tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9594884375189334752024-02-18T17:42:51.498-08:00Small Hands in the Big WorldLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-46599483171929549942012-10-02T22:16:00.000-07:002012-10-02T22:16:06.027-07:00We've MovedPlease come see what we've been up to at the NEW (and hopefully vastly improved) <a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.com/">Small Hands in the Big World</a> site and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear your feedback.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.com/">new site </a>should load faster, be easier to search, and look better. What do you think? Was it worth the move from Blogger over to WordPress?<br />
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Learning WordPress has been much easier than I anticipated and I'm loving all the ways to customize my site. Uploading images doesn't don't seem to slow things down the way it did using Blogger and overall, WordPress appears to be a more sophisticated tool.<br />
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One disappointment was that importing my old posts hasn't been easy--they came out all garbled when I used the "automatic" import. However, I am transferring them over individually so everything will be in one place and you'll be able to easily search for projects or entries you may have enjoyed in the past.<br />
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Please <a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.com/">come on over</a>, take a look, and leave your comments. I love hearing from you and am so curious to get some feedback.<br />
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Thank you,<br />
LizLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-60293144620575438932012-08-15T22:04:00.001-07:002012-08-15T22:04:26.060-07:00Shaving Cream and Sunshine
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Who knew that a shaving cream project would be so perfect on
a hot summer day? Apparently my kids did because they took this shaving cream
idea and ran with it… literally.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It started as color mixing in Ziploc bags. One
generous squirt of shaving cream plus a drop of food coloring per bag made for squishy
fun as they watched color distribute throughout the foam. Knowing this would
not satisfy their curiosity, I brought out two plastic
containers on a tray (as if that would help contain the mess… ha!), reminded the
kids that my birthday is coming up and asked if they would please decorate a
cake for me. They didn’t get it at first but as soon as I cut a small triangle
from the corner of each bag, their eyes lit up and they knew exactly what to
do. The colorful shaving cream was fabulous fluffy frosting for my “cakes.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgool6Xd3KR4XOXlX-Q3O1C-UOUguNHLeCo8HJQJ9DtO2sDIyViIMy7MaYwevSvkIPQvA9LAZa8BW7sT-A2-FQFutdUPwdF8N_-J7w-HDvJI5jY_6DJOaZGItlIeIQb65yoElZKrjRqxXsm/s1600/FoamCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgool6Xd3KR4XOXlX-Q3O1C-UOUguNHLeCo8HJQJ9DtO2sDIyViIMy7MaYwevSvkIPQvA9LAZa8BW7sT-A2-FQFutdUPwdF8N_-J7w-HDvJI5jY_6DJOaZGItlIeIQb65yoElZKrjRqxXsm/s400/FoamCake.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYmRrcPobPXY6ceeHT9YvYolGZwwciwXjn3XUiZ3mfdGTcKao_YuefKyxjjoTFiwRy9AgfLyPPcduos1EVahu0tS208PJboaOQEkAGcyGrOB0eIgMcuJzY-mJvD6pL41RmZWYwOR3iQ63/s1600/FoamCakeWill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYmRrcPobPXY6ceeHT9YvYolGZwwciwXjn3XUiZ3mfdGTcKao_YuefKyxjjoTFiwRy9AgfLyPPcduos1EVahu0tS208PJboaOQEkAGcyGrOB0eIgMcuJzY-mJvD6pL41RmZWYwOR3iQ63/s400/FoamCakeWill.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Layer upon layer of pastel shaving cream covered the
containers. Sara was more interested in building height with her “frosting”
while William focused on details with a pattern of little blue peaks he
created with his fingers. At this point he decided that hands were a far superior
“tool” for cake decorating.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9YIzENgm281ATsfA81jEpOhINdQg_x0xu8BjeFDgQSagWWg1Z9QH9Sb5tYwd1e2uwVtABjQ-Hx6LWFMBNw4IQuqTW38QjN94WBRoGiUQecFU0CwNu8VtW6BsaWDJKGwdVCa9MVmDwNg_/s1600/FoamFingers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9YIzENgm281ATsfA81jEpOhINdQg_x0xu8BjeFDgQSagWWg1Z9QH9Sb5tYwd1e2uwVtABjQ-Hx6LWFMBNw4IQuqTW38QjN94WBRoGiUQecFU0CwNu8VtW6BsaWDJKGwdVCa9MVmDwNg_/s400/FoamFingers.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiT87eZfycKs51BreL26dxCeOCQI0b4lvwk_eR5dqOaC1MxsBpRPiQ1lfbKar4TGqYblFpaQh8vM7F5s1vKBHSxj60-xJrgo6BOUT4uPlWpFSjT7CfK1Q6KeRDGK7FWOQ7ir6OPR9v4R9q/s1600/FoamSplat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiT87eZfycKs51BreL26dxCeOCQI0b4lvwk_eR5dqOaC1MxsBpRPiQ1lfbKar4TGqYblFpaQh8vM7F5s1vKBHSxj60-xJrgo6BOUT4uPlWpFSjT7CfK1Q6KeRDGK7FWOQ7ir6OPR9v4R9q/s400/FoamSplat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sara followed suit but her technique was less delicate and more SPLAT</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before long, their hands were covered which inspired the next phase of this project. I knew it was coming...</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15CcdO957rHEEKh8fIUIBjFaBCw3HTXaoqOKkqQVN8EYG80e_ljbatdj7UWtIOAJo8kTfa-X6oqnFzFr00ngaNrAumc5phR43IBfyAgyzHQzRzupBkp0J0PkcyORPpHXDkk51YUKSBpsM/s1600/FoamHands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15CcdO957rHEEKh8fIUIBjFaBCw3HTXaoqOKkqQVN8EYG80e_ljbatdj7UWtIOAJo8kTfa-X6oqnFzFr00ngaNrAumc5phR43IBfyAgyzHQzRzupBkp0J0PkcyORPpHXDkk51YUKSBpsM/s400/FoamHands.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Look Mom, Foam Hands"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7XO7oOTzTY1rEv6Foycfkl63Z2Tcnzz90U396XZCheg584Msr1fT9B5qjzNIddw3Zkh4pgUhZREDfiDi5jN4CTk9LttXBrlefrDXfg9LySRqFGhWEQfLcPvDsiLZkjtnbRGy2jeE5pJZ/s1600/FoamGirlHands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7XO7oOTzTY1rEv6Foycfkl63Z2Tcnzz90U396XZCheg584Msr1fT9B5qjzNIddw3Zkh4pgUhZREDfiDi5jN4CTk9LttXBrlefrDXfg9LySRqFGhWEQfLcPvDsiLZkjtnbRGy2jeE5pJZ/s400/FoamGirlHands.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"OOOO, dis gives me an idea"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2Sp9rmY7IblU3Cnd9JEIPEdldfXOaE-_Lawu2tgEGnfxBR04M016YJF27U8H2J9HjvUoxMMJW2dFkUf3Kv0wn4xJYwBK2Ey8E39vUZ6TibQx0hJRI0TUtKlrE7IyD9BpqeJo44XwW1CP/s1600/FoamArmBoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2Sp9rmY7IblU3Cnd9JEIPEdldfXOaE-_Lawu2tgEGnfxBR04M016YJF27U8H2J9HjvUoxMMJW2dFkUf3Kv0wn4xJYwBK2Ey8E39vUZ6TibQx0hJRI0TUtKlrE7IyD9BpqeJo44XwW1CP/s400/FoamArmBoy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRpKyGYNht3jJ39U-8y-0LtwL7TA9070G2k0sZ7mnt7DskKITBfaoauddDD8wYxzbfC23vTvcj706F1SCQsw675WedexqniB5VGeTQoJ5dqC2_Nln1FYljW02h7yVvSeYxOC7Jgbw8IiG/s1600/FoamGirlBody.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRpKyGYNht3jJ39U-8y-0LtwL7TA9070G2k0sZ7mnt7DskKITBfaoauddDD8wYxzbfC23vTvcj706F1SCQsw675WedexqniB5VGeTQoJ5dqC2_Nln1FYljW02h7yVvSeYxOC7Jgbw8IiG/s400/FoamGirlBody.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqSQq4Zi_FADuDMxOiDNSZrwZIGTOuYu_nA7nAtW7xHY0UtiKeD905iiWgpNIq8Ut5BdzV5DjAm0K7WqoxWIhyphenhyphenSC_6Rg_TwzTdvsrkm-8121aldgkccFpNEpA1PMncUIugTU8atLeRGcu/s1600/FoamFace.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqSQq4Zi_FADuDMxOiDNSZrwZIGTOuYu_nA7nAtW7xHY0UtiKeD905iiWgpNIq8Ut5BdzV5DjAm0K7WqoxWIhyphenhyphenSC_6Rg_TwzTdvsrkm-8121aldgkccFpNEpA1PMncUIugTU8atLeRGcu/s400/FoamFace.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Up to their elbows in shaving cream and looking quite pleased with themselves, they took it to another level... and yes, I know, they <em>always</em> take it to another level.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciD8rKh1GuG8HOnozMXTzPUSubnUqHfZ5kjtN7ttoC4PxYyEo94RezpTqreY-4Is51v1bk8Hp7LMAq4lnFzPoAfpiYJVBuWPdBiPuCsCZvhC3Qe7k2j5qWBjb9JyLLELdLVu_0X-NdUpY/s1600/FoamBuds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciD8rKh1GuG8HOnozMXTzPUSubnUqHfZ5kjtN7ttoC4PxYyEo94RezpTqreY-4Is51v1bk8Hp7LMAq4lnFzPoAfpiYJVBuWPdBiPuCsCZvhC3Qe7k2j5qWBjb9JyLLELdLVu_0X-NdUpY/s400/FoamBuds.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46-MxBtDUjUOFrOgqoAsmYeufkipLy7BM3pK7IAdwmpNk4SLVls5rBL2WaH_7d42t9-uhnjYXd_732e8K5LteeKfPeEi5K4wChn2veMiG-DAN6_8DD2gVBE-YX8ABB_7NELdo5U8lZ6px/s1600/FoamFighters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46-MxBtDUjUOFrOgqoAsmYeufkipLy7BM3pK7IAdwmpNk4SLVls5rBL2WaH_7d42t9-uhnjYXd_732e8K5LteeKfPeEi5K4wChn2veMiG-DAN6_8DD2gVBE-YX8ABB_7NELdo5U8lZ6px/s400/FoamFighters.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foam Fight!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfOL7CijdOuXi8cBLk5WIqZkUO3hVYcwlKhGMTGDT02rg1c5pfltAahqmPGkf9OA67GGqHgeiDUrWNuGzOZa2EUaIc6LEf_kJhfaIVwTCfDS-xhoVT4DWwDJQ3Ha7QkOXnKghF1kA_UFg/s1600/FoamFreezeGirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfOL7CijdOuXi8cBLk5WIqZkUO3hVYcwlKhGMTGDT02rg1c5pfltAahqmPGkf9OA67GGqHgeiDUrWNuGzOZa2EUaIc6LEf_kJhfaIVwTCfDS-xhoVT4DWwDJQ3Ha7QkOXnKghF1kA_UFg/s400/FoamFreezeGirl.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Freeze Girl"</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0RBZLKfx0FlFOhdtNLLV3kxm-VjDgJ5wbfM3rwcmwhoKrXF4SuctcUPwW2VRJXWdkDOEChgmtWj4sL_weEFQ4-Ois_D0xiP-2eM7GLNopojQUsJeSR66mV9Cn79_yGeA8ZvjUhJ5JHYU/s1600/FoamPose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0RBZLKfx0FlFOhdtNLLV3kxm-VjDgJ5wbfM3rwcmwhoKrXF4SuctcUPwW2VRJXWdkDOEChgmtWj4sL_weEFQ4-Ois_D0xiP-2eM7GLNopojQUsJeSR66mV9Cn79_yGeA8ZvjUhJ5JHYU/s400/FoamPose.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's right, I'm one tough foam dude </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why was this so perfect for a hot summer day? The already warmed kiddy-pool served as the perfect spot for rinsing off when
needed and sprinklers made it even more exciting. I have a pretty high threshold for tolerating a mess but I was very happy this project took place outside.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6gJMkEeKKZYwXYaPCDhsf2KaF8u0rykuTwVoNApiedOCFx9vA9s6h0iKyy46seMoeEI2tQ2s1uwhcioHhUpqImXDmc7pdUNMZAAkazVj9zTziEkbV24ikNR7n1yUFw3M39xTYH9bc6gj/s1600/FoamSprinkler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6gJMkEeKKZYwXYaPCDhsf2KaF8u0rykuTwVoNApiedOCFx9vA9s6h0iKyy46seMoeEI2tQ2s1uwhcioHhUpqImXDmc7pdUNMZAAkazVj9zTziEkbV24ikNR7n1yUFw3M39xTYH9bc6gj/s400/FoamSprinkler.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-73666268375684390582012-06-16T22:40:00.004-07:002012-06-16T22:40:48.190-07:00The Wisdom of Daddy: Building Confidence<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On a
recent play date, my friend (a Dad) and I took the kids to Duthie Hill Park,
known for a remarkable mountain bike trail system. The 6-year-old “big kids” (my
son and his daughter) hit the trail on bikes with him while our younger ones
(girls ages 3 ½ and 4) walked with me. Our plan wasn’t specific but he
mentioned there was a big open space with a BMX track “in the middle” and they
planned to ride there a bit. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcUtzMdpPkOHVRowb8Wgi-oTdWexUjylClzlpyME06Pg2DHoSRcYbhrabtAh5cnajg9vVf7wfhVNRe2XsQFr5KeL8Uon9HefBlszW4qBpycggu4jZaYqLWi3GsTnPasDFZ7DKkZq4JIoK/s1600/SkaterDad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcUtzMdpPkOHVRowb8Wgi-oTdWexUjylClzlpyME06Pg2DHoSRcYbhrabtAh5cnajg9vVf7wfhVNRe2XsQFr5KeL8Uon9HefBlszW4qBpycggu4jZaYqLWi3GsTnPasDFZ7DKkZq4JIoK/s400/SkaterDad.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My "Dad Friend" with his youngest at the skate park, another exciting place he introduced us to</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
girls and I decided we would be “on the creature trail” (both are fans of the PBS
Kids show “Wild Kratts”) spotting slugs, fuzzy caterpillars, and even tadpoles.
We had fun shaking “snow” from the Cottonwood Tree seed pods that littered part
of the trail and pretending the dogs we passed with mountain bikers were
actually wolves. Then we became a wolf pack ourselves, all the while picking
and eating ripe salmon berries. It was lovely.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lovely,
that is, until we came to a fork in the trail and I was unsure of directions.
Straight ahead seemed the obvious answer but there was a massive wooden bike ramp/jump
built off to the side (“is that part of the BMX track?” I wondered). We had
been walking for a while and enjoying ourselves along the way but there were no
obvious signs that we were getting close to anything… I started wondering if we
were lost and I didn’t want to wear the girls out trekking along in the wrong
direction. Unsure of myself and completely unfamiliar with the location (no map
at the entry to the trail system so I didn’t even know if we were on a loop or
not), I wasn’t willing to risk getting lost (that was highly unlikely,
actually, but I admit it crossed my mind). Plus, I didn’t want cranky kids
begging to be carried as they dragged their feet back to the car if they became
too tired on the trail. All of these concerns were just banter in my mind… the
girls were getting along beautifully without a complaint in the world, I simply
couldn’t stop pondering the “what ifs,” so we turned around.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br /><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Meanwhile,
at the “so cool” (direct quote from my son, by the way) BMX track that we never
made it to, my son, his friend, and her Dad were happily zipping around the
track, catching air on jumps, banking corners and even falling sometimes but getting
right back up and having a blast. Do you think my Dad friend was out there fretting
about “what ifs” at the time? Um no, I don’t think so either… and that, my
friends, is the wisdom of Daddies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There
is a HUGE gap between my idea of what it means to take risks and a Dad’s idea. My
idea of “risky” activities with my kids is taking them kayaking (in a tandem
kayak with me and wearing a life vest, of course), letting them use a sharp
knife in the kitchen while I supervise, or rocking out with them to heavy metal
from the ‘80s (hey, some of those lyrics are dicey… and for the record, it’s
“Highway to Help” if my kids ask).<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This biking
experience reminded me of the time my husband finally took me to Red Top
Lookout with him and the kids. He had taken the kids there a few times before so
I had heard a lot about this incredibly scenic fire lookout station set high in
the Cascades. First of all, let me tell you that the view from there is
absolutely breathtaking, but second of all, let me tell you… Holy Flaming Treetops,
this lookout is literally perched on a mountaintop with perilous cliffs all
around! <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjck55J2pYOD1V886k3xhR3J4CsO7cqHJyGqDnL6b2cHxtnzJ3nVKkb09l5C6PZuNF8t9A8-gnfRxO0CF4L1U78MgSEPfGp4gDSJYznIOawNyTAutD5yxd3QPfpblq0YL3LRx-gOpbX0HWq/s1600/RedTopLookout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjck55J2pYOD1V886k3xhR3J4CsO7cqHJyGqDnL6b2cHxtnzJ3nVKkb09l5C6PZuNF8t9A8-gnfRxO0CF4L1U78MgSEPfGp4gDSJYznIOawNyTAutD5yxd3QPfpblq0YL3LRx-gOpbX0HWq/s400/RedTopLookout.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See? I wasn't exaggerating</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Personally,
I wouldn’t have considered this a kid-friendly destination if I hadn’t
experienced it with my own kids myself… and to think that their Dad brought
them here a couple times on his own (gulp). </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrvbapaomgX6kNba70q6A_iI00bEvrZPXMGMAH0s4hsmfp9xexr1mDOKbDcEKQD2Wsv0DNJ6pG2SwWlv-O7rHRf_P7wWJ91LdeRX7r__0zUu06lFyY0kmohBwY7p82t5PcTS2yqNqYuqc/s1600/RedTop1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrvbapaomgX6kNba70q6A_iI00bEvrZPXMGMAH0s4hsmfp9xexr1mDOKbDcEKQD2Wsv0DNJ6pG2SwWlv-O7rHRf_P7wWJ91LdeRX7r__0zUu06lFyY0kmohBwY7p82t5PcTS2yqNqYuqc/s400/RedTop1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a little break on the way up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuywVQCTAjDY1ALAYCQi8R0NU2k49s2L-9EIOEiBAAZx-Uk0wYoCaEicoYsiJKnfI0Gyz_VgEFbrxVCzkiALTl5VmqWAac1I7iCMS0TwC4c-aJCjBja96Vh7M7oItIB9u2V9by-8T8NZHr/s1600/RedTop2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuywVQCTAjDY1ALAYCQi8R0NU2k49s2L-9EIOEiBAAZx-Uk0wYoCaEicoYsiJKnfI0Gyz_VgEFbrxVCzkiALTl5VmqWAac1I7iCMS0TwC4c-aJCjBja96Vh7M7oItIB9u2V9by-8T8NZHr/s400/RedTop2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost there</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4oxTZOIfTqBZa0ECvOARPHb7yGT6k1M0U8bWB4sRE3OObJ5wzPMTAzWPSAalxNTBa-bHGRwTN4kDlNAN2AnmzEbAaN8VbA1uFkX58zuRX7geiXvvvdev93lPt1HPnJYd7SJWl9iccxvl/s1600/RedTop3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4oxTZOIfTqBZa0ECvOARPHb7yGT6k1M0U8bWB4sRE3OObJ5wzPMTAzWPSAalxNTBa-bHGRwTN4kDlNAN2AnmzEbAaN8VbA1uFkX58zuRX7geiXvvvdev93lPt1HPnJYd7SJWl9iccxvl/s400/RedTop3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeling on top of the world</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes, a lot of supervision was
required and it took great coaxing to get our youngest to walk herself up the
trail but they both did it and they both absolutely love that place, no doubt
proud of themselves for hiking a tough trail and exhilarated to experience the
fresh cold air and amazing views all around. Ask either of them about their
favorite hike and they’ll proudly tell you, “Red Top Lookout.”</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEVxHKp0UJKtHwisNk_tWqNr2rHJxrFYB8PPqVYBkyf7ErB-DgTu2e8k8tAuBdx2d71ezzcmbEnj5ZmVURiMhgKQHtCr7SMqLDlU7ZDCVixzOpDxxrzSsx5lDvsILw1MxpThEdkdxTTXz/s1600/RedTop4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEVxHKp0UJKtHwisNk_tWqNr2rHJxrFYB8PPqVYBkyf7ErB-DgTu2e8k8tAuBdx2d71ezzcmbEnj5ZmVURiMhgKQHtCr7SMqLDlU7ZDCVixzOpDxxrzSsx5lDvsILw1MxpThEdkdxTTXz/s400/RedTop4.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br /><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So on
this Father’s Day I’d like to officially thank my dear Husband, my “Dad-Friend”
Brad, and all Dads out there for all that you bring to the table but
particularly for the fun and exciting challenges you present to our kids. The
confidence you’re instilling in them will last a lifetime. Hopefully the air-guitar skills I'm teaching won't sink in so much. </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy
Father’s Day!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-59776864807064356882012-06-14T10:15:00.002-07:002012-06-14T10:15:51.648-07:00Fantastic FridayTomorrow is a big day. It's the last day of Kindergarten for my big kid ("graduation" is Monday), we go back to Jubilee Farm for our first Summer CSA pick-up, and (I saved the best for last)... it is my beloved Mother-In-Law's birthday!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOowkL78X_I9wLTcVHCxBVAmlcZjr9wPIBA1eN25anMu7JJ0MgDbTgAC8GQ8tkIZZm0FHN6-c2g1tqTXkmRqrzAvJaQbHd-U83RJsV9Ktr8QyCSL7C93yJwffh_zI_9pi2fvbsGgH0JmY1/s1600/BabyEllen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOowkL78X_I9wLTcVHCxBVAmlcZjr9wPIBA1eN25anMu7JJ0MgDbTgAC8GQ8tkIZZm0FHN6-c2g1tqTXkmRqrzAvJaQbHd-U83RJsV9Ktr8QyCSL7C93yJwffh_zI_9pi2fvbsGgH0JmY1/s400/BabyEllen.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is Baby Ellen with her Mom, she was sweet from day one!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I couldn't have asked for a better "second Mom" in my life. She is loving and supportive in more ways than I can count and not only do I love her as a Mom, she has become a dear friend. My kids are really close to their sweet "Grammy" thanks to all the time she has spent with each of them from the day they were born. <br />
<br />
Another thing I love about my darling Mother-in-Law is how wonderfully gracious she is. She doesn't care that I'm often still in pajamas when she visits in the morning, she doesn't expect me to be "perfect," she doesn't give guilt trips. Thankfully I also think she will forgive that a) I copied her idea for her birthday gift gift (she made a Shutterfly shopping bag for her Mom and it is receiving rave reviews whenever Great Grandma uses it) and b) I waited until the last minute to place my order. Sorry, dear Ellen, please see your "gift preview" below. I hope you know how much I appreciate you and how much we all love you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!<br />
<br />
<div class="sflyProductPreviewWidget" style="height: 494px; width: 425px;">
<div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetTop" style="background-image: url("http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/top.gif"); height: 6px;">
</div>
<div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetCenter" style="background-image: url("http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bg.gif"); background-repeat: repeat-y; height: 482px; padding: 0px 6px;">
<div class="sflyProductPreviewLogo" style="height: 34px; padding: 14px 0px 0px 14px; width: 105px;">
<img src="http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/logo.gif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: currentColor; box-shadow: none; padding: 0px;" /></div>
<div class="sflyProductPreviewContainer" style="height: 350px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0IaMmLZuxcsWmO&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET&eid=118"><img src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/prs/v1/0IaMmLZuxcsZ/0IaMmLZuxcsZfp/p/67b0de21b3127d902548/JPEG/1339693062000/0/" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: currentColor; box-shadow: none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>
<div class="sflyProductPreviewMessageContainer" style="background-color: #f4f4e9; height: 55px; line-height: 19px; padding: 15px 0px; text-align: center;">
<div class="sflyProductPreviewTitle" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">
Reusable Shopping Bag</div>
<div class="sflyProductPreviewViewCollection" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 13px;">
View the entire <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery" style="color: #6666cc;">collection</a> of cards.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetBottom" style="background-image: url("http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bottom.gif"); height: 6px;">
</div>
</div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-60038587973509241362012-06-07T21:10:00.003-07:002012-06-07T21:10:13.728-07:00Lava Lamp Fireworks<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-wc908GvH66rqLAkGPNqz8voGfXL9wLaYAgfJcNzsolloIItAfGcFS5ljuDNea_oZewoqkMViBcH7LHMvZ9X8oBm4kTzw0w6EA2vLsKBTucbSvoXkFLHrDofoDrP1YvLIOvRdtbrxyTf/s1600/Friends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-wc908GvH66rqLAkGPNqz8voGfXL9wLaYAgfJcNzsolloIItAfGcFS5ljuDNea_oZewoqkMViBcH7LHMvZ9X8oBm4kTzw0w6EA2vLsKBTucbSvoXkFLHrDofoDrP1YvLIOvRdtbrxyTf/s400/Friends.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We've gone from doing art projects when our lovely friends visit to doing science experiments. These young scientists still love to paint but chemical reactions get them even more excited--can you tell?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How I
wish the lovely blogging Rashmie from <a href="http://www.mommy-labs.com/" target="_blank">Mommy Labs</a> was my neighbor. I’d be
knocking on her door for play dates all the time… for the kids and for me. Besides
her incredibly creative ideas and inspiring stories, she makes every activity seem
like a complete joy. Alas, she lives half a world away, in India so I can’t just
drop by but I’m grateful for the brilliance she generously shares online.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mesmerized
by the photos and description of her <a href="http://www.mommy-labs.com/creative-kids/science_fun/display-of-diwali-fireworks-in-our-homemade-lava-lamp/" target="_blank">Diwali Homemade Fireworks Display</a> and thinking of 4th of July coming up, I
finally picked up some Alka-Seltzer and decided to give this experiment a try.
No, I didn’t have heartburn or acid reflux to take care of before doing a
science experiment with four kids ages 3 to 6, Alka-Seltzer is the “activator” necessary to
make this magic happen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In
addition to those magic fizzy tabs (any brand will do), all you need is some
clear glass or plastic bottles, oil (the type is up to you but the cheaper the
better since it won’t be usable after this), food coloring, and water. A funnel is helpful too. Use
approximately one part water to two parts oil (look at Rashmie's post for the right ratio, not mine, I was cheap with the oil) and anywhere from 3 to 5 drops of
food coloring (more is fine… and actually a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">must</i>
if you are 6 or younger so I learned). <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpeP91bcOqGUzT5s5hdGh5QA6gtKtXxEzAUqlw_VdMFNTKicoRjF8yFv0KhB8dy8oaFT0qkVO84o51CKyZd3c3-QsV3JUWeyJbzvhjDBU-bz7bt3nYPiEApjYRwutBkI7_gSRM_MaQrZc/s1600/LavaSupplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpeP91bcOqGUzT5s5hdGh5QA6gtKtXxEzAUqlw_VdMFNTKicoRjF8yFv0KhB8dy8oaFT0qkVO84o51CKyZd3c3-QsV3JUWeyJbzvhjDBU-bz7bt3nYPiEApjYRwutBkI7_gSRM_MaQrZc/s400/LavaSupplies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtx8F57T-kK12OpHA9r_j5jDrJvt65QRx7A5y819SFEoJWaqzUxDlb8lspUjwo8mZ_v1MNOlZFTFroofx4r-PwF6SWAuG5L1RGs-8pdkhZZM-toFni3RK1ITEWmlNZEpg5LLnbu-SPjBCu/s1600/LavaLamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtx8F57T-kK12OpHA9r_j5jDrJvt65QRx7A5y819SFEoJWaqzUxDlb8lspUjwo8mZ_v1MNOlZFTFroofx4r-PwF6SWAuG5L1RGs-8pdkhZZM-toFni3RK1ITEWmlNZEpg5LLnbu-SPjBCu/s400/LavaLamp.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Setting
things up was half the fun. Watching how the water plunged into the oil,
creating golden bubbles of all sizes was thrilling before it separated then settled at
the bottom. Droplets of food coloring were equally interesting to watch
suspended in the oil and eventually sinking and dispersing into and coloring the water. It was <strike>hard</strike> impossible to get the kids to only add a couple drops and once they got the idea to mix colors, the food coloring was flowing freely. Oh well... another variable to experiment with. I tried to teach them about the Scientific Method along the way (Remember? Hypothesis... Experimentation... etc.) but was only able to get the most focused girl to write "Hypothe..." then it was all about the Alka-Seltzer or "Alka-Sod" as my dear William kept calling it.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tCHHXW2ajUfT5PwyQ1tqOMQemtDImz6sumFYGxz3dYuhRI7y8lmTFNS76lP8wZSmhOsjrqeHk_Uob_wRJ_abd8xi_j6-EZjsb-iWpUhvTmbysypbYu9HiRijgzmhWEKP8DzRT2tFR8VG/s1600/BlueLava.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tCHHXW2ajUfT5PwyQ1tqOMQemtDImz6sumFYGxz3dYuhRI7y8lmTFNS76lP8wZSmhOsjrqeHk_Uob_wRJ_abd8xi_j6-EZjsb-iWpUhvTmbysypbYu9HiRijgzmhWEKP8DzRT2tFR8VG/s400/BlueLava.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had
envisioned starting with a small piece of tablet then increasing the amount to observe the reaction as it changed... um, yeah right. It doesn't work like that when you're 6 or younger. "More Alka-Sod! More Alka-Sod!" they yelled. I could hardly open the packets quickly enough for their ravenous scientific hunger.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5aEkNGu6d_7yBbPpg0sBCTpuFZoHsexAq8R7Oq0t4nU6hLgXGXt3S_Ym7ZNoxOW2Z7esiUKchECLt08wc2c5MXvCbE_I31Un8uiUWFdtYGqSUDTQGWkCR7xOWvofDGxgjlFjUo1Idfc5/s1600/LavaLamp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5aEkNGu6d_7yBbPpg0sBCTpuFZoHsexAq8R7Oq0t4nU6hLgXGXt3S_Ym7ZNoxOW2Z7esiUKchECLt08wc2c5MXvCbE_I31Un8uiUWFdtYGqSUDTQGWkCR7xOWvofDGxgjlFjUo1Idfc5/s400/LavaLamp2.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUFh3n9_vycAGn_FSan1tX6bv3tpNo7HgLkQ8Pqbhm6zPe3wJG8U2pidqRj223bn7LarVNrJdhdJ-jzsPuXdNVGJTkNrnYishC89UvXocY1YXbeWW6Mm3EK5Di3dvEhbCpoxaJKAacg79/s1600/LavaLamp3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUFh3n9_vycAGn_FSan1tX6bv3tpNo7HgLkQ8Pqbhm6zPe3wJG8U2pidqRj223bn7LarVNrJdhdJ-jzsPuXdNVGJTkNrnYishC89UvXocY1YXbeWW6Mm3EK5Di3dvEhbCpoxaJKAacg79/s400/LavaLamp3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the color you get with a LOT of blue and a LOT of green food coloring</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgH30g0liu4EwtDqiX8UB0Xpb-94hUXoGxD_jZrQXHaFWIaJ2LYnAnFzgu6_ifL48MMqZM6KoG-yR-qzNh7l-fjdEuOMiYqJ39U-dapBlvWXd_30_ZUXFnPq0el_qwtcLvtpI7aPv4fOo/s1600/LavaLamp4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgH30g0liu4EwtDqiX8UB0Xpb-94hUXoGxD_jZrQXHaFWIaJ2LYnAnFzgu6_ifL48MMqZM6KoG-yR-qzNh7l-fjdEuOMiYqJ39U-dapBlvWXd_30_ZUXFnPq0el_qwtcLvtpI7aPv4fOo/s400/LavaLamp4.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the color you get when you add a LOT of red drops and a LOT of blue drops when Mom isn't looking</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I doubt any of them could tell you about the Scientific Method but they can certainly explain the exciting fizz of "Alka-Sod."</span></span>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-36056476701960960182012-04-28T22:22:00.000-07:002012-06-04T22:24:41.412-07:00Birthday Nature Crafts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-dqBo74ANWgXlNr3ebe72dqeTcHTOVsdea83Y3f97XQ7xfBge1k_Pr1TvQ7koF20snQ2hApAfhJ3OyyXyPrzwGWfr3glX5PH3Naub3pb4_hSthHGunn_ODJEYRMa-uea73KMPOvItuxu/s1600/ForestAnimalMasks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-dqBo74ANWgXlNr3ebe72dqeTcHTOVsdea83Y3f97XQ7xfBge1k_Pr1TvQ7koF20snQ2hApAfhJ3OyyXyPrzwGWfr3glX5PH3Naub3pb4_hSthHGunn_ODJEYRMa-uea73KMPOvItuxu/s400/ForestAnimalMasks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once
the Forest Fairy and Animal party theme was approved by my
Birthday Girl, fun ideas were abundant. Simple, affordable, and quick ideas,
however, weren’t as easy to come up with. Enter Pinterest, a world of nothing
but cool ideas to browse.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I need to thank the
creative Mom of <a href="http://paintcutpaste.com/forest-theme-birthday/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PaintCutPaste+%28paint+cut+paste%29&utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">Paint Cut Paste</a> who inspired these no-sew Forest Animal
Masks using felt and glue. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3sUgGBes-2M5Bv2gJk3iAdXUXqtrvsA2ngMj5DzxWkapFajw24x6L1CwfLAdcMJNCJtdwp9BijxPipmoRRZGu8cqbk7YQAPAv3dDz4aZMftNneKJYs1JS4vBp6_MqtzKDnTSIQ6AsET5t/s1600/BearMask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3sUgGBes-2M5Bv2gJk3iAdXUXqtrvsA2ngMj5DzxWkapFajw24x6L1CwfLAdcMJNCJtdwp9BijxPipmoRRZGu8cqbk7YQAPAv3dDz4aZMftNneKJYs1JS4vBp6_MqtzKDnTSIQ6AsET5t/s400/BearMask.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRmP0Ht9dmYBONmM0hpvrsZ6aO99keNKMAs15t7wawx2VglBpU3Y-eFre3kIarujR-YJHrW1xlUp_uTmoY8D19V66FJeB7laXx8iXUitULsPbbMAz2dJ1UqWSpHRE87MPGc6lHa4aBV-J/s1600/OwlMask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRmP0Ht9dmYBONmM0hpvrsZ6aO99keNKMAs15t7wawx2VglBpU3Y-eFre3kIarujR-YJHrW1xlUp_uTmoY8D19V66FJeB7laXx8iXUitULsPbbMAz2dJ1UqWSpHRE87MPGc6lHa4aBV-J/s400/OwlMask.jpg" width="321" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All this mask-making took was a mix of colorful felt squares from Michael's (about 39 cents each), some thin black elastic, and fabric glue (I used all-purpose Tacky Glue). Superhero masks littering our playroom served as starting patterns to provide the perfect size and placement of eye holes. Next I hand-sketched animal shapes around those masks onto paper, playing around with them until they looked right. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"Easy Peasy!" as the dear Birthday Girl would say. Sadly, I didn't get any photos of her in these masks that day... she was too busy changing into different </span><span style="color: #333333;">fairy princess costumes during the party. Oh well, at least it wasn't <a href="http://smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2012/04/goodbye-kitty.html" target="_blank">Hello Kitty</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #333333;">Happy Birthday, Sweet Sara. I love you more than words can say.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDR7D0I_FEWNo2z2JC3MQnL8a6TH3uG-EpplUlS-jqdL5gOAWLZ8rKab6o6_7YgTffp81UZDfJQ6yOvUA8BNuX0Ql8aBM7705ucsQKOdl0ebwIVDCJKCOgE7wr7_bHyoJvKazI8BC_QDI/s1600/BabySara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDR7D0I_FEWNo2z2JC3MQnL8a6TH3uG-EpplUlS-jqdL5gOAWLZ8rKab6o6_7YgTffp81UZDfJQ6yOvUA8BNuX0Ql8aBM7705ucsQKOdl0ebwIVDCJKCOgE7wr7_bHyoJvKazI8BC_QDI/s400/BabySara.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-8474307376500616742012-04-19T23:26:00.001-07:002012-06-04T22:27:25.697-07:00Forest Fairy Fourth Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBQZVhb7A3a1uZPxc84w_yP7a9sDKyHmEop8XS2d9ufXZaVT16hzmFKgmDe7216L5rrl31NKho0vnLXk6atDaqpfcG6gc4r-VRlIt8Vdl7-EkhBGJ6o_d2SgrfzYqBlNgZkmcBwAI1RXf/s1600/SaraPlusCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBQZVhb7A3a1uZPxc84w_yP7a9sDKyHmEop8XS2d9ufXZaVT16hzmFKgmDe7216L5rrl31NKho0vnLXk6atDaqpfcG6gc4r-VRlIt8Vdl7-EkhBGJ6o_d2SgrfzYqBlNgZkmcBwAI1RXf/s400/SaraPlusCake.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once we said “<a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2012/04/goodbye-kitty.html" target="_blank">Goodbye</a>” to Hello Kitty and welcomed the Forest Fairy & Animal Theme, Sara came up with a modest guest list of six girls and six boys ranging in ages 3 to 6. Twelve kids might not sound like a big party but we learned that a dozen kids can be just as wild as thirty when you invite two pairs of rambunctious brothers. HOLY COW (and I say this with deep respect and admiration for the patient parents of these pairs of lovable boys). It was a wild ride but also one very fun and very happy celebration. </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJ7gDLICfn8AZV1za35TtkTTujW73pA8HZBelOeApdRQBnaC4geD0exR_TQgCSufSPU2EuchceFw1pUwJN7NcNKAHYYstbC8KcIw6DIWxMlXvem7PfszmzIKKZHkdR9n56RHd7tyDvYw7/s1600/SarasAnimalCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJ7gDLICfn8AZV1za35TtkTTujW73pA8HZBelOeApdRQBnaC4geD0exR_TQgCSufSPU2EuchceFw1pUwJN7NcNKAHYYstbC8KcIw6DIWxMlXvem7PfszmzIKKZHkdR9n56RHd7tyDvYw7/s400/SarasAnimalCake.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One "Forest" Cake complete with blue sprinkle river and white chocolate-dipped pretzel logs...</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSG8xm4M5LmPposYlR6uJdp7xeFHhT5GQy20xbif5c_szap5gv0-CdMNuiYpZvu8dSj28xO7-Mhyphenhyphenzij2n9y6pcpxCDewKIPz36yOXvmlpNRsvQrm-gkHPh-TRNZcHrZW-ro510mHxgxiL/s1600/SaraCakeOtter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSG8xm4M5LmPposYlR6uJdp7xeFHhT5GQy20xbif5c_szap5gv0-CdMNuiYpZvu8dSj28xO7-Mhyphenhyphenzij2n9y6pcpxCDewKIPz36yOXvmlpNRsvQrm-gkHPh-TRNZcHrZW-ro510mHxgxiL/s400/SaraCakeOtter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-NlgMgdXcqsTxeK8SFcAYvdcsGISAlCSy1C2pDTXKqBQf7nOYgTud5TFy1Kv57mlBZBieC_CJXeq1UQ2tDLpGeRHuQrKm0WdcAf_X3AAd_AN-o7vEAv2pMEbhMXepCOIgOB6a4u4x6ff/s1600/FairyCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-NlgMgdXcqsTxeK8SFcAYvdcsGISAlCSy1C2pDTXKqBQf7nOYgTud5TFy1Kv57mlBZBieC_CJXeq1UQ2tDLpGeRHuQrKm0WdcAf_X3AAd_AN-o7vEAv2pMEbhMXepCOIgOB6a4u4x6ff/s400/FairyCake.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One Fairy Cake complete with fairies playing jump rope and a cougar prowling after a mountain goat. When in doubt about decorating a homemade birthday cake, just add M&Ms and figurines from those great "Toob" play sets </td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyone with Kindergarten-age boys will know that their sense of humor is blossoming… that’s putting it nicely. In a more direct manner, one might say they are goofy, wild, and loud to the Nth degree. So take this mix of wild boys (mine included), add wild animal masks (provided by me… whoops, didn’t think that through very well) and being relegated indoors (it was horribly cold weather with mixed hail and rain) and you get one super crazy high-volume wrestling match, interrupted only by cake, crafts, and opening presents along the way.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Girl Power still ruled the day. The Birthday Girl and her 5 girlfriends weren’t phased by the testosterone frenzy. They joined in the wild animal play for a bit but it didn’t take long for them to break off and start their own imaginative play in the rooms where I had set up twinkle lights and a bunch of fairy wings and fancy dress-up clothes. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks to both lovely Grandmas, there were plenty of colorful flowers to adorn Spring <a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2011/10/nature-craft-autumn-crowns.html" target="_blank">Nature Crowns</a> and all the kids (both genders) enjoyed making them.</span></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of hugs on Sara's Happy 4th Birthday -- lots of costume changes too. Go back and see how many outfits Sara was able to squeeze into her two hour party - it's impressive!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tired Party Animals went home with <a href="http://smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2012/04/birthday-nature-crafts.html" target="_blank">Handmade Animal Masks</a>, Fairy Wings for the girls (found affordable ones at Party City), and "Pixie Dust Activators" for the boys (light-up version of the classic hand-held magnet- and gravity-driven gyroscope). Everyone had fun and Mommy learned that William's upcoming 6th Birthday needs to be planned outdoors where wild boys can run, jump, wrestle, ninja-kick, and do all the things that wonderfully wild boys do.</span></o:p></span></o:p></span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-41147391779640860502012-04-16T12:58:00.000-07:002012-04-16T12:58:12.690-07:00Goodbye Kitty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYV7hfKp1QaYDroul7swKghdD-7dp2_xotsm0QDVupnmwF1yteEgvy2Chpt7CNY5DyF_1waB2_9Z06wrukLCW0aFg9LaoLqs9xPdN9peeOn7E3uK0-Mwe99p0BnUBnmMz-f8lgyZ_SfItD/s1600/HelloKitty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYV7hfKp1QaYDroul7swKghdD-7dp2_xotsm0QDVupnmwF1yteEgvy2Chpt7CNY5DyF_1waB2_9Z06wrukLCW0aFg9LaoLqs9xPdN9peeOn7E3uK0-Mwe99p0BnUBnmMz-f8lgyZ_SfItD/s400/HelloKitty.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Call me an ogre, call me what you will but I couldn’t help but discourage my girl from having a Hello Kitty birthday party. While she has inherited some pajamas and a t-shirt with the infamous kitty face, there are no Hello Kitty toys in our home and she has never seen a show featuring Hello Kitty... her fascination merely comes from admiration of an older neighbor girl who mentioned she had a Hello Kitty birthday. Sigh… what’s a Crafty Mom to do when her child chooses a theme that Mommy doesn’t want to execute? Well, I guess I would like to execute Hello Kitty but not in the way dear almost-four Sara was thinking… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why the Hello Kitty hate? Part of it is that I just don’t get it. Even back in the ‘80s when my little buddies showed off their collections of Hello Kitty eraser tops and mini pens, I wasn’t sure what the big deal was. And more than not “getting it” (I imagine there will be MANY things I won’t relate to in my children’s interests over the years) I suppose the commercialism is what I find so unappealing. I won’t veto a shirt or pjs but a whole party? Really?!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XWl93CAoo6kMDisZvJ9Ayz5c19HNU4CJAc3O-wcaG8D3-kBfk185bUdXVWfDO3jFgWpUBsBro_zyrawWmqZEQpM-JKx_mWlA9MHcXIXETdWB9D_YEBDV9GOwhj_wCJx9wTdqksebptX-/s1600/HelloFingerPaint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XWl93CAoo6kMDisZvJ9Ayz5c19HNU4CJAc3O-wcaG8D3-kBfk185bUdXVWfDO3jFgWpUBsBro_zyrawWmqZEQpM-JKx_mWlA9MHcXIXETdWB9D_YEBDV9GOwhj_wCJx9wTdqksebptX-/s400/HelloFingerPaint.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I mentioned this “birthday dilemma” to my dear Swedish friend (an incredibly kind, intelligent, active, multi-lingual working mom with angelic children, by the way) her suggestion nearly knocked me off my feet. “How about not asking what kind of party they want? When my girls have a birthday, I make a cake; we sing a song and have friends over.” Drat! I should have thought about that a couple years ago, before Sara’s zoo party or William’s superhero party which I got so into, you’d think I was the one turning 5! Yes, I’m afraid I’ve done this to myself, creating the perfect storm for high expectations on birthdays… but hey, it’s what I like to do so as long as it’s not Hello Kitty, I’m on board!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrKSe1XbPVM4_CvouukpfUk_U9ZUz6qaQK6OIjmoDjMMBqk33hyphenhyphenp2v9qV38_QqYXAk3nS9ck1xuaSm5tAI_OhcWqTMSfMLBwYOSFF1Bh3FKB-6gXPNUE5ea5gqm8zWLVz9jwxszqkJAWZ/s1600/CapeAndKitty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrKSe1XbPVM4_CvouukpfUk_U9ZUz6qaQK6OIjmoDjMMBqk33hyphenhyphenp2v9qV38_QqYXAk3nS9ck1xuaSm5tAI_OhcWqTMSfMLBwYOSFF1Bh3FKB-6gXPNUE5ea5gqm8zWLVz9jwxszqkJAWZ/s400/CapeAndKitty.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My sneaky phase one of the Hello Kitty eradication began with talking about how much fun she had up at the Veterinarian Clinic at the Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett. “Remember how you got to care for all types of animals in the Vet Clinic? Instead of just focusing on Kitties, wouldn’t it be fun to have a party featuring a mix of animals?” I asked innocently? Sara pondered this thoughtfully. “How about forest animals? Then we can make a big chocolate cake with trees and animals on it” I continued. My last suggestion finally sealed the deal:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We could make it even more fun if we did forest animals AND forest fairies, how about that?” SOLD! Even though it was a huge mouthful that Sara could hardly remember when inviting friends to her party, my girl was totally on board for her Forest Animal and Forest Fairy 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Birthday Party! </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Party Details complete with animal masks and fairy wings coming soon…</span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-38516768899754358522012-02-26T21:30:00.000-08:002012-02-26T21:30:50.855-08:00The Wisdom of Daddy: Creative Excursions<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s amazing what happens when I’m out of the picture and my husband has the kids an entire day or over a weekend. Some of the activities he comes up with are downright brilliant.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Most recently, he took the kids to <a href="http://www.nachesvalleychamber.com/info/elkfeeding.html" target="_blank">Oak Creek Wildlife Viewing Area</a> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in Naches, Washington. “Huh? Where is that?” You ask? My thoughts exactly… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but boy was I surprised when they returned with great pictures, interesting facts, and lively stories. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlOOyfGtRhH5aXaRARCIbVsQ9a7Z4nAXdqKvDDakP3SEc5mNs0NgPUTyE6Vwn3YUcRSztFegwzk2bYyMuWl7kaNi0IlbQuZJ8xMTS_KZDD9VdGXOQAoibsoL7Plx1hdP5EMyazb3JIHwh/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlOOyfGtRhH5aXaRARCIbVsQ9a7Z4nAXdqKvDDakP3SEc5mNs0NgPUTyE6Vwn3YUcRSztFegwzk2bYyMuWl7kaNi0IlbQuZJ8xMTS_KZDD9VdGXOQAoibsoL7Plx1hdP5EMyazb3JIHwh/s400/010.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rocky Mountain Elk are the main attraction at this Wildlife Area (though you can go to another part to see Bighorn Sheep as well) and all it takes is a Washington State <a href="http://discoverpass.wa.gov/" target="_blank">Discover Pass</a> and calling (509) 653-2390 in advance to make a reservation if you want to take a guided truck tour (these tours are also available on a first-come first-serve basis but it's worth it to make a reservation if you can). As long as you're willing to head to Eastern Washington (near Yakima) in January or February and don't mind waiting around in the cold a bit, you're almost guaranteed to see Elk... and I'm talking about a LOT of Elk, and many with enormous antlers.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGOC2cQdD2HhyphenhyphendrM1lkR3AsaT5hFbKB6LVjFqR3Sfr_AgPDXLo3BpIBvnF5HQJeZYxpG5MWR7-wqLJ4W40__x1iUMp711jOJaPqQ3fw7WIGwJA_h17OZNFdD4Hs8OESKhnhg5_74Ps6eH/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGOC2cQdD2HhyphenhyphendrM1lkR3AsaT5hFbKB6LVjFqR3Sfr_AgPDXLo3BpIBvnF5HQJeZYxpG5MWR7-wqLJ4W40__x1iUMp711jOJaPqQ3fw7WIGwJA_h17OZNFdD4Hs8OESKhnhg5_74Ps6eH/s400/011.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These Elk roam in from the neighboring mountains in search of food and apparently there can be up to 1,200 of these massive mammals at the feeding station at a time. Almost 100 miles of 8-foot-high fence was built in the 1940s to keep the Elk from devouring the acres of orchards in this region and every Winter this feeding station supplements the Elks' diet. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjid1rXy4aEK5Pq0mqGDX9jCirjEWDWSU8ziHKxWMK095FQGmUdC0K1_CKurQDTkyxVDoFBI2iYpozMB4WdwpmKrD1lSzDzp121-_6WJDTbrhMOVzM_YasJPgimzA1Uh3sKFaPKrDxDBZFF/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjid1rXy4aEK5Pq0mqGDX9jCirjEWDWSU8ziHKxWMK095FQGmUdC0K1_CKurQDTkyxVDoFBI2iYpozMB4WdwpmKrD1lSzDzp121-_6WJDTbrhMOVzM_YasJPgimzA1Uh3sKFaPKrDxDBZFF/s400/009.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even with two tour jeeps carrying curious folks in to get a closer look, a decent effort is made to keep a respectful distance from these still very wild animals. However, some of the Elk are just as curious as the visitors so there is a chance of up-close viewing. The male bull Elk with their enormous antlers can actually be very territorial (meaning aggressive) so it is essential to follow the rules while visiting.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ2IR8RU7yfwyZfO4I0_MiLKP_QP5ZLtene4vlUOqI_rWty08PMadninNsT8qJQXZvnbf2aMuAvmM3Mr6ig0bj_8Zlzy-io_Eh_skQhBJt64rNimWt0YroIFONSOkL8axLMrr875kBVBG/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ2IR8RU7yfwyZfO4I0_MiLKP_QP5ZLtene4vlUOqI_rWty08PMadninNsT8qJQXZvnbf2aMuAvmM3Mr6ig0bj_8Zlzy-io_Eh_skQhBJt64rNimWt0YroIFONSOkL8axLMrr875kBVBG/s400/008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">The free tour even came with a big button displaying an Elk (but please don't call it a button, my kids are quite certain it is a very special badge). </span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-26375883046858727552012-02-21T21:28:00.000-08:002012-02-21T21:28:38.846-08:00Signs of Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXI6IoRqlBXOE00poBV_Z4VUzzGHG9egAXpoHbwQhaqWqc65A04p6j6KorHBzOZjI5CXomITEyZVSx3lHuyRXzjJm-ztda5xZmEqMv8HByedhBagNJOKlNxRFl_iS-S15fD6RgF_-c5n-/s1600/036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXI6IoRqlBXOE00poBV_Z4VUzzGHG9egAXpoHbwQhaqWqc65A04p6j6KorHBzOZjI5CXomITEyZVSx3lHuyRXzjJm-ztda5xZmEqMv8HByedhBagNJOKlNxRFl_iS-S15fD6RgF_-c5n-/s400/036.JPG" width="315" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bees were buzzing and birds were singing. A few days of sunshine was all it took to get our tulips and daffodils peeking out of the ground. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRWoVKxDPghA6vK_KexPB7QMq3HgeOsLQbO5S0cNmNPUbvklIUOt8tRaobTp3W8yfFxq3O0wQuYsgxFxQ3uj1f38gZQxBWa9OA-b2HMqe_IK48Im6u2XKyFDRvR23hQ6rOBl5NENYSCmc/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRWoVKxDPghA6vK_KexPB7QMq3HgeOsLQbO5S0cNmNPUbvklIUOt8tRaobTp3W8yfFxq3O0wQuYsgxFxQ3uj1f38gZQxBWa9OA-b2HMqe_IK48Im6u2XKyFDRvR23hQ6rOBl5NENYSCmc/s400/020.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Naturally, it is blustery and cold now but those lovely days a couple weeks back were a welcome preview of Spring just around the corner. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We spent as much time outside as possible, soaking up all the Vitamin D our bodies could absorb. In honor of the seasonal burst of color we'll experience soon, I set up a rainbow variation of a classic baking soda and vinegar science experiment for the kids. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids helped set everything up, scooping four piles of baking soda onto their trays while I prepared the jars of vinegar and food coloring</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSKo3sIf0pdFAnfl334u2oPCAtpXLv8u7mfyabm8jDjTI_vz_Wkos6sP_VbHgk1QHAnqHQJb10pXkHxJ9I8dFkdN1xPnczKV5AgdQuvmlM7JMpgXfX4nPVg1-ZpHgTow1SzjIJPsrz3-X/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSKo3sIf0pdFAnfl334u2oPCAtpXLv8u7mfyabm8jDjTI_vz_Wkos6sP_VbHgk1QHAnqHQJb10pXkHxJ9I8dFkdN1xPnczKV5AgdQuvmlM7JMpgXfX4nPVg1-ZpHgTow1SzjIJPsrz3-X/s400/008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was pleasantly surprised to see them adding small amounts of liquid at a time and observing the reaction closely. William even commented that the bubbles left behind holes like craters</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-_ypaQZWXP67Eq8dO2Q8IhKFCEWYsEgAdCZ8a1ADZTrNhWZAGWogAP6tvVAovWONun_CU9WM7Zqe1_gt6XaozvQHohFrR5KLp9yccCgP-F9-ysPZbc0Z4b09gTIcDxfI5oPMX1RPGlOg/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-_ypaQZWXP67Eq8dO2Q8IhKFCEWYsEgAdCZ8a1ADZTrNhWZAGWogAP6tvVAovWONun_CU9WM7Zqe1_gt6XaozvQHohFrR5KLp9yccCgP-F9-ysPZbc0Z4b09gTIcDxfI5oPMX1RPGlOg/s400/022.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But after a while Sara decided that using one dropper at a time just wasn't enough...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHvwf0usb1wikKHVEeADDdhujDAOZ6lXAo6EfWN4axZNvz2540hHVMy7D0z5M_SlIhAhYqr735BE_z9sO_NqvPdTRB3U4OsslM6NngjrQUTEA2jOtqhMDJi6CeOXWZK9t1dFVNf0kLPZg/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHvwf0usb1wikKHVEeADDdhujDAOZ6lXAo6EfWN4axZNvz2540hHVMy7D0z5M_SlIhAhYqr735BE_z9sO_NqvPdTRB3U4OsslM6NngjrQUTEA2jOtqhMDJi6CeOXWZK9t1dFVNf0kLPZg/s400/023.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Without any interference from me, this beautiful mess appeared on William's tray</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBGQl7qv2aWAdydZWbPmzmr-ciRd2YnQJW-i_n5P-CdAYuhILoq0wbpd6eaCDFbesgZ16lWff44kFpqDrbEWHWBbcmCECmXwJFAEDoH2pcb7VbhBZGXcnXmIaowSddex7sZ6prDI5Yk6o/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBGQl7qv2aWAdydZWbPmzmr-ciRd2YnQJW-i_n5P-CdAYuhILoq0wbpd6eaCDFbesgZ16lWff44kFpqDrbEWHWBbcmCECmXwJFAEDoH2pcb7VbhBZGXcnXmIaowSddex7sZ6prDI5Yk6o/s400/012.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything is more fun when you can do it outside</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Unable to resist the urge for instant springtime, I bought a Costco-sized flat of primroses (notice their pretty little heads in the background of the last photo above). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqIMIW0Y-o1s6wlRy06l3Qv5fOJ4gcLnXzap2c6KoPgTlaVkOQohmfUxORibyLlEtUPkM_G1XWsGJtmsYw43RgrCTAns4jqIUidt99EeP985PHUjy26XMUtdoigy4ED47PY6L-cONUsoF_/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqIMIW0Y-o1s6wlRy06l3Qv5fOJ4gcLnXzap2c6KoPgTlaVkOQohmfUxORibyLlEtUPkM_G1XWsGJtmsYw43RgrCTAns4jqIUidt99EeP985PHUjy26XMUtdoigy4ED47PY6L-cONUsoF_/s400/015.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I'm so glad I took a few pictures of their colorful heads because this is what they looked like the following morning.</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiHsy7WsS2Ky5U_CvivuKSKEFLiWlgK8hTXn75zS2aA4PXvV_t2nTbHY9C_03Fmpdw2F-wUBTJz9faWj3co2c6NMElpdCgYKHOVrITuT2S-fs2kH9oOAHkQzFaom72jAUZaj6eOxEJa9I/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiHsy7WsS2Ky5U_CvivuKSKEFLiWlgK8hTXn75zS2aA4PXvV_t2nTbHY9C_03Fmpdw2F-wUBTJz9faWj3co2c6NMElpdCgYKHOVrITuT2S-fs2kH9oOAHkQzFaom72jAUZaj6eOxEJa9I/s400/024.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chomp</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I would have suspected our resident banana slugs (we grow 'em big out here) or the little cotton tailed bunny we've seen hopping into the salmon berry brambles recently but when I counted that 12 primroses been chomped to smithereens and a few had even been uprooted from their comfy holes, the evidence unmistakably led to deer. Note to self: just because you don't see the deer around very often them doesn't mean they aren't visiting you and patiently waiting for your next pretty flower to bloom. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-12924504349408404702012-02-02T05:34:00.000-08:002012-02-02T05:34:00.661-08:00The Adventures of Art Lady: Kindergartners and Sticks<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No, this isn’t a story about sword fights (though I have to admit I was nervous about that happening), it’s a story about making Garden Art Sticks with a group of fifteen 5- and 6-year olds.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I found this idea on this <a href="http://sweetthingdesigns.typepad.com/craftymama/2008/05/painted-garden-sticks.html" target="_blank">wonderful blog</a> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">and thought it would be a great project for our Kindergarten class to make for the school's bi-annual auction.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My dear adventurous Mother, affectionately known as Cuckoo Grandma by my children, gathered a bundle of shapely beach sticks already smooth from being tossed in the ocean and sand. Once they were completely dry (let them sit in the dry place a few weeks), I painted them with a couple coats of white acrylic primer. After that, they were ready to cart to the school Art Room and let the kids slather on bright acrylic paints however they desired. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is how they looked after the first step: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPCRMId116Jzl9KesFwCnrS8U65RheZHUfuNcvg-QuADRFmkavh7pzSh2auTIa4oBD8B-iRmpRPGGl_DEMbxbbBUdQAzXpEdszWZj7tRqxkHXFlDYOKdHSkATaTAN1lVibNVATeDC_9Wg/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPCRMId116Jzl9KesFwCnrS8U65RheZHUfuNcvg-QuADRFmkavh7pzSh2auTIa4oBD8B-iRmpRPGGl_DEMbxbbBUdQAzXpEdszWZj7tRqxkHXFlDYOKdHSkATaTAN1lVibNVATeDC_9Wg/s400/003.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitDLcr4yr382UbLDYNCvvYk_VfsQK-XRrxgFakP14j5CP8SIY1m5-cClGvmnA5f4rDjAI6IARERg_rjDbqoHB8NNooF0uuGuC9x_rMesWb-tQ2Gq6GTdVA-CwvSUPq5iSXM91ChnDDJOK6/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitDLcr4yr382UbLDYNCvvYk_VfsQK-XRrxgFakP14j5CP8SIY1m5-cClGvmnA5f4rDjAI6IARERg_rjDbqoHB8NNooF0uuGuC9x_rMesWb-tQ2Gq6GTdVA-CwvSUPq5iSXM91ChnDDJOK6/s400/010.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And here is how they turned out!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhCx32MNB05c_UUs956KLvwwq9XlkuvN8-wsazGKE43R7fLkhxa3kuUQS6aRAAE47teaPjVpa9z9ROiMhyoqH4gZT3KOYse5f1CVkhghYrQctUY4PpxgRkijoItNwT_u3_302t2frIsVs/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhCx32MNB05c_UUs956KLvwwq9XlkuvN8-wsazGKE43R7fLkhxa3kuUQS6aRAAE47teaPjVpa9z9ROiMhyoqH4gZT3KOYse5f1CVkhghYrQctUY4PpxgRkijoItNwT_u3_302t2frIsVs/s400/002.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86o6SZWh8GYlu8DoxK3v0A70YA5vg_KtgP5X95Hb3P0a7wy0om5twhBaf-rWqQrLTNFtIQtL9bHyGd03BbxddCkKCVOmivOBUkkke_5MHJP6V2QNtfcabUv-oOcBiMm8eSoei6CGESGG9/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86o6SZWh8GYlu8DoxK3v0A70YA5vg_KtgP5X95Hb3P0a7wy0om5twhBaf-rWqQrLTNFtIQtL9bHyGd03BbxddCkKCVOmivOBUkkke_5MHJP6V2QNtfcabUv-oOcBiMm8eSoei6CGESGG9/s320/011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfWuVq_114uM9Pj-tjzdVmy9jAVz40qGU_lHMVcMHgazxFKjMQMgZwTwdHVt18jwAxGIKIql7V-HWmwR8XNuAJGJAXHcVLx43VA_j0UEJMo-zjLb41y-T-0VjMrO_e1kYyO_ne9gSlD0D/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfWuVq_114uM9Pj-tjzdVmy9jAVz40qGU_lHMVcMHgazxFKjMQMgZwTwdHVt18jwAxGIKIql7V-HWmwR8XNuAJGJAXHcVLx43VA_j0UEJMo-zjLb41y-T-0VjMrO_e1kYyO_ne9gSlD0D/s400/015.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgDn_kr2cP5SbN3T8r3Zn40v21MIRf4m6623CSip6Or6Acftpij16XRDrSiabQL7TUu4zGxgrCCXj0tf0J9SarPV-3-Zhc-U7ZiATUeefMwVVc9Zp6jl4qSNItl709cvF5Tv4EQ85CFgs/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgDn_kr2cP5SbN3T8r3Zn40v21MIRf4m6623CSip6Or6Acftpij16XRDrSiabQL7TUu4zGxgrCCXj0tf0J9SarPV-3-Zhc-U7ZiATUeefMwVVc9Zp6jl4qSNItl709cvF5Tv4EQ85CFgs/s400/017.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The kids did such a great job. They seemed to take extra care since this was something special to raise money for their school. It was a bit messy but everyone did their best and I love how their Art Sticks turned out. Here are a few shots from my lesson that day:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0I60vXpORhm7vHSoxJbkvB8iLGy5W7uyB8XG6TOACFHIWCe3_8BavAUk1HQDRyHn3HOtE7LsgY0BrNY_i8NRFzaAslF80O7SUbzYyTpIAMfh0T0_BMKWOlj9s6p3iDxq9Rvo72twm0u-I/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0I60vXpORhm7vHSoxJbkvB8iLGy5W7uyB8XG6TOACFHIWCe3_8BavAUk1HQDRyHn3HOtE7LsgY0BrNY_i8NRFzaAslF80O7SUbzYyTpIAMfh0T0_BMKWOlj9s6p3iDxq9Rvo72twm0u-I/s400/023.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH38O232ppOsskcmcOIn90j1_8_ipDtLIcmarSvh0yZ45th3uO9dEE5Ra2LxGhkKUC8kqz7mKa4pg955so2ImqlnhlL5_82ckruJRrZ_yb1MTau_r17PdfeFc7FqJd6OZuc_o_M5CI7Er2/s1600/037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH38O232ppOsskcmcOIn90j1_8_ipDtLIcmarSvh0yZ45th3uO9dEE5Ra2LxGhkKUC8kqz7mKa4pg955so2ImqlnhlL5_82ckruJRrZ_yb1MTau_r17PdfeFc7FqJd6OZuc_o_M5CI7Er2/s400/037.JPG" width="335" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, getting more and more messy but most kids wore aprons</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGnSfXmftwnxovJDKog0Ebih3aDyQUk5umnrRu_hITdGdTRooM6vAeQhyphenhyphenuXz_HoGhNj9T_3JB7OB5Xv4FWGarPtO_72rXMUwjAO6b8a4GHMzjVknOY1Ht2C8NMnHbdCfP-5ONPLqyMZq5/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGnSfXmftwnxovJDKog0Ebih3aDyQUk5umnrRu_hITdGdTRooM6vAeQhyphenhyphenuXz_HoGhNj9T_3JB7OB5Xv4FWGarPtO_72rXMUwjAO6b8a4GHMzjVknOY1Ht2C8NMnHbdCfP-5ONPLqyMZq5/s400/029.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...except for this one</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAiwNVbBDlvM7Tu98xoqxVwBE6uAW0nG78qSCLijcIas8_wXJunuhSS4JJsdZpTH_sFTdt_GqnUEvn6nW8zy-taZ-wFa_K-rmxnMcqyQbx9qbsDqkUSqAmOhq8qSnqa2HxQJzBIESdXaW/s1600/012a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAiwNVbBDlvM7Tu98xoqxVwBE6uAW0nG78qSCLijcIas8_wXJunuhSS4JJsdZpTH_sFTdt_GqnUEvn6nW8zy-taZ-wFa_K-rmxnMcqyQbx9qbsDqkUSqAmOhq8qSnqa2HxQJzBIESdXaW/s400/012a.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was concerned that parents would be upset if their kids came home with stained clothes (acrylic paint doesn't wash out). As I was looking through photos from the lesson, I realized it was only my dear boy freely wiping his painted fingers onto shirt and pants... oops</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4n7Xq23xrwN19Wlt78U4BU5GkNmdGv7L2L8LZCMFq6bm7CoZxB27k20nczU7dC7En4GmrHvnOzWJGrSlzByAbOsUHIFbHRvHyMZmvzXORcl9z0HuiM72Qb_pTp1EbSrPQqn3OwfBDdoj/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4n7Xq23xrwN19Wlt78U4BU5GkNmdGv7L2L8LZCMFq6bm7CoZxB27k20nczU7dC7En4GmrHvnOzWJGrSlzByAbOsUHIFbHRvHyMZmvzXORcl9z0HuiM72Qb_pTp1EbSrPQqn3OwfBDdoj/s400/046.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Look Mom, I put on an apron," after he was done... The ladies still love my little guy--this particular friend likes him so much she painted a spot of his hair blue (and he liked it). Kindergarten rocks.</td></tr>
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</div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-74279632122057309002012-01-31T10:31:00.000-08:002012-01-31T10:31:49.508-08:00Unplugging.... almost<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYGTDCy9HDeET2pZm-VJS98qex2kQs0yhJC_3pQdUrG7l4IR7Aq1DO_mfhaEbvuoTvjAjo2ZIKHbgrs1VzdYv9Qbvxv-OloyAZxT4Zk2SHyvRbMoDn2e34r9X3DG5mAWukDXq9UOwXSIX/s1600/058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYGTDCy9HDeET2pZm-VJS98qex2kQs0yhJC_3pQdUrG7l4IR7Aq1DO_mfhaEbvuoTvjAjo2ZIKHbgrs1VzdYv9Qbvxv-OloyAZxT4Zk2SHyvRbMoDn2e34r9X3DG5mAWukDXq9UOwXSIX/s400/058.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nothing like a power outage to get us thinking about unplugging... </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It started innocently enough, back when I was desperate for 30 minutes to throw dinner together, I’d let my 3- and 5- year olds watch Curious George. Then PBS changed their programming and George was no longer airing when I was prepping dinner so a handful of DVDs were introduced. Along came pleads of “come on, can we watch just one more, Momma?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thirty minutes quickly became an hour, then eventually turned into about 90 minutes of screen time before dinner. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0H78ewGrWjGZSL_6AEdj-5dtaGVLnlGuTK4bOqqlczYygbHjucz1SFnOEv5DUPl3kWq9YkVKPs0XZmPrgE-Hdb_BIoWWbpM1iMNiDDI_k6fb_KEGF4CBO4RZCzNXN49zbHbDc91Xj8UVY/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0H78ewGrWjGZSL_6AEdj-5dtaGVLnlGuTK4bOqqlczYygbHjucz1SFnOEv5DUPl3kWq9YkVKPs0XZmPrgE-Hdb_BIoWWbpM1iMNiDDI_k6fb_KEGF4CBO4RZCzNXN49zbHbDc91Xj8UVY/s400/039.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The computer counts as "screen time" too, look at those zoned out eyes...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEd3etFcWIhc0RJGLN9x3m08E9mq6-c1Qmr-NpnTMfMBlGEzE9y-FhsVy3Jp8Pv72zJJGxiaAJvvGLSfbs51ZCrA-VfRpkPS-6aeak8RDY7F92xNvtLJ0o9HvXHJlcTUap847vhEbTAkQ/s1600/049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEd3etFcWIhc0RJGLN9x3m08E9mq6-c1Qmr-NpnTMfMBlGEzE9y-FhsVy3Jp8Pv72zJJGxiaAJvvGLSfbs51ZCrA-VfRpkPS-6aeak8RDY7F92xNvtLJ0o9HvXHJlcTUap847vhEbTAkQ/s400/049.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, they don't stand this close to watch TV... they were posing for me</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While the television was on, I’d spend that hour and a half picking things up around the house, washing dishes, drying and putting them away, doing laundry, checking email and surfing the web, choosing something to cook, setting the table then I finally dive into the business of making dinner. Dinner still only took about half an hour to make, but I sheepishly realized that the kid’s 90 minutes of television had actually become something I looked forward to. This didn’t feel right.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Did I think these 90 minutes a day were going to ruin my 3 and 5 year-old children? No. Did I think it’s wrong to allow kids to watch a limited amount of age-appropriate shows? No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am aware, however, that what was once a tool for me became a crutch. And what was once a treat for the kids became a daily expectation.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What didn’t feel right about an hour or more television was how the kids wouldn’t acknowledge Daddy if he arrived home from work while the TV was still on. Not even a quick “hi” or glance away from the screen… nice homecoming, eh? Worst of all was the kids’ irritable mood once the TV was turned off and it was time to come to dinner (more evening fun for Daddy and all of us for that matter). Their moans and groans made their words so unintelligible that I’m still not sure what they were unhappy about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Actually, I don’t think they were unhappy about anything. I think their brains had gone into sleep mode from too much TV. Naturally, they came away feeling tired and cranky. This television-induced state can’t be good for brain development and it certainly wasn’t good for family dynamics.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what’s a Mom to do? Had we gone too far down this road to turn around? Of course I knew we hadn’t but I felt serious trepidation about how evenings with little to no TV would go. Would dinner ever make it to the table? How many scuffles would I have to break up? How many more messes would be created in the process of keeping them happily occupied while I prepared dinner? </span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So how would we go about making this change? Faking a broken TV was my first idea. Cowardly, I know, but I could just pull the plug and it would be my little secret. Who’s going to argue with “I called the repair company but they can’t get a technician out here for another few days?” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Instead, I decided that a sincere discussion was the right thing to do. One night at dinner I mentioned to the kids that I noticed how grumpy they were after watching TV before dinnertime. I shared my theory about how sitting in front of the TV makes your brain almost go to sleep so it’s no wonder they felt tired and awful when they had to get up. There were no threats of completely unplugging the TV but I did say that I thought it was too much and we should start experimenting to find the perfect amount. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do you know what? Those little geniuses agreed with me! As much as Mom and Dad didn’t like hearing their whines and complaints, the kids didn’t like feeling so crummy! More discussion followed about what is important to each of us and we brainstormed about more worthwhile ways to spend our time instead of watching television. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, on most days we’re back to just a quick half hour show in the early evening. I use that time to get organized but the TV is off well before Dad returns home and they have a chance to shake off the tired state that even 30 minutes can induce. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids are back to helping me peel, slice, pour and stir the various components of dinner which is more fun for all of us. Making such a conscious effort with the kids inspired the grown-ups to keep the TV off after kids are in bed too and we're both enjoying good books instead of watching another episode or American Choppers or Gold Rush (yes, my husband <strike>is </strike>was a Discovery Channel fan and I was a willing bystander). Recovery feels great. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-13016356634606780632012-01-24T22:30:00.000-08:002012-01-24T22:30:01.954-08:00A Storm Like No Other<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ELdJa8-iRrJSx7mtxOkOVX454Cqu4vJLfncqoQgkI8X_M2eiqhi4Z86Y9CXme1WGzOHQQ9M2bKq549p9g19AaRJoDMUhZPzCdXVmOeh6v4_APTiSjB-EXKaPlTJXJTuQ7ktnvu8opkYg/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ELdJa8-iRrJSx7mtxOkOVX454Cqu4vJLfncqoQgkI8X_M2eiqhi4Z86Y9CXme1WGzOHQQ9M2bKq549p9g19AaRJoDMUhZPzCdXVmOeh6v4_APTiSjB-EXKaPlTJXJTuQ7ktnvu8opkYg/s400/021.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Transformed into frozen sculptures, every tree, plant, pinecone, bush, and basically all things outdoors were encased in a thick layer of ice. Tips of trees that once stood 40 feet tall were touching the ground as the weight of the ice bent them so severely.</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Ge5DIM4wBh7kQcO_s7WsygZ6f6g0GgjRQts2dl2duztS3vAZtEY0FQyj9LB_YibF96gMd_PF_8nbWTItvYbxrvAVlkGW-sdkJ-_P3J6G7X_OIKEsQMPcTV0RLFcEJtXmnGgHb5-7-e1s/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Ge5DIM4wBh7kQcO_s7WsygZ6f6g0GgjRQts2dl2duztS3vAZtEY0FQyj9LB_YibF96gMd_PF_8nbWTItvYbxrvAVlkGW-sdkJ-_P3J6G7X_OIKEsQMPcTV0RLFcEJtXmnGgHb5-7-e1s/s400/026.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Star Magnolia buds</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3I7gsgtvZzTtMuXkeb0SjM3pdFcQArkI0qd3PDdO60ecGm5eHt4G0AGioVqKXPszBU3t4n_J_dbWM7TDIeqRxW3JHzr5WBGTLAH10dOCwXKrc9V9AoEDxLKwkZ6ksgaUaeirlDxjUMmQ/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3I7gsgtvZzTtMuXkeb0SjM3pdFcQArkI0qd3PDdO60ecGm5eHt4G0AGioVqKXPszBU3t4n_J_dbWM7TDIeqRxW3JHzr5WBGTLAH10dOCwXKrc9V9AoEDxLKwkZ6ksgaUaeirlDxjUMmQ/s400/027.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese Maple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISJxB3lGQTRrcTXxqNAzLaLf5mUieEb74SFl7-D7e72L2EPbNaudFqqcW4dyAf7mFPLUibdJmwwT4_4RRsprMp_irPUKr0vgUVfaRXuSvq_TOJAfkHO7Hjv_sQ3uGwDVAlvqy4NKwCiqX/s1600/086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISJxB3lGQTRrcTXxqNAzLaLf5mUieEb74SFl7-D7e72L2EPbNaudFqqcW4dyAf7mFPLUibdJmwwT4_4RRsprMp_irPUKr0vgUVfaRXuSvq_TOJAfkHO7Hjv_sQ3uGwDVAlvqy4NKwCiqX/s400/086.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I still can't believe that this very tall Paper Birch didn't snap under the pressure of all the ice</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhv5hbWc8wviXHBc8nWutg4y92zlJiBy5dcHQFQJV3kvI1pNyvQNw0UNS1Z9tiazivatJjp2RN9pganM7MFTitKq6BbEniOYeLfkpMVVlUXHkhu6MXEwCa-35EFPnzNJzXCyvhRJBVn_P/s1600/074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhv5hbWc8wviXHBc8nWutg4y92zlJiBy5dcHQFQJV3kvI1pNyvQNw0UNS1Z9tiazivatJjp2RN9pganM7MFTitKq6BbEniOYeLfkpMVVlUXHkhu6MXEwCa-35EFPnzNJzXCyvhRJBVn_P/s400/074.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barberry</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The effect was stunning, really remarkable and like nothing I’ve seen before in the Pacific Northwest. While it was lovely to observe, it also proved to be extremely destructive. Our power was out for two days and thousands were out for longer. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucky to have a gas hot water heater, gas stove top, gas fireplace, and plenty of candles, we did just fine during the blackout. Large quantities of hot chocolate and "winter warmers" (William's latest concoction of warmed milk + cinnamon + vanilla + sugar) were consumed. Even Mommy got her coffee fix after digging my little Italian stovetop espresso maker deep from a cupboard. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhroMTIDoP9wL0XklqWlSoH8dbPLOm2AyPCgTOx9eT0wgdf9Q9HkHdGYN4DG8hOubUmR10Up9pzamkYw2jhwlYLB9Zqq71_xM6FN5y8N2YEg-6zvxmxqB0-_NLe4V0Dd8KxxiaO6IaEels5/s1600/059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhroMTIDoP9wL0XklqWlSoH8dbPLOm2AyPCgTOx9eT0wgdf9Q9HkHdGYN4DG8hOubUmR10Up9pzamkYw2jhwlYLB9Zqq71_xM6FN5y8N2YEg-6zvxmxqB0-_NLe4V0Dd8KxxiaO6IaEels5/s400/059.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So happy for the chance to use his camping lantern</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZZXZDEi368pmK6EYgvI0LJZ982yiXvsKn-oa3XHKyjbyI56zps9dU0VagdKpl6OLsKfJP0_gKUDFcSTGDw2OOTNfCDRUo3A__sFTuugX_uPwfsH2wKZCmSrKN2U-FQZv4fTMuqneB68P/s1600/061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZZXZDEi368pmK6EYgvI0LJZ982yiXvsKn-oa3XHKyjbyI56zps9dU0VagdKpl6OLsKfJP0_gKUDFcSTGDw2OOTNfCDRUo3A__sFTuugX_uPwfsH2wKZCmSrKN2U-FQZv4fTMuqneB68P/s400/061.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cocoa by candlelight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZk9nus4Z7wa8Y69IBsydlqE8x35L-n4Mlkt_ILEbrhXGqro-R2S1UeVLI0qXUHubEnhxBK6NVmeG2y1pHigpp9pKhyphenhyphenv0STs7_7ebjjrUQ8-EMuFBwj8TXVHFWeGHlgzUns4pxwcV3Rk0/s1600/062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZk9nus4Z7wa8Y69IBsydlqE8x35L-n4Mlkt_ILEbrhXGqro-R2S1UeVLI0qXUHubEnhxBK6NVmeG2y1pHigpp9pKhyphenhyphenv0STs7_7ebjjrUQ8-EMuFBwj8TXVHFWeGHlgzUns4pxwcV3Rk0/s400/062.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William and his Winter Warmer drink</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MANY games were played while we were bundled in blankets and warmed our toes by the fire. Cranium's Balloon Lagoon (out of print but available at lots of second hand stores) was our favorite.</span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-60899719701105886342012-01-24T11:19:00.000-08:002012-01-24T11:19:07.238-08:00Let It Snow... and Rain and Freeze<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZX61oYhdWnMKx7Dy9X0D8OsbcKlUsCiHqRRsbQOV509mnCtTHABSiQaPBwcfKn1pVwFX9u0wR3lcLEtrJYxCViRplQi-j6aQy6jdF4q2ZRBvdvkbsDcCjX7Ji1yY4_5Xg85S6uF7d9zdg/s1600/079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZX61oYhdWnMKx7Dy9X0D8OsbcKlUsCiHqRRsbQOV509mnCtTHABSiQaPBwcfKn1pVwFX9u0wR3lcLEtrJYxCViRplQi-j6aQy6jdF4q2ZRBvdvkbsDcCjX7Ji1yY4_5Xg85S6uF7d9zdg/s400/079.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Local newscasters dubbed our recent storm “Winter Extreme” and “Slushmageddon.” Call it what you will, our days of snow and freezing rain was a brutal combination. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Like so many storms, it started as a gorgeous Winter Wonderland. A lovely dusting of snow fell on Sunday and we treasured the brightness and muffled quiet it draped over our yard and woods.</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrwScPyp-HhEq3IXNlzZr1dJpS2So3DIwjH7v8LRZcLimGzOaeLILejXD2fL07uE8tX0SG7Z-SFNjgt-aGxmCRhD0vet420WVE86EgISvjT913Q18QIRQzlnbyDgJZU_90J6Bp3hRTVPz/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrwScPyp-HhEq3IXNlzZr1dJpS2So3DIwjH7v8LRZcLimGzOaeLILejXD2fL07uE8tX0SG7Z-SFNjgt-aGxmCRhD0vet420WVE86EgISvjT913Q18QIRQzlnbyDgJZU_90J6Bp3hRTVPz/s400/001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It wasn't much snow on that first day but certainly enough for sledding</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGOLCcOyH0d6uPxUCouTRTx_3u5XjBH0mxVOJwJWxcC9gbJfGKLxc9jbtIhxNONqbbtPnWnxRZmFvNhacVvTGrEFjJi7UQLyx7-HWvt7-mRELOLm2jdDWWq5XATQAUuZkxtrNkVtUiMKX/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGOLCcOyH0d6uPxUCouTRTx_3u5XjBH0mxVOJwJWxcC9gbJfGKLxc9jbtIhxNONqbbtPnWnxRZmFvNhacVvTGrEFjJi7UQLyx7-HWvt7-mRELOLm2jdDWWq5XATQAUuZkxtrNkVtUiMKX/s400/017.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy gives Sara a boost</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjFmaHb7G0M6pqsjImkuHufUVP9DYIFo-S_wIV8QILI088TJgSBliz6x17Z5N3qsMiNv97s96uRv_GuiGvQmkIcE4SCU17Znjj820OuqM209imnhau85-JTGJLkKFoiRSBKHuUGaEngZo/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjFmaHb7G0M6pqsjImkuHufUVP9DYIFo-S_wIV8QILI088TJgSBliz6x17Z5N3qsMiNv97s96uRv_GuiGvQmkIcE4SCU17Znjj820OuqM209imnhau85-JTGJLkKFoiRSBKHuUGaEngZo/s400/010.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It didn't take long for our hill to turn to a slushy, muddy mess but that didn't stop our kids</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgBDPfEZaSGS0DHnGEh6Ltd6rs4u4mCUqIwe8LZmpt1A5SHyHMDSzvcesscYDrEvvZMwamkEjJx_C7mcIOPPvJCiiGRskM3CQFJFJc5vp9o6SHbOSSbR-u7Mcj8pxHodQXK4O5IiXDFVX/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgBDPfEZaSGS0DHnGEh6Ltd6rs4u4mCUqIwe8LZmpt1A5SHyHMDSzvcesscYDrEvvZMwamkEjJx_C7mcIOPPvJCiiGRskM3CQFJFJc5vp9o6SHbOSSbR-u7Mcj8pxHodQXK4O5IiXDFVX/s400/027.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girl loves to lay in the snow</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhVh4uFF90z4VpkTbX2fu9w0nohawjgLJayJueBO5rZ39XolULXvwBYicjzECNT3ahmSMhC27I7hixFJm4rzIKd6CCUWwff3ZzvzGH7jaIEwLyzsua-uO_-S45ZTAbJ4laRruCd7BWVZQ/s1600/040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhVh4uFF90z4VpkTbX2fu9w0nohawjgLJayJueBO5rZ39XolULXvwBYicjzECNT3ahmSMhC27I7hixFJm4rzIKd6CCUWwff3ZzvzGH7jaIEwLyzsua-uO_-S45ZTAbJ4laRruCd7BWVZQ/s400/040.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boy loves to walk in the woods</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWR-k06iozBttL5TlICNyE3P6uKLqmW2IUx5y6Wuuk89I5LF7KISHkXdpTRolqt4npjbR4jawxsmXSJ0tI3bgGevq69RU4h7G_-qDftO_k3tFzlNyHlGvlKVGuGp_fCgkC-bU66fB36qA/s1600/031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWR-k06iozBttL5TlICNyE3P6uKLqmW2IUx5y6Wuuk89I5LF7KISHkXdpTRolqt4npjbR4jawxsmXSJ0tI3bgGevq69RU4h7G_-qDftO_k3tFzlNyHlGvlKVGuGp_fCgkC-bU66fB36qA/s400/031.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They both love being goofy</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">More snow came on MLK Day (no school) and we spent almost the whole day outdoors. Bundled up in our coziest gear, we sledded down every vertical surface in the neighborhood. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO2MKJJP-kHSUl3OmiB4W6K0Yo1vNv1M4V0TGho-GKo9sd71ugSxS-LnwHjXWnUJ9RWgMSr_5i70KmD7J_BEzGJnUdSFfj4PPJooN0NSqbgyF9etUGXnQnkm-Gktd1eanXHxTsPC0Pn-ze/s1600/044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO2MKJJP-kHSUl3OmiB4W6K0Yo1vNv1M4V0TGho-GKo9sd71ugSxS-LnwHjXWnUJ9RWgMSr_5i70KmD7J_BEzGJnUdSFfj4PPJooN0NSqbgyF9etUGXnQnkm-Gktd1eanXHxTsPC0Pn-ze/s400/044.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Despite all of the fun we had on Monday, William cried when he heard that schools were closed on Tuesday due to road conditions; that boy loves Kindergarden. Later, it warmed up and rained, making the streets safe for us to get around. Considering the forecast, I figured we better get out while we could. Sara missed her morning preschool but made up for it by joining William all afternoon in his Kindergarten Enrichment program and I made a trip to the grocery store. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We woke to several inches (and more snow falling) on Wednesday. Naturally, more sledding ensued plus we made more snow angels, snowmen and snowladies, caught snowflakes on our tongues and tried to check them out under magnifying glasses after letting them fall on cold black paper. However, the unusually powdery small flakes didn’t show much shape under our magnifiers… later those flakes turned to freezing rain, driving all of us indoors for hot cocoa. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiJEmh7V3yRjV3G5cUVNRr3M5LcqMMGgRBMM9iiSCZvt64Q31w4XpjYGgt0CeJxLZ0vNp6Oy4Gvd2YwiAl063bQEJOcksUlQE-LFKerVY-aoZk-e_j5lMKL1kWR6swVOVgzsQM3PjHAKr/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiJEmh7V3yRjV3G5cUVNRr3M5LcqMMGgRBMM9iiSCZvt64Q31w4XpjYGgt0CeJxLZ0vNp6Oy4Gvd2YwiAl063bQEJOcksUlQE-LFKerVY-aoZk-e_j5lMKL1kWR6swVOVgzsQM3PjHAKr/s400/004.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aren't hummingbirds amazing? How do these little guys stay warm in weather like this?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The hummingbird feeder was frozen solid the following morning. When I went out to retrieve the feeder and warm it up, I noticed <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">a shiny thick layer of ice atop the snow and ice coating everything. This is when things started to get interesting… <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rob returned from his morning run (no, this dedicated runner doesn’t let ice or snow or freezing rain stop him) with reports of transformers blowing and flaming power lines down across the street with neighbors hollering “TURN BACK!!!!” as he calmly jogged along. Not that it stopped him from going again the next day, even he admitted, “yeah, it really wasn’t a good morning for running.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The kids loved walking on top of the snow with their feet only breaking through every fourth or fifth step with a satisfying crunch. And the big sheets of ice were great fun for them to shovel, lift and break and even taste… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-ezym2oBTvQyCGYQePxl6lkH6XpOW8WoV6d0fyil7a3cOOUcUaYLLIdgk9AuA_QHAHDg99lXYRfwFe9WAVk2Bi49EHugciEXudh_ui0lCRtYqhahFRGCi4e3YN9t5lLi-hRYyWPlAOZH/s1600/072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-ezym2oBTvQyCGYQePxl6lkH6XpOW8WoV6d0fyil7a3cOOUcUaYLLIdgk9AuA_QHAHDg99lXYRfwFe9WAVk2Bi49EHugciEXudh_ui0lCRtYqhahFRGCi4e3YN9t5lLi-hRYyWPlAOZH/s400/072.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting on a snow bench</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjg3MJ1wYfUIC862tzaYq0evZkvi6snPJEV2nIfa9UabixG1SMdjXwVKjwFIuFHfiDPbHMbyqHQfcofQB7qTNSxnPbk0pufmbeXJHtqlMHA__pG_FDBQu4rqePdncbSXE7Ezd3Qy7E8KYY/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjg3MJ1wYfUIC862tzaYq0evZkvi6snPJEV2nIfa9UabixG1SMdjXwVKjwFIuFHfiDPbHMbyqHQfcofQB7qTNSxnPbk0pufmbeXJHtqlMHA__pG_FDBQu4rqePdncbSXE7Ezd3Qy7E8KYY/s400/035.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He means business</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsGpLDQNomaVA4QWRDu33O9c6JgpG3-slcNyXYvvHyB1m6oEd4O5Ulcn7rBeM0RJhBWg2ft5ddmjH8GlOyB-NKo6gnp2fr-yYPWemZBjAEE4wfkIZJeGNTQ_ji9ArYHClLTz0E-fNfn5z/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsGpLDQNomaVA4QWRDu33O9c6JgpG3-slcNyXYvvHyB1m6oEd4O5Ulcn7rBeM0RJhBWg2ft5ddmjH8GlOyB-NKo6gnp2fr-yYPWemZBjAEE4wfkIZJeGNTQ_ji9ArYHClLTz0E-fNfn5z/s400/046.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcu2v4JJRoULyf9-zcm5hV7uKhRGjyCL4gJ2ZnWIKUmUmy8cgCaaxOnE-kprc5IYKdqs2pzVS_crHtR9tns6kSBfalQmNarL9DNa_rSpM_08_RsGlHuyxMhyJlYOBisZNM2BesxGNdvBm/s1600/053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcu2v4JJRoULyf9-zcm5hV7uKhRGjyCL4gJ2ZnWIKUmUmy8cgCaaxOnE-kprc5IYKdqs2pzVS_crHtR9tns6kSBfalQmNarL9DNa_rSpM_08_RsGlHuyxMhyJlYOBisZNM2BesxGNdvBm/s400/053.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0jnex2znWkGwixij0XbsFUKQk93ME0BkKX5jJJIosZbhrPQfbff3K68IB39buA3P55h80NBk-gOF8q0OyfK1Sh4N6ZU74ugYhTWH4iNHHbNXqMaVAZzztPAjT7aaPq59GhF2LH_2Pundk/s1600/057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0jnex2znWkGwixij0XbsFUKQk93ME0BkKX5jJJIosZbhrPQfbff3K68IB39buA3P55h80NBk-gOF8q0OyfK1Sh4N6ZU74ugYhTWH4iNHHbNXqMaVAZzztPAjT7aaPq59GhF2LH_2Pundk/s400/057.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice Lanterns (propped three small sheets of ice together and added a votive candle) would have been beautiful at night but so much snow and ice was falling that the flames were quickly extinguished</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sledding on the slippery icy surface would have been thrilling but it was out of the question with the cacophony of thunderous cracks and snaps coming from the woods around our house. We weren’t about to head anywhere near the woods or anywhere with power lines overhead. Crushing weight from the ice was taking everything down.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It didn’t take long for our flickering lights to darken to a total blackout. Silence… no fridge humming, no computer “thinking,” no Pandora radio, no heater blowing, just quiet. Well, all quiet except for the kids shouting their very animated reactions to everything suddenly turning off. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>To be continued (when I'm not rushing off to pick a kid up at preschool)...<o:p></o:p></em></span></span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-65412216319527784702012-01-14T22:09:00.000-08:002012-01-14T22:09:06.836-08:00Gets 'Em Every Time<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Regardless of the weather, all I have to say is “Scavenger
Hunt!” to get the kids interested in venturing outdoors. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When
they were younger I would make the lists for them and draw pictures for clues since
they weren’t reading. They still aren’t reading but now they create their
own lists complete with pictures. </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyaVe5aI962wOZptn1gsrHxwwz6KDuM17iIIFHmwEGjZb8v2fgZjlQSY7N4Z_KWVwL8xL4rlvL_CjBGjF2DVl6XvmuTF5ZtUaB7qvJYiS2NoHRJYok7P3km7wLLUnnGAZb0oxPRyYDyNip/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyaVe5aI962wOZptn1gsrHxwwz6KDuM17iIIFHmwEGjZb8v2fgZjlQSY7N4Z_KWVwL8xL4rlvL_CjBGjF2DVl6XvmuTF5ZtUaB7qvJYiS2NoHRJYok7P3km7wLLUnnGAZb0oxPRyYDyNip/s400/025.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I write the words for my 3 year old and she draws the pictures. She added a happy blue version of herself (lower right with wild curly hair) and said "Look! I on da list! We have look for Sara out there!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My Kindergarten boy carefully sounds out the words and gets the letters on his paper, wonderful practice activity, by the way.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPc0FJ2JhgQjtb17JXF6oIoYGgF8lgMb6yDx8Nz6T_T8K_AHuxF_NFJuLEtczpKSodyX8of-kAgVBCXM677uHYVWv2STt9VMHV1_eQwNMgyaIvoL1ZVJ8UKWOcZkIytj5FHnLtipZQ20r/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPc0FJ2JhgQjtb17JXF6oIoYGgF8lgMb6yDx8Nz6T_T8K_AHuxF_NFJuLEtczpKSodyX8of-kAgVBCXM677uHYVWv2STt9VMHV1_eQwNMgyaIvoL1ZVJ8UKWOcZkIytj5FHnLtipZQ20r/s400/019.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, we didn't go out in search of bears, he is writing "berry"</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They thought I was fooling when I suggested we search for ice but they humored me and wrote it down anyhow. Then, despite my encouragement otherwise, they put on their light jackets (Sara only had on a sundress to start with.... sigh) and we headed outside.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0wiM8xpTKhgi0kkwDo2vApNR_4n3J_wdQ05teTnrb0110ch498_CKpMz-WSjgardupd2GQtRhG3yZn-kg6Z1vhjM9f4KeaciBSzu69-Tx8xP2Z6Gi2tEAHIJRqYABnoKzxrL0N4TMsy7/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0wiM8xpTKhgi0kkwDo2vApNR_4n3J_wdQ05teTnrb0110ch498_CKpMz-WSjgardupd2GQtRhG3yZn-kg6Z1vhjM9f4KeaciBSzu69-Tx8xP2Z6Gi2tEAHIJRqYABnoKzxrL0N4TMsy7/s400/022.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ice was the first thing they found and of course they wanted to crack it. Fascinated by the bubbles frozen inside and the cracks from the rocks hitting the ice, my budding scientists peered into the bird bath. When they were looking closely, they noticed something special: rainbows! They were delighted and Momma was impressed.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's hard to see but several colorful prisms of light appeared in the fissures</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wonderment over the rainbows was quickly replaced by determination to crack that ice. William decided rocks weren't doing the job fast enough so he ran off to find something more serious.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhka9j5yufYlPmp5Mkfl0BhyphenhyphentVt_GkTa9jK_xyIaOXqxGrzg3CtU6n1GJ6cpTC7JlQwO6Slij3QWEpQ34pXLBCtIX8TFRcBxEAAxrPi0FSlcY4Lv5n46n1OdgdA_QUHQ6C8gfa9VURpXMiT/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhka9j5yufYlPmp5Mkfl0BhyphenhyphentVt_GkTa9jK_xyIaOXqxGrzg3CtU6n1GJ6cpTC7JlQwO6Slij3QWEpQ34pXLBCtIX8TFRcBxEAAxrPi0FSlcY4Lv5n46n1OdgdA_QUHQ6C8gfa9VURpXMiT/s400/035.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What is it with boys and tools?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behind that ice there is a grin</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We trekked into the woods behind our house, William with his handy hammer, Sara in her sundress and Mom following with her camera (wearing a warm coat and scarf, by the way, it was freezing)! </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRqo_pqSWSZgmkQO7RRYaDEXlZVO0F_5WncdggqDoq_Z2JD2-l3mY9yzyLWZp_Ng-YD5pieAcZsvqkj1H8Y4nD2cKOR1h59_AZ0dZ4ZxuCnscBfsyU8JwGL6r57BTo5LYHbawMh13e5YAh/s1600/036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRqo_pqSWSZgmkQO7RRYaDEXlZVO0F_5WncdggqDoq_Z2JD2-l3mY9yzyLWZp_Ng-YD5pieAcZsvqkj1H8Y4nD2cKOR1h59_AZ0dZ4ZxuCnscBfsyU8JwGL6r57BTo5LYHbawMh13e5YAh/s400/036.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We didn’t find everything on the list (all of the spiders are tucked in for the
winter so no webs were to be found) but we walked in the woods, chased each
other, and ran around so much that none of us got cold after all. </span></span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-44382154596250486562012-01-12T22:12:00.000-08:002012-01-12T22:12:28.408-08:00Something New for the New YearI only recently learned what a blog hop is and honestly, I'm still kind of figuring it out. So far, it's been a great way to find new projects and new blogs while inviting others to see what we've been up to here. I posted <a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/accessories-fit-for-fairy-princess.html">Sara's Fairy Princess Accessories</a> but now it looks like my graphic link is broken. Oh well, I'm learning.
Anyhow, take a look, hop around and have fun...
<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=123176" type="text/javascript" ></script>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-83131849322906511322012-01-05T05:03:00.000-08:002012-01-12T22:01:27.079-08:00Growth and Hope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmS6slKJQCDi3SpgDG3josFsbxzaHRebI0BXMtn7_KqGyfQvjzKynHWg_tsINRiqfbUKM5X9F2223imP60J0y61I_ZYAoekgCQJtL97oKwvlxH5cVWJAs-fge3P6THN2S3t-zO8x-vit4h/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmS6slKJQCDi3SpgDG3josFsbxzaHRebI0BXMtn7_KqGyfQvjzKynHWg_tsINRiqfbUKM5X9F2223imP60J0y61I_ZYAoekgCQJtL97oKwvlxH5cVWJAs-fge3P6THN2S3t-zO8x-vit4h/s400/024.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Two amaryllis bulbs</span> + two pots + expanding soil = two curious kids eager to track the growth of their chosen bulbs. Cuckoo Grandma brought these fun gifts for the kids; Sara chose pink and white while William picked the bright red one. Little did he know that the red variety blooms later than the other… at least we hoped that was what was going on as we witnessed her bulb shooting up quickly (sometimes an inch a day) while his quietly stood by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We measured Sara’s bulb a few times and recorded our findings but our little scientific experiment was overshadowed by William’s disappointment. I explained that this was part of the process and sometimes bulbs and seeds sprout at different times and sometimes they won’t even grow at all but to not give up on his bulb yet. When glorious blush-colored flowers as big as Sara’s head proudly started opening, I knew it was time to take action.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnMX59cjlt8bsBMHSNn-TQleiOzT6sCGiTAPBT-8N2A9Iks5A5SbZNiPkCQl7Dq06hl3LOst4Bxx_Z2SqiLzzerwMMbMA5RFI6YFmR_Z6wsTRJbxwp3kcs746aPuv8JydlESCkLuTyowe/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnMX59cjlt8bsBMHSNn-TQleiOzT6sCGiTAPBT-8N2A9Iks5A5SbZNiPkCQl7Dq06hl3LOst4Bxx_Z2SqiLzzerwMMbMA5RFI6YFmR_Z6wsTRJbxwp3kcs746aPuv8JydlESCkLuTyowe/s400/039.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Upon closer inspection (ie. yanking the non-performing bulb out of the soil) we found considerable root rot. After plucking off all the soft brown bits we left behind 4 or 5 nice fresh white roots, said some encouraging words to the red amaryllis bulb, buried it again, and hoped. Two days later we were still hoping but on the third day we saw a glimmer of life! One of the sprouting leaves looked slightly taller and a new green tip was also starting to show. I am so happy to report that in one day William’s bulb grew at least a half inch and has continued at a remarkable rate. It is now a promising 7 inches tall and we’re still enjoying the gorgeous pink flowers of Sara’s plant. Now William explains to everyone (as I have been saying in an encouraging tone this whole past month since planting), that once Sara’s is all done, we’ll have pretty red flowers to look at so it’s cool that his was slower. Phew! Close call. </span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-46413049116228271192011-12-31T10:25:00.000-08:002012-01-03T11:24:17.877-08:00A Lesson Learned<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAIsdg8js_U8hALuka63zKFyNZ_ervt2ZbZ_30xygGbEkpL4wwGH6RIYIcKvSdZCjBo79VbTm3tez6Shv3jhgYGERBLmciVPwwos-BWTQqDBT7pKEufS22EY3yulJbdRXnQelM5SP3PMjz/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAIsdg8js_U8hALuka63zKFyNZ_ervt2ZbZ_30xygGbEkpL4wwGH6RIYIcKvSdZCjBo79VbTm3tez6Shv3jhgYGERBLmciVPwwos-BWTQqDBT7pKEufS22EY3yulJbdRXnQelM5SP3PMjz/s400/032.JPG" width="278" /></a></div><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Handmade gifts are the only way to go. Beyond thrilled with their homemade costumes (<a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/accessories-fit-for-fairy-princess.html" target="_blank">Princess Accessories</a> and a <a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/last-minute-costume-gift-making.html" target="_blank">SWAT Team Vest</a>), Sara and William have been telling anyone who will listen about their “fancy clip clop princess shoes” and “cool police gear” their Momma made for them. It’s the first thing they mention when asked about what they received for Christmas. Yes, I am aglow with joy every time this happens and next year I’ll give myself way more time to craft and create for my children.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JTOiXd-GBSI0hNTCkH-Q02lT1IsVf4-QIkADvVbXpmKYuYsYSg_Lx5BZ6tkNq0k9f_Pbz_2T36i8fAivNgMj3_4zML-RVP9DSaVKKUDOs0QiH9FUf6hpDtIUDmNE2DpidUdHnOUaawM3/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JTOiXd-GBSI0hNTCkH-Q02lT1IsVf4-QIkADvVbXpmKYuYsYSg_Lx5BZ6tkNq0k9f_Pbz_2T36i8fAivNgMj3_4zML-RVP9DSaVKKUDOs0QiH9FUf6hpDtIUDmNE2DpidUdHnOUaawM3/s400/021.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The C.S.I. hat from an evidence collection kit (a gift I had forgotten about) turned out to be perfect with his vest</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ad0Us4BV-hGwp02E6t3k_EKTXJLhRx9N283NgNCR0Bb3mA9iD8iKI1lGuqRkG3k3urA_uT88G5kN9cdGUkZh0R9wi3rDpS8DxYi9j5WMkTFYnEusewFJWpGPbs48u_y2xBBmq6gKAxbP/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ad0Us4BV-hGwp02E6t3k_EKTXJLhRx9N283NgNCR0Bb3mA9iD8iKI1lGuqRkG3k3urA_uT88G5kN9cdGUkZh0R9wi3rDpS8DxYi9j5WMkTFYnEusewFJWpGPbs48u_y2xBBmq6gKAxbP/s400/022.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Furiously writing us all "tickets" (even though there were still a bunch of gifts to open)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8tXKDKTFq3LSNMs8101epyzAkmVVJuKS6sKJkOs1q4QK6wlBMmvGY_bV-axVt_GBIP2K-ZWSRXcOhUb7AyoSXWutFhnA5lQD5nSj-x2gXQLgeKZxfp1JxDMUuDlSOhpnffYPtQKnaXxg/s1600/052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8tXKDKTFq3LSNMs8101epyzAkmVVJuKS6sKJkOs1q4QK6wlBMmvGY_bV-axVt_GBIP2K-ZWSRXcOhUb7AyoSXWutFhnA5lQD5nSj-x2gXQLgeKZxfp1JxDMUuDlSOhpnffYPtQKnaXxg/s400/052.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Now I can get out da window like Punzel!" (The long ribbons dangling from the back of her crown reminded her of Rapunzel's super long hair)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-NkH9bbpr2vDGJZuZCgId9yiUZf-be8DZNU-_fYQGm33uUhL0LmgbxPwwC5ZbHtR300IscN87f0fdo2lYtyzvSNchbXqwOWLDeiCO-tKEAO3NmOy41rL80ZNCG8I0rst6kFdP9J_WMzM/s1600/053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-NkH9bbpr2vDGJZuZCgId9yiUZf-be8DZNU-_fYQGm33uUhL0LmgbxPwwC5ZbHtR300IscN87f0fdo2lYtyzvSNchbXqwOWLDeiCO-tKEAO3NmOy41rL80ZNCG8I0rst6kFdP9J_WMzM/s400/053.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I can wear these outside, Mom?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not sure why it took me so long to figure this out, perhaps insecurity about my own design talents (or lack thereof) but the joy with which my handmades were received will forever erase my hesitation. Curiosity about how I put it all together was another benefit – the kids wanted to know what materials I used and how I put everything together. Once they heard how things were made, they were inspired to make magic wands for a couple of friends…. and this was on Christmas day when they were surrounded by new toys to play with! Yes, another aglow with happiness moment.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A whole other level of handmade beauty also came my way this holiday. My incredibly talented artist friend, Michelle Willows (watch for her in the future, people!), surprised me with these exceptional hand drawn portraits of my kids. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4R7jdDrSxhDFHdr1c7WV5I22ch3q_Q4KsyIOaghoaP8XaodiujxUbhGP2RH3glYD3XjPNLEhnV3uz_RERa1bo4-dN4PFP5i9O08HUmZju1DPXTtgDTnfm01wJsx974Rf0LQ_nzY-rcPnT/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4R7jdDrSxhDFHdr1c7WV5I22ch3q_Q4KsyIOaghoaP8XaodiujxUbhGP2RH3glYD3XjPNLEhnV3uz_RERa1bo4-dN4PFP5i9O08HUmZju1DPXTtgDTnfm01wJsx974Rf0LQ_nzY-rcPnT/s400/001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYt-zdgxBfWLrb_OrP10yd15Cj1aLFa6xgNsnu4_FNYDQRkdGKWzvJ0LFZR4T-Y60ywFJi9OFqGbQKCrP1LcLeXZldPNcHBN-hraNJYkIkaX1rxGw_fa__QOQLP-P6p39s4mKVAUbJaQTL/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYt-zdgxBfWLrb_OrP10yd15Cj1aLFa6xgNsnu4_FNYDQRkdGKWzvJ0LFZR4T-Y60ywFJi9OFqGbQKCrP1LcLeXZldPNcHBN-hraNJYkIkaX1rxGw_fa__QOQLP-P6p39s4mKVAUbJaQTL/s400/002.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">What a personal, thoughtful, brilliant gift. I will be forver grateful. I'm not sure I can ever return the favor at the same caliber but thankfully this beloved friend is a fan of <a href="http://smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/handmade-holiday-gifts.html" target="_blank">glittery pinecones, homemade granola</a>, and paper stars. Thank you, dear girlfriend, we love you!</span>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-17934968402033304162011-12-30T21:40:00.000-08:002011-12-30T21:40:43.760-08:00First "Real" Movie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrCC-torU63Qizs8pSLhtStjEQutL_dUIdkFisUg_FDM3EaHawVgHUv4LCzv6CRlNus7ma3Z38z-q-Qi-1kJ34QR95QQsLf5Lejp3YAVEt1mMpXBCkr3UBiG4pvmMWB_BD8LLfjXu7CQJ/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrCC-torU63Qizs8pSLhtStjEQutL_dUIdkFisUg_FDM3EaHawVgHUv4LCzv6CRlNus7ma3Z38z-q-Qi-1kJ34QR95QQsLf5Lejp3YAVEt1mMpXBCkr3UBiG4pvmMWB_BD8LLfjXu7CQJ/s400/003.JPG" width="283" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Forget Frosty, we have a new favorite Christmas movie. Not only was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arthur Christmas</i> one of the most charming and funny holiday films I’ve seen, it was also the first movie my children have seen in a movie theater so it will always be special. I’ll never forget their look of wonder staring up at the big screen and their joy with the fancy springy seats and “oh my gosh, Mom, cup holders right on our chairs!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmn2tTeHeB2aIgwq3ld0QPL0RhmF8falofJGh8oGUVAK0YYJolVmNIzSkReduVgOXCI7Lw9toAURxgKqqWhf94-GswR6fbimazGp2U4ji20spqF7VTwI9fZcsCGzhTgYSCJ57AVoyrQyW/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmn2tTeHeB2aIgwq3ld0QPL0RhmF8falofJGh8oGUVAK0YYJolVmNIzSkReduVgOXCI7Lw9toAURxgKqqWhf94-GswR6fbimazGp2U4ji20spqF7VTwI9fZcsCGzhTgYSCJ57AVoyrQyW/s400/001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In awe of the candy selection (we kept it simple with just popcorn)</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After spending the morning visiting with her and another dear friend and her daughter, my former employer and the kids' Fairy Godmother Paula treated us to this impromptu matinee. I could tell she was a little shocked that I had never taken the kids to a movie theater but when I explained that I simply haven’t felt that the enormous screen and surround sound is necessarily good for their ears or brains, I think she understood. Plus, you never know how much sarcasm or bathroom humor is going to be included in kids’ movies these days (not age appropriate for a 3 and 5-year old if you ask me) so I’ve just chosen to avoid it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But I have to say that there couldn’t have been a more perfect first “real movie” than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arthur Christmas</i>. With just the right balance of plot and action, it kept my kids engaged and entertained throughout. Futuristic touches made it “cool enough” for my boy while the friendships and cute factor made it great for my girl. Both of them laughed hysterically at several parts. Only a couple of scenes made Sara ask to hold my hand and William just came and sat on my lap once…. pretty good for a couple of kids who have never sat in a vast dark theater while a big screen whisked them away to another world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Too bad it doesn’t have much longer in the movie theaters at this point (sorry, we’re a little late to hop on the movie bandwagon) but this will be one we watch for on DVD to watch every year together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-8919391769589267802011-12-25T05:23:00.000-08:002011-12-25T05:23:01.041-08:00Christmas Greetings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6qw8u8b6NeF_Rx8UfO5C-eukbc6wJp2RqOUeJM9TbDqeTVZ1wTLJlI3aWyOwf43-3t4OHOGj69btE5gpHPD0V91eR38pATd6fqfYM5E56rq2N-isQX-bx54HT0fSho0fyJu4gMmmJGuo/s1600/053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6qw8u8b6NeF_Rx8UfO5C-eukbc6wJp2RqOUeJM9TbDqeTVZ1wTLJlI3aWyOwf43-3t4OHOGj69btE5gpHPD0V91eR38pATd6fqfYM5E56rq2N-isQX-bx54HT0fSho0fyJu4gMmmJGuo/s400/053.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-17339254595197664742011-12-24T21:23:00.000-08:002012-01-11T13:14:06.820-08:00Last Minute Costume Gift Making<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Feeling guilty that there wasn’t a handmade gift under the tree for my boy, I went commando craft-o while Daddy took the kids out today. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since last Halloween, William has wanted a S.W.A.T. team costume that he saw at our friends’ house (and has borrowed a couple times since). I decided to make him one of his own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">S.W.A.T Vest <br />
</b>The store bought costumes aren’t all that elaborate, just a black vest with SWAT written on it and usually some pockets and fasteners. Once again my strange abundance of crafting supplies came in handy. I used a large sheet of firm black felt for the front of the vest and a rectangle of soft black felt for the back (now it looks bulletproof from the front but it’ll still be soft and comfortable to wear). Trusty glue gun in hand, I turned it into an over-the-head vest with two strips of felt across the shoulders, attached a couple of felt pockets, some old badge clips, and modified an old black pocketbook that was just collecting dust in my closet. The change purse and interior slots for credit cards and a checkbook will be a great place for him to store a pen and pad of paper in case he needs to write someone a ticket. Old wires and broken chargers from cameras and cell phones were a nice touch too. I put one toward the top so he can pretend it’s some kind of headphone and clipped another one lower, to use like a radio. The finishing touch was a big S.W.A.T. painted across the top front. I used acrylic paint because that’s what I had on hand but fabric paint would have been better (letter stencils would have helped too but my boy won’t care that the letters aren’t perfect).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">S.W.A.T Helmet<br />
</b>Grammy might recognize this when William opens it on Christmas morning… it’s actually from a set of plastic Kitchen Aid bowls she gave me a few years back. It’s so lightweight that it was never great for mixing but it does make a superb helmet. The smooth surface was a little harder to paint and I’m not thrilled with how it turned out but it’ll be a fun addition to the costume. Glue gunning on a weird plastic doodad from some kind of a container made a nice breathing mask in case the little pretender encounters any poison gases.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Bad-Guy Catching Cuffs</strong> (not pictured)<br />
When searching for a box, I came across the lightweight cardboard “sleeve” supports that came with his last pair of Bogs boots and remembered with him playing with them when the boots were new. Starting with those as a frame, I wrote SWAT on each one and glue gunned on some black tech-y looking items left behind from broken toys, an old buckle from a car seat (the red button will look like something important, most likely some kind of weapon), and some weird bits we accumulated the last time we went to <a href="http://creationstationinc.com/" target="_blank">Creation Station</a> up in Lynwood (more about that place on another day, it’s a great destination for inventive kids). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Follow up Note: Click <a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/lesson-learned.html" target="_blank">here</a> to see how it all turned out Christmas Morning.</span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-25656404820848180502011-12-23T22:30:00.000-08:002012-01-11T13:13:20.259-08:00Accessories Fit for a Fairy Princess<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGosY_qJmInTUXOQ70nrF_IlmpfVR5m3frDVcuh3mXwaPUF117qK2mvjUkNgcCMhIYRiOEFbTXLFPVZBw1q6wLVRpMlZzqKIMttc5Ms-fzPiOLmjo6ipAwyvR0UaAc8fR6hfimu-nvkZy/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGosY_qJmInTUXOQ70nrF_IlmpfVR5m3frDVcuh3mXwaPUF117qK2mvjUkNgcCMhIYRiOEFbTXLFPVZBw1q6wLVRpMlZzqKIMttc5Ms-fzPiOLmjo6ipAwyvR0UaAc8fR6hfimu-nvkZy/s400/003.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Discouraged by high prices for cheaply made princess paraphernalia and the insanely long line at the toy store, I decided to make some last minute handmade Christmas gifts for my girl. I’m no seamstress but I do have plenty of sparkly craft supplies on hand and I know how to wield a glue gun!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Crown<br />
</b>Digging in my various craft boxes, I was able to find supplies for a flower crown with flowing ribbons. Using two chenille pipe cleaners as a base, I connected them to one another, tied a long ribbon to one end (having previously measured it to leave long strips of ribbon at each end)then wrapped it around and around until it came to the other end at which I made another tie. Next came a string of pearl beads and I used the same technique, tying it at one end, wrapping it around and around then tying it off at the end. That actually looked pretty good but the perfect finishing touch was 5 little red ribbon roses. I glue-gunned those on and also used spots of glue to better secure the pearls. I will wait until Christmas morning to fit it perfectly to her head but it should be as easy as twisting ends together to make a custom Princess headpiece!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Shoes<br />
</b>Do you have shoes in your closet that your kids always play with but you never wear? For me, it’s a few “clip clop shoes” with low heels that my kids love to thump thump thump around in. I’ve always worried that if I bought my daughter some of those little slightly high-heeled dress-up princess shoes, she’d want to wear them all the time. However, if my ridiculously-too-large-for-her clip clop shoes are her dress up shoes, it’s likely that she’ll only wear them for dress up… at least that’s what I’m hoping. I glue gunned on some faceted acrylic jewels and used glitter glue to make some one-of-a-kind fancy shoes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Magic Wand<br />
</b>Glue-gunned onto a broken old wand, one of my <a href="http://smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/handmade-holiday-gifts.html" target="_blank">handmade paper stars</a> became a perfect topper for a elaborate new wand. Final touches included more strategically placed “jewels” and glitter glue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Follow up note: <a href="http://www.smallhandsbigworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/lesson-learned.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see how it all turned out!</span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-86607778098580055392011-12-22T22:52:00.000-08:002011-12-22T22:52:56.821-08:00Advent Adventures: Face Painting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SBCr4USzLPzN4KrhTBBKeajTTNEeql36gbTJwLt-IUddJSL_K7Xug542LjKbm_Q_QD29pewb5Uqr-Hj9jusYs-KuZpxfCv8klVfKDFhfv83u7l9PRVOATWGHDcieSaYN5tw2DNG_ZEvJ/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SBCr4USzLPzN4KrhTBBKeajTTNEeql36gbTJwLt-IUddJSL_K7Xug542LjKbm_Q_QD29pewb5Uqr-Hj9jusYs-KuZpxfCv8klVfKDFhfv83u7l9PRVOATWGHDcieSaYN5tw2DNG_ZEvJ/s400/021.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Silliness runs in our family, primarily on my side. I'm afraid mess-making is another thing we’re known for. In honor of Cuckoo Grandma’s (my Mom’s) pre-holiday surprise visit, we pulled out all the stops. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">William became a superhero: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fire and lightning man, to be specific. Sara became a blue kitty. Then Cuckoo Grandma wanted to join the fun as a clown. She is such a good sport.</span></span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwY4c6V7RiqZyVNGBJel2PqH1QLxPKkbf8iFpPv49DsyersW4BebQxmpGTBzBjnad-ivffsPmt3zkirzg4IdS_uWSAX8vJ7PxzA7-SkSuLGftlcJLDYgPsWfomHWbdlNxozfMYmwgGsdn/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwY4c6V7RiqZyVNGBJel2PqH1QLxPKkbf8iFpPv49DsyersW4BebQxmpGTBzBjnad-ivffsPmt3zkirzg4IdS_uWSAX8vJ7PxzA7-SkSuLGftlcJLDYgPsWfomHWbdlNxozfMYmwgGsdn/s400/019.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
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</div><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Like so many of our activities, face painting started out tame…until it wasn’t any more. <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Itching to get their hands on makeup sponges and brushes with the face paint, the kids talked me into letting them “just paint something small on my cheek.” </span></span></span></span></div></o:p></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSPu4PehHMaoj2ieZfdeT0rHiA9kdkULzQ1dpyBUtmOn_BrBrMe-smL1NfWMRPs4GWtKvHvP1NWik2WiZlAjoSgMklDlEk3Sg3VquNemlGX7vnQM1ZQjOiBuuTN_jWXmkPpVzVCEnLgFY/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSPu4PehHMaoj2ieZfdeT0rHiA9kdkULzQ1dpyBUtmOn_BrBrMe-smL1NfWMRPs4GWtKvHvP1NWik2WiZlAjoSgMklDlEk3Sg3VquNemlGX7vnQM1ZQjOiBuuTN_jWXmkPpVzVCEnLgFY/s400/035.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Um, William? I'm pretty sure that's not my cheek</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrY-iW1IrnbvO_4T4HNw1EZfX9zn4ok96ch9UuaN9M95FJ01F6J3gdIei6541hOlJhqZhb-aFsgvdlVOs9f7wrEuM8W3pBFI6HfWSZ0HL68YMofoqZbG6Oxk63ndKyyHfJLP-cWYUc7tgY/s1600/038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrY-iW1IrnbvO_4T4HNw1EZfX9zn4ok96ch9UuaN9M95FJ01F6J3gdIei6541hOlJhqZhb-aFsgvdlVOs9f7wrEuM8W3pBFI6HfWSZ0HL68YMofoqZbG6Oxk63ndKyyHfJLP-cWYUc7tgY/s400/038.JPG" width="345" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice! I'm all set for my audition for Braveheart 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-4074659215271436402011-12-21T23:01:00.000-08:002011-12-22T23:06:51.306-08:00Solstice Snowflakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hDH2YYYAPOGAQK2pt2e8qEqXZT2_38YNOnYsm1HmsV0cftIo3t63PYGdenLpsHYoDgxUK3EnEH1RkBO5un7BeaxhJyp4DFe6Y8cIN30DxNEEBJ72yoTJw0aOYHEnsMM9M32IKvgNK5yl/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hDH2YYYAPOGAQK2pt2e8qEqXZT2_38YNOnYsm1HmsV0cftIo3t63PYGdenLpsHYoDgxUK3EnEH1RkBO5un7BeaxhJyp4DFe6Y8cIN30DxNEEBJ72yoTJw0aOYHEnsMM9M32IKvgNK5yl/s400/011.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvhpR-LYLZdfn-xPVZDQFI86onMM1cEr_mpMGUEuZBLwdPKw4X1c4b2Z_rBE92PhfoKDzYiOEtMKbmtstCIeg0rNXUnP_HDgxHluDmIw7Z0nJ61zT32ouN5wmenCT75fWl4zenDqj0TtP/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvhpR-LYLZdfn-xPVZDQFI86onMM1cEr_mpMGUEuZBLwdPKw4X1c4b2Z_rBE92PhfoKDzYiOEtMKbmtstCIeg0rNXUnP_HDgxHluDmIw7Z0nJ61zT32ouN5wmenCT75fWl4zenDqj0TtP/s400/004.JPG" width="345" /></a></div><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A serious chill is in the air but our first days of winter have been bathed in sunshine. Dressing up, marching with drums and flutes, singing and dancing, running around naked, and general merry-making seem to be a part of most of our days so we’re right on track with pagan rituals but I hoped to come up with something meaningful for Solstice. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Keeping it simple, we honored the shortest day of the year with a candlelit breakfast, making paper snowflakes (without the lit candles on the table, by the way) and we spent a lot of time talking about the earth’s relationship to the sun. Next year we may have dinner (or at least dessert) by candlelight too but the kids were wiped out after a day of fun with Cuckoo Grandma and friends. I had the pleasure of ending the day with a Yoga class taught by one of my favorite teachers which felt like a beautiful way to welcome the light's return.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-959488437518933475.post-39150120353954456382011-12-20T23:24:00.000-08:002011-12-22T23:41:34.860-08:00Christmas in Downtown Seattle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYLKtHra_5lpsx1d4wc8JBolxMx1fo8rNPGo36qX7U0tHTPg8l5FBYVEQzgNa-zgo10Xg77TwAa4OWudwN-qJTJY6v1PyyzRa7fDyMkHq8U7o8Q_13D0QFxQb0zoMKNLVTJCaLWKVZ8oR/s1600/042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYLKtHra_5lpsx1d4wc8JBolxMx1fo8rNPGo36qX7U0tHTPg8l5FBYVEQzgNa-zgo10Xg77TwAa4OWudwN-qJTJY6v1PyyzRa7fDyMkHq8U7o8Q_13D0QFxQb0zoMKNLVTJCaLWKVZ8oR/s400/042.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What store were you in today?” Daddy asked at the dinner table. Since a special “Santa House” is built for the holidays (and they were so busy enjoying being downtown with their sweet Grammy) the kids didn’t realize they were even near a store when visiting Santa. When I answered “Nordstrom,” Sara perked right up and asked, “da North Pole?!” Come to think of it, those names do have a similar ring to them. It’s our third year making the trek into Seattle to visit the jolly old guy at the flagship Nordstrom store and I have to say that even though the line was long, we’ll keep going back because Nordstrom pulls off a mini North Pole experience beautifully.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Something new for us this year was getting a phone call when our turn came around. Leave it to Nordstrom to think of something like this instead of making us wait in the cold for more than an hour. Once we finished our hot cocoa and lattes across the street and received the call that it was our turn, friendly “elf” employees offered apple cider and cookies while we waited. Unlike many mall setups, parents are invited to take photographs of the kids with Santa in addition to the professional photographer selling packages there. The dear Nordstrom Santa greets every child by name and takes his time visiting with each one, gently asking questions and listening to all their requests. We also witnessed the very patient photographer pull a crying 1 year old out of a complete tizzy by pretending to sneeze and making a beanie baby fall off her head each time (I’ll have to try that one at home sometime). The whole experience was a pleasure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Telling Santa "I want YOU to surprise me"</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Seeing Santa then heading to the carousel and either the Sheraton for Gingerbread Houses or The Fairmont for the Teddy Bear Suite has become a beloved tradition for us with Grammy. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stopping to read a book in the sumptuous Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel (we wandered around a bit and showed the kids the room where their Daddy and I were married too)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwZ1i6Wp1QOP_NCNMmqEG-xEPAS25z29OqUZzthV_idlWgpFB6LtNWhPtzRHHL7cYwQWp7_x8e_a_Kka0YncT47LXyrrDfnKWkhldQF4xrW_u1jB4dp5YvSCltxkDULr9IF7PsOou9OZa/s1600/097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwZ1i6Wp1QOP_NCNMmqEG-xEPAS25z29OqUZzthV_idlWgpFB6LtNWhPtzRHHL7cYwQWp7_x8e_a_Kka0YncT47LXyrrDfnKWkhldQF4xrW_u1jB4dp5YvSCltxkDULr9IF7PsOou9OZa/s400/097.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After our carousel ride</td></tr>
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</div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11765484813135612638noreply@blogger.com0