Frozen Raspberry Lemonade Popsicles

Today marks the official first day of summer…I know some of you have been enjoying summer weather for a while, but blue skies and wispy clouds combined with higher mercury readings are finally here in MN!!! Yeah!!!

That means little bodies are heating up and taking to the water. At our house my kids are huge fans of anything sweet that comes from the freezer.

This is a rendition of a recipe I saw on-line and tweaked a bit.

None of the ingredients in this are hard to find or really all that great for us…(read: no paleo here;)), however it is a treat and as treats go, they are not usually broccoli…am I right?!

Ingredients:

One box of Raspberry Jell-O (you could really use any flavor, strawberry would also be really tasty)…8 serving size.
Lemonade mix, enough for 8 servings, more or less depending on your tartness preference.
Water
Ice
Sugar (Optional)
Dixie cups
Plastic spoons or Popsicle sticks

Boil 4 cups of water and stir in Jell-O, lemonade and any sugar if you like to sweeten your mixture.
Add ice cubes to a glass measuring cup, add water to equal 2 ½ cups total, then add to Jell-O Mixture.
Pour into paper cups; I put mine into a muffin tin to keep it steady for the little helpers I had, also to catch the drips. I also used a funnel to help keep things neat. Put in freezer for 2 hours.

After 2 hours they should only be partially set. This is when we added plastic spoons, I did this so little hands could hold onto then better and avoid a stick, put back into the freezer for another hour or two. This made about 14-16 pops with the Dixie cups approximately 3/4 full.

ENJOY!!!!

Poppa’s Day

Posted by Patchwork Reality

At our house he goes by Poppa, some families use different aliases, dad, pop, daddy, padre, poppy, fathter…and not all are created the same, but thanks for life right?!

This Poppa here has a heart of gold, he has been a trooper since before they were born, he went to almost every OB appointment, got up and brought the baby to the milk supply every night that he was home., changed and washed countless diapers.

Rocked and sang all these littles to sleep with more patience that I could muster some days.

He trades shifts to be at ball games, pick up from camps; music performances and pre-school special days.,

I am immensely thankful that all 4 of his children have been patiently taught how to fish, quietly catch frogs and bugs, and have had his soothing voice read them stories for bedtime.

All that being said, he still knows how to be a circus dad and get them riled up right at bedtime, taught them how to make fart noises with their hands, and probably other fun/gross tricks when I was not home.

I am so very thankful to celebrate with day with my kids, because they truly have a special Poppa who loves them more than he could have ever imagined.

Lasts and Firsts

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Last morning of school for the 3 bigs today, Avalon has been out since before Memorial day.

It seems like ages ago I took their first day of school photos.

Total we lost 7 six teeth, had 5 haircuts, 2 calls from the principals office, only 1 time did someone miss the bus, and we got one new pair of glasses.

This is Solomon’s LAST day of elementary school , where did my baby boy go? He is so big and confident and independent…my heart!

Santanna is the LAST kindergarten class that her teacher, Mrs. C, is teaching, she will be moving to first grade next year, she has been teaching kindergarten for 25 years….she was barely holding it together this morning, I think we both almost starting crying.

Raiven in the FIRST 3rd grade class that her teacher has had and she has been amazing, I hope she is still teaching 3rd grade when our littles come through.

In a few hours it will be the start of The FIRST day of Summer vacation…

Did a little photo shoot this AM:

Look at all those legs, just getting longer and longer!

This is the “jump shot” from the FIRST day of school this year (this is their favorite way to have me photograph them, they think it is so funny to look at themselves in this frames):

And here is the LAST day of school jump shot (with my own personal statistic):

You can see with all this energy at home all day my posts my become more spaced but hang with me, I have lots of ideas just waiting for these little hands to help me with, plus lots of trips to share.

HAPPY SUMMER!

Wormin’

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Not sure what yours was like, but our Memorial Day Weekend was R-A-I-N-Y!!Which actually worked out perfectly because instead of working in the yard, we ripped out our carpet and installed that hardwood flooring we bought earlier this month.
It is still raining, not all day but most, I can’t tell you how many sports practices the kids have missed due to rain.. and snow…in May. Weather is not my area, but I am thinking this is strange.
Solomon’s class is going on an end of year tour of a local fish hatchery and then they get to fish for few hours, before Jon left for work he suggested he go out a gather some of the worms that are crawling all over to use as bait.
No need to tell him twice, this boy was born a naturalist, one hand in the dirt , one foot in the water and both eyes in a book, taking in all the information he can gather.
Best part is: he includes and teaches his sisters.
So him and Raiven set our with a shovel, a bucket, slickers and boots..I did some of this:

But caught them on their way home.

I always wonder what the conversation topic is.

The orange in his hand is a candy package he found and brought home to throw away, this is something I have done with him since before he could walk, I would pick up recyclables and garbage on walks and hikes and bring it home.

They also found this guy:

A bucket full o’ bait:

And picked a few up from the path on the way home:

I am eager to show you our new floor, it looks amazing, but these moments are way more fun to share.

Super Sib Cape – Birthday Gift

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Santanna’s best friend has an older sister, who is battling a brain tumor with all the energy she can muster. I know I have briefly written about this before, and I ran my last marathon for team Ana.

Elsa and Santanna have an extremely special bond. We are a place that E can come and escape some of the burden of chemo and pills and sadness that is detected even when I am sure it is trying not to show itself. She is a “super sib” and has been praised as that in many aspects and events. Not enough in the shadow of cancer, but she knows she is loved and valued.

Santanna and Elsa have know each other since they were 3 and now that they are both just turning 6, that is like forever!

All Elsa wanted for her birthday according to her mom was Santanna.

What do you give as a gift to a girl who adamantly prays for a cure for her sister’s cancer? For normalcy?

I can’t tell you….

But we did make her a super E cape, a reminder that she is amazing and wonderful, and as many other little girls would love…one for her American Girl Doll.

It was really an easy project, and E loved it!!

Here is Tanna modeling it with our own AG doll Lucy:

If you have it in you, whatever your persuasion or belief, even though you do not know their family, will you please take a moment and use your heart to give a beat for Ana. They really are an amazing family. I know they will feel and appreciate it.

Upcycled Jewelery Oraganization

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Is it May already…and almost 1/3 over. I am still pushing foward on the NYR to become more oranginzed.

Organization in our house is a constant battle, a good one, but hard-fought non the less.

With 3 girls, the princess accessories are at an all time high, but I am sure it is just the tip of the iceberg.

At her recent campout birthday party, Raiven received a few new special accessories, she has pierced easr, has been acquiring necklaces and bracelets from relatives and friends, and thrifting. Until this project she was hanging them on a wooden drawing doll, is that what it is called?

I accidentally deleted a whole card full of photos…ugh! So the before shots are none existent..but here is what we did:

I had 2 black picture frames that were thrifted or the glass has brokern out of, I was tired of tripping over them but knew I would find a use from them….eventually.

When I saw this I decided to upcycle the old frames to organize our oldest daughters jewelry.

We spray painted them in Raiven’s color choice.

Then Hubby cut, he is the type A to my relaxed type B, and attached chicken wire to the frame.

He attached them to the wall with hallow all sinkers, since they were not on a stud, we wanted them securely in place.

WE added these hooks to the chicken wire, we crimped the top set closed so they are fixed in place, but we left the others uncrimped so she can move them around as she likes. These are from Menards, but I am sure any hardware store has them.

The other side we did not put any hook on, we left this one for earrings so she can just loop them over the wire.

I made the yellow beautiful art on her wall, inspired by one I saw on Zulily.

She is thrilled with this new addition to her room, and is really lets her showcase all the special jewelery she has, as most of it has been gifts. It also gives her the independence to choose what she wants to wear and gives her the ability to easily care for her special jewelry.

This Cake is on Fi-yah!!

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Raiven just celebrated her 9th birthday.

We chose to have it at our house and she was allowed to invite up to 9 girls, including her self to spend the night.

All but one was able to spend the night, they all came and played, made a craft and had cake and ice cream.

We are big campers at our house so we set the tent up, since there was still 6 inches of snow outside, in the base ment, for the girls to sleep in. In nice weather we would have set it up outside.

After seeing this cake:

Credit: Amam Cara…Cakedecorating website

Hubby and I decided to do our own take on a bonfire cake:

Here are the ingredients:

Cake mix of your choice, along with ingredients needed to make cake, which may vary.

Pam or non stick spray.

Pirouette cookies.

Hard butterscotch and cinnamon candies, at least 25 of each

Here is how we did it, as always feel free to do what you like and works best for you.

Bake cake according to directions on the package. We used a yellow cake it is a favorite, also I thought it would be neat to take some scoops of the cake mix before baking it and add red or yellow coloring and plop them in so when you cut the cake the inside had more of a fire look,…maybe next time.

We baked the cake in a 9 X 13, cut it in half and sacked it, you could do 2 round pants as well.

Let it cool, frost as you normally would, we used chocolate.

Then take the butterscotch and cinnamon hard candies, put them in a baggies and pound them until crushed, almost like a sugar.

Then put them on a sheet of tinfoil that has been sprayed with non stick spray and put in the oven at 350, here are the candies we melted:

This does not take long 5 minutes or so, it will look a little liquidy and bubbly, also when you melt the candies you can choose how thick to make them which will change the time depending on the thickness.

Once cooled, break into pieces and put on your cake however you like, add pirouette cookies as the “loge for your fire.

We added fire to the edges, the candy stuck very well to the frosting.

Ta-Da bonfire cake!

Sing with me This cake is on Fi-yah!

Happy 9th Birthday!! This girl knows how to party 🙂

“Room” for Improvement.

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Previously I shared Avalon’s room, you can see it here.

It seems no small task to get their rooms tidy enough to take photos to share, but I am sharing Santanna’s room because it needs to be redone read, paint, and decor.

By far it is the hardest to get her to keep her room organized, it seems like every time we “deep clean” it and I give her bins and tips, and take more out, it just ends up haphazard all over again. Cool with me if she can find things…but thats not the case.

Anway…here is her room AS IS:

Walking in we have a coat hook, I think this might have to go, it feels like a catchall and clutters the entrance?

Looking in from the hallway, can you see that we have started to patch holes in preparation for fresh paint, probably evident in every picture;)…oh and there’s Farley..he loves Santanna!

Curtains need to go/change, I painted her name in one color than was going to change it to match the Circo Love and Nature bedding, which will probably stay, but never finished…add that to the l ist.

Bed side table….less stuff, or maybe one on each side, for books and alarm clock, lamp?

These shelves used to be over a bookshelf, and now just look out-of-place, I think they need to move to a more thoughtful/purposeful place.

Here is what houses almost all her books and toys, it was 2 bookshelves ( that we built) and repurposed into a cubby system. Notice those green woven bins from Target again that I used in the pantry …man I might have bought them all from our store.

I would love to see a cushion on part of this?? She likes to set up her toys and play n it, so maybe just 1/2 for a cozy reading spot.

View of her bed sitting on the cubby system with my back to the window, you can see the heavy blanket peeking out from under her bedding, it gets COLD here, layers are cozy!! She needs a headboard or bed frame of some sort.

Recap of to do list for this room

Paint
Move coat hook
Paint her letters or remove
Bedside table…add another/declutter
purposeful shelving and wall decor
Headboard/footboard, bed frame
Cushion on cubby system

Spring Break….Last Day

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Well that FLEW by!!

Not even sure that much more happened from day 4 to today, just living, breathing and eating.

I was a little bummed at the prospect of just hanging by “our dish” and not traveling for spring break, I really love an adventure, I even considered packing up the kids and the tent and driving south until it was warm enough to set up camp for the week. However, we all had a great week, there was loads of down time, games, puzzles, a few playdates, and today even warmed up to the middle 4o’s.

I went to pick up 2 kids from my mom’s house in Lake City and we went for a walk and got pizza to eat in the park…yes if you live in MN a pizza picnic in the park is totally acceptable once the thermometer passes 40.

Lake City boat docks, not sure when they will get the boats in, but I bet it won’t be long!

Papa Tronnios pizza, if you ever venture to this side of Lake Pepin, get you some of this pizza!! It is awesome! We also noticed that Rabbits Bakery does a wood fire pizza night the first Sunday of every month, which we will be enjoying in May, I will post details then.

Swinging after devouring some za!.

I just love all of our time together, it can be a lot to organize and the house gets messy, not everyone’s hair is always smooth and pretty, but man we have fun together, and that is what is important!

Hope everyone had a great 2013 spring break.

Now that the weather is nice I am going to be posting more home and wood projects, it is just to hard to get to them in the winter without proper ventilation. Can’t waist for you all to see them!

Spring Break day 4…..No joke

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Man I wished I would have pulled off some amazingly witty and creative April Fools Day pranks on some unsuspecting kids or husband that I know and love.

Truth is I didn’t.

However all 4 kids actively helped out cleaning our 3 bathrooms, and they are shiny and clean. Give a kid some water and soap and once all the excess water dries up, there is not a dirty spot in the place.

I did pull off making dinner for everyone, look who showed up:

This little kitty cat who daintily ate her meal:

A 2 horned super girl, she mostly snarled and ate:

This girl time traveled from the disco era to join us:

Then there was this guy….and he’s no joke:

Anybody pull off any great pranks???

Also Happy 3rd Birthday to Farley, wasn’t he cute? He now weight 135 pounds, one of these days I will tell you all his story, but for now…..Awwwww! Look at how cute he was!!!: