New big boxes!

I think the kids and I outdid ourselves... This is a castle, with a drawbridge (right) and a secret passage out (left). Mr 4 is holding a torch so that Mr 7 can see while he draws flaming torches on the sides of the secret passage.

The Big Paper Chain

Overwhelmed this afternoon, I sent the boys outside for at least 30 mins. They were not inclined to ride their bikes (it was cold with a maximum of 31F ...), so bless their hearts, they set themselves up on the deck and made a massive paper chain. Mr 7 then embarked on the ambitious plan of hanging it from a tree out the back.
The photo probably doesn't show very well, two small boys and one huge paper chain, trying to organize it into the tree. It was a bit more difficult than imagined.
We compromised and hung it on the stair banister instead.

Science Experiment

Mr 7 came home with a recipe, which he does sometimes, only this one had salt and ammonia and laundry bluing, and broken charcoal... It took us a couple of months to get the ingredients together. I don't think it worked out so well, apparently it was meant to grow crystals. We'll try again soon, given that we have 2 gallons of ammonia and a bottle of laundry bluing in the cupboard now.

Making a Catapult

Mr 7 came home with a bee in his bonnet - they'd designed (drawn) a catapult at school. He was on a mission to build it. Luckily, my supplies of paddlepop sticks, plastic spoons, string, elastic bands and sticky tape were up to the task.

Craft with Nana

This morning it was a cardboard castle, a new castle for the playmobil people, with a working drawbridge. It saw concentrated play for about 4 days, proving yet again that although plastic is enjoyable in its place, you only need cardboard, scissors, sticky tape, string and staples.

Great preschool craft

Making a tree for fall craft -  

Take a paper bag, squish it together while standing it on its base, then cut 'branches', and twist them too, then stick coloured [fall] leaves on it (squished up bits of coloured tissue paper) - how fantastic. Nana and Mr 4.7 made a couple more on the strength of the simplicity of it. These sorts of brown paper bags are extremely common in the USA. They're the traditional lunch bag, although the more reusable ones are possibly more common now.

The dining room chairs

The old chair

The new chair look

For two and a half years I have been looking at our craigslist dining chairs and table, and muttering under my breath. During that time, the chairs got more and more broken and stained and uncomfortable. So it makes sense that 4 weeks before our baby is due, I decide I really need to get going on the project...
Having two full days without Mr 4.5 has really helped in terms of concentration time.
Everything has been harder than I thought it would be, and several of the chair seat frames look like they're beyond repair for me, without basic carpentry skills or tools, but the two promising ones are now covered, and waiting for scotchguarding, and then in theory, I'll screw them back into their frames and voila! Beautiful new seats!
Mr 7 kindly informed me that he liked the plain blue covers they had before, not the flowery ones. I explained that we get the flowery ones because mum liked them. He isn't convinced, but doesn't seem to want to make an issue of it.
Thanks must go to my long suffering husband, who provided general encouragement, absolutely no judgement on the length of time from thought to deed, and has admired the finished product.

Knight helmet craft

Mr 7 borrowed a book that helpfully suggested a way of making knight helmets. For once I could see how it could be done, and didn't feel overwhelmed. I don't know that they'll get a lot of play, but it was fun to make.

The Castle (Big Box craft )

 We got new air conditioning as the old one was struck by lightning. We saved the box, and it became a castle, with a drawbridge, for atleast a week before it got squashed through rough play and overcrowding.

The mail flap was very important to add.

Egyptian Art

Soo... pre-lunch, when I am having my hangry session in the kitchen, trying to put together sandwiches for everyone without losing my cool, Mr 6 decides he needs to do Art.
I made many many speeches about what I was doing, and why I was doing it, and why it was unreasonable to expect me to drop everything and help with something that he had started on his own, and now expected me to drop everything and help with, and how I was hungry, and needed to eat [very badly], and we could look at it after lunch. And eventually got through, probably because I said I'd look after lunch.
And after lunch we had a very constructive half and hour, and succeeded in making a poster of an Egyptian person as per the picture in the book, for dad to be surprised by when he came home. I am particularly proud of the head, that I drew freestyle. (while looking at the picture in the book).

Valentine's day cards

Remember last year? Turned out that was probably a good year, because we didn't completely forget about it until the night before... I had a plan and I thought of it about 2 weeks ahead, but then we didn't end up being able to do it, and we didn't put a plan B into action. We didn't even have a plan B, really. So tonight, we made the much, much quicker version, with supplies found around the house...and tomorrow morning we'll stick a lollypop to each card, and they'll be done. Mr 6 is licking his lips in anticipation of all the candy this is going to yield. I'm sort of sad about that. Good thing he is still at the age where we'll put 85% of it up in the cupboard and chuck it out after 4 months...

Water Colour Paints

I'm not sure I have mentioned before, but water colours have become our go as a compromise between cream, rented carpet, and boys that love to paint...
We gave them both a container with 12 colours, and let them at it. Of course, some colours were used up before other colours, but we held off buying more until they were down to about 6 colours each.
We recently renewed the supply, so now Mr 4 can renew his love affair with black....

Hint - all the black blobs in the picture above are his. The careful painstaking rainbow fish is Mr 6's.

Frozen dinosaur bones

Max yesterday - 28F (-2C) with windchil that easily pushed that down to 18F (-7C), min overnight, about 12F (-11C). So hubby had the idea of putting some water in the dinosaur shapes that are meant to be used in kinetic sand, and leaving them out overnight.

Good points:
They definitely froze
The kids were pretty impressed

Bad points:
The pieces aren't made to sit flat, some of them had tipped out a bit
It was a school morning, so our chance of playing came between 7.24 and 7.29am, just before rushing out to freeze at the bus stop.
Hard to get the shapes out
thin shapes melted fast

But you know how things don't go to plan, but the kids love it anyway? This was one of those activities. Hopefully we'll have more fun with ice in these temperatures.

The Sarcophagus...(Big Box!!)

I hadn't realised it, but we left the box from the shelf lying around. Mr 6 turned it into a sarcophagus, complete with 2D mummy inside. Yes, he also fits inside the box, but he has to bend his knees.

X-wing fighters

We haven't shown the kids any Star Wars, but there is still the lego catalogue... so we know what a lot of the characters/planes look like.
So that is why I ended up with someone's pintrest directions on how to fold an x-wing fighter (in Japanese). it isn't as good as the pictures (of course), and we were all a bit disappointed that it doesn't actually fly, but I did it!!

Jingle Jingle Jesus drumming

Testament to how Colin Buchanan music grows on you... I had to make a drum, and make it sit just so, and provide kitchen implements to drum with (although this is where he was just using his hands), and then he stood there happily 'listening' (watching) the music on the laptop and drumming away, singing snatches of words as he heard them, 2 bars after he had heard them (think, singing in the shower style), while I cooked tea.
For those interested in the making - think, a box as a backpack, worn on the front. I used ribbon for the straps. It is very much one of those big drums in a marching band.

Decorating Gingerbread

Well, I've done it twice now, so I wonder if it is a bit of a tradition. Today we had some friends over (my kids plus 5 others, plus their parent) and decorated gingerbread. It was less chaotic than last year, possibly because the kids were older?
I made the gingerbread ahead (Tuesday night...in the thick of my cold-before-Christmas...), bought the icing, and provided enough sprinkles to liberally cover several biscuits in the charming way that kids can. Even googly eyes...
My friend provided craft, which was new this year, which is, clear plastic baubles to hang on the Christmas tree, with paint swirled inside, one for each child. It is surprisingly good at the finish...
I have no examples of what my kids did, because they ate them, but what the baby did, was very carefully cover a gingerbread man in about 1 cm of chocolate icing, then very carefully sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of pink sugar on to it, then carefully placed about 5 mini M&Ms, and 5 confectioners sugar (shiney) balls. Then he ate it, very happily. (and skipped lunch, and ate a very small dinner, and went to bed at 6pm).

Leaf String

We finally attached the glittery leaves to a bit of curling ribbon... and hung them up. It looks really good. Pity we didn't get it up before Thanksgiving!

Cinnamon Dough Ornaments

This solves a mystery from last year, when I was presented with some hearts that were obviously made out of spices and something else. (He said glue - I assumed woodworking glue?!)
We made these with our little preschool, and they look great on the tree. I'm hoping some can travel home at the end, but we'll see.
It takes equal parts of cinnamon and applesauce (apple puree). Mix into a cookie dough consistency, roll out and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. We used a straw to cut out the hole for the string to hang them up, and then cooked them in the oven until hard.

Christmas Wreath

It is a big part of life here, not sure about the rest of the USA, to have the appropriate wreath on the door for the season. I got enthusiastic after seeing a cheap wreath at the supermarket and thought, I can do that! I did of course, have second thoughts, when trying to tie the bows, but too late. We have to work out how to hang it now.
We also discovered that possibly, the wreath we bought was a blank for a 'harvest themed' wreath, given that there are now wreaths of oregano and also wreaths of pine needle origins at the same supermarket, but there you go. It has a red bow and bells, it must look sort of Christmassy.