The Coolest Care Package Ever

Yeah that title is a pun, but you can take it literally too...because Penguins are awesome! You would already know that if you had read my previous post.  Anyhow, as I've already noted, my husband loves penguins, so I HAD to send him a penguin themed box this month.  To date, this one is my favorite :D  Honestly, I think the boxes just get better and better.  I've got about 9 stacked up in my office, every other day I'm adding a couple items to each box until they are filled.  I have a box that is just about filled to the top, so I just need to make some cookies this weekend and I'll have it in the mail Monday.  I can't discuss the details of the box yet though, it's Top Secret.  Well, really it's because I think my husband has been checking my blog lately, spoiling his themed box surprises.  So you'll have to wait until he sees it before I can discuss it.  But to hold you over, here's this week's box.

Oh, Oh, Oh...It's Magic!

As a boutique photographer, I have an addiction to making tutus for use as an inexpensive and adorable photo prop for my toddler sessions.  Therefore there is a lot of scrap tulle lingering around my craft closet these days. I haven't had luck finding much use for these extra strands, until today.  This morning I discovered Pom Pom Wands. They're simple to make, cute, and they are the perfect accessory for the matching tutus I have all over this house!  They were a lot of fun to make, so I ended up going crazy with them.  I don't have use for 6 wands so I've put some of them for sale on my etsy page.  But if you'd rather make your own, below is a tutorial I've put together.

(Sorry if it's not a great tutorial, but I've never put one together before).

Step 1) Gather supplies.  Tulle (3 inches wide and approximately 10 ft long, or you can use several cut pieces that equal at least 10 ft long--the longer the fluffier your pom pom will be), glue gun (& glue sticks, duh), 12 inch dowel rods (I used 36 inch dowel rods and cut them into 3 equal pieces), & a couple spools of ribbon.

Step 2) Use the glue gun to adhere the main color ribbon to the dowel rod by applying a dab of glue every couple of inches and rotating the rod.

Step 3) Completely cover the rod until no wood shows through.

Step 4) Apply another color of ribbon to the rod by repeating step 2 (space this color out a bit).

Step 5) Continue adding different ribbon colors until you are satisfied with the colors of the rod, then set the rod aside.

Step 6) Cut 2 12 inch pieces of ribbon and set aside.  Pick up your strand of tulle and begin winding it around your hand over and over again until it's all wrapped around your palm.

Step 7) (This part can be tricky) Carefully slide the tulle from your hand and tie knot around the middle with the 12 inch pieces of ribbon you cut in step 6.

Step 8) Insert one blade of your scissors through the tulle on one side of the ribbon and cut the loops open and fluff the pom out.  Then repeat on the opposite side.

Finally, use to glue gun to adhere the pom to the rod and TADA!! You have a pom pom wand!  No go make some magic!

Help Keep Them Close

During my husband's first deployment, my son was just a newborn.  His only care was eating, sleeping, and crying for hours on end.  The fact that his father was thousands of miles away probably didn't have much of a major affect on him at that time.  When my husband redeployed, it really began to hit him just how much of our son's life he had missed.  He left home with a pregnant wife and returned to a walking toddler.  Over the next year, my husband did his best to make up for lost time with our son.  The day he deployed again, our son was nearly 3.  We had prepared our son for several months beforehand for what was to come, knowing he was too young to fully grasp the situation.  We talked to him about it almost every night after prayers, explaining that daddy would be gone for a long time, but that he didn't want to leave us and that he would be home as soon as he could.  A week before the deployment, we took our son out for a special day, just for him.  Before the day was over, we visited Build-A-Bear, where my husband dressed the bear up in camos and recorded the bedtime prayer in his voice.   We asked our son what he wanted to name the bear and he said, "Daddy Bear".  We teared up right there in the mall :)  Now every night before bed, my son makes sure he presses Daddy bear's hand and says his prayers with daddy and then gives it a kiss goodnight, just like he always did with daddy before.  It is the one thing that really keeps daddy close to him when he's so far away.

If your child doesn't have their own "daddy bear", have no fear!  There are plenty of alternatives out there for keeping daddy (Or mommy) close during deployments. Here's just a few I've found:

http://www.operationhugahero.org/

http://www.huggeemissyou.com/product_p/rcdc2.htm

http://flatdaddies.com/  (If you cannot afford one, you can also apply to have one donated to you).

http://cool.canvasondemand.com/category/operation-hi-mom-honey/operation-hi-honey/  (Again, you can apply for a free one.)

Here's a photo of my son and husband building "Daddy Bear"