Jump!

Cate was super excited to participate in Jump Rope for Heart this year.  This was the first year she could participate and she was very motivated to raise money for the cause.  She set a goal of $200 and was thrilled to turn her packet in today---having raised a total of $330!

Chris and I stopped by for a few minutes this afternoon to see the third graders in action. 

Thank you Pinterest!

It's been a while since I actually attempted to MAKE anything I've seen on Pinterest.  Tonight we had a few minutes to kill before bedtime and I remembered seeing a Pinterest link to a website where kids attempted to make boats out of aluminum foil.  The second step in the process is to see how many pennies your boat will hold before it sinks.

This was the perfect project for us as I really wanted to encourage Ben to take a bath.  Although I'm not sure he used soap, it did get him in the tub.

All three of my kids were fascinated by this project.  Cate was able to pile 132 pennies in her boat before it started to sink.  Maggie focused on how her boat was decorated.  Ben managed to get 60-some pennies in his boat before it capsized due to Ben-induced weather conditions.

Mini Chef

Maggie loves to bake.

Last week she begged me to help her bake cupcakes and I had a million reasons why the timing just wasn't right---too close to dinner, the baby needed to nap, I needed to put in a load of laundry. 

I finally gave in an realized that I should have agreed to cupcakes weeks ago!  Since most cupcake mixes require only 4 ingredients (oil, water, eggs, and the mix), Maggie can actually add these to the bowl with very little help.  And, of course, she loves to stir. 

She also loves to use the ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners.  She is very precise and does not like the batter to slip over the side.  This part of the process is pretty time consuming with her at the helm but I realized that in the amount of time it took her to scoop the cupcakes I was able to load the dishwasher, put the baby to bed, and change out the laundry.

And I could do most of these things within earshot of Maggie and we both enjoyed the company.

Baby Artist

Otherwise known as anything-Cate-and-Maggie-can-do-I-can-do-too!

Another Bookworm...

Signs of Summer

The summer is flying by!  We are keeping busy and my plans of getting a jump on the fall semester have fallen by the wayside.  Oh well, there's always July. 

 

Cate and Ben attended the UI Wildlife Camp this summer and LOVED every minute of it.

Our summer babysitter, Liz, took Maggie and Cece to Petland.  They both love animals, especially puppies.

We've spent hours playing outside---at the pool, at parks, at friend's houses---Cece always wants to be where the big kids are.

And, of course, the pool is our home away from home all summer long.  Thanks to zero-depth entry in the shallow end and Cate and Ben's good swimming skills, it's (relatively) easy to have all four kids there by myself.

Double Trouble

Cabin fever got the best of us so we braved the Polar Vortex today and took a quick trip to the library.

Cece had a blast following Maggie down the slide.  Maggie had a blast pushing...I mean helping Cece down the slide.

Putnam Science Museum

While waiting to get tickets for the Princess Diana exhibit, Ben and Maggie conduct some experiments.

At the Princess Diana exhibit, which Cate and I thoroughly enjoyed

Cece waiting to be rescued from the lifeboat.

Baby's First Mummy

What do you get the baby who has everything?

As the fourth child and the third girl in our family, there isn't much that Cece doesn't already have.

The other day I said to Maggie, "What should we get Cece for Christmas?"

We went through the list of everything that Cece has---toys, dolls, puzzles, books.

Suddenly Maggie brightened up. 

"I know what we can get her!" she said.

"A baby sister!  She doesn't have one of those,"  was Maggie's response.

I can pretty much guarantee that Cece will not get a baby sister for Christmas (this year or any other)  but judging by how much she loved playing in this giant cardboard box last week there might be some paper products in her future.

My Little Minion

The kids started swimming lessons this week with their triathlon coach.

I was worried Maggie would simply refuse to participate.  It's a well known fact that she typically likes to do things on her terms.  When she wants to do them.  And if she decides she does not want to do something, good luck getting her to change her mind.

But Coach Mandi must have the magic touch because Maggie eagerly(!) followed her and her two little friends into the pool and eagerly participated. 

I was shocked.

Here is a picture that I snapped before she got into the pool.  She was the happiest little minion in the place.

 

Doing More With Less

Chris and I were hoping that this trip would give us an opportunity to reset.

We've spent much of the last few months trying to get rid of stuff--games, toys, clothes, household items, unused wedding presents--in preparation for our house remodel.

Yet it seems that no matter how much stuff we get rid of, we still have a hell of a lot of stuff at our house.

This trip to Italy, we figured, would be an opportunity for us to do more with less.

The six of us can fit into a 2-bedroom apartment pretty easily, although I will admit it's a bit crowded on rainy days.

Cate, Ben and Maggie are sharing a room and we haven't heard a single complaint about the sleeping arrangements.  We don't have a dishwasher (well, except for me) but it's not a problem since we really only use the same five plates over and over.  It certainly doesn't take very long to pick up at the end of the day.  It takes me about 5 minutes to put our laundry away.

We don't have a lot of stuff here.  We don't have many clothes and we certainly don't have many toys.

And the kids aren't bored.  At all.

On the contrary, I think the lack of toys has forced them to become more creative.  Chris and I were amazed last week when all three of our kids played an elaborate ninja game together for almost an hour. 

We are very fortunate that there are two other families in our apartment building who have a parent teaching in the CIMBA program.  This translates into 5 other kids with whom we can play soccer, walk to the park, share snacks and have dance parties with.

To be totally honest a lot of the time the kids just mess around, which requires surprisingly little stuff.

Definitely messing around

Making forts with our neighbor, Finn

Taking naps

 

Reading

Smiling at Cece McGee

Making potions on the patio

Playing in the bidet

We're An American Band

Rockin' and Rollin' on a Sunday morning with the pots and pans.


(Yes it was loud and a little obnoxious but they loved every minute of it).

Salt Dough Valentine's Day Decorations

Although this project took us about three weeks to complete (note the numerous wardrobe changes) and resulted in the demise of two cookies sheets (due to hardening Mod Podge) I think this project was a great success.

Squinkie Town

Let me begin by saying I just don't understand Squinkies at all.

They are small, plastic slightly squishy characters with no bendable, moveable parts.  My kids were excited to receive Squinkies from birthday parties but  have never really played with them all that much. 

Until this week.

Everyday this week Ben has come home from school with a new cardboard square to add to his "Squinkie Town."  He and Cate have spent hours devising elaborate Squinkie-related games using these squares.

So even though I don't understand the allure, this week I have been very grateful for them since their presence has allowed me to get a lot of things (e.g., dishes, laundry) done before the kids go to bed.

Thank you Pinterest!

1 strainer + 1 package of pipe cleaners = 1.5 hours of fun for Maggie

Thank you Pinterest!

Let It Snow!

It's a sad state of affairs when you have to resort to Insta-Snow to build a snowman in Iowa on December 15.

But for $12.99 all three of my kids were thoroughly entertained for an hour and a half on this rainy Saturday morning.

We tossed buttons into the mix, got out the cookie cutters and measuring cups, and even built a skate park for the Little People.

We tossed our Insta Snow into freezer bags and got it out again 8 hours later.  It definitely had the texture and feel of real snow.  Cate and Ben were now able to mold and shape it into snowballs and snowmen.  Ben added water to create slush.

The "frozen" snow provided another solid hour of entertainment.

Was it a mess?  Definitely.

Was it hard to clean up?  Yes

Will we do it again?  Of course. 

After all, we still have half a container of Insta-Snow left and there's no sign of a real snowstorm anytime soon.