Better bag alternatives

After doing a little research on grocery bags and looking for alternatives, the cost, etc. I found this site: http://www.reusablebags.com/ They have a ton of bags you can buy to use for shopping as well as lunch boxes/bags.

I have been wanting to find Ezra a new lunchbox before he starts kindergarten and have found Bento boxes to be a wonderful idea. I am constantly buying zip-loc bags because I can't find plastic containers small enough to fit neatly into his rigid plastic lunchbox (currently he has a Yoda one purchased at Big Lots). I also want to find a small thermos. Since he loves soup and chili, I'd like to send him to school with some during the cold weather, but not have to microwave it. So, I am still on the lookout for the perfect squatty yet petite thermos.

Anyway, I just got to reading about the bag/plastic issue and came upon this news article about soft vinyl lunchboxes. One out of five tested had large amounts of lead! Read the article: http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=1318

So, I am working on making some more grocery bags (see below) and hopefully have enough to sell at Charlotte Farmer's Market. Wouldn't that be fun?! I could try selling on Etsy, but it is so saturated right now, and I really have found that when I post things on Etsy to sell, I find myself checking my email and how many hearts I have waaaay too much to be productive.

Shopping bag

I am so excited and encouraged about this. Tonight my mom and dad have Ezra spending the night and so, I felt the urge to sew. It's not related or anything, but it does definitely give me some extra time and energy. I have been wanting to get some cloth shopping bags for a while, but can't bring myself to spend money on them.

So, I went online and found this pattern to use (free! - http://www.thecreativethimble.com). I have some fabric from my mom's business and wanted to use it some way neat and useful. So, here's my shopping bag! I am so ready to make more. It was fun and my sewing skills don't stink! It's been a long time since I've sewn anything so complex.

The bag inside out. I lined it with muslin and glued the sewn triangles to the bottom to make the bag more sturdy.

Many hours later, the bread was done

Finally at 9 PM, we were able to enjoy some bread that Ezra made. It was taking a while to rise because it wasn't warm enough in our house. So, I finally turned our plate warmer on the stovetop on and put the dough on top of it.

The bread was very good, a little bit salty (I think he added more when I wasn't looking!), but homemade bread cannot be beat!

Baking bread

This afternoon after a quick trip to the grocery store, Ezra and I decided that today is a good day to make some bread. While he has watched and helped me in the past making cookies or banana bread, I thought that it was way overdue that he make yeast bread.

No pictures to post, just the vision in my head of him carefully measuring the flour, scraping the measuring cup with the back of a knife to level the flour, then watching him stir and knead and really get into it. We're waiting for its first rise now. Not sure if he kneaded it enough. I tried to butt in a few times to give the dough a few good nudges, but was quickly reminded by my son that it was his turn!

He said, "This is fun for children to do with their mommies..." how sweet. And I really enjoyed it too. Children can do a lot more than we give them credit for. That being said, I was reading about the cotton mills here in Newton back in the early 1900s. The child labor being used was rampant here and most other mills in the South. I looked at some photos of these young children and it made me sad.

I digress... :)

There's a few books by Mollie Katzen of the Moosewood Cookbook fame specifically geared toward children (preschool through eight and up). I am waiting for them to be returned to the library.
Pretend Soup
Honest Pretzels
Salad People

Maybe the next time we cook or bake together, we can get a few photos.

A Snowy Day

We did get about 3ish inches last night. And though it was raining this morning, all three of us got a chance to go outside and play. We made a snowman with a carrot nose and peanut eyes (the raisin mouth wouldn't stick). We had a snowball fight or two. And since the snow was wet, by the time my husband packed a snowball, it really had some fire in it! Ouch! Then we attempted to sled down our hill--on the lid of Ezra's sandbox! Didn't work, so since then we tried using the lid to a storage container (nope) and a plastic platter from Chick-Fil-A catering (nada).

That's okay. Because later (after building a fort inside thanks to my sister), we went out again. This time it was just Ezra and me since Jason went into work. More snowball fights and we made a snowdog for our little snowman. Then we took a walk and Ez splashed in the melting snow that raced down the gutter. He was laughing so much and I hated to pull him away from it all. It was great to just be there with him as he jumped up and down, contorting his body this way and that way to make the greatest impact on the slush.

Here he is giving our snowman a kiss on the head after making the snowdog.


Ezra as the boy in the Water Horse (it was his idea as we rolled a snowball).

Am I lazy or what?

So I figured out that I haven't written anything on here for a while and had to think of why.

1. Christmas rush - could be that. The day after Christmas we had my in-laws come in from Mississippi and stay with us. We traveled that week here and there and then they were gone and I got to sleep in my own bed. Then New Years and a karaoke get together. And now it's the middle of January!

2. Indecision - what do I write about? I really have to start thinking of this as a journal, since really only one person besides myself may read this. I want to have deep thoughts about life, but I am too busy trying to avoid thinking and processing everything about my life. Sometimes I think I am waiting for the next big something in my life to happen. And I miss out on all the times in between that have deep meaning.

3. This is it--Laziness-- I have to remember another username and password?! That is my life, usernames and passwords...others, my own...to check on the progress of my work or on my bank account. To make sure I am keeping things organized and afloat until I can come up for a big breath of air. So...I am sure it is the laziness of remembering another set of login info. Although, this time, I didn't even need my password sent to me. There's hope yet!