Spirit Jump

A while ago I posted about becoming a Spirit Jumper. Since then we have participated in 3 Spirit Jumps. A Spirit Jump can be as simple as send a card or sending along a little gift to a person battling cancer, to lift their spirits. This time Lulu picked out the gift (a sticker book) and wrote a card to a 4 year old girl named Grace. "Grace was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in June 2008, two days after her 3rd birthday. Although Grace is in remission, she still has to take chemo at home everyday and goes to a clinic every two weeks for blood work." I thought it would be more meaningful if Grace received a card from someone her own age.

Spirit Jump is a wonderful organization started by two cancer survivors. See the original post here. There is no long term commitment. If you sign up to be a Spirit Jumper you will receive occasional emails describing the people who need a lift. You decide if you want to send a card or gift to them or not. We try to do one once a month. Especially if there is a child in need of a lift. So if you would like to brighten someones day -- think about becoming a Spirit Jumper!

Freezer Paper T-Shirt Stencils

Hello! My post is up for real this time! Today I am one of the Craft Contributers at Grown In My Heart. Come on by and visit me there! I give you step by step instructions on how to make a cute Birthplace or Home State Freezer Paper Stencil T-Shirt. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know you stopped by! I loved all of your comments last week! Thanks! Below is a sneak peak!



The shirt I made for Emme, a silhouette of South Korea. The Red sequin shows where Emme was born.

Freezer Paper Stencils are great for any design. I also made this Tinkerbell for Lulu. Using an old party decoration.

Great Game: Picture Scavenger Hunt

Saturday we had a lovely picnic lunch at the aforementioned Arboretum with some good friends. Our friends were running late and our girls were restless and hungry. So I sent them and their Daddy on a digital picture scavenger hunt. We visit the gardens frequently throughout the year so I knew where to send them. I gave them an item to photograph and then they ran back begging for another item. This helped pass the time and I could set up our picnic in relative peace. Above are two examples of items they had to photograph. Lulu is our budding photographer and love being able to take the pictures.

Fairy Houses

We went fairy house hunting at our local Arboretum. The girls had a blast! Hidden along one of the walking paths families had built fairy houses out of mostly natural materials. We just found out about the program and will definitely sign up next year! Meanwhile we will build our own fairy house in our yard.
Here are some of our favorite houses!

Sunday Snap Shot

I just thought this was darling. I think it is of Lu's new friend from North Carolina. Lu just walked into my office handed it to me and then walked out. What do you think?

Letter Exchange: North Carolina

OK, Lulu has her first official crush. She opened her latest letter and saw the little boys face from North Carolina and said, "WOW!" She handed me the rest of the letter and stared at the little boy. I said look Lulu stickers. Nothing. Look Lu a Bald eagle. Nothing. So I said let me see. I peeked at the picture and said, "ooh what a cutie." Lu looked up at me and smiled in agreement! Luckily the stickers then caught her attention! Phew! She also thought it was pretty cool that he sees bald eagles by the lake all the time! I think whenever Lu sees a bald eagle she will think of her little friend from North Carolina and sigh a little bit wistfully! :-)

End Friday With A Laugh

Hope you all have a great weekend. Saw this clip on Goody Blog and just had to share it! Click Roller Skating Babies to have a good chuckle.

Transform a Box into a Secret Treasures Carrying Case

Take a sturdy cardboard box the size of a cereal box (but much stiffer) cut a hinged opening. Attached a rope from a shopping bag by punching holes into the top, lacing through rope and knotting. Covered with tissue, Mod Podge, glitter, sequins...

We are letting this side dry before we tackle the other side. Will glue gun a ribbon latch onto hinge window. Will show you other side when we are done.

Cool Colors vs. Warm Colors
Warning former art teacher preaching!

I frequently talk to Lu about cool colors and warm colors. This is a simple introduction to color theory that can be incorporated into your craft projects. By referring to colors as cool or warm you are helping your child begin to evaluate and classify colors. They are also beginning to understand that color can convey a feeling or mood. Which in turn will help them to become thoughtful of color. You will notice over time their color choices will be more intentional and less arbitrary.

This doesn't have to be an extensive color lesson. Just casually introduce it to them as a choice. I asked Lu if she wanted to use cool colors like the ocean - greens and blues or warm colors like a fire - reds and oranges. She chose cool. She then helped to pick out the tissue from our scrap bag.

Whenever we are looking at nature or art I always incorporate color into our conversations. Just noticing color is a helpful lesson. You are helping teach your child how to look. Often times after our children learn their colors we stop talking about color to them.

An example: at the zoo - look at that peacock! Wow! What colors do you see on his tail feathers? Help your child name the real colors if they are old enough. Instead of blue say turquoise. Help them draw connections. Eventually they will begin to make them on their own. I love the turquoise in his tail it reminds me of the ocean - all cool colors.

I forgot to add that it is Round Robin Day at Keeping Up With The Schultz Family Blog. Stop by and check outs some great ideas and new blogs. You can also link up and add something you want to share. It can be a craft, recipe, story...

Elmo Birthday Invites & Elmo Vacation

We are starting to gear up for birthday time here at the Crazy Kings. Em's birthday is in August and Lu's is in September. Here is the invitation to Em's ELMO Birthday party. It will be mainly family but still wanted to send out cute invites. I used stiff felt and will back with card stock. The details will be on the back. I found a super cute Elmo party at Everyday Celebrating. I will be getting a lot of ideas from there. Love the Elmo Oreos. Simple but cute. I have a great favor box craft. Stayed tuned!



By the way, guess where we are going in a few weeks...Sesame Place! Em will be in Elmo heaven! ABC & 123 are hosting a Favorite Vacation Picnic Talk this week. I bet this will go down as a favorite vacation for Emme! My favorite and Lu's is DISNEY! Em was still a baby and won't remember it. Actually...the cruise was our favorite. Lu loved the park but it was almost a little overwhelming. The Disney cruise was much more relaxing. Less traipsing around but with a ton of activities. Plus great service. When I tell you how attentive they were to Lulu's food allergies you will be amazed. At every meal the chef would come out to talk to me about what was on the menu and what he or she could do to alter it for Lu's allergies! By the end of our stay I was hugging the head waiter who we just loved! When ever she saw us she would go and get the chef and would check back with us throughout our meal. They even bought rice milk ice cream for Lu when we stopped in the Bahamas! I have never experienced such excellent service and attention (...other than my honeymoon.) Sadly my camera landed in the ocean during that trip! So boo hoo...we'll just have to go again!

Letter Exchange: Florida, Switzerland & Italy

Look what arrived while we were away last week! 3 Letters! Lulu did her happy dance for a while then sat down to examine the envelopes. Which to open? Florida won out. Why? Well, Florida's shook. Yes, it was actually a small box that when you shook it you could hear something moving around in it! How exciting! Even more exciting is when she opened it up to discover a little pouch, a beautiful apple print and a letter.The pouch held sea shells! Lulu loves them. Instant treasures! They got their own special jar for our windowsill so Lulu can look at them anytime she wants. Which so far has been frequently. Lulu was amazed to hear about life in Florida. Dolphins and the beach! Wow!

ITALY






Next was a terrific letter from Italy! Our first international letter! When Lulu opened it little angel confetti came fluttering out! Lulu was thrilled. The letter was temporarily forgotten as she carefully picked up each angel and placed them on the table. Then she was running upstairs with me calling after her.

In a flash she was back with her extra special treasure box (she has several but this is the ultimate one! It plays music and has a picture of ballet slippers on the front.) She scooped up the angels and gently placed them in her treasure box with all of her most special items. Then it was back to the letter to look at the drawings, stickers and hear about her new friend. I showed her where Italy was on the map and we talked about how it looked like a boot!


Switzerland

Last but not least came this wonderful letter from a little boy in Switzerland! He sent a wonderful letter that Lulu has wanted to hear again and again. His birthday is the same month as Lu's (which just excites her!) and he lives in the mountains with cows that graze outside his window! This just tickles Lulu. His mommy sent some yummy recipes which we will have to try! Plus a drawing, some stickers, a picture, and a dinosaur coloring page. If you've read my past posts - Lu thought that was pretty cool!

I have to say, I never expected such creative and wonderful letters to come Lulu's way. As you can tell the simplest things just make her so excited! A story about your child's life, a drawing, some confetti... If you are participating and haven't sent your letter yet don't feel like you have to do anything more than share a little about what your child likes to do or what their daily life is like. Lulu (and Emme) get so excited just running to the mailbox...thanks to all of you who are participating!