Ordinary Life

" Everyday is a School Day (And That's The Way We Like It!) "  is our intended mentality, but our reality includes new back-to-school activities  every now and again.  It helps us pretend that we aren't weird home schoolers every day... only most of them.  It also gives us a window of time to measure progress for our required annual review.  One Year Ago:   Now:   I took a lot of photos intending to hopefully luck into a few good ones to share, but to haven't found the necessary time or focus to sift through or edit photos, so here we are, squinty eyes and all...Scroll quickly....

Dear Ms. Ann M. Martin  &  Ms. Laura Godwin, Please imagine for a moment that you are four years old and your mom has recently finished reading " The Meanest Doll In The World " to you. One fateful day, you walk into a thrift store with her. There, in the midst of clothes, shoes and well-loved toys is a dollhouse as tall as you are. (Remember, you're 4... )   But it isn't just any dollhouse, no. It is THE dollhouse. You know this because 'KATE' is spelled across the roof in bright red vinyl. (You can't actually read yet, but you're working on it. Your mom tells you what the letters spell but of course, you already KNEW this was Kate's house the moment you spotted it.) Your mom believes it must be destiny because... I mean, what are the odds? So she texts your dad, because it cost TWENTY-FIVE dollars! (Twenty five dollars that will prove to be only a small down payment in the grand scheme of things... have you ever looked in a minitures c...

    I let my full weight fall against Burger King's heavy glass door and pushed against it. By nature a fairly passive person, I knew the door would absorb my unusually forceful shove with no loss of dignity. I even imagined it welcomed me a little. Better doors than people. (or...doors are better than people?)    We were en route to the bedside of a very sick relative and I knew we may not make it in time to say good bye.    Over the course of the morning, I had morphed into a tiny black rain cloud, prone to outbursts like thunder claps and sudden showers that washed away any semblance of "strength".     Once inside the ladies room,  I wiped away what streaked mascara could be budged and sighed a prayer of "please".    I wasn't praying for extra time. I wasn't praying to get there. I was praying for peace and that all would be well with my uncle...soul wise...you know..." It is well...it is well...with my soul ." And I wa...

...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...