Summertime Fun (we painted birdhouses)
This summer has been so hot! That’s not unusual for southern New Mexico, but I thought I’d say it anyway!
Luckily, we have a very shady back yard. It’s honestly at least 20 degrees cooler under those beautiful trees. SO, I’ve been trying to plan lots of activities that we can do at home and stay cool in the shade.
There are outdoor activities for us here in Las Cruces, we have great hiking trails in the nearby desert and foothills of the Organ Mountains, but it’s been over 100 degrees and sunny. There are also several beautiful new swimming pools, but again…over 100 degrees AND we’re all so fair that we burn instantly. I sometimes take Mazie to the kids’ gym, sometimes just to wander around the mall…but I’m old school. Kids should be outdoors in the summer!
Anyway…I needed an activity for yesterday. I took Mazie to the do-it-yourself hobby store and asked her what crafts she thought she’d like to try. Even though she’s only 2 and a half, she’s got a very precise vision regarding what she likes and wants to do. She said she wanted to do some painting, and that she wanted to “make houses for my birds.”
We looked around and sure enough, they had bare wood birdhouses to take home and decorate.
Mazie chose two big ones “For Mazie and Mommy” and a tiny little one “For Olive Bea.” She picked out three colors of paint (yellow, red, turquoise) and we were good to go! We brought all of the stuff home and got it set up on her little picnic table and she got right to work. Mazie is so funny, she took this SO seriously. She covered every centimeter of wood with paint. She mixed her own colors (I used mine straight from the tube, which real artists never do!) and she was so quiet and deliberate about her painting. She also thought seriously about what the birds would like and about how the house she painted for Olive Bea should look.
Olive had a great time watching us paint while working in her office:
It turned out to be a great craft for us, and used up that awkward hour between lunch and naptime quite well. I’ll be back, do-it-yourself hobby store!
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:08 am
OH I loved those days with my little redheads! One thing you should look at are the Home Depot kid activities, free and usually on Sat mornings.
For old times’ sake, we got out the popsicle sticks, paints and newspapers and let my kids go at it (13 yrs & 10 yrs) on the back porch in the morning shade. They had a blast and I had good memories of crafting long ago.
I especially got a kick out of Olive’s :”office” HA!
C
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:34 am
I HEART Mazie
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:14 am
i don’t know if crafters breed crafty-kids…but i’m liking where Mazie’s artistic talents are heading
)
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:58 am
Love the concentrated look on Mazie’s face.
July 22nd, 2010 at 1:39 pm
What a great idea – I love the houses Mazie painted!
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Maybe my dream of Mazie painting masterpieces will come true. I love the birdhouses, Mazie rocks! As does Olive!
July 23rd, 2010 at 7:37 am
Reading your blog brings me back to that magical, fleeting time when my boys, now 13 and 9, were little. Those precious photos warm my heart!
July 23rd, 2010 at 9:57 am
Yahaira! She’s pretty cool, I tell ya!
July 23rd, 2010 at 9:58 am
Hi Cindy!
I think you’re right…she’s a natural talent. I’m being totally objective here, as always!
July 23rd, 2010 at 9:59 am
Jane, Aaaw! Thank you! I am so loving this time with them…incredibly lucky to get to be at home with them and see all of this learning and growing first hand!
July 23rd, 2010 at 9:59 am
Thanks, Karen!! PS: I like your new blog look!
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:00 am
Hi Siga! She gets that look a LOT. She takes certain things very seriously!
July 24th, 2010 at 10:48 am
Is it completely wierd that your description of the Las Cruces heat is making me miss my time living in New Mexico? We’re in Cincinnati now and the humidity is killing me!
I’ll definitely be borrowing the birdhouse idea, my kids will love it!
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:56 pm
They’re both so precious! I can’t wait until my son is old enough to get into crafty adventures with me. Right now all he does is paint his own face with food, which has also been photo worthy