Barefoot in Spring

Considering that the weather has decided to turn cold again, I thought I ought to document the one day of beautiful spring weather from last week.

Tutu dress, check. Barefoot, check. Sandbox action in the background, check.

Telling me a story.

Just two kids loving the beautiful weather.

Hopefully, we'll have more days like this one in the near future.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Paint!

Buddy is a fastidious child. He doesn't like getting his hands messy. Because of this, he has gone almost the entire year of pre-school refusing to participate in painting projects.  Right now, his class is working on a dress-up wardrobe for a school fundraising auction. The children have been painting the wardrobe. Making balloons with their fingerprints as well as flowers, butterflies and grass with handprints. Just imagine how much of this painting my son has done.... His teacher has wanted him to be involved so she sent home some paint and the handles for the wardrobe drawers. She figured that I'd be able to find him in the right mood to paint the handles if we did it at home.

Well, it took a couple of weeks to find a time when he was willing and boy did I find him willing:

After he painted the handles, he just kept going.

Buddy said, (and I quote) "I like painting!" So, I asked him why he doesn't paint at school.  He responded very matter of fact, "I just like cutting and gluing at school."

So, did Jellybean paint too? Yep, she did.

She was a little disturbed when I told her not to paint her mouth.

I love the end results of both of their work.

I think I'm going to need to frame both of these.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

A Trip Out

I decided to take the kids to Scheels this last week (I love stores with a ton of square footage). Here's a little of our experience.

The Cast:
Jellybean. Every time she sees me cleaning she asks if someone is coming over:

Why no, my daughter doesn't have a shadow, why do you ask?

Buddy. He's been delighting me daily with his new found love of potty humor.

He's not a fan of the camera lately, but he will give you a "bum kiss" if you ask for one. Ah, the joys of boys.

We rode this:

Turns out that there is absolutely no line on weekdays. Awesome.

And one last photo-op:

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Our "New" Table!

I'm so excited today! We received an amazing gift from my parents yesterday. A "new" table! I put new in quotes because this is the table that I grew up sitting at, but it is new to our house and it fits perfectly. We've been using a dinette set that the previous owner of our home didn't want to pack.

While I liked the way the dinette set looked in the space, it just wasn't very practical for a growing family. The chairs weren't terribly comfortable and the seats were upholstered so they could not be removed for cleaning (very nice with toddlers). The real problem was that it just wasn't big enough. It could only seat four and made it practically impossible to serve meals family style at the table. We have not been able to invite dinner guests or even host lunch after a playdates without having to figure out extra seating.

Hooray for a new table that can seat up to ten if I wish! How awesome is that? The kids have been having a whole lot of fun picking their new spots at the table and now there is plenty of room for baby brother when he's ready to be seated in a highchair. I would have never believed that someday I'd be old enough that a dining set would absolutely make my day. Funny how being a mom can change things.

Have a Happy Day!

MJ

Lamenting the Last Few Days (With Random Pictures)

This winter has seemed interminable and has been wearing me down. I stated last Thursday that I thought D was on the mend from his illness last week. Fast forward to yesterday....yeah, now he's finally on the mend. And you know the way these things go, Buddy started coughing over the weekend and succumbed to a fever last night. I'm exhausted and still wondering if (or when) myself or Jellybean will be the next to fall.

Trying out the new rage: Make your own light table. It was kind of awesome.

The weekend was filled with disappointment for the kids due to illness and terrible weather. Jellybean was invited to her very first birthday party for Saturday, but with Buddy coughing, D sick and snow falling heavily outside, we had to cancel. She was crushed. I felt terrible that I couldn't get her to the party, but what really broke my heart was later that day, well after the party was over. The snow had finally stopped and she came asking if we could still go to the party. I had to explain to her that the party was over and see her disappointment all over again. Just another educational moment on what it feels like to be a mom.

Peanut butter egg experiment. Recipe courtesy of The Whimsical Princess. Better than Reese's? Nah, not really. They were okay, but I'll have to try another recipe next time. Good thing I pin almost every peanut butter cup recipe that I see.

Here's hoping that Buddy will get well quickly and that the rest of us will be well for the rest of this tiresome winter. More snow today (hooray).  Now, I need to shore up what energy I have and try to get these kids out of the house. Local library, here we come.

Buddy's newest monster drawing. He named it Fop Gop, which he later changed to Fop Bgop.  Nothing makes that boy happier than a brand new notebook to fill with his writing and drawings.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Almost WW- Last Week

Just a couple of pictures that have been making me smile from this last week.

Sweet Buddy in his circus tent. Also entitled, I'm the sucker that always purchases the large kid item on my way out of Ikea.

Jellybean pursing her lips because I won't let her inside before getting a picture. Also entitled, "So what if I just spent the last 15 minutes "washing" the windows with snow and then eating the snow I was washing with? It looked clean to me."

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Box Fort

So, am I the only one that does a ridiculous amount of shopping online and then collects a ridiculous amount of cardboard boxes? After a couple of years of collecting, I realized that I should probably do something with all of those boxes. What to do...?

Let the kids build a fort of course.

 And this was only the small boxes out of my collection. My sister-in-law said I must be a glutton for punishment seeing as that many boxes in a small room strongly resembles a huge mess.

Good thing my little builders knew how to create some order out of the disorder.

I'm wondering why I didn't just get them more boxes for Christmas instead of toys.

There is a huge bright side to a box fort. Once the hours of enjoyment are over, all of those boxes can go directly to the recycle bin. Fantastic.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

WW- Every Day at Nap Time

Instead of going to her own bed, she tries to steal her brother's.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Sharing on:

Wordless Wednesday

Crafty Spices WW Hop
WW Bloggers

A Successful Holiday Weekend

Some things accomplished this long holiday weekend (with a few random pictures thrown in):

-Wore pajamas all day at least one day.
-Spent a lot of time hanging out with D and the kids.

-Got a morning nap almost every morning.
-Finally kicked my cold and also nursed two sick kids.
-Played tea party and doll house with Jellybean (countless times)
-Baked these breadsticks.

-Allowed the kids to help me make cookie dough. (New Years Ice Box Cookies! Will post recipe later.)
-Started potty training Jellybean (actually having some success!)
-Took some time to contemplate baby names (kind of painful).
-Sorted through and set aside a box of baby toys.

Snow is extremely fascinating.

-Visited Hobby Lobby (like that's a surprise).
-Started work on my first New Year's resolution (cleaning out the office).
-Successfully avoided putting away any of the Christmas decor.

At least I didn't just sit around eating holiday treats...

Have a Happy Day and a Fabulous New Year's Eve!

~MJ

Our Christmas

I have been trying to write this blog post about our Christmas for two consecutive nights, but unfortunately, every time I sit down to do it, I end up wrapping myself in my new cuddly blanket and before I know it, I've fallen asleep. So, I guess I'll finally try and sum things up while the kids are down for their naps.

Well, Christmas exploded at our house. I'd like to say that we spent yesterday cleaning up, but with one child down with a stomach bug we decided that we didn't mind looking at the mess for at least one...or two...more days.
Our holiday celebrations were very successful. We always start out with dinner at my parents' house on Christmas Eve. Following dinner, my family likes to put on a musical program. (D has mixed feelings about that portion of the evening.)

Buddy and Jellybean joined their cousins in singing a lively rendition of Jingle Bells. Buddy, to my amazement, actually belted it out. Jellybean decided that she was more fascinated by the jingle bells that my sister provided for the kids to shake.
At the end of the program, the children always participate in a live nativity. Jellybean was a beautiful angel.

Buddy had pretty well had it.

On Christmas morning, the kids were excited to find that Santa had brought them just what they asked for. They were mostly surprised because I think they had forgotten that he was even coming.

A doll house for Jellybean and a bat cave for Buddy. (Is the bat cave just a masculine version of a doll house?)

They have been pleased with their gifts and have been playing non-stop since Christmas morning. Buddy has a whole new excuse for why he doesn't have time to eat or use the bathroom. "I'm not done playing my game!" The "game" he hasn't finished seems to change every five minutes. I'm glad that his stomach bug was so short lived, but it didn't put much of a crimp in his new toy enjoyment.

We finished our Christmas celebrations with a lunch at my in-laws house. The food was wonderful, of course, but nothing beats spending time chatting with family.
D has taken the week off from work, so we've been really enjoying just being home. I was a little annoyed when I realized this morning that I actually had to do some house work during the vacation. What's up with that?

I hope you are having a fantastic holiday as well.  Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Happy July 4th!

July 4 2010

We'll be celebrating the 4th by doing the following today:

-Watching Wall-E

-Eating pop-tarts

-Cheering for our neighborhood parade

-A quick trip to Walgreens

-Bagels

-Naps

-Homemade frozen yogurt

-Burgers, maybe at Five Guys (since we don't have a grill)

-Throwing snaps in the driveway (since D dislikes fireworks and the children are afraid of them)

-Going to bed

Exciting!

What are your plans for the holiday?

Me and Jellybean July 4, 2010

Whatever your plans, Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

The Boy Turns Four

So, let's review: 

Here is what Buddy looked like at 1 month old:

and here is what he looks like now:

Pretty incredible, right? It always amazes me to look back at those first photos and to see how much a person can change in such a short span of time.

A little about Buddy at four years of age:
-He loves, loves letters and reading. It's an on going love affair that shows no sign of slowing down. He reads for at least an hour before naps and before bed time. He has a growing collection of alphabet posters on his wall. The books he likes to keep in the bed are threatening to take over the bed altogether.
-He loves super heroes. He wants to be a super hero. His little sister is getting tired of being put in jail.
-This year, after a lot of tears, Buddy became a really big kid. He's busting with pride over his new set of Batman underwear. The new set is slated to beat out the old set of Star Wars underwear.
-This kid is a sliding machine.  After two years of major trepidation when it came to slides, he has conquered his fear and now Loves a good slide. 
-He is starting preschool this Fall.  We are all very excited.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Simple Air Plant Terrarium and Mantel

I've been working on putting some decorative touches into our new home.  For a while now, we've had a blank glass coffee table that I just couldn't decide what to do with.  I saw an air plant terrarium for sale recently that really inspired me.  The terrarium for sale was too rich for my blood, but I thought I could pull something together that had a similar feel.  So, this is what I came up with.

Any lantern would do, but I really liked the look of this lantern that I purchased from a local boutique. I threw in some decorative rocks and spent some time picking out a cute little air plant to put inside.

I learned from the garden store that the grayer the air plant is, the more light it requires.  The one I chose is darker green and should need bright, indirect light. The fun thing about the air plant is that it doesn't require soil. This little one will need to be dunked in water a couple of times a week and that's it.

I've also been working on the mantel in this room.  I added a few things to it in the last week as well.

If you are wondering what was going on in the corner of the room I didn't include in the above pictures...

Yeah, that's what was happening there.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

This post is participating in: