Lipstick on a….. LITTLE BOY!

While Abby is away at MDO, Nathan finds fun and interesting ways to entertain himself. Today he found a tube of my lipstick and decided to try it out:

After I cleaned him up, we rigged up a little fishing pond for him to play with.

Tools needed: Part of the floor gym, a towel, a stethoscope from the doctor kit, a magnet and some tape, and all the fingernail clippers and door stoppers in the house:

He enjoyed catching them and throwing them back into the “ocean.”

A Mild Day In August

I can not get over how cool the weather has been this month! Last August we were in drought conditions but this month has been so delicious in the weather department. (If this is caused by “global warming” bring it on! :lol)

We had some friends over yesterday afternoon and with it being so wonderful outside, we decided to have a tea party. The four of them sipped chamomile tea with honey and ate grapes (and a fiber bar cut into bite sized pieces) while Abby “read” to them from a book of poetry.

After they finished {spilled} their tea, they decided to play “Little house on the Prairie.”

The children picked a few of the bird-pecked green tomatoes and squash out of the pathetic little garden (I’m glad the produce is getting used, at least!) and I brought them some things from the kitchen – a cutting board, measuring spoons and mixing bowls. They were most excited about the flour that I brought them in a big glass measuring bowl (I don’t think Ma Ingals had access to pyrex but we can pretend, huh?)

They set about chopping squash and tomatoes with butter knives, making biscuits and “mixing powdered milk” which they delivered to me at a cost of $10! (It appears that gas prices are affecting everything, even imaginary play.)

They had a great time. I certainly hope their mother lets them come back to play soon and wasn’t mortified that she had to pick dried “biscuit dough” off of their arms, legs, and faces once they got home!

Guess what we did today!

We started our garden! Well, sort of.

We went to home depot nearly 2 weeks ago to get things to start some plants for outside.

I got the “Jiffy” peat pellet greenhouse that you just add water to and then plant your seeds in and you have a little greenhouse indoors for a few weeks before transplanting the sprouted plants outside.

We soaked the seeds and planted them (finally!) and I am so excited about this little “science” lesson!

We planted zinnias and morning glories for our flowers, cantaloupe, cucumbers and pumpkins for food and Bruce also requested Silver Queen Corn. (We’ll take that over to Mr. Lynn’s farm and plant it there somewhere as I am fairly sure that our pretty restrictive HOA would frown upon a bunch of corn stalks growing in the back yard.)

I’ll post here with the progress!

And here’s what else they did today:

Nothin’ like bangin’ on some pots and pans!

Well, why not!?

This morning Nathan woke up soaked in pee as he has every day this last week. (I have *heard* that this means that they’re going through a growth spurt. I totally believe it! He is eating like a MANIAC lately rather than being his picky self and he FEELS heavier.)

Anyway, we headed straight to the bathtub and decided to make an activity out of the out-of-the-ordinary-morning-bath. It’s chilly in the house today and the bathroom was cozy so we parked it in here for a while. (And yes, I am blogging from the comfort of my very own bathroom.)

Abby and Nathan have both been digging the paints lately, so I brought the watercolors and 2 paintbrushes in here.

First – they were very deliberate. Abby was very Bob Ross like in her explaining of each detail of her brush strokes. Nathan was delicately dipping the paintbrush in and then making *tiny* dots on the wall. Of course as time progressed, they got more confident in their artistry and began to paint all over themselves and each other. Nathan got downright crazy and was painting wildly with bold red strokes by the time I decided that we needed to empty the (now blue) bathwater and clean up – the tub and the kids. We got out the sprayer full of vinegar and lemon juice / water and cleaned up the walls. Then – onto phase 2 – The Bubble Bath!

We’ve spent nearly 2 hours in the bathroom this morning and they’re STILL having a blast. (Yes – our water bill may be a tad bit higher but we’ve been cozy and having fun!)

They’ll be squeaky clean as we head off to the library here in a bit!

Here’s a few pictures of the morning’s events!

(Now off to Google to see if sitting in a bathtub full of diluted watercolors is harmful to my children’s’ health! Guess I should have done that BEFORE we started! Maybe I’ll get crafty and make some of our own paint for next time.)

Another use for…

Pantyliners!

Abby often sits with me in the bathroom while I get ready to go somewhere and it’s become a challenge to keep her occupied as she gets busier and more inquisitive.

Sunday morning while I was getting ready for church she opened the cabinet doors under the sink and found a package of pantyliners.

“What’s this, Mama?” she asked. A common answer to this question by me is, “I don;t know, Abby – what do *you* think it is?” She took it out if it’s little wrapper, examined it for a bit and announced, “It’s a weally BIG band aid, mama!” and then of course proceeded to place several of them on the little “hurts” that often find themselves all over a little active 2 year old body. She had them on her forehead, her knees and attempted to get one on a scratch on her back that she got from running into a desk (for the zillionth time.)

When she got done using them as bandaids, she decided they would make nice stickers and placed them all over her little red chair.

"My mama is sooooooo…"

“inventive.”
“cheap.”
“beautiful.” (just threw that one in for fun )

Nathan was laying on the floor just starring at the sky – a little bored. I thought “I wish I had one of those things you put over them with all the toys for them to reach for and play with.” But being my inventive (cheap ) self, I thought – “There’s got to be something around here that would do the job just as good.” – So I looked around and eyed the kelty that Bruce uses to take Abby for ealks and thought that just might do the trick. And it did! I put it on the floor over Nathan and he instantly started reaching for the straps and playing with them. Then I got EVEN MORE CREATIVE (cheap) and hung some toys down through the leg holes – a play stethoscope for instance.

We try to give Nathan some tummy time each day but he’s not real fond of that. We’re lucky to get 3 or 4 minutes before the protest cries begin! He does still love to be in the swing and takes most of his naps (and night time sleeps) there.

He’s giggling like mad and has started caressing my face and hands and , of course, boobs while we nurse.

12 and a half weeks! 3 months this week!

One of her favorite spots

Abby sits in this basket full of books and toys and will entertain herself for a half hour or more.

It’s really a beautiful thing!

Toys are really over-rated.

We just don’t buy too many of them – And who needs them when you’ve got bathtubs and sinks and baskets and bottles and brushes and dishwashers and spoons and curlers and blood pressure machines and decorative fruit and cousins and uncles and……

The toy basket

Her most favoritest place lately: a laundry basket full of toys and books.

All you need is…

Cheerios and a big bathtub.

This kept her occupied for nearly an hour today.