Summer: Wed., 8/7
Solid summer day, despite an afternoon of thunderstorms. The girls had Fiber Arts Camp this morning and got to tye-dye various things. They came home with stained legs, hands, and arms, so I know they were hard at work. They are having a great time with these classes. Three hours of fabric crafting--I want to do this camp myself.
After a quick stop at Trader Joe's, we had lunch at home and then I taught them how to make friendship bracelets. I hadn't made one in years and years, and I had to watch a YouTube video last night to remember how to do it. It came right back. The girls picked it up very quickly and their four-color striped bracelets are looking beautiful. Lucia finished one and is on her second. I made one too, for an ankle bracelet.
I gave them each a clipboard to hold their bracelet while they do the knotting. For some reason this was amazing to them. "You have CLIPBOARDS??" they both said. I have no idea what experience they have with clipboards, have never heard them ever mention a clipboard, but they were thrilled to have one. It's the little things.
I have such a visceral memory of making these bracelets during at least one summer in Fairport. Going to a craft store at Village Landing to pick out embroidery floss colors for each new bracelet. Batman had come out that summer and I made a bracelet in the Joker's colors. I knew how to do basic stripes, spiral staircase, and chevron stripes. What's troubling me right now is that I can't find my old bracelets. The girls were asking to see them, and I smugly said, "Of course. I'll be right back," assuming I'd find them immediately. I was even composing a cocky hoarder-pride text message to Andrew in my head. But when I looked in the spot where I thought they were, inside a certain shoebox inside my wooden chest of childhood things, they weren't there. I have a sick feeling that I may have thrown them away during a fit of attic purging a few years ago in Connellsville. I hope not. But I have no idea where they are if I do still have them. If there's one thing I hate, it's not knowing where something is. Like thirty-year-old friendship bracelets.
I can still see them. I can still feel them. I can still see the purple and teal I used for the Joker theme.
Anyway. Friendship bracelet-making took a lot of the afternoon. There were some crazy thunderstorms. We read the rest of The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters #3. The kids read their own books for a bit. We worked on a puzzle. Then Greta decided it was a good day to make Fairy Fudge, a recipe she's been wanting to try that will be part of her "wow-me work" for summer. (Her teacher gave a list of activities, and there's a prize for anyone who completes five of them. One of the activities is to make a recipe all by yourself.) While she worked on that, Lucia made cookie brownies herself (from a box). The fudge has to chill till tomorrow, when Greta will cut shapes with small cookie cutters. The cookie brownies were delicious.
Just before dinner, L&G settled in to watch a movie, Ella Enchanted. I served them dinner at the coffee table. Before bed we worked frantically on both whole-house cleanup and finishing the puzzle because, oh joy, the housecleaners come tomorrow.
The only low point of the day was when the kids were getting ready for bed. Greta--who's been extolling the wonders of Bubble Mint toothpaste, which she's decided she LOVES after several years of gagging at the thought of--was refusing to let Lucia put Bubble Mint toothpaste on her own toothbrush. Who knows why. She was having a little sister moment. But because we'd been obsessively working on the puzzle, it was already 8:30, and then I stubbed my toe on a bookshelf (it's going to the attic tomorrow), and I yelled for her to GIVE LUCIA THE TOOTHPASTE WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. Ah. Yes. Good parenting right there. But the whole point of my daily summer blog is to keep it real. The friendship bracelets AND the occasional screaming.
Anyhoo. Solid summer day, right here. There are too few of these days. We didn't even get to our other planned rainy-day activity, learning the cups-clapping-rhythm thing from Pitch Perfect. Tomorrow.
After a quick stop at Trader Joe's, we had lunch at home and then I taught them how to make friendship bracelets. I hadn't made one in years and years, and I had to watch a YouTube video last night to remember how to do it. It came right back. The girls picked it up very quickly and their four-color striped bracelets are looking beautiful. Lucia finished one and is on her second. I made one too, for an ankle bracelet.
I gave them each a clipboard to hold their bracelet while they do the knotting. For some reason this was amazing to them. "You have CLIPBOARDS??" they both said. I have no idea what experience they have with clipboards, have never heard them ever mention a clipboard, but they were thrilled to have one. It's the little things.
I have such a visceral memory of making these bracelets during at least one summer in Fairport. Going to a craft store at Village Landing to pick out embroidery floss colors for each new bracelet. Batman had come out that summer and I made a bracelet in the Joker's colors. I knew how to do basic stripes, spiral staircase, and chevron stripes. What's troubling me right now is that I can't find my old bracelets. The girls were asking to see them, and I smugly said, "Of course. I'll be right back," assuming I'd find them immediately. I was even composing a cocky hoarder-pride text message to Andrew in my head. But when I looked in the spot where I thought they were, inside a certain shoebox inside my wooden chest of childhood things, they weren't there. I have a sick feeling that I may have thrown them away during a fit of attic purging a few years ago in Connellsville. I hope not. But I have no idea where they are if I do still have them. If there's one thing I hate, it's not knowing where something is. Like thirty-year-old friendship bracelets.
I can still see them. I can still feel them. I can still see the purple and teal I used for the Joker theme.
Anyway. Friendship bracelet-making took a lot of the afternoon. There were some crazy thunderstorms. We read the rest of The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters #3. The kids read their own books for a bit. We worked on a puzzle. Then Greta decided it was a good day to make Fairy Fudge, a recipe she's been wanting to try that will be part of her "wow-me work" for summer. (Her teacher gave a list of activities, and there's a prize for anyone who completes five of them. One of the activities is to make a recipe all by yourself.) While she worked on that, Lucia made cookie brownies herself (from a box). The fudge has to chill till tomorrow, when Greta will cut shapes with small cookie cutters. The cookie brownies were delicious.
Just before dinner, L&G settled in to watch a movie, Ella Enchanted. I served them dinner at the coffee table. Before bed we worked frantically on both whole-house cleanup and finishing the puzzle because, oh joy, the housecleaners come tomorrow.
The only low point of the day was when the kids were getting ready for bed. Greta--who's been extolling the wonders of Bubble Mint toothpaste, which she's decided she LOVES after several years of gagging at the thought of--was refusing to let Lucia put Bubble Mint toothpaste on her own toothbrush. Who knows why. She was having a little sister moment. But because we'd been obsessively working on the puzzle, it was already 8:30, and then I stubbed my toe on a bookshelf (it's going to the attic tomorrow), and I yelled for her to GIVE LUCIA THE TOOTHPASTE WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. Ah. Yes. Good parenting right there. But the whole point of my daily summer blog is to keep it real. The friendship bracelets AND the occasional screaming.
Anyhoo. Solid summer day, right here. There are too few of these days. We didn't even get to our other planned rainy-day activity, learning the cups-clapping-rhythm thing from Pitch Perfect. Tomorrow.
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