Children Should Be Seen and . . . Heard

Lutece made a couple of Christmas presents for us at school this year, and far from being your typical school-made presents, they were really neat and, in the case of this calendar, quite funny.

Lu's teacher, Ms. Vest, created calendar pages with well known expressions on them. The first half of the saying was written out, then the children were to fill in the second half on their own. Even when Lutece knew some of the expressions and completed them as you'd expect, the pictures indicate that she didn't *quite* understand them:

I believe that's an "iron rod," and in case you couldn't tell, it's hot.

Look at the "underestimation." Tsk, tsk. Only four. The correct answer is seven. (She was studying estimation in math at the time.)

That's a buck. He's stopping at the farm, because, hey, why not?

There was also:

Don't bite the hand that . . . hurts. [It already hurts. Why would you bite it?]

Better to be safe than . . . hurt. [duh]

If you lie down with the dogs you'll . . . be bitin.

The pen is mightier than . . . the words.

Laugh and the whole world . . . has joy!

And that's the truth!

Homemade Puff Paint

Phoenix and I made homemade puff paint for art last week. It's a fun activity that we've used before (although I can't find pictures in the archives, I'm almost positive I've posted on it).

It's particularly fun because the kids get to make the paint before they use it.

Phoenix went the abstract route.

He wanted to show me how the paint really "PUFFS" up.

Sometimes more than others.

When Lu got home from school, the little ramekins filled with "paint" were still out on the counter, so she got a turn at it too.

Although she opted for a more representational style.

A fun winter project for kids trapped in the house WAY more than they should be.

Origami Obsession

Origami is my new hobby. It's so fun to create amazing little things out of one simple piece of paper. It can also be very calming. (Oh, and I can do it while I'm watching junky television in the evenings when my brain and body are exhausted from child-rearing.)

I find animals to be the most interesting. Things that look so easy to make are quite challenging to a novice like me.

And the kids love waking up to new animals to add to their origami menagerie.

I've also found, through checking out numerous books from the library, that not all origami sensei are make equal. Some books have impossible directions. Like I said, I'm just a novice.

Not to mention that origami paper is not cheap. I used a chunk of my Amazon birthday money (thank you, Mom) to buy some origami paper.

But then you finish a little figure, and it's so lovely.

I made this last one just for Courtney. Enjoy!

Snow Painting

We had two snow days last week. TWO!! For three inches of snow. Don't these district people realize they are stealing our summer away from us day by day? Actually, I'm sure they are acutely aware of it, but what can you do?

If life gives you snow . . . paint on it.

We filled water bottles with water and lots of food coloring and, VOILA, paint.

I thought they'd try to make pictures, or even paint words. Nope. They found ways to thwart my "artistic" designs. The yellow dye became dog pee. Red was blood. There was pee and blood all over our yard.

Luckily, they soon became bored of that and had fun making designs, spinning around in circles, you name it.

Fun for a snowy afternoon.

Weird Science

About three months before Christmas (maybe longer), Lutece decided she wanted a chemistry set. She is infamously single-minded about toys/gifts and never varies once she's asked for something, so about a month and a half before Christmas, I told my Mom to get her a chemistry set. It came in the mail and I put it in the basement to await Christmas morning.

Then, about a month before Christmas (whilst driving four hours home from Tennessee at Thanksgiving), Lutece ran through her Christmas list. No chemistry set. Maybe she just forgot. "Lutece," I asked, "I thought you wanted a chemistry set for Christmas?" "I do NOT want a chemistry set, Mom." She was very adamant (and, sadly, I was not very understanding). But since we were in the car for three more hours, I pressed. She finally admitted that she was scared that it would be dangerous and that she might "blow up the house."

I'm not sure where the fears sprang from, but they were real. If you know Lutece, you may know that she is very cautious and VERY concerned about all things dangerous.

I spent the next month assuring her that all would be well, that a company would never sell something really dangerous to kids, that Mom or Dad would always be there to help her, that, that, that . . . She was unconvinced, but, darn-it-all, she GOT that chemistry set for Christmas (many apologies to Grandma Terry who most definitely did not win the best gift prize).

Last week she finally got up the nerve to use the set, and she asked me to help her with a couple of experiments. She was, however, firm that we all use gloves and wear goggles. Seriously, she wouldn't allow Phoenix to come near the experimenting "station" without safety goggles on. Since only one set came with the package, we improvised.

And all went well. The house did not blow up. No one burned off a chunk of skin. In fact, the first couple of experiments were so tame as to be . . . dare I say it? . . . boring. Yesterday we made a litmus solution though (it had to rest overnight), so we'll see what kind of CRAZY, WILD stuff we can do with THAT!

Bag of Beans

Perfect spot for reading.

Christmas Vacation

Christmas vacation is over, the decorations are put away, the tree is sitting on the curb waiting for trash pick-up, and the kids are back in school. Only the memories linger. Sigh.

It was great to have family here for Christmas this year. Tim and Liz flew in with my mom. Scott arrived a couple of days later. We sorely missed Courtney and Aaron, but know their trip to Mexico took the sting out of their pain at not being here.

This year was the year of the iEverything. Tim and Liz were always willing to lend their iPhones to the kids for playing games. My children now know how to work an iPhone better than I do.

For Phoenix, the gift of all gifts was a random item I'd told Scott to get him called Snap Circuits. I wasn't sure he'd like it, but it looked neat. I kept telling Scott not to feel bad when Phoenix didn't like the gift at first. Turned out to be one of his all-time favorite gifts EVER. If you have a boy, honestly, this is THE toy for him. It is AWESOME.

There was lots of good food (if I do say so myself), and thankfully, lots of leftovers (and sadly, lots of extra weight put on).

It was a great holiday!

Boy, am I glad it's over.

"I would like some snow for Christmas, at least 1/2 inch."

That was what Lutece asked for in her letter to Santa, and Santa, being who he is, sent a huge blizzard to the northeast. We just caught the outer edges of it, but we woke up to this on Christmas morning.

Christmas afternoon, everyone bundled up (by everyone, I mean everyone but Scott and me :) and went for a walk to the hill at the elementary school to do some sledding . . . I can't be sure, since I was back at home.

Sadly, the snow was deceptive, since there was still an inch of ice underneath it from the ice storm that battered us the week before. Phoenix kept trying to climb up the hill, just to slip back down on the ice.

I'm told that everyone kept telling him to use the stairs . . . but he thought better.

One slip too many produced a small cut on his nose and a very sad boy, although I wouldn't have known it since he came home very wet, but happy.

"Why won't they stop taking pictures and come help me?"