Please, pick up the stick!

It's that beautiful time of year when the leaves are turning, the air is cool and the temperatures are reasonable once again. It is time to get out into nature and explore. (or at least go for a quick walk) At least this is what I tell myself. The reality is often a different picture altogether...

Here is the truth (and nothing but the truth) get ready, you might recognize a part of yourself. It's time for a walk - I tell the kids. They are excited and can't wait to get outside. We do the bathroom thing and make sure each child is fully clothed. Inevitably, they will be wearing stylish clothing in an effort to look cute in case I decide I want to take some pictures. I will brush hair and maybe even put in a braid - a girls got to be ready at all times. Myself, on the other hand - I am just grateful that workout pants on a walk are entirely acceptable - and the hair? A ponytail fits the bill, on a good day I will actually get all my hair into the ponytail. (I'm the one taking the pictures, remember?)

We are set to begin our journey. And believe me, a walk often turns in a journey of epic proportions. (Not always the good kind of epic either) I load the kids in the car and we drive to our favorite location. It's a nice walking path in a wooded area. The kids immediately being running around like they have never been outside before in their lives. They start scavenging for everything! I think they have a strong tie to hunting and gathering societies. I often wonder what would happen if I stopped feeding them. Maybe, they would bring home food instead of rocks...just a thought. Once we have started out in the proper direction the hunting beings. The children will begin to collect sticks and rocks.

A perfect walking stick is a top priority. Each stick is picked up and examined. It must be straight, but not too tall. Interesting, but not too crazy. Large, but not too heavy. Sturdy, but not too thick. You can see that the perfect stick must stand up to a series of tests. Once they have finally found the most amazing stick they will immediately begin to look for a better one. If a stick show potential for beating out it's rival I will have to hold the incumbent stick. Obviously, the old stick can not be cast away unless the new stick, does indeed, prove to be a better option. Often times, the old stick must still be retained just in case something happens to the new stick. By this time, we have usually made it far enough that I can still see the car in the parking lot. I often wonder if we should have just went stick hunting instead.

I will encourage the kids to just walk. Eventually, I will ban the picking up of any new sticks. It will be then that a stick breaks, or gets forgotten at some really cool point of interest. I will have discarded the extra (during a time when no one was watching) and now we have a problem.  The kids are upset, I am standing by my rule (because after all, I really did want to walk), there is no hope of taking pictures (picking up stick after stick can cause an awful lot of damage to a carefully chosen outfit), and it may be time to go home.

After returning to the house frustrated a few walks in a row I came up with an idea. I loaded the kids up and we went on a stick hunt. We walked around and looked at stick after stick until we found the absolute best walking stick a kid could ever imagine. We loaded the stick into the car and took it home. (The kids thought I had lost it since no stick ever comes home with us) The stick was treated to it's own personal makeover as the kids painted their walking sticks and made a project they loved. My husband sprayed a sealer on the sticks once the paint and set and the result was fantastic.

When we start a walk my kids already have the best walking stick in the woods. It passes all the tests and with the custom paint job no other stick comes close. We start and finish our walk with one stick each and actually get to enjoy walking and looking at other things in the woods. (Like the great sand hill cranes that were previously ignored in favor of new sticks.)

Next task? Figure out what to do with all the rocks the kids now bring back...

The difference between Multi-task and Multiply

         I have recently learned a little more about two words that are frequently confused. What words you may ask? (Or, like most people you may have already guessed due to the title of this entry) Yes, those words are multi-task and multiply. Now, before you think "this woman has completely gone crazy!" Let me explain. I think you will find you have the same problem.
        If you ask me if I can multi-task I would say yes but, some part of me (not so deep inside) would believe that I can really multiply.
        I can cook dinner, keep track of the children, and listen to something on the radio. I can read and have a conversation (yes, I really can.) I can talk to you while planning out my day and getting my children dressed. Those are all great examples of multi-tasking that most of us could probably do. So what's the problem? It's the next step.
       I like to think that I can help you pack for your vacation while keeping my house clean.  I imagine that I can spend meaningful time with my children, so they behave at night, while running an entire day's worth of errands. I often fool myself into thinking that I can get the children into bed at a good time, the house picked up, have time to read, get some work done and get to sleep at a reasonable hour. Crazy, right? Now I have crossed the line. What we are talking about is no longer multi-tasking, but, instead the need to multiply. I often find that I need at least two or more of me in order to complete the things I have planned.
       This was most recently the case when I decided that I could start a blog, do meaningful projects with my kids, make projects for my sisters upcoming wedding and student teach. The need to multiply had never been greater and my powers of supreme multi-tasking were failing in a huge way. That being said, I did manage to make a few projects with the kids and we all made it through student teaching with only a few limbs missing and most of our sanity. I am excited to say projects have resumed, and hopefully, so has posting.

The first few weeks

Our family has jumped full swing into a very busy schedule. We are frequently out of the house for 10 to 12 hours a day. This kind of schedule is all new to the kids. Here are some of the results:

• My youngest will dose off and at any sound, jump up, and say "go nigh night?"
• My oldest (who is 6) had many boyfriends at school. She dumped all but one...
• She dumped the final boy telling him that once she is old enough to date she will find him again and date him until she finds the man she wants to marry. Then she will dump him and marry her husband.
• My youngest enjoys coloring but wonders why I do so much of it. Each night as I sit down to work, grab a pen and paper, he looks at me and says in a confused voice "Coloring again momma?"
• The best part of the day is when I finish coloring.
• My oldest does not mind being an early riser as long as we spend time talking.
• My youngest has become a bed-time nazi and tells me when to go to bed. He has also determined that if he is in trouble it is because I am crabby and need to go to bed.
• At the end of a long day all snack food WILL end up on the floor.
• Hitting is not a solution but no one seems to agree with me.
• Even if you think you are going to bed at a good time 5 am is still too early.
• Dinner tastes so much better when someone else makes it.
• I can be traded in at the sitters house for apples, cars, tv, chocolate milk, friends, trains, thomas, blankets, or just about anything.
• When it is -22 degrees outside everyone should just stay home!

It is going to be a long semester but we are finding and cherishing the good moments. I think we might just make it!

Let the Confetti fall..(New Year's Eve part 3)

Our balloons were ready to fall and the races were over. Now what should we do? Confetti poppers seemed like the perfect solution. The was a great project! It is simple to do and yet would be acceptable for many different age groups.  To make our poppers we used a tube from a roll of wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, construction paper, cardstock, a hole punch, yarn, beads, tape, glue and other random craft supplies. This is a great project to use up left over craft items. If you put it on the table someone will find a way to use it!

We started by cutting our wrapping paper roll into quarters. Toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls would also work well.

Cut paper to fit the size of your rolls and glue in place. Once your paper is covering the tubes the fun begins. You can now unleash the crafty ones...or let the kids use the craft items. Either way will get the job done. Decorate your tubes however you like, but don't place anything so it hangs over or from the bottom.

Once you have made your tube glamorous it is time to make the bottom. Trace around the bottom of the tube onto cardstock or other heavy paper. Cut out a circle a little bit smaller than the one you traced. 

Glue the cardstock circle onto a 4" (estimated) square of tissue paper. Poke a hole through the center and thread yarn through the hole. Tie a bead (or 2, which worked even better) onto the yarn. Make sure the bead is on the side of the tissue paper with the cardstock showing. Cut the yarn however long you are going to want your pull string to be.

Now you can glue your tissue paper around the bottom of your decorated tube. Put a line of glue around the outside of the tube and attach the tissue paper square so that the cardstock circle acts as a stop for the confetti that you will be putting inside. Hole punch a hole in the top of the tube on either side and thread yarn through to hang your popper.

You can make a cap for your confetti popper by cutting out a circle about 4 inches in diameter. Cut a slit in the circle from one edge to the center.

Fold the circle into a cone or maybe hat shape? Glue the edge down and cut the tip off to provide a small hole to thread the yarn through. I put a bead on both pieces of yarn first and slid it down on the string so that it would help support the cone. Slide the cone down onto your tube.

Add the confetti.  We just cut up  pieces of construction paper and filled our poppers with those. A few added beads were a nice surprise when the string were pulled. The noise they made when they hit the floor was really exciting for the kids.

You are now ready to hang up your creation. We just taped ours to the ceiling but then we had to put a little pressure on the tape when it came time to pull the string. It worked and the kids did not mind a bit but there is probably a "proper" way to secure things such as this.

We were now ready for midnight. We only had to wait...and wait...and wait. We made pizza, watched a movie and waited. My 2 year old, J, was just about done. At about 10 he was tired. By 11 cranky! By 11:30 he was telling us all to go to bed. At 11:50 he was climbing into bed no matter what! We convinced him to come back out into the livingroom and the fun began! (again of course, since we had fun earlier too)

Off to the Races...New Year's Eve Continues

Once we had our balloon drop ready to go we had to take some time to play. We decided to have a good ol' round of balloon races. If you have never done this get ready, you are in for a treat.

Step One: Find some yarn/string and tape it somewhere. (The table, wall, staircase) We used the table it was a good height. You will want the height of the string to be at a comfortable level. so everyone involved can easily reach it.You can attach the other end of the yarn to an alternate surface at the same or slightly higher height. We opted to just hold ours but at times the balloons came off the yarn.

Step Two: Blow up the balloons (do not tie them) and attach straws or pen casings. We had a few pens around the house that came apart easily and the casings worked great for this activity. You should attach the straws/tubes to the outermost part of the balloon so it does not rub on the yarn. A little packaging tape will do the trick. (Getting different shaped balloons might make this easier)

Step Three: Slide the tubes onto the yarn or string, blow up the balloons and let them fly. You will be off to the Balloon Races too.

* A word of caution after a few uses the balloons may pop while you are blowing them up. Trade out balloons often or just be careful.

A New Year's Eve Spectacular

Our family took a trip to New York a few years ago and I believe a part of that city somehow attached itself to my daughter H. She is in love with the city and everything that goes with it. For that reason, the New Year's Eve ball drop is a big event in our house. This year may have been one of the best! Our family decided to plan and execute "A New Year's Eve Spectacular". (Said in your best announcer voice) We shopped, gathered supplies, crafted, settled disputes, crafted some more, used scissors a ton, settled a few more disputes, ate, played games, and crafted and came up with a great evening.

We started our evening off by designing our very own balloon drop. We used balloons, craft supplies we dug out of the abyss that is know as the closet, rings from canning jars, yarn and a bit of duct tape.  

Blow up your balloon and begin to decorate. We used glitter, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pom poms, sequins, buttons, and anything else we could round up.

To help stabilize the balloons while they were being decorated and give them a nice perch to dry on, we wrapped pipe cleaners around the knot on the balloon. We then threaded beads onto the pipe cleaners and folded the ends over to hold the beads on. We then put the pipe cleaners into large glasses and jars. They weighted the balloons down just enough to keep them in the jars and allow us to decorate.

We tied yarn around the knot on the balloon and cut the tail really long (almost 16 feet). Taping canning jar rings to the ceiling and then treading the yarn through the rings worked as a great way to set up our balloons. We pulled the balloons up to the ceiling and then taped the bottom of the yarn off until it was time to drop the balloons. The weighted pipe cleaners were perfect to help the balloons drop.

Balloons decorated, hung and ready for the "balloon drop" at midnight!

Magic Milk

Today we did our first official experiment. My daughter, H, was very excited. "A real experiment, right in our own house!" I decided to start off with a simple one; "magic milk". It was a great choice. We started our experiment by collecting the necessary supplies: 3 shallow dishes, food coloring, 3 different types of milk (we used half and half, whole milk, and 1%), q-tips or toothpicks and dish soap.

I also made my daughter a worksheet to go along with the experiment. It gave the directions, asked her to make predictions about the experiment, and then had a space for her conclusions. She loved the worksheet and it was very simple to make. I read through this site first and felt confident that even I, the least scientific person you will ever meet, could come up with some great "scientific" questions and explanations. Once we had our ingredients gathered we were ready to begin.

The first thing we did was pour some milk into each bowl. We poured in enough milk to cover the bottom of each container. H wanted to label the bowls so we made labels out of index cards. Once the milk was in the bowls we dropped 3 -4 drops of food coloring into the milk. The food coloring drops should be spread out, taking care not to allow the colors to touch each other. 

Now you are ready for the fun part. I had my daughter dip a dry q-tip in the milk first just so she could see what was causing the reaction then, we dipped the q-tip in dish soap and into the milk. Just lightly touch it to the top of the milk being careful not to stir. The food coloring will being to move. You can see what happens with the different types of  milk, and what happens when you place the q-tip in different locations in the bowl. We even tried dropping straight dish soap into the bowl. The kids had a lot of fun with this project.