Why Jumping Jelly Beans

This was one of my first posts. Donald has been adding to our art gallery lately. I thought it was time to retell the story of the Jumping Jelly Bean.

When visitors come to my house they usually comment on our artwork. I love art. It can speak in ways that words can’t. What it says to one person, is not what it says to the next. Lately, the artwork that they comment about most, are not the paintings framed on the wall. Our guests give the most attention to the murals drawn in crayon and marker.

All three of my boys have considered “wall art” a prime medium at one time or another. I remind myself this is only a stage they go through. I try to keep it in perspective. In 10 years our problems will be bigger, and much more complicated. Unfortunately, I have a feeling most of our future problems will not be able to be fixed with a fresh coat of paint. I am going to enjoy this simple life while I can. This doesn’t mean that I keep every creative item my boys leave on the wall. I believe there must be a place in heaven for the inventor of the Magic Eraser. That white rectangle has brought a small slice of sanity to my life. Every Christmas and Easter, I go through the house, and try to create a clean slate on my walls. There has to some since of balance to this chaos.

There are a few pieces of art that last longer than others. The jumping jelly bean of course is one of those long term pieces. It has stayed with us longer than most, because it is drawn in permanent maker. Jelly Bean will be with us until we repaint the bedroom. I have mixed feelings about Jelly Bean. My middle child drew him. He must have been standing on a box when he drew him. Jelly Bean is at least 4 foot tall. He is taller than Nicholas was when he created him.

At the time Nicholas was not drawing faces, and had no interest in pencil and paper (obviously). So this was a bit of a breakthrough in his self expression. He was so proud of his creation. When I walked into the room, I held back my initial reaction. I simply asked him to tell me about his drawing. He exclaimed with a giggle and a hop, hop, bounce…”It’s a jumping jelly bean!” I stood there for a moment then replied, "Of course it is. How could I miss that?"

That has been two years now. Jelly Bean is still on my wall. I pick out colors to repaint the bedroom, but I can’t settle on anything. Maybe it’s the bean. I think I might miss him, and these memories, when we finally repaint. I have a friend who says, “Perspective is key. Perspective gives you a since of calm. Calm leads to peace. Peace leads to happiness.” May your life be full of perspective, peace, and happiness. I also hope they are full of colorful memories that are treasured.

The original jumping jelly bean has faded away. Now most of our new artwork comes from Donald, our youngest. This is a portrait he drew of the two of us. We are riding on a caterpillar. He says I am driving, and he is in his car seat.

just when I thought it was safe, part 2

A few days after the "I'm making my bed famous" episode. I notice that the house is suspiciously quiet. I start to search for my five year old. I find him again in the bed room. This time he is stamping his wall with an ink blotter. It was a mini gingerbread man stamp. There must have been 50 of them on his wall. He was pounding away more. He looks up. With pride he announced, "I am creating an army!"

It's not easy being an angle in a house of boys

I find this odd, but true.

I have chocolate milk on my ceiling.

The cup slipped out of my 5 year old's hand. It hit the ground. Both of us stood in amazement. Chocolate milk was everywhere including above our heads.

Advent and the little ones

Getting ready for Advent. I've been searching around for some good ideas for Advent crafts for our little ones. I came across CatholicMom.com . Lots of neat ideas under "Faith". I really like the brief child friendly explanations that coincide with Holy days and Sundays liturgy. They provide coloring pages, and word puzzles that reinforce the message of that weeks gospel. I printed a few off, and hope to give them a try starting next Sunday. November 21st we celebrate the last Sunday in Ordinary time. The priest will wear either gold or white vestments. This Sunday we will focus on the triumph of our Savior Jesus Christ. The following Sunday, November 28th will be the start of Advent, and a new calender year in the Catholic faith. I am so excited that I can share this with my children.

Halloween joke

In St. Louis it is a Halloween tradition for the trick or treater's to exchange jokes for candy.

This year our 5 yr old was in on the action. His dad told him a joke. "where do fish go when they are sick? To the dock." So the boys go up to the first house.

John (our 10yr old) gives the first joke, "What is a ghosts favorite toy? A Boo marang."
Nicholas (our 7 yr old) was second, "Trick or treat, I like sweets, Halloween can't be beat." (I know, it's not a joke, but he thinks it is funny.)
THEN Donald steps up. "Where do fish go when they are sick? To the DECK." I couldn't help but to laugh. A dock looks just like a deck, just on water. It was close enough to get a chuckle, and score some candy.

"This is a free country, and you can't buy me!" Nicholas 7yrs old

a trip to Botanical Garden

I had a great day with the boys! The weather has been amazing these last few weeks. After this long cold winter, we can really appreciate a beautiful spring day.

I took the boys for a long stroll through the Botanical Gardens. We saw a coco tree, banana tree, fish, turtles, sculptures, butterflies, and of course beautiful flowers. On the ride in I was a little worried it would be too tame for the boys. As we left John said, "What a great day! It was beautiful and fun."

At one point we took a detour. A short path, that was not stroller friendly. It led us to the edge of a large pond. The end of the path was lined with large flat rocks so you could stand close to the water, and enjoy a more private view of the garden. During this short detour, we found a turtle sunning itself on a rock, a goose begging for food, and another nice family. I am always surprised when those rocky, uneven paths lead to little gems.

Why is Santa so shy?

"Why is Santa so shy? It would be better if he delivered gifts on Christmas Day. Then we could see him, and thank him." - Nicholas age 6

This speared a debate among the boys (age 8, 6 and 4) about how long it would take to stop at each house. How they would greet him, the parties Santa would go to at different houses... This would certainly throw off the Big guys schedule.

Amongst all the Christmas chaos, I feel very lucky today.

Why is the sky blue?

Donald, "Why is the sky blue?"

Before I could answer....

Nicholas responded, "God made colors so you can see things. If everything was the same color, everything would be camouflaged. You wouldn't be able to find anything. That's why God made colors."

Spelling Test on Friday

School started this week. Today we received notice that spelling tests will be every Friday. Starting August 28th. Last year spelling was a tough subject. Not that John couldn't do it, he wasn't overly motivated. This year I have a plan... I bought refrigerator letters. They cost about $1.00 at Wal-Mart or Target. I plan to make a game of it. Here's the letters for the word aircraft....can you spell it? Hang-Man with his spelling words. A stacked game of Scrabble with spelling words. Why didn't I think of this sooner? If you have more spelling word games we can try, please leave me a note. I could use some more suggestions. Wish us luck.

Simple Summer Pleasures

We are enjoying our lazy summer schedule. A friend of mine reminded me of the simple pleasures of summer. The freedom in the schedule to take an unexpected jaunt to a park, or make time to do nothing.

She was going from one place to the next, running errands with her kids. They passed a place she remembered from her childhood, and decided they needed a diversion. It was a conservation park that had a covered bridge over a little creek. She thought it would be a quick stop... walk across the bridge, maybe throw a rock into the creek. It turned out to be an all day event. They spent the day wading into the creek, catching crawdads, and laughing about nothing.

It was a great reminder to take summer as it comes. To keep pleasures simple. To look for the unexpected adventure of the backyard. To let them pick flowers, whether they are from the garden or just the white clover growing in the yard. To dig for worms, catch frogs, and capture fireflies. Summer is a time for making memories. Show your kids the things that made you happy when you where their age. I hope summer finds you well, and taking full advantage of what it has to offer. Enjoy the slower pace, enjoy each other.

I spy a blue tailed lizzard....

Near Miss! I don't know what we would do if he caught it!

Spiderman's car

You've heard of the Bat mobile. Nicholas thought Spiderman needed a special car.

VROOM!

It even has special towing powers with it's sticky tape web!

A 5year olds version of GPS

5 minutes ago Nicholas said, "I'm going to make a map."

This is his map....We are the car, the spork is the restaurant, the eraser is the house.

Who needs map quest?

You know it reminds me a little of Johny Carson.

"take a right at the fork in the road."

He was classic. I miss Johny Carson.

Raindrops and 5 second Rainbows

Quick art. Nicholas was making chalk drawings of "rainbow potatoes" in the rain. They would only last 5 seconds, before being washed away by the raindrops.

Time Will Tell...

This could be a huge flop or a treasured keepsake. I am hoping for treasured keepsake. I bought a Primary Journal for each of my boys. John is 8, Nicholas is 5 going on 6, and Donald is 3. I thought they could write/draw about their days during the summer. Summer time is busy and these three can find adventure around every corner. Not to mention we have a huge trip to the beach planned. I am hoping that they take to this. I love to write and I want them to share in that joy. I'll let you know how this goes. Wish me luck. Who knows, maybe they will have a featured article on the blog. That would be fun. :)

Top 10 Questions asked at our house:

Top 10 questions asked at our house:

10) Did that really just happen?



9) Where is Blank? – insert name of family member.



8) Have you seen Blank?- insert item (usually …keys, your shoes, my purse, the phone, the remote….)



7) Why is there so much toilet paper in the toilet? (Toilet is stopped up-we are potty training)



6) Did you brush your teeth?



5) Did you do your homework?



4) Are we late?



3) Can you pick up some milk on your way home?



2) Why don’t we have a babysitter? (For answer-See picture at bottom)



1) Do we have any more coffee?

Yes, that is Donnies arm comming out of a Jif Peanutbutter jar. Life with a three year old is a constant adventure. I think boys may have a little extra umph in their adventure. :)

These are the moments that I ask "did that realy just happen?"

Jumping Jelly Beans

When visitors come to my house they usually comment on our artwork. I love art. It can speak in ways that words can’t. What it says to one person, is not what it says to the next.

Lately, the artwork that they comment about most, are not the paintings framed on the wall. Our guests give the most attention to the murals drawn in crayon and marker. All three of my boys have considered “wall art” a prime medium at one time or another. I remind myself this is only a stage they go through. I try to keep it in perspective. In 10 years our problems will be bigger, and much more complicated. Unfortunately, I have a feeling most of our future problems will not be able to be fixed with a fresh coat of paint. I am going to enjoy this simple life while I can.

This doesn’t mean that I keep every creative item my boys leave on the wall. I believe there must be a place in heaven for the inventor of the Magic Eraser. That white rectangle has brought a small slice of sanity to my life. Every Christmas and Easter, I go through the house, and try to create a clean slate on my walls. There has to some since of balance to this chaos. There are a few pieces of art that last longer than others. The jumping jelly bean of course is one of those long term pieces. It has stayed with us longer than most, because it is drawn in permanent maker. Jelly Bean will be with us until we repaint the bedroom.

I have mixed feelings about Jelly Bean. My middle child drew him. He must have been standing on a box when he drew him. Jelly Bean is at least 4 foot tall. He is taller than Nicholas was when he created him. At the time Nicholas was not drawing faces, and had no interest in pencil and paper (obviously). So this was a bit of a breakthrough in his self expression. He was so proud of his creation. When I walked into the room, I held back my initial reaction. I simply asked him to tell me about his drawing. He exclaimed with a giggle and a hop, hop, bounce…”It’s a jumping jelly bean!” Of course it is. How could I miss that?

That has been two years now. Jelly Bean is still on my wall. I pick out colors to repaint the bedroom, but I can’t settle on anything. Maybe it’s the bean. I think I might miss him, and these memories, when we finally repaint.

I have a friend who says, “Perspective is key. Perspective gives you a since of calm. Calm leads to peace. Peace leads to happiness.” May your life be full of perspective, peace, and happiness. I also hope they are full of colorful memories that are treasured.

Samples of our "Wall Art" gallery

He is faded and hard to see, but that's our jumping jelly bean.

(on the bottom)