Art

We have been bitten by the art bug. I have always been a big fan of art, I cannot draw to save my life, but I would buy coloring books in college and use them during finals weeks to de-stress. It’s a great creative outlet for someone who isn’t gifted in that way.

If you follow me on Instagram (hsquaredblog) then you probably saw this photo the other evening.

 

They are artistic genius, right??

They like to hold up random crayons and for me to tell them what color it is. It’s like a color quiz. I don’t know what would happen if I ever didn’t know the answer. Sometimes, one of them will give me this sly look and hold up a crayon really fast, almost like they are saying “haha, I’ll stump you now! You can’t possibly know what this color is!”

Of course, easily accessible crayons means there is a lot of this going on. Thank the lord for the dollar tree brand of magic erasers! And the girls know that the crayons are supposed to stay on the paper. Every time I ask them where the crayons go they point to the easel. They know, they are just being brats.

And our art work doesn’t just stay in the crayon medium.

I love it! I’m turning a wall in the playroom into an art gallery. And I bought water colors over the weekend. It’s about to get crazy up in here!

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Wordless Wednesday

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Our Days

Our days are looking a lot like this.

 

With me watching them from here.

And doing stuff like this

When I feel like getting covered in paint and cleaning up an epic mess.

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Art!

When I worked in daycare I was an infant teacher. And I loved it. I love those first couple of years of life and watching kids grow more aware and involved in their environment. One of my favorite parts of my job was doing art with the babies once they reached six months or so.  I have had a recipe for finger paints saved on Pinterest since I was pregnant and since the girls are now six months I thought it was the perfect time to introduce painting.

I made my own finger paints mainly because I had everything in the cupboard already and because if the girls ate the paint (I mean, hello, six month old babies. Of course they are going to try to eat it!) at least I would know what is in it. The recipe is pretty common, I’ve found it on multiple websites.

• 3 TBS sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups water

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat on the stove until it thickens (I did it over medium-low, but my stove is a little wonky, so temperature will probably be different for everyone else). Let it cool, then pour into containers (I used baby food jars), and stir in food coloring.

I stripped the girls down to their diapers, put them in their highchairs in the kitchen (which is the only room without carpet), and let them at it!

Haley got the idea pretty quick. I only had to show her what to do once.

It took a little longer to get the concept across to Hazel. 🙂

She wasn’t a very enthusiastic painter, but that’s okay. She tried and didn’t fuss or throw a fit and that’s all that matters.

And her pudgy little hands sure look cute covered in paint!

Ignore my tiny, messy kitchen and the pile of recycling in the background.

This is why I made it from scratch. I figured one of my children, being my children, would want to test it out.

The best part about doing art? (If you’re six months old, at least.) You get a snack afterwards!

And, yes, I did clean them up first before giving them mum mums, but that food coloring has some awesome staining powers. Hazel had blue fingers for the rest of the day.

Now I have pretty artwork on my fridge! Have any other mommas been doing art with their kiddos?

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Sippy Cups and Paint

But not together because that would be gross.  Though it would make the girls’ poop really interesting….

ANYHOO!

Last week I ordered a couple of Avent sippy cups after having them recommended by another twin mom.  I love Avent bottles (I’m not being perked to say this. I’m not really a brand loyalist, but there are exceptions.  Avent is an exception).  Out of all the bottles I used working in daycare, Avent is far and away my favorite.  Can’t really tell you why exactly.  They’re just da bomb!  And all Avent products are compatible with each other which means I could slip the handles off of the sippy cups and put them on the bottles instead! Ta da!

Guys, I took these pictures the first time we tried it.  I still had to help with redirecting the bottle back in and towards the end when it was harder to tilt the bottle, but I got to sit with my hands in my lap for a good portion of it.  Do you have any idea what that means?  I can drink my coffee or eat a meal while the girls eat!  I don’t have to try to do things with my feet while holding two bottles!  I don’t need to awkwardly figure out how to burp one baby while still feeding the other!  Aw, freedom!

 

I also got all crafty and DIY and made finger paint.

It was pretty awesome and easy and I’m excited for when the girls can actually get messy using this stuff.  Also, it’s babies-put-everything-in-their-mouth friendly.  Not that I’m actively going to let them eat paint, but it’s nice to know that if they sneak one pass me it’s not as scary as it would be with store bought paint.

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