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oh the weather outside is frightful…

a few weeks ago the city suffered through a heatwave, then august first struck and all of a sudden it’s fall. where did summer go? we mourned the weather as we mourned the cat who went on walkabout, and spent a lot of time indoors trying to stay warm and not go stir-crazy.

i guess you should be careful what you wish for because this weekend has been hot, hot, hot! and i do not handle the heat well, so guess what we did? stayed inside and tried to stay cool. hit up the patio a few times to splash around in the water table but that’s been about the extent of our outdoor adventures.

i have also been sad, and when i’m sad i have a hard time getting out and about. some people find solace in friends and family. i’d rather be alone and do nothing, which is really hard when you have an over-active toddler. so, rather than adventure past our doorway, i’ve been trying to come up with fun ways of burning off energy and entertaining her where i don’t have to worry about the weird, pathetic looks i get if i burst into tears in the middle of the wading pool.

a friend posted this paint idea on fb and i thought it was the perfect time to practice for what might possibly make it to the christmas present list this year. it started out simple but then obviously because i’m a perfectionist i had to break out the scissors and start getting a little too crafty.

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i managed to tape off the phrase without dylan snagging the scissors (which she tried to do a few times). if i had had more time and fewer fingers stealing the tape, i probably would have reworked all the letters into perfect shapes, but toddler hands do the devil’s work when left idle, so i tried to ignore those boxy letters (they haunt me).

awhile ago we made corn starch finger paint and it was great. i loved the colour and the consistency. but i didn’t have enough corn starch and i really wanted to paint with her.

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i found a flour paint recipe instead. i can’t remember where, but the idea is very simple – equal parts water and flour mixed together into a paste, separate into containers and add food colouring. i haven’t been shopping for baking supplies in awhile, so i’ve only got whole wheat flour on hand. it does the trick to entertain, and actually adds more texture to the paint, which is kind of fun. but i prefer a smoother medium. dylan, on the other hand, could care less. the little storage jars, which come with lids, are from dollarama.

we spent the better part of the afternoon getting messy in the kitchen in a fun way. the floor is still multi-coloured. i gave her a brush and she went to town on our canvas, also from dollarama.

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i’m always amazed at how “busy” this kid is. as fun as painting is and as much as she loves it (and believe me, she loves it. this morning she brought me a jar of paint, a dirty canvas and a paintbrush before we even had breakfast) she can’t sit still! she is all over the place, picking up the paint pots and rearranging them, handing me a brush and snatching it back. putting her feet on the paint and running all over the kitchen. she’s so easily distracted. are all kids like this? because i haven’t learned patience yet. and as much as i look forward to having another one… can i really handle two? (the answer is yes, i’d figure it out but it’s enough to question ones sanity.)

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once she was tired of painting, we sat it up and out of her way to let it dry, then peeled off the tape and voila! this makes such a sweet, colourful addition to our art collection – i’m a big fan of originals, and i’m pretty lucky in that a lot of people i know are talented artists, so we have quite a few original pieces hanging around. also, that my kiddo is such a creative soul!

it also served to reignite my love of art. if i had more free time i’d love to set up my easel and get back into it in earnest. i might even get dylan her own mini easel so we can set them up beside each other and be creative together. of course, it would probably end up with her pulling mine down because she wants to use that instead of her own. sigh… i forgot that the second you become a mom you lose the rights to any and everything you own.