One Sheet Wonders

This is where you can find my "One Sheet Wonder" cardmaking templates, based on Dawn Lewis's templates.

These are my eight cards, before I put embellishments on them.

Also, here is the webpage that has the card sketches that we used. Her templates fit a different size paper (A4, which is slightly shorter and wider than printer-size paper in the US).

OSW Card Pattern 100% - you can print these on the back of an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper if you can do borderless printing. 

OSW Instructions

OSW pinwheel, folded star and 3d stars

OSW Measurements - These are the measurements for the OSW templates, but they are not to scale like the pattern above. In other words, you have to mark it to scale on your paper, using the measurements provided.

I'm not 100% in love with card eight, so if anyone has any ideas about it, let me know!

Boo-zar & Halloween

Asher's first Halloween!

We decided we would try Halloween this year and decide whether or not it was a right fit for us. Christians would say no (10 Reasons I Kissed Halloween Goodbye) and yes (Christians Love Halloween (And If They Don’t, They Should…). It is culturally appropriate and 'traditional' where I grew up... and it hasn't existed in Australia where my husband grew up but is gaining in popularity there. I'm not a fan of that.

We went with a simple costume using normal clothes Asher already had, so it wouldn't be too uncomfortable or fussy... so he was a koala. When asked what he was, his reply ("a koala") sounded like chihuahua. I was the tree.

The Saturday before Halloween we went to the town's Boozar. Costumes, candy, activities. Asher liked the trick or treating bit at the different local businesses. Lots of older kids, with the girls wearing as little as possible in the form of costumes. We told Asher beforehand that it was a big costume party, he was happy with that.

We then brought the costume out on Monday for open gym, then Wednesday for Story Time at the library. More candy. We were a bit tired of it by then, Asher wasn't.

Thursday- Halloween. We took Asher to the chamber of commerce's trunk or treat, more candy. A local church hosted a Halloween event, kids played games and won candy. We liked that- it was much more participatory than just 'give me candy.' They had hot dogs and drinks, a cake walk, etc. It was really fun.

When we got back home, we took Asher across the street to the neighbor's house. We live in a little cul-de-sac neighborhood shaped like a Y, and we know most of the neighbors. They wanted Asher to come trick or treating to their house. So we went to a few houses around the neighborhood, and people were so happy to see him. Like me, they remembered trick or treating as wandering around the neighborhood with your family seeing and chatting with your neighbors, getting candy, friendly fun. But I think trick or treating is becoming a thing of the past, Asher was probably the only trick-or-treater they saw that night. It felt like we were doing them a service bringing Asher over! They were giving him excited handfuls of candy, exclaiming over his cuteness, in their Halloween t-shirts.

Our conclusion- too much candy. You get candy, you give candy, what's the point? He doesn't get to eat candy anyway! (We have hidden it and give him select treats if he remembers to ask). Halloween night has stretched over nearly a week, and isn't at all the way it was when I was a kid. So I don't know if we will do it again. Perhaps the Boo-zar, or the church fete. But definitely not a whole week of it!

Expectations

A mom from the library's story time told me that the local gymnastics center had an "open day" at their gym for an hour on Mondays, set up for pre-school kids. I went with Asher, not knowing what to expect.

He LOVED it.

I don't think he stopped moving for the whole hour! Running, bouncing, climbing, bouncing, bouncing...

 Asher on the big trampoline. See the look of concentration on his face?

 A soft step leading up to a bar- he'd grab the bar and swing!

The slide attached to the bouncy castle.

Asher drumming at the Mayborn Museum in Waco

Little Monkey

Healthier Ambrosia Fruit Salad

I loved this stuff as a child! It was my favorite at church fellowships. But I never made it because it was rather unhealthy (have you read the ingredients in cool whip?). Anyway, I found a recipe that tastes the way I remember it... and the only unhealthy bit is the marshmallows! Dave agrees that it is the coconut and the pineapple that gives it its' distinctive flavor. 

I based my recipe on this: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/quick-ambrosia-fruit-salad

Here is my version:

Ingredients

• 1 can (small) mandarins, drained
• 1/2 can  unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 red apple, peeled, diced
• 1 cup seedless grapes (red or green)
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1 medium banana, sliced
• 1 container vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Mix and enjoy! Serves about 6.

Notes:

• you'll find unsweetened coconut with dried fruit/trail mix/ banana chips, etc.
• generally, the healthier the yogurt, the fewer ingredients it has (except for those containing live and active cultures)

2 1/2 years old

You're 2 1/2 years old today! Right now...

• you love mango!
• we are so proud that you can sing the whole ABC song, enunciating each letter! This is probably because you request that we sing it all the time.
• when we were in Santa Fe, one of the street singers sang the ABC's to you. You loved it!
• going to the church nursery one day a week is a highlight of your week!
• your favorite bedtime snack is either graham crackers with peanut butter or rye crackers with cream cheese and Promite
• we can hear both an Australian and an American accent in your speech
• if it comes from our garden, you'll eat it. You love picking tomatoes off of the vines.
• you love to play Hide & Seek. You count "1...2...8,9,10!" We have to hide quickly! You're not too interested in hiding yet.
• you can accurately name most of your body parts, including random ones like elbow. 
• you're doing great with potty training, as long as you aren't wearing anything on your bottom half! 
• you enjoy doing crafts at story time in the library. You like cutting with your scissors and using a glue stick.
• you have started praying by yourself at night (but usually repeating after us) and even at mealtimes!
• random things make you enthusiastic- "Asher, the table is brown." Asher says, "Oooo! Brown!"
• you haven't yet figured out that your ice cream is really frozen yogurt
• when you have a potty success, and you remember to ask for a mini M&M, you also want one for every one else in the house. You give one to each person and very rarely eat them yourself!
• you tell jokes, but they only make sense to you!
• so far, the terrible twos haven't been that terrible, thankfully. 
• we are definitely blessed!

Rain

We received some unseasonal wet and cool weather! It finally stopped raining long enough for Asher to go out and play. We went for a walk around the block and met up with some neighborhood boys, threw rocks in a stream, I caught a frog (and impressed the boys... "Asher's mom caught a frog!"). We ended our adventure by playing in a puddle. Asher still had his dish towel "super ee-o" cape on!

Grand Canyon National Park Photos (link)

The grand canyon was awesome, y'all. As Asher said, "Wow! BIG hole!"

We narrowed down our 1000+ photos, chose the best sixty or so, resized them, uploaded them to facebook, and now I can't find them on the computer anymore. The original, large photos are there, just not the small edited ones. So instead of resorting them all, here is the link to my facebook where you can see them all:

Grand Canyon Photos on Facebook

It took us three days to drive there, and we stayed four nights (the perfect length for us), and then three days to drive back. On the drive we visited a (retired) volcano, petroglyphs, a petrified forest, drove through a dust storm, and visited way too many wal-marts. We stayed at KOA's on the way, in cabins. KOA's are great, everything is similar so you know what you're going to get. The cabins means we didn't have to put up a tent, and we didn't have to pay for showers (like we did at Grand Canyon).

Asher did really well with the driving, and staying in a tent, and not falling into the "big hole" or anything like that. Check out the photos!

May/June Asherisms

Asher's new thing is to demand people make him "hoppers" (helicopters) out of mega blocks. Sometimes it is "two hoppers!"

He talks in his sleep. Once he said , "Mooooo! Mooo! Moooooooooo!" Another time he said "No woof woof!" (telling King the dog 'no'). And "Two balls!" (the mini m&m's he gets for potty success, only when he asks).

Every poo is a "BIIIIIG POO!"

New random words include seahorse and decapitate (daddy decapitated a giraffe sticker by accident).

Every time we go to the car, Asher hopefully declares, "Asher drive!"

Oh, the dancing, and he wants everyone to dance with him.

Yesterday he wanted a belt tied around his waist, and he was a mouse running around the house saying "eee! eee!" and holding his fists up to his head for ears.

He knows square, circle, star and diamond. He also knows red, blue, green, yellow, orange and white. He can recognize about half of the alphabet and a handful of numbers. His favorite letter of the moment is H, and he makes H's out of everything. Last week it was Y's. He can recognize all the letters in his first name.

He's discovered my hidden talent of making up random songs, and demands "Mommy sing apple!" (that one was the abc's only with picture words instead of letters, such as on his alphabet poster) and "Mommy sing poo!" (I chose the tune of Heart and Soul.... Poo poo poo, poopoopoopoopoopooo Poo Poo Pooooo..."

Can you tell we're toilet training? So much potty talk...

Today, on the way to the library, Asher and I randomly burst out into song. He was singing a random, wordless song composed of "bumbum bum" and I was singing the hokey pokey.

When we were in the grocery store we found him munching on a mushroom he had removed from a package... that he had opened.

At the moment, he wants to be carried everywhere. From the bedroom to the livingroom, the kitchen to the bathroom, etc.

He very eloquently asked for "happy faces" at dinner one night, meaning the fried strips of bell pepper  which, to him, resembled happy faces.

We have been teaching him to raise and lower his eyebrows. Asher's interpretation of this is to expressively and determinedly roll his eyes.

He has definite opinions about what he wants to wear. Most of his shirts seem to have cars or dinosaurs on them, luckily, he likes cars and dinosaurs.

He is great at potty training, as long as he is naked from the waist down. If he is wearing a diaper, training pants, or any clothing on his bottom, he will use the bathroom in it.

When he's not finished with something, he'll say "One more minute!"

It is hard to play hide and go seek with him. When he's excited, he counts, "One... EIGHTNINETEN!" Thankfully he's delighted to find me wherever I am hiding because I usually don't get very far.

He likes to put on his backpack and "fly" around the house.

He tries to convince everyone else to sing the ABC's for him.

Homemade Fruit Juice Jello! 2 ingredients!

I don't know how I had never heard of this!

More jello, mommy!

I don't know where the original recipe came from. Here is what is written on my recipe card:

Homemade Fruit Juice Jello

• 4 pouches unflavored gelatine
• 1 cup cold fruit juice
• 3 cups fruit juice, boiling

1. Sprinkle gelatine over 1 cup cold fruit juice, stir, and let sit (will be applesauce consistency). Meanwhile boil 3 cups fruit juice.
2. Remove boiling juice from stovetop, pour cold juice/gelatine mixture in, and mix until fully dissolved.
3. Pour into 9x13 pan, chill until fully set, at least 3 hours. 

Done!


I have a note on my recipe card that you can add 1 tsp honey to the heated mixture to add sweetness. I haven't done that, and Asher is quite happy without it. You can't tell from the photo, though! He loves the homemade jello!

Also, just for knowledge's sake, 4 cups juice = 1 quart, so you'll use half of a 2 quart bottle of juice.

UMHB Alumni Dorm Dash Part 2

See this post for the story behind the photos and some photos of us in our dorm!

 Meredith and myself in front of one of the Mary Hardin Baylor signs.

.

They had a coffee story swap time in the Alumni building and museum. Not too sure what the story swap thing was about, however, there was a box of photo props...

Some of the new additions on campus include lots of potted plants and hanging baskets, and swings!

We were very lucky to be able to take a hard hat tour of the new stadium under construction.

Meredith. I think she was in the middle of saying something.

Me!

From the home side looking at the visitor's side. It is going to be great when it is done!

UMHB Alumni Dorm Dash 2013

My friend Meredith and I went to the University of Mary Hardin Baylor to get our BA's in Education. I started in 1997, she began in 1998, and we both graduated in 2002. I took a semester off to live in Australia and returned to graduate with a different group than I started with.

After graduation I taught school for a year, and moved to Australia to study at Tabor Bible College in Perth (God has such a sense of humor, but that's another story). I started dating and became engaged to David, then moved back to Texas for a year. David arrived, we got married, he returned to Australia, I followed a few months later once I got my visa. We lived there for six years (with a stint in Indonesia) before moving back to Texas in January of 2013. At some point I remember I took Dave to visit UMHB during the summer.

Anyway, since I graduated  in 2002 I have only been back to the university once for a visit. I haven't been able to go to any homecoming games and I missed our 10 year reunion in 2012 (I was out of the country). So when the UMHB Alumni association contacted us about the Dorm Dash I was pretty excited. Meredith and I were able to go and stay in the dorms overnight and take tours to see the new buildings and the stadium under construction. It was the first ever Dorm Dash, so there was room for improvement (we wanted to go IN the new buildings) but overall it was great fun being back on campus.

Now for the photos!

Our dorm room for the night in Remschel

View from Remschel facing new stadium

My old dorm- Stribling- with the new stadium bring built right behind it.
Not sure how I feel about that- a football stadium just a few yards from student accommodation? It will also house the SUB, dining hall, etc so from that standpoint it is convenient.

The apartment Meredith and I shared. It didn't have a name at that time!


See this post for more photos!

Random video compilation of Asher

Here is a little bit of everything... a day with a toddler is always interesting!

Random photos of the week

Asher's first haircut, by Aunt Gail ("Dale!")

Dave and Asher examine a crawdad at Raby Park. Dave notices it it a girl and has parasites.

New tire swing! We had to convince Asher to get in but once he was in he was happy. Note that it is about 6 inches off of the ground.

Asher loves to help me by pushing the button on my chopper. After I took the blades out I gave him the little bits of almond that was left. He ate some, then all was quiet. I found him loading his train with he almond meal.

Layered Mexican Casserole

Layered Mexican Casserole 

(based on this Betty Crocker recipe)

The original recipe called for spanish rice and tortilla chips. I found it rather dry and crunchy. This version came about as I often "hide" vegetables in what I cook and tried that instead of the rice.

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 jar salsa
8 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1 can refried beans
1 1/2 cups cheese 

1 can diced tomatoes
1 grated carrot
1 cup zucchini, grated
1 onion finely chopped
1 bell pepper, diced

Procedure

1 Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 11x7-inch (2-quart) baking dish with cooking spray. In frying pan, sauté vegetables until tender, set aside.

2 In same pan, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in salsa; heat about 2 minutes or until hot.

3 Line baking dish with 4 tortillas, overlapping to fit. In medium bowl, stir together refried beans and diced tomatoes; spoon over tortillas, and spread evenly. Top with half of the meat mixture and 3/4 cup of the cheese. Layer 4 more tortillas over cheese. Spoon and spread vegetable mixture over tortillas. Top with remaining meat mixture and cheese.

4 Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until hot in center and bubbling along sides. Serve with sour cream.

Reasons my two year old is having a tantrum

Following along the theme of the popular Reasons my son is crying blog and the post 46 reasons why my three year old might be freaking out we introduce... Reasons my two year old is having a tantrum*...

(*Asher really is a mellow child. His tantrums involve a peaceful protest laying on the floor, or a screech, a cry or knocking over something in annoyance. It is more that his tantrums are caused by the unexpected and unexplained things. All this didn't happen in one day, by the way, this list covered nearly a month!)

Reasons My Two Year Old is Having a Tantrum

- he has a booger up his nose
- there is a hair on his toy
- mommy is singing
- there is something in between the slices of bread in his sandwich
- we won't let him continually flush the toilet
- he doesn't want his train turned on
- Mommy came to get him when he woke up
- Grandma wanted cuddles
- his sock has scrunched up in his shoe
- the sprayed himself with water
- he woke up
- he couldn't take his plane to bed
- he had to put shoes on to go outside
- Auntie Mimi isn't here RIGHT NOW!
- we wouldn't let him go in the car with Auntie Mimi
- he wasn't allowed to hang off the side of the shopping cart
- Daddy is asleep
- we stopped him from pulling everything off of a shelf in the grocery store
- he couldn't splash in the puddles in the middle of the road
- he had a hair in his mouth
- he missed getting the ball in the hoop
- Daddy put his shoes on and Asher didn't see him do it
- we wouldn't turn a corner in the car (as we were driving on a straight stretch of road)
- we didn't have popsicles

Bluebonnet Photos 2013

We went out to the Morgan's house for this year's bluebonnet photos. The bluebonnets were scarce everywhere but plentiful in their yard.

 I took these two photos of Dave and Asher playing together (above). Meredith took the photos below. It is hard to capture a toddler but she does a great job of it!

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Dave's arrival

After three months, Dave finally arrived in the US! Asher and I arrived in Arlington at the same time Dave's flight landed. It took him about two hours to get through customs and immigration, and get to the KOA where we were staying.

(We chose to stay at a KOA instead of a hotel because-

• the deluxe cabin was cheaper than a hotel room
• the cabin had a compact kitchen and a seperate room for Asher
• KOA's have playgrounds and other amenities hotels do not
• the KOA was central to where we wanted to visit)

I didn't tell Asher that Daddy was coming until just before he arrived. We talk about Daddy all the time, but then I let Asher to get all excited yelling "Da! Da!" So he was really excited as Dave arrived, and then wouldn't let him out of his sight, and kept asking, "Dada, byebye?"

We visited the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. According to the website, the exhibits were suitable for children ages 0-8. Really, not so much. More like 4 years and up. Asher was overwhelmed by all the schoolkids on field trips, and there really wasn't much he could do.

He did enjoy a few exhibits...

The trains captured his attention immediately.

There was an outdoor area to play with water.

 We also ate out at a restaurant called Abuelo's, which is rated one of the US's top Mexican places to eat. Asher loved the nachos and Chile con Queso. He does really well at restaurants, for a two year old. They gave him milk in a cup with a lid and straw, which was great.

You can't tell by his face, but he was having fun!

Fort Worth Zoo

One of our adventures in Forth Worth included going to the zoo. We arrived early, along with a few hundred schoolkids. Despite it being a bit crowded, we all had a ball.

Asher and the gorilla

Random photos

Asher eating the spearmint from our herb garden.

Asher catching a ride with Grandma.

Bunny ears!

A three level parking garage with ramps.

How to play football like a 2 year old

This is how to play football like a 2 year old...

First you get Grandpa to throw the ball...

And then you try to throw it back.

In any way possible...

Using both hands if necessary...

And sometimes in the wrong direction.

And you have to have just the right magic moves...

 And if that doesn't work try levitating the ball with the power of your mind.

And it always helps to wear two different shoes.