Painted Bug Rocks
/How is your summer vacation going? Ours is going OK. Some days are better than others. Some days we have a lot of fun, but some days I am at my wits end because they are fighting and making messes all of the time. Some days I can't believe how productive I have been around here, but most days the house seems completely trashed. Some days we do ambitious things and some days they binge watch Netflix or play on electronics.
Social media would have you believe that everyone is having these fabulous summer vacations filled with educational trips and activities, siblings playing nicely together, and never any screen time. I call bologna on that. I have worked in the schools enough to know that most kids are just as bratty as mine. When I was a kid, hanging out at my grandparents' pool and watching excessive television was enough. My IQ didn't suffer. Kids need time to unwind, too. It feels like there is so much pressure on parents these days to make everything Pinterest-perfect. (If you are able to do that, rock on, but if your summer vacation looks a little different that what you see on Instagram, that is OK, too!) Yes, there are a select few who will judge you, but admitting the imperfections can be absolutely freeing on both sides.We are only showing our highlight reels. I posted fabulous vacation pictures last week, but no one got to see all of the work that went into packing/unpacking, the fighting in the car when we got lost, the sunburns, the plans that didn't work out, the car problems, etc. I am sure that everyone has some behind-the-scenes stuff, so I just want to keep it real.
On good days, the girls and I do a lot of craft projects. This one was really simple, but the girls enjoyed it! We grabbed a bag of rocks from the Dollar Tree (I didn't feel like searching for smooth rocks in nature) and painted them to look like ladybugs and bumblebees. The girls and I each painted a few of them. They aren't perfect (some of the ladybugs are sideways!) but they are a genuine kids craft. :)
We made both ladybugs and bumblebees so that they could play tic tac toe on the stepping stones outside of the playhouse. When they aren't being used to play, then can hide in the flowerbeds.
In all fairness, these rocks took a few days to make and I had my teenage stop and buy more yellow paint on the way to an auto parts store. Not everything went smoothly, but they are still cute.
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