A Date with Dinosaurs!

Months back while stuck inside thanks to the polar vortex I stumbled upon an idea on Pinterest that I pulled out today. Ryan is turning 3 tomorrow and has loved those plastic dinosaurs for a while now. Thought he would LOVE the idea of his dinosaurs mysteriously laying dinosaur eggs one afternoon. And it was his job (with the help of his big 4-year-old brother of course) to help these baby dinosaurs hatch. Here's how you make them in case you  know a little explorer who would enjoy this.

All you need are tiny dinosaurs (I found mine for $2 a package at the grocery store) and Baking Soda (lots of it), and food coloring if desired. Plus vinegar to help the eggs "hatch."

Mix a large amount of baking soda with just a bit of water at a time. Add food coloring at this time if you like. The mixture should clump together but not be too wet. Next wrap the mixture around a baby dinosaur and set aside to air dry overnight. I had to hide our eggs in the oven so nosy eyes didn't happen upon them.

This afternoon the boys found this scene in the backyard and were thrilled to be tasked with the job of helping baby dinos hatch! Off they went with a spray bottle I filled with vinegar.

It's quite fun to watch the egg fizz away once the vinegar hits it. I decided to carefully move the eggs into a plastic tub as I was worried the vinegar may somehow ruin the grass. After Ryan had a go he asked Jackson to help, and he was happy to oblige. 

This took up about 1.5 hours today. That's a win in my book!

My Take on Lent

Ash Wednesday is just two days away now, and marks the beginning of Lent. I was raised Catholic and did the traditional pick-something-to-give-up-for-40-days-thing to symbolize the sacrifices Jesus made while he wandered the wilderness for 40 days. As a kid it usually took the form of no ice cream or similar treat. As a teenager I once gave up chocolate and remember thinking that was more of a commitment to sacrifice than past years.

Now 33-years-old and facing what loss is, the true absence of something essential to breathing without pain, (for me, in the form of living without my son) my childhood ways of practicing Lent don't serve my faith with the depth I desire. Last year, being the first year after Ethan died, I remember searching for a way to focus myself and my family. Much of that first year was spent searching. For a way to wake up from the nightmare. For my son's presence in my life still. For peace. For friends who wouldn't let me down repeatedly. For words of validation, understanding and kindness. For healing. (I am still on parts of this search, perhaps they will be a lifetime endeavor).

When Lent rolled around a year ago I took upon two tasks of love, rather than of sacrifice (I felt I was being asked to sacrifice more than enough anyway). Here they are, I really like them and plan to continue them in years to come, in some form. Thought I would share with you all in case they may speak to you more than a more traditional take on Lent.

For me I choose to write a letter to, email or message a friend and tell them what I appreciate about them. I pick one person a day and let them know how I see them, what I love about them. Truthfully, there aren't enough nice things being said to each other, yet the power a genuine compliment holds is impressive. 40 days, 40 messages sent to 40 people.

The kids are still young, so something tangible is a must. All that's need is a wire wreath from a craft store for a few dollars, and some ribbon to start. Each time the kids go out of their way to show kindness for someone they get to select a ribbon and tie it on the wreath. They LOVE it and it has become a tool for positive reinforcement as well as a reminder to bring Christian love into daily life. And I love the evidence of their kindness too.  I started our kindness wreath a year ago and it has grown all year long. Here is what it looks like today, beautiful and full of love!

Remember, Lent is a time for us to center ourselves...to deepen our faith...to draw closer to Jesus and our Lord. It's an emotional time for Christians, filled with the knowledge that Good Friday is to come, but also filled with joyous anticipation that Easter awaits us. We all have our own challenges as we wander this world (sickness, loneliness, financial strain, unhealthy expectations, grief). Maybe we have times where we feel we are wandering our own deserts in life. Lent can be a time to center and find ways to experience the love around us.

A special day

As a parent you learn that each child has their own personality, beautiful and strong, and complete with their own challenges at times. Our second child, Jackson, is my most sensitive child overall. He's full of beautiful emotions, though at times they tend of become intense and bubble over. I don't know everything, that's for sure. But I'm pretty confident in the parenting interventions we offer overall. Drawing from my professional experience as a social worker, Josh and I try hard to focus upon the strengths of our children, offering positive reinforcement whenever possible. Even developing the individualized plan now and then to support Jackson through phases that can be overwhelming for him. A month ago poor Jackson seemed to hit a rougher patch behaviorally - and honestly, it was hard for the rest of us as well. Generally, I think most parenting challenges are met nicely with more love and support directed towards the child. (Of course that's if limits are already pretty sound overall) So something I had pinned on Pinterest a while ago came to mind when I was struggling as a parent last moth.

The general idea is to make a special day to celebrate your child, apart from their birthday. Their birthday is to celebrate growing a year older, but the special day is to celebrate all of the things that make that child special. Seemed to fit the bill as I was looking for a way to shower Jackson with positive attention and help him get out of that funk. (Being one child of four can make harder to give special, individual attention to each child - so it's all the more important I think that we try) We talked about what day he wanted for his special day...a weekend or a weekday. What did he want to do on his day? What did he want to eat? And so on.

Jackson chose to make a Monday afternoon and evening his special day. Off the family went to bowling and dinner at Chili's - his picks! He's a sucker for those arcade games too, so $10 split between the kids there made him feel like a King :)

While bowling Jackson got to go first, he chose the music in the car (Bon Jovi - his favorite) to have a dance party to, and chose to eat out at Chili's. During dinner we all told Jackson why we are so happy he is part of our family. Said our favorite things about him and retold our favorite Jackson stories. It was so much fun. To hear him giggle as we recounted all of his wild little boy adventures, I think he spent that entire afternoon and night grinning. It was perfect. The waitress even thought it was Jackson's birthday as he was the star of the day for us.

The experience was great for me, seeing my child purely happy when he had been struggling lately was pretty awesome. Whether the special day helped his behavior or not, it was worthwhile. He had another day to hear how thankful we are for him. And his meltdowns did quiet down significantly after that! Ryan and Caroline are planning their special days too. Ryan wants to go swimming as a family at the Y and Caroline is eyeing some indoor bouncy house place I think.

It's hard being a parent. You get no argument from me there. But what an honor and responsibility we have to get it right. Not perfect, but overall to get it right. We are raising people. When I take a step back and remember that fact, it makes me want to stop raising my voice and do a bit better next time.

A Valentine Craft

It's cold out and some of us weren't feeling all that well this morning, so we looked for something to do around the house. With Valentine's Day coming right up an idea I saw on Pinterest seemed to fit the bill.

With some white cardstock paper, a white crayon and watercolors we were off and running. While the kids were in the other room I drew hearts on the paper with a pencil and then used my white crayon to write them a secret message inside. Caroline and Jackson noticed the white crayon right away but Ryan was happily oblivious to it at the start. Then they started painting and their secret messages began to reveal themselves. 

Here are the finished products. It was quick, easy, fun and added some holiday decor to our walls.