Wordless Wednesday

For more WW: A Beautiful Mess, Look at What Mom found... and Dad too,  Momspective,  Wordless Wednesday ,

Spring has Sprung!

At least for this week! The forecast is calling for sunshine and 70's all week long! I predict I will be the mother of 2 sun kissed cheeked, worn out, and filthy minis and I LOVE it!

Jason took the kids up to the school today to run their RC cars and they had a blast! They ran them ALL over the place laughing and running the whole time! I took advantage of the opportunity and ran a few errands, but they were still going strong, so instead of going home I joined my brood...

We ran, climbed, and played. Hard! It was fantastic! The fresh air and sunshine were just what we needed! Anthony was de-littering his school. Picking up the few bits of trash that were around. He "did not want his school to be full of litter"! I was proud of his good deed doing...

When the minis' bellies started to rumble we headed home for a quick snack before we made our way to a local park for some "train spotting" and creek playing.

I swear all my kids need is the dirt, sunshine, and water. When all three of these things are combined, I get a perfect day! They had a blast jumping in the water and mud...

Splashing, seeing how far they could go before their boots filled with water, digging along the creek bottom, and trying to catch water bugs elicited squeals and laughter! Boat races kept them busy for quite some time :) Oh how they marveled at them floating downstream and running ahead to catch them... It was really so much fun!  (I need to pick up some more ASAP because 2 were MIA buried in the mud somewhere I'm sure... They will be a delightful treasure for the next kids who come along)

A bunch of kids joined in on our fun and I think they were all content and tired when we finally headed back to the car....

Even though they had to strip to their unders for the ride home, (they were SOAKED) I would do it again tomorrow... Dirt and mud wash away but our afternoon of fun will fill out hearts for many many sunshine days ....

Sew fun...

I have wanted to learn how to sew for like, well, EVER! It was something I just never did or tried. Jason knows how to sew, how funny is that? He learned at some point in school and has proven to be useful... He made some of the curtains in my old house :)

don't mind the wet crazy hair, she just got out of the shower

I have been yearning for a pillow case dress since Madison started walking, but I never bought one. I was holding out hope that I could make one :) Well, she is almost 5 and I tried it today :)

I like the ones with the bow on only one side best :)

Jason has been going to teach me for a while now, but we just never get to it. Today, for some reason, I got sick of waiting on him so I read the machines manual and went to it... I made a few mistakes, but once I figured out what I was doing it was super easy :) I may try another one tonight since I have a TON of fabric left!

you can glimpse the new cabinets and appliances in my kitchen in this pic...  :)

I used this tutorial for the basis, except I did not do a lining... I was pleased how it turned out and I think that if I keep messing with the sewing machine, just might figure it all out!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss is a lot of fun :) His books are not my most favorite, but they are some of the minis' faves :) Since today was his birthday, Anthony's class got to dress up like their favorite character... Anthony didn't know who his favorite was, so I suggested being Thing One because it was the only one I could think of that I could semi manage a costume for :) I cut a felt circle and stitched it to a red t-shirt, ironed on some letters, and wrapped 3 blue boas around a winter hat... EASY!

He loved the hat, and it suits his crazy personality quite well... Well, until he informed me that he was NOT riding the bus with THAT hat! lol I drove him to school and he was fine. Just as we were pulling up, he ripped the hat off because he was embarrassed, but once the principal opened our car door and told him about all the other kids dressed up he popped it back on his head and strutted into school :)

Anthony had a lot of fun at school today and I loved hearing all about his friends' costumes :) Madison informed me that she "will like to be Cindy the who girl next year"... I think that will be a wee bit harder :)

Switching it up around here...

We go through phases where the kids are SUPER good about helping out, and then there are spurts where I feel like there is NO TIME and its just easier for me to do... At least then its done right. Right?

We've been in the phase of me doing everything for a while now and I am so over it! The kids have been asking for an "allowance" so today I whipped up this simple, but hopefully effective chore system...

The minis will need to pick 2 chores each day. There are two that repeat every day (setting the table and unloading the dishes), but the other chore they can chose from a stack. They also have a tag with the days of the week on it. They are expected to have their toys picked up each night before bed. The toys that are not picked up go in a bin and belong to me. They can earn them back WHEN I see that they are actually picking their stuff up...

I think its important for them to take part in the household and I hope to instill some work ethic and responsibility at the same time. They are old enough to pitch in some... I know allowance can be a controversial topic, but I am not opposed to bribery... Money tends to motivate my wee ones as their favorite past time is perusing the toy aisle in Target :)

Today was the kick off and it went well, however; I know the novelty will wear off and FAST... Anthony dug vacuuming my hardwood with the stick broom and Madison thought wiping the door glass was cool... I hope that I can stick to it because as I explained to them: "The more help I have the more time I have to do fun things with you". We shall see...

I uploaded the tags I made, so feel free to use them for your family. If you do, let me know how it works out!

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Bang. Bang. BANG!

I've been a total slacker mom lately... Once upon a time I did feel guilty, but tonight made the guilt melt away with each bang of my head on the nearest cement wall...

I was bad about sight word practice, we went through them about 3 times a week, well on a good week. Thankfully, Anthony picked it up fast, and his reading has flourished. The math flash cards, yeah... I am SO MUCH worse...

He comes home from school and just wants to play, which I so get and he so needs to be unstructured and just play... I usually try to get homework done while I'm cooking dinner because once dinner is done he is so wired and checked out it's next to IMPOSSIBLE to get Anthony to focus on putting his pajamas on much less do school work.

Well the guilt has been mounting and I forced myself to whip out those handy dandy flash cards after showers... This is how it goes:

Me: holding up 8+8

Ant: did you know that 88 is Dale Jr.'s car. I know 82+6 equals 88 did you know that? Hey mom...

Me: yes, but what is this answer?

Ant: did you know mom that Neptune is the 8th planet from the sun? Or did you know daddy and me really like space? Member when we used to practice all the planets when I was three? Is three a baby?

Me: ok, that's good, but focus please. What's 8+8?

Ant: what was that? Did you hear it? That was thunder. Did you know mom that if you count to five after the light flashes and then it makes thunder that means the thunder is FIVE miles away. Five miles away is still not safe. You have to go INSIDE at five miles, maybe at 100 miles you could be outside, but maybe then I couldn't even hear the thunder. Maybe...

Me: ANTHONY! FOCUS!! WHAT IS 8 PLUS 8? I added a snap for good measure...

Ant: oh mommy, that's easy... 16 duh and then he flashes that uber cute smile that melts my heart every single time....

Thunder, nope that was me banging my head against the nearest wall... This kid just may do me in... He is lucky I love him to the moon and back 100 times over....

Wordy Wednesday

This pic speaks louder then words, BUT the story is CLASSIC!

A while ago, my daughter informed her friend that he was going to marry her. No IF, ANDS, OR BUTS! It was settled. He adamantly refused. It was hilarious. All haughty with her hands on her hips she said demanded that he marry her when they get big! lol Well...

My girlfriend had Madison for the afternoon and she decided to take the kids to chic fil a to eat and play... The kids had a great time and my friend snapped a few pics with her cell phone. She wanted the three kids to get together so she could snap a quick one of the three of them, but her littlest ran off as little ones often do, so Madison decided to seize the opportunity and plant a big one on her future husband! His face is PRICELESS and as soon as she released him from her kissing clutches he shouts: "I am NEVER doing that AGAIN!!!" If he only knew :)

For more WW: A Beautiful Mess, Look at What Mom found... and Dad too,  Momspective,  Wordless Wednesday ,

Better After: Even with a few bumps along the way...

I have this curio cabinet. It's well, I guess its ok. Honestly, I disliked it immensely and intensely. It just screamed old fashioned and is so not me. Maybe it was me 12 years ago, but now? Not so much... Its filled with Precious Moments. I no longer like, want, or need, but so many were given to me over the years and I hate to get rid of them, so there they sit inside the cabinet I now deem as ugly...

I've been doing all kinds of "projects" around the house trying to reclaim it as MY space... I mean we have been married for nearly a gazillion years and my stuff is just so ugh... dated! It is so NOT me (well its starting to scream me now)... I never buy "house stuff", normally, I'm a clothes kinda gal, but lately I've been fed up with the ugliness so I've been changing things up.

Finally, I got to the curio redo on my very long list of projects... I had a genius idea to spray paint it black and asked Jason to get right on it. He didn't quite jump "on it" as fast as I would have liked so, I decided to tackle this one on my own. I mean how hard can it be, right?

I popped into Lowes on my way home from preschool pick up and grabbed 3 cans of spray paint and once the princess had her lunch I set out to transform my beast into a beauty...

The day was PERFECT. It was fairly warm for a January day (no coats needed) and the wind was non existent, so I somehow managed to move drag the curio out front all by myself! I must confess, with every step I chanted "Please don't drop! Do NOT trip. Do NOT break the glass. Shockingly, this uncoordinated klutzy girl made it without mishap! Total fist pump moment...

I went right to work. Shaking and spraying. Shaking and spraying, until two cans were toast. It was a bit spotty, but nothing another few cans of paint wouldn't cure... At this point I glanced at my hands and they were complete NASTINESS! They were black, gunky, and sticky... Ewwwww... Totally should have worn rubber gloves and next time, I so will!

After admiring my work, I skipped in the house to wash up and let that beautiful creation dry so I could add another coat. As I was drying my now grey hands, I heard a CRASH!

%&*%!

Obscenities flew as I dropped the hand towel and made a mad dash to the front door PRAYING that was NOT what I thought it was...

*&%#

It was. A lump quickly rose in my throat as I saw my glass front curio (which I was beginning to like again) face down on my driveway. Not grass, driveway. I just stared for a second in disbelief! In the five minutes it took for me to depaint my hands, the wind started whipping and blew that m-efer over. Seriously? Only me... only me people!

I finally gained the courage to assess the damage. I gingerly began to life the cabinet up and was shocked I could not hear the tinkling of glass as it made its way to the ground! It was 3/4 of the way up and there wasn't a single crack in the glass! I swear I wanted to do a little happy dance!

Just as I got it all the way up, CRASH! The freaking door ripped from the hinges and clattered to the ground splintering the door jam along the way... OMG you have got to be kidding me was all I could think. The freakin door ripped away yet, still the glass was whole!?! Makes a whole lot of sense doesn't it?

With my ego majorly bruised, I drug my oops into the garage where I proceeded to call my bud. As I tell her the story, I can barely speak. Not from tears, but laughter. It was one of those laugh or cry moments... I later called the hubs, still laughing, and he was quite pissed because I just had to be impatient blah freakin blah...

Well, as it turns out, my bud, my very own Julie of all trades, decides she can fix it.  Well, I let her run with that idea, not expecting, but still hoping she would be able to fix it... and OMG did she fix it! She sanded and glued, and even repainted it for me... All that was left was for me to fabric the back and it was complete. My vision was a reality and I fell back in love!

I shined the glass, weeded out a few of the precious moments, made room for my grandmothers tea cups, took a step back to check it out, and beamed! If it wasn't for my girlie this little beauty would have hit the trash, but instead it got to be my new treasure!

So, what do you think? Better After?

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people are strange...

I'm feeling a bit doors-ey tonight.... :)

The hubs and I have a slight disagreement and I figured I would let you all decide... Once a week I take one of the minis to a class and I have to wait for the said mini for an hour. When I arrive to the class, the lobby always has only one seat left, so obviously I take the last seat...

Well, for months, the only seat left is next to a guy. I'm sure he is a perfectly nice guy, but as soon as I see my lone seat, internally I scream and agonize over the next 60 minutes I will have to sit by him...

I think the man may have issues. He probably has a bad leg or something and I get that I am being mean here, and I'm sorry for that. I really am BUT I am going a wee bit crazy at the same time...

For the entire hour my kid is in class, the man rubs his leg up and down up and down. He scratches his leg for minutes at a time. He punches his leg repeatedly, and every so often he violently twitches and makes this weird noise! It makes me jump! Every. Single. Time. For real! He will shake or rock for minutes at a time. His movements are so harsh, that my chair literally moves each time he does.

I try to read my book, but I cannot focus because the guy weirds me out! I swear some rare form of untreatable body lice is gonna jump on me or something... I try and read but all I can do is obsess about what the guy is going to do next! Does he have torrettes? Has he suffered from a major leg injury? Is it just a nervous tick? Or does dude just need a lil medication? Maybe a cream?

For 60 minutes I wonder. For 60 minutes, I make up tragic war hero stories in my head. For 60 minutes I think about how he is going to catch me staring and I think of all the ways he will dispose of my body. For 60 minutes, I think of some awesome newspaper headlines and how I just might get my five seconds of fame after all. For 60 minutes I weave some exceptional, very imaginative, and writer worthy stories.

After the said 60 minutes I refrain from shouting “Dude! Can you not sit still? They make a pill for that you know! Seriously, I think I’m developing whiplash over here!” One day, I fear I may voice my thoughts which would be oh so BAD!!

So each week, the only seat available is next to him. I know it's because everyone notices it and so doesn't want to sit by him... I know they are all thinking "hahaha the late chick always gets stuck there". So each week, there I sit.

Tonight, my husband and I actually had a conversation that did not involve the logistics of our family, so I seized the opportunity (aka finally remembered a few weeks later) and I told him about this "situation" I run into each week at one of the kids classes. I claim weirdo, yet Jason says I'M the weirdo because I sit next to him... What!?!? No way... What should I do stand and make it totally obvious that I don't want to sit next to the poor guy? I do feel bad or him. I don't think he realizes he is so loud or that he is rocking my world and so not in a good way...I think the hubs is TOTALLY wrong on this one... I mean come on, I am so not weird (insert some MAJOR sarcasm and a HUGE pile of Bull you know what for good measure!) hahahaha!

Happy Valentine"s Day!

From my family to yours!

Valentine cards are a dreaded debacle in this house. I mean it is a HUGE fight. Anthony hates, despises, and is revolted by writing. He cannot stand it. Last year I thought I would take the easy way out and buy premade cards (yes, this was a first for me. yes, I can be THAT mom, I mean I have to keep up appearances. and YES, I did twitch slightly, ok a lot, as I purchased them). I mean maybe I was putting to much pressure on the whole hand made card thing, so I took the high road, got past MY hang ups, and bought the damn Phineas and Ferb valentines. I shudder just thinking of them...

So a few weeks before the BIG party, i whipped those puppies out hoping he would write his name 20 times and be done with it. Ha! All I can say is THANK GOD I was afraid the Phineas and Ferb cards were gonna sell out and bought them EARLY! Three weeks. Yup, 3 whole weeks of crying, fighting, arguing, and more tears from both he and I then I care to admit just to get him to sign his damn name 20 measly times! Seriously?!?!

Yes, he has a long name, but come on! He wrote his name for the first time BEFORE he was three years old. The boy can do it, he just hates it. Yes, he does have poor fine motor skills, but come on this whole thing last year was a bit more then ridiculous and I even cheated with the store bought cards! (The kicker? We FINALLY finished the cards and the poor kid was sick and didn't even get to attend his class party last year! I felt SO bad for him).

Well, this year I was so NOT cheating! We were making cards again damn it! I don't have many years of this cute card stuff left and I was not wasting another year! I am pleased to report that while I did all the cutting, he did the pasting, and wrote his name 21 times, with a whole lot less tears and fights. The best part? It only took one week! Yahoo!! Now, that's some improvement! Maybe next year it will only take a day :)

I hope everyone has a most wonderful Valentine's Day and gets to spend the day with those they love! xxoo