JUST ADD NEON

It's begun. The inevitable "dino" phase all little boys go through. I kind of knew it would happen, and so long as I don't start buying hideous clothing just because it has a dinosaur on it, I am A-OK with it. I found a bunch of $1 dinosaurs the other day at the store and when I gave them to Elliott he was super excited. But then he looked concerned. He held one out to me and said "I wanna paint it pink, Mom." Now that was something I could get in to! He started lining up the dinosaurs and assigning them painting colors. Blue, purple, green, yellow and pink. A few minutes later, he put me to work.

I only had pink, yellow and green but blue and purple are forthcoming! Elliott loves how they turned out. He said, and I quote "Mommy, actually..it's perfect!" Thanks, my boy. Anything for you. (Pats self on back)

DIY TABLETOP PUPPET THEATER

A few years ago, I made a fabric puppet theater that hangs in the doorway, but Elliott can't reach the window. So it is always the adults who are putting on the show. Where's the fun in that? So I made him this cardboard theater to keep on his table so he can put shows on for us for a change!

I used one of those cardboard presentation boards, measured and cut out the window and covered it with duct tape. Easy peasy! The bonus about using the duct tape is it makes the theater a little bit sturdier for little hands. I also love that it is pretty compact and fits just about anywhere when it's not in use. Perfect for our tiny apartment! We have had a lot of fun with it so far and I am sure we have many-a-puppet show in the future.

MEMORIAL DAY

I hope you all had a wonderful memorial day. The forecast had originally said we would get rained out, but we are so glad the weatherman was wrong! The water in the local parks was finally turned on, so of course we had to get in on that. Would you look at Elliott's shorts? I mean, they were tight and small to begin with. That's just the style of them. But now? It's getting to be a little much. I'm thinking he might need some new ones. Yes? Maybe I'll try these ones next.

For the rest of the day, we spent time with friends, grilled up some delicious food some of which was corn (yum!) and Elliott, being the proper lad he is, insisted on eating his with a fork. He gave up after a valiant effort of 5 minutes. And we ended the day with some patriotic (kind of?) strawberry shortcake! All in all a fantastic day.

MOMMY AND ME

I'm sure you've heard of mommy and me dates. Where the mom and child go on a special date together. Well, even though every day is kind of like a mommy and me date for us, Elliott and I decided to make a date around Hoboken.

We walked around for a while and saw a pretty cool fire station. But after a while of walking, Elliott expressed he was hungry. I had a Starbucks gift card so we went there for lunch. He got to pick whatever he wanted and I was pretty surprised by his choices. We split a bagel and OJ and he had an applesauce pouch. And I had some money left on the card so I bought the Hunger Games soundtrack. Yes I did.

Then we hit up some great sales. He literally walked out of the store with this on. I'm not quite sure how I missed it. Sneaky little guy.

That's right. A park on an island literally on the Hudson.

The really cool super big playground was overrun with tweens who were trampling the younger kids, so we played at the baby playground. He still loved it.

We walked all over Hoboken and loved it. Hoboken is only one square mile, but there is so much packed into it, it feels like we will never do it all! We had a great time and Elliott asked if we could "go a date" again tomorrow. Sure bud. I'd love to!

DIY SCALLOPED PILLOWCASE

I had some plain white pillowcases, and thought "Elliott could use a cute pillowcase" So made him one, I did. It's a basic freezer paper project, but instead of doing something intricate and hand cramping, I did scallops! Elliott thinks they are "like water" but I love them. So much.

Here is what you'll need to make your own:
Freezer paper
Fabric Paint
Foam Brush
Scissors - I love mine!
Pen
Something to trace a circle (a jar in my case)
Plain Pillowcase

Tear off a section of freezer paper the same length as the pillow case and use the jar to trace half circles close together to get the scallop look.

Cut out the scallops and position on your pillowcase, make sure it lines up well with the seam in the pillowcase. Don't want it looking all wonky once it has the pillow in it!

 Iron on the freezer paper really well. Again, make sure it's all lined up.

Paint! I only did one coat on mine, but depending on the color of the case and the paint, you may want to do more. Allow it to dry and you're done!

I think he likes it.