Arts and Crafts and the Mole Cartoon

Having one kid who naps for 2-3 hours a day and one who doesn't anymore can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I get to spend some much needed one-on-one time with my Collin Monster; on the other hand, we are limited to doing things around the house - no bike ride, no playground, no pool, etc. - since we can't just leave Miss O here by herself. Coloring, reading, building with Legos, Tinker Toys, or Lincoln Logs are our go-to activities, but sometimes I throw in some arts and crafts for a change.

Yesterday, we broke out the pipe cleaners and modeling clay, supplies I bought years ago on sale but just forgot about until we were desperate for something new to do. First, Collin made a blueandgreenandbrown (favorite color) sculpture out of pipe cleaners and macaroni. He placed it in the front window "so that everyone in the neighborhood can see it!" Then we opened up the clay, and he pressed some into the molds that came with the lids. He seemed to enjoy this, but I thought it would be cool to make some animals or objects since that is what modeling clay is typically used for. Thank God for YouTube! We found a girl who was very good at explaining, step-by-step, how to make pigs, teapots, mushrooms, and many other wonderful things out of clay. She was young, upbeat, easy to follow, and kept me and my boy busy for an hour and a half!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSWRfNSSzNU

Mommy and Collin's clay figurines

After creating such masterpieces as seen above, we settled in for some English muffin pizzas, vanilla soy milk, and Collin's favorite cartoon as of late. We found it by accident, again on YouTube, and I still don't know what the name of it is because it's in some other language that's not recognizable to me (it may be Czech, German, or something else). The cartoon has an old school, post Cold War feel. It's about a mole and his animal friends facing simple problems that a three-year-old can understand. I'd compare it to Looney Tunes but more innocent and cute. Collin's imaginary friends are Mouse, Chick, and Snake while his best stuffed animal friends are a cat, rabbit, bear, and duck, so this little cartoon with similar animals makes him so happy. :) It has cheery whistling, music, and little noises the mole makes. If you have a toddler or preschooler, it's worth a look. His favorite episode is the mole as a chemist (Auntie, you would be so proud!).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M6CXky-xZw

Mole, Mouse, Bunny, Hedgehog, and Frog