Rainy Day Activity: Birds in a Nest

It was another rainy morning at home, so we did what we do best. Got crafty!!

I had stashed all of my leftover Easter stuff and it definitely came in handy today.

For this craft you will need:

a paper plate
brown paint
plastic Easter eggs
orange construction paper
glue
feathers
Easter basket grass
Small sticks

Step 1 - Paint the paper plate brown
Step 2 - While the paint is drying, cut small triangles out of the orange construction paper.
Step 3 - The plastic egg should have two holes in the bottom; use those as the birds eyes and glue the orange triangle between them as a beak.
Step 3 - Add glue around the bird's head and stick feathers onto it.
Step 4 - While the birds sit and dry, it's time to build the nest!! Place the sticks and grass onto the paper plate.
Step 5 - Position your birds into the nest. Ta-dah!!

*I didn't get many pics of this as I had liked since I was trying to feed Tyler her breakfast, but the kids did a wonderful job and their nests turned out great.

Later, the kids placed their birds nests into a cardboard box and would visit them throughout the day. They would very gently pick up the little birds to hold them and carefully put them back into their nest. It cracked me up. So freaking adorable.

Turner carefully building his nest using a grid pattern.

Lauren adding an abundance of grass. She wanted to make sure the nest was nice and soft for her bird babies.

Turner's nest of birds. "All boys", he clarified.

Lauren's nest. She said, "Babies. Peep! Peep!"

Painting with Marbles

Today the kids created art using marbles. It's probably the cleanest painting project we've ever done!

Here's what you'll need:

Paper
Square plastic container
Paint
Marbles

First, lay the paper into your container. Then, squirt 3 blobs of paint anywhere on the paper. Add a handful of marbles and move the container to roll the marbles through the paint and around the page.

Easy, peasy!!

Lauren making her paint pools.

Lauren got started and Turner began adding his paint.

Turner creating his art.

He concentrated so hard because he wanted to make a certain design.

The kids artwork turned out so well that I am planning to purchase frames and display their pictures throughout the house.

I love it!

Art 1 - Turner

Art 1 - Lauren

Art 2 - Lauren

Art 2 - Turner

Art 3 - Lauren

Art 3 - Turner

Fireworks in a Glass

I found this really great activity idea here. The website has a bunch of cool activities and craft ideas for kids. You really should check it out.

Here is what you will need:

• Tall jar or vase
• Water
• Small cup
• Oil
• Food coloring
• Fork

1. Fill the tall jar or vase with warm water.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of oil into the small cup
3. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to the oil. (be careful not to use too much, or the water will turn dark.)
4. Briefly stir the oil and food coloring mixture with the fork until the food coloring has separated into a bunch of little drops.
5. Pour the oil and coloring mixture into the tall glass.

Now sit and watch! The food coloring will slowly sink and spread out, resembling fireworks.

Lauren watching as her fireworks are starting to fall.

Turner studying his glass as the fireworks fell. He was very intrigued and entertained with this activity.

It is difficult to tell from the pictures, but the food coloring really did spread out just like a firework falling in the sky. Very cool!

We did this activity several times using different color combinations. The kids really enjoyed it!

Our trip to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Today, we took the kids to The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

The tickets were given to us through Hubby's employer. They planned a family day and we seized the opportunity.

It was rainy and a bit chilly this morning, so we left shortly before lunch. It's almost a 2 hour drive there but Tyler slept the entire time and Turner and Lauren watched a DVD.

We arrived just in time for the company picnic and shortly after, the weather cleared up and the sun came out.

Surprisingly, the kids weren't all that interested in seeing the animals. They were mostly caught up in wanting to ride the rides, Dinosaur Island, and getting lots and lots of treats.

Lauren was brave and petted a Stingray and a snake. Turner wouldn't get close to the Stingray, but he put his finger on the snake... he's not as fearless as little Sis, but that's not always a bad thing.

At the picnic... yes, in sweatshirts and rain boots in July.

Our best investment of the day. A very cool shark hoodie for Turner.

Lauren playing peek-a-boo while in line for Stingray Cove.

Of all the animals in the place, the kids seemed fascinated by the Flamingo's the most.

On Dinosaur Island... Lauren was skeptical of the dinosaurs at first.

Turner was almost eaten, but Lauren was able to cause a distraction and helped him escape.

Dream Baby! This little girl was SO good today.

We couldn't pass a statue without one of the kids climbing onto it.

Toy Glacier

This project took a couple of days to assemble, but it was well worth it.

Here is what you need:

A large plastic container
Water
Small toys

I purchased several bags of cheap plastic toys and we froze them layer by layer until our container was full.

We started with insects, then bouncy balls, small animal figurines, and topped it off with reptiles.

I brought the block outdoors and gave the kids spoons and warm water. They used the warm water to help the ice melt quickly and had fun chipping away with their spoons.

This activity kept the kiddo's busy for quite some time, they had a lot of fun, and it was an activity that they could do together.

I will certainly do this again. I could use Matchbox cars, Squinkies, etc. The possibilities are endless.

DayTrip - The Farm at Walnut Creek

Today, the Kiddo's, Grandma Neill, Papa, and I visited The Farm at Walnut Creek.

What a great day!!

There was so much to see and do. We were there for a little over 3 hours and there were areas that we didn't see. If the kids were a little bit older, we could have spent most of the day there. They had a BEAUTIFUL picnic area close to a covered bridge and surrounded by flowers. It would be an amazing place for a date.

We started at the gift shop, worked our way around the fenced in animal area, visited the Blacksmith, went on a wagon ride to see the large, exotic animals, and finished our afternoon with the tour of the inside of an Amish home.

By the time we returned to our vehicles, we were all pooped!!

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Sunny and 75 degrees.

However, there are always a few mishaps. Lauren peed her pants in the first 5 minutes of our visit and Turner didn't listen worth a crap and was running everywhere. Lauren kept going into the roped off areas to get closer to the animals while Turner thought it would be funny to throw food at the top of the animals heads instead of feeding them... (sigh). And I can't forget to mention the Baboon that decided to sit directly in front of us and start wanking off, exposing his disgusting pink wienie...I could go on, but let's not.

Here are some pics.

I love Turner's face as he's feeding the camel.

Lauren only wanted to feed the baby animals today.

One of the few Blue Macaw's walking around. Lauren kept shouting, "RIO" at it.

In a buggy. Turner was pretending to bark commands at his invisible horse.

Grandma Neill helping Lauren feed a Llama.

Papa, Lauren, Turner, Grandma Neill, and Tyler all scoping out the large deer.

Miss Blue Eyes kept watching me to make sure I didn't go anywhere. Separation anxiety in full effect.

My favorite pic of the day. Turner feeding one of the giraffe's.

This cow kept doing this at me even though I didn't have any food. Dum Dum.

Feeding the baby cattle.

The goats were not shy about begging for food.

Lauren petting one of the baby donkey's. There were dozens of them!

Making Pizza

This past weekend, I had homemade pizza on the menu. It ended up being a rainy evening and the kiddo's were looking for something to do. I jumped at the opportunity to keep them busy and have their dinner made at the same time.

Turner and Lauren had a lot of fun making their pizza's and I could tell that they were so proud of them when they came out of the oven.

I'm thinking we'll have to do this more often.

Rolling out the dough. Such concentration!!

Adding the sauce and toppings.

The finished product! Turner went with pepperoni, while Lauren went the veggie route.

Yum!! Both of the kids LOVED their pizza.

Tyler Veronica - 7 months

Tyler was 7 months old on the 18th.

She is still breastfeeding. No teeth yet!
She rolls everywhere!
She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth.
She scoots herself around on the floor backwards.
She is still in Stage 1 baby foods since she isn't sitting up by herself yet , but she's really close.
She loves to jump!
She can touch her toes.
She is VERY ticklish on her belly, back, and her feet.
She has a loud laugh that sometimes sounds like she's crying.
She loves to eat fruit and completely despises peas.
She still wakes up through the night, typically at 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.
She really enjoys being in the water.
She has lost interest in her pacifier. (Yay!!)

She is the best baby!!

Tyler is always smiling and happy.

We love her so much!!