Sunflowers

The seeds are sprouting for this years batch of sunflowers.  We have the Teddy Bear variety, shown above, and the Mammoth variety, below.  Gardening is a fun activity to do with kids of all ages.  When they take part in the planting, it sparks interest in what will happen next and the changes that occur usually bring excitement.

Mammoth sunflowers can reach up to 12 feet in height.  These were from last year, towering above the storm drain. They are truly giants, I love them.  The kids planted a seed yesterday to take home.

First, we popped out into the front yard to look at the baby Mammoth Sunflowers that are growing.  We talked about how tall they will get. "This big," I said, while reaching to the roof to give them the right idea.

It wasn't raining, so we moved our planting outside.  The kids each had a foam cup with their name on it.

We took turns scooping potting soil and filling up our temporary flower pots.

Scoop, pat it down a little..repeat.

We looked at the seeds and then used one finger to poke a little bed for our seed.

Once the seed is "put to bed", it's time to cover it up with a dirt blanket. Cozy comfy!

They learned that the seed needs sunshine, soil, and water to grow.

Kids always love the watering part.  We learned that TOO much water will be harmful to the seed.  They were very careful!

They continued on watering around the yard.  Meanwhile, we will be checking our sunflowers each day and send them home when they reach about 4 inches in height.  Does anyone out there love gardening as much as I do?  I feel very blessed to work from home and in doing so, being able to look at the garden and work in it at will. Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

Song for today is Fly High Michele, by Enuff Z' Nuff. 80s flashback.♫

Movie Day

We have in our schedule about 25 minutes of tv time each day.  It is tv time when I am making lunch.  It's a great way to keep the kids from messing up the cleaned up play room.  If the weather is nice, the kids just play outside instead.  Extra outside time is always a good thing. (Channeling Martha Stewart..)

For some reason, when we throw something different into the mix, the kids think it is a NEW experience.  Instead of sitting on the couches, we laid out some blankets and set up chairs.  Completely different tv viewing experience.  They were very quiet.  Good old Tom N Jerry.  Did anyone NOT watch that as a child?  Happy Tuesday!  Still recovering from my pulled tooth.  It hurts a little.  Smudge brought me his first mousey this morning.  What a great kitty!♥♥♥

Song for today is Me N You by Nero. ♫

Losing Teeth

Aiden lost his other front tooth last night.  I had a wisdom tooth pulled this morning.  We're just losing teeth around here! I have to tell you what my usual dental appointments are like.  I've been going to the same one for about 8 years now.  He's great- a helpful guy who has always helped me out when it comes to my bill.  Always lets me make payments.  I'll be forever uninsured, I'm sure of this. I also have the unfortunate problem of not being able to numb efficiently.  This results in several Novocaine shots before the procedure, several DURING the procedure, and me being a nervous wreck the entire time, just bracing myself for the inevitable jolt of pain.  We have an understanding.  he has the Novocaine ready, I have to raise my hand and he will shoot me up again.  It seems to take hours every time I go.  Root canals, crowns, extractions, repeat.  No preventative care here, just me calling when something breaks or hurts.  I tossed and turned all night last night in preparation for my 7AM extraction this morning.  A nervous wreck, I prayed all of the way there that I could manage to just sit still and be helpful to Dr. Westford.  Four painful Novocaine shots later, I was ready.  I braced myself.. and closed my eyes tight.  I saw some tools moving around here and there, and TWO MINUTES later, the overhead light flipped off and he placed some gauze in my mouth.  Done.  REALLY?  Amen- I can't believe I lost sleep about that.  It was the quickest and most painless visit I have ever endured.  I was SHOCKED.  I thought he was kidding- we have known each other long enough for him to joke a little.

We had a great trip to Sequim.  Here are the kids- it was so cold that day.  We hiked to Marymere Falls at Lake Crescent.  It's a small hike, very beautiful.

Lake Crescent is such a beautiful spot to stop and wander.  We were very blessed by our family time. Happy Monday!  Off to pain pills and couch for recovery time now. ♥♥♥

All Things Possible With God

The theme for V.B.S at Machias Community Church this year is "Sky, All things are possible with God."  How right that is.  It comes from Mark 10:27.

Jesus looked at them and said," With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

The most important thing that I have learned in the past 8 years is that God never lies.  All of Jesus' words are truths that we can truly count on, we have no need for worry. 

I am so thankful for that peace!

Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

Song for today is by Enya, The Longships.♫ 

Wind Wheel

We make these maybe a couple of times each year.  A paper plate with the center cut out of it, some curling ribbon, crepe paper streamers and a stapler are all that you need to create this project. I cut out the strips of ribbon and streamer ahead of time because we also had a letter Yy worksheet to do.

The kids used markers to color their 'wheel".  I encouraged them to use several different colors to make them nice and bright.

Next step is to tie the curling ribbon onto the plate like the photo above.  Then (I forgot to take a photo, sorry..) grab a pile of crepe paper streamers and fold it over, place it on the wheel and staple several times to keep them in place.

 Then test it out while the kids are staring longingly... they are fun for grown ups, too!  Swirl it around watching the streamers whip around, it's highly entertaining.

Well, ok.  You can have your art, now. LOL

We love our wind wheels because they only work if you create wind for them to flutter in!  Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥

Song for today is Footloose by Kenny Loggins.  Adam was dancing around our house last night to this.  I can always count on him to surprise me.♫

Add Eyes

We had some free art last week.  Free art means that I just get out a bunch of stuff for the kids to choose from, give them some paper, and they create whatever comes to mind.  At the ages they are, they like to just copy each other.  I try to encourage them to focus on their own ideas, but either way, they are creating something they choose.  The feathers came alive when I offered some googly eyes.  I love those little creatures!

This turned out to be a sparkly whale.  I love how kids draw most living things with a smile. 

I try to get the kids to tell me what it is they believe they have created and then jot it down on the paper so moms and dads can view it.  The kids always know what they made- this was clearly (?) a guy.  He told me matter of factly. Happy Monday!  I hope it is sunny and warm where you are, it is very cold and rainy here, again. Right about now, every year I need to supplement with vitamin D to avoid a weather induced depression.  I find that it does really help! ♥♥♥

Now playing at Henle House, Disney's Mambo #5. ♫ Can't help but dance!

A Book & A Craft

My snuggie pie (Aiden) came home from kindergarten with this book in his backpack- the kids at school have been really blessed with a lot of free books this year!  I thought this one was a great book and we used it for our activity yesterday. Under The Silvery Moon by Colleen McKeown.

The whole book rhymes, and the illustrations are beautiful.  It's a story about a kitten who can't sleep because of all of the happenings under the moon at night. 

We decided to create our own silvery moons.

We colored our gray moons.

Oil pastels were perfect for this project.

They weren't silvery enough, so we used a finger to spread some silver glitter glue around our moons.

Look who showed up soaking wet and hungry?  Chippy.  He still visits every day.

To finish our project, we glued on some mice, and drew our versions of fireflies.  I think they turned out pretty cute! Happy Friday!  Rain rain GO AWAY!  I'm going to have to start praying for grace.  ♥♥♥

Song for today is Count On Me by Bruno Mars. I still think he sounds like Hanson. That's why I like him I suppose.♫