Tie-Dye How To

Since I was an art teacher in a private life I know how much fun kids have with tie-dye. I even tie-dyed with 5 fifth grade classes. Let me clarify that, the wonderful art teacher (Dana) that I taught with made the suggestion and I probably looked at her like she had 5 heads. She is the most amazing art teacher I could have worked with an so laid back. It turned out to be a great project and the kids LOVED the outcome. I don't know why it took me so long to finally try it with my girls.

I suggest buying a kit because it contains everything you need. I found it important to use either Procion Dyes or other pigments but not Rit dye. This is a great place to buy all the supplies Dharma Trading Co. or just go to your local craft store and buy one of the kids kits. It will contain 3 dyes in bottles, soda ash, and rubber bands. Soak the fabric in water with Soda Ash. This is important to allow the fabric to really soak up the color. I then let the girls twist in bundle the fabric however they want. When they are ready I twist the rubber band around their little bundles. There are all fancy ways to fold the fabric but for it to really be the girls artwork I let them experiment. I showed them a few twists and then told them to make about 5 that we could rubber band. I then put the t-shirts on a cookie tray and let them squirt away. The bottles work great for kids because the mess can be a little contained. When you are all done with the t-shirts place them in a Ziploc bag for about 24 hours and then wash.

Speaking of crafts... this is an easy self-hardening clay recipe the girls love. I know I have a kiln but the girls sometimes like the instant gratification of sculpting with color clay that will be hard the next day. Warning: Do not leave out around dogs. I found this out the hard way when I thought the dining room was flooding. No it wasn't flooding, it was Hudson and his body reacting to eating so much salt. He still didn't learn and we have to watch him like a hawk when the girls are creating. I can't imagine that it tastes good:)

4 cups flour

1tsp alum

1 1/2 Cups salt

1 1/2 cups water

You can either paint it when hard (about 2 days) or we like to add food coloring and then build. Have Fun!

Tie-Dye

The girls love tie-dye and we created our first tie-dye shirts together. It wasn't as messy as I expected and the girls loved the outcome. We will definitely be making some more fun designs.

Jetty turns 5

On August 23rd Jetty turned 5. I seems like last year that she was placed in our arms in China when she was 10 months old. Her face looks like a little girls now but sometimes she still has that serious look and wise eyes. Happy Birthday my sweet!

School

Jetty has not been wanting to go to school the last few days. It just breaks my heart. I guess there is a computer game that has noises that makes her nervous. She has always been sensitive to noises. The teacher and I now have her not wearing the earphones but rather hanging them around her neck. We also have her raise her hand when it comes to that game and the teacher will change the screen. I don't know what else to do.

She was so sad this morning and it is really stressing out her eczema and not helping with the skin virus we have been fighting for two weeks. Poor Jetty had bumps under her armpit and it was originally thought to be a reaction to the chicken pox vaccine but when I took her to the dermatologist she knew right away that it is Molluscum. I love how the websites say it is common and no one I have talked to has heard about this virus. Has anyone had an experience with this virus? Some Doctors choose not to treat it but with Jetty's eczema it is not an option. She scratches so bad some days and it is opening herself to lots more infections. The Dr. treated her bumps last week with beetle juice and put a little piece of medical tape on each spot which I (Daddy was working) had to remove 4 hours later. There was 27 pieces of medical tape, not fun. Each spot turned into a blister and I thought we would be in the clear. Well, 4 days later she has 27 scabs and over 25 new spots. Doug and I decided to try a prescription immunology drug which made me nervous because of her allergies but she is handling it well. I pray that it works and doesn't get more out- of-control. She has to wear long sleeve shirts to school which is great in 94 degree weather.

Birth

5 weeks ago I was privileged enough to be the birthing coach to one of my sweet best friends. Actually, Cindy is my oldest childhood friend. I have know her since I was 7 and I cherish our friendship. I have been blessed to have some wonderful childhood friends whom are still very close. Those special relationships that you may not see each other for a few months but it never feels that way. Cindy and I have gone through times in our lives when we were on different paths but we always stayed close. Now we are both on the same path of parenthood. Cindy always wanted to be a Mom and made the decision to become a single parent. I was lucky enough to be with her from her first appointment and was privileged when she asked me to be her birth partner.

After the first Lamaze class, Doug asked if it would upset me and would I long for my own birth experience. It would have bothered me before our girls but I was really okay with the situation. Heck, I was more then okay. I had no burning desire to have that experience anymore and I was so grateful to experience it through my friend. Thank you Cindy for letting me be part of the birth of your family, beautiful Emerson Cole, you are going to be an amazing Mom.

Another Storm

I hope Hanna takes a hard right and stays far away from land. There are some areas that don't need anymore rain. We have lakes and a river that have yet to crest from the last storm. My heart goes out to everyone dealing with the flooding water. Hopefully the storm will stay far enough off shore and school won't be canceled. North Carolina is sounding so nice right now:)

First Week of School

It is actually the 2nd week of school but the first week was pretty non-existent because of Fay. School was canceled for 4 days so this really feels like the first week. Jetty is LOVING school and really missed not having school this weekend. I heard all weekend about how she was so excited to go to school on Tuesday. This is encouraging me that we made the right choice to send her to school. She is my social butterfly and really loves meeting people. My little girl is growing up!

On the other hand, she can now list off the characters from Sponge Bob Square pants. All my friends that know me are now smiling because they know how we are about those type of influences. The girls have never even seen a movie. No full length Disney cartoons or Pixar movies. Yeah they do watch TV some days, Charlie and Lola, Zoboomafoo, Winnie-the-Pooh and Jack's Big Music Show. Heck, that electronic babysitter is great when I need to make dinner and it often keeps me sane. I also know that lots of the shows can be very educational but we are very selective. I am a visual person and the girls are sensitive so being selective has just been the right choice for our family. I know that she is going to learn all sorts of things in school even some things that I don't want her to learn. Hopefully she won't come home one day singing Hannah Montana songs, my head might explode.