Sketching before bed

Liam was sketching when he was supposed to be sleeping or at least getting ready to go to sleep

You Light up my Life

This past couple weeks I have been salivating over light tables.  They run about $100 to $200.  My inventive and awesome father was kind enough to do the work on this diy project.  Here are some of the steps he took to make a light table for us.  It is not a complete tutorial but you should get the idea.

Light table completed  

4  - 15 cm wide maple boards left over from the bunk beds (length will depend on the size of the plexi glass)
2- under cabinet florescent lights .....$14 each at homedepot
1- plexi glass (60cm x 45cm)........ $25 at homedepot
wood glue/clamps/table saw/compound mitre saw/screws/'L' clips/electric hand sander

He used the saw to cut a groove for the plexi glass to sit in

Slid in the plexi glass to measure the exact size for the board cuts

All the boards cut to length at angles with their grooves

He used a sander to scuff up one side of the plexi glass to diffuse the light

With glue on all the corners he snapped all the pieces in place.

Let the glue dry with the clamps.  He also added 'L' clips on the inside corners for added stability.
The pic of the final box doesn't show it well but he made some handles out of wood for each side to make it more portable.

Mount two lights inside the frame

He connected the wires but two plugs coming out a drilled hole in the wood would work too.

Coloured water, transparent manipulative tiles and a ziploc filled with paint
(my camera is terrible but the table lights everything up nice)

  My boys are older but I am determined to use it as much as I can with them now and maybe some wee ones in the future if we are so fortunate.   The boys will use it in their daily drawing and comic drawing adventures as well. Overall though it is a fun way to do even regular stuff with an added sensory element.

School room

This is how we organize our school room.  We still have an entire double closet upstairs dedicated to board games and art supplies.

Current creative projects

Living with a husband who has a knack for drawing and subsequently his spawn who can draw better than their father I have been inspired to try to find my own creative side.

Ink doodle

The beginning of a christmas project.  I might sew it or I may glue it to a painted canvas

Inspired by a project in an Usborne book

Creativity in organizing the 'school room'

Education talk done visual

Sir Ken Robinson has caught my attention lately.   Check him out.

Not so cute anymore

Halloween is not a cute time in our house anymore.  I do remember fondly the days of fuzzy costumes and adorable toddlers.  They are long gone.  

Did I mention that I LOVE GETTING DRESSED UP!!!

Zombie collection: Biker, Nuclear power worker, Tourist 

The Family Photo

Present

So it takes courage to be a parent..... it also takes a level of honest self reflection. I  realized yesterday that I am not as present as I want to be. I don't want to admit that, it certainly doesn't feel good to say it out loud.    Life can get in the way of parenting, in the way of my parenting.  It is too easy to get caught up in it all. Right now it is adoption, last year it was renovations.   Tomorrow it can be something else entirely.  

Adoption or the prospect of it is pretty encompassing.  Even when we try not to think about it, it is always there in the back of my mind.   When I watch the boys play I wonder how they will be affected, when we make dinner I think of how it will change if we add 2 or 3 to our family at once, when I watch friends little ones run around I imagine what it will be like to be there again.   But it is all hindering me from being present, in the here, in the now with my family.  

When they were babies I was present, they required 24 hour care and touch and I embraced that... not always with joy but I embraced it and gave it my all.   As they become more independent it is too easy to fall into the trap of letting them be.   In our case they have each other and depend on each other for a lot so it is easy for me to slip into the background.   I don't want to be in the background. I want to be a part of their lives, show them the world, debate with them, learn with them.   I want to watch as they find their own wings and know that I was there for them in that moment.

I will strive to be present.