Ordinary Life

RyeBanana: "Are those REAL bananas?! They're made for Minions. :: hugging the baby bananas:: I just love these ban-na-knees!"

Rye is all about the Ninja Turtles these days. We haven't seen the new movie, but she has brothers who are more than happy to dig up old media for her. Her favorite is "Mikey" but she's no fan of the color orange, so she often calls him 'the yellow one'

...because we ran out of pink 'Squirt Paint'...temporarily:

There are various ways to make seed bombs. We chose the method that used materials we already had on hand. It was one of the cleaner options as well.  Start by choosing seeds that grow well in your area. A quick glance at 'native' plants may be helpful.  Put scrunch tissue in a large bowl - this scrunchy filler can often be found in the gift wrap section of your local Dollar Tree (and possibly lingering in the bottom of any recently received gift bags) If you have a paper shredder, you could recycle the collected shreds or make your own shreds using colored paper.    (gotta make time for BigSib Photo breaks) Toddler helper optional but highly encouraged.  Pour water into the scrunchy paper. You may wish to add layers of color separately to prevent dyes from blending.  Mush the paper together until it will hold shape, then drain excess water:  Mix in seeds:  Roll paper to form jawbreaker sized bombs (or larger if desired) Paper can also be pre...

We made a cat!  No, not THAT cat~ another cat.  A paper mache cat.  Look, if you ever want to work on control issues- do paper mache with a toddler. Whether you need to work on not having to be in control or operating from a place of more self control, getting creative with a tot is sure to help...at least confirm the issues are present. What follows is a pictorial journey from two balloons, some newspaper and flour paste to a new paper friend that follows us around everywhere... except the pool... I had to put my foot down on that :) Pasting strips of newspaper around balloons.  DRYING No one has to teach them these things... she just knew how to paint herself... and she enjoyed it. We were killing time with creativity while waiting for the paste to dry...she was SUPPOSED to be painting paper.  A cat begins to take shape...  ...and a mess. It's always a pink cat she wants...  Staying busy with the 'squirt paints' while Mom works on the smaller detail...

 Rye's art & snack session was set up like this.  Look closely at those pencil leads, it will be important later.  Sugar is brainfood...it was a perfectly nutritious snack...stop judgin' me :)  Sprinkles make ya sweet... ...and Sprinkles are inspiring!  Yes...just a shirt & training pants... it's what works for us...  ~Sugar Lips~ Okay, time for the story.  I bought a container of sprinkles in hopes of convincing Riley to broaden her culinary horizons. Currently, she and Buddy the Elf share a similar palate .  Yes, sprinkles are made of sugar too, but if you shake them over, say, Mashed Potatoes or Chicken Nuggets then sugar becomes a lesser ingredient. Especially when compared with most of her current preferred favorites, like "Big Chocolate Cupcake Cookies" (a.k.a. Reese Cups) and Pink Ice Cream.   It isn't an exact science, but it has met with some success.  So, Riley had a little bowl of sprinkles during her art and sna...

Riley paints with PINK .  And more PINK .  Occasionally Purple or Teal .  But mostly, PINK .  This is what we do not care for: watercolors Here is what we prefer: Glitter & Acrylics

Sleepy Cat (needs a nap)  Start with a clean candy tin. We used a miniature one.   The pillow and blanket are made from ribbon.   Sleepy Cat is two pieces of felt, hand stitched together; wide awake wiggly eyes on one side, snoozy sleeping eyes on the other.  Snoozer is Sleepy Cat's teddy-mouse. Smaller felt scraps stitched together, again with differing eyes to denote asleep/alertness.  A small story book and a ball of yarn for playtime.  All put together...  ...and portable...