Happy Easter!

Crazy hair and all! Aidan was cranky and Elisa actually cooperated. Who knew. Think Aidan is working on a molar...joy.

Wordless Wednesday

Painting...

Maybe I bit off more than I could chew.

Or maybe I'm just not versed enough on properly safeguarding for messy crafts.

Either way, I think this one is going to go away in a file folder until these kids are older.

http://pinterest.com/pin/45247171228647052/

No chance for pictures, yet.  I'll take one of the finished project once they dry.  Oddly enough, Aidan did better on this one as well, even though his were just random smears and droplets from when he'd stick the brush in paint and shake it.  Food coloring washes out, right?

Elisa thought that MORE was BETTER and gooped up her painting with so much paint that the paper disintegrated and two out of three of her paintings ended up in the trash can.

End result, though, both kids had a blast...but mommy was driven batty trying to keep paint off the floor, table, and tiny amount of clothes that was still showing under our coverups.  Aidan even managed to get ahold of one of the buckets of paint and spill it on the floor and all over Elisa's socks.  He thought it was hilarious.  Mommy, not so much.  But such is life with small kids and crafts, right?  So far, it all cleaned up.

Craft day three

So far so good...It's Wednesday and I've managed a craft every day!  (Monday's was a simple trace hand, make a Thing 1 out of it, and I didn't blog it.)

Today, I went through and discarded several options, just didn't have everything I needed for it.  Then I saw an image of a fish on contact paper with cut out squares of construction paper and went, perfect!  I have all of that.  So I prepared it and sat the kids down.

Oddly enough, Aidan took to the project much more than Elisa did.  She was much more interested in her movie than she was in the craft, even though she had been asking all morning about her craft for that day.  We practically had to tear Aidan away, almost kicking and screaming, so I could finish up his project for him.  He kept asking for more squares to stick on it.

Overall, not too bad for my non crafty self.  Might make different versions of this in the future, at least for Aidan, since it proved to be so engaging for him.

The finished product!

Wordless Wednesday

Creativity

I'll admit it.  I'm probably one of the least craftiest people in the world.  Which is rather odd, since I'm a creative type.  What with writing, music and a burgeoning hobby in photography, it seems like I have a rather large amount of creative blood in me.  It's just never coincided with a craft-y side.  So, for awhile I've just let others be the point man for crafts, especially regular weekly library times, and we had a good dose of it when we were in First Steps.

So, yesterday, I decided I wanted to try crafts.  Why?  Not sure.  Maybe to give daddy a break during the day, to give the kids a chance to focus on something and make something and also to spend time with them.  I mean I'm here all day, but I never spend time with them.  I also, still, never take a lunch break.  So...let's try combining the two and maybe I'll step away from my desk for some much needed time with my babies.  Who, after all, are growing up way too fast.

I turned to facebook and pinterest to gather suggestions and found this neat craft I wanted to try.   The fact that the "paint" (colored evaporated milk) dried with a sheen to it appealed to me, so I charged daddy with picking up some craft paint brushes at the dollar store on the way home from the library today and I giddily prepared the paint and the camera.  To attempt to get some proof that I do, in fact, exist.  :)

http://pinterest.com/pin/45247171228647052/

Only problem?  Apparently the dollar store doesn't carry craft paint brushes.  So instead of painting paper, we painted bread!  Using what I had in the house (You know, all of those medicine droppers you get EVERY time you get a prescription for your kid?  And you keep, thinking I'll need them someday but they just take up space in your medicine box?  Yeah, those.  Worked like a charm!!)

Elisa LOVED it.  I just had to show her how to squeeze the dropper to get the paint a few times and then she went at it.

Aidan on the other hand was more interested in eating the bread than painting it.

This was another pinterest activity I had found.  You were supposed to "toast" the bread after painting it, and I thought that Elisa might be more willing to eat her lunch if she had a part in making it.  We made the painted bread into grilled cheese sandwiches.   She didn't eat it, but she did exclaim after we were done that she "had a lot of fun painting bread, mommy!"

I guess, in the end, that was the best part.

So tomorrow?  We'll see what craft we do tomorrow.  :)

Things I want to remember - Aidan

1.  How once you get the idea that we are going somewhere, you find your shoes and bring them to us. Insist we put them on you immediately to make sure we take you with you, you are so afraid you are going to be left out.

2.  You just have to do everything mommy, daddy or sister does.  Just yesterday, I was dipping my crackers in some milk, so you had to join in.  And not only dip your cracker but your entire chubby little hand.

3.  The way you search me out.  No matter what you are doing, you have to find me and make sure I'm still there.

4.  The way you run to me when I walk in the room and wrap your chubby arms around my leg.

5. How you lay your head on my shoulder and snuggle in when you are ready for bed.

6.  Your simple, contagious joy over discovering the word "ball."

7.  How expressive your face is.

8.  How your cheek dimples when you smile.

9.  The way you bring me "presents" while I'm working.  Walk up to the office door, tap on it to show me your toy and wait for my exclamations over it to walk away and continue on your way.  Or you insist on sharing your drink, your snack or your paci with me.

10.  How you stroke my arm as if to comfort me when I am trying to comfort you.

No greater reassurance

Than getting a note from "school" about how great your child did on their first day.

And this coming just as I was considering sending her a note, asking to keep an eye out for any possible delay's that might still be present.

Maybe I can stop worrying now?  Maybe, just maybe, all after effects of her prematurity are behind us.  This extremely bright, engaging, beautiful, funny, amazing girl has kicked prematurity's behind and shown us all just what she is capable of.

First day of pre-school 03.05.13

When did this happen?

When did you grow up?

I'm not sure where my baby went.   But I sure do love the big girl you are becoming.

Dropping you off at pre-school was more traumatic for mommy and daddy than it was for you.  You didn't even seem to realize we were gone, you were so entranced with all the other people and, of course, the dinosaurs.  I can't wait until you get home and we can hear all about your big day.

Crazy, busy weekend!

Seems like we have been running full speed ahead forever now!  By the time the weekend is over, I feel like I need another weekend just to recover!

Even though this last week ended up being slower than expected since Elisa did NOT go to her first day of pre-school thanks to the massive amounts of snow (another 12 inch storm) that pushed it off until this week.  I guess it was just trying to keep two kids entertained when you were stuck inside (which daddy did a GREAT job of) while shoveling snow, working and still trying to play.

 

 So when this weekend came I was looking forward to some great RELAXING time.  But of course, that is something that does not exist working full time with two kids.  I may not have to do the majority of the housework, but I do have my own chores to get done...which I'm failing at miserably.  Along with trying to give daddy more of a break and entertain the kids.  But we also had the March for Babies fundraising kick off event at a local indoor park.  And since it included free admission to this insanely expensive park, how could we pass it up?  Even if it was over nap time.

The lighting sucked so I couldn't really get anything good.  Not to mention the massive amounts of kids and the fact that I'm just not aggressive enough to get the shot I want so this is all I could get.  We never did get to leave the foam ball area and explore the other parts.  The kids just had so much fun in this area we spent all 2 hours there.  Then headed home to try to keep two overtired kids entertained until bedtime.  Give the kid a camera strap, my iPhone and a toy car and he will happily sit for a photo shoot for me lol.

His sister, on the other hand, no matter what I do prefers to show me her backside once the camera comes out.

I did, however, get her to "pose" for her official 1st day of pre-school photos on Sunday.  Of course, I did have daddy's help for those and she just reacts better to him.  Such a daddy's girl.

On the plate for this week?  Pre-school.  I'm really hoping we don't start catching a lot of bugs from this.  We've been extremely lucky in that we have stayed very healthy this year, with the exception of a cold here and there.

So we'll see.  Onto spring...and return of warmer weather and playing out doors and longer hours of sunshine and maybe some more photo ops?  I'll be bugging friends for test subjects come this spring since my kids are getting awfully tired of being the subject.  :)