Mica’s Blogging. Heck Yeah!
Posted on | August 17, 2010 | 3 Comments
Like I always say, it’s never too early to start building your personal brand and hone your entrepreneurial skills. {She’s also planning on selling handmade jewelry in her blog. So watch out for that!}
Please give my 13-year old daughter some online love and pay her blog a visit at www.micaredington.com.
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Summer Days
Posted on | July 19, 2010 | 5 Comments
I have been quiet, I know. Summer days have completely taken over me. My family and I have been basking in the glorious sunshine and hanging out with old and new friends. Usually I’m away exploring new territories in the summer but this year, since we’re still training Dexter, I’m simply enjoying being able to go out in my flip-flops, discovering how wonderful our backyard is (thanks to Dexter who needs to go out every 2 hours), and connecting with some amazing neighbors.
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| Scenes from our summer garden. |
In our garden, Troy is successfully growing some fresh, juicy produce with a homemade self-contained gardening system. Did I ever mention I was married to a geek? I’m sure I did. He still owes me a blog post about it {ahem ahem} so I won’t show what the system looks like. What I can show is some of what he’s been growing. Unlike our prize watermelon, these ones are delightful to the palate.
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In other news, Mica and Rinoa have been busy with their summer activities. Rinoa is taking a break from dance and is busy with gymnastics in the morning and swimming lessons in the evening while Mica is still ice skating but is also doing some off ice training this summer which includes ballet, dance performance, and jumps.
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| Here’s Rinoa in her tumbling class. It was taken in the second floor viewing deck behind a dust-filled glass. Before I got the right camera settings, she had moved to an obstructed location. So this is the best I can show for now. |
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| Last week, Mica skipped her off ice training to spend time with some friends. They spent their days swimming in a quiet, peaceful lake near her friend’s house. (Photos taken by Mica’s friend.) |
Alas, not all summer days are fun. For one thing, I have sun allergy – too much sun exposure and I get itchy, red rashes. I know I can’t win. In the winter, I’m blue and in the summer, I’m red – haha! And the past few days, Rinoa and I haven’t been feeling well. My nose is clogged, my eyes are watery, and my throat is sore – feels like I swallowed a large frog which got stuck on its way down! But I’m sure all these ill-health will pass soon.
How are you spending your summer days?
Life with Dexter
Posted on | July 8, 2010 | 13 Comments
We’ve had Dexter for almost two months now. And even though it took me a while before agreeing to having a dog in the house, I must admit that I’m glad we have one now. For one thing, it’s teaching my girls responsibility. For example, Mica wakes up early in the morning to take Dexter out in the yard. She also takes care of feeding Dexter and making sure he has fresh water all the time. Rinoa helps train Dexter with simple commands and makes sure he doesn’t pee in the house since he’s not completely potty-trained yet.
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Dexter is just so full of personality that it’s really hard not to love him – even though he chewed and destroyed my living room rug yesterday. {Grrr!} He’s definitely a part of our family.
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As you can see, he loves to cuddle! He would rest his head on one of our laps and just fall asleep that way.
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For those torn between pleasing your kids with a pet puppy and not liking the idea of added responsibility, I say give it a go. You’d be surprised at how much it completes the family. Of course, you’d have to give up the idea of maintaining a picture perfect house but, if you have kids, then that ship has sailed a long time ago. {wink}
Friday Art: Zentangles
Posted on | June 18, 2010 | 5 Comments
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| Zentangles by Mica Redington (13 years old) |
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| Zentangles by Rinoa Redington (5 years old) |
Both Mica and Rinoa did a great job with their zentangles. Rinoa gave up coloring in the middle of her project, complaining that her hand was tired. I think it looks great just partly colored.
Tags: art activities for kids > Mica > Rinoa > zentangles
The Artistic Mother: Nameplates
Posted on | June 3, 2010 | 7 Comments
So many things happening in my life right now that I would love to share here – good things. The best part is I’m meeting a lot of kindred spirits. But I’m so overwhelmed at the moment that I need to take time to organize my thoughts.
In the meanwhile, I want to share another art project that my girls did. For fun, I recently joined the Artistic Mother’s Art Group based on Shona Cole’s book The Artistic Mother and hosted by Trudy Callan. I was flipping through the book when Mica and Rinoa saw this project and got excited. And there you go! We went to the store to buy some canvases and went to work. They did everything themselves, including choosing what papers and beads to use, except that Troy drilled the holes and I printed the photos.
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The M and R were painted with crackle paint which both girls thought was really cool! Although Rinoa said “How come Mica’s M is more cracked than my R?” And I said “Because she put more paint on hers.” “Ooooh!”
These will hang on the bedroom doors. They’re excited about the idea of seeing their faces every time they pass by the doors – lol!
Tags: altered art > art activities for kids > Mica > mixed media collage > Rinoa
Friday Art: Teesha Moore Inspired
Posted on | June 1, 2010 | 8 Comments
Artist Teesha Moore generously shared through YouTube her thought and work process in creating her distinctive art journals. After watching the videos (which are presented in order at the bottom of this post), I thought it would be a great Friday Art project for Mica and Rinoa to make their own ‘Teesha Moore Inspired’ art. Boy did they have fun – they definitely released their wacky sides!
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| “The Octopus-Racer Lady” by Mica Redington (13 years old) |
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| “Lady Dog” by Rinoa Redington (5 years old) |
Troy came home early from work, got envious, and decided to join us and make one for himself. He’s not done with his yet (just needs some journaling) but here’s what his work looks like:
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| “What Are You Looking At?” by Troy Redington |
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Here are Teesha Moore’s video tutorials, in chronological order from creating a 16-page journal to filling the journal with collage and journaling. Enjoy!
| Teesha Moore’s Amazing 16-page Journal (Part 1 of 2) |
| Teesha Moore’s Amazing 16-page Journal (Part 2 of 2) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Paint |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Collage (Part 1 of 4) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Collage (Part 2 of 4) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Collage (Part 3 of 4) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Collage (Part 4 of 4) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Pen Work (Part 1 of 4) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Pen Work (Part 2 of 4) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Pen Work (Part 3 of 4) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Pen Work (Part 4 of 4) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Lettering (Part 1 of 2) |
| Teesha Moore Journaling: Lettering (Part 2 of 2) |
Tags: art journal > art project for kids > Mica > mixed media collage > Rinoa > Troy > videos
Conversations with Rinoa
Posted on | May 27, 2010 | No Comments
{Rinoa and I were in the bathroom one morning getting ourselves ready to start the day. The night before, Rinoa woke up crying and complaining that her ear hurt.}
Mommy: {Putting toothpaste on Rinoa’s toothbrush} How are you feeling? Does your ear still hurt?
Rinoa: {Getting ready to brush her teeth} No. I feel better.
Mommy: Good. I don’t like it when you’re in pain.
Rinoa: Well, I don’t want you to die.
{Rinoa has this fear of Troy and I dying and not being with us anymore. We’ve had several similar conversations about death before and, every time, I would make her understand that it is not something to be feared. But this particular morning, I strayed from my usual reply.}
Mommy: I’m not going to die!
Rinoa: You are when you’re old.
Mommy: I’m not THAT old!
Rinoa: But you WILL be.
Mommy: And so will you.
Rinoa: Yes, but I’m far from getting old.
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{Rinoa found a small black box in the drawer and was curious about it.}
Rinoa: Mommy, what’s in this box?
Mommy: A keychain.
Rinoa: Whose is it?
Mommy: It’s Daddy’s.
Rinoa: Where did he get it?
Mommy: He got it from -
Rinoa: Oh, I know! From China! I didn’t know Daddy went to China.
Mommy: Daddy didn’t go to China and {confused} why do you say it’s from China?
Rinoa: Because in the back it says ‘made in China’.
{Troy actually got it from Vegas.}
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| More pictures from Sunday afternoon. |
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Feels Like Summer
Posted on | May 24, 2010 | 5 Comments
| On this hot, humid Sunday, an afternoon of gardening became a ‘hose spraying’ party, leaving two girls {and a daddy} soaking wet! |
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World Meet Dexter
Posted on | May 18, 2010 | 7 Comments
After months and months of endless pleading from the girls, I finally caved in. World say hello to Dexter, our new 3-month old Boston Terrier.
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Mica: “Mommy, can we name him Sirius?”
Mommy: “Sounds too much like ‘Serious’.”
Mica: “How about Lupen?”
Mommy: “Ah, no.”
Rinoa: “How about Harry?”
Mommy: “No.”
Daddy: “How about Guinness? He’s the same color as a Guinness.”
Mica: “Nooo.”
Daddy: “How about Stout?”
Mica: “No.”
So why Dexter? You know, Dexter Morgan, the Blood Splatter Specialist from Miami.
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| Thanks to Grandpa for buying him for the girls. |
Rinoa: “Mommy, I’m so happy that we finally have a puppy!”
Mommy: “I’m glad.”
Friday Art: Tale of the Heartbroken Potters
Posted on | May 10, 2010 | 1 Comment
Two weeks ago, Troy took a half day off work to participate in Friday Art Day. We had a tub of air dry clay stowed away, so Troy taught the girls the basics of clay pottery. They wedged and wedged, over and over until the clay was free of bubbles. Then they learned the coiling technique and started working on their bowls. Regardless of the outcome, their scoring and welding techniques were actually pretty good for their first time.
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| Rinoa rolled … |
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| and shaped her clay into a pot. |
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| And so did Mica. |
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| But alas, the joy of pottery. We blame the air dry clay. |
They’re not too discouraged though. They’re willing to try again next time. Learn from mistakes. That’s what matters.
Tags: air dry clay > art activities for kids > Mica > pottery > Rinoa
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© 2006-2010 Johwey Redington.
Please don't steal my text or images, it's disrespectful and you'll be subjet to karma! If you want to use any of the images, please email me for a written permission. Thank you.
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