Charity's Chatter

Homemade SNOW!

2014-07-19T11:12:00.000-05:00

For another fun activity we made snow!

Using glitter, baking soda.

And an entire can of shaving cream.

Another Pinterest success! It's cold and your can certainly build a tiny little snowman.

Homemade Frozen silly slime. Sorta.

2014-07-18T11:09:00.000-05:00

Keeping up with our Frozen theme this week I decided to let the girls make slime.

First you add a bottle of clear glue.

Then lots of sprinkles and food coloring. Mix it together.

Then add 1 tsp Borax dissolved in 1/2 cup water. And it turns into goopy slime!

It's actually very cool!

Surprisingly enough the glitter and food coloring stay in the slime and not on your kids (or countertops).

And even though it drips and oozes it still doesn't make a mess. Very cool indeed.

It's a cocoon!

2014-07-18T11:06:00.000-05:00

Parsley has disappeared.

He's sleeping in his cocoon.

I have to admit I am impressed with how quickly he made it. Now I can't wait for him to hatch.

Let's paint a snowman!

2014-07-17T11:01:00.000-05:00

The kids are loving our Frozen week.

So last night I drew an Olaf template on some boxes. Then I cut them out. Now I'm letting the kids paint a snowman!

Another Frozen surprise: Elsa and Anna capes!

2014-07-17T06:30:00.000-05:00

As much as Grace loved her Elsa dress and hair, what is an ice princess without a cape to twirl around?

So last night in the wee hours, I made her a cape out of an old curtain sheer and some tulle flower trim that I found hiding in my sewing stash.

And of course, I couldn't make Elsa a cape without making Anna one too. I realize that Anna's cape was not purple in Frozen but purple happens to be Faith's favorite color, so I took a little creative liberty and made it purple with a hoodie. Now Faith can be Anna or Little Purple Riding Hood!

Parsley is building something.

2014-07-16T10:59:00.000-05:00

Grace told me today that Parsley was building a chrysalis.

I was skeptical but sure enough it looks like he is!

A Frozen activity: Snowflakes

2014-07-16T10:41:00.000-05:00

We're really into Frozen right now.

Even Benjamin.

So today I let the kids make paper snowflakes.

It's a wonderfully fun activity.

And we all enjoyed it.

Now we just need to hang them up somewhere and turn this hot summer into a Frozen winter wonderland!

Suprise! Anna and Elsa costumes!

2014-07-15T10:40:00.000-05:00

When David travels for work I have a hard time sleeping. So rather than toss and turn all night I have found that during the wee hours of the morning I am able to accomplish quite a bit.

Last night for instance, I created Anna and Elsa costumes complete with yarn wigs.

And I surprised Grace and Faith with them this morning.

They were utterly delighted. As am I - especially since I made these with no pattern or little models to try on. I'll admit they do need a bit of tweaking but that's for another sleepless night.

We found a caterpillar...and we're keeping it!

2014-07-14T10:35:00.000-05:00

The kids discovered a caterpillar eating our parsley today.

So we moved him to an empty peanut butter jar for observation.

The kids call him their new pet. Named Parsley. How appropriate.

Book Bash at our local library

2014-04-17T08:02:00.000-05:00

Benjamin's first haircut

2014-04-17T08:01:00.000-05:00

Today Benjamin no longer looks like my baby boy.

Because he finally got his first haircut.

Courtesy of his Daddy.

Look at the beautiful blonde curls!

I was amazed by how still Benjamin sat.

Although he slowly moved into a reclining position.

But then his Daddy helped him sit right back up.

David did an excellent job and now Benjamin looks like a handsome little boy.

Easter egg hunting

2014-04-16T07:59:00.000-05:00

I hid some Easter Eggs around the yard today for the children to find.

They looked high and low.

And ran throughout the yard.

Trying to find all the eggs their Momma had hidden.

And wouldn't you know that after they were all found, the kids wanted me to hide them again. We hid and found eggs for almost two hours today.

Exploreum

2014-04-15T19:50:00.000-05:00

We went to the Exploreum today.

And looked at the bugs and butterfly exhibit.

There were so many butterflies to look at!

Then we headed upstairs to the Hands on Hall.

We played with the marble runs.

And played horsey, too.

After that we investigated the lights.

And shadow wall!

I must say that the shadow wall was my favorite.

I think it was the kids favorite, too.

Grace and Faith loved posing.

And then looking at their shapes.

Finally we played with the Tinkertoys before heading home. The Exploreum is the perfect place for a rainy day.

Walking

2014-04-15T07:55:00.000-05:00

We took a walk today.

All around town.

And ended up at the beach.

The kids jumped off the dunes.

And played in the sand.

We enjoyed the sunset.

And then went home. What a gorgeous day.

Grace lost her first tooth

2014-04-14T19:50:00.000-05:00

Today we realized that Grace had a permanent tooth growing in behind her baby tooth. So we called her dentist and they worked her in and pulled her two bottom teeth.

And Dr. Jones gave Grace a tiny little pink treasure chest for the tooth fairy.

The next morning Grace found a tiny letter from the Tooth Fairy and two whole dollars, as well.

She was utterly delighted. Hot pink is her favorite color and she loves money.

As soon as she read the letter, Grace asked, "Mom, is the Tooth Fairy for real? 'Cause her writing looks just like yours." Can't pull anything over on her. So of course I divulged the truth. I'm a firm believer in telling my the kids the honest-to-goodness truth anytime they ask me a question. That's a whole other discussion but if your kids can't believe you with the little things, they'll never trust you on the ones that really matter...

It makes my heart a little sad to see Grace growing up so fast but I am in awe of the beautiful, kind, intelligent little lady she is growing into. I am so blessed.

Laps

2014-04-13T19:49:00.000-05:00

We went to a new restaurant today.

We took the boat.

And the children loved it.

We played with the bean bags underneath the restaurant.

And we ate there, too.

The children especially had a good time.

It's nice to go to a restaurant that is child friendly.

They even had swings.

That swung super high since they were hung with 20 feet or so of rope.

Faith loved it.

So did Lily, her doll.

In fact, Lily went on quite the adventure.

She took turns riding the duck.

Finally the kids wore themselves out and decided to test out the hammocks before we headed back home.

Raybon reunion

2014-04-12T19:48:00.000-05:00

We went to the Dunnam family reunion today.

We started off with a Bible devotion.

And prayer.

Then it was time to eat.

There were lots of people at the reunion.

I didn't know hardly any.

After a while Marty and some others broke out the banjo and guitar and started picking.

And the food kept flowing.

As did the conversations.

And the children played.

And explored.

And had a grand time.

Hunting for eggs.

And playing with cars.

And swinging from poles.

We tried to drive tractors.

And we made friends with family.

It was a wonderful day.

Filled with story-telling and singing.

And best of all it was time spent with family.

Field Day

2014-04-11T19:46:00.000-05:00

Today was Field Day at Grace's school.

The festivities began with a fun run.

Fifth graders went first so we waited a while.

Then it was snack time!

Faith hung with Grace and some of the older kids.

Then water sports!

That was quite fun!

Meanwhile, Faith climbed a fence.

And Grace got soaked.

After that we headed over to the three-legged race.

And then the kids cooled off with a leaky cup race.

Grace's cup was extra-leaky.

But she didn't mind a bit.

She really cooled off.

While Benjamin used Faith as a road for his race car.

Then it was tug of war.

And those kids pulled with all their might.

And Benjamin had a meltdown. He was hot and tired and let everyone know it.

Fortunately, the activities finally came to a close.

And we headed inside for lunch. What a fantastic day.

Snake

2014-04-10T19:46:00.000-05:00

We found another snake in the pool today.

I was fairly certain it was harmless so I let the children play with it at arms length.

I want my kids to be fearless and they are.

They each wanted a turn holding the snake.

Here's a close-up of our little fellow.

It's hard to tell but I have confirmed all snakes in this area (with the exception of the coral snake) with round black eyes are non-venomous to us. All venomous snacks (again with the exception of the coral snake) here have elliptical shaped (cat eyes). This guy is harmless.

Grace was fascinated.

And so was Faith. She really surprised me with her bravery/

We decided to keep him in an empty peanut butter jar overnight for further observation. Then we will let him go over the fence. I don't mind snakes but I prefer them to live in the woods behind our fence instead of in our pool.

Playhouse sandbox

2014-04-09T19:45:00.000-05:00

We finally did it. We finished the sandbox!

My parents brought the playhouse we stored at their house while we lived in the condo.

We gave it a fresh coat of stain and matched the sandbox to it.

Then we loaded it up with 900 pounds of sand - 18 fifty pound bags full. I'll admit that I may have gone slightly overboard, but the beach is my favorite place in the world and I'm trying to bring a little bit of it to our house. And yes, I plan on digging in the sand, too. There's nothing better than rubbing my feet in the sand and relaxing and then taking a dip in the pool to cool off. My idea of paradise.

And I must say that I am thrilled with the way it turned out.

As are the children.

I see many, many days of our future covered in sand...

Reading in a princess dress

2014-04-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

I am forever amazed by my little girls.

Even though Grace is six now, she still loves to play dress up.

And she adores anything fancy. It's hard to believe she reads chapter books by herself.

I'm simply amazed by how quickly Grace has grown and how much she has learned. She's turning into quite the lovely lady. At times like these I see glimpses of the young woman she's growing into. She makes my heart so happy and I love her more than my heart can hold.

St Patrick's Day treasure hunt

2014-03-17T09:03:00.000-05:00

While Grace was at school today, Faith and Benjamin went on a treasure hunt.

Faith the followed the map.

And showed Benjamin where to go.

They took turns finding the clues.

Until all the Leprechaun treasure was found.

St Patrick's day treasure hunts are the best!

Oops he said

2014-03-16T09:03:00.000-05:00

Benjamin is much stronger than I realized.

David put a timer controlling our modem and router. Benjamin has been trying to get to that timer so he could play with it. And today he knocked his entire dresser over all by himself.

I think Benjamin was terrified he was in trouble, but I have to admit all I could do was laugh and run for the camera...

Riding Patches

2014-03-15T09:02:00.000-05:00

Going to Riverside Ranch is fast becoming our favorite past time.

Benjamin adores the cat.

And the cat adores him.

Faith likes watching her big sister.

And Grace just loves riding Patches.

She gets her going at a pretty fast trot.

And Grace is fearless.

Now she's learning the barrel pattern.

And before long she'll be a real cowgirl, I think.

Building a sandbox

2014-03-13T09:02:00.000-05:00

We have all this spare wood lying around.

So today David decided to build the kids a sandbox.

And of course Grace wanted to help.

She loved the power tools.

Faith practiced her balancing.

Then she wanted to help her Daddy, too.

And Benjamin wouldn't be left out.

So he tried to help, too.

By working together we built a giant sandbox. Now we just need the sand...