A few last images from our trip to snow-dusted Blue Ridge during the last week of the year...
2012 was a wonderful year full of adventures. Although we had to say goodbye to many dear ones in California, it is lovely being back in Georgia. The blackeyed peas are soaking for tomorrow's Hoppin' John, which will be shared with family.
As the sun was setting on this year, Brian and I were curled up with Eli watching a movie. Suddenly Little Guy leaned over and puckered up, coming in to give me a sweet kiss. Then, at the last second, he pulled back to leave me smoochless and said, "April Fool's, Mama!" Wrong holiday! But great comedic timing. And a huge laugh was a great way to leave the year.
I just learned how to make the photographs on my blog larger. It makes the vertical photos a bit too big, but the horizontal ones finally have enough detail. I like how it looks on my computer, but I have no idea how it looks on anyone else's.
We're home from Blue Ridge now and I realized I never posted about a lovely weekend trip we made last month to Chattanooga. In particular, we visited Rock City one afternoon and then returned at night to see it aglow for the holidays...
After the sun set...
As you can see, I loved taking photos of the lights. Eli's favorite thing? Definitely the decorate-your-own gingerbread man station!
One Mama's Two Cents: Our family loves holiday lights and Rock City offers an unusual chance to walk among the decorations rather than just drive next to them. You can go at your own pace. The woods and huge rock formations are magical in the multicolored glow. In addition, after lots of running around, it was pure pleasure to visit the indoor hall for live music, a huge fireplace with rocking chairs pulled around it, hot chocolate, and freshly-made funnel cakes. Eli had a chance to sit on Santa's lap and get his portrait made in a set-up that was much better than most malls. (Calm atmosphere, cheerful Santa who obviously enjoys kids, and real beard!)
We're very glad we went to the Enchanted Garden of Lights! That said, however, I don't know that I would have liked going if Eli was much younger. Even in November it was fairly crowded and there were lots of opportunities for little feet to trip on tree roots and craigy rocks. For wee ones, you'll need a lot of adult supervision and a stroller definitely wouldn't be usable on the rough trails. Since Eli minds fairly well and is old enough to be steady on his feet, we plan to go back again for more holiday lights.
Thanks to a kind birthday gift to Eli from Granddad and Grandma, today we rode the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, going clickety clack through the winter woods along the Ocoee River. The four hour (and twenty six mile) round trip starts from Blue Ridge, Georgia and goes to McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. After a two hour stop (perfect for lunch and a little exploring), the train heads back again.
Waiting to start...
A mid-morning popcorn snack from the concession car makes the wait go faster.
See the "V" shape in the water? According to the volunteers who run the train, that's a fishing weir that Native Americans used to catch food long ago.
Near town, we crossed both river and road on the railroad bridge...
Lunch in McCaysville. Or was it in Copperhill?
You see, the little downtown district is split in half by the state line. There are streets, parking lots, and even shops half in and half out of Georgia.
We discovered bakers Nikki Gribble and Susan Catron, winners of the Food Network's sixth season of the show Cupcake Wars, have a bakery in McCaysville.
The Sweet Shop is home to such cupcakes as the Blonde Bombshell, Bohemian Wedding, PB & J, Dutch Monkey, Neopolitan, and Strawberry Lemonade, but I can only speak for the Key Lime. Fabulous!
Tummies full, we got back on the train.
One Mama's Two Cents: The train trip was definitely worth the ticket price and the drive to Blue Ridge. We are already talking about coming back and are eager to see how different the experience would be in the summer while riding in one of the open cars. The train tracks wind slowly past a horse ranch, farmland, woods, and river valleys, so there is a lot of peaceful scenery to enjoy. The train cars aren't plush, yet they are definitely comfortable. (Bathrooms and a snack bar are available.) Two hours in McCaysville/Copperhill is enough time to have a leisurely lunch and do a little antiquing or windowshopping before you have to board again. The passengers of the train do, however, fill up the local restaurants fast. Don't be the last ones to disembark for the layover if you've got a hungry kid in your party. In warm weather, a picnic by the river would probably be the way to go. In November and December, check into the Santa trains.
Lovely day after day with dear family and friends. Chocolate. Presents and crumpled mounds of gift wrap. Cinnamony baking. New games and toys. Winking Christmas lights.
Happy chaos.
Then this morning we got in the car and headed north into the mountains for a small escape. Through wintery weather and to a small stone hotel with a view of the Appalachian foothills...
A quiet room watching small flecks of snow fall over the mountains wouldn't be so peaceful and welcome if it wasn't for all the busy, joyous days before it.
Some of my friends have done these Christmas tree ornaments with their kids and the effect is so lovely that I wanted to try it. You squirt paint inside plain glass balls to create swirling effects and then allow it to dry.
All you need is some clear glass ornaments with removable hangers (available at craft stores), rubbing alcohol, and bottles of squirtable-consistency acrylic paint. I bought ornaments that had a "carnival glass" or rainbow effect to them, but plain is good too. To get the ornaments ready, remove the hangers and rinse the insides of the balls with alcohol (to remove manufacturing residues so the paint will cling better). Once the alcohol evaporates, you're ready to work.
My plan was to use a just a couple of colors per ball and stick to colors that would look nice blended. Eli, however, wanted to use all four colors in each ball. They were his ornaments, so I let him decide. And he was right. The paints got a little muddy and brown at times, but not as bad as I feared.
Below: I prepared by putting Eli in a smock and using a trash bag to protect the table. I also had plenty of paper towels on hand for drips. Eli prepared by putting on his birthday crown.
As for technique, there isn't much to it. Still, I was glad we had a whole box of ornaments because it took a little while to get a feel for how to squirt the paint in for maximum coverage, how much to use, etc. To finish up each ball, I put my finger over the opening and shook the ball to distribute the paint. If paint got on the outside of the ball, I kept my finger over the opening and washed the ornament under the faucet.
One thing we didn't try was using a tiny marble inside. You can buy undersized glass marbles in the floral section of craft stores and putting one inside the ornament with the paint apparently creates lines and feathery effects. Next year!
On the balls I made, I tried to balance the colors and squirt the paint in interesting ways. I also tried different ways of slinging the paint inside. The results were humbling. Eli just pottered along and his looked nicer than my labored ones.
One of the tricky parts of the project was draining the excess paint out of the ornament. It takes a long time! At first I just held them over a paper towel, but then I hit on putting them upside down in a mini muffin pan.
Muffin papers made it easy to clean up afterwards -- and captured some lovely effects of the draining paint.
I read several sets of instructions on the web and many stated that if the paint is uneven inside, flaking can occur over time. Apparently it is important to rotate the balls as they dry to keep the thickness even. The mini muffin pan nicely supported the balls, making it easier to shift their angle every few minutes. Once the paint wasn't fluid anymore, I positioned the balls with the openings upward so they would dry faster.
Here's our results! They made nice gifts for Eli's teachers and friends. This project gets two thumbs up.
Thanks to Nicole and Tiffany for sharing your experiences with this project!
We've been making batches of edible magic wands around here. So handy for transforming holiday gatherings into yummy parties. (Heather, you asked for the recipe, so this post is for you...)
You'll need a twelve-ounce bag of pretzel rods, an eight-ounce box of semi-sweet chocolate squares, a six-ounce box of white chocolate squares, parchment or wax paper, and some confection sprinkles. (I use Baker's brand for both kinds of chocolate.)
Melt an eight-ounce box of semi-sweet chocolate squares in a double boiler or in the microwave. Many recipes add a tablespoon of shortening at this point to give the chocolate a smoother consistency.
When the chocolate is completely melted, dip the pretzel rods into it one at a time, using a spoon to help cover the rod except for an inch or two at the top. Eli and I make a two-person assembly line at this point. I coat the pretzel rods and place them on a parchment-covered pan. He shakes sprinkles over them while they are still hot.
Once we use up the dark chocolate (covering about three-fourths of the pretzel bag), we start in on the white. Broken pretzels are not a problem; lots of folks like nibbling on a smaller wand.
After all the pretzels are covered, I dip a spoon in the white chocolate and drizzle it over the dark chocolate-covered pretzel rods for added decoration. Chill the wands in the fridge to set them. Easy peasy start to finish!
The final step is to use up the leftover white chocolate. If you have any berries or dried fruit, dip them in! Or you can pour Cheerios into the melted chocolate, adding enough that the cereal gets lightly but uniformly coated. Add some nonpareils to create Elf Donuts. These tiny treats are surprisingly yummy, which is saying something coming from a person who isn't a fan of white chocolate. If you have any Elf Donuts left by Christmas Eve, you can put them out for Santa's helpers along with cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.
One of the fun things about these magic wands is that depending on the colors and types of sprinkles you use, they are great for all seasons and holidays.
Several friends grilled me about how we managed this summer on our almost-month-long drive from California to Georgia with a three-and-a-half year-old in the back seat. I'm always interested in trading travel tips, so I meant to write a blog post to get an online discussion going before the holiday travel season hit. Better late than never?
Some of my tips involve travel with a child, but many of them also kept the grownups sane and happy while being on the go for so long...
Breaking Up the Travel Day -- Although we stayed at hotels or on military bases, we accompanied my in-laws in their RV. My father-in-law kindly created an itinerary where we tried not to travel more than five hours in a single day. Many days were just two or three hours, but on longer days, we used iPhone apps like iExit, AroundMe, Playgrounds!, Museum Locator, and TripAdvisor as well as websites like Pit Stops for Kids to find parks, playgrounds, children's museums, and the like. (Thanks, Sara and Heather for these tips!) If we were going to be in an area that friends know well, we got their advice on fun diversions. (Thanks, Edie and Mandi!) Visitors centers and pamphlet racks were usually well worth a stop too.
Tots in Hotels -- We created a big hotel duffel bag for Eli that included a blow-up twin mattress (with pump and sheets) in case there was a bed too small for co-sleeping, a travel pillow in case hotel pillows were too fat for a little neck, a sound machine to muffle noise from other guests, and night lights. By far the most useful thing in the duffel was our blow-up bumpers to keep Eli from falling out of bed. (Click HERE to see them in action.) If one of us was co-sleeping with Eli and he started rolling around too much in his sleep, a bumper between tot and parent allowed everyone to get good rest. We had our beloved PeaPod Plus tent with us on the trip but didn't need it. (Click HERE to see the PeaPod.)
Pumping up the bumpers for the night...
Car Naps -- Eli has recently all but given up naps, but he was still napping daily 1 to 2 hours this summer. We found car naps worked fairly well as long as we covered up both window and boy. A flannel receiving blanket is thin enough to easily roll up into the window and just the right size curtain. Eli sleeps better with something over his lap, but we were in the middle of summer heat. A thin, gauzy muslin baby blanket served nicely.
Mama Sanity On the Go -- Travel comfort is in the details...
I'll forever be grateful to Eli's godmother, Heidi, for introducing me to the joy of packing cubes. (Click HERE and scroll down for a photo.) My suitcase didn't become a rat's nest.
And thank you Danielle for telling me about the L.L. Bean hanging toiletry bag that always kept my stuff safely above wet countertops and Eli's curious hands.
A mesh drawstring duffel in each person's suitcase was a huge help with keeping dirty clothes corralled and ready for the laundromat.
Because I am always squirreling away postcards, brochures, and scrapbooking tidbits, I travel with a plastic accordian file to preserve my treasures.
Brian and I both have flashlights with a red light included in them so we can move around or even read in the middle of the night without disturbing anybody else.
Finally, the dollar store sells bumpy plastic drainers for bar soap. So nice to not have goopy-soupy soap at hotels!
Traveling Junk Drawer -- Ever noticed how many little tools/items you miss having when you travel? I now have a small packing cube that serves as a junk drawer. What's inside? Scissors, rubber bands, paper clips, Leatherman tool (pliars, screwdriver, etc), bottle brush (for cleaning sippy cups), dish soap in a tiny travel bottle, heavy duty clear packing tape, clothespins, night light, twist ties, safety pins, quarters for laundry or snacks, Sharpie marker, mechanical pencils, ziplock baggies, mini sewing kit, aluminum foil (one piece folded), zip ties, super glue, and babyproofing outlet covers. I even have a small, folded blow-up beachball and a Matchbox car to entertain Eli on the fly. Whenever I take a trip, I just drop the portable junk drawer into my suitcase and am prepared come what may.
Of all the things in the portable junk drawer, the one I use the most is clothespins. You can use them to close chip bags, seal that annoyingly bright gap in the drapes, or even hang damp laundry from an air conditioning vent in the hotel ceiling...
Travel Safety -- It worried me how many different places we were going, which could be terribly confusing to a small child who wandered off. We were extra vigilant, but we also put an identity tag called a Road ID on Eli's shoe. Intended for runners who often can't carry ID or phones, the metal tag can be printed with any info you'd like and fastens on with sturdy Velcro. I didn't put Eli's name on his, but instead printed: "If I am lost, please call the numbers below. Thanks!" I put phone numbers labeled "Papa, Mama, and Granddad." We drilled Eli on what to do if he got lost -- stay put and ask a grownup (preferrably someone in uniform or a mama/papa) to call the numbers on his shoe. Eli is now memorizing our phone numbers, but I don't know if he'd remember them if he was upset. Thus we still put the tag on him while traveling or at a big venue (Six Flags, malls during holiday rush, etc.). In the photo below (taken with prairie dogs in the South Dakota Badlands), the small tag is visible atop Eli's right shoe.
Travel Toys and Games -- The best backseat toys for Eli at 3.5 years proved to be Magnadoodle, Leapfrog alphabet-teaching electronic toys, Matchbox-type cars and
construction vehicles, and his Fisher-Price digital camera for kids. I also brought a bag of toys wrapped like gifts and gave one to Eli every few days. These items included non-electric pinball-type games, pipe cleaners, Silly Putty, Wikki Stix, plastic animals, dry erase maze cards, cardboard lacing cards, and card games (Old Maid, Crazy Eights, etc.) Since he is loving games theses day, the Uno card game quickly became a favorite way to entertain a travel-weary kid at a restaurant. At that time, he loved the Thomas the Tank Engine version of Uno, which is simplified for toddlers. To try to prevent losing Eli's travel toys and games, I got several small mesh drawstring bags at a camping supply store. They are see-through and allow damp items like sand toys to dry during storage. I also printed labels with my cell phone number on them to stick to Eli's things.
AND the big one... We want Eli to be able to entertain himself in the back seat and enjoy a road trip for its own sake, yet we knew we'd be doing this day after day. Thus we purchased a small and portable used DVD player. It was fabulous! On short travel days we didn't get it out, but it was a true help on longer travel days and also for keeping Eli safely occupied if the adults needed to get reorganized at a hotel, figure out travel plans, etc. The padded Case Logic brand carrier kept the DVD player safe during travel bumps but also let us attach it to the seat back so Eli had hands-free viewing. What did Eli watch? A lot of Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder, but also his favorite children's documentary series All About.
Otherwise, we did a lot of classic travel pastimes -- I Spy, singing, talking about the landscape outside our windows, etc. An audiobook CD of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods was a hit. Sometimes I'd give Eli a challenge. For instance, he won his Uno card game by finding semi truck cabs of every color of the rainbow.
I've written these sorts of tot travel posts before, but the game changes as your child gets older. Here are some of those posts by age group:
JourneyLeaf is a tool to help me appreciate, preserve, and share those raggedy yet shining moments in everyday life. Joy requires practice. (To read more, click above on the word "ABOUT.")
The original words, images, and concepts on this blog are copyrighted. Please do not use them without my permission. Thank you!
My primary camera is a Canon EOS Digital Rebel T5 with a Sigma DC 18-200mm lens (1:3.5-6.3) or Canon EFS 18-55mm lens. On occasion I also use my iPhone 6. For crisper images (when I'm not in a hurry to grab the shot), I use a Dolica Proline B100 tripod. I often tweak my images using Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.
S U P P O R T J O U R N E Y L E A F Kindly click on the link below whenever you make purchases at Amazon. A small percentage returns to JourneyLeaf to help purchase more books, craft supplies, etc. to be featured on the blog. Thank you!
