Week Twelve Recap

Monday:

Nothing better than a rainy miserable Monday to start off the week before vacation. Ugh. Luckily for me, the kiddos have been rather pleasant and we got to try some new activities this morning. After we got dressed after breakfast, I brought down the Chromecast and found some toddler yoga videos on YouTube. I found Cosmic Kids, which is a story-telling adventure while doing simple poses. I have never done for real yoga in my life, but I thought this would be fun to try. We started with Squish the Fish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cNjAj_o0SI and the kids lasted through the first five minutes, which I was impressed with. I think if I learn the story and the moves, I can prompt them and they might last for the whole adventure. It did end up with me in a plank position with both of them on my back, but that’s about right when it comes to the two of them! After we were all stretched out, we did some Greg & Steve songs and then we painted our Ladder L’s. We got a chance to read our new story---Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See (which I might have to make another felt board story for) and then got ready for nap. Our nap schedule was a little off today, so we didn’t finish lunch until about 3 and I had some straightening up to finish upstairs so we played up in Lily’s room for a little bit then came back down for fruit snacks and some TV time. It is supposed to be bitter cold tomorrow so I’m prepping for a few different projects and sensory activities to keep us busy and entertained!

Tuesday:

Remember that week of perfect fall weather we had this year? Yeah, I miss that. It is bitter cold today so we are stuck indoors again. Not that I have any desire to brave the wind and chill. Lily is currently sitting up in her bed zoning because the wind is so stinking loud. Brr. Anyway, we started today as usual with some breakfast and then did some yoga before we got dressed. I am enjoying the stretching and moving it provides before we start the day. The kids did a little bit of it today, so hopefully if we continue this as part of our routine, they’ll start to participate more. After some free play with cars, blocks, and then musical instruments, we started our Thanksgiving projects. First they each painted a paper plate brown (mainly because I have no brown construction paper, but it also was a good time killer). While they were painting I prompted them with questions about what they were thankful for. I asked what their favorite foods and toys are and who they are thankful for. Their answers were adorable as usual and I jotted them down on multicolored hearts I cut out. Once the plates were dry, we glued eyes, a beak, a gobbler, and our hearts to them and voila---Thankful Thanksgiving Turkeys!

Wednesday:

Man, I thought it was Thursday allllll day today. Bummer! But we did manage to get a lot of stuff done! After breakfast, yoga, freestyle dance time, and getting dressed, we did some laps around the house, straightened things up, and vacuumed. Once we got some of our energy out, we started our projects. First we glued precut ‘feathers’ together for our Toilet Paper Roll Turkeys! Then we glued on eyes, beaks, and gobblers onto our TP Turkeys and attempted to attach the feathers. Our Elmer’s glue wasn’t holding too well, so I ended up hot gluing them together during lunch. Our next project was making your basic handprint turkey. And then we added some footprint Pilgrims and Indians! They came out very very cute!

Thursday:

Today started off a little slow. We ate breakfast and did some yoga before getting dressed. They can get up to about minute five before they lose interest, or sit on me as I am trying to fold my body into an awkward shape. I have been trying to make it the full fifteen minutes myself but I, too, get easily distracted. The movie Sofia the First was on the Disney Channel and they became entranced which gave me a full ten minutes to prep a project and straighten up some stuff around the house. For our project, we made another crafty turkey out of a paper plate and some scrap pieces of paper. With the excess paper I had from other projects this week, I cut out some simple shapes for the kiddos to glue onto the paper plate to make Shape Turkeys! I cut the plate in half and on one half, we smeared some Elmer’s and the other half was colored brown. While the kids were gluing the shapes, I was asking them what colors and what shapes they were using. We added eyes, a beak, and a gobbler to complete the look. Added bonus--the only thing better than using fine motor skills to pick up and glue tiny shapes is using fine motor skills to peel dried glue off your hand! It’s slightly more mild outside today so after nap and lunch I might attempt a super bundled fast wagon ride, just to get us out of the house and switch things up a bit.

Friday:

Well, it’s Friday. I would like to say we did another awesome turkey project or tried out a new sensory project. But truth is, we did not. We pretended to take off in a space ship this morning and then floated through the house like astronauts. And then we just had free play time. I brought them up to Lily’s room after they ate lunch, put Frozen on, and attempted to pack, fold laundry, and post this blog while they were preoccupied. Tristan had a rough week with naps so I haven’t been getting much done, and I didn’t realize how much I appreciate but also need that full hour to myself. Today I was finally able to get him to go back to sleep in the back and play and suddenly a tractor appeared blowing leaves, a gang of motorcycles revved up the street, and my hopes of getting anything done during nap disappeared. We’re off a week so we’ll figure it out when we get back on schedule. 

Week Eleven Recap

Monday:

The letter this week is K, so after lots of kisses, we colored some Kangaroo K’s and hopped around like kangaroos. We painted some more leaf pictures with our own water colors and tiny brushes. The paint sets were from when my mom taught preschool so they are a little dry, but I actually like the brownish colors they mixed and painted their leaves with.

 

Tuesday:

Once we were dressed after breakfast, we dove right into project time. I had cut out some K’s and we used glue sticks to attach them to a kite! We also worked on some fine motor skills by threading the string (ribbon) for the kite through a little circle. After nap and lunch, we attempted to fly our kites outside, but there was no wind. That was a slight letdown and caused a slight meltdown, but we fixed it with a wagon ride and some singing.

Wednesday:

Today was nice enough for an early morning walk after breakfast. We even got some outside playtime in where we played in our cars and pretended the toll was one Kiss for the letter K. After potty and snack, we used a new medium to color some leaves---oil pastels. I always loved cray-pas in art class. The kids were slightly less excited than I was (plus this is about the fifth sheet of leaves they’ve painted) so project time didn’t last too long.

Thursday:

Brr it was quite chilly this morning! We ate our breakfast, got dressed, and did some cleaning up and running in laps. While I did some painting for a Photoshoot Friday, Lily and Tristan played with playdough for a little bit. We had a rough start after nap and lunch, but we attempted a project or two anyway. I have wanted to salt paint with them for about a week now but I misplaced the glue pens I bought for the project. Oops. I let them doodle a few lines by themselves with the glue pen, then helped them do some loops. They used salt in a salt shaker to cover the glue. While that was drying, we glued the leaves we have been painting with different mediums onto a paper plate. After the salt was dry, I mixed food coloring with water and showed them the magic of gently touching the brush to the salt. They were pretty impressed but wanted to paint the normal way.

Friday:

This morning after breakfast, we headed up to Lily’s room to do our first Photoshoot Friday in quite some time. They had a blast dressing up like munchkins and posing in front of the Wizard of Oz backdrop I made. You can read a little more about that here and see previous Photoshoot Friday ideas we have done. We came downstairs and did some cleaning. I love how much they love to help. I am tempted to get them both mini working vacuums for Christmas. Just kidding. But how sweet would that be? We had some snack and continued to free play. Their new favorite spot is under the portable changing table in the dining room. They pretend they are on an airplane or helicopter. I love the imaginations they are developing!

Check back this week for some fun Turkey and Thanksgiving inspired projects!

Behind the scenes of a Photoshoot Friday!

I admit I have been slacking in the Photoshoot Friday department this year. It was a whole lot easier when they were a lot less mobile.  Naptimes are now spent prepping projects for the afternoon (or the week) while also trying to squeeze in a shower and some quiet cleaning. The summer was spent playing and being outside, which didn’t leave a lot of room for designing a set. But now that they are older and love to paint and be big helpers, they might have a hand in helping me prepare for some more shoots!

Where do the ideas come from?

The first photo shoot I did was when Lily was just a few months old. Jordan had just gone back to work and I was looking for fun and creative projects to do during the day with Lilypad, even at a young age. I saw a Pinterest post of a mom who used towels to create this hilarious creative backgrounds she would lay her sleeping baby on. I put her in her tiny bathing suit and experimented with an assortment of blue towels and blankets, her seahorse toy, and a brown blanket (for a surfboard). She was actually quite awake during this shoot. I did a few more photo shoots over the next few months with simple backgrounds for Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.

Once I started watching Tristan, I did a solo shoot with him as Superman ‘flying’ over a town. I posted the pictures to Facebook and got a lot of positive feedback, along with the ideas to add Lily to the shoot. The beginning ones were very simple. The outfits were the center of the shoots and then I formed a scene around them with towels or blankets and simple props. As soon as they became a little more mobile, things became a little trickier.

How do I brainstorm?

I usually start with an idea based on an outfit or toy that one or both kids have or a prop I can easily make. For the Gone Fishin’ photo shoot, we had just gotten Lily a cute wooden fishing game and I had a large box leftover from something that made for the perfect rowboat! The Wild West shoot came from Ash finding those onesies on clearance somewhere. I have done a few holiday ones but the one that hit home and meant the most was the Restore the Shore shoot. I re-create my favorite parts of Seaside Heights’ boardwalk and we got the kids Restore the Shore T-shirts to wear. They posed with hammers and tools, ready to rebuild.

How long does it take me?

When I first started, I would sketch up the backgrounds I wanted to create the night before and get all the materials ready. For the first few shoots, it was just some stuffed animals, a few basic cardboard props, a towel or blanket, and Lily & Tristan, dressed to impress. Then things started getting a little more involved. I can usually draw and paint a background during a naptime. Or while the kids are painting their own projects or entertained by food or playdough. I usually prep slowly during the week then finish up last minute details Thursday night. I found it’s best to get them right when they wake up, after breakfast and before we get dressed. They’re usually pretty pleasant after they are fed.

How much does it usually cost?

Usually, absolutely nothing. I try to use outfits we already have or can borrow. If I do purchase an outfit for a photo shoot, it usually has another use I intend to get out of it. I use cardboard I have stockpiled in the garage. I do buy paint, but I also use that for other crafts and projects. For the safari shoot, we got Lily a Power Wheels jeep at a yard sale for $4 and I found the hats and vests at the dollar store. We bought her a drum kit at the same yard sale for about $3 and I couldn’t wait to do a shoot with it! For the kitchen shoot, I had made Lily a mini kitchen set out of cardboard and packaging tape and I had a fun time making a little kitchen scene for them to play in!

Do they always turn out the way they were planned?

No, of course not. Sometimes I change my mind halfway through making a ‘set’ or painting a background. Some days, I can’t get either child to sit still or cooperate for longer than 30 seconds which makes trying to capture their cuteness slightly difficult but sometimes the outtake shots end up being the best and silliest. I usually set them up, run a few steps back (or up) and start snapping shots. At times it’s frustrating, until I take a deep breath and remind myself it’s all for fun and they are two year olds.

So why am I interviewing myself about Photo Shoot Friday? Because it’s back, baby. At least for this week! We’re traveling to Oz along the yellow brick road and welcoming Dorothy as a member of the Lollipop Guild and a part of the Lullaby League. Here are some pictures from prepping for it and some cute ones of the kiddos being munchkins!! They actually had a lot of fun with this one and took direction from me on how to pose. They also stayed in costume for a while after and played up in Lily's room. I did take Tristan's hair out right away though and it's back to it's normal state!

And just for fun, here are some blooper pictures when we didn't quite have the scene set right! Notice the blanket escape on the sailboat, the sitting up surfer baby, a pirate on a mission, a Wild West town being torn to shreds, and a very miserable skunk. Even these are just too precious! 

Have a great weekend!

Week Ten Recap

Tuesday

Today was a rough one. We all had a nice long three day weekend, but maybe the time change or the sugar added to our systems caused a bit of chaos. We played with some toy cars and drew and colored a pretty cool track for them to drive on (with a Target included cuz who doesn't drive there at least once a week)? When this got old and the crayons and trucks became weapons, we headed out for a stroller walk. I pulled something in my leg on Monday at some point and I am limping like a pirate with a peg leg every couple of steps. Walking and being active did help it out some yesterday, but last night I could not wait to snuggle in bed with the heating bad. Must be that I am creeping closer to old age or something. It made it an adventure to chase both of them around the house, especially when they were up to no good! After nap and lunch, Aunt Lyss came over to play with us. We played with dress-up, read some books, and were moderately bums. Some days, that just happens.

Wednesday:

This morning had a much smoother start, thank goodness. We were able to eat breakfast, get dressed, and have some free play time with almost no whining and/or fighting. When we got a little antsy, we hopped into our chairs and painted our Jellyfish Js with water color and a paper plate with tempera paint. That plate will be turned into a jellyfish at some point today or this week. After our project, we cleaned up and went outside for a little bit. Even though they each have an almost identical car to sit in and wheel around out there, there is always some sort of argument. Today they kept crashing into each other, which only made them both angry and was driving me nuts, so our cars got put on the other side of the fence while we all took some deep breaths. The cars came back and they pretended to go to the store and get me stuff that was on my list. I happened to turn my head toward the gate I was inches away from and jumped about ten feet in the air when I saw a large praying mantis staring back at me. After I regained composure, we talked about ‘her’ and watched her move slowly. Lily made up a story about her walking around the gate and then giving Lily and Tristan hugs.

Thursday:

Rain, rain, go away. Please. We had a decent morning for being stuck inside for all of it. There were hardly any fights and no tears, which was a pleasant change of pace. I brought over some toy cars I found while cleaning out my parent’s attic and the collection was enough that both Lily and Tristan picked a favorite and there were no fights. We rolled out our car track and finished covering it. I started to cover it with some packaging tape to preserve it until I ran out of it. I wish the Target I drew on the track could be hopped into, Mary Poppins style! After we cleaned up cars, we painted some birthday cards for Uncle RJ/Daddy and had a little snack. Then the kids each put on one of Tristan’s rain boots and started ‘ice skating’ around the house. Lily started doing this a few weeks ago and I love the imagination of it all. We watched a few videos via the Chromecast, which I absolutely love. Nothing stops them in their tracks like watching their favorite Disney or Sesame Street YouTube videos on the big TV, especially when we have not done so in a while. We watched “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and I got the idea for a Photoshoot Friday to put into the works. I think I am going to have the kiddos help me out to make the backdrop and the costumes for this one.

Friday:

Brr it’s quite blustery out today! I had the bright idea to do our project in a different spot—at our small Mickey table. Lily and Tristan both listened and played while I set up our paper, got the paint ready, and pulled out today’s ‘paintbrush’ (a wire bottle brush). They both sat down nicely and started to paint…and push the table into each other. We took some deep breaths and continued to paint until it was time to change the paper and then meltdowns began, the table was pushed, and someone toppled over their chair. Needless to say, project time ended abruptly and we had some cool down time. After we settle down, we managed to get outside to blow the stink off and take a short wagon ride but our play area was still a little damp from yesterday’s rain. Grammy (my mom) texted me and asked if she could drop some stuff off which was a nice break in our routine. We played for a little bit and sang some songs with her, and then it was naptime. I have a few projects and tricks up my sleeve for after nap, but we’ll see how our moods are. This week was slightly lacking in the crafting department and I blame the crash of a Halloween candy filled sugar rush. I promise I’ll be back on my game next week. I did get a lot of cleaning and reorganizing done this week though, so I don’t feel like a total bum!

Have a fun weekend!!