Marble Painting

Today we did Marble Painting and the boys loved it. I gave them each a shoe box with piece of paper in it and let them choose what color paint they wanted. Then we put two marbles in each box, closed the lid and the started shaking. First, I told them to shake slowly to see what would happen, then we took the lids off and looked at our art, then we shook the box really fast and looked again. We did several pieces and experimented with different ways to shake/move the boxes. We'll definitely be doing this again.

Fun with Marbles

I got this idea from here. I pulled one of the rubber ducky suction things from the boys bathtub and turned it upside down so all the suction cups were facing up. Then I gave Seth a bowl full of marbles and my tongs that I cook with. I had him transfer the marbles from the bowl to the suction cups. The goal was to place a marble in each suction cup without knocking another one off. It was difficult work and I definitely need better tongs, but he worked at it and really enjoyed it. Everytime he knocked a marble off or dropped one he would chase it around and say, "I'm gonna get you!" It was so cute. He probably worked on it for 20 or 30 minutes. Then I gave it to Reece without the tongs. He thought it was the greatest game in the world. Everytime he filled up the suction cups he would squeal in delight then take off each marble one at a time and start over. He did it for atleast 30 minutes. Marbles are a choking hazard, so if you do this with your kids make sure you're sitting with them so that they don't put them in their mouth. I had to tell Reece several times that marbles don't go in his mouth. This is a great exercise in manual dexterity.

Seth, concentrating on the task at hand

Reece, happy with his accomplishments

Vegetarian Lunch

My brother has decided to become Vegan. While I haven't decided this is the right choice for me it has certianly opened up my way of thinking and encouraged me to try some new foods. Today while I was at Costco I saw some Stuffed Grape Leaves and checked to see what they were made with. They were Vegan and so I thought I'd give them a try with the thought that if they were good then I could serve them to John if we have him over for dinner. Suprisingly, they were fantastic!! I will definitely be having these again. They were also really healthy. I'm going to search the internet and see if I can find some recipes to make them myself (I'll also have to find a local place that sells grape leaves). I had them with some Humus that was really good too.

Dino Puzzle

This morning right after breakfast the boys pulled out their dino puzzle/game/book and got to work. It was really funny because Wyatt decided to "read" the directions to Seth. Wyatt can't read, but he was making up some pretty good directions including "You put the dino card on an empty square and then turn the card over and if it's the dino that you want to be then you keep it." While he and Seth were busy looking over the directions Reece started sneeking the puzzle away from them. That part was even more funny. The puzzle/game/book was a present from the boys' Uncle Joel and Aunt Christy at Christmas and they love it.

Wyatt "reading" the directions

Reece sneeking the puzzle away

Reece with his prize

Muffin Tin Monday with a Friend

Today we had Muffin Tin Monday with a friend. Wyatt and Seth's friend, Jonathan, came over for a playdate this morning and stayed for Muffin Tin Monday. We had a great time and I think he and his mom really enjoyed it too.

Our Muffin Tins Contained:

Ranch, Ham, Tomatos and Carrots, Raisens

Apples, Chex, Almonds, Strawberry Wafer Cookies a Z-bar Bite

Grapes, Strawberries, White Cheddar and Pretzel Goldfish, Stringcheese

Seth, Wyatt and Jonathan enjoying their Muffin Tins
Reece Enjoying his Mini-Muffin Tin

Unplug Your Kids-Hot

This weeks theme for Unplug Your Kids was Hot. Besides the fact that it was scorching outside (over 100 degrees almost everday) we decided to do Hot Rocks. I got the idea from another Unplugged Family and a project they had done another week. The boys really liked it. We used rocks we collected on a nature walk several weeks ago and heated them in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Then we melted crayons on them. We added the rocks to our growing collection of "Welcome Rocks" at our front door. If you do this project make sure to give your kids pot holders to handle the rocks because they will be hot.

Finished Hot Rocks
Welcome Rocks

Fun with Finger Paints

It's been quite a while since we pulled out the finger paints, but our friend Diana posted some pictures of her little girl finger painting and I was inspired. The boys had a great time. Reece got covered in paint which I expected and is why I left him in only his diaper, but the other two stayed relatively clean.

Seth shows off the after affects of the full hand method of finger painting
Reece got a lot of paint on his belly
Wyatt was proud of only getting paint on the one finger he used to paint with

Transformer Optimus Prime by Wyatt
Spiderman by Wyatt
Seth's Masterpiece
Reece's Masterpiece

Hide and Go Seek in a Container

The original idea for this came from here. However, I decided to make mine a little differently. Wyatt has really been into Hide and Go Seek recently and I thought he'd enjoy this game he could play by himself. First I colored the rice using about 8 drops of food coloring and 1 tablespoon of alcohol to 1/2 cup of rice. Then I let it marinate for an hour in a ziploc bag before I took it out to dry out. I wanted a theme to the container and since we have a huge amount of plastic animals I decided to go with farm animals. I took one of each animal put them in the container along with the rice. Then put a label on top and super glued the lid to the container. By the way, the container is just an old container from the bulk bins at the grocery store that we got some wild rice or granola in (so it was a freebie). I gave Wyatt the game and told him what to look for. He got so excited each time he found one of the animals. I can definitely see this being successful as the boys get older. I could use bigger containers and smaller objects and do a lot of different themes. The possibilities are endless : )

Making Mashed Potatos

Dinner can be a little hectic around our house and I'm guilty of putting the boys in front of the tv so that I can get things done. In an effort to avoid that I decide to get them in on the action. I let them help me with the mashed potatos (thanks mom for the potatos). Seth helped grind them in the food mill and Wyatt helped put the butter and milk in and whip them with the fork. I really need to clean my counter tops : (

Muffin Tin Monday - It's a Party!!

The theme for Muffin Tin Monday was PARTY!! I decided to pull out some of the boys favorite party foods and have a little party for them. We normally do Muffin Tin Monday on the floor in our living room picnic style, but I knew this would be a little messy. So, we did it at the table instead.

Our Muffin Tins consisted of:
Ranch, Carrots, Strawberry Jello with Whipped Cream and Sprinkles, Cheese Quesadillas
Strawberry Wafer Cookies, Ham, Popcorn
Granola, Popcorn, Chocolate Brownie, Fruit Kabob (Grapes and Strawberries rolled in colored sugar)

Reece enjoyed his mini-muffin tin

Unplug Your Kids-Rough

The theme for the Unplug Your Kids project was ROUGH. I immediately thought of sandpaper so that is what I went with. I hate to spend money on projects so I went to the garage to see what Jerad might have on hand for me to use and found three different grades of sandpaper. I glued three small pieces to a piece of cardboard so that the boys could compare the textures. We talked about which one was the most rough and the least rough. We also talked about using a light touch and a hard touch. Then I pulled out the feathers and talked about the difference between the way the feathers feel and the way the sandpaper feels. They REALLY liked the feathers!! Next week's theme is HOT. We shouldn't have any trouble with that since it's been between 104 and 106 degrees here the past couple of days.

New Crafting Blog

I've started a new crafting blog that will just cover the things that I'm currently working on. You can check it out if you're interested in what I'm making. There's not a lot on it right now, but I hope to be adding to it in the future.
http://3frogscrafting.blogspot.com

Beauty of God's Creation

Last night while we were all out in the front yard Jerad noticed the beautiful sunset and decided to get some pictures. It was so pretty. There were so many colors and just a multitude of ripples accross the sky. When we got inside a friend of ours had sent us some pictures that another person she knew had also taken, so we weren't the only people to notice the beauty God decided to share with us. We had a rough day yesterday and it was nice to end it in a peaceful, beautiful, God given way.

Super Foam-erator and Dressing Yourself

We made the Super Foam-erator today and the boys loved it. We saved the bottoms of the water bottles so that we could make these fun Hot Air Balloons sometime soon. I also decided that since we would be staying home all day that the boys could completely dress themselves with no help from me. Wyatt stayed pretty safe with red soccer shorts because they were like Spiderman and a Buzz Lightyear t-shirt, but Seth went all out. He picked out his Lightening McQueen swimsuit and a tie dyed surf shirt. My sister said he looked like the little boy from the movie Big Daddy when Adam Sandler lets him dress himself.
We got the foam-erators back out when Jerad got home and played with them in the front yard for a little while. A new boy lives next door and Wyatt and Seth were excited to show him their new toy.