I posted on FB earlier today about Z successfully removing his fake fillings. So here's the dish on that.
Saturday afternoon I was sitting at the table doing something very important I'm sure and Z was trying to play with me. I looked over and noticed through his big smile something dark on his two of his lower molars. I pulled him over and had him open his mouth. My first thought was when did he have dental work done that I didn't know about? Which of course is never! He's only two. I'm telling you though that they looked like fillings! I started flipping through all of the other possibilities in my head. Candy? Crayon? Leftover food? What toy in their room matches what I'm seeing?
It looked like metal. What could he have put in his mouth that is metal?
I came up with nothing so I decided to break out the tooth picks and start picking. And picking. And picking to no avail. By this time I had shown J and we were both picking at them whenever we could get Z to open his mouth wide enough.
I was really confused and feeling like a horrible mom. Why aren't they coming out? Could they be monster cavities? I brushed his teeth right? How long have they been there? How could I have not seen them when brushing his teeth? Then remembered that I'm never able to see his teeth. I'm lucky just to get the brush in and move it around most days. I had no idea when, where, or what had happened. Great.
Cue the curious 4 year old.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to get something out of Z's mouth."
"What is it?"
"I don't know. Did you see him put something in his mouth?"
"He put the balls in his mouth."
"Balls? What balls?"
IV leaves the room for a minute and comes back with one of the said "balls" in his hand.
"These balls."
Flashback to Monday-ish:
I can't even really remember when it was originally broken but sometime at the beginning of last week (maybe Monday?) IV brought out one of the maracas he and Z had been playing with and informed me that it didn't work anymore and that the "balls" fell out. He then held up what was left of the maraca that he had been beating the bed frame with revealing a huge gaping hole in the side. I followed him into his room to the scene of the crime and it looked like there had been an explosion of little "balls" in their room. When I say little think, pin head size or smaller. I then proceeded to get out the vacuum and suck up all of the "balls" I could find. I'll try to get a picture of them on here later.
Flash forward to Saturday:
Ahhh, so they were the "balls" from the maracas.
So....apparently I missed a few and apparently they were metal and not plastic like I thought. Apparently Z thought they looked tasty to a two year old and apparently they are soft enough to chew and mold into what looks like fake fillings that DO NOT come off.
At this point I called the dentist, Dr., and poison control to decide a plan of attack. Dentist says to try really sticky candy or gum to get it out and to call the Dr. (We bought a bunch of laffy taffy, gum, Starbursts, and Mambos.)
Dr. said to call poison control to see if the metal was poisonous.
Poison control said it should be ok if there were no signs of lead poisoning by now and to call the dentist.
No luck with the candy and gum.
So back to the dentist. Made an appointment. That appointment was this morning and they were able to pick it out with that horrible pick tool that they use.
Yay!!!! The fake metal fillings are gone!!! Here's to hoping it wasn't lead. I have some of the "balls" but no way to see what kind of metal they are.
The Dr. and poison control said that any that were ingested should pass through his system if they haven't already, but if we see any signs of lead poisoning to give them a call.
So, there ya go. That was our weekend fun.
The Vaughn Vibe- A Hodgepodge blog
Monday, March 14, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
What NOT to do at the table: A Lesson in good etiquette
Normally, we try to keep meal times somewhat civilized with an attempt at manners. No fake burping or farting, no spitting, keeping our hands to ourselves, no playing with our food, and other various etiquette related things. There are times though when it just isn't worth the fight but definitely worth the pictures.
Here's the lowdown on lunch today in picture format.
Here Z is done eating and is now making fake burping noises at his brothers persuasion. First rule broken...
He looks over to see what brother is doing and begins doing the same. Second rule broken...
It stands!!! So exciting!!
Here is IV starting to do what he does best. Pestering his brother. Third rule broken...
Ok, so this was kind of sweet. Until...
Z started licking IV. I think this falls under the no spitting rule since it involves saliva. Forth rule broken...
IV is back to his creation.
Meticulously placing grape stems into his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
The finished product.
He's an artist I tell ya.
I think we covered all our manners...it was worth it.
Here's the lowdown on lunch today in picture format.
Here Z is done eating and is now making fake burping noises at his brothers persuasion. First rule broken...
He looks over to see what brother is doing and begins doing the same. Second rule broken...
Here is IV starting to do what he does best. Pestering his brother. Third rule broken...
Ok, so this was kind of sweet. Until...
Z started licking IV. I think this falls under the no spitting rule since it involves saliva. Forth rule broken...
IV is back to his creation.
Meticulously placing grape stems into his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
The finished product.
He's an artist I tell ya.
I think we covered all our manners...it was worth it.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Card Demo
I've had a lot of people ask me how I make my cards. It's hard to explain because there are so many steps and it's just easier to sit down and show you. But since I don't have time to sit down with everyone that would like to see I'm attempting to do a demo by pictures. Mind you, these are by no means professional photos. I just tried to get the best picture I could to show whatever it was I was demonstrating.
Also, these are just general guidelines that I tend to follow for creating the core of the card. After the basic set up of the card the decorating is for the most part a hodge podge of what I think looks good at the time. I tend to go for a vintage, eclectic, mix match, dirty, warm, and "well-loved" look.
So, here it is:
Choose some paper. Since it's for Valentine's Day I choose papers that had mostly shades of red and pink.
I make my own envelopes and cards because I can control the size, shape, patterns, and decorations.
The below picture is of my lovely friend the Cricut. The cartridge that I use is the Plantin SchoolBook.
If you aren't making your own envelopes just hold on to your paper. You'll still need it.
I love that you can cut whatever size that you want and use whatever paper tickles your fancy that day!
When I do a batch of cards I always do 15-30 at once. It just seems to be easier to get them all cut at once. I cut several different sizes ranging from 2"x 2" to 8 1/2" x 4".
This will make a 5" x 5" card
These make a 7 1/2" x 3 1/2" card
This will make a 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" card
Hold on to all of those scraps from your envelopes.
Now for folding the envelopes. These are the tools that I use: glue stick, ruler, scrap paper, and a bone folder. I use the scrap paper as protection from the glue for my table.
I start by folding the envelope by using the ruler as a straight edge. You give the flap of the envelope a nice little fold over the edge of the ruler so that it will have a line started that you can follow.
Go ahead and remove the ruler so that you can fold the flap over. Then take your handy dandy bone folder and gently slide it over the crease so that it is nice and flat.
By the way if you don't already know, the bone folder is one of the handiest tools ever! It makes making cards and so many other things so much easier. It definitely saves your finger tip when folding 15-40 cards and envelopes!
Continue folding in all the sides.
Go ahead and glue them together next.
Next I cut and fold the cards to fit the envelopes. Again I use the bone folder and paper cutter.
Cut the paper to the size that you need and then fold it in half.
Hold on to all the lovely scraps from cutting the cards.
Now you should have sets of cards and envelopes.
All ready to be decorated!
If you don't have a cricut another great option are pre-made cards and envelopes. These are awesome and from the dollar section in Michaels.
Grab your scraps from the envelopes, your stamps, your ink, and paper cutter for trimming. All of the stamps in the picture below are from the dollar section in Michaels. They have both the acrylic stamps and the wooden block stamps and have recently also started carrying the acrylic blocks and ink for a dollar! I don't know what it is but every time I go to Michaels the stamps just jump into my cart...
For those of you using the pre-made cards just grab whatever scraps you have laying around. They will work just as well!
I usually try to stamp scraps that will stand out against the card that I have chosen to put it on.
Ok, now it's time to grab all of the scraps from your envelopes.
For this step you will need your bone folder, scissors, glue stick, scrap paper, and envelope with stamped piece that matches. Find a piece from the envelope scraps that will highlight the stamp and stand out from the other colors already used. Mount the stamped piece on top and trim the edges.
Continue that will all of the stamped pieces until all of them are completed. Don't glue them to the cards yet! There's still another step...
Back to the scraps again..
Take your scraps and choose one that is different from both the envelope and the piece that you mounted the stamped piece on. trim it however large or small that you would like to cover up some of your card. Go ahead and glue that piece down. At this point I usually go ahead and glue down the stamped piece as well. But if you're not sure about it's placement and where you want to put everything else on your card you can leave it off.
Next you will need to have your scrap piece of paper, your card, distress ink pad, and a dry baby wipe. I have found that I like the dry baby wipe best but you and use a thin piece of cloth, tissue, or napkin. Also, the ink I am using can be found at Michaels (I LOVE Michaels!). It comes in several shades. This one is the walnut stain. I like it because I like my edges to look pretty dirty. :)
The way I dirty the edges is by wrapping the baby wipe around my finger to where it is one layer thick on the pad of my finger. I then press it into the ink and start to rub in a circle around the edges of the card until it is as dark as I would like it. To make it fade lighter into the center of the card and away from the corners just lighten the pressure as you circle inwards.
Oh, here's a picture of the things that I used for the stitching as wells as the stamp.
I also like to stamp the back with a stamp where I can sign and date my work. Since each and every card is different they are all a mini piece of artwork.
The steps that I use to actually decorate the rest of the card are pretty hard to walk you through. It is kind of up to you on what you would like to use. I tend to use at least one or two more stamps on the background, a couple of flowers with buttons or brads for the centers, 3-4 pieces of different colors or ribbons, one rhinestone, and a little more detail around the flowers and on the stamped areas with a white and a glitter gel pen.
My grandmother owned a flower shop and I worked at a flower shop for a couple of years so a lot of my inspiration comes from the corsages I used to make. I like to display the flowers where each is seen and I use the same techniques for looping the ribbon in a corsage.
I usually package them with a piece of yarn so that they stay together in the display where I sell them.
None of my cards are ever the same. That is what keeps it fresh and fun! Hope that this was a bit of inspiration for you! Thanks for looking!
Also, these are just general guidelines that I tend to follow for creating the core of the card. After the basic set up of the card the decorating is for the most part a hodge podge of what I think looks good at the time. I tend to go for a vintage, eclectic, mix match, dirty, warm, and "well-loved" look.
So, here it is:
Choose some paper. Since it's for Valentine's Day I choose papers that had mostly shades of red and pink.
I make my own envelopes and cards because I can control the size, shape, patterns, and decorations.
The below picture is of my lovely friend the Cricut. The cartridge that I use is the Plantin SchoolBook.
If you aren't making your own envelopes just hold on to your paper. You'll still need it.
I love that you can cut whatever size that you want and use whatever paper tickles your fancy that day!
When I do a batch of cards I always do 15-30 at once. It just seems to be easier to get them all cut at once. I cut several different sizes ranging from 2"x 2" to 8 1/2" x 4".
This will make a 5" x 5" card
These make a 7 1/2" x 3 1/2" card
This will make a 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" card
Hold on to all of those scraps from your envelopes.
Now for folding the envelopes. These are the tools that I use: glue stick, ruler, scrap paper, and a bone folder. I use the scrap paper as protection from the glue for my table.
I start by folding the envelope by using the ruler as a straight edge. You give the flap of the envelope a nice little fold over the edge of the ruler so that it will have a line started that you can follow.
Go ahead and remove the ruler so that you can fold the flap over. Then take your handy dandy bone folder and gently slide it over the crease so that it is nice and flat.
By the way if you don't already know, the bone folder is one of the handiest tools ever! It makes making cards and so many other things so much easier. It definitely saves your finger tip when folding 15-40 cards and envelopes!
Continue folding in all the sides.
Go ahead and glue them together next.
Next I cut and fold the cards to fit the envelopes. Again I use the bone folder and paper cutter.
Cut the paper to the size that you need and then fold it in half.
Hold on to all the lovely scraps from cutting the cards.
Now you should have sets of cards and envelopes.
All ready to be decorated!
If you don't have a cricut another great option are pre-made cards and envelopes. These are awesome and from the dollar section in Michaels.
Grab your scraps from the envelopes, your stamps, your ink, and paper cutter for trimming. All of the stamps in the picture below are from the dollar section in Michaels. They have both the acrylic stamps and the wooden block stamps and have recently also started carrying the acrylic blocks and ink for a dollar! I don't know what it is but every time I go to Michaels the stamps just jump into my cart...
For those of you using the pre-made cards just grab whatever scraps you have laying around. They will work just as well!
I usually try to stamp scraps that will stand out against the card that I have chosen to put it on.
Ok, now it's time to grab all of the scraps from your envelopes.
For this step you will need your bone folder, scissors, glue stick, scrap paper, and envelope with stamped piece that matches. Find a piece from the envelope scraps that will highlight the stamp and stand out from the other colors already used. Mount the stamped piece on top and trim the edges.
Continue that will all of the stamped pieces until all of them are completed. Don't glue them to the cards yet! There's still another step...
Back to the scraps again..
Take your scraps and choose one that is different from both the envelope and the piece that you mounted the stamped piece on. trim it however large or small that you would like to cover up some of your card. Go ahead and glue that piece down. At this point I usually go ahead and glue down the stamped piece as well. But if you're not sure about it's placement and where you want to put everything else on your card you can leave it off.
The way I dirty the edges is by wrapping the baby wipe around my finger to where it is one layer thick on the pad of my finger. I then press it into the ink and start to rub in a circle around the edges of the card until it is as dark as I would like it. To make it fade lighter into the center of the card and away from the corners just lighten the pressure as you circle inwards.
Not a very good picture but I have shaded all the corners and edges on both the card and the stamped piece.
Here is a closer look at the shading but also shows the next step that I do. I always take a pen and draw what looks like stitching around the stamped piece and the other decorative piece of paper on the card. If you don't have a very steady hand...get ready for this....Michaels (bet you never would have guessed) sells an acrylic stamp that looks like stitching!
Oh, here's a picture of the things that I used for the stitching as wells as the stamp.
I also like to stamp the back with a stamp where I can sign and date my work. Since each and every card is different they are all a mini piece of artwork.
The steps that I use to actually decorate the rest of the card are pretty hard to walk you through. It is kind of up to you on what you would like to use. I tend to use at least one or two more stamps on the background, a couple of flowers with buttons or brads for the centers, 3-4 pieces of different colors or ribbons, one rhinestone, and a little more detail around the flowers and on the stamped areas with a white and a glitter gel pen.
My grandmother owned a flower shop and I worked at a flower shop for a couple of years so a lot of my inspiration comes from the corsages I used to make. I like to display the flowers where each is seen and I use the same techniques for looping the ribbon in a corsage.
I usually package them with a piece of yarn so that they stay together in the display where I sell them.
None of my cards are ever the same. That is what keeps it fresh and fun! Hope that this was a bit of inspiration for you! Thanks for looking!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Holiday Hoopla Vaughn Style
Today my projects are switching out the 2010 file folders with new 2011 file folders, picking pictures for the Masters Kids memory book, updating my blog, and making some cards. I'll post some of the cards on here later. Now for the blog part...
I'm not sure how to describe Z's method of decorating the tree. He always had a new ornament in hand. He looked really busy and excited to do something with it. But not once did I ever see him actually put one on the tree. Please pay no attention to the unwiped mouth.
I think most of them ended up being handed over to big brother who is very good at putting them on the tree. IV likes to hang them in bunches. He wanted to make sure that they were all "together". Daddy snapped this picture towards the end.
Here's the decorators pausing just long enough to please mom with a picture. Actually dad was the photographer that night but everyone knows that a mom loves this kind of shot. It's not candid but also not one that would fall under the posed category. They are looking in the general direction of the camera, together, and somewhat smiling. It's an "A" in my book. I did however, fail as a mother by allowing my youngest to wear no pants. That happens in a lot of my pictures. Oh well, I like it.
This is a picture of my solution for displaying cards. We don't have a lot of display space on shelves in our apartment but we do have a lot of wall space. I store my art display panels for art-shows behind our couch. They made the perfect place to tie some ribbon and attach the cards. I used mini clothespins to attach them with and hung them in a random manor to make it interesting. It also made a good place to hang our stockings.
We had a good time decorating cookies. Above is the hubs with his masterpiece.
This is Z after devouring his masterpiece.
and this is IV
Cinnamon rolls...the nemesis of my baking. Oh, how I loathe thee! Out of everything that I have ever made or attempted to make these beasts are the ones that make me nervous. They have never turned out right. This last time was the most success I have had with them. They rose like they were supposed to and tasted great. I tried two different recipes given to me by my sweet friend Melissa and out of the two I should be able to genetically create the perfect cinnamon roll. The first will contribute the yummy filling, creamy icing, and taste of bread that I'm looking for. The second contributing the rise and height of the rolls and the softness of the bread that is in my dreams. Combined, this cinnamon roll will conquer all fears, taste buds, and waistlines as well!
I'm sure that I forgot something that I wanted to share.
If I did it will just have to wait until next time.
I have finally uploaded the pictures that have been sitting on my phone and camera for the last couple of months. I figure that I should probably post a few on here with some of the things that we have been up to lately in the Vaughn household. By the way, I didn't realize that this guilty, nagging feeling comes along with not posting when I started this blog.
My mom made it out before Christmas for a short visit and when I say short visit- I mean that she got here at 2:00pm on a friday and was back at the airport by 11:00am on Sunday to leave. That's less than 48 hours. That's crazy!! Even though it was short we still had a great time and the boys were super sad to see her leave. We love seeing Lolli!!
We still had time to make some graham cracker houses which were a lot of fun. We ended up using McDonald's Happy Meal boxes for the inside structure which worked pretty well.
I'm sure that there was more candy that went into mouths than there was that went onto the houses.
Due to a very nice gift we got to go to Disneyland for the first time. The boys were so excited as were J and I. We had a great time! J even surprised me and got us year passes so that we can go back! Can't wait to visit again.
We seemed to miss seeing all of the other roaming Disney characters but we did catch Goofy!
We had a lot of fun with the tree this year. Last year we had a tree but I'm not sure that you could even call it a tree. It was a little 3 footer that I have had since my first year of college. It was missing one of the legs on it's stand and the looked like it had some sort of disease with all of the patches of missing pine needles. Needles to say, it retired after Christmas last year. This year we had a real 6 foot Douglas Fir to take it's place. It was so pretty and smelled wonderful too! The boys had a lot of fun playing cars, little people, and army men among its branches. I had fun trying to keep up with all of the pine needles they were helping it shed on the floor.
I'm not sure how to describe Z's method of decorating the tree. He always had a new ornament in hand. He looked really busy and excited to do something with it. But not once did I ever see him actually put one on the tree. Please pay no attention to the unwiped mouth.
I think most of them ended up being handed over to big brother who is very good at putting them on the tree. IV likes to hang them in bunches. He wanted to make sure that they were all "together". Daddy snapped this picture towards the end.
Here's the decorators pausing just long enough to please mom with a picture. Actually dad was the photographer that night but everyone knows that a mom loves this kind of shot. It's not candid but also not one that would fall under the posed category. They are looking in the general direction of the camera, together, and somewhat smiling. It's an "A" in my book. I did however, fail as a mother by allowing my youngest to wear no pants. That happens in a lot of my pictures. Oh well, I like it.
I had to throw this picture in. It's one of my favorites for a couple reasons. First, look at the smile. That folks is a REAL smile. IV's normal smile, if you can call it that, is one of sheer force and cheesiness. This one is sweet and simple. Love it! Secondly, he was so excited to wear the suit. "It looks like daddy's!" is what he kept saying as he twisted his hands together in the way he does when he's excited. Thirdly, for the reason he was wearing it. The Master's Kids (where he goes to preschool) was going caroling to a retirement home. The kids were to dress in their Sunday best for all of the grandpas and grandmas. It was so cute to watch them interacting and visiting with the seniors. IV was even open to letting them hold his hand and hug on him. It was sweet and you can tell that the seniors really enjoyed the youngsters. P.S. Thanks for the suit Papa and Grandma Vaughn!!
This is a picture of my solution for displaying cards. We don't have a lot of display space on shelves in our apartment but we do have a lot of wall space. I store my art display panels for art-shows behind our couch. They made the perfect place to tie some ribbon and attach the cards. I used mini clothespins to attach them with and hung them in a random manor to make it interesting. It also made a good place to hang our stockings.
We had a good time decorating cookies. Above is the hubs with his masterpiece.
This is Z after devouring his masterpiece.
and this is IV
We had enough to last us over a week.
Cinnamon rolls...the nemesis of my baking. Oh, how I loathe thee! Out of everything that I have ever made or attempted to make these beasts are the ones that make me nervous. They have never turned out right. This last time was the most success I have had with them. They rose like they were supposed to and tasted great. I tried two different recipes given to me by my sweet friend Melissa and out of the two I should be able to genetically create the perfect cinnamon roll. The first will contribute the yummy filling, creamy icing, and taste of bread that I'm looking for. The second contributing the rise and height of the rolls and the softness of the bread that is in my dreams. Combined, this cinnamon roll will conquer all fears, taste buds, and waistlines as well!
I'm sure that I forgot something that I wanted to share.
If I did it will just have to wait until next time.
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