Sno Cones! (Minus the Syrup)

When I think back on my childhood, one of the summer memories that jumps to the front of my mind is gathering up a couple of bucks, heading down to Main Street, and getting a Sno Cone from Ms. RuthAnn.  On one of those scorching Texas summer days, it was a sweet relief with all its cold sugary goodness.  Just thinking about it makes me want a blue coconut, strawberry one.  Mmm-mmmm...

And I would love to share that past time with my kids.  HOWEVER, when I think of getting one for my kids all I can see is a cup of colored sugar that will bring me grief for the next 4 to 6 hours as my kids bounce off of the walls in a crazed sugar-filled hysteria.  No, thank you.

But never one to deprive my kids of summer happiness, I've come up with my own solution.  This is just as tasty, just as loved, possibly cheaper, and made at home...

To make it all you need is a liter of Club Soda and a container of 100% juice frozen concentrate.  I love this Old Orchard brand.  We made the Blueberry Pomegranate last night, which my kids LOVED, and in the freezer I still have Cranberry Raspberry and Apple Passion Mango.  And for a yummy treat at breakfast offer your kids the Pineapple Orange.  Yum.

Now, the club soda is the magic ingredient here.  If you've ever frozen fruit juice you know it comes out hard as a rock.  With the carbonation in the club soda, it freezes differently.  Softer, if you will.  Possibly a bit airy.  Whatever you want to call it, it's the secret to a good homemade Sno Cone.

Slowly mix the club soda and the thawed juice concentrate.  Slowly is the key...and in a container big enough to hold both.  Otherwise you'll have a bubbly mess overflowing everywhere.  Trust me.

Next, pour it into containers that it can freeze in smaller portions.  I used a silicon muffin tin and plastic ice cube trays.  Either works fine.

After they freeze, pop out the desired amount (we used three "muffins" per drink) and pulse them through the food processor.  I believe a blender would work just as well, though you may have to add a little liquid to get it going.

Pulsing...

Pulsing....  He can already taste it.  He's been dreaming about this ever since I put it in the freezer six hours before.

All ready for the gobbling.

...and it's gobbled.

I love these because they're yummy, cold, cheap, and NO ADDED SUGAR...just the natural sugars from the fruit juice.  Let me know if you try them...you can even post a pic on our FaceBook wall of your little ones gobbling them up!

Now, for my next experiment...frozen margaritas...

Happy cooling off,

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Simply Entertained

You may have noticed things have been a bit slow over here.  Maybe it seems we've gotten lazy.  Maybe it seems we're dropping the ball.  The reality, however, is that we're super busy.

Deborah just started a new job, so her blog time has been minimal.  She has been working on her garden, though.  And even has some guest projects from her mother, our Grammy.  Those should be posted shortly.

Chelsea is in Europe.  She's been attending fashion shows, meeting designers, and other dreamy things.  She'll be back in the states in July, so it may be a while before we hear from her.  Hopefully, she'll have some amazing things to share with us when she gets back.  I enjoy living vicariously through her.

And I have my house on the market.  UGH!!!  Cleaning house has never been my strong suit, but it's especially hard when the expectations are for it to be spotless....while tending to three children under five.  And I have about decided my kids have it out for me.  While I'm in one room cleaning up one mess, they're usually in another room making another one.  It's a vicious cycle...and I may surely lose my mind.

The past couple of days I have dared to make a bit of a mess here and there, but only ones I could clean up very quickly should someone call for a showing.

Yesterday we painted rocks for our pumpkin patch.  Painting rocks is one of Clinton's favorite things to do.  And all was going well until Heidi Sage decided to start painting the patio furniture, the chair cushions, and the deck.  Oh well...at least she's cute...

Today we made cupcakes.  To simplify and keep it easy we used a box mix and canned frosting.  They don't taste quite the same to a distinguished palette, but the kids do not care one teeny tiny bit.  To make them extra special, I got out my super fancy Ziploc sandwich bags, filled them with icing, cut off a tiny corner, and swirled the icing.  I let the kiddos take care of the sprinkles...

Hope you're keeping busy this RIDICULOUSLY hot summer!

I Scream, You Scream...

...and Everyone adores this Ice Cream Bubble Outfit...at least that's the feedback I've gotten from Courtney.

As part of the summer wear I put together for Heidi Sage, I made this Ice Cream Bubble.  Courtney loves one piece outfits because they're easy to throw on, and hard for Heidi Sage to take off...and our sweet girl has found a love for her birthday suit!  :-)

Once again I am using an old, old pattern.  I am sure you can find something simular.  This was something I thought would make a cute summer play outfit.  I used the dress version last summer and thought I would try  the bloomers for this summer.  This is a pretty simple pattern as there are no zippers or buttons.  The outfit only ties at the top.  I'm not sure Courtney could make it, but a fairly novice seamstress should be able to put this together.

As you can see it's not only adorable, but perfect for play!

Summer Sweetness,

The Ride-On Birthday Party

If you're like me with lots of little ones in tow, then there's a good chance you've seen your fair share of birthday parties.  And if you're like me with several of those parties to throw yourself, then you know they can get expensive....FAST!

Last fall Clinton's friends, Charlotte and Schaefer, had their 3rd Birthday and invited us for the celebration.  Their mother threw the cutest party and my kids LOVED it.

The idea is that everyone brings their own ride on toy, as indicated on the invitation; and the kids spend the whole party just riding around.  And do you know what two hours of outdoor busyness equates to....A NAP!  Best.  Party.  EVER!  :-D

First things first, a circle drive works best.  This one was at one of our local country clubs.

Next, is setting up little stations for the kids to stop at...

Here was a bucket of toy tools.  The kids loved stopping to fix their bikes!


Here there were streamers and ribbons for the kids to decorate the rides with.


Another idea for a station is a car wash.  I think there are two ways you could go here.  Simple--grab 10 or so spray bottles at the dollar store, fill them water, and set them out with rags for the kids to wash their rides.  A little more difficult-- build an archway out of PVC with some blue fabric streamers hanging down.  Accompany it with a bubble machine and the kids will feel like they're riding through a car wash!

Any other ideas you have add to our comment section....we'd love to hear them!

There were also a few road signs along the way...

 My kids truly had a blast!  The best part was there's no activity planning, or schedule to keep, or worrying if this kid or that wants to play this game or that.  Everyone brings what they like to ride on....and they ride!

After lots and lots of riding around, we went into the club house for some cupcakes and milk.  Heidi Sage had no problems partaking in this particular activity.

In addition to the above mentioned ideas, all you need are some balloons and bottles of water for your guests (it can get pretty toasty in the really warm months...hydration is good!).

I love this idea because you can make it as simple or overboard as you want, it can be very budget friendly, and it keeps the kids busy....and makes them tired.  If only I had a warm-weather birthday baby...sigh.

I'll be keeping my eye out for other awesome birthday party ideas as we make our way from party to party this year.

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Pretty In Paisley

When Heidi Sage turned 2 a few weeks ago I knew the perfect gift for her was some cute new outfits.  Even at 2, she already loves clothes.  Some may say we've created a monster, but I think she's pretty cute!  This paisley dress was one of the outfits she received in her birthday package from me (Aunt Zsazsie) and Uncle Brian.

I bought the paisley fabric a long time ago and I cut out a dress for me that I never ended up sewing.  I then gave the leftover fabric to my mom and she made Courtney a skirt.  I came across my unfinished dress and decided to make something for Heidi Sage.  I had to use the skirt portion of my unfinished dress to cut out the main part of the dress.  I then found some red contrast fabric and also used the leftover pink contrast fabric used for the dog outfits. 

For the dress I used Butterick 3477.  I shortened the dress and added an additional band at the bottom to display both of my contrast fabrics

Her outfit is completed with her cute hair flower.  It got a little out of hand when I was making it, and it became more of a hat than a bow:)  But after a Royal Wedding Weekend, I'm ready to bring hats back anyway...or should I say "fascinator"?

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Simply Playful

I wanted to make Heidi Sage some dresses to play in for the summer.  For this dress I used McCall's 2213.  The exlarge size is about the same size as a 2.  I found this fabric at City Craft in Dallas and they also had the premade bias trim by the yard in several colors.  Butterick 3846 also has a top very similar to this dress.

Remember back in the fall when I had purchased all those different color leggings?  Well, they have been handy.   It was chilly this particular morning so we added the leggings for some warmth, just as cute with or without the leggings.

Get your summer cute on,

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Beach Towel

Each year Rodney and Courtney take a trip to the beach with his family.  Each time they have a new child that needs his or hers own personal beach towel.

This year Rodney and Courtney decided to take a spring break beach trip so I decided to jump in for the fun filled adventure.  But first... we have a new baby who will need a beach towel.

I found a plain beach towel and used knit applique.  I first cut out my dinosaur pattern.  Then I cut out my sail boat to fit the dinosaur.  I added his name before attaching to the towel.  I did not get one picture of him laying on his towel but did get some cute pictures of him at the beach.

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