General Conference

Wow! What a spiritual feast it has been! In our church we get to listen to our prophet and apostles twice a year in a special conference. They share the most inspiring messages.

I've been busy with preparations for the kids in church and my own kids for weeks now. Thanks to Sugardoodle.net and Scriptures4kids they had some great activity books to keep them busy during sessions. I also made some bags with snacks and activities in them and each bag had the face of an apostle attached to it. Whenever an apostle spoke they got the pick the bag with his face on it. Laneah couldn't wait for Elder Bednar to speak because she saw the candy lipstick in the Bednar bag. This is their tent to sit in and listen to President Monson.

This is how my husband taught the kids about King Benjamin and listening to our prophets. Haha...he's still a kid himself.

Eliam loved all the "families" in their tents.

Laneah also colored some easter eggs, Eliam liked the eating part better.

He did not get why his sister was drawing on eggs. Funny little guy.

We had our favorite food for breakfast, lunch and dinner and went for walks inbetween sessions to keep the parents calm and the kids sane. :)

I felt all the work paid off when Eliam came downstairs in the morning, ran to the Computer and said "Monson, Monson!"and in the evening when he went to bed he blew kisses to President Monson on the screen and said "Bye Monson!"

I love our prophet dearly and will do my best to follow him and teach my kids to do so as well. What a great Conference it was. Satan must hate post-Conference Mondays when everybody has renewed spiritual energy and desire to do better and gained stronger testimonies.

Favorite car play mat

I've tried several car play mats lately, but this one's got to be my favorite. I made it for Xandro's first birthday. I love how you can add different photos so they can drive to grandma, church, favorite grocery store, hospital, temple or whatever they love to go to.

I made this one with handles so you can fold it up and take it along.

Find the tutorial here.

DIY cleaning solutions

A while ago I decided not to use harsh chemicals and toxic cleaning solutions from the stores any more. They're so unhealthy when you inhale them and could be a serious danger to your children. Plus they are so bad for the environment. Making your own solutions is so much cheaper too!

I've tried some great recipes. All you need is a simple spray bottle and a few simple ingredients.

White vinegar is a natural deodorizer, absorbing odors instead of covering them up. (and no, your bathroom won't smell like a salad. The aroma disappears when dry.)

It's also a great substitute for fabric softener!

Homemade spray cleaner recipe:

1 cup of water

1 cup of white vinegar

Yes, it's that simple!

Baking Soda is a great deodorizer too. Just add 2 teaspoons baking soda to a spray bottle with water and you can clean pretty much anything with it.

Add a few drop of lemon juice and it smells nice and clean too. Or a few drops of lavender oil or tea tree oil.

And the fun part is my kids can help me clean! They get some water and lemon juice in a spray bottle and can clean along with me! Perfect! No toxic fumes or irritating solutions!
Spring clean away!

Quiet book

They should have received the quiet book by now in the mail so I'm not spoiling the Christmas surprise (and I assume the kids don't read my blog anyways :D).

This is the latest quiet book that I've made. Every time I'm done I promise myself to never ever make one again. It's so much work. But so worth it.

With this one I tried some new things. Felt! Love it!

I also covered a soft plastic binder with fabric. This is so much sturdier than a fabric cover.

I might make another one...

Lost Doll Story Contest and Giveaway

This is my entry for the lost doll contest from the most amazing doll-maker I have ever seen.

Trashcan trauma

When I was a little girl I received a huge doll from my great-grandma. It was a very special doll to me. My great-grandma died not too long after this and this doll was a special memory for me.

I took it wherever I went and loved dressing her up. We were the best of friends. Here is a picture of me and my doll.

My mom thought that the doll was hideous and too big. She always tried to talk me into another doll, but I refused. I had always a love for the not-so-perfect-looking things (You should have seen the Christmas trees in the years I got to pick them, not the picture perfect ones, not straigth, not full with green needles and even but they were special to me).

One day I couldn't find my doll and looked everywhere for her. I couldn't find her. I went outside to play with my brother. We would go out and explore the world, the forest and our neighborhood. We also looked in the trashcan of our apartment complex (kids!) and I was petrified when I saw my loving doll in the trashcan!!! My mom thought I would never find out and forget about her. I was so mad and got her out immediately.

My Mom apologized a million times, but I was a pretty upset doll mom and was sure she would never be able to make up for this.

One day my mother learned to make Waldorf dolls. I was the lucky receiver of her first self-made doll. She put all her love in it and gave it to me. I LOVED this doll. I soon realized how soft and fun it is and forgot all about the big plastic doll. The little Waldorf doll is still alive and treasured. It's my little Miss Sunshine:

My daugther Laneah is 3 years old and has a really ugly plastic doll with sound. I find it rather ugly, BUT I will let her keep her doll. The love/bond you can have for a doll is priceless. But I do want to give her a lovingly made Waldorf doll one day too. One that she can cuddle and love and dress up. A doll that will remind her of me and be a special treasure to her for the rest of her life and maybe even for her own baby girl.

This might be my chance...thank you Juliane for this giveaway! I´ll keep my fingers and toes crossed.

Of birthdays and cakes

Pretty much all of our family birthdays are in August, September and October. Laneah and Eliam turned three and one and we had a lot of fun on their special days.

My mom and I love to make their birthday cakes. We did one from a Debbie Brown book and bought one 3D cake form. It's easier than it looks. It is just playing with food!

Eliam got a big green dragon. I love to play with fondant. You can model anything you dream of. I am personally not too fond of the überübersweetness but it looks great and the cake tasted so good. Birthday boy had a green diaper the day after. :D

Laneah's cake was a toal disaster. I will never do icing again. I'm used to fondant and wanted to try something new, but after we had 16 packs of powedered sugar in the air and in the bowl it just wouldn't turn out good and we decided to do it our way. But she loved it anyway. It was pink and that's all that mattered to her.

Monster quilt

I can't wait to make this quilt! Eliam will be the lucky receiver. I was thinking for his first birthday but it's probably going to take me until his second birthday to finish it. :D

Look here for more on the Little Monsters quilt, the cushion and the skilled designer.

Australia has some amazing quilt/fabric designers! One of my other favorites is Melly & me.