Kids – Asbery's Echoes

Simple Craft

While camping with family my super duper crafty talented cousin Brandi at Lake Darling she brought out this simple little game for the kids to play. Such a sweet little craft – painted rocks in a drawstring bag with the tic tac toe board right on the bag! So of course I had to march right home and make one for myself!

Brandi did hers with Xs and Os, which I loved. But Drew and I decided to do ours a little differently and we painted fun little ladybugs in blue and red. a Sharpie to draw the board on the bag and you’re all set. When you’re done playing you pop those little rocks into the bag and pull the string tight and off you go! Brandi keeps hers in her camper and I’m thinking I will make another set just for that purpose. Maybe paint trees and owls or something campy like that. And another bag for the car to have on hand whenever we need to wait on something, like when we were waiting on an oil change the other day, or at a restaurant. And of course a bag to keep in the house because – well, just because!

Then Drew asked if I could make one for his friends who are brothers only do ladybugs and spiders. And so of course I couldn’t say no!

Under the Weather Hammy Escapade

I think the fire is a little big compaired to the tent but oh well – it was fun to make anyway!

Yesterday Drew and I were both under the weather. Thanks Joe – it all started with him over the weekend! Anyway, we spent most of the morning sitting together in our easy chair watching YouTube videos on hamster habitats and Drew decided it would be fun to change out Ollie’s cage to a camping theme. We just cleaned him out over the weekend so we won’t be doing a complete overhaul again for two or three weeks but as we were both feeling a little better in the afternoon I helped him drag out all our supplies and we got to work. I really get frustrated with YouTube and Drew wanting to spend his time watching pointless videos of other kids doing nothing but there’s also some really good videos and tutorials on there too. My one stipulation was we could only use what we had on hand as whatever we make is going to get crawled over, chewed on, pooed on, and basically destroyed, so we’re not going to spend extra money. In the end we came up with a tent, campfire (with a battery operated tealight) and a cute little sign. I also want to try making an adirondack chair out of popsicle sticks at some point too for little Ollie to enjoy!

Who knew a little tiny hamster would provide so much entertainment!

Later, while watching the Queen and Adam Lambert Story, Drew decided he’s watched enough videos on taming hamsters to try and get Ollie out and hold him. This has been his goal from day one when we first brought Snowball home. He was so excited he could hardly contain himself and we had to get him to calm down so as to keep the poor hamster calm too. But, this little guy took to being held right off and Drew and Ollie had a blast together. As least Drew had fun anyway! Ollie on the other hand, decided to crawl into the sofa and we had to find him and contain him before Pierre realized there was a free running rodent in the livingroom to try and play catch and release with! All in all, even with none of us feeling the greatest, we had a nice day. Drew learned a few new things on YouTube regarding his hamster and Ollie I think decided he liked having some human contact and love!

It’s A Little Froggy Around Here!

Little Miss Bayah is turning one! It’s hard to believe that that little four pound peanut is going to be a year old! Her mommy gave me a list of ideas for gifts and I always try to follow the list. Things like a hooded bath towel and a soft baby doll. But I think she needs something special from grandma too! A couple of years ago I made Braxton and Drew frogs. I remember having a frog like this that my grandma made for me and I loved it. The boys really loved theirs too. They’ve been played with enough that they’ve had to be stitched back up in places. So, I thought maybe Bayah would like one too! Drew picked out the fabric and helped me stuff it with beans so it’s been a labor of love for a sweet little grandbaby/niece who has us all wrapped around her little finger!

Familiy of Fishermen

This is something we haven’t done in a long long time – fishing a farm pond. I come from a family of fishhermen. And I remember many a summer afternoon growing up and going fishing with family. We have pictures of fish caught by my Grandpa Bond by noodling – big old river cats caught by wading into the river and sticking his hand in the catfish’s mouth and pulling it out. Dad always talks about that one that Grandpa could always get ahold of but could never pull up because it was so big – it would pull him down instead.

And then there’s my mom’s side of the family – the Houseals. Oh how they love to fish. And we reap the benefits with the annual Houseal Family Fish Fry. My mom’s brothers fish all season so they have an abundance of fish to feed us all. And Grandpa Houseal was a great fisherman. He took his fishing so seriously. When we were little I remember having to sit still and quiet. We were’t allowed to make any noise for fear we would scare the fish away. Those fish could sense us up on the bank and wouldn’t come near if we made a peep!

Even though I have fishing in my blood – I truly don’t enjoy fishing. My mom gets so frustrated with me. Because if I would just try it, I would love it! She takes after her dad – fishing is serious business! She forgets all those summer fishing afternoons we had growing up where I wasn’t given a choice – I had to fish. And don’t get me wrong – I love to be there, sitting on the bank of a pond or lake, with a book in my hand, relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. I enjoy watching others bring in a fish, how excited they get when they feel the tug on their line and how determined they are to bring it in. And the little ones – they are always so proud to show off their catch. But I just don’t enjoy doing it myself. I’m content to be the support team! I can put a worm on the hook with the best of the them – if I have to!

We spent Saturday afternoon at Uncle Jerry’s helping write out thank yous for Aunt Konnie. And after we were done, the kids wanted to go fishing. So we all jumped into the back of Uncle Jerry’s truck or onto the 4-wheeler and off we went. It was a beautiful day although very hot but the kids didn’t care. This was a pond where you threw your line in and pulled out a fish – no waiting involved – perfect for little boys with no patience! They caught little Bluegills that got thrown right back into the water. After fishing we went back to the house and Uncle Jerry grilled us ham steaks and we enjoyed each other’s company over supper. It was a good day.

Toad Time

No Drew was not licking this little guy – he just wanted to stick his tongue out for some reason!

I’ve always loved toads. I remember having a pet toad when I was little when we still lived in town. It lived in our sandbox. My boys always wanted to scare me with all the creepy crawlies they would find but along with toads, I’m not too squeamish with anything creepy crawly. I looked at that as a positive but they were always disappointed that I didn’t scream and run away! Drew loves to catch frogs and toads and anything else he can get his hands on. Right now the crickets are out and he’s having a great time catching them. I’m thankful he’s finally outgrowing wanting to keep all his finds as pets and putting them in jars and trying to bring them inside but he still has to show me all of his finds. He’s getting more and more willing to catch and release – which is good for the house and for the little critters!

This little guy was the sweetest. He had a fat little tummy! And I see I need to trim Drew’s nails – dirty little boy fingernails – yuck!

Slowing Down

Slowing down – one thing we as older parents have learned to do. We have more patience. We definitely don’t sweat the small stuff. We are more willing to take the time to work with Drew more at a much younger age than we did with the older kids. Joe especially. Not because we didn’t want to with the other kids – we just didn’t have the time. Or we thought we didn’t anyway. Joe would have set a certain pace and worked hard to get a project done. The boys would have stayed out of his way. But Drew is different. For one, he’s always right in the middle of whatever we are doing. At all times. Raising him is in many ways like raising an only child. He demands attention! Aaron might have been watching, analyzing, learning in his own way but staying back. Eric would not have been anywhere around. He was usually with Abby and Jeremy. But Drew, he’s going to be right here, demanding to be a part of this, and Joe is so much more willing to slow down and work with him, show him, teach him and allow him to do this. And I love it. Do I now have deck boards with a few extra dents in them from a drill slipping off the screw? Definitely. Are some of the screws in a little deeper than they should be? Of course. But you know what – that’s okay. I don’t need perfection. Everytime I look down at these boards I’ll see my little boy on his knees, concentrating so hard, working his heart out and being so proud of himself because he helped build this deck. And I’ll see his daddy right there with him, taking the time to teach him this very valuable skill.

Planning Ahead

I was wanting to embroider a couple of pillowcases for the bedroom and/or camper when I ran across this adorable pattern of an old red truck. So I’ve put the pillowcases for me on the back burner and started on Christmas gifts instead! I ordered two of these thinking I could do one for Braxton and one for Drew. I changed the license plate to say IA and personalized it with Braxton’s name and I really like how it came out. But my plan for Drew’s pillowcase has changed as he saw this, asked for one for himself, but of course he wants a train on his. So, I guess I’ll be looking for a train pattern or at least a train picture that I can modify to fit on a pillowcase. Since I won’t be able to work on it until school starts when Drew won’t be around to see me working on it I’ll need to find something for Bayah to work on now. That shouldn’t be hard and it will be fun to work on something girlie in pretty pastel colors for a change!

Playing In The Rain

We went from 100 degree weather with humidity you could cut with a knife to rain, lots and lots of rain the past two days. And yesterday we had tornado warnings. At one point Drew and I went to the basement just to be safe. After the warning was past it cooled down and rained, again. (Not that I’m complaining – I’m so very thankful for the rain!) And Drew decided to play in the rain. I love to watch kids play with abandon and until he caught me watching, that is exactly what he did. He was out there enjoying himself with not a care in the world. I wish I could just let go like that and play in the rain!

Cutie Patootie

Drew wanted to help me today finish mixing up the flavors for shave ice. I’m sure you can imagine how much help a seven year old boy is around lots of liquid and sugary syrup! But, all in all, his help outweighed his hindrance and I’m glad I agreed to let him. At one point he did something, I don’t even remember what it was he did, and I thanked him and called him Cutie Patootie. He immediately said, “Mom, I live for those moments.” When I asked him what moments he was talking about he responded with, “When you call me Cutie Patootie!” Just goes to show, you never know what your words mean to others! He’s not only my Cutie Patootie, he’s my Monster Man, Silly Willy, Monster Magillaguppie, Sneaky Pete, Pete Monster, Drew Bear or just plain Charlie or Pete. Guess I’ll use Cutie Patootie more often though!

And a sid note – for some reason I’ve always called all my boys Pete when they were little. I have no idea why. But one day when my dad heard me call one of them Pete he asked me if I knew my Great Grandpa Asbery went by Pete. I had had no idea – but I guess somewhere, somehow I knew the name Pete meant something to me!

First Day of Summer Vacation!

           (Before it got too hot and while Bayah was asleep -
                   we went outside and made slime!)

Drew didn’t get to sleep in on his first day of summer vacation – he had to be up by 5:30 so we could leave the house by 6:00 but he was fine with that. He got to spend the day with his nephew and niece – something he loves to do. He and I drove to Kalona to babysit for the day – what a great way to start off the summer!

(Bayah snuggles!)