So many projects and activities to choose from, so little time. We had Allie and Maggie with us yesterday from about 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. -- much longer than usual. But, at Christmas time, we just couldn't seem to make ourselves stop. What we did yesterday would have been very difficult to do in a regular classroom because of time and money constraints, so we "used Granddaddy's money," :) forgot about the clock, and dove right in.
After consuming a few cinnamon rolls (their favorites) to get our creative juices flowing, we needed to make the sugar cookie dough and put it in the refrigerator to chill. Mess #1 coming right up.
Then we started a multi-step process of making the stained-glass (tissue paper) trees. Thank you, Pinterest. The girls painted a watercolor background and set it aside to dry. Then, they cut out hundreds of pieces of colored tissue paper and glued them on to a separate sheet of paper. We diluted the glue and used brushes to make it smoother and easier. Mess #2 in full swing.
While both of those parts were drying, we did our music activities for the day. We began by having a violin concert from both girls. Steve and I were the audience, since I have NO background in strings. They are both taking private lessons in Huntsville, and Allie also participates in group classes through the Huntsville Youth Orchestra. Lucky girl! Then, we played some fun games with Christmas carols, using melodic recognition and the words. I was amazed at how many they knew! Ahhhh, music is SO mercifully unmessy.
One of our favorite parts of Music and Art Day is lunchtime. After all, these girls are kin to me, aren't they? :) Sometimes, we just go to the closest place -- Geezburger. Other times, we flip a coin to choose a restaurant in nearby Rogersville. Yesterday, the Mexican place was the winner. It was nearly 1:00 p.m. by the time we got there, and we were starving after a morning of hard work.
Our lunch times are always filled with conversation -- the Pearson way of doing things, you understand. Just in the normal course of asking about what they've been doing, thinking, etc. Steve and I learn a lot of things that we can use as teachable moments. For instance, Allie told us that she had been awake until midnight the night before thinking it was the end of the Mayan calendar so she just wanted to "see what was going to happen." Of course, we told her that the next day was actually the correct date for that, but then, since Allie has already been saved and baptized, we were able to remind her of all the assurances and promises she has as a result. Maggie was more interested in speculating about upcoming Christmas gifts and mentioning the ones from her sisters that she had accidentally seen before they were wrapped but planned to have forgotten all about so she would be surprised. Ha! In the car, on the way there and back, we would turn off the radio for a few minutes, each person would guess what Christmas song they thought would be playing, then we'd turn it back on to see who was right. Somehow, in Maggie's ears, "Feliz Navidad" was "Feliz Mommy-dot." Go figure.
We arrived back home with three major projects to finish: the cookies, the stained-glass trees, and some ornament wreaths. (It goes without saying that Christmas music was continuously playing in the background, so that we were likely to burst into song at the most random times). We assigned Granddaddy the task of using the hot glue gun to secure the ornaments tops. I'm sure no one questions the wisdom of that.
For the stained glass trees, we had to cut triangles and trunk shapes, arrange and glue them in place, add details with a black Sharpie, then paint in some snow. These were very labor-intensive, but they turned out great. Don't you think?
Next we rolled out our sugar cookie dough, used the Christmas tree cookie-cutters, and put those in to bake. We spread a thin, green-tinted glaze to the tops and decorated with sprinkles -- lots and LOTS of sprinkles. Mega-Mess #3.
Their parents and siblings were very happy recipients of these efforts.
Finally, we made ornament wreaths by stringing round ornaments onto a coat-hanger wire and topping it with a pretty bow. And this caused the glitter explosion -- Mess #4.
As we were loading everything up for the ride home, sweet Allie said, "Oh Grandmomma, we should have planned to spend the night. Then I could help you clean up all this mess." I love her heart.
I think I'll spend the next 10 days or so concentrating on all of the other grandchildren and their parents, then it will be time to start planning for our next Music and Art Day.
