Going with the flow of mud

You all know how much Lex loves mud.  And if you've watched the national weather, you know that Indiana has had LOTS of rain, and that translates into MUD.  Which isn't forcasted to end anytime soon(praying the 500 doesn't get rained out).  Anytime we go outside to play, we end up muddy.  I could fight this, insisting on staying indoors, or only playing in the front yard(less mud there)  Instead, I've been trying to think of a way to embrace the mud.  Lex particularly enjoys getting his vehicles dirty, then washing them, so I'm trying to come up with a carwashing area.  Of course, I then saw something I just had to do on Meg's blog. 

Mud Pie Kitchen

Our backyard has "the best spot" corner area, where the kids have dug holes that they use for all sorts of things, from fixing soup to washing toys.

 This is where we keep our firewood in the winter.  Seems to me this is the perfect spot for our new kitchen.

I did a Goodwill run, and got a bunch of supplies, with the intention of keeping half aside in case things got broken.

Eliz was big help setting up-we used the plastic bins for water and storage, and LEx immediately adopted one to be used for washing cars.

This was how Lex helped set up.

Soup's on!  I don't know how much we'll add/subtract/change this.  I suppose as the summer goes on, it can change quite a bit.  I was weeding in the veggie garden while they cooked up a storm, and was served several delicous dishes.  We have a family project planned this weekend for the veggie garden, can't wait to show you!

I followed the links on Meg's post, which led to extreme excitement, then I did a yahoo search on mud pie kitchens and found my dream-come-true-backyard here.  Seriously you need to look around this blog!  I need to stop before I gush all over you about how much I love this woman's ideas!  I spent for-ev-er looking and reading and getting all jumpy and silly with desire to try and make and do.  'Nuff said, happy Towel Day everyone!

Mud, glorious MUD!

His sister wasn't interested in the mud.

 This did not stop him from enjoying himself solo

 What I found most entertaining was how he kept saying "Yuck, wet, ucky!"  Then playing some more.

 She did eventually venture over

 They decided that mud is just more fun with two than one

 This cold squishy experience must be shared in order to appreciate it fully.

 Yeah, I'm at a loss for why children think this is so great.

 I certainly could have done without this mess.

In between rain showers...

We went outside. The weather really felt great, even with the threat of rain hanging in the air. Around the corner of the house is an area of dirt, with a downspout that turns it into a mud pit with a small mud puddle. This is where we spent our time today.

We played in the very small mud puddle and sorta wet dirt

Made mud pies (of course)

Began to build small houses for small visitors of any kind (we’re not picky here)

Thank goodness no-one got dirty!

I think it took longer to clean the bathtub-forgot that if the mud’s wet it slides right off!

Pictures

Looking at the pictures from my last post, I think that the new rule is no crafting in my jammies anymore. Or, at least, no taking pictures of me in my jammies. Well, I finished Eliz's poncho. It only took an hour, so that was nice. Well, it only took an hour the second time I did it. After I cut out both fabrics, I was looking at them thinking, "if this is going to be reversible, the hem is going to take a long time" And I set to work doing the hem! Once I had finished the hem(I even ironed it!) I realised that I had started at the end. So my seam ripper and I went into overtime. I used this pattern-

It's a Vogue pattern from the 90's, and I wasn't planning on making this till closer to fall, but it was necessary due to her unauthorised growth spurt. Eliz picked out her fabric-I had thought about just buying one from BoutiqueMia on Etsy, but Eliz said she wanted a blue one, and I knew it would be way cheaper to make it myself. When I told her to to pick another fabric, her first choice matched perfectly. I was impressed. Good thing I had started this yesterday, b/c she had to wear it-not quite finished(this is before the seam ripper) yesterday to MOPs. She didn't like it when I first put it on her then, but this morning, once it was all done she said, "Oh thank you Mama, it's so-o beautiful!" Here you go.

I have to say, I'm quite proud of myself for remembering to take pictures.

Speaking of MOPs, yesterday was about saving money. It drove home, yet again, my need for planning more and using coupons. I wish we had a big freezer! But to get a freezer, we have to have a shed. Why do we need a shed to get a freezer? So that we can put all the stuff that's taking up space in the garage in the shed, thus making room for the big freezer. It's not stuff that's useless-it's all the gardening things. Which reminds me of this morning, I saw a definite sign of spring.

Muddy rain boots. Spring is in the air, or on our feet, however you want to look at it. And I really enjoyed this video. I sometimes wish I lived in a musical. It would have been fun to be there for this.