Summer ideas to do with the kiddos!

The boys brought a little booklet home from school that gives different websites that are educational, so over the summer they can "play" on them and retain what they have learned, and possibly learn something else. Fantastic idea! I decided to go on the computer and check some of them out. I only got to the first one, and I am in love. It has crafty ideas for all ages, and science projects! I'm sure there's more but that's as far as I've gotten so far, because there's too much fun stuff to do!!

http://www.sandford-artedventures.com/

My favorites bar is going to refuse to let me save anything else pretty soon. I tried one of them out with the kids yesterday, and it was a huge hit!

Here's how to do it:

1) Get a plain piece of white paper. I think I would use a thicker paper other than just printer paper next time. Freezer paper would be great, since the back is waxy and it would be stronger. But if you don't have it, plain ol' printer paper DID work.

2) Color the paper in completely with different colored crayons. Fill ALL the white in. Warning, it gets very tiring. Might have developed a bit of Carpal Tunnel just doing 3 papers. This would be a great step for the kids to do. =)

3) With black Tempura paint, paint the entire paper. It looks like it's not covered when it's wet, but let it dry and you can cover spots that are kind of thin. I thought I'd have to do 2 coats of paint, but I was very surprised that when it dried, most of it was actually black. I only had to do touch ups on a few spots. It took overnight, then half the next day to dry....Maybe if it was in the sunlight or if it had a fan on it, it would dry faster. You could always just do 2 coats, if you want. Make sure it is all covered that way. If 2 coats are your thing, definitely use thicker paper to prevent tearing when you get to the etching part.

4) When paint is completely dry, have them etch out a picture in the paint. They can use a popsicle stick, a toothpick, their fingernail....anything. Then you just hang up the picture after, and enjoy!

Here are my boy's pictures....

Ben's jet

Nick's picture of Chicago

Nathan's bee and flower

The other Art website they gave was:

www.metmuseum.org/toah/splash.htm


Have fun!

P.s. I made these magnets too, but that's another post if you want it. =)

Ticks = GROSS!!

Not all vampires look like Robert Pattison!

Ticks freak me the heck out! I never thought too much about them before this month, other than I knew they could give you Lyme disease. And really, all I knew about Lyme Disease is that it could make you go absolutely crazy like the girl from The Real World many years ago. In one of the only episodes I ever watched, a brunette girl flipped out on one of her roommates, started beating on him and dang near foaming at the mouth! Then when confronted about it, she blamed it on the fact that she had Lyme disease. Sob story ensued, etc. After seeing that, I made a mental note to steer clear of Ticks.

Tick bite = Lyme Disease = Certifiably Nuts

But it really wasn't until I recently watched a Animal Planet show on Moose from Alaska that cemented my fear. I don't know why we were watching it, except I remember wanting to show the kids how huge moose actually are, and then we all were totally sucked into the awesome moose information flying our way. We are weird like that I guess. So anyway, part way through the show they showed how these tiny little flea size ticks would crawl to the top of these tall weeds, and wait for an unsuspecting moose to pass by. When they did, the little vampires would attach themselves and then suck the 900 lb. moose dry. Thousands of these itsy bitsy bugs could literally drain it's blood until it died!!! And seeing them all engorged just made me want to puke. Completely lose my lunch all over the room, and vomit up everything I have ever eaten-or will ever eat! I had to look away. I couldn't stomach looking at the screen with all those bugs on the dead carcass. But that was it! I was creeped out by seeing the massive amount of ticks, now I have developed a very real fear of the little crawling leaches.

Then two weeks ago when I went to pick up Alan and the boys at a friend's house, after they had gotten back from camping, it only got worse. Living out in the country has certain perks, but a serious downside is these gross bugs. I don't know if their dog went camping with them, or it got them from the yard alone-all I know is I watched as our friend pulled one after another off the dog, and smashed them between two boards. Let me tell you, these boards looked like they belonged in a crime scene! They were so bloody, they honestly could have been murder weapons. He said he had pulled off some 30 or so ticks from this poor dog, and he was finding more every time he looked. I have no idea how this dog was even moving with all the blood he had lost. I was horrified, and totally checked the baggage and the kids all over for them when we got home.

I am terrified to let the kids wander outside, go in the woods, or even grass that is taller than 3-4 inches. It is a full blown phobia at this point. One that I don't see getting any better, anytime soon. Not until we move out of the country, at least . Until then, I will live in fear of finding bugs burrowed into my children that I can't just pull out because their heads will remain in them. Why is that necessary?!? I have to put a burning match up to my kids' skin to get it off? Seems a bit extreme. So instead, I just don't have the boys go where ticks might hide. Freaky little predators, hopefully will never meet me face to face. I honestly don't think I could handle it. Instead of helping my offspring, I might in all reality, run away from them instead. Not very maternal of me. I hope to never have to cross that bridge. I'd like to have the kids think they can count on me to be brave in every circumstance. Let them wait a few years to find out that I'm a total wuss when it comes to certain gross bugs. Ignorance is bliss.

Blind-Folded Portraits....

So, I got bored today and was looking through a little book I got at the dollar store that talks about "52 Date ideas for Married Couples", and got to one of the ideas that read "Be Art Critics". For some reason just looking at that put this idea into my head, that I had to immediately try. I walked out to Alan and informed him that I was going to blind-fold him and he was going to draw me. He was a little skeptical....

Me "I'm gonna blind-fold you, and you are going to draw me."

Alan "Why?"

Me "Because it will be fun. Come on."

(I grabbed the brand new industrial roll of paper I bought to entertain the kids when they are home)

Alan "For who? This doesn't sound like fun." He grudgingly followed me to the bathroom door, where we would be doing it.

All the kids who were in our room watching Toy Story 3, came out to see what we were up to.

Me "Ok, you are going to draw me. No peeking."

Then I put my flashiest pink ribbon over his eyes and placed him in front of the paper, crayon in hand. The boys were so giddy with excitement they could hardly stand it. I guided his free hand over the paper so he would know where the edges were and not draw on the door.

He drew a tiny circle.

Me "Draw it bigger."

He drew it a tiny bit bigger, pretty much over where he drew the first circle.

Me "Bigger."

He drew it a tiny bit bigger, again over the same spot.

Nick "You keep drawing it in the same spot, Dad!"

I moved him over a few inches, and used his free hand to demonstrate how big I was thinking. He started drawing, and so did the fun. Ben and I were laughing silently, Nick just threw care to the wind and was openly giggling. Pretty soon, Ben and I gave up and joined Nick in laughing hysterically. When Alan finished, he pulled the blind-fold off, and chuckled along with us. Here is his masterpiece:

Nathan thought he drew a zombie, and was therefore scared of it. The older boys started saying they wanted to do it too. But first, my turn....


Ok. I must say, I WAS blind-folded, but we were using crayons so I had an idea of where I had drawn. Before drawing, I would swipe with my free hand to feel where the crayon was so I had some clue where things should go. Not technically cheating, really-but I'll use a marker next time to even the playing field. Here is Alan, through my prettily covered eyes:

He does not wear ties nor bring me flowers, but it was a lot of fun. The boys all did their own drawings of us too. I think we started a new tradition, because this was a very entertaining for all, even doubting Alan. I highly recommend it for family nights, date-nights, or just because. I think we're going to do self portraits next time. =)

Now the kids' pictures....

Ben drew Alan.

Nathan drew both Alan and I.

Nick drew me.

Oh, Etsy.......

I love Etsy.com! It is wonderful that there is a place where crafty people can sell their goods, and you can find some truly unique gifts. BUT, that being said....I think some people over-estimate their skills. I find things on there, that look like a toddler drew them, and they are priced about $68.00! Come on.......Really? Did somebody tell you they thought you could seriously get that much for your glued together bedazzled Popsicle sticks around a 3 inch picture?

I am honestly amazed at the prices some of these people are charging! I found a T-shirt blanket on there, and I will admit-I fell in love. I have always wanted one and the effort on my part is too much for me to do one at this time. And this one had funny t-shirts, and old school ones that represented my youth. It was deep, fast love that radiated from my core, and left me in awe. BUT It was so fleeting it made my head spin. I nearly passed out when I saw the price. I was speechless-but not in a good way. $695.00 + s&h. Let me repeat.....$695.00 + S&H!!!!!!!!! Does it fly like Aladdin's carpet? Did it have magical unicorns sewn in that serenaded you to sleep the second you pulled it over you? Was 24 karat Gold thread used? I am hard pressed to come up with anything that would be worth paying that much for, especially something that is smaller than a couch.

Here, I thought the whole point of this site was to get your stuff out there to a broader audience, and make some extra money while doing it. I love, love. love when people make some cool little baubles AND make them completely affordable! I will support them. Not greedy, unrealistic jerks. I do understand the time and energy it takes to put some of these things together, as well as the cost of the materials. Being a crafty lady myself, I get it. But, I also think that some of the people out there highly mis-judge how valuable their time is.

Joke is on me I guess, because my beloved king size T-shirt blanket was no longer on there the next time I went to the site. Though I scoffed at the price, somebody else clearly had a little more to spend. Either that, or the seller realized it was a crazy price, put it on sale and someone snatched it up. This is one thing that I am really envious that somebody out there owns, because they are not me.

To all of you who are out there charging extravagant prices for your trinkets that I could make myself, just know this-I am. I am stealing your ideas, making it myself (probably better), for cheaper and I don't fell bad at all. I'm probably giving it away too-For free. Quit being so greedy.

Nathan-ism's

Nathan drew big dinosaur footprints on the wall with sidewalk chalk. I said, "don't draw on the walls. If you want to draw, go get some paper." His response, "but Mom, dinosaur footprints won't fit on paper!"


 

 

Nathan: “Mom! Miles is on the table”

I get him off the table, and say, “No, Miles!”

Nathan “He doesn’t go on the table ‘cause he’s not food-right, Mom?”

Turns to Miles and scolds “Miles, stay off the table! You’re not food!”

Nathan: Mom I’m a good pooper!

 

Nathan: Mom, my teeth are mad at me.

Me: Why?

Nathan: Because I ate dirt all night long.

Me: Why would you eat dirt?

Nathan: Because you wouldn’t feed me.

Nathan looks at cousin Dave, confused, then asks....”Why are you so black?”

Dave “because I’m your Black cousin Dave.”

Nathan: “Ok. Are you going to let me fish with that?”(Dave was fixing a fishing pole)

Dave “Yeah, but not right now.”

Nathan runs excitedly over to the end of the dock where I was and yells with his hands in the air..

“Mom! I’m going to get to fish! Just not right now!”

Me: ”Ok. Yay!“



I am so mean.....

Me, "Nathan, take these toys and put them in the toy box."

Nathan, "But I'm so thirsty mom. I need water..."

He proceeds to drape himself backwards over his dad's chair like he has no energy left in his whole body.

Me, "Do it now, I'm serious."

Nathan, "But I'll DIE if I don't get water. DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE?!?!"

Me, "Yes, I guess I do. If it means you don't get water, and you walk these toys over to the toy box. Right now!"

He sits up, looking shocked and horrified.

Nathan, "I can't believe you want me to DIE, Mom. Geez!"

Then he grudgingly takes the toys and puts them in the toy box, managing not to drop dead of dehydration while doing so.....

Hello Skype, my name is Tammy. Now What?????

I have joined the world of Skype. Although, to tell you the truth-I have no idea what that means. Friends have been telling me to join for years, it seems, and I have been resisting. I am completely dense when it comes to how things function. I am always the one that has set up the TV's, DVD players, computers, and phones-but that is mostly because I like to play with things, and I have played with enough wiring to get an idea of how to make things turn on. That's it.

I finally broke down when Alan's sister and niece told us they were on it. They live in Chicago, and Indianapolis and we really never get to see them. His family has never even seen our last 2 kids, other than in pictures. Video chatting seemed the way to go. So I got on the computer, and signed up.

Skype though, has me stumped. When I signed up, it had me put my cell phone number in. This is completely useless, because my cell phone doesn't work here. We live in the country and if I want to send a text I have to wave my phone around like a lunatic until I get the tiniest hint of a bar, and then I hold the pose-no matter how uncomfortable, or psychotic looking-until I get the "Sent" message, and all is clear. The only 2 times anybody has tried to contact me via Skype, they have called me on my cell. And both my best man buddy, and my awesome oldest brother have been promptly cut off due to my horrible service.

I added my home number to my profile, but I don't even know if it gives the option of them calling that. Are any of you Skyper's able to help me? This is supposed to be a good way to chat with our long lost family and friends, but if I can't get a handle on this I don't know how it's going to be of any use.

A, B, C's of Me........

I got this idea off of one of the blogs I read, and I figure it is a great way to get back into blogging, with very little effort to come up with a topic. Works, right?

A: Age. I am currently 33, though most of the time I don't know that. Mentally I am in my 80's I suppose, and not for the cool, intellectual reasons. For the pre-Alzheimer's-warning-sign kind of reasons.

B: Bed Size. We have a king, but it clearly isn't big enough. Once you add in the morning creepers (Nathan and Miles) I am always on the edge about to fall off.

C: Chore you dislike. All of them. Mostly the ones that involve putting things away, picking things up and the kitchen (if I had to narrow it down.)

D: Dogs. I like dogs. Labs are probably my favorite, but I just don't want any.

E: Essential start to my day. Waking up, is the most essential. After that, anything goes. =)

F: Favorite color. I love blues, browns, and greens. If it's in nature (color of sky, grass, water, dirt...) I love it.

G: Gag reflex triggers. Brushing my teeth triggers my gag reflex. Every. Morning. I was made fun of my whole life by my dear little sister, who then married a guy who does the same exact thing. Karma.

H: Height. 5 ft 7 1/2 in. of fun

I: Instrument I play/played. I played trumpet from 4th grade to 9th. Then I hurt my knee, and switched to percussion; the mallet ones. Marimba, xylophone type. I can dink around on the song flute, and right hand of a piano but not very well.

J: Jelly belly flavor. Root Beer and Watermelon are the ones I always try to steal before anybody sees them. I also like grapefruit.

K: Kids. Benjamin-8. Nicholas-6. Nathan-4. Miles-23 months.

L: Live for _____. Right now, I honestly live for the times when my kids get along. When there is peace in the house we have a lot of fun, and enjoy each other. I just wish I could have it a little bit more. I live for PEACE.

M: Most read book. Pride and Prejudice, and Catch 22. I've read those over and over through the years. They are my "go-to" books when I want to read something.

N: Nickname. Mom, Tams, Tamers

O: Overnight hospital stays. Only when I had the 4 boys. I loved those little vacations while I had them. Someone cooked, cleaned, and I got to sit and enjoy my baby all I wanted, watch TV, nap and take daily showers. They were fun while they lasted.

P: Pet Peeves. Oh, dear. I have a long list. The condensed version is as follows; people who chew with their mouths open, ignorant people, people who judge others based on their looks, people that don't listen, whining in all forms, idiotic drivers, people who use 'there' instead of 'they're' or 'their' (same goes for your & you're), stepping on melted ice cubes while wearing socks, wet towels on the bed.......that's enough for now. (Thank you Katie for 2 of those)

Q: Quote from a movie. "If what I think is happening, IS happening........it better not be." Mr. Fox's wife from Fantastic Mr. Fox. I can't remember her name, but I love that line. Also, Simon from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel. "You might as well be rooting for truffles in the French country-side because you are, in fact, hogging!" Random funny quotes from the kids' movies, that make me laugh no matter how many times I hear them.

R: Recent time you cried. Talking with my sister on the phone today, because I missed her. I don't think she knew I was though.

S: Siblings. Aaron, Jason, Julie, Jeremy, Holly, Travis, Wendy and Adam.

T:  Time you go to bed. Usually anywhere from 1-4 am.

U: Ultimate Date. I would Love, Love, Love to go on an overnight date where a beach, hotel, and a picnic were included. I'm a girl, what can I say? A romantic evening is my fantasy.

V: Vegetable. I LOVE canned asparagus. Is that weird? I HATE it any other way. I also love cucumbers, sprouts, olives, squash and zucchini.

W: What makes you late. My kids!! They can never find their shoes, jackets, backpacks when they need to. Someone usually has to go to the bathroom on the way out the door (#2), and HEAVEN FORBID they NOT walk out of the house with 25 toys in their little hands!

X- X-rays. I have had some on my ankle, finger, and arm when I broke them. I don't remember if I had them on my knee, but I did get them on my back when I was hurt at work.

Y: Yummiest food you make. Probably the cheese zombies. Those are a crowd pleaser every time. Also, my Death by Chocolate cookies get requested quite a bit.

Z: Zoo animal you must see. I love looking at all of them. I will stay as long as it takes to make it around the entire zoo if I can. I probably like going to the zoo more than the kids do.

Now that you know me a little bit more, do you still feel the same way about me?

Finally!

This is the first night that I haven't had to put the kids to bed in.....um, huh-I actually can't remember. Putting them to bed takes forever. For. Ever! I lay there........and lay there...... and lay there-hoping that every time it's quiet for 3 minutes together, that my prayers have been answered and they are asleep. Then the giggling starts, or "can I watch Max and Ruby now?" It sucks having the 2 young ones in our room. I always have the false hope that they will go to bed easily, and I will actually be able to get up and blog. Nope. If I am mean, and turn off the TV, then I usually fall asleep before them. When I put on stuff they aren't interested in, AKA my TV shows, then I can't hear anything over their loud protests for cartoons, water, or me yelling at them to lay down for the millionth time. So I bite the bullet, lay with them while they are watching Max and Ruby, or Wizards of Waverly Place (the one where Max is a girl), and play Angry Birds on my phone for hours until they both finally pass out.

Why are they in our room, you ask? Because this house is so old, I don't think that insulation was invented when it was built. It is literally freezing, "see your breath" cold in their room at night. The older boys used to be separated to go to bed easier, now they have to sleep in the same room for the body heat. They both sleep on the same mattress of the bunk bed (twin size) and cuddle, When I check on them later, I put 6 blankets on them when they are sleeping, so they don't kick them off. Our room is the same. Freezing, but we also stockpile blankets in there. We may as well be sleeping outside. This way we have 2 heaters running at night to heat the rooms we are in, instead of one in each room. I would probably have a stroke if I saw the bill after that. I am a serious heat Nazi. If I see a heater plugged in, during the day I freak out. We learned the lesson last Winter when we were very care-free with our heaters. The nearly 2 month size electric bill, for one month of use almost did me in. The guy told me that even if the heaters aren't in use, they draw a lot of energy just from being plugged in. So started my daily (hourly) "unplugging quests" in the house. It has made a difference.

Anyway, I am going to end this, because I am in one of the un-heated rooms. I honestly can't feel my fingers or toes right now. I am typing like I have hooves. Shivering like I'm having an epileptic seizure. I miss blogging, but until it heats up-I'm not sure how much I can actually get done. It's bad for my health. =) Stay warm, everyone!!

Doesn't this make you feel warmer just looking at it?

Call from Santa

Christmas Eve my 2nd boy was being NAUGHTY. He was torturing my 3rd, just for fun. He was completely ignoring everything he was told to do, and doing everything he was told NOT to. He was hitting, yelling, whining, and talking back. I told him over, and over, and over that Santa was watching him and wouldn't bring him anything. He acted like he couldn't care less. As we were pulling up to our house (after a  horrible trip to Albertsons) so that we could drop off the groceries before going to my Mom's house-I just lost it. I screamed like a banshee that I was absolutely sick of his behavior, and I was going to be calling Santa to tell him to not bring Nick anything. That seemed to hit home, because Nick immediately started crying, and begging me not to. I told him that since he didn't care about his brother crying-I wasn't going to listen to him either. I was definitely calling. I was super mature, I know.

So I went in the house and called my friend Malcolm, who lives in Australia, to see if he could play Santa for me. I couldn't reach him. I stayed in the house and put away the groceries while the kids were in the car because I needed to calm down. Nick came peeking around the corner, to see if I was calling, and was quickly told to get in the car "right now!" After a few minutes I went out to the car, and told them I had left a message with the elves, because Santa was flying and would have to call me back. The kids were all in disbelief.

"Did you really call him?"

"Yes, I did."

"Is he really going to call back?"

"Yes. He is."

"You didn't mention me, did you? Just Nick?"

That was Ben. Making sure he wasn't on Santa's 'S' list. Nice kid.

So we got to my Mom's house, and I sent Malcolm a message on Facebook, but who knows when he would get that. It was Christmas already there, and he had family visiting. So I went on to "Plan B". I told my sister and Mom what I was thinking, and they suggested my brother in law. So I called my sister in Louisiana, but Justin was sleeping (he works nights). Luckily my brother Travis was there and said he would do it.

I told him to tell Nick he was "Very disappointed in him for how he was acting, and how mean he was being to his brother." I said to say that he was "on the naughty list, but that he has one more chance to do better." Santa would be checking in with me sometime during the night, and it would be up to ME if Nick got presents or not. I told him the rest of the kids may want to talk to him, so be prepared. Also throw in some geographical location in, so they would know where Santa was. Then I hung up, and waited a few seconds for him to call back.

When the phone rang, I answered it, and said, "Oh, Hi Santa! Yes, Hold on a second..." turned to Nick, "Uh, oh Nicholas. It's Santa. He wants to talk to you....."

Nick's eyes got huge, and he slowly walked to the phone.

"Hello..." He quietly said into the receiver. He looked at me, to which I shrugged, raised my eyebrows in my best "I tried to tell you..." serious face, and turned and walked into the kitchen. I barely made it in there before I met my mom's gaze, and we both started cracking up.

Travis was very convincing, and firm but kind-just like real Santa would be. Nick won't tell me everything he said, but I pretty much had to pry the phone out of Nick's hands so that the others would have a chance to talk to him. Nathan got on, and was told he was on the "Good" list, and "Santa" sang 'Santa Claus is coming to town' for him.

When I went to hand Ben the phone, he panicked, and was like "Why do I have to talk to him?!? I wasn't bad!!" I almost lost it. I had to try very hard to not crack up as I told him to just talk to him for a second. He was also on the Good list, and was happy afterwards to get to talk to him. My niece Darby listened to him for a second, and then ducked away from the phone. My other niece Kyra, was very serious that she did NOT want to talk to him. I grabbed the phone and told him "Thank you for taking the time to call, because we knew how very busy he was."  After saying goodbye, Nick was like "let me see the phone. I want to see the number he called from." Thankfully I know this phone well, and hit delete very quickly. I said he could look if he wanted, but it won't show up because he's magic. Nick was astonished to see that the only number showing up was my home number from when I called to say we were on our way. As he was looking at that, I quickly deleted the number from the other phones as well.

Afterwards, they were all so excited about talking to him. Ben and Nick, who had been questioning his very existence a few weeks earlier, were now 100% sure that they had just talked to the man himself. Nathan, Kyra, and Darby were jumping around, holding hands and singing "I'm on the GOOD list, I'm on the GOOD list." Nick was telling people he was on the Naughty list, and trying to have a brave face, but was really on the verge of tears. (Sometimes you just have to crush their little souls a tiny bit.) Is that completely awful of me to say? I was about to do something physical to him after the day he had put me through, so why not wage some mental warfare?

Ladies and Gentlemen-I am SOOO happy to report that it worked! When I asked them to do something, they jumped up and did it. I had them clean the front room, and they did it without complaint. A first!! There was little to no fighting for the rest of the day. They were cheerful, and helpful right up until bedtime. Nick started acting up a little then, but I think it was just the excitement of Christmas-so I let it go. Santa calling was a brilliant plan, born out of desperation. I am so thankful that my awesome brother was able to pull out his best "Ho, Ho, Ho" deep voice and scare the crap out of Nick so he'd behave.

This was after "the call". They were behaving so we made a cookie wreath. Thanks, Mom for the stuff!