Headers & Hair

I changed my header again, as you may have noticed.  I've made it a goal to change my background and header every month.  I love this picture... it's one of the outtakes from our family photo session with Angela that we had back in October.  All the kids have *great* looks on their faces.  LOL

Now, on to the hair.  Victory has been asking to have her hair cut because she hates having it brushed.  With all the curls it easily tangles.  She asked a few days ago and I said I'd talk to Tim and see what he had to say.  Then, it didn't come up again, so I let it go.  Today she asked again.  So, here's the before and after:

This should be MUCH easier to care for.  And, she really likes it, so that makes me happy.

Every time someone in the house (any one) gets their hair cut, Shiloh wants hers cut too.  I usually oblige by setting her in the chair and cutting a couple little strands.  Tonight I did a bit more... I think the results are great!

 

Much nicer look.  She's always got what looks like a big rats nest in the back no matter how many times I comb it, so I'm hoping this will help solve some of that problem.

I'm still working on that vacation post, so stay tuned!

Friday Fun

It's been a long time since I posted!  There will be a vacation post at some point... just trying to get it together in my head before I put it on the blog. ")

I did have a little fun playing with this photo I took in AZ with my phone.  Love the results!

Before:

After:

 

So, until I get the rest of the story together, you'll just have to settle for this. ")  (Tami, I know you'll especially enjoy it!)

Bored

I love the blog of Ann Voskamp.  She always has words that speak to me, to who I am, to where I am.  In my inbox today was a link to this article (courtesy of Ann).

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Children nowadays have more toys to distract them than ever before – toys that are more sophisticated. This suggests they are bored because they are over- rather than under-stimulated. For with choice comes restlessness, a nagging feeling that there might be something better to play with, or something on television they are missing, if only they were not wasting their precious time playing with toys.

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In our home, we try very hard to limit so-called "screen time".  While we do have a Wii, time spent on it is limited -- a special treat (for the most part).  Kids DO need to be bored!  The imagination that is sparked in a child with a simple box of Jenga blocks, or a container of Legos, or a bin of construction paper never ceases to amaze me.

Most recently, the bigger boys have been building "sets" from Lord of the Rings... Helm's Deep, Soromon's castle.

Characters from the movie are carefully made.  Each is placed just so.  The story is told and retold.  Hours of play.  (Now I just need to get them to read the books!)

Jenga blocks have become houses, roads, fences, garages, people, animals...  Pictures are drawn of ant home (you would not believe how elaborate these can be!  LOL) or pirates, or airplanes -- scenes that all include elaborate stories.

Magazines (Clubhouse, Clubhouse Jr., Highlights, NatGeo Kids) all provide hours of entertainment.

I find that the more T.V., movies, or video games they are allowed to play, the more they want.  It's like an addiction that I am loathe to feed.  Go, do!  Please!  Don't waste your life glued to a screen.

While I don't plan on smashing my Wii anytime soon, and I won't be getting rid of the T.V. (though at some point I would love to, but that takes some convincing/conviction of others *grin*), and the computer is going to stay right here on my desk, I do hope that I will be able to continue to keep my kids bored on a regular basis. ")

MPG

Way back in December, in this post, I promised to do another post about the bike.  Finally, here it is... (Thanks, Karri, for bugging me about it.  LOL)

We blindfolded Victory and brought in the bike.

 

 I'm pretty sure she liked it -- and was surprised!

 

 

 She had to check everything out, including the cute little backpack on the front.  Did you notice Susie (the cat) had to check it all out too?  LOL

As we were removing all the tags from the bike I noticed this:

See in the middle of the tag where it says, "No Gas Needed"?  Right above that it says, "MGP Guide".  What were they thinking?  Are they serious?  Or was this just supposed to be funny?  It's kind of like the warnings you find on things like silicone packets in pills... "Do not eat".  LOL