An Art Project Before We Go

We are headed out to go on a ski trip with 30 exchange students, and then onto visit the Arkansas Mattys, so I don't know how much I'll be posting in the next few days, but I was pretty proud of myself yesterday for the art project I came up with for doing with Makili.

Raph bought me a bunch of block printing materials for Christmas that I've been dying to get around to work on. (So many things going on all the time!) Yesterday I decided to modify the project for Makili.

We used those styrofoam trays that food comes packaged on in Market Basket. I save them for using under plants in the greenhouse, and I've used them in the past to make crafts for decorations, like at Makili's birthday luau. I decided yesterday to try using them as printing plates. I cut them to the size I wanted with scissors, and then Makili used a chop stick to draw on them, though some of his lines weren't deep enough so I also had him draw with a Sharpie, and then I traced his drawing with a chop stick.

Here is a plate ready for printing. As you can see, Makili also liked poking holes. And the smily face was my demonstration for him as to how to draw on there. He didn't do that (obviously).
Then we inked up the plate using some block printing ink and a brayer. Makili really like this part, and of course he chose red.

Here is an inked plate.Then we put the plate on the paper, turned it over and rubbed it.
Then we peeled off the finished print.
I'm not showing the best works here because a few of you might find Valentines in the mail from Makili and I don't want to ruin the surprise. Let me just tell you that my favorite works were "Tractor" and "Mommy." Limited editions, of course. I LOVED this project and the finished products were really nice. I recommend this project highly!

While the Mid Atlantic gets dumped on again...

We have no snow around here! Makili likes to jump off of this rock into the snow, but we haven 't had any! But we have been getting out of the house a bit, which also makes me feel like a good mom.

Like Mama

Makili had his first sewing lesson yesterday. He loved it and made a really cool piece of art that is now hanging on my wall. I've been really trying lately to get him to do more creative stuff, since one can only build so many block garages. I have some other projects that I'll post pictures of at some point, but I have to say doing things like this with him is so good for me! We have this structured time together and then he is happy to play independently for a little while. So good.

Post 600!

We had a rough last week. Sorry for the lapse in posts, but with sick DEMANDING babes, my mental health was in question, and blogging was one thing I was not able to make happen. I blame it all on this:

Good ol' Chuck E Cheese. This was part of our Americana weekend. A birthday. Makili had an alright time though he was terrified of Chuckie. And I don't really blame him. In particular those mechanical puppets on stage with the creepy eyelids totally terrified him. I was happy to help celebrate Kayden and Brogan's birthdays, but I don't think that we're going to go there again soon. (Those posters are HUGE in there, by the way, and made Raph and I laugh.)

Since this is my 600th post, I'll do a mini-giveaway. Leave a comment between now and next Sunday Feb.14th at 9:00am and I'll randomly choose a winner to whom I will send a fabric bucket something like this. Good luck!

Day 4

Day 4 of fever. Day 3 of fevers topping 105. Yeah. I'm ready for the drop off.

A dosage of cuteness

Just got home from the doc. Makili is running a high temp (topped 105 this afternoon!) But plenty of cuteness to go around. Thought I'd share a bit. (Yes, that's a bruise on Remick's forehead. He dove off of the futon in the two seconds that I had turned around to get him some clothes. The little monkey is all over the place these days!)

This is Makili's current favorite book.

Project Drool

I so want to get around to trying some of these projects:

• this house
• these decorations,
• or these
• or these
  
• valentines
• this quilt
  
• this advent calendar
• nesting block
• mobile
• fabric bucket
• for Raph
• for the beach
• napkins
• soap for kids
  
• counting bean bags

You'd think I have time on my hands or something...

Makili's Big Race

We've had a real Americana weekend so far around here. I'll get around to part II tomorrow, but the big race last night was definitely a slice of Americana. We were asked to attend this car race by the homeschoolers down the street, to whom I teach writing. I thought it was a homeschooler thing, but it turned out to be a church thing. Categorically, I'm not against church functions, and this was fun, though there was a speech in the middle which honestly Raph and I found sort of entertaining. At one point, the speaker asked "Who wrote the bible?" The kids in the audience were giving really logical answers like "Christians" and "the disciples." After telling the kids that they were wrong, the speaker went on to say that God wrote the Bible. I didn't point out that this was historically inaccurate.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun. I carved our car (really a flatbed truck with an excavator on top) in less than a day, gashed my hand twice with my fancy carving tools. It's for the kids, right? Seeing all of the other cards was VERY fun! Note the Washington Monument Car in the background! (There were a lot of "America" cars - military vehicles, monuments, etc.)
There was a lot of waiting around, but we didn't mind because they gave us nachos and fried dough - again, real Americana.
Finally, our turn.
We raced four times. Sadly my hand-carved car didn't make it to the finish line even once. But who is counting anyway?

Sadness for a two-year old

Makili is very interested in the concept of sad. He constantly asks if someone in a book or a movie is sad. I was just listening to Pandora and a Dolorean song. Makili asked if he was sad, and I said "yes, he's sad." A few moments later he asked, "did his mama leave him?" I chuckled and said, "no, he loved a girl and the girl left him." A few minutes later he asked, "did the girl have to go to work?" He makes me smile when he's not driving me nuts.

Today was LONG

It has been a BUSY week and it is starting to catch up with me. It was long day. The highlight of which was chatting with our newest niece Olivianne Josephine Matty, who was born on Tuesday? on the internet. The low point today was a pile of poop in a pair of underwear. And then all those points in between just blurred together. Though I haven't forgotten when Makili fed Remick our dinner (vegetables wellington - puff pastry - the works) when we weren't looking. Raph actually asked me in all seriousness if I gave Remick some of it because it was all over him. At least they're cute.

I take it back.

Well, I said that Remick was sleeping though the night. It took me a week to get used to it and actually be able to sleep myself. And here I am again, up in the middle of the night because the little bugga will not sleep. Not with my help, not without it. Boy is he frustrating me. At least I'll get some crocheting done, right? And blogging. And I picked up the toys a bit. So I'm also going to take back saying the Makili was potty trained because I don't want him to make me a liar too. Okay? Noone sleeps though the night (because last night NOONE did - not even Makili, the soundest sleeper on the planet. He woke up telling me his feet hurt??? his feet?) and we all crap in our pants. Okay. They can make me a liar now.

ps: look at the thighs on this child!

Trained!

What do you do when your potty training child falls asleep in the car with no diaper on? If you're Raph, you just slap that diaper on outside his pants.Here is my triumphant little guy a few days a go on his throne. Since then, we've officially abandoned the little potty and all diapers except for nap time and bed time. We even went all the way to the Museum of Science yesterday in Boston with no accidents! What a big boy!!!

Makili says

Makili cracks me up. I was just telling him that he was a nice boy. He smiled and then said, "pirates are not nice." Then a few second later he said, "Santa's nice."

Yesterday he looked at me with a mean face and said, "I'm a crazy boy!"

When I ask him a question and he doesn't know the answer, he used to shake his head no or say no. Then he progressed to saying, "I don't know." Now he emphatically says, "I don't want to talk about it!"

Sometimes, he comes over to me and looks me squarely in the eye and says, "I want to hang out with you." So sweet.

Big Week

So as of this week, Remick sleeps through the night and fully crawls, though not quickly yet, thank god! AND the big news.........

Makili uses the potty! I really have Raph's aunt Gina to thank for this. It has been on my list of things to do, since I knew he could basically do it from my last attempt, which we sort of abandoned over the holidays. But, he never really handled having pants on very well. It was as though if he had something on him he though it meant he could just let it all go... But Gina watched my kids on Wed so that I could go to my Master Gardener class (so cool!). When I came home, Makili ran to me to tell me that he had peed on the potty! And he's been doing it ever since! He poops on the potty. He uses the potty when we're out! We've had a couple accidents, including one really gross pile of poop in his brand new pajamas, but we're learning! (Retrospectively, that one was my fault...) I am SO excited!

I just asked him why he wasn't wearing a diaper, and he said, " Cause I want to be a big boy like Daddy." God is he cute.

There was a little bribery too by the way. I had to take him to Walmart yesterday to buy him a tractor after his first poop on the potty! We are super excited around here!

Officially a trend!

Four consecutive nights of something in the vicinity of 8:30-5. I am beyond happy about it.

Family Photos

I took some photos of our friends' family for them last weekend. I think they turned out really well... And it was FUN!

My kind of snow!!!

I finally taught Makili to like snow. It helped that it was 32 degrees. I rolled in the snow. Jumped in the snow. Made snow balls, snow angels, and "Opa Snowman." We walked and hid in the snow. And when I was tired, I sent for reinforcements. Raph came out and built a snow mountain that they slid down over and over again. It is beautiful outside. The predicted 1-2 inches is close to six inches. It hasn't stopped snowing all day. Beautiful slow-motion snow. Lovely.

Oh. My. God.

After seven months of TERRIBLE sleep, Raph and I have had it. It would be one thing if Remick were consolable in the middle of the night, like if I nursed him he'd go back to sleep. But NO. I have held him crying in the middle of the night for over an hour. After Friday night, we agreed we couldn't go on like this.

So we let him cry on Sat. I went to a play (which was AWESOME!) and when I came home Remick was crying. Not loud or frantic or anything, more whiny, complaining. Raph said he had been crying for 20 minutes or so. He tells me to go lay down in Makili's room, which I do. I laid in bed in agony listening to Remick's crying ramp up. I was suffering. He was suffering. I knew Raph would be disappointed with me if I caved on our agreement. So it went on. Eventually he stopped working on his midterm, came in the room, put on some music to help me block out the crying. We had agreed I could go in at 2:00, since that would have been 7 hours since the last time I nursed. But, the next thing I knew, I woke up and it was 5:30! My boobs were about to fall off my chest, but there was no crying! I woke him up to nurse. And he went right back to sleep to 7:30.

I was prepared for worst again last night. He went to bed at 8:30. Quietly and without much fuss. I waited for the crying to commence. And I waited. I woke up at 4:00 am, having gotten more sleep in one shot than I have in over half a year. I couldn't sleep, but there was still no crying. He woke at 5:00! (that's 8.5 hours), nursed and went back to sleep. I won't pretend that I expect more nights like that, but oh my god! Can you believe that! I am so thankful!

Some Days.

Some days are like this...





And some days are like this...

Winter

I'm having a winter moment. I'm actually having an over-winter moment. I am over the 700 square feet that is suffocating me, feeling like I am constantly trying to dig out of a mountain of dishes and laundry and toys and diapers, as these things continue to rain down on me. I'm over forgetting about, then restarting the fire, lugging wood, sweeping sawdust, then forgetting about the fire all over again, and being annoyed to have to restart it. Here are some numbers about my week:

1 - Number of times I have already had to go outside today to get wood (it's only 7:30.)
2 - Number of days the current load of laundry has been wet in the washer.
3 - Number of hours of sleep I got last night.
4 - Number of times I had to restart the fire yesterday.
5 - Number of minutes I was in the car yesterday before the brake was clearly not working right, which will cost between 2 and 6 hundred dollars to fix. Extra winter bonus.
6 - Number of times in the last 10 minutes that Remick has tried to crawl and then started to cry because he's stuck on his belly.
7 - Number of times this week I had to change sheets because one of my children peed through his diaper on the bed.
8 - Number of days this week that I wished it was closer to spring. (that's how little sleep I got.)
9 - Number of times Makili said "Mama, please play with me" in the last 10 seconds. He does this ALL day long.
10 - Number of dollars I have left to spend this month under our new budget.


Of course, we've had some nice winter moments. Here are some recent pictures from skating on the pond with the McCall and Rohan clans. And it is getting a bit warmer. Above freezing anyway. "Warm" spell.

Frontal Lobes. And some snot.

My morning sunshine...

Mr. Independiente

This guy has been Mr. Independent lately. After I have a go brushing his teeth, he likes to do it him self.He wields this stool like a champ, whipping it into whatever corner it might be needed to climb up and see. He is officially in charge of getting himself water when he wants it.
His language continues to change rapidly. I will miss the laughing about him saying, "I want to press the butts on the peter." (buttons on the computer) or "foon" (spoon) or the million other little ways his language reminds us he is still a baby even though he is getting so big and independent.

Matching Sweaters

Remick and his Dad have matching sweaters, which is pretty awesome. I have of late decided that in fact Remick has my personality. He is entirely pissed off that he can't crawl. And he does sort of come close and scoot around sort of, but in his estimation it needed to happen five minutes ago and it is entirely too slow! Impatience that sort of sounds like me...He's in a real mama phase at the moment, and whines and cries if I set him down, like to go to the bathroom for example. He has been sleeping quite a bit better, waking once or twice a night. Until pretty recently, he would be easy to put back to sleep, but all of a sudden, it now seems to take him forever! This is on the agenda of things to address!
He's pretty cute.