Weekending

Hiking through the woods on a crisp fall day. Does it get any better than that? Happy kids, happy parents, and a happy dog on a beautiful morning. When we got back in the car, New Fish was tired and fussing. Red Fish kept patting her on the leg and saying: "New Fish, honey it's okay." It melted my heart. I'm having one of those days when I wonder where these fabulous little people came from and how I got so lucky as to be married to their Dad. Going on outdoor adventures does that to me. I'm a big sap. It's okay if you laugh at me. Going hiking and covering my children in paint are my version of Norman Rockwell moments.

Random Things

I'm in love with our playroom right now. It gets disastrously messy but the girls are playing together in there a lot. They like me to be in there but don't mind if I'm working or reading. They just want me to sit in the corner and keep them company. It feels like a whole new phase of life. They play together and fight together and bake pretend cookies. They have both turned into totally different little people recently.

New Fish likes to shake her head no at me but she can't do it without shaking most of her body. It's funny. She wants to wear necklaces everyplace and carry a purse full of small toys.

Red Fish is talking up a storm lately. One of her speech therapist told me today that her progress is truly amazing and I was so thrilled to hear it from someone who knows what they are talking about. Red Fish has become super helpful lately. She is suddenly old enough to really follow directions well and to remember how to help with certain small tasks. She is so sweet about it. She is also getting really good at speaking politely by using please, thank you etc.

Today at her preschool they had a speech integration specialist come talk to the parents. They demonstrated some simple techniques for helping stimulate the kids. They painted one of their feet and made a print. They had the kids play with pumpkin guts, soapy water, sand, slime etc. Then they gave us a list of activities to do at home. It kind of cracked me up because if a little dirt and paint is all it takes, I think our life is one big sensory activity pretty much. It was a nice feeling though because it just reaffirms how Red Fish was meant to be our child. If sensory integration is what she needs to progress- sensory activities are what she is going to get whether I'm aware of it or not.

It has been interesting doing art projects with a second child. New Fish is picking things up even faster because she has her idolized older sister to copy. Sometimes Red Fish has been coming up with the projects and then teaching New Fish how to do things. Yesterday, they scribbled papers with washable markers and then painted over them in water to smear the color.

Also, Two Fish and I have recently become cub scout leaders. I think we were called so we can learn how to relate to kids in the nine year old age bracket. Turns out that I don't relate very well to them thus far. I'm good with the small kids and okay with teenagers but I think it will do me some good to spend some time with the middle ages. It's interesting trying to learn how to teach them small projects and goals. Any and all tips or den meeting ideas are welcome from my fellow cub scout leaders out there in blogland. Tonight we did first aid and my brother J came over to help. Red Fish and New Fish assume that they are also cub scouts and they hung on J's every word. They are going to be practicing CPR on their baby dolls, I'm sure. Red Fish was a little bummed that she couldn't do the chest compressions hard enough on the mannequin to make it's heart beat. She was looking for his sternum and stacking her hands exactly as directed though. It was pretty cute.

So that's it. Just random things from my busy, crazy life.

I want to hold the baby

The girls have had a stomach bug for the past couple of days. I'm feeling behind on everything and worn out but these pictures sure make me feel better. Nothing better than one baby trying to hold another baby more than half her size.

Upcycle

I'm really starting to crack myself up because I used to be such a sewing/crafting snob. I frowned upon it and considered myself a "real artist." Now I can't stop. I'm totally a closet crafter. Yes, I still do a ton of graphic design but I don't feel like blogging about that much. I wish I could make time to paint and sculpt but for now I feel like that part of me is dedicated to my kids right now.

I love clothes and would love to have a new wardrobe for every season. I'm also a cheapskate and could never justify the cost even if I could afford it. A few months ago, my husband and I were walking through Anthropologie. I loved everything. But it got me thinking about how maybe I could alter some clothing and make it look Anthropologized. I may still be pretty off the mark but I decided to try anyway. I like one of a kind things anyway. So I went through my closet and made a stack of worn out, seldom worn or slightly boring clothes. Here is my first attempt at making them exciting for me again. This was a simple sweater before that I liked but haven't worn a lot. I took a maternity shirt that was worn out and cut it up to make ruffles and flowers.

I know it looks especially fab over my jammies.

I'm more than slightly obsessed with making fabric flowers right now. It's getting ridiculous. I've made 25 this week. Most of them were simple ones from felt that I'm making into Christmas gifts.

Collage Baby

I'm in love with watching my girls make artwork. It is even better with Red Fish teaching New Fish how to do things. New Fish wants to be exactly like her big sister so here she is making a collage. I dipped some things in glue and let her stick them on the paper.

New Fish's artwork

Red Fish's artwork

Sometimes things don't work out like I plan

In between sessions of the LDS General conference, I had this grand idea to rolls balls through paint to experiment with color mixing with the girls. I had this carboard box so that the balls would stay inside and not make too much of a mess. Unfortunately, the textured balls didn't roll well in the paint and they were too light to move the paint far. After about thirty seconds of trying to get the paint to move, both girls dove right into the box. It became more of a paint slip and slide. They were sliding across the box on their bellies and skating around in bare feet. It was hysterical. I'm just glad the weather is still warm enough to use the hose for cleanup and that washable paint really does wash out. I wanted to get pictures of their painted faces and bodies after we were done but the camera battery died and I was too busy running away from them while they chased me with their blue and red hands. I love that my reaction was to laugh and Two Fish's reaction was to get the video camera. I guess we will never be accused of not letting our kids get dirty. It turned into a great lesson in color mixing by the way.

Hamlet

Last month I read Hamlet and then last weekend Two Fish took me to see the play. Horray for dates to the theatre. We got season tickets (and pretty much the worst seats in the house because they are cheap) and I couldn't be more thrilled about it. I absolutely love having a planned date night for the month. I love going to see plays. It makes me feel cultured and fancy. Like my brain hasn't been completely rotting since college.

Two Fish says there are two kinds of people. Those who speak Shakespeare and those who don't. He didn't really like the play. I loved it. I like all of the classic lines, the tragic love story, the ghost story and murder mystery. I even love that everyone dies. The actors who played Hamlet and Polonius were especially great. The costumes and scenery were very blah. It was trying to be Victorian hipster but fell pretty flat.

One thing I read in the program notes that I thought was really interesting- I guess it was really shocking in Shakespeare's day to have a revenge drama where the main character has a hard time killing. They said it would be like going to see a Bond movie and finding out that James Bond just doesn't feel up to going after the bad guy.

Classic

These outfits are classic Red Fish. It cracks me up when she picks out their clothes. Matching halloween shirts, pajama bottoms, a hat and mismatched shoes on the wrong feet. It's a great look.

A Very Long, Nearly Perfect Day

Really it started yesterday. We had a fun playdate and went down the street to the playground. Then dinner was super easy to throw together. I got a ton of work done last night and then got to spend some time with my husband. The girls slept through the night and didn't wake up at an insane hour.

9:00am - After breakfast this morning, Red Fish wanted to do an art project. So we got out some markers and these books of shapes we found in my mom's house so she could practice her cutting skills. New Fish got really into the markers today. She covered a couple sheets of paper, front and back. New Fish really wants to copy everything that Red Fish does. It's adorable.
They were coloring for so long I sat at the table with them and got a little graphic design work done. It was awesome. After they were finished coloring I took them upstairs and took a shower while they played their new game "Blue ball". Basically, Red Fish tosses a ball and yells BLUE BALL BABY! and then New Fish runs and gets the ball. They both think it's hysterical. I like that they are playing together. After the three of us were cleaned and dressed we waited on the front porch for the speech therapist. New Fish took a nap and Red Fish had a great session.
After speech therapy we had a quick lunch of leftover soft tacos and headed to the farm. We've been going to the farm or the aquarium every week because the girls are obsessed with animals. It gives us a lot of vocabulary to practice without them knowing we are practicing and they just really enjoy it anyway.

Plus it's extra fun when we go with friends. After the farm the girls took a long nap and I did some laundry and graphic design work.

When the girls woke up they decided to play with playdough. Red Fish was instructing New Fish on how to poke and prod it properly. It was pretty funny. They happily played and sang along to a CD for nearly an hour and a half while I cleaned the main floor, switched laundry and made dinner. It was almost too perfect. It was the kind of cooperation I DREAM about.

Red Fish even helped me with a little cleaning. She really loves the duster.

After dinner we ran to meet some friends at a Halloween fair but realized that we were about three days too early. So we decided that as long as we were out we would go to the dinosaur museum. I love having a membership to a lot of local places. We wandered around for an hour and then went to get some ice cream. Then we came home, the girls went to bed like angels and now... I'm holding my breath. The day is too good to be true.

Milestones

New Fish had her checkup today. She is 18 lbs. 6 oz. and 25 inches tall. She is in the 45th percentile.

And Red Fish...got her first pair of fishnet tights. A very important milestone. She also has them in pink.

Rock And Roll

My girls like to jam on my old drum set that is at my parent's house. The fairy wings just illustrate how rock'n roll they are.

Account Balance

I'm starting to get to that place when everything feels out of control. My house is messy and I'm running to stay caught up at work. I spent a good part of the week trying to get Red Fish into three year old speech programs because they are through the school district and the ones for age two and under are through the health department. So everything has to be reapplied and tested for. There are always hoops to jump through but I think we might actually have a plan. When I get stressed and overwhelmed I have to keep careful track of my account balances.

I try to think of the treatment of my family members as a love account. I can make deposits or withdrawals and I'm in a constant battle between the two extremes. Every time I have a great moment with my kids or teach them something or spend some quality time with my husband, I make a deposit. Every time I am cranky or rush them through childhood or snap at them, I make a withdrawal. I have my own inner account to manage and I need to find ways of filling it up as well. Lately, the best way for me to feel like I'm balanced and secure is to create. I create almost constantly. I've been crafting (which is funny because I never thought of myself as crafty until recently) writing, doing design work and working on projects like a mad woman. I've also been doing a lot of projects with my kids and it has given me some great moments with them. The summer was kind of crazy and didn't leave time for the normal rhythm of our house and I feel like we got some of it back. Our house doesn't look like we are back on track but at least our love accounts have had more deposits than withdrawals this week. Hopefully that is what we will all remember.
I got these awesome scissors because I needed a cheap item to complete a free shipping order. We LOVE them. Red Fish has been learning to cut things with my help and then making a ton of collages. She has been drawing and trying to write bunch as well. She has broken out her cheap watercolors to add to her drawings. I think some of the best moments where I feel most complete and connected to my kids is when I'm teaching them things.
We've also been painting outside quite a bit. I'm going to be sad when it's too cold to hose them off in the backyard. It has been perfect weather lately.

Art and creativity fill up our love accounts even when everything else has gone crazy. Even when the blue paint explodes and my husband arrives home to find three blue smurfs and blue dog in the backyard. We were all laughing our heads off. Winter is going to be hard unless I can think of enough creative endeavors for us to do inside. I should start preparing a list.