End of 2012; Beginning of 2013 Review

So I haven't post a weekly review for a couple weeks now mainly because we have been busy with family and just fun stuff!  Most of my review will just be pictures (please excuse some of the first ones; my good camera got left at home).

A dance party for their cousins birthday!

A few Christmas gifts.

 

The girls playing with their favorite gift, so tiny Breyer horses. 

Family visiting means lots of games.

And general goofing off.

But the girls did have to do some reading.

Eli got tracks for his cars!

And the girls got to stay up and ring in 2013!

We had quite a bit of snow.

And lots of fun in the snow!

 

 

I think they have had a pretty good time this past couple weeks; it may be hard to get back to normal this next week! But we will get back to normal! I hope you all have had a good holiday break!

Silent Sunday

Mismatched Sock Drama

For some reason mismatched socks are popular again, and my mom bought the girls some for Christmas.  I didn't think they would go over well with Bria who has always tended to be a bit OCD. I mean at 9 months old the kid refused to eat cheerios if they were broken! She has gotten better, but is usually pretty insistent on things matching.

After I washed them and gave them to her to put away, she brings me one sock and says, "I want to wear this; where's the other one?" So I try to explain to her they are mismatched socks, there is no other one, that is how they are supposed to be worn.  She replies with exasperation, "That's weird." I tell her she can still wear them, and she continues to insist she needs a matching one.  

I called her Mimi and asked if she can somehow find another set of Bria's socks because she really wanted to wear them. In the meantime I convinced Nadia to put hers on.  Finally after about 15 minutes of telling Bria that is how they are supposed to be and Nadia saying, "They're cute!" Bria tries hers on.  She was still reluctant, but she did decide they were ok.   I guess sometimes peer pressure can be positive.  She even wore the second set the next day!

I would say maybe there is still hope she won't be as crazy as me (they drive me nuts even on other people), or maybe not since they have set in her drawer since then.  

Shaving Cream Paint

The girls LOVE to play with shaving cream in the bathtub; I had to work up the courage to add in the food coloring to make paint like Having Fun at Home did.  I don't know why I was so hesitant, As long as you clean immediately after it doesn't stain the tub. It does however stain children.  Luckily the girls weren't too worried about the pink hands!

There is really no big secret here.  Put shaving cream in a bowl and add the desired amount of food coloring. Mix and Paint!

The girls started with brushes.

Then they used hands.

Then they realized they could write in it!

This kept them busy for quite a while, but they practically needed another bath by the end.  I would definitely recommend playing first, rinsing off the tub and then bathing.

Paper Cone Wreath

Instead of being productive this morning, I decided to make a new wreath for my front door.  It is loosely based on this one from The Thriftress.  I couldn't find the exact materials I wanted, so mine ended up being an oval.

Basically you start with a bunch of coordinating paper. I used a small stack of 6x6 scrapbook paper. It was already a coordinated and double sided. 

Then you roll them all into cones.I had 24 pieces of paper, so I had 24 cones.  More paper = fuller wreath.  It would be best if all the cones were the same, but I didn't have time or energy for that today!

I found a small picture frame in a matching color and put a piece of scrapbook paper with an M inside it. Then I hot glued the cones to a small picture frame. It was a little difficult getting them to fit right; this is where having them all the same would help.

I did the four "corners" first and then filled in the rest.

I tied a pretty ribbon to the actual hanger on the back of the picture and hot glued another piece of paper over al the mess on the back.  You wouldn't have to do this if you aren't going to see the back, but our door has windows.


 Even with my lack of attention to detail I think it turned out pretty cute.  If you had some time to put in and make all the paper cones the same size it would probably be awesome!

One Word 2013

I have never been into New Year's Resolutions, so I just don't make any.  A few weeks ago I saw a post from Melanie at Only a Breath on her one word for 2012.  She saw such improvement with her one word and was graciously offering to make free One Word Buttons for anyone who wanted one.  I started thinking about what word I could concentrate on all year.  What was one thing I wanted to work on.  I initially came to priorities as the perfectionist in me struggles to see what is really important every day.  Slow down (I know its two words) was an option along the same lines.  I thought and prayer about them each, but they didn't seem right.  I kept coming back to the word LOVE.

Matthew 22:37-39  "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

The first part of this verse isn't the hard part for me.  I LOVE God and strive to follow him in what I do.  Of course there is always room for improvement, and I am always trying in that aspect. It is the second part that gets me. Sometimes people are so unlovable. I should know because I am too.  Sometimes it is hard for me to love me! That makes it even harder for me to show LOVE for other people even if I feel it.

So this year my one word is LOVE.  I want to constantly remember that although the people around me may annoy me, hurt me, or even upset me, I do love them.  Just remembering that can change my attitude. And changing my attitude can change my action.  This applies to the random people I meet as well as my kids and husband.  Probably more to my kids and husband as they tend to see the worst of me.  But even when I am upset I want them to know I LOVE them.  I also want to work on loving me.  This is a really hard one with my OCD tendencies.  I tend to measure my worth in accomplishments, and when things aren't done I look down on myself. This is definitely a problem with three kids because nothing is ever done!  I need to see my worth despite that and LOVE myself.

What is your word this year? If you haven't chosen one, I would urge you to join me and try concentrating on just one word. Then this time next year we can look back and see how far we have come.

Fireworks in a Jar

Fireworks in a jar is another experiment I pinned in the summer and just found a reason to try.  That reason of course was our New Year's Eve Party.  I used this little experiment as one of the activities in our balloon countdown.  The girls loved it! We did it over and over, and it was A LOT warmer then outdoor fireworks! 

I tried to do it like they show on I Can Teach My Child, but it didn't work for me. So we found our own way!

To start with you need a clear container, the taller the better. Fill the container about two thirds full of water (this is not at all exact, but you need some room on the top) and add a layer of oil on top.  The oil doesn't have to be extremely thick.  We used anywhere from 1/2 inch to and inch of oil.

Now you just need to drop liquid food coloring on top of  the oil. The white binder was only there to make the colors stand out more for my camera. We did it a few times without the binder as well.

The food coloring is water soluble, so it will not dissolve in the oil.  Instead it will make its way through the oil into the water where is dissipates, coloring the water. I really like the drops of food coloring suspended in the oil.

 The firework part comes in when it enters the water. The food coloring enters as a drop and then balloons out forming a shape very similar to the large aerial fireworks.

Just keep adding colors until the water is completely colored.  This is where the taller container comes in; the taller the column of water the longer it takes to color!  Then rinse and repeat!