you first

We've had two tires sitting by the house for at least a year.

We tried to sell them. No one bought.

We tried to throw them away. The trashmen wouldn't take them. Actually we have three, and there's one still sitting out by the road that they'll never take away.

So this past weekend, while we were tackling the MOUNTAIN of leaves we never raked in fall, I thought of using them as swings over by the tree fort. I mean, we used to have a wooden stick swing there, so why not do it again? Hmmmm. Maybe because it broke?



And like he usually does, Juan Pablo makes it WAY more complicated than I was thinking...which was tie the rope around the tire and tie the rope around the tree.



This involved drilling. And washers. And certain knots.


We read that the heaviest person in the family should test out the swing first, and while he and I debated about who that might be, Joaquin jumped on it and it seemed to hold.



My thinking is, if it breaks, the tire will bounce on the ground first and cushion the fall.


It's still up....anyone else want to try it out?

Happy President's Day!

I'm so excited to share this project!! These president shirts were very easy to make. The idea comes from MADE, a creative, amazing blog with many easy to follow tutorials.


You can find out how to make these here, but this is what I learned from making them:

1. You have to buy freezer paper...not wax paper. I've had freezer paper forever, waiting to do this very project, but I thought it would be too hard. It's not! The shiny side irons on easily and peels right off.

2. My printer would not take the freezer paper. Not a problem. I just printed it on regular paper and put the freezer paper under the printed paper when I cut.

3. It would be much easier to cut out with an exacto knife. I didn't have that either...so I used a regular sharp kitchen knife. It didn't cut through the paper, but made an impression on the freezer paper, which I then cut out with sharp scissors very carefully. (This is not really a craft kids can do.)

4. You could print them right onto a plain t-shirt. We had some old ones I was saving for pillows, so I cut out the plain back, printed the image on that piece, then sewed it onto a shirt (that fits them!) over an image they didn't really like. It's one extra step, but I like the contrasting fabrics.

5. You can make two shirts out of one image. They will just be reversed.

6. So here is what the kids CAN do: pick out the design...you can make these stencils with anything!! I was thinking of doing their own silhouette profile, or even me or their dad...Isabela wants one with a woman, Helen Keller, so I'm still working on that. They can squeeze the fabric paint out for you (that's what Isabela did, I wasn't ready to get it all over the room yet) and they can use the hairdryer to help the paint dry faster. The black fabric paint dried much faster than the white. Probably in five minutes with the hairdryer!



Joaquin's riding around saying, "Comin' through! I'm the President, on my little tricycle."


Notice the messy house in the background. Whenever I do a project, it looks like this. This is only a small fraction of the mess...I had a hard time finding a spot to take pictures for exactly this reason! Oh, well. I do love the shirts, so I'll save the cleaning for another day.

"We've never seen anything like it. Ever."

It's being called a genocide. Killed by the thousands...entire communities. So many, that those that are walking around can't help but step on their bones. They are freezing to death in the snow...dehydrated and starving.

And it's not happening in some far away place, but right here in the United States...right here in Virginia.

To thousands and thousands of BATS.

They have a bad reputation...maybe from movies, and maybe because they're quite scary looking...but they are good for the environment. They eat the bugs that we all can't stand. They also help pollinate. And with the bees disappearing as well, this is becoming serious.

But what can we do?

The first thing, and easiest to do, is support funding for more research on White-Nose Syndrome, the fungus that is killing them off. Go HERE, fill out your zip code, and you can email a support letter to elected officials in Congress.

But something a little more fun might be to put up a bat house. I saw a nice one here on amazon...building your own is probably just as expensive. I did read that they should NOT be mounted on trees, but on buildings (like your house) or poles.

Batworld has some great information to learn more about bats and about White-Nose Syndrome.

You can also read this article from the Richmond Times Dispatch to find out what's happening here in VA.

Anyone ready for mosquito season? I think it could be worse this year.

pretend play

There's a great new post over at Simple Homeschool about some creative pretend play ideas for your kids! It looks like so much fun...of course, the end of this week is going to be beautiful outside, but it's definitely a keeper for a rainy or snowy day. There are some other great ideas for February at Let's Explore.

treasure!

It was bright and sunny this past Saturday and calling us for an outside adventure. I didn't let the sun fool me this time, though, it was still VERY much February and cold...so we bundled up to take our first geocaching hike.


Juan Pablo had an app on his phone. It locates the treasure with a dot on the map, then draws a dotted line for you, showing you how to get there...but it's as the crow flies, not by roads. We had to figure out how to get close enough to park the car, then we could get out and walk.


The first one we found was the best! We had to cross a little creek over rocks and trek only a little ways into the woods before we found an ammo box. Inside were some little toys from happy meals and some other small toys. We had brought some of our own to replace the ones we took. This is Diego's "cheese" face.


The second time, we weren't so lucky. We searched and searched under this bridge but never found it. The kids came up with lots of stories as to what could have happened to it.


The last one we looked for was behind a church that had a great playground.

Some people didn't want to leave.


This one was hidden in the hollow of a tree. I, for one, was glad it was still winter. No telling what could be in there in the heat of the summer.

We did come across one little problem with geocaching. This is the view we had when we headed back to our parked car. Hmmmm. That could be pretty scary if you got a little turned around. The app doesn't mark where your car is parked.

I think I prefer letterboxing. It's more hands-on for the kids, as well. Instead of following the arrow on the iphone, you follow directions like "turn right at the bridge". Both of them were exciting though, and outdoor family time is the real treasure.

Happy Valentine's Day

I did the good mom thing this morning. Heart shaped pancakes, made from scratch.

I even tinted the batter pink for the last three...note to self...that's not necessary because they still turn brown when you cook them.

The kids were most impressed with the heart candy on the side of their plate.

And that's why I love them. Easy to please.

Hope your Valentine's day is filled with LOVE and FRIENDSHIP!

"Mo!"

"Mo!" said while stomping his foot. An almost two-year-old's version of defiance. It cracks me up every time.

I'm sure it won't be funny to me forever, but for now I'm enjoying it. The fact that it starts with an "M" instead of an "N" makes all the difference.

And somehow, "hue" (which stood for 'jugo' or juice in Spanish) has now become 'foof'. I feel like Anne Sullivan when Helen Keller discovered that 'water' meant water. Diego has discovered words and is spitting them out left and right. And it's so CUTE.

Some things are cute only on little people though. Like he had a huge booger on his cheek yesterday in the bathtub....yep, still cute.

boring ol' crayons

Same old crayons.


New way to color.


I got this hot plate at a thrift store for a dollar. It's the perfect size for little hands, but it will get HOT. I plug it in for a few minutes, then let the kids hold their paper with a dish towel, just in case. It makes brilliant colors and goes on smooth. We even tried it for a homework assignment. I recommend crayola crayons though....others may leave a waxy, greasy smear.

February

February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March.
- Dr. J. R. Stockton

It's cold. It's dreary.
We're bombarded with make up work from our vacation.

It's been very hard to get back into some sort of a routine.

But I found one of my most favorite books, Mrs. Sharp's Traditions, while we were in Bolivia.



It turns out there a lot of holidays coming up this month that will help us get back into a rhythm and routine.

FEB 2 is Candlemas. Gather all the candles of your house and use them tonight instead of lightbulbs. Eat by candlelight. Do homework by candlelight. Read a bedtime story by candlelight. You can even make candles if you have the supplies.

FEB 3 Chinese New Year. Year of the Rabbit! That's me! Check Crafty Crow for lots of fun crafts.

(image from http://www.craftjr.com/dragon-paper-craft/)

FEB 12 Lincoln's Birthday. Play with Lincoln Logs. Make an ice cream log cake. (It sounds hard, but we might try it.) Found this cake here that sounds even better!

FEB 14 Valentine's Day.

FEB 22 Washington's Birthday. Bake a cherry pie.

Happy February!