Sponge Ball and Boochie Review

Every so often I succeed.

But more often than not, it's an epic fail.

Before we went camping with all the cousins, ranging in age from 3 to 11, I purchased some sponges to make this craft.  It seemed so simple.  Almost too simple to be fun.

Boy was I wrong.

 

On day 1 in 95 degrees of humid heat, we cut up the sponges and tied them with dental floss and the kids got playing.

They got me a couple times, it felt really great and refreshing.
 

We hit a couple snags in the "he hit me" and "you are supposed to throw it, not tackle" aspects of the fun.

They were all soaked.

And all happy.

Now, that homemade fun was great, but you know what I think was better?

BOOCHIE!

If you have kids, you should get this game.  It will become my new standard gift for birthdays.  It is made by Gameright and has won all sorts of parenting awards. The game is recommended for kids ages 8 and up.  My 5 year old loved it.  I would say that if a parent or kind older sibling was playing, the little ones could have fun, too.  If they can throw, they can play.

The game is simple, a take on Bocce, with fun twists and turns.  It's a really fair game.  The more points you get, the harder your throws (or kicks) become.  Thinks like, sit on the ground and toss backwards.  Or use your knee to move the objects.

I had a lot of fun with it too!  The only issue I had, was that two of the wristband velcro straps came out of the fitting and it was a big pain to feed it back through.  I am sure this game will be a camping standard, as well as a boredom buster in this house!

{this moment}

No words, just a single photo that I want to savor and remember.

SYTYCD

So You Think You Can Dance

Great show.  It has the competition of amateurs and my love of dance.

I'm sharing this clip.  It is amazing.  Get prepared at the 1:35 mark.



If this show isn't in your weekly repertoire, it should be.

Or just check it out on You Tube and avoid all the commentary (especially Mary Murphy screaming).

Some of my other favorites this week are:



and



The one that stole the show (other than the first one in this post) is this girl power dance with Sasha and Melanie.



It's a great show for the dancers, the choreographers and for the guest judges.

You should watch.

Even if you don't think you can dance.

My (Not So) Perfect Garden

I don't have a fabulous yard.  

Yes, I take pretty pictures of the flowers that look nice, avoiding the ones eaten by bugs or missing petals.

It's only fair that you see the ugly parts of my yard to see that I am a real person, with a brown thumb at points.

My only pea pod vine that had produced two pods turned brown over the weekend while we were away.  Brown as in crispy, not just limp.  Brown.  Gone.

My maple trees.

Sick.  Like chicken pox for trees.  As sad as this is, my neighbors will be relieved and hopeful.  The previous owners planted six maple trees in a row, very close to my neighbors' new addition.  Maple trees aren't great for privacy.  These monsters now drop their many, many leaves in my neighbor's gutter (and my pond), so neither of us would be all that upset if they had to come down.

And my teasel.  Some would say my giant weed.

That it is.  I just never got to the point of pulling it out.  Then I realized what it was.

Weeds are living things, too.

So there you have it.  I have death and sickness and invasive giants in my yard (and green pond water).

And I'm proud of it.

Reading Challenge

I may have created a monster.

My favorite parenting magazine Family Fun by Disney had a couple summer ideas.  One, was a mom that set up a chart for her family to read books.  Each book gets a check mark.  The family member with the most checks at the end of the summer gets to choose a family outing.

Sounds perfect, right?  I whipped up a chart and stuck it on the fridge.  I couldn't wait to tell the kids about it.

They were both excited.  Immediately, O ran upstairs and before I knew it, had put his first check box on the chart.

Then a second.

And a third.

This is where it got all messy.  O is reading short phonics books.  Sam, not so much.  Well, Sam figured that he could read those same phonics books and get marks.

Back the truck up!

I don't want to count pages or anything, but that's just not fair.  A couple shaky voices asking about winning and losing and we figured that a third grade level book would receive multiple boxes checked.

And then O marks his fourth and fifth and all the way to eleven boxes.  This is in a two hour period.  I have created this reading monster, which isn't a bad thing, unless he is flaunting his reading prowess to his brother.

Which he was. 

I clearly have two very competitive boys.  Not only is this about reading, it has become a lesson in controlling emotions and not always being the winner.  Day one, people.  Day one.  So much for Disney's great ideas.  They clearly don't know my children.

I just wanted to encourage (yes, bribe) them to read.

Chenango Valley

 This place seems different every time we visit.

 New weeds to appreciate.

 New rock skipping skills to perfect.

 New rocks to find.

And new moments of quiet introspection on my boy's face to capture.

Remember This?

Oh, what I would give for some of the fluffy white stuff right now. 

I'm not made for the heat.

Makes me a cranky girl.

You?

Carrie at Four Months

This photograph appeared on my refrigerator the other day.  I assume my husband found it (when he also found my passport! thanks, Tom!).

When I was a kid, all we had were plastic beads on wire to play with.  Have you seen those jump around play stations?  Yowser.  No wonder my kids are bored at age 5.  They've been spoiled with all the fancy schmancy baby toys.

Back to sticks and stones

and plastic beads.

Hot Hot Hot: Part 2

As I suggested yesterday, it will be hot.

It is hot.

Enjoy some pictures from the final birthday event for 2011 (no more planning for me this year!).

Oh, it's hot.  Did you know?

Pearls and Beef Liver

This is my camera phone...oh, how I wished I had my real camera with me tonight.

The boys and I were picking up some items for our camping trip and while the order in front of us was waiting, I couldn't stop staring at the raw meat. 

Not just any raw meat.  Beef liver.  I guess you wouldn't consider that meat at all, right?  Organs.

But not just any beef liver.

Beef liver draped with pearls.

Only in America.

Only at WalMart.

Hot Hot Hot

This is all I have for you today.

It is hot. 

Our home doesn't have air conditioning. 

We'll be at the pool today.  And tonight.

And tomorrow.

Stay cool!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

 

How to Wash an Octopus

Forty-seven.

I've made forty-seven wool felted purses.  That's almost one for every state!

But with every bag, I learn something new.  A different, better way to accomplish the felting process.  I machine felt the majority of the bag, but there are always some parts that didn't fully felt.  This is usually were I burn the heck out of my hands.

The evil eye...

Wool felts with really hot water and detergent.  Laundry or dish soap is fine, but I'm finding that the dish soap works the best.  I happened to have some rubber gloves in the garage from Sam's birthday tie dye party.  I put them on to protect my hands from the hot water.  But what I discovered, is that the tiny bumps on the gloves were the best felting tool yet.

And it only took me 47 purses to figure it out.

(Special thanks to Tom for taking these amazing photos)