Oil painting

For our Christmas homemade gift exchange, John drew Will's name.  I went over a few ideas with John, but he knew exactly what he wanted to do.  Paint a picture for Will.  He remembered the mobile we had made for Will before he born and wanted him to have something new to look at when he wakes up in the morning (those are John's words, not mine).



I bought some canvas and unburied my dusty oil paints that hadn't been used for probably 10 years (!)  John drew the picture with pencil first, then set to work filling it in with color.





I love the texture you get with oils.  But I do not love the mess that comes with them... we may just bury those paints for another 10 years or so.  Stick to watercolors and acrylics.



Will really does love the painting.  Although when I hold him in front of it, he always tries to grab it.  Such a naughty baby :)

Finding joy in each season

I never thought I would say this... but I have loved the snow, the ice, and the subfreezing temperatures this winter.  Yes, even the cold!  Because with those things have come many hours spent outside playing in the snow, ice skating, skiing out the back door and on trails, many, many cups of hot chocolate (way too many to count), cuddling underneath blankets on the couch, playing make-believe dragons, reading books, catching up on mending and sewing projects, and slowing down a bit.  Pete has always said he couldn't live somewhere without the seasons, and I have always said I could do without winter.  But this year, instead of dreading the cold and being stuck inside, I have decided to simply enjoy winter for what it is.

This is the first year that John and Dan have been able to put on all their snow gear by themselves.  Snowpants, coats, boots, hats, gloves and scarves.  It was so fun to see them come out of the laundry room together, all geared up for a snowy adventure.  And even more great that I didn't have to help them and they didn't have to ask.  John is the snow king, he LOVES the snow.  I've never met another boy who loves the snow more.  He hung up signs he made on all the windows that said, "Let it snow!" and looked out the window first thing every morning to see if it had.  He often got ready for school as fast as he could so he could get outside and play before the bus came.  I think John's love for the snow rubbed off on everyone.

Even though John and Dan can get ready themselves, it was still quite the process getting the whole family ready to go anywhere.  There was one morning in particular when I thought it would be fun to take Dan and Joe cross country skiing while John was at school.  It was a sunny day (and there aren't a whole lot of those in the winter here) and I was feeling extra adventurous.  I spent the whole morning getting everything ready.  A thermos of hot chocolate, packing the car with everyone's skis, the chariot for Will (we have ski attachments so I can pull him behind me), making sure everyone was fed, had gone potty, and was properly dressed.  After a couple hours of prep we finally arrived at the park I wanted to ski at.  Then it was setting up the Chariot, getting everyone's skis on, putting some heating pads around Will (it was sunny but still below freezing) and trying to stay positive and happy so everyone would have a good time.  As soon as we all started skiing, I knew the hard work had been worth it.  The sun felt warm on our faces, the snow was soft, the kids were excited (it was Joe's first time), Will was content and the path we went on was beautiful.  

Pete and I left the kids with a babysitter a few Saturdays so we could ski together on one of our favorite trails.  Since it takes a lot of planning and effort to go anywhere without the kids, I feel like I have to enjoy every minute.  Not that I don't enjoy being with the kids, it's not that at all.  I just don't get to be out in nature by myself (or with Pete) without loud, sometimes needy, children very often.  It's quite nice.

Will got to experience snow for the first time this year.  Let's be honest, there's not a whole lot a 9-month old can do in the snow, but he did seem to enjoy being outside if he was all bundled up.  And by the end of the winter he really did like sledding.  I love watching the kids try and experience new things.  Their excitement and curiosity is contagious.

Unfortunately for Will, he has spent a lot of the winter gazing out the back window, watching his brothers have all the fun.  Surprisingly he hasn't seemed to mind, just looking outside was enough I guess.  But I am getting excited at the thought of him being able to crawl and roll around on warm, green grass.  

And since we still have a while until that warm, green grass will actually be here, I decided to give a go at growing grass from wheat kernels this year.  We followed these instructions and will hopefully have some green grass growing by Easter.  The winter and the snow have been fun, but I must say, I am now really looking forward to Spring, and everything that comes with it.

A favorite gift for GIRLS

Yes, girls!  Most of my projects, crafts and time is spent on boys, so I love when I can squeeze in some time to make girlie things.  These wrapped leather bracelets have been one of my favorite things to make for Christmas/birthday gifts lately.  They're fairly easy once you get the hang of it, can be strung up in about an hour, and only cost a few dollars per bracelet (depending how much you spend on the beads).  I originally got the idea from my friend Alison and used the tutorial from Rings & Things.  I have only tried making bracelets that wrap around your wrist one or two times, but Alison made a couple that wrap around 4 times, and they are beautiful.  They make for a fun, thoughtful gift.  Now I just need to make some for myself!

Wood crayon holder

For our Christmas homemade gift exchange, Dan picked Joe's name.  When the kids are a bit older, we'll let them go at it on their own, but this year Pete helped Dan with his project.  They made a wood crayon holder.  I had originally seen one of these at an art fair and thought it would be easy to recreate.  It's simply a piece of wood with holes drilled into the top.  Dan made it a bit more personalized by writing on the side, then Pete traced his letters with a wood burner.



Now when Joe is coloring, he can see all the colors at a glance.  And taking them out of the holes and putting them back in is half the fun! 

Artwork

I originally hung up all of our Christmas cards on this door, then decided it would make a perfect place to hang the kids artwork after I took them down.  It's about as simple as it gets.  Twine wrapped around a door and clothes pins to attach the artwork.  Done.

 

Simple wooden growth chart

A growth chart.  This is something that will be so fun to look at 20 years from now.  My sister Brittney made a vinyl growth chart for me a couple Christmas's ago, but unfortunately the vinyl does not seem to be surviving in a home with 4 little boys.  But the kids have had so much fun standing up to it every so often, measuring themselves to see how much they've grown, so I knew we needed one that could withstand the test of time.

This wooden growth chart proved to be a very simple and quick project.  If I had made it 6 years ago, I probably would have sanded it down, used stencils for the lines and numbers, painted slowly and carefully, and stained it.  Maybe I would have even added some kind of mounting device to the back so it could be attached to a wall.  But times have changed, and it can be a challenge to set aside even an hour to work on a project.  So don't look too closely at my crooked lines and hand-painted numbers.

I bought this piece of wood at Lowe's and had someone cut it there to 6 1/2 feet.  Then I did all of my measurements in pencil (this was the most time consuming part) and used my transfer paper technique to draw on the numbers.  Then I went over everything with black paint and called it good.  I guess I went for the natural look, didn't bother sanding it or staining it.  But I quite like how it turned out.


I love the knots in the wood.  I intentionally chose a piece of wood that had them.

All ready to measure these fast-growing kids!  I'm planning on measuring everyone on their birthdays each year.  That way we can compare everyone's height by age.  Now I just need to find a good way to mark their height... markers? paint? wood burning?... I might need to experiment a bit.

PVC Builders Kit

It's been way too long since I've posted anything on this blog, but I have so many ideas and thoughts I have been wanting to share!  Life got busy, and still is, but I'm going to attempt to share more often.

We had a very fun holiday season.  We went to Utah for the first week of December, but spent the rest of the holiday alone with our little family.  One new tradition we started was to have all the kids draw names and make gifts for each other.  John, Dan and Joe played an active role in making something for their secret person, but Will's project was pretty much all me.  There's not too much a 9-month old can do.  Will ended up with John's name, so I decided to make him a Builder's Kit using PVC pipes.  It was very simple and took about an hour to complete.  I bought the pipes and a bunch of different connector pieces from Lowe's, then cut the pipes to varying lengths.  And that's it!  John gets to make whatever he wants with them.

I used an old pillowcase to make a drawstring bag to keep everything in.

The PVC pipe building didn't stop there.  I later used some to build an ice skating walker for the kids.  My mom helped me, and we came up with a design that works well and can double as a soccer goal in the summer (once I figure out a good way to attach a net to it).  They can hold onto it while they're learning to skate, which makes things a lot easier when we take all the kids.


We most recently used the pipes to make a marble run.  This was Joe's idea, and everyone loved it.


John wanted to make crutches to go along with Dan's Doctor kit.  A little slippery on wood and cement, but work great on carpet.


One of my favorite projects with pipes were the bows we made last summer.  The kids loved running around with them playing war and hunting for animals.  Really, the uses of these pipes are endless!

Have you tried building anything with PVC pipes?