Trying to Stay Above Water

When I was about 5 years old I went swimming in a pond with my dad and his brothers.  Sometime during the day a lot of beers were consumed and the little sense they had before was completely lost. 

I can’t remember which one did it first, but it became a lot of fun to push me under water and hold me there for a little while.  How long? I am not really sure.  I know it seemed like forever, but I was only 5 so my perspective was skewed (not to mention I was the one under water). 

Just when they would let me up I would feel a crazy panic for air and for something to grab onto.  A sense of relief would fill me as the air filled my lungs.  Just when I would feel as if the nightmare was over a different person would take their turn dunking me a few times. 

That has been similar to how I have been feeling lately. 

Every time I feel as if I am back to normal, I get hit with it again.  The sensation of being pushed under water and kept there overtakes me.

I am not complaining.  I am just sharing.  Surely some of you have felt that way.

Nothing extremely horrible or devastating has happened.  Just blows to weaknesses.  My favorite dog died and there has been a little drama with birth mom and the baby.  Like I said, nothing really big and it has hit me surprisingly hard.  I have been through some fairly rough things and I really don’t know why I am having this reaction to these events. 

I just feel exhausted from trying to catch my breath and stay on top of the water.  I think the most draining thing is trying to be myself and play with the kids.  Cole is having a really hard time with Roxi’s death.  I have to be even more upbeat and sympathetic for him. 

I am just tired.

Foto Friday: Yellow

Last week was the first week of me hosting Foto Friday.  Participation was low, but I anticipate for it to pick up as we continue to grow and get the word out.  Who doesn’t love to share pictures they have taken?

I want to share pictures from last week.  This picture from @kmhc is a great shot of a beautiful girl playing with bubbles.  I love the colors swirling around in the bubble.

There was a technical difficulty with another.  It seems that the link tool was acting up.

On to this week.  The suggested theme was “yellow”.  We had some great weather this past week and our forsythia are in bloom.  I couldn’t resist taking a few hundred shots of them.

If you have any questions about Foto Friday, please read Foto Friday FAQ.  I can’t wait to see your pictures.  I anticipate a lot of beautiful flowers (maybe some more forsythia). 

I would love for you to vote for your favorites in the comment section below.  Then they will be featured next week.

Next week’s suggested theme is “laughter” in honor of April’s Fools Day.

Foto Friday: Welcome

Welcome to Foto Friday.  I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we all were disappointed to read Ann, from the fabulous Household 6 Diva was not continuing Foto Friday.  I completely understand why she made her decision.  I am honored and excited to be taking over hosting duties.  I hope I can be just half as good as she was with it.

If you are new to Foto Friday or you have questions about it here is Foto Friday FAQ.

Since this is the first week here, there is no suggested theme to talk about.  So just link up your photo.  Be sure to visit others and be that voice of encouragement.

I would love to continue the voting for your favorite shot, too.  So leave a comment on which is your favorite.  Next week I will feature the favorites.  My plan is to get a button made that says you were a Foto Friday Fave.  You know, so you can have some bragging rights.

                           --------------------------------------------------

I had to laugh tonight that St. Patrick’s Day is very different now than when I was 21 yrs old.  A “fun” time had a completely different definition back then. 

I guarantee it did not involve taking funny St. Patrick’s Day hats and putting them on the kids while taking pictures of them being silly.

Nor would it have involved torturing the poor dogs.

I can’t wait to see your amazing pictures.  The link up will close at 11:59 pm (23:59) CST on Sunday night.  Don’t forget to grab the new button. 

<center><a href=" http://www.momtriedit.net/search/label/Foto%20Friday"><img src=" http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy303/momtriedit/foto_friday.jpg " /></a><center></center></center>

Next week’s suggested theme is “Yellow”. 

Interpret it however you want.  Got a great shot that doesn’t fit the theme? Who cares?  Just join in and link up.

Homemade Play Dough: St. Patricks Day Version

I love making homemade play dough.  I can control how much is made and the kids get to pick the color.

The act of making the play dough has become an activity all in itself at our house.  This week we decided to make play dough that has a St. Patrick’s Day theme to it.  Green with gold glitter, woo hoo!

Here is my favorite recipe.  I love how inexpensive the ingredients are and that they are always in my kitchen.

1 cup flour

1 cup of salt

1 cup of water

2 tbsp oil (1/8 cup)

coloring (I usually use 1 pkg of flavored gelatin or 2 pkg of Kool Aid)

We added our ingredients, by taking turns of course.

We did add gold glitter and used Lime Kool Aid.

After the ingredients are well mixed, cook on the stove (adults only) until it starts to ball together and resembles what you would play with.

Let it cool and let your kids knead it while it is warm (be sure it is just warm, not hot).

This is what a double batch looks like.  It is more than enough for 4 small kids to play with. 

    

We used the coins from our St. Patrick’s Day sensory tub to add to the fun of playing.  We will be playing with this dough for a long time.  It usually lasts us about 3 months before it gets funky.

Enjoy and have fun.

Say What? Strange Spaghetti Places

 

“You, get the spaghetti out of your hair.  You, get it out of your nose.  You, get it out of your pants.”

 

Oh yeah.  With a house full of four children under 5 years old you expect to tell kids to not play with food.  But some statements are stranger than others.

The spaghetti in the hair was Charley.  Everything goes in that girl’s hair. 

The nose was Buddy.  I honestly think his was an accident.  I think he went to wipe his nose and the noodle came along for the ride. 

The pants…that was Cole.  Seriously.  It wasn’t just a little bit of spaghetti, either.  Who even thinks about putting spaghetti in their pants?  A four year old boy, that’s who.  It will not be happening again.

 

 

So what crazy things have you been saying lately?  You know those things that make you stop and think “Did I just say that?”

St. Patricks Day Sensory Tub

I can’t believe that St. Patrick’s Day is next week.  Wasn’t it just Christmas?  Oh, well.  Here is a sensory tub we did for St. Patrick’s Day.

We had died some rice over the school break a few months ago and it is still going great.  We died 30 pounds of it!  We needed to fill our sensory table adequately.    I got the idea for the rainbow rice from my wonderful friend over at Mumma Made It.

We took some of that rainbow rice (to represent a rainbow, of course), cotton balls for clouds, plastic gold coins, and little black pots cut out of craft foam.

I had Cole pour in the ingredients.

We stirred it around.

And we played, and played, and sorted.  By the way these tongs are available as a season item at Dollar Tree stores right now.  I grabbed each kid their own and a set for me.  We will probably be buying back ups as well.  They are just so useful. 

I ended up having to make all 3 big kids their own sensory tub.  Because the suggestion of putting it all in the able was quickly vetoed.  But alas, some rice got thrown (big time no-no) and some kids had to end their experience earlier than others.

This activity is great for sensory play (obviously), motor skills, and you can incorporate other learning aspects into it, as well.  Charley and I talked about colors.  While Buddy and I talked about opposites like the hard rice and the soft cotton balls. 

Are you doing any special activities for St. Patrick’s Day with your kids?

Say What?: Dog Charger

“That cord will not charge the dog.  Do not try to stick it in her butt.”

 

We have a lot of things around here that get charged.  My laptop, the phones, the iPod, Cole’s walkie talkies, and the batteries for the cameras.  So it kind of makes sense that a lazy dog might need a charge.  Okay, it really doesn’t make sense.  But I found myself saying that phrase to my children.  Geez!

 

What crazy things have you found yourself saying lately?

 

Kim

The Shapes of Blocks

I am a little late getting this up today, but last night I just didn’t have it in me to do a post.  I was going to skip today completely, but then I found out that it is the last Foto Friday. 

I am sure my dear friend Ann Marie has something fantastic in store for us on her blog.  She is fabulous, so if you don’t read her you absolutely need to.  She is an Army wife and mom to three small children.  Oh and she is stationed in Germany right now.

On to Foto Friday.  Today’s theme is shapes.  I took this picture of Charley earlier this week while we were playing blocks.  We so enjoy our girl time while the boys are at preschool.

Head over there and check out other photos for Foto Friday at Household 6 Diva.

A Different Use for Bath Crayons

It’s rainy.  It’s cold.  Outside is not an option right now.  Unfortunately we are at the end of winter, so the kids have been cooped up for an eternity.  I have squeezed out every last ounce of interest the kids have in our regular activities.  We needed something new.

Enter the bath crayons.

We have a bathroom that has only a shower unit in it.  It is horrible.  It actually has gold glitter flecks in it. Okay, back on track, sorry. 

My original intention was to make a learning game out of it for Cole, but he wasn’t keen on matching upper and lower case letters (at all). 

So I just let them have at it. 

They scribbled away.

And away.

How else could you get a 2 yr old, 3 yr old, and a 4 yr old in an area less than 6 sq.ft. without any fighting?  This lasted 20 minutes with all three!  The younger two played in there another 10 minutes together. 

So there you have an idea for emergency fun.  The best part is that they are essentially soap, so clean up is a breeze.  Works for one child or more.  You can do it in a regular bath as well, just be sure it is dry.