Pasta Patterns

Tonight we watched a friend while her parents had a night out. I planned some activities for the kids to do. We broke out the Wacky Mac and some string for a fun and simple project. The gals made colorful necklaces. But Avery decided to turn his into a math lesson about patterns. He loves all things MATH.

And, of course, it was NOT a necklace. Its a pattern hanger, which fits nicely over the doorknob.

The gals ran off wearing their new necklaces. Avery played a little Super Mario. But he returned to the kids table where the bowl of pasta shapes was sitting, apparently abandoned and lonely. So, Avery seized the moment to create a "Gear Machine" out of the penne and piccolini shapes.

However, he cleaned it all up before I got a picture of the final project. I never really considered that the little wheel shapes could make a great gear machine, but I suppose that's something you learn from a son? Maybe an engineer?

Beating The First Day Blues

Sometimes moms have a tough day when a child starts Kindergarten.  I call it "The First Day Blues." Well, I've got some ideas to make mom's day MUCH BETTER and it, surprisingly, does not involve a pedicure... although now that I think of it, is not a bad idea....
I digress...
Turn your frown upside down by planning your very own First Day of School Party. Spend the day planning the festivities instead of drowning the My-Baby-Is-All-Grown-Up sorrows in Death By Chocolate. Before you know it, it will be time to pick 'em up from school and your house will look like a ton of fun. You may remember this post from Avery's first day of Preschool last year.

After leaving the parking lot, put the tissues down and get to it! You'll make 3 stops. Party Store, Bakery/Grocery Store, Library.

First stop: Library/Bookstore:
Depending on the budget, you may want to check out several school themed books for your child, or you can visit your local bookstore to buy one as a special Back To School gift.

At the Party Store, grab the following:

Balloon Bouquet

Plates, napkins, tablecloth

Hanging Garland

Banner Kit to create "First Day Of School"

Table Centerpiece

Next stop: bakery/grocery store

Cupcakes!

Ask the baker if they have any school themed toppers. My bakery had red apples. PERFECT!

Drop off your goodies at home. Decorating is a snap. Set up your decor around your kitchen table. Hang the garland, set up the banner. Place the balloons so they are easily seen but not in the way. Display your library books. When you are all set, head to Starbucks drive-thru then off to get a pedicure before joining the long line of moms just like you who are excited to welcome home their Kindergarteners!

Now I'm The Mom ...

 I learned A LOT from my mommy ... and I thought about that last night as I was taking care of my sick daughter.

I was holding MH's hair back when she was throwing up. She asked me to rub her back. Then she needed to be held. I whispered softly while she was gripping the toilet in her tiny little hands, "Its okay, Mommy is here."  I remembered how my mom would talk calmly to me, hold me, rub my belly, and sit with me as I was sick.

I thought of my mom in the middle of the night as I changed MH's sheets. I helped her to the bathroom, wiped her little mouth, put her in new PJs, then laid her on the floor as I gave her a fresh bed. I have a very strong memory of my mom helping me like that. And when I was sick, being taken care of was the best part. I remember the comfort I felt lying half asleep on the floor. I was sick, tired, and in need of help ... but not the least bit worried or scared. I probably fell fast asleep before my mom was able to get all 4 corners of the fitted sheet to stay in place!

Now, I'm the mom who changes the sheets and lysols everything in sight. And I jump at every little noise I hear in the middle of the night when one of my children is sick. I am the one who is hopelessly tired in the morning after such unpleasant events. Now I'm the mom ... which means I pray! I pray for my sick kids to be healed, and for everyone to have rest.

Mercifully, God healed her from whatever stomach bug she had.  And I know it was God ... because I prayed and told him I knew all about Job and how he allows his children to be touched, bothered ... so I told Him that I knew he could also stop it. And, mercifully, He did!

This week has been the busiest ever for Chris. He has been at the East Campus for most of the week, coming home only to sleep a little and go right back. Its a very big week for him. The kids and I were having a great time enjoying each other and playing around town until Captain Stomach Bug came about. Satan was trying to steal my contentment and give me something to gripe about. Also, something to disrupt our calm home and distract Chris or make him feel badly that I am taking care of a sick child while he has to be away. Well, I was NOT going to have any of that mess. So I talked to God about it and He heard me.

And when God answers prayer, we are supposed to tell about what God has done instead of a mediocre nod ...like a "Yeah, by the way, thanks for that. .. I deserved it." I believe God still heals. And I am so thankful for it!

Laundry Help

They wanted to help ... so I let them handle it. Team work!

Saving by Spending?

I found a great site, thanks to my friend Angela, that is all about saving money when shopping. I decided to try it out to see if it would work for me. It involves a little labor of collecting coupons from the Sunday paper and printing some from the Internet. So far, it has been totally worth it.
Today I went to Target and saved $54!
Here's how I did it: I split my items into two purchases at the register
Purchase 1:

I used the Target sale to my advantage and got a $5 Target gift card for buying 3 qualifying items. I use this stuff anyway, so buying it when its on sale is a good idea for me. Of course, I had a couple coupons. They only took $2 off, but its still a savings.
My total for this purchase was $11.37 (or $6.37 if you count the gift card).

Purchase 2:

I used coupons for almost all the items, making some of them free, and some just pennies. I referred to my two recent favorite sites Hip2Save and Totally Target to know what's on sale, what coupons to use, how to use them well and get the most for my money. This is what I got!
My total for the second purchase was $3.26! I used the $5 gift card to pay for it ... and still have some left for next time =) We don't usually use all the toiletries, but since they were free, I thought I'd pick them up anyway and donate them to a charity or include them in boxes to be sent to soldiers.

Check out my receipt!

To make this deal even sweeter, some of my free items will qualify for two $5 SC Johnson rebates! That's another $10 in savings!

And to brighten my day a little more, I found this little treasure in my mailbox when I got home.

Playing with the Lamms

(playing on the trampoline in the sprinklers)

The Lamms moved to Texas just about the same time we did last year. Our mutual friend, Rachel, introduced us to each other and we have been Facebook friends ever since. It took us almost one year to meet up ... and we are so glad we did. The kids (and moms) had a fun-filled day. We left home just after breakfast and came home at bedtime. The kids were exhausted, and I was energized to talk with a new friend.
Here are some pictures from our day:

MH, Georgia, Jude, and Avery eating lunch at a HUGE church in town. They have the largest indoor playground ever, and a a cafe that serves Chick-fil-a and Starbucks. That is play date heaven!

Georgia and Mary Hannah became fast friends!

Mary Hannah wanted to hold her hand the whole time!

Monkey jumping!

Ring around the Rosie

Simplify

I don't have many pictures on the wall. That may or may not be intentional. However, there is one that now hangs right above the kitchen sink. It just says "Simplify."

Haha ... Sometimes I feel that fewer hours in the kitchen may be better! Less cooking, less cleanup, fewer dirty dishes ... but that is not really the point.

The sign hangs there to remind me to reflect on what is truly important to me. I don't know about you, but sometimes for me its so easy to get caught up in all the "stuff" that I forget about the things I already have. When I simplify, I get rid of the extras and appreciate the basics. Faith, Family, Time ...

Sometimes less is more, a lot more.

Her Highness Turns 3

I tried something new this year for Mary Hannah's birthday. I made a cake. Not just an ordinary cake. It was a complicated little sucker. But it turned out pretty well!

MH and I toured the aisles of the craft store where I became well acquainted with every cake and icing item Wilton sells! MH chose the Princess Castle cake.

5 hours later I had greased, floured, baked, leveled, made icing, tinted icing (and my fingers), and tried out every icing decorating tip I had. Most of all, I had conquered something I never dreamed of doing.

MH loved the cake. We all did! It tasted soooooo good!

Here's a little video of the cake's big moment:

Running Running Running

Since we moved to Pearland I've had a lot of time on my hands. Luckily, the gym is only a few stop lights away. The kids like the Kids Club, and I like the classes. In our first few weeks, Zumba and Pilates filled my schedule. I used the fitness schedule as my own, giving me a purpose and a reason to be somewhere ... somewhere other than on the couch in my PJs. It was going just fine, but it started to get a little lonely. Fitness is always easier with a partner!

A few weeks ago, I met a friend, at Chick-fil-A of course, who quickly became my running partner. It was just the thing I needed. Within 2 weeks I have gone from barely running 1/2 mile to regularly running 3, and sometimes even 6 miles! And I am very excited about it. I really never thought I could do it. But I have.

In 3 short weeks, I will be running my first ever "race". Its a quick 3K, but a great place for me to start. And in 6 weeks I will run my very first 5K! Maybe in a couple months I'll post before and after photos.

The Hokey Pokey

(Avery's hands and feet)

Our family had a fun time after dinner playing The Hokey Pokey. Thanks to a great idea I got from Toddler Time at Chick-fil-A we put a colorful twist on the game. Everyone had colored stickers on hands and feet. Instead of "put your right hand in," it was "put your blue dot in." What a fun way for Mary Hannah to learn her colors, especially since everyone's colors were in different places! No copy cats allowed!

A Very Thankful day

Some pictures from our Thankful Thusday... I am just so thankful to be with my kids!






And a little video of our kids playing. Mary Hannah really cracked me up!

Red Box Movie Night

Have you ever seen a red box? Do you know what that is? Its a dollar a day movie rental machine. You chose the movie you want to see, swipe your credit card and out pops the movie. You are charged upon return of the movie. How cool is that? 

We have one right outside our favorite grocery store. Today was grocery day, so I decided to make it movie night, too.

We made our own pizzas and movie watching treats. At Avery's request, we made cinnamon rolls and popcorn. 

We all enjoyed the movie. It was very creative and light-hearted. The kids enjoyed the fantasy. Okay, okay... so did I.

It started with a BANG!... Literally

Today was my first day back as a stay at home mom! We started with a trip to the Dr. for updated vaccinations. Obviously, not the most exciting start for the kids. But its important, so we do it. As a reward for enduring the "shots" we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch and the playground. Twas a glorious plan!

The kids and I just sat down at our table when a very kind police officer came over to ask if the silver car in the parking lot was mine.

That is never a good sign!!!

Someone had hit my car! Add to that the smaller offenses at my table: Mary Hannah's chicken fell on the floor. She was crying loudly because Avery got to eat the cherry on the top of the milkshake. Avery exclaims "Great! Now our day is ruined!"

Pop! Psssssssssssssssssssstttttttttttttttt... that's the sound of the air rushing out of my balloon. It was hardly lunchtime on my first day back with the kids when BANG, we have to deal with this. Ugh! 30 minutes and one police report later I was still determined to have a great time (and to immediately contact the auto body shop!). I recognized this as a teachable moment for Avery. He needed to know that accidents happen and we'd go on. So we got a milkshake and played extra long in the playground.

There is always a bright side to everything. For today, the bright side for me is that Chick-fil-A now offers milkshakes in a smaller size. And I had one!