More Art

We’ve been trying to make good use of the window of time when the girls get home, but Max is still at school. Some days, it’s as simple as playing outside, but other days, I plan a little thing together.

And as much as I appreciate and value all the learning they do at school, having things they learn at home feels essential. Art is something that I feel gets a bit “boxed” with everyone doing the same project, or getting graded on specific aspects. I totally understand the need to go that route, but I want them to remember to embrace creating for the sake of creating! To enjoy art, not for the finished product, but for the process. My adult-self is learning how calming, mindful and a bit therapeutic it is! I remember reading “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown and really connecting with the need to give ourselves permission to create. It’s actually what started up the practice of handlettering for me, and I’m continually learning how much beauty there is in creativity! Here’s a couple of our recent art projects:

For this art project, we had fun with paint sticks! We read a classic, and then painted whatever came to mind from the story. "Wilma" is the crossing guard that has become a sweet friend to the girls, and they were so excited to make her some little notes.




And this one was pastel chalks. The focus was CONNECTION (our one word theme for the year). I love what they came up with. And yep, I'm choosing to create right alongside them. While there are always a bazillion things I could be catching up on, letting go of what I “could do” and mindfully choosing to focus on BEing there is something I strive to be aware of. Because these seemingly small and simple moments truly are great.

Art

Painting is one of Abigail's most favorite things. And I'm so grateful for paint that is easy to clean up! She wanted to paint a picture for her sister, and the painting time evolved into her making one for all of her siblings. It was sweet to see her light up with each one she made, and to hear her talk with excitement that we'd hang them on the doors as a "surprise" for when they came home. And I couldn't resist a reason to hang up some quotes! It was a simple thing, but a reminder to me that those simple things really do matter. In a small way, they strengthened a connection.












Her actions inspired me to be mindful those thoughts of connection and to act on them. I feel like it's much easier to push aside those thoughts thinking it's not the right timing, or not "grand" enough, or like it would take too much time. But the thing is, I've never regretted acting on those thoughts, but I have regretted NOT acting on them. No matter how simple they may feel. This painting project was a gentle reminder to me that service can happen at any time, by any age, and in any way.

Cheetah School

Just as I was pulling out of the three month long morning sickness period that seemed to take over my life, I realized that Alexis seemed super irritated and kinda whiny.  Really not her personality and she was driving me crazy.  After a few days, the weekend hit, and Mike noticed the same thing - she would just nag and pull and strive for more and more attention.  I kept thinking, "jeez, she is driving me crazy, I can't wait until she goes to school all day!"

That afternoon Mike and Max were on an errand, Tayler was taking a nap, and she and I pulled out a game that we hadn't played in forever.  And she was like a different kid.

Then it hit me.

I had been driving HER crazy.

All at once, the last three months flashed past me and I realized we'd gotten into the worst rut.  We'd been playing with the same toys, the same art supplies, the same everything because it had been the easiest stuff to pull out.

She was completely BORED.

And so was I.

After spending the afternoon feeling guilty for not engaging her better, my better half told me to stop sulking and make a plan.

I pulled out my ideas from when Max was that age, went through our cupboards and found all the stuff we hadn't been using, thought about what she really loved to do best at preschool, and then spent some time on pinterest looking for a few ideas that would fit Alexis really well.

Our new school was born.  Sure we've played school plenty at our house but even that had become a bit mundane.  This needed a name.

I wanted her to come up with it, and after a few ideas of mom-and-me school, or Alexis' school, she remembered her favorite animal, and Cheetah School was born.

Every day we do something in relation to Cheetah School and she has LOVED IT.  And I have LOVED IT.  Some things are exactly what we did before, they just have new energy as they are encompassed in a "school" format.  My attitude has completely changed about her, and I realized so much of the day in and day out of parenting is perspective.  If it doesn't work, don't just be irritated, but make a change.  Invest some time in making a plan.  Nothing we do is overly complicated, fancy or technical, but it feels different to her (and me) every day.   Some of our projects together take a couple hours, and sometimes they are fun stations (or centers) that she will do independently.  And sometimes, it is just a few minutes of writing practice.  But it is something engaging for her to look forward to at home.  And that's definitely better from where we were before!

Below are some pics that I've snapped along the way the last couple of months.  I should take more (for memory sake)!

Her number line.  First, putting all the numbers in order, then writing them below.

 Headed off to one of our field trips.

 Getting ready to start on her valentines day project.

 She made me this note just after we started Cheetah School together.  Ahhhh, makes me feel good!

 Took a nature bike ride to pick up from school on a rare warm day.

 Painting shapes.

 Field trip to the pet store (it's been fun turning some of our regular errands into new adventures!)

 I made the girls a few new sensory bins (Alexis loves the ones she has at preschool).  She talks about her marble bin at school quite often, so we made one at home.  It's my favorite one too.

 Of course, we kicked off school with her own sign on her door.  Each day we trade out our word of the day with a little hide and seek.

 She made her own chain for a countdown to vacation.

Baking Soda x 2

Two times in two days, baking soda has been a lifesaver.

Yesterday, Max had a new friend over for a playdate.  Things were great for about the first 45 minutes as the two had their imaginary fights and battles with Hero guys in Max's room.  Then they meandered their way into the kitchen, where his new friend had a question for Max's mom (at least, that's what I heard as they were walking down the stairs).

They made it over, and the conversation went a little like this:

New friend:  "Can we play video games now?"
Me:  "sorry, bud.  We don't have any." (yes, folks, we might be old fashioned these days, but that's just how it is around here.)
New friend:  "Seriously?  Not even a Wii?"
Me:  I kinda laugh.  "Nope, not even a Wii.  You guys will just have to find something else to do."
Of course Max is standing there watching this whole thing.  I'm a little hopeful that he'll suggest something.  But, he stands silent.  A little thrown that this guy wants to play with something we don't have.  I'm guessing he'd already had this conversation upstairs, and the new friend didn't believe him or something.
New friend:  "Man, our Wii at home has like 56 games or something.  That's what I always play."
(Sigh.)  Looking at this guy, I realize that he's lost the idea of what "something else" means.  And, he's not going to let this go.  And, he's probably just trying to push some buttons to see if we really don't have video games.

I do what any mom would do when she has a big bag of baking soda and a bottle of vinegar sitting underneath her kitchen sink.

And suggest a volcano.

What boy wouldn't want to make some exploding bubbles?
They had a great time.  Counting down the explosions.  Picking what color of lava they'd go for next.
Before long, they were off to the basement, jumping and building obstacle courses.  A great way to get out that endless energy.  Check that one off as a success.

Baking soda saved me again this morning.  As we opened Tayler's room to get her up, we were literally blown away from the fumes.  So bad that Mike turned right around and walked out.  The kind of smell that you mentally remind yourself where the nearest toilet is, just in case.  I made my way over to the crib to find she'd manage to throw-up all over.  And not recently.  As if she'd done it right around bedtime, then was so tired that she slept and rolled in it ALL-NIGHT-LONG.  The poor thing was covered in it.  The sheet was crusty, her jammies were crusty, the blanket was crusty and her hair, well, just imagine.  As I'm typing this I still can't believe that she didn't wake up and cry at some point during the night.  Folks, this stuff was not recent.

Operation fumigation was in order.  Another love, is the sanitize setting on our washer.  Literally life changing.

Two baths, an open window, fan blowing, complete crib wipe down, a finger nail trim, and I could still smell it.  Like that annoying fly that you can't kill in your house in the summertime.  It just wouldn't go away.

How could something so small make such a big mess?  (And how many times have I asked myself that question over the past 6.5 years?)

I'd wiped the mattress earlier, but then decided to just stick my nose on it - and immediately had another mental reminder for the nearest toilet.  Whew.  I still don't understand how a plastic baby mattress could smell so bad.

Mentally kicking myself for leaving the mattress pad off of the crib last night.  Of course, our current mattress pad is a big, fleece blanket.  Our original one wore out, and I can't seem to ever remember to just pick up a new one.  Or, maybe I'm cheap.  Whatever.  The blanket worked great, and was flat.  But, it didn't matter anyway, as it was sitting inside my dryer.

Which brings me back to the mattress.  And baking soda.  I dumped a big load of the stuff all over the mattress (wet it a little to make it more like a paste).  Closed the door, opened the window (again), ran the fan, and left.  A couple hours later, I came back, cleaned the whole thing off.  Voila!

Added a few squirts of febreze for good measure, and ahhh...room is back to normal.  At least for now.

If you don't have a big bag of this stuff (yes, mom, I'm still using that big bag you gave me ages ago!), add it to the list.

How's Tayler? You might wonder.  Fine.  As if it had never happened.  She ate a little more than usual before bedtime.  Clearly she didn't need it.

We'll Paint if...

You take a nap.

I don't throw bribes out very often. But, they can be extremely effective. Especially when you're dead tired from a little newborn, and your oldest is off to an afternoon of fun at the neighbors. That leaves your cute 3 year old who on occasion will take a nap.

Let's just say it worked. Max even made it back in time for the fun.

Will probably throw this one out a few more times these next few weeks...

Weather

The high today was 51. The day after Christmas. In Minnesota. It's the 4th time since 1905 the weather has been this warm. I blame it completely on the fact that we finally broke down and bought a snow blower.

It's been an unusually warm fall and entrance to winter. Well, I say unusual because I only have one other winter to compare it to. And, compared to last year, where we'd already been through a complete blizzard, and easily had 18" of snow outside, this feels a little weird. Part of me felt a little cheated that I move to the "frozen tundra" and didn't even have a white Christmas. But then again, walking outside today in a light jacket didn't feel too bad either.

Heading back in time, I took advantage of one of the awesome fall days we had, put it together with some leaves and two cute little people, and managed to get some pics. Definitely don't claim to be a professional by any means, but I'd rank them above the average snapshot.

I'm not sure when this little guy decided to get so big, but it seems like all the shots I take of him lately remind me how quickly time goes by with these guys, and they literally do grow right before your eyes.

Bird Watching

Being sneaky with the camera is one of my biggest challenges. I love the real-life images, but struggle to capture them on camera as my kids seem to jump for the attention of an on camera-cheesy-smile shot. On my list of life, I've always wanted to practice and learn photography so I could capture what I see in my mind on the camera. And while the lighting is a bit off, I was glad to snag this photo, as Max began setting up for bird watching. He loves to look out our back window, spot birds, learn the names, and then watch for when they will come back.
With the entrance of SPRING, there have been plenty of new bird faces out there to check out. It's been fun seeing the Canada Geese come back at just the right time, and earlier this week, we heard our first frogs who've dug themselves out of hibernation.


Showing Alexis how to use the binoculars. I'm glad he's so patient with her!


Checking for birds in the bird book grandma gave him.

Costumes

Surviving the last chunk of winter took some creativity. Max is full of it, and seemed to always find ways to make more projects. Alexis is content doing anything he's doing, and has managed to test drive some of his costumes. The girl loves to be tickled and often can be found running, collapsing, and then just waiting for you to come get her.



Delving through our recycle bin, Max created the above costume. A strap on jet pack with night vision binoculars. Or, an empty wheat thins box, yellow paper, and toilet paper rolls.

Experiment

What do you do when it's super cold? Well, we had some fun experimenting. This one we did one morning when the temp was -18 (brrrr!!). Another fun one in well below 0 temps is to blow bubbles (not captured on film). The bubbles freeze and either sit on the snow looking like glass, or if the temp is just right, they fog up slightly and turn into what Max called a "tissue paper" bubble (slightly opaque, and then they begin to deflate).