Dumpster Daddy

If I'm "Arts & Crafts Mommy", then Ben is "Dumpster Daddy".  Let me start by saying that if I would allow it, and the City of Greer did not have an ordinance against it, Ben would probably have a junk yard out back.  He's been know to rifle through an especially tempting pile of treasures beside a dumpster, which is how we acquired the mauve sectional that was formerly in the man cave.  His resourcefulness has only been intensified by the miscellaneous parts he acquires at work -- a broken dolly, steel posts, metal desks, you name it.

Ben's man-cave furnishings

Inspired by this book I checked out from the library, Ben's been itching to make something for Jackson and/or himself from his treasures.  This book is every man-boy's dream -- how to make floating tree houses, fire-extinguisher powered cannons and other dangerous-sounding boy-scoutish projects that make me cringe.

Last weekend, Ben made a modified version of what we used to call a "shack-a-lack" growing up...basically a little downhill racer made from miscellaneous parts.  Jackson was thrilled to be the benefactor =)  Notice how I piled on fluffy blankets in case of a crash landing.

Well Friday, Ben spied the knobby tires of a green riding toy peeking out of a neighbor's trash can.  Not being one to pass up a little dumpster dive on his way to work, Ben hit the jackpot when he found the toddler-sized John Deere 4-wheeler with only a broken steering shaft.  After fishing his prize out of the trash and chasing down the wheels that incidentally started rolling down the road, Ben loaded his latest & greatest in the back of the truck and continued his commute to work.  That night, Ben set off to not only repair, but upgrade the toy.  Several hours later, Ben proudly showed off Version 4.0, complete with a PVC steering column with hefty spring-loaded shocks, an additional 4-inches of ground clearance and a fresh set of AA batteries.  Just like new, only better.  Now we have to figure out a way to keep the neighbor's kid from seeing his old toy & wanting it back...

Music Man

Ben's harmonica + PopPaw's step stool = 1 little music man



Project: Placemats

I've  been on a seasonal creativity kick over the past few weeks.  In the past, I have not really decorated for Halloween, and Thanksgiving decor consisted only of a centerpiece in the dining room and a ceramic pumpkin given to me by my mother-in-law.  However, now that there is a little one around, I've been trying to come up with juvenile seasonal decorating ideas that are not gaudy/tacky (quite difficult).  So I decided to make turkey placemats using fun fabrics I had on-hand.  At the last minute, I decided to applique a Christmas tree to the back and make them reversible while I was at it.  Now if only I could keep them from getting dirty during mealtime...

Turkey Take-Home Project

So every few months, Jackson comes home with a little project that he & his family are supposed to do together, and then send back to school to display in the hall outside his classroom.  When his teacher initially explained the whole take-home project concept, it was flanked by her saying how much she loves to see what creative things the parents come up with.  Talk about setting the stage...

In September, it was a tree, which was printed in cardstock, that we were supposed to creatively decorate to represent our family.  After much deliberation, I settled on a banana tree (that's creative, right?).  I cut a leafy-print fabric out and stitched it on top of the printed tree, then stitched down a brown canvas trunk and cut some exaggerated bananas from yellow fabric that I let Jackson stick on to the tree.  After all, we were supposed to do it together.  I finished the project by adding a few whimsical birds to the tree and grommetting a cardstock nameplate to the trunk (rather then penning our surname).  I could kick myself for not saving the final result once it was sent back home, or at least scanning it in.

Two weeks ago, the Thanksgiving project was sent home in the form of a outlined turkey to be decorated & "disguised".  Last Tuesday, Mrs. Tonya asked if we had finished our turkey, and I explained that I couldn't decide how to decorate it because I had so many fun ideas.  That's when she made a point of explaining that "the projects are for the parents to do WITH their children, so maybe you should let Jackson participate a little more."  Yes, that's right...I got called out for doing my 1-year-old's homework. 

So armed with the challenge of incorporating Jackson's artistic participation in my Mommy project, I finally settled on the perfect compromise.  I got out my tempura paints and some cardstock and let him go to town.  Once his masterpieces dried completely, I traced, cut & mounted his paintings, then added a bit of felt & black mat board to create our Take Home Project #2.  Hope this scrapes by.

The "Fort"

Jackson has discovered a new, amazingly awesome "toy" that he's been obsessed with this week...the dog kennel.  We set up Bella's old dog crate last weekend for Scout to sleep in, and the minute Jackson spotted it in the corner of the garage, he made a beeline over and crawled inside.  He climbed in & out & in & out, wallowed around on the dingy dog bed and even closed the door once he was inside.  Bella decided to join him a time or two.  He has spent hours playing in that kennel, which we are referring to as his "fort" so DSS doesn't come get us.  I am also considering making a custom foam pad to fit inside to make it a little homier.

Bye-bye Baby Mullet

The title of my post is a bit misleading because Jackson's original mullet was cut off by Alisha back in August.  Since then, I have also (bravely) trimmed around his ears & shortened his bangs. 
However, Jackson's hair was starting to resemble a helmet from the back and needed a little professional help.  So we headed to Snip-Its.  Let me start by saying that whoever came up with the idea of giving out lollipops during haircuts obviously did not have any children.  It was an amazing short-term distraction, for like 30 seconds, which is about how long it took Jackson to a) drool stickiness all over his chin which incidentally became covered in teeny hair clippings giving him a beard and b) to get hairs stuck all over the pop and stick it back into his mouth.  Gross!

All in all, Jackson was a good boy for the duration of his haircut, and I stealthily observed the stylist's techniques because I plan to cut it myself next time. However, I do realize the risk-factor involved in parental haircuts so I didn't want to botch up before the holidays and Jackson be "that kid" in the holiday pictures!

Pre-haircut

Post-haircut.  Parted & gelled like a big boy.

Strangers at Storytime

I'll start by saying that I could kick myself for not taking a picture to accompany this post.  A picture is worth 1000 words!

Jackson & I met a few of our friends from playgroup at the library for Musical Jamboree on Monday morning.  We haven't been to the library for a scheduled activity in a while, so Jackson was totally soaking it up -- books, scarves, instruments & tons of kiddies to play with.  All the while, Jackson kept looking over at this older gentleman who was there with his young grandkids.  After a while,  Jackson toddled over to him and put his arms up, indicating he wanted to be picked up.  The man hesitated at first, then reached down and set him on his lap, where Jackson sat for 2 entire stories (all while my friends and I laughed hysterically from across the room).

This sounds really sketchy, but I finally realized what had happened.  Jackson saw the man's narrow face, white hair & silver glasses and thought that it was PopPaw.  Of course he wanted to sit in PopPaw's lap, he loves his PopPaw!  After the activities, I explained to the nice man why Jackson was so taken by him and Jackson once again tried to get "PopPaw" to pick him up.  I guess it's time to start teaching "stranger danger"!!

**DISCLAIMER: I do not make a habit of letting Jackson sit on stranger's laps.  We were in a enclosed environment surrounded by Moms and librarians.