Can we do a project? YES!

It's no secret that I love reading other blogs. It's a hobby, I guess. Can that be a hobby? I usually stick to the decorating blogs, but sometimes I find cute ideas of things to do with the kids- baking, projects, etc.
I saw this one and filed it away, and they asked me today if they could do a project and I thought of this one immediately. They were in HEAVEN! I think it was mostly because of the usually forbidden aspect! This is from a Montessori blog which has a ton of great ideas.
We used straight pins, and they stuck them into pillows (actually our couch cushions) to make designs, letters, whatever they wanted. Then they could use string to trace around the designs if they wanted to.


It was really neat to watch them do this project because it was very interesting to watch their brains work. Jack made patterns and then ended up doing a little town, where he rescued the people with a lasso (not how I intended the string to be used, but oh well), and Neily wrote out her name and then spread all of the pins out evenly and used the string to make abstract shapes.


And then all at once, they decided enough with that and they wanted to use the string for their very favorite pastime, playing puppies and 'walking' each other. I'd say they do this about 75% of their time together. LOL!

Some tassel goodness

This post is mostly for my mom, because she's one of few people who would appreciate this kind of insanity. Only a select group of people (and I don't mean that in a good way) would see a ceramic baseball bank in a dollar store and think "Tassel!" Most people would probably think... bank.
Anyway, I think it's adorable. I used some navy chenille yarn (which you really can't see) at the base, then a variety of 'crap' to junk it up. A few different kind of ribbon, a fringe that I liked, etc, etc. It was fun and turned out exactly the way I wanted it to! That never happens to me. I kind of thought tassels were too girly for a boy's room, but this was too cute and hangs in the perfect place in Jack's room.

Did you say diet?

Lucas does not speak "diet".

People see Lucas and absolutely have to comment. How could you not comment on a cat that is larger than many small dogs? People usually want to know what he is, which prompts a mini-story about his life. He really is the sweetest guy, but he has absolutely no idea that he's a cat. And I'm really not sure that he is!
He weighs in at about 24 pounds and Neily tried to pick him up the other day. I was laughing so hard I had to take a quick picture. It's really ridiculous. He is now almost ten years old and has pretty bad arthritis, so he only moves when he wants to eat, which as you can imagine, is only making the problem worse.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Well, we weren't able to catch that stinking leprechaun at our house either. He scampered back to Ireland and didn't leave anything for us but a MESS! Neily's class tried to catch him all week but the closest they got was a penny and his shirt (Neily's trap was the lucky one to catch his shirt!). She worked so hard on her trap and it looks like she almost caught him. I really thought that gold would fool him. ;)
This morning, *we* woke up to find that the leprechaun had scurried in the back door and gone straight for the fridge. He messed with some bananas and then turned our milk and yogurt green! Little stinker! The leprechaun was smart enough to dump out the container of milk into tupperware and turn only a small amount that we would use today green, and for that I say thank you! What a smart little guy.
He also made off with a few of our homemade Thin Mints (or Figments as Neily calls them).
Happy St. Patricks Day!

Mischievous little footprints!

Grr!

Our Thin Mints... he ate a few.


Neily's leprechaun trap. Right under the gold, at the end of the trail, there is a little spot that is a trap door. Neily's idea was that the rainbow would trick him into coming for the gold, and he would run up, then when he jumped up to get the gold, he would fall into the trap door and he wouldn't be able to get out. Just in case, she smothered the inside of the box with glue so that he would stick. Smart girl! But they are trickier than we realized.The note he left for us. Oh well! 364 days to figure out how to catch him next time. ;)

Kids Say the Darndest Things

This was from a Facebook game, but I know the grandparents would appreciate that kidisms that they came up with. I treasure things like this, somehow the answers are always so 'them'.
Answers provided by Jack (4) and Neily (6).

1. What is something mom always says to you?
J: "Eat at the table!"
N: "I love you."

2. What makes mom happy?
J: "Be calm and play with your toys."
N: "Me cleaning up after myself and playing calmly."
Ding ding ding! I don't ask for much in life.

3. What makes mom sad?
J: "Being crazy."
N: “When I don't behave well."

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
J: Just do fun stuff like tickling us and.... tickling us. Until it's not fun."
N: "Tickling me."
Don't think I do this often?

5. What was your mom like as a child?
J: "What you mean?" "Hm."
N: "You played with American Girl dolls."

6. How old is your mom?
J: "I don't know."
N: "Uh... Mommy, how old are you? Um... 28?"

7. How tall is your mom?
J: *climbs up on chair and puts his hand on my head* "I'm gonna see. That tall. You're this tall."
N: Jack pipes up, "Measure her!" Neily says, "When you stand, you're as tall as the cabinet." and points to a cabinet that is 8 feet tall.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
J: "Make crafts with us."
N: "Give hugs and kisses."

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
J: "Do work."
N: "Clean up."

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
J: "What you mean? What does famous mean?"
N: "Being a rockstar."
All right. A rockstar. ;)

11. What is your mom really good at?
J: "Baking food." At least someone is impressed.
N:"Being a mommy."

12. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
J: "Trader Joes."
N: "Nana and Papa's house." My favorite? Or her favorite?

13. What is your mom's favorite store?
J: "Hobby Lobby!"
N: "Trader Joe's."
Poor Jack once told me on a morning shopping excursion, "Hobby Lobby has everything we need!" So true, little man.

14. What do you like to do best with your mom?
J: "Snuggle."
N: "Play American Girls if I had enough. If not, play Polly Pockets." Subtle hint from Neily.

15. What does your mom do for work?
J: "Clean dishes... I mean, take pictures!"
N: "Take pictures."

16. What does your mom like to drink?
J: "Diet Coke!"
N: "Coke." Jack chimes in, "DIET Coke, Neily." Neily corrects herself and Jack says, "Good job."

17. What does your mom like to eat?
J: "Pineapple!" Huh?
N:"Shepherds pie."

18. Does mom like to stay up late or get up early?
J: "Get up early."
N: "Stay up late. Cause you never get up early."

19. Is mom a good driver?
J: "Uh-huh."
N: "Yes."

20. What is your favorite thing about your mom?
J: "Giving me hugs."
N: "I really like every day how you smell. Well, maybe how you make me and Jack lunch too."

There you have it. I was a little afraid to ask some of these, but it turns out I guess I'm doing an okay job. LOL! Enjoy!

Happy birthday Neily

The cake
Her 'flowers':Pure happiness!
With Papa, Nana, and Jack




She's SIX! Hard to believe. :) And in some ways, it's hard to believe she isn't twenty six. ;)

Come to Mama!

One of the happiest days of my life!




Isn't she pretty? Her name is Ruby and she's my new baby. ALL MINE! I needed to be able to proof and have a little more mobility. By mobility, I of course meant the ability to take it with me on trips, to meetings, etc... of course not the ability to move from the living room to the bedroom. Which is what I've done so far. ;)