The Tom Sawyer Trick Still Works

This dream

playhouse

needed some serious Tom Sawyer attention.

One  sunny Saturday,

one trip to Home Depot with hubby,

and one eager little painter.

Yea, as soon as we mentioned painting,

she was all over it.

She wanted to paint.

We hemmed and hawed and made a big deal about

wanting the paint job to be nice.

It worked.

It increased her desire.

Teenagers don't want to paint.

So, we've learned to let 'em paint while they still think it's exciting.

You just can't be that picky about their effort.

Count on the help getting paint all over.

As I've learned from previous painting experiences,

you have to grit your teeth through the process,

and cheer on the outcome.

Seriously, close your eyes and grit your teeth.

It won't be pretty,

but it will be done.

Never criticize the help, never.

They might not help again.

See?  Not pretty.

One messy painter who wasn't criticized.

Laughed at, but not criticized.

One eager neighbor was added to the equation.

As soon as he saw Rebekah having all the fun,

he had to join in.

One cool Home Depot hat was all it took

to get him to stir the paint.

One painter's trick I learned from my  brothers, Joel and Allan.

You pound holes into that little ledge so the paint drips back into the can.

You already knew that?

Sorry.

I learned it late in life.

One window installer...

who also fell for the Tom Sawyer ploy and painted the window trim.

One door installed while the painter retires her brush for

her Laura Ingalls' bonnet and pretending with neighbor, Norah.

One more stage of the

Playhouse Project

completed.

It's finished enough to enjoy through the rainy season

and we'll work on the porch and the interior as time and inspiration allows.

One more skill taught,

One more family memory,

and

One very happy little girl.

That's IT! I'm Going EMO!

The lack of sunshine during the PNW's fall and winter

 can be a little,

well,

to be honest,

depressing.

Especially, when you face the fact that it can rain
an average of 37 inches per year.
That's a lot of puddles to splash in with gorgeous rainboots.

Especially, when you add the Wikipedia fact that
there are 100 shades of gray.
The PNW wears them all -
 all winter long.

Especially, when you add the fact that we 

don't
see the sun on an average of 226 days in the year.

Especially, when school starts and I need to be inside much of the time.

 

Every year, it affects me a lot.  My Vitamin D drops.
A good Norwegian, I long for the sun.

The weather can get to me.
So, I made a decision.

I'm goin'
EMO.

No, I'm not talkin' about coloring my hair and wearing it over my eyes,
 slashing my jeans,
wearing only black (Oh, that's right, I do that now),
tattooing and piercing my body,
wearing black eyeliner and band t-shirts,
and listening to funky music.

I'm talking about the annual  hunt and seek mission

where I  try to spend

EVERY

MOMENT

OUTSIDE.

Sometimes, I read outside.

It might be under a blanket, and with a heater, but I'm outside.

Sometimes, we work outside.

My hubby bought this tabletop propane heater last year. 

It gives us a few more months we can be outside when it isn't raining.

When the sun is out, we eat  outside on the deck.

If it's a bit nippy, a toasty fire can chase away the doldrums.

On this day, I moved the outdoor wicker couch next to the fire,

and sat there all afternoon.

It was delicious.

We finished school, I read a book and when my husband

came home I hadn't even thought about dinner. 

 OOPS!

Ya' know what he said?

He's amazing.

This is why I'm keeping this guy.

He said, "Good.  You needed to relax."

 

If I'm talking on the phone, I might do that outside,

and pull a few weeds while I'm out there.

We play outside.

Some of you long time readers may recognize Kelly-Across-the-Street's kids,

Norah and Avery.  We share many adventures with then.

 

For people that don't daily see the sun in the winter,

we need to take advantage of every sunbreak.

Literally translated,

when you see the sun,

you break into a run to get outside,

and like a cat,

bask in those glorious spots of light from the sun.

And since the rainy season is just starting to announce herself to the PNW,
I have to go EMO.

 

Sugarlicious Sugarfest!

On our previous friendly holiday celebration,

 Kelly-Across-the-Street and I

let our young kids smash things with a hammer.

At this event,

we were as equally irresponsible,

we gave them bowls of candy.

Big bowls of candy.

We admit a love/hate relationship with the tradition.

It's amazingly fun.

It's a huge amount of sugar.

It wouldn't be quite as fun building with broccoli and cauliflower,

so we let our drive for healthy snacks take a backseat,

while we all nibble on sugarlicious.

Who can resist oodles and oddles of delicious, colorful candy?

None of us.

We were trying to make Gingerbread Houses,

our annual tradition with a heavy emphasis on

TRYING.

With several years of failure and hot glue gun rescues behind us,

this year we found the BEST kits-

pre-made houses at Costco with more than enough

mixed frosting in a plastic bag and a lot of candy.

Norah was very free in her style.

Avery's fine motor skills have impressively improved.

This year I also think he put at least as much candy on his house,

as he did in his tummy.

Rebekah now likes to try to follow the picture on the box.

Jon embraces his artistic leanings when the medium is sugar.

He also figures out how to use the MOST amount of the candies he loves,

knowing he will get to eat the candy off his house

during the Christmas clean-up and pack-up ritual.

Yea! 

Another fun year! 

Another sugar high!

Another memory to add to our lives.

Follow us back...

2009 Gingerbread

2008 Gingerbread

2007 Gingerbread

The kids aren't thinking about friendships.

They aren't thinking about traditions.

They aren't thinking about memories.

They're thinking about the sugar.

 Someday, they'll look back at these experiences,

as holiday-shaping, friendship-building times.

And, I'm pretty sure,

they'll plan an annual

Sugarlicious

 Gingerbread-House-Making

Sugarfest

with their kids.

If You Give A Child A Hammer...

When is it smart to give a very small child a hammer?

When you're making Peppermint Bark,

of course.

Four very large candy canes were unwrapped,

placed in a gallon ziploc bag,

(one at a time)

placed on a cutting board,

and smashed silly with a hammer.

The kids loved this part.

It was really the only part they wanted to help with.

Little Norah went first because she was the youngest.

Big Brother Avery, patiently waiting his turn with the hammer.

Considering it was a tool,

and it made a loud noise,

this young man did an incredible job

of waiting his turn.

Last year we dipped pretzels in the vanilla CandiQuik,

this year we opted to make Peppermint Bark together.

We melted half a package of CandiQuik in the microwave

and stirred in the smithereens of two large candy canes.

Kelly-Across-the-Street

filling paper petit four papers with the mixture. 

You can spread it on parchment paper

 and break into pieces when cooled,

but I think the little papers are neater and easier to serve.

Of course, you could decide to decorate the top

with some kind of edible garnish,

or you could add a layer of chocolate to the bottom first.

Sometimes, busy Moms of young ones aren't looking

for the most elaborate way to create a confection,

but the quickest.

After playing while the moms made

two batches of fudge and two batches of bark,

the kids were ready for a snack.

Rebekah has learned it is all about the dishes.

Milk tastes better in imitation crystal pedestal coffee mugs.

Avery learned that  patience is rewarded.

 Mighty Mite Norah learned it's fun to smash things with a hammer.

She's probably contemplating a career in carpentry.

Since we began blogging about our neighborly adventures together,

I've received many comments from readers saying,

"I wish I had a Kelly-Across-the-Street!"

We are thankful for the friendship we share,

parenting isn't a journey to travel alone.

We've been very intentional about our friendship,

and early on started our traditions.

Even though we live close,

we know if we don't put things on the calendar,

they might not happen.

It's not too late for you...

look around...

that friend might not be across the street,

but

today

is always a good time

to put your new traditions
on your calendar.

Mommy Craft Day

The Fall sunshine begged to kiss our faces.

The dancing leaves fluttered lightly,

like the Gingerbread man,

daring us to catch them if we can.

We just HAD to get outside.

It was supposed to be simple walk

through the neighborhood for

 three kids,

two moms

and one basket.

Our goals were simple.

 1. pick up leaves.

2. don't pick up dog-doo on your shoe

3. don't get hit by a car.

We didn't plan on teaching the kids

the difference between old, crumbly, yucky leaves,

and fresh, I-will-work-for-your-project leaves.

We didn't plan on teaching them

that just because the garage door is open,

doesn't mean the owners want you walking in.

Hey, it was filled with cases of candy and pop,

what do you expect?

We didn't plan on teaching them that two kids,

hanging on each side of the basket

and whirling around like a gyroscope

in the middle of the street,

probably wasn't the safest idea.

The craft was supposed to be simple.

1. places leaves under white paper

2. rub over them with a crayon.

Norah loves scissors.

Norah hasn't quite mastered the skill,

but found she cut better with her mouth open.

Norah crafted by cutting the leaves into little pieces.

Beka is the oldest, therefore,

finds crafting skills a little easier.

Beka likes to tell the other children what to do.

Avery chose the prettiest colors and scribbled the hardest.

Avery  almost spelled his name right.

After one page,

the kids disappeared to the backyard,

live in the forest,

go hunting for meat

and play Army.

Kelly-Across-the-Street and I enjoyed what ended up being

Mommy Craft Day.

We didn't plan on teaching the kids,

that leaving the Mommies alone to craft,

was really,

really,

really good therapy.

Recipe for Dipped Pretzels

Buy a bag of the smaller twist pretzels and a package of white chocolate, like CandiQuik.

(While living in the midwest, I always used the generic kind, and it was fine,

but I can't find anything but the expensive kind in the PNW.)

Test the pretzels for flavor while your Mom is melting the white chocolate in the microwave.

Using a fork, dip the pretzels half-way or completely in the melted white chocolate. 

Lay them on parchment paper or waxed paper, then cover with sprinkles.

Lick your finger enough that the sprinkles stick to them.

The more sprinkles, the bettter.  If you have mountains of sprinkles, that is the best.

You can also set the freshly dipped pretzels on the paper,

then lick all the white chocolate back off.

Keep licking each pretzel until all the white stuff is gone,

and only a soggy pretzel remains.

 

 Leave lotsa sprinkles on your face so your Mommy and your friend, Mrs. Mindy, think you are

ADORABLE.

Since I was so busy taking pics of Norah and Avery, I totally forgot to take any pictures of my own dear daughter, Rebekah.  Read Kelly-Across-the-Street's blog on the holiday experience here.

As you can see from this blog, having kids in the kitchen is

messy

trying

time-consuming
educational

frustrating

messy

hilarious

nerve-wracking
fun

messy and

did I mention messy?

But, you won't reap if you won't sow.

I start my kids as soon as they are old enough to pour something into a bowl,

or at least get the majority of the substance from the measuring cup into the bowl.

Sometimes they stirred.

Sometimes they held the mixer with me.

Sometimes they put the cupcake liners in the pan.

But, my kids were in the kitchen from the earliest time possible.

And, from their earliest years I have been cleaning up  unbelievable messes.

But, you don't reap unless you sow.

This past week I cooked ONCE.

I enjoyed Indian butter chicken,

homemade pizza,

and taco soup.
Even our guest made an awesome steak dinner with spinach salad.

And, I am still cleaning pizza dough from the cupboards and cannisters,  drips of tomato sauce from the side of the stove, and trying to get the spills scraped off under the burners before they catch on fire.....again.

There's a few years of cleaning and instructing before you reap the benefits of the effort,
but it it totally and deliciously, worth it.