Anyone up for a mess?

Well, Liam has a project he's doing for school - he has to create a model of a Pacific Northwest bird of prey. It does not have to be to scale, but it does need to be able to be show in front of the class. His chosen bird? The Red-Tailed Hawk.

So, after putting it off for as long as he could, Liam finally began to realize (with a little help from mom and dad) how much work he had to do before the project was done...and it's due this coming Friday. Then came the problem of exactly how he was going to do this. The rules were very specific - all the materials had to be recycled. He came up with the idea of cutting wings out of cardboard (with a little help from dad), which he proceeded to do. Then he decided that the body of the hawk is going to be made of an egg carton. So, slits were cut (with mom's help) into the carton, and the newly cut wings were inserted. After that - papier mache time! To help hold the wings and to make them look more a part of the actual body, Liam decided that this would be the "easiest" way. I cautioned him that it's not as easy as he thought, but...he wanted to try it. I made a mix (2 parts flour to 1 part water - mixed well with a whisk to remove lumps) while he cut up paper strips. We coated the table and floors with newspaper, then I showed him what to do and he went to town. Of course, Ceana wanted to get in on it too - to have a "projec" like brother - so we found a little empty box, gave her a bit of the mix with some paper strips, and let her go to town. Here are the two of them:

After much mess (and giggling, as you can plainly see), Liam decided that he was done. Ceana, who wanted to wash her hands immediately after starting, stuck with it and quit about the same time Brother did. After moving the "projecs" to the safety of the downstairs shower to dry, clean-up commenced. Here are the semi-finished pieces as they dry in the tub:

Liam's Red-Tailed Hawk:

 

Ceana's "Projec":

We'll keep you posted on the progress of the art!

In other news, I have a sneaking suspicion that Liam has oral thrush. He's been complaining the last couple of days about his tongue hurting, especially when he eats. This morning he came downstairs and said "See? I told you pieces of my tongue were coming off!". I took a look with the flashlight, and his tongue is coated in white, except where it looks like an earthquake ran through the center and created the Grand Canyon. Plus, he has at least one little sore behind his tongue....So, since the doctor's office is closed, I sent an email to the doctor and have been making him gargle with a warm mix of water, apple cider vinegar and salt. He also has to brush his teeth after every meal and absolutely no sugar...no juice, no Halloween candy, nada. He's not happy about that last part, in particular. So, we'll see what happens...

Hope you're all doing well!