IT ALL HAPPENED SO FAST

It started like this - I had been watching Mason for a few hours while Byron worked in the basement, and when he finished for the day, he came up and decided he wanted to do an activity with Mason. He grabbed some finger paints, a random plexiglass sheet we had in the garage, and headed out back. I didn't really think much of it until I heard a knock at the back food and Byron motioned for me to come out and watch. I could tell there was something fun going on so I grabbed the camera and ran outside. What followed was a very messy but very giggly little boy.

MASON PAINTS

This post could also be titled kid projects I liked doing more than my kid or also I probably missed my calling and should really be a famous artist with my mad skills.  Has a nice ring to it.

So, I found another project on Pinterest that I wanted to try with Mason (originally from here).  It looked easy enough, and ever since the bathroom activity Mason has really been into painting.  The premise of this activity is that you dip an old plastic card (gift card, hotel key, etc.) in paint and drag it along your paper, or in this case, empty cereal box.  And then you are a world class artist.  The end.

I just taped the box to the counter so it wouldn't move, then I showed him what to do and let him go for it. With my first swipe I was pretty much addicted so when Mason asked me to help I didn't back away.  I am such a dork.  Even as I was painting, it was fun to listen to him describe what we were painting.  He talked about making buildings and then asked me to make a bridge.  So even though it looks like blobs, his little mind was running wild.  I love it.

When the paint dried, the box buckled just a little bit, but I would still love to cut a portion of this painting out and frame my little artist's work.  You could also cut it into shapes and make some other type of craft project with it.  I will say, the reason we used the odd color combination that we did is that most of our paints have been sacrificed to the bathtub and I haven't picked up more.  I do wish that the colors went together a little better, but I guess we'll just have to do the project again.  And when we do, we will do it side by side so Mama gets to do it too.  Have fun trying this with your little ones!

Update:  I realize that I don't have a picture of the finished product.  Just trust me.  It's pretty amazing.

ANOTHER BOREDOM BUSTER

Alternatively titled, "She just went for it and fortunately it worked."  Mason couldn't stop talking about playing with aquasand at his babysitter's house.  The first day he played with it for an hour and a half, and the second day he played with it twice. I had this idea in my head that he was really wanting to do some activities at home.  On the drive home, I got this idea in my head that we should paint in the bathtub.  I know that's not a novel idea or anything, but the paint we happened to have at home was just regular Crayola washable paint - nothing bath specific - so I was just hoping that I wouldn't regret this later.  I asked Mason if he wanted to paint tonight and he said he would.  So my plan was after dinner I'd strip him down and let him go at it and hope for the best.

I can gladly report that this was wildly successful. Off went his clothes, and I just plopped him in the bathtub with three separate pots of paint and paintbrushes, and it didn't take him long to make masterpieces.  Between the time it took to get him ready, paint, clean the tub (which only took a washcloth and Mason did most of it himself!), and bathe him, Mason was probably in there for an hour and a half.  A miracle!

Of course we (the parents) had so much fun that we had to FaceTime with all the relatives, and at one point we squeezed four adults into our tiny bathroom along with the artist himself.  Yes, we might be crazy.  The best part was watching his little mind work.  On his own, he painted a rainbow, a bird in a nest, several monsters, and a purple banana (he narrated this, of course).  With my help we painted his name, Elmo and Cookie Monster, and some various other characters.  I love watching his imagination develop.  I'm sure we'll be doing this again.

I just have to share part of the conversation we had on the way home that day.  After I mentioned painting to him, the subject changed and I asked Mason what he wanted for dinner that night.  His response?  "No thanks, I'll paint!"

BAKED COTTON BALLS

I just have to say thank you to everyone for the kind words and encouragement you had for us as a result of my last post.  It means the world!
For lack of a good transition, I'm just going to say...and now for something completely different.  Over Christmas we were home with Mason a lot, and unless I wanted him to beg me for the iPad all day long, I needed to come up with activities to keep him busy.  This is one of those ideas that I came across somewhere on the internet (okay my addiction Pinterest - here is the original source) and it looked like a winner.  The concept is to make a batter that you dip cotton balls in and then bake, so that the batter hardens.  Afterwards, you can smash them to your heart's content.  Sounds like a blast, right?  I thought so.
So Mason and I got to work.  The batter is just equal parts flour and water, plus food coloring.  This was a great activity by itself because Mason loves to help me mix things and it was fun explaining to him how the colors would change.  It also probably took us 30 minutes or so, and when an activity holds Mason's attention for that many minutes in a row, it's a good one.

We baked them for about 45 minutes at 300 degrees and let them cool.  This is where I thought the real fun would begin.  Who doesn't like smashing things with a hammer?  (It was a toy hammer.)  Well, turns out this part wasn't so fun.  By the time we got to this part it was the next morning, so I don't know if this was just the mood he was in or if he forgot what we did or what.  Even so, I would still try it again.  It was fun and really cheap.

If any of you end up trying this out, let me know if you find success!