Hmmm...Packing with Kids

What to do? What to do? Packing is one thing, entertaining kids while packing is another.

Luckily, the Harris kids have been pretty much on their own since birth, so they have learned to be adaptive and creative when their driven mother is focused.

Here's what the Harris children have been up to :

1) Secret potion making is always a hit. I have no idea what is in their test tubes, but I do know that it will kill the grass and leave immovable gelatin chunks after heavy rainstorms. The neighborhood kids thought they were geniuses.



2) Building a lemonade stand out of the boxes that were too weak to use for packing. A little paint, a few stakes from the very back dark corner of the garage, and there you have it, totally kid made lemonade stand. Although, when it came time to selling the lemonade, they drank most of it.



3) Cushion houses have been made ever single day of our moving lives from 8AM-Bedtime! Gretchen has not missed a single day and she cries when it has to be taken down. Really? 10hrs isn't enough? She is starting to build two story houses now with windows and a pool (blue blanket). I say go ahead...but it does make the house look like it's disorganized and bombed when they're created. A little discouraging when you have frames and doodads among it.



4) Then there is stuff you clean out that you don't want to packed. I started making a list on the side of my fridge so that I can remember what project bust out when the kids need something new. Like these sand jars. I set it up on the porch and tell them not to come in the house with it (queue mom eye) because I can't stand sand. It's messy. Dust, dust. Glitter is worse and unfortunately, they found the glitter too. Sweep, sweep. Then they filled it with water. Wash, wash. Then they wanted a little paper fish to swim around in their tubes. Pickup, pickup. Sometimes, they're too creative, but this gig got me the whole morning.



5) The sticker chart. What kid doesn't like to see his/her progress in stickers. It also let's them be responsible for their own jobs and keeps me from nagging them every five seconds, like I do during the school year. I told them there was a super secret VFD surprise at the end of the month. VFD corresponds to the Lemony Snicket books we've been listening to, so they are just as excited to find out what VFD stands for.



6) the boob tube. Thank goodness for that! They are currently watching past episodes of Shaun the Sheep. Hilarious. I think I'll take a break and go watch one now.