Egg-cellent Day!

It is not every day I get creative and crafty.

 

In fact, it is not every week.....

 

But, I saw this idea and figured it was something even I can do!

 

With Easter coming up, the typical activity is to dye eggs.

 

Since having kids, I wanted to do the activity, but knowing how MESSY it can be, and knowing my son, I have avoided it!

 

But, I saw this idea to use shaving cream and food coloring to roll the eggs in, and I was willing to try.

 

It was a HIT!!!!

 

 

Even Avery got in on the action! 

 

Mess #1.... 

 

.....and Mess #2: 

 

Landon decided it would be fun to dye his arms too.... 

 

You know she HAD to get a taste in.......

 

....so aren't you glad she had Cool Whip instead of shaving cream??  

 

Yep.....REALLY glad it was Cool Whip!! 

 

Looks like someone had a good time! 

 

And although the eggs were colored and swirly when they first came out of the cream, as soon as you wiped them off, they lost almost all the color...... 

 

But, it was still a fun activity, and probably one we will do again.....

 

Maybe I will be more daring next time and put more color in the cream to help it stick!



I'm a Big Girl Now!!

You know how you always refer to things in the future as "when I grow up"??

 

Well, with 30 approaching rather quickly, I suppose "when I grow up" may not be so far in the future!

 

So, Adam and I have been discussing doing something that we see as for "big people".

 

And before you all thing I am talking babies, houses, cars, etc., I will stop you now!  Besides, we have already done all that!

 

I am talking something SUPER exciting and something we spent a LOT of time working on.......

........NEW FURNITURE!!!!

 

Yes, many of you are like "Seriously???  Everybody has furniture....".

 

Well, we have NEVER had furniture that is NEW and that WE picked out......until now!

 

I take that back....we did pick out our bedroom set when we got married.

 

But, for the rest of the house, we have had either college leftovers (waaaaaay cheap and mismatched) or hand-me-downs from our parents.

 

And do not get me wrong, the hand-me-downs are a rite of passage almost.  They were certainly appreciated since otherwise, we wouldn't have had any furniture! 

 

So, now that we are "grown up", we went shopping and picked out things we really wanted and that fit our lifestyle and preference.

 

Here is how it started........

 

 

We started putting things up on Craig's List, and things started flying out!

 

We were super excited, like it was meant to be!! 

 

Once everything was out, we took the opportunity to steam clean the carpets.

 

I would LOVE new carpet, but since my money tree seems to be in hibernation, we had to settle for making do with what we have.

 

The stairs up from the front door have ALWAYS been an issue for me......they are WHITE!!!!

 

Who puts white carpet on stairs that are in front of the front door....in Duluth?!!

 

Here is the "before"....and the first impression anyone had when coming into our home:

 

 

Gross!!!! 

 

So, after some major cleaning and scrubbing.....

 

......this is what the living room looks like: 

 

And THIS is how the stairs turned out: 

 

Absolutely not perfect, but SOOOOO much better!!

 

Carpet is still on my list, but as long as the stairs stay as close to this as possible, I can wait a bit longer!

 

So.....now that everything is clean, we were ready for the new stuff!!

 

Adam has always wanted a TV up in the living room, so we started there.

 

The TV came from the daycare I helped out at, which had closed. 

 

The table was a clearance item at Target....and with a coupon and some good luck, we practically STOLE it!!

 

Then came the rest of the furniture....

The tables were what I fell in love with first.....

 

And the rest just came together like a dream! 

 

I am still looking for a chair to replace the recliner....something fun and patterned, but smaller than the recliner.  We will see.....

 

So, while we were shopping for upstairs, Adam was looking for downstairs.

 

He has always wanted a "man couch" to go down there with his "man chair". 

 

So.....we said goodbye to this couch that had been loved, chewed, spilled on, smooshed, and drooled on.

 

And said Hello to this new one:

 

Goes with the "man chair"....

 

And fits in well with all the kid's toys.... 

 

Now, I know I said this was like being a "grown up"...... and there are days I think we are grown ups, but for the most part, I know we are still just big kids pretending we know what we are doing!

 

But at least when we DO grow up, we will have nice furniture to go with it!! 

 

 



Just for Fun....

 

Cupcake anyone???



Swim Fishy Fishy!!

So....do you remember we have Landon in swimming class?

 

Well, we are 5 weeks into the 8 week course.

 

Up until now, he has maintained his place on the side of the pool, no slight movement towards the water.

*Other than the one time where he decided to run AROUND the pool......I put the fear of God in him to never try that stunt again!*

 

So, here we are in week 5......

 

......IN the pool!!!!!!

 

He was having a blast!!  Every time the kids went across, so did he!!

 

Yaaaay!! 

 

I suppose half of the classes is better than none......



Happy San Potty Day!

We do things a bit differently around here.

 

To everyone else, it may be Saint Patty's Day, but here, it is San Potty Day.

 

Don't worry, your face probably matches the checkout lady's face at Target when Landon tried telling her it was Potty Time.

 

At least we have moved from "time" to "day".

 

So, enjoy the festivities, wear your green proud, and remember to pass along good wishes for San Potty Day!

 



New Transportation....

We have a new mode of transportation around here!!

 

Not with 4 wheels, just 2 little chubby legs...

 

Aaaaaaand we are off!!

 

 

 

Everyone watch out....she is on a roll!!

 

 

 

 

 



Country Grammar

Picture this:

 

Cruising down the city strip.

 

Excellent sunshine coming through the windows in the car.

 

Bellies full of amazing food and snacks.

 

Headed to a movie with popcorn and Coke.

 

Screaming the words to hits from Nelly circa 1999.

 

What?  You thought I was remembering a fun night IN 1999??

 

Absolutely not!

 

I am talking really bad car seat dancing, even worse rap skills, and a completely freaked out neighbor at a red light.......tonight!

 

The night could have been capped off with vintage necking in the backseat.....

 

......but the kid's carseats were in the way.

 

Glad to know we aren't too old to rock out old school style!

 

 

And glad to know we still can throw down almost all the words to Country Grammar like pros!! 

 

Word!!!



Fishy Fishy

So you know Landon has A LOT of energy, right???

 

Well, we are getting him into activities to give him some energy release and let him make friends too.

 

This season's adventure is Gym and Swim classes.

 

Kids go play in the gym doing games, motor skills, team work, etc. then go hop in the pool to swim.

 

Sounds right up his alley!

 

I thought so too.....

 

But here is my child, running in the OPPOSITE direction as the rest of the group, and not doing the Follow the Leader game....

 

Then they get to the pool.  He sat down on the edge and kicked his feet.

 

But did he get in???

NO. 

 

The teacher tried using his as an example to do the exercises.   

 

Still not happening!

(Sorry so blurry....I was waaay up top and zooming through the window.)

But that is Landon putting his hands in the air instead of letting the teacher show him how to paddle.

 

So everyone else got a floaty and paddled around.....

Landon sat. 

 

Of course, after the lesson, they were able to play in the kiddie pool.

Do you think he wanted to get OUT of the pool???

NO. 

 

Maybe next week.......



The Big O-N-E

It has finally happened.....

 

My teeny tiny little baby is a big girl!

 

She is one year old!!

 

 

She is such a little spit-fire, lemme tell ya!

 

The personality this girl has is astounding!

 

Independent?  Yes! Remember the self-feeding?? It is messy, but only SHE can feed herself!

Smart?  Yes!

Quick?  Yes! Yes!

Adorable?  Of course......

 

Official stats this month:

Height:  28 3/4 inches (34th percentile)

Weight:  20 pounds (55th percentile)

Down just a bit in weight after a wicked cold, but still right on track!

 

New Accomplishments:

Steps have been taken!!!  Not a full out walk, but steps nonetheless!

We are now sporting a total of 7 teeth!

She has learned to say "no" by shaking her head....not so sure I like that one.

She shows love by touching her forehead on yours.......

She is a lover!

 

Alright, so along with the Big Day, there was a party of course!

 

We went with flowers for the theme, since that is the design I liked at the store.  :)

 

I made the cakes (mainly due to Landon's allergy) and if any of you really know me, you know baking is NOT my thing!  But here is what came of it:

 

And a good spread of food....what is a party without food???? 

 

The Birthday Girl was pleased with the offerings... 

 

She wore her Birthday Girl shirt, in case anyone wasn't sure who had the birthday :)

 

And after some hanging out and chatting, we got in to the presents!

 

 A special quilt from Nana.... 

 

Then we moved on to cake.

I swear half the people who come to baby birthday parties come just to watch the cake smash!

She had her own cake for smooshing:

 

And everyone else got this cake:  

 

So here we go..... 

 

If it's good enough to eat, it must be good enough to wear!

 

Landon enjoyed the cake too......and it stayed mostly in his mouth, not on his face!

 

After we got Avery all cleaned up we sat down to take some family pictures since we were all together.

 

Here are the 4 generations on my dad's side:

Landon, me, Great Granny Goose, Avery, and my dad.

Adding my mom... 

 

The Grandmas.... 

....and the Grandpas. 

 

And the whole group...what a bunch! 

 

Whew!!  Party-palooza!

 

So, after a long day, she had some snuggles from Nana....

....and Bompa..... 

...and Mimi..... 

...a little play time with Daddy.... 

....and then we called it a day!

 

I think she woke up looking older already......