Parenting Under the Stars

It’s been fun in a crazy busy sort of way having the kids around full time. We made colorful popsicle stick picture frames, rolled beeswax candles and tie dye t-shirts last week.

The tie dye t-shirts were my favorite but I think I was having more fun with it than they were. All we did was mix some water with a bit of clothing dye in squeeze bottles, tied up the t-shirt a few times and squeezed different colored dyes on the sections.

We even tie dyed a baby’s t-shirt and a pair of socks. It can be messy though so wear old clothes and gloves. I didn’t wear gloves and my hands were stained for a couple days.

The candles were super easy. You just cut the beeswax sheet diagonally and roll the wax around the wick. A medium cotton wick seems to work the best.

Luckily I have loaded up on supplies because there will be more rainy days. Even when it’s not raining you can only stay out in the heat for so long before it gets to you.

Our next project will be some pretty patio stones. I have stencils so we’ll put some cute quote on it and stick it near the garden.

The flowers I planted in the section where the hose is are gone but that shouldn’t surprise me. I have no idea what I was thinking when I planted geraniums there. Maybe we will just make a path of patio stones to the hose.

If I hear someone say that “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” one more time I will snap. I think a couple of us had mild cases of heat stroke. I know I did anyway and the heat definitely gets to your head if you’re not used to it.

We did purchase a new hose since it appears someone ran off with ours. There were a couple kids creeping around our back patio a couple days ago looking at our bikes as well. My son spotted them and the next day I heard another kid had his bike stolen.

We filled a couple kiddie pools up with the hose and jumped in once in awhile and that seemed to help. The water doesn’t last long in there though because half the neighborhood showed up to fill up their water guns.

It’s important to remind kids to drink a lot on hot days. Sometimes I forget to drink enough myself and end up with a headache, although that could also be caffeine withdrawal. We keep stocked up on freezies because that’s a good way to make doubly sure they’re getting enough fluids.

Does anyone make their own freezies? We do sometimes because it’s healthier and of course cheaper. Those plastic handled things are a pain in the butt in my opinion but I like putting real juice in them.

Freezie Recipes

• Good Thymes has a great summertime smoothy fruit freezie recipe with bananas, strawberries, orange juice and pineapple juice. Yum. I don’t have half this stuff in the house but sure I can improvise. It appears that they simply used a cup with a popsicle stick in it. Good thinking.

• This mango smoothie/freezie also sounds yummy from Barbara Northwood. I like the simple ingredients such as mangos, orange juice, milk and ice cubes.

If you’re a visual learner or just want to see a video on how to make a smoothie, see this Mom’s Mango Smoothie by dietition Janice Newell from MealMakeOverMoms.com

Parenting twin tweens can bring it’s own set of difficult challenges and rewards. Individual friends, belongings and talents are important to reduce competition in twins.

When your children are both striving for their independence and heading towards puberty it can become more challenging. It’s important for twins to have their own individuality and separate interests and talents should be praised and encouraged.

• Often one twin will excel in one thing while the other has a weakness in that same area. This is particularly true of fraternal twins, which are from two separate eggs. I have fraternal twins and their personalities are like night and day.

If one seems to be struggling to try to catch up or compete with the other, attempt a diversion into another strength that they do have. Of course this is a sensible approach for any child and not just a twin.

For example, one child might enjoy and excel in something like soccer and baseball, while the other may be more musically inclined and creative. Even if the musically inclined twin doesn’t like sports, they may pressure themselves to try to be as good as the other. If their own talents in art or music are pointed out, praised and encouraged they’re not as likely to feel competitive or left out.

Other twin challenges:

It can be difficult with twin tweens to maintain the same rules for each child. One is sometimes more responsible, so the tendency could be to allow one more privileges or responsibilities. In some instances, this can’t be avoided and separate rules have to be given in fairness to the more responsible child.

Friendships are another challenge, especially if the twins are the same sex. If it gets too vicious then you must intervene, but generally children tend to sort friendships out themselves.

Even if they seem like enemies one day they may all be best friends the next. Parents often forget this when they get too involved with children’s squabbles. Sometimes parents are still feuding long after the children have resolved their issues.

I have witnessed this countless times with parents in our neighborhood. Holding grudges long after children have made up doesn’t make a lot of sense and it’s not showing them a good example about how to resolve conflicts.

This was adapted from an article I wrote for Suite101.

Everyone needs some time away from computers and we have been having fun playing in the sunshine.

Yesterday was Canada day so there were fireworks everywhere. July 1st is a national holiday here and it is the 141st year since Confederation.

The day before that we went on a hike and a picnic in the park. First, we got a little lost in the woods and took the long way to reach our destination. It was fun dodging tree trunks, mud puddles and rocks anyway.

My sister brought strawberry shortcake and it was sooo good with angel cake, whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

I am a sucker for sweets so I also brought a tray of butter tart squares. We worked it off with all our running around.

Kids Crafts

If your kids want to make their own fireworks, consider this fun Noodle Fireworks Craft from Sherri Osborn on Family Crafts. It’s a great idea although requires some patience since you have to dye the noodles first with food coloring and then wait for the design to dry.

Another fun craft I found there was the Canada Day Noise Maker Craft. These are fun to any time of year and very easy to make. All you need is paper plates, crayons, beans and glue. Streamers are also a fun touch.

Summer barbecues

Yesterday we purchased a new barbecue. I swear it took a couple hours to put it together. All the wingnuts, bolts and screws were making me dizzy but I did help direct and prevented something from going on upside down.

We had delicious shish kabobs for two nights in a row and the whole family helped make them. We put cherry tomatoes, chicken, onions and peppers on the skewers.

This time I soaked the bamboo skewers long enough so they didn’t catch on fire and we seasoned them with lemon pepper & barbecue sauce. Yum.

Next time I will grab some mushrooms and baby corn so they can really shake it up. If you haven’t tried making them, give it a go. The kids seem to enjoy the food so much more when they help make it.