Friday, December 30, 2011

Merry Christmas, for real.

Ok guys, Christmas this year ROCKED!

And honestly, I think it was because of my new(ish) strong ties with my church. The Wednesday before Xmas I went caroling with some members of my church, my group of carolers went to an assisted living/nursing home and got to sing to a lot of members of our church who have a hard time getting out and about. It felt so good to see the joy on their faces, and also was kind of eye-opening since none of the elder generation in my family has had to go to any facilities yet.

Then on Friday, I signed up to go bell-ringing for Salvation Army - again through church. I thought it was just gonna be me and Buddy, but an older couple from church that I idolize came with, and I talked my dad into coming, and one of my girls from the B&G Club met us there... and that was awesome too! We sang carols in 4-part harmony (which always makes me happy), we made a lot of money for the Salvation Army, and afterwards my dad, Buddy, and I went out to dinner with that couple I love and had some great conversation.

And that was all BEFORE Christmas! Christmas Eve we went bowling with Buddy's dad's side of the family, which was fun. Buddy's grandma from that side made us a scrapbook type thing on shutterfly which was absolutely amazing!
Then also on Christmas Eve we went to 2 church services, one at 5pm which Buddy got to participate in and one at 10pm where my dad and I sang in the choir. Oh, and we also fit in a quick stop at my grandparent's house!

On Christmas Day we went over to my mom's house and had a delicious brunch.

I got a lot of great presents, and so did Buddy, but our favorites so far are a new camera (Mom) and a pillow pet (Buddy)! This year we didn't have much money to spare on gifts, so I had to struggle not to feel guilty receiving nice things... I just had to keep reminding myself that when I give, I don't do it expecting something in return, so hopefully my family and friends feel the same way.

Anyway, XMAS WAS GREAT and now I'm almost done with Buddy's vacation week. Next week he goes back to school, then a few weeks later I start up again... but I'm enjoying the free time till then!
My boys! Before I figured out how to use the flash on my new camera.

Buddy with his pillow pet

Super cool hot wheels track!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Merry Christmas!!

Too lazy to update about everything that has gone on within the last few weeks, so instead I'll leave you with some cute pictures I took of my buddy tonight WITH MY NEW CAMERA I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS!

He loved his soap mohawk!


I told him to make a "Sid Vicious" face, this was his best effort!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

This is my life...

So I was uploading my pictures from my phone today, and I realized that I have a bunch of videos that I never post. Mostly because they're short and ridiculous. But, since I'm out of things to write about... enjoy!

Taken today. I'm really irritated with the weather.



He's singing "they got a touchdown" and at the end he shouts "Lambeau!"


From this fall, Buddy's cousin can do cool tricks on the playground!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Paranoia About Pride

You know what I'm stressing about all over again? Buddy's school next year. Because the time is coming soon where I have to decide between 3 options...

1) stay in the Montessori Preschool that he went to this year, just go full days. This would be great because so far this year he has flourished, and learned things I didn't expect him to be able to comprehend hello, place value? and after a few bumps in the road he ended up making friends and really enjoying it. (I am concerned about this because I worry that he will end up stagnant, and since he loves teaching others I worry that he will just focus on helping his younger friends, rather than moving forward with his own learning. This is already starting to be the case, so I'm  not just being paranoid)

2) Send him to the Montessori Charter School that is currently housed in a local middle school. This would keep him in the same style of learning that he's so far done well with, and let him continue to be challenged by his older classmates and move at his own pace through different studies. (I am concerned about this because I worry about him graduating this school at 5th grade and then having to go on to middle school... what an awkward time to have to get used to another style of teaching/learning! Also, selfishly, it would mean I would need to drive him to and from the school every day, which might be fine but also might be a pain, depending on the job I had at the time)

3) Send him to Lincoln Elementary. Now, this one is tough. Lincoln is known for being in one of the lower-income districts of town (makes sense, I'm low income as well). And it houses a lot of students who need remedial help in English Language Learning, and it's also the school that gets the toughest Special Needs kids. HOWEVER, I know the teachers there. And they are absolutely amazing. And if my kid ends up being advanced, I have no doubts that they will notice and help him as best they can. And if he needs help in things, I know that they are capable of helping! Also, I know that it is almost immeasurably good for my child to be brought up with diversity, and understanding of others situations. (Honestly, the only dilemma here is a social one. Should I send my child to a school known to hold 'disadvantaged' kids? My kid is technically disadvantaged because of his family situation and our financial hardships, but I try as hard as I can to keep him as stimulated in all ways as possible. Also, is it possible that because this school has to work so hard to help the students who are behind, that it maybe couldn't help my son go as far as he wanted?)

I don't know what to do. I'm full of dilemmas. Buddy wants to either just take Kindergarten at his current Montessori and then go on to Lincoln, or go on to Lincoln right away.

Also, I feel like I'm making this assumption on the basis that Buddy is advanced in his learning. And even though I think that, and his close family and friends think that, it's obviously possible we are biased...

Does anyone have advice? Is Montessori really that much better? So far I'm not feeling like it is...
Either way, I don't have to start looking at schools seriously till February. Told you I was paranoid!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Work Update

I just wanted to quickly post about my job here, because I think last time I wrote I was sort of negative. I think I'm finally finding my groove, finally starting to be accepted by the kids and understand my place in the whole scheme of things!
I'm running the art program, like I said, but that's really just an excuse to get kids to do SOMETHING, anything. Because honestly, with no space to display artwork, and no specific art room it's tough to motivate the kids to feel like there's a point in making anything.
But the kids (I should really stop calling them "kids", they are all at least 12) like to hang out with me now, and so they come do activities just because I'm running them, and I'm worming my way into lots of different groups of friends, so I feel like I can sit down with anyone and they will want to talk to me which is awesome :)
Anyway, I'm feeling like I'm sort of important, kids look forward to seeing me and talking with me, and I hope I'm making a difference!
So this is all good, and it makes it much easier to go to work every day now that I feel like there is a point to what I'm doing. I hope it continues to go this well!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

It's beginning to look a lot like...

We put up our Christmas tree today! It took a lot of rearranging of my living room, since I don't actually have a lot of wall space in my living room, and I'm not exactly pleased with the way my couches/shelves/desk look right now.

However, the tree looks fantastic!
Shiloh just starting to get the decorations on!

Look how pretty! I don't like to have color schemes or themes in decorations on my tree, I want it to be fun and colorful and full of good memories. This is why I put on all the homemade felt ornaments I made at 12, even though now I think they look ridiculous! And there are disco balls, and lots of sparkly shiny tacky ornaments, and I love them :)

I like this picture lots, even though neither of us are making very normal faces. Also, you can see the stuffed felt angel I made when I was 12 (as previously mentioned)! I also made a camel, a snowman, a candycane, and a Christmas tree :)

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Elf on the Shelf

So, even though Buddy's dad and I aren't together, his family and I are pretty close still. And I got some messages from Buddy's Aunt Bethany, who found this great, sort of interactive Christmas story called "The Elf on the Shelf". It is a story about an elf who is your friend for the weeks leading up to Christmas, and he goes and tells Santa every night if you were good or bad. It comes with an elf doll, that is supposed to be moved every night while the child is asleep so he looks like he has gone to the North Pole and back! Then, Grandma Lynn surprised me with the whole set when she came to get Buddy for the weekend at his dad's.

Anyway, Buddy just got home from his dad's to find this in his room:
Notice his rock collection, it's always growing and changing!
He was so stunned he didn't even know what to say! He wasn't sure if he was supposed to see it, or if he was supposed to wait for something, couldn't decide whether to get in and see or hang back for directions!
"Mom, is it OK? Can I check it out?"
We  read the story, Buddy named his elf "Fuzzy" and is really excited about it! My curious boy has asked about a thousand questions about the elf, has been running to tell Fuzzy things all night, and I caught him telling Fuzzy what he wanted for Christmas!

Anyway, thanks Aunt Bethany for the awesome idea, and thanks Grandma Lynn for getting this for us! We're having lots of fun with it!


Saturday, December 10, 2011

I Love Drama.

So, once or twice a year, one of my old professors takes a group of students from her college on a field trip to see some amazing theatre. And even though I haven't actually been a student of hers in a long time, she always invites me along, and I always jump at the chance to go with!
Last spring I wrote this post about the shows I went to and my experience, and I figured I'd stick with the tradition :)

So this year we again went to Milwaukee for our "fine art adventure". First we stopped at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where there was an Impressionist exhibit showing. Although I have to admit - even though it means I'm an uncultured hooligan - I didn't really enjoy that exhibit much. I liked much better the modern art, which was sometimes weird and nonsensical, but always amusing! Even if I didn't understand it, it made me laugh or think... rather than go "oh look, another pretty naked girl". Anyway, I'm uncouth.

Next on the agenda was The Rep, otherwise known as the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. And this time around, we saw a musical called Next to Normal, which I knew almost nothing about. I heard it was a musical about mental illness, and I chose not to find out anymore information so that I would be moved and surprised when I saw it.
So, it turns out that Next to Normal is about a woman who suffers from bipolar disorder that verges on schizophrenia and how she tries to cope with it. But more moving than her story, I thought, was the story of her family and how the disease affects them in different ways. The most moving part was how even though they all loved each other, they were all being hurt and all spiraling horribly out of control, because the disease took over each of their lives.

I'm not sure how much you readers know about my life, but a lot of this hit really close to home for me, especially the storyline about the daughter who felt neglected and then turned to drugs for comfort.
Needless to say, I sobbed through parts of the first act, and almost ALL of the second act. It was a healthy cry though, and we all came out of the theatre wanting to talk about how mental illness or other "shameful" illnesses had affected our families.

Anyway, it was a fabulous time, and a very good reward for me finishing up the semester, and now I'm exhausted and ready to go to bed! Goodnight everyone :) 

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Questions?

Things that Buddy has asked me today that had me baffled:

  • How come "craisins" sounds like cranberries but "raisins" doesn't sound like grapes? Shouldn't we call them "graisins"?
  • Why are soccerballs made out of pentagrams? Could they be made out of octagons instead? 
  • Why does milk get bad? How long can you leave it out of the fridge before you have to dump it?
  • If plastic is bad for the earth, why are so many things made out of it?
Can anyone come up with reasonable answers for these questions? Because it might just be because it's finals week, but I feel like all I said today was "I have NO clue!"
This is how my head feels this week.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Yoga Night

So, Mama is not exactly the healthiest of people. I have been known to eat a bag of chips for dinner, and finish it off with some soda and a nice helping of popcorn. Also, I am NOT a regular exerciser. I try every once in a while, but it usually doesn't last. But, since I have an active 5-year old, I figure I'd better make an effort.

This weeks effort: YOGA!

I found a DVD my mom gave me a few years ago, and popped it in Sunday night. It felt good, and also hard. But I didn't sweat too much, and other than having to laugh at how bad I am at it, I really enjoyed it.

I also did some yoga with Buddy last night before bed, and he fell asleep minutes after I tucked him in! I'm not sure it was the yoga that helped him fall asleep so fast, but it couldn't have hurt :)

So, tonight I invited my two-fer (friend and cousin) Korrin over and we're gonna YOGA. To this DVD. Which, according to Amazon, is worth a whopping $0.01!
I'll let ya know how it goes :)

UPDATE: It went pretty good! It was a busy night, so we only got to do one of the shorter routines on the video. But we're planning on making it a bi-weekly thing, so hopefully Wednesdays and Sundays will become Yoga days! Maybe eventually we will feel comfortable enough to go to a class... doubtful though.

Another hilarious thing... knees, ankles, necks, wrists, hips, and practically every other joint in the body was heard to crack tonight. Also, possibly, a few toots were let out! (Hey, you "relax your digestive track" and then try to do moves where you crunch over and move from side to side and see if you don't do the same!) It was good that I was doing it with my cousin, because although we both actually committed to doing the moves right, we also weren't above giggling when things were goofy :)

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Comment Tutorial

** Disclaimer: if you are under the age of 30 or use a computer regularly, this post is probably not worth your time!**

Also, I swear, this post isn't me begging for comments! I'm quite pleased with the number I'm getting :)

However, I've had quite a few family members and friends complain that they still can't figure out how to send me one, so I took pictures and am hoping this will help!

 Step 1)
At the bottom of each post, there is a bar that looks like this. You click on the part that says "comments" (I drew a yellow arrow to it!)

Steps 2,3,4)
2) Write your comment in the box (labeled in red)

3) Choose "Anonymous" from the menu where it asks you to "Comment as"

4) Click "Post Comment"!

I hope this helps the less computer savvy readers of my blog!

Friday, November 25, 2011

We Give Thanks

Thanksgiving was great this year. My family went up north to visit my grandparents, which was a really good idea!
My dad and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner together, like we have for the last few years.

Yum, pies and stuffing! Notice that my dad is still in pajamas and that I'm looking overtired and crabby... but that stuffing looks delicious!!

Eventually the whole family got in on the cooking act, which was hilarious! My Grandpa, who watched us cook for almost the whole time, decided to help with the potatoes. He grabbed the electric beater to mash them up... and shot them all over the walls! Epic. Seriously, made me laugh SO HARD!



Look at that spread! Amazing :)

Thanksgiving family dinner  (minus my dad, who took the picture)
 There was also ATV-ing, walks in the woods, I talked with my Grandma for hours about parenting and other  deep things... it was a great vacation and I want it to happen again. Like, next weekend.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Potayto, Potahto

This weekend was a "Mommy weekend", meaning I got to have Buddy all weekend and we didn't have a thousand things to do!
So we did whatever we wanted, and I'm really glad I got the chance to reconnect with my buddy.

we got to:

  • go hardcore grocery shopping for all our favorite things (foodstamps finally came in!)
  • have an entire afternoon devoted to board games
  • take lots of walks
  • watch the new Winnie the Pooh
  • go to church
  • cook together (we made "fun food" which I haven't done in forever!)
  • finally get the house straightened up
  • make art!
The last one has picture evidence, as usual :)
We made potato stamps, which is something I hadn't tried before but it went pretty well, other than my poor knife skills making his designs not turn out perfect!
First attempt, a "slightly wonky" star

Buddy wanted them to be two-toned

stars and moon stamps

painting takes lots of concentration

moon, lightning bolt, flower, and star (already cut off potato)

my son, the goober!
I never feel like I have time to do projects like this anymore, but when I can make the time it ends up being totally worth it!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Good Week

picture has nothing to do with post, I just think it's cute!
Thanks, Teresia, for letting him  wear your awesome hat!
I don't really know what to say this week! Ever since the amazing response to my last post, everything I have to write just seems insignificant :)

After experiencing selfless generosity, I really want to find a way to make that kind of difference in someone else's life, but I have to accept that I can't do it with money or material goods (I just don't really have any to give) so I've been trying to completely throw myself into working with the kids at the Boys & Girls Club.

I don't know exactly how much everyone knows about that organization, I for one knew hardly anything about it before I took the position! But it turns out that the program is absolutely amazing. It provides a place for youth from 4th grade through High School to go hang out after school, in an environment that is positive and supportive and encourages good choices.

I run an art program there, and I know that I have at least 3 or 4 kids who show up on Tuesdays and Thursdays just for my art. Not that it's anything special, I have limited materials and not that much free time to be creative with them. But I think just the opportunity for these kids (60%  are low-income/poverty stricken) to just be themselves and express their feelings without any judgement that makes them come back! Not to mention, I'm no great artistic talent myself, I'm just very enthusiastic!

I don't want to go into too much detail about my experiences, since many of the youth I work with are junior high/high school aged and I think it would be an invasion of privacy to write about them without permission. But I've heard some amazing stories, and I'm really hoping that I'm making a difference in their lives. I only wish I could give more!

Anyway, after all the drama that the beginning of this week brought, I'm feeling positive about the outcome, not only for myself and my son but for all the people we are thinking of in a different light now. Buddy was just saying yesterday how we should go through his toys and give his older ones to Goodwill, so "people who needed toys like we needed oatmeal" would be able to be happy :)
Teaching my son about giving and how it makes everyone feel amazing was definitely a great positive to this week! Once I have a free minute (hopefully this weekend) we're going to go through our stuff and see if there is anything that we have that we don't need, and hopefully find a way to pass on the kindness that was given to us!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Money (and love) makes the world go around. *EDITED*

You guys, I don't know what to do. I'm having money issues. Buddy's father lost his unemployment money a few weeks ago with no warning, so he's basically stopped paying any child support. I'm working every hour that I can, but that has costs too, like babysitting and gas to get there.
And I can't afford to pay my bills. I've had to ask my father twice in recent history to help me out, and even with that I'm scraping by. I needed to have $180 today to pay a daycare bill. I have $176 to my name. And that means that I can't pay that bill, plus I can't buy any groceries, gas, or any other neccesities. I have talked to Buddy's father a few times about this, because he's all proud that he is finally able to start saving money. I've mentioned that I really need some help paying for essential things for Buddy, and he doesn't say anything. I'm out of sandwich meat, and bread, and fruit. I can't buy any. I'll get paid on Thursday but most of that money is already spoken for. Next week is Thanksgiving, which is lovely and all but means I lose 2 days worth of work.
I try to put on a good face, act like everything is fine, but every time I think about money I want to burst into tears. There is nothing more I can do, and I can't live on what I have.
So, when you are completely out of money, how to you get by? Any suggestions?

EDIT: You guys are amazing. I don't know how it happened and I certainly didn't expect it, but I posted this entry this morning, and by this afternoon all sorts of miracles had happened. I had friends and family with almost as little as me offering to take me grocery shopping. I had friends and family offering to help out with Buddy while I work. And most amazing of all...

By the time I got to Buddy's school this afternoon, some angel(s) had paid my bill up through the end of November. I was also given bags of food, and a giant hug and understanding from the director. I cried, of course.

I don't know who did this wonderful thing for me, but I'd just like to offer a HUGE "thank you" and a virtual hug! Feel sure that when I am able to do the same for another person in need, I will take the chance gladly. Again, thanks to all of you, SO SO MUCH!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

I know it's lame to write a post about how I'm not writing posts... but I'm really just too busy! School has gotten intense, I'm either at school or work for pretty much all daylight hours, and I'm somehow supposed to work quality time with Buddy in there, as well as keep my house in shape.

I haven't had time to take any pictures, or do ANYTHING fun. I'm hoping that this weekend when Buddy goes to his father's house, I'll be able to catch up on stuff and things maybe won't be so hectic. Otherwise, until December 18th I'm going to be one busy lady.

I'll try to post some, but I doubt I'll be able to keep up the twice a week standard that I set for myself. Sorry!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

I Take It Back.

It's not that he's a wimp, he's an artist! I bought him a paint by numbers kit a few days ago. We finally busted it out this afternoon (it's been a long week, I needed a quiet activity) and he worked in complete silence for about an hour. I love it.
The concentrating face is my favorite.

I kept trying to capture it perfectly, I couldn't get it.

upside down picture!

"OK Mom, if I sorta smile at you will you get that camera out of my face?"

Parenting Problems

Ladies and Gentleman, I have a confession to make.
I have raised a wimp. My kiddo is a sweet, smart, funny, charming kid. He is also a total scaredy-cat.
I feel like I've done something wrong! This Halloween, when we were trick-or-treating, he was so terrified to go to certain houses that he stiffened like a board and cried at the thought of taking a few more steps, to verify that the "scary things" were just plastic toys. He begged me to just go collect his candy for him! (Of course, I refused.)
This weekend, we went to an indoor water park to celebrate his birthday. I wasn't even trying to convince him to go on the big scary slides, just one medium sized enclosed one. He wouldn't even try it. Again, cried, stiffened up, went hysterical.
Last night, sleeping in the hotel room, we turned off the lights and he was so terrified of the dark that he begged to hold my hand. Then, kept his death-grip on my hand for about 45 minutes before finally falling asleep.
I don't know what I've done wrong to raise such a wimpy kid, but I think I need to try something seriously different. I've been reading about "Free Range Kids" and although I personally think it's an awesome idea, I think that Buddy wouldn't ever want to try something on his own!
Anyone have any suggestions? How to I turn my little domestic chicken into a free range-r?

Friday, November 4, 2011

My Baby is 5!!!

Today was Buddy's birthday. Although, since he's so old, maybe I should just start calling him Bud! He's 5 years old today, and though his "party" (sleepover with 1 friend, but at an indoor waterpark!) isn't until Saturday...
There was no way I wasn't doing something special today. So:

This is actually a toy Bud got a week or 2 ago, for his baptism. But it's as ridiculously expensive and fancy as his new present (an Imaginext Samurai Castle) so it totally counts as a present! (plus, as a broke single mommy, I couldn't afford either toy. So thank god for affluent relatives!!!)

My presents to my kiddo were a Spiderman Puzzle ($2, thank god for Fleet Farm) and a kid-proof video camera! We already put together the puzzle, and guess what? Although it has 5 corners, it's missing 1 middle piece! I guess that's what you get when you buy a $2 puzzle, but Bud didn't really care at all :)

The video camera was a stroke of genius though, he's already taken 13 videos that he decided were "worth it to keep" and you will probably be subjected to some of them soon!

Other than that, I tried to keep his birthday a fun, non-materialistic, event. We went outside and drew a beautiful picture/mural/ "awesome thing"... you can guess who named it the "awesome thing":




The rest of this evening was spent with his dad and that side of the family, which I'm assuming went well after the "samurai castle" incident!
When he finally got home, we tried to calm ourselves down by telling a birthday story. I was a little stumped about how to explain, since his birth (and life so far) have been anything but traditional. But I found this wonderful story online (which I lost the link for since I'm a putz) that gave me a good start, so I just told how a perfect angel was up in heaven and really wanted a chance on earth so he waited and waited until he found his perfect mommy and his perfect daddy and he came to earth.
Then we went through special moments of each year he's been alive. He absolutely loved it, I kind of hope he's interested in it forever so it can become a tradition! And yes, it was an AMAZING birthday.



Thursday, November 3, 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

This is Halloween!

So, I went to Madison for FreakFest this year, which is something I've never done before! And honestly, I probably wouldn't do it again, I didn't enjoy State Street and Madison is stressful. However, I got to hang out with some amazing friends that I haven't been able to really spend time with in a long time, and that part was a blast!
The boys, as followers of the cult of Zoltan!


Me and Shane, my oldest friend! We've known each other since Kindergarten :)
On Sunday, I drove back from Madison with Shane, then immediately got into my own car and ran out to pick up Buddy from his dad's house, and hour away. So, total driving time on Sunday? 5 hours. Lovely.

But then I got to take Buddy trick-or-treating! He went as a mummy, his grandma made his costume and he looked great! We got so many compliments while we were out, it seems like no one takes the time to make costumes any more so ours was appreciated :)

He also got to go trick-or-treating again tonight while his grandma watched him (I had to work), so we have 2 huge buckets full of candy to enjoy! 

Next on the agenda for the week: Buddy's birthday! It's on Thursday, and then this weekend we are taking his twofer Payton and my cousin Korrin to an indoor waterpark for a sleepover/small birthday party! This is all we can handle, after the crazy month we've had there was no way I was going to throw a full blown party.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to things starting to calm down, get more manageable. There have been so many fun things in the last few weeks, but also so much stress that I can't wait to get back into a ruitine in my life!


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Family Love

I know I've been complaining a lot recently about how stressed I am, about how taxing my new schedule is and how overworked I am.

I'm not taking that back, I am going a little crazy! But last weekend, though insane, also had some great moments. I wrote earlier about wanting to teach Buddy to ride his bike:
Uncle David tried hard, and it was super cute, but I guess Buddy just wasn't ready. He was NOT excited about trying the 2 wheels once it actually came about, even though he was totally pumped beforehand! But at least I got a cute picture :)


These are from the wedding, I think they look great! The reception was soooo much fun, it was held at the Rothschild Pavilion which has just been remodeled, and it was decorated amazingly. I wish the dance had started a little sooner, since we didn't get out until about 10 pm (and we left early) and we had the baptism in the morning.

Speaking of, check these out!

Buddy checking out the baptismal font, he was really interested in the water! The man in the suit and tie is the pastor, this was after the ceremony.


Mom, Buddy, Dad, and sponsors Aunt Bethany and Uncle David.

Buddy was really excited about the baptism, and even more excited afterwards when he realized he got presents! That was pretty much the highlight of his day, and he hasn't stopped playing with his "Toy Story 3 Dump" since Sunday :)

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Fall Leaves

These weeks have been busy ones. We went to a wedding yesterday, had Buddy's baptism today...
But not too busy for arts and crafts!
This was a project that I thought would be way easier than it actually was. I wanted to make "stained glass" fall leaves out of tissue paper and cardboard.
Then, it turned out I didn't have any plain cardboard. So I was gonna cut it out of construction paper.
 Then, I realized how hard it was to cut a leaf pattern out of construction paper!

Then, Buddy got bored and started coloring.

Then, we glued on the tissue paper.

 Then, I realized that I needed 2 patterns exactly the same to sandwich the tissue paper, otherwise it was ugly.

Then, we finally finished. It was a pain. But they turned out pretty cool looking!