Lego Organization

Thanks to the ideas that I found on pinterest, the LEGOs are now organized and ready to be made into new creations.  In the fall we spent one Saturday morning sorting the LEGOs by color.  The original idea was to put all the sets back together.  That seemed like a daunting task and one that the kids could not do by themselves.  The containers that we used for our impromptu sort were of all sizes and shapes.  They were stored in the drawers and were not easy for the kids to use.

My goal was for the kids to be able to play with the LEGOs sooner rather than later because it felt like a waste of money to have LEGOs that the kids could not use.  The day after Christmas I made a trip to The Container Store to buy 20 of their shoe boxes.  I dumped all the colors into different boxes.

This weekend, I finally got around to putting the labels on the boxes deciding to go with color organization rather than set organization.  The deal is that the LEGOs can be played with all week and stored in the right drawer of the LEGO table, but, every Sunday, the "projects" will be resorted by color.  The left drawer is for LEGO magazines and instruction manual which are in a binder with clear plastic sleeves.  Our LEGO table is a garage sale find in our neighborhood.

Thank you to heatherjslife.blogspot.com for the box labels, and alison.knitsmiths.us for the idea to use the same containers so they stack.  iheartorgainzing.blogspot.com also had a really cool IKEA shelving unit that she used for LEGO storage by color; but I did not find that idea until after I had bought the shoe boxes.





Reese's "Projects"

Today Reese printed out the Mad Hatter's Hat from the game The Wonder Pets: Adventures in Wonderland.  This was definitely more of an adult project to put together than a five year old project.  I put the paper hat together using a glue stick because we have no scotch tape right now.  It turned out pretty well.

E is for Explore

Our next project together will be more handprints.  I found another idea from Pinterest, an alphabet handprint with each letter a different handprint item.  I am thinking about making this an 8 by 8 scrapbook with a page for each letter.  Then, I may use it as a Mother's Day gift for YaiYai.



iPod touch v. Samsung Galaxy Tablet

We actually own both of these pieces of technology. I decided this year that I was not investing in any more kid specific technology. They both are old enough to use the adult items. I wanted the iPod touch for our travels so that the kids can play games and videos. There are many apps that are only available on iTunes so I wanted access to both the Android Market And iTunes. I have gotten lucky in that Reese seems to prefer the iPod touch and Riley prefers the tablet. Reese enjoys many apps and I actually bought my first app tonight for her, Diego's Magical Adventure. Riley likes to play Angry Birds on the tablet.

Reese's First Gymnastics Class

Reese took her first gymnastics class this fall.  She wanted to take something because her brother is now involved in Archery.  I signed her up for the second fall session.  She was really shy for the first few classes.  She invited her grandpa to come and see her and then did not do anything of the exercises while he was there.  The first time her dad went to see her, she did not do anything either.  As time went on, she did get better and become less shy.  I have to remember also that she just turned five, and she was in a five year old class, but some of those students could actually be closer to six so, as in school, she would be one of the youngest in the class.

These are some pictures from her last class.

The first picture is Reese on the balance beam in the big gym.  The second picture is Reese on the rings in the little gym.  The third picture is Reese receiving her certificate for completing the class.



Mild Winter

The weather has been in the high 40s and 50s this weekend.  It has been mild enough that we have gone outside to play both days this weekend, and Riley has had time to try out the new Genesis bow that he got for his birthday.  It is amazing how much the practice between Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as having the right bow has improved his archery abilities.  We can set out his target now without the backboard, and he does not miss that often.  He can still hit the balloons on the target as they sway in the wind.  I told him it is like a moving animal.

As I was reading my AAA magazine, Home and Away, I found out that the Arnold Sports Festival has an archery component.  I was going to enter Riley just so he could see what others can do, but the competition is only open to students who are part of Ohio's Archery in the Schools Program.  We are part of a program through Columbus Parks and Recreation, but it is not competition based.  The program concentrates on learning skills.  It is close to home and the archery barn is relatively new and just right for Riley's skill level in Archery right now.  Down the road I may have to find him another program if he decides that he wants to compete in Archery. 

Book Club Babies

I have been part of my book club since before either of you were born.  When you were babies, I would sometimes take you with me.  As you got older, someone would watch you while I went.  In the past few years on the night that I host book club at home I have let you stay home with me to see what goes on.  For years, Riley has wanted to be in a book club also, but I have not found one for him.  His interest in books has led to his interest in my book club.  Reese would just like to be where Mommy is, so if I am going to book club, then she wants to go also.  Next month is their lucky month; it is once again my book club hosting month!

The Archery Barn

For the last three weeks Riley has spent two and a half hours a day, two days a week at the archery barn.  There was not enough time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to have a four week session of lesson so it was decided to offer open archery instead.  During open archery Riley has been one of only a handful of students there and the only one to go and stay the whole time during all of the sessions.  Because of the low numbers he did not have to wait his turn and could shoot as many rounds as he wanted.  His archery skills have improved a great deal during this time, and he is able to shoot four balloons with five arrows on a target 10 yards away.

At the end of open archery tonight Miss Ronda informed us that she would not be teaching the next session at the end of January.  She had taken a job in western Ohio.  Riley teared up automatically, gave Miss Ronda one last hug, and left the barn.  I couldn't blame him because I teared up also and am crying as I type this post.  I think he will miss her because she is what he knows.  He is not always sure and needs someone to guide him gently.  Miss Ronda took the time to do that so he trusts her.  I am thankful that Miss Ronda was Riley's first archery teacher because of her interest and knowledge of archery.  She has given him confidence in himself and his skills as an athlete.  We will continue to take classes at the archery barn as long as Riley is interested, and we will never forget Miss Ronda.  We are grateful that we had the opportunity to work with you for the time that we did.  We will miss you and wish you the best always!

Christmas Card Pictures, Finally!

I thought I had the pictures of the Christmas cards on my camera, but the ones I took were actually from my phone.  Tonight, I finally got around to taking the pictures to post.  Reese has done a wonderful job and has bugged me every night to do Christmas cards.  This project is right up her alley.

The first time I tried this project with Riley, Reese's had was the size on the left.  I believe that Reese may have been over a year old then.  The hand on the right is Reese's present day hand with her own decorations.

These cards are additional designs we came up with to use with the handprints.  Reese has decorated these on her own.  The penguins came out especially well.  The Christmas trees are a favorite for her to decorate.  The reindeer, we made just a few, were a bit challenging to decorate.  Reese got confused as to where his collar should be!

Penguins are Done

After some research on handprint penguins online, we finished up the penguins tonight.  Reese decided that she wanted large googly eyes, a beak, and feet for her penguins.  She painted the bellies white and then added black fins.  The fins were her own idea and they turned out very nice.

Pics tomorrow.

Handprint Christmas Cards

When Riley was four or five years old, I tried to get him to make handprint Chirstmas cards.  We got through about ten cards before he got bored.  I gave up on the project and went with something else.

Reese is five this Christmas, and since she likes to draw and do crafty things so much, I thought that I would get out the stuff and try again.  She was all gung ho.  On Sunday we did hands in green, red, white, brown, and black.  My original intention was to only do green, brown, and white.  The other colors were for details.  She wanted red hands for stockings and then we had to come up with something for black hands; they will be penguins.

Every night she has pushed me to do these Christmas cards and I usually give in.  The white hands were made into Santas (Family Fun Magazine idea), and they are all complete.  The green hands are Christmas trees, and she has four left to decorate.  Tonight's project is the reindeer (another Family Fun Magazine idea).  There were only five brown hands so she is doing all the reindeer tonight.

Once all the hands are complete, we will probably have to do some more because she has so many friends that she wants to give cards to now.  If she takes mine, I will not have enough, so we will make more for everyone!

Our Quest to Visit National Historic Sites

Text Message

Last night while I was at the Rotary Dinner, I got a text message that said, "Please do not open the garage door until further notice!".  I asked if the door was broken, and the response was, "Something inside is laying up against it.".  That is when I realized that the plywood from the backyard must be in the garage now with the target, and Riley must have been practicing his archery in the garage.

When I got home, I asked Riley if he watched the Pirates movie again, and he said he was busy shooting in the garage.  I asked him how many times did he hit the garage door and he said none.

Well, all I can say is that since he is not allowed to shoot unless an adult is out with him, it is a lot warmer and more convenient for me to have him shoot in the garage.  Thank you Daddy!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

We usually have family night every two weeks or so.  Most of the time we rent an in Demand movie from our cable company.  Today was a rainy day, and since Riley could not go out and shoot his bow, and both kids were very good when we went shopping for Daddy's clothes and shoes, we had afternoon movie time.

Riley has asked for all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies for Christmas.  I am not sure how I feel about him owning all of them.  The one we just saw was a bit disturbing to me.  The mermaids were evil and scary which is different from the mermaid's portrayal in The Little Mermaid which is also made by Disney.  It was scary and violent to me, and I do realize that the one we just saw has a PG-13 rating.  I know that I am placing my likes and dislikes on you, but part of me feels that it is okay to see once or twice, but I do not want them played continuously like they would be if we owned them.

We'll wait and see what Santa brings...

Bow

We just bought Riley a bow about a month ago, and he is already asking for another bow: a Genesis bow.  The bow that we bought him was a less expensive version and a crossbow.  He would like the one he uses in Archery Class.  The first picture is the crossbow.

The picture below is Riley with a Genesis bow:

This is the type of bow that they use in the Archery in the Schools program as well as in Archery Class.  We did not know at the time that this is an example of dry firing, and you should never do it.

The Book Fair

Every year during conference week the school schedules a book fair.  I do like the book fair because it is not a Scholastic Book Fair; it is run by a local company and has quality literature, but with quality literature comes the price you pay.  But, if you look at it from the prespective of you are donating to the school, then it is worth it.

This year is the first year that both of you go to the same school.  You both came home with lists of books that you wanted from your visit to the book fair.  I looked at it and told you that we would go and shop tonight because I had to go in for your conferences anyway.  Last year I had to make a special trip to school on Thursday because I had scheduled Riley's conference earlier in the week.

Since you both wanted a hardbacked book this year, I told you that it would be the keepsake book that I normally get you for Christmas each year.  I try to get you a hardback or pop-up book each year.  Last year I bought Riley's pop-up at the book fair.  So, this year's Christmas books are: for Riley Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, A Civil War Hero and for Reese Dinosaur vs. The Library.  In addition they each got a paperback book for good grades and behavior in school.  Riley's is a Star Wars The Clone Wars Defenders of the Republic, a graphic novel, and Reese's is Froggy Plays T-Ball.  Riley's books both fit his interests at this time, and I was very happy with Reese's picks because they are not books that have cartoon characters from TV.

Library Time

This school year, we have been going to the library on Thursdays.  It started out when I had to pick up Riley early from school one Thursday, and he missed his library time at the school library.  Then, once the after school activities started, Thursday just became the best night to go.  In addition, for some reason or another a good deal of special activities at school occur on Thursdays and so Riley often misses his school library day.

We go to different library branches depending on the types of books we are looking for, where we are in town, and the time that we have.  Riley is always looking for graphic novels as well as non-fiction books.  We have found that the library near his PaPa and YaiYai's provides most of those books for him.  Sometimes, we go to the library by Mommy's school as an incentive for when Mommy has to go back to work with them.  That library does not have much of interest for Riley, but he usually finds a few things.  Lately, we have been going to the library near our house.  This is kind of a middle of the road; always finds something and sometimes exactly what he wants.  It does not matter to Reese which library we go to; she always finds something because she looks for books that have characters that she sees on TV, and they all have computers.

This week we missed our regular library day, and although we have more than enough books to read at home, it has thrown us out of our routine.  We will be headed to the library today to make up for not going earlier in the week.

Gymnastics

Once Riley started taking archery, Reese decided that she wanted to take something also.  She decided that she wanted to take gymnastics and so I signed her up.  She has been to three classes now.  The first class, she followed the class around and about half way through, she warmed up and started to participate.  She invited her PaPa to her second class and Daddy came along also.  She did not really participate and kept looking at the window and shaking her head when we encouraged her to do the activity.  Today, one of her friends from school was making up a class and she liked that her friend was there.  I also think that it helped that the instructor had Reese demonstrate one of the new activities.  With the exception of the warm-up activities on the floor, Reese was attentive and participated, even doing push-ups and sit-ups on the main floor while waiting for her turn on the uneven bars.

Archery

Over the years I have tried to find activities for Riley to participate.  We have tried gymnastics, soccer, Tiger Scouts, and wrestling.  He took religion classes for two years and when given the option to stop, he did.  He expressed some interest in rock climbing because his school has a climbing wall in the gym.

This past August we went to the Health and Fitness Expo.  He tried the rock wall there and decided that he did not like rock climbing because he is scared of heights, but at school, they have spotters so it did not seem as scary.  The Department of Natural Resources had an archery trailer there and once Riley tried it, he was hooked.  We went back four or five times so that he could continue to shoot.

A few weeks into school Riley came home with a flyer for a Beginning Archery class.  At that point we were researching Archery and just getting our reserve books from the library.  I jumped at the chance for him to take a class, but when I went to sign him up, the registration had closed.  I called the contact person to see if there were any open places for him.  She called me back and said that there were two spaces still open, but that there were two people in front of me.  She then called me back to say that one of the spaces was still available because the student was too young to take the class.  I signed Riley up then and there!

About the time Riley finished Beginning Archery we took a trip to Nebraska and went to Bass Pro Shops.  They had a whole department for archery and an archery range.  Unfortunately, the nearest one to our house is two hours away.  We also have the problem in our area that there are few places where Riley can practice his skills.  So, the weekend after we got back, we took a field trip to Bass Pro Shops to buy Riley a bow, arrows, and a target.

Now, Riley practices in the backyard almost daily.  He has continued on and will finish Intermediate Archery next week.  We had a little bit of a meltdown last week when he was asked to switch to his right hand to shoot so that his hand would match his dominant eye.  He balked, but we told him with practice, he should be better right handed.  After less than a week his practice has paid off.  His grouping are closer together.  We have also found a new use of our carved pumpkins: target practice!