New Stovetop?

So for Christmas, we got Dan a flat griddle for our Saturday family breakfast he makes for us. You know the kind you put on the top of the stove and use the burners to heat. Well, after burning the pancakes because he was chasing James away from the Christmas tree, he noticed a strange smell. Then when he was done cooking, picked up the griddle, and saw....guess....melted griddle! So now there was melted pot on my stovetop and here we are thinking that we are going to be getting a new stove for Christmas, unbeknownst to us!

Stovetop

Bottom of griddle


Well at any rate, my first thought was to attack it with the cleaner that comes with the stove. That got some of the grime off. Then I took the pizza stone scraper to it to see if that would remove any of the stuff sticking up - not really. So then I googled this problem...seems the only recommendation was to get a new stovetop or stove ($300 - $2,000). Hmm. Other ideas for cleaning a stove that had lots of stuff on it were baking soda, this wierd bar cleaning agent, and something else off the wall. So I tried the baking soda and pour vinegar on it, you know volcano style bubbling and whatnot.

This seemed to have something of an effect, but not enough to really make it usable. So I tried this product called Scour Off that really took a bunch off. BUT there was STILL some metal shine left. So Monday morning (after Dan left for work) I decided that nothing could be lost by just turning the burner on and remelting the metal then just wiping it off. Which actually worked really well. Then I repeated the Scour Off after it cooled down. Viola - clean stovetop!

Lessons in Mod Podge

So I have had this idea in my head for a while to organize the kids books. It involved the nice cardboard magazine holders from Ikea, pictures of the books we own, and mod podge. I planned to mod podge the pictures to the holders so the kids could easily sort their books or find a particular type of book.

Well, we learned, perhaps at the end, that you really need to apply a thin coat of the mod podge to the item and then stick the paper down smoothly. Let that dry then add a finish coat or two to cover the paper so little fingers don't rip it off. As you can see, I don't think these will last long, but at least I will know how to do it in the future.

See the wrinkles in the paper? I think it will tear sooner rather than later, but we will see.



Then there was this other mod podge project that I wanted to do with blocks and nativity stickers. It took awhile to accumulate all the pieces, since apparently plain old wooden blocks are only sold in 80 count for $50 from Melissa and Doug in the stores so I had to site-to-store order a small set from Walmart (only $12!!!). And then you would think I was asking a lot to have just plain and simple nativity scene stickers in stock during Advent. Gee, I thought I would be able to get them during, not have to search for them before. Eventually found some at Target, but got the last 2 packs.

Anyway, these turned out much better and I will be giving a set to my almost 18mo godson for a late Epiphany!!! And they really were super easy.

Additionally, they are virtually indistructable (sp?).

See how James is throwing them? My table on the other hand might have a few scars from this particular practice.

Escape Artist

James is our little escapee lately. He figured out that he can wiggle under the gate all the way upstairs (thanks big sis!) and now thinks he can do it on all the gates. But his big ol' diaper bum got stuck on one side and his belly on the other. Too funny, had to get the camera before freeing him.

Little PSU Fans

Here are our little PSU fans. Rose likes to shout "We are.." and have someone answer "Penn State". Lucky for her, practically everyone in her family went to PSU at some point or another (expect her mother Go VOLS!!).

James was just too cute in his little jersey (thanks Aunt Hedda). Such a little man.

Our Nativities

Here are all of the Nativities that we have out around the house. Rose was excited to see the baby Jesus appear on the wall on Christmas morning. And the first thing she saw when she came downstairs was the three kings starting their trek as she came into the dining room. I really like the deal I got from Oriental Trading Co on the wall one...Rose seems to understand it a little better this year too.

Hopefully I will have another nativity set ready for Epiphany as I finally collected all the pieces - I will post about it later though - besides Christmas isn't over yet, so why not a gift for Epiphany?

Take a Chance Challenge 3

So you all know that I am an avid reader (when the kids let me) so I found this through a blog I follow and thought it would be fun to try. Hey I have a year to do it, so why not? Besides, my usual method of picking books involves a stroller drive-by with a hand grab and an extra from Rose! So at least this way I will have some sort of method to my madness. If you want to link up, click here.

Merry Christmas!!

Winter Recital

Sorry it is so blurry and bright. I will be sure to get a better shot next time! Maybe someone else's video came out better and I can repost...

Our New Parking Garage

Since James' birthday, we seem to have a parking garage in our living room from all the trucks he got. He loves playing with his 'ucks' and will run to get them when I ask where his uck is. There are two that are big enough to sit on so sometimes we have a racetrack in the living room. It is good that he has something non-princessy to play with.

First Snow!!!

We had our first 'playable' snow today. Rose was so excited she practically flew into her snowsuit when I told her it was time to go out to shovel (I use the term shovel lightly - I basically just pushed the snow off the stairs). James didn't last long since he didn't want to put his gloves on, nor did he have real snowpants or boots (I think they might be coming for Christmas so I have been holding out).

Isn't this bird in our tree pretty? Her mate (a bright red Cardinal) has been camera elusive, but really stands out against the white snow. I will post it if I capture him.

Tree Topper

Such a big girl!

Too smart

So now James not only climbs on things, but he climbs on things to get to other things. Ugh. Nothing is safe anymore. The upside is my house looks a lot less cluttered because everything must be put away or be considered fair game. And THAT would be how I ended up with a page ripped out of my daytimer. We are still working on the less destructive version....

Tiny Tots concert

We took some friends with us to the Tiny Tots concert today. They had so much fun with all the costumed characters afterward. Princess Tiana and the ballerina were the biggest hits with the girls of course. James just had fun as usual.

Christmas Countdown Craft

So I saw this countdown garland in the Plow and Hearth catalog and thought that I could make it and have it cost less than the one they were selling. I haven't totaled the numbers, but I think I came in under budget (just barely). Regardless of the numbers, I think ours is nicer plus we had a fun time putting it together. Now every day during December, Rose will get to pull something out of the stocking (tomorrow is a piece of candy and a good deed request). We'll see how it goes. I also have a book with daily activities we can use if we need an activity! By the way, when she is done with the stocking, it comes off, flips over and says Merry Christmas on the backside. Too cute right?

Thanksgiving Weekend

We were visiting my sister-in-laws family for the holiday weekend and had a great time. We built a gingerbread house and the cousins had a blast together!

James' 1st Birthday

Hmm...

Ok, so I grabbed the camera before I lectured James (yes I know he is 1) about why he shouldn't be climbing on the table. Needless to say, when I am cooking the chairs now spend some time laying on their sides. I remember this phase with Rose; one day I found her sitting in her high chair, but I hadn't put her there. So I took her out and told her to do it again...she climbed up a chair, onto the table, and over the high chair tray into the seat. The high chair moved away from the table then! Hmm...now that I think about it there is a certain aunt out there who managed to get to the cookie jar on top of the fridge when she was this age. Is it genetic or just a stage?

Ah...quiet

Trying to win an online giveaway...

I just entered to win a BABY VIDEO MONITOR from Summer Infant through a giveaway on I Can Teach My Child!--a website for parents of children ages birth through 5 years. You can enter too! Just go to http://www.icanteachmychild.com/


IF I DON'T win, it would be great to have a new one of these as mine keeps losing the charge.

Near and Far

(Ok, so this was back in October when we were still having 80 degree days!)

Fun at the park (Again)

We have been spending a lot of time at the parks in the afternoons, this was from a couple weeks ago (hence the halloween shirts) when it was a little warmer.

James can now climb up the equipment himself and go down the slide, too cute.