Good Luck Charlie!

I just wanted to come on and give my thumbs up to something I have been noticing on the show Good Luck Charlie. Throughout the episodes, Ive noticed that Teddy does a lot of healthy eating and snacking. If she gets something out of the fridge, its usually yogurt, fruit or juice. Im impressed with them writing that in instead of chips and sodas. I also like that they mostly cook their meals at home. There isnt fast food or take out dinners all the time. Sure the boys eat the occasional pizza or donuts. However, for the most part, they all eat good meals or snacks in the table together. Just a refreshing thing to see.

That is all :)

Caterpillar Counting

Today, I made a lot of progress with Finn and counting. He got to 10(still skips 4 but, eh, we'll work it out.) Lorelai got to 2. Today was simple, we just sat together and used the magnadoodle to practice our counting. I first wrote out each number and let him see what each looked like. I then drew five hearts and we counted them. Once that was successful(again he refuses 4 but i cant convince him of it) I drew out 10 stars. We counted them together. The first time it was simple point each and count. The next couple of times, I wrote the number next to each star as we counted it. Im hoping once we have them down more concrete, to work on groups for each number, so he can recognize what each number really means. For today, we kept it pretty basic, mostly due to I just didnt have creative juices today. However, at naptime, I sat down ready to come up with a make myself activity for them to do. I know our most interesting activity we have done here at home, was the tree we made on the wall in the fall. vvsee below for that post. So Ive drawn up a basic of how I want this activity to go. Im posting a picture of that drawing, do not judge, please. Ha!
Follow the 'Stone Path: Tot School Fun

So here's what Im thinking, this caterpillar will start out with a head(this will probably be constructed from construction paper.) Then I would like to make multicolored & numbered circles for the body. We can put them up in order together. I can make them up to 10 for now and we can add to it as we count further. Then, I would like to also make other numbered shapes. I want these to create a matching game. Once we have the numbered circles up, he can match the numbered shapes to the right circle.

 

So, once they are in bed for the night, I plan to get to cutting. Hoping we can do this tomorrow. I do want to laminate the pieces but we can do that soon. Hoping to get pictures as it comes to fruition.

 

What is your favorite counting activity?

Fire Station Tour 1/25/13

Last Friday, we were invited on a tour of a firestation. I was so excited to attend. Stephen had the day off and had been wanting to take Finn since a Christmas parade, where he was mesmerized an engine. So we dressed him in his fire truck shirt and got up nice and early to join our friends. It was a fun morning! Lorelai was only slightly interested but Finn was so quiet and attentive the entire time. I was really proud of how behaved he was. We werent using the stroller because it wouldnt have been a convenience there at all. He is usually very much on his own agenda. Not this time, he stood holding our hand and was engaged in the trucks and all the interesting tools the firemen were showing us. Lorelai, on the other hand wanted to do a little running amuck. But all the kids there were under the age of 4, so it wasnt a big worry that she wasnt paying attention. If you ever get invited on a firehouse tour, I definetly recommend it for any preschool ages. The firestation held a lot of interesting things to see and the firemen were very friendly and patient with the kids. They seemed to not mind at all spending their morning with a bunch of tots.

Houzz.com

Not much of substance today. Hung out with the kiddos while Stephen worked. Last night, while I was up after everyone, I started watching "Good Luck Charlie." I love this cute show! We've been watching it a little today, since the kids actually like it too. Just taking it easy, kind of day. My goal is to accomplish my laundry mountain before bed.

So, when I decided to take a break from laundry, I found my new favorite website! So, we are working on a house, sometime down the road. Im so anxious to have our very own space to decorate and add my taste. Everytime a friend redecorates a part of their house, I get jealous. I looove decorating! So when I was perusing pinterest I found a pin for a bedroom, I would love to recreate with a few tweaks.

I like the feel of this room. However, I do not like chevron patterns, and I would add more of the blue from the chair. I would also pick a comfier chair. When I clicked on this picture it sent me to a site with a fountain of designed household spaces! Im in love! Best distraction from chores ever!
http://www.houzz.com/

I love looking through them and thinking about what I would do different to suit our tastes.
Anyways, y'all should check it out! I definetly found new inspiration, for continuing to save for our future home.

By the way on a related note, I love the inside of the Duncan house, from the "Good Luck Charlie" show! The bright green and chalkboard refrigerator, are right up my alley! Oh and what a more perfect rug for a play area of kids then the blue jean rug in the basement! I would love something like that in my toddlers' room! Then I dont have to be so upset about spills or accidents! Plus I would guess its washable like jeans! So perfect. Does anyone make these?

The Big Game

How many of you are football fans? Personally, Im not a big sports person but I can appreciate such an important sporting event as the SuperBowl. And being minutes away from Texas Cowboy Stadium, naturally if they are involved I will root for them. This is going to make me look bad but I have no idea who is likely to play in the SuperBowl this year. Still you cant help but get caught up in all the hoopla. Can anyone tell me if we know who plays this year? I just dont get the chance to truly keep up with current news in sports and to be honest, Id rather watch a good musical.

Anyways my whole point of this post is to share an article I just found. Its a picture article of edible football stadiums. Its amazing the creativity and obvious time that went into these. I think even if you arent a diehard fan, this would be so fun to create with kids, even if you just did it on a smaller scale.

http://gma.yahoo.com/photos/12-awesome-edible-football-stadiums-slideshow/#crsl=%252Fphotos%252F12-awesome-edible-football-stadiums-slideshow%252Fsnackadium-photo-1578341178.html



Does your family participate in the big game? Do you have a tradition in place?

Article is currently posted by yahoo.com via Good Morning America. You should go check it out, It has a list of 12 photos of homemade edible stadiums.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Museum Day!

Today, was a museum day, or well afternoon. Stephen had to be at work early today and wasnt able to take lunch until one. So the kids and I had a nice breakfast and I had everyone bathed and ready to go once he got home. Once there I was pleasantly surprised to find the museum almost empty. Ive noticed in the past mornings are very busy, while afternoons slow down more. Also the Fort Worth Stockshow and Rodeo is going on right now, its in the same square as the museum. So it was getting all the traffic today. My kids practically had the Childrens area to themselves. It was quiet enough they were able to roam and explore. Lorelai quickly found the "hospital" area. This area includes a mock ambulance(kid sized), interactive Xray exhibit and a little nursery with dolls. She was all over that. At one point, she was walking around the area with 4 of them. She loves to play little momma!


While she played mommy, I worked with Finn on some motor skill fun using some wooden blocks they have. It was a lesson in motor skill and physics for him. They are wooden and all different shapes so he really had to consider how to stack so they didnt fall. However, after a bit, he started making it his goal to make them fall, haha. Gotta have some fun right?

Then they both wondered to the tot sized grocery store. This area is amazing, they have a bunch of tiny shopping carts and shelves stocked with food items. They have all sort of plastic vegetables and realistic looking food. It was enjoyable to have the oppurtunity to work on a little vocabulary and colors.


Once they had thoroughly checked out everything, we headed outdoors. They have a very fun area they call their dino dig. Its basically a large creatively made sand box. They have mock bones and fossils burried throughout it. The kids get to pick tools and go at it. My two found it to be a huge hit..Its the first time we really went and played in it in all the times we went, I wanted to wait til Lorelai could walk and have fun too. Plus she is finally getting over the whole needing to put everything in her mouth thing. So it was a lot of fun for them today.

To the left of what's in this picture, is a stream of water. We ended our trip, with a very wet Finn from his knees down. He decided he wanted to try wading in it. By the time I got to him it was a lost cause, haha. Oh well, kids and clothes dry right? Im just glad we were having such nice warm weather. He didnt freeze his little hiney off!

That was all of the excitement for the day. I literally can no longer keep my eyes open, so I will conclude for tonight!

Booking a hotel for our Disney Trip!

In the past, I have mentioned Groupon in my posts. Today I was given another reason to love this company! Thanks to them we will be able to save about $400 on our trip! They have a great deal for a hotel stay in Kissimee, Fl. I did want to stay on Disney property but really, I think this will still offer all that we need. It's a good neighbor hotel, and is incredinly close to the resort. You can see Animal Kingdom from the property. They also offer a shuttle to and from the parks. Which works great for us, as that was one of my reasons for wanting to stay on property. Once we get there Id like to just park and use their transportation. I just love the feeling of saving so much and still not feel like Im missing out. My only withdraw about it is not being able to use Extra Magic Hours. However, with such young kids, I really think getting to the parks early and enjoying until park close everyday is plenty for them to handle. The parks close late enough that I dont see us having any problems getting through all that we want to. We are also going during a slower time, so I dont think we need the time to finish seeing the parks.

Has anyone reading this stayed at a Good Neighbor hotel as opposed to on property? Did you feel like you missed out on anything because of it? I really dont think we would. Other than the fun designs Disney has for their hotels, I dont feel its that much of a difference. Honestly its almost shocking how much less we could spend on that part of our trip. It doesnt allow us to do a dining plan either but Im fine with taking care of that out of pocket during our stay. Especially since it means we could more easily eat where we want in or out of Disney. Once I have this booked, I will need to then book a stop over place for the trip home. On the way back I know we will all be tired, so I dont see us making a straight 16hour trip. I just dont think it makes much sense to try. I have one booked for the trip to the resort. We plan to leave late Saturday night, when the kids are ready for bed. That way they will sleep the majority of the way there. Ive booked a hotel, a couple hours outside of Orlando for us to stay in Sunday night. I figured it would be smart to stop and get rested, so once we arrive in Orlando we are ready to get out and play. I fear that if we drove straight in, we would get there and want to sleep the entire first day. We can get up nice and rested Monday morning, have a good breakfast, go check in and play!

Disney Planning part4/ A nice Family Weekend

Our weekend wasnt anything unusual. Just typical family time. Stephen was off all weekend, so we just enjoyed our time with him around. We used a couple of Groupons and even went to a nearby Disney store for a little window shopping. I have been shopping for cute autograph books for them. I wasnt wanting to purchase at the park since they would be more expensive and honestly I dont think they are that cute. An idea I was considering is purchasing a couple of notebooks like this,

Courtesy of Disneystore.com

I thought something like this would be so fun and it has many pages, which means if we do keep to our idea of doing this every 3 years, they can take it with them each time. The extra pages could also hold photos of the trip. I think it would make such a beautiful keepsake. It would be so neat to have the autographs and photographs put together in one book. Especially if it becomes collective of all the times we go.  I also need to remember to pack a freezer bag to keep them in, just incase of water rides. I would also be putting something inside the cover for us to be able to get it back, should we lose it. Just a sticker with a mailing address or something like that.

What do you think? Do you think this is a beneficial idea?

Anyway, the weekend was filled with outings to malls and playgrounds. We met up with friends on Sunday for dinner and played at the park until it got too cool, as it got darker. It was a very fun weekend all around.
Pictures to come, I feel like everytime I sit down to write these my phone is dead. We have a playgroup meetup in the morning. It has been nice sunny but cool weather. It has made for nice days to be outside, as long as you dress warm.  I vow to get pictures on the laptop in the next couple of days, that way they are available when I need them! I gotta learn to make that a habit!

Toddler Accomplishments this week:

Finn- Learned how to open the front door(not the most comforting thing but wanna remember it all) Finally perfected pulling up his own pants.
Lorelai- Is starting to say sentences. "uh oh spaghetti-o" being one of them. Also knows what baby means and can say it. If you tell her baby, she will bring you the first 5 dolls and stuffed animals she finds..haha.

A Question for Preschool Moms...Scissors?

I'm up(couldnt sleep, to many thoughts) looking into safety scissors. Finn has excellent motor skills. I feel that it would be appropriate to let him work on learning to cut paper(under my close watchful eye, dont worry.) I remember the kindergarten ones that barely cut an entire piece of paper, let alone hair or skin, looking up different kinds available for little hands. Any good suggestions? What age did you allow your child to start working on this skill? I wouldnt trust Lorelai, while she is more stable in her walking and things, she is not as motor skill enhanced as he is(though she is catching up.) This would definetly be a one on one time kind of thing with him. Do they make special ones for small hands to handle easier now? So many things seem to have that alternative now, like crayons and things, so I thought I would ask you moms. Any advice is welcome. Oh and if you have a blog about a related activity with your own children, please link me! I know Im always asking for links but I love reading different perspectives on my subjects of interest! Everytime I read a different parenting blog, I leave it thinking "Why didnt I think of that?" Tonight has been a night on Pinterest looking up ideas for the hypothetical future homeschooling of our kids and activities to do with them sooner than that. Im pretty sure this is one of my favorite parts of having children. The expanse of ideas on how to present new material and teach them. There are so many creative ideas out there! I especially love this for Finn. He is a major pick it up in play kind of kid. So anything that I can make seem like a game or playtime is great! This is one of the reasons I would consider homeschool for his future. Lorelai, on the other hand, is a much more patient learner. She will watch you as you talk to her and intently observe actions around her. She would probably thrive in a classroom setting.

Well as always, this has seemingly helped to drain my brain of the floating thoughts that keep it from drifting to sleep. It really does seem that typing these blogs helps with the insomnia. Its as if I am emptying it onto the screen. Does anyone else ever feel that way? Maybe Im nuts but hey it works. So I get to sleep easier and you guys get reading material. Hope you enjoy the late night ramblings :) And again please give me links to your educational posts! Especially anything related to learning to use scissors, thanks!

Chuck E Cheese

So, Im convinced, Chuck E. Cheese in the middle of a school day, is the best place for busy toddlers! A friend of ours homeschools and had the freedom to host her son's birthday party today. It was very sparsely populated, and they check each and every person going out, so they were able to wander and play safely. They had such a fun time. For the first few minutes, they would both look up at me to make sure it was ok to wander. Only for a few though, they got comfortable with walking around and exploring pretty quick, ha. I was able to enjoy adult conversation and keep my eye on them from a little distance. I did make sure I knew their whereabouts the entire time but I didnt have to hover, or shoo them away from touching things the entire time. Most relaxed Ive ever been in a public setting with them, hands down. On the way home we made a stop at WalMart to pick up dad and a few groceries. I purchased some cheese sticks that actually have coupons to go back and play. Absolutely hanging onto them!

Today, from our to buy list I was able to purchase, some Disney shirts for the kids. There was a nice sale locally so I took advantage. I also bought a couple of those spill proof snack cups. Over the weekend I plan for us to purchase the necessary cord to use the laptop in the car and a new car phone charger. Ours has become quite iffy(for lack of better word.)  I want to post pictures of the purchases but my phone died. I also have pictures on there of our fun totschool activity we did on Wednesday, so once I get it charged again, there will be another post.

For now, I leave you with a picture from our Chuck E Cheese fun. So for the last few weeks I have been fighting the huge huge urge to cut his hair. I knew I wanted that long swoopy hair(have no idea what its called) for him. Now its so cute but that in between stage, was very difficult. My husbands clippers were calling my name the whole time. But, finally, we are through that stage and its almost to what I was aiming for. Its now long enough to lay flat and not be the crazy mop of Harry Potter hair(husband coined it as that, love my nerd.)

Disney World Planning Part 3

Tonight, when I go to bed, I may actually be able to go straight to sleep for once! I just spent the last couple of hours making lists. I even budgeted so well, our credit card will get a decent payment (trying to get it as paid down as possible so we will have it in case of emergency on our trip.) I made our biweekly budget, complete with our list of bills and how much to send to which. I even budgeted so well, our credit card will get a decent payment (trying to get it as paid down as possible so we will have it in case of emergency on our trip.) I made our grocery list, with a list of dinners for the next 2 weeks(maybe Ill stick to it, ha. But I want us to stop eating out so much, so that we can save for the trip, we were eating out too much as is, so it should provide for good savings and healthier habits.) I then put together our trip budget with what I expect to spend on our trip package, gas and extra spending cash. I then put together our travel schedule. We are going to be leaving the night of April 6th when the kids are ready for bed, so they will sleep for as much of the drive as possible. I will drive first since I generally stay up so late as is. Stephen is an early riser so it should be easy to drive in shifts. I planned out where our rest stops will be, roughly every 4hours (16 1/2 hr drive altogether.) Then we will arrive in Tallahassee, in which I have booked an inexpensive hotel room. We will have the chance to get out and get good sleep and rest up. I dont want to arrive in Disney World completely worn out, I want to be rested and ready to play. So we will get a good night sleep the night before so we can check in and go play! We are set to check in there on the 8th.

 I then planned out how Id like our days in each park to go. However, I need to get information on what parks have extra magic hours on what nights, so I can create a good accurate basic itinerary. I dont want a strict schedule of everyday though. I know people say to go with schedules but I dont like that idea at all. I know the parks like the back of my hand and I also know in Disney World it is important to allow for magical happenings. You never know who you will run into, or what show will surprise you. So Id like to go with a basic plan of how the day should go but allow the flow to happen on its own. We will be staying 4days and 5nights and are doing one park(no water parks) a day, so I think we will have plenty of time to really enjoy ourselves.

So, after putting together what I could of our schedule, I then made a list of everything we need to take on the trip with us. I did it in categories of what part of the trip we will need it(does it go in a suitcase until we are there or do we need it in the car for the trip, things like that.) I then made a list of which items we already have and what needed to be bought. I did the to buy list with added notes of where to buy, reasearched options on a few things(like a bag to hang on the back of the stroller since it doesnt have the basket underneath, we already have on very nice backpack that has special hooks for strapping to a stroller, it holds a lot so I think I will be purchasing a second one for the other side of the double stroller.That way if we need to park the stroller for a ride or fold it up for the monorail, we can each wear one and hold a child easily.)
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Essentials-Diaper-Backpack-gray/dp/B003XSMIVK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2DQR0V6O8JEGR&coliid=I31B85OOG1XBVN

Next, I made a chart to use when packing clothing. I put each of our names at the top, made columns for starting outfit, just in case change of clothes(for kids), dinner wear and pajamas for each of us, with rows for the day. It created boxes in which I will put Xs as I pack it. That way I know every day is covered. Of course, I made a note to bring extra bag for souvenirs.

For now, I am satisfied with my findings. Im hoping tomorrow I can find out information on the extra Magic hours and look into restaraunt choices. When I make our more solid intinerary, I will need both pieces of research.

I feel like I have lifted some stress. Its amazing how helpful making some lists can be. I cant imagine doing any of this without the use of the internet though. Obviously, people have been taking Disney vacations much longer than internet has been around. I have to tell you, I dont know how they were able to plan! Im guessing they would have called and planned with the help of someone there but with how much information you have to take in and go over, I cant imagine having that phone conversation and not getting completely confused or overwhelmed. I guess thats what travel agents were for. In typing this, I almost feel sorry for the travel agency world. I bet internet has been really hard on them. With just a google search, you can completely plan your own trips. Its weird because when I was young, I remember travel agent was a consideration for my future. I wish it could still be a plausible option. It seems like it would be kind of fun to send people off on their excursions. Too bad.


Anywasys, this has traveled off into ramblings, as my posts tend to do. Please see my previous posts about our coming trip, if you havent yet. That would probably make this post make a little more sense if you are just falling upon it when cruising by.
Here is the link to Part 1
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8488891101189008465#editor/target=post;postID=4195919876342642838
and here is Part 2
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8488891101189008465#editor/target=post;postID=1325485228599871170

Although, this is the first one to show such a step forward in the planning process. My husband gets paid in a couple of days and I plan to slowly work my way through the buy list from now until the trip, as we can, in addition to putting some cash into the savings for the trip. I will be posting about the progress as we go and fill you guys in on what I decide was worthy of the trip and ideas we come up with for entertaining toddlers on such a long trip. At least the part they are awake. I have a bin currently set up that I have put a couple of toys into and plan to add to until the trip. I want to fill it with fresh toys(new and havent seen in a while), bubbles, balloons to blow up and bounce around, a new hot wheel or two, colors and books, I plan to get 2 car seat safe lap desks for them to do little activities on. I will probably be purchasing 2 small pans and some fun magnets( I also considered adding magnets to a couple of their toys to make it fun.) We will also be loading up on some yummy snacks(good stuff but low sugar so they dont get overly sugared up while buckled into a seat, sounds like a disaster!) I will be purchasing the non spill snack cups, so Im not stuck handing back 2 crackers at a time for such a long period of time. There will also be a stop at a Half Price Bookstore(in my area, this is a chain of stores that buys and resales books, music, movies, games, etc.) for new picture books and a couple of new movies for our van dvd player(on one hand Im glad they arent glued to the show thats on kind of kids, on the other hand for this purpose I wish they had longer attention spans for it, would make the trip a little easier) I plan to play the preschool prep dvds part of the time, so they should even get a little education on the way!
These are recommend by so many mom friends and me! Warning they are pretty annoying to an adult but what makes them annoying to us, makes them great for a little. They are very repetitive with the material in order to help with learning it.

Alright, I am now completely sleepy and am going to bed. Thanks for reading such a long post(if you made it this far seriously, thank you!) Hopefully as our journey to the journey continues, I can be of help to others planning their own trip. As I've asked in the past, if you have a post about your own Disney vacation please link me! Or if you have good entertainment ideas for the car, let me know that too! We have a 2 year old and a 1 year old so it will be an interesting undertaking to say the least. All advice for a long road trip with them is completely welcome!

Valentine's Day Lesson Ideas?

Im up enjoying the silence. Heated up some melting chocolate to enjoy some chocolate covered strawberries. Im in the 4th season of Brothers & Sisters and still enjoying it a lot. We spent today out and about, came home with worn out children. It was a nice day and the kids and I were stir crazy and driving each other a little crazy. So I declared to Stephen this morning that we are getting out of this house. I didnt care what we did, I just wanted to go. We wondered around some places, had burgers, shopped for shirts for Stephen and ended up at our friends' house(the other E family). Overall it was a nice day. Now Im perusing my kindle app for a new free book. Any suggestions? Have you read anything good lately? I feel in the mood for something funny.


Tomorrow, the kids have been invited to play at a friend's house and I think Im gonna use that time to sort a closet. Is it weird that I get excited about something like that? I love the feeling of taking a load of unused things to Goodwill or making a little cash selling them on Craigslist. I guess with such a small space, its nice to clear it out when we can. Four people make for a lot of junk. I also need to make space to store our tree. I bought one of those bags so I dont have to take it apart but that means I need room to store it. So hoping to create a good space for that and hopefully enough around it to store all Christmas containers together.

In the meantime, Im creating a Tot School activity to do with my kids on Wednesday. Hoping to fill y'all in when I have pictures of it. So stay tuned..it involves counting! Oh, does anyone have any fun Valentine's Day themed activities, they have posted about. I need it doable for a 2 and 1 year old. So it needs to be safe for the inevitable taste test. Please comment or link me to your own post about your fun from past years.

Ramona & Beezus Movie review on a Quiet Family Sunday

Had a nice little at home family day today. Cleaned out a closet this morning, while Dad played with the kids. The rest of the day was spent playing around together. Reading Are You A Cow about 20 more times, and enjoying the sun coming in from our big sliding doors. We are in the process of making them a play area out on the patio. Hopefully, soon it will be safe and ready for them. We wanted to go to the playground near our building today, but it is still very muddy. With such tiny legs, they dont have to sink far. So we did what we could to bring in some sun.

For dinner, my husband made an excellent pork chop meal. After baths, we cuddled up for family movie time! Tonight's feature? Ramona & Beezus! This was a totally cute movie. Had some great actors in it and the little girl is incredibly adorable and an excellent little actress. John Corbett is handsome and played such a fun dad. Josh Duhamel is a hottie an did an excellent job is a kid friendly role. Selena Gomez, was relatable in her role as big sister with an annoying little sister. The two portrayed the love/hate relationship so well. Of course, Sandra Oh in the role of elementary teacher was so fun! She still seemed the slight uptight person she plays in Greys Anatomy but she was a lot softer I suppose. It was interesting to see her in a different light, since she doesnt show up in many other things. Over all it was a very cute movie. I think it brought the books to life very nicely. It was also very clean. The family interracted with each other, there wasnt any use of computers or cell phones, which was nice and refreshing. They sat down to dinner and conversation every night and they even babywear. Great family night movie pick!

Now kids are in bed, and we parents are baking some cookies! Honestly its not that we dont want to share them, the kids were just completely worn out. We made them play hard today :) Any good suggestions for future family movie nights?

Tot School Saturday

Its been a fun day at home. We saw Daddy off to work and started our day with a little dance party to wake us up. They sat down to their oatmeal and bananas for breakfast and I washed some dishes. After oatmeal there is no where for them to go but straight to the tub. I let them play in their for a long time, while I cleaned up the bathroom. Under the sink needed some desparate help. My husband has a big habit of just throwing stuff under there where ever it lands is where it stays, until I give the kids a long bath and clean it up. Gotta love men right? After, we got out and watched Alice and Wonderland with some popcorn on the couch. It was a great bonding time together.

After the movie they wandered into their room playing together, so I took the oppurtunity to create and activity. I wanted to talk about shapes today, so I knew I wanted something for that. However, I didnt want a huge mess today, so I pulled out pipe cleaners, construction paper and magnadoodle.

I drew shapes on construction paper and bent the pipe cleaners into matching shapes so that he could match them up. Then I reinforced what we talked about by drawing them out and going through them again. He seemed to have a lot of fun with it, Lorelai repeated circle and enjoyed bending the pipecleaners and playing with them.

The rest of the day was filled in with playing with punch balloons and piggy back rides. The last few nights, they have been stubborn about going to bed, so my goal today was to wear them out. They are driving me nuts being up late and still getting up early. Im glad they are still functionable with such little sleep, but Mommy isnt..haha. They are also starting to refuse naps. So at the same time they are taking my night sleep away they are taking away my mid day quiet time as well. Hoping all the extra activity I threw in today will at least help them get to bed normal tonight. My husband and I are hoping for a night in catching up on Grey's Anatomy episodes in our room.

Are You A Cow? Toddler Book of the Week Around Here

Today, the kids and I got up early and took Daddy to work. We were scheduled for a playdate at 11am, so we came back home for some breakfast, a talk about the weather today and a couple cartoons until time to go. We met our friends at McDonalds nearby. I know it isnt the healthiest food but they were fed a great breakfast and they love it there. Our local restaraunt has an adorable play area. The have a nice toddler area, which I love for them. The place has a musical theme, so all the play things in the toddler area look like instruments and make noise when touched. When you go down the slide, it sounds like you are sliding across a piano. Its just so fun and interactive. We had fun with our friends and enjoyed our lunch. They played for about 2 hours before showing signs of being worn out.

This is Finn playing at McDonalds at 10 months old..sooo tiny!

My husband works nearby our lunch outing, so I decided to call and check when he would be going to lunch himself. Since we use one vehicle(his work is 5 minutes from where we live, so its easy to share), if I have something I need to do during the day, I will drop him off in the morning and get what I need to done. Then once he goes on lunch, he will bring us home and keep the van the rest of the day. Occasionally. Im not done with my errands and have to pick him up at 8pm(he works 8-8.) I try very hard to avoid that, since I dont like having to get the kids out so late. Although sometimes it works out that I need to do something in the afternoon, which means I can let the kids sleep in and get the van the rest of the day when he takes lunch. Anyways, today it happened that his lunch would be an hour later. With that small of a span of time, I didnt see it necessary to unload the kids at home to just turn around and go again. I took the oppurtunity to make a needed stop at the post office and then we spent the last of the time waiting for him in Walmart. We needed light bulbs and a container for some ornaments that dont have a place to go.

Once home the kids both went down for naps, I sat and enjoyed the peace for about 10 minutes. Then I put up the remaining ornaments that now have a safe place to go and got the dishwasher running. I then decided to work on, what else, Disney trip research and planning. By now kids were waking and hungry again, so I took care of those needs. Then I had them "help" switch over some laundry. The rest of the evening has been pretty low key. Although Lorelai has a new favorite book, so we have read it about 20 times.

She got it in her stocking and its a very cute book! She brings it to me so often. She loves to pick books to bring over and read but this one gets the most traffic. It's so cute. It has pictures of multiple animals, which is great because Finn has sparked interest in learning animal names lately. It doesnt call for it but as I read it I generally do the coordinating animal sound for each. Id recommend it for any toddler, just all around cuteness!

Well that is a summary of all of today's "excitement." Hope everyone had a great day. I know this seems run of the mill but I love my days making my littles happy. What is everyone making for dinner?

Disney Trip Plans Part 2

Tonight, I was laying in bed and couldn't sleep as I'm in the beginning stages planning for our Disney trip. I was just thinking about how each day we will need to plan on how to make it as enjoyable as possible for the kids, but keep them from getting overly tired or whiny from riding in the stroller too long. I was thinking about all the play spots they have throughout the parks and thinking about the nice open walking spaces that mean the kids will be able to get out and walk on their own some. Then it popped in my head that I remember seeing something very handy on Pinterest. There is an ability to order temporary tattoos with contact phone numbers on them. That way if you have a fast toddler, you can feel rest assured, if someone goes astray you can be contacted easily. Now, I have no doubt we will be able to keep a better eye on our two than that but on the off chance we look the other way for a minute, it will be all that much easier to find them. I was afraid if I fell asleep, I would forget about this thought in the morning, so here I am looking further into this idea. I like what I've found.
I found an Etsy shop that offers them. They are pretty cute as well.

These are courtesy of the shop Printstagram. http://www.etsy.com/shop/printstagram?ref=seller_info

She sends you a page of 44. So you could use them for MANY outings in the future. I feel like it would be an investment in all future trips, as well as this one. Finn has become such a runner(and a quick one to boot) that I feel this could give me peace of mind in many situations. Anyway I just felt the urge to share my findings. Maybe some of you are starting to plan summer vacations and could use these. So I hope this post is helpful for you!

Again if you have any tips for our trip or have a blog on Disney of your own, please comment! I would love to read what you have to say!

Disney World Trip Planning Part 1

My husband has vacation time coming up. After much thought and research, it looks like we can make Disney World happen! I worked out there for a semester in college. They offer a college internship to students(which I'd recommend to anyone, best time of my life, hands down). Since then I have been anxious to go back. My husband has never been and we had planned to go once before starting a family but I was impatient and wanted a baby. We plan to do this trip every 3 years and think this would be a great time to make our first. The kids can both walk and notice their surroundings. I think it would be a lot of fun for them. They may not remember it themselves but we will take plenty of pictures and still enjoy being in the moment. I still think they would appreciate a picture of their tiny selves with Mickey in the future.

So today I've spent a lot of time doing some research.You know, looking for the money saving tips, what possible ways there are to save money on a trip package, tips for making the most of the trip toddlers and road trip activities to make the trip easier on all of us.Ive ended up with so much information to process and straighten out. After all I have read and seen, Im ready to get out a notebook and make lists and notes to see if I can sort the information. Even while working there, I never realized how complicated planning a trip to there could be. However, Im confident I can make this happen smoothly and budget friendly.

Has anyone out there been with young children? Do you have tips? Is anyone insterested in occasional blog post about my research findings and planning as we go? Let me know in the comments..Or if you have written a blog about your Disney trip, please link me! Im beyoned Disney obsessed, so even if I wasnt making this trip, Id love to read it!

Lazy Tuesday

Today, in Fort Worth, TX we are under flash flood warnings. That's unfortunate because just last night, I looked at my husband and said "Today was a really pretty day, lets take the kids to the park tomorrow so they can enjoy the weather." I guess I should have checked the weather first. So today has just been a simple at home day. Do any of your husbands play any video games? This is what mine is doing today. I honestly dont mind him playing some but I know when he turns them on I will have to pry him off when I need him and I might as well be talking to myself during his session. Now he works hard, so I feel it is fair to allow him some time to play. After all, he let me sleep in today and go to a movie alone with a friend the other night. I just wish video games werent such brain suckers. He has been working on Final Fantasy 13. I had suspicion that Finn would be into the games and would be the one to probably copy his father. However, while Stephen is playing, Finn is busy driving his HotWheel across every available surface in the place. Lorelai, on the hand, has found a little nook next to her father and is glued! I cant believe how much it is holding her attention. They are so cute in their own little world over there. Im using the oppurtunity to put away laundry and write this blog. While, I dont love his need to play games, at least it allows me to be temporarily unneeded. Dont worry I wont allow her to just sit around and watch for a long time.

As I look out the window, its to the point of just being drippy, I think I may suggest going to eat soon. I just want to get out for a while. I feel the need for interaction with the outside world today. I dont either one of us feels up to cooking dinner today either. Just one of those days, ya know? What is everyone here doing for dinner? Anything yummy on the menu? Does anyone have good crock pot recipes? My husband is off tomorrow as well and I feel like it would be a great day for a yummy crock pot creation. Im not wanting stew, I want something new. So if you have suggestions, please leave them for me!

In the meantime, this post isnt terribly exciting so I will say good bye! Hope you all are having a great Tuesday!

Daily Life With Commentary from Toddlers

Do you ever wonder what your toddler is thinking? I do often. Every time they have a dramatic reaction, Im always wondering what is going through their little heads. For instance, I can be sitting down on the couch and notice they are playing nicely, so I take advantage and decide to get something done like clear the mail off the table. The moment I get up and start, they stop what they are doing and demand to be held or played with. "Oh my goodness, Mom isn't watching us play! Is she going to do something exciting? Ill make her hold me just in case."

Or I decide, its about time to consider making a meal or snack for them. So I go into the kitchen. We have a baby gate across the kitchen opening because our littles like to play in the trash and mess with the dishwasher buttons. Almost everytime I step in, they start whining at the gate and shaking it. No matter the gap of time since the last time they ate. I think that goes something like "Oh Mom's in the kitchen, moms in the kitchen, I need to whine at her so she doesnt forget to keep making my food. What if she only makes the food but doesnt it feed it to me?! I better stay here and shake the gate just in case. Will she only eat in front of us? I better scream at her some more so she doesnt get any bright ideas!" I have improved the situation by creating activities to do in their seats while they wait for food.

Or one that I think ALL moms relate to. Going to the bathroom. "Hey mom where are you going? What's in there? What is that you're sitting on? You can't close the door! You'll disappear forever! I need to be in the room at all times to know exactly what you are doing. If you do something without me, I wont know what you are doing! I have to be in there! If you close the door, Ill be sure and stick my fingers under because I dont want you to forget I'm out here. I would hate for you to go in there and forget you have a kid and never come out!"

Then there is cleanup time. "Oh look, mom stacked my toys so nice and neat! I need to go pull them out and play with them!"

The best part? When my husband comes home in the evening and says "So what did you do today? Dont you pick up the toys?"

This Is 40 Review and My Birthday

Today, well yesterday at this point, is my birthday. I haven't gone to bed yet, so it still falls under today in my head. It was a really nice one. We all slept in, and then we spent a good portion of the day just playing with the kids. They love playing in our big bed with us. Finn LOVES pillows fights and rough housing with Daddy in the soft blankets. Lorelai tries to copy it all but gets sensitive with the rough housing stuff. She just bounces and rolls around. Its their favorite way to play. After a while we were all hungry, so we finally got dressed and went out. Texas Roadhouse is my pick every year. I love it! It was no different today. Yummy food with leftovers for tomorrow. We came back home after and watched some cartoons with the kids. They were tired and both fell asleep for a late nap.

I took that oppurtunity to sneak out and meet my friend, Lucy. We met up at a Starbucks(felt like I was cheating on my Keurig) and talked for a while. It was nice to catch up. We have been close for quite a while but we had a bit of a tiff about a month ago and took some time to cool off. Today was a fresh start I suppose. We've left it in the past and are back to normal again. We followed it up with a movie. We had a hard time deciding between Guilt Trip, Parental Guidance or This is 40. We finally chose the latter. We went to Studio Movie Grill because they have deals on Groupon often. Every couple of weeks they run a deal for $6, which gets you your ticket and a soda. Its such and affordable way to go. Ive bought at least one every time it pops up on the Groupon site. Seriously, if Groupon is available in your area, go for it! They always have great deals going on and the deals change so often, there is plent of variety. They have a free app, which makes it great for finding something to do on a day when everyone wants out of the house or you want to get a good deal on dinner out. I love how many times we have been able to turn a deal into an afforable date night!

Anyways(sorry for going off topic in yet another post) the movie was funny. I think my rating of the movie would be a B. Like I said it was funny, there was straight good humor. There were also parts that were suppose to be funny but no one laughed at. I do think there was enough good humor to make up for the not so great humor though. Its not appropriate for young ages at all. The more serious personality probably would not enjoy it. It also wouldnt be classified as bubbly fun either. The movie is basically trying to show a marital rough patch in a humorous light. The couple in the movie are at a crossroad in their marriage of adjusting to the ways it has changed. I could tell from the responses of the theater audience that there are relatable points for a wide range of people. So, to me, thats a good thing. My biggest complaint of the movie, it was a little too long. I really dont mind lengthy movies but I just didnt feel this one had enough going on to be as long as it was. They filled the time just fine but I feel like it could have definetly been wrapped up at least a half hour quicker. If you decide to watch it in the theater, stop by the restroom before going in! I dont think I would recommend others to see it in the theater, I dont feel that its worth paying the price of a movie ticket to see. Its more worth Redbox or Netflix prices. Its not unenjoyable its just not at the top of recommendations. http://youtu.be/gxkNuHrS6cg - Trailer for the movie.

After departing from my friend and the theater, I stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of times and to enjoy just a little more quiet time. Now I am home and sleepy. Over all it was a very enjoyable 26th birthday. I hear the whimpers of a child, so Im going to try to calm them and get to bed. Good night!

Birthday of the Hubs

Today is my husband's birthday! He turns 26 but the people he works with thinks he is in his 30s. His early bedtimes and such do not help his case. Want to know something crazy? My 26th birthday is tomorrow the 6th! The original conversation about this went something like"Hey we have been dating a while, when is your birthday?"
"Oh January 6th." pause.
"What did you just say?"
"January 6th"
"Did someone already tell you my birthday?"
"No, why? I'm getting confused by this conversation."
"Take a guess when my birthday is."
"I dont know.." Im sure i spouted off a couple of  dates(for the record I HATE when someone has something to tell me but make me play that stupid guessing game. I dont know why but I hate it. However, it was the part of the relationship where everything was suppose to be playful and perfect so I played along..lol.)
Finally he let me off the hook. "My birthday is January 5th!"

We were both incredibly surprised. In my childhood years, I dont think I would have enjoyed sharing a birthday with anyone but in the adult years I actually enjoy it. We all know that birthdays have a lot less hoop-la in adult years. So I always have someone to make my own hoop-la with. We celebrate together and love it that way. He isnt off work for his birthday but he is off on mine. That's the day we will celebrate. My absolute favorite restaraunt is Texas Roadhouse. When we have a special occasion or just feel like really treating ourselves, thats always my first pick. I love it. So we will definetly be eating there Sunday. Im so excited! In fact, my husband had never eaten at one before we were together, I have had the priviledge of introducing him. He crossed over whole heartedly, lucky me:)

So in conclusion(thanks for humoring me and reading all this), Happy Birthday to my handsome and hardworking husband. I love and appreciate him so much. He actually went to the dr today, who says he has bronchitis. However, he tooks the prescribed meds and passed out hours ago, so fingers crossed he feels a little better and can actually enjoy his day.

Tips to Save Yourself and the Women Around You. This is based on interviews of real rapists in prison.

Zoom

larrystylinsoneternal:

opal-leaves:

‎”THROUGH A RAPIST’S EYES” (PLS TAKE TIME TO READ THIS. it may save a life.) Reblog this!

It seems that alot of attackers use some tactic to get away with violence. Not many people know how to take care of themselves when faced with such a
situation. Everyone should read this especially each n every girl in this world. THOUGHT THIS WAS GOOD INFO TO PASS ALONG…

FYI - Through a rapist’s eyes! A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts:



1] The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle.
They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun! , braid, or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.

2] The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women who’s clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around to cut clothing.

3] They also look for women using their cell phone, searching through their purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered.

4] The number one place women are abducted from / attacked at is grocery store parking lots.

5] Number two is office parking lots/garages.

6] Number three is public restrooms.

7] The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to a second location where they don’t have to worry about getting caught.

8] If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn’t worth it because it will be time-consuming.

9] These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas,or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands.

10] Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you’re not worth it.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

POINTS THAT WE SHOULD REMEMBER:


1] If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk:
can’t believe it is so cold out here, we’re in for a bad winter. Now that you’ve seen their faces and could identify them in a line- up, you lose appeal as a target.

2] If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and yell Stop or Stay back! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they’d leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would
not be afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.

3] If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes,) yelling I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent.

4] If someone grabs you, you can’t beat them with strength but you can do it by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm between the elbow and
armpit or in the upper inner thigh - HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it; it really hurts.

5] After the initial hit, always go for the groin. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy’s parts it is extremely painful. You might think that you’ll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our
instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause him a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble, and he’s out of there.

6] When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible. The instructor did it to me without using
much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.

7] Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don’t dismiss it, go with your instincts. You may feel
little silly at the time, but you’d feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

FINALLY, PLEASE REMEMBER THESE AS WELL ….

I know you are smart enough to know these pointers but there will be some, where you will go “hmm I must remember that” After reading forward it to someone you care about, never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.


1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do it.

2. Learned this from a tourist guide to New Orleans : if a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you…. chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or
purse than you and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car: Kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping,eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON’T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side,put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU CLOSE the DOORS , LEAVE.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:
a. Be aware: look around your car as someone may be
hiding at the passenger side , peek into your car, inside the passenger side floor, and in the back seat. ( DO THIS TOO BEFORE RIDING A TAXI CAB) .
b. If you! u are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
c. Look at the car parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot).

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!

8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked “for help” into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it’s better safe than sorry.


If u have a heart or compassion reblog this post.
‘Helping hands are better than Praying Lips’ – give us your helping hand.

REBLOG THIS AND LET EVERY GIRL KNOW
ATLEAST PEOPLES WILL KNOW WATS GOIN IN THIS WORLD.
So please reblog this….Your one reblog can Help to spread this information.
I hope you all will Reblog. Lets See how many of you really care for this.
DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT NOT REBLOGGING THIS! IT COULD ACTUALLY SAVE A LIFE.

The Odd LIfe of Timothy Green!

Tonight we curled up on the couch and watched The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Since I even heard of the movie, I wanted to see it. I just had a feeling I would really enjoy it. I was proven right! This movie is so enjoyable. It had such a pleasant vibe to it. There was a twinge of magic to it(It is Disney afterall), just enough to leave you with the "what if" feeling. It was a very curious storyline and kept the viewer interested. It really takes the entire movie to truly understand what he really is and how he is there. I never got bored. It was also very clean and a good watch for kids. Our kids seemed to enjoy watching it with us. If you get the chance or need a good family movie night, I highly recommend it. The movie deals a lot with have differences from others. It would provide a great oppurtunity to talk about acceptance of others with your children. I think that is such an excellent bonus. I am already certain, once our kids are able to understand the conversation, we will revisit this movie as a way to open up the discussion. I was also just looking and there are actually quite a couple of pins that have lessons related to the movie. http://pinterest.com/pin/277464027014255575/ here is one example for you! Its a great watch and Id recommend it to anyone!

Thought Catchers

At 5am this morning I wrote a blog. Unfortunately my internet started moving slow and it wouldnt publish or save. So I had to save to Windows. I didnt want to lose it all, it was pretty long. So Im publishing it now.

Man oh man! This evening, my husband started feeling sickish. This man never gets sick but when he does its really sick! Im sure I dont have to tell other moms out there, the thoughts that immediately run through my head but to indulge the rest of you, A) Oh crap Im gonna be taking care of a man who always reverts back to a needy child when sick. B) Oh please tell me the kids wont get it! C) Please dont let me get it either! D) Ive got stuff that really needs to be done tomorrow! Now I know avoiding sickness altogether is not doable...but wouldnt it be great if maybe we could be on terms that allowed us to pick a time to be? Like say for instance if you have to have 2 colds and the flu in a year no question about it, then wouldnt it be nice if the almighty being you may believe in or if there was a way with science that someone could give us a contract(with flexibility in case of family functions or last minute school events) to sign every year or something that allowed us to pick the least convenient times for these things? Its the first of the year, we have things to accomplish!!! Unfortunately, it doesnt work this way. In fact, just reading through Facebook statuses, Im not surprised my husband is sick. He is around hundreds of people everyday at work. Every other post is about colds and sick families. Im sure it doesnt help that in the middle of a warm Texas winter, it snows last week! Not to mention you encounter more people over the holidays than normally. Haha. Im sure everyone's bodies are just trying to deal with such shocks.

 Anyway, as soon as his feeling icky seemed to be really turning into something, I sent him to our room for the night. I love family time and I love not having all the childcare on me but not more than all this, I love avoiding everyone turning into sickies, especially at the same time. My husband had yesterday and has today off from work. So with how things tend to work(usually the least convenient options), he would be back at work when the kids and I came up with symptoms. I swear you single moms out there have so much respect from me! I dont know how you do it! I rely on my husband for breaks here and there, he pitches in on childcare when he can, and I cant tell you how many times after a day of cranky kids, I have hit a hot bath the minute he got home. In fact typing this is a reminder to tell him I appreciate such things, but you single moms are amazing. You may not have chosen where you are or maybe you did, I bet its hard but Im sure your kids will really appreciate all you do. 

 So here I am trying to get some good sleep on the couch because Im too scared to go sleep next to my husband tonight, haha. As you can see by my presence on here tonight, its not awesome sleep. Oh well, Im hoping it will get my husband the rest he needs to kick this thing quickly. By the time he was going to bed, he said he was achy, having hot/cold flashes, getting nauseated here and there and when I placed my hand on his forehead he was definetly a little warm. So I think that can be listed as a flu of some sort. Wait epiphany! My kids had flu shots!!! That just popped in from my memory! So there is some hope. I never went and got mine, so I guess I could catch it but at least they have a decent chance. I can deal with just myself sick way easier than dealing with myself and the kids sick at the same time..lol. Thank goodness for pediatricians and nurses reminding you to do these things!

 Well, I think this was the most unplanned and rambling post Ive typed out yet. Im sorry if its hard to follow or too thrown together. I just love typing these when I have spare time and a head full of thoughts! Its like typing them out here clears my head a little and calms me down. Im a huge sufferer of all the stress or planning pouring into my head the minute I lie down and it gets quiet. Ive noticed since writing these, thats gotten a little better. So thank you to anyone reading this, thanks for being my thought catcher :) You help more than you know!

I guess I will try to get some more sleep, We have a comfy couch for relaxing on during the day but Im a strict bed sleeper! What can I say Ive been spoiled, lol. Anyways, at this point I guess I can basically say good morning to everyone! Talk to y'all soon

Hart of Dixie

Have any of you ever watched this show, Hart of Dixie? I cant say that I particularly believe the actors and the sets look ridiculously fake but I cant help but enjoy the show. It includes some very handsome men which is always a plus. I do think the actors portray humorous parts, so kudos to the creators on that. Its just when they talk so many of them dont seem natural. I also cant get over how much they are trying to push country/southern feel down your throat. I dont think they have to try so hard. A point a do love is that its set in the same lot as Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. The same gazebo and all. In fact this episode is including a page out of Gilmore Girls story line. Bid on a basket date. So there are points I really do enjoy about the show for sure. I was just wondering if Im the only one who sees these things? Am I being too critical? I also like how they seem to have cast and written it to appeal to multiple age ranges(as long as you dont mind what I think is not a very well directed and put together show.) Anyways, I just wanted to know the opinion of others I suppose. No doubt, I will probably continue to watch because I do happen to like the story lines. I've been less interested and impressed with shows before, so whats the harm? I know this topic may seem frivolous. However, it doesnt have anything to do with, diapers, bottles, the next snack or childcare of any sort. It's me indulging in what Im hoping could turn into a nice grown up conversation :) Come on mommies, you know you want in on this!

Museum Day!

Had a great day! Almost a year ago, we invested in a year membership to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. That was such a smart investment! Anytime we have a free day and low funds, its a great place to go! Or on a day where I have put in a lot of effort cleaning rooms and organizing toys, its nice to have a place to whisk the kids off too, so I can keep the place like that for just a little while. There are so many things there for kids to do and a lot of space for them to run "free." http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=513596655330116

Today, we decided to go have a fun afternoon there with some friends. The kids loved it as always, we enjoyed the visit with our friends and we left with two completely worn out babies! Im still completely jealous of the purple Christmas tree they have up! I really want one! Ive noticed they are still pretty pricey even after the holiday. So Im gonna be stalking sales and craigslist for one! I just cant bring myself ot pay close to $200 for one. I mean there are things we need more.

Anyway now that Ive rambled off topic, I guess Ill get back to my subject matter. I love that for the most part the structure and basics of the childrens area remains the same but they often bring in new things to see and talk about. I love that every time we go our kids are exposed to new sights. Its a great oppurtunity to work on speech. Today Finn was very into the block building/train area.

 

Thanks to one of the interactive exhibits(so much of the museum is interactive and geared toward kids of all ages!), we had the oppurtunity to talk about wind!

 

 

 

This is a little windy cyclone tube. They encourage you to build an object out of materials they provide to learn about floating on air currents. We built a pretty withstandable device out of just a cone cup from a drinking fountain taped to a small paper plate! Lorelai loved this! She sat there and did it over and over.

 

Building his own windy object.

HI! :)

 

Lorelai demonstrated some techniques she has learned in baby care

She even showed us what not to do with babies!

 

Generally when we go, we try to have lunch there in the cafe. In comparison to other onsite cafes Ive eaten in at other places like this, or honestly there is no comparison, the food is actually rather good. They always have fresh options such as fruit, sandwiches or salads. They offer a large variety of drinks not just sodas, but milk(and soy), gatorade, water bottles, and an array of juices. They even have some yummy dessert options. I happen to always get chicken strips though. Trust me they are quite yummy! They come with seasoned curly fries too! Now they arent necessarily cheap, I imagine feeding a whole family there could get pricey but we generally have things packed for the kids and just grab meals for ourselves. Im sure when they are older they will have something to say about this but we will cross that bridge when we get there. You do get a small discount on food if you have a membership though(you get one in the gift shop as well).

 

All in all, the day was great. We left before we got to the fun dino dig because it was getting too cold to have littles outside but we generally try to hit that fun spot too. So with that we left, within 5 minutes the kids were passed out in the car. I call that a successful day!

 

 

If you live in the Fort Worth area and are considering a membership, I recommend you wait until later in January when the stock show is here. They discount the prices quite a bit since so many people are coming into the museum at that time.