Fed the Ducks

 While Dad was out of town,

We found some ducks to feed.

Just didn't know that armor,

Was something that we'd need.

We weren't even out the door,

And the ducks were at our car.

All our bread was gone,

'Fore we even got that far!

Never seen so many ducks,

And, my, they were aggressive.

But the kids showed not a fear,

And no blood; that's impressive!

Chores

When to start, when to start,

Twos, or threes, or fours???

We decided five

Is the perfect age for chores!

 So Mommy got a-craftin'

And Daddy rolled his eyes,

To Lily's favorite store we drove,

Hobby Lobby, for supplies.

 It was hard to pick some tasks,

To Ace we could entrust

'Cus Mommy's kind of picky...

My standards must adjust.

 Chores look way more fun,

With a chart upon the wall.

And stickers for all chores complete,

The bestest part of all.

 Who knows how long the fun will last,

A day, a week or two.

For now he's all gung-ho for it

And willing all to do.

 If the whole thing is a bust,

And it's all a vain pursuit.

At least I tried to teach him some

And our chore chart looks real cute!

(Thanks Sis for the idea. I hope Acey takes after Braedyn.)

Squids?

Squids, Narrated by Ace Evans (Exact Transcription by Mommy):
"Squids like squid.
Ace number 4. (That's his bookmark.)
Squids lived a long time around the ocean.
Some divers can see the squids but not all.
Most of the people do see squids. If you get close to a squid, it will sting you.
Squids have mouth.  Other websites like squids. Squids like fish.
When a squid get lost, we can do stuff. We can like put it back in the ocean.
A squid can be always there. I like squids no matter what they do.
Ace Evans"

Chalkboard Menu

The story of this project:

A bright idea turned obsession.

A few weeks' hard work

Turned into my prized possession!

A black frame, a little red paint, some burlap and some flowers.

This started out as a need to communicate with Jonathan about dinnertime.  Our family has undergone some dramatic changes since the move from Houston one of which is dinnertime: Jonathan actually gets home in time to eat dinner with us!!!  Another change is the fact that Jonathan has decided to run a marathon in November and he has cleaned up his diet.  As weird as it sounds, I grocery shop for the family and then Jonathan will go to the store and supplement if something isn't healthy enough.

The chalkboard lets him know what's on the menu so he can either eat with us or supplement with something healthier.  Also, he gets home about 30 minutes before the kids and I get home from the gym.  So, the chalkboard tells him what's for dinner and if he can heat it up then he can have dinner ready for the kids when we get home!

I am so excited about this.

(Credits:  Thank you Brittany for letting me use your Cameo AGAIN!   Thank you Mom for the idea of crooking the Ds all the same way.)

Notes if you want to make this: (1) BUY the chalkboard. I tried to make my own and it was a disaster. (2)Contact paper doesn't stick to chalkboard but you can arrange all of the letters how you want them, trace and come behind with paint pen.

"Nonuts"

"Let no drop go to waste,"

Is prob'ly what she thought.

 Her cutest smile shown,

When she saw that she'd been caught!

If I want smiles, guaranteed

the recipe's been found.

A dozen "nonut" holes

And it's smiles all around!

Tissue Pom Poms

Sorry, no rhyming in this post. It's too late and my brain isn't functioning. I am waiting for the kids' annual Picaboo books (for 2011, GROAN) to upload and figured I'd post the steps to making the tissue pom poms which, if you have been to any party I've had a hand in planning this year, you have seen.

I need smaller pom poms for the project I'm working on so I took my 20x20 tissue paper and cut it into fours.  It is very important that you work with squares. (I think I've told some of you differently when you've called but I actually paid attention this time. Sorry!)

I like the way the mini pom poms look when I use 8 sheets. For pom poms where you  use the entire sheet of tissue, 10-12 look good.

 I don't measure when I start accordion-folding but I stuck a ruler next to it in case more "particular" people want to know.  You know how the tissue paper is folded in the package? Well, DON'T fold against that natural fold!  It will look kinky/ crazy after you fluff it and, if you are like me, it will drive you nuts.  One other note, when you fold your accordion, the last fold may be smaller than the others. That's ok. Just don't let it be too thin because it will look funny.  Take the time to refold and get it right.

 Once you've got it folded like an accordion, I like to fold it in half to get the center.

 I thread some floral wire through the crease and twist it round and round to secure. Then I go around the crease about 3 or 4 times to make it sturdy because my wire it pretty thin. I like thin wire because it's lightweight, I can cut it with scissors and it comes in spools of 200 feet!  At this point you can twist a loop to use to hang these from the ceiling if you want.

 I don't usually draw my scallops onto my tissue but I did for tutorial's sake and stuck a ruler next to it so you could tell where I started.  Yes, cutting through all that tissue is hard!

 Here's what you've got after you cut the scallop on both ends.  I did a really shallow scallop on these. It makes a softer look.  The deeper/ taller the scallop, the more spiky your pom will look.

 GENTLY, start to pull the tissue towards the center.  Try to pull as close to the center as you can on them You can always fix it when you fluff. It hides the wire nicely.

 Fluff one side and then move on to the other.

 WA LA! Fluff and fluff and fluff and smooth the ends of your scallops and fluff some more.  It's hard to fluff when you are hanging them!

 In case you want to know, I just buy the 99 cent pack of tissue from Hobby Lobby. Works great.

 I hung the pom poms I made for Lily Kate's birthday from the ceiling in her room and when we go in there she says, "Mommy, I lub my bowers!"

I've lost count of the number of these that I've made. Hopefully I'll remember to post the project I'm working on!

Picaboo is still uploading.  I guess I'll go peruse Facebook!

Uh Oh...Highlighter

(From his second-to-last day at Kids Korral.)

It's never a good sign,

If the teacher adds a line,

Saying you need come,

To talk about your son.

If it's bad, he's his Dad's, not mine!

With remorse as my quarry,

I helped my son spell "sorry,"

You do this MY way,

"Or else" I'd say,

 Your vision may soon be quite starry.

So "What," you may ask, "did he say?"

That he'll never repeat, I pray,

That their mommies he'd kill,

Now it's fear I'll instill,

Or soap'll wash that vocab away.

His last day at school was sad

Going out on this note that was bad.

They said without him,

The tales would be thin,

He's the best storyteller they've had.