by Robbi | Jun 7, 2014 | Alden, August, Fun Things to Do, Kato, Kids, Projects |
Hello all! Father’s Day is coming up soon, and as usual, we are planning a super-great surprise awesome thanks-for-you-you-are-the-best party for Matthew!
Just kidding. We usually completely forget Father’s Day, because, of course, I am supposed to be the one in charge of remembering. But this year I am ON THE BALL. No, really. I have the perfect Father’s Day craft project for you!
Golf Balls for Dad
So, I thought it would be fun to get a box of golf balls and have the kids decorate them. You know, because golf balls are so plain and white and otherwise not particularly interesting (though I once learned in a heated game of Trivial Pursuit that the average golf ball has 336 dimples. And not Shirley Temple, which was my wrong, albeit much more inspired, answer).
We got our box of golf balls (the kids won a coupon at Olympia Sports for running in the Sneaker Creeper) and our sharpies and set to work.
And immediately ran into problem #1:
Holding onto those suckers! Not ten seconds in, we had already lost two balls under the couch and had to hunt for another that bounced across the room.
August tried his hardest not to be distracted by the sound of retreating golf balls.
I guess we must have gotten those fancy long-distance balls.
Anyway. Once we got ourselves back in order and corralled the balls in a box with our pens, we set to work. Alden is a fan of multi-colored flower and heart creations:
while Kato is a virtuoso of the minimalist, flood-your-canvas-with-color-(preferably orange) variety:
August has yet to fully develop his style, which isn’t to say he hasn’t put some really thoughtful, focused and intense effort into his mark-making:
I am particularly fond of Alden’s “Hands Across the Golf Ball” piece:
That kid is so kumbaya, it slays me.
Soon enough, the balls were done (golf balls make a pretty manageable canvas):
While rooting around looking for wrapping paper (turns out snowmen and santa claus is all we’ve got) I discovered the perfect solution: coffee filters! Seeing as Matthew gave up coffee almost a year ago now, we still have a full pack of those suckers around and don’t have much to do with them.
We decorated them first:
And then added the finishing touches after they were all tied up:
We made a couple of very important discoveries that I will share with you:
1. It’s better if you use two coffee filters. Then you can’t see your golf ball through them, and you can decorate each coffee filter differently and it makes the little crepe flower at the top more interesting.
2. Coffee filters make great hats:
and, of course:
3. Hat shenanigans with your brother is hilarious:
And so, when we finally finished, we had some cute and festive little gifts for Father’s Day.
Of course, I neglected to mention the very important 4th item that we discovered – or should I say, remembered? And that is:
4. Matthew doesn’t play golf.
Alas. Matthew isn’t the manly sort who likes to go out and strike balls with clubs with impunity. Nope. Not even a little bit. So, as great as this little craft project is to do, you likely want to do it for someone who actually plays golf. So, we packed up these balls to send to Matthew’s dad, who is very much the manly sort who likes golf.
As for Matthew, I guess this means we’ll have to get to planning that super-great surprise awesome thanks-for-you-you-are-the-best party after all. Unless, of course, I forget about Father’s Day again before we can do it.
**Wait, what were we talking about?**
by Robbi | Jan 14, 2014 | Alden, August, Fun Things to Do, Kato, Kids, Projects, Theme of the Week |
Well, hello there!
When we were researching volcanos for our theme of the week post on Saturday, I thought we could add a link to a tutorial on how to make your own volcano. I did some very nominal searching but most of the tutorials required that you mix up a bunch of dough and actually make a volcano. Nice idea, but we didn’t really have the time or attention span for it. So – I looked around and decided that we could do a quick and easy version.
Here’s what you need to do:
Get a flowerpot (with a hole in the bottom):
and some plastic wrap:
Add 2 Tablespoons of baking soda to your flowerpot (while covering the hole in the bottom with your finger):
Put the plastic wrap over the flower pot:
Secure it with a rubber band:
SECURE IT, I SAID!!!
Add 8 drops of dish detergent (this will increase the bubbliness of your lava):
Use whatever means necessary to protect yourself from vinegar stink:
Carefully measure out 1 cup of vinegar:
Carefully select food coloring for what color you’d like your lava to be:
Stir in the food coloring (I would tell you a drop count, but Kato was a bit overzealous. Let’s call the measure “a solid squirt or two”):
(it occurs to me now that it probably would have been easier to add the detergent to the vinegar instead of to the flower pot. You may now feel free to learn from my mistakes.)
Anyway – onwards. NEXT! Carefully pour the vinegar into the hole in the bottom of your flowerpot (oh, but only after putting your flower pot onto some sort of plate or dish that will contain the impending lava flow):
Be delighted that your volcano worked! Even though in the photo the lava looks white (it was much redder in real life!):
(By “much redder” than white we mean “pink”):
And we discovered the one gigantic plus-side to our method over the other construct-an-elaborate-mountain-out-of-dough-or-paper-maché methods: you can make your volcano really shoot out the lava by tapping the plastic wrap on the bottom like a drum. Sure, it’s not as realistic as a paper maché volcano, but WHEEEEEEEEEEE!:
Of course, there is a down-side to our method as well. If you happen to have any cuts or scrapes or hangnails or bugbites on your hands, you probably shouldn’t try out the drumming method. Getting vinegar in under your skin stings like crazy. Just ask Kato:
And then, of course, the other downside to shooting vinegar all over the room is that the room then smells like vinegar for the next 4 days.
So that’s it. If you want to make a quick and easy volcano, that’s how to do it. If you don’t have any extra flower pots lying around, you could also use a simple plastic cup with a hole cut in the bottom. Or pretty much anything with a hole in it – even just a bottle or a mug.
So go to it! Have fun! And if you have any great photos (or make any great discoveries) feel free to share them with us in the comments section below!
by Matthew | Dec 26, 2013 | August, Kids, Life |
August turned two not long ago. And, as we do when someone around here has a birthday, we made him a scavenger hunt.
Here’s the first clue. Can you tell what it is?
That’s right. It’s a basketball hoop. This will become important in a minute.
We took the clue to August, who was hanging out in Alden’s bunk bed. We explained the challenge. We showed him the clue.
Clearly he was up for the challenge. He ran down the hall, right toward the basketball hoop.
And…right past the basketball hoop. I showed him the clue again.
And something seemed to click. Newly energized, he ran back toward the basketball hoop.
He got himself a chair, climbed up…
…and took a close look.
There he found the next clue. I’d love to show you a picture of it, but our documentarian was too busy following the action to stop and shoot photos of a piece of paper.
The next clue featured a drawing of our antique gas pump. August investigated and…
…found the next clue.
Can you tell what it is?
August could. Fully aware that Christmas was still two weeks away, he peered under the tree.
And when peering alone proved insufficient, he crawled under the tree. Way under the tree.
And wouldn’t you know it, he found another clue.
This one showed a picture of a dog. And not just any dog.
This dog. Who, instead of being honored, was clearly mortified at the thought of being pictured on a clue. (The careful observer will see the clue in question hanging from the collar of the mortified dog.)
Iggy sat patiently in mortified silence while August removed the clue from her collar.
The clue contained a picture of our electronic keyboard, but August was either confused or distracted, because he headed back to the basketball hoop.
When this proved unfruitful (and under the guidance of his sister, who was eager to see the treasure hunt’s exciting conclusion), August made his way to the piano. Where he found another clue.
This clue featured a puzzling drawing. It looked like a frog. It had a handle. But what was it?
Alden and Kato knew.
And a moment later, so did Augie. He lifted the basin of his porta pot, and there, beneath…
…was his super secret surprise birthday present.
Alden and Kato looked on with dread anticipation while August (far too slowly for their tastes) unwrapped his present.
Moments later, the contents spilled out in all their glory.
It was his very own appliqued birthday boy shirt! Made by my mom. August’s chest swelled with pride.
Proud of his success, he took a bow.
August’s big day continued with a birthday card from his great grandma Jeanne.
There was a heart on the back and lots of love inside.
Love and mad cash. August’s net worth skyrocketed in an instant. He took a deep breath and took it all in. “Yeah,” I heard him mutter, “It’s good to be two.”
Later that night, we had some cake. And two candles. Which he blew out with surprising skill and confidence.
He keeps doing things I didn’t realize he had learned. Apparently, he’s watching. Apparently, he’s paying attention.
Apparently, he’s two.
That sure happened fast.
by Matthew | Nov 29, 2013 | Alden, August, Kato, Kids, Life |
Yesterday was Thanksgiving. We ate a lot. We stayed up late. Our stomachs are still groaning. Our eyes are still full of cobwebs.
I told the kids that they could watch a TV show while I went in the other room and worked for a while. When I came back to get a drink of water, I found this. Fortunately, the camera was nearby.
Of all the photos we may gently coax into being by placing children here or there, by making funny faces to elicit smiles, I am happy to say that this scene was entirely spontaneous.
This is the kind of love I hoped my kids would have for one another.
There are squabbles and disagreements, to be sure, but for the most part, these guys love spending time together.
Makes me happy. Makes me feel like we’re doing something right.
Or maybe it’s just the turkey.
by Matthew | Nov 14, 2013 | Alden, August, Kids |
Perhaps you have a little brother or sister. Perhaps you ARE a little brother or sister. Regardless of which side of this dynamic you occupy, here’s hoping you have half as much fun as Alden and August.
She loves to kiss him and lift him and teach him things and make him laugh.
He loves to watch her and follow her and do what she does and snuggle in close to her under a blanket on the couch.
They are two sides of a coin, sharing a big round head, curly hair, and a strain of wild joy that seems to be bundled with their wiring.
I look forward to seeing them grow together as time goes on, always four years distant, but never more than four steps apart.
by Matthew | Nov 4, 2013 | Alden, August, Kato, Kids, Life |
If you do not know, Robbi and Alden are mean, lean, kicking/punching/blocking/leaping machines. They practice a Korean form of martial arts called Tang Soo Do (pronounced tong sue doe). Which makes them tough and, frankly, terrifying to live with.
This past Saturday, they put on their uniforms and prepared to ride in the Eastern Shore Tang Soo Do float in the Chestertown Halloween Parade.
They were not alone. Tough guys of various rank came along for the ride.
‘
And why was such toughness and skill necessary that sunny-yet-brisk Saturday morning? The ghouls were out, for one. Robbi single-handedly fought this nasty looking fellow, starting off with a little bit of this…
…and finishing him off with a whole lot of that.
But tall, skull-faced figures in black robes were the least of her concerns. Unbeknownst to Robbi and her fellow fighters, an entire army of zombies were preparing for battle. And by “preparing,” I mean putting in their makeup.
Can you say “terrifying”?
After dropping Robbi, Alden, and Kato off at their float, we came back downtown to watch the parade. The marching band was in full glory.
The Lions Club lion was dressed for the occasion.
And lots of kids were giving their Halloween costumes a second act. My favorite: the mouse caught in a trap.
August was rocking his Manum P.I. The likeness was good, other than the notable lack of thick black chest hair.
The parade was fun. The mood was festive and light. And then…our worst fears were realized. The zombies arrived.
Luckily, the tang soo do crowd was there to handle the crisis.
In fact, up on the float itself, there seemed to be a bit of human/zombie amnesty going on. It was heartwarming. But also troubling. Were the zombies really going to be nice and not eat Robbi’s brains? I wasn’t sure.
Meanwhile, August had the opportunity to learn first hand about fire safety but chose instead to run in the opposite direction.
Eventually, the Tang Soo Do float reached the judge’s stand. At which point, the zombies decided that the armistice was over and that the time had come for a full-scale zombie attack.
Tang Soo Do warriors of various ranks leapt from the float and proceeded to dispatch their undead adversaries, one careful kick and punch at a time.
Eventually, the zombies were defeated. And the judges were relieved. And impressed.
So much so that they awarded the float second place. Much to the delight of the fighters. And the zombies. Who, being undead, promptly got up, took a bow, and went on with their day.
