Category » boysJones Design Company

Apr

04

legos are everywhere {and our way of containing them}

If you have school-aged boys, perhaps you’ll identify with this one …

Legos are overtaking my house.

We’ve got ninjas on the coffee table

a knight protecting the entry table

randoms on the tv room chair

this awesome dude parked on my desk

They even hang out in the bathtub {deadliest catch, anyone?}.

For my own sanity, I ask that the boys keep most of the legos upstairs. The ones that are left downstairs go in this drawer in the living room. It helps having a place for the stragglers rather than walking them upstairs.

My kids are builders {and keepers of their creations} so most surfaces in their room are covered with all sorts of ships, speeders, robots, weapons and battle scenes.

Their floor is usually covered with them too.

The legos-everywhere part drives me crazy. Have you ever stepped on a lego with bare feet?!

At the same time, I love that I have such creative boys and want to encourage them with this imaginative pastime.

We’ve done our best to equip them with an organization system to keep things under control and it seems to be working pretty well.

These three sets of storage drawers {from Target} are perfect for color-sorting legos.

Each boy gets one drawer to hold their special things – you know, blue light sabers, Anakin’s hair, the monkey from the pirate ship. The rule in our house is that they are not allowed to open their brothers’ drawers. We figure everyone needs their own place to keep their special things. This has worked out great for us and has avoided lots of fights over who’s legos are who’s.

We also have this big bin that has not been sorted. It is helpful for when we need to do quick pick-ups and they can just toss the pieces in here. Every once in a while we do a little sorting {mildly therapeutic, I will say}.

So that is how we organize our legos. Someday I’d like to create cubbies for all of the creations to be stored in so that the dresser and bookshelves and floor can be cleared.

Do you have a system for organizing/storing legos?

The moms in the legos-are-taking-over-club would gladly take your suggestions!

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Posted by emily | 69 comments

Mar

12

our new favorite easy reader books

A few days ago we went to the library in search of early-reader appropriate books for my No. 2. Brady is in kindergarten and doing great with reading {beyond the BOB series, but not quite ready for regular children’s books}. I wanted to find a handful of books that he would be able to read on his own but also keep his busy mind and body occupied … he is a six-year-old boy, after all.

We hit the jackpot.

Have you heard of the Elephant & Piggie series by Mo Willems? They are great.

Simple words, silly stories, charming illustrations.

The perfect books to instill a joy of reading, confidence in making it through a whole book and cute giggles heard throughout the pages.

You can see all of the books in the Elephant & Piggie series here.

And see more of Mo Willems work here.

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Posted by emily | 45 comments

Dec

09

the nativity set

We have a small nativity set that my aunt gave to our family several years ago. I put it out with our christmas decorations each year, but it is usually placed up high out of the reach of our children as it is breakable and they are, well, kids.

But I decided this year to put the nativity lower. Within reach. Surrounded by teensy flakes of snow. I fully expected that the boys would take interest in it and that there would probably be snowflakes all over the place, but I didn’t really anticipate what my no. 2 did yesterday afternoon.

First, he rearranged all of the figurines so that they were in a tight circle around baby Jesus. He fixed the snow so it was just right and stood staring at it for a short time.

Next, he went to the table and started a little craft. I thought nothing of it. He has a short attention span and moves from activity to activity like a whirlwind.

Only later did I realize that my sweet boy’s craft time consisted of taping a star to the amaryllis plant.

Because every nativity scene needs a star.

“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

“the magi went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2

It is hard to find ways to keep our focus on the reason we celebrate Christmas. I love the carols, the lights, the shopping and decorating, the baking and parties. I even love santa. But most of all, I love Jesus. And I want so badly for my children to love him too.

My son making a star for the manger scene tells me he gets it. In his own six-year-old way, he cared enough about the story to make it right.

When I saw that star, I was overjoyed.

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Posted by emily | 112 comments

Nov

09

he calls me mom

My oldest son is 7 1/2.

He is in second grade, is into lego building, video game playing and bike riding. He loves to snack. He is terrified of germs. He {still} adores his tattered blankie.

He is really smart, creative, witty and has the cutest freckles on his nose.

e and mommy

And he calls me mom.

I’m not ready to be a mom. Now, a mommy … I’m all over that one. I was born to be a mommy.

I can do the late night feedings, the diaper changing, the snuggling with a baby. I can play peek-a-boo and sing silly songs to an infant. I can read books like tumble bumble and sheep in a jeep and play play-do with a preschooler. I respond to mommy. It is probably my favorite of all words.

But, mom?

I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know how to do it.

To know when to hold on and when to let go.

To know how to teach my baby without hindering him from learning on his own.

To know how to relate when he doesn’t want to snuggle in my lap and tell me all about his day.

We aren’t quite there, but it is coming and I’m afraid. And a little sad.

I love this boy and I love that I get to watch him grow into such a wonderful kid. He makes me so proud every single day with the things he says, the questions he asks, the kindness and thoughtfulness he shows. But I kind of miss the baby Ethan. My sweet firstborn whom I adore with all of my heart. I want him to grow, I do. But I sort of want him to stop growing too.

He calls me mom, but I hope he knows that I will forever be his mommy.

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Posted by emily | 106 comments

Oct

11

art with my no.2 {tutorial}

My Brady stayed home from kindergarten yesterday with a barky cough so it was the perfect chance to spend some time with him doing an art project. It was a fun one and easy for even the littlest artists.

leaf-art

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:

:: paper, finger paint & glitter

:: leaf shapes {I used these, printed on thick paper and cut to use them as a pattern}

:: picture frame

:: paper to use as background

STEP ONE: finger paint to your heart’s content

finger paint paper

We use this washable finger paint. The colors mix well and it lives up to its name as washable. I appreciate that.

crayola fingerpaint

Baby girl loves to paint. I love her smib that keeps the paint off her clothes.

finger painting

STEP TWO: pour on the glitter.

glitter over watercolor

STEP THREE: make leaf patterns.

leaf patterns

I googled leaf template and found this image. Then I printed on heavy paper, cut them out and we traced on the back of the painted paper.

trace leaf pattern

Then cut out the leaves.

cut out leaves

STEP FOUR: glue leaves to background paper

glue leaves

STEP FIVE: place picture into frame

fingerpaint leaf project

Look at my proud, sick boy and his art.

brady holding leaf picture

Such a great project for us to do together.

I have wanted to do this for a while after seeing these from Sarah Jane Studios:

I think I will still use the idea for the playroom {someday}. You can download the templates for the sparrow, elephant and seal here. It is such a great way to use your children’s art in a unique way.