I Heart Craft Things – Guest Post

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Jennifer

Today I have a blogger here who you must meet if you have kids. Rachel, the mom behind I Heart Crafty Things, does activities with her kids which truly inspire me to do more with my children. Most of Rachel’s activities revolve around children’s literature and corresponding learning projects. (I decided to say learning projects instead of art projects since following directions, cutting, and tracing are all such important skills for little ones to learn.) Some of my favorite I Heart Crafty Things posts are Paper Plate Pirates, Red Light, Green Light Activities (wonderful beginning math concepts in this post), and the Piggy Snacks . So without furth ado…here’s Rachel.

Hi, I’m Rachel from I Heart Crafty Things. I discovered Big D & Me about a month ago and after reading about her recent Boot Camp experience, I knew she was my kind of gal. Her sense of humor is just what a stay at home Mom of 3 needs to help keep me sane on those unbearable days! That is why I was sooooo excited when Jennifer asked me to guest post.

After having my first child, I found myself in this “Oh my gosh, I have no talents or interests in my life” kind of slump, and quickly discovered an unfounded passion within myself for children’s literature and crafting. I can honestly say that over the years it is what has kept me sane and happy as a Mother. I was not a creative or imaginative child at all, and being able to instill some of that into my children has made me a really proud Mommy. Over at I Heart Crafty Things you will read about fun children’s crafts coupled with children’s books. Like when we created these Band-Aid Fireflies to go along with “The Very Lonely Firefly” by Eric Carle.

or our Eric Carle inspired Very Hungry Caterpillar’s…

I also try to keep things fun for my First Grader too with projects like this “Out of this World” Craft.

This past week I’ve been reviewing shapes with my Preschooler. We read the fun book “My Heart is like a Zoo” by Michael Hall.

It is a fabulous children’s story where the author creates animals out of heart shapes. Each page displays a different animal with descriptions that include feelings like “snappy as a crab” and “angry as a bear”. Reading this story was a great opportunity to talk about feelings, but also to review one of our shapes, the heart.

Going through every page in the story we tried to count how many hearts were used to create each animal and then we picked which one was our very favorite animal at the end of the story. The back of the story the author shows how to create the lion animal and I thought, “Hey, we can totally do that!” So using my book as a guide, I printed off several different sized hearts to create some of the animals we found in the book.

After printing off the hearts, we colored and cut them all out. I was in charge of cutting out all the tiny hearts. I knew the little hands would have a hard time with those. Then we took a brief recess as I attended to my cute baby girl (who has morning hair haha) who secretly got a hold of an orange marker and pretty much had the time of her life…

Then we picked out some colorful construction paper to glue our hearts on (I cut sheets of construction paper in half because we didn’t need the whole sheet).

I did a little bit of cutting on some of the hearts, using the book as my guide.

The kids got busy putting glue on all the hearts.

And we placed them on our paper to create some super fun animals all out of hearts. We used black circles made from a hole punch for our eyes.

Meet our silly seal (my personal favorite)…

Our Snappy Crab…

Mr. Angry Bear…

And our very Brave and totally disproportionate Lion (hahaha, hey, the kids didn’t notice!)…

So what are you waiting for?? Go get crafting with your kids! But wait, first come over to I Heart Crafty Things to say hello! 🙂

Right back atya

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Jennifer

Eight years ago I convinced my sister to train for and compete in a triathlon.The race consisted of a half mile swim, a 25 mile bike ride, and a 6 mile run.

On race day we were excited yet nervous.

Due to my age group beginning before hers, I finished the race ahead of Kelly. I walked into the crowd and found an opening roughly 50 feet from the finish.

When I saw my sister I began cheering for her, “Go Kelly! You Got it. You’re Almost There!”

As Kelly ran passed me she looked straight at me and gave me the finger.

Yes, she did.

Sisterly love lets you get away with a lot.

Every year or so my sisters and I try and have a Sisters Weekend. We meet up in a city, go the spa, and enjoy shopping and eating out.

Last week I spoke to Kelly on the phone and she mentioned scheduling a sisters weekend.

Awesome. I’m getting a facial, a pedicure, and a massage.

She also mentioned she wanted to get in shape and she needed a goal in order to do this. Kelly decided that training for a half marathon would be her focus.

Yes, great idea. It will definitely get you in shape.

“And I want you and Amanda to run it with me for our sisters weekend.”

Huh. That’s not such a great idea now.

Replace the facial with sunburn, replace the pedicure with blisters, replace the massage with leg cramps.

Awesome.

Reluctantly I agreed.

Our half marathon is in 14 weeks.

Monday I went for my first run. Now normally I don’t run. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’d stick around to fight in a dark alley rather than try and run. Running is painful and I am bad at it. But I’m in this to finish it and to support Kelly.

So the kids got on their bikes, Derek pushed Caroline in the jogging stroller, and I shuffled along running and walking.

Well, Kelly, after completing those first two miles of training, I have a message for you:

Right back atya little sis!

Fun with Rolls

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Jennifer

The last week of summer vacation was a little bit of a challenge in our family.

Everyone had been around each other just a little too long.

Arguements errupted for no reason, whining occurred at record amounts, and my patience was shot.

I knew I needed a project for the boys to work on so I scowered my house for ideas.

When I came across these fabric tubes in my guest room I was inspired.

Presenting..the Two Story Challenge

Using these tubes, get your hot wheels cars downstairs without using the steps.

And no, you may not throw your cars down.

After removing the fabric from the rolls, they got right to work.

A simple design was developed and executed using lots of duck tape

3…2…1….Go!

The tubes were taken apart at one point due to the two year stuffing objects at the top

Towels were placed at the bottom of the chute in order to protect the floor

A few hours into the challenge the basket was added

The basket was a necessary component to rest their weary legs

Eventually the picture was removed for fear of car and basket damage

If we ever need to get water from a well my kids are ready

This entertained my kids for three days! Obviously there were interuptions due to meals, trips to the pool, and sports practices but listen to me when I say THREE DAYS!

There was even talk of adding a loop next time.

Go beg, borrow, or steal some fabric tubes from your local fabric store!

3D

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Jennifer

Most people enjoy 3D movies.

They might describe going to the movies as delightful, desirable, and divine.

After the end of my most recent 3D movie experience, I would not.

I would define my experience as distracted, disruptive, and a deterrent to ever returning.

Let me explain.

Last week my mom and I brought my kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at the dollar show.

Besides just being happy about going to the movies, my boys were thrilled it was going to be a 3D experience.

“We get to wear those glasses!”

Once we had settled into our seats and the lights went out I distributed the snacks. I passed out the theater bought ICEES and the smuggled in microwave popcorn (much to the chagrin of my mother).

Discarding her 3D glasses during the opening credits, my daughter was content to watch the movie without them while eating her animal crackers. Once the crackers were gone though she was ready to move.

After attempting to distract her several times and watching her run up and down the aisles, I took her out to explore the lobby.

Thankfully, the movie ended soon afterwards and we were able to scoot back to our seats to collect the rest of the family. As a group we walked to the back of the theater where the glasses recycling container was located.

While holding Caroline, I reached into my bag in order to retrieve our two pairs of 3D glasses. I pulled out 2 pairs of glasses and tossed them into the container.

Within moments I realized my mistake.

I had thrown my sunglasses into the recycle bin.

I ripped off the top of the receptacle and leaned into it but was only able to graze the top layer of glasses with my hand. Due to the dim lighting in the theater I couldn’t determine if any of the pairs I managed to grab were my sunglasses.

However, it was not dark enough to miss the strange stares I was receiving from audience members waiting to turn in their glasses.

Ignoring their stares I decided to drag the container into the hallway.

Once in the hallway, I pushed over the bin causing all the 3D glasses to spill on the floor.

There was a noticeable look of concern from the teenage ushers suddenly walking our way. Avoiding their stares I searched for my sunglasses until my nine year old declared, “I found them.”

I could swear I heard music. It was like the holy grail. Light shone from the heavens onto my son’s extended arm.

Perhaps not. But it sure felt like it.

Much to the delight of the ushers I turned the bin right side up and placed all of the glasses back in. I was going to drag the beast of a container back into the theater but was quickly told, “Thank you Ma’m. We’ve got it from here.”

I’m pretty sure they had already walkie talkied back to the front office about the crazy lady by theater four.

Delightful, desirable, and divine? No.

Difficult, disruptive, and distressing? Yes.

Elmo Inspires

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Jennifer

On a whim, I threw My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud by Kevin Clash into my library bag at the same time as I picked up these wonderful books.

While this book may not be in the same literary category as the others, it was a worthwhile read. It was quite inspiring to read how Kevin Clash’s parents nurtured his creativity and encouraged his passion. Very easily they could have chosen a different route when their son expressed the desire to become a professional puppeteer.

The quote below was a good reminder for me to get off the computer and create something with my kids.

“There’s a certain sweet magic you feel when you sit down and create something with a child, whether it’s a masterpiece in watercolors or pasta shapes glued to a paper plate. And remember, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t held a crayon in decades or if you don’t remember how to fold a paper airplane or if you can’t draw hands or horses or rocket ships. In the eyes of a child, your artistic talents are supreme. It’s not what you create – it is simply the fact that you are helping that child celebrate the joy of creativity.”

Inspired by this quote, the four of us sat down and made paper bag puppets.

Though a simple craft, it was a tremendous amount of fun.

We spent an hour laughing, sharing stories, and enjoying one another. The boys eagerly filled me in on all the intricacies of the Batman series while making their superhero puppets.

Here are the final products.

Alex created Robin and Two Face while Caroline enjoyed using tons of glue.

When Andrew announced he was going to make a half Batman and half Joker puppet my 37 year old brain automatically thought he would draw each half of the characters vertically. I was fascinated to watch him create his half and half character horizontally.

Supermom was my creation and I’d have to say I’m quite proud of her. I wouldn’t be surprised if Angelina Jolie’s people wrote to my people thanking me for the likeness.

My boys were less than impressed with Supermoms’ weapon which indicates they must not be familiar with the powers of my purse. McGuyver and I could go head to head in any episode requiring us to keep a two year old entertained during a license renewal at the DMV.

What’s the last creative thing you did with your kids?

It’s So Hot…

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Jennifer

It’s so hot….

…you could fry an egg on the side walk….

…as long as you like your eggs a little runny…..

with a touch of salmonella.

Mother Effer

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Jennifer

Last week I joined a gym by our house. The flyer in our mailbox stated, “$12 monthly, no initiation fee!”

I mean twelve bucks. It’s practically free. I’ve got to join.

Well, $124 dollars later I was a member.

The twelve dollar membership had time restrictions which didn’t work for me so I settled on the $19 plan. Add on the $38 initiation fee, childcare fees for three children, first and last month payments, and I was set to go.

Today I decided to try a class.

Let’s just say I should have thrown the flyer away.

5:30 – 6:30 AM Boot Camp

I arrived in the classroom to find a young woman already stretching on a mat. Half jokingly I said, “Is this the back of the class? I need to be able to hide.”

She smiled back and replied, “There’s no back. We move all over the room.”

We continued to talk for two minutes, bonding over being former teachers, until the instructor walked in.

No sooner had our instructor walked in when this woman said, “She wanted to know where the back of the class in because she’s going to need to hide.”

??????????????????

Lady, I’m going to meet you in the parking lot and stab you with a real knife.

5:31 – Class starts with six of us – I realize I am in deep trouble when class begins by warming up with squats
5:35 – I take my first glance at the clock

5:38 – Why am I here? I hate this.

5:40 – I glance again and notice sweat has begun dripping down my face.
5:43 – I am now doing the variation moves (code for “Moves for the losers in class”)
5:45 – I hate this lady
5:50 – Stop to grab water
5:57 – Notice the instructor shows us the moves, does 10 reps, and watches for another 20 reps – Bitch
5:59 – I am slowing down greatly and notice I do about three reps to the instructor’s five.
6:05 – Squat Nazi!
6:06 – Little Spandex Witch!
6:07 – Mother Effer I hate you!
6:11 – Stop to get more water even though others have yet to take a break

6:15 – Please tell me I read the form wrong and this class really ends at 6:20
6:21 – Dam it – more squats – Be-otch with a capital B!
6:23 – Grab the exercise ball and and start ab work. I quickly realize I have no abs.
6:27 – A woman leaves without doing warm down – I’d go with her but can’t get up.
6:28 – Sweat is pouring down my face
6:30 – Our instructor says, “Oh yeah, I probably should have said this before class. Because of all the heat you really should take it easy today.” I just stare at her.

6:31 – I get up off the floor, grab my keys, and say, “Thanks so much that was great. I’ll be back next week.”

And I will be back.

The instructor’s expecting me not to.

Plus, I have to meet someone in the parking lot.

Shark Week

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Jennifer

This is “Shark Week” on the Discovery channel and the boys have enjoyed it immensely.

Each night they watch one of the hour long shows and discuss it afterwards as they go to bed. Enthusiastic retellings of vicious attacks, stories of missing limbs, and tales of the blood red water have me questioning whether the viewings should continue.

Their artwork also displays what they’ve been seeing.

Sadly, the people in their pictures never seem to make it back to shore.

Have a great weekend and remember to STAY OUT OF THE WATER!

All Made Up

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Jennifer

In one of the most ironic occurrences of my life…I won a make up party.

What? Jennifer won a make up party? The girl who never wears make up?

Me. Shorts loving, pony tail wearing, wash n’go me won a make up party.

It’s as if Mother Teresa won a sex toys party….uh, bad image and not quite right in the analogy department…..

It’s as if Lady Gaga won a white polo shirt….Getting there…..

It’s as if I won a make up party…Yep that’s it.

A few weeks ago I used my Mother’s Day gift card and flippantly put my name in the fishbowl on the salon counter.

Well, I won. They pulled my slip of paper and called to arrange a make up party. During the call I was told by the Eastern European make up artist that we would be treated to 1) having our make up done, 2) drinking wine, and 3) possibly mini massages. At least that’s what I think she said. I was a little unclear due to her strong accent. For all I know I could have just agreed for my friends and I to become the oldest mail order brides ever.

I invited 5 brave friends who graciously showed up. I’m pretty sure the part in the email where I highlighted “free wine” was the catalyst for the five yeses.

Everyone gathered excitedly in the salon foyer waiting to be glamed up. We must have looked like a rough and haggard group because they brought us to wait in the employee break room which had the lighting of a romantic Italian restaurant.

Glasses of red wine were waiting for us as well as our ever so flattering brown robes. We could have been back up singers for Friar Tuck. Maybe we should start an all girls religious rock group – The Monastery Mommas.

***The resemblance is striking, isn’t it***

So there we were. Drinking wine, eating the cupcakes I had brought, and having hand massages. In groups of two our make up was done by our very enthusiastic make up artists.

Here’s my before shot…