The twins were chasing after a beach ball in the house, despite being told to leave it for outside, and the next thing I knew, one of them did a head dive into the bookshelf.  His head lost.  The gash wasn’t huge or even horrendous, but I knew right away that it was gonna need to be closed up.  That it was deep enough that a regular old bandage and kiss wasn’t going to cut it.  

You know when you go into silent internal panic mode?  My mind started racing. It was time to go pick my daughter up from school, what was I gonna do with my other son and how was I gonna keep this cut from bleeding.  Oh ya and how was I gonna get my daughter to her dance class (the important one as her recital is this Sunday).   I don’t know about you but I start immediately prioritizing and deciding what isn’t going to happen.  Like the dance class.  Having sacrificed a dish towel to stop the blood from gushing I got my Father in-law to watch my other son and Sister -in-law to pick up and watch my daughter, and jumped in the van with my injured son.   NOT a fun drive let me tell you!

Well after 3 hours in the emergency room to have the doctor spend 5 minutes bandaging him up with a special bandage, I realized two things.  The first is that I need to raid a medical supply store and learn how to do many medical procedures myself, because I HATE emergency rooms, but the second was even more important;  I have an amazing little boy!  He was so incredibly brave and patient (as much as a 3-year-old can be).  He only cried when he saw blood and even then he calmed down easily.  He had a smile on his face most of the time and didn’t complain about the pain.  The resilience is remarkable!  He really made the best of his situation!  I am so very proud of him!  And I know that he is going to be ok, because he has the ability to get through a tough situation.

I am also VERY grateful that our family was there to help me today.  My Father-in-law is often away at work so I was really lucky he was home.  It really does make it easier to deal with one child’s injury when you know that the other two are safe and happy with family!

My husband and I have been together for over 11 years now; my entire adult life.  He is the one and only man I’ve ever loved.  I would never try to present us as the perfect couple, as just like everyone else we’ve had our good and bad moments.  Still it never ceases to amaze me how I can fall deeper in love with him after all this time!

As a family we love to go for walks (or adventures as the kids call them) on our large rural property.  This time together is a great opportunity to explore, learn and just be together.  On a couple such walks my husband showed me that he really does have some romance in him.

On the first occasion I mentioned that I thought some little white flowers blooming on some trees were very pretty, and wouldn’t he just pick some for me!  It may not seem like a grand gesture, but it melted my heart!  He was being so thoughtful in that moment.  Those flowers ment more to me than any he could have bought at a store!  They were given purely from the heart in the moment and not for any special reason or occasion.

Much to my surprise he followed this act up with another gesture on another walk, this time involving white birch bark.  The bark and the flowers are in the picture at the top of the blog.  These may seem like silly or small things, but in our lives where moving fast and multitasking is the norm, any act of love should be cherished!  We spend so much of our day juggling our responsibilities, worries and dreams that we often forget to look at what is right in front of us.  The greatest demonstrations of romance are those that take us by surprise.  They take our breath away with the sheer purity and meaning behind them.  These are the moments that make us remember why we fall in love and more importantly why we hang on to that love.  Being married or in a relationship with someone is more than just a vow or promise, it’s letting your heart grow and share with another’s heart, for as long as your hearts are beating.

I was thinking about it the other day, when setting aside everyday household items for crafting, that when we do this with our kids we teach them more than just creativity;  we also teach them about being resourceful and responsible for our own waste.  Think about all the normal household packaging that can easily be turned into hours of crafting fun with a little planning and imagination.  Teaching our kids to reuse these items helps them to see that it is better to get the most out of what we have than always rely on something new.  It also teaches them to be resourceful by figuring out how to make what they want with what the already have.  Those little minds are a turning when they can see something unique and different in a simple box, cardboard tube, or piece of Styrofoam.    This may not be the solution to global warming or pollution, but I think it does set in motion the desire, ability and dispossession to be less wasteful and materialistic.

Chugga Choo Choo

One of my twin boys LOVES trains.  The other two kids like them too, but he just adores them.  Our craft supply box was starting to over flow so I decided to try to use up as much as I could in one project.  It sort of worked, but not really.   I have to warn you there are a lot of steps to this one and it does take some time to complete.  In the end it was too complicated for my kids and became Mommy’s project just to get it done.  They did help along the way though.  So if you have some time, give this a try.

You Need:

• white glue  (some of which will be mixed with a little water)
•  paint
• scissors
• masking tape
• Popsicle sticks
• 2 boxes of different size ( I used a kleenex and tampon box)
• toilet paper roll
• clean, single yogurt container
• KD singles container cleaned
• plastic cookie sleeve from the bags
• cardboard
• clear sheets of plastic  ( I cut up bigger containers)
• clear plastic container rectangular shaped

The first thing you need to do is tape all your pieces together using the masking tape.  I used the kleenex box as the main “body” of the train and the tampon box as the place for the engineer.  I cut holes in the tampon box and taped clear plastic to make windows.  This gets taped on top of the back of the kleenex box.  At the front of the kleenex box I taped the toilet paper roll to the top and the KD container to the front to give a dome shape.  I put the yogurt container upside down in between the toilet paper tube and tampon box.  To make a place for the coal box I taped a piece of flat cardboard on the bottom of the kleenex box at the back.  It sticks out the width of the contain I am using (the rectangular clear one).    At the front I taped a small piece of cardboard similarly for the light of the train.    With both pieces of cardboard I bend down a ridge about a half-inch wide.  For the wheels I cut the tube like parts of the plastic cookie insert to get 2 columns.  This I taped to the bottom of the box so that the rounded side is down.  Now tape it all with the masking tape with one layer.  Trust me this will make it easier to paper-mache.

Which brings us to the next step.  Mix a little water into white glue, rip up some news paper (plainer print is better) or paper towel into small pieces, and dip these pieces into the glue and slap it on top of the tape.  Do one or two (if you are supper crafty) layers over the entire project (except your windows) and set aside to dry.

Once your train is dry you can paint it.  I used Thomas the Tank engine as my guide, but you can make it however you like.  You can also use a black permanent marker to draw on details.  I painted Popsicle sticks and glued them on the wheels to make it look more train like.  If you find your paint isn’t sticking well or covering properly, add a little white glue.  If your clear rectangular container has a rougher texture to it you can paint the sides and back using a white glue and paint mixture.  Mine was too smooth so it just flaked off.    I wanted the kids to be able to see what they were putting in it.  You could just use a regular box for this though.  Lastly I glued the clear container on top of the cardboard ridge I made for it.   Now set it all aside to dry.

Voila!!  You have yourself a surprisingly durable train.  I also left the tampon box open at the top so the kids could put stuff in it, but this is optional.

I have to say though that no matter how badly my kids act, they can ALWAYS melt my heart with simple acts of love.  Their need to be loved, held and shown affection too, can make all those hours of hair pulling agony disappear.  Suddenly the reason you wanted to be a mother (or parent, for all you dads out there), comes rushing back to you and you appreciate these small creatures curled up on your lap.  I try REALLY hard to hold on to this feeling.  To remember it when times are bad.  But I have to admit that sometimes, no amount of mediation, yoga or positive thinking can make the craziness of parenthood seem bearable.   I think that’s why they invented babysitters!

Stoically Still

I love a bird that knows how to pose for the camera!

Guard Dog

The easiest animal to photograph, one that’s asleep.

Gone Fishing

Ponds are a Lab’s best friend!

Moooo

Second easiest animal to photograph, cattle.

Nectar of Life

Caught in the act.

A Needle in the Haystack

A hound’s life, nose to the ground.

Piggy's Pennies

If your kids are reaching the age of allowance like mine than this is a simple project that can save your pennies by giving your kids an inexpensive place to put theirs.  The good old piggy bank can now run as much as $30 a piece now, and too me that seems just not worth it!  So make your own and make them to suit your kids personality, or just make them plain like I did (I’m anticipating them wrecking them anyways).

You need:

• cleaned out and dry pickle jars ( or any empty large size jar you have on hand)
• glue stick, or for more elaborate projects a glue gun
• construction paper, ribbon, paint mixture (add white glue to paint and it will stay on glass of plastic) – this all depends on your design
• hammer, sharp ended screw, pliers, and metal snips

Your first step will be to decide  what your design is.  For my boys I simply glued construction paper around the label of the pickle jar, and for my daughter aI tied ribbon around the jar (which had its label removed).  You can remove the label and pain a design on the jar itself, or cut out designs or pictures of things your child likes ( like Barbie or animals) and glue them on.  The possibilities are endless and if your child is old enough than they can be in charge of their own jar.

The next step should be done by an adult.  You must now made a whole in the jars lid that is big enough to slide your change  through, but small enough that the money doesn’t com out easily.  Have the biggest size coin available to test (for us Canadians that would be the Townie).  That the sharp ended screw and hammer 4-5 holes in a row with your hammer.  Make sure it goes all the way through.   Now with your metal snipes cut through the spaces to make the opening.  Using your pliers bend back the sharp edges of the metal so that the wont scrap you.  If you want to go one step further for safety you can put a piece of electrical tape on either side to cover the metal.  Now screw the lid back on the jar very tightly (remember we don’t want the kids playing with the money).  

And voilà!  One custom piggy bank.

As a mother of 3 young children I find it very hard to make and keep plans.  It seems as though something always comes up at the last-minute, usually illness, that causes us to cancel our plans.  I feel so terrible for it too. Especially when in my former pre-child life I was a stickler for being on time and keeping my word.  Now all that seems to have fallen to the way side as now it is a triumph just to make it out the door.

Some people seem to be able to take their kids anywhere without issue, but not us.  My kids and I are big on routine, so take us out of that and all hell breaks loose.  Even a trip to the store can result in pure mayhem if the twins are out of sorts.  I keep telling myself that it’s just their age and things will get better, but so far, no luck!

I always feel a tremendous amount of guilt for canceling plans.  Family is the hardest!  You never want them to feel like you don’t have time for them or don’t want to see them.  Of course it hasn’t helped that we’ve been sick non-stop for the past 3 months!  Nor does it help that my husband isn’t home most of the week as he works so far from home.  Still I wish to put it out there that we really do love visiting and hopefully someday we will find it easier to make sure our commitments always get met!

It was silly really, feeling indignant towards teens for sitting on the play set to have their drinks. I used to do it when I lived there. Different play set back then but same idea. There aren’t a lot of places where teens are welcome(maybe for good reason,maybe not) so finding any old spot can often due. In my defence my kids were playing on the play set at the time. But these kids weren’t stopping my kids or even getting in their way,they were good teens. So shame on me for getting old and crotchety! Sometimes youth is had to remember!