Aggieland Mommy

Texas Aggie Cookies

2011-11-22T16:38:00.004-06:00

I finally got to make some Aggie cookies for a customer. I see a few things I will do better next time, but these are not bad for the first batch.

For more cookie pictures, or for ordering information, check out Sweet Station on Facebook.

All Saints' Day

2011-11-01T21:48:00.003-05:00

I did it! I made some simple saint costumes using pillowcases thanks to Catholic Icing and Shower of Roses. Another suggestion from Lacy at CI was to use a t-shirt that is turned inside out. If you cut out the neckhole just right, you get a little St. Francis cap, too.

Here they are: Blessed Kateri, my little angel, and St. Dominic.

I'm already planning for next year.

Costumes for All Saints' Day

2011-10-31T08:18:00.004-05:00

I am a procrastinator this year....no, I just didn't have time to even try to put together costumes for my kids. I just started my candy/cookie business on October 1, and it's off to a good start so I've dedicated a lot of time to that.

I must admit my knowledge of saints is still in the beginning stage and since this will be the first year we can attend the celebration, I am frantically trying to put something together. I quickly turned to Catholic Icing for ideas. There are so many wonderful ideas that I became overwhelmed and started putting them altogether in a spreadsheet. That's my OCD kicking in and it's okay if you laugh at me. Anyway, I found that all you really need is a good robe (pillowcase with holes cut or an adult t-shirt turned inside out if you're really in a hurry) in brown, white, black, maybe red or green. For a veil, you could use a skirt. Some costumes require rope around the waist. Then you add some accessories. It seems so much simpler when written this way, but looking at all the fabulous ideas on the blog was overwhelming.

So I stayed up a litle late last night making a spreadsheet. I am grouping all girls' costumes and then all boys'. Then I am grouping them by color of robe. Last is a column listing what accessories are needed. It makes it seem so much simpler (in my head at least).

If anyone can tell me how to attach a spreadsheet or put it on a website you can link to, let me know so I can share. Until then, if you leave your email address, I'll be happy to email a copy of the unfinished spreadsheet to you.

Snack Time- Time Saver

2011-10-11T17:11:00.005-05:00

For the first week of school, I found myself arguing with the kids about which snacks they could have. I wasted so much time trying to explain what was healthy and what was not, so I made a list of acceptable snacks. Then I made this picture "menu" so the kids could choose for themselves. The first few days we used it, they tried to ask me if they could have Oreos or candy. I just pointed them over to the pictures and told them if it isn't there, they can't have it. Now they take care of their own snacks and I have more time to get the smaller kids theirs.

This list comes in handy when I am making my grocery list as well.

Make Your Own Puzzles

2011-10-07T09:19:00.005-05:00

I was cutting boxes to make slotted disks when Lauren took the pieces and started putting them back together. It hit me that I could make my own puzzles using empty food boxes. You can make simple puzzles for 2-3 years olds by cutting 4-6 squares out of a picture with few details (Cap'n Crunch Cereal), or you can make them harder by cutting more squares, and by using scissors with different patterns.

For over 150 more fun and inexpensive things to do with kids, check out my Summer Bucket List.

You will need:

empty boxes, scissors, a paper cutter, baggies, pencil, ruler

1) Cut the face of the box away from the rest of the box.

2) Using a ruler, draw your puzzle design on the back. The more puzzles I made, the more designs I created.

3) Using scissors or a paper cutter, cut the pieces out.

4) Store in a baggie.

Marble Painting

2011-09-10T22:45:00.004-05:00

You will need:
masking tape
cardstock
tempera paint
scissors
small containers for paint
lots of marbles
paper towels
another adult to help you if you have more than one child
a container to roll the marbles in such as a cut cereal box. Make sure it is 1" wider than the paper on all sides. Flats from soda cases are the best. 1. Fill containers with enough paint to cover the marbles.

2. Tape the paper inside the box.

3. Drop 2-3 marbles in the paint and swirl the container, making sure you cover the marbles.

4. Take the marbles out and place them on the paper.

5. Tilt the box back and forth to create different patterns.
6. Repeat with different colors.

7. Let dry and carefully remove from the cardboard.

Each masterpeice is unique, just like my kids.

Shaving Cream Swirl Art

2011-09-10T22:03:00.006-05:00

This activity was so much fun...and just as messy. This must be done outside, trust meIf your kids are young like mone, you will need an adult helper. 1. Spread a layer of shaving cream as easily as you can into a glass or plastic container.

2. Squirt a few drops of paint into the shaving cream. Repeat, making sure you keep the colors apart. We squirt ours into the 4 corners.

3. Run a knife back and forth, creating a swirl pattern.

4. Lay a piece of cardstock onto the shaving cream and pat it down, making sure every part of the paper is making contact with the shaving cream. 5. Lift the paper and quickly scrape the excess shaving cream off with a knife or paper towel. The knife left neat marks.

6. Let your masterpiece dry while you make more.

7. My kids probably would have used a whole ream of cardstock if I would have let them. Let the pages dry, pressing them under weighted items to prevent curling.

8. You can use the finished product to make cards.

Costume Organization

2011-09-10T09:44:00.004-05:00

There are 2 little girls in our family and both of them LOVE dressing up. Our little boy likes to dress up in his old Halloween costumes, too. We used to put their costumes in a basket, but we just ran out of room. This is my solution.

Organizing my arts and crafts supplies

2011-09-10T08:41:00.004-05:00

I have seen this idea on several blogs and in the Lowe's magazine. I decided to organize my arts and crafts supplies, but now I want to buy another shoe organizer to hang in the pantry and keep all my pasta bags, seasoning packets, chocolate chip morsels, etc.... anything that comes in a bag.

Get Ready For School Routine ...a little trick to make it better.

2011-08-29T08:56:00.006-05:00

My oldest has ADD. When she was in KG, each and every morning was a struggle no matter how much we prepped the night before, however, we did not know at that time that she had ADD. In first grade she was diagnosed so it made my husband and I more patient, but it was still frustrating, especially since the medicine does not kick in until we have left for school.

Lauren started 2nd grade this year and Caleb started Kindergarten. We wake them both up at 6:30. Caleb is ready no later than 7. Lauren needs constant reminders on eating, putting her socks and shoes on QUICKLY, brushing her teeth, and letting me do her hair. She is sooo sloooow. We even turn the TV off which isn't fair to the little ones. This doesn't make for a great morning for anybody.

I racked my brain for a better system. A picture chore chart might work for some, but she does some things upstairs and some things downstairs. Plus, out of sight, out of mind. The chart must go with her.

It finally hit me.

I bought a package of 5 plastic bracelets at King Dollar, and I wrote a task on each one. 1) Get dressed; 2) Eat; 3) Socks and Shoes; 4) Brush your teeth; 5) Hair. When my husband or I wake her up, we put the bracelets on her. After she completes a task, she takes the bracelet off.

It worked beautifully this morning. I am not sure it made her go much faster, but there was a lot less arguing and nagging on our part and she could look at her wrist to see what was left to do.

Road Trip Fun for Kids

2011-08-08T22:22:00.004-05:00

We are about to go to Austin for a few days and from there we have decided to head to the beach. With 4 kids. Under that age of 7. You know what that means. Fighting. Lots of fighting.

When we drove to my aunt and uncle's house last month, I started making up my own Road Trip Bingo. I brainstormed things the kids would see along the way. I tried not to have too many restaurants. I added water towers and oil derricks. I came home and created my own bingo boards using a simple spreadsheet and pictures I copied from the internet. Since my kids ARE so young, the method of play will be simple. Anytime the kids see one of the items on their sheet, they will mark it off of their board. I'm not sure there will be a prize for the 1st one to finish, but we're thinking of having "good behavior tickets" and we may give them some extra tickets upon completion.

Another idea I'm excited about is one I found on I Can Teach My Child blog. Make your won Paint With Water pages....pack them in a gallon-sized ziplock bag...add a paintbrush....don't forget your cup with a lid and a strawhole for the paintbrush and you're ready to go.

Also going in the baggies are these printable hidden pictures from Highlights magazine. There are 2 pages so be sure you click to see the next page. The 2nd page has about 138 more pages.
I have printed wordsearches for my older kids and here are some "What is Different" pages. Here is another one by Family Fun.
Here are 400 travel game ideas on Family Fun's website.
I am trying to find some "Crack the Code" pages. If I had more time, I'd make my own using my rubber stamp collection. I suppose you could use the symbols on your computer as well.

You could play The Alphabet Game. Start with the letter "A" and find one on a sign, truck, building or license plate, say the word and then move on to the next letter. You can do this as a competition or together as a family for the younger beginning readers. The first one to get to the letter "Z" is the winner!
Another version of this game:
Someone picks a theme (foods, animals, places, girl names, boy names, bands, songs etc) and you pick an item that corresponds with each letter of the alphabet. You can do this several ways... We usually go Person 1: A, Person 2: B, Person 3: C, etc,. But you can do it where each person does A and then each person does B. If you want to get competitive about it, you can do one letter until someone can't think of an item, and that person loses that round!

How about The License Plate Game:Print a U.S. map off the computer and color in the states as you see license plates from each one. For smaller kids, you could copy and paste pictures of each states' license plate.

Pass around a "Treasure Bottle": Use a large soda bottle or a large clean peanut butter jar. Fill it no more than 2/3 full with uncooked rice or birdseed. Then put in about 20-25 small objects (safety pin, plastic bugs, button, M&M, nut, bolt, paper clip, penny, bead, piece of macaroni, tiny lego, and other misc. toy pieces or stuff that is probably rolling around in your kitchen junk drawer.) Keep a count of the items and write down the number of items on the outside of the bottle. Put the lid on tight. Let the kids take turns rolling the bottle around in their hands until they find them all. Kids of all ages love this game. You can make more than one treasure bottle so kids don't have to take turns - put different items in different bottles

Play "Find 100": Choose a color or an object and then count them until you find 100 of that item. Popular Find 100 items are American flags, statues, rivers, water falls, churches, red cars, etc. A competitive variation has each person choose a different item or color of car that passes you, and have a race to 100

There are many more ideas out there. Check out Momsminivan.com for more ideas with printables.

Summer Bucket List #1 Dye pasta or rice

2011-07-27T22:20:00.007-05:00

You will need:

Dried pasta of all shapes and sizes or rice

rubbing alcohol

snack bags

food coloring

measuring cups

yarn to make necklaces or bracelets

1. Add about 1/2 c pasta to snack-sized baggies. We had 8 different colors so we started with 8 baggies.

2. Add 1/8 c alcohol, or just enough to coat the pasta.

3. Add about 4 drops of food coloring and mix the pasta around until mixed and coated.
4. Allow the pasta to sit, turning every 20 minutes or so, for about an hour.

5. Remove pasta to a tray to finish drying.

6. Let kids make jewelry.

My Sweet Spencer

2011-07-19T16:07:00.002-05:00

I am ashamed to admit that I don't have a journal for Spencer. He is #4 and I always feel like I am chasing my tail around so I'm going to start here and hopefully buy that journal soon.

Today when Spencer woke up from his nap, he was a little fussy so I gave him his milk. He put it down and did the baby sign for "eat" and even told me, "Eeeee." I'm not sure if my other kids were signing at this age, but we're so excited to be able to communicate with him.

His first word was "duck" but it took us some time to figure out what he has been saying because it comes out, "guck."

So many exciting milestones are in the near future.

Supplies in my Supply Closet

2011-07-07T11:43:00.006-05:00

I have made a list of just about everything you need to complete my Summer Fun Bucket List.

Bingo stampers (dot)
Borax (For MYO Bouncy Balls)
Bubble Wands
Buttons
Candy Molds (Plastic, found at hobby stores in cake decorating)
cardboard from cereal boxes
Cardstock
Colored pencils
Cookie Sheets
Corn syrup
Cornstarch
Cotton balls
Cotton swabs
Crayons
Different colored Sharpies
Dishwashing liquid-Dawn
Dixie cups or empty yogurt containers
Empty boxes of all sizes for #s 58, 151, 147, 160, 155, and 60)
Empty plastic containers with spouts for #148 (syrup, ketchup, jelly)
Extra white flat sheets for painting
Felt
Flour
flour-self rising
Foam stamps for painting
Foil cupcake liners
Foil-heavy gauge (for #159)
Food coloring
Fuzzy balls
Giant boxes
Glass Jars (empty)
Glitter
Glue-Elmer's
Goggle eyes
Hole punch
Ice cube trays (different shapes)
Ink pads and rubber stamps
Kool-Aid packs (for #25 and SnS watercolors)
Lemon Juice for #115
Liquid bluing (crystal rock garden)
Liquid dish soap
Liquid starch
Marbles
Markers
Medicine droppers
marshmallows
Muffin tins
Old toothbrushes
Paint by Number ($ Tree)
Paint Rollers
paint: powdered tempera,fingerpaints, etc...
Paintbrushes (various sizes)
paper
Paper bags big and small
Paper cutters (scrapbook style)
Paper on a roll
paper plates
Paper towel tubes
pasta-different shapes
Perler beads
Pipe cleaners
Plaster of Paris figures to paint
Plastic squeeze bottles
Popsicle sticks
Print Doodle Art Pages
PVC Pipes
Q-Tips
Rice
Rock salt
Rocks to paint
Rubber gloves
Salt
Sand
Sand molds (found 2/$1 at Dollar Tree)
Scissors
Sequins
Sharpies (all colors)
Shaving cream
sheet (flat)
Shortening
Small paper cups (Dixie Cups)
Soil & seeds & pots
Sponges
Spray bottles-check dollar store
Squirt Bottles (saline solution)
Stencils
Stepping Stone kits
Stick-on jewels
Straws
String
Sun Catchers to paint
Tempera paint
Tissue paper squares
Toothbrushes for #152 (6/$1 at Dollar Tree)
Toothpicks
unsweetened Kool-Aid mix
Vegetable Cans
Vegetable Oil
Vinegar (MYO watercolors)
Water colors
Wax paper
Wrapping paper tubes

Summertime Fun "Bucket List"

2011-06-01T10:16:00.046-05:00

Summertime fun does not have to cost a lot of money. Being the OCD listmaker that I am, I have a list of things I am going to do with my kids this summer. I am grateful to those that have shared their ideas with me.

If you choose, you can make your list on index cards and put them in a cute "bucket" so the kids can choose their activity of the day.

If you have several friends who are interested, you could have a craft day where each mom prepares the materials for one craft and you set up tables at someone's house where the children can go from table to table doing many different crafts.

1) Dye pasta/rice and let kids create jewelry and pictures.
2) Paint rocks (I don't know why, but kids love to do this). A note from my friend, Sandy, an experienced KG teacher and mom of 4 grown children:have your kids paint two rocks---one white, one black. Put out in the sun for a couple of hours, and then go check on them. The white rock will not be as hot as the black. Then... they could paint them according to the temp (white rocks....snow pic; black rocks---orange sun, etc
3) Make stepping stones (kits at Hobby Lobby) and paint these.
4) Paint by number (at Dollar Tree).
5) Fingerpaint. Click here for a recipe to make your own.
6) Paint with foam stamps and rollers (Oriental Trading Company has 2 sets).
7) Print Doodle Art pages and color
8) Homemade crayons-Melt little crayon stubs in foil cupcake liners. Cool and color with your new creation.
9) Bingo stamper (dot marker) coloring pages from Oriental Trading Company. Here are some free printable dot pages from DLTK, Making Friends, and Early Learning Activities.
10) Paint little plaster of Paris figurines found at Wal-Mart or Oriental Trading Company.
11) Paint sun catchers
12) Paint salt dough ornaments
13) Father's Day: Make a crossword or wordsearch about Daddy
14) Father's Day: Make a pennant banner
15) Father's Day: 10 things I love about Daddy
16) Father's Day:Using a transparency and Sharpie markers, make a stained glass picture for Dad.
17) Father's Day: Make a questionnaire for the kids to answer about Dad's favorite things.
18) Father's Day: Use tissue paper squares to make the word "Dad" or "Father"
19) Use perler beads (fusion beads) to make a picture for Dad.
20) Do rubbings of leaves, coins, a comb, etc...
21) Sand art- buy empty bottles at Hobby Lobby or Oriental Trading Company. Recipe to make your own colored sand here.
22) Make fingerprint pictures
24) Make stick puppets and have a puppet show
25) Make homemade popsicles
26) Make paper bag costumes/vests
27) Decorate visors with jewels or foam shapes
28) Make a windsock
29) Make a mobile
30) Make a mosaic with paper or tile pieces
31) Make Rice Krispie Treats
32) Make homemade ice cream
33) Make ice cream in a ziplock baggie recipe here.
34) Make homemade play-doh recipe here.
35) Ice Sculpting: Make lots of ice cubes (we have different shaped ice trays), drop food coloring in them, and let the kids build scupltures outside.
36) Go to a pottery painting place. Ours has specials on Wednesday.
37) Go bowling
38) Find out if your theater has specials for the summer
39) See if your library has a summer reading club. Our library has events for kids every Tuesday.
40) See if your bookstore (Half-Price Books) has a summer reading club
41) Get snow cones or buy a Snoopy Snow Cone machine and make them yourselves.
42) Go to the closest zoo
43) Go on a family bike ride
44) Just play in the sandbox
45) Go to the closest Children's Museum
46) Go ice skating
47) Go to a waterpark
48) Go to an amusement park
49) Go to the beach
50) Go fishing
51) Go camping (even in the backyard). It hits 100 degrees here daily so we could even set up a 2-3 man tent in the house.
52) Go ride Go Carts
53) Play miniature golf
54) Go to the Omni if you have one
55) Games Day
56) Puzzles Day- We have found tons of great puzzles at Dollar Tree. Dora, Princesses, Tinker Bell, Cars, Mickey Mouse, Pooh, and more.
57) Gather giant boxes and let the kids make a "city" in the backyard (firestation, school, McDonald's). Check out these adorable pictures from Frugal Family Fun blog.
58) Spray bottle painting. I found this blog with more examples. I bought each of my kids a white flat sheet at Anna's Linens for $4.99. Can't wait to let the kids loose on this one.
59) Lite Brite
60) Spin Art
61) Lemonade Stand
62) Make S'mores
63) Plant a garden
64) Make soap
65) Make candles
66) Play dress-up with the girls (make-up, mani/pedi, and hair)
67) Indoor scavenger hunt (save for a rainy day)
68) Outdoor scavenger hunt
69) 4th of July-Handprint painting flag (palm is blue, fingers alternate red and white)
70) 4th of July-Paint popsicle sticks like U.S. flag
71) 4th of July- Use red, white, and blue stars to create a sign for the door
72) 4th of July- Make a windsock
73) 4th of July- Make these cute stars to hang or use as a table decoration
74) Make a fort with blankets (rainy day)
75) Let the kids make a scrapbook using all the pictures you took of their Summer Fun.
76) Make a "fortune teller" to decide what to do today. See blog post with pictures here.
77) Go to a splash pad.
78) Create a sprinkler fun zone in your yard (Slip 'n slide, etc...) Family Fun magazine had a cute "kid" car wash you can make out of PVC pipes.
79) Alphabet scavenger hunt- kids must find something that starts with A, then B, etc.... through Z
80) Camera/picture scavenger hunt- if you trust your kids with your camera, send them out to take pics of certain things. We did this with our youth group and had to take pics in a phone booth, on a bridge, etc....
81) Make homemade bubbles. Recipe here. Dollar Tree has giant wands, or you can make your own.
82) Make homemade goop. Recipe here.
83) Make homemade sidewalk chalk.
84) Monoprint painting. See here.
85) Fly kites
86) Make face and body paint. See here.
87) Go to an outdoor concert. Here in Aggieland we have the Wolf Pen Amphitheater Saturday night concerts.
88) Service project: contact the local food bank and find out what they are in greatest need of, then ask friends and neighbors to help.
89) Buy window markers and let the kids go crazy...as long as they clean the windows when finished.
90) Make a pyramid out of empty vegetable cans and throw a ball to see how many you can knock down.
91) Make a birdseed biscuit.
92) Make a time capsule.
93) Make homemade lollipops.
94) Make Jell-o
95) Make cupcakes together
96) Visit new local parks. College Station has over 5 great public parks that have covers over the play equipment. Feed the ducks while you're there!
97) Make liquid sidewalk chalk.
98) Make homemade puffy paint.
99) Milk art
100) Movie time at home: make popcorn and have everyone's favorite candy on hand.
101) Texture scavenger hunt: You have to see this blog to appreciate. You make rubbings of certain things around the house and the kids have to figure out what it was.
102) Close-up picture scavenger hunt-Again, you have to see this blog to appreciate. Take pictures of various objects so close, that you only see a pattern. The kids have to find the item in the house.
103) Homemade marbled paper with shaving cream. Another great idea from the Having Fun at Home blog.
104) Ice cube painting. Find pictures here on Share & Remember blog.
105) Make fluffy flip-flops.
106) Paper dolls-My daughter was flipping through one of my activity books and found instructions on making paper dolls. I couldn't believe how excited she was. I got out some scrapbooking templates that have lots of different clothes and hair-styles and she couldn't wait to get started.
107) Paper mache
108) If you're really brave, set out a flat sheet or LARGE piece of paper for each child, plus all your painting supplies that they've already learned how to use, and see what creation they come up with.
109) Rinse out empty soup and veggie cans and let the kids paint them to help organize supplies: paintbrushes, scissors, popsicle sticks, etc....
110) Make "Gooey Gunk"
111) Make "Scratch & Sniff Watercolors"
112) Make "Bathtub Finger Paints"
113) Make "Funny Putty" aka Silly Putty
114) Make your own "Shrinky Dinks" here on Skip to my Lou blog.
115) Make "Invisible Ink"
116) Make "Magic Bubble Paint"
117) Make "Cotton Clay"
118) Buy a 3 foot wooden "stake" at Home Depot or Lowe's. Ask for some wood scraps and let the kids paint yard signs.
119) Make "Jewel & Gem Goop."
120) Make "Sand Castle Clay". Get your sand molds ready. We have found several at Dollar Tree.
121) Make "3-D Puffy Sand"
122) Make "Spray Chalk"
123) Make your own garden stones.
124) Make your own "Crystal Rock Garden."
125) Make "Cool Crayons"
126) Let the kids make/paint their own T-shirts
127) Make your own "Moon Sand" by Domestic Charm.
128) Ride a train.
129) Make "Homemade Bouncy Balls" by I Can Teach My Child blog.
130) 4th of July: Make and decorate sugar cookies: star, flag, US, bell, etc...
131) Fill an ice chest with water and different squirters, pitchers, etc... I found this idea on I Can Teach My Child
132) Make edible sand....again from I Can Teach My Child. I love her ideas.
133) Go to a baseball game. I wish we still lived close to the Texas Rangers, but even though was are in a small town, we can still go watch The Aggies or the Bryan Bombers.
134) Go to Chuck E Cheese for no reason other than summertime fun!
135) Put out a bag of marshmallows and a box of toothpicks and see what the kids can make.
136) Outdoor games: hopscotch, 2 square or 4 square, drop popsicle sticks into empty milk jugs, etc...
137) Attend a Saturday kids' workshop at Home Depot or Lowe's.
138) Attend Little Chef's School at H-E-B. Here in College Station it is Tuesday mornings and it is FREE!
139) Make an alphabet mat and do the activities suggested here on I Can Teach My Child.
140) Use Duplo or Mega Blocks to make math problems....there are so many options depending on your child's grade level. For pre-k you can write a numeral (8) on one block and then draw 8 objects on another block. Repeat until you have a variety. For older children you could show them how to snap 3+3+2 "pictures" to equal 8.
141) Make window paint found here on Living at the Whitehead Zoo blogspot. Let the kids paint the windows and clean them when they are finished.
142) Make your own watercolors from I Can Teach My Child. Then, when the kids are finished, use the leftovers to do #143.
143) Make your own Paint with Water Pages. I LOVED these books as a child and was so bummed to find you can't buy them at stores anymore. I can't wait to make these pages for my kids.
144) Get ready for bed as usual and go out for an ice cream treat in jammies.
145) 4th of July- Make these adorable Patriotic Paper Starbursts.
146) Father's Day: Make a treasure hunt for Dad to follow to find his gift(s).
147) Make these slotted disks from Having Fun at Home blog and let the kids build and build.
148) Make a water-wall using empty plastic bottles and containers, zip ties, and a strong board to fasten them to such as plywood). I found this idea on Share and Remember.
149) Blow straw painting found here on Family Fun.
150) Make a stained glass picture like this one.
151) Marble painting as seen here at Things to Make and Do.
152) Splatter Painting also found on Things to Make and Do blog.
153) Make your own Rainbow Crayons found here on Papersnitch Blog.

154) Make your own marble maze using old wrapping paper cardboard tubes-found here on Family Fun. Here is a similar idea using paper towel and toilet paper tubes.

155) Marble-ous Maze is where kids use straws and a shoe box lid or an empty box to create their own maze. Found here on Family Fun.

156) Play "Marble Launch" using an old pool noodle and some marbles.

157) Let the kids transform a window into "Non-Staining Glass" using tissue paper squares, plastic wrap, a glue stick, and a window.

158) Grab those annoying rubber spike balls (found at Dollar Tree), some tempera paint, and a large sheet, and let the kids make these "Monster Murals" found here at Family Fun.

159) Make these "Tin Types" using only scissors, Sharpies, and heavy gauge aluminum foil.

160) MYO puzzles- Cut the fronts off of several cereal boxes (cracker boxes, rice boxes, cookie boxes work too). On the back, divide the puzzle into as many pieces as you'd like, fewer pieces for smaller kids. Using a paper cutter, or fun-shaped scissors, cut out the pieces. My 6 year old pointed out she could color a picture on the back for a 2-sided puzzle.

161) Medicine dropper painting- Pick up some droppers for $1 each (with the squeeze end). Let the kids suction a small amount of paint and blow it out onto the paper.

162) Fun with Shaving Cream-Let the kids spray and play as found here on Kindergarten Creations. I like the idea of using dried markers, but you could also use food coloring.

163) Tether Ball-oon from Family Fun magazine. Let the kids use their spray bottles to send a balloon back and forth.

164) Check out this "Cool Ice Art" on Mom 2 Posh Little Divas blog.

Family Planner Tab 1: March

2011-05-19T10:54:00.003-05:00

I really got to do a lot more with my kids this passed March because I had my ideas in my planner. As usual, I start the page with birthdays and anniversaries. Then I list other events such as Texas Independence Day and St. Patrick's Day. Now I must admit I have not done anything for Texas Independence Day YET, but I plan on it next year.

Texas Independence Day:
Breakfast: Texas-shaped pancakes
Lunch: Use cookie cutters to make sandwiches or cheese. It's the simple things that make the kids so happy.
Dinner: Chili and cornbread
Dessert: Pecan pralines...pecan trees are the state trees.

I have a ton of cookie cutters including the boot, cowboy hat, cactus, and star. We can also use these to make salt dough ornaments and the kids can paint them.

St. Patrick's Day
The sneaky Leprechaun always visits and does crazy things such as: turn the toilet water green, turn our water in the fridge green, turns the kids' milk green, leaves green kisses on the kids' foreheads while they sleep, leaves the green markers out and leaves a note behind with a few gold coins. The kids try to make a trap to catch this sneaky leprechaun.

We have green clover-shaped pancakes for breakfast.
For dinner we have Irish Stew.
For dessert we have Irish Cream Poundcake and all the fun treats we made in the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day like Shamrock Milkshakes and Leprechaun's Kisses. We also like to dip pretzels and marshmallows in melted green candy melts and then the kids shake sprinkles on them. So yummy!

We do a few arts and crafts such as make an adorable St. Patrick puppet. I also found a great Celtic Cross with St. Patrick's prayer that I have added for next year. The next page in my planner has pictures of lots of great arts and crafts ideas.

Family Planner Tab 1: February

2011-05-17T11:13:00.003-05:00

I start my entries with February birthdays and anniversaries.
Next I have my general reminders such as: buy Valentine gifts for classroom and RE teachers. I list ideas I have for gifts, too. Then I list any festivals I am aware of like the Washington-on-the-Brazos festival, which I've heard is fun.

Next I have a list of fun Valentine's Day foods to make with my kids. Most of the recipes can be found here:
Heart-shaped pancakes
Heart-shaped tortillas, quesadillas, sandwiches, etc...
fondue
dipped strawberries
strawberry shortcake (I have the BEST recipe)
strawberry milk
white chocolate candy truffles drizzled with pink and red
white chocolate candy clusters
dipped & sprinkled pretzels and marshmallows
fudge (cut with heart-shaped cookie cutter)
Big Red or Big Red float
Heart shaped pizza
Heart shaped breadsticks
Valentine's Day Chex Mix
Holiday Rice Krispies

Next I have pages with fun games to play and pictures of Valentine's Day crafts that my kids can choose from. I also have a few Valentine's Day poems the kids can use to make their own cards for family members.

Finally, I have reminders for March.

Family Planner-Tab 1: Month By Month Traditions

2011-05-13T21:19:00.004-05:00

How many times does a holiday come and go and you say, "Next year I am going to do ......."? I do it all the time. That's why I originally started my month-by-month calendar. I don't think it will ever be complete, I am always finding great ideas and adding them to my lists. Here is a sample of what January looks like:

First I list birthdays for the month
Next I have a section for reminders such as start planning Spring Break vacation, and start looking for certain Valentine decorations that I want. Also, start planning Valentine crafts and prepping materials.

6 Epiphany:
Use star cookie cutters for cheese and sandwiches
Make clay dough ornaments shaped like stars and crowns
let the kids make crowns
have a crown-shaped cake
read the story 'One Special Star'
Hang 3-D stars (I have a page with directions included)
Make star garland

Super Bowl
chili
wings
meatballs in Crock Pot
cake/cookies shaped like jerseys, footballs, and helmets

Reminder for February:
Make Valentine's countdown chain pre-cut with heart at the top
Buy V-Day candy for each child's class in school and RE
Each child's group such as soccer or dance
Shop for teacher's presents....I list ideas I have for gifts

The next page after JANUARY is something I printed about Epiphany Traditions.

Family Planner

2011-05-10T22:04:00.003-05:00

I'm in a secret love affair with my family planner. Do you have one? I started mine a few years ago and it has just taken off. If you don't really know what a family planner is, let me tell you about mine.

My family planner is a binder where I keep all important family documents or ideas. I have about 20-25 tabs. There's a list below. I'll come back and post about each tab separately and in detail.

1) month-by-month traditions including family recipes ***** this is my ongoing project....I will post in detail about this tomorrow.
2) my HEB grocery planner
3-6) tabs for each child's info from the doctor's office
7) vacation ideas
8) budget
9) recipes I want to try
10) arts and crafts ideas for the kids
11) housecleaning schedule
12) coupons, coupon policies for the stores where I shop, and gift cards
13) address list
14) packing list for trips
15) ideas for gifts for my family members (because I am no good remembering when it comes time to shop)
16) important info the hospital gave me when I had my babies...they give you tons and don't consider that you're exhausted and not really listening anyway. blah..blah..blah
17) plans for my dream garden

I can't remember the rest and the binder is upstairs in my room. If I go up there, I know I won't come back down, it's time to get to bed.

To be continued...............

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T11:18:00.007-05:00

A rare picture ofthe whole family.

Spencer's 1st Easter

Caleb was being super careful while doing it all by himself.

My sweet little Abby.

Lauren and me.

The kids made these pics for the Easter bunny and placed them ever so neatly by the door while I was upstairs with Spencer.

Reading the Resurrection Eggs.

My beautiful girls.

A picture with our friends Kayla and Bethany.

Making Empty Tomb Rolls.

After much reservation, I went ahead and made Paula Deen's Almost Fat-Free Lemon Cheesecake. It was a little more work than the usual cheesecake, but it turned out to be a fabulous dessert.

More Great Easter Ideas

2011-04-21T10:03:00.007-05:00

If you are looking for a simple story to explain Holy Week to your kids, go to this site. There is a 12 page printable.

Holy Week coloring sheets here. This is Catholic Icing's blog which has quickly become one of my favorites.

Catholic Icing has many wonderful activities you can do with your kids. There are too many to list, but she has a countdown to Easter as well as the Resurrection Story napkin rings pictured above.

For more craft ideas, visit Oriental Trading.

Print Easter Egg compliment slips here. You write a compliment on them and place them inside the eggs that your kids are going to hunt.

Easter Game/Lesson

2011-04-15T11:00:00.006-05:00

I receive a quick email from iMOM every day. Today I received a cute Easter game that I can't wait to try. Check it out here.

Bouncing off my idea from St. Patrick's Day, I might even hide the eggs in the midst of my kids' mess in the playroom and tell them they have to put away their toys to find the eggs. I always try to make clean-up fun, otherwise, I lose it and start raising my voice and it just doesn't make for a fun bedtime at all.

Visit my other Easter posts here.

Be sure to check out my Easter "fun for kids" recipes on my cooking blog. There are about 5 I am going to do with my kids between now and Easter, such as lamb cupcakes, chick cupcakes, basket cupcakes, and cheesy Easter shaped bread (all found on Betty Crocker's website). I'll post those recipes in a few weeks. You can find meatless recipes as well.

What We've Been Up To

2011-04-14T11:07:00.003-05:00

I was passing a few extra minutes reading my friends' blogs and I realized I haven't even been to my own blog in such a long time. I have an announcement to make. I get to be a stay-at-home-mom starting this fall. I am thrilled! I have always wanted to be a SAHM. Some moms ask me why, even some of my friends who stay home. Well....the most important reason is that we can be a family. Stephen will be able to work 8-5 and be home at night for the first time in 3 years. He will be able to help me get the kids to scouts, sports, and dance. With Caleb starting Kindergarten and Lauren starting 2nd grade in the Fall, I can only imagine how much time will be spent on helping the kids with their reading and other homework. Maybe we can get outside and teach the kids how to ride their bikes. Another benefit of being home is that I can get more housework done. My friends always ask me how on earth I do "it". My answer is always the same, "my house is a wreck." So I, being the listmaker that I am, have a plan for geting my house in order and keeping it that way. Notice I didn't say PERFECT? I don't expect perfection. Just controlled chaos! I plan on finding time throughout the day to cook more meals instead of giving in and eating out. I hope to do more scrapbooking and I definitely want to have phone time to catch up with friends. The possibilities are endless! So with school coming to an end, our calendar is filling up fast. On top of the scouts, sports, and dance, we have field trips coming up plus The George Bush Library annual Easter Exstravaganza, Spencer's first birthday, Lauren's dance recital, Aubrei's graduation (our Mommy's Helper), and more.

Prayer Wall

2011-03-25T09:16:00.004-05:00

I started a prayer wall yesterday. I've been thinking about it for some time, but yesterday I found some fabulous printable Stations of the Cross with amazing art, and I wanted to make sure I was introducing them to my family as I should. Lauren, Caleb, and Abby were infatuated with the pictures. It took me awhile to get them to sit down so I could begin prayers.

My plans are to keep pictures on the prayer wall for those we are praying for. We always pray for "our Godparents, our grandparents, our aunts, uncles, and cousins.............new babies in their mommy's tummy, our soldiers who are protecting us, and the leaders of our church and our country." I just think it will be nice to see their faces while we are praying for them.

As soon as I get more pictures on the wall, I will post a picture.

Making "Clean Up" Fun

2011-03-11T18:41:00.003-06:00

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I die-cut some shamrocks at the school where I teach. I was trying to think of a fun game to play with them and then it came to me: I will write bead amounts (if you don't know about my bead system for doing chores, read here) on some shamrocks and hide them under the kids' toys in the playroom. The kids will have to pick up toys to find the shamrocks and they can not have their beads until the toys are put away.

Naughty Leprechaun

2011-03-11T10:22:00.007-06:00

For instructions on how to make this cute St. Patrick puppet, visit the author here.

Oh my goodness I love the holidays! I have such fond memories of my mom decorating the house for each holiday. I don't know that she did much more than that, but the teacher in me looks for as many ideas as I can find to make holidays memorable in our home. Yesterday, I found this idea on "Many Little Blessings" on Facebook and today, Family Fun posted about the shenanigans that a little Leprechaun tries in homes everywhere.

"Green milk? Green toilet water? Green footprints? Trails of shamrock confetti? "One year the kids woke up with green kiss marks on their foreheads," recalls mom Monique, still clearly shaken. "

Despite powerful bait (Lucky Charms cereal!), their traps have caught only chocolate gold coins and candy bars, accompanied by notes taunting them with "Good try," or "Can't catch me!" As everyone knows, leprechauns hoard pots of gold, and if caught, must reveal the treasure's location to their captor. But that's not the payback Jacob seeks. Because the elusive elves are always leaving him chocolate, he figures they must have even more of that than gold!

"It's for the sake of Jacob, Elise, and all the other St. Patrick's Day mischief fighters that we offer here three state-of-the-art leprechaun traps. Each is easily made from ordinary household materials and uses lures and baits drawn from the latest research in leprechaun psychology. But please take our designs and customize them to make something unique: leprechauns, as we all know, won't be fooled by the same trap twice!"

More ideas:
green bath water

For fun St. Patrick's Day food ideas, check out my cooking blog.

What it's Like With 4 Kids 6 and Under (and a Half-Time Job)

2011-03-04T08:58:00.002-06:00

Just when you think you REALLY can't handle any more, God proves you wrong.

Things were already overwhelming before with me working 7:30-11:30 and Stephen working 12-9 plus some weekends PLUS taking classes online. Monday nights were crazy with having dinner on the table by 5 so we could get Lauren to dance AND Caleb to soccer, both at 5:45. Hmmm... Every other Thursday night Lauren has Girl Scouts.

My dad moved in with us on December 29. Even though there are many things we are working through right now, this really is a GOOD thing. Dad was not taking care of himself and I was sending people to check on him, only to call me and tell me they had to put him in the hospital. I was a wreck always wondering about his health.

So now we are adding my father's MANY doctor's appointments to our schedule plus some other issues we were dealing with that really were taking hours out of our weeks.

My fabulous friends from church heard my cries and got together to make meals to stock our freezer. What a blessing! Think about doing this for any friend in need. It not only saved me the time of making dinner, it saved time of going to the store to buy the ingredients, putting the ingredients away when I got home, and cleaning dishes, etc... Even with that help, my husband had to take a break from classes.

This week has been particularly stressful for me. Caleb turned 5 yesterday which means a party tomorrow. Stephen took off of work last night so we could have our little family party. We had not bought Caleb any presents so here is how yesterday looked after work:

-home/lunch/naptime
-2:45 woke all the kids and went to pick up Lauren from school
straight to Wal-Mart to get a cake for the evening plus order a cake for Saturday (this hurt because I had to admit I did not have enough time to make his cake this time), bought presents with Caleb in the shopping cart
-rushed home to feed starving baby
-got everything ready for Caleb's soccer and evening out (thank goodness Girls Scouts was cancelled)
-took Caleb to soccer and wrapped his presents in the van
-party at Chuck E Cheese
-8:45 home and prayers/bedtime only an hour late
-fed starving baby again
-tried to clean a little for housekeeper

Today will prove to be just as crazy:
-pick up Lauren and straight across town to the party store to get more goody bags
-home to get Lauren ready for her first sleepover
-church for Mardi Gras celebration...Lauren to sleepover late
-home to get the kids bathed and in bed

Saturday will be tricky as well:
-Caleb's game is at 9
-We are supposed to pick Lauren up in the next town at 9
-Pick up the cake and buy the food for the party
-Home to decorate and stuff the goody bags
-3:00 PARTY TIME

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

Mardi Gras and Lent

2011-02-17T09:11:00.005-06:00

The Valentine's decorations have come down and the Mardi Gras decorations have gone up-well, all we have right now is garland, but it's up! I plan on making a trip to the party store soon to see if they have anything to add to my collection.

Catholic Icing blog/Facebook just posted a cool "Countdown to Lent" calendar. Please check out her blog for many wonderful ideas. In the meantime, I am trying to prep some Mardi Gras crafts for my kids. I'll be sharing those here as we complete them.

Prayer Cube

2011-02-16T10:00:00.003-06:00

My daughter brought home a prayer cube from RE that has made it easier to teach our young kids a variety of prayers. It is a box with a different prayer typed and glued on each side. After we say our prayers for others, we roll the cube and say the prayer that lands face up. The kids LOVE it! We had to make a spreadsheet to keep track of whose turn it is to roll the cube.

PICTURE coming soon....

Valentine's Day Crafts

2011-02-03T09:24:00.007-06:00

Most of these ideas are from Oriental Trading Company, you can go to their website and order the kits.

From the Catholic Icing website.

These recipes can be found on my cooking blog.

I love, Love, LOVE to gather craft and recipe ideas for each holiday. As a matter of fact, I am a little OCD about it. I save all the pictures I find in a folder on my computer, and then I print out the page of pictures and keep it in my family planner. I figured why not keep them here on the blog as well? For my recipe ideas (so far), click here. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below, but remember to leave an email address for me to answer you.

Lunchbox Love Notes

2011-02-01T09:53:00.005-06:00

I just started looking into putting "love notes" in Lauren's lunchbox. Since my fabulous husband makes her lunch, I figured he and I had better make a lot of them in advance and he can put one in each morning. So while I am gathering everyone else's ideas, I am going to put them here...so they are all in one place.

Here is a new one (found 10/7/11) on TipJunkie.
Here is a site where you can print a few cute cards.
Here is another.
Attach these to your fruit.
Lunch box bible verses.
Lunch box notes.
Lunch box jokes.
Disney character notes.
Dora printables.
Little Bill notes.
Blue's Clues notes.
Heart of a Mother notes.
iMim Valentine notes.
Fruity jokes.
Some Thanksgiving and Christmas love notes from iMOM.

And here are a few phrases so far:

• You are special.
• I love you.
• I'm glad you are my child.
• You are important to me.
• I love the way you smile.
• You are the sunshine in my life.
• I am very proud of you.
• You are a wonderful kid.
• Thank you for helping me clean up after supper. I can always count on you.
• You have the best manners. Thank you for being such a gentleman.
• I look forward to seeing you after school.
• I can't wait for you to come home so we can have snack together.
• You studied very hard last night. I am proud of you.
• You are smart and pretty/handsome. I am the luckiest mom/dad on this earth.

Advent Song

2010-12-11T22:52:00.001-06:00

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing"
Advent Song found on Little Flower Bugs website.

1. Light the Advent candle one
Now the waiting has begun
We have started on our way
Time to think of Christmas day.

Chorus:
Candle, candle burning bright
Shining in the cold winter night
Candle, candle burning bright
Fill our hearts with Christmas light.

2. Light the Advent candle two
Think of humble shepherds who
Filled with wonder at the sight
Of the child on Christmas night.

3. Light the Advent candle three
Think of heavenly harmony
Angels singing "Peace on Earth"
At the Blessed Savior's birth.

4. Light the Advent candle four
Think of Joy forever more
Christ child in a stable born
Gift of love that Christmas morn.

5. Light the Christmas candles now
Sing of Donkey, Sheep and cow
Birthday candles for the king
Let the Alleluias ring.

25+ Days of Family Fun

2010-12-01T17:53:00.026-06:00

A few years ago, a dear friend and co-worker, Sandy F., told me how she would sit down with her calendar over Thanksgiving break and write a family activity on each date. Then she would cover each square (with foil I think) and each day one of her four children would uncover that day's activity with great anticipation.

She inspired me to make a similar list and I have added to it each year. I am in the process of adding recipes to this list as well as pictures of each of the crafts. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to elaborate. Please share your family traditions.

1. Bake cookies: Candy Cane Twists, Holiday Wreaths, Meringue Snowflakes, Red and Green Holiday Pinwheels, Stained Glass Cookies, Raspberry Poinsettia Blossoms, Reindeer Cookies , Jingle Bell Cookie Pizza
2. Go to Santa’s Wonderland December 23rd or before (you don’t know how weather will be)
3. Visit Nursing Home-caroling
4. Take treats to priest/doctors
5. Go to a Movie
6. St. Nicholas Day-read story about St. Nicholas and watch Veggie Tales
7. Games Night
8. Puzzle Night
9. Christmas Parade (1st weekend)
10. Make Gingerbread house/cookies
11. Make Jesus’ birthday cake
12. Make a clay dough ornament with cookie cutters.
13. Make choc dipped reindeer pretzels
14. Make countdown chain
15. Make & decorate Advent cookie bouquet
16. Movie night- (Charlie Brown, It’s a Wonderful Life, Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street, Polar Express, A Christmas Story, Elf, etc....) with hot chocolate, Wassail, or hot cider.
17. 24th read story of Christmas-Luke
18. Make reindeer food
19. Bake candy cane twist cookies & read legend of candy cane
20. Make Advent wreath beads/bracelet
21. Ice Skating
22. Crafts with popsicle sticks (See Oriental trading.com for ideas)
23. Make reindeer Krispie Treats, Santa Claus Krispie Treats, or “holiday” Krispie Treats ,
24. Shop in Calvert?
25. Christmas in the Park
26. Legend of the Christmas Tree
27. Make S’Mores
28. Gatti Town
29. Horseshoe Junction (go carts, mini golf, etc… in Brenham)
30. Elf on the Shelf ($30 @ Hallmark)
31. Paper plate crafts (see Oriental Trading’s website) . Gingerbread plate.
32. Tissue paper crafts (candy cane, wreath, tree, stocking)
33. “Stained glass” crafts (on transparency or laminating film). Print one of the coloring pages. Place a clear transparency page or laminating film on top. Tape them well. Let the kids color with Sharpies. Saran Wrap works, too. Hang the finished product in the window, or place on top of foil and cover a paper plate for a different look.
34. You and your kids enter a baking contest (College Station’s @ Christmas in the Park)
35. Ice Sculpting (click here).
36. Make an Advent Activity Chain. Here is one I found online. It is not the same as Lauren brought home from church. Here is another one. Here is the Nativity Story on a chain.
37. Santa pom-pom countdown to Christmas.
38. Let your child(ren) pick from the giving tree at church (or Salvation Army tree at the mall) and buy a gift for the less fortunate.
39. (Do this Thanksgiving weekend)- Wrap all your Christmas storybooks and let the kids take turns opening one each night. That's the bedtime story! Thanks, Jennie F!
40. (Again, print this Thanksgiving weekend)-Print this Santa Advent countdown on cardstock. make sure you have plenty of cotton!
41. Here is the link to the Advent Chain my daughter brought home from Religous Education this year. The teacher copied the links on purple and pink to correspond with the candles. Lauren ABSOLUTELY loved doing this and got upset if she couldn't do each one right away!
42. Handprint crafts: Help the kids paint their hands green and paint into a wreath, Santa, reindeer, Poinsettia, or Christmas tree pattern.

43. Make these adorable Melted Snowman Oreo Cookies by Idea Room Blog. Scroll down below the "pops".

44. Make homemade Candy Cane Marshmallows.

45. Make Mint Thins
46. Pringles can Nutcracker, Santa, Elf, or many others.

47. Print these Nativity stick puppets and recreate the Nativity Story.
48. Bake cookies and send to troops overseas.

49. Make these "Pretty Plastic Light Catchers."

50. Make these Advent Boxes. There is a box for each day in the month of December (up to Christmas Day). Each box holds a small item and a scripture (or Biblical principal) to go along with each day.

51. Make this Advent mantle display from Shower of Roses.

Here are posts from previous years. I hope to consolidate the lists soon.

My Favorite Season

2010-10-10T18:11:00.002-05:00

Every now and then people ask me what my favorite season is, and after years of thinking about it, I always used to say the beginning of every season is my favorite. Today I realized that fall into winter is my favorite season for so many reasons. First of all, I love baking, and this season brings so many wonderful baking opportunties with a variety of flavors such as apple and pumpkin. We also go through about 20 boxes of Chex making our Spicy Chex Mix. Second, it is finally cool enough in Texas for my family to spend time outside...the kids playing so beautifully together while Stephen and I can relax with an adult beverage and watch (or join in). I love LOVE football and that is only played in the fall. Also, this is the time our church begins the praparation for the birth of Christ and there are so many wonderful family traditions to practice and pass along. So I've finally made up my mind- fall is my favorite season of all!

All is Well

2010-10-01T09:22:00.004-05:00

That's my mantra these days as things seem to be falling apart. Yesterday, as I was preparing dinner, Lauren accidentally spilled chocolate milk in the refrigerator. It spilled down onto every shelf below, and into the drawers. So I got to check "Clean the Refrigerator" off the massive to-do list. How in the world do little crumbs get into the fridge anyway? And how on earth do they get under the glass and lodged into all the tiny crevices? I guess I should have had an old toothbrush handy. This was all after I decided not to be so OCD about the kids playing with Play-Doh, mixing colors, and shredding the big ball into tiny pieces that fall on the floor. I was so calm about that!

So Stephen walked into the house for his quick dinner break and found dinner not on the plates, and me with my head buried in the fridge. I told him he might not make it back to work. So see, I have to tell myself that all is well because in the grand scheme of things, it is. The kids are healthy and happy.

On a positive note, I hope to have a little more time to try some new apple and pumpkin recipes this month. I have already tried a few fabulous apple recipes and posted them on my cooking blog. I made some spicy Chex Mix last Friday, and the double batch was gone in less than 4 days. Cooking and baking always put me in a good mood. I love this time of year and I hope I can make the time to stop and blog about all the fun we are having.

I hope all is well for you, too!

Motherhood Mayhem

2010-09-23T19:00:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday I had to take Lauren to RE (Sunday School) by myself because Stephen had a display at the Bridal Show. I had no problems taking her in with Caleb, Abby, and Spencer in-tow, but picking her up proved to be a disaster.

I pulled up along the drive and parked behind a SUV. I told Caleb and Abby not to get out until I could make sure there were no ants in the grass. First I checked for the stroller, but it was not in the van. I took Spencer's carrier around and told Caleb and Abby that it was safe to get out. Within a few seconds, Caleb was screaming. He was covered in ants. I yanked him up and onto the street in front of the van and made sure Abby was okay. I started smacking the ants and watching them surround him on the ground. A man walked by, staring, but not offering help. I picked Caleb up and put him on the hood of the van and tried to call a friend to pick up Lauren. She did not answer. Then, Abby said she had to go potty. This was the first day she was in panties. There was a man in the SUV in front of me and he did try to help. He gave me a few wipes so at least I could wipe Caleb down. I had to get the kids inside. Caleb begged me to carry him and I guess that Mommy adrenaline kicked in because I carried Caleb AND Spencer in his carrier and managed to hold Abby's hand.

We went straight to the family bathroom where I set the carrier down, left Caleb (still crying) on the floor, and put Abby on the toilet. I opened the door to look for someone to help. I found one friend and asked her to get Lauren. Then I started asking strangers if there was a first aid kit. I left all 3 little ones in the bathroom and went to the teacher's workroom where we did find a first aid kit.

Long story short, we found some Benadryl spray which allieviated the pain a little bit. Leslie brought Lauren to me, and Julia helped me get all the kids out to the van. Wow, what a day.

Back To School

2010-08-27T11:12:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness, I am so behind. I had to stop what I was doing to post a story that Lauren's teacher just dropped by to share with me. Let me begin by saying that Lauren hasn't played out side much this summer because it has been too darn hot. When she does play outside, she often comes barreling into the house screaming about a spider or a wasp. Yes, we do have a lot of wasps, but EVERYTHING is a wasp to her.

So her teacher just stopped by my classroom to tell me that the other day, Lauren walked up to her with her hands cupped together and asked where she could put "it." Her teacher asked her what she had and Lauren told her it was a grasshopper. MY LAUREN had a grasshopper. She wanted to know where she could put it to bring it home. With much consideration of Lauren's sensitive nature, her sweet teacher told her that it might be best to take it back outside to be with it's grasshopper family.

I am so happy to hear that Lauren is already making good friends and has not come home once telling me that someone was making fun of Tinkerbell or that someone was going to take her to the zoo where the monkeys ate the people.

Next year I will....

2010-07-05T11:42:00.002-05:00

How many times do you say that?

Let's face it, we are busy moms and we can't remember as much as we used to now that we are keeping up with our kids.

Last night we went to watch the fireworks at the George Bush Library. We learned last year that we could beat traffic and get good parking by watching the fireworks from the top of the nearby parking garage. We had to park 3 levels down, and not knowing how many more levels there were, we walked all the way to the top with 3 small kids and the heavy carseat. Note: Next year we will park by the elevators and use them!

We didn't know what time the fireworks actually started and we began to say, "Next year.....we will bring the wagon....arrive later....etc..."

And as we left, we exited the South end, which took us back to the main traffic. Next year we will exit at the North end!

So how will you remember all these things 'next year'? I actually have a family planner where I make all my notes and it is paying off. I started it because I was constantly saying we should do 'this' or 'that' next year and then I'd forget. Also, I thought it would be neat to one day pass it on to my kids. I used to keep birthdays on the planner, but Facebook reminds me of those now. It is month-by-month, and I list all holidays plus traditional meals and the recipes for them. I am currently adding crafts for each holiday. My favorite thing about it so far is the 25 days of Christmas Fun which was an idea from a co-worker. For summer months, I have a list of ideas of all the different things we can do so the kids don't get bored.

At the end of the Family Planner, I have a page with a list for planning parties. That way, I don't have to brainstorm what we need each and every time. Personally, I think this planner is ingenious! I don't know why all families don't have something similar.

4th of July Fixins

2010-07-02T11:29:00.003-05:00

I've just posted tons of 4th of July recipes on my food blog. Check it out and let me know what I'm missing. Also, feel free to join my group on Facebook: Aggieland Mommy Cooks.

Vacation 2010

2010-06-28T22:23:00.004-05:00

Who knew that 7 days would not be enough to see everyone we wanted to see last week when we went to Fort Worth?

We drove to Cowtown Monday, checked into our hotel, and went to visit my dad. After a late dinner, it was back to our room to try to put the kids down. It took hours, they were too excited.

Tuesday Mandy and the boys came out to swim with us at the hotel. It was another day without a nap. That night we met Arman and his kids for dinner at Central Market. We were pleasantly surprised to see our long lost friend, Todd there. Again, we got the kids in bed close to 10 and they did not go right to sleep.

Wednesday morning we ran errands to places we don't have in town like Party City. No naps. Then we went to visit with Stephen's family where Jeff, Lynda, and Corey met Spencer for the first time. Another late night...not good for Mommy and Daddy, but we did stop by the liquor store on the way back to the hotel. Mudslides=happy Mommy.

Thursday morning was spent packing and loading the van. Then we went to lunch with one of Stephen's friends at the restaurant right next to the hotel. That's where I lost it. Or should I say them? I realized I didn't have my wedding ring and Aggie ring on. Poor Stephen, I made him run to the hotel in the rain to start the search party. He and the manager even went through the laundry because I thought I put them on the dresser next to the clean towels. I knew there was a slight chance that they were in the bathroom bag. When he got back, I went to the van to check and there they were. I was just so tired when I took them off and I was in a zone so I didn't even think about what I was doing.

Our next stop was to Rochelle and Tommy's where Stephen spent about an hour unloading. That night we met some friends from the old Young Adult Group at Fuddrucker's where we waited out a great storm. The kids had a fabulous time. I enjoyed seeing some of my dearest friends.

Friday morning we headed to Joe T. Garcia's for my old neighborhood reunion. Amy, Lisa, Shannon, and I all met with our families. It was the first time we were all together since about 1980. We made it back to Ro's house in time for our first nap of the week. Kids napping=happy Mommy. And that night was my 20th reunion. Am I really that old? What a wonderful time I had with old friends. I was amazed how many people I knew from elementary school. And of course I got to see my BFF, Hyla.

Saturday morning we went to see Hyla's beautiful new house and we got to swim at her neighborhood pool. I could have stayed all day. I pictured Hyla and me poolside with cocktails, without a care in the world. Maybe one day.....
We had to leave earlier than I would have liked to so we could take Stephen to the airport to rent a car to get to Waco for a wedding. Then I was on my own.....with all 4 kids....for a little while. I took them all back to Ro's and was so blessed to have the help of her family. I got the kids in bed by 9:30. Again...happy Mommy! Caleb was so cute. He said, "Mommy, you are going to be lonely without Daddy so I will sleep with you." And he did.

Sunday morning I packed as much as I could while taking care of the kids and waiting for Stephen to return from Waco. We barely made it to return the car to the airport at 2 and then we took the kids for the snow cones we had been promising all week. Can you believe we didn't even have time for snow cones ? Craziness! We went to say good-bye to my dad and at 4:20, we were on the road for Aggieland. And by 4:30, Abby was saying she had to go to the bathroom. We thought she was kidding and would forget but she kept saying it so we stopped. Not only did she go potty, but she had a dry pull-up. And, just like Willie, we were on the road again. That is, until the "Don't make me pull this car over" lecture. Yep, we had to pull over. And by Hillsboro, Spencer was awake and hungry. We made it home at 9:20. Gone are the days of a straight 3 hour trip without stopping!

Home Sweet Messy and Chaotic Home.

Spencer Christian

2010-06-16T20:14:00.005-05:00

We have been pretty busy around here with the addition of our precious new son.

On Thursday, May 6, I went in for my 36 week appointment and found out I was dilated to a 4 and 60% effaced. For me that meant the baby was on his way. I was excited until I found out that my doctor was not delivering that weekend. I have been through so much with this doctor, I did not want anyone but her to be a part of this special moment so I went home and put myself on bedrest. The doctor told me to come in first thing Monday morning.

On May 10, I went in and I had progressed just a little bit. I was amazed at what bedrest did. I had made it to 36 weeks and 5 days, a new record for me. I told my doctor (who I LOVE...have I said that?) that Lauren was going to have her first program on Thursday and I couldn't imagine missing it. I also had to consider the fact that my doctor was not on call that weekend either. She told me she could get things moving by stripping my membrane a little. And so she did.

When I got back to work maybe 15 minutes later, my eyes couldn't adjust. It was as if I had stared at the sun. As I stared at my computer, I realized I was seeing flashing circles. I remembered that this is a sign of preclampsia. I called my school nurse and she had me come down to check my blood pressure. It was elevated. I have never had elevated blood pressure before. The doctor's office said to go to the hospital so Stephen and the kids picked me up and took me right over. Then he took the kids to a neighbor's and came back. The doctor stopped by at 1 and said she hoped to deliver Spencer before her 5:00 C-Section.

She stopped by at 5, but I was not quite ready so she came back after her C-section. We started pushing at 6:36 and he was born at 6:44. He weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz. and was 19" long.

He was checked for a "grunting noise" which indicates fluid in the lungs, but it corrected itself. Amazingly we were discharged (with no indications of jaundice) before 48 hours...another record!

We thank God every day for our new gift.

Great burgers-poor policies

2010-06-16T20:03:00.002-05:00

Blogging is where we go to vent, right?
We have a very popular hamburger bar/grill in town named, 'Koppe Bridge'. It has been voted best burgers in town. We went there for the first time in April. Not only did we like the food, Caleb loved his grilled cheese sandwich and those of you who know Caleb know he only eats about 7 things. There are even many, many deserts that he does not like. So as you can imagine, we were thrilled that he was adding one more food item to his list.

We went back to Koppe Bridge just a few weeks ago and we ordered 2 adult baskets and 2 kid's baskets. Each basket comes with tons of fries. Caleb scarfed down his grilled cheese and begged for another one. Stephen asked how much it would cost to get another sandwich and they said we would have to pay the same as buying another kid's basket, $4.95.

Are you kidding me? $4.95 to melt a piece of cheese between 2 slices of bread? Well, we did not buy one and Caleb cried until we left.

Today I finally got around to writing a letter to the owners. Here is my letter:

To Whom It May Concern,
A few months ago my family of 5 ate at your Wellborn location for the first time. My husband and I were amazed that our 4 year old son loved your grilled cheese sandwich because he is an extremely picky eater who only eats 5 or 6 things. My 5 year old and 4 year old often asked to go back to your restaurant so we returned a few weeks ago, after the birth of our 4th child. My husband and I each ordered 1/2 pound baskets and our son had the grilled cheese basket while our 5 year old daughter shared her basket with our 2 year old daughter.

Our son ate his grilled cheese in record time and asked for another one. My husband asked if he could just get a grilled cheese sandwich and the employee at the counter asked the cooks. We were told we would have to purchase an entire grilled cheese basket or pay the same amount just for a sandwich.

We were dumbfounded. Why would you charge someone almost $5 for 2 pieces of bread with a slice of cheese? We told our son that he could not have another one and he cried until we left.

I do not know if this is your policy, or just something your cook made up as he went along, but I wanted to bring this to your attention and give you the opportunity to respond.

And her reply:

Hello Mrs. Arnold,

Thank you for your email and the feedback regarding your experience at our restaurant on Wellborn Road. Our kid's grill cheese meal is indeed $4.95; however, a grill cheese ala carte with chips/fries is $3.50. The kid's grill cheese meal comes on regular bread, while the regular menu grill cheese is prepared on Texas toast. Two slices of cheese are used on each sandwich.

Our product pricing is set up to reflect many associated costs, that including the actual cost of the product as well as various direct and indirect expenses associated with the restaurant business. Based on those factors, we do not sell a small grill cheese sandwich as a side or regular item. My staff was correct to state that the item is not available for pricing as you requested, and the alternative suggestion the staff should have given you was to order the regular size grill cheese for your son. Unfortunately, we cannot do a double sandwich option on our kids meal. I am including a link to our on-line menu.

Thanks again,

Glenda Ross
CFO/Owner
The Koppe Bridge Restaurant Group

http://www.koppebridge.com/id15.html

SERIOUSLY?

I guess we'll be trying some of the other burger joints in town.

What's New?

2010-05-02T21:01:00.002-05:00

So life is just as crazy as ever and about to get even crazier. We have a never-ending list of things that need to be done around the house. I am happy to say that Stephen is officially finished with his classes at church, but his full-time job 12-9, video business, and online classes still make for little family time. He has actually had to turn down several video jobs recently and has 5 weddings between now and the end of June. I have asked a babysitter to come be my "Nanny" on those days.

I am 35 weeks and 4 days pregnant and trying to stay positive about getting to 37 weeks. I pray that Spencer will be the healthiest baby of all and won't have any bilirubin/jaundice issues. I am grateful that he didn't come during or just before Lauren's recital last night, but there are several events this week that we hope to make.

So looking forward, I am getting excited about Spencer's arrival and Stephen being home for at least a week. After that he will be able to work a normal 8-5 schedule throughout the summer and I hope we can have a "normal" family schedule until school starts again.

So that's it in a nutshell! Hopefully I'll post a little more often when Spencer is born so I can journal his milestones.

Kids doing chores

2010-04-23T20:13:00.004-05:00

I posted earlier about starting a "bead system" to get my kids to help out. I am amazed at how much they really can do, even my 2 year old. They love to earn beads and sometimes offer ideas to me like today when Lauren (5) washed her hands and used the towel to wipe the faucet, handles, and behind the faucet. She wanted beads. Why not?

I bought some little beads (a little bigger than a pea) in the floral section at Hobby Lobby and they put them in 4 oz baby milk bottles. The older kids have to fill up to the 4 oz line to get $5, the 2 year old doesn't have to get as many.

So here are just some of the ways they earn beads or get them taken away:

Earn beads:
3 for putting laundry in washing machine (front loading)
1 more for taking the laundry bag back to the sorter
3 for emptying the dryer into a basket
3 for taking their own plates to the counter after each meal (2 year olds can do this)
3 for putting silverware away after I have taken all sharp objects
3 for putting shoes in shoe cubbies when we get home
2 for letting the dog in/out
3 for putting water in dog's bowl
3 (or more) for helping others without being asked to
5 for making their bed without being asked ...note..once my daughter made all the beds just for beads
3 for making bed after being asked
1 for each chair they wipe with a wet wipe
4 for bringing in junk from the van
behaving in church
1 for wiping bathroom counter
doing something helpful without being asked

Beads get taken away for
arguing
not picking up toys when asked
pushing, hitting, kicking (not really a problem in our home)
clothes on the floor
being silly during prayers
not picking up toys in the tub
leaving cups/dishes outside

This list is growing....I love how it works. Not only does it teach the kids responsibility and respect for the home, it helps me do things that are really hard since I am 34 weeks pregnant. I think the older kids could possibly empty more dishes and stand on chairs to put them away, but the 2 year old would want to too and I am not ready for that.

To this day I HATE doing dishes because my mom always screamed (and I mean screamed) at me about the way I did dishes. That is not the way I want to teach my kids. I want them to realize that if we all work together to take care of OUR home, Mommy and Daddy will have more time to spend with them.

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

2010-03-03T00:30:00.004-06:00

20062007 2008

2009

My baby boy is 4 today! I really can't believe it.

Right now Caleb STILL loves Thomas the Train and can not only get on the internet by himself, but he can find Thomas videos on YouTube! He quickly learns the songs and sings along. He spends hours putting his tracks together and watching his trains run along. He loves going to the nursery at church because they have a wooden track. He also begs to go play with the train table at Barnes and Noble.He not only knows his alphabet (upper and lowercase) but he uses them to spell out his name. He can also identify numerals and counts to at least 20.

Caleb, Mommy and Daddy love you so much. Your sisters do too. You bring so much joy to our lives. We can't wait to see how you grow these next 4 years.

Feb 21-March 15, 2008 Scrapbook pages

2010-02-20T15:23:00.004-06:00

I just learned how to do collage pages. I don't want to use them often but they come in handy for those occasions where I have tons of great pictures and don't want to do more than one layout. The program I used is soooo easy. All you do is click on the pictures you want to use and choose from 2 collage layouts and the program does the rest. It recognizes the people in the pics and crops all by itself!

A friend figured out how to get the paper behind the picture collage.

Then I decided to add some embellishments.

Aha! I just figured out how to add a picture that I don't want and then when I put the collage into Scrapbook Max, I put a paper scrap over it and use it for a title or journaling. I always date my pages.

Jan. 6- Feb. 20, 2008 Scrapbook pages

2010-02-09T17:35:00.003-06:00

January 2008 Lauren 3 years, 5 months, Caleb 21 months, Abby not even 1 month.

February

Kids and Chores

2010-02-05T10:34:00.008-06:00

Last summer I made the coolest chore cards ever for Lauren and Caleb. I even took a picture of them doing each chore so that my husband could make a sticker out of them and we could put them on the chore chart. If they did 6 out of 7 chores each day, I gave them a coin, After 7 coins, they could choose from the treasure box. It worked wonderfully. Until school started! Maybe that's my husband's fault because he is home with them in the mornings and just doesn't discipline himself to follow through.

A friend was telling me what she does instead of a chore chart and I think I like it. Each child has a plastic jar that they have decorated. When they do good things/chores, they earn lima beans.....more beans for harder chores, less beans for simple chores. When the children do not obey, they get beans taken away. When their containers are full, they get to pick from their prize box.

So right now I am trying to make up the conversion chart. So far I have the following ways to earn "beans":
-taking your own dishes to the counter (even my 2 year old can do this)
-hanging up coats and putting shoes in shoe cubbies
-making the bed without being told =5
-making the bed after being reminded =2
-taking your toys upstairs the first time I ask = 3
-pick up toys outside before coming in = 3
-pick up toys in bathtub = 2
-put away toys on the floor before bed = 5
-clean up playroom before bed = 3
-wiping bathroom counter = 2
-bring junk out of the van = 4
-sharing your special toy = 5
-saying prayers nicely without being silly = 3
-being quiet in church = 7
-setting the table= 5

How "beans" get taken away:
-arguing =5
-leaving clothes on the floor =1
-not picking up after arts and crafts =3
-Pushing = 4
-Hitting = 4

As the kids get older, the list will change but I don't have to hang 3 huge posters and this list can be for all the kids no matter what their age.

I am adding to this list as we speak.

2009 is finished and posted

2010-01-28T10:00:00.001-06:00

I completed the last 2 pages last night. I added one layout in August (Lauren's Shamu party) and one more in May (first swim and Ring Around the Rosie). Now I am excited about starting 2008.

My newest layout post

2010-01-24T23:06:00.005-06:00

I have finally scrapped Caleb's 3rd birthday party. Check it out here. I waited until the end to do this one because I could not find a layout that I liked and I knew I would have to make my own. Plus, there were so many pics that I HAD to use. Birthdays are very important and I want the kids to have lots of pics of each of their special days and all those who made it special. I think the layouts turned out perfect. Just 2 layouts left....or is it 3? Then I can get a book made and begin scrapping 2008.

Catching up....

2010-01-23T14:01:00.004-06:00

I have completed 2009 with just a few gaps. I am currently working on filling in those gaps so it may be awhile before it looks like I have a new post but scroll down...I've just added a layout in April, May, and November. Don't forget to click on pictures to enlarge.

December 2009

2010-01-22T21:32:00.000-06:00

Christmas

2010-01-22T20:46:00.001-06:00

Lauren's Christmas Party

2010-01-22T20:30:00.002-06:00

Misc. Girl Scout Events

2010-01-22T20:29:00.003-06:00

Playing in the Leaves

2010-01-22T20:23:00.002-06:00

Carnival November 21

2010-01-22T20:20:00.001-06:00

November- Mini Young Adult Ministry Reunion

2010-01-22T20:11:00.002-06:00

Click on pictures to enlarge.

Lauren's 1st Field Trip

2010-01-22T18:10:00.002-06:00

Halloween

2010-01-22T17:57:00.001-06:00

Lauren's Halloween Party

2010-01-22T17:47:00.002-06:00

September 19 Aggie Game

2010-01-22T17:36:00.000-06:00

Fingerpainting

2010-01-22T17:11:00.002-06:00

Playhouse Disney Live Sept. 11

2010-01-22T17:00:00.003-06:00

Click on pictures to enlarge

Lauren's 1st Day of School

2010-01-21T22:19:00.001-06:00

Click on pictures to enlarge.

End of Summer Swim Party and L's B-Day Party

2010-01-21T22:09:00.002-06:00

Click on pictures to enlarge.

San Antonio

2010-01-21T22:01:00.002-06:00

Click on pictures to enlarge.

San Antonio Museum July 9

2010-01-21T21:09:00.002-06:00

Sea World Day 2

2010-01-21T20:56:00.002-06:00

July 6 Sea World trip 1 of 2

2010-01-18T18:10:00.002-06:00

July 5 WIldlife Ranch and Caverns

2010-01-18T15:51:00.002-06:00

July 4, 2009

2010-01-18T15:39:00.003-06:00

Click on pictures to enlarge.

I made these pages myself using the pieces I downloaded from Digital Express.

June 2009

2010-01-18T15:19:00.001-06:00

Playdates

2010-01-15T22:45:00.002-06:00

May 29-June 1 Lake Gladewater

2010-01-15T22:35:00.003-06:00

Digital Scrapbooking

2010-01-15T21:19:00.001-06:00

May 22, 2009

Originally posted January 4: Well, it's official. I started this new adventure in July when Mandy came all the way to College Station to show me how to do it. After she left I was nervous about doing it all by myself...there are a lot of steps with the downloading and saving. I finally started up again several days ago and I feel good about what I've done so far. I can't wait to have all of 2009 done so I can actually publish it into a book.

May 2, 2009 Lauren's recital

2010-01-14T20:26:00.001-06:00

First Swim and Kids Playing

2010-01-14T20:04:00.001-06:00

April 12, 2009 Easter

2010-01-13T21:49:00.005-06:00

click on pictures to enlarge

April 10, 2009 Circus

2010-01-13T21:27:00.004-06:00

March and April '09 Messy Eater

2010-01-13T21:17:00.002-06:00

What kids say and do

2010-01-12T09:00:00.003-06:00

Abby just turned 2 on December 20 but you would think she is closer to 3. She speaks in 7 word sentences most of the time and has amazing ideas for such a little thing. Last night at bedtime, she decided to stall by putting her 12 dolls, one by one, into the doll pack and play. When she was finished, she said, "There's one missing." Are you kidding me? So I asked her where it was and she said in the playroom. Sure enough, there was one more doll in the playroom. She told her dolls, "Mommy and Daddy love you" and crawled into her bed.

I covered her with the requested duckie blanket but then she asked for the, "warm one". After some thought I realized she wanted the extra blanket that we've been putting on her these passed few nights that have been dipping into the teens. I had been telling her it would keep her warm.

After a few minutes she started crying for her water. I asked Lauren to go tell her it was next to her pillow but it didn't make Abby happy so I went in myself. Abby was saying she couldn't find it but as soon as I turned on the lights she was a happy camper and never cried again.

This morning all 3 kids woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Caleb kept begging to go to "Books and Marbles" (Barnes and Noble) to play with the train table. Abby woke up demanding eggs. She is usually happy with cereal, toast, fruit, or a waffle but she was not going to be satisfied until someone made her eggs. This is one morning when I was happy I got to leave for work and let Stephen deal with Abby and Caleb while I brought the older Grump with me.

March-St. Patrick's Day and Bluebonnets

2010-01-10T21:35:00.004-06:00

Sandbox 2009

2010-01-09T11:20:00.002-06:00

Potty Training Update

2010-01-09T10:49:00.002-06:00

Abby continues to amaze us. She just turned 2 on December 20 and she wants to potty train. She begs to wear a pull-up and she likes to go pull her pants down and sit on the potty chair. This morning I asked her if she wanted to potty and she said yes. She started singing the ABCs (one way I get the kids to stay on longer) and I heard her tee tee! Our house is pretty noisy at all times so I second guessed myself but when she got up, sure enough, she had gone potty. I hope it continues and I hope we can continue to encourage her to go often.

Caleb's Thomas Party

2010-01-08T22:49:00.002-06:00

POSTED JANUARY 24: This is one of my last layouts for 2009 . I waited until the end because there was just no template/layout on Digital Express that I felt was perfect so I knew I would have to find all the pieces from various layouts and make my own. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome.

Valentine's Day 2009

2010-01-08T22:03:00.003-06:00

The first two pages are templates from Digital Express. The last two pages I created myself using the pieces from Digital Express.

Bath time

2010-01-08T22:00:00.000-06:00

January 2009

2010-01-08T20:30:00.003-06:00

"Aggie Abby" and "Sisters"

2010-01-07T22:15:00.002-06:00

Cracking me up!

2010-01-07T19:58:00.002-06:00

Lauren, my 5 year old came up with some pretty funny material tonight. First of all, she and Abby were given some matching jammies by my friend Jen. Abby's dresser drawer is high and Lauren's is low. After their baths, I got caught up in the Bama-t.u. game and when I went in to check on the kids, Abby was putting on Lauren's jammies. I told Lauren that they were hers...she got them out of her drawer. To which she replied, "Oh, I thought Daddy put them away." How does she already know that most of the time dads have no clue when it comes to putting away laundry?

Then Lauren went into my bedroom and turned off the TV. She said she knew I don't like the Longhorns. I also had the TV on in the playroom so I wouldn't miss a thing as the kids were getting thier jammies on and teeth brushed (I did turn it off for prayers). Lauren has been sleeping in the playroom while we get Abby used to her big-girl bed. Lauren climbed into her bed and was getting into the game. I found myself explaining that the Longhorns had just caught the ball that the other team had thrown. Anyway...it was a proud moment for this Momma and I had a hard time turning the playroom TV off.

Potty Training Girls

2010-01-05T10:02:00.005-06:00

Abby turned 2 on December 20. I would love to have her potty trained before the next baby comes....oh yes, I am 19 weeks pregnant. My doctor has encouraged me not to announce it until after the holidays since I had 3 miscarriages in less than a year. It is after the holidays so I guess it's time to anounce it.

Anyway, Abby has been showing a great interest in the potty chair lately so during the Christmas Break, I put her on it a few times while changing her diaper. This morning (while home with her daddy) she went downstairs without her diaper. Stephen found it and it was a dirty one. He traced her steps and found that she had sat on the potty chair. Yep, I'd say she's ready to potty train. I'm just not sure that I'm ready!

And speaking of Abby. We put her toddler bed in her room about a week ago and she has had a good ol' time opening and closing her bedroom door. She has come up with all the old excuses: need a hug, need water, water is empty, etc.... Yesterday I put a doorknob cover on the doorknob during her naptime. When I went upstairs for my nap, I noticed she had gotten the cover off (first day) and tossed it into the hall!

Last night we put it on again. We heard her open her door and close it. Stephen went upstairs ready to duct tape that sucker and sure enough, the doorknob cover was in the hall. But she never opened the door again. It was as if she was showing us that nothing was going to stop her!

Fun Times at Home

2009-12-07T20:46:00.003-06:00

Lauren loves to dress up. She received a princess dress-up box a few years ago with 5 costumes that are now tattered. She dressed up as Tinker Bell every day for over a year...that was money well spent. Now Abby dresses up too. Well, yesterday Lauren had on her Ariel skirt and was upstairs when I heard a banging noise. I waited for crying and instead heard, "Help? Help. Help!" When I got upstairs, Lauren was stuck under my underwear drawer. I asked what she was doing and she matter-of-factly answered, "Dressing up as Ariel!" Like, duh! So I asked more specifically what she was doing in my drawer. She answered, "I needed a bra for my Ariel costume."

After convincing her that mine was too big, she got some paper, markers, and scissors, and made her own shells, cut them out, and taped them on.

OH YES SHE DID!

Anyone there?

2009-12-04T11:19:00.002-06:00

I could go on and on in this post since I haven't posted in such a long time. We are caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and trying to keep it real with the true reason for the season. Stephen's work schedule is really getting in the way of some things and we have been lucky so far that his bosses are so flexible. I don't know about you but I just don't think I am going to get it all done in time. We haven't bought one present yet and with our weekends being filled with parties and such, I don't know when we'll get the time. Oh yes, the 24th!

This Sunday will be our 6th anniversary. I can't believe it. I didn't think we were going to find a sitter but I got word yesterday that one of our sitters is available.

I have a Christmas party the afternoon of the 10th and am grateful that my boss and Stephen's boss are letting us adjust our schedules.

My faculty party is the evening of the 11th and even if Stephen can take off, I don't have a sitter secured yet.

The 12th is up in the air. We've been invited to a caroling party and back to the host's house for treats and hot chocolate.

The 13th Lauren has a Girl Scouts event.

The 15th is her Girl Scouts party.
The 16th is her dance party.
The 18th is her class party.

What will happen when Caleb starts scouts or sports?
And that's all the time I have for this post...time to go home in the snow flurries and plan a fun evening for the kids.

Happy Fall Y'all

2009-09-23T08:47:00.002-05:00

This is the first time I can ever remember it feeling like Fall when Fall has begun. Yesterday I opened my windows, lit a candle, and made some awesome Pampered Chef (freeze ahead) Tortilla Soup. I'll be posting that recipe later on my cooking blog. Abby (my 21 month old) ate 2 huge bowls! Caleb never eats anything other than peanut butter and jelly, quesadillas, toast, and fish sticks so I melted cheese on some tortilla chips in the microwave and surprise of all surprises...he liked the nachos. When I say that's about all Caleb likes, trust me. We have tried months and months of serving him what the rest of us were having but I realized when he didn't even like some desserts that he is just a very picky eater. What kids refuses cookies and Strawbery Cake?

So anyway, I am so excited about this cooler weather, I've been reviewing my Crock Pot and soup recipes. I am an obsessive recipe collector. I already have 28 Crock Pot recipes and 24 soup recipes, but that doesn't seem like enough. If you have a favorite recipe or two, please let me know.

Another thing I am excited about it playing outside. I feel like my kids have been so deprived because I can't take the heat and we spent most of June, July, and August indoors. Now our patio cover is built and we've been going outside (even in yesterday's rain) as much as possible. I hope to get the kids out for walks and bike rides as well but we always seem rushed when Lauren gets home from school. See, if I have the dinner in the Crock Pot, I can spend the rest of the afternoon playing!

So...do you have any soup or Crock Pot recipes to share?

Our First Aggie Game as a Family

2009-09-20T21:35:00.004-05:00

In case you didn't know, I am an Aggie. My blood runs maroon. DEEP maroon. As a student, I attended every home game and tons of away games including Houston, LSU, Tech, many at Texas, OU, Baylor, and 3 Cotton Bowls. I dreamed of marrying an Aggie because lets face it, it takes one to know one. When I graduated in '96, I did not want to leave Aggieland. I had to move back to Fort Worth, but my heart remained in Aggieland. I was a teacher making only $24,000 my first year. So sad what they pay us...but I couldn't afford to go to many games. Once in awhile a friend would have an extra ticket and I would gladly make the 3 hour drive to watch the Aggies beat the ever livin'..... (it's an Aggie thang). Each year I vowed that I would move back to College Station and in '02 I made up my mind and put my house on the market. Then I met my husband...who is not an Aggie. Yep, I married him anyway. We have lived in Aggieland since '03 but there has always been something keeping us from the games. Up until last year it was MONEY plus having small children that would need a sitter. Stephen works for A&M and just this one time, they were offering half-price tickets to staff. So I finally got to take my family to their first Aggie game.A quick family picture before the game. We set the timer on the camera and I kid you not, this was the first picture!
Then we took this one of the kids. Another great pic on the first try. Lauren wasn't too happy that I wouldn't let her twirl her 12th Man towel after smacking the lady in front of us.

Abby started clapping right away.

Stephen asked me for my phone so he could take these pics. I was so proud. I think that means he liked the band!

The two of us.

The long walk around and around. Caleb said we were lost and never going to get home because we were going in circles.

My sweet lil Aggies.

There's always a sweet Ag around to see that the husband is taking the pic and offers to take a pic of everyone.

Pictures

2009-09-14T09:43:00.004-05:00

I don't know the last time I posted pics on my blog. I am so into Facebook now. I need to bring some more pictures to work and upload them onto my computer. Here is Lauren on the first day of KG and it just so happened to be her 5th birthday! She absolutely loves school. I love having her here with me. Every day I have to go pick up another Kindergartener as they are all coming back from CAMP (Computers Art Music PE) so I try to hide and watch her. I am so proud. She is always following directions, hands in a "Gator Tail" (tucked neatly behind her back), and a "bubble in her mouth" so she is not talking.

Her first day of Religious Education (Sunday School) was yesterday and when I picked her up her teacher sweetly smiled and said Lauren loves to talk, he he. Just like me!

Estrogen!

2009-09-14T09:29:00.006-05:00

I am a little worried about Lauren. She cries almost every day at school. She is not crying because she wants to be at home. She is not crying because she wants her Mommy. She cries because of things others do or say. For example, on the 1st day of school, another little girl was not following playground rules. Lauren reminded her that she was not supposed to be doing what ever it was she was doing and the girl didn't care so Lauren started crying. Maybe Lauren just didn't want little girl "R" to get in trouble.

Another time, "R" said she didn't want to be Lauren's friend because Lauren couldn't climb to the top of the playground rock wall. Maybe Lauren is scared...she fell off of a rockwall and onto her face in March and I thought she may have even broken her nose.

Another time in art, there was a sub so they watched a video. Lauren was laughing and a little boy didn't like it so he pinched her. I guess I'd have cried too.

Last week (in art again) a boy said, "Car riders STINK!" and that made her cry too.

Over the summer, she was eating a strawberry that Caleb wanted. Little boy that he is told her he was going to take it out of her mouth. Tears!

A friend brought her boys to spend a few days with us and the one Lauren's age was playing some Star Wars type game where he said, "Die" and that set her off. She has never played with friends who play Star Wars types of games.

She has a tender heart, I have known that for awhile. Last year in dance class, her best friend Katie wasn't there. She was sooo worried. I told her that maybe Katie was sick and that's all it took, Lauren was in tears because her best friend might be sick.

Apparently we have taught her compassion a little too well!

Oh the drama!

I have tried reasoning with her and explaining that those are not reasons to cry but that hasn't worked at all. I think she has gotten it from me. For years my mom told me that when she took my neighbor and me to see Benji and Benji got locked in the school, I cried hysterically and the whole theater laughed.

So...any thoughts on how to stop the crying?

Edited to add: I just realized that Lauren went all last year in dance and Religious Education classes without crying about something that someone else said or did. Hmm...

It feels like Fall

2009-09-10T11:09:00.002-05:00

Yesterday some drizzle came to town and cooled things down a bit. Now, it's muggy, but I'll take muggy and coolER over Fire Hot any day. This weather has been getting me in the mood for open windows, candles, decorating, and cooking some Fall recipes. I keep thinking about chili, soup, and Crock Pot cookin. Plus, I just found out we have about 20 lbs of chicken in the freezer so I'd better start grilling it and freezing it for future chicken recipes.

Yesterday was "one of those days." Lauren started dance classes again. Now that Abby is too big to keep her in her stroller, I planned ahead and took activities for Caleb and Abby to do while we waited. But there was NO ROOM to walk, much less do activities. I could not stand how crowded it was so I finally told the kids we were going to wait for Lauren in the van. I let them play on the sidewalk instead. I set the timer on my cell phone so I wouldn't lose track of time. I watched as several people left so when the timer rang I felt better about going inside. While waiting for her class to end, Caleb announced he had to potty. So off to the bathroom we went. I thought we'd be quick. Then Caleb knocked an industrial size roll of toilet paper on my neck and into the toilet it went.

When we went to get Lauren, her classroom was empty but her shoes were still in there. As we were walking out to find her, she came back into the building crying. I was concerned that she went outside...she never does this, but a parent took her to find me. Then I needed her to put her shoes on and there was no where for her to sit to change shoes. When we got home, it took forever to get them all corralled into the house. Caleb decided to stop and put his trains in his backpack. Abby was at the door to the house and started crying. She didn't fall, I have no idea what happened. Then they went inside and Abby stopped to climb in the washing maching (we have front loading). I was rushing to make dinner since it was almost 7 and we eat at 6. Bedtime is at 7:30. It was one thing after another. Lauren needed to go to the bathroom and then flipped out because she thought she was going to go in her leotard. I got the kids to the table and realized Caleb's cup was in the van. Luckily, the man who is working on our patio cover decided to come back and he was in the driveway.

YES! Another adult!

And as I sat down to eat, I spilled my diet coke all over my clothes, the dining room chair, and the floor. I didn't even change clothes. I just cleaned it up and hurried to get them fed and off to bed. Needless to say the kids didn't brush their teeth and I picked the shortest story I could find.

Not sure I like dance nights anymore!

Blogger Police

2009-09-03T20:30:00.002-05:00

The blogger police contacted me to inform me that I had not posted since July 17. I guess you could say Facebook has really taken over. Here is the latest in our lives:

Lauren started KG on her 5th birthday last Monday. She loves it just like I knew she would. She has a fabulous teacher and I do my best not to go by the Kindergarten "pod" just to see what Lauren is doing. I can't wait for her class to start their reading skills because Lauren is already reading basic 3 letter words as well as sounding them out to write them. Makes this Momma proud. Don't get me wrong, I do not want a genius! No, no, no. I just don't want her to struggle to understand when new concepts are being taught. My mom worked with me and I want to hand that down to my children. We do not sit and have lessons at home. We make it fun. We have tons of different alphabet letters such as the Word Whammers that go on the fridge. We have lots and lots of puzzles and we play a lot of educational games on the computer. Add to that all the educational TV shows and not only does Lauren know all her letters and their sounds, but Caleb does too and he is 3. Abby counts up to about 15. After that is hard to understand but it is just precious. She is 20 months old.

With the start of school came my return to work but only half days! What a difference it makes. I love my job and have always wondered what would happen if I did get to stay home full time. I would take a big risk in there not being an ESL position available when I'd return to work. Now I get to work in the mornings and be home in the afternoons. Don't be fooled though. Afternoons are short! I get home...feed Caleb and Abby lunch, get it cleaned up, and put them down for their naps so they have a decent nap before we have to leave to pick Lauren up. During the kids' naps, my goal is to get some serious housecleaning done but I have to admit that I've given into naps a few times. But I do get more housework done than before and so I think I'll get there eventually. Before my nap today, I forced myself to pick up 100 things that were out of place. Before you gasp at the thought of 100 things being out of place, keep in mind all the kids' toys, hair bows, a piece of trash on the floor, a washcloth that needs to go in the dirty clothes hamper, etc... If I can do that every day, I should have an immaculate house in..........say..........17 years when Abby is in college! Baby steps, right?

Stephen officially began his new full-time position at TAMU on Sept. 1. He loves his job, loves what he does, and he was lucky enough that they let him set his hours around our needs to be home with the kids. So he works 12-9 M-F and is still taking classes online plus his video business! One day our lives will slow down just a bit.

One day!

What else? We are building a patio cover...just in time for cooler weather. A friend of ours is building it on the weekends and he promises it will be done before our first cookout on Sept. 12.