Oops.

G was not thrilled that I only posted the photo of A holding his painting. He wanted his picture on the blog too. So here he is!


Whew!

Creative Days.

When the days get this hot (and buggy), we spend a little more time inside. I love seeing how the boys just play and play and go from one thing to another - always together.

I hurt my back last week. You know, that can't stand up, can't sit down, can't lie down, can't get out of bed, can't bend over, can't walk, can't sit in the car, can't put on your pants, hurting every moment kind of back thing? Yeah, that. So for me the best and only thing is to be doing something - distracts me from the back hoopla. And with the heat and mosquitoes, the boys are happy to be inside with me puttering away making things, writing, drawing, painting, playing.

The past few mornings I have just been putting out all kinds of supplies on our table so that we can just create and play with whatever catches our interest as the day goes on. Markers and sketchbooks, clay, chalk and chalkboards, paint supplies, glue and paper - all kinds of stuff. The boys will wander off to play robots from space together, read books, or play on the deck, but always come back to make something again.


Today G started rolling clay into balls. He had a few "pirate coins" from a museum store but wanted to make more. So he rolled little balls and pressed the coin imprints to the clay.


We are letting them dry and then he wants to paint them silver like quarters. Love it!


We also painted today. The boys have been wanting something more than just watercolors, so we have been drawing with sharpies on watercolor paper first, and then painting over that. Both boys have also been experimenting with splattering! They were excited with how their paintings turned out, so we framed them.


I love having kids art in the house as we would hang any art. Just because a 3 year old created it doesn't mean it should be relegated to a cork board. If I can hang my art, then they can hang theirs. We have art by all of us throughout the house - and we can rotate it, change it, or add new things whenever we want. Makes a house feel like a home, livens up the room, and makes us all feel good! (Too bad it doesn't work on backs!)

Photos of the Day - Superheroes.

Superheroes work together as a team and strike cool poses.


They make swooshie sounds as they do fancy yoga moves.


They leap off of tall things and they run super quick - they are so fast that they are a blur and their capes flutter!


Of course superheroes have sensitive fingers too - which hurt when banged against a corner while running in circles at superhero speed.

In our own backyard.

The mosquitoes have been bad. Swarming clouds bad. The boys wanted to have a backyard camp out this weekend - and we were a bit intimidated by the idea. But we found that if you have a big enough fire with a lot of smoke, it is all good...as long as you keep the smoke blowing right in your face. :) Actually, it was nice. We sat around the fire, cooked camp food, told stories, and sang songs.


The boys spent time in the tent reading, playing and listening to music.


We all had fun, and it felt like the first time we all sat still to enjoy a summer evening. Those are the things I like most myself. I am not much of a running around with 50 places to be kind of person. I love nothing more than sitting outside near a fire, watching the stars come out, and listening to the sounds of the night.


The boys didn't sleep in the tent - our yard is small and so there is too much noise for them...dogs, cars and trucks, garage doors, open windows and televisions. But that is OK. It wasn't about sleeping in the tent. It was just a warm summer evening spent relaxing and enjoying being with each other right here at home.

Hope you all had a nice weekend!

Drying herbs.

I planted a few tarragon plants a few years back which I grew from seed. Of course over time they are now the size of small cars and take over the front garden area (which before was the 'came with the house' generic landscaping). It grows fast, doesn't need much water, and I can cut it down a few times per summer and make infused vinegars and oils, dry it for culinary use, or ... make a wreath?

I clipped a lot this week and it is bunched and hanging from the gazebo to dry. I also had some massive woody stalks which were flowering, so I cut those and made them into a wreath. It is drying with the other herbs - we'll see how it works!