Art Teacher in Disguise

Most of you know this, but in my former (and hopefully future) life I was an art teacher. I haven't gotten too many chances recently to flex my art teacher muscles, but with the arrival of summer camp comes the opportunity to work in a few craft projects a week. I don't have a budget, so I've been trying to find some interesting projects to do with ordinary things we have hanging around and today's was such a success that I had to share!

I found this project in a book to make paint like the old masters would have done. Kind of haha. All you have to do is take some sidewalk chalk, crush it up into powder then add a mixture of egg yolks and water. It made such beautiful and vibrant colors! and even though it took a lot of prep work to crush up all that chalk, I think the kids really loved mixing it up themselves and learning something that they can do at home. I would definitely recommend this to people who teach kids of all ages, and even parents looking for a cool craft project to do at home. The consistency of the paint was very close to watercolors and didn't smell like eggs even though the kids claimed that it would.

Here are some shots of my little painters in action:

My cheap (free) supplies:

mmm egg yolks with a little bit of water

crushing this would have been WAY easier with a coffee grinder

 and here are my favorite final products:

Love is perfect :) how precious

Since my "grinding" technique included chopping the chalk with a knife and then trying to smooth it out with a metal spoon in a cereal bowl, the final result was relatively gritty. I kind of like the texture that it added, but if I ever do this again I will find a way to not have to do all that by hand. Let me know if you try this at home!

Also, I mentioned last week that I did a guest post for my friend Chelsey and a few people let me know that the photos weren't working. Well... we did a little editing, and I just wanted to let you know that the photos are definitely up and running now. If you didn't see it then, you should check it out now! Head here to read my baby product reviews for their new little bundle of joy :)

Summer BBQ

Yesterday we got the group together at Jordie and her sister Sammie's apartment for a little summer BBQ. While it doesn't hold a candle to last summers BBQs at Dan and Aly's place, we made do ;).

Here are some quick phone shots of the get together:

Ives & Keith

Bennett with Elliot

Trent & Sage

Jamie holding Elliot

Renee with her little one Levi

boys

Isaac & Trent

The ladies talking wedding stuff with Jordie

Sage was doing her wiggles

So many babies! and we're very thankful to their parents for sharing them with us. It was a great evening of eating and hanging out. Thanks for hosting Jordie and Sammie!!

Anyone else do something fun this weekend?

A Few Reviews

I seem to be recovering pretty nicely from Friday's tooth procedure and have luckily been pretty pain free. I did have some issues with my pain medication making me ill, but hopefully that is all over and I can enter back into the world of eating anything my heart desires, and not having to worry about throbbing pain in my jaw. Hooray!

Here are a couple movies that we've seen lately that are worth mentioning:

Friday night we went on a date to the movies and saw Super 8 and even though I felt like crud, it was pretty awesome. I thought the story was entertaining, and easy to follow... but had enough interesting details to keep you guessing. My only complaint was that I felt like the build up was so careful and then the ending happened in like, 3 minutes. I guess if they had drawn it out much more I would have complained about that though.... I definitely think it was worth seeing in theaters though.

At the suggestion of this lovely lady, we rented It's Kind of a Funny Story from redbox last weekend. I wasn't really sure what to expect but both Keith and I really loved it. It's a story about a young boy that contemplates committing suicide so he checks himself into an institution before really realizing the kind of people he may find there. Zach Galifianakis was funny in a different kind of way, and it was surprisingly sentimental.

This one is kind of silly, but when I was home alone on Friday I watched All I Wanna Do on TV which is SUCH a 90s movie, meaning Rachel Leigh Cook and Kirsten Dunst had to be in it. It's cute and campy but I kind of loved it. It's about a 1960's all girls school that is threatening to merge with a boys school and the plan the girls put together to save it from happening. It wasn't exactly the same 90s movie plot I was expecting, which made it for a great afternoon watch. I would suggest it for ladies, if you're bored with nothing to do and happen across it on Netflix instant haha.

Now I'm just waiting for Keith to return from band practice so that we can watch Inception together (he's never seen it, and I fell asleep when I tried to watch it. I know... I'm horrible).

Oh and did I mention how excited I am for the last Harry Potter movie....

nerddddd

Tooth Ache

Turns out that terrible ache? It required a root canal today. Ugh. Now I'll be spending the rest of the day in bed, enjoying my pain medication and trying to wash off the smell of "dentist". Hope you're having a great Friday... my hope is that things are all uphill from here haha

Guest

Hey friends! No real post tonight... i've been a little out of commission this week because of a major (wisdom tooth induced) ache in my head. I've kinda just been hazily walking through this week, but thankfully I'm going to take the morning off tomorrow and head to the dentist to see what they can do for me. Strangely enough this means I'll be missing our field trip to the circus, which I am SOOO bummed about (<----- sarcasm). Fingers crossed that tomorrow night I'll be able to get some real sleep, minus the advil and orajel, ugh.

Anyway, since my bestie Chelsey is busy taking care of this little miracle, I wrote a little guest post on her blog. Not to toot my own horn or anything... but it's pretty funny. I would check it out if I were you.

Her blog is called Sadie, Sadie. Married Lady. and you can check out the post here. Love you Chelsey and Elliot!

A Welcomed Addition

The rumors are true! We have added another member to the Richards' family.

No. Not a baby, or a pet. A new car!! Well... not a new car, a 'new to us' car which means we are officially a two car family. I never thought this day would come! For me personally this means SO MUCH. No more bumming rides off of friends, no more feeling stranded at home and no more having to drop Keith at work if I want to get around. I made this joke earlier and Keith wasn't such a fan, but I AM A FREE WOMAN! Having two cars is spreading our budget a bit thin, nothing beyond our means, but the benefits outweigh that by far. My collection of Mariah Carey cds have already been moved into our previously shared car, Marty and I am basking in the freedom that comes with having my own car. I feel like I'm 16 and just got my license (except I didn't get my license until I was 18 and I don't even really like to drive haha)

So here are the details: we are now the proud owners of a 2003 Silver Honda Element. When we started researching used cars in our price range we fell in love with the Element partly because we wanted to stick with a Honda, and partly because we just think they're cool. We shopped around a lot, went to drive one on Saturday afternoon, but sadly left empty handed. We had told ourselves that a good deal was going to come along in time, and we still had some breathing room to find something before we got desperate. It all starts to get a little crazy when at 5pm on Sunday evening Keith pulls up something right on point with what we're looking for AND it was at a Carmax a few miles from our house. We made a call, got pre-approved for financing, went to the dealership, test drove the car, quietly pondered between the two of us, and left with a car. CRAZY! I still can hardly believe it haha Not really what we had planned for our Sunday evening :) We still have until Friday to make sure that we're happy with our decision, but for a second car that will just be used around the city, we couldn't think of anything much better.

The Element will now be Keith's car, but we still need some help naming him (we're a little weird about solely referring to our car by its name haha). Please send in your ideas! He's kind of an older gentleman of a car, but is definitely still sporty and fun... we're at a loss (Keith wasn't a fan of calling him The Silver Fox, boo)

And of course, some photos....

This is the moment they handed us the keys and said we could keep it.

Rolling out of the lot

He loves it. 

We did a little photo shoot in celebration, but since I don't have a camera anymore we had to do it with the computer... please excuse the quality, but enjoy our enthusiasm haha

Theo did not want to be in this family photo.

We love our new addition, even though I feel like it hasn't really hit me yet that he's ours to keep. Man. TWO CARS! It seems so normal to most people, but Keith and I have always shared a car as long as we've been together. Welcome to a new era in the Richards' family :)

Weekend Accomplishments

It's only Saturday and it seems like we've already gotten so many things crossed off our list for this weekend. I should also mention that we've done so much that my husband is blissfully passed out on the couch next to me because of it haha.

We started our weekend with a great date night at Belcourt Taps and Tapas (thanks to a 50% off coupon!) We had never been there before, but they have really awesome happy hour specials, and live music every night so I definitely think we'll be trying it again soon. Something else that I realized last night though: tapas are AMAZING for indecisive people like me! Instead of having to pick just one entree, I got to pick a bunch of things off of a large list of appetizer sized dishes. It was the bomb (yep, I just said 'the bomb', deal with it).  Keith got a burger, and I got: sweet potato tots, hummus, fried green tomatoes and crispy artichoke hearts. Mmm Mmm Mmm. This is how I should always order dinner from now on haha.

I had to grab a shot of my personal dinner spread because of how many things I got, BUT all of this was only like $20! 

Last night was such a beautiful night to be outside, and we throughly enjoyed lingering after our meal for a bit to finish our drinks and chat about the future. I wish date night was every night (but then I guess it wouldn't be quite as special).

Anyway, here are some other things we've accomplished so far this weekend:

- I got all the art supplies that I need for my lessons this week.
- I purchased a summer camp worthy bathing suit, that I will not be caught dead in while not at work (even though Keith was a champion husband when I tried it on for him and said, "Oh. That's cute." in a very unsure voice haha)
- We both got our contacts!!! After 3 months of being stuck with only glasses, this is a very welcomed addition.
- We have done LOTS of research on purchasing a second car.
- Got an oil change for our car who needed it BADLY.
- Exchanged a few items that have been sitting in the trunk all month.
- Picked out a new pair of sunglasses now that I've got contacts in my eyes.

Now all that we have left on the list for tonight is to get some groceries for the week, eat dinner, and relax on the couch until we fall fast asleep. Let's hope that happens ASAP!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Ruby Falls

So today was another long bus ride kind of field trip that left me exhausted and needing adult beverages by the time I got home. Obviously, I'm already a professional, but that doesn't mean my brain wasn't ready to explode from the sheer volume of screaming children. Ruby Falls is a cave system with the highest underground waterfall in the country. It was pretty interesting, but we had to drive 2 and 1/2 hours on the bus to get there which makes for very restless kids who don't care about anything but running and screaming. These are two VERY bad things when you're underground. Trapped in a cave. with 80 little bodies all trying to push each other.

For as ridiculous as today was though, it came along with some pretty hysterical moments, here are some of my favorite quotes from the day:

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"If I had 3 wishes I want to be a werewolf so that I can eat people because I think that would be really cool"


After I attempted to lay my head on Noor's lap, "I'm not a pillow! I'm a buffalo!"


The second we got on the bus and got seated, Brian very matter of factly says, "Ok Mrs. Richards, I'll just let you know when I feel like I'm going to throw up." Uhhhhh please don't throw up?

"I'm going to read your mind!" puts ear to my forehead "oh weird, it sounds dusty in there."

Inside the cave, "THIS LOOKS LIKE THE DEVILS HOME!"


"Can you lick my armpits for me?"


While trying to make the point the none of the students know my first name, I asked, "What is my first name?" response: "SPAGHETTI!" Duh. Spaghetti Richards is definitely my name.
__________________________________________________

On the bus with my boys....

Sarah looking out at Chattanooga

In the cave, iphone flash that makes everyone look scary

cave

cave

waterfall

The waterfall would have been way cooler to me if I didn't also come with an artificial light show. The blue/purple/red/green light was a little hokey. But overall it was a really beautiful sight. 

Another one of the better things from today is that the kids revealed to me that they believe our newest employee, Jon, is a vampire. No joke whatsoever. They truly believe he is a real live vampire. Once this was made known to me, I spent the rest of the day exploiting it. How is he not melting in the sunlight? Well obvious, he has sunglasses on. Will he attack us and try to suck our blood? Only if you scare him, or make him really mad. Be VERY CAREFUL around him. I also told them that when we got into the cave he would turn into a bat (this may have contributed to the screaming, oops). I laughed about this A LOT today. Especially when one of the kids told me that he made a wish at the waterfall and couldn't tell me what is was but he wanted to tell the vampire since he's not alive and it doesn't count :) I love their little minds hahahahaha

This is my job, and I kinda love it. Not always in the moment, but looking back, I can't help but smile haha