poor mans snowboard- snow day antics

well smart son 1 as we all know does not lack for creativity-- and over the weekend he was watching lindsey jacobellis snowboarding- so when we happened to have a snow day this is what he created from a cardboard box-- an indoor snowboard- he started using it to do tricks around the house-- ahh to have such cheap parents...smart son 2 - still brimming with Christmas spirit decided to bring offerings to our newborn babe- no gold frankincense or myrrh- not a problem-- a spaghetti squash will totally do in a pinch!

He also likes to do crayola window fx markers-- and for all you moms wanting to develop prewriting skills in your kids- I draw a roadway and he makes the marker cars follow the path- a great way to help you kids start learning the shapes and motions necessary for letter formation-(and you thought it was just fun drawing time son- fooled you didn't I)

and the entry would be complete without a shameless showoff of smart baby #3

creative binge

I think because I now have a new baby and my time feels scarce and punctuated by stopping to feed him every 2 hours-- I now have that sudden burst of creativity I have begging for the last 9 months (I can't paint when i am pregnant- all cretaivity energy is drained from me!). These are my recent endeavors. This is my new favorite i have been doing the last 2 nights -- I feel a new series coming on (I love it when i get into a new series) very klimtesque- very fun color and organic sort of themes- I can't wait to do more...all these were to help me get warmed up- get the creative juices flowing and get my brain ready to get inspired for my "new series" --a chain garden series cut paper piece 11x14a new rubber block print i cut- printed in blacka new 24x36 garden piecesome giant apple and pear studies 16x20
Of course I attempted to start the new year and my post partum time with a healthy eating resolution- a wagon i quickly fell off- but not before i enacted my food fantasies in paint so of course

and I got my boys in on the creative action- here they are doing styrofoam block prints- yes i am the only mom on the planet- who while staying int he NICu with my baby kept her styrofoam meal trays becasue "hey i could bring those home and let my boys use them for block printing. They had a blast- S.S. #1 did a great storm and jellyfish set of prints as well as darth vader and luke skywalker and ss#2- did an abstract piece and can still be heard saying-- "let me ink the brayer!" ahh what i teach my 2 yr old!

sand- our pet tadpole shrimp

One of smart son's school units was on pets. I have to say I love animals, but not in my house. Seriously I have a hard enough time keeping my children fed, clean, taking care of their messes that I have no desire to add an animal to the mix at this point. Also add to this my objections to things that smell, things that shed (complicating the wearing of black pants), things whose poop I have to clean up (motherhood provides enough of that already), or anything that bothers my allergies. I do however appreciate the pet keeping experience for teaching responsibility and learning respect for living things. I found something just my speed -- tadpole shrimp. Yes you just dump the egg packet in water (as one of the amazing things about tadpole shrimp their eggs can be "dehydrated" and feed every other day. For 8 weeks now "Sand" as smart son affectionately named him is going strong. And when the time came to do the school assignment to make your own pet rock you can only guess what my son decided to make his into-- no cats, dogs or mice here - way too trite-- only a tadpole shrimp would do- we used wax paper, lanyard string, and 3 eyes (because yes they have 3 eyes) to concoct the pet rock. Sand has become a welcome addition to our family even smart baby loves to watch "sand -- funny fish" as he calls it. so if you are thinking of adding a pet- 2 thumbs up for the tadpole shrimp.

the year of the lego

forget the chinese zodiac- this is the year of the Lego- smart son got a 9v Lego train set and lego crane and lego tie interceptor. I bought him his first set of small legos when he was 3 and we have been going strong ever since. I have to say my love of legos is probably one things that well qualifies me to be a mother of boys (not that girls can have equal lego prowess- I mean after all I am the supreme lego master of the house and I am a girl) but I do believe my love of legos will create a bond of play between me and my sons for many years to come. I am competitive in few things and I take my lego building seriously. There was quite a bit of trash talk over Christmas as smart daddy-o (yes mechanical engineer) I were intensely engaged in the building of the lego Santa Fe engine-and I am sure it comes as no surprise to any of you that I still reign supreme as the master lego builder in our home. This is a family fact. (although still disputed by wanna be smart daddy-o) Evidenced in the fact that I was recently invited to be the building supervisor for the tie interceptor and in the words of smart son "Mom, you can help me because you are the best lego builder in our family, and dad can clean up the vomit in the car because I think he would be the best in the family at that" (after smart baby and smart son got coughing so hard they both vomited in the car on the way to the drs)
I know many moms who hate legos because of their inherent messiness and tiny pieces. I had to laugh as I was at the lego store picking bricks from the brick wall and many moms were talking about how once their kids built something with legos they wouldn't let anyone touch them and cursing the tiny pieces; all this as I am shaking down our pick-a-brick box to fit just a few more singles in the remaining cracks extolling the virtues and possibilities of each piece to smart son. We have the reverse problem both my boys and husband once they build something want to disassemble it, add to it, or make it into other things (it is that spatial/engineering gene) and seriously I can't deny that type of play. I actually encourage it- yep it is the teacher in me.

lately I have been doing a series of monochromatic themed vehicles
here are a few from our "mother son building time" as smart son likes to call it

the all terrain tank for the sandy planet tatooine
Blue and yellow train platform for the mighty santa fe
the red samurai warrior vehicle inspired by Night of the Ninjas magic treehouse book
the white hothmobile (inspired by the snowy planet on return of the jedi- you should see my skilled ton-ton impersonation!- remember when they went out on the rescue mission- this could have saved the poor tonton from freezing!)
yellow and black bee mobile- used for collecting nectar and honey
green lantern mobile- inspired by the superhero stamps for birthday invites
imperial spy (laying down) seriously this was a great creation
the ice mobile- made almost entirely of clear blocks- also good for the planet hoth

Sink or Float- Can I get a spot on Letterman

Really my boys don't watch David Letterman (seriously smart son can't stay awake past 7:30! He will lay down where ever he is and go to sleep!) But somehow they learned to play sink or float. In fact the "sink -or- floatness" of objects is often a concern of smart sons as we are driving and he inquires as to the sink or float status of some random object or material. Smart son coaxed smart baby to be his assistant in this venture. I gave it my okay as long as it was not excessively destructive and would allow me to whip out teriyaki chicken for dinner. The downstairs bathroom sink was turned into the official sink or float test tank. I have a hard time discouraging such a great experience of the scientific process so along with my blessing when I told smart son to please get a towel from the kitchen and dry the "test objects" aka toys before returning them to playroom. Well 5 minutes later I was summoned with "Help mom- there is purple dye everywhere!It won't stop... HELP!" On my way to the bathroom I can't for the life of me figure out what sink of float test item would leak purple dye. Well I went in to find they were testing out a piece of black paper -and in following 1/2 of their mothers instructions- the "dry" part, minus the KITCHEN towel part they attempted to dry on my fluffy white "nice for company" hand towel (which is now purplish gray- despite soaking and washing) purplish dye is also covering smart baby's face and hands, dripping down the wall, covering the vanity. (not above picture is post clean-up!)

Lessons of the day-

1. black paper floats

2. black paper leaks purple dye when wet

3. black paper dye doesn't come out of white towels

4. smart baby will furtively, stealthily pilfer all 6 varieties of cookies from the 7 plates you have artfully assembled for the evenings FHE deliveries if you disappear into the laundry room in attempts to disprove #3) as you can see he has yet to internalize our family value of integrity- the little thief!