Blanket blobs… and a few other pics from the day

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Tessa

This one is for you, Mema! This is why I was giggling through our phone call.

The video is long and boring and of course I turned it off two seconds too soon. Moments after I turned it off Eve hopped her way directly into the wall! I fell over laughing so, of course, she did it again! Funny girl. Funny kids!!

We had a slow, but productive on my part, day today.

Chillin’ together in the office. They spent a lot of time hanging out together today. It was sweet.

New school supplies! I love these bento boxes. I bought them years ago when the kids were going to daycare. Lex has used his for lunches the past two years. This year they each got new boxes (so I could have the old ones for spares/backups!) and Eve got a carrier. Lex has a good one still from last year. They were SUPER excited when the mail lady arrived today!

Texting with daddy. She sent a message to him for me and then decided to send her own as well. Mine was a grocery list, hers was “I love you. Love Eve.”

Eve and I painted some clay objects we made earlier in the week. She has a butterfly and a bear cave, I have a flower. Lex spent much of the afternoon working on a secret message on the tablet. I have another blog post coming someday about his tablet messages. (they are blog worthy because they are all love notes to me!)

Here’s what I did with most of the day. Eve was very helpful in the beginning, while Lex worked on his paper Transformer, then they both went off and played together while I finished up. We made two loaves of bread, Pineapple Sunshine muffins, oatmeal raisin cookies with dark chocolate covered raisins, and chicken parm (no cheese) for Alan.

Blanket blobs creeping (not so) quietly through the kitchen while I was on the phone.

7am

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Tessa

The beginnings of a written story by Eve and a paper Transformer in progress from Lex. They are bursting with creativity right from the get-go!

A paper train railway in my kitchen and my new maid

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Tessa

I think I have the ~~messiest~~ craftiest children ever! This is a good thing, I know, because their brains are active, but so are the scissors, tape, and scraps!

They are currently working on a 3D paper railway, much like his paper race cars and paper airline. I can’t find a link so apparently I haven’t blogged about his paper airlines yet. He has two separate paper airlines and an airport!

Lex is nice enough to help Eve draw these “blown out” trains as well. They draw the outline, color them in, cut them apart, and then tape the edges together, resulting in a 3D object.

Lex’s first train and coal car, on the tracks. Lex likes to be in the pictures these days. :)

Now they are working on trains. He made a few trains over the weekend and some tracks connected with metal fasteners. Today I found some empty Lipton tea boxes (I drink it by the GALLON!) and they both decided to use them for stations.

Lex’s train station, complete with clock (on top) and ticket counter (inside). It’s actually cool the way he connected the tracks with fasteners so when it’s time to clean up they all fold together and tuck underneath the station.

Eve has a habit of cutting tiny pieces of paper and then taping them to things. While she could use a large piece and tape it once, she much prefers lots of cutting, lots of pieces, and lots of tape. Despite, or perhaps because of, my repeated requests to the contrary. For her it’s more about the ongoing story as she constructs and less about the finished product. In fact, she rarely ever finishes a project, they just continue until I make her stop!

When it was time to clean up she switched games and announced, “Let’s pretend I’m your maid!” Um, ok! Turns out she is a very good maid! She cleaned up all the scraps (with marginal help from Lex), swept the entire kitchen/dining room floor, and helped Lex clean up his mess in the living room. Then she wanted to vacuum! I told her it was dinner time and invited her to join us “since my daughter is at a sleep over party tonight and won’t be joining us for dinner.” The game continued through dinner and afterwards she jumped up and headed for the vacuum cleaner! While Lex took a bath, Eve vacuumed the office and half of the living room! She did a pretty decent job of it too. The game ended when she wet her pants and I made her get in the bath. :)

She swept with the broom and then she Swiffered!

One benefit of their extended crafty periods is it gives me time to make yummy dinners! Tonight was spinach basil pasta with cheesy roasted tomatoes, salad, and cheesy garlic bread. Much of it fresh from today’s CSA pick-up! I like having the kids nearby while I’m in the kitchen. They make me happy. :)

Vacuuming after dinner. She really worked hard!

The freshly clean maid decided she should spend the night here, in my daughter’s princess bed, so she could finish vacuuming in the morning. Sweet! The best part is she doesn’t even ask for payment! I do love my daughter but I sure hope this maid sticks around for awhile! :)

At a little kid playground

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Tessa

yaba daba do!

car accident

eve finds bugs everywhere we go

The Game of Life

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Tessa

We played Life today, per Eve’s request. For some reason she loves that game despite the fact that it’s for ages 9 and up. At one point, while trying to explain lawsuits to her, she interrupted with:

“I don’t think someone could sue me because I have lots of dollars and a spin-y wheel!”

The “spin-y wheel” she referenced was a Spin To Win card that has absolutely nothing to do with lawsuits. She did have lots of dollars though, and big numbers on the spinner. She zoomed through the game, rolling in her money (literally!), and got to retirement while Lex and I were only about halfway across the board. Good times. :)

Teacher assignment

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Tessa

We got Eve’s teacher assignment today! She has the same kindergarden teacher Lex had. I’m happy, though she seems rather indifferent about it (and school in general). The buddy she was hoping would be in her class is not, but when I mentioned it Eve just shrugged her shoulders. I have no doubt she’ll make friends!

Transitions

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Tessa

Parenting is all about transitions. That initial transition that makes you a parent in the first place, the transition from one child to two, the transitions off the breast, out of diapers, out of the cribs and strollers. The transitions when the children first start going to school. It was harder when Lex started school, as the first, but I’ll admit I cried for several days when Eve started preschool even though the hours were very short. This summer feels like a big transition to me as well. The obvious reason, of course, is that they will both be in school full time in 18 days, but that’s not really it.

For seven years now I have been saying “I have young children.” This summer it hit home that I do not have two young children, just two children. A subtle difference, in text, but so huge in my heart. I know they will need me for years and I don’t mean to be a whiner here, but it’s hitting me hard. Their needs for me are changing. They no longer need me to diaper them or dress them or bathe them. They are fully capable of making the four dishes they eat for all of their meals. (I realize they do need me to teach them about eating a balanced diet, but I seem to be failing in that department!) They went to camp together this summer, happily. They put their own bathing suits on, navigated the locker room and sunscreen applications. They do solitary playdates now. They play outside on their own. They are just so darn independent!

Yesterday was a nice cool day and I thought it would be a good day to make a big batch of blueberry jam. A process they have, in the past, eagerly and happily helped me with. Instead they played a super elaborate game together all morning! That’s great, right? It is. Really. But I did miss them in the kitchen. I was lonely. Is that pathetic?! Eve has been asking to make blueberry cake and when I invited her into the kitchen to bake with me she said, “No thanks, I’m busy.” Sigh.

I am entering a new season in parenting and apparently I’m not sure how to prepare for it. I feel like I rocked the baby stage, but now I’m not sure what comes next. I need to find the next guidebook. “What to Expect When They Grow Up,” perhaps?

Summer fun

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Tessa

I’m slacking a bit with my blog posting here, I know. Lots going on, I guess, and at the same time nothing that moves me to blog. Sorry. Here are a few pictures anyway to tide you over. I have a good post I’m formulating in my head, lots of words and few pictures… though maybe “good post” is a matter of preference. :) Here’s what we’ve been up to this week!

Blueberry picking again. This time we made blueberry jam!

A new (to us) playground with a huge slide. Too bad it was SUPER hot so no one could use it.

A neat tire and wood car for the kids to drive.

This thing is always fun!

Slip-n-sliden’

Eve’s turn.

Drink break!

I love sunny close-ups!

Eve got mad at me for misunderstanding her dinner order one night and decided to make her own sandwich, including cutting the bread by herself! (don’t worry, I supervised) Of course she ate this AND the mini-bagel I had already made for her. We’re a carb crew in this house!

Doesn’t everyone eat breakfast with 3D glasses on?

Today we went to the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium.

It consisted mostly of stuffed animals in glass boxes.

They also had lots of spiral staircases. I learned today that Eve is quite nervous on spiral staircases.

While waiting for the planetarium to open, Lex impressed the silent crowd by reading the captions on the video out-loud to Eve and I (and everyone else!) I started reading quietly to the kids, but apparently his eye sight is much better than mine and he took over when I wasn’t reading fast enough! (he’s reading over my shoulder right now, as I do this blog post!)

We got home from the museum earlier than I had expected today. It wasn’t exactly a big place! It rained off and on the whole way home. It’s a weird, muggy, stormy day. Eve insisted on quiet time, despite just coming off a long car ride, so we all went our separate ways for awhile. Time to re-engage.

The most awesome Lego launcher EVER!

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Tessa

There is nothing better than coming across an awesome project on a blog and doing it that day. Even better is when it’s a project that doesn’t require me turning my computer back on and following the directions. A one-two easy-peasy project that I can pull out at a moment’s notice. A project that I can even whip up more parts when a neighbor comes over to play unexpectedly. Good times. Thanks Becky @ Rub Some Dirt On It!

Read her site for directions and beautiful photos. Stay here for the usual pics of my kids. :)

Plastic cup, cut off the bottom. Balloon, tie one end, cut the other. Stretch balloon over cup, add tape (we add tape to everything, like salt). Pull on balloon “tail” to launch things. She recommends pom-poms, but we have a lack of those in our house so we tried cotton balls (too light), random pieces of plastic (too risky), and Legos (perfect).

We set up a series of targets. We had some pricing stickers lying around that I though we could use for points. Somehow we used them for actual money and I ended up paying Lex $1.75!

Setting the stage.

Things got a little tricky when our neighbor stopped by. I whipped up a Lego Launcher for him in less than a minute, but the game held his attention for only about that long anyway. The problem was he drew Eve away from the game, thereby ending the nice family time we were having. Sigh.

Nothing distracted this guy though! He kept asking the other two to come back and play, but they wouldn’t, so he kept on alone. He loved the game!

Back in the water

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Tessa

After our favorite lake beach was closed due to Hurricane Irene we were forced to find a new swimming place this summer. We did! A real “treasure of an island.” :)