Labor of Love

A four day weekend to us without work to be done or many places to be is as rare to us as a four leaf clover. It began on a quiet note as Matthew was at school the first day until the bus dropped him off a little after four. Sammy and I passed the time by taking a nature walk or two. We strolled at the pace of a one-year-old; a slow meander followed by a quick outburst of running.

We carved out time this weekend to do some crafts (of course!). Matthew and I made homemade paints using cornstarch, water, and food coloring. It was Sammy's first time painting so we wanted to make sure they were safe and edible if need be. She seemed to enjoy painting. 

With the help of my inquisitive sous chef Matthew, I prepared some new dishes for the family to try from a favorite cookbook of mine.  We made Confetti de Fruta and Twistin' Chicken which were both hits with the kids. Matthew was not curious or even squeamish about touching raw chicken but he wanted to know more about the Pledge of Allegiance which is leaned about at school. Does he celebrate it? What does allegiance mean? Is God invisible?

Confetti de Fruta 

Outdoors Matthew built a squirrel house:

Played hockey on roller-blades around Sammy who was clearing the ice (driveway) with the Zamboni (ride on toy):

Made an ocean in his sandbox:

One of my favorite moments of any weekend, or day for that matter, is watching Matthew and Sammy engage in imaginative play. This could be something as small as Sammy wearing her stacking rings on her wrists as bracelets or Matthew creating a Superbowl game between his football men*.

This long weekend was a nice note to end the month of August on!

*  Sammy was inspired to join in the football game when she realized that she was tall enough to reach the figures on the edge of the table. This resulted in Matthew calling her (and I quote) A Wild Beast.