The Geddes are a Swinging

At last the summer has just about reached us....at least warmer temperatures to enable some enjoyment outside.

With the new house, I made it a point to find one that gave us a large enough backyard. Nothing crazy big, but something bigger than a postage stamp. As we started spending time out there with my kids and a few others who join us a few days a week, it was becoming quickly apparent that we needed a few more things to do.

Phase one was building a simple basic sandbox. Its 5'x5' and required 400 lbs of sand. Yes you read that right. Try pushing it on a dolly through Lowes ;) The bottom has landscape fabric tacked on, so it never floods and keeps things where they are suppose to stay...as long as the kids will keep it all inside....sigh. Do far, any area cats have not discovered it, or do not care to, so we used the cover tarp as a nice shade canopy.

Phase two involved a little more time and muscle to construct. We were missing our ghetto swings at the old house. The old belt swings were kept, for just this possibility of building our own. After looking on Craigslist and other retail options, it was becoming clear it would be best to just build our own. Many folks who were selling theirs, did not construct them to be taken down and put back up. And for the price of it used, it was about the same in materials.

We ended up going with this option on Amazon. It enabled us to not have to figure out cutting any angles or wondering how we could get it cut. The 4x4 beams just slide in along with a 4x6 header. I wanted something which could last longer than most of the cedar products....and also to grow with the kids are they became bigger and taller. (The yard past the swings doesn't belong to us, but there is no fence and the house is bank owned for now)

Each new project has been presented with a learning curve....and tool components we lack..grrrr. And I'll never understand why there are no couples counseling resources to be found in the home improvement aisles, but its done and the kids love it!

King of the Mountain

In all the craziness of the beginning of this summer season....having Alden ended up blessing us more than we'd thought. Through our Aflac coverage, we found out about a portion of our policy that all children born while on the mother's coverage are also included for the first 30 days.

An unknown financial blessing came our way :)

And like most parents....you love your children despite the days where they mutate into little monsters.

In the backyard, we have a ghetto swing set up. It is a long chain stretched tight between two large trees with 2 regular and one baby swing. It works pretty well and was the least expensive route to go. We had always drooled and envied those with the wooden set ups with the tower to climb and/or monkey bars. But they've never been in our budget. So when we had some unexpected funds become available...we thought this would be the only time we could do something like this.

We searched online and instore...did our research...compared and weighed the pros and cons.

Hey, look....Walmart has one on rollback!

.....but when it came to hitting the complete purchase button....we got cold feet.

Never had we spent this much money on a toy for the kids. Shoot....not even that much on a stroller!

These things have been known to be a beast to assemble. An all day job at that, and that is assuming you know what you're doing. By the time it would arrive, and be constructed...I couldn't help but wonder if they'd have a month to play on it before the weather turned sour. Kinda like giving a kid a bike for Christmas in the North East.

We don't own our place and is unknown as to how long we'll stay here. So we skipped the idea, since it was really the tower we wanted so the kids would stop climbing us or the furniture. Ain't nobody got time for that! But what else was there to climb on?

Low and behold....Amazon!

Step 2 had a mountain and it came with free freight shipping. Hooray!

It is over 6 ft tall and has been our solution. It ended up being cheaper on the budget too! It is rated for up to age 8 and should last a long time with the kids. And in the event we have to move, this should be more manageable to take with us. If not, we should be able to get a few bucks back out of it :)























Nolan can already climb to the top and drop inside to the middle platform.

Overall, it is a big hit with the neighborhood. Now if only I had room to bring it inside for winter play!

The Adventures of a Box

Some will say, that a young child will be more interested in the box the toy came in than the toy itself. Depending on your child, I think laundry baskets have more appeal in general as my kids are quick to help me rescue the toy from the twist ties and corrugated fibers.

I decided to throw a good sized box out to Eliza during one quiet time and encouraged her to decorate it with crayons. It had once housed a care package from my mother, and it had been kicking around our bedroom as I procrastinated dealing with the contents.

So here is a chronicling of the box this week.....

 Place of choice for quiet time one day

This was the next day, sans clothes...down to underwear

Squatters not appreciated in this creative real estate 

It's Snow-fun

The Geddes clan decided to venture out in the 16 degree weather since we saw the sun shining.....it wouldn't feel as bad....right?

Ha! It was COLD, and we didn't last too long with all 4 of us out. Nolan lasted one run with daddy, and then simply had enough.

Eliza was our little adventurer, and did a few runs down the hill before she had her fill. 

We've had quite the fill of being inside, and sometimes you just have to go for it. Even when you can't remember the last day that it got above freezing, and all your canned food is frozen along with the fruit and beverages sitting in your complimentary "walk-in" freezer...aka the garage!

I do look forward to just near freezing or just above freezing temperatures so we can enjoy the snow a little more before the rain melts it away.

Color me Fun!

We've had to get a bit creative in these cold months in order to not go crazy inside 4 walls. Normally, I'd set the easel outside for their paints, while not worrying about drippy paint. But I decided a messy and out of the ordinary activity was in order for after lunch and before quiet time.

Admiring their work 

 

My little Impressionist

Nolan has been marked officially as a member of the Geddes Tribe 

The best part was, we did bath time and clean up right after. They even helped scrub the walls, since the paint was non toxic tempera. Much more vibrant colors than the food dye and cornstarch recipe.  

Winter Blues Art Time

Its cold, wet and we are seriously into the winter season. As I type this, we received 6+ inches of snow in a matter of 2 hours. Being a stay at home parent can be a struggle when you live in a small place and can't venture outside very easily in the winter time. Its extremely tempting to just throw on movies all day....

But I know this will backfire on me later on. So we pulled out the dot markers for a new distraction with little mess to deal with.

Big Children at Heart

Both Matt and I were gifted with something each that we both would have never spent money on ourselves. Certainly not practical, but if you know either of us in real life, we do have a kid inside that does like to be entertained.

After many years of always looking at them, I decided Matt needed a toy for Christmas so he could do a little stress busting when the kids were in bed. For an aviation nut....an RC helicopter was just what filled his bucket of joy that night....and continues to.

My mother, bless her heart, really did surprise me with a building toy. No, it wasn't Lego, but a tall Knex roller coaster. After putting the kids to bed early one evening, I spent around 3 hours building it. Here it is in action, using an extra coaster car for added fun.

Toddler & Preschooler Gift Series: Ikea Edition

If you've never stepped inside an Ikea before, now is the time this season.

Items are those in which we have of our own, or talked to those who to own them.

1. Knight's Castle Tent $20

This thing is great! It feels durable with its thicker nylon material and thick tension poles (x4). It takes about 1-2 minutes to assemble it. There are even two mesh windows on the roof so parents can peek in on the kids play.

2. Artist Easel $14.99

This is such a steal at this price when you compare it to the Melissa and Doug or Imaginarium brand ones. It is a great start for any budding artist or parents who want more of a minimalist design when incorporating it into the rest of home decor.

3. Soft Play Fruit and Veggie $7.99 each

These are a nice alternative to their plastic food counterparts. No worries when stepped on when navigating the play area.And you can always throw them in the wash when needed. I especially like the velcro tear away lettuce leaves.

4. Tumbling Matt $29.99

If you have a very active child who is using your couch for doing tumbles and who knows what else....this is a great bargain for a gymnastics mat. Its more durable and thicker to the foam puzzle squares and folds up for storage. Use it as a bonus to sleep on for little sleepover guests.

5. Wooden Train sets $7.99 - $9.99

If you've balked at the outrageous prices of the Thomas wooden train sets or the specialty toy shop lines...this is a great value for wooden tracks. So far, they integrate well with other wooden sets/train cars and are easy for little hands to put together.

6.Cars and Garage $9.99 - $12.99

These cars get a lot of play in our house. Each one can be mixed and matched with other car parts to make your own customized design. The simple design of the garage is perfect for those households where space can be a premium. The garage can be taken part for later storage, but you may want to super glue the pieces together if you have little ones who like to play tough.

Fun on the Beach

Why eat it all when it makes the best art medium

A Long Overdue Castle

Its been done for quite a long time, but I finally got around to taking some pictures of it. For some before pictures, click here for the first post.

I wanted it to reflect some of the color pallets used with each pony, but not go too over the top with girly accents...just in case Nolan decides to take it over for knights and dragon battles.

I used acrylic paint and finished it off with a water based clear varnish for easy clean ups.

Eliza loves it, and each room is the perfect size for the small ponies and even some of the furniture sets they sell. Maybe their Santa's will surprise her this December.

You Must be This Tall

Do you remember the movie with actor Tom Hanks who wanted to be BIG? He desperately wanted to go on a thrill ride while noticing a girl from class. If it wasn't bad enough that his parents were there embarassing him, he learns he came up too short to ride. He later finds a Zoltar fortune teller and makes a wish to be big.

We have now reached the age where a little girl may experience the thrill of amusement rides for the first time. At an annual event held by the Erie Canal, kiddie rides were an obvious draw to this excited three year old. So we decided to treat Eliza to a ride wristband.

Dragons, spaceships and motor cars took her up, down and around.

I think the giant wavy slide paid for itself in number of rides for the cost of the wrist band. She carried her sack and climbed all the way to the top. Her first words after each return at the bottom was "again again" as I had to reminder to wait her turn in line.

Despite the humid heat, she was a hardcore thrill seeker. Nolan spent most of the time sleeping in the wagon since it was smack dab in the middle of nap time.

Maybe some of this growing older stuff isn't so bad...

Go Crash Laugh!

      

These toy Cars from Target have been a lot of fun at the grandparents house lately. Nolan finally figured out how to pull them back and let them fly off the coffee table. Their laughter is quitcontagious to one another. 

Sometimes its the simplest facinations that become the home run memories.