Crayon Art: The Koi Pond

I just posted an art project the boys and I did. It's called Crayon Art and its super easy and fun to do. You can read about all that here.

Each crayon chunk was an art piece to me. So I portrayed them as such. Today's featured Crayon Art is The Koi Pond.

In Phase II of the project, this piece reminded me of a bright orange koi fish at the surface of the water looking up. It's orange glow stands out from the dark water.

Other koi are portrayed but they are further down and display depth in the picture.

The final phase of the art piece portrayed a very different version of The Koi Pond. In this version, the movement of the water is emphasized. The first version was a darker, more dramatic image whereas this one is almost fun to view.

This is one of my favorite Crayon Art Pieces.

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Crayon Art

For some time now I've been saving broken crayons. The boys love to color but they also love to pretend the crayons are swords. So I have been keeping a collection of broken crayons simply because I can't bear to see them go to waste.

Well today I was tired of seeing the box of dead crayons and I decided to do some art with them. I'm a huge nerd so I thought it would be okay to figure it out. But I wouldn't do it on my own of course.

Caden and Sean helped! Well ok, Caden helped and Sean provided us with company. We all had a ton of fun and they were both happy at the end.

We made giant crayon chunks out of the broken crayons!

First we gathered all the broken crayons and began unwrapping them. To make sure we stayed organized we placed the unwrapped crayon pieces in a bowl. Two boys, crayons and crayon wrappers make for a giant mess so it's always a good idea to try to be a little organized.

After wrapping them, we sorted them into their colors. All the greens (light and dark) together, all the reds, etc. This will help you distribute the colors the way you like.

Now that your colors are in order, you can get them ready for baking. Line your cupcake pans with foil and put your colors in each cup.

You will bake them for 10-20 minutes (depending in your preference) at 275 degrees.

If you'd like each cup to be unique, arrange the colors in a selected design. Remember, when they melt there's a good chance they'll stay in the same place--they'll just be gooey.

When they are melted to your satisfaction, take them out of the oven and let them stand to cool completely.

When they're done, you'll take them out of the foil and voila!! Fun crayon chunks!

Caden and Sean are super happy with these. :)

I made some of them into their own individual inspiration for art pictures. I'll post those soon.

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Holiday!

Guess who has time to deep clean the apartment!  This girl!  Yay!  I've been on Christmas Break all week and I've been sOoOo HaPpY!!!  I love having time to do deep cleaning in my home.  It's so therapeautic.  But not only do I have time to deep clean, I have time to rearrange my furniture!  Because my apartment is so tiny, I have to make good use of the little space I have.  My living room is also my office.  :-)

 

My little guy, Sean, is a huge goofball.  After both boys dressed for Christmas pictures, Sean would not keep still for any practice shots at all.  He laughed, smiled with his eyes closed, made monkey faces, and kissey faces.  He definitely made it a lot of fun!

 

Caden is a bit more cooperative when it comes to picture taking.  He has always been my cheeser.  When I take pictures of him he usually asks me if he "smiled good."  Although Caden has his goofball moments, he is definitely more of a sweetheart. 

 

I stayed inside while the boys played in the snow.  I am such a baby when it comes to the cold.  The kids, all kids I suppose, play as if they couldn't feel the cold at all.  They threw snow at each other, made snow angels, and just laughed a lot.  I am so thankful for a white Christmas.  Caden and Sean love that Christmas looks different than the other seasons.  It comes with warm drinks, fires, presents and decorated trees.  But mostly, it comes white... if we're blessed enough.  :-)

 

Wherever and however you're spending Christmas, I hope it is filled with love and laughter.  And most of all I hope it is filled with your children's hugs.

 

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The Joy of Art

Colors
All shades
Happiness
Waxy happiness
Giggling
Funny faces
Accomplishment
Look what I did!
Robots
Penguins
Snowman
Me
Anything I want
All colors
Happiness
Free

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The Mind Changer

Leaving our apartment at sunrise, the boys didn't want to go to school.

"Caden, it's a beautiful morning. You're going to have fun. "

"No it's not. It's cold."

"But look at the sky!"

He stops and looks. His frown disappears. His eyes widen.
"Mommy. It's beautiful!"

"Isn't it? I think you're going to have fun today."

"Yeah."

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Kids

A poem I wrote a while ago. Enjoy!

Little socks
Little shoes
Little underwear
Giant squeals of laughter
Toys are everywhere

Snacks are needed
Thirsty too
The dog is wanting out
Dishes sit unwashed
And the TV's just too loud

Crayons rubbed
Onto the walls
The juice is on the floor
Someone bumped his head
And the dog is at the door

Ice pack healing
Pick up toys
Where did Caden go?
Wipe the spills, erase the purple
Follow Cheerios

Sean hugging
" I love you mommy"
Caden jumps "Surprise!"
Crumpled flowers just for me
Oh how God's blessed my life!

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Featured Poem- The Invitation

I want to share this because it is beautiful.

The Invitation by Oriah

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.
It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

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Peace

I am where I am meant to be. And I am at peace with that.
Sometimes I get frustrated that I don't have more time, more money, more skills, etc. and every once in a while, like tonight, I stop and remember that God has me.
He has never let me go, even when I wonder if He has. I am where I am meant to be. And I am at peace with that.
Sometimes it feels as if I were in a tornado with everything moving so fast I feel as if I might get thrown in the winds. Time always feels like its running out. Money sometimes feels like it might just all slip away. And every once in a while I stop and remember that like a mom holding her crying baby, my God is holding me and whispering that I am safe.
I am exactly where I am meant to be. And I find peace in that.

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Weird Sky Day

Today was cold and gloomy. The sky had a weird darkness to it.

But even then, I thought the sky looked really cool. It reminded me of one of those Tim Burton movies.

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Thursday Sunrise

I love driving to work in the morning. Today, my kids sang "The Ants Go Marching" as the sun rose.

Sean laughed as he sang the wrong words

and Caden got mad at him.

 

 

When we got to Sean's daycare, we all sat in the car and gazed out the windshield.

Caden said,

"Mom, it looks like the sky blew up!"

And it did.

The sky exploded with the sun's beauty,

sending the clouds

sailing over us.

An announcement that the day is starting.

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If you're happy and you know it

Clap your hands!

Of the three ferrets, Squish is Caden's favorite.  She was neglected when I got her.  Skinny (you could see hip bones even) and with a bald tail (sign of stress), she was never really outgoing.  While my male, Sammy, was always the happy-go-lucky crazy ferret, Squish has always been more mellow and happy to just cuddle. 

Last night Caden and Squish were just too cute.  They were both in my tiny kitchen as I was cooking.  They sat together just hanging out.  Then, Caden thought it was just easier to lay down so Squish could lay on him.  Later Caden came back into the kitchen eating his Teddy Grahams.  Squish wanted to check it out, so he let her sniff it.  She wasn't interested in eating it- she was just being nosy lol.

 

Then, to ensure all cuteness was recorded, I caught him singing If You're Happy And You Know It, using Squish as a prop.  You've gotta see the YouTube video.

 



 

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Sunrises

You are my sunshine.

My only sunshine.

You make me happy

when skies are gray!

 

Sunrises here are incredible.  I try to catch them every morning.

 

This was above a basebally field by Sean's daycare.

 

A friend of mine said,

"That sky is either really cool

or really scary."

I think it's really cool.  :)

Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”
– Hosea 6:3

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Monday

It started off a little rough.
I didn't want to wake up.
Sean didn't want to get dressed.
Bruce didn't want to go in his crate.
Caden didn't want anything I offered for a snack to pack.
So he got carrots.
Then he forgot his backpack.
The boys fought in the car because Sean said,
"I didn't forget MY backpack."
Caden said, "You don't even need one because you don't go to kinder!"
I gave Sean a huge hug and kiss when we got to his daycare class.
He and Caden hugged and then it turned into wrestling.
And the daycare doesn't allow that!
Dropped Caden off at his babysitter. Got another huge hug and kiss.
The rest of the day was a blur because I couldn't get to leave and see my crazy boys again.

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Got a kid who has lots of questions??

$14.99

Hardcover

For ages 4 and up

Usborne Books & More. Questions and Answers

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Birthdays and Brothers

Sean's birthday is coming!

He will be four.  I can't believe it.

While talking about a birthday party, Caden expressed concern.

"Why can't I have a birthday?"

"I want to have presents too."

"I can't eat cake because I'm allergic to milk, remember?"

"I'll never have a birthday."

"If he has a party, I'll be sad."

 

Sean said,

"Caden, you have a birthday too!  And we'll have a party!"

"Caden, you can have one of MY presents."

"Mommy knows how to make no-milk cake because she's AWESOME."

"We can share my party!"

"But I'll be sad if you'll be sad."

 

Brothers. 

They fight a lot.

They get in trouble together.

They tell on each other.

They promise to not be friends if they tell on each other.

They take each other's toys.

They make up with hugs.

They hide from mom together.

They say they're sorry.

They promise not to tell mom.

They share toys and play together.

They love each other and hate each other.

In the same hour.

Sometimes in the same fifteen minutes.

They will always be there for each other.

Brothers.



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Simple Fun

Today we babysat my niece! 

The boys are always looking for entertainment.  So I wanted to be prepared.

I brought balloons.

We blew up a bunch of them.

White.  Blue.  Purple.  Pink.  Yellow.

They ran around as we threw them in the air.

Little balls of air.

Big balls of air.

Happy kids.

Allie got a kick out of all of them!

Caden drew faces on some of them.  LOL some of the faces looked funny.

I didn't tell him that.  ;)

Sean tried to blow up his balloon.  After many tries and much laughter he finally did.  :)

 

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You are my sunshine

I woke up this morning to Sean's smiling face. "I love you Mommy!" It's the best way to wake up.
He started singing the song You Are My Sunshine but he always says "shunshine" instead of sunshine. :)
I love it.
Then Caden had a smile on his face. "You make me happy when skies are gray." He still had his eyes closed.
I love my kids.
I love being a mother.

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