These Four No More

Phone Dump

2013-06-09T13:22:00.001-04:00

I promise, the days are soon coming where I'll have more time to post something other than a phone dump. Just one more day of school, and then freedom.

And my freedom, I mean staying at home and trying to keep my house clean with all the kids running around being counter-productive.

But at least I won't feel the need to be in bed 10 minutes after they are, because I don't have to wake up super early. So there's that.

Until then, here's a few pictures from the past few days :)

All I have to say is thank goodness for free cookies.

3 kids - 3 belly sleepers, and none actually on their pillows.

Little man fell in love with my living room throw blanket. So it's his now.

Home made taco salads - with fresh grown veggies from our garden outside.

It took him forever to eat, mainly because he enjoyed hulk smashing it with his fork.

Natalie: "Take my picture with my beautiful hat"

Dinner of champions - or a really tired, not wanting to cook or wash dishes mom. Don't worry, the kids ate Rasin Bran. Ewwww!

Went to wake the girls up, couldn't find them. They snuck out to the couch.

5 kids, playing with toys

I try to cook dinner, the girls dress their brother up in costumes. And hello, mountain of laundry in the background.

This was all Eddie's idea. He looks like a little Padawan!

The girls were playing hide & seek. Audrey pushed me out of the way (I was folding clothes) to climb on top of the dryer, opened the washer door, and lowered herself down in. She'd have been the champion, except for her giggling.

No children were harmed in this photo. Even if she begged me to turn the washer on so she could take a bath.

Almost There...

2013-06-07T10:01:00.001-04:00

I'm sure by now you've read Jen Hatmaker's post gone viral, "Worst End of School Year Mom Ever" - unless you've been hiding under a rock.

And I would like to just say, it's a good thing my girls' school ended in mid-May, or else I would have been that mom, too. Because as a teacher, I'm still here, sitting in my classroom, counting down the hours for today to be over. But wait, there's more! I have to come back on Monday. Yes, that's June 10th. And we're not one of those schools that waits until Labor Day weekend to start. Oh no, we go back in mid-August. I suppose I'm just thankful that the weather is somewhat rainy and overcast, because as soon as students leave (yesterday was their last day), I'm fairly sure the district likes to turn off the a/c around lunch time to save money. No bueno in South Carolina during the summer!

So I'm sitting here with nothing to do. Honestly, absolutely no school work left (well, until we receive the report cards to stuff in envelopes and mail out). I started packing up my room in early May, because we can have no instructional materials or student work hanging before standardized testing. You can bet your bottom dollar I also used my free child labor (both students & my twins that came up here for a bit on my half days) before they left for summer break, so my desks have been wiped off, my bookshelves neatly arranged, and my large wardrobe completely gutted and nicely organized. Since I've been teaching the same subject for 9 years, and I'm the most OCD person I know about backing up files and organizing, I've already done lesson plans through the end of September next year. I've used my roll-over copies and printed off my syllabus, welcome letter, and orientation information. I've even updated my school website to welcome next year's students. So, I'm done.

Did I mention I still have two days left? There's only so much Candy Crush Saga I can play on my phone before I spend my nights dreaming of matching wrapped and striped candies, so I've been working on curriculum for the girls this summer. I've made a few lapbooks and printables to keep them busy, and me sane. I've also tried to find everything within driving distance offering free, kid-oriented fun this summer (preferably indoors!) and added events to my Google calendar. The girls will go to VBS at the church they used to attend K3, and I won't lie that I'm half tempted to VBS hop around our neighborhood churches all summer. Because snacks, crafts, songs, & playing with other kids is exactly what the girls love to do - and momma likes the free part. We'll also do our library programs on Tuesdays & Fridays, and some of our state parks offer ranger led "hikes" on Wednesdays. I'm trying to find a good swimming class to enroll the girls in, too.

So two more days. I can make it...maybe. What are your plans for this summer? How will you keep your kids busy? And, most importantly, how will you keep your sanity??

Happy 2nd Anniversary

2013-06-03T10:53:00.001-04:00

It's been two years since Eddie & I eloped and went to Chateau Elan for our honeymoon. Back then, we had debated staying in Greenville and doing a honeystay, instead of a honeymoon - so we toyed with the idea this year of booking a hotel room downtown and enjoying our museums and fabulous restaurants. But, alas, it's wedding season and our downtown hotels were pretty packed, (and I spend my Friday outside in the hot sun for 8th Grade Day) so we packed up Saturday and headed to North Carolina instead.

Saturday we spent kayaking down the Tuckasegee River. The weather was gorgeous, in the high 70s, with a slight breeze. The water was a bit cold, but we didn't get all that wet (except Eddie, who was crazy enough to jump off large boulders in to the river). In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much that we wanted to kayak the Nantahala on Sunday.

After getting off the river, we headed in to Bryson City and stopped at the first Inn we saw to book a room. Not wanting a traditional hotel/motel, but also not wanting a super tiny Bead & Breakfast, the Fryemont Inn was the perfect choice. First of all, we were the youngest people there, besides the 12 year old on a trip with her grandparents. It was quiet, and large, and we had the entire second floor to ourselves. Not to mention they keep all of the unoccupied rooms open to get a nice draft going (no a/c up in there), so we got to explore a little and choose our own room. The Inn was so steeped in history, from the story of it's builder in the timber empire, to a binder full of letters written in the early 1930s asking what room rates were ($27/week!). Breakfast & dinner were included in the rental price, so we definitely spent so much less than we would have staying in Greenville for the night and eating out.

Unfortunately, we woke up Sunday to some pretty nasty thunderstorms. So we made our way back to Greenville, stopped in at a hobby shop, picked up little man from the in-laws, and got the girls back from their dad's house. We're in the process of planning a family trip to the mountains next month, to either stop at Tweetsie Railroad, or head to the Great Wolf Lodge.

Wordless Wednesday

2013-05-29T10:09:00.004-04:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2013-05-27T21:39:00.002-04:00

Sorry I've been MIA, but like I've mentioned before, it's the end of the school year and there's just so much to do. It also doesn't help that I happened to misplace my teaching portfolio and realized it the day before it was due to my evaluator. Talk about putting in a long day at work!

We had a great weekend here. I took all 4 kids to the park (by myself!) on Saturday. We went and ate at Chick-Fil-A, where Corbin met a little girlfriend. Sunday, we ventured to Aloft, an annual balloon festival in Greenville. However, the balloons didn't start launching until 7, and since we arrived at 1, we didn't last that long. But now we know what to do next year (pay $5 to park, go in to the free playground, ride the $2 train, and see the balloons - instead of $12/adult admission to fairgrounds to pay out the wazoo for food/rides/junk).

Today I swear I did 10 loads of laundry, and cleaned each room roughly 6 times. I'm almost ready for the work week to start to give me a "break", lol.

Car wash

Real car wash - the first tear free one ever

We rode the train at Heritage Park - Audrey thought it would be loud, so she covered her ears

The pretty hunky Marine that helped inflate the balloon

Corbin's first full meal using his fork - and asking for FOURTHS

Backpacks & Bentos

2013-05-22T11:12:00.001-04:00

I have a sickness.

It's May 22, I have 12 days that I still have to come to work before summer.

And I'm already shopping & planning for the girls' first full year of elementary school.

First off, we had to have backpacks. And since Pottery Barn Kids was having a sale (I got one of the backpacks for $19!), and free shipping - I hopped on it. Audrey picked the Chocolate Geo pattern & Natalie picked the Chocolate Floral.

But of course I couldn't just stop there. I've been searching for lunch ideas, other than lunchables. I'd love to do bento boxes, but ain't nobody got time for stuff like these super cute ones....at least not in my house! I'm also pretty sure the girls would FLIP if they found Yoda staring back at them in their lunch box. Not to mention, after carpool, sitting in a classroom for a few hours, and being carried by almost 5 year olds to the cafeteria, all my hard work would look more like a Pollock.

But I found some supplies on Amazon, and they are rather cheap (like $3-4), that I think might make them more eager to eat their PBJ and fruit. Or possibly use to trade for square pizzas and cookies, who knows?

silicone muffin cups / face punching templates / 4 pack bento boxes / stacking bento box / egg mold / food picks

I think I could probably pull off lunches like this. Maybe not every day, but some days. They look pretty basic, and it's just the little things (picks, silicone cups, shaped sammies) that make it look nice.

What do you pack for your kids for lunch?
I'm in need of some ideas, because the girls have never had to have lunch outside of our house - and I certainly get in ruts with what we eat.

Stumphouse Tunnel & Issaqueena Falls

2013-05-20T10:07:00.001-04:00

We decided to head out on an adventure yesterday. After a rainy day stuck inside, we were all itching to get out doors. Eddie came up with a plan to visit Stumphouse Tunnel in Walhalla, SC - after reminiscing about a childhood trip there and how awesome he remembered it. So a quick stop to Academy Sports for some flashlights (oh, and they had puddle jumpers on sale for $14), we were off!

For those that have never heard of Stumphouse Tunnel, it was started in 1852 as a tunnel for the Blue Ridge Railroad to connect Charleston to Knoxville. But, the Civil War brought construction to a halt. The tunnel is 17 feet wide, 25 feet high, and there's an airshaft about halfway down the 1,600 foot tunnel. In 1951, Clemson University bought the tunnel and used it to cure their famous blue cheese (ew, this sounds so gross to me!). We also got to climb on one of the train cars, I'm assuming that was there in the 1800s, but I couldn't find any information about it.

We read a sign going in that there were bats in the cave, and since we were the only ones in there - I was officially freaked out about bats & serial killers. My husband laughed about the bats and said they didn't seem to bother Bruce Wayne all that much. To which I replied that Bruce Wayne was a billionaire with the funds to seek therapy for his trauma - I'd just be stuck as the crazy lady terrified of bats. I'm also a chicken because my 18 month old boy basically led the way down the tunnel and didn't want to come out.

Dead of cuteness!

The fog did not help ease my bat/serial killer fears

At this point, I heard a bat squeak and dragged the girls out running

We then headed down a path to view the Issaqueena Falls, named after a Native American woman who alerted settlers (her husband was David Francis, a silversmith) to a native attack. When her tribe realized what she was doing, she jumped off the falls, and they believed her to be dead. In reality, she either landed on a ledge, or a stump (hence Stumphouse Tunnel) and she & her husband left South Carolina to live in Alabama. There's a little easy paved trail to an overlook of the falls. Of course, this was not enough for me & my adventurous family, so we ended up hiking straight down a cliff to get a better view, and play in, the falls. Even little man did some good hiking & climbing!

Natalie: "Hooray - the waterfall!"
Me: "Honey, that's not it - it's only a little one"

Thank you, random hiker that wasn't a serial killer, for taking our picture!

We had such a great day, and I hope the girls will remember this. I'm actively finding more places for us to visit this summer, hopefully one a week. I want them to have a love of the outdoors, and possibly not fear bats like I do, hehe.

And last, but not least, please click below to help vote for us on Top Mommy Blogs. It's been a while since I've asked, and we've definitely fallen out of the top ten. Thanks!

Playing Outdoors

2013-05-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

Can you tell he's so stinking proud he snagged his sister's juice?

Oh yeah, he thinks it's hilarious!

The most beast swingset ever

Did you take the picture already???

Multi-tasking

T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

Emma & Axl

Random ghost like picture of Natalie running after Uncle Daniel's truck

Corbin & Aunt Anna

We got to watch our neighbor make hay today. It's so cool that we live out in the "country", yet a half mile away from every type of shopping center imaginable.

Last Day of K3

2013-05-17T16:20:00.005-04:00

Today was the girls' last day of K3. Their teacher made the most adorable movie of all the kids throughout the year, and gave each child a copy. How special! I really need to buy each kid a little memory box to store some of the things that they make each year in school. I still have my ceramic bust of George Washington from Kindergarten, lol. Anyway, we also got to eat a picnic with their classmates, but since it started at 10:30, I thought cupcakes would be more appropriate (and yummy!).

Kelly's Korner Kid's Clothing Sale

2013-05-17T14:25:00.000-04:00

In an effort to give poor Corbin his own closet space, I'm cleaning out the kids' "fancy" clothes that we really don't ever wear. Sure, we live in the South, but it's way too hot for the girls to wear smocked clothing most of the time, and they've gotten to the point where they don't like to wear it, anyway. So...my loss & your gain! If you're interested in purchasing anything, simply click the Paypal button to the side. All prices include shipping - just please make sure you have your correct address during checkout! You can always shoot me an email at nbjenni@gmail.com to double check that everything went through. I've set it up so once an item is purchased, it will simply redirect you to my blog. Anything that is new, never worn is $20, and everything that's in EUC (worn once, most likely for a photo shoot, lol) is $15. We have a smoke free & pet free home.

Edit: Wow, thanks helping a gal out! I've gone ahead and removed the description and paypal button for items that have sold. Will be shipping out a lot of items tomorrow morning!

NEW Dolce Mia "E" Christmas dress in size 3T

EUC Capri Alligator set by Z*U in size 3T. I have two for sale.

NEW Mudpie Pumpkin longall in black corduroy - size 2T/3T. One for sale.

EUC Dolce Mia smocked "N" dress in size 2T. One for sale.

NEW Nativity Longall by Smockaroos in size 2. One for sale.

Wizard of Oz dress by Smockaroos. NEW, never worn. I have two dresses in size 5 for sale. The dress features a light pink/white candy stripe fabric with the Lion, Tin Man, Dorothy, Toto & Scarecrow.

Wordless Wednesday

2013-05-15T10:44:00.002-04:00

A (Belated) Mother's Day Post

2013-05-14T09:53:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day started with me waking up to a bed full of children - Corbin kicking Audrey in the head, and slapping Natalie....in his sleep! But at least they let me sleep until after 8. We lazily ate breakfast and got dressed, and they presented me with my card & some pretty flowers before heading to our Mother's Day lunch tradition - Mexican! One of our favorite restaurants does a great job for Mother's Day, handing out roses to all the moms that visit. Plus it's the one type of cuisine that all of us love to eat, and Corbin enjoys flirting with the patrons.

After lunch, we drove about 30 minutes to a little botanical garden that I'd never heard of before. The weather outside was perfect, in the 70s, with a light breeze. The kids had a great time exploring all of the different paths, plants & flowers, finding birds, turtles, and even a snake (I could have done without that last part, to be honest).

All in all, we had a great weekend and I feel very blessed to be called mom. (Except at 3 in the morning to change poop, then I want to hide under the covers and go back to my college years)

My Mixtape

2013-05-08T23:03:00.000-04:00

Remember those days gone by when the sign of one's true love was to create a mix tape of affection?

In fact, I'm pretty sure I still own the first one I received. And since I was a late bloomer, it was definitely a mixed-CD. With songs created this century.

I got to thinking the other day...what music do I really enjoy? I listen to a lot of things, mainly a LOT of Barney & Yo Gabba Gabba. But there are a few songs that really sing to my heart/soul/being. And these are them.....

Of course Fun "Some Nights" leads my list. I grew up listening to Queen, and I find them the hipster version of my parents' generation - soothing to my soul. Perhaps its the Civil War throwback, or the high pitched voice - or maybe it's because the whole "what do I stand for?" really resonates with me. Either way, I'm a fan.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Wings". And really? Everything Macklemore has put out in the last few years. I'm not ashamed to say that my #1 rapper from early 2000 on was Eminem. I mean, what suburban millennial kid didn't listen to his lyrics? But Macklemore? The social commentary is profound. Sure, you think "Thrift Shop" is all about the cool stuff you find at Goodwill, but actually listen to the lyrics. And then check out his other songs. "One Love"? It speaks to me - the lone liberal in SC.

Because N Sync led to Justin Timberlake, need I say more? And that leads to...

Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake - The History of Rap #4 - be sure to check out #1-3.

I have more to add, but Charter internet sucks and I can't use more than one Chrome window at a time without my computer shutting down so I'll leave it at this. What are your favorite mixtape songs?

Rambling & Yet Another Phone Dump

2013-05-08T12:33:00.003-04:00

I'm sorry, y'all. Life has been hectic, and will continue to be hectic, these last few weeks of school. We're smack dab in the middle of property value increase testing, I mean, PASS testing. The girls are finishing out their year in K3 next week, and we have orientation at their Elementary school for next year - as well as their year end picnic. Corbin is in to everything, and has new words almost every day. The husband & I are trying to decide if we want to move, though the space we need in this area is at the top end of our budget, or add on to our current house since we have the land, and increase the value of our house. We love our area, the schools the kids will attend, and we're close to family. Ideally, we're thinking of adding a larger master suite to the back of the house, and giving the twins our current master bedroom. Anyway, just some thoughts - and here are some recent phone pics.

The girls have been obsessed with my maxi dresses, so we had to go out and buy them their own

Darn, she caught me!

Rainbow after an insane amount of rain this past week

The girls are terrified of Yoda - they have to remove him every time they play in Corbin's room. I've found him in the shower, in my bed, and in the trash can before.

Audrey played, and won, Bingo at my school

This is what hyped up 17 month olds do at 11 at night

And this is what said hyped up 17 month olds do at 8:00 in the morning when you need them to wake up

Goofy boy

Please, please click below. We've fallen out of the top ten. Thanks :)

Room Re-decorating

2013-05-06T13:17:00.000-04:00

This weekend, Eddie & decided to change up our room a bit. It's been painted blue since shortly after I bought the house in 2007, and I grew tired of it. When I had picked out the paint, I was hoping for that nice, steel blue/grey color - and instead got a dark robin egg blue. Paired with the dark brown curtains, the room often felt like a cave. So we picked Pantone White Asparagus for the walls, and found some new, light blue curtains for sale at Lowes. After patching a few holes and painting all day, we're really happy with our new room. You can't beat an entire room face-lift for less than $50. I also found a neat shelf for the kids' bathroom at Target - on sale for $24 from $82!

Say "OshKosh B'gosh" Video Contest & $50 #Giveaway

2013-05-01T16:03:00.001-04:00

“Disclosure: Post and giveaway sponsored by OshKosh B’gosh, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.”

Ok, we already know I'm a huge fan of OshKosh B'gosh, and my kids obviously love wearing their clothes. We can't beat the price, cute styles, and wear-ability. Which is why I'm a huge fan of the contest that OshKosh B'gosh is currently running.

Hury, last chance! Submit a video entry of your B'gosh kid saying "OshKosh B'gosh" for a chance to win the grand prize - a $5,000 OshKosh B'gosh gift card. Do you know how long that would clothe my kids? Ok, maybe through Kindergarten, but hey - I have 4. Hopefully you'll have better luck getting your kids to say "OshKosh B'gosh" than I did, lol.

See? I had to bribe first

And may have resorted to saying "OshKosh B'gosh" myself

Entering is quick and easy. You can take a video (30 seconds or less) with your mobile phone and upload it directly HERE. There’s nothing OshKosh B’gosh loves more than the sight (and sound) of real kids saying “OshKosh B’gosh!” Say it six times fast, say it with a silly dance, say it slow or fast....have fun with it! Once you enter, you’re eligible for a chance to win! o One Grand Prize Winner: $5,000 OKBG gift card
o Four Runner’s Up: $500 OKBG gift cards (total $2,000)
o Fifty Random Winners: $50 OKBG gift cards (total $2,500)

And guess what? One of YOU can win a $50 OshKosh B'gosh gift card NOW! To enter, simply do the following:

In the comment section below, tell me your favorite style on OshKoshBgosh.com

After you answer the prompt, enter using the RaffleCopter widget to record your comment, and earn extra entries. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Phone Dump

2013-04-29T12:35:00.002-04:00

If y'all don't hear from me regularly these next few weeks, I apologize. I've already gotten the 8th grade dance out of the way, and tomorrow night is Pizza Bingo at school. Which only leaves another million things to do before our last day of June 10 (yes, JUNE flipping TENTH). On the home front, I took Corbin in to the doctor today because he's had an upset tummy for almost a week. The bad news? He's on the upward swing of Norovirus. The good news? It's already gone through most of us here, and I had just attributed it to my cooking, ha!

We took the girls to the Peace Center to see Rapunzel! Rapunzel! They had a blast - and loved meeting Socrates the dragon

My husband is trying to grow facial hair. It's not going so well, ha!

I'm a unicorn!

Bubble beard

There's a reason we keep child proof knobs on closets around here...

My homeroom students took almost 4 months to complete this puzzle

Salley's Senior Pictures

2013-04-25T14:09:00.000-04:00

I took senior pictures of my co-worker's daughter, Salley, yesterday. Her friend, Tanner, came along to help with clothing changes, and I snapped a few pics of them together. Gah, she is just too pretty (she gets it from her momma)! It's funny, though, because I remember her coming through our middle school not that long ago, and now she's getting ready for Prom this weekend, graduation, and packing up to go to Alabama in the Fall.

Things I Should Never Have To Say

2013-04-24T12:32:00.002-04:00

Loaner Lens

2013-04-23T09:43:00.002-04:00

I'm taking senior pictures of my co-worker's daughter, so my friend Rachael was kind enough to let me borrow her Tamron lens. I think I might be in love, ha. I tried it out yesterday in the backyard while the kids were playing. It's so nice not to be able to zoom with my hands instead of my feet (I typically keep my prime lens on my camera).

Anyway, yesterday was the last day for the kids to dig in the giant sand pit (from our pool last year). Eddie & I did some upgrades to our front yard this past weekend, and we plan on doing a few things to the backyard hopefully this coming weekend - including planting grass. We're also going to Babies R Us to pick up the sandbox/picnic table combo I ordered for kids.

And if you could spare 2 seconds, please click below to vote for us :)

Mother's Day Silhouette Gift - For Under $6

2013-04-22T13:00:00.000-04:00

I worked on this project last year, and let me just say - I'm so stumped on what to make this year! Seriously, all of our moms & grandmas loved this, I'm not sure how to top it. We have a lot of moms in our family, so I knew anything we did for Mother's Day would have to be inexpensive, but I also wanted it to be something that our moms and grandmas would cherish.

Growing up, I remember my grandma having silhouettes of my mom, aunt, and uncles hanging in her house. I always loved how simple and timeless they were. So I decided to try my hand in making some of our kids. But instead of the old fashioned shadow against dark black paper, and hours cutting out the tiny details in scissors, I turned to my computer.

First, I bribed the children (except Corbin, he was easy) to stand REALLY still and look at the wall. It helps if you use a background that doesn't appear in their skin tone or hair color. I had read a tutorial that said shooting a picture against a window would work, but Emma's was probably the hardest to do because the sun washed out some of her features and made them harder to select.

Then I opened up paint.net (which is a free download) and used the magic wand tool to select their profiles. It was definitely hit or miss, and took about 5-10 minutes to do. Once I was happy with the selection, I pasted it onto a white background, and filled it with black. I zoomed in to make sure I had filled every part black, and that it looked decently smooth. I chopped off their profiles at the shoulder, and saved the files.

I had purchased frames from Walmart that already came with the matting - $5 for the ones with four 3.5 x 5 slots, and $3 for the one with two 3.5 x 5 slots and the one 5 x 7 frame. I purchased scrapbook paper for about $0.22 a sheet at Hobby Lobby. I tried to pick colors I knew would match the decor and tastes of the moms I made the presents for.

I loaded the paper in my printer (I bought standard printer paper size, or cut the 12x12 paper down), and selected to print the 3.5 x 5 pictures. I cut them out, and then taped them behind the matting.

Voila. A timeless, cherish-able, and inexpensive (less than $5.50) Mother's Day gift!

A New Little Friend

2013-04-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

The kids found a caterpillar outside yesterday. At first, there was a bunch of squealing and jumping, but eventually Audrey was brave enough to let it crawl on her hand, and Natalie even pet it once. I love that the weather has been in the high 70s and mid 80s the past few weeks. With a few days of rain, our garden has really taken off. It's been a great learning experience for the kids, and they've enjoyed helping me harvest the herbs for dinners, and can't wait to pick the veggies when they're ready.
Also? Little man is 17 months old! I took the trio out to Mexican last night by myself, and received multiple compliments about how well they were behaving. Which, just like my Murphy's Laws of Parenting, meant that something had to happen. Apparently, Corbin was really watching closely when we watched How Animals Eat Their Food a few days ago. He loudly shouted "moooo!!" and smashed his face into his plate of rice. I'm pretty sure soda spewed out of the nose of the middle school kid sitting at the table next to us, lol.

Phone Dump

2013-04-15T15:31:00.002-04:00

Girls' night (our husbands just so happened to be with us, but I'm pretty sure they ran and hid after we "mom danced")

Bed head

Intro to Mario Kart 64

Audrey was so proud of herself for writing this

Always check treat bags for contraband

Yep - these are size 4t pants and a 3t shirt

My kids have good taste in tv, lol

And I've fixed my voting image below so you'll be able to vote and not pin to Pinterest :)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2013-04-12T10:46:00.003-04:00

After spending some time thinking of what I wanted to do with the kids over Spring Break, and what we could do together this summer, I finally decided a garden would be perfect. It would give the girls a great opportunity to see how hard work can pay off - in the form of fresh, home made salads & salsa! Eddie spent an evening digging out a place for our box, which we made sure is right near a water source. He put down weed paper and soil, and I picked out what to grow (this website really helped me figure out what would work best with kids). The girls have been so excited to "farm" so far! We go out daily to water and make sure there are no weeds. We've already used some of the cilantro in our dinner last night. I also made some labels to modge podge on to garden stakes so we can identify the plants. I was going to just write on popsicle sticks, but Audrey said "mommy, we can't read", so we went with pictures, too. (I've had several people asking for them, so here's the PDF) We're going to have to build another box, though. I couldn't fit the potatoes, garlic & pumpkin (I'm not going to grow a whole patch, just one or two). I'm still waiting for my red potato to sprout in the kitchen, though - so no rush. Do you have a garden this year? What are you growing?

Murphy's Laws of Parenting

2013-04-10T17:31:00.001-04:00

Your children will be able to go to the bathroom in public in a perfectly normal manner - in an empty bathroom. Only when the restroom is completely occupied will they shout "mom, did you poop?" and attempt to turn the sink into a splash park.
After a lesson on anatomically correct body parts, the only one your children will ask the teenage drive-thru worker at Chick-Fil-A about is a penis. Why not elbows? Why??
After spending an afternoon cleaning one room in your house, you realize your children spent that time destroying the others.
You can spend 6 days stuck on level 65 of Candy Crush Saga, only to have your 4 year old snatch your phone and beat it for you - making you feel like the dumbest person ever.
You may spend years trying to get kids to listen to your favorite genre of music, instead of Barney or Fresh Beat Band. Inevitably, they'll pick the most obnoxious song known to man to memorize and repeat endlessly.
You spend months planning the most awesome Ariel birthday party ever, only for your kid to change their favorite princess to Rapunzel the week before.
After months of begging you to take them to Chuck E. Cheese, your children turn in to stage 5 clingers when the giant rat approaches them while eating pizza.
Just when you think you've perfected table manners for your children, you take them out to eat and are worried about the traumatized people who sat within nuclear meltdown tantrum range.
When you look over to see your children sitting down reading books, don't praise yourself just yet. Make sure they aren't drawing butts inside library books.
When you think you've figured out a certain age or stage, it changes. Until they're 18.

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