Home sick

I guess I'm not going anywhere today. Yahoo is home sick with a fever. I'm not complaining though because we have dodged the bullet on the nasty stomach flu so far this winter but we've had a lot of bad colds. Coloring books and Netflix!

Blogging Rut.....

In case you couldn't tell by my lack of blogging posts the last year I'm in a blogging rut.....
I suppose I have plenty to write about being that I have three loud and busy kids at home and myself having spreading my eggs in lots of different baskets (church, painting parties, substitute teaching, library board, etc......that's an exhausting list.) But none of the things going on lately inspire a lengthy blog post, though I feel like I have enough stuff rattling around in my to keep me up at nights. Some of which......

• We've lived in SW Kansas for 4 1/2 years now. The longest DR and I have lived in one place together our whole marriage. Honestly, I'm getting a bit antsy! We had a good wet summer this year in SW Kansas but I'm not sure if it was enough to start celebrating the end of a 5 year drought. It was odd though to drive down roads this summer and not recognize where I was because of all the green. Other than that life in SW Kansas is still pretty much the same; dry, windy and plenty of tumbleweeds.
• Yip and Yap aren't playing football this year (4th grade). They lost every game last season and were pretty bored since they played on the line and barely touched the football. I love sports but I'm totally fine that they aren't playing football; it's made for a pretty relaxing fall so far! Our Saturdays are open and I'm not rushing them to practice once a week. They are looking more forward to playing basketball...me too!!! 
• Yahoo is in Kindergarten this year and it's meant a big change for me. I'm home all by myself days I'm not working and she's suddenly has independence she didn't have before. Last week was the first time she went to the library program without me. I have to admit that it made me a bit uneasy. Not because I was worried about her but because, for the first time in ten years, I don't have the feeling that I have a child who can't be without me. It's odd. That's just something that takes a bit of time to get used to. I'm learning to like it!! 
• Speaking of Library....I'm on our public library's board. I love my librarian (she's awesome) and other board members (so supportive) but working with other government entities (that will remain nameless) is exhausting. Sometimes I just can't figure out how people in leadership positions can be so stupid and irresponsible. *heavy sigh*
• Substitute teaching is same old same old though I may be busier this year considering the new respiratory virus going around. The school sent home a note about it but really, it was hard to get too worried considering the beginning symptoms were the same as a common cold. So we stocked up on orange juice.....
• Painting parties are keeping me busy too. I'm having so much fun doing them and now that school is back in session I'm averaging about one a week. I could write about them all the time but I'm sure you all would get bored hearing about them. The best part is painting parties gives me the opportunity to teach people who really want to learn!! 
• I could say that I'm also busy cleaning my house while my kids are at school all day long but there's better things to do!!! 

Anything Can Be a Doll…Use Your Imagination!

Growing up, I was the oldest of seven children. There were four girls within about 6 years, then a 5 or 6 year break and then three boys within about four years. We always joked that my parents had two sets of children. But I was a teenager when my brothers were babies and toddlers and I remember my dad saying once how boys could make a car/truck out of anything! 

"Somewhere in the deep dark jungle," he would jokingly say, "there's a little boys pushing a rock in the dirt and going "bbbbrrrrrr" just like a truck!" 

And it's true isn't it! I've sure learned with boys that they can make trucks and guns out of just about anything. Two Legos = gun. Cardboard box = car. Of course their fascination with cars, trucks and guns just gets more sophisticated with age doesn't it? 

Case in point below! 

But I'm learning how the same principle can be applied to little girls as well!! They can make a doll from ANYTHING!! DR is often humorously perplexed by Yahoo as he listens to her play and the complex discussions and relationships that she weaves between her dolls. It's not uncommon for her to play for an hour or more in her room, all by herself, and the whole time she's talking to her dolls…or more specifically, her dolls are talking to one another. 

But this morning I realized that boys and girls are just the same….toys can be ANYTHING!! As I was getting Yahoo ready for school this morning in the bathroom, and then getting myself ready to go sub at the school today, she pulled open the drawer and started pulling out all her nail polish bottles and started a conversation!!

Yes, she was pretending that all her nail polish bottles were sisters and they were…well, I didn't follow along well enough to know exactly what was going on…but it tickled me to no end that she had no problem at all pretending that these bottles were real! Ha Ha! 

The more I think boys and girls are different the more I learn they are just the same! 

All of the sudden I feel a bit tiny!

Now I've never thought of myself as a small person. I'm 5'7" and wear size 8 or 10 clothes and weigh 1** lbs. :) Growing up I played basketball and toted plenty of wood, buckets of cow feed and water and such. I've got enough muscles to make me feel not tiny but here lately that's exactly how I'm starting to feel.

 

All because of my kids!

They are a growing. Just look at Yahoo here. She'll be five years old in two months (holy cow) and look how tall she is!! She's already past my waist and 45lbs.

 

Do you like here hat? That's how she goes to bed after she takes a bath! She hates getting her pillow wet.

 

But here's the dude that really makes me feel little! Yap!

 



 

Look how tall he is!! He's a good inch or more taller than his twin brother Yip. In our stocking feet too he's already up to my chin! Heaven's sake!!

 

He's only 9 1/2 years old and he's a head taller than everyone else in his class. Of course he's skinny as a rail isn't he? He eats like a horse though.

 

And look at how big his feet are!! They are just as big as mine! Yip and Yap both received new boots for Christmas and I can wear Yap's now! I told him to choose a pink pair but he just sneered...ha ha!

 

I knew that one of these days my boys would get bigger than me but I didn't figure it would come quite so soon. At the rate these kids of mine are eating (I feel like I don't buy anthing but food)  I wouldn't be surprised if all three of them would be taller than me by next Christmas!

A Photo Shoot - The Many Faces of Yahoo.

I think I got burned on taking photos a while back but after I got some camera advice from a friend of mine, ordering some filters and taking football pictures I've been finding more and more reasons to break out the camera. Last week Yahoo and I were outside on one of our many glorious SW Kansas days and, surprisingly, she was hamming it up for the camera. Most days she runs and hides when she sees me shooting. I'm sure most of you won't care one bit about this post and that's fine; these pics are mostly for grandmas, grandpa and numerous aunts and uncles anyway :) 

Pretending to be asleep. 

She spends more time swinging on this hammock than actually laying down. Good thing they are sturdy. 

Her Princess Face....

...and her Tiger Face! 

..again..

...and again!

I was playing around a lot on editing these and I'm really happy how they turned out. Since she was born I've been trying to get a photo showing the accurate color of her eyes. I think I'm pretty close here! 

Kansas...August...GREEN AND WET!!! Who knew THAT could happen???

So we're on the second day of September and being that it's a holiday I had some time to go through some photos of August. I have to say that this August was definitely the greenest I've ever seen Kansas! Some friends of mine who have lived here all their lives even told me that it's the greenest August they've seen too. We had quite a bit of rain the first couple weeks in August and it was greatly enjoyed by my kids. 

I think this rain came about the 11th or 12th. It was fast and quick but it flooded the street intersection next to our house. 

Every time we see it rain, I kick my kids outside to play. It's been so rare that we see this much water that I want my kids to enjoy it. I remember my childhood where there were always mud and puddles certain times of the year that we could play in and even as an adult I kind of miss it. 

Just look at my GRASS! I've had to mow more this summer than the last three summers combined! 

I even went through some old Kansas photos to compare the landscape. 

May 2011

Sept. 2011

August 2011

June 2012

Plenty of brown grass in the last few years. All this rain has been wonderful for my garden too. 

I've had a bumper carrot crop! 

My garden has done pretty well this year, other than the blight that hit and killed half my tomatoes. Blight is like fighting a losing battle! No fun at all. 

The first half of August came with plenty of rain but we finished out the last half of the month with 100+ degree days and no rain in sight. The rain gave us a little cushion but we could sure use some more. Harvest is starting later than normal, maybe in a couple more weeks and the harvest (according to my husband) is going to be better than expected and of course better than the last few years. Maybe, just maybe we're slowly coming out of this super severe drought we've lived in for the last 3 years. I'd like to think so but until my daily prayers include asking for rain. 

A game I wish my daughter didn't have to play.

We live in a tiny Southwest Kansas town of 900 where it seems everyone knows everyone. DR and I have lived in 5 states and a variety of different communities and the one we live in now is by far my favorite! I've never lived in a community that looked out for one another like this one and where I've felt so very welcome. 

To top off living in just a wonderful community we just happen to live right across the street from Yip and Yap's school and two blocks from Yahoo's preschool. Any activity going on at the school, well, we have a front row seat for. Any game night Rebel fans cars are parked all around our house. On prom night DR and I throw open the windows and enjoy all the oldie music the kids dance to. 

This school started off with no exceptions. A week before school started the parking lot was regularly full of teachers cars as they congregated for training and meetings. 

However, a few days before school though there was some activity that raised my eyebrows. The school parking lot was full of a dozen county police officers at 8:00 am. The officers, many that I knew, didn't seem distressed as they drove in, chatted and mingled together as they went inside. They spent the entire day in the school. What on earth could they be doing in the school ALL DAY? 

Later I found out from a friend, who works at the school, that (duh) the police officers were spending the day at the school doing what I guess you would call a training procedure with the teachers. A couple of the officers were the "bad guys" and the others went through the school, room by room, in formation just as they would if an intruder were to come into the school. Then they showed the teachers if such an event occurs where students should go within each classroom. Our school is teeny tiny and logically I know that a school shooting here is extremely unlikely but I also understand that school administrators, understandably, feel the need to take precautions. (We have a GREAT superintendent by the way!) 

I didn't think much of the safety training and procedures being put in place at the school though. My boys are old enough, almost 9, to understand about why such procedures need to be in place. Sometimes dangerous people show up in schools. I haven't discussed with them in any detail the deaths of Sandy Hook or Columbine students. We've routinely discussed what to do if a stranger tries to take you and things along those lines of course, so they have a healthy level of, I don't know if I'd call it fear, but preparedness.

What really hit me in the heart this week was Yahoo coming home from preschool, which is right next to the boys' elementary school, and she was telling me about the "Intruder Game" they played at school. My heart skipped a beat.

"What's the Intruder Game?" I asked with my heart in my throat. 

Yahoo happily skipped down the sidewalk and innocently answered, "My teacher says "Intruder" and then we all go hide in the bathroom." What really hit me was that there was no fear whatsoever in her voice. Yahoo is more scared of ants biting her feet than she is of an intruder in school. She doesn't understand what it is they are preparing for.

I don't know how I feel about this Intruder Game honestly. Oh, I think the teacher is doing a great job and preparing them for a highly unlikely event with as little drama as possible and that's fantastic. 

But I'm conflicted. Should I be thankful and relieved that this class of four year old's are so very innocent that preparing for a school shooting is something they have to do by playing a game? Or should I take all of this school preparedness as a sign I need to speak to my kids more about preparing for violence against them? In my heart I feel that they need to stay innocent as long as possible. I don't want to scare them. I don't want to put those images in their head they they'll worry about. I don't want them fearful where ever they go. But I also want them prepared. Or maybe I shouldn't worry about them being prepared for violence but lovingly provide them with the social and emotional support so that if they are affected by violence they'll have a network to fall back on. 

What is your school doing different this year? Any thoughts? Concerns? 

Finally found a site for Animating Photos

I stumbled onto a website, gickr.com, where you can animate your photos. I'd been searching for something like this weeks ago for Yap. He's gotten really into photography and has tried to make movies on his little digital camera but we weren't having any luck transferring them to the computer in order to view. This might be a great alternative for Yap, for a while at least. I'm considering buying him his own inexpensive video recorder for Christmas. Does anyone have any suggestions for something small, inexpensive and good for a 9 year old? 

These shots of Yahoo was my first attempt at animating photos. Don't you just LOVE that dress? Her Aunt gave that to her. Now my house is slowly being taken over by rogue red sequins! 

How to make a No Sew Clothes Organizer with the help of Subway Sandwiches.

I had a pretty busy crafting day yesterday. I made my FREE WEEDS sign and then after the kids were in bed I whipped up a clothes organizer for Yahoo. I figured I needed to make something for her since she's starting school in 10 days and I sure don't want to have a clothes fight with her every morning. 

I banged it out pretty fast! It probably helped that I was watching Supernatural. I'm hooked on that creepy show...doesn't hurt that Dean Winchester sounds just like my husband..HA! 

My kids and I love going to Subway but I don't really like all the kids' bags that come with the meals. I know they are supposed to be reusable but they are too small to be useful and they have odd handles that aren't easy to use. 

I took a pair of DR's old jeans and cut up the legs into rectangles. 

I saved the back pockets though. I have a whole stash of them because I know I can use them for something....someday. I just don't know what. 

Break out the glue gun!!! 

Dang! Where did all my glue sticks go? It wasn't too long ago when I bought a package of 100! 

Ah...now I remember..Yip's Iron Man! Man...I'm going to have to make that boy buy his own hot glue sticks from now on! 

Luckily I didn't need to much glue. I hot glued the raw edges under. 

Then I hot glued it over a hanger. 

After I cut off the bag handles I glued the bags on the denim. 

Not too shabby and all done before Dean and Sam salted the evil spirit! 

Hopefully Yahoo will flow with the idea and I won't have arguments every morning over what she's wearing to preschool!  

Goodbye Indiana, Hello Kansas!!

Whew!! What a wonderful trip we had. The kids Yip, Yap, Yahoo and I just returned from ten glorious days in Indiana visiting family. The weather couldn't have been better. It was in the 70's with mild breezes. Even a rainstorm didn't ruin the vacation!

Oh, and the pictures and stories I have to share with you! First flight on an airplane, wooly mammoths, Children's Museum, water and mud (hooray!!), new twins, crawdads, and the horror of the blood sucking insects that Indiana is full of!!! Yap is convinced that Indiana is an awful place considering his body is covered with mosquito bites. Poor kid. I've got to admit the mosquitos did seem especially drawn to him.

The funniest story I have to share with you is about a leech, imaginary of course. We visited my brother in law in southern Indiana. The kids had a blast playing in his woods and the stream that meandered through. Yip was sure he saw a leech in the stream. (I really doubt it! :) ) Anyway, on Sunday my sister and I were driving the kids to church we were explaining how leeches were sometimes used by doctors on infected wounds. From the backseat Yahoo forced a fake cough and then said, "Mommy, I'm siiiick. I need a leech."
HA! Too dang funny!

Anyhow, we had a great trip but I already miss trees, green and ALL my Hoosier friends and family!
 More pics to come!

Flower Bouquet and the Egg Yolk Room

Yahoo recently wanted to paint and boy did I jump on that! She never wants to paint which is so different than the way Yip and Yap were when they were 4 years old. When they were this age we painted all the time. But the other day she had it in her head that she wanted to paint and she wanted to paint on coffee filters. First she merely wanted to draw on them with markers and spray them with water.

A cool project if you can get kids to color the entire coffee filter, which I knew Yahoo wouldn't have the patience for (since we'd done it before) so I convinced her paint was the way to go.

Pull it together, a twist of the pipe cleaner...

...a gorgeous spring bouquet.

She was being just a bit silly with the camera trying to hide from me. Goofy girl.

Have you noticed my new walls yet? Yep, I finished painting room number 2 in my house a couple weeks ago and now I'm trying to get it all back together.

DR isn't too fond of the color I chose. He says now he knows how it must feel to be in the middle of an egg yolk! I didn't think it was that bad. It does make the room feel lots bigger.

What do you think of my corner shelves? I did have a bookshelf in that room where the kids kept art supplies and those corner shelves sure opened up the space. I found a great tutorial on how to build them.  The problem is...my house isn't square...HA! I made them fit but if any carpenter took a close look they'd be greatly disappointed in me. 

This room is pretty much done except for this wall. I'm just not sure what to put here. 

Next up...my kitchen. And guess what, it's going to be yellow too!! Another egg yolk!