Charisa Darling

Archive for June 2014

Thursday, June 19, 2014

The Past 3 Weeks

Yesterday I brought my laptop outside so that I could stream music to the wireless speakers for the listening enjoyment of Vaughn and her friend. One hasn't lived until you have used sidewalk chalk to make magical dance floors while listening to the Disney channel on Pandora. My point? That was the first time I've used my computer in awhile.

It has been crazy here lately. Up early, busy throughout the day, and then crawling into bed past our usual bedtimes. Here's a bit of what our summer has been like so far.

The deer keep eating our birdseed. It's a battle.

Baseball with awesome sunsets.

Baseball in the rain.

Baseball in the heat which calls for braids so that hair gets out of your face.

Third baseball camp in three weeks. This week featured two Cardinal players.

Lacrosse camp at night.

The kids planned a night of activities. Vaughn made this "Party Centrel" sign. Cutest thing ever.

More sunsets.

Last but not least, donuts. (or doughnuts?) This was the first time that we've ever taken the kids to get them.

It's been a great summer so far. Hope yours is going well too!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Grill This: My Favorite Bean Burger

Let's talk beans. And rice.

(Which always reminds me of "Frank and Beans! Frank and Beans!" from There's Something About Mary.) Ahem, let's turn this back into a mature, adult conversation.

It's grilling season here and I am always looking for an alternative for myself when the rest of my family wants burgers. I usually go the grilled portabello mushroom route but it's nice to have options.

I picked up a package of Hilary's black rice burgers on a whim and honestly did not have high hopes for them. I mean, look at that picture on the package. Even when cooked they're not pretty.

But lo and behold these are so good! Seriously, they're awesome! Sometimes bean burgers have a weird taste but not these. A mixture of quinoa and brown rice bind everything together and they hold together perfectly on the grill.

Throw a few slices of avocado on top and your set!

Anyone else have any meat free favorites for the grill?

Have a great weekend and a Happy Father's Day to all those Daddy's out there!

*NOT a paid advertisement. Just sharing awesome stuff with you*

Thursday, June 05, 2014

Make This: Continuous Line Drawings

These are the perfect rainy day activity - continuous line drawings. I cannot take credit - these are Meg Duerksens's ideas.

Check out her Crazy Owls here - they are so much fun

Continuous meaning the line continues and you don't pick up your pen until you are finished with the drawing. It's a bit tricky - I remember using this practice for self portraits with 6th graders back when I taught art and how uncomfortable they were with it. When you're ready to color it in, change colors every time you come to a line. The end results are so much fun.

The pictures are a bit misleading and look smaller than they really are. My fish is about 14" long and the kids owls are between 16" and 18".

Vaughn's owl

Vance's owl

From start to finish these took us about an hour. I was really surprised that the kids stuck with it and finished - especially Vance, who was a bit hesitant at first to do this one.

Another idea to keep those kids busy!

Wednesday, June 04, 2014

The 411 on Letterboxing

What in the world is Letterboxing?

{Some of you saw 'Letterboxing' on our Summer Bucket List and have asked about it so here goes.}

We have been letterboxing for the past few years and I have never talked about it here before. So here's a look into our favorite guilty-geeky-pleasure.

Letterboxing is a treasure hunt. Clues are followed to find the "treasure box", which consists of a hand carved stamp and a congratulatory letter for decoding the clues correctly. You trade stamps and info and then place the box back where you found it, being careful to not be seen by Muggles - you know, non-magic people. I'm being totally serious here. Don't judge.

It's a bit confusing so let's break it down. There's a website that contains all the clues. Print the ones you want off and start hunting. The very first one we did led us to believe the clue was in the tree at the top of this picture:

I took one look and told the kids there was no way I was going in there…but couldn't leave having done all that work so I jumped in and found this:

The kids and I snuck off the trail to a quiet spot to open it.

Inside was their book and stamp. We stamped our stamp and wrote our handle, Oopsie Daisy!, and date into their book.

We then stamped their stamp into our book. Each letterbox is different and usually has a theme. This one was obviously done by a police officer.

Here's another one that we found last summer.

Want to start? Here's what you need. A book to keep your stamps in, an ink pad, and a stamp, preferably hand carved. If you're like me and don't like sticking your hands into random earthly places, bring a pair of rubber gloves too.

Letterboxes are hidden all around the world and it's an old hobby that dates back to the 1800's. So there you go. An insight into our secret wanna-be-pirates pastime!

Tuesday, June 03, 2014

Summer Bucket List 2014 (and Printable!)

Here's our plan for the summer. The kids came up with everything and I typed it up. I love that little things like eating dinner in the dining room and playing in the sprinkler made the cut. It's good to see that they think the little things can be exciting too.

Again, we use this as more of a suggestion list. We all know we won't get to everything, like Backyard Campout. We are not campers, do not own a tent, and I'd like to keep it that way. Good thing Living Room Campout made the list too!

I made a printable version for you if you'd like, but keep in mind some of the items are local attractions.

Click here for Printable

Another way I plan to combat summer break are these dry erase boards that I made for their rooms. (Just a picture frame with a piece of paper inside. It's stuck to the wall with Velcro Command Strips.) My kids like to know their expectations/schedules and like being able to physically check items off. Plus, they've been asking for chores (weirdos!) so I'll write those down here too.