Hand Me Down Hat

My niece, Madina, gave some hand-me-downs to Galina. (Try to keep their names straight when spending a week together.) Galina, my fancy one, adorned this hat.

What a hat can do in a 2 yr old's life is like diamonds when you're 30.

It even works with no clothes on!

But not in the bathtub....I'll spare you. :)

Cotton Ball Snowmen

Snowmen are so fun. In fact, I sort of collect them. There are several snowfriends decorating my house this time of year. And the good thing is, you can keep them up until spring. Those smiling friends help keep the winter doldrums away.To make the craft, take a toilet paper roll and glue or staple a piece of black paper to the top. (Stapling works better, I found.)

Then put some glue on the toilet paper roll and stick on cotton balls.

A hint: do the glue in small "patches" so kids don't get their fingers full of glue and become frustrated.

Then sing "Frosty the Snowman" through the toilet paper roll.

Next cut out some boots.

Glue them on the roll.

And add a face: We used hole-punched scraps for eyes and nose and a piece of pipe cleaner for the mouth.

A snowfriend! How cute.

But not as cute as this!

Thanks for the darling outfit, Aunt Karel.

Playdate Kids

Whenever we have Treyton's buddy, Seiban, over it's always interesting to see what they come up with to do. Like "hide from Galina in jail". Or race around trying to be Nascar men.

Galina usually just circles the wagon, keeping her distance but still being a part of things. Sometimes she joins in.

And look at that.

Sweet Brielle just minds her own business in sheer bliss of a full belly, a clean diaper, and a spot on the floor to stretch out on.

Until she spits up and Mommy whisks her away to clean it up chastising herself for not putting a blanket or burpie under a just-fed baby. Stupid, stupid, stupid. You'd think Mommy would learn by the third time around!

My Husband's New Old Look

He was invited to a 70's party. I just hope he doesn't pull it out on a regular basis.

They do have a sense of humor, those rocket scientist guys.

Brielle

Brielle is such a sweet baby. Couldn't ask for a better one! She tries to survive her sister's "love".

Sucks her pacifier with enthusiasm.

Has begun tracking things. (Look at her feet! I can't stand how cute they are!!!)

She's been studying her Grandpa Don who looks like Gorbachev with a scrape on his head. He just got done being on a jury for a murder/double stabbing case. Guess he wanted to get a little bloody to get in the mood for the case.

Our little angel!

Thank you, Lord. I love this precious gift you gave us!!!

Rocket Scientist at Play

It's very interesting living with a rocket scientist. He has a knack with certain toys. Like K'nex. Check out this Mars Rover (or something that goes on the moon, sorry Bryce....I forgot what you called this). It even has a type of motor made with a rubber band. Pretty amazing.

He also dresses up his boy like an astronaut.

Here's what he did the other night....

A model of the vehicle he is working on at work.

Not sure what that sticking up gray thing is.

But like most rocket scientist things, it LOOKS cool.

Me, on the other hand. I just have kids make things like apples.

With worms.

That's what you get when you cross a rocket scientist and an elementary teacher!

Acorns

I don't know what happened. When daylight savings time started (ended?) my munchkins have turned into monsters between 4 and 6 pm. They get antsy-crazy! My house resembles a college dorm on a Saturday night. To channel that energy, I've tried some more crafts. We decided to make acorns. Using a paper grocery bag, I had kids color brown and orange.

Notice sweet Brielle hanging out over there. She doesn't know what kind of family she's gotten herself into.

While they were coloring their orange and brown sheets, I drew acorns.

Don't worry, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to construct such an image. Really basic shape, it turns out.

Then we tore the brown colored paper. I squiggled on some glue to the top part of the acorn. Kids put torn brown bits there.

Next I squiggled glue on the southern part of the acorn.

Kids put on the orange pieces.

Just to make it stand out, I retraced the black lines of my original acorn drawing and wrote their names.

Okay, back to the crazy college scene....oh my!

Three kids under four, life is an adventure!

Matching Girls

A friend of mine gave me a few clothes for Galina. Lo and behold, one of them was the same as Brielle's. (A hand-me-down from Galina actually.)

So I put the matching outfits on my two girls. Galina especially enjoyed being twins with her sister.

She didn't want to take it off! And the next day, when her outfit didn't match Brielle's, she was mad. But only for a moment as I let her pick out her outfit. My little eccentric one. Quite the fashion diva, isn't she? (Takes after her Aunt Amy.)