Springtime Fun

It looks like the Bluegrass is finally green again!  I was seriously worried about Sam not reaching his 5th birthday if we didn't get outside and burn some energy.  Both of the kids need to be outside, but it is especially true for Sam.  If he goes more than a couple of days without getting some fresh air, he just goes bananas.

 

I've mentioned before, but my kids are absolutely obsessed with storm drains and tunnels.  There is a pretty large one down the street from us, and there are usually a bunch of frogs lying around sunning themselves.  Sydney loves to go "see da brogs."  Molly does too.  I'm pretty sure she thinks one of these days, she's going to catch one, but I have my doubts.  My kids make way too much noise for her to sneak up on one.  There is always a mass exodus into the water about the time we top the hill.

 

I'm thinking there is really only one way this can end, right?

 

 

They like to pretend fish too.  Looks like we're going to have to get a couple of fishing poles, soon.  Right now, they just use sticks and stir them around in the muck, then jerk them out saying, "I caught one!"

 

 

 

But so far, all we've managed to catch are a couple of old tires, a stinky shoe, and some crayons.

 

 

These days, I'm thankful for sunshine, kids with healthy imaginations, and soap.  Very thankful for soap.



Feed The Birds.

We've been spending a lot of time at our local library lately.  Sometimes if Sydney and I have a few errands to run while Sam is at school, we find ourselves with an hour or two to kill before it's time to pick him up.  Rather than go home just to turn around and go back, we will drop in at the library.  We recently discovered that they have preschooler play time every Thursday, so we've been making a point to go by for that.  They always have a craft and lots of toys out, and the children's librarian is super sweet.  Sydney beats a path to the children's area as soon as we walk in the door now.  Fair warning if you are there when we are...please stay out of her way.  She probably won't slow down.

 

 

A couple of weeks ago, we made a bird feeder out of toilet paper rolls, peanut butter and birdseed.  We hung it outside our kitchen window so we could see the birds coming to eat.  For the first couple of days, we didn't seem to have any visitors.  I was kinda bummed.  But lately, we've been having a couple of cardinals stop by a few times a day.  There is a male and a female, but the female is a bit more skittish than the male.  She never hangs around long enough for a picture.

 

 

I told Sam we should name them, so he decided we should name them Sam and Sydney.  Hey...if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

Baby It's Cold Outside!

We are so. over. winter around here.  We were bundling up and getting outside for a few minutes every day, but lately it has just been way too cold or too wet and messy.  And I can really tell a difference in the kids' behavior.  Sam is like a caged animal right now.  Lots and lots of energy with no good outlet.  So I took to Pinterest to find some new ways to entertain the kids.

 

We made a couple of crafts, but I'm not the craftiest person in the world.  We built an obstacle course out of laundry baskets and kitchen chairs.  We made a hopscotch board out of masking tape on the floor.

 

We also played this Spiderman game.  Masking tape across the doorway, and we threw little pom pom things at it.  I thought it was pretty fun, but Sam wasn't all that excited...

 

 

...but then he put his Spiderman costume on to play, and it was instantly more fun.  I guess if you're going to play a Spiderman game, you've got to go all in.

 

 

 

But the thing that the kids loved the most and have asked to do again (and again....and again) was shaving cream painting.  I mixed food coloring with shaving cream and turned them loose in the bathtub.  They thought it was the greatest thing ever.  I'm not surprised.  My kids are total water dogs.

 

I looked into swimming lessons at our local YMCA, and I think we are going to do that soon.  With an indoor pool, I'm actually considering joining so I can just take the kids to burn off some steam from time to time.  I wonder if they allow a fall and winter only membership?