MMM: Froot Loop Fun

On a cold Monday in February, when I woke up realizing that I had absolutely no IDEA what our plan for the day would be, I went to the pantry and found the key...

FROOTLOOPS!!

Luckily, the kids had made froot loop necklaces in bible class a week or so before this, so the idea was fresh on my mind.  This activity was so much fun, educational, and required zero prep with very little clean-up.  My kind of MMM!

First we counted them

Then we sorted them. 

side note: I had to help Cbug a little bit with this by choosing one color at a time and having him match it, but after a while he got the hang of it.  Some colors he could do better than others.  I secretly wonder (well, not so secretly anymore) if he is color blind.  The kid can recognize any number or letter (looked at the box of froot loops and said "F-R-O-O-T=L-O-O-P-S"), but doesn't recognize colors.  I'm leaning toward the fact that he doesn't find this information useful so just doesn't care (because that would totally fit his personality),
but still....I do wonder.

Of course, when you are sorting and counting froot loops you work up quite an appetite. 

There were definitely snack breaks along the way!

Cbug was DONE after his snack so did not stick around for the last activity...

Froot loop necklace art.

But KJ LOVED it!  I tried to get him to do a specific pattern.  HA.  His creative geniusness was not really up for suggestions.

What a ham!

Another fun Monday

(I mean, there was sugar involved...how could you go wrong)!

ABL

because we're just that cool...

So, I have already bemoaned the fact that my children were not that interested in the cold, wet, white stuff.   (Actually KJ did enjoy it a bit more the second day).  We ended up with over a foot of snow-fall  in our area and actually measured more than 8 inches of accumulation in our yard.  I know some of my more-northernly-located friends and familly will laugh about this, but RRL and I were practically giddy at the sight of all that snow.  After all, this kind of snow happens in our city...exactly NEVER.  So, while our children could not appreciate history in the making, their parents were not about to let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass them by.

We went to a marriage conferene Friday night so all 3 of our snow-fearing-children were spending the night with Grammy.

So, just before the conference I had an amazing idea.  One of things that I love about my hubby is that he puts up with my hare-brained-ideas that often result in FAILURE.  May I be so bold, though, as to say this was NOT one of those instances. 

This idea was pure brilliance.

A late night sledding date.

Did I mention that it was brillant?

We had so much fun, had an entire huge field of snow to ourselves

(since it was 11 pm and everyone else had to go home when their mommies and daddies called them),

and we laughed more than we have in a long time.

Our laughing may have had something to do with the fact that THIS was our "sled"...

Hey, you have to get creative when you go to Walmart during the 30 minute break from

the conference in hopes to find something that could be used as a sled.

You thought I was kidding, didn't you?  NOPE...we definitely took turns using the lid

(which was an amazing sled) and the plastic tub (which was not so amazing).  We raced and laughed and crashed and laughed. 

We took turns, that is, until RRL (and shattering pieces of plastic tub) went flying all over the hillside...and I collapsed on the ground in laughter (with him, not at him, of course)

But our fun in the snow did not end with the shattering of our "sled".

We also had a snow fight (and I used my "sled" as a shield)

And made a snowman.

(Hey it was late, so no knocking our snow-man-making skills)

And did I mention we laughed?

A lot.

Today I'm praising the Lord for hare-brained-ideas

and the moments that bring us closer together.

Love you, Babe.

Thanks for the fun in the snow.

We're just that cool.

ABL

Seriously...SNOW?!?!?!

We've managed to miss all of the snow this season (being out of town)....until today! SO M-U-C-H fun!

That is...

...fun for Cbug as long as he stayed out of it!

(seriously, who has a yard full of snow and heads for the dry sandbox to play alone...typical Cbug)

..and fun for KJ while his snowballs/snowman making attention span lasted, for about 6.3 minutes.

(which was just long enough to get snow all over Mommy!)

....at least it was fun for the Daddy and the Momma (I built the snowman and took the pictures).

Ah well.  What do you expect for a couple of Texas boys who've hardly experienced temperatures below freezing, wear socks on their hands and don't even own winter coats (dont' worry, grandparents, they had on lots of layers).

Doesn't this crack you up? They were clinging to each other like their Momma was torturing them

by making them stand in the snow for a picture.  What a mean Mommy!

Maybe it will be fun next year.

ABL

Just because

Random pictures from the last month or so.  Just because.

A couple of firsts...

Lou's first

time in the nursery

and KJ's first

homework project

A new family favorite...

"soap soup"

We let the boys "cook" some sudsy water

while we are making dinner.

Bath time.  We haven't braved all three in the tub at once, but Lou loves to be entertained by her rowdy bros while they bathe.

On the flight to TN for my Grandmother's funeral. 

Cbug wasn't quite sure what to think, but the view was gorgeous. 

He pretty much had a complete melt-down at the threshold to the plane. 

When we buckled him in his seat he was shouting "I so scared, I so scared". 

So dramatic and amazingly completely cured with a package of cookies from the flight attendant.

Its been super cold and rainy around here

(no comments from Lt D,  currently stationed in Alaska, will be allowed)

We haven't been outdoors much.  So, when it got above 40 and was only drizzling instead of raining, I let the boys go out for a bit.  I could only find one hat and one pair of gloves, though, so we had to improvise with a pair of Daddy's socks and a hat that is about 2 sizes too small for KJ.  The boys didn't care and it made for a good laugh for their parents.

Everything about this picture just makes me laugh.

What's with the crazy eyes?

And Lou loves to try to stand up

(even though she can't crawl)

Her uncles gave her this super cute outfit for Christmas.

Its tough to be her!  Preciousness.

So there you have it. 
Just because,

ABL

MMM: Making Valentines

Makover My Monday was so much fun this week.  Mostly because I was determined to not have too much of an agenda for the finished product.  Mommy is slowly learning how to have reasonable expectations!  I knew I wanted the boys to make valentines for several people, but I also knew that their attention span would not put up with doing multiple projects.  So, I decided to make one huge valentine and the cut it into smaller ones...and here's the kicker, they didn't even KNOW we were making valentines.  As far as they knew, we were just making a MESS (a favorite passtime of theirs) with pink, red and white paint.  AWESOME!

Here are the angels with their blank canvas

(I could turn that into all kinds of parenting metaphors,

but I will stay on task... you are welcome)

and for the "warm up" we added a few brush strokes

Then I brought out the big guns. 

When we were at Aimee's on Friday, she introduced us to the BRILLIANT

idea of driving cars through paint.  SO FUN!  This alone kept Cbug,

whose painting time span is usually about 26 seconds, occupied for about 15 minutes

today (which doesn't sound long unless you've been around a 2-year-old recently).

The boys especially loved "crashing" their cars through the paint.

But that wasn't the only painting trick we tried.



I also let them use the potato mashers. SO FUN!

Especially the one that made a shape like a snake -->
 

And before long, they were driving the cars through the potato mashers

(see KJ doing the same thing in the background...this part was definitely THEIR idea)

 

And when we finished all of our painting *I mean mess-making* this is what we had...

Until I turned it

into these...

What a fun mess-making-monday!

Can't wait to mail/deliver them!

ABL

MMM: Outside the box {Haiti}

The last couple of weeks have been rough for my family and at the lowest point I found myself exhausted, frustruated, emotionally drained and just plain sad....then I started seeing images from the earthquake in Haiti.  It moved me to shift my perspectives in a quick hurry.

I had a rough week at work.  Working way more hours than usual, dealing with stressful people situations and having trouble communicating objectives.  But I have a job that I enjoy.  My place of employment could be a mess of rubble on the ground.

My house is a wreck.  My Christmas tree is still up.  I am overwhelmed at where to start to reorganize after Christmas.  But our home is standing and warm and I never fear for where we will sleep at night.  We are clothed and fed.  I have never given a second thought to to walking to the sink when I am thirsty and getting a clean glass of water.


My children have not slept well.  Two of the three have taken turns being sick and demanding.  One has had me so worried about his health at points that I couldn't function.  I've been at the end of my parenting rope.  But I have not gone to bed a single night wondering where my children were, whether they were safe or hungry or cold or scared or alone.  I am blessed to have accessible and affodable healthcare.  I am blessed to have access to doctors and nurses at a moment's notice.

I lost the last of my grandparents last weekend.  My children will not know any of their great-grandparents from my side of the family.  But each of the four of them lived long and full lives.  Their lives were taken neither suddenly nor tragically.  The each lived long enough to know their grandchildren and to be remembered.

I had the kind of week that left me without words when I prayed.  I didn't even know what to pray.  That said, I cannot imagine the prayers of the Haitian believers who lost their homes, their place of employment, family members. Everything.  The little that they had.  Gone.  How do you even begin to pray again?  And how do you get through it without praying?  How do you grasp an understanding of God as creator amidst that kind of destruction?  But how do you deal with that kind of destruction without faith in God?  Mind-boggling.

Against the backdrop of the suffering in Haiti, I've been left with an amazing sense of thanksgiving and also responsibility.  Thanksgiving and rejoicing for all the ways I have been blessed...beyond measure really.  And responsibility to teach my children from a young age just how blessed they are.  I want them to also feel a sense of responsibility for not only acknowledging their blessings, but sharing them.

So this Monday, I tried to reach outside the box with our MMM activity...way outside the box.  Even outside the country.  Today we have been talking about the earthquake in Haiti.  I know they are young and I had reasonable expectations for how much they could grasp, but I'm praying that we can continue to show them that there is a bigger world around them.

That said, the boys are 3 and 2 so we definitely kept it really simple.

First we talked a little bit about earthquakes.  KJ especially was very curious about this.  I asked what he thought an earthquake was and he said...Maybe like a cat or a dog or something like that.

Not quite.

So  I used this earth-quake simulator online to show them how buildings are effected when the ground trembles.  I tried to choose my words carefully about how blessed we are to live in a strong house made of bricks that has a good chance of survival in bad weather (don't want anyone having nightmares).  Mostly the boys just liked pushing buttons on the computer (a rare treat), and watching the building crumble.

Then we played with blocks.  Made towers and knocked them down.  Luckily the simulation of an earthquake was pretty easy in this activity since we have a live-in-destructor (Cbug).

Next I showed them some of the pictures above of families displaced, homes and businesses destroyed and people running just for hope of some clean water. (I got all of the pictures included on this blog entry from this website...you might need to sensor a bit for young chidren.)

KJ and I talked (Cbug's attention span was D-O-N-E) about children that did not have homes or toys or food or water because there was an earthquake in their town.  He was very concerned and wanted to know if we could send them some of his blocks to help out.  I tried to tenderly explain that they needed much bigger blocks and we could help them buy some. 

But the best thing for him to do was to pray for the children.  He asked if we could pray right then and it was a moment that makes MMM well worth while....and shortly following the Amen both boys were rolling around on the floor again, giggling without a care.  I joined in.  Thankful for perspective and thankful for my children.

ABL


MMM is first about spending intentional time with my children, but it is also about blessing others through encouragement and transparency.  Telling the story that we are not perfect and are just looking for ways to get through a sometimes tough beginning of the week.

This week in particular, we would love for you to JOIN US! Take time to remind your children how blessed they are and that they can help other kids experience blessing. Let us know how your family is joining the effort.  We'd love ideas on how to continue this conversation within our family.



I know there are lots of organizations joining the cause, and your local church may even have a program. Our family will be donating through Bread for a Hungry World if you are looking for something.



If you have older children that need more information, I ran across this website with info for kids about earthquakes when I was doing some research on Haiti.  It might be a good resource for you, but was a little above my kids head.

MMM: Friday edition

I am working this Monday, but that didn't stop us from some MMM fun. Friday had all the makings of a Monday. RRL was back to work after being home with the kiddos on Thursday. We were trapped at home thanks to freezing temps and sniffles all around. I was a bit exhausted from a long week and overwhelmed at the thought of trying to recover our house from the holidays. We needed a plan. And the pine cone we brought back with us from TN provided the solution.

So, with the help of my handsome assistants. Here are instructions for making your very own pinecone birdfeeders

(Ok, you got me. Its just an excuse to show you pictures, because you really don't need instructions- its basically rocket science).

STEP A:

Find a pinecone.

Can't really help you here. We didn't find our pinecone...it found us. Literally. It attached itself to the roof of our van while we were visiting my parents and scared me to death. We (being me) thought an animal was clawing its way through the roof. RRL (my knight in shining armor) was brave enough to check and found what he thought to be a useless pinecone. As he was about to toss it to the wayside, I exclaimed "NO! DON'T! I NEEEEEDDDDDD that". And I did. For this. We were meant to have it.

Step B:
Tie a string to the pinecone and tape said string to the work surface (see tips below).

Step C:

Use a plastic knife to liberally apply peanut butter to all the cracks and branches and judging from the faces of the assistants...it is quite necessary to taste test the peanut butter along the way.

(do pinecones have branches? What are those things called that stick off?)

Step D:

Pour, pinch, drizzle, cake, clump, dump and roll birdseed onto the peanut-butter-coated pinecone branch thingies.

Step E:

Bundle up in your warmest clothes (or at least put a sweatshirt on over your PJs) to go outside and find a branch on which to hang the feeder. One website I found suggested a low hanging branch so the squirrels can't get to it as easily.

(yeah, you know that part about this not being rocket science...even so, I research everything. its part of the fun.)

Step F:
Go back inside quickly, to avoid hypothermia, and watch for birds to flock to your feeder.

Funny thing about that part (the bird watching part)... apparently the person in charge of this project who knows EVERYTHING about birds (like that they fly) didn't know that

there wouldn't be any around when the temps are low. In his/her mind, they'd all be looking for food and be so happy with us for putting this out for them. I (um, I mean he or she) was wrong. We were all disappointed. I told KJ that I was sorry that our feeder didn't attract any birds. He said "That's ok. Maybe we should have just put it in a house... like in the picture" (referring to the flock of birds on the birdfeeder in the picture on the bag of birdseed). Which kept Momma from getting a big head about her wonderful projects and how much my children love them.

If you are going to try this at home, here are a few tips (I mean, besides the obvious one of trying to find a time when there are actually birds around to enjoy the feeder you made):

1) Tie the string to the pinecone before you start. Then tape the string to the surface you are working. This keeps it from slipping off the table while little hands are applying peanut butter.

2) If I had known how much peanut butter would be required to cover the whole pine cone (including snack breaks) I would have bought some generic just for the project instead of using the good stuff.

3) Might have been a good idea to do this project when the temperatures were at least about freezing. Maybe.

4) Repeat the mantra..."I can sweep the floors, the floors can be swept, I can sweep the floors, the floors can be swept".

Enjoy.

ABL