Sometimes you just know...

when you have a picture that will surface again later in your child's life. Like at their wedding when you need something good to accompany a toast!

The Great Paint Party 09!

Jack told me he wanted to have his birthday at our house this year. He has always adored art time so we decided to have a paint party and let the kids go to town on their very own canvases.
So we gathered the supplies:

Pack of 26 board mounted canvases from Dick Blick
6 pump dispenser tempera paint gallons with little serving cups
25 painters hats
cut up plywood to make palettes
Men's white t-shirts for smocks



John built a plywood "wall" for the canvases to be attached to (and to protect my roses and lavender from being the next great art project!) and we attached a few canvases to an old playhouse we had in the backyard.



All did not go according to plan. We had bought a huge tarp to hang between the deck and trees and act as a sunshade but the morning proved to be too windy and ripped the grommets right off the tarp when we tried to hang it. Oh well, "best laid plans" and all that crap.

But the kids showed up and we got them all in their caps and shirts. Then off to the paint dispensers they went.



Man, these kids must have been inspired, because they got going on their paintings right away. One lesson, don't give black as an option o the palette. The black way overpowered all of the other colors on the early paintings. We learned fast and cut it out of the mix.

Once the kids were done with the paintings, many opf them asked if they could paint their caps and shirts, so we got them more paint and they all sat on the ground and went to it.

Some went a bit further than others in the painting process.


















Others decided just painting one body part was not enough.

A sweet, juicy day!

Sometimes you wish you could just bottle up a day and store it away!

Back in March, there was a day when it started pouring rain after I dropped the kids off at school and as I ran some errands, I thought my day would be ruined. I was picking up some things for Jack's upcoming party and planned to go by a nursery to pick up some plants for the new flower bed (aka Jack's Garden) in front so it won't look like a big mud pit when we have guests coming over next weekend. By the time I headed toward the nursery, the rain was so thick, I couldn't even see the car in front of me so I declared it a delayed trip and turned around toward home.

Well, they say if you don't like the weather in Texas, just wait an hour. And an hour later we had blue skies and a beautiful breeze outside. John had come home early and I had just gotten an announcement from Sweet Barry Farms in Marble Falls that their strawberry fields were open for picking.

So we picked up the kids early from school and all played hookie to go and pick strawberries.

Now we all had different picking styles. John is a get-it-done kind of picker. He likes to get right in and fill the box up. Works down a row and back up the next. I like to dilly dally. I pick for a while and then have to stop and look around (this is why I am the photographer of the family). I eat a few, listen to sounds, find my kids and take some photos. Try to snap a photo in my mind so I can remember the moment later as I am lying in bed.

Jack likes the excitement. As he picks, he makes exclamations. "Wow, look at this one." "Whoa, that's big." "This is really the biggest one." Alex likes to be with everyone and not miss out on anything. She picks a few with John. Then she sees her Nana two rows over and runs to her for some picking. Then back to me because she must be missing out on something. Then over to her grandfather to pick with him.





So there it was, full-on strawberry picking, juice running down chins, unable to stop from eating them right off the vine. 4 full boxes later we came home to make strawberry pie at Jack's request.

How sweet it was!

Sadness

I'm back from vacation and I have lots of fun things to share but before I do, I have to share some sad news. When I got home yesterday after being out of touch for over a week, I checked my regular blogs that I follow. I gasped when I checked The Spohrs are Multiplying. It's a great blog written by Heather who blogs about her beautiful daughter Maddie who is just a miracle child at birth . She survived some major health obstacles and is about 17 months old. Her husband Mike blogs at The Newborn Identity

The first post I saw was "Hospital". Maddie has ongoing breathing difficulties, so I was sad to see that she was having trouble again. The next post was "Madeline Alice Spohr". That made my heart skip, because you just don't have that kind of title without something major going on. Sure enough, I was shocked to learn that Maddie had been admitted to the hospital with breathing difficulties and had passed away. Tears just began rolling down my face as I read about the funeral service and was honored to read both Heather and her husband Mike's tribute to Maddie. They are beautifully written.

I was up last night, unable to think, just feeling so sad for Heather and Mike. It's a wondrous thing, this internet. I have never met Heather and Mike yet I have followed ups and downs in their life and laughed and cheered at Maddie's accomplishments. And then to read about a tragedy like this and just feel like I want to give my friends a hug. Friends that I have never met but yet I hear about their life more than I hear about some of my friends I know in person. Anyway, Maddie was such a beautiful little girl and I will think good thoughts for Heather and Mike and hope that their support group, friends in real life and just over the internet, can offer them comfort to help them make it through this time.

It makes me think about how Maddie has touched so many people without even knowing it. Perhaps people all over will be like me this week and look at their kids extra long while they are sleeping or give them a bit more slack when they repeatedly whine "mommy, mommy, mommy" over and over again. I'll think of Maddie and Heather and Mike when I feel so tired from the day and just want some alone time. And then I will happily pick up "just one more book" to read to Alex or Jack. Because they asked. Because they are next to me. Because it will be a small thing that I can do that means the world to them at that moment.

Hugs to you, Heather and Mike. I'm thinking about you.

Hello hives!

Darn you random allergy for affecting Jack. All covered in hives, moving all over his body from head to toe. Hardly time to put cortaide on one spot before it had moved to aonother spot, So Benadryl it was for 3 days. And he was a trooper.

Luckily, none of it was contagious, because his birthday party was Saturday and these pictures were taken Thursday. But he was all clear for Saturday with just a bit coming out on his face. We gave him a break from the meds for the party but went right back to them after as the doctor said to keep him on Benadryl until the hives were gone + one more day.

Poor baby.

Still have not figured out what caused it.