Starting Where I Left Off: The Egg Hunt

Sorry for the blog silence of last week. I found myself bone-tired, uninspired and it suddenly dawned on me that I have a baby boy due in a few weeks and we have done almost nothing to prepare. So, instead of actually doing something to prepare, I chose to spend my "me" time sleeping.

Despite the fact that the house is now a complete mess and the fact that I'm still tired, it was a nice vacation. After a week off though, I've been thinking that I ought to start things up here again. So, I'll start where I left off with our Easter egg hunt.

Just a typical egg hunt:

He found the blue egg!

Counting her eggs.

Adding another egg to her basket. Buddy is pleased with the eggs he found.

Searching for the last elusive egg. I was a little bit tricky on a few of them.

This year I was inspired by a book that my son's preschool teacher read in class and then let us borrow because Buddy was so obsessed with it: The Great Easter Egg Hunt.

It is a fun book with a cute story and bright illustrations. The real fun is that it is a look and find book. Buddy loved searching for the letters hidden on each page. At the end, the letters end up spelling "Happy Easter."

He expressed the hope that our Easter egg hunt would be like the one in the book. While, I had no plans to visit a chocolate factory during our egg hunt or any of the other fantastic things that occurred in the book, I did think it would be fun to hide letters in some of the eggs so Buddy could unscramble them and spell "Happy Easter." It turned out really well. Buddy was thrilled and Jellybean was happy to find that the eggs that she had thought were empty, actually had letters hiding in them.

Opening the eggs, secret message unscrambled, money, jellybeans, anything better?

Here's a little video of the moment he finished the secret message:

Happy Easter! from A Happy Song on Vimeo.

Perhaps I'll think up a new secret message next year and hide some more letters. It was a nice way to cut down on the candy.

Though, it seems that Jellybean was all about the candy. 

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Belly Swinging

We've been loving the heck out of our new swingset. In the afternoon, that part of the yard is in shade and it becomes a nice semi-cool escape from the heat. I'm a nice mom (no, really) so, I will push the kids on the swings but, there's a limit to my niceness. (When will my 4 year old learn to pump already?!) My new best friend is my digital timer. I set it for 20 minutes and then miraculously, there is no crying when the time is up. It's kind of like magic. Once I'm done pushing, my kids find other means of entertaining themselves. This usually involves at least another 20 minutes of belly swinging.

They think they are absolutely hilarious and spend the time giggling at each other's antics. This is when I get to just sit in the shade and relax. I love these afternoons.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Backyard Make-Over

I'll be honest, what I really want to be doing right now is re-watching one of my favorite Korean dramedies. Instead, I decided that I should bust out a quick post. I've been waiting to post these photos for a while.  We had the play chips blown-in yesterday, so now I think it's time to reveal our backyard make-over.

Before: 

After:

Another angle, plus my two views sitting on the patio: 

We took out the hot-tub and koi pond.  Some would say that it is a shame. We were a little saddened at removing the pond, but couldn't stand having it around with toddlers. Now we have a kid-friendly area and a lovely space for reading. Best part?  The low maintenance.
One final thing: I think it's important to note that I planted all of the plants you can see there with the exception of the trees.  That was 40+ plants. Whew. It makes me tired just looking at it.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

WW- Water Play

Join in the Wordless Wednesday fun and

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Just Hanging Around

Some of my fondest memories of childhood are those of backyard camp outs. I was a lucky girl in that I did most of my camping in a jungle hammock.  The hammock I'm talking about is probably a lot different than what just came to your mind. You see, my dad is the creator of the Clark Jungle Hammock.

Clark North American Jungle Hammock

From experience, I'll tell you that there is nothing better than a night's sleep in a Clark hammock.  The night breeze slowly rocking you to sleep, the comfort of being off of the ground...seriously, there's nothing better. They absolutely rock on backpacking trips. If you want to experience what true jealously is, bring one of these on a camp out with friends who are sleeping in tents on the ground. The next morning, they will complain loudly about sleeping on a rock all night and will secretly hate you for being well rested.

Last week, I had a fun time taking my kids to visit the Clark Jungle Hammock show room.  We got to hang out in the newest model (because we're cool like that) and visit with Grandpa.  I love being able to share one of my favorite things with my kids.

There's a little person sleeping in this one...

I'm pretty proud that this is my dad.

It's a perfect time to be thinking about a camping trip right now.  I suggest ditching the tent and getting a Clark Jungle Hammock.  If this seems like a shameless plug...it is. :)

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Western Redbud Beauty

Happy WW! 

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ