inspired by my sister.

Abbie mentioned when she first started this blog that I helped her get it started. And I did. I knew she needed an outlet and knew blogging might work great for her. But when I suggested it I thought it was just to help her. I knew I'd read it, like I do her personal blog, but  I never knew how it would change my life as well.

You see, I used to be crafty. I used to scrapbook and paint murals in my kid's rooms and decorate my house and do art projects every day with my young kids. But then work got busy, the kids multiplied and life got in the way. More and more I was putting off the art projects (even though Parker, especially, asks daily for them) and dropped scrapping all together and need to update the murals. There was always something else I needed to do, something more pressing them setting up a painting project for my kids.

But then I started reading Ab's new blog. And it made me miss the fun I used to have with my kids. I used to get dirty and creative and crafty and just HAVE FUN with my kids! How did I let that get so far away?

I also used to teach my kids. Especially when my oldest, Bailey, was a toddler. Life was just slower then and I had more time to engage her in learning.

So this blog.

It's inspired me.

My sister.

She's inspired me.

Because she's truly spending TIME with her girls and even though I do have a lot less time than she does to spend with my own kids, I've learned that even a moment to pause and notice the ants crawling in the grass is a moment spent perfectly.

So thanks for taking my tiny idea and running with it Ab. Thanks for giving all of us moms incredible ideas we can use to spend time with our own kids. Thanks for giving of yourself so freely to my nieces. Thanks for instilling a newfound love of our earth in me. Thanks for being YOU and really finding your voice again.

Now because I'm a photographer I of course have a million photos to SHOW you how she's inspired me!

Remember THIS post? Here was my version... I LOVE this series of images of Grayson too!

HA! Look at his concentration in the last photo! Love it! This was a great project for my 2 year old! And a great way to spend a bit of time with JUST him!

We also tried THIS project and the kids had a blast!

Just a quick note about the photos... first of all... I do not consider myself a pro-photog when I'm home! I snap quickly and NEVER spend the same amount of time on editing personal images as I do client images. I have to keep my personal photos easy and quick or I would never take them! Second, even though a craft image looks great in color, I love them, sometimes, in black&white also. It can really tell the story without the distraction of color! Just something to think about!

One of the things I've been learning from this blog is to just slow down and notice our world! The kids saw this butterfly one day and luckily I had my camera b/c they wanted to take a photo of it to keep! We were going somewhere but instead of brushing them off I actually stopped, got out my camera and snapped this for them... and they were thrilled!

Ok.

So remember THIS post? I was literally BLOWN AWAY that I'd never let my kids make mud pies before! Not because I hate mud, I'd just never thought of it before! So I went immediately to work to create our own outdoor kitchen so they can make as many mud pies as they'd like!

Pretty simple really. A pot, a stump and a bucket. The pot held a dead tomato plant I yanked out and instantly gave us our dirt, the stump was a photo prop (we can still use if need be!) and the bucket is my parent's old coal bucket I'm using to hold the mud pie utensils. The utensils I actually got super cheap at a local antique store! I wanted mostly metal and old pieces and scored on some great deals!

A little water and VIOLA! MUD! :)

We've used this SO much the last week since I put it all together and the kids LOOOOVE it! They play for a little while, I hose them off and bring them in for baths while I cook dinner... it's been the perfect ending to hot summer days!

I'm nearing the end of my blog post and I guess I never even really introduced myself! My name is Jodie and I'm Abbie's big sister. I blog HERE and HERE which should give you enough of a glimpse into my life that I won't need much more introduction. 

But I will confess something no one knows.

I've never recycled.

I KNOW!

And my sister is an environmentalist of all things!

But for the end of my guest blog post I have a HUGE surprise for my sister!

Oh yes we are!

RECYCLING!

And my kids are OBSESSED with it! And it makes me SO happy to see our trash pile so much smaller now! And although it looks like all we do is go potty, eat Mac n' Cheese and drink milk I just downloaded our cities recycling program so I can learn all about the items we can recycle here! And do you want to know why I decided to finally start recycling?

Because my sister started a little blog called Greening Sam & Avery!

Love you Ab!

Comments

[mom kuhn]

good job Jodie, you both inspire me!

[Angela]

Beautiful post and photos. I completely understand how 'life gets in the way'. Abbie is very inspiring to me too. Thanks for sharing!

Peace, Angela

[amber]

Love the mudpie kitchen. We will definitely have to try that soon, making mudpies used to be one of my favorite things to do as a kid. My parents have started recycling too! They live in the country and have no garbage service, so the town started a "country" recycling program. They have been taking their recycling into town for about a year now! Such a great thing once you get started! Wonderful post and amazing photos as usual! :)

[Gina]

Love the b/w art photos.

Super jealous of your outdoor kitchen.

And YAY for recycling!!!! I am oh so obsessed with recycling. Like over the top. So it makes my heart sing when I see a new recycler! And you are even recycling tp rolls! Yay!

[Ashlee]

She's inspired me too! I don't read any craft blogs or anything, and I'm sad to say my 2.5 year old has NEVER done a craft project. (I linked over from Jodified a few weeks ago) How is that even possible? He has crayons and colors, but he's never even seen glue before. Anyway, we've done a few small things with stuff we have around the home, but I need to gather some supplies for more.

I'm also trying to be better about letting him explore outside. We often go on walks through a wooded walking trail, but we keep tightly to the trail. He's interested in checking things out, but I tend to shuffle him back to the cement. I've been letting him get dirtier!

[Tami]

Some great photos! I snicker now when my fiance tells someone else how or what to recycle...he never did before I met him. You can teach a man new tricks :)

[Dawn]

What a great full-circle inspiring story! I'm sure Abbie appreciates seeing the impact her blog is having on others.

[kim weiss]

we are so coming over to play in your mudpie kitchen! you kuhn girls rock!

[Pat Lawhorn]

Charlie made his first mud pie today! Check out my facebook entry. Pictures are posted. Although timid at first, he loved it. He kept asking me if it was okay to do things, so he obviously needs some experiences to help him try things on his own. I think I'll let him set up the "kitchen" himself tomorrow. We checked out most of your recommended books from the library and he loved them. I think his favorite is One Little Seed. He wanted to read it to me over and over. Thanks for all the great ideas, Abbie.

[Marcia]

So cool! It's great that you have both found your niche in the blog world. LOVE the mud pie idea!