Rockin Rock Candy

Made rock candy with the boys. This is one of there favorite things to make. Granted... I do most of the work since it is boiling and tying and what not...they love the final outcome! Here is my recipe for the worlds most rockin rock candy!!!

4 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
mason jar
cotton yarn
pencil or sticks

Boil the 2 cups of water, while pouring add in a bit of sugar at a time from the original 4 cups of sugar. Add enough to stir in until fully dissolved then add a bit more. Continue till all the 4 cups are dissolved. Turn burner off, remove from heat. Let cool for 15 minutes at room temperature. Return pan to burner, bring to boil. Add remainder 1 cup of sugar a bit at a time until fully dissolved. Let sit 10 minutes. Pour into a wide mouth mason jar. Wet the cotton strings and dip them in the sugar. Tie strings to pencil and drape them into sugar water mixture. Prop pencil across top of jar. Wait 5-7 days. My boys love watching every day to see more and more sugar crystals grow!!! You can add flavoring oil or food coloring if you want, just be sure to do it right after you are done with the final boiling.

Starting tomatoes!

Trying to get things rolling for the garden this year. I'm running a bit behind, but not too bad! I still have to preseed spearmint, and cauliflower. The rest of my herbs and veggies can be sewn directly into the garden when the ground thaws. Well, if it ever thaws, I personally think we are in our next ice age here in New York State!! Here are some pics of 2 of my boys helping with tomato seeds:) They are all very excited this time of year. They love helping in the garden, and they love the harvest of their hard work!!!

Sock Monkey and Hand Spun Alpaca Yarn!

Been working my tail off to get my son Joseph's sock monkey done. Finally got it knit using KnitPicks Stroll Sock Yarn on size 1 needles. I must admit it was my first sock monkey and I probably should have followed a pattern. I was determined however once I started to make my own no matter how many times I had to tink and work my own pattern. Once I was finished he picked out some sport weight acrylic leftover yarn from my stash for the sweater and shorts. After all was said and done, I realized I was a crappy embroiderer!!! Oh how I tried to give that sock monkey a kiss on the hiney and eyes and lips...to no avail!!! I ended up asking for suggestions and got a really great one...I used felt for the eyes and nose and it looks so adorable!!! It is about 15 inches long all together.

I have also been working on 2 huge batts of alpaca roving...on my spindle. I had a dark grey and a light grey. My original intention was to spin them, ply the 2 colors together and knit a pair of diaper soakers for my 4 month old son Joshua. This project has also proven to take over a month and that is just to get the yarn spun!!! I forget just how little time I have to do my crafts anymore with 5 children, school and a household to take care of!!! Last night my youngest went to sleep a bit earlier than normal and since I already had all my housework and dishes done I sat down and spun for 4 hours finishing the remainder of the 2 batts. I was so happy!!! I have decided against plying them together, instead I am going to knit with the single ply and felt them. I cannot remember for the life of me where I got this particular alpaca from and I wish I remembered the name of the place so I could link to them here... I can however link the awesome Grandeur Spindle from Yorkieslave on Etsy.

Now....... wonder how long it will take me to actually find time to get the soakers knit!!!

A Boys Life...

This is a picture of my 11 year old. In my home we have 2 computers, (one of them being a laptop), 3 tvs, an XBox 360,  a Wii, a PS2, 3 Gameboy Advances, a Nintendo DS, 3 other high technical kind of Gameboy something or another, to say the least we are not lacking in the electronics department... I have 5 boys, so there is always at least one boy on an electronic. Sometimes more than one boy and they are sharing, well, tolerating, anyhow. so....... when I walked in my kitchen and caught my 11 year old son on the laptop AND the DS, I had to laugh and snap a picture. I'm beginning to worry!!!

Bubble Wrap

Seriously...who doesn't love to pop BUBBLE WRAP??? It is the most fun thing in the world to do. Whenever I get some in the mail, my kids like to lay the pieces on the floor and jump on it, popping multiple bubbles at once to ensure the loudest noise possible. THIS site lets you do just that without having to wait for the mail to get here to play with your new toy! Enjoy!!!

Booze makes you smarter.......

And HERE is proof!!! I have this from a very very reliable EXPERT I knew I was doing something right!!!

So, as you can see, drinking alcohol actually kills off the slower brain cells, leaving the more intelligent brain cells, and walla...you are one smart cookie!!!

10 Years From Now

I read THIS with tears in my eyes. It is so true, so true. As a mother of 5 boys, I am constantly trying to keep up with house work, laundry, cooking, dishes and baths. Thats not even mentioning the yard work, my homework, kids homework, and daily(minutly) squabbles I am having to break up. To say the least, I am a busy mother. In 10 years from now, however, it wont matter if my dishes were done directly after dinner. It wont matter if I vacuumed every day. It wont matter that I lost the argument every day for my children to actually keep sheets on their beds. It simply wont matter. What will matter most is the game nights we have together, the dinners I force them to sit down at the table and be sociable with each other, the walks we take, the love we shared. I am going to try to rememebr this more often when I get so upset that my house never stays clean for more than a minute, that the diaper bucket is full of dirty diapers the same day I have washed them, that the boys refuse to keep sheets on their beds. I will make a pact with myself right now, that in 10 years...it will not matter...will you make that pact with me??? Read THIS BLOG post. It really pulls at the heart strings and puts a reminder in this mommas life!!! Will you let it make a difference with yours???