Paint With Water Fun!

Yesterday was one of those days where the kids and I didn't go anywhere, didn't do anything special and just hung around the house together. I like those days when there is nothing pressing or stressful to get ready for! We all need "catch up" days once in a while!

By the afternoon the kids needed a project to keep them from fighting and being naughty! (when they are bored they are terrible!)

So, I took out the paint by water book and let them paint for about 45 minutes! They were thrilled! Mia especially loves to paint when she can make a "mess." The trick is that it's only water, so I didn't have to worry about paint making a mess everywhere!

These trays work great for painting and craft times! I got them at the Christmas Tree Shop (LOVE that store) and paid about $3 a piece. I bought them originally for snack trays but they work great to keep all art supplies contained! Crayons tend to roll off the table, but these trays keep them within reach. Yesterday they worked great to keep the water bowl near the paper and if it spilled, the water would stay on the tray!

The trays are nice and deep too, so water wouldn't spill over the sides.

A cookie sheet would do the same trick!

The other benefit of trays like this is that it gives toddlers VERY clear boundaries to what is their space... a hard concept for 2 and 3 year olds!!

Working hard!!

For more Paint with Water pictures click here!

Photo Class- Lesson #7

Aperture, my new found favorite thing to do with a camera! It basically means making things blurry in the background on purpose, or not. If you want the whole picture to be in focus, then you have a high aperture. If you want the background to be blurry, set your aperture high. I'm still figuring it all out myself, but here's what I came up with today while the girls painted... I'll blog about that separately! :0)

It's a darky day!

Last night I took Bailee grocery shopping with me. That is always such a fun time because I get to have conversations with her one-on-one! You never know what she'll start talking about or what she'll tell someone as we walk by!

We got out of the van and were walking into the store when she realized that it had stopped raining. It was still overcast and cloudy, but not raining.

"Mama, it not raining any more."

"I know Bailee, it's sunny now."

"No Mama, it's just regular."

I guess in her mind cloudy and grey skies meant it was "regular!" I almost laughed out loud, but I didn't want to embarrass her!

We then continued through the store and were shopping when she started singing (VERY loudly) "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so...." She continued to sing through several aisles until I offered her a snack to keep her a little quieter!

When we got outside of the store it had gotten dark, so she decided to comment on the skies again. (We usually sing, "It's a sunny day, it's a sunny day, it's sunny outside to we can go out and play...") But this time she started singing "It's a darky day it's a darky day, it's darky outside so we can't go out and play, who needs the sun anyways!"

Again it brought a smile to my face! She's so much fun and I love watching 3-year-old logic at it's best!

This video was taken a few months back... this is her version of "Jesus Loves Me." This is what she was singing through the store!

Going Green

"Going green" is such a popular way of life right now, and I have not really caught on to the whole idea. I think it's great when people eat healthy, buy "organic" materials and try to recycle, but I've never thought about in great depth before. Until now...

My husband and I watched a documentary the other night on Netflix called Food Inc. If you watch the video I posted, you'll get a SMALL taste of what we saw! I've never really thought about where our food came from, how it got there, and the issues that come up in "big industry food production."

Now, I'm not going to stop eating all together, but it has changed how I look at our foods!

I've even purchased some reusable grocery bags in the last week or so. Now if I can just remember to use them! I think I will make it Bailee's job to remember the bags. (She loves having "jobs.")

*I didn't purchase the bags at first for grocery use. I bought one because it makes a great bag to throw wet beach towels and bathing suits into. They're made out of a plastic material that can get wet and not mold. It wasn't until I realized HOW MANY groceries they hold compared to a regular plastic bag that I liked them. The fewer bags I have to carry, the fewer trips back out the car I have to take!!*

I bought "organic" yogurt for the first time last night, and I think I am going to try and purchase more organic foods when I can, but $ tends to be an issue. One of the topics discussed in the Food Inc video was that you can go to the Dollar Menu at McDonalds and buy a whole meal for a few bucks, but you can't even buy fresh veggies for that price. It's hard for those on lower incomes to buy healthy foods, because the food companies have made it too easy to buy cheap junk food instead!

How frustrating!

I want to feed my family well, but I have to be very wealthy to afford the foods that will keep my kids healthy! Wealthy should not equal healthy!

This movie has opened my eyes to some things I was ignorant of before... I challenge you to watch it too!

What are your thoughts about organic foods? Do you wish it was cheaper? What do you think?

Can I Borrow Some Patience?

My patience is GONE!!! I am ready to give my children away for the day! Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, BUT a mom can only take so much toddler attitude!!!

(I got a few sentences written and I had to go deal with a toy possession tragedy in our home! AKA... a fight over a single toy that both girls wanted!)

My morning has already been filled with chaos, attitude, fighting, and stubbornness! By the way, it's only 8 am!!

It's frustrating when the first thing you hear in the morning is your two toddlers saying, "NO GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" It makes me want to

crawl back into bed and hide there until nap time!

I wish there was some kind of magic potion I could drink to give me more patience and energy! Coffee you say, nope, I'm nursing... plus I don't like it!

I suppose it would help if I had gotten a good night's sleep, but my 3 year old decided to scream for me about every hour. I would lay down in bed, get really comfy, fall asleep and she would scream "MAMA HELP ME! MAMA!" I went in to check on her and asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I want to go to sleep." AHHHH!! That happened about 6 times last night and that was only Bailee. Jack was also up all night for his usual feedings. Then Mia decided to wake up at 6 am... ugh!

So, as you can imagine I woke up with no patience to even start the morning!

I am craving some adult conversation.

A few minutes alone.

Maybe a morning of quiet.

A meal where I can feed ONLY myself.

No diapers.

Okay, maybe I'm sounding a little pathetic, but we're all allowed to have pity party once in a while! I just need a break, and it's only Monday morning... we'll see what this week has in store for us! Wish me luck...

Photo Class- Lesson #2

I'm having lots of fun with this photography class! This assignment was pretty simple... seek out flowers and take their pictures! ;-)

Thanks to my neighbors who let me take photos of their beautiful flowers!

Which one is your favorite??

Babies nursing babies!

Bailee (age 3)- "I want to be a mommy like you when I get big!"

Me- "How many babies do you want to have?"

Bailee- "I'm going to have lots of them!"

Me- "Wow!"

Bailee- "Yup, it be crazy!"

(I guess she's heard me say that a few too many times!)

I love the fact that my daughters are very maternal! They love playing house and with their baby dolls! They always want to help me in the kitchen, they want to help with the laundry and they LOVE helping me take care of their baby brother! And I always think it's funny when they want to help me clean because they enjoy it! (I'll have to put that to good use when they get older!!)

When the girls are playing house, my oldest daughter Bailee is always the mommy and Mia has to be the baby. She is tucked into bed, fed bottles, and wrapped in blankets all day long!

Well, yesterday they decided to both be the mommy and so they found baby dolls that they would each take care of. They pushed them around in strollers, wrapped them in blankets (actually I did that, over and over and over again!), and fed them... but not with bottles! Yes, they decided to sit down and nurse their babies! It was the cutest thing! I was just glad that I wasn't nursing my baby at the moment so I could grab the camera!!!

Bailee tried really hard to get the baby "latched on" in the right spot! ;-)

Mia was trying soooooo hard, but she was wearing a onesie, so it wasn't working quite right! Here she was trying to put the baby into her shirt! She gave up after a few minutes!

After a little while, Bailee went and got a blanket to "cover up." Later that night she told me I needed a blanket too and brought me one while I was nursing Jack!

I can't wait to see what kind of Mommies Bailee and Mia will be like, but so far it looks like my grandchildren will be in good hands!