Easy Peasy Numbers

I've been feeling the urge to "finish" our house. It is sometimes like we're in limbo between undergrad-dom and being real people when it comes to our home. And maturity levels.

On an obscurely related note, the boys have been very interested in letters and numbers lately. I hung those name banners over their beds and now they can both (very slowly) spell out their names.

So, I came up with this idea to put some numbers into their room. The whole project took about two hours from start to finish with several interruptions. And this was the result.



The frame was from the As-Is department at Ikea for $2.50. The numbers are all freehanded out of pages torn from magazines and the like. The background is the piece of paper that comes with the frame turned around to the white side. Wicked simple.



The white frames next to it are also originally from As-is, but a long time ago. I'm thinking of painting them, but we'll see when/if that happens. It definitely makes the room look like we didn't move in by accident.




The boys love it. Especially the popcorn bag 8.

Photo Frenzy

Last week I borrowed a digital SLR camera from my friend Christina (Thanks again!) for a writing application I was filling out where I needed to take some pictures. I haven't heard anything back, and don't really plan to, but I did manage to take about two hundred photos in the course of the afternoon. A dozen were awesome. Here are a few of those, and some that I just like.


This was the banner I did the tutorial for. Extremely simple. Sam loves it. They been really interested in letters lately. I've since made one for Benjamin as well.


Ben, sticking his little tongue out at me. Where do kids learn this? I'm sure three-year-olds in the Amazon jungle stick their tongues out at people. Why?



I love this picture. He was just walking up to me and I kept holding down the button. Six blah pictures to get this one. Lovely. And why digital is the way to go for childhood photography, in my opinion.



Here are the sound effects to go along with this picture: "Brrrrrrrr! ZZZzzzrrrrrrrroooooooommmmmm! Screeeeeeech! Oh, no! Rrrrrrrooogggggggggmmmmmmm! Haha! I win! I won again!" Sam was racing around all afternoon on this trike and loving life.


Sam, quietly contemplating the magic of wheels and the power they bestow on him. Like so many men before him.



Sam, as he makes another attempt at standing on the seat of the tricycle. The last time he fell off, in a glorious failure. This is the time he succeeded. I applauded and then told him to get down and not get hurt. I am Mom, after all.



Ben, concentrating all his energy on drawing. He is quite the prolific sidewalk drawer. It's a very kinetic experience for him. He's all over the place.



Ben narrates the story as he draws, whether anyone is listening or not. If I ask him afterwards about the drawing the story is usually the same, but with some edits.


So, what do you think? Save up for a SLR camera? I think so. We'll be accepting donations. Thank you for your support.

Fun Times

I'm trying to be more crafty and creative-like and with the boys. Otherwise it seems like all I'm doing all day is telling them to stop doing whatever it is they are doing and cleaning up horrible messes. This way, I'm kinda focusing their energy and cleaning up horrible craft-related messes. It's mostly an improvement.

So, one thing we did a little bit ago was make playdough by following this recipe, except using boiling water instead of boiling it on the stove. We probably should have halved the recipe, since we ended up using every last bit of salt in the house.

I use the term "we" very loosely, because even though I have very lofty ideals about kids helping in the kitchen, more often I'm ordering everyone out before I start hurling spatulas at them. But Ben and Sam did help by throwing some flour in the air and saying it was snowing. Really, very helpful.


Ben attempts to make a mountain out of a kitchen tool and green playdough


Sam, ice cream spade and big, goofy grin

We've used them several times, once outside which turned out good and bad, since the mess was there, but the boys also added some dirt bits to the blue. Oh, well.

They especially like making imprints with their faces, hands, and today, their bottoms. Creativity can't be reigned in by social propriety.

rainy day craftiness

We've been getting a lot of rain these days. A whole lot. And the boys and I have been house bound, which has resulted in me trying to clean, and the boys undoing my cleanliness, and me getting distracted in the middle of a cleaning/organizing project and leaving the house all the messier.

So, it was time for crafts.

I am a person who enjoys a good craft. As long as it doesn't involve raffia, overly cute drawings, or the Footprints poem, which is where I draw the line. But, I haven't done too many (read: ANY) crafts with the boys, because I was too scared. And, I think, justifiable so. The boys have a tendency to throw objects without warning, taste things to check if the taste like chocolate, and to run off, dragging their hands along the walls, to go and get one of their toys. Paint, glue, and glitter don't seem to mesh well with these behaviors.

And yet, in spite of this, I decided it was time to bite the bullet, temporarily forget about the several cleaning operations I had stopped around the house, and break out the paints. Mostly, because I want to be cool like my fellow mother's (here's lookin' at you Jodie).

So here goes. Operation SpyGlass has commenced!

Here's what we started with. The long tube is from the Ikea rug the boys got for Christmas. Of course I saved it. Sturdy tubes are hard to come by.

Sam, painting the inside of the tube. Ben, touching the sponge brush.

Shenanigans.

Ben's painty hands.

Sam: "Ah, yes. Genius! I can just roll the paint onto my tummy."

Ben: "I prefer the hand application myself. I think it keeps me in touch with my roots."

Sam, taking the spyglass for a test drive.

Sam: "HahaheeheehohoHahaheehahohee. I love life."

Around this point I decided that enough paint had been flung in the general direction of the tubes, and we headed to the tub.

After the bath we added stickers to our masterpieces.

And here are the finished pieces.

Lessons we can take away from this:

• Two sheets of newspaper? Are you serious?
  
• Sponge brushes and toddlers don't mix (*Reminder: Buy new sponge brush)
• Don't do your own project. And especially don't expect to do it well.
  
• Keep the water away from the toddlers.
• I mean, honestly! Two sheets?! What was I thinking?
• Turn on the music before you have paint on your hands.
• Make sure you have a brush for each member of the craft group.
  
• This may be a time to invest in some paper towels.
• Also, some cheap finger paints.
  
• Yes, they will need a bath. Definitely.