About Me
My name is Tami and I live in central Illinois with my husband, Larry and three children, Caleb (8), Camden (7) and Emma (4). I hope you'll enjoy reading about my life as a wife/mother and about our family's adventures. What I’m Reading
Weekend Edition – Art Festival
This weekend was the Sugar Creek Arts Festival in our town that we love to attend every year. We always see some interesting art, watch the entertainment and have some good food. This year there were 170 artists booths to check out in the sweltering heat.
I bought a really cute hand painted dress for Emma for next summer that can also be worn as a top the next year. I also bought this great necklace from an artist, Weener Ware. She makes jewelry made out of recycled bottle caps.
This is similar to what I bought, except mine is a dragonfly. The artist puts mini-pictures in the bottle cap, accents with gems and glitter and pours on liquid resin.
Last week, the boys came home from preschool with t-shirts they made this summer. They had a class picture taken with all of the kids in their shirts. They were so excited to show their daddy when he came home for lunch. Whenever they have a surprise, they always make daddy close his eyes and make a huge production of showing off whatever it is they have made.
Tags: 
Sugar Creek Arts Festival, 
Weener Ware, 
bottle cap jewelry, 
preschool
Easter 2008
Our family had a great Easter weekend. We tried to emphasize for the kids that Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ, mixed in with a few family favorite Easter activities.
On Friday, we had a few friends over to color eggs. This is the first time we have done this in a couple of years and the kids had a great time.
We hid the Easter baskets for the boys and then they went to find them. They were very excited about the little toys to play with. They also got one egg filled with M&M’s.
At church, there was a children’s choir this year and so Caleb sang on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.
I had planned on doing the Resurrection Eggs this year with the kids, but time got away from us. It will be something that we incorporate next year, along with a couple of other ideas I found that I thing my children will enjoy.
Tags: 
Easter, 
Easter baskets, 
coloring eggs
Ice Candles
What you need to get started:
- scissors
- cylindrical cardboard container (salt or oatmeal)
- paper towel
- cooking oil
- knife
- white tapered candle
- large tin can
- 1 pound of paraffin wax
- large saucepan
- wooden skewer
- crayon pieces
- large spoon
- crushed ice
- bowl
Have your child prepare a mold by cutting off the top of the cardboard container. Use a paper towel to coat the inside with cooking oil. With a knife, trim the bottom from the taper so the taper is the same height as the mold. Meanwhile, fill the tin can with the wax. Then place it in a saucepan filled with 2 inches of water and set the pan over low heat. Use a wooden skewer to stir the melting wax. Mix in crayon pieces to get your desired candle color. Pour 1/2 inch of wax into the prepared mold and immediately stick the taper into the center, wick end up. Hold the taper in place for a minute or two while the wax sets. Spoon 2 inches of crushed ice around the taper, then cover the ice almost completely with melted wax. Add more ice, then more wax, alternating until the mold is filled. Set the mold in a bowl for about an hour (it will leak water), letting the wax harden completely, then peel off the cardboard.
from Family Fun December 2007
Tags: 
ice candles
Thankful Tree
- flower pot
- small tree branch
- pebbles, rocks or marbles
- card stock or colored paper
- hole punch
- twine or string
- clear holiday lights, optional
To make the tree, insert a branch in a flowerpot filled with pebbles, rocks, or marbles. Cut leaf shapes from card stock or colored paper, use a hole punch to make a hole in each, and attach a loop of twine or string. At your gathering, have guests jot down a note of thanks on a leaf and hang it from the tree.
from Family Fun November 2007
Tags: 
Thanksgiving, 
thankful tree, 
holiday traditions
Spirit Jugs
Here is what you need to get started:
- Clean plastic gallon milk jugs
- Black permanent marker
- Craft knife
- String of 50 clear low-wattage holiday lights
Draw ghost eyes and mouths on the jugs. Tip, leave the caps on while you do this, so the jugs don’t dent. Use the craft knife to cut a half-dollar-size hole in the back of each jug, a parent’s job. Arrange the ghosts near each other and string the lights between them, stuffing several bulbs into each of the jugs.
from Family Fun October 2007
Tags: 
Halloween, 
crafts, 
children
Preschool Project – All About Caleb
In Caleb’s preschool class a different child is highlighted every two weeks so that the teachers and other children in the class get to know the child better.
The “All About Me” bag was sent home with Caleb last Wednesday. It included instructions and a sheet of construction paper to decorate.
I did the majority of the work and Caleb helped by putting on the stickers and telling me some of his favorite things that I wrote on the project.
The completed project will be on the class bulletin board for two weeks. He also took in two small toys to talk to his class about.
Tags: 
education, children, 
family
Haunted Glasses
Here is something fun to do with your kids on Halloween. You could also change the message for another holiday or special occasion.
Here is what you need to get started:
- drinking glass
- water
- dishwashing liquid
Add a couple of drops of dish detergent to a small bowl of water. Dip your finger in the water and write a spooky greeting on the outside of the glass, then put it in the freezer for at least 10 minutes. Remove the glass from the freezer and look for the ghostly letters.
from Family Fun October 2006
Tags: 
Halloween, 
haunted glasses
Homemade Stickers
Here is a great craft idea for your kids artwork. Instead of stashing the artwork away, create stickers out of it. This is also great for kids who like stickers. Stickers are one of my 3 year olds favorite activities, even before coloring. Now that he has entered preschool, the artwork is in abundance.
Some artwork will need to be cut down to size to fit on whatever the project is-lunch bags, notebooks and cards.
What you’ll need:
- small bowls
- flavored jell-o powder
- boiling water
- spoon
- your child’s artwork
- scissors
- paintbrush
In a small bowl (mom), pour 2 tbs. boiling water over 1 tbs. jell-o powder. Gently stir until powder is completely dissolved. Let cool. Have your child brush jell-o mixture onto precut pieces of their artwork. Let dry until gelatin sets (about one hour). Let her lick the stickers and attach them to lunch bags, notebooks and cards. They’ll taste the jell-o and have a fun surprise.
from Parents September 2006
Tags: 
children’s crafts, 
homemade stickers
Glow in the Dark Shirt
This cute glow in the dark shirt, from Family Fun magazine, is a great craft idea to do with your children. This will be a lot of fun to do with my son, he loves rockets.
Tags: crafts, 
glow in the dark shirt, children’s crafts
Make Your Own Homemade Bubbles
My boys love blowing bubbles. Here is an easy recipe to make an instant and inexpensive homemade bubble solution. Combine:
- 3/4 cup dish soap (Dawn Ultra and Joy Ultra work best)
- 6 cups water
You can use a variety of household items to blow the bubbles through. Try plastic cookie cutters, slotted spoons or a flyswatter.
homemade bubblesMiscellaneous
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