Little Superheroes

Last night Stephen and I put on our aunt and uncle hats and babysat our niece and nephew. The time went so quickly, mostly because they go to bed at 8 pm and when that includes dinner and brand new capes, time just flies.

Yes, I said brand new capes. 

Superheroes Grace and Luke

A family friend is incredibly crafty and posted a how-to on her blog, Cameron Homemade. While I enjoy some crafts, sewing is not my forte. So, I commissioned Cammie. She made some wonderful capes that reflected both kids' styles.

The best part was showing up for the night and having a surprise for the kids. At first, they were excited and moved on to other toys. All of sudden, they both put on their capes and played church, superheroes, and Darth Vader. All three games required the capes. I can't tell you how many times I was attacked by a hooded Darth Vader last night...

Here are my darlings last night:

Yesterday was also a big day because we saw Hunger Games - I will try to write more on that later. Until then, remember what it was like as a little kid playing with sheet sand blankets and all the fun you would have pretending!

My lazy Sunday

My husband headed off to Lambeau field yesterday morning and I had a whole day to myself. I was a little over ambitious. After two hours on the couch watching Sunday morning television I took a trip to Michaels and the Woodmans. I made it home in time to watch the Packer game, even though it was an unfortunate game.

During the game I made my first batch of homemade chicken stock to freeze (thank you Gwyneth Paltrow). I crafted a picture frame/dry erase note board for the house and made paper flowers for decorations. Both of these tasks involved my new LAVENDAR hot glue gun.

 This first picture is a whole bowl of the flowers. They are made out of pages of an old novel. You cut a scalloped circle, spiral it, roll it tight and then hot glue it. I got the idea from this blog via Pinterest. Check out the link for more thorough instructions.

 Here is what single flower looks like. I had grand plans of making enough for a few decorative bowls and my hurricane jar. Instead I made about 20, enough to barely fill a bowl and few to sprinkle around the base of a candle around the hurricane jar.

After the Packer game (and I lost my will to make flowers) I finally relaxed a bit and watched the 2 hour season premiere of Downton Abbey. It took all my will power to not start the next one - it was amazing. Luckily, I am all about delayed gratification. Instead, I baked pumpkin bread - I had to get the chicken smell out of the house. I also cruised through the Golden Globes.

As I fell into bed exhausted at 11:30 last night, I told myself that I was so productive because I have the day off today and can recover. This morning, I popped up and got dinner in the crockpot and paid bills. While this sounds like the same insane level of productivity, I hear Barbara Kingsolver calling my name. Yesterday, I did not finish The Lacuna. I think that is a noble goal for today.