Comments on the comments

If you all don't read the comments that others leave here, you should -- they're terrific! That said, I've been really bad about responding to comments lately - my apologies. I am reading them, and am acting on them, it's just slower than it should be (something about wintertime with Christmas celebrations and sick kids, no sleep, deadlines at work, etc....)

So here we go, a post responding to all the comments that I think I've missed in my responses:

I made the apron based on this pattern, except I didn't make a quilt block for the top, I just cut a piece to the size of the finished top (actually, I cut two pieces and sewed them together for two-right-sides on the top). The pattern was easy, and used just about exactly a yard of fabric (I adjusted the width of the saist and ties for my fabric, which had squares on it).


Regarding the Jesse Tree Activities

Hey thanks for that link to the Jesse tree. I had the instructions years ago and lost them and have been unable to find them. Wendy

Wendy, I'm glad you found it useful. There's another one, by Ann Voskamp, in her Jesse Tree Archives. The scriptures are mostly (but not all) the same, but without the dates for each year, and the comments/devotionals are definitely more poetic. You have to scroll backwards through the days.

Just a Mommy said...

My kids were curious about the snow when it first fell, but once they realized how cold it was outside, they were content to watch it out the window. :)

Only my oldest actually will play out in the snow for extended time. He's been out for about a half-hour a day (sometimes much more) every day that he's not sick so far. He did the same last year -- a born outdoorsman :)




And Thank you Calina, Heather and Jennifer for your super helpful comments on surviving the cold and flu season.

I remember flushing sinuses like crazy last year (and it really does help). But this year we've had a more unusual mix of diseases, and not so much the normal colds. I don't mind it -- variety is the spice of life, right? We just started round 2 of the fever and rash mystery disease. Now the 6-eyear-old has it.... (The doc has confirmed it to not be strep/scarlet fever, nor chicken pox, and not likely measles).

Jennifer, I had never thought of stirring unflavored fish oil into the kids snacks (yogurt, applesause, etc). What a terrific idea! I think I'll buy a big bottle of it as a liquid and try it that way.

Calina - your comments are usually more useful than the post you comment on! Thanks for all the tips. I have been working on eliminating all sugar -- it's harder than it should be (especially with Christmas!) We're pretty good at snacking on fruit instead of "sweets", and it does help a lot. We also spray our air with tea-tree-oil (a few drops in a spray bottle filled with water). I'll try boiling it.

As a side note, another friend of mine told me that in China, they boil rice vinegar on the stove to kill viruses in the air. She admitted that it's stinky, but claimed it to be quite effective. I don't have any rice vinegar, but I might try it with our cheapo white vinegar.

I hadn't thought about opening up the house a few minutes each day to clear the air. I think that's a terrific idea. I wonder if I can get away with it without mu husband thinking I've gone off the deap end :) It was pretty hard to sell him on going without sugar for a while :)

We try to play outside, even in the winter, to get some sunlight. It hasn't happened much the past week, because it's had single-digit highs here and we're sick. But I do read books in front of the window -- I just hadn't thought about it's health benefits. We'll do that more often.


About Graham Cracker houses:

Hello, I just found your site while looking for some activities to do with my nieces and nephews. I really like your Jesse tree ideas. My husband grew up celebrating advent with a Jesse tree. Anyway, I am wondering what kind of candies do you need to melt for the "glue"? Or does that matter much? Thanks

We did this again last weekend, and I think I got enough pictures to post a tutorial. We melt candy canes for the glue, but recently discovered that the red and white hard candies (Starlite, I think?) melt at a bit lower temperature, which is really nice. They're easier to unwrap too. I don't think that it matters too much what you melt to use -- except in how burnt your fingers get. Straight table sugar can be used, and that's how we started, but it's much hotter when it melts. I prefer the fewer injuries. We also use "glue frosting" for decorating. I'll post the recipe with the tutorial yet this week.



The Monster Hoodie giveway did have a winner - SerahRose. I mailed out a hoodie the following Tuesday, so she should have received it by now. I made up and gave away fifteen more of these at our family Christmas this weekend. And I still have some left! When will it end? Serah's comment was great:

Oh, these are hysterical! I think my brother would need one. He'd laugh so hard he'd pee, which would be such a bonus.

And finally, Ginny had asked about instructions to make a ballerina doll.

This is adorable! Would love instructions on that ballerinas for my girls!

I'd love to do a tutorial, and I'll do it. But not before Christmas. I still have two gifts to make, aak! Look for it in January, or check out the book Felt Wee Folk - these dolls are based on the ones in that book (only I'm a lot less particular, and don't measure as I go, etc).