Mother's Day 2018

If Little Man really wants to make my Mother's Day awesome he takes the time to make my card.  This year he wrote me a letter too and used awesome stickers...I'll cherish these forever!

Ceramic Turtle Box

What's this? Yet ANOTHER project that sat in the craft room for far too long waiting for me to complete it. I'm so glad I've finally taken the time to give these items some love and attention so they can live out in the rest of the house. It may be that Little Man is almost aged out of loving this turtle box, but he was still happy to see it finished and quickly took it to his room, so I'm considering that a success!!

Crafting With Food: Little Man Edition!

Over the summer Little Man took a cooking camp at Sur La Table (he loves to cook) and he's been asking for when he could kick dinner...today he did! He made these amazing chicken skewers with a marinade that was SO delicious!

And to go with the chicken he made Rainbow Slaw. Now, he left out the carrots for me...and I didn't know how it would taste because it was so different from things we normally eat. But, this slaw really proved that you should always keep an open mind and try things...because not only was it so healthy and a perfect complement to the chicken...it was SO GOOD!

So, not only do I not have to worry that Little Man will go hungry when he's out on his own one day...I also know he can help out some more with cooking around the house...WIN-WIN!!!

Fall Soccer Must Be Starting!

If you see me with grass in the background and knitting on my lap...it's a good guess that I'm watching Little Man at soccer. It's his first game and I'm working on my Shark Week 2017 socks. I know they'll be great now that I've gotten past the intarsia sections...so I'm at a section that is easy to knit while watching his game. Look at me multitasking!!!

Late Mother's Day Gift

Look what Little Man brought home for me today! He made this cute little man dish with a beret hat as the lid in school. He knew he wanted me to have it for Mother's Day but it was chosen for the art show so he was only able to bring it home today. Then, as he was running home with it in a paper bag he fell and dropped it right in the driveway outside of our house. He and Hubby both heard the horrible clink of pottery hitting concrete and Little Man was sure that it was broken. He started crying and was too afraid to look. Luckily, once Hubby checked on it, it was only chipped below the smile...and the chip was in the bag, so I'll be able to fix it and Little Man was able to give me my present with pride.

I couldn't mind the late present too much...I still have my gift for my mom. I sent her her card, but her gift isn't something that could be shipped...I'll share all about it in a later post!

Homemade Sushi with Little Man

So Little Man LOVES sushi...which is awesome because he's into trying new things,but can get pricey because he's a growing kid. He also started talking about making sushi at home so he could pack leftovers for lunch.So, I broke out the Sushi Magic kit my sister had given to me ages ago. I bought ingredients over time, and then when Hubby was traveling (he's not a fan of sushi) Little Man and I made a sushi feast! We made nigiri (rice "balls" with sushi on top )and we made rolls. Some came out nicer than others, but they all tasted great! Little Man had a great time playing with combinations and was so proud to take his lunch the next day and show off some of his hard work!

We also had miso soup and edamame to round-out the meal...look at the huge smile on his face!

Ho Ho Hat!

Little Man received this fun hat as a gift and then he didn't want to take it off! It was crochet...and he loved the built-in beard...I love it was handmade!

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Part 3!

 When the Hogwarts Express arrived in Hogsmeade I don't think any of us expected we could still be so amazed. But there was such a different magical feel that it felt like a completely brand-new experience. We walked around a bit taking in the town...

...and Little Man stopped into Honeydukes for a chocolate frog and some Bertie Botts every flavor beans.

We walked on and our mouths practically dropped when we saw Hogwarts for the first time! We walked in to begin the tour of the school that is the cue for the ride inside. We all agreed the ride was fantastic!

And we loved seeing things we recognized from the movie, like the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

And the talking portraits!

And the sorting hat!

When you board the ride you see the enchanted ceiling!

After the ride we grabbed dinner. My sister had a ginormous turkey leg.

Hubby had a platter and Little Man had fish and chips while I had shepherd's pie. With butterbeer of course!

We had dinner at the Three Broomsticks.

Butterbeer has long lines!! You can get the original, slushy version, ice cream version or during the cold months you can have hot butterbeer.

We all agreed that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is truly magical...even for someone who hasn't seen the movies! It was a fun way to celebrate Little Man's birthday!

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Part 2

The first shop that Little Man wanted to go to was Ollivander's. It's the wand shop. We were not prepared. There were so many to choose from. And there were so many people. Little Man wanted an interactive wand so at least that narrowed it down a little. We went to the case and he found one he liked best and then we tracked down the box. The interactive wands enable you to do magic spells throughout the park.  Think making water shoot from a fountain, making window displays move,etc.

After he had wand in hand we headed to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. We loved that you order and then the food is delivered to the table. The traditional English pub food was so yummy! Oh, and you don't have to find your own seat! AND...it was at the Leaky Cauldron that we had our first taste of BUTTERBEER! Little Man was definitely a fan!

My sister had some Butterbeer too!

My sister and I both thought the Fisherman's Pie (a mix of cod, salmon and shrimp in a creamy sauce topped with mashed potatoes) and Fish and Chips looked good so we ordered one of each and split them. They were both SOOOOO good!

Little Man and Hubby both had the banger sandwiches.

After lunch Little Man walked around waving his wand and checking out some more shops like the candy shop, magic shop and magical pet shop.

Then it was off for our first ride! We headed to Gringott's Bank and waited and waited...and then we saw the inside of the bank and it looked just like the movie too!

There were even goblins at work looking at us while we waited.

After the ride we headed to the Hogwart's Express for it to take us to Hogsmeade. To get to Platform 9 3/4 we had to walk through the wall...

Once we boarded the train we enjoyed the ride and the show during it.

We arrived in Hogsmeade and the Harry Potter fun kept going, I'll share more next time!

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Part 1!

A couple of years ago when Little Man had hit a point where reading the Harry Potter series was possible, we started Harry Potter nights. After he read one of the books I cooked a meal from the Harry Potter Cookbook and would find a little gift that was Harry Potter themed. Then, while we ate the dinner we would watch the movie that corresponded with the book he had just read. We didn't watch any of the movies with him before he read the book. The books get to be pretty big, so Hubby and I told him when he finished the last book of the series we would take him to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando. Fast forward to this past spring and we weren't in a place time-wise or financially to take him at the time. So, as his birthday approached Hubby and I decided to do what we needed to to finally make it happen.

We left the day before his birthday and drove to my sister's place, had dinner with her that evening and then turned in early to be ready to get up with dawn the next morning for the drive to the theme park.

We started with Universal Studios and walked through City Walk, Then we walked through Production Central, New York and San Francisco before making it to London where the Harry Potter Wizarding World begins.

We made a call to the Ministry of Magic from the phone booth...

...and stopped to talk with the Night Bus driver and the shrunken head! The shrunken head actually chats and interacts too...he talked to Little Man and wished him a happy birthday....later he asked my sister if she had been attacked by a werewolf because her jeans were ripped...too funny!

We actually had to ask a witch for help finding Diagon Alley! It was so well hidden it felt like magic when we found the opening!

It was so fun and lively!

I may have squealed when I saw the magical knitting needles...although I still haven't decided if I would really like some or not...seems like it would take all the fun out of it!

Stay tuned for more of the magic!!