LadyBug, Part II

The other day, I pulled into Bug’s driveway and got excited. I hadn’t seen him in over a week and he’s a good buddy of mine. We always have fun together, aside from the bedtime book battle (we read three, he’d love to read about 100. Bedtime he does not love)

And then I walked in his house and remembered something that had slipped my mind for a few seconds.

The new member of Bug’s family…

Ah, yes. Times may be different, ruled by a five-week old and three hour scheduled increments. Bug is not the only little one demanding attention.

But still, we will have fun, the three of us- LadyBug, Bug, and myself…three peas in a pod Bug really is a great helper but dislikes when LadyBug cries. He covers his ears.

Seriously, is there anything cuter than tiny baby piggies? I don’t think so!

The Kiddos

A couple of Mondays ago, the little almost-4 year old boy I watch was cracking me up. When I walked in the door a few minutes early, I heard Derek say, “Bethany’s here!”

Later in the same day, I took the boys to a coffee shop, and Derek was going on and on about how he was so excited that it was FINALLY another Bethany day, that he enjoys going places with me…it was pretty cute

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On a recent actually sunny day, the boys and I went looking for bison in a nearby park. Derek told me he wanted to bring his (stuffed) dog, and carry him the baby Ergo. I had Tobin in the real one, but the older kids each own a small one for dolls or in this case, dogs.

And so, after a little talk about how it was a LONNNNG walk and he was going to have to carry Spud or Spot or whatever the dog’s name was that day the.whole.way, we set off.

He actually did really well, considering it was about a mile walk each way! We did have to stop for a break and as soon as we got to the bison (of course) he told me he had to go to the bathroom. Let’s just say the walk back was a little more painful since he refused to go in the woods.

 

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The two older kids took it up themselves to dress Tobin (yes, their baby BROTHER) up in a fairy costume. Surprisingly he seemed to enjoy the wings.

  

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Laney hopped off the school bus one day last week with an Easter gift from the bus driver. Since when do bus drivers give gifts? Especially ones that are larger than my hand and more sugary than a cup of marshmallows??

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And then, here’s my little peanut. Well, not mine, although these days when his mom arrives home from work he clings to me instead of going to her willingly. While I love that the little guy likes me, I have to admit I feel bad when he does that!

Nevertheless, he’s almost 13 months and in a fun mood lately. He’s mostly walking, he enjoys playing independently (coming back every once in a while to say hello to me), and LOVES to eat, absolutely loves it. Recently we were playing outside and he did a great job swinging (very lightly!) by himself.

Easterness

I haven’t dyed eggs in years, literally, so when my friend suggested a pizza/movie night for Friday, I jumped on board and added on an egg dyeing section of the night

They aren’t anything fancy, but they are bright and colorful, something I certainly don’t mind seeing!

Oh, and how hysterical is this? Guess what my roommate wrote on one of the eggs? (and totally without realizing it?)

“Happy Birthday Jesus”

If you look closely you can see some of the letters. lol.

LOL….we all had a good laugh on that one. Apparently she’s stuck in December!

  

 

The funny thing about this egg? It was never dipped in pink. Just green? ^<----

Did you dye eggs this year?

Spring

Spring is usually my favorite season. I love being able to spend time outdoors, plants budding, everyone outside. 

Yea...this spring? Not so much. We're what, 23 days into April? I'd estimate that 21 of those have had heavy rain, temps in the 30s/40s and some even a snowfall. Sigh. Seriously???

I'm so over the rain! I don't have much free time and when I do, I'd love to spend it outside reading, biking, enjoying the park. 

There was one day when it was nice and I found a couple trees budding...yay for color at least, I suppose. 

As one of my friends put it, we should begin building an ark right about now. No kidding. 

Oh yes, and here's my "new" car. I guess I did get it this month so it counts, right?

Tie-Dye Day

Today the kids and I did a fun project- tie-dyeing! We picked a kit up at Michael's, where ironically we were informed they did not carry tie-dye kits. Ha. We walked around and found it ourselves, along with t-shirts. 

The kids were quite helpful. Tobin isn't old enough to participate but Laney and Derek had a great time. The whole project was done outdoors, where I saran-wrapped a kid's picnic table. The kids soaked shirts and then wrapped them. 

Laney decided to make a swirl shirt, and was also in charge of Tobin's shirt, which she folded. Derek rolled his. 

          The shirts soaked in ash for 20 minutes and after the kids got tired of stirring, I created a way to keep them down under water while we were otherwise occupied.

See the wooden spoons?? :)

And then the real fun began. Derek finished his shirt in two seconds flat, dumping blue and red on, no yellow, and no pattern in mind. Laney took much longer. That's usually how it goes with these projects. 

Although the kids used gloves, there was some fooling around and I was convinced that Laney's mom was going to kill me for her hands. Whoops. 

P.S. Who knew, but Mr. Clean Magic Eraser literally got about 99% of that off! 

Then the pieces were bagged up and after midnight I rinsed and washed. Walaa! 

Laney's shirt

Mine

Derek's shirt

Tobin's shirt

The bag I made...seriously LOVE!

Other side of it

Now, I'm not going to say the two hour dyeing process (yep, really) didn't have a bit of stress involved but  we all had a great time and the items turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! 

Alas, A Mug!!

Yay! I actually succeeded in making something other than a bowl!

Okay, so it’s a mug. It’s still different.

The inside of the mug really is that blue!

The other pictures make it look darker but just ignore that  

Also, I made my roommate a purple salad bowl. It’s purple (more purple than it looks here) and the paint is speckled. I think she’ll like it. I picked it up on Monday but since she’s not here lately, she hasn’t seen it yet!

As an aside, if you could keep one of my pottery buddies in your thoughts & prayers, I’d appreciate it. Her marriage of 10+ years is crumbling and when I woke to that news this morning, my heart just broke for her and her daughter. I’ve only known her a few short months, but she’s the sweetest person you’d ever meet. Sigh.