The Fun Uncle

Did you have one growing up? Or many, as I did?  That fun uncle who plays cars for hours, takes you swimming when your parents think it's too cold to bother, and tosses you over and over onto the bed.  Soren and Jude have 4 uncles on my side who spoil them with attention (and gifts).

This weekend, we spent some time with Uncle Jeff, mucking around in the bay near the beaches in Delaware, a favorite spot for our family.

Since it was a pretty overcast and drizzly weekend, we didn't get in any swimming, but still played in the water.  And the boys were so happy to be with their doting uncle (and we parents were just as happy too, to get a break for relaxing and drinking hot coffee and reading, something we don't get to do much at home).

Uncle Jeff is the fun uncle who spends an entire day on a paddle board, exploring the bays, and hoping that Soren and Jude will one day join him.  So far no luck in coaxing S onto it, at least this season.

But walks in the woods to hunt for "bad guys" will suffice.

Even Jude can't get enough of "Un-ca Def", which was the first word he said when waking from a nap, followed by "bed" (referring to Jeff throwing the boys onto the beds).

Every kids needs a fun uncle (or aunt), wouldn't you say, even if it's not a relative by blood?   Oddly, I think I could be a fun aunt, though I'm not always so fun with my kids. I think the sheer amount of work it takes to raise them is just too exhausting to leave much time for fun, at least for me.  Plus Soren and I clash a lot, so often when I think we're going to have a blast together, it sours quickly.  Not so with his uncle though.

 Did you have a fun uncle or aunt?  What memories do you have?

Hands, Paper, Sun Craft with Elmer's Naturals

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Elmer’s. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

With Father's Day quickly approaching, I've been thinking of ways to celebrate the dads in our lives, including my husband.  Since my eldest son's preschool ends this month, I can't rely on his teachers to come up with some cool craft like they do for Mother's Day (yea teachers!  And no, I'm not really so lazy as to not want to make a card/gift with my kids), so I had to think of something fun to make with the kids for Chris.

We always have an abundance of paper, and this week we also got to test out some of Elmer's School Glue Naturals, made of 99% natural ingredients.

We are always up for crafting, which allows me to exercise my old art teacher skills while engaging in a creative activity with my son.  Elmer's is the only glue I bought for students when I was a teacher, so I have a lot of experience using it.  I was eager to see how their line of natural glues held up when making our Father/Sun craft (pun intended).

It's a very simple project you can do with your kids, and it is made up of tracings of their little hands, which is meaningful and sweet.

Here's what you'll need:

• Construction paper (we used orange and yellow)
• Scissors
• Elmer's School Glue Naturals glue stick
• Elmer's School Glue Naturals glue
• Pencil
• Markers
• Sequins
• Ribbon or string for hanging
• Paper Plate

STEP ONE
Trace your child's hand onto a piece of the construction paper.

Since I have two kids, we have a mix of small and smaller hands in both yellow and orange.

We cut out the hands,

then I folded the other papers and cut out multiple hands at once

STEP TWO
Gather all your hands and your glue stick,

then glue your hands around the outside of your paper plate.

Please ignore my "rounded" square plate.  It's the best one I had on hand!

STEP THREE
This step is optional, but I felt it added a little more pizazz to the artwork.  We cut out two circles out of orange and yellow paper, one larger than the other, and glued them together with the glue stick.

Then we glued that to the center of our plate using the Elmer's School Glue Naturals glue.

This helps jazz up a plain white plate too, if you're using one.

STEP FOUR
In the center of the sun, I wrote the lyric "You are my sunshine, You make me happy when skies are gray." but you could certainly write something like "you are the sunshine of my life", etc.  Then spell out "Dad" in glue and let the kids add sequins for sunny sparkle.

You could add a little heart too, out of glue.

STEP FIVE
When the glue is dry, turn the sun over and glue a length of ribbon to the back.

Allow to dry, then hang in a prominent place on Father's Day.

As for my take on Elmer's new natural glues, I found no difference in using these as compared to their traditional glue.  I would definitely have no problem replacing the traditional glue with Elmer's Naturals, especially knowing they are made from 99% natural ingredients, great for those glue-eaters that I've come across as a teacher. :)

Be sure to enter Elmer's Pin-to-Win Sweepstakes, where you can win an Elmer's Naturals prize pack and $100 gift card.

Details are on the Elmer's Facebook page under the Pin to Win tab.

Open Door Policy

Growing up, I recall my parents, especially my dad, constantly shouting to my brothers the tired phrase "shut the door, we don't live in a barn!".  Or something like that.  Which was promptly met with deep eye-rolling from us, thinking that phrase was so silly, and probably confusing to us, since we lived in a neighborhood (albeit in a teeny, rural town).

It's true, most people don't live in a barn, but as a parent now, I can relate to that phrase.  In and out, out and in, the front and back doors are constantly in motion these days.  So much so that I had to oil them, as to reduce that post-winter creaking from the hinges.

While I love that my kids spend so much time outside, especially in the light of reading this article, the parade of neighborhood kids traipsing through the doors is something I have to remind myself to embrace, especially at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when I've had my fill of little voices and shoes.

 

Pre-parenthood, I always wanted to be that mom in the neighborhood whose house the kids always congregated toward. 

Surprisingly, I am still happy to live in THAT house, the one where the kids hang out.  Whether it's facilitating a May Day teepee, filling a wading pool and getting out the squirt guns, or just mentioning the possibility of a popsicle treat, I (mostly) like hosting the kids, and I'm pretty sure they like being here.

It can obviously be exhausting and stressful, keeping an eye out for sometimes 6 small beings and their antics and monitoring behavior, especially sibling rivalry.  It is sometimes funny too, like when Soren and one boy yesterday were peeing in my flower bed and then discussing whether to try pooping in it too.  Oh boys!  Thankfully it wasn't in our veggie garden, which is coming along beautifully, despite an unexpected frost a few nights ago.

A perpetually-busted screen is proof that kids inhabit a house

While I try not to secede my home entirely to children (as evidenced by my plants and decor), I do appreciate seeing the evidence of their existence left behind via their toys, crumbs and dirt.

That is, when there's a quiet moment to reflect upon it, especially during preschool/nap time for the boys.  Which I'm certainly frittering away on the computer right now.  It's hard to muster up appreciation when boys are snapping your lilac bush with swords.

It's still a work in progress for me, this living-with-children, especially boys.  Incrementally, I'm letting go of a tidy house, because when you really confront the fact that cleaning+kids=more cleaning, it's actually easy to let go of it.  You'll never get more neat-freak satisfaction than that 20 minutes of time when all the laundry is done and the floors are clean, so why stress for such a brief moment?

So please excuse me while I throw open the doors, smile when the kids come in, and ignore those sticky fingerprints on the glass.

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Mother's Day and First Lettuce (and a Recipe)

Sadly, this should be a Mother's Day rehash post, full of gorgeous photos of homemade presents, flowers, and a picnic in the park, in honor of my womb.

Oh, well, what the heck, I'm throwing you a bone here with a few photos.  Here I am above on a walk with my eldest.  Coffee was involved in the destination.

Then I went on another on a walk with my youngest later that afternoon, as seen below.

It was a divide-and-conquor kind of Mother's Day.  And somehow my hair manages to darken as the day goes on, same Instagram filter and all.

Those walks were the highlight of the day.  However, Chris did make me pancakes for breakfast and Soren made me a sweet card.  But I was fighting a cold, poor me, and there was a birthday party that afternoon to prevent us from making any grand plans.  Yes, I give up MY one day for the children (poor me, again, huh?).  I did spend a lot of time reflecting on how grateful I am for them, and their healthy, happy lives.  It's truly an honor being a mother, despite the frustration and exhaustion.

Anyway, I did manage to accomplish a lot on Saturday while S was at t-ball.  Vacuuming, cleaning and prepping fruits and veggies, and harvesting our first head of lettuce from the garden.  Having stocked the fridge the night before, I had the makings for a tasty, out-of-the-ordinary (at least in our house) salad dressing for these special greens. 

This is not just a tasty, creamy salad dressing, but also good with tortilla chips, kind of like a thinner guacamole.

AVOCADO LIME SALAD DRESSING

• 1 ripe avocado, sliced
• juice of one lime
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced or smashed into a paste
• 1/4-1/2 cup water, to thin the dressing

You're smart.  You basically just put all these things (minus the water) in a blender or food processor, then add the water until you have the consistency you like.  Drizzle it over a salad with lots of greens and maybe a few black beans tossed in.  Crushed tortilla chips would be a good move too. Dig in!

 Hope you moms out there enjoyed your day yesterday!

The Sweetest Place on Earth

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit Hersheypark in lovely Hershey, Pennsylvania many times when I was growing up.  My family didn't live locally (we were about an hour away), however I probably visited at least once a year during a family outing or school field trip.  We'd sometimes meet up with cousins who didn't live in our town, and I recall one time visiting Hersheypark with my cousin from Georgia.  There's no way she was coming all the way up to PA and not riding The Comet.

My memories of Hersheypark are obviously infused with the smell of chocolate, but they also evoke other senses.  The excited screams from The Sooperdooperlooper, the feel of water spraying from the Coal Cracker flume's plunge, the colorful landscaping, and the taste of the Reese's S'mores from the cart in Peddler's Circle have all contributed to my enduring and endearing memories of Hersheypark.

I recall my parents, aunts and uncles enjoying the time spent at Hersheypark too, mostly because of the food, but for the adult activities like live music in the park, the spectacular views of Hershey from The Kissing Tower, and even the Carousel, which magically transports adults back to childhood.

Speaking of live music, there is a lot going on this summer in Hershey, whether at the Hersheypark Stadium, Hersheypark Arena, The Star Theater, The Hershey Theater or the Giant Center.  Performers include Jay Z and Justin Timberlake, Matchbox 20, The Dave Matthews Band, and more.  You can find more info HERE.

Hershey, PA is an easy drive from most major cities on the East Coast (90 min. from Philadelphia and Baltimore, 2 hours from Washington, DC, and 3 hours from New York) so it makes a great place for a quick (or long!) getaway for your family.  I can't wait to take the boys this summer, especially to play in the new Shoreline Sprayground in The Boardwalk area of the park.

To book your own Hershey vacation, call 1-800-HERSHEY or visit HersheyPA.com.