46/52

                                  " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

I'm a week behind. AH! we are coming to the end of this challenge... must...finish... strong. Life has been pretty busy and I actually only had a few pictures to select from. What great about this challenge is the fact that it is a reminder to just document the day to day no matter what. I better keep my camera handy this week and catch up.

Bear: Already has his Christmas list... oy! At least it's not unreasonable
Wolf: Best location scouting model.
Hawk: Getting a little more control on those tiny hands of his.

Sheep lesson and yard dying tutorial

This week we have been learning about sheep we started talking about the fact that sheep provide wool that we use for sweaters, hats, socks etc. After getting trapped in the rabbit hole of YouTube videos of the whole process (hearding, sheering, spinning, dying, creating) I thought it would be a neat idea if we could find a place locally that we could maybe watch hand spinning or try our hand at dying since I have never attempted to do this before. Well I stumbled upon what I believe to be my new favorite local store Puffy Mondaes , ceramics, cloth diapers, and any type of yarn you could imagine and yes they even teach spinning all wrapped up with the kindest workers. The owner spent a great deal of time explaining a kid friendly approach to dying a small amount of yarn. Here's the method I tried: *note non of my measurements were very exact and we still had great success. **

1. Purchase your yarn (it must have at least 30% wool in order to grab the dye) the higher the wool percentage the higher the pigment. We used 100% wool,  dye, we used this brand in royal blue, gloves, vinegar, cling wrap (optional) something to protect work space, and a microwaveable dish and something to pour or submerge your yarn with.

2. I heated up a big pot of water with about 1/4 cup of vinegar (didn't boil) and submerged your yarn ensuring that you wet the whole roving. Once wet I pulled it out with a pair of tongs and placed it in a bowl with a towel inside to try to take most of the excess moisture away. Carefully try to squeeze extra moisture (this is super hot) 

3. I used the remaining water from the pot to mix my dye (this is where the kids come in) it was about 5 cup, I added a few more tablespoons of vinegar (note you don't have to use the same water but you have to make sure that your water is warm as well to avoiding felting) This dye is very pigmented so I used a little less than 1/4 teaspoon for that amount of water. 

4. Mix

5. Here comes the fun part. I couldn't find any of my squirt bottles so we used two old baby bottles with old nipples. I cut the tip of them to make the flow bigger. 

6. Pour your dye and have fun. Make sure you flip over to ensure that the whole yarn is dyed (it doesn't have to be perfect) using gloves rub dye in well.

7. Once your happy with the results you can roll your tube of yarn in cling wrap (think roll of cookie dough) I didn't have cling wrap so I skipped this step. Roll your yarn into a cinnamon bun shape and place inside your microwavable dish.

8. Microwave on high for 4 minutes, take out and let sit for 2 minutes. Repeat again.

9.  Take out and let cool (careful it's super hot).

10.Once cool rinse well.   You can let your yarn cool an hour and use warm water or cool over night and use cold water. (Again the key is to make sure your water matches the tempeture of the yarn to avoid felting) Rinse until water runs clear. We waited for a few hours so the boys could help rinse without burning themselves. 

11. The killer..... let air dry. This took two whole days for us.

12. Roll your yarn and enjoy!!!! I think we will be using this for cowl scarves for the boys. 

This by far was one of the most fun things we have done in a long time and I am already looking forward to doing it again. These would great to knit or crochet something for family members for the holidays. Especially since the boys can help with the process. 

Maps

^^^ I am sort of obsessed with this giant tree on the trail behind our house^^

Sometime last week before going on our walk Bear insisted we needed a map. Out came the markers and paper and he explained in detail all that we had to see. There was some impossible attractions named, but ducks were part of the must sees listed so that is what we did.

They chased the ducks, collected rocks and attempted to climb trees. Oh, toddler boyhood there are some parts of you I just love.

4 months

45/52

 " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

Bear: Tigey the Adventure Tiger (yes we are that into Daniel Tiger, although it has not surpassed Thomas)
Wolf : This photo captures so  much of his personality. Silly and ever so curious.
Hawk: Four months this week.

 

**linking to Jodi's 52 week challenge**

44/52

  " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

Bear: He loves being outside
Wolf: Seems to have grown so much in this picture
Hawk: loves his papa

                                                   **linking to Jodi's 52 week challenge**

Halloween

Halloween was a busy day for us. We spent the morning at a local state park and trick or treating in the evening. Bear was so excited about Halloween, we've had our costumes for the last two month. We dressed up a little early to insure being able to get a few photos. (last year I waited too long and only have Iphone pictures) Last minute pumpkin carving, and a little Punkin Chunkin show to pass the time before it was dark enough to head out.

Baby Hawk fell asleep before the festivities officially started so papa stayed home and handed out candy while I took the boys trick or treating. As you can see safety was at the utmost importance and the boys were excited about holding their  very own glow stick (thanks bubbie). We got home and they each had one piece of candy before going to bed. They requested to keep their glow sticks for the evening which seemed harmless at first. Two hours, and two very awake toddlers later we revoked that right. Between the sheer excitement, sugar rush and glow stick frenzy it took  them a while to finally fall asleep. Bear was still so hopped up on excitement that he walked into our room at 4am requesting to start our day. Ummm... not going to happen. He fell back asleep only to wake up at his normal time with a mission to attempt sneak candy. Oh children, what you won't do for candy. It was a wonderful day and the left over candy ( that I haven't eaten) it now safely on the top shelf of our pantry.