ornaments and smiles

Our mostly-handmade holidays were a success. The majority of the ornaments were made by me (with help from the kids, of course), our pj's were made by Marisa of Funky Giraffe (who also stocks with me at K&F Shops), and I made all the cloth gift bags. This was the first year that we have put up a tree, and it really makes the house look bright and festive.

Buy Handmade

It was a good day. I made some pants for the kids. Reversible flannel ones with penguins on one side and owls on the other. They are a big hit, and after every diaper change, the kids demand that they are put back on immediately. In fact, they must hold the pants during the diaper change, presumably so they don't get away.  After finishing the pants, we all went to COSI and finally got a membership. I've been meaning to for a while, but our friends kept inviting us as guests so we didn't need to. We can have a guest on our membership too, so I'll be able to do the same for someone else now. At COSI, we went to the Sesame Street Presents: The Body exhibit and the kids had a blast running around pushing buttons and exploring. They particularly liked the little grocery store setup. I was pretty impressed with their food selections. 

Almost everything that the kids are wearing is WAHM-made. Their new penguin pants are somewhat visable in the photos, then they have on long-sleeved onesies dyed by Janessa of Maple Leaf Designs who is a local dyer and good friend. On top of that they are wearing advocacy saying shirts made by SaySumthing. One of the shirts says Tree Hugger, and the other says Think Green. Both shirts were also dyed by Janessa. We are waiting for a couple more SaySumthing shirts to arrive in the next week or so and I'm excited to be able to have the kids wear them. They say Buy Handmade, and I think I'm going to try to make that our theme for the coming year, regardless of the proposed CPSIA regs.