Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Reusable Grocery Bags


A LONG while ago I purchased these bulk commodities and instead of throwing away the sacks (the way most sane people do), I kept them in hopes of creating bags out of them. For months I worried that Pinterest had turned me into a hoarder with all their posts on up-cycling common place items instead of sending them to the landfill. Why was I keeping trash??? Thankfully I finally got around to remaking them into simple reusable grocery bags. I love them. I'm excited to try them out on my next trip. Let's see if they hold up as well as I hope!

Monday, June 26, 2017

Summer Crafts


In an effort to make three months of summer break manageable and enjoyable for all concerned, I created a tentative schedule for each weeks' activities. Each week contains a park day, a friend playdate day, a local outing and an out of town day. Monday is grocery shopping and laundry day, but to make it fun for the kids, it is also craft day.

The kids actually really look forward to craft day, and this week's project was bendable fishies. I tried to let the kids be in charge of their own fish as much as my Type A personality would allow. I wasn't perfect, but the eyes they cut out all on their own were just as precious and the concentration on their faces while accomplishing the task.





Sunday, June 18, 2017

Father's Day 2017

Boy Howdy and Cheeks brought home the following from Primary today. I'm kind of in love with Boy Howdy's responses to Matthew's job (somehow it makes him sound as though his job is to play video games in the basement all day), his superpower (Matthew has recently mentioned his inability to throw up, though I'm not sure where the airplane came from), and who he loves more (poor Cheekies). We definitely had to capture these for the future.

Matthew would like it to be known that he likes being a dad.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Preschool Graduation


Today was preschool graduation. It was a fairly short program which included the kids sitting for circle time, singing songs and getting up one by one to share their career aspirations. (You can tell Boy Howdy is SUPER excited to be sitting in between two girls.)

I started getting choked up until the kids started singing and Boy Howdy just stood there like a lump. I know he knows the words. When Cheeks sings the songs at home, Boy Howdy often jumps in to correct her wording and motions. But, that day, for whatever reason, he opted to stand mute (kind of like the above picture). Cheeks made a little more effort.

When it was time for the kids to share their aspirations for the future, most kids (there are a lot of girls) said princess, butterfly, fireman. There were a lot of princesses. So when Boy Howdy got up and said "scientist," Matthew BEAMED with pride. Cheeks was the last to get up. Just two days before she randomly told someone at church she was going to be a doctor. I was so smug thinking my children would be the cool kids in class, so imagine my sorrow when she also claimed princess. I may have died a little.


I'm glad they had the opportunity to share a preschool class this year. It will likely be the last time they do. And I'm glad they had such lovely teachers. They always seemed genuinely entertained by the kids and I never worried that they weren't being well cared for by these two women.



Edit to add: I have been talking a lot to Boy Howdy about having to go to Kindergarten. This boy does much better when he has a clear understanding of what's coming next and has had adequate time to prepare his expectations. But with all the talk, I guess I failed to stress that between his last day of preschool and his first day of kindergarten is a three-month break called Summer. Tonight (Sunday) during family prayers, he prayed that he would enjoy Kindergarten in the morning, that he wouldn't be so scared and that there would be other kids his age, 5. He hasn't expressed his concerns to Matthew or me, but it has obviously been weighing on his mind. I love this boy. As intense as he can be at times, he still has such a tender little heart. By the way, he was beyond excited when we let him in on the beauty of summer vacation. Hooray!

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Cheeks is Her Own Little Person

Every day I am struck with the singularity of this little one's personality. The way she flits through life with her own special enthusiasm brings me almost constant joy and amusement. Eating is one such way she often shows her unique flair. Sandwiches are often completely dismantled with peanut butter and jelly scraped out with a finger before the forlorn bread is eventually consumed. Tacos are eaten one topping at a time. 

Breakfast is no exception. On one occasion she took to threading a kebab stick with her tootie fruities. A week later she decided to dump them out onto a napkin and lap them up one by one with her tongue. 

Part of me just wants her to eat her meals without her shenanigans, and parts of me revels in the creativity with which she approaches everything she does.



Saturday, June 3, 2017

Cheeks Draws

Cheeks has finally broached the world of non-abstract expression. All of her artwork as yet has been abstract to the extreme. She loves arts and crafts, something her preschool teachers tell me, but it has always been seemingly haphazard work to the outward observer. I have been eagerly awaiting her first forays into recognizable drawings. This morning, I asked her to draw me. Her result was completely endearing. Hooray for cute faces with big eyes, fuzzy hair, thousands of fingers, and ears that hover around the chin area. I think I may have even gotten earrings and a necklace. Ooh la la.