bulletin board crafts

What boy doesn't like to keep score? Joaquin is definitely at the score keeping age...whether it's how many scoops of ice cream or how many soccer goals.

For some reason, he really wanted a baseball themed room. Funny because he plays basketball and soccer...but it works because Diego's favorite sport is now baseball....any game where you can swing a bat around and hit things, he's in.

So I finally hung a project I'd been hoping to finish for months, but never got around to it. This was an old brown bulletin board I picked up in a yard sale awhile back, and now it's a scoreboard. I painted it with chalkboard paint, and the letters are stickers except for the few I had to stencil in.


Eventually, I want to put up numbers for the innings, but I'm not sure when I'll get to that.


Another easy bulletin board we made yesterday...a feltboard snowman. I made this for a preschool class one year...the idea was to cut out lots of mittens and have them match them to put on the snowman. They always loved this center, and I thought it would be fun for Diego, too.


He liked decorating it, but only wants it to stay a certain way. Don't put the cowboy hat on the snowman, he definitely doesn't like that one. (And yes, he's wearing goggles in this picture.)

recycled card box

This is a great, easy craft to recycle cards....birthday, Christmas, greeting, get well....any type of card. We discovered this over Christmas here and I thought about all those advent calendars with cute little boxes to open each day. Using your Christmas cards you received, you would have all sorts of sturdy, seasonal boxes to use. (That's if you still get Christmas cards...we only got four this year!)

Here's how to do it...you should know, it's addictive.

First, separate the two halves of your card along the fold line.


Use a pencil to draw two diagonal lines, corner to corner. This will give you the middle point of the card.


Fold in two sides so that they meet in the middle at the point.


Do the same for the long edges, too, so they meet in the middle.



Take some scissors and cut four slit along the folds, like the picture, to make the tabs.


With a little help, the box comes together almost by itself. Fold the sides up, the tabs go in and the outside tab folds up and over. I use a little tape to make it stick.


Follow those steps for both halves of your card....and here's the finished box. I wasn't very careful when I folded, so the edge is sticking out a little. But it's still a cute little box to leave a small treasure in...or maybe for the tooth fairy?

hospitality

I've scratched resolutions. That used to be the highlight of my New Year's Eve. Sad, I know. But this New Year's was great, and now I'm trying something different.

One word.

I've chosen one word for the year. It came to me in December. I had started reading my Bible regularly...a great idea, by the way...first thing in the morning, before I eat, before I check email, before I get dressed. If I do anything else before reading, the reading doesn't get done.

So I kept coming across this word: HOSPITALITY.

My Bible has commentary, which I love. It helps me understand things so much better.
Like at the end of 2 Timothy, Paul is sending out final greetings:

"Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus."

Not very moving, right? But the commentary says, "Like Paul, we should take time to weave our lives into others' through close personal relationships." Now that was interesting.

Then it was on to Titus. A short book with this cool verse:
"Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined."
The commentary said, "We would benefit from inviting people to eat with us.....Giving hospitality is very important today because so many people struggle with loneliness. In our self-centered society, we can show that we care by being hospitable."

And then this famous verse:

In Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to enterain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."
The commentary had this to say, "Hospitality simply means making other people feel comfortable and at home."

It couldn't have been more obvious. This year, I need to focus on hospitality.

And honestly, I've never been really good at it. I forget to offer people something to drink. I never have amazing snacks. My house is often in shambles, dishes piled in the sink, or more often scattered about any surface in the kitchen, clothes waiting to be folded in a pile in the hallway.

But I'm hoping hospitality is more than a clean house. Plus, I'm going to try and use closed doors more....I can throw all the junk in a room and close the door, right?

On New Year's, our pastor gave out a study guide for Bible reading for the next few weeks. I was shocked when I read the summary for week 1: "....Our God is a God of hospitality, creating a place for a people, a place where all life can flourish...."

So there it is.

2012. Hospitality.

We welcome you to our house.

grey's anatomy

We had an unexpected anatomy lesson this past weekend when Isabela had to get her appendix taken out. It was a whirlwind of a weekend that seemed to pass in slow motion. There was an amazing calmness to the whole experience. We joked that Isabela does this every January right before my birthday (thinking back to her stay in the hospital for pneumonia several years ago). I said her present to me is her getting all better...but that next year, she can just buy me something :)

Here are the FAQs:
How did it happen?
I woke up around 4am on Sunday to her crying in her room, saying that her stomach hurt. I don't think there were actual tears, just that pained face that something is wrong. I thought at first it was that she might throw up or needed to go to the bathroom, but that wasn't it. I woke up JP and told him what was going on...and he suggested his solution for most ailments : Make her a cup of tea. It seems to work for him, but I was never a tea drinker and that answer always seems strangely ridiculous to me. I did start to heat up some water in the microwave, however.

How did you know to take her to the hospital?
I'd say that was probably motherly instinct, but I did have a few clues. First, she was kind of rolling back and forth on the bed, usually described as writhing in pain. I remembered doing that when I had my gall bladder taken out. And the second clue was when she said she felt "pressure" in her belly. Many people I told were surprised to hear that an eight year old said pressure...and as soon as she said it, I knew something wasn't right. I'd say we were in the car, headed to the hospital, not more than five minutes after I woke up. The cup of tea was still sitting in the microwave when we got home from the hospital the next day.

How did the doctors know it was her appendix?
Initially, they didn't. She did throw up in the waiting room when we arrived, but seemed to get a little better while we were there. She and I were joking, telling stories, laughing...we were in the ER room for 10 hours before they transported her to a different hospital...no TV and nothing to do except talk. Despite the circumstances, it was great bonding time.
After an Xray, they ran a blood test...she had an elevated white cell count which was a surprise to me. I had thought they'd be sending us home anytime. They decided to do a CT scan and that's where it showed up. Isabela was brave throughout all of it...the IV, drinking the CT nasty stuff, the hot flash during the scan...she is quite amazing.

Why did you go to another hospital?
The closest hospital to our house, it turns out, does not have a pediatric surgeon. Ever? I'm not sure. But they transferred us to their sister hospital for the operation. Meaning....she got to ride in an ambulance! A huge one. With a TV in the back. She watched part of Happy Feet on the way over. I rode in the front, second row. It was a slow ride over...I kept checking the speedometer because it felt like an old grandpa was driving, but he was doing 60 on the highway.

How long did the operation take?
Fifteen minutes after we arrived, they were taking her down for prep. This was where I just had to trust that everyone involved knew what they were doing and were who they said they were. There were probably a dozen people asking questions, telling me information, reassuring Isabela. It was hard to know who was actually going to do the operation. I was pretty sure it was the guy who shook my hand, but I wasn't positive. It was probably Isabela's calmness that helped me remain calm during this time. In all, it took about an hour. A nurse even called me on my cellphone, from the operating room, to tell me how things were going!


Where was Juan Pablo?
We are so thankful to our friend, who may as well be family, Liz, who offered to watch Joaquin and Diego. Juan Pablo dropped them off at her house and headed over to the hospital as we were being transferred. His GPS led him somewhere else, of course, and then there was parking and a huge hospital for him to wander through. We'd never been to this hospital before (although it's where I was born). I was standing in the prep room as they're wanting to wheel her out, talking to him on his phone, trying to find out where he was. He sounded utterly dejected like there was no way he'd reach her before the operation. But the nurses were so nice! They told him to find any elevator and hit G and someone would meet him there and lead him back. He made it just in time to kiss her head and hand her a sweet teddy bear and crayon drawn cards from Liz and her kids. A wonderful moment to witness.

How long before she'll recover?
They sent us home the next day. Isabela was sad to go...she misses a TV in front of her bed. Plus, being that she seems to go to the hospital right after Christmas every time, they always have a lot of presents to give out. This time she got a penguin pillow pet. This is a prized possession. I have not fallen for those things yet and had been successful keeping them out of the house until now.

She should be back in school next week and has a follow up appointment after two weeks. She's already been walking around a lot and hasn't taken any tylenol for two days.
The biggest challenge is keeping her two active brothers from bumping and jumping on her. I have recruited Joaquin as a helper in Isabela's recovery...with the promise of a reward if he does a good job:
A pillow pet. Ugh!

Joaquin put everything into perspective the other night at dinner. He asked what would have happened if they didn't take out Isabela's appendix. I said, "Well, she would have died." We all fell silent, and then quickly changed the subject. (This is the same boy who asked Juan Pablo when the doctors were going to put her appendix back in.) Children ask the best questions.

Thank you God for watching over our sweet Isabela, and thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers.

first day hike

First Day Hike, a great collaborative effort between the state parks to get us active once again, starting on the first of the new year. We chose a local park, instead of a state one, but the intention and result were the same....a gorgeous day spent walking outside and some amazing photos. I took the old saying, "Take only pictures, leave only footprints," to heart.



I had Isabela take this shot in case I didn't make it into any of the pictures...just to prove I was actually there, too.


Joaquin ran across these jagged rocks that lined the path as if he was running on a paved track. He really has an amazing athletic ability and I'd love to see him use it a lot more this year. Joining the circus has been suggested and crosses my mind regularly.


The paths life leads us down are so amazing. I was never an outdoorsy girl, never liked hiking or climbing. Then I married a man from the Andes Mountain chain. Add in some kids, and hiking just fits now....plus it's great exercise.



Diego found a little chair carved into a rock. What a perfect seat.


This pose is from a cartoon that I never would have let my children watch if I held any weight in this family...it's called Kick Buttowski. Enough said, right? But I do love the pose.


"Remember that time spent on a rock climb isn't subtracted from your life span."
-- Will Niccolls
I think it was here that I stopped watching and had to walk away, just to preserve my own life. Watching my two year old scramble up on this round rock in the middle of a river made my heart lurch. Juan Pablo couldn't get up there as fast as him, but I give him credit for taking the kids on an adventure that they won't soon forget.


“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
-- John Muir





This was the only way across the river at one point. And it was Isabela who crossed it first...she is my brave one.


"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go."
-- T.S. Eliot
I'm married to one of those...and I'm the opposite of one of those. It's a perfect match.


Look at Joaquin perched on the slope of this rock. It's like watching Spiderman.


“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”
-- Frank A. Clark


We all have different strengths. I can't watch my kids teetering on the edge of steep prefaces overlooking rushing currents, and Juan Pablo, strangely enough, cannot carry Diego in his arms for more than a minute. Joaquin can climb like a mountain goat and Isabela is brave, pensive and talkative, at the same time. Diego loves to investigate things from the tiniest bug to tall trees. Walking with the family in nature has something for each of us to enjoy.

“After a day's walk everything has twice its usual value.”
-- George Macauley Trevelyan


“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”
-- Raymond Inmon







"It's always further than it looks.
It's always taller than it looks.
And it's always harder than it looks."
-- The 3 rules of mountaineering.

Definitely true on the way home ( although Joaquin could have gone another five miles). If you could only have heard the whining.... and not by me, I might add. But if we took a divergent path towards the river, they were back investigating again....proving that it's purely mental.


Here's to more happy hiking days.

year in review...2011

These mosaic collages of the past year are all over the web. I think they're a great way to look back. I wasn't sure how to do it, but hurray for google. If you'd like to try it yourself, just go to bighugelabs.com and their mosaic maker. I've linked it to that. You can upload pictures from flickr or facebook.

You have to decide how many pictures to have in your mosaic...36 is the max and apparently is not enough for me. I had to make two. My photos are mixed up throughout the year, but I would have liked to see it January to December. The hardest part definitely is choosing which pictures to use.

After you finish, you can save it to your computer or share it with friends. It's quick and easy...let me know if you try it!

new year's eve

Loved this balloon idea for New Year's Eve, and more importantly, so did the kids.


Each balloon had a clock drawn on it, and that was the time they got to pop it...inside was a little note telling us the activity. And just 'cause, I wrote most of them in Spanish.


It must have been a lot of fun, because even now, I can't remember half of what we did. Although I will say, do not make the same mistake I did and keep the kids up till 11pm. Things quickly deteriorated after 9:45pm.

We started off by making a video of each of the kids answering some questions. This would be fun to do each year to see how their answers change. Let's see if I remember next year.

We quickly moved on to snacks. These popcorn balls were yummy...just like Rice Krispie treats, but with popcorn.


And although it doesn't look that great, this punch was delicious. Here's the recipe. Really, you can never go wrong with punch.


I do remember making a huge lump of playdough. I tried to make it smell like peppermint, but you must need to use a lot of extract to get that smell.


Smart planning was crucial...they played with the dough while I got dinner ready. Yay, mom.


The fun didn't really start until daddy got home.


And this was the part I was looking forward to all night...funny mustache pictures.


Card stacking somehow made it onto the list...but way too late into the night. It's much harder than it looks.


And about this time, things started breaking down...tired kids means crying and hysterical laughing, switching quickly back and forth, for no apparent reason....although Diego could have made it to midnight without a problem.


Another tip: these glowstick balls from the dollar store do NOT stay together. Oh, and make sure you actually have sparklers BEFORE you tell the kids we're going to light them.



What a great year 2011 was....looking forward to the next one!