Rolling in (Play)-Doh

A couple of weeks ago was National Play-Doh Day and I had it marked in my planner as the day that I would buy all sorts of play-doh tools for Johnny and I would FINALLY introduce him to the wonderful world of colored pliable substances.

That day never happened. The day came and went without the slightest notice by me. It seems that the trick to ensure that you follow through with something that you mark in big bold letters in your planer is to actually look at your planner more often than every couple of weeks. Since I am not in school right now, I haven't been religiously relying on my planner as I once was (clearly).

What reminded me that I had failed to keep this important date was when John and I went to Target on Saturday to get some things that we needed for the apartment (things that we once had but somehow disappeared into a black hole somewhere between Spokane & Denver). When we were there we happened to walk past the toy aisle (which is strange for us since we avoid it when Johnny is with us so he doesn't throw a tantrum...I think the fact that we were completely unfamiliar with this Target's layout had something to do with the mistake). Amidst Johnny's screams, tears, & flails (he wanted to grab as many toys off the shelves as he could), I glanced over and spotted a display with various play-doh kits. While my husband wrangled the Terrible Two, I perused the MANY play-doh options (where were all of these when WE were children???).

In the end I faced a difficult choice between the "Burger Builder" & the "Super Rainbow Value Pack" which were both on sale (and the same price). The "Burger Builder" seemed like a lot of fun, but all it came with was the tool itself, whereas the Rainbow set came with lots of different play-doh tubs (more than just the colors of the rainbow--like silver and gold, lots of different shades of yellow and green, etc.) as well as shape cutters, a rolling pin, some of those animals that have the holes in the back (and you push the play-doh through), some play scissors (to cut the hair), a play knife, etc. I obviously chose the Rainbow pack since it came with all the play-doh and the essential beginner tools. I figured that at a later date we would build up his other tools.

Today (being a lazy day), I decided to open up the play-doh kit and see if Johnny would play with me. He had just woken up from a nap & was a tad grumpy (takes after his mama), so I wanted to make him happy. The box itself--before I even opened it--was enough to change his mood. He got very excited by the bright packaging! I took out a few of the colors (I didn't want to overwhelm him with too many choices) and all of the tools and set them out on the play mat it came with (it wouldn't be easy to roll out play-doh on a coffee table that has slats in it).

Excuse my frumpy appearance--it was a "lazy day"

 

Johnny had a blast with the play-doh! He wasn't too interested in figuring out how the tools worked, but he did like to play with the play-doh itself. Especially if it was something that mommy created. :)

 

I told you he just woke up from a nap--look at his hair! :)

Apparently  I am a dork... 

I made myself this mask--don't ask me "why". :)  Johnny was scared of it at first, but then he thought it was funny.  He destroyed it as soon as he got it though (typical boy).  I made Johnny a duck from the play-doh and he carried it around like it was a fragile friend...then he discovered that it was made of the same stuff that we were playing with and it got crushed, prodded, stretched, and dismembered. Ah, little boys! :) 

This is the duck.  Definitely not my best artistic creation, but my son loved it. :)

 

 All in all it was a good introduction to play-doh!  Since he is only a little over two...and a BOY...I knew that there would be minimal following of instructions, no chance of keeping the play-doh on the mat where it belongs, and the frequent destruction of all animal creations made.  Hopefully as he gets older and the more he becomes familiar with the play-doh he will be able to play with the tools more and make his own creations.  :)

Meanwhile, I have my eye on this play-doh tool set from Melissa & Doug...maybe as part of his Christmas?

Boulder & a Bike Ride

Today we went to Boulder for the first time since we moved to Denver. We LOVE Boulder. With a downtown nestled up against the Flatirons,great views of the tall peaks of the Rocky Mountains, the historic (and attractive) buildings, all the trees, bikes everywhere (and bike trails), & all the hippie-like people, what's not to love? We only spent the afternoon there and didn't get a lot of time to look at any shops or anything, but we did have a lot of fun. We are hoping to get back to Boulder the weekend after next. It is only a forty-minute drive from where we live, so not too shabby. Probably the equivalent of a drive from the West Plains to North Spokane back home. Just a lot more scenic and attractive drive since you are driving towards the mountains, rather than away from them.

On the drive through Denver from our house, we decided to take a picture of the streets we usually drive down. A lot of streets in Denver are lined with trees (like on the South Hill in Spokane) and it is REALLY attractive. Denver is a city that has a lot of trees--which we dig! :) Some of the leaves on the trees are starting to change colors, so we're looking forward to the next few weeks when the trees have all their reds, oranges, & yellows for autumn. Autumn is my favorite season!

Here is the picture of the tree-lined streets:

 Pretty, right?

Before we headed to Boulder, we had to stop and get Starbucks (gotta show WA some love).  I have been craving the Pumpkin Spice Latte lately and am trying to get my fill of them before they stop making them again.  Here is my lovely Pumpkin Spice Latte (w/ soy):

We had decided this morning before we left that we would bring our bikes and take a bike ride.  We wanted to try out our new toddler seat and see how Johnny would like it.  So, we had our bikes attached to our bike rack on the back of the Landcruiser (a hatchback Thule bike rack)...and John didn't have them on the bike rack correctly so the bikes kept bouncing around when we were on I-270/US-36 so we ended up having to get off the freeway in Broomfield at the Flatirons Crossing Mall (where I had the play date a couple of weeks ago) to fix it.  Fixing it meant we had to sit for 20 minutes in the parking lot while John took the bikes and the bike rack off & redid it.  Johnny was watching "Robin Hood" on his DVD player anyway, so he didn't really care.  I was impatient however, because I was excited to see Boulder and to get closer to the mountains. 

After John fixed the bike rack as best he could (it still bounces a little) we were on the road again! Pretty much right after we left Broomfield the view of the mountains was BEAUTIFUL!! Here are some of the pictures I took when we were about to enter Boulder.  (The pictures don't do it justice--trust me.)

 

 

 

This is once we got inside Boulder:

 

 

Once we got inside Boulder we headed for the Historic Downtown district.  Unfortunately it was SO busy that we couldn't find parking (it was lunchtime on Sunday).  There was also bikers and pedestrians EVERYWHERE!!  This was due to the fact that Boulder is a very active city with a lot of sporty people (it was voted #1 city in America for sports & recreation) and also because it was a really nice sunny day with a breeze (and not too hot!).  We ended up driving around looking at stuff in the downtown area but parked right off of the shopping district at a park.  We fed Johnny some lunch in the car and then we loaded up our bikes for a bike ride along the Boulder Creek trail.

Johnny usually hates wearing hats, but he loved his new helmet! :)

 

He also LOVED his new toddler seat on the bike (his first time EVER):

This is me with my new helmet & my adorable little boy before our bike ride.  (Please ignore the shirt--it is my shirt that I wear when I think I might get dirty or sweaty since I don't care much about it.  Also, notice the extremely grumpy look on my son's face...)

 

Here is my oh-so-dear hubby & his more photogenic smile:

The bike ride itself along the Boulder Creek trail was gorgeous.  There were beautiful trees, a little stream, rock bridges, and awesome views of the flatirons and the mountains.  There was also a ton of people biking and running on the trails too.  Johnny had a BLAST on the bike ride.  He just sat in his toddler seat and looked around at all the nature.  He giggled most of the way--I could even here him back on my bike too! Every now and then Johnny would look behind him to make sure I was still following him and daddy.

 

 

 

 

 

After the bike ride (we did about 4 miles total) we were both exhausted.  I also got stung by a bee right under my eye while I was riding my bike (these things seem to happen to me).  The bike ride went pretty well though considering it has been a few years since either of us have ridden a bike.  I was out of shape (not like my basketball & prebaby days), but I wasn't in as bad of shape as I thought.  :)

Johnny played with his whale and his sharks in the car (his new favorite obsession which is ironic since his mommy & grandpa are terrified of sharks)...

After the bike ride we stopped at Illegal Pete's for some Mexican food--it was delicious!  I recommend the chicken tacos.  :) Yum.

After our late lunch we headed home begrudgingly.  We really wanted to stay and see more of Boulder (we wanted to LIVE in Boulder).  But alas, we needed to get home so we could unload before Mass.

Goodbye mountains. :(

The good news: sleeping toddler. :)

The departure from Boulder was made even more bittersweet when we drove to the Denver Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the 6.30pm Mass & couldn't find any parking.  Every single street within a reasonable and safe distance was taken except for the $5 parking lot, but we didn't have any cash.  That was a big bummer, since we go to Mass every week and look forward to it.  Maybe we should have stayed and went to Mass in Boulder...  I did get some nice pictures of the Cathedral when we were circling it trying to find a parking spot, though. :)  Unfortunately they were vertical and this blogger picture tool won't let me rotate them before posting....so, I'll have to get better pictures and post them later.

We are tired, we have cleaning to do, and my bottom is very sore from a very uncomfortable bike seat, so I will leave you all with what I've already written.  Until next time--with love!

Strawberry & Raspberry Picking!

Today John and I took Johnny to Berry Patch Farms in Brighton, Colorado (right outside Denver).  If you would like to check out Berry Patch Farms, click here.  The day started out kind of cold & rainy but by the time we got ready to go to the farm, it was warming up and ended up being really nice and sunny but not too hot.  The drive was about thirty minutes from our apartment.  I heard about this through a Denver Mommies group online of which I belong.  Some of the moms were supposed to meet there today, but it ended up just being me because of illnesses or cancellations.  I almost didn't go because I didn't feel good, but this morning I felt like going (I was feeling a lot better) so John and I packed up Johnny and decided to go pick some fruit before his afternoon class.

When we got there they were loading up a tractor to take visitors to the strawberry fields, which was a bit of a distance from the main buildings.  Also, they didn't want people walking out there by themselves because of other crops and haystacks that weren't stacked properly right now (they had those roped off and had warning signs, so it was safe, they were just being cautious).  So, we crammed ourselves like sardines onto the back of the trailer that the tractor was pulling.  There were a lot of other moms with toddlers there on a sort of play date, so the trailer was full.  And strangely ALL of the toddlers had the blondest hair (I wonder if they were related??).  When we go to the strawberry fields, Johnny immediately ran off to play with some cones...

He ended up moving all of the cones about a foot to one side--luckily they were only marking where the tractor was stopping, so it didn't reveal a dangerous hole or anything.  While John watched Johnny playing with the cones, I started making my way down the rows of strawberry plants, filling up my quart containers.  There were still plenty of bright red juicy strawberries on the plants, even though this is late in the season.  The owner told me that last week they had HUGE strawberries (bummer).  But I ended up filling up about 2 quarts of strawberries in about twenty minutes.  Not too shabby.  The awesome part about this farm is that all the berries (strawberries & raspberries, which you could pick yourself) and I'm pretty sure all the rest of their produce that they sell in their store is ORGANIC (anyone who knows us well, knows that we love organic).  Also, you can eat as many strawberries and raspberries as you want as you are picking them.  Johnny definitely took advantage of that.  As soon as he was done rearranging the cones, he ran down the row I was picking strawberries in and as soon as he saw the strawberries, he took his binky out and started grabbing strawberries out of the container and shoving them in his mouth.  Good thing they were organic! :)

 

you can see the mountains in the distance! this farm is NE of Denver, so further away from the mountains, but you can still see them.

Ignore the t-shirt, I wore what I didn't mind getting dirty. :)  And I really am happy, the sun was in my eyes & my 2 yr old was throwing a huge tantrum when the picture was being taken.

Johnny probably ate the equivalent of 10 large strawberries (it was really like 20 small ones).  I kept having to pick more to make up for his appetite.  I felt a little bad until I looked around and saw that the other toddlers and adults were also shoving their faces full of strawberries (and the owner explicitly said "eat as many as you want while you are picking").  After we filled up the two quarts of strawberries, we got back on the tractor when it came back and went back to the main building.  They weigh your strawberries and then they will keep them on a shelf with a number (kind of like checking your coat) while you go pick other produce.

John & Johnny outside of the main store after we picked strawberries.  

After we weighed & stored our strawberries, we picked up the pint-size containers and went raspberry-picking!  Growing up, I used to love picking raspberries at my grandma's house (she has an AWESOME garden) and making smoothies or eating them plain.  Usually my oldest male cousin would get to them first and eat all the raspberries, but sometimes I would get there first. :) It was fun to pick the raspberries (they are easier to pick than strawberries because you can use one hand and they are at chest-level)--the darker the better! :) Yum!  

We picked 4 pints of raspberries before we realized that we needed to go so that John could get to his afternoon class on time.  We definitely lost track of time.  I hope we can go back there again before it gets too cold.  We plan on going there frequently next summer since they have cheap organic produce and it is a fun experience to pick fruit together as a family.  Johnny will probably be old enough next summer to help pick the berries too (rather than destroying everything in his path & playing with dirt clods).  All in all we made off with a HUGE amount of organic berries and cherry tomatoes.  We ended up paying about 1/2 of what it would have cost us for non-organic produce (of the equivalent weight) at a grocery store and 1/3 of what it would have cost us for organic produce (of the equivalent weight) at a grocery store.  Our son is a fruit monster so we plan on eating part of the berries in the next couple of weeks but we plan on freezing the rest so we can have fresh berries during the winter.  I hope to go back to the farm when we have more time in the next week and pick some more to freeze.

This is the fruit we brought home today: 

 Isn't God's creations yummy?! :)  

The best part of the whole trip: Johnny fell asleep within SECONDS of getting in the car.  All that walking and eating really wore him out. :)  He was covered in dirt from head to toe, but he was happy and he was sleeping, so who could complain??

flashback cupcakes

This morning I went to check out a blog that I read almost daily for their fun craft ideas: Little Birdie Secrets.  When I went to read their post today I was surprised to find pictures of Elmo & Cookie Monster cupcakes that looked similar to the ones I made for Johnny's 1st birthday way back in the summer of 2008.  If you would like to see them, click here.  Their cupcakes were a little different but very similar still.  Seeing the pictures of the cupcakes made me seek out the pictures from Johnny's 1st birthday party and also to look at the cupcakes that I recently made for his 2nd birthday this last summer.  So, here are some flashback pictures to the cupcakes...

*Sesame Street Cupcakes*

*Wild Animal Cupcakes & Cakes*

 

The Sesame Street cupcakes for Johnny's 1st birthday took a lot longer than the animals, only because that was my very first time ever decorating a cupcake beyond your standard jar of frosting that you smear on with a rubber spatula.  It took me a little while to figure out how to use all the various frosting tips and the best techniques and the best way to maximize my time.  In the end it took me about 6 hours for only sixteen cupcakes.

The next year the animal ones took half that time--they would have taken less time than that even but I didn't have any pictures of other cupcakes to go off for these ones.  With the Sesame Street cupcakes I had seen similar ones here and there on the internet and made my own adjustments based on what I had, but with the animals I researched for days and couldn't find anything that would work so I decided to come up with my own.  I knew what it took to make the cupcakes from the Sesame Street ones, so I drew what the animals looked like and decided on the frosting colors and candies that would work for noses and eyes, etc.  The lion cake was a small round cake pan and then I decorated it with frosting.  The sheet cake was just green frosting with a grass tip, the letters were rolled out Starbursts cut into letters with an exacto-knife, and then plastic animal toys (washed) placed around the cake.

In the end I think both the Sesame Street and the Wild Animals cupcakes turned out great!  I am excited to try and do these again with Johnny on a rainy day or something.  Right now it seems like his next birthday party will probably be dinosaurs, so I am excited about coming up with a design for those cupcakes.  But that is still a long way off! John thinks I should work for a bakery or make designer cupcakes for people, but I don't really think I'm that experienced to do that.  And really, I only enjoy doing them when they are for my son and only occasionally because they are a lot of work.  Hope you all enjoyed my little flashback of cupcakes!  And thanks to Little Birdie Secrets for reminding me of them! :)

And if you were curious as to how Johnny reacted to the cupcakes on his birthdays:

On his 1st birthday he cried because he was overwhelmed by all the people surrounding him taking pictures & singing.  He never did end up eating his Cookie Monster cupcake.  On his 2nd birthday he devoured his tiger cupcake.  No prompting needed. ;)