Exploration

Eww! Slimy slime! Lily wasn't sure what to think about it.

 

Wade playing around with magnets from one of his tubs.

Assembling train tracks in the living room on a cold day.

Another visit to the aquarium. This time with Jack, Ford and Katie- it's so much fun there!

The day Texas shut down

Yes, it was only a little ice. But... we, as Texans (or Texas transplants, we acclimate VERY fast), are not really built for it. If it gets below 50 degrees we bring out the hats and gloves. However, ice is ice and it is slippery. Especially for those Texans who own very big trucks and think that because their trucks are so large, the slippery icy road rules don't apply to them.

We also have a ton of high overpasses near us and those were closed down too. Schools were closed as the buses couldn't run and even Mark's bank was closed.

However... The kids loved it (at least for awhile, until they got cold) since it was as close to snow as we probably get this year. So we played in the original icy rain the night before and explored the "accumulation" the next morning. Yes, those pictures were taken in the morning, they got up really early...

We had to drag Wade inside to warm up but Lily was more than ready to come in. He was content to hammer the icy water he found in his wheelbarrow and in the dogs water dish FOREVER, and she was not fond of the icy rain hitting her in the face. Like night and day, these two. I am glad we had some type of wintery weather this year. Wade has been asking me when it's going to snow since all the Christmas movies and commercials starting coming out for the season, you know, like in October.

Here are a few pictures of our very own "snowpocolypse:"

Just a funny kid making stuff

We've gotten back into the routine of actually having a routine lately. Wade's "By Myself Boxes" are going well, he asks for them constantly and we actually have to get back out some of the individual activities so he can play with them more. Simple things, like pipe cleaners and large jingle bells have been a hit lately. He likes to "decorate" the house with his creations and make bracelets for everyone :)

The create-your-own-snowman kit was a hit.
He used one of Lily's board books to follow the steps of creating a snowman

Snowman #1

Had to get the kit out again today. Snowman #2

Monsters, Inc? Finally getting some use out of the felt board I made months ago...





He also has been really funny lately. A few of the things we've discussed lately:

W- Mom! I finally figured out why Santa didn't eat all of the Christmas cookies we left out for him (something that's been bothering him since that morning)! He had all those other kid's cookies to eat too!
Me- Yes, that's right (FINALLY)!
W- Don't you think we should leave him something healthy next time, instead of all those cookies?
Me- Like what?
W- An apple, or maybe some meat.
Me- That's a good idea.
W- Then he will be healthy and strong, because you know, Santa needs to be strong.
Me- Oh yeah, why?
W- Because of the bad guys that try to sneak into the North Pole.
Me- Why would there be bad guys at the North Pole?
W- Because they don't like good guys and the elves and Santa are good guys. Then Santa could do a hi-ya and some ninja moves to get rid of them. That's why we should give Santa something healthy instead of cookies next year.


We were riding in the car, taking Wade to preschool, when Lily started mumbling something unintelligible.
W- What, Lily? You want pizza for dinner tonight? Is that what you said? Pizza?
Lily- Pizza!
W- Mom, Lily wants pizza for dinner and so do I! Can we get pizza tonight for dinner? For Lily?


Wade was so excited when he came home from school yesterday (something that doesn't happen often). He told me all about how they are learning about hibernation and how animals keep warm, so they covered their hands in Crisco (I think) and when they stuck them in ice water, they couldn't feel the cold (pretty cool experiment I thought). He went on to tell me that, "whales have that stuff to keep them warm too, it's called, you know, diarrhea."


Then there was this doozy:
I picked Wade up from preschool and his teacher met me at the door, looking very concerned. She asked if Mark was in the hospital. I said that he wasn't (not that I knew anyway, I was thinking the worst, of course, and thought maybe she knew something I didn't). She went on to tell me that Wade had said he was. In fact, he said that his Daddy had fallen off the roof into some very cold water and was in the hospital and he missed him very much. I can only imagine how much sympathy he got for that one...


Am hoping that all this imagination and fabrication will at one point pay off. Maybe he will be a famous author and can afford to compensate me for my current pain and suffering :)

Doctor Jeckyll and Mrs. Hyde

Some days, she's like this:

Sweet,

imaginative & unique,

and silly (with a little ninja thrown in)

Then other days, she's like this (I like to call this video "No way!"):

Hmmm, approaching terrible two's maybe?

Sunshine and smiles

Even though the cedar pollen count is the highest it's been (ever?) in a long time, we have not seemed to have anyone in our family really affected. However, I truly believe that the upcoming full moon is making my kids crazy. Therefore, I and am doing all I can to wear them out during the day which means we have been spending excessive amounts of time outside. Some random pictures of playing...

By Myself Boxes

I decided that I needed to revamp what I've been doing at home with Wade. Since he's started school this year, I've really slacked off on the things we do after he gets home and on his days off. And I'm embarrassed to admit how much TV he's been watching... He does so many crafts and so much work on his letters and numbers at school (not any of his favorite things) that I don't want to push it at home and I wasn't sure what to do. Until I recently read a mommy blog about a lady who home schools and uses sensory/quiet time boxes for one of her younger children while she's teaching her older ones. I thought that was a fabulous idea and created a couple "By Myself Boxes" for Wade. I included a couple books and stuffed "reading buddy," a puzzle or solitary game that he already knows how to play, a couple of figurines to play with if he's so inclined, an activity book (puzzles, hidden pictures, etc), a simple hands-on activity, and a sensory-type bin.

We started this week, and seem (so far) to only have time for them on the days he's not in school. The first bin included a box of pom poms, pieces of PVC pipes, and a robot grabber-type toy, some safari animal books and a stuffed lion, lion and elephant figurines, one of those I Spy bags I made for our road trip to CO and a baggie full of straws, paint swatches and scissors. The entire time (about 45 mins), he played with the "cutting bag." He asked for some tape and made a fantastic airplane/protective gadget for some coins he had (?). All by himself. It was awesome.

 

 

 

Today he had a box that included some super hero books and a TMNT reading buddy, a TMNT activity book, a Toy Story puzzle and a small box of colored rice with rocks and shells and some "excavating tools." He spent about 30 mins playing with the rice, then tried out the puzzle and quickly moved on to the activity book which he spent about another 15 mins on. Then I got done cleaning and did some of the activity book with him and read him a couple of the stories before Lily woke up.

I am really in love with these boxes. I think it's fun to see what he digs out and focuses on. It's also nice to have a limited amount of things he can play with. It forces him to try stuff that he wouldn't normally do, like the activity book from today. I will make 3 per week and set them up on Sundays. I will also plan one "science experiment" a week that we can do together- like slime, oobleck, foam dough, homemade floam (I have yet to find those Styrofoam beads yet...), etc. and possibly one cooking thing.

I have also limited his screen time to two 30 minute blocks. I give him two tokens and he can spend them each on 30 minutes of: computer games (Disney Jr, PBS kids, Starfall, etc), tablet time or TV. He likes the freedom of being able to choose and I like the limit (there is no negotiation, when the tokens are gone, he's done). This is my plan, we'll see how it goes :)

Austin Aquarium

So excited that we finally got to visit the new aquarium! It's sort of small, but very cool! There are a bunch of tanks that you can stick your hands in and actually touch the fish- starfish, sting rays, SHARKS! So cool! Plus there is a bird aviary with larakeets that will land on you and let you pet them. And all sorts of tanks with lizards, frogs and snakes and a HUGE octopus. It's just the right size for my kids. Lily was not about sticking her hands into any of the tanks, but loved the noisy bird aviary and was not at all phased by the fluttering and squawking inside. Whereas Wade was a little nervous around the birds, he loved putting his hand in the water and asking the attendants the names of all the fish and if any would bite/sting/laser him. By the end, his shirt was wet up to the shoulder.

**Sorry for the dark photos. It said, "no flash photography" at one point, and I thought it was for the whole place, instead of just for the octopus who has sensitive eyes :)**

**I also didn't get any pictures of the birds since I was inside with the kids at the time. Next time...**