This year we ran out of time to make our gingerbread houses before Christmas. I felt guilty about that for a moment, and then said to myself, "Why not do that after Christmas?" So, when doing all my Christmas dinner shopping I picked up supplies for the houses and promptly packed them away. A few days after Christmas when all stocking treats were long consumed and boredom was just about to set in, I pulled out the supplies and created instant excitement! It was so nice to just relax, spend half the day and enjoy the process instead of worrying about the mess or other Christmas activities to rush off to. I highly recommend gingerbread house-making as the perfect after Christmas activity. Oh, and a cheap activity too. My grocery store was practically giving away the candy (everything pictured) on Christmas Eve for 25 cents a bag. Love it.

Hurray for Half-Days!

The girls had a half day of school so we celebrated this gorgeous September day by going to the Drumlin Farm. Boy was it fun! Horses, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, chickens. The whole shibang. Highlights included "riding" on the old tractor, a photo display of "how baby cows are born," and seeing wild turkeys. It made me realize how urban my kids have become. Though I didn't grow up on a farm, my grandparents had orchards with farm animals that we visited every summer. I wish now that I had enjoyed (or even been interested!) in farm life back then. So, I took a picture of the make and model of the tractor, just for my Grandpa Buswell. Don't you think a few solid hours of picking peaches, cherries or apples would do these hooligans some good?!

A Last Hurrah for Summer!

With the school year fast approaching we were so delighted when our "Vermont Cousins" called out of the blue, said they were headed to the beach and invited us to meet them there. We left dinner and bedtime routine behind and zoomed to the beach. I must say that early evening is my favorite time to visit the beach--no blazing sun, no obnoxious crowds, only warm water and the whole beach all to ourselves. Perfect. Isn't this a great shot The Mr. took of the kids on the lifeguard tower?

Finally, A Solution!

Why didn't I think of this sooner?! The perfect (if not only!) way to keep the Little Mr. absolutely still for more than two minutes! Too bad they don't allow beaches inside churches.

A Cure for Boredom Part II

As you can see, we have a lot of boredom at our house that luckily gets cured with some interesting antics.

This particular cure is best for the "after church blues," you know that space between exiting the car and sitting down for lunch. That time when you should be changing your clothes and waiting patiently and reverently for some nourishment.

Instead of boredom, simply hitch up the wagon to the tricycle with a jumprope, designate one daring sibling as the driver and three backseat passengers as the screamers—preferably with the heaviest in back to increase acceleration and speed. Release your feet (brakes) and rumble down the hill.

Be sure to scream loud enough to startle all the neighbors—that will really ease the boredom. They will pray you do not hit their cars and wonder why you did not learn to be reverent at church.

Try at your own risk.

Cheap Thrills

One of my favorite things about Boston is that folks put seriously good stuff out on their sidewalk for those of us with no pride to take and enjoy for FREE!  I hate to admit it, but much of our home has been furnished by really great curbside finds.  Well, now our winter fun has been furnished by a kind gentleman (in a fancy suburb) who set out this vintage 10 ft. toboggan for our sledding pleasure.  For goodness sake, it is long enough to fit our whole family!  It was quite a sight when we tried to fit this into our fully-peopled minivan while still dressed in our church clothes!  I just love that cute tongue peeking out on the driver and eager anticipation on the passenger--what a fun day of sledding! 

A Cure for Boredom

1. Rummage in your mother's "de-clutter" pile

2. Unearth 2 mis-matched plastic Easter eggs that never made it to the Easter bin last year.

3. Discover that half an egg fits perfectly over a kid-sized nose.  Note that 2 eggs divided into four parts is just enough to cover all siblings' noses.

4. Attach to sibling's faces with scotch tape

5. Make goofy faces

6. Beg parents to digitally document the cure for boredom

7. Dream about what goodies might magically appear in these eggs in two month's time.

8. Move onto other boredom-busting activities.

Heaven Help Me!

So, last night the Mr. and I had the "Talk," you know the one.  The one where we discuss how in the world we'll keep the Little Rascals busy, happy and progressing all summer.   Luckily we have three birthdays (well, technically 2 thanks to the twins) during summer break, so that's two guaranteed days of fun and games.  There's a wedding and some visitors for a few days, so three more days taken care of.  Which leaves me with only 45 days to plan--yikes!  

Every summer I have these grand plans of days full of educational outings, artistic crafts and loads of playdates, but then we just kind of end up eating, swimming, & playing in the yard until the sun goes down.  Not that there's anything wrong with a more casual summer, but the Type A in me just likes a little structure and something concrete to show for our 45 days of freedom.  

Several years ago a friend with older children than my own described how she handled all this unstructured time.  She and her children ate breakfast together and then spent until 10 a.m. getting dressed, practicing instruments and doing jobs around the house.  She never scheduled anything outside the home before 10 a.m.!  Then, at 10 a.m., the doors were open for kids to go outside to play, go on errands or go on an outing.  I like this idea.  Maybe I'll add to that lunch at 12 (wherever we may be), dinner at 5 (hopefully at our picnic table) and bed at 8.  There, that makes me feel better already.  Now I just have to figure out what happens between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.!!!  More on that later.

Oh, and the pictures above were from the Little Mr.'s first birthday.  We've nicknamed these photos "Little guy, big cake!"  That lemon blueberry cake was delish, I tell you.  I just used a lemon cake mix, added lemon zest and juice from one lemon and a bunch of blueberries.  I like using the 8" round cake pans to make a really high cake and frost with a pint of whipping cream whipped with a few cups of powdered sugar mixed in for sweetness and stability.