My Maren

Oh, my Maren. She is non stop. She is always busy. She currently enjoys musical instruments. Last night after dinner we were all given an instrument and told to play it.

This is what she created. 

Notice she is wearing my old Wonder Woman costume. 

This may also resemble a Katy Perry song.

She's a big Katy Perry fan, E.T.?

Spring Fling

I joined a MOMS club last year. It is an international club with local chapters. Their goal: Moms Offering Moms Support. It is great to get together with other moms. They put together a great calendar in case you need something to do. I've tried to be active in the club. In May our chapter does a Spring Fling. We went last year and had a fun time. This year I volunteered to do a craft project. (I feel bad not for volunteering for this sort of thing being that I have an art degree.) Then I had to come up with an idea. It became and art project, not a craft. I wanted something easy that could be left out for the kids, something more than sidewalk chalk. I wanted something not messy since there wouldn't be a sink for washing up. I needed something washable so we weren't staining clothes. I ended up using something similar to what we did at the Children's Museum last summer on their art deck. I bought squirt bottles and a big set of Crayola washable watercolor cakes. It took two cakes in each bottle to make it dark enough to work. I am glad I prepped early for this so I had time to problem solve. The dollar squirt bottles didn't work so well but the kids seem to love it. Here's Maren working on her art:

 (Mom this is why I needed clothes pins)

The onlooker

The park has a nice playground. Maren loves the swings.

 Lilly does too.

 Check out the green "grass" underneath her. It's a new addition to the park. Half of the playground is now covered with this fake lawn. It is super nice. It looks real, feels real, but has no weeds, doesn't need mowing or water - I need this stuff for my yard.

Unfortunately we didn't have picture perfect weather. Despite the weather we had good attendance and it was still a blast. The large shelter helped. Maren doesn't hide from the rain though. She's out lying around in it and jumping in puddles. 

At the end we do an egg hunt. There are tons of eggs thrown onto the lawn. It is a great time. Thanks to all the moms who helped make it a success.

Jumping Cousins

Maren and Lillian have cousins very close to their ages that live in Iowa. We are able to see recent pics and videos on their online photo album. Maren really likes to watch the videos. After viewing one similar to this she decided we had to make a video like it - so we did:

Can't wait to see the boys this weekend and get some great videos with all of them!

This one's older too

It's from earlier this month. I didn't teach her this. She just came up to me with it.

I'll have to credit her sister. 

Videos

As I mentioned I will always be behind on my video posts. I am a stickler for chronology so this is tough but I thought some may still enjoy them even if they are older.

I bought a sand box at a consignment sale.

I soon regretted it. 

Bouncing Lilly.

Note my chaotic, circus-like life.

Beautiful weather

We has some really gorgeous weather this week. Luckily the girls and I are able to get out and enjoy it.

I had fun taking their pics in the backyard in the later afternoon sun.

Fishing opener

Matt was going to the Lake cabin this past weekend. HE was going. No fair, I want to go too. So I did. I have a car. I can pack and drive and take care of the kids. I don't want to be stuck at home alone with them after a long winter. I vacuumed the house, packed, and was on the road at 11:15am. Where there is a will there is a way.

The cabin has this iron spiral stair case. Cool, right!? Sure, it takes up very little space and who doesn't want one of those? Yikes. Not the greatest. The older kids use them as a jungle gym and us adults just hit our heads on them on the way to the bathroom. Now, try carrying the luggage up...

So Lillian tried to climb them of course. This is what you get when you tell her no:

 

it's so hard not to laugh, or smile, or just let her do it. How can you resist?

Telling her she can't have something Maren or I are having doesn't go quite as well. It's a whine with a point and a yell and a scream and a cry if she doesn't get what she just pointed at. It is so much easier to just give it to her. Hence, her first piece of licorice: 

We all managed to get some time on the lake. It's a big lake. It has its own weather systems. Opener proved to be very cold, very windy, and thankfully- partly sunny. With the weather back home I had long since put everyone's winter clothes away. Lesson learned, don't do that until after you've gone to the lake in May. Yes, I am wearing gloves. Good thing my hubby had some in his vehicle. I NEVER would have made it without them. 

Almost a 20 incher.

We are just happy to be catching walleye. (We usually pull up sheep head)

To Maren the lake cabin means swimming. She asked me to pack her suit. I told the water would be real cold but she insisted. I did and then of course she insisted on wearing it and swimming in the lake. The best way for her to learn what I mean when I say the water is cold? Let her go in. There is always a hot shower waiting for her. She was so excited she ran all the way to the beach.

That is as far in as she went but she ran on the beach and played in the sand and would have continued to do so if I wasn't shivering in my sweatshirt (hood up) and tennies. I made her go in after we'd been out there for almost 15 minutes. Then, the hot shower. I can't believe she was out there so long!

Sunday was just that, sunny. It was a little less windy and a little warmer. The kids got to go on the boat to fish. Maren was pumped!

She was excited to catch a fish right away.

No one had the heart to tell her that it was her minnow.

He pole did catch two walleye. I wasn't on the boat so I don't know for sure who was at the other end and how much catching should actually be credited to her, but as her mom, I am sure she wrangled those fish like a champ.

Driving the boat:

She laid down in the front of the boat and fell asleep! She won't nap in her bed but she'll nap on a boat??!! Are you kidding me?

 We had a great time. My back could do without the ten plus hours in a car in three days but the girls were great and we caught some fish. Matt even got the windows worked on like he was suppose to. Now to catch up on the housework.

An 80 degree day in May

On Tuesday last week it got up to 80 degrees. It was a random event as this week's highs are only in the 60s and as you may have already read it didn't get into the 50s on Saturday up north.

I took advantage of the great weather and filled up the kiddie pool for the first time this year. My girls love the water! This was a real treat for them. The treat for me: I got to use my new rain barrel for the first time and I also got time to myself to pull weeds and turn over the garden beds a few feet away. They played in here for about an hour and a half. They would have continued if it wasn't dinner time and there was any water left inside.

Maren loves to get her hair wet. She chose this "toy" right away to bring from the bathroom to the pool.

This is one of those phases. When Lilly has something now she holds it out to you. I don't know if she's showing me or if she wants me to tell her what it is called so she can practice her words. Maybe she is just too excited to keep it to herself and is handing it to me to share. 

You tell me.

Maren lets me take her picture if she can make a funny face and then see it immediately on the camera screen. Drama, drama, drama, it's a good thing I signed her up for a theatre class through community education this summer.

Note: I should have remembered to empty that last bit of water out of the pool. Otherwise as you are drawing with chalk on the driveway the next afternoon you eleven month old will crawl right into the pool in her clothes and then you have to let the three year old do the same thing. 

Ew, that water was dirty.