Stayin busy

I found myself getting creative to beat the heat and keep the kiddos from killing one another.  I have been stock piling rainy day ideas but why not try them when you’re stuck inside in the heat of the day as well?

If you’ve got little ones, you must just want to try this yourself.  Fill a pan or cookie sheet with baking soda. Next make your “explosive” paint from vinegar and a few drops of food coloring.  With a dropper, let the kiddos have fun painting and with each drop, they will delight in the little explosion that takes place.  Their “masterpieces” were actually pretty cool (until Aiden decided to dig in his and make a big mess).

Trick two…. Make huge colored ice blocks and let the kids go to town.  Mine pulled out all of their tools to smash the ice bricks to pieces.  They were in their glory!  The best part was that they were cool and it was FREE!

We also enjoyed making homemade fruit & yogurt freeze pops and baked blueberry donuts. 

We are finally starting to enjoy some treats from our garden.  The boys LOVE checking for new ripe veggies and are so excited about it that they have been willing to try new things.  We picked our first few blueberries of the season this week and we’ve also had a steady stream of cherry and grape tomatoes and cukes.  Isn’t it nice to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

We packed up and headed to Umass to visit my friends and old co-workers.  With preschool on the horizon, I know our freedom will be more restricted so we wanted to head over before school starts.  It was so nice to see everyone and so nice to stay in touch.

This week we also headed to the playground until it was so steamy until it felt like we would melt into huge piles of sweat.  We also had an awesome dinner and game of cards with our friends Adam and Gina.

Mike and I used this weekend to catch up on our dreaded chore lists.   I am probably the only crazy to decide to cut my shrubs mid-day in the August heat.  I am well aware that this is not the best time to be cutting them but I just couldn’t stand it.  The darn bushes grew like weeds and were literally peaking in our windows.  Lets just say I won’t be heartbroken if we needed to replace them next year :)

Dziadzu made the drive and joined the boys for some early morning fishing on Saturday.  I of course couldn’t miss out on the photo op and had to make an appearance myself. 

Mike snuck out Sunday afternoon for a quick fishing trip.  Aiden and Chris are addicted and I don’t hear Mike complaining.  They headed over to Mamie and Grandpa’s following for a dip in their pool.  It’s so nice to have family nearby.  I took advantage of having a quiet house and got a head start on my work for the week.  It such a good feeling going into Monday morning with a bit of weight off your shoulders knowing you can successfully accomplish your “to-do” list.  

Here’s to a warm, fun week ahead!