The kids got a full series of Lego Minifigs in their stockings. These are Katie’s favorite two. At least I think it’s two. It might be one with accessories.
Showing off her favorite new Minifigs.
Category Archives: Toys & Games
Cuddling during class.
She assured me she was listening to her teacher even though she was playing with her doll during class. GRRR. It’s so hard because you want them to be comfy but it’s also school. And you wouldn’t do that at school. But this is also unprecedented. You pick your battles…
The Legos are out already!
Playing while Mom and Dad work.
Nude porch swimming!
Virtual Lego Challenge
Our library was having a virtual Lego challenge—you had to built a Lego scene with real life objects in it. Owen built a baseball field complete with baseball posters in the outfield! Katie added a fan eating a sucker!
We might be walking in our new neighborhood again…
Today taking a trip around the park to spin some Pokestops. We close in 24 days! 😱
Katie’s castle project!
She pulled out this Lego project she had started a long time ago but had gotten taken away (most likely due to sass or whining of some sort) and she put it together like a champ. The only bad thing is now we have leftover Lego pieces all over and she loves to actually play with it so it’s still out all over the place.
This might be the last puzzle.
I think this is the last puzzle that I am buying and we are attempting as a family. Puzzles are just one thing that I would absolutely love to be able to sit and do with my family…but as I’ve mentioned before, Tom hates them, Owen really doesn’t like them, and Katie is okay for a short amount of time.
We have done smaller puzzles (I’ve posted pics recently) but it’s a trade off because Katie loves them but they only take 5-10 minutes. I’ve bought all of 8 or so of the ones she loves (of which Owen will tolerate doing 1-2 of the smaller ones).
I guess maybe I need to look at more options. We don’t have to do them but just in watching Owen try, I get really frustrated because he (mostly) has zero sense of spatial ability or sense of color. I watch the pieces he tries and he’s trying to put a round knob into a long skinny foot. Like huh? Didn’t you learn how basic shapes fit in kindergarten? Why is this different just because it’s not a triangle or a circle? And trying to put a white piece where it’s clearly black. I thought he was just being stubborn so I asked him if he really couldn’t tell or if he was just being silly and he said he couldn’t tell. If I’m to believe him…I just can’t even…?! I mean I guess I know people have those issues, but it just seems so weird because nothing else in his life shows that issue. So I want him to keep trying puzzles to get better at the spatial thing.
Maybe in the next house if I had a separate room to do them in…but there’s no good place here. That said, I rarely have the time.
But one cool thing about this puzzle is that it came flat and put together and we had to make the box! So Owen did that!
Tom makes a daytime appearance!
He is working more hours now than before—sometimes starting before 7 and trying to finish by 6 but getting calls at all hours. He even worked ALL weekend. So since it was so nice today he tried to take a little break to play catch with the kids. It lasted about 10 minutes before he got a phone call.
Cinderella’s Castle
I gave Owen and Katie a small Lego project to work on together and they managed to do it without much argument or fighting. Katie really liked playing with it, too.
This is what it’s like doing puzzles with kids and animals in the house.
At one point the kids left the box of pieces open and Maggie stepped in it, dumping them. I finished and had this. 🤦🏻♀️ We had to pull apart the couch to find the pieces (which we did).
The first nice day in forever…
It was nice today (57°!) so we took a walk to do a photo scavenger hunt and leave chalk notes on people’s driveways!
The kids went across the street to decorate the driveway of a single older lady. Owen also told me her brought her trash up to the house. ❤️
As far as for social distancing? Every single person that we saw and had to pass kept the right distance. Sometimes we moved out of the way, sometimes they moved out of the way. Thankfully we didn’t see any kids at the park but I would’ve lost my mind.
I was really happy about all this because I keep hearing stories about how parks are FULL of kids with and without parents around?!?! GRRR. I just think a lot of people are in the “it’s not going to happen to me” camp. And, of course, in the best case scenario, we won’t see anything happen at all and we will think all of this was for nothing. But that just means that it worked.
Anyway, they really had a lot more fun than I thought they would. Now we just need lots more nice days…
I treated myself when we got back… uncovered my egg chair and had a drink!
Puzzle life lesson #momfail
So—SURPRISE!—my family has stopped helping. I expected it but it’s still annoying. 😂 🤷🏻♀️ I get it. They only want the easy parts but life isn’t always easy and I’m trying to teach them that sometimes they need to just power through. They’re not having it. #momfail
Anyway. This is how I do puzzles when it’s getting towards the end—all like-shaped pieces together. Am I the only one that does this? It makes it sooo much easier to find what you’re looking for. (I also kinda want to sort by colors but I’m letting that go.)
Are you yay or nay on the whole puzzle sitch?
Lego Challenge: Day 1
I started the kids on the Lego challenge calendar because we’ve been watching Lego Masters and they love it—so figured this would be a big treat.
Ha. Hahaha. Katie didn’t want to do the first one I picked (rockets) and Owen didn’t want to do the second (pizza) do they did Rock Paper Scissors and tied like six times. Owen finally won which sent Katie into a fit because she “didn’t know how to build a rocket and she’s stupid.”
Sigh. No good deed goes unpunished.
So after some counseling, they both worked on rockets. Katie eventually gave up but Owen did finish.
I’m not sure when we’re going to attempt this again.
MSU helmet puzzle: Day 1
Tom and Owen don’t enjoy puzzles but here they are because it’s a Michigan State Puzzle. 🧩🏈 Needless to say I did most of what you see here and no one lasted long.
And here’s Maggie, who doesn’t quite understand.
More mini cupcake puzzles!
I think hell froze over.
Tom hates puzzles but I guess he’ll suck it up for a little bit for his little girl.
Mini fish puzzles: complete!
A new bingo night!
Owen’s school had a bingo night this year. It wasn’t quite the event the elementary has, but we still had fun (we invited Anna and the boys)…and Owen won one of the rounds!!
Initially he chose a gift card for 30 minutes of jumping at a local place but after talking to him and explaining that it would cost us more money to use it (because Katie would like to go, plus we usually go for 2 hours), he asked if he could switch prizes and they said yes…so I guided him to a $20 gift card to a local ice cream place!!!
Gramma Jean is here so it’s puzzle time!
Tom hates them, Owen doesn’t love them, and Katie likes them but not enough to sit and finish a big one. And I enjoy them…and only do one when my mom visits!
So Owen generally has zero interest in helping with a big puzzle but he was all about the little ones tonight! (The emoji puzzle is from the Bingo Basket Katie won at William Halley ES in 2017!)
These mini puzzles are more Owen’s speed. They are really fun to do.
So much for the game of Pictureka we were playing.
How do you even choose?!
The funny thing is both these cards have come up at the same time before with the same players.
Earlier this year:
She’s growing up…
The kitchen and all the play food are going away… I’m kinda sad because I loved to play with that stuff for a long time but she decided it was time to let it go. And we can now reclaim a big section of space in the basement.
Owen and his Nerf guns.
We were headed to the park to meet a friend of Owen’s so he had to bring enough guns.
Being silly…
And then more normal…
Kids ruin everything.
I have had this game of Life for probably 35 years. I have moved it around the country for almost 20. And never once did anything happen to it—it was basically pristine. I let the kids start playing with it and within six months all the buildings have been removed from the board, consequently buildings are missing, and the box has been stepped on and crushed.
This just pisses me off…and kinda breaks my heart. I know it’s just a game and it’s just a “thing” but it just reinforces that our kids (and I’m thinking kids in general) just don’t give two shits about taking care of their things OR things that belong to others (not all the time of course, but more often than I’d like). I try to instill good behavior—and I know overall they’re great kids—but something like this seriously makes me want to throat punch them.
#itsbeenamorningyall
Happy 7th Birthday little princess!
And with her partner in crime, Sheila. (I made then take a break from playing Hide the Crowns!)
And I didn’t get one good pic in her birthday sash. This is the look I kept getting!!
The happiest and saddest parts of doing a puzzle.
The last piece goes in! YAY! 😀
Time to put it back in the box. BOO. 😟
Puzzle time!
Mom and I decided to do a puzzle! We both like doing them but never have the time (she does Pysanky in her free time and I have kids!)…so we started one today!
Four hours in… with quite a bit of help from Katie, actually.
We got quite a bit more done by bedtime but saved all the plain white pieces for daylight.
She loves her bike basket!
She always has to take a doll to the playground. And you’ll notice we had to rig up a seatbelt for her. 😄
I finished the sushi!
I don’t have much time to spend on puzzles but I do enjoy them. Of course Katie wanted to help me but only did about 8 pieces overall.
