Creating Together

 

Lately I've been making an extra effort to sit with the girls while they make art.  At least once a day, and especially if I've prepared a special project for them, we sit together and all work on the same thing. It's no longer just CC and Sabrina while Mommy works on the computer or makes dinner and Maya scootches under the table or stands on tiptoe trying to squirrel away a sticker or marker for herself. Now we're more often than not at the art table all together.

I totally enjoy this relaxing creative time where I'm not just directing the process but actually participating in it... and it makes such a difference in the way the girls work too.  They stay at the table longer. They take an interest in each other's work. They ask me to teach them. They offer compliments. They ask each other questions. I feel as if we have a true little artist's atelier going in our dining room.

Here we continued our work with paper and collage materials, this time using little red dot stickers and markers to make family portraits. It's funny that Sabrina in a moment of irritation made CC all frowny, and it's sweet how CC teaches herself to draw things by partly copying my work. And then there was Maya, chubby little fingers working so hard to peel those stickers and hold the markers! I think in the end she was proudest of all.

 

 

Sabrina's collage

CC's collage

Maya's collage

My collage

Paper

 

 

We've been following our plan to focus on one art material or technique at a time.  Throughout November, December and the first weeks of January we worked with colored pencils, crayons, markers, though we remained flexible and incorporated other holiday crafts and added materials as necessary for a specific project.

Now we're getting started on paper as our material of choice. Scissors, glue, tape, and simple stickers are always on hand as is a big stack of colorful construction paper and white drawing paper. So many possibilities in paper... folding, cutting, tearing, crumbling.

So far we've practiced some simple origami folding and made collages using contact paper. I imagine cutting snowflakes, making paper chains and working with tissue will make their way into our time using paper, and, as has happened with each unit, I expect this one to extend well beyond the week we originally allotted for each material.

Look who is beginning to participate in art projects!

Snuggles and Gerald, CC's class guinea pigs, were with us for the weekend and Sabrina created this wonderful collage portrait of them.

New Year's Morn

So fun waking up to last night's rainbow of decorations and enjoying them in the bright sunlight of late morning.  We all slept in a little longer than usual, with Maya being the first up.  So she and I put together a simple brunch for everyone to enjoy. Berries, bacon, balloons, oh my. And even a little left over New Year's Eve cake. 

So, happy new year!  Last year was a good one that answered many questions for our family and put us on a path on which we are confident and happy.  For 2011 I am grateful, but I like the sound of twenty twelve and the gentle turns I anticipate in the path ahead even better. 

New Year's Eve

25 white balloons, 14 glassybaby votives, party hats, bead necklaces and maracas for the five of us, a Magic 8 Ball to help us predict the year ahead, 12 grapes each and a Nutella cake covered in sparkler candles. That's what New Year's Eve looked like for our little clan.  We first walked to our favorite neighborhood restaurant to feast on Japanese food and toast with sake.  Then back home to ring in 2012 at... 10 pm!  Yes, we set the clocks forward a bit so the girls could participate without being too tired. This is the second time we opt out of leaving our home to celebrate and instead make our own little romance right here at home, and it suits us so, so well.

 

Christmas Dinner Party

 

After a day of playing and lounging in our nighties we hosted a little Christmas dinner party for family.   For some years now we've had a tradition of cooking pulled pork barbecue and all the delicious sides that go with that for Christmas.  It is always a hit with children and adults and keeps things fun and informal.

The food did not keep us from dressing fancy though.  With three girls in the house we never miss a chance to dress up, put bows in our hair and spread glitter from our sparkly shoes all around.

For dessert I continued my tradition of making one very outrageous holiday treat and served a triple-layer candied pecan buttered pear bourbon cream cake.  It was indeed pretty outrageous!

We exchanged gifts with our guests and sent them home with little pouches of chewy peppermint sticks and Sabrina's spontaneously assembled goodie bags of clemetines, candy canes and chocolates. It makes me so happy that my girls really enjoy welcoming people into our home... they loved preparing the house, setting the table, welcoming everyone and treating them with warmth and generosity. What a nice thing for a mama to witness of Christmas day.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Morning

Dolls! Tea set! Charlie Brown Cyclopedia! Sno cone machine!  Tintin books! Strawberry Shortcake! Ornaments! Barrettes! Fancy dresses!  Wagon! Ear muffs! Play food! Then, a sweet breakfast on this luminous Christmas day and a morning of play and discovery before the fire.       

Fourth Sunday of Advent

As far as dinners go, ours are unpredictable.  Some evenings we have thoughtful, peaceful talks and eat our food happily and mind our manners.  Other evenings we whine about everything, bicker, eat very little while making an inversely proportional mess.

Sometimes taking the focus off food and manners is the best solution, and since I wanted our dinner on the fourth Sunday of Advent to be on the peaceful side, I wrote little questions about the holidays for each of us to talk about during the meal.  Nothing profound, just questions about favorite holiday treats, songs, books, movies and activities.

Each of us (except Maya) answered each question and it made the meal fun and pleasant... and we learned a few things about each other as well. I often feel like a big part of my job as a mother is to seek out clues to the mystery that my children are so that I can better honor and nurture them.  So I relish getting those sweet glimpses into their little hearts and minds.

I found out that CC's love of Cindy Lou Who is greater than we thought.  And that Sabrina likes Christmas music you can dance to like Feliz Navidad. Also, that Sabrina's favorite Christmas stories are from the Bible. I myself was reminded of one of my favorite movies, Miracle on 34th Street, which I haven't watched in years and surely will this week. For each answer we had to also answer, Why?  And so our conversation got a little deeper and really captured what the holidays are about for each of us.

By the end of the dinner I saw I might have started something very good here... maybe a Sunday dinner tradition where we discuss a topic through personal questions like these. It would be a sweet way to end the weekend for sure.