Same Project – Different Child

Today we did two different projects. Water painting and making candy necklaces (that Jack earned).

Painting:

working hard on their artwork (note where arms rest) 

finished artwork (note Jack’s lips – he drank his water and is holding the brush in his mouth)

 

Candy Necklace:

begin:

end:  (Can you guess which necklace belongs to which boy?)

5 minutes later

bubble wrap

Bubble wrap is one of life’s simple pleasures.  Just by looking at this photo, I know exactly how the entire experience of popping these bubbles will feel.  Finding the sweet spot to pop just one between a thumb and finger...  Gleefully jumping on it...  The machine gun speed of the pops when it is twisted…I know I am not the only one!

The other day I received a box that had strange bubble wrap in it – rectangular bubbles.  I made a few attempts to pop them to no avail.  Then I realized that each of the rectangles is connected to the entire column of rectangles. So squeezing one bubble only results in the air rushing into the chambers of all the other bubbles along that column.  I thought it was VERY clever and gave some silent kudos to the inventor of this ingenious concept. 

 

Today, Owen and Jack found this new bubble wrap and, having experienced the joys of “old” bubble wrap , went about their mission.  

    (Jack – laying on it)

(Owen: There is something wrong with this bubble wrap, Mama)

Finally Owen thinks to twist it – and with some help from Mama, results in growing bubbles, and then,

popping bubbles!

My Birthday

Today is my birthday.  It has been a great day.

I went to the zoo with my monkeys and two other great families that I love to hang out with.

The sun was out all day.

My husband was already home from work by the time we got home from the zoo.

Lots of people that I love called me to wish me a Happy Birthday – even people who don’t usually call. 

I am happy.

(Happy Birthday to my Grandma and Brother too!)

Roller-skating

Things Owen and Jack thought were great:

Friends

 Games on an iPhone Fruit snacks

Things Owen and Jack thought were not so great:

Skates

Skating with Mama

Skating with Daddy

Waiting for Mama and Daddy to finish skating

Cayenne

Jack has a bad habit of sneaking tastes of anything and everything that is out on the kitchen counters.  Cookie dough and brownie batter are enticing, thus Jack has chosen to keep taste-testing despite his occasional encounters with potato peels and plain flour.

This afternoon’s expedition may have put a damper on his enthusiasm…  (Cayenne Pepper)

…but I doubt it.

Merry Christmas!?

I am in the midst of making food and cleaning house for our last Christmas party tomorrow.  Hey, if the stores can start two months early, can’t we go one measly month late?

I got to thinking about Christmas, and there is a slight possibility that I didn’t quite get the Christmas Cards out to everyone on our list. A-hem.  So, I thought I would just post the photos from our card here. 

Jack -3

Owen

The song below was inspired by this year’s Barry Christmas card (Amy manages to write her Christmas card to a different Christmas song every year! – AND she manages to send them out to people too!)

To Tune of Up on the Housetop

• Eric and Julie, Owen and Jack
• Wonder if they’ll get any time back.
• 2009’s passed right on by.
• Days, weeks and months have seemed to fly.
• Ho. Ho. Ho! Where’d the year go?
• Ho. Ho. Ho! Where’d the year go?
• Thousands of photos: Click, Click, Click.
• Still never seem to do the trick!
• Owen, sweet 4-year-old, serious one
• Singing, gymnastics, preschool fun
• Dinosaurs, math, trains, Lightning McQueen
• Letters and numbers, Sarah, green
• Ho. Ho. Ho! Where’d Owen go?
• Ho. Ho. Ho! Where’d Owen go?
• Call 9-1-1 Quick! Quick! Quick!
• Rides in the aid car – we’ve had our fix!
• Jack: full of mischief, and lots of fun
• Hanging with mom, Bridget, kitties, gum
• Carbs, cars, collecting, garbage trucks, blue.
• Telling stories that are not true!
• Ho. Ho. Ho! Where’d Jack go?
• Ho. Ho. Ho! Where’d Jack go?
• Night passes quickly, tick, tock, tick.
• Wake us up at a quarter to six!

True Seattleites

Living in the Seattle vicinity can be difficult.  Rain and grey can be hard to take.

Trying to keep my kids in positive spirits during rainy weather (and thus keep myself in positive spirits), I try to be excited by rain.  I look out the window and yell  with my fake happy voice, “Oh, it is a puddle hunt day!”(luckily my kids are too young to recognize that voice yet).  “Yeah” they respond.  We put on our boots, and raincoats, and go outside on a mission.  Let’s find the biggest puddle! the widest puddle! the deepest puddle! Who can make the biggest splashes?  Who falls down and gets muddy first? 

Notice how good Seattleites either have no umbrella or just use them for decoration – or to catch rain.

 

 

We come home wet, cold, tired, but happy; and have hot chocolate.

 

I did not realize how effective this rainy-day endeavor had been until one day last week – a week with plenty of rain – and my children decided to do this on the one day with NO rain.

Now, if only I could convince my sister that sunless days are not so bad…