I have a little back blogging to do, since I didn't get a chance to blog out VBS before we went on vacation.

I was in charge of crafts. And I feel need to reinvent the curriculum. I want the kids to take home something that their moms will like to look at and won't feed Clutter Monsters or get thrown in the garbage out of Clutter frustration. And to me, the curriculum does do just that. It certainly doesn't spark any creativity. I just couldn't do essentially busywork with the kids. Okay, soapbox over.

What I came up with was more Art-y than Craft-y, but that was fine. I also had to come up with something that would work for 2-12yos. Now, I pretty much owe everything to The Artful Parent blog and MaryAnn Kohl books. Both fantastic resources that I utterly depend on in my daily life. So I basically got all my ideas from there. I was happy with what I came up with.

Day 1
This was actually really practical. I ordered a bunch of blank canvas totes from the internet and had the kids decorate them with fabric pastels and markers. Then they had a handy bag for carrying around all their VBS detritus, and a useful souvenir of the week, too. We just used Marlowe's at the library yesterday.

Day 2
Bubble wrap printing. I though this would be great for the younger kids. I tried to think of another printing project for the older kids, but nothing was really working. I have to keep things pretty simple due to limited time and resources. So I ended up doing this for everyone, and they all loved it! I let the older kids squirt their own paint on their paper plate so they could experiment with color, but the youngers just chose one color.

Last year I collected old Tshirts from around church, and we use those as art smocks. I slit up the back, and we do a quick safety pin. Works really well. I also have dish pans full of soapy water right at our work station for quick cleaning of hands. We protect the tables by taping down plastic party tablecloths.

Day 3
I figured I could pass off wax resist paintings as magic to the 1st graders. I was unprepared for how excited the older kids got over this. I didn't even try to do the whit crayon part resist with the 2-3yos (maybe at home--but in that setting, too chaotic). They stuck stickers that they could paint over. I made several cups of liquid watercolor, and that worked pretty well.

Day 4
This was perhaps the awesomest yet. Tissue paper stained glass. Perhaps a bit more intense on the setup end of things. We taped down contact paper sticky side up. The kids then stuck the tissue paper on and we covered with contact paper. Then the older kids decorated with sharpie. (See this book a la Artful Parent) The kids loved this and really got into it.

And I loved covering the windows with their finished project.

Day 5
For the last day, we needed something super easy, quick,and simple. Beads + lanyard. The perfect campy craft.

I was really happy with how things turned out. I don't have any background in art--heck, I never even had an art class in school. But I've learned a lot from the blogosphere and my personal interests. I loved making a creative space for the 40+ kids that week. There was such great variety.

First of all, the blog carnival: Ministry of Reality Monday. (do we even have blog carnivals anymore? not even sure what to call it. A meme? But anyway, a bunch of my mom peeps are doing it) For those of us who don't always post the shiny and happy on the blog. For more background read here.

So, this my Reality Monday story.

I am a bad citizen. I avoid the public library. By the time I pay the fines I inevitably will incur despite my best efforts, I may as well buy the books on Amazon. I'm trying, though. Determined as ever to turn a new leaf (ha!), I finally got a Free Library (as they are called in the city of Philadelphia) card after having moved into the city in October. Because kids need exposure to libraries.

I, myself, have wonderfully fond memories of going to our library. I think I may have read every book in hte juvenile section. I remember our library trips as being fun. And my mom reading us books, and browsing and browsing through stacks.

So I think, I need to get a library card so that I can my kids to library to browse stacks and read stories. This picture is simple. It seems reasonable. We read stories at home. It's not like they don't get the book thing.

But reality is this: My 2yo, Marlowe, proceeds to grab EVERY book, "mommy! wook!" (that's "look") within about 10 seconds of my locating the juvenile section. My 5yo wants to play on the computer, but I tell him to pick 3 books. He is unsupervised browsing the stacks while I try to reign in Marlowe. All I want to do is read M the Fireman Elmo book, so that he'll calm down for a sec. Ellis picks three books. They look reasonable, though the third one may need a little "retelling." Then they find the DVDs. "mommy!! moomee!!!" (movies) OK! Pick three!! then we're done. No snuggly story times. No leisurely browsing. No ceremoniously presenting the library card. We are so out of there!! 10 minutes. And, I do it for you, dear children. Eventually, I will be less diligent about those darn DVDs, and you will cost me money. I could've just bought it on Amazon.

But this is so their freshman comp teachers won't hate me.

No, no funky seersucker pants this year. But I have been making some fun stuff for our vacation. (We leave tomorrow!! yay!)

For Marlowe:

When Ellis was 2, I got two blank Tshirts at Target, always meaning to freezer paper stencil them. Never got around to it, and he wore those shirts blank all summer. Always felt bad about it.
Well, now Marlowe is 2, and I got him two blank Ts at Target, bc he needed a couple extra shirts. And this time I got around to it!

I did an applique squirrel on one, and a freezer paper stencil of wind turbines on the other. I love the funky birds of the Jay MacCarroll print Germania. I'm using it in every thing, so sorry for the deja vu. :) I'm a little bummed my stencil got a little smudged. I ended up with several layers of paint.

Also for M. I was doing a lamination project for E (see below), so I wanted to do something for M to feel included. I laminated a bunch of pics that I got printed out at Staples, and stuck magnetic tape to the back of them. With a magnetic dry erase board, he is set. (He will NOT be getting a marker!)

For Ellis:

This is project I'm most excited about.

E loves writing words! He's constantly asking us how to spell things. He can't read yet (he just turned 5!), but he's doing a lot great preliteracy things. I made these sheets for him in the Mac Pages program. Pictures of things relevant to vacation, with the words, and a space for him to write the word. I printed them at Staples and got them to laminate them. He can write on them with dry erase marker now! They turned out awesome! I'm so excited about it!! I think he'll love these.

FIVE!! Five, five, five. I have a five-year-old. A handful. A veritable kid!! with a long, lean body, the baby fat has gone from his fingers and toes, his shoulders feel firm, strong, muscular.

And what a birthday! Of course, one's fifth birthday must be epic.

Treats for school, ice cream cupcakes with family, chocolate cupcakes for a party.
5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

His birthday was on Tuesday. I sent him to school with Rice Krispie treats. (Ok, because i totally forgot until about 7 pm the night before about the whole treat thing.) I made him a 5 shirt. Just in case anyone was wondering.

I bought five helium balloons and one that said happy birthday.

In the evening we ate outside. I scooped ice cream into cupcake papers and let it harden again. (it worked sort of okay) But it was chocolate ice cream. And that's all that mattered.

(Oh, and the bandaid on his forehead, he got at school. It was barely a scratch. But the bandaid was very important to complete the costume of Five Year Old.)

We got him his first baseball glove and a bat and ball. Because apparently baseball is his "favorite." Hubby and I are wondering if we can find a glove at thrift store that we could kind of share. Because apparently we have to play sports now.

The following Saturday we had his birthday party. A small little group. Our Deaf friends, the "O" family, were in town. Their boys and my boys are the same age. We were so happy they could join us. Then we had the families of a friend from school and a friend from church. So in all, two Deaf families and two hearing families. (Though, what are we?? a hearing family with a Deaf kid? not exactly a Deaf or a hearing family...)

I had the crazy idea of hiking along half a mile in Fairmount Park, to my favorite spot along the Wissahickon. So I hauled in a picnic and told everyone to bring their camp chairs. The kids romped in the water and one dad even caught a fish with a makeshift fishing rod. It was lovely.

I think he feels properly celebrated. I love having a 5yo. He's such a big kid and is interested in things and can do so much. But he still likes to curl up in my lap for snuggles.

Today is our Ninth Anniversary.

Nine Years ago on a beautiful early summer evening two kids got married. I look back now, and wonder how we did it. We were so young. But there's only way to grow older, and that's to start doing it. We were 23 and (almost) 24, which isn't terribly young, but not terribly old, either. We got married on a Friday evening. The only sunny day that week, which was good, because I didn't have a rain plan for our outdoor reception. Call me an optimist. The sun set behind Lookout Mountain, and as we stood on the steps of St. Elmo Pres to get our picture taken, car horns honked congratulatorily as they passed. It was a great party. I wanted it to be a fun reception. We didn't have a DJ, but we did have Infradig. I wore heels that sunk into the ground. But they were very cool.

Nine Years. A lot of ups and downs. A lot of grace. A lot of love.

And now I'm going to have a glass of wine with my hubby.

I was hanging out with a friend yesterday, and remarked that I hadn't sewn anything since February. Crazy! I just haven't.

Ellis and Daddy went camping last night, leaving M and I at home. I was catching up on blogs and got totally inspired by Made by Rae's Spring Top Challenge. I promptly set about trying to come up with a top of my own. I don't know how I got the upcycle bug in my head, too. I googled around and found this tutorial for converting a men's shirt into a girly top. I have a couple of old shirts of hubby's that have been needing some new life. I actually set about to do this tutorial twice, but as I got into it both times, the shirt said something different to me. (I haven't decided yet if I'll post about the first one. Still not sure about it.)

I'm really happy with how this one came out. Yes, it was hubby's shirt--but from Retro Days in high school. It recently surfaced at his parents' house, and I got a huge kick out of it. It was kind of cool, but also kind of only 70's Day worthy. (sorry the pics are so bad--my phone cam)

I cut off the top, cutting from underarm to underarm of the sleeves, so buttoned it's just a tube, essentially. Then hemmed across the top. Four rows of elastic thread shirring.

I turned it around so the buttons were in the back, then added straps.

I love how it turned out. And it's super comfy. And I think it's gone from Retro Day to Vintage-y

More bloggy catchup.

A month ago I took my Do it With Kids policy to a whole new level by taking my boys down to Lookout Mountain for my sister's college graduation. It's about 700 mi. At the last minute, my mom did the drive down with me, which was really helpful. We did it all in one day. What took me 12 hours in college took about 17hrs with kids. But it was a great trip. I plotted the whole trip in terms of Chik-fil-a and its great indoor playground. I actually found a fun castle playground just off the interstate in Virginia, with a Starbucks nearby. That was fortuitous! And I bought a portable DVD player. Result, kids with nary a squabble about being shoved in the car over the course of 17 hours.

We stayed with our old friends, the "other" Joneses, of Jonesville fame. Their youngest two are the same ages as my two, almost literally. Just weeks apart, the both of them. It was way fun meeting Jonesgirl for the first time, too. Really the Jones's house was like Graduation Resort Paradise, an oasis in the midst of a crazy weekend. So, thanks, friends.

Since my sister's college is my alma mater, as well, going down to the Chattanooga area is a familiar, happy thing. I run into old friends at every turn. Literally, turn. Driving up and down the mountain remembering each curve.

The first day I drove down into Georgia a bit to meetup with my old friend, Joanna. We were in freshman music theory together and have been friends ever since. I FINALLY got to meet her twins!

I had lunch with an old professor, walked around a campus that looked totally different with all the new construction, but still felt the same. The students looked the same, too. Just younger than I remember. I still feel like I just graduated from college like last year or something...but it's been nine years, which admittedly isn't a huge amount of time, but it's a lot longer than yesterday.

And my sister done got graduated. Congratulations, Luisa!!

I did the drive home by myself. I spent the night with another college friend just north of Chattanooga. So I head start the next morning. I did the drive home in two, spending the night half way in Roanoke, with Chris's grandma. It was a long trip by myself, two long days of driving. But, again, my kids were awesome!

Sure, the calendar gives us a few more weeks until summer solstice. But in these parts, Memorial Day ushers in the season and Labor Day closes. Now you have to have beach tags to go to the shore or plan ahead for camping in the Poconos. It's the summer season.

We celebrated Memorial Day yesterday in Lancaster with my family. As we were driving along I thought of the many men and women who have served our country in the military. And then I wondered why we don't memorialize the many laborers that have served our country on Labor Day. Especially those who work in horrible conditions, like in the meat industry, while we blithely chow down on burgers. Remind me to revisit this in September.

My mom and Marlowe and I jaunted around a little. She showed me their garden lot in the community garden they are a part of. We went to an Amish farm, said "hi" to cows, and I got a gallon of raw milk for $3. We went to the store to get ice cream for the freshly picked and irresistably sweet strawberries. We said hello to some of their friends with a free potential piano for me. (stay tuned! *haha*--still haven't decided)

Then we went to my sister's way out in the country, splashed in their pool, watched storms in the distance pass us by, ate yummy food and teased each other. A good day.

I went back to New York in April. This time with just Marlowe, which I admit I find rather challenging, because at 23 months, he was a wiggly, curious boy. But we made it there, and met up with my MIL who was in town all week with a trade show for work. We stayed the night with her in her hotel room on Times Square. She took us to eat at a delicious restaurant, that wasn't kid-oriented at all. And Marlowe did superbly well. Then we went to M&M World. By then, it was pretty late, and Marlowe was sitting in his stroller in a daze. We had been there for about 10 minutes, when he, all of a sudden, realized where we were, and said "please! please!!"

The next morning, Grammy returned to her trade show, and I took the occasion to do something I've been meaning to do for awhile: visit the Cloisters, the medieval museum of the Met. They're a little ways away, so I've always been reticent to get on a subway for 30+ mins after an hour and a half train ride. So it was nice to use the opportunity of being able to spend the night to get a fresh start. So we got on at 42d St and got off at 190th St by a fun playground and a beautiful park full of flowering trees overlooking the Hudson River. I walked under the warm sun along the path and came upon the Cloisters, its towers peaking through the trees.

This is built to look like a medieval fortress/castle/thingy, with huge chunks of building imported from Europe. Inside are several medieval artifacts, art, tapestries, bits of buildings/architecture (e.g. there's a gothic chapel, a romanesque chapel), and, of course, cloisters, which surround beautiful gardens that are based on medieval gardens. I love historic gardens. It's like all the bits of me all tied up in one. I emailed my dad, who is a horticulturalist, and said, "look, a bit of me and a bit of you!" Anyway, it was also exciting to have gardens in a medieval museum, since they figure so prominently in medieval art and literature.

I really wanted to go to the Cloisters, but wondered how M would do. But remember my policy, incorporate the kid. As a result, I never realized how many lions and dogs are part of medieval art. We roared and barked our way through the museum. Especially exciting was the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, which have a lot of dogs and rabbits.

We bought overpriced coffee and cookie and enjoyed the sunshine. And then made our way back to the subway via the playground.

I have a lot of back blogging to do. If I don't, I think I'll be sad, because I have a lousy memory.

Going to New York from Philadelphia is actually pretty easy and cheap. By car it's 90 miles, if you want to deal with the traffic. I don't. By train, it's inexpensive to drive up to Trenton and take the regional rail into the city. Roundtrip fare is considerably cheaper than the cheapest one-way fare on Amtrak from Philly. So it's worth the little extra effort of getting to Trenton and the 90 min train ride that stops along the way. And parking for a day in Trenton is about $10.

In March '09 we took a family outing for the weekend up there. It was really my first time going to NYC aside from a trip in 9th grade that I barely remember--though I have the picture on the ferry in front of the twin towers. I think there's something primal in every American who grew up on Sesame Street to love NYC. I do love it! In the fall I went by myself to see some friends.

But in February, I really took the bull by the horns and went by myself with both boys. When I was a new mom with Ellis, I made a personal decision to not let having kids along daunt me into not doing things I wanted to do. I would find a way to include them. Mostly, that's been a good policy. Having a second kid, has added an interesting shade and I've gotten myself into a couple of sticky situations. (I'm not even going to talk about the Lake of Death, for instance.) But I try to keep a healthy sense of adventure. I won't say I wasn't daunted as I navigated my two little kids through trains and subways.

It was worth it, though, because I was meeting my former college roommate and maid-of-honor in my wedding, whom I hadn't seen in eight years and who was in town visiting her sister. I met up with Bryonie and Vangie at the New York Public Library, where we went in to see A.A. Milne's original Pooh toys on display in the children's section and my kids had fun looking at books. Well, Ellis looked at Arthur books in Greek, and Marlowe caroused with the local toddlers. Then we went to Queen's to Vangie's apartment and visited our hearts out until I really, really, really had to go.

Then the adventure of navigating my kids on the metro from Queens with our strollers and stuff, to Penn Station, and back Trenton and back home. It sounds so simple. And I know there are probably moms who do it every day, because that's how they get around. But in my complacent little life where I load kids up in carseats, it was an adventure. And I'm glad I did it. Because it was a fantastic time reconnecting with my friend. And i'll always treasure that.