Puffy Paint Craft

On Friday, we tried this.

But when I went to make the paints, I discovered we were almost out of salt.  So I stretched it to make three colors (and maybe didn't get my ratios quite right).  I let them choose the colors.  Green, yellow, and the third represents purple/black (which were both suggested).

They loved it, especially Titus.  Our only hitch occurred when Kali's chair slid backwards a little and she fell with her belly in her art.  ;)

 

The finished products.  Like I said, I don't think my measurements were quite right so it took multiple runs through the microwave to harden. 

Tomorrow we're going to try this activity.  I took pictures of a bunch of their toys tonight and made these cards.  Tomorrow I'll give each of them a card and have them find the toy.  A good game since toys are spread across the up and downstairs of our house at the moment.  Then later we can pick them all up.  :)

Clip-on Hat Light

Another awesome gift idea: 

Making Friends Again

This is a boring post.  So here is a picture of me, my aunt, and my cousin with Davy Jones.

Back to the boring post.  I feel a little down.  I was going to help start a MOPS group here in Maricopa this year, but it hasn't really come together with much anyone else but me.  Which isn't even why I necessarily feel down.  I'm just trying to decide what to do for the year.  Trek it up to Chandler and try a new MOPS group?  Which means starting all over from scratch again--making new friends.  Always making new friends.  New friends.  Or trying the MOMS group here in Maricopa that is at a different church.  Making new friends.  And it seems like I'm always getting involved in multiple churches instead of just one.  Which is fine, but... disjointed. 

I'm just always making new friends.  And I have plenty of stinking awesome friends as it is.  And (I've written about it before) every time I start over there's more distance to cover.  I'm older, I'm seemingly less cool, and I must once again eventually find my random coolness asserted.  (Assuming we get that far...)  Which usually means I say something mildly scandalous in good fun with a group of fellow believers that I hope share a similar freedom.

Oh, what am I even writing here?  I just feel down.  I'm tired of starting over.  And I didn't really picture that I'd be starting over by moving to Maricopa.  I still trek it up to visit friends sometimes, but logistically it would be much nicer to have friends closer by.  And then there's the small possibility of moving to Lincoln sometime relatively soon (but maybe not!) and that just messes with a girl.  Three years of marriage as a nomad planning on moving to Guam can really mess with you as well.  I just want to settle somewhere.  But I don't want to start making friends again and again.  I'm just tired.  I want the close friendships you get from time without all of the effort and investment...

P.S.  If my title were a poem:

Making
Fri
Ends a
Gain
Fri
Ends a
Gain
Fri
Ends