Under construction...

Okay, the site isn't under construction... but clearly the author is!! What is that to start a blog... ONE day... then leave it to rest? Yes, it is intended to be a daily blog. But, I have a daily job as mother that has been different than my normal routine this week too. All that means is I did my job, but without a camera as much of it was off the premises of our home. Here is an accounting of the weeks adventures:

THURSDAY, January 21st: How to Enjoy Colonial Times

My friend Larin, NEVER ceases to amaze me. We arrived at her home around 3pm for our weekly playgroup. We entered her home to find four people dressed like the colonists... a total surprise to us. They greeted us kindly and then told us to follow them out to "the barn" to "milk their cow, Bessie". The kids were wide eyed and excited to see the new cow! So we went out on the deck and found Bessie, a play rocking horse with a white sheet over her and black construction paper spots. Beneath her abdomen was an inflated rubber glove for milking. The children each took turns milking the glove while Larin, the colonist, poured heavy cream into the pan. When the pan was full, or each child had milked, we went back inside and poured heavy cream into quart sized jars, filled 1/3 full. Then, each child dumped in some marbles. We had them replace the cap and then shook vigrously for a while until it no longer felt like liquid. We opened the jars to find WHIP CREAM! But, had we left the heavy cream to room temperature as intended, we would have found BUTTER! (we re-did this project yesterday with success) The cream eventually hardens, then separates into a hard ball of butter and buttermilk liquid surrounding. Then we washed and dried the sweat from the butter, formed it and ate it on homemade bread. AMAZING!!

The second project was making homemade ink out of strawberries. Back in the day when strawberries were not all hormones the pigment surely would have darkened. But, as it was, light pink, Larin brought out the feathers and the children colored/painted for quite sometime. We taught them then to appreciate the ease of inexpensive markers in the latter days. :)

FRIDAY, January 22nd How to lock a pantry

Okay, so this isn't really a tale of how to enjoy your kids... advertently, but inadvertently it is. You see, my 2 1/2 year old is in to EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING I SAY!! There are days where I want to give her a full day nap because I know she and her surroundings will be safe. So, my husband, working for Black and Decker, brought home a locking Baldwin nob to replace our pantry knob. Yes, locking. Am I wrong that the less distractions and less cleaning that needs to take place... the more play time?! Or maybe not PLAY time, but quality, positive time with the children. By the way, I don't think mom's have to play with their kids to enjoy them. Work is possibly even more enjoyable, gratifying and proven method for character building. That said, we attempted to eliminate THAT distraction, only to find Mariah with the key, a chair beneath the key holder high on the wall, and the pantry open. Creativity is an endless need and virtue. :) This girl is MacGiver in training!

MONDAY, January 25th How to Enjoy a Museum, 1) Bring friends, 2) Avoid a crowd

We have enjoyed our local children's museum many times, with our membership. But, never before with friends. This time it was 3 mom's and 10 kids. Age 2 months - 8 years. It was a blast. They just happened to have a bungi bouncer and tight rope for the mom's to play on, and the hands-on exploration was endless. My personal opinion, the key to a great day at a hands on museum is FRIENDS of good nature AND a small crowd. When the museums are busy... why go? You spend the whole time panicking over where the kids went. When its just you and your gang, they are free to explore and discover all on their own. To build and inspire each other with different ideas. When its just mom and kids, they get bored easily and quickly.

TUESDAY, January 26th How to Ruin a Day

There are many ways to ruin a day... but the quickest way for our family is to start the day running errands in a hurry. Well, let's face it, doing anything in a hurry will ruin a day. But going to Kohls to find a shirt for mom, and sleep and plays for babies seems as though it would be a quick task... but PLANNING on it going quick is a BAD IDEA. Frankly, planning on it at all is a bad idea. Shopping for mom should ONLY be done online or a mom's night out. Period. I also think a creative plan on executing shopping cart logistics is vital. How do you stick 3 kids in a 2 seat stroller cart? Or better yet, how do you nurse baby, discipline two year old, untie five year olds knot it a shoe and try on a shirt in the dressing room all at once?! I did it... but have NO IDEA HOW?! It was NOT worth it. That was my big discovery. HOW to ruin a day.

WEDNESDAY, January 27th How to Shop at the Grocery Store.

"Occasionally genius may strike, but will you practice it?" Today, as we left Wal Mart, I realized that my biggest challenge was simply getting Mariah to walk fast enough to keep up with us. She is a 'stroll-er'. Well, most of the time in the store I don't care what a doofus I look like. I try to be the ONE mom not angry at their kids. So, instead I am the doofus. Which, frankly works for me. :) Today, I was telling my kids "come and get me?!!" in a taunting voice. They then giggle, chase me and follow me through the maze of grocery aisles. But, Mariah doesn't stroll because she is chasing me. See?! So, today, she had a penny in her hand. She should have known better today because of her experimenting with balls in a large vat at the museum yesterday, but she apparently forgot. She dropped her penny which landed perfectly on its side in a large 5 foot circular rolling pattern. Ever seen a dog chase it's tail? Very similar to mariah chasing her penny. It was so funny that Callie and I were rolling in laughter. We kept saying "step on it!" or "stop" or "grab it" and around and around Mariah went... eventually stumbling over her own feet and biffing it. Oh, so the stroke of genius was that as we left and they tired of chasing me, we made a big train. I pushed the cart, Mariah held the back of my pants and Callie held the back of Mariah's. Train. They make a sound like "Choo Choo!!!" Now, mom's, they KEY to making a train effective is to ALSO make the choo choo. If you are quiet and "mature" it's not fun and will thus be ineffective. If you, on the other hand, rev up your engine for a crowd shocking "choo choo" you can be sure all your little train cars will follow. Become as a little child... remember the scripture?!