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annoyed ...

I'm so annoyed with blogger right now I could spit.
Please bear with me while I try to recreate the look that the template is supposed to be giving me. Ugh.

art camp - week three

We had so much fun today being messy, messy, messy!
We explored collage and mixed-media.
We discovered printing with bubble wrap and jar/tupperware lids.


This spells F-U-N. I noticed a couple of the kids come out of their shell. It's so fun and rewarding to watch them get inspired.
I even have some battle wounds in the form of red paint splattered on my green kitchen walls. Ah ... to have an art studio space someday where splatters won't matter. A small price to pay in the kitchen today ... it's so worth it to see these guys beam with pride and a sense of pure joy.

Today turned out better than I'd hoped.
I love these little artists.
They inspire me.

love the beach

Beach days are the best days of summer so far. Add some friends and it's a kid paradise!!

It's the best kind of tired at the end of a beach day.

wanted ...

... employment that doesn't interfere with my ability to be the involved, available (emotionally and physically), at home mom that I want to be; and doesn't interfere with my role as wife and business partner to my husband; and allows me to work in a creative environment with lots of really nice people so I don't dread the times that I have to work; and the pay is worth the time that I'm away from my family; and it eventually could evolve into something that includes benefits?

Does this job exist anywhere outside of my mind?

tired today ...

Why does it seem like she's always running away from me?

Boating on Lake Michigan

I wish we could have spent all day downtown. There is so much energy and character in the city of Chicago. About once or twice a year we get a view of the city from a different perspective ... from the lake via my brother in law's family's boat! It was too cold to ski this time ... not to mention I felt sea sick much of the time, ugh, but a beautiful morning nonetheless.

The boys got to drive ... for real ~ Uncle Mike controlled the speed.


Brrrrrrr! Navy Pier
Hanging out at the dock at the end of the trip was probably just as fun for the kids as going fast on the big open "sea" as they called it. Oh my cuteness ... censored in case of too much skin.

Love a baby's butt - here I got two!! All dimply and wrinkly and oh so white!

Cuteness.

4th of July

I love the fourth of July. It's always fun. I'm proud of the red white and blue, and I'm grateful for our freedom.

We had the privilege of marching in our local parade with the Kiwanis guys, which the boys l-o-v-e. Kenny is a member and the boys help toss peanuts along the route. It's a bit of a talent to toss those peanuts because every so often we accidentally smack someone with the small bag or the toss is way off and an unsuspecting observer gets a whack on the head. We just say sorry, they laugh, we laugh, wave and keep walking. Everyone is happy.

She actually sat in the stroller the whole route! However, we did loose a sippy cup along the way somewhere.
While we were waiting for the parade to start we had the entertainment of a real drum line marching ahead of us. Aidan wants to be a drummer someday ... and just so happened to bring his drum along too! Saw this along the route ... now I've see everything. It pays to keep the camera strapped on at all times just to capture things like this. Seriously?!?!?
Had friends over later who brought these way cool bubble wands. What is it about bubbles that always brings a smile to kids and adults alike?

The best of buddies ... this is for you Cooper!
Love the 4th.
Love our friends.
Love our freedom.
Love summer.

He's in control ...

As I sat in the kitchen with my coffee this morning, thinking about the day, I was wishing I had a plan for the day. So I shot up a prayer that said something like this "God, please bring order to our day, give me something creative to do with my kids so we don't kill each other today." Yes, a genuine heartfelt mother's prayer. Then I saw this.

The cross is hanging in our kitchen window from a Vacation Bible School project my kids did a couple of weeks ago. Then my daughter joined the picture ... what a bonus!

Our summer days go so much more smoothly when I have a plan, and I begin to feel a little panicky if I'm facing three children and no plan as to how we'll break up the day. The original plan was to go to Lincoln Park Zoo in the city, but we'll be going downtown again this weekend and with gas prices the way they are ... I think we'll just make the trip once this weekend. Life is so overwhelming in so many ways. I know God's in control, but it's good to see a glimpse of Him in person once in a while ... .like the rainbow. This little silouette from the morning sunshine through the kitchen windows is God telling me he's still here. I love noticing Him in the little things ... it keeps my prespective fresh and positive. Take some time to look for Him today, would you? He wants to show himself to you ... but you have to be looking for Him. And then when you see Him and you smile, hold it close until the next time He shows Himself to you.

Hugs & Blessings to you today.

mom's life saver ...

... is this pool. It's our summer investment - the kids are in and out of it all day almost every day. The friends have something to do when they come over. It's only 30" deep so all friends can swim without fear. It costs half of what our local pool pass would cost and our last one lasted two seasons! Love it.

But she doesn't. It's too cold. She would rather run around outside the pool and throw in all the floaties that the boys are trying to keep out while they swim!
Then ... to top it all off and step up the fun factor ...

... Kenny screwed this slide into an old picnic table over the weekend - major fun.

No. He did not hit his head.

hip chick + hunky handyman

A minor (but packs a big punch) home improvement project happened here over the weekend. Put an ambitious-creative-visionary-super-hip-chick together with a hunky-handyman/home-improvement-for-a-living-very-talented husband (quick plug) and you get spectacular results!

This room next to the kitchen and back door houses the washer, dryer, and wash basin on one wall (backed up against the kitchen) and the facing wall that you see is our pantry, storage, and utilities. We spent $60 for white shelving, (we had extra plywood in the garage and leftover paint from the baby's room), and we went from chaos, Ugh! This is embarrassing to even show you ... but with five people in an 1100 something sq. ft. house ... it can be unavoidable.

To order!! Shazam! It's just so fabulous I can't even take it. It feels like we gained a whole room. I'm so proud of this space.

There is a fifth cubbie next to Kiana's that is mine. So now we each have a place for jackets/bags/backpacks and we each have a little green basket (Dollar Store!) for the little things like hats/mittens/cell phones/trinkets. I hope this will put an end to the jackets draped over chairs, hooks overflowing by the door, and purses and trinkets floating around the counter tops. Instead of the shoe cubbies by the back door, each kid now has a little green basket in their room where their shoes go.

This is so fulfilling. The key to this remaining organized is to purge the unnessary. (How many jackets does a child ... or mom ... need?). I'm a big purger. It's just stuff. This little house can't handle the stuff. If we're not using it, it gets given away.

Next I have to devise a system to bring order to all the paper and information that comes home from school ... I have a couple of months to dream up that solution. Any ideas? Please share!

art camp - week two

Week two - all six were here this week! We have every age group represented from Kindergarten through 5th grade, one in each grade. More friends want to join us ... looks like we're either going to overflow into the living room on the hot and rainy days or be outside for the remaining four weeks.

I found the most amazing book, Drawing with Children, at the library last week. The woman who started this style of teaching drawing (The Monart Method) has the exact same "rules" in her classes that I introduced in our first art camp class! Coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence. Divine appointment ... yes.

So I used the book as a resource. After doing some drawing exercises using the 5 elements of shape taught in the book we all drew a bird drawing using verbal instructions. The idea is to give structured instructions on how to draw the bird, but give them creative license in how the bird looks. This gives each child the freedom to draw in their own style and whatever comes from their creative spirit. That's why all their drawings look different (in addition to different age levels of ability).

My hope is that this summer is something they remember as having been an encouragement to them; that nurturing their artistic side is important, and that being proud of their own work is important.

I drew mine along with them but finished the coloring in later in the evening.

Loving encouraging these kids! I also realized how much I enjoy the break from Kiana for an hour and a half!! I have a lovely friend who needs a baby fix every so often - lucky me. :o)