A day in the life...

The other day my husband and older son were off on an outing together and I was minding the home fires with a very dejected and sad younger son.  This little guy is completely devoted to his dad—he is happy to accompany him everywhere—whenever and where ever my husband is, this kid wants to go along for the ride.  This doesn't bother me a bit.  I know my little guy loves me and he knows that I love him, and it's not like he doesn't love being with the rest of the family, it's just that for now, he is feeling especially close to his dad.  Normally this is just fine, but last weekend was one of those rare times when he couldn't go along and he was feeling pretty fragile, sad and a little grumpy too.  So, what do you do with a kid who clearly doesn't want to be home and who  doesn't want to be with anyone but the one person he can't be with?...hmmmm...

Making something almost always gets me out of a funk—and if I need a really quick fix, it almost always comes in the kitchen.  So I gave my Grumpy Gus the choice of gingerbread men or pretzels.  Cue the moany, mumbly response....prrreeetzeeels...Iiiiii...gueeeeessss....
 
Okay, so he wasn't overly enthusiastic in the beginning, but by halfway through, my guy had found his smile and I knew he was back.  This recipe is just the ticket for chasing away the darkest storm clouds.  I mean what's not to love...you get to play with dough (always cathartic)...
 

...do a little science experiment (pretzels are boiled in baking soda and water—who knew!)...

...and paint...

and the finished product?...soooo yummy!...
 

...and my guy?...he ended his day all smiles, with a full tummy, so happy and proud to share his made-by-hand-pretzels when his dad and brother got home.  Me?...well I got to spend the day baking next to one of my favorite people...enough said.

Have you seen these goodies...
Before signing off I wanted to check...Have you seen these cute little gnomes, this pomander decoration, this little village or these wooly snowflakes or what about  these papery snowflakes?  We made tons of these 3D snowflakes last year—love-love-lovely.

There are so many fun things to make out there that I am actually considering putting myself on a project diet...I want to make every little thing I see, and sadly I haven't figured out how to eliminate the need for sleep or to be in two places at once...what to do?

...xoxo—Alison