Weekend Wrap-up

WOWza. I'm behind. We've been having too much excitement around here, and I've put anything and everything possible on the back burner. Apparently.

There are a couple of things I wanted to share with you though.

This...

I love how she worked so hard to appear to know that she shouldn't have been into the nail polish on her own. In the end she couldn't keep it up though....she was simply tickled pink that SHE DID IT.

It was realllllllly quiet for about 10 minutes after I'd put the big kids to bed, so I went looking after her, and she was in my bathroom sitting on the toilet lid painting her toenails, toes, feet, and some of the lid. She was also stinking the place up in a huge way (and not just with nail polish). P-U!

And this...

The J3s came to visit! To those of you who are UnInClined, I have 4 brothers, and all their names start with a J. Growing up, my parents just resorted to the # system so they didn't have to be mocked for their constant Je-Ju-Jo-Jor-J stutter when trying to yell at one of the boys with their correct name. It stuck, and now that they are all married with cute little families of their own (all with the same last name), it's just easier this way.... But I digress.

My little brother married a beauty and somehow ended up with one of the most darling children ever to walk the earth! Hay-Hay is so deliciously cute and infectiously curious it's hard to keep your hands off him. (Course ALL of the cousins are beautiful, they can't help it....I am a bit biased though)

See what I mean??

Who needs a creek to go creek-walking when you have the boulders? (this is our neighbors park-strip, hey, I guess you don't have to weed or mow it)

Right after this picture was taken, he noticed a jogger going past, and said, "You runnin?? I can run too!" And proceeded to chase her down the road for about 100 feet before I caught up to him! He's a kick, and he's in perpetual motion!

J3 and Chris pulled out the Ripstick for a little playtime. I swear, I'm scared of that thing.....It looks fun but there's a good chance I'll break an arm or leg if I get on it. I need to get brave before I have a go.

Hay-Hay and Mommy. He's gonna be a Big Brother in a few months! :) We had so much fun with them and are glad they came to play while they were in town!

T-Ball Tuesdays

& Saturdays. For the next 5 weeks.Gunnar and his best bud Aiden signed up to be on the same team. G was hesitant about it, but the fact that A will be there gave him the final push and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Tonight was their first game, and they both did great. They really hit the ball well! Look at the coach's face (orange shirt) in this shot above! I'm still laughing about it. I think he may have underestimated G's desire to sock that ball! Now, we just have to work on knowing WHEN to run to the next base.
Post-game hug turned dog pile. Can you feel the love?

And the treat, of course! What's county rec without the treat?

Here's to my little guy trying and loving sports for the first time. I hope it's a long lasting tradition.

Big Puffy Red

If you were to open Savi's chest, I think you would find that her heart looks something like the one above.

Big

Puffy

Red....or maybe Blue (that being her favorite color and all)

Gunnar was assigned to give a talk today in Primary. I helped him come up with the outline and Savannah tried and tried to help him practice. He was having none of it. He wanted his Dad, and only his Dad to help him practice AND present.

Savannah said she fretted about it all night. So strong was her desire to help her brother with his talk! She was very upset when he didn't budge.

Fast-forward to after church. I am cleaning up after lunch and find a piece of paper on the table. It has a big heart drawn on it. On the top it says, "Savi's talk". In the center of the heart it says:

I LOVE my mom.
I like my mom.
I LOVE my mom.

I'm not positive, but I think this was written around the time Savi and I had this conversation...

S - Mom, I don't know why, but I REALLY feel like I want brownies.

M - Well, I think I can guess why that is. (Chocoholic that she is) Hmmm, looks like we don't have any brownie mix, but I can make a chocolate bundt cake. I bet that'll take care of your chocolate craving.

S - Yay!!!!!!!!!

2 Great Songs = 1 Irrestistable Piece

Blue Moon

Have you ever heard someone say, "Once in a Blue Moon, I'll......eat tofu, actually watch a chick flick with my wife, cry in front of strangers, laugh so loud my soda shoots out my nose?"

I'm not sure how regularly blue moons occur, but based on the phrase, I'll venture to guess that it isn't all that often. Same goes for what is so lusciously illustrated below...

On Wednesday, our Blue Moon happened. Both kids that are home in the afternoon fell asleep and NAPPED! For a good 90 minutes!!! I was absolutely aghast and delighted at the same time when I stumbled upon them.

I almost didn't know what to do with all the peace and quiet. Syd is very irregular with her napping routines recently, as she doesn't want to miss out on playing with her brother. So even having her down is always a pleasant surprise.

I ended up outside in the glorious weather, inspecting my hydrangea bushes to see if there are any signs of life yet. To my delight, they are starting to sprout some leaves! Yay! I can't wait for their blossoms every year, they are finicky and need a lot of hand watering, but it's always worth it!

Daisy Head Maisy

There is nothing cuter than a pretty little girl with a pretty flower clip in her hair! Since I have two girls, I have been making these double time. I tend to make at least 2 of each version so we can do pigtails, or each girl can wear one and they can match. I find bunches of them in all different colors at the Dollar Store. They are super affordable, and since I already am into beading I have TONS of beads for the center.

They are SO simple to make. I made the ones pictured above at our most recent Bead Night. I picked up a GINORMOUS bag of shaped sequins beforehand, and was thrilled with the results. The cream ones have smaller flowers and beads stiched into the centers and the beads sparkle in the sunlight, they are SO pretty on.

I think I now have some in every color except black. Black flowers are hard to come by, but I keep an eye out for them. See, I never like to pay full price, so I may have to hang on until after Halloween and hope I find some on clearance.

Some of the ladies the other night mentioned we should do an exchange. As in, you make a dozen of the same flower and then get together and swap and you end up with a dozen different ones. If any of you Moms of little girls are interested, let me know, and we'll set one up. I was thinking we could assign by color, so we have a good variety.

Happy crafting!

Mom Tip Tuesday

I say a lot of things to my kids in an effort to keep them on schedule for bedtime.

"You'll be grumpy in the morning if you stay up past your bedtime."

"You won't grow as tall as you should if you don't get enough sleep."

"If I come back upstairs in 5 minutes and find you still in your clothes and without your teeth brushed, I'm going to be really mad!!!"

Sometimes, I'm tired. I'm looking forward to relaxing and rocking my little peanut to sleep....while I catch the latest episode of Castle.

When I have a night like that, THIS has been working really well.

"Kids, in 20 minutes, Mom will be OFF DUTY! If there is anything you need from me, a snack, a cuddle, a paper signed for school, speak now or forever hold your peace....at least until morning."

I'm not sure how this is working. I only know that IT IS. And I love it! Try it with your own monsters, um, I mean blessings, at home.

Warning....they should be at least 4-5 for this to actually work, I think.