Our Nana is so special we decided to send her a video message for her birthday.  

Be inspired and send someone a video message of their own!  It takes only minutes and can say a lot more than Hallmark.

With Happiness,
Jen

Axel started Yoga class.  Surprise...it's right up his alley!  Not only is the kid the most flexible human on the planet, but he loves nothing more than a good stretch with resting at the end.  The kid knows how to find his heart-center and is entirely too comfortable barefoot.

I started taking him to Blooma last week.  They are a Minneapolis/St. Paul Yoga studio focusing on Yoga for women and their growing families.  Three times a week they offer kids yoga which is age appropriate, focuses on body control and promotes the principles of heath living.  Axel instantly LOVED it!

A kid pass to Blooma costs $40/month for unlimited classes.  They have mats onsite but Axel likes to bring his own.  This morning I made him an ultra-masculine bag.  See instructions below.

Materials:
1 yard fabric (any will work...I used Robert Kaufman Fox)
2 yards drawstring (I used organic white twill tape...could use ribbon)
1.5 yards narrow webbing (I used cotton) - bag reinforcement
1 yard wide webbing (I used nylon/poly) - bag shoulder strap

Instructions:
Roll up yoga mat.  Measure fabric so you have enough to go around (plus a few extra inches because kids can't roll mats that tight).  Allow 5 inches on each end for drawstring closure.

You should have a rectangle of fabric.  Cut two pieces of narrow webbing to be the width of the fabric (these will wrap around the yoga mat).  See pic below.

Stitch both sides of the narrow webbing to the fabric – incorporating the wide webbing 3 inches in from the left edge.  The wide webbing will be stitched into the seam on BOTTOM of the narrow webbing (top side of bag) and into the TOP seam of the narrow webbing (bottom of bag).  The wide 

Now make a drawstring casing on each end of the bag.  I folded over once and then again to give a finished edge (total casing width 1").  While stitching across the casing leave a 1" space in the middle unstitched to pull out your ties.   I inserted my drawstrings before stitching it into a cylinder.  I wanted my drawstrings to be stitched into the side seam so Axel couldn't pull the whole string out.

To do this I threaded the string all the way through the casing, pulling about a 1.5 foot look through the unstitched hole I left.

Now you should have a rectangle with two narrow stripes, a strap and two drawstrings.  Fold the entire thing right-sides-together, making sure the side seam matches up.  The narrow webbing should match on each side and the ends of your drawstrings should be sticking out slightly (so they get included in the seam).

Stitch down the entire side seam so your bag is a cylinder.  Flip right-side-out.

Close bottom drawstring, insert yoga mat, close top drawstring.

**  This entire project should take about 15 minutes.  If it takes longer – you are over-thinking it.  Keep life simple.  **

Namaste,
Jen

I'm back...but only uploaded to 22%.  Hopefully I'll make the Thirty "THURSDAY" midnight deadline...otherwise I'll have to rename the series.

I'm out of practice and out of winter ideas.  Hoping for spring – planning for the worst.

Peace and Blessings (search "Tracy" on YouTube for inside joke here),
Jen

I've been having so much fun this month between creative projects at home and at work.  Productivity is the name of the game for March!  Need an idea of how to get involved in your students classroom?  Click the link below to preview the book I spent February writing with Axel and his kindergarten colleagues!

When I'm not Photoshopping my way through life I'm discovering new apps.  Here are a few of my new favorites:
Repix (add photo effects to any photo), Squareready (make "unsquare" instagram pics), PicLab (add text and frames to your photos) and Flashlight (Not photo related...but am I the LAST to discover this useful tool?)!

The pic below was a crappy quality photo I took of my kiddos holding hands.  I added a frame and text with PicLab which I think makes it more profound.

30 Thursday just may be coming back for a spring season.  Stay tuned.

 - Jen

Last weekend Jahred stepped into my decade!  To celebrate his 30th birthday I planned an ultra-secret getaway, one even I didn't know the destination of until 5 days before!

"I need you to book a weekend trip for me.  Budget - $1000.  Destination - Anywhere on this continent."  Those were my only instructions to a travel agent last Monday.

One hour later, Jane from Travel Leaders in North Oaks, MN called me back with 2 non-stop tickets and a lovely hotel in the Big Apple – 2 nights of NYC fun!

4:30am on Saturday morning the alarm went off.  Jahred rolled over to turn off what he thought was a beeping mistake. 

"Get up!  Our flight leaves in 2 hours."

"What?  Where are we going?"

That's when I presented him with his pre-packed bag (hidden in my bathtub since the day before) and said, "I'll tell you when you get in the car."  Ok...so that's the trick to get my kids to put their shoes on...turns out it works well on husbands as well.

On the way to the airport I filled him in on the details and we were leaving on a jet plane in record time (amazing how quickly security goes without children).

What is there to do with 48 hours in the greatest city in the world?

Saturday - 
Arrival - Noon
Taxi to Wall Street (New York Stock Exchange) $45
Walk to Staten Island Ferry - Ride Ferry past Lady Liberty and Ellis Island - FREE
Walk to Freedom Tower and 9/11 Memorial - FREE (donations accepted)
Subway to Chelsea Market and grab lunch to eat at Highline Park - Subway - $2.50/ea - Lunch - $11
Walk to Time Square to see the lights - FREE
Walk to hotel and watch cable (ok...we don't have this at home) 
Central Park Stroll beginning at the Central Park Zoo - FREE

Sunday - 
Run through Central Park (taking the windy way through...not around) - FREE
Subway to China Town and Little Italy - $2.50/ea
Morning spent bartering for a watch, several scarves and a toy for the kids - $40
Subway back uptown to meet awesome cousin+1 for lunch - $2.50/ea
Taxi across Central Park to the Natural History Museum - Taxi - $15 - Admission is SUGGESTED DONATION
Short walk to Levain bakery - WORTH THE WHOLE TRIP RIGHT HERE - COOKIES (Thanks Matt)
Subway back to hotel for cable and a nap - $2.50/ea
Dinner at Dos Caminos with cousin+1 - Priceless!

Monday - 
Last walk around Manhattan - Bittersweet
Taxi to LaGuardia - $35

48 hours and not a penny over $1500.  Such great bang for the buck.  Incidentals perhaps not mentioned...fruit from a market, hot dog and pretzel stand (THEY DON'T HAVE CHEESE WITH PRETZELS IN NYC)...you get the idea.

Thanks to Grandpa Moustache and Grandma for allowing us a worry-free escape!

Happy Birthday Beebs - Here's to the next 30!