Sunday, November 25, 2012

Mini eruptions

Coming up with simple projects can be hard. There are tons of bloggers out there with great ideas, but they often use things I don't have on hand. One day, when I couldn't figure out anything else to do, we decided to pour some baking soda on a baking sheet, dye some vinegar and then use a medicine dispenser to shoot the vinegar onto the baking soda and watch the reaction.

Joshua loved it. He did it until all the baking soda was wet with vinegar and there were no more eruptions to be had.

Sometimes it's the simplest things that are the most fun.



Mermaids and Pirates

Back in August, our friend Lucia had a mermaids and pirates birthday party. We took that as an opportunity to do an art project. Inspired by Red Ted Art (http://www.redtedart.com/2012/08/08/clothes-pins-mermaids/), we made these:

We painted the clothespins, cut fins and hats from foam, drew on faces, and used yarn for hair.

We affixed some to Lucia's gift and Joshua kept some for himself. He has played with them multiple times since. They came out super cute, IMHO.

To be a better mom

Since we moved to San Jose (more about that in a different post) I've been full time stay at home mom to both boys. Recently, I've found myself getting more upset at smaller things. I've found myself needing mom timeouts.
I love my boys to death, but 24/7 is a lot to take. Joshua has been whiny since turning 4, but even more so since we moved. Evan is mostly happy, but he's still a baby so he has his moments. (I think we all have our moments, actually.)
Anyway, we have found Joshua a preschool where he'll attend two days a week. I'll still have Evan all day every day, but at least he naps so it'll be quiet and I can get some things done around here for a couple hour each day.
Sometimes I feel like a failure for needing a break from my kids. But then I realize I'm human. Being a parent is hard. I'm better at it when I have a bit of time for me, a bit of recuperative time.