Tuesday's child plays with foam paint

I've been realizing that William really needs more creative preschool type stuff to do during the day, especially when Zach's doing his school. I recently bought him his own hot wheels cars, which he loves. He wanted to always get into Zach's huge collection kept in a case that closes. Well, Zach REALLY didn't care for that, so now Will is happily playing with his first 6. I've got a vintage Fisher Price garage thing he plays with. Where did I get that?! It's about as old as me, and the elevator only works if you pull outward on this twine my dad attached whilst turning the lever.

Thanks to an idea from Christiancrafters.com, I assisted Will with some "foam painting" a little while ago. I took a dollop of acrylic paint, a dollop of bubble bath, some water, and I whisked them all together to make foam. There was still some liquid at the bottom, but plenty of foam at top. For maybe 15 to 20 minutes, this had him very absorbed. I started him off on printer paper, cuz that's about all I had. I gave him a wide foam brush and then let him at it. He enjoyed pretty much stroking the foam over and over in the same spot, which the paper couldn't really handle. So I got a big piece of foil, which also added crinkle and shine to this "multisensory" activity. He enjoyed mixing the colors, but would sometimes try to lick the bubbles off his hand--not tasty. Now I'm interested in getting him some cheap containers and toys to play with sand and water outside. You can buy tables, but I don't want to pay that much for flimsy plastic. I need to get him some puzzles and things to string beads and some stuff to match and sort. I made a list from some web site that says what 3 year olds like to do--I needed to be reminded! Plus, we've gotten rid of so many toys the others wore out and/or weren't using.

Chris is going to go backpack hiking with some buddies from work on Friday and Saturday this weekend. So now he needs to get a backpack. He's really looking forward to this and has wanted to do something like it for a long time. My parents have courageously agreed to watch all 4 kiddos Friday night while I'm at work.

Zach and I started a book for school called The Golden Goblet. What's interesting is that it was kept downstairs at our main library, and someone had to retrieve it for me! It was published in 1961. I'm just wondering how many other old books are down there--especially ones I grew up reading from my old library! You don't see too many old books out. Do they move them all down there to make room for new ones, or sell some of them at their library sales?

Got the kids a bunch of clothes they desperately needed at Goodwill yesterday. Every time I turn around, I see a need for a coat or a sweatshirt, or pants or shorts are too small or worn out, shoes need replacing, and there's a severe sock shortage. How many times have I already mentioned my sprees at Goodwill and Value Village? It seems like I'm going once a week now. Zach also got a brand new, high quality skate board and a Halloween costume. And on my way to the cash register, I spotted some adorable shoes for 3.00 (for me--bonus!) which I snagged. Trips like these are complete doldrum-busters. I know some of you know what I'm talking about. =)