Hope for the Future

As you may have gathered from this post, I washed windows yesterday.  A couple of things came from this: first, I am officially out of Windex.  I'm pretty sure this current bottle has lasted at least 3 years.  That should tell you how often I wash windows.  And before you ask, no, I am not going to replace my Windex with diluted vinegar...that stuff stinks.  For as long as it lasts in this house, I believe I'm entitled to splurge on overpriced chemicals to *ahem* clean my windows (a little hard to type that with a straight face).

Second, I had a very tangible revelation of hope for the future.  You know that Bible verse that goes:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

I'm pretty sure this isn't quite what the LORD had in mind when God spoke those words through the prophet Jeremiah, but washing windows yesterday gave me hope for the future.  Wanna know how? 

Well, first, you need to realize how disheartening it is to me, to wash windows.  I love clean windows, I really do.  We have a gorgeous view from all of our windows, and there's nothing I like better than sitting in our dining room with my morning (hot) chocolate, watching the sunrise through the trees. 

But those nice clean shiny sheets of glass act as some sort of mystical siren, calling, no, compelling, my children to put their grubby little hands all over them.  The children might not touch a window for weeks, but within a few moments of my children being in the presence of clean glass, little hand and fingerprints appear.  It's almost as if they want to reassure themselves that the glass is still there, being so used to it being smeared with prints.

Roger
August 2008

It's hard work, washing windows (especially when you've got to remove the lattice first).  I hate going to all that effort and having my work negated within hours or even minutes.  So I don't.

So anyway, I'm down on my knees, washing a full-length window, and looking up, I noticed that the top third of the glass was completely clean.  The last time I washed the windows was in February of 2010 (I know, because I blogged about it), and the top third of the glass was clean--no fingerprints, no handprints, no nose prints.  Nothing.  From about waist-height on down, you could barely see through the glass (OK, that's an exaggeration, but it was pretty smeary and distorted).

I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that 2/3 of my children can reach that high.  And the glass was clean.

Do you understand what this means?  This means that someday...some day, all of my windows will stay clean.  Someday, all three of the children will learn to resist the siren-call of the glass.

Ironically enough, when that happens, I will be more willing to wash the windows, so I'll probably do it more often, even though it won't need to be done because the windows will stay clean.

But let's not dwell on that.  No, today I have been given hope, hope for a future of non-smeary windows: a priceless gift.

If a mom...

If a mom decides to wash the windows, first she'll have to take the screens out.

And if she takes the screens out, she'll decide she might as well wash them, too.

And if she washes the screens, she'll notice that the porch and decks, along with the deck furniture, are covered in pollen.  So she'll decide to spray them off as well.

Then, she'll wash the windows, but if she washes the windows, she'll notice how dirty the siding is.

If she notices how dirty the siding is, she'll want to wash it, too. 

But then she'll realize what a huge task that will be, and decide to come inside to fortify herself with chocolate first (mmmm... silky smooth Dove dark chocolate...)

As she's savoring her two measly squares of yummy chocolate, it will occur to her that it would be a heck of a lot easier to wash the siding with a power washer, so she'll decide to check prices online.

If she goes online to check pressure washer prices, she'll sit down at her computer.

If she sits down at her computer, before you know it, she'll be writing a blog post.

If she writes a blog post, as she's thinking about what to write, she'll look up and realize how dirty the windows still are on the inside.

And then, she'll decide to wash the windows!

BUGS!--The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Have you read The Very Hungry Caterpillar?

Eric Carle.  Need I say more?

This adorable book takes the reader on a trip through a very hungry caterpillar's life cycle, from egg to butterfly, detailing everything he eats along the way, including one apple, two pears, three plums, and so on.  In the board book edition, there are holes in the pages to represent what the caterpillar has eaten--so cute!

All insects go through the same life cycle, from egg, to larva, to pupa, to adult, but since butterflies are pretty (and caterpillars are pretty, too), that's the insect life cycle we usually hear about, and no self-respecting Camp Scarlet director would let a bug theme go by without spending a day on caterpillars.

So last week, we read up on that hungry caterpillar and then we used this great free printable from dltk-teach.com to practice sequencing and reinforce the story.

{Image Source}

First the kids cut along the dotted lines, then they pasted the pictures, in order, on a piece of paper (I cut a piece of construction paper in half length-wise, and then taped the two pieces together to form a long strip, 4.5" x 18").

The kids almost immediately decided that they wanted to make Hungry Caterpillar Hats from their sequences, which worked out well since the life cycle is, well, a cycle.  The adult lays an egg and it starts all over again.

Next, it was time for a snack, so we decided to make crunchy (and not-so-crunchy) caterpillars--thanks to my sis Buckwheat for the idea and recipe.

This is the non-crunchy version.  Buckwheat told me to use frilly toothpicks--the frilly stuff becomes the antennae--but we didn't have any, so I just used regular toothpicks and uncooked angelhair pasta for the antennae.  Just use a grape for the head and blueberries for the body--so easy to do and fun to eat!

And here's the extra fancy crunchy version:

Dip the caterpillars in yogurt (you could probably use vanilla pudding in a pinch), then roll in granola (you could use crushed breakfast cereal if you prefer).  The dipping is where having a frilly toothpick "handle" to hold on to comes in handy.  Hint: if you go the pasta route for the antennae, add them after you've rolled the caterpillars in the cereal.

The kids didn't want to try this version, but it was so, so yummy!  I generally steer away from blueberries, because they tend to taste sour to me, but with the sweetness of the yogurt and the granola, they were just perfect.  In fact, when I'm done here, I think I'm gonna go make myself some more of these.

Finally, it was time to make our very own Hungry Caterpillar.

I painted the kids' hands like this:

Green on the palm, red on the fingers (or whatever colors you prefer).  Then press the hand to the paper as many times as fit or look good.  Add a red oval head (or wash and paint the palm red for a head), and add pipe cleaner antennae, googly eggs, and a mouth.

And that's it for our friend, the hungry caterpillar.  Next up: the butterfly lifecycle.

Happy National Bike Month

Wow!  I really dropped the ball on this one.  I was going to post about National Bike Month at the end of April, but those lilacs distracted me, and then other things happened and now May is more than 1/3 over!

Oh, well, better late than never?  Maybe we can remember this for 2013?

May is National Bike Month, sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists. 

I've been celebrating by riding my bike every day in May. Usually, it's only about a mile round trip (because I'm biking with Roger and our neighborhood isn't exactly bike friendly), and once it was only to the end of my driveway and back (in my defense, it's a pretty long driveway), but I have been on my bike every day in May.

I was planning to challenge you all to do the same: to bike every day in May.  But, since May is practically over, I shall challenge you to ride your bike every day for the rest of May.  Are you up to the challenge?  Leave me a comment if you'll be participating, and if you're successful in riding your bike every day for the rest of May (or at least 15 days), I shall give you a handy dandy certificate of achievement (that you will have to download, personalize, and print for yourself :).

Remember, while long rides are great, anything counts, so get out there and ride!

Dates to remember:
National Bike to School Day is May 9 (whoops! Missed that one).
National Bike to Work Week is May 14-18 (still time for this one!).

Five Photo Friday

A look back at our week in pictures.

Hubby and AKD went kayaking.  When they returned home, and I asked if they had gone over the waterfall, Hubby said he could neither confirm nor deny my suspicions.  Here's the proof, though:

Yes, that is my husband.

Yes, that is my 11 YEAR OLD son

AAAAAAAKK!  Seriously?

There just happened to be a professional outdoor photographer in the group.

AKD cut the grass.  By himself.
I'm glad, because the last time he cut the grass, I had to ride along
 and he almost took my head off going under some low branches,
while laughing maniacally the whole time.

The boys went fishing

MC and I enjoyed a fun morning bounce session,
courtesy of his school's late start.

Roger and I started turning over the garden, during which Roger found, and decided to adopt, this frog.  Don't ask what happened when Roger decided to carry him in to the house...

Happy Friday everyone!

(whew!  Got that one in under the wire--it's almost Saturday :)

Buggy Mommy's Day Crafts

Ahhhh, nothing says "Happy Mother's Day" better than giving mom a nice, big...

Bug!  If you look closely, you'll see that Bubby is offering me a bug, in this pic from March of 2009(is this seriously not just the cutest thing you've seen all day? Oh my).  He knows what he's mama likes! 

What?!  Bugs are not number one on your "most wanted" gift list this year?  Well, maybe they will be after you see these cuties :)

Roger brought this cute ladybug home from preschool.  On the outside, it says:

This lucky little ladybug

is here today to say

And when you open the wings, which are cleverly attached with a brad, it reads:

I'm lucky to have a Mom like you---

Special in every way.

Awww!

Super easy, super cute, but just in case you're not up to making this yourself, I've created a free printable just for you!  With a cuter font.  And centered words.  Yay!

Just click here and print on red paper.  Have your child draw or paste some black dots on the second circle, then have them cut it out and in half. Use a brad to attach the wings.  You could even add some googly eyes.

This next project is the one we made for our Camp Scarlet mamas.

As you can see, it's a butterfly.  What you might not be able to see is the cute little poem, which reads:

This isn't just a butterfly, as you can plainly see.

I made it with my hands, which are a part of me.

It comes with lots of love especially to say

I hope you have a very Happy Mother's Day!

Love,

I really should have taken a picture of the one Pal made.  The trouble with letting the kids decide what colors of paint and papers to use is they usually don't make the choices I would have made.  Pal's came out beautifully, with a blue and green butterfly on a background of very subtle blue/green/purple butterflies.  But I digress...

Anyway!

First, fold a piece of cardstock in half width-wise.  Then trace your kid's hands like this (but don't cut it out yet!):

See how the fingers are held together, and the hands are overlapping?  The thumb on the hand that's on the right (which is actually Car's left hand...that's not confusing at all, is it?) was placed against the fold, and forms the lower body of the butterfly.  The thumb of the hand that's on the left was placed away from the fold a little bit and becomes the antennae.  Got it?

So now you've got something that looks a little like this (hmmm...our pictures seem to be going in reverse chronological order...)  You didn't cut yours out yet, did you?  Good.  Because this next step is going to be reeeeaaaaalllly messy if you already cut it out (as opposed to only slightly messy if you followed instructions).

So unfold the cardstock, and drip blobs or lines of paint on one half of the page.  When your half-page is sufficiently blobbed, carefully re-fold and press gently from the fold out to the edges.  Careful!--the paint will want to ooze out of the edges.

Then, carefully unfold and allow to dry.

{And now let's pause while I try to decide if I should go into my kitchen and do this again, by myself, at 11 p.m., so that I can take a picture to show you what it looks like at this point because I forgot to take any pictures when we were actually in the midst of the project.}

And...no.  You'll just have to use your imagination. 

Like magic, the entire page will be painted AND (get this) it's symmetrical!  Wowee!

So, once the paint is completely dry, refold the cardstock (whew, this is a lot of folding and unfolding and refolding), and cut along the hand outlines you drew waaaaaaay back at the beginning.

I think you can figure it out from here, right?  Make it look pretty.

You could modify the poem if you prefer footprint butterflies, like these:

Happy Mommy's Day, friends!

Homemade Moon Sand and Our Next Theme

The other day, Roger and I made our very own batch of Moon Sand.  Have you heard of this stuff?  It's sand, but it's moldable and doesn't dry out (well, maybe if you leave the top off?).  We won some in a drawing a couple of years ago and Roger l o v e s it.  I find it annoying because it gets everywhere.  I'm OK with it, though, because what falls off the table while he's playing doesn't get put back in the container, so eventually we'll run out.

Except we just made some more. *Sigh* What was I thinking?

Anyway, there are tons of Moon Sand recipes out there on the Internet, just do a search (if you use Swagbucks, you might earn points good for all kinds of gift cards and merchandise).

We mixed about 10 c. of play sand with ~ 3 c. of cornstarch, and added a little over 1 c. of water--our sand was already damp, though, so if you're starting with dry sand you'll probably want to add more water, up to ~2.5 cups or so.  To get a texture similar to commercial Moon Sand, use super fine play sand, which is available in lots of different colors.

That's it.  If it's a little dry the next time you want to play with it, just sprinkle a little more water on it and work it in.  Easy-peasy. 

So that leads us to our next theme, which is:

This is the shirt Roger's wearing today :)

BUGS!  How fun!

Little known fact about Scarlet: when I was in college I spent a summer researching gene transfer in mosquitoes (more about that in a future post.  Maybe). 

True story: this was the summer that the original Jurassic Park came out :)

**Cloning dinosaurs**

ANYWAY!  The reason we made the moon sand was to put in our bug sensory bin.

It's super simple: just the moon sand*, some river rocks, and a few plastic bugs (and yes, there's a spider, too, even though spiders are not insects).  I added a magnifying glass, bug net, some small plastic containers, a funnel and some tongs.

Are you excited, friends?  Bunches of beautiful bug projects coming up soon!

*If you don't like the idea of moon sand, pebbles, dry beans, or lentils would work well in this sensory bin.

Under the Sea--Jellyfish

We're coming to the end of our under the sea posts.  In fact, this might be the last one--depends on if I can interest Roger in one last fishy project before we move on to the next theme.  But for now, you're here because you want to hear about jellyfish.

First we read Discovering Jellyfish by Lorijo Metz.

This non-fiction book was a little too in-depth for my 4 year olds, so I kind of skimmed it, pointing out a few pertinent facts about jellyfish per page.
Next, we made jellyfish.  I traced a bowl onto the paper backing of clear contact paper and cut it out, then cut it in half so I had 2 semicircles.  The kids stuck sparkly things to the sticky side of one semicircle, and we added lace oral arms and ribbon tentacles along the flat edge.  I placed the remaining semicircle of clear contact paper on top to sandwich the sparklies and tentacles.

It was very easy with no mess and turned out pretty cute.

I also made some sensory bags for the kids using hair gel in Ziploc bags.

I just added about 1 c. of hair gel to a quart size bag, plus one drop of food coloring.  Next I added some sequins and glitter.  The kids loved them. 

I thought they looked very jellyfishish, and was trying to figure out how to get them into a more jellyfish-esque shape...but I never quite got there.  I got this idea from here (and there are better pictures there of what I'm talking about).

We also did this: a jellyfish in a bottle.

Source: bhoomplay.wordpress.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

But I did not get any good pictures of ours.

So I know you're probably all sad to be seeing the end of the under the sea theme (or not--maybe you're a little tired of it), so here's a little teaser for what's coming up next:

See you soon!

Under the Sea--Stingray

Last week, we continued with our under the sea theme by learning about stingrays.

By now, you know the drill: first we read these books to learn a little bit about stingrays:

Stingrays by Martha E.H. Rustad

Stingrays by Deborah Coldiron

Then we made this craft:

I got the idea from here.

All you do is color with water soluble markers on coffee filters that have been cut in thirds, then sprinkle them with water (we used a medicine dropper) to make the colors run.  When they're dry, pleat the filters and glue to your background.  We used pipe cleaners, cut in half, for the rays' tails.  We forgot to add the eyes, but you could certainly do that (and eyes would make them look more like animals and less like flowers!)

For the background, the kids tore pieces of blue paper into strips and glued them onto a white background.  We used green construction paper to make seaweed.

Cute and simple :)

I couldn't find any fiction children's books featuring stingrays--if you know of any, let me know!

Five Photo Friday

A look back at our week, in pictures.

We saw "Real Pirates." 
This bell is from a pirate ship that shipwrecked almost 300 years ago.

MC (third from the right) & AKD began their spring soccer seasons.

It was warm enough to play in the sprinkler a couple of days.

AKD made hardtack, which, for hundreds of years, was a staple food
for soldiers and sailors due to its long shelf-life. 
This stuff is as hard as rock, but he loves it!
Click here for a recipe.

MC delivered his Pluto report

Happy Friday, everyone!

Dessert

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, our family only has dessert on Sundays.  To me, this means we ought to have something special, but we've been in a bit of a rut lately.  AKD usually has a milkshake, the rest of the boys have ice cream with various toppings, and I'm usually too full to partake.  It's a little boring.  But when I ask my boys what we should have for dessert (so I can buy any necessary ingredients ahead of time), all I get are blank stares.

This past week, AKD said we should have the apple pie that's in the freezer (you can click to find out how it got there), which sounded like a great idea to 2/5 of us...but on Sunday we discovered that there wasn't an apple pie in our freezer.  So disappointing (for 2.5 of us).

This week, I decided to take the matter to Facebook.  Facebook is excellent at figuring out things like what we should serve for dessert.

I got some great ideas (thanks everyone!), and decided to make this:

Source: todaysmama.com via Bonnie on Pinterest

It's Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad.  Doesn't it look yummy? My friend Rocky suggested it.  Except strawberries are on sale here this week, so I was going to use strawberries instead of raspberries. 

But then I read the recipe and discovered that the berries are supposed to be frozen to help the jello set.  It seemed a shame to buy fresh strawberries and freeze them just for this, so I'm saving it for another time (next week, maybe?).

Instead, I will make this:

{Image Source}

Doesn't that just look divine?  It's a Pampered Chef recipe: Strawberry-Coconut* Tres Leche Trifle.  Perfect for Cinco de Mayo, si?  You can find the recipe in several places online, including here.

My friend Mama Bear suggested it, and she said she always leaves the cinnamon out, so I think I will, too.

This recipe makes 24 servings, which means we're going to have (a lot) extra, if you'd care to stop by on Sunday (I wonder if this would freeze well).

*In case the coconut in the title turns you off, you should know that it's coconut milk, not actual coconut, in the trifle.

Tuesday's Tip: Making Choices

True story: I decided to blog this tip before I read my Dad's blog this morning.  You should know it made me smile.

So, on to today's tip.  MC has a really difficult time making choices.  Even the most basic of questions, like "what would you like for breakfast, MC?" are met with a raised-voice-clenched-teeth-bulging-eyes response of, "I don't know!"

I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking, well Scarlet, if he has a hard time with that question, why don't you give him a choice between 2 or 3 acceptable options?  Like we do with our 2 year old.

MC knew what he wanted for breakfast on this day!

"So, MC, would you like cereal or toast for breakfast?" is met with the same, or even louder, "I don't know!"  It makes for an inharmonious and frustrating morning for both of us.  One day not too long ago, I even forgot to feed him breakfast because I forgot to ask again after the first 5 or so I don't knows of the day.

OK, so now you're thinking, why even offer him a choice?  I mean, the kid's got to eat, and if he can't make the decision, make it for him.  Hmmmm....interesting idea, except if I choose, even if it's something he loves, even if he would have eventually chosen that same thing, he won't eat it.

Obviously, something had to change.  So, one morning, after the 2nd or 3rd I don't know, I told him that I was going to set a timer for 5 minutes, and when it rang, I was going to ask him what he wanted for breakfast and that he was going to tell me.

I have to be honest with you, the main reason I decided to set a timer was so that I wouldn't forget to ask again in a few minutes.  What kind of horrible mother forgets to feed her kid in the morning?  I genuinely expected another few rounds of I don't knows to follow.

But you know what?  For whatever reason, it worked.  And it continues to work.  When the timer rang, I got a very calm response of, "cereal, please."

I think MC needs a little more time to process requests, but he feels like he needs to give an instantaneous answer, so he resorts to I don't know.  The belligerence comes from knowing that he really does know what he wants but he doesn't think he can get it out fast enough (poor kid).  By letting him know ahead of time that I'm going to ask him, he has some time to think about it without the pressure of getting a response out within a few seconds.  I've been using the timer for other decisions or transitions for MC with success as well.

I find it immensely ironic that he has such difficulty with instant responses, and yet expects everyone around him to be able to respond instantly to his requests.  I suppose if he thinks that's the way the world is supposed to work, it would be very upsetting to not be able to do it yourself.

So I guess that's not really much of a tip, unless your family is experiencing the same type of dilemma, but for children who have difficulty with transitions, or processing difficulties or delays, a timer can be a wonderful thing.

This has nothing to do with anything,
but isn't this a sweet pic of my oldest son back when he was my only?

Lilacs, discovered

I love lilacs, all the more so for the brevity of their season--they bloom for just a few weeks in the spring.  Right now, the lilacs outside our bedroom window are blooming, and their scent is heavenly. 

{Image Source}

What is extraordinary about this is, we never knew these lilac bushes were there, despite our 6 springs here, despite the bushes' 12 feet or so of height.

How, you ask, did we manage to miss the lilacs' existence all of these years?

Well, first of all, weeds and trees had grown up in front of the lilacs, hiding them from us.

Second, we didn't know to look.

When we uncovered them last summer, we didn't even know for sure that they were lilacs.  We had an idea they might be, because Hubby had run into the previous owners a few months before, who asked if the lilacs they had transplanted the fall before they moved had survived.  At the time, we thought they hadn't.  Survived, that is.  Because surely, if there were three lilac bushes outside our bedroom window, we would have seen them.

Apparently not, because there they are.  Not only did they survive, they thrived, gaining 9 feet of height since they had been transplanted 6 years prior.

Our lilacs' existence reminds me that so often we don't realize the beauty in our lives, in our selves, because weeds have grown up, and we don't even know to look. It's only when we clear away the extra junk that we realize what has been there all the time.

For me, that junk takes the form of self-doubt, anxiety, poor self-image, feelings of worthlessness, depression. For MC, that junk blocking his way is his sensory issues, frustration, and anger. For you, it's probably something different. But know this: whatever weeds, whatever ugly junk is in the way, hiding it, there is something beautiful planted in you, waiting to be uncovered. In each one of us. So start looking, friends.

I am astounded that these lilacs exist, just as I am astounded that there could be something beautiful and lovely in me. We don't know if the lilacs have been blooming all these years--I don't see how they could have been, because even with the weeds and that ugly tree in the way, I'm sure I would have noticed. 

But now they are blooming.  And that's what's waiting for me, for you, when we accomplish the difficult work of clearing away the ugliness: a life in bloom.

Craft of the Month--May

Camp Scarlet's May Crafts of the Month include:
Number sequencing caterpillar, footprint butterfly, handprint tulips

Mommy's Day Gift

My Hubby loves to give me presents.  So much so that he gave me a big one for mommy's day a little early.  I didn't even have to buy this one myself.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a trampoline.  Now, thanks to Hubby's generosity (and the "guilt money" his company gave him for making him stay in Peru for 2 days longer than planned when he had already been there for two weeks, coming home at noon on Easter, and sleeping the rest of the day away due to jet lag), I have one.

I have mixed feelings about the trampoline, as the potential for injury is huge.  I wince every time one of my boys attempts a move, and have unbidden visions of broken bones, concussions, and spinal cord injuries.  But they have been having so. much. fun.  And I have been too.  I do believe their favorite is Mega-Bounce, which apparently is my specialty.  And it's great sensory-motor and proprioceptive input (don't ask me what those mean, just take it on faith that they're important inputs to get*).

A bunch of people (including Hubby) blatantly ignoring
 the "only 2 people bouncing at a time" rule.
Well, I suppose, to be fair, only 2 were bouncing at this exact moment...

*Proprioceptive: Pertaining to proprioception, or the awareness of posture, movement, and changes in equilibrium and the knowledge of position, weight, and resistance of objects as they relate to the body. (from here)

*Sensory motor skills are the integrated functions of sensation and movement that result in coordinated responses to stimuli. (from here)