The kids rolled out of bed and watched one of their favorites - Sofia the First, specifically the episode where they have a royal tea party. Of course, as soon as it was over they were asking to have a tea party. Lincoln had a bit of allergies going on, so I took full advantage of their tea party request to brew up a pot of some homeopathic tea that is usually not their favorite taste... but I've discovered that if given in their own teapots and with enough honey, they'll drink it without complaint ;-)
After they'd each consumed about two pots of tea, and had fun doing so, they got a touch crabby. They were all tired out! So I broke out the paint to give them something (other than crabbing at each other) to focus on.
Lincoln was painting to nicely (not just globbing it everywhere), and Victoria was busy drawing Easter eggs, and I thought - aha! Perfect "unschooling" moment here! So I dashed to my desk and printed off the pictures of Faberge Eggs I had earmarked for us to color the next time we studied Russia.
I let the kids each pick four colors and then they got busy painting their eggs while I told them a little bit about the history/creation of Faberge Eggs.
Finished work - Victoria's on top left (bright and happy), Lincoln's on bottom left (very manly colors), and Scarlett's on middle right (very detailed and glittery).
The girls wanted to bake something by themselves. They couldn't have been any more clear in relaying this to me - just how not involved I should be :-p At first they just wanted all basic ingredients, however I felt that 1) they would waste far more this way, and more importantly, 2) they wouldn't end up with anything edible, which would be a disappointment to them. Our compromise was that we went through the pantry and baking cupboard and pulled out everything they wanted, then put a few things back that I veto'd. I also set out the correct measuring cup sizes, four eggs, and a stick of butter. After that, I made sure they washed their hands and had a clean surface to work on and left them to their own devices for an hour or so, just checking in sporadically. They did so well! It's such good team-building/problem-resolution work to do it together.
The girls (understandably) did not want Lincoln's assistance. So I had to find something we could do that would seem at least as fun! I spied one of the rejected ingredients and had an aha! moment... the instant package of chocolate pudding would be perfect. I have no idea if I saw this idea somewhere a long time ago and it just sprung up in my brain, or if I just had a spark of genius, but either way, it was a success. To start, he enjoyed just dumping in the powder, milk and stirring to see it transform into the pudding he knows and loves :-)
Waverly and I felt sad we would not be partaking in the pudding ;-)
When the pudding was ready (we made it with slightly more milk than the instructions call for), we smeared some around on a plate and Lincoln practiced writing his letters! So easy and fun. We just used the back of a spoon to "erase" his letters to start over, and he cleaned his finger-pencil with his tongue, hehe.
The one caveat I gave the girls at the start of their baking endeavor was that they would need to clean up whatever mess they made. Of course, they couldn't get to everything or do it as well as adults, but the principle was effective - I think they were much less messy than they otherwise would have been and they even enjoyed the responsibility of washing the dishes and vacuuming up (not that you can tell from this particular shot - Scarlett looks glum and/or lost in thought!).
"Cheery Up Cherry Cake," as they named it contains the following:
1 package dry yellow cake mix
1 package dry brownie mix
4 eggs
1 stick melted butter
1 package Publix frozen cherries, thawed (possibly drained? I really couldn't say)
2 or 3 kid-sized handfuls of: multi-colored sprinkles, chocolate chips
Various amounts of: flour, dark brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder
Several generous squeezes of caramel syrup (the kind that goes on ice cream)
Random amounts of water and milk
So... I really wasn't sure how to bake it. The girls started to put it on a cookie pan, but it was a bit runny for that, so I suggested we throw it in cake pans and see what happens. I figured 350 for 30 minutes would be a good start, and lo and behold it smelled A-M-A-Z-I-N-G as it baked. When it was finished, the kids couldn't wait for it to cool all of the way, so I had to cut slices from the outside area. They LOVED it. I mean loved-loved it! haha I didn't try it, but even Grammie said it was truly delicious.
"The best cake ever."
Before long it was nap time for the big kids, while Waverly and I hung out on the floor for a bit before she too conked out. A big milestone occurred while we were on our camping trip - Waverly turned 4 months old!!! I cannot believe how quickly time is passing, and how much she is growing. She has a lot to say, and I can already tell she will be opinionated. It's so awesome and fascinating to watch her personality blossoming right before our eyes :-)
Lincoln didn't nap for very long and woke up feeling groggy - I suggested a play bath might perk him up. He agreed and was super excited when I pulled out the Batman Shaving Kit that was a Christmas or birthday gift from Uncle Jeff. I had organized the bathroom and put it in a "safe, special place" so that I would remember where it was... which always ends up with me having basically hid it from myself. When I ran across it the other day I pulled it out and put it in another special place... fortunately I actually DID remember this time ;-)
After lathering up with foam shave cream, he practiced shaving.
"I need more shave stuff."
Handsome guy! He was majorly impressed with the shaving kit - thanks Uncle Jeff!
At dinner, Jim told the kids our big announcement, that we would be going to the Great Wolf Lodge in December! The kids, of course, had a billion questions, and Jim was patient in walking them through all the logistics of our trip. They sure got wound up though and before long were busy wrestling on the floor! We're looking forward to our fun family trip - it'll be here before we know it :-)
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