Puzzled

If there is anything I have learned this summer is don't count on summer weather to be all lovely and sunny. I can't really explain the terrible weather and I'm sure you guys have heat waves will think I'm a big whiner.  I realized our normal summer "Mom I'm Bored" Jar is just not helpful.  We need two, one with indoor options and one with outdoor options.

Something that has kept us busy for several hours is what we call puzzle gallery - where you put together every puzzle you can find in the house and a few you borrow from the neighbours (thanks!). The boys wanted to go around the neighbourhood selling tickets to their "art show" but somehow I convinced them to be "not- for-profit." The show did get rave reviews by critics who saw it (Dad) and heard about it (thank you relatives). Plus it was very educational, learning planets, the states and which superheros make up "the Avengers."

Parachutes

Plastic shopping bags make great parachutes and our stuffies were feeling adventurous. We launched down the stairs and tried many different "jumpers". A fun rainy day activity but remember playing with plastic bags can be dangerous for little ones and requires supervision.

 

 

A-mazing!

In between summer busy-ness lots of active, outdoor adventures, swimming, running, bike-riding every kid (and their mother) needs some downtime.  When I saw this fun idea at Bookhoucrafts I thought it would be worth a try. It turned out to be worth a couple of hours of fun constructing the mazes and then playing each others.  Even after I took these photos the boys kept making more mazes.  We had everything on hand too which is a huge bonus. I found some little, round pearl beads that we used for the ball in the maze and we found that a double layer of wax sticks helped the bead not to jump the "wall"  Some of the mazes were fun with several balls. I'd highly recommend this.

Clay Play

Sometimes you have to remember the simpliest things bring hours of entertainment... you don't need much, just a few colours of dough/clay and a small idea or two.

Anger Management with Angry Birds

Look at this cute little bird, could even be part of an Easter decoration...

 (Start evil music...) Add some eyebrows...

 Make an army...

 Assembly line - Beaks, Pom-poms (ping pong balls would be good too and for the pigs we used balls of green tissue paper), googly eyes and eyebrows

 = ANGRY BIRDS

 Make towers and forts for the pigs with cups, tupperware and supplies from the recycling bin.

Oh and the pig helmets are mini-muffin cups.

Thanks Make and Takes for the inspriration and hours of crafting & playing (not in video game form). Oh and Angry Birds app - we still love you, especially on long car trips.

One more mashup of love Angry Birds + LEGO

AMAZING!

Build an Airport

Did you know a 2-litre soda bottle makes a great air traffic control tower? A covered cereal box is a great airport building. Parking paper airplanes was a problem.  The boys came up with raised blocks to set them on as they arrive and depart.  Making and flying paper planes is so much fun, and adding an airport adds to the fun!

Bottle Rockets

Thanks to my friend Sarah A. and her kids, as well as Family Fun Magazine for the really fun time.

Field Trip: MOHAI - Museum of History and Industry

I didn't know what to expect at Seattle's Museum of History and Industry. I was a bit worried it would be full of precious, untouchable bits of history and on the dull side for 6 year olds.  It was Free First Thursday so we went anyway and I'm so glad! I was wrong about all my assumptions.

Here is what we found:
Beautiful murals
Hands on almost everything, everything breakable was protected from children.
It was very interactive and interesting.
A lot of things about Salmon.

First a great fishing boat, complete with fishing dress-up gear, jackets and boots, plush salmon, captains wheel, radio,  etc.  They spent a long time being fishermen.


While the boys were reeling in their catch and weathering hurricanes at sea, I read-up on the adjacent exhibit (housed in the same room)- The Great Seattle Fire.  I had heard of a big fire, but I didn't know that Seattle burned to the ground.  It was interesting to read through letters and check it all out, all while keeping an eye on the boys.  They also got a chance to check things out.  One of their favourite things (safely behind glass I might add) was the windows of things recovered from the fire and trying to guess what they were (answers at the bottom of this post, if you'd like to play along). Also, what little boys doesn't like to check out some authentic firemen gear, even if it is from over 100 years ago.

The boys thought the boat was pretty great until we rounded the corner to the next set of exhibits and I don't even have pictures of half of it, the Cannery Bunkhouse, accounting office (with an old safe) an interactive game of the entire salmon canning process where you have to keep the ball rolling by pressing buttons at the different cannery stations. There is actually an interesting article in the NYTimes archives from 1896 about the process. SALMON CANNERIES.; How the Delicious Fish Is Prepared for the Market.

One thing I didn't expect was my six year-olds to be able to play with knives safely and practise butchering salmon. ("Only in Seattle," my friend Jenny said). The knives were anchored and encased in Plexiglas that went through the table.  The object of the game was to butcher in time with the factory workers who would do this for 12 hours a day. There were different speeds for apprentise, skilled and expert butchers, you were to slice/push the knives in time with the three flashing lights on the wall in front of you. I thought it was exhausting to keep up, the boys had a great time trying over and over again.  (Is this a little gruesome? I'm not sure).  Next up in the cannery was a gang knife (the big one below with 10+ blades, then a game where you had to fit pieces of wooden salmon into cans, pretty cool.  We had a really great time and spent a few hours there, I would definitely recommend this.

MOHAI is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and till 8 p.m. on 1st Thursday. The museum is closed on Christmas and Thanksgiving and closes early at 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. New Year’s Day opening time is noon.

Admission fees are Adult (ages 18-61) $8, Senior (ages 62+) $7, Student and Military with current ID $7, Youth (ages 5-17) $6, Pre-School (ages 4 and under) Free

First Thursdays Free.

Seattle Fire Answers: Top left (clockwise) Coffee cups stacked, a window, a piece of an electric generator, a chunk of a bell, a stack of saucers.

a "Super" Birthday present

For my boy's friend's birthdays I love to be able to give something personal and handmade if I have my act together. The boys get excited about it and help a lot with design ideas. This last weekend we had 2 birthday parties to attend. Our first friend needed a super hero outfit...

Super cuffs and a Super cape.

The cape is actually cut from the bottom piece of the Emmeline apron pattern, it has just the right shoulder size, cape angle and nicely curved bottom. I roll-hemmed around the sides, using a lightweight cotton and lightweight iron-on webbing to add the appliqué pieces then stitched around each shape. I added a wide grosgrain ribbon to the top for a tie-on.

Surprise Balls

I saw this great idea and tutorial on Once Upon a Holiday. Surprise balls! My mom, sisters and I made these for a Christmas Eve surprise, but they would be fun for a New Year's tradition or birthday or just a rainy/snow day.

Click the link above for the great tutorial. I found it was great to start with something larger, I used the fake ice cube with the bug in it. Then you have something to build your ball around. My mum found some crepe paper streamers already in rainbows of colour which was fun to unwrap.

It was so fun to see the joy of discovery at each prize.

SAM - Seattle Art Museum, Alexander Calder and Free First Thursday...

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is one of those things that is great about living in the city, but as a mom of active boys I've shied away.



Today, I guess I was feeling brave, the formula seemed right. Free Admission (every first Thursday) + Alexander Calder Exhibit + half-day Kindergarten + needing a little something different.



I thought the hammering man missing his arm was a sign we would fit in well today, then we found street parking within a block! It was a New Year's miracle.



The trip was a big success. After an initial meltdown reaction to the "Please do not touch" signs everywhere, C settled in to a sulk temporarily until he couldn't help but appreciate some things around him.

Floating shapes and colours balancing, the Calder exhibit also has a kids activity guide with assignments for each gallery room like, "How many footsteps does it take to walk around this sculpture?"



Somehow balance becomes beautiful.



E thought everything he saw was "amazing" and "beautiful." From spiky armour to the Calder circus film.
This is a "Living Room" It had a great view for me to day-dream, where the boys could "create" with blocks behind me.This was E's favourite installation with real cars, right at the ticket entrance.
In the end C agreed he liked it, with reluctance, and the cavet, "It wasn't fun, but it was interesting."

E - "I love art museums Mom. That's beause I'm an artist too." Maybe we try another museum next 1st Thursday.

An Entire Suburb of Gingerbread Houses

My friend Jenn G. is one of those people you feel very lucky to know. Honestly, I don't just love her for her gingerbread. She is a truly amazing person, fun, generous and kind. But let's focus on the gingerbread for a moment here. She had this party amazingly orchestrated.

1. She didn't just invite a couple of friends - there were 30+ kids there! The lower right corner picture is just the first wave of gingerbread houses on the block. Seriously, the buildings sprawled all over the kitchen.

2. Homemade gingerbread, her own template for the houses and enough for each child to decorate and take their own - did I mention how many kids there were?

3. Homemade icing with Meringue powder that was a fantastic cement and tasty (not that I licked my fingers)

4. She had each house sorted so all the pieces were ready on a plate for each child. 2 roof pieces, 4 sides, two with windows, one with a door, two with roof points, a door, a tree, and two gingerbread guys! (did I mention how many kids there were?)

5. She had amazing amounts and assortment of candy - all the necessities and cool extras like chocolate rocks?

6. She had older girls helping ice/glue the houses together - the hardest part, which they made look easy.

7. She had the kids work in shifts and other activities running simultaneously - LEGO building in one room, trains in another and even a Christmas movie for those that needed some down time.

8. She had healthy snacks - apple slices and carrot sticks and kids ate them (mine too) How did she do that with all that candy around?

9. She had a candy system - it was all up on the bar in containers and the kids each got to come choose a cupful at a time to decorate with.

10. She keep things tidy, she looked put together in a cute Christmas apron, she remained breezy, cheery, festive and positive through the ENTIRE party, even with some twists like kids running around or letting the dog.

THANK YOU JENN! You are AMAZING!++++