groundspeed

It's Sprung

I know spring is here because I have friends in North Carolina and Texas that are now posting pictures on Facebook with beautiful azaleas in the background. A friend in Virginia posted landscapes with blooming Dogwoods and Empress tress. One of my best friends, also in Virginia, has the most amazing yellow Forsythia in her front yard. She just posted a family picture in front of it that included her newest addition, her two week old son. (Two weeks now, more like one week in the pic.)

Blooming Forsythia AND a newborn.

Now that's a spring picture.

I'm a little jealous.

Here in Florida, our weeds are looking healthier. 

I'm all about year-round beach weather, but it is a shame we have to sacrifice spring.

Still. I try. This week I added a little centerpiece to the table that cost me all of... nodda. (Salvaged the flowers from an old bouquet, had everything else, will need to spend a little when it comes time to replace flowers, but so far not a penny.)

Earlier this week Blue and I colored Easter eggs across our driveway.

On Thursday I sent Blue to school with three hard-boiled eggs and today he came home with this cuteness:

Also today... little colored plastic eggs at the mouth of drain pipes, corners of windows, tucked into plants...

I hosted a little play date and we had our first egg hunt.

Every egg contained spring stickers so after the hunt the kiddos could use their stickers for an Easter picture.

Toby was all about the egg collecting.

Then happily stickered it up.

This was AFTER we'd already made a heckuva mess inside using shaving cream and paint to color flowers.

My sensory seeking boy could not get enough.

He liked making a mess and painting my friend's knee.

But we did manage to get a few flowers painted.

As for the set up... I don't have a table in my breakfast nook. On purpose. I like it open. I like to put my Christmas tree there. I had extra disposable plastic tableclothes from a previous party so I just taped one to the floor in this open spot. Yes, shaving cream and paint still got on the bench seats and tile, but it wiped up fine. 

As for the how-to using shaving cream to paint. Go here.

And because it was a playdate there had to be a spread.


Mini fruit pizzas. Yum!

See? Even our food is getting more colorful :-)

Happy Spring! And happy Friday!

Starfish Wreaths

Our front door Christmas wreath wasn't nice enough to make the move. Christmas 2009 we were at my mom's. Christmas 2010 we were in our new home but TWO new wreaths (because we have double doors) wasn't in the budget, so our doors stayed naked.

This year it wasn't really in the budget either but...

Oh well. 

I wanted wreaths.

I wanted blue and white wreaths to match my blue and white house.  I wanted star fish on my wreaths but I wanted them to be Christmasy not just every-day beachy.

Surprisingly enough I haven't come across exactly what I wanted in a store anywhere.

So I set out to make wreaths. This was my black-Friday project.

I don't consider myself crafty and I've never made a wreath before, but I bought the plain twig wreaths and figured with a glue gun, how could I go wrong?

I spray-painted my wreaths white, bought a bunch of star fish and two shells at Shell Bazaar, a few blue ornaments and got out my glue gun. The star fish and shells are just glue gunned on. The ornaments are tied together and then on and then glue gunned in spots to be exactly where I want them. 

That's it. One afternoon and done.

Looking around most nice wreaths cost between $50 and $100 and I'd say each wreath cost me about $25. (It's only that high because I spent $29 just in star fish and the two shells!) Definitely a worthwhile DIY project.

Thankfulness Tree

In the corner of the dining room sits my attempt at a thankfulness tree.

Supplies: a few limbs from a nearby empty lot spray painted gold because of the spray paint we already had on hand this seemed best, a vase I already had, some potpourri pinecone mix thing I bought at Michaels to fill up the vase, leaves cut from cardstock, and some yarn I had on hand. Oh, and the big pinecones at the bottom will be for something else. It's just a place to put them for now.

The idea: periodically during family mealtime discuss our thankfulness, record on a leaf, and hang. Unlike most fall trees that lose their leaves our tree will grow fuller as we get closer to Thanksgiving. 

I've had the tree up for about a week but tonight was the first night we added some leaves. Blue was the first to chime in - he's thankful for the our new outdoor basketball goal that some friends passed on to us and Kevin went and picked up Saturday.

I decided to date each leaf because, who knows, maybe I'll keep them and then, if this becomes a tradition, we can look back and see what we were thankful for in years past.

The discussion went well with the kids, but Kevin was my cut-up (pain in the butt). I can never get everyone to behave at once. Sigh.

It's not much now, but I think once we keep hanging the leaves it will turn into the colorful reminder it is intended to be. (And we're a sit down to dinner every night kinda family so, shouldn't be long.)

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18 

Reading About Thanksgiving

November came and we have gotten our Thanksgiving reading assembled.

A book we have that I read aloud to the boys is Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebration by Julie Stiegemeyer

I like this one because it is in the point of view of a pilgrim child. It's a fictional account (I looked up Elizabeth Chilton, the main character, and although there was a Chilton who signed the Mayflower Compact there was no Elizabeth in the lineage that would have been there at that time.) that nicely paints the picture of the difficult time of the pilgrims and relates it to how/why we celebrate Thanksgiving today. It also places the emphasis on thankfulness within its rightful Christian perspective. On the very last page are the words of the doxology (Praise God from whom all blessing flow...) and I love singing this after we read the book. But this is not a facts book. You will not come across the usual stat of 102 pilgrims/50 died the first winter. The word Womanoag does not appear. Still, it's helpful for your child to see it from the child's persepctive and be introduced to that world. Also, illustrations by Renee Benoit are lovely.

For a non fiction account we read The First Thanksgiving by Garnet Jackson

We checked this out from the library. This was easy enough for Kaden, age 7 and in second grade, to read in about one 20 minute sitting and that's with stopping to talk about some things. An easy introduction to the facts. It tells that the Common House first built by the pilgrims did little to protect them from the cold and fifty (half!) the pilgrims died their first winter at Plymouth. You learn that Squanto already knew English. That most of his people had died from disease brought over by Englishmen. That the first Thanksgiving was actually in October and lasted three days and it was President Lincoln who made Thanksgiving an offical holiday, choosing the 4th Thursday in November for its celebration.

And then to mix up facts and fiction... Thanksgiving on Thursday, Magic Tree Hosue book #27 by Mary Pope Osbourne.

Another library checkout. We're reading about two chapters a night, but I've already skimmed through to the end. This weaves some of the historical details into the story of Jack and Annie crashing the first Thanksgiving, but it mostly focuses on how hard the pilgrim children worked to help. Jack and Annie feel very inadequate. It also emphasizes the differences in the pilgrim's old English and Jack and Annie's modern slang. In the end the message is one that praises the "magic of community" and being kind to those who are different and afraid. There's also a Thanksgiving facts section at the end of the book.

That's been our seasonal reading so far. I'm sure the boys are up for more recommendations if you've got 'em.

Thing 2

That would be Toby.

Toby had a bad day.

When Toby has a bad day, this Mama gets spent.

It started at speech. We were a little early and Toby needed a diaper change and for some reason during said clean up he freaked out. I ended up having to put the clean diaper on him while he was standing up and I was hugging him. (Still not sure how I managed that.) When we left the bathroom he started bouncing off the walls in an anxious way, falling to the ground with an arched back if I tried to wrangle him up to settle down. Not fun. I managed to calm him just as his speech therapist came out to get him, but she reported that he went back to being difficult during their time.

Every single time he had to get in his car seat he fought me.

After picking up Blue I decided on a quick Walmart stop for bananas and batteries. Of course a few more things ended up in the cart. Toby proceeded to reach behind him and slam things to the ground. If everything was out of reach, he screamed. SO not fun. The only way we survived check out was because I found a notepad in my purse and handed it to him with a pen. Whew.

Then nap time.

Ha!

He decided to pull a Benjamin. Benjamin is a cousin who is about three months younger than Toby and has been very into stripping lately. He laid down fine when I put him down, but about 15 minutes later big screams. I go in and he's naked from the waste down. His diaper was full (of pee) and he hadn't peed on the bed anywhere, so I though ok, he just wants a lighter load. I changed him and put him back in bed. 15 minutes later more screams. Again, naked from the waste down but this time he's peed all over the bed. I give the bed a stern lecture. (Pointing at the pee, "No pee pee on the bed. No, no!) Toby then proceeded to point at his bed and say, "No, no pee pee. No!" I declared nap time over.

Our afternoon, in spite of the missing nap, went well enough. Dinner was fine. But then we had to get to the hair spray paint. I knew he would hate it. He hated it. We quit before it was quite good enough, but it had to be good enough. He was wound up.

Pictures were next.

This proved almost impossible. 

I think I took at least 30 pictures. 

Here's the best one:

But there were some like this:

Or like this:

(As in, we couldn't even get Toby to stay in the shot.)

Ok, this one's decent too, I guess:

And then we started trick or treating. 

And it went like this: Toby wanted to be with his brothers so he'd follow them up to the door and then the person would talk to him and his chin would plummet to his neck and he'd freeze. I took over accepting the candy, agreed that he was shy, and turned him around to head back to the wagon.  

This part was great.

Except he kept trying to get into his treats.

This went on for about ten houses. At one house Toby even called out a jubilent "Bye!" as he turned away. Then we got to the three scary houses. (Three houses in a row that were very decorated with lots of gory things.) At the first one, a monster was holding the candy bowl.  I wanted Toby to stay in the wagon but he insisted on following Kaden and Blue.  When he got close, he was wary of the monster. He reached out to touch the candy but jumped back before taking a piece. I took a piece for him and turned him around. At the next scary house he got fixated on their tiki torches and didn't seem to notice any of the gore.

He did this house with Kaden. No help from me.

So he gets through a few more houses and then... DONE. He gets to the door, I help him put the candy in his bucket and then arched back, freak out. I'd calm him down. He'd see his brothers go to the next house, he'd follow. Same thing. The third time this happened, I'd decided I was just being stupid. Then I got bit and knew I was being really stupid. Toby got sent back to our house with my mom and I kept going with the Cat in the Hat and Thing 1.

At some houses they asked, "What happened to Thing 2?" And I said, "Thing 2 is two. He had a meltdown, so he's back at home." And this is acceptable. Fragile X aside, many two year olds don't always manage these crazy changes and holiday expectations. 

When we finally got home, a brown-haired Toby was sitting in very blue bath water. (Thank you, Mom.) But when I went to check the candy loot with the big boys (To inspect for safety, not to steal, I swear!) and my mom went to dress him, holy melt down.

Lots of throwing things.

My mom finally got him dressed and he emereged from his room only to resume the angry throwing. There was no bringing him down. The boy needed to go to bed.

After another good fifteen minutes of this raging around his room, snot and tears pouring, I finally gave up on the bed time routine, put his book away, turned off the light, and grabbed him. He melted and we were able to rock and sing a few songs and when I put him in his bed he snuggled right down.

I didn't hear a peep from him after that.

During our rocking time I whispered to him that it was ok. He'd accomplished a lot and when he was older he could better tell us what he wanted to do for Halloween. Maybe he'd stay back and pass out candy. Maybe just watch holiday movies on the couch and ignore the hooplah all together. Whatever he wanted to do, we'd figure out a way for it to be fun for him.

I think he had some fun tonight.

I mean, look at that grin. 

But the sum total was too, too much.

Oh, Toby. The holiday season is just beginning. We have much to figure out.

Cat in the Hat Pumpkin

It worked out.

Kaden was pleased.

Blue said the cyclops was better. (I think he's into cyclops right now.)

Either way, our front porch had a happy glow for trick or treaters.  (Over 50!)

Acting the Part

Blue with blue hair. It was going to happen eventually, right?

Blue dressed up for school today and this morning before he set out I wanted a pic. I instructed him to act like Thing 1.  Not a difficult thing for Blue.

If he'd had a kite we'd have really been in trouble.

I wanted to have him (and Toby) wear long sleeve red shirts under the tee, but I think it will be too warm.  Also, still toying with the idea of painting his face white.  Main problem is, I know Toby won't tolerate that and I want them to match.  The fact that I knew Toby wouldn't keep on a wig was one reason we went the hair paint route. (That and it's cheaper!)

Can't wait till tomorrow when I can finally cut Blue's ridiculous hair.

In other news, when looking at Cat in the Hat stuff online I came across these cupcakes. Is it ridiculous that I'm now thinking of having a Suess themed party for Toby's 3rd bday just so I can have these cupcakes?

On Halloween Eve...

I made Rice Crispy Treat pumpkins for Blue's class party tomorrow.

This is the overflow plate. There's another dozen in a tupperware.

To make these just start making rice crispy treats as you usually would. Before mixing in the rice crispies, add orange (red and yellow in my case) food coloring to the melted marshmallows. Butter your hands and roll into balls. Add stems and vines with candy and icing. Easy and cute!

Meanwhile the boys did some coloring. Blue wanted to make a picture for Poppy and Toby didn't want to be left out.

The is a fall tree with a cyclops on the right, (as he was explaining it to me I thought he was saying eyedrops and I was very confused) two silly monsters on the left, and pumpkins down below.

I'm not really sure what Toby drew.

Then Kevin and the boys did some gutting and carving. Toby kept touching the pumpkin guts and saying Ewwww and hot. Ewwww I get, but hot?

Um, Toby. You can't stick your head in the pumpkin. Especially not when Daddy's got a knife in there.

And then the horror part of Halloween began. I mean, Blue with a knife? Yikes!

So here's the kid's pumpkin:

Now the kids are in bed and I'm starting to watch Once Upon a Time (giving it a shot) and I'm carving our big pumpkin. The plan is to carve Cat in the Hat. The goal is for it to look more like this:

And not like this:

Here I go...

Spray Painting Pumpkins

It's been such a rainy week.

But as promised the rain cleared yesterday pm and brought in a cold front.  A real cold front. Well, real for south Florida. It didn't get out of the 70's today!

I drank my first hot chocolate of the season this morning in celebration.

Welcome, Fall. So nice of you to arrive. Could you please stay through Halloween (or at least come back) because my boys' costumes have long sleeves?

When we bought our pumpkins I promised Kaden we could spraypaint them but then... all. that. rain.

But today I took advantage of the sunshine, mowing down the jungle that grew during all that rain, so we could enjoy our afternoon playing in the backyard painting some pumpkins. 

Yup, even Daddy got involved.

Between coats, the boys just played.

And then I pulled off the tape and they were excited about the finished product.

Well, not Toby. He'd had enough of oustide time and fall crafts. He had opened the pantry and was furiously signing and saying please.

As in please, ANYTHING, that can of tomato sauce looks good... So I hooked Toby up with snacks while Daddy made red pepper, hummus, and spinach pitas (oh yeah, we're rocking this mostly vegetarian thing).

And so passed a lovely evening. 

(Even with three boys, it can happen sometimes.)

Pumpkin Patch

We picked out our pumpkin today. We go to the All Villages patch to support that church where Blue goes to school.

Usually we get three carveable pumpkins but our van is dead and we are determined to stay in budget these days in order to squirrel away cash for the new-car fund. (In the mean time I'm driving a FREE car from my father-in-law who decided now would be a good time to get a new car.) Even so, one big pumpkin will do. 

But without Kevin to make silly faces behind me (hernia surgery gets him our of so many things!) I totally struck out on getting a shot of the boys looking cute, at me, and all together.

But, I have to face it, Blue and Kaden are getting a little old for pumpkin patch pictures.

And yet, they do make good pumpkin heads.

I didn't think to try Toby in the pumpkin. He just laughed at his brothers.

With Kaden there to stand behind me and goof around I got plenty of happy Toby pictures.

Then we got serious about picking out our pumpkin.

And Toby got to ride with our pick back to the car.

That shirt Toby has on? It's on its third Stratton boy. I love it when clothes last that long. And since it's probably only been worn 6 times between all three kids, it can still get passed on to a younger cousin.(Oh - don't let the jeans/long sleeves fool you. It was just for pics. It was mid-80s. A little better than the low-90's we had all last week, but still not jeans/long sleeve weather.)

Even though we stuck to the plan of only get one carvable pumpkin, I ended up letting the boys each pick out a small $1 pumpkin. Potential project involving spray paint to come!