Sidewalk Paint

Yesterday after our morning walk, we got a little crafty.  We made sidewalk paint!  I found the "recipe" on pinterest, here, although there are many recipes out there!

You basically add water and cornstarch together (some blogs say a 1:1 ratio, some say 1:2 to make it thicker).  I did 1:1 but the blog I followed also mentioned to add baking soda to the mix to make it thicker.  One other reason this was mentioned was so that after you did the "painting", you could spice it up and add some vinegar to the leftover paint and see the kids reaction to the paint bubbling up.  I'm always up for a good science experiment, so baking soda it is!  After that was all mixed together, I poured it into a muffin tin and then used food coloring to make the different colors.  Ellis was very intrigued by what I was doing, so I didn't get a "before he touched it" picture, but I loved the fact that he was so excited about it.  I gave them some crafting sponge brushes to "paint" but they used their hands for the most part.  Okay, and lets be serious.  They didn't "paint" at all, but they had fun playing with the colors and the brushes.  Here is a look at our mess fun!

I wish I got a picture of the exact moment the paint landed on his stomach.  His reaction was priceless!

This was after I put the vinegar in it - they loved touching the bubbles.

This is the closest Logan got to "painting"...

Once they started to lose interest in the paint, I brought the pool close by, filled it up with a little bit of water in hopes that they would get in and rinse themselves off.  Logan was all for it, and Ellis thought it would be more fun to throw the balls in and watch Logan get splashed.

Needless to say, after a few failed attempts to get Ellis in (and then after he decided it would be fun to play in the sandbox), I ended up giving them an actual real bath in the house once I got most of the paint off and them dried off a bit.

Here is their masterpiece, once it dried.  Of course all the colors were completely mixed together so it didn't surprise me that you don't see any specific colors on the sidewalk.  One day when they actually get the idea of painting, it could look pretty cool!  For now, they had fun and thats all that matters.

"Are they all twins?"

That was the question asked by my neighbor this morning when she returned home and saw all the kids in the yard.  Although she was across the street and didn't get a close look at the kids that were actually here, it makes me laugh that she thought that we must only hang out with other twins!

There was lots of fun to be had this morning (until Logan made it quite obvious that it was just a bit past his naptime).  Logan and Ellis were still a bit shy and seemed more curious of the other boys and what they were doing, but I think more play dates like today, and more exposure to the same kids will help them.  Here are some pictures of the kids in action:

Caryn with Cole at the pool and Logan checking them out from his chair

Jess with cutie pie Macy

Bella even got to join the play date...

...and for the most part, she did very well (although she did make sure to get her share of belly rubs)

Cole LOVED splashing in the pool

We had a great time and I'm glad everyone came over today!  Hope we can all get together again soon!

Funday Monday (a day late!)

Monday was a blast.  The beautiful, cooler weather prompted a day at the zoo.  A quick text to Nicole on Sunday and we planned a morning of it.

Although we've been one other time this year (about 2 months ago) and lots last year (when all the boys did was sleep), this was by far the best time so far.  They loved it and I already look forward to our next trip.

First our trip started with the ritual of stopping at the fountain.  Morgan and Parker tossed some pennies in and we tried to get a picture of the kids.  The best we got was a picture on the bench looking towards the fountain.

Our next stop was to see the farm animals.  I've never seen them while at the zoo, so it was time to venture that way.  I'd have to say, it was well worth it.  We saw some horses, cows, and pigs - pretty up close and personal!  The boys were in awe...

Then to the prairie dogs.  Nicole took Morgan and Parker to the little viewing area where they could pop up at a hill and see them even closer.  Logan and Ellis were so good with staying close to me when I got them out of the stroller to look at the animals when we stopped.  No complaints here!

Of course they wouldn't get close enough to Morgan and Nicole, but it was very cool to see them so active.

Ellis checking out the prairie dogs from the fence.

Then, we went to see the giraffes, lions, and gorillas (which I didn't get pictures of, but we had lots of close encounters with them too!), with other smaller animals on the way.  We stopped for a picnic lunch before Nicole took Morgan and Parker on the carousel.  Morgan was so excited to go on and so sad to have to get off!

Then it was time to leave.  As we left the carousel, it was obvious the boys were very tired, but still very curious and observant of what was going on around them.  We headed back to the front gates and the boys passed right out.  We got to the cars, packed the car back up and headed home...but not before a kiss goodbye!

The boys have been so kissy lately - it's adorable!  Ellis showing some love to Parker!

After we got home, the boys napped for a way too short amount of time, but were completely fine for most of the rest of the day.  Troy got some crazy laughs out of Logan, by merely throwing a ball at the wall and having it bounce back to him.  Seriously, anything that deals with a ball is awesome to them.

After dinner, they were starting to really get tired.  It was all catching up with them.  We headed outside to keep them busy, since they love to be outside.  They were a bit hesitant about their new sandbox the first time I showed it to them, but tonight, they really got into it and started playing in there.  

Luckily, they played all the way until bedtime and there was no hesitation to come in and go to bed.  And, they slept all the way until 7:10 this morning!  YEAH!  Hopefully that happens more often too!

Up tomorrow: a playdate with Cole (and Caryn), Luke (and Sheila), and Macy (and Jessica)!  I can't wait!

Saturday fun

Yesterday and today we were without daddy.  He went with fishing with a few guys up in Caseville, so it was just me and the boys.  Yesterday we had a couple visitors to keep us company, but today we had the whole day to ourselves.  We spent the morning at home playing but this afternoon we ventured out. Our first stop was Firefighters Park in Troy.  I only know about it because it is practically in Caryn's backyard, so I thought it would be fun to check out a new park.  Surprisingly, it was pretty dead.  A few kids here and there, but not a huge crowd like we usually see at Paint Creek Park.  This gave the boys plenty of time to check everything out.

Yes, they have started climbing up the stairs to play on the actual jungle gym.  Not a big deal if there were two of us to watch them (because of course they both wanted to climb), but very difficult to monitor both on my own since they both wanted to go in separate directions.  Needless to say they were NOT happy when I took them off and tried distracting them with the slide.

They loved "driving" on the fire truck.  Logan got a HUGE kick out of turning the steering wheel.  

Unfortunately the wheels didn't turn, but Logan tried every single one just to see if the next one would spin.

Of course the biggest hit was the slide.  It was a bumpy slide so after I lifted them about halfway up, they slid down, and within a few minutes, they were doing it on their own, and were so sure of themselves they that made sure I wasn't holding their hand going down.  I kept busy though, because once one of them went down, the other was trying to climb up, so I lifted him over the one that just went down....and of course when it is something they love, they want to do it over, and over, and over, and over.

Here is a pretty really bad video of Logan going down the slide.  I clearly haven't mastered how to focus my new camera for video, but Troy took my point and shoot fishing because he couldn't find his own, and this was all I had.  And of course I was holding Ellis with my right arm so he wouldn't try to climb back up the slide while Logan went down.



After the park, it was off to Target.  I had to pick up a few things, but really didn't want to tackle taking in a stroller and dealing with a cart, so I put them in the cart for the first time.  I know it probably isn't the safest thing, but Logan went in the front and Ellis chilled in the back (and no I didn't take my big camera in the store to take a picture of them in the cart, but it was so funny...it's like they thought they were on a ride or something, they just smiled and laughed...until I stopped to look at something of course).  I often wonder how old they will be before I stop getting the "oh, are they twins?" question, or the people that just tell me their stories about the twins they know.  Regardless, it was a pretty smooth trip and definitely nice to not have to worry about a stroller.

Back at home, it was practically dinner time.  After they scarfed that down, they had a pretty laid back night.  They probably would have been ready for bed at 6:30pm because they were definitely showing signs of being tired, but I'll be damned if I'm getting up before 6am because they went to bed so early.  So, it was lots of puzzles, books, and playing with their train to keep them busy.  When I was done with dishes, this is where I found Logan...(By the way, he's checking out the TV - the news was on, obviously nothing that I thought he'd have interest in!)

Tomorrow daddy will be back home and we'll hear all about his fishing stories.  Good night for now!

Adventures at the Splash Pad

What a great time today!  The entire day was a hit!

Here are a few pictures from the Splash Pad today:

Ellis was walking back from the action and Logan was just checking everything out!

Ellis checking out the fountain.  Luckily (for him) he wasn't that close when it came back on!

Ellis thoroughly enjoyed himself and loved standing in the water.  

Logan on the other hand didn't like all the water spraying at him from all angles.  I carried him for  most of the time - but hey, its a new environment - it is to be expected to be a little cautious, right?

Parker just chillin and checking out the scene.

I thought that maybe if we went to the smaller fountains, Logan would feel more comfortable - not so much!

I was planning on getting their travel high chairs out of the car for lunch, but they happily sat down (and still) and ate their sandwich and grapes without trying to escape.  I was totally impressed!

Our picnic

Logan was not shy when I took out the veggie straws.  Between both of them, they
practically polished off the whole snack bag I brought!

After lunch, we went back to Nicole's house so the three boys could take a nap.  Although Logan's nap was far too short for such a busy morning, he woke up happy and played...and played...and played.  They quickly warmed up to the surroundings and loved playing around.  There was an afternoon of smiles, laughing, playing, and even kisses!

Some cousin lovin' going on!

What a fun day.  Can't wait until we get together again, really soon!

Lesson learned

After only 2 days home with the kids, I have learned that the way I'm going to stay sane this summer is by taking them outside as MUCH as possible.  Over the weekend they started throwing these little temper tantrums, mainly Ellis, whenever someone wasn't around, right by his side.  If I walked away from him, he would follow and whine scream to get my attention.  In the kitchen making dinner, he would weasel himself between me and the counter, just screaming away.  I've read that 15 months old brings the "it's all about me" phase of their life, but why does it have to happen the first week of summer vacation?!?  They are definitely starting to test their boundaries with us and see what they can get away with.  And of course when they do something wrong and we correct them, they throw a fit - a huge screaming fit!  Lord help me if the "terrible twos" is worse than this!  So we've been trying a few methods to correct this behavior since they are obviously learning not only what they can and can't get away with, but also what reaction will give them the attention they want (screaming = no attention, being good/accepting the word no = lots of attention).  I've learned in my 9 years teaching that even negative attention is desired by some kids - attention is attention, regardless of whether it is good or bad - so although we are correcting behavior, we are trying to make it very obvious that we are going to give most of our attention to the other child who is 99% of the time, behaving much better at the time.

What I did notice between yesterday and today (and today was 10 times better than yesterday) was that whenever they were outside, they were happy as can be.  Even if I had to correct their behavior, they listened and did something else instead - no tantrums!  Something about the fresh air, I guess.  Here are a few highlights from our first 2 days at home:

While I was making some finger paints for the boys in the kitchen, I gave them a few mixing bowls and spatulas and they had fun "cooking" too!

Ellis thought it was SO funny getting in the old car seats that are in the basement.  He just kept getting in and out of them over and over, laughing the whole time!

The boys got this vacuum for Christmas, but always pushed it while it was tipped over (the handle was on the floor).  Even after they learned to walk, they still pushed it around with their butt up in the air.  Today was the first time I saw Logan use it the right way.  Keep it up big guy.  In a few years you can use the real one!

My attempt to use our homemade finger paints was a failure.  Neither Ellis nor Logan were interested.  Next time I think I'll have to hide their water table which was their biggest distraction.  We'll try again next week.

Today we spent almost 2 hours outside - in the pool, at their water table, and playing around the yard (to be followed by going back in the pool).  Once they saw the pool, they slid right in - no assistance needed!  They were not happy to go inside, but this mama needed to start dinner!  A little distraction with some books and puzzles (and a little snack to hold them over) and they were fine.

Ellis was trying so hard to keep his balance laying back against the sides of the pool.  Obviously the sides weren't sturdy enough and he kept sliding down.

I love Ellis' face as he was lifting it out of the water.  He started dipping his head in the water today and did it over an over again.  I just hope that he learns quickly to keep his mouth closed so he stops choking on the water he drinks!

Logan still loves to splash.  Bigger and bigger splashes just crack him up.  He also learned that dropping the soccer balls in the pool make a nice splash too!

I am so super excited for tomorrow.  The boys and I are going to Nicole's and we are taking the kids to the Splash Pad.  It will be their first experience there, so lets keep our fingers crossed that it's a positive one.  I'm hoping with the enjoyment they get out of playing with water in general will help!