Bringin' art work to life for years

When I think back about the arts and crafts I made as a kid, I distinctly remember my love for paper accordion- fold arms.  If possible, whatever I happened to make or draw that day was inevitably gonna end up with those wonderful, springy, paper-folded-back-and-forth arms.

My drawing of a rainbow?  I eventually cut it out and slapped some accordion arms on it.

A house made of popsicle sticks and glue?  Yep, accordion arms coming out of the sides.

I was this close to adding some to M to the Izz-A's Valentine card.  This close.  But I had a slight notion that they would be underappreciated.



I had kind of forgotten about them, so it was with great joy that I stumbled across this little Valentine's Day finger puppet craft to make with Kate yesterday:

 I started singing Celine Dion's, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"  quietly to myself. 

But then I stopped, because things just got weird - I'm pretty that song wasn't written about paper accordion arms.  But it should have been.

And then we just went nuts with construction paper and glue, which just so happens to be way more fun than following a set of directions.

So now that I've won the nonexistent award of using the word 'accordion' the most times in one blog post, I shall move on.


LOVE.  You know what I'm loving these days?  Hamp's ears.  They're so dang soft and floppy that I can't help but bite on them and fold them back and forth constantly.  Well, not really bite, more like pretend bite, with my lips, not my teeth.  He doesn't seem to mind.  Nevertheless, it's something I'm trying to curb.  And yes, I do realize that my son's ears do not and should not technically qualify as a hobby.   But he's one big cuddle bug and his ears are just the icing of the cake. 


In other Hamp news, he officially started crawling yesterday.  Yep, he decided to become fully mobile on V-Day.  I tried to video him three times, and all three times he stopped crawling and just stared at the camera.  I'm gonna have to get sneaky with it. 



We ended the day by playing hairdresser and pulled together the best mohawk we could.   Still need a little more hair.

Happy Valentine's Day, ladies.  My name is Hamp.  I like corn on the cob, laughing at life, long crawls across the living room floor.....and I've got soft ears.
And my mom makes a mad set of accordion arms.

Early Morning in the Moddy Household

Well hey there, good-lookin.

Since it's Valentine's weekend and all, we decided to make a batch of heart-shaped chocolate chip muffins this morning.  Chocolate chips, as long as they're smashed into muffins, make for a completely acceptable breakfast.

Also, one should not feel too incredibly special.  As I've shared before, this is the only muffin tin I own.  So, if I withhold the making of muffins throughout the year and reserve them solely for Valentine's week, it appears I've gone the extra mile in more ways than one, no?

I assumed that the heart in the muffins stood for love.  Kate, on the other hand, rightfully assumed that the heart wasn't just reserved for love, but also for "pumpin' all ya blood".  Thank you for the early mornin' visual.

And the finished product of the highly-esteemed just-add-water-recipe:


Note to self: tackle Kate's fingernails this weekend



VDay parties

A few days ago, Kate and I sat down to write out her Valentines for her friends at school and church.  She insisted that I read each card to her, even if it was obviously a repeat of one I've read before. 

Me:  And I'm writing 'from Kate' on all of them so they'll know who it's from.
Kate:  No, Mama, not Kate...Katelicious!
Me:  I don't think I'll EVER be comfortable with adding -licious to the end of your name, sweet pea.  Let's stick with Kate, shall we?


She had loads of fun at her party and used the skating rink for running sprint races just as much as she did skating.  The party came complete with clowns, a magic show, face-painting, food, and cupcakes (which clearly falls under the category of food but sometimes I feel they deserve a special mention all their own).

Kate and her friend, Lyndi

performing their Valentine songs for the parents

Kate's friend, Joelie

After the magic show, the clowns hung around to paint the kids' faces. 

I learned a very important lesson yesterday at the party:  Never, ever try to cramp a clown's artist style.  I told the kind (and what I thought was open to suggestions) clown that Kate wanted two simple yet sparkly hearts, one on each cheek.  She looked at me and said, "Okay", but she must of been thinking, "Sure lady, whatever."    Because then Kate walked away with this:

She wasn't a clown, she was an artist, and my daughter's face was her canvas.  I actually ended up loving the finished product.  Super cute!

Kate and Alli

Last night was the nursery department's Valentine party at church.  They made heart-shaped pizzas!

Kate and one of her faves, Sara Gale

Hamp and Miss Halee

sweet Reesey




Jobeth, me, Kristin, and Halee (and Sara Gale!)  - great friends

  Today we went on our first official field trip with Kate's school.  The class performed their Valentine songs for our local senior citizens center and then took a trip to the post office to mail their 'special Valentines'.  (Something tells me I'm gonna be getting something 'special' in the mail in the next day or two.)

 

The post master just so happens to be our neighbor - Kate loves Mr. Jimmy!

Kate and Mr. Jimmy

On a side note, I was able to make Kate's Valentine ruffle pants and dress this year.  Although I purchased a sewing machine over two months ago, it wasn't until last week that I finally took it out of the box.  Prior to this, I didn't even know how to sew on a button.  I never realized how much fun sewing could be! 

If I've said it once, I've said it hundred times... I love this girl.

Here we are!

Has it been a long time or has it been a long time???

Hamp is now 8 months old!  He's standing, beginning to crawl, has TWO teeth, and is laughing at everything.  He's also 'talking' a whole lot, and I, of course, can understand every single thing he 'says'.  Well, actually he just repeats the same phrase over and over:  I love my mommy, she's my most favorite person in the whole world.  (And I'm just paraphrasing here, but I promise you it's something along those lines.)

He enjoyed his first corn on the cob last Wednesday at church.  And let me tell you, he loved every minute of it - every little kernel.

Oh and I forgot to post his 7 months pic so puh-lease let me do that now:

While I'm sure I've posted this pic before, it was missing it's officially "7 months yada yada yada" and well..you fellow type A's get me, right?

Watching them play together is the highlight of my days!  (Well, that and when I actually get around to taking a shower.)

I love his baby blues!



Kate's class sang in our Sunday morning church service last week.  They did such a great job!  I am so very thankful for our church and church family for taking the time to invest in my children!

Last weekend, M to the Izz-A and I went with our church youth group to a Leadership Rocks Conference in Orlando.  We had so much fun and realized just how old we were.  Seriously.  When in the world did I go from being a member of the youth to a chaperone?!  The before bedtime topic of discussion was a dead giveaway... I'm pretty sure I never discussed what anti-wrinkle face cream works best back in the day.

Kate and I are headed to her preschool's Valentine's party tomorrow.  We are extra excited because it's being held at our local skating rink!  Gonna try to get some cute pics of her and her little school pals! 

Happy Tuesday, ya'll!