We recently discovered a fix. She stretches a couple already “finished” loops to hold the tension.  Once the pot holder is finished, we just pull the stretched loops in strategic places until it’s back in place.

One of our kids really struggles with sleep.  She either can’t fall asleep at night or wakes frequently.  She’s also a sleep walker.  She’s on the Feingold diet which helps a lot.  The amino acids 5HTP and GABA help a lot, too, but I did not want her to be dependent on them forever.  I was due to upgrade Ty’s weighted lap pad that he sleeps under to a full-sized blanket, so I decided to make another one to see if it helped our daughter.

True to form, for me, I made one and then looked up a how-to.  It turns out mine is nothing like the few tutorials I saw.  My creation is a little simpler to make but may not be as washable depending on the weight.  At 2 pounds, I could wash Ty’s.  The other one I made is 10 pounds.  I’ll have to spot clean that one

Disclaimer: I’m sure this blanket would be considered a safety hazard in some way by experts.  Make it and use it an your own risk using your best judgement.  I recommend finding a qualified Occupational Therapist to help you address any sensory needs and to find a weighted product that is right for your situation.  The rule of thumb I use for blankets is 10% of body weight.

1. Choose fabric.  This is the best part (besides being finished).  We used a pattern of choice on one side and a plain, coordinating color on the back side.  Our fabric was about 42″ wide and I used about 2.5 yards.
2. Buy filler.  I used poly-fill beads meant for stuffed animals.  They had them at JoAnn’s in 2 pound bags.  I had a lot of coupons.  Otherwise, you can get them on Amazon
   for a decent price.
3. Wash and iron fabric.  Pre-washing takes care of shrinkage if needed. Make sure to at least iron the edges which usually fold in weird ways during washing.
4. Place fabric right sides together. Trim if needed.
   
5. Sew 3 sides together.  Leave one of the short sides open.  I used between 1/4″ an 1/2″ seam allowance.
6. Turn right side out and iron.  To reinforce the edges, I went back and double stitched the seams with a zig zag stitch along the edges after ironing.  While you’re ironing, turn in the raw edges about 1/4″ and iron flat.
   
   
   
7. Mark and sew the long sections.  I just measured the length and width of the finished case and arbitrarily chose section sizes based on which numbers made for easy math.  I marked AND sewed just the length first.
   
8. Mark (DO NOT SEW) the short sections.
   
9. Divide the beads. Divide the weight of your beads (in ounces) by the number of sections.  Then you’ll know how much to put in each pocket.  I used a kitchen scale to measure the beads out.  Make sure to zero the scale with the container on it.
   
10. Stuff the blanket. In each column put the corrent amount of beads for one section.  Shake the beads down to the bottom.  Sew the first row closed.  Be sure to keep the beads at the bottom.  It takes a little practice.  I spilled beads all over my dining room during transport to sew the first section.  Repeat for each row.  When you get to the last row, finish off with a zig zag stich to close the two iron-hemmed pieces together.

VOILA!

The verdict?  The kids to seem to love them, and sleep has been better.  Whether it’s the actual blankets or psychological is yet to be determined.

Here’s how you can try.

You’ll need:

• Large watermelon (make sure it has a flat bottom)
• Sharp serrated knife or pumpkin carving saws
• Plastic toothpick
• Flour
• Template or pattern (optional) and scotch tape
  Check www.watermelon.org for lots of carving ideas
• Melon baller

1. Tape your pattern to the watermelon, if you’re using one.



2. Use the toothpick to trace the pattern or draw out your own by poking small holes or scraping into the watermelon rind.



3. Remove the pattern.



4. Dust the holes with flour to make them stand out.



5. Ready, set, CARVE!  (I use a larger knife to cut out large chunks to start and then the small saws to do the details.)



6. Scoop out the watermelon in neat balls to be used in your fruit salad.



7. Fill watermelon with fresh fruit and enjoy the OOOOHs and AAAAHs.

This year, PJ opted for homemade paper hearts again.  We purchased this kit on a whim last year right before Valentine’s Day.  After slaving over 15 homemade paper hearts, I let PJ scribble some red on each one and slap a computer-printed label that read “Happy Valentine’s Day…Love, PJ.”  When he wanted to re-live the project this year, I cringed until I realized we would have plenty of time with 2 feet of snow coming. 

Live and learn. Things we did differently this year:

1. Ditched the hand blender for the kitchen blender.  This made for a much smoother pulp and, therefore, a smoother finished product.
2. Ditched the time-consuming, not-so-effective screws on the press.  Instead, we just used the too hard surfaces and our weight to press the paper.
3. Tried to add red color.  We used gel food coloring.  While it stained the counter, the water, and our clothes, the gray newspaper remained…well, gray.

 Mia opted to take my recommendation for edible valentines.  We have an awesome sugar cookie recipe that we use to make cookies for every known event and/or holiday that has a cookie cutter.  I thought it would be cute to make large heart cookies and deliver them in CD sleeves (the paper kind with the cellophane window).

I’ll be honest.  We haven’t done this particular cookie-making yet, but I wanted to share in time for you to use it with your family.  The pictures are from recent cookie making extravaganzas.

Here’s the recipe…

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened  (I repeat…unsalted.)
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 TBS light corn syrup
1 TBS vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and salt.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar.  Stir in the egg, then the corn syrup and vanilla extract.  One third at a time, add the four mixture until thoroughly mixed.  Pat the dough into a ball.  

I am usually able to roll out this dough without refrigerating it.  It’s actually too hard if you refrigerate it for too long.  We roll it between two sheets of parchment paper to prevent it from sticking to the pin and to avoid having to add extra flour which toughens the dough.

Use a large heart-shaped cutter to shape dough and decorate as desired.  Bake at 375 until golden brown (about 12 minutes).