Sudsy

Root beer floats are fun. Cheers to school days off!

And I have to share that recently, while Vanessa was showering she asked me about using a bar of soap. She asked that I explain why she's never used one. She then went on "You know that old saying you can't judge a book by its cover?" I replied "Yes." She carried on "Well I have trouble judging when I have the shampoo rinsed out of my hair and so it runs down my forehead like this . . . so I understand why you didn't have me using a bar of soap until now."

She's so bubbly . . .

Update (March 11, 2015):
I was making banana bread and pulled the spent bananas from where I placed them a couple of days earlier -- the fridge. I started peeling the black peel off and the banana still looked good, with no blemishes or bruises. I admit that's not always the case but Vanessa noticed and stopped to chat about it.

"Woah. Wait. There's no bruising! How did that happen?!"
I explained to her that when I noticed they were starting to turn from a time they would eat them off the stand, I placed them in the fridge.
I continued the explanation and Vanessa replied "Well you can say that old saying again, you know -- not to judge a book by its cover . . . ?"
Me: "So you can also say that you can't judge a banana by its peel?" She loved that one! (You know? Now maybe the one who is melodramatic about lots of things can learn to tolerate a banana with a faint bruise. Maybe.) What a great application!

Reshovel

Apparently Zane thinks we should start all over again. He's determined to get it right. :-)

Force

I believe everything about Zane is a great force, so I'm compelled by him, of course. :-)

*Looking forward to the Dr. Seuss book, What Pet Should I Get?, found and to be published this summer!
** And Daniel Slivka was too kind to share his toys with Zane! Aside from that, Zane loves Daniel and I believe looks to him with great admiration.

Stitch

Vanessa had the bright idea to make a family sash with badges. She declared that she had earned a PJ badge last Saturday for wearing PJs all day. Both determined they had earned LEGO badges for all the interesting designs they have made. And Zane declared that they have earned Tree badges for the number of trees they have climbed. They continue to add to the list, like a script Ohio badge for their Betz love of Buckeye football. We got the first three made by stitching the letters on square felt pieces. I really like the idea and figure we can have a lot of fun with it. We made the sashes out of red velvet ribbon.

Certainly their creative spins for family traditions stitch their love tighter to our hearts.

Get It While You Can

So happy we got outside...LAST WEEK! Give me sunshine and trees!

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" ~ John 8:12

Blown Away

These two were set on what they should do for Valentines. Zane's big thing was to make a box. Vanessa scrapped one idea we had for cards and opted for a store purchase with the idea we would make box and some group cards from scratch. She's so practical in many ways. She started out making an owl, but with every detail she added we determined she made an awesome furby. Zane didn't agree with my idea for applying additional layers of paint, and so the labeling on his box is apparent when close.  He cut along the lines well and practiced patience while waiting on glue to dry, though. And Vanessa was having great fun finding something new to add.

I'm truly blown away by (and grateful for!!) the love they conjure and the love they share.

Paul and Ball

Recently I was scrolling through unpublished drafts on the blog and came across the following comment Zane made sometime late last summer or early fall. I then remembered we have a sweet photo of Zane with Paul from around Christmas time.

When talking about what letter and sound certain words begin with, Zane went on a tangent and came up with rhyming words too: "Paul and ball sound the same!"

Do a Diorama

Those who know Vanessa well understand that a project can be quite an ordeal. It takes great patience. So I prayed for extra this last week. Vanessa's class has been studying animals and habitats and they were instructed to complete one project from a list of ideas. One of Vanessa's classmates, Cole, brought in a diorama the day after it was assigned and Vanessa was sold on that being the direction she would take too.

Another thing most understand about her is that she tends to want to do all of a project at one time or not at all. I was determined to use this opportunity to encourage the steps and processes over a week or so. Plus, I wasn't sure how else we could squeeze it in with our already very full days.

One day we researched dioramas. The next day we brainstormed a list of things to include in a diorama for a coyote. Then we listed the materials we have. We also practiced modifying our lists so as to include the things we came across in my crafter's hoarder stash.

Vanessa's first diorama:

1. The "chicken box" from Christmas made a perfect mobile model. She used blue construction paper to create a stream. She painted the blue paper with blue glitter paint to give it shimmer like water. She then cut and placed green construction paper for grasslands along the stream.She lined what would become the sky with light blue paper.

2. Out of fuzzy balls and mini water balloons, she chose a balloon for the sun, which she hung by a string and fixed with a brad. She used pipe cleaners to create birds in the sky and also hung them with string and brads. She used leftover pipe cleaner as a snake by the mountain.

3. She crumpled and glued brown mailing paper for a mountain and burrow. (She also wanted to paint a snow cap on the mountain and place cotton ball clouds in the sky, but by Sunday, she was satisfied with what she had.) She used leftover green construction paper as bushes to line the end of the stream and mountain.

4. She cut out little yellow and orange pieces of paper to place in the stream as fish.  She glued beans in clusters for rocks and piles of rocks. She glued sand from Clearwater, Florida in one section to represent a desert.

5. She painted a red wolf with grey and white to look more like a coyote. "Everyone else got their's from Michael's." We could too, but why spend money when we have something that will work?!

In the end, Vanessa was very pleased and proud of her work. We are too.

Stretching and Strengthening

They don't only make great comfy companions, they encourage stretching and strengthening. Definitely an As Seen on TV item I like!

Control Board

I put off this stage of childhood as long as possible. I didn't want to create a new system of rules and expectations knowing how intense Vanessa can be, but here we are. And it's working out well. :-) There are tons of benefits for having the Wii. Everything in moderation, right?! And of course it provides a new incentive for good choices.

Finest Art

During a recent snow day we decided to paint. Vanessa painted with things from nature to create an aquarium picture, and she used a straw to imitate the wind. Zane chose to focus on the use of colors. Both make the finest of art.