Rain, Rain You May Stay...

Before becoming a mom, I'm pretty sure a day beginning with dark clouds, runny noses and no freedom vehicle would have put a damper on the day, altering my attitude and mood to something slightly less than enthusiastic and optimistic. However, once again, the little ones show me how turn a gloomy day into a very happy one.

Sweet's garb got me motivated to put some fall decorations out and sparked a fun conversation about Halloween costumes this year. 

After much resistance, I think I successfully persuaded Spicy that a ghost costume would not only be dangerous but lacking major cute-ness factor.  She settled on a ballerina fairy as long as she could have a magical wand to turn people into things. Very well, hun. Your wish is my command. She also suggested that Sweet G be a lady bug & daddy a pumpkin!
I'm ok with that, I guess. Besides, it would be difficult to top the prior 2 years' costumes:

2008:                                                                            2009:

Although this one has been a little under the weather and the spunk mark was reading low on the radar, I still couldn't keep her from the adventures that awaited us outside.

 So, I resolved to do some laundry while she played in the dirt...

Making a suitable nest for her baby bird

And when the drizzle decided to turn into a downpour, we lit a spiced cider candle in honor of fall, completed about a dozen puzzles and baked a couple loaves of banana bread!

I was reminded today of a verse Our Lord often brings to my mind which keeps my attitude in check and brings my heart to a closer state of that of my children.

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven"

Matthew 18:3

Craft Happy

I have recently realized (or been reminded, I can't remember if this is a new discovery or not) that a tendency, and often a weakness of mine is to treat my SAHM job as a free pass to gallivant out and about like a free bird ignoring any need for structure, routine or consistency. I'm not sure when I became so spontaneous but I really enjoy taking the girls out (be it the beach, mass & the park, Mimi's house or a series of errands) and returning just in time to whip something up for dinner minutes before daddy walks in the door from work. I think a large part is due to the fact that I did just that for a whole year, when daddy was oversees and I was a single mommy. I think another factor is that both girls are so flexible and easy to handle on the go. They have no problems or issues getting their necessary naps in the car, stroller, or on a blanket on the floor! I think yet another reason (this is where the weakness part comes in) is that sometimes I run away from my responsibilities and duties as a SAHM (that is, laundry, house cleaning, cooking, teaching & providing the structure the kids really count on). Anyway, I'm realizing more and more that there are wonderful perks to staying put.  Opportunities for:
-creating
-tickling and cuddling and rolling on the floor
-discovering and putting to use toys and supplies I never knew we owned
-longer naps
-overlapping naps which means well-rested, happy kids and quiet, down time for myself
-prayer, reading, blogging time
and well, less distractions from the outside world means we're forced to focus more on each other, interacting, using our imaginations and really getting to know my daughters on deeper levels. Besides, I have always loved crafts and baking which is not achievable if you're not home! 

Meet Mimi & Bapa:

(Other than curling the "hair" and making the bow and a few ideas about where to put some of the parts, Alizea made these completely solo!)

Funny story to go with this.... a few hours after making these, I saw her nearly gagging as she stuck out her tongue which was blue...When I saw the crafts just below her sticky fingers, I realized what had happened and after some questioning she admitted to plucking off & consuming the M&M eyes as well as the raisin eyelashes nearly gagging on the glue. Hey, at least she didn't enjoy the taste of the adhesive, right?)

(Another funny story, this time embarrassing mommy... I was so proud of myself for including Spicy in my baking activities and remembering she had a mitt she could use to help pull out the baked goods. As we both removed the hot dish from the oven she made a face of surprise and discomfort (as if it were too hot) but I shrugged it off, thinking she was being the animated, imaginative "drama queen" she is. Well, a few hours later, I looked down and saw this

In case you can't read it, it says "WARNING: Do not use this oven mitt to handle hot items. This oven mitt is a toy and is intended for pretend play only." Nice, momma, real nice!

Some other projects I've been working on:

This wall  has been bare for about 5 years (the same amount of time we've lived in this house). I finally settled on something I love and the best part is I was able to make it: it's a recycled frame with a coat of chalkboard paint and a hand-written verse that God gave me when I was feeling discouraged which I am now constantly reminded of when I walk past or through the room. 

 

And all of these were made with an 1/8 of a yard of fabric (less than $2!) 

 

The framed little mirror is on its 3rd color; the pail used to be neon green, a find in my garage sweep, and I had JUST enough fabric to make the matching toothbrush holder, woohoo!)

 But even better than all of this crafting is the carefree timelessness these 2 are sharing:

Food Art

So as I mentioned previously, all of a sudden, Spicy has been much more enchanted by turning her food into finger paints, body paints or any kind of  messy creative play rather than by its palatable qualities. Frankly, it was really driving me nuts, causing me to lose my patience, get way more upset than I should and then feel guilty. I wasn't sure what to do. Well, when it doubt, say a quick little prayer (ie: whine and complain and vent to our Heavenly Father and Mother). Then it hit me like a ton of bricks! (my prayers get answered very quickly these days, probably because they know I'm about to make a major parenting fax pas)...those crafts I used to love making when I was little?....faces or houses or anything? ...well, they were made out of dried macaroni and beans...FOOD, which was probably the coolest part! ...and I was about 3 years old...the same age as A....DUH!!!!So my intense frustration shifted to excitement as I removed the applesauce 'paint' and replaced it with leftover stale trail mix....As I explained to Spicy that she could make cars and trains and use the raisins and M&Ms as wheels, her face immediately lit up! She didn't even want to consume the chocolate which was saying A LOT for her! For the next 30 minutes, her imagination took off and it was so fun to partake in! This is her very long "choo choo train", caboose and all!

Didn't want to leave Sweet G out so I took off that bib and let her go to town with the mashed squash, creating a masterpiece of her own...

When I pointed out the shapes correlating with the "wheels" or "carts" A cleverly insisted that we needed more shapes, which then challenged my creativity a bit...out came the Cheez-it squares from the cupboards and cut-up cheese triangles!

 

And that's why I just love being home with the girls. They make every ordinary day extraordinary!

My little big helper

Tonight I had help in the kitchen. In fact, lately, spicy A has become quite the little baker and chef. While taking the bell peppers out of the bag to rinse and cut, she held up one of them toward my face and very loudly and proudly exclaimed “Look mommy, a little Davieve!”

It’s good to know that she is thinking of her sister, even upon seeing a tiny red vegetable!

(She got a kick out of my surprise smiley faces - lots of belly laughs that even peaked daddy's curiosity from the other room) 

Although I think she looks pretty darn adorable in my over-sized apron, this photo is definitely inspiration for my 1st sewing project…stay tuned…The bad boy has actually made its way out of the box…Now I just have to plead mom or Miranda for a sewing 101 crash course!