Wordless Wednesday: 8-28-2013

It's too early, I'm not opening my eyes. And, get that
 camera out of my face!

Trying on hats at the store, and looking pretty
handsome!

Craft-Along Blog Hop

I have always been a crafty person. I enjoy everything from painting, to knitting, to scrap-booking and everything in between. But usually I limit these crafts to things that I complete. Last week was different, I involved my kids. And I showed you how we made butterflies using their foot prints{link}. Through these paintings I learned something, my kids are crafty too!

Not only were my children grinning from ear to ear as they were making a giant mess smudging their feet into the paint, but they also excitedly squeal whenever they walk into the kitchen and see their paintings hanging on the wall. Bailey has to tell me what she did to make her painting and explain which painting belongs to which kid.

Their joy and excitement got me thinking that I really should involve them in more of my crafting activities. Thus, the Craft-Along blog hop was born! Beginning next week, on the first and third Monday of every month I'm going to host a Craft-Along blog hop. Feel free to link up any crafts/cooking activities that you have completed with or for your family!

For our first official project, we're going to attempt bubble painting! That shouldn't be messy, right? ;0) I can't wait to see what you and your family create!

Top 5 Saturday Laughs: 8-24-2013

It's been a crazy busy week, my first week back to school for the year. Our district decided to do something they have never done before and threw a pep-rally to get the teacher's excited. It was amazing! There were more than eight thousand teachers and staff members in attendance. We watched performances from a local high school band, the Panther cheerleaders and the Bobcat cheerleaders plus multiple motivational speakers. I'm pretty sure I could be one of the cheerleaders, after a lot of surgery! ;0)

I'm linking up with Melissa again over at The Mommyhood Chronicles!

5.  Bailey fell down the stairs tonight, but only the last 2. She wasn't hurt, but did manage to scare herself pretty bad. Ty heard her crazy screams and immediately came down stairs to ask if she needed to snuggle with Tyler.

4.  Because I'm an awesome mom, I've been bribing Bailey to get her potty trained. She's pretty much got it down now, but big brother isn't ready to let go of the treats yet. 3 hours after she went on the potty last, he told her she could have a sucker because she went potty and sent her downstairs after one. She listens to him for some reason and told me "Mommy I get tucker I go potty" which is Bailey speak for I went potty, where's my sucker.

3.  The kids were playing in the front yard and I decided to let our little dog out with them for a minute. Within seconds the little stinker did her business in the yard. I grabbed a bag, cleaned it up and started walking it to the trash can. Bailey followed me throwing a fit because she wanted to carry the bag full of, well... Go figure.

2.  Going along with number 4, whenever ANYONE goes to the bathroom in this house Bailey claps, cheers them on and then exclaims "Yay, we go Donald's!" (Yay, we get to go to McDonald's!)

1.  Little Miss is too grown for her own britches. She now grabs things she knows she shouldn't have, and even things that are actually her's while proudly showing them off and yelling "Ha Ha!"

Have a great weekend!

Pinterest Project #5

For the first time in a long time I decided to make a New Year's Resolution for myself to complete some of those thousands of Pinterest projects that I've been pinning. My goal was to complete one project a week and because I am  such a go-getter, I have managed to complete 4. Yup 4, and it's been 8 months.

Anywho, I had purchased the items necessary to make the butterfly footprint painting (link) that has been floating around for a while and just hadn't gotten around to completing it until last week. Both kids were dirty and stinky from being outside and needed showered anyway, so I thought what a good time to get their feet covered in paint!

Since I was also covered in paint I didn't get pictures of them helping to create the pictures. But, here are a few pictures of the project through it's different stages. (I apologize for the horrible pictures, but you'll get the idea.)

The beginning, 2 blank canvases that were painted already painted white for a base.

I've read where other's have painted onto their feet, I found this easier.

I like to use 2 colors so they are more symmetrical, anal I know.

Add the antennae, a body, their name and...

viola!

I love them! They turned out so cute, and I know in a few short years I look up and them and remember just how little they used to be! :0)

A Fond Farewell

You've been a major part of our lives for the last 2 years, this is a bittersweet goodbye. I'm excited to no longer have to frantically search the house to figure out which toy you've been stuffed in, but saying goodbye also means that my little girl is growing up and that makes me want to cry.

I've been avoiding taking Bailey's only lovey, her paci, away from her for a while now. We tried to take it away and failed in our attempt a few weeks ago (read Dad gave it back to her because he couldn't take the screaming). But this past week, I seized the opportunity.

I had already begun to limit her paci use to only in her crib and had collected all of the random paci's that were hiding in the bottoms of the toy bins. One morning, she went back into her room and snuck her last paci out of her crib, and left it on my bed. It 'disappeared' a few minutes later and hasn't been seen since.

She complained for a few minutes when I laid her down for her nap that day. I could hear the sad whines coming from her bedroom 'My paci aw gone.' So I picked the pieces of my heart up off the ground, squished them back together, and turned the tv up just a little bit louder. She hasn't mentioned it in a few days so I think we're past this phase. Hopefully she doesn't figure out which drawer I hid them in (I should probably take care of that soon).

Thank you Nuk for all of the wonderful memories. We're going to miss you around here.

Top 5 Saturday Laughs: 8-17-13

It's hard to believe summer vacation will be over (for me) in 2 days. I'm excited to get back to work, but sure am going to miss those morning snuggles with little Miss Bailey. The kids were on a roll this week! I hope you enjoy their craziness. I'm linking up with Melissa over at The Mommyhood Chronicles again!

5.  We have 2 dogs and Bailey refuses to call Zoe by name, but has no problem saying the other dog's name. Every morning she wakes up and says 'hi doggy!' to Zoe. I tell her that the dog's name is Zoe and ask her to say Zoe. Her response every time is 'Doggy!'

4.  I told Bailey it was nap time and she told me 'No want nap. Want watch Mitty Mouse in Daddy bed.' When did she get so big!?

3.  Bailey has recently decided she doesn't want to eat. But if I offer her plate to Tyler, she'll gobble her food up in less than a minute!

2.  {This one isn't so funny, but is sweet!} We've been explaining to Tyler that our 12 year old dog isn't going to live forever to prepare him for the inevitable. He asked me one morning to take a picture of her so he never forgets her.

1.  Tyler thinks of the weirdest things when we're in the car. One afternoon he announced, "Mom, I wish you could open up the windows so the hot air can mix with the cold air that's in the car and make rain."

Have a great weekend!

{Almost} WW: 8-14-2013

We're trying to make the best of the last few days of summer by getting in as much fun as possible. There is an adorable sprinkler park a few miles from our house, Nevin Park. I took the kids there yesterday and they had a blast! The park has a shade top on it making the perfect place to play in water, and stay out of the sun!

Tomorrow we're going to go check out Despicable Me 2 (I know, we're a little late on that one). What are you doing to enjoy these last few days?

Trendy Tot Tuesday

This is my first time linking up with Trendy Tot Tuesday. My little darling has recently become very interested in fashion. She won't go anywhere without a pretty in her hair, and was like a kid in the candy store when we were buying her new shoes last week. I have never been one to pay attention to or to care about fashion, but having a little girl sure has changed me!

Shirt and shorts by Faded Glory.

Custom hair bloom by Hair Blooms By Kristen.

Shoes by Air Walk.

Top 5 Saturday Laughs: 8-9-2013

It's been a laid back week around our house. We've all been trying to relax before heading back to school in just a few days. Did I just say days? Yipes!! No worries though, the two munchkins still managed to provide us with a few laughs! Linking up with Melissa over at The Mommyhood Chronicles!

5a.  This happened a few years ago, but it sets up the next laugh and I figured you'd want to know. Tyler was 3, and we had just asked him to go brush his teeth. A few minutes later I heard him gagging and throwing up. I went into the bathroom to find that he had used a hand soap/water mix (which he made himself!) to brush his teeth and rinse with.

5b.  Bailey loves to wash her hands, but she never seems to get all of the bubbles off. I caught her licking them off her hand on night and told her not too because it's gross. Tyler quickly informed her "Yeah, and it'll make you throw up too!"

4.  I got my wisdom teeth pulled out late last week. Tyler hates it when I'm not my normal self. He repeatedly asked me if I was ok and if I could talk yet.

3.  Bailey has finally figured out that she is her own person. Now, when she sees her picture she squeals "Dat me!" as she beats herself in the chest. She's also enjoying finding her reflection everywhere!

2.  Bailey got in trouble the other day and proceeded to run upstairs, go into her room, and slam the door. She's 26 months old.

1a. Again, this one sets up the next laugh. Tyler was sitting on the couch with Brandon and I watching tv. Out of no-where he tells us "I'm not ready to be a Daddy yet." We were confused.

1b.  We've been trying to break Ty of sucking his thumb by only allowing him to do so in his bed. I was teasing him tonight and told him when I tucked him in to take it out of his mouth. His response:  "I'm in my bed mom. And, I'm not sleeping with my wife." Apparently Grandma told him he could suck his thumb until he gets married.<---- Explains laugh 1a!

Have a great weekend!! :0)

Wordless Wednesday: 8-7-2013

  {When chalk meets water...}

My Love/Hate Relationship With School

The count down is here. I'm already beginning to receive the mass e-mails and phone calls. In just a few short days I will be headed back through the front door of school in preparation for my new students who will arrive a week later. Part of me is super excited for the return, and part of me not so much. Being a working mom often leaves me torn between my two worlds. Between the hugs, kisses and words of affection from my own children and my love for teaching.

To re-assure myself, here are my top 5 reasons for loving teaching:

5.  The adult interaction! Although there really is very little, it is nice to have a conversation once or twice a day with someone over 3 feet tall.

4.  Lighting the fire! I love showing my students how fun learning is, and watching them get excited over new experiences.

3.  Making a difference. It's amazing to think that one person can make such a difference in the life of a child. I like to think that I will forever be an influence on each and every one of my children. I mean come on, who doesn't remember their Kindergarten teacher?!?!

2.  The challenge. Have you ever tried to keep 24 five year old's quiet and engaged all by yourself? Nuf said.

1. I love what I do. I love teaching. I love watching them enter the room not evening knowing there name and leave me reading like a champion.

I just convinced you to become a teacher didn't I! No? Okay, so it's not a job for everyone, but I really enjoy it. I'm going to miss my babies like CRAZY and part of me will forever wish that I could stay home and enjoy them while they are still little, but that just won't work for our family.

To all the SAHMs out there, I'm a little jealous. To all the working moms, I feel for you.

Follow Me!

After re-creating myself in the blogging world, I have finally come to the realization that they really are taking away GFC. So, come on over to Bloglovin and follow me!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Time For a Change

It's time to shake things up a bit around here. When I started this blog 5 years ago I really didn't know what I was doing (not that I really do now either!). Since then my family has grown and changed, and it's time for my blog to reflect that change. But I'm not sure where to go?

1.  I need a new name. One that won't be as easy to trace directly back to my kids. That way, when they are older, their friends can't google search them and find out what they said/did as youngsters and use it to tease them. But I'm in no way creative. Suggestions?

2.  Debating a new platform. Stick with blogger, switch to wordpress, or get my own website?

3.  Re-design. I'm not sure yet if this is a task that I am capable of or if I should hire someone to complete it for me.

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. I need all the help I can get! Hopefully, in the next few months you'll see some major changes going on!

Top 5 Saturday Laughs: 8-3-2013

It's been a pretty laid back week. Mom and Dad took Tyler Saturday and kept him for a few days so Bailey and I had some much needed mommy/daughter time. Then, Mom brought Ty back just in time for me to get my wisdom teeth taken out. Thankfully, she hung around for a couple of days to help with the kids. Thanks Mommy!

Want to share your family's laughs? Link up with Melissa over at The Mommyhood Chronicles!

5.  Bailey and Tyler were playing with some action figure toys in Grandma's van. Bailey threw one on the floor of the van and it just missed the dogs water dish. Tyler says:  It's okay if it goes in the water dish. It's like a swimming pool for them!

4.  When we were up in Michigan visiting Brandon's step-dad, Tyler insisted on taking his hat off while telling him "I'm touching your baldy spot!!"

3.  Bailey has learned from the master. Now, when they are arguing over a toy she will immediately tell me "me, mommy, me first!" (Which is Bailey speak for I had it first Mommy and exactly what big brother tells me every time!)

2.  Bailey was playing with Sleeping Beauty and Tyler explained:  "I don't like her. All she does is sleep."  Typical boy.

1.  I took the kids outside for some sprinkler fun and this is how they spent that time:

That's right, drinking out of the sprinkler.