Arts and Crafts

One thing I really liked about the kids being in daycare was the constant stream of neat crafts coming home.  Every day they were doing something different (some cooler than others).  I think I'm fairly crafty, but I also find myself resorting to just coloring with the kids more often than not.  So this week, I've been making an effort to do more hands on crafts.  It's been pretty successful.  Tessa and I made these Olympic rings the other night before bed and displayed them over the wall calendar in our kitchen.  We are looking forward to watching the Olympic games.  Lifetime has a mini kids Olympics tonight that Tessa is participating in, so I wanted to get the idea in her mind ahead of time.  These were created using Magic Nuudles.  Pretty cool product and very kid friendly!

 While this isn't much better than coloring, we did some chalk on the back patio yesterday.  Tessa (and Mommy) created this: From left to right it is Anna, Avery, Tessa, and Morgan on their way to Disney World.  Apparently they do not need an adult to take them.  They will ride by themselves...

 We peeled the paper off all our old crayons and melted them into new, round ones.  (To use to color, of course).

 And today we did a nature walk to find beautiful things.  Then we painted them and are going to create a little nature book using their painted objects once they dry.

 Morgan's work:

 Tessa's work:

 And lastly, a Pinterest copy.  I used some old plastic Easter eggs to make an alphabet matching game.  On one side of the egg is the capital letter and the lowercase match is on the other side.  Tessa sat and matched them all up and was very focused the entire time.  I worried she would easily figure out that she should just match the colors, but she didn't figure that out and really relied on the letters.  Maybe Morgan can start learning his letters soon too.  Right now, we're working on counting and all his colors.

So there you have it, arts and crafts for the week.  Perhaps I'll do another craft post next week!

Home Depot Truck Workshop

I posted last month about the free Home Depot workshops.  The July workshop was this past weekend and the kids thoroughly enjoyed building Penske moving trucks.  This one was a bit more intensive of a build, so I was glad Daddy came with us this time.  Tessa and Morgan both enjoyed painting their trucks and applying the official "Penske" stickers at home once the paint dried.

If you've never taken your kids and think they would enjoy it, the workshops are at every Home Depot the first Saturday of each month.  Next month should be even more spectacular, as they were passing out handouts advertising face painting, temporary tattoos, games and such.  So more than just a craft.  Should be fun!

Basement Time

Honestly, hanging out in the basement right now is almost like having new toys since we've been outside so much and were kind of forced inside this week with the ear infection/heat wave combo.  Tessa wore her dance recital costume.  A lot.  And danced to an Angelina Ballerina CD.  She is quite the little dancer (as long as we are in the comfort of our own basement).

 Morgan also enjoys playing dress up.  Unfortunately, it is usually with girl dress-ups.

 

 He's still doing that odd head-tilt thing when you ask him to smile.  But really, could he be any cuter?

 And here is a little Palmer sibling fight going on.  In true form, they were fighting over one of the stupidest things I can imagine.  Morgan wasn't the door open and Tessa wanted it closed.  And of course, tears and whining followed.

Speaking of whining, any tips for whining?  My lovely, beautiful four-year old whines more than any child I have ever met.  I love her dearly, but it is exhausting.  Everything from what I serve for breakfast to not waiting for her at the top of the stairs to go down, to her favorite pair of pajamas not being clean leads to a whine.  I have tried positive reinforcement, sending her to her room, taking away things (both activities we were planning to do as well as favorite toys) and nothing seems to work for longer than a day or two.  She has so many times (and even some entire days) where she is so sweet and nice.  I just want that more often!  Suggestions?

The 4th

We didn't really do anything of great significance on the 4th.  That was the day we discovered Morgan's ear infection, so we kind of hung low.  We went to the gym in the morning to work out.  We went to the movie theater in the evening to see Madagascar 3 (free tickets, thanks Bruce!)  For dinner, we grilled out some nice steaks at home and played outside in the shade for a bit with sidewalk chalk paint.

Really a great, low-key day, though I'm sad to say we didn't even stay up for fireworks.  Tessa fell asleep on the way home from the movie and I laid in bed until Morgan fell asleep, which meant I also was passed out pretty early.  Maybe next year?

Heat Wave

I would be perfectly happy to spend every summer day in the pool.  I love swimming.  I love being in the water when it's hot, and generally, my kids love it too.  Unfortunately, Morgan has been doing a bit too much of it and got a NASTY ear infection on Wednesday with blood dripping out of it and all (sorry if TMI).  So, we've been filling our days with activities which are not water related.  This has been somewhat difficult considering the heat wave in the midwest where it has been over 100 every day.  We tried riding bikes at 8 a.m. one morning and were sweating profusely after only a few minutes.  So here are just a few of those things which kept us busy this week:

Playgroup Tuesday was the Loveland Castle.  It is so close to our house, yet we had never been.  The kids enjoyed exploring the castle and lunching with friends down by the river.  It was a cool place to visit. 

 I also saw this on Pinterest.  A back yard "car wash."  Believe it or not, this kept them entertained for almost an hour and it wasn't too bad in the shade. Morgan was obsessed with washing only his Tow Mater car (which talks).  Afterwards, it no longer talked, so we told him it needed new batteries.  Oddly enough, the next day Tow Mater started talking again, so now he is carrying it around saying, "No new batteries, Mommy!"  Love it.

 We also braved the zoo on Friday morning.  It was definitely hot, but we drank lots of water, stayed in the shade as much as possible, and enjoyed feeding the birds, goats, and giraffes.  Tessa was a bit scared of feeding the animals after her run-in last time (A goat ate a hole in her skirt on our last visit), so she mostly hid behind me while Morgan fed the various animals.

A fun week!  Very much looking forward to next week when the forecast isn't nearly as unbearable.  A week in the 80s sounds nice.

Finished our Photo Book!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Water Girl

Guess who swam all the way across the pool without touching the bottom?  She's been swimming for awhile, but couldn't figure out the breathing.  Mission accomplished!  This is only the end of her length, as she started before I was ready.  Now we just need to get her to go the other way and she'll be able to go on the slide at LifeTime.  I'm so proud of my little swimmer that I took her to Menchie's last night to celebrate!

And so I don't forget some of those cute moments and things they say and do, here are two of my favorites from yesterday at the pool:
1) Morgan dropped his toy airplane to the bottom of the pool.  I said I would get it and Tessa interrupts, "No, I will get it for my brother.  Tessa to the rescue!"  Cute, cute, cute!
2) Morgan wanted to go to the baby pool in our neighborhood (which is within sight of the big pool).  As I was climbing out to take him, Tessa said, "Mommy, you stay here and sit by yourself.  I will take Morgan to the baby pool and play with him."