Check, Check, and Check!

I’m proud to say with only 10 days into our summer list we have checked off 3 things! Over this past week and a half we’ve gone to see Toy Story 3, we went to the slash park (tomorrow will be the 2nd time), and we planted our garden. The boys also decided to add 3 more things to the list: bake a cake with nana, go watch uncle wheat play baseball, and bike ride to the park. This is going to be a busy summer!

At Toy Story 3 with sweetie pie Kate and cousin Tyler!My Cody Bear Mason and cousin Tyler 

Splash park time with our buddies! BFF’s :) Watch out for these boys! Water fight!! :)

Daddy is working on our flagstone garden so we are using pots for now (fingers crossed its ready for our fall garden). We are waiting on one more pot and then we’ll have Cherry Tomato’s, Red Bell Peppers, and Green Beans.

 

FREE Summer Movies

I’m sure most parents know about this, but it doesn’t hurt to throw out a little reminder. FREE summer movie festival has begun! From now till the end of August select Regal Entertainment Theaters will be showing a selected G and PG movie on Tuesday and Wednesday each week at 10am. Yes, the movies are older. Yes, your child has probably already seen them. But… they are FREE! Any movie, old or new, in a theater is AWESOME! And if you don’t believe me, just take your kid and find out. :)

Click HERE and select your state.

Our Summer List

I first saw this cool idea on Debbie’s Blog and thought this would be a really fun thing to do with the kids. Not only would it allow them to choose things they would like to do over the next few months, but it would also help us implement our rewards system with them better. Then I saw the same idea, with a little twist over on Eighteen25 and knew I must do it this way. Of course I’ll be kicking myself in the ass when I’m up at 2am doing it, but oh well. :)

~Materials~                                                                                                              1. 11x17 poster frame ($4 at Walmart)                                                      2. 12x12 scrapbooking paper (5 for $1 at Joann's)                                3.  Black dry easer marker                                                                                 4. Glue stick                                                                                                           5. Kid(s) with a great imagination!

• Cut a 5x11 piece of paper for the header
• Cut 1x11 strips with 3 pieces of your paper
• Cut 1 piece of paper to 11x12
• Glue down your header paper and 11x12 paper
• Next arrange 1x11 strips and then glue those down
• Place glass top back into frame
• Now have fun with your kids and write out your summer list!!!

I Heart Faces – Week 24 “All About Babies”

This week over at I Heart Faces is baby week! And I knew right off the bat which photo I wanted to submit for this challenge. This entry is dedicated to my husband, Adam; in honor of Fathers Day this weekend.

Check out I Heart Faces for more precious “Baby” entries!

One of “those” days…

Today has been one of THOSE days!! Our day started out great with everyone sleeping in and waking up in good moods. But all that took a sudden change over breakfast, in a snap of a finger my children went from fun loving kids to hellions! All I wanted to do was get them out of the house to meet friends at the park before swim lessons. And even though I know I should’ve just kept them home for the non stop bickering and not listening, I just needed a break. Of course that didn’t happen! It all carried into the car ride to the park, which led to pouting kids (because I refused to answer either one of them in the car) wanting to sit next to me on the park bench. Really?? GO PLAY! LET MOMMY BREATH!

Then there was meltdown central with Taylor . How do you make an almost 2 year old happy when they don’t even know what they want? Up. Down. Swing. No swing. Sit. Stand. Stroller. No stroller. MINE. MINE. MINE! I don’t remember the boys ever being this emotional. What have I gotten myself into?

I truly thought about stopping at the strawberry stand on our way home from swim lessons and asking if I could trade all 3 of my children for a flat of fresh strawberries. It could have been a win-win situation, free labor for them and silence for me (plus the strawberries). Thankfully I remembered this photo and it was enough to give me the strength not to stop (and the fact I was leaving for work shortly). Tomorrow WILL be a better day!

10 on 10 ~ June 2010

With the weather nice and Mason out of school, our days have been CRAZY busy!! Luckily I remembered to set the alarm on my cell phone to remind me that today was the the 10th, since last month I forgot. I almost need a reminder to remind me to set the alarm! Is that bad??

Baby Girls new thing is to smile with her eyes closed. It’s making picture taking a LOT harder!The boys are LOVING swim lessons. Mason swam today all by himself! Of course I missed it with the camera. UGH!BUDDIES ~ BUDDIES ~ BUDDIES!I truly believe Cody is going to be a Fireman when he grows up.The reason why God put me here on this Earth!A sneak peak at my next project. :)Can you say, “Skirts galore?”

~What did you do on this 10th day of the month?~

I Heart Faces – Week 23 “Play”

There's a first for everything! So here it is... my very first entry into the I Heart Faces weekly photo challenge. I am fair warning you, I am NOT or no where near a photographer. I just love taking pictures to documenting my children's life. Hope you enjoy this photo of my oldest playing at the park, just as much as he enjoyed the morning sunshine!

Check out I Heart Faces for more “Play” entries!

Teacher Goody Box

I would LOVE to take credit for this super cute and fun idea, but I can’t. Jennifer from Eighteen25 posted this clever idea for teacher appreciation week back in April and with it being the end of the school year, I decided to putting it to use. Thanks Jen! :)

Step 1: Get yourself a craft box (I got mine at Walmart since that’s where I was shopping at the time. It was $2)Step 2: Purchase office supplies (I also got these at Walmart. DUH, same shopping trip)Mason picked these because they looked like his school colors. You could totally get cheaper ones. I think Staples even has them in a dollar section.Step 3: Pick out 3 pieces of paper from your scrap box or head over to your local paper store.

Step 4: I didn’t take a photo of this step so if I don’t explain it well enough, check out Jennifer's post. All you need to do is take your top paper and trace the outline of the lid onto and cut it out. Next cut a strip from your 2nd paper. And then outline the bottom of the lid on your 3rd piece of paper and cut out. You can make these any width size you choose. Glue the 3 pieces of paper together. BUT do NOT glue them to the lid!Step 5: Decorate the lid with your teachers name.Step 6: Fill the craft box with all your goodies. I threw in some chocolate candies. Step 7: Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to wrap around the craft box and tie in a bow. Once you do this… wrap it around the box and tie into a bow. :)Step 8: Now glue your paper over the ribbon. You are finished!

Mason and Ms.Clausen on the last day of Kindergarten:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I made these for Mason’s Pajama Day and even though they tasted good, I still felt the recipe needed a little more tweaking. So I went back home and after 3 batches, I think I’ve  finally mastered my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe! Let me know what you think. :)

1egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

3 ripe bananas

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup wheat flour

1 cup flour

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix (on a low setting) together egg, both sugars, vanilla yogurt, and bananas in a large mixing bowl. Next add your baking soda and baking powder. If you are using a KitchenAid, change your attachment to the flat beater. Then add the wheat and regular flour in on a low speed. If you are not using a KitchenAid, fold these remain ingredients in with a large wooden spoon. Last add your chocolate chips. Bake on 350 for about 21 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean from the center. Makes approx. 18 muffins.

Mason on Pajama Day