Father's Day Crafting

The boys spent Father's Day weekend crafting with their daddy.  It's one of their favorite things to do, and they were thrilled to spend this special time with him.

Daddy loves koozies and the boys do too!  They simply must have one around their cups in the morning!

So, we made a few new ones, pirate themed of course!

Aaarrrhhhh!

After the koozies, the little boys and daddy moved on to some claywork and made an awesome set of skateboards and a ramp.

Roll it out!

The boys all three worked together to make a very special card for their Pop!  Stone even spelled Pop's name for us!

Choo Choo

We headed out this weekend (with Nanny and Grandaddy and some good friends) to see Thomas the Tank!







There were lots of fun activities to keep us hopping: model trains to watch, Thomas sets to play with, tattoos (which are still firmly affixed to our bodies), bounce houses and a petting zoo.

But the highlights?



Riding the train!



Snuggling with our Daddy!



Spending time with good friends!



And feeling the wind in our hair!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

We are in love with Dr. Seuss books and The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That book series. Our current favorite is Oh Say Can You Say Dinosaur?

But, I'll have to admit that I let Dr. Seuss's birthday slip past me. I already have our lesson plan written for this week, so (aside from the possibility of a few green eggs thrown on a dinner plate tonight) we'll probably be skipping the festivities.

But that sure doesn't mean you have to!

Jill Dubien shares some amazing ideas for a Cat in The Hat inspired day here. Aren't those snacks amazing?

Last year, we had a lot of fun with The Cat in the Hat, making pizza, eating green eggs and cuddling up with our favorite books. Gosh, those pictures make me realize how big my kids are now...

I don't want you guys to miss out this year because of my bad planning!

What are you up to today? Celebrating?

Last Minute Valentine

Uh, Oh!  Did you forget that today was Valentines?  Well here's a great idea that might just save you!

I love this - not just because it's super simple and sweet, but because it reminds me of my dad.  You see, each year my dad comes up with an amazing way to give away a wad of cash... he wraps it up in a unique way and we have to guess how much is there.

He's wrapped it around picture frames, frozen it into ice, put it in Jello, placed it into a long tube, etc. etc.  Whoever guesses closest to the amount gets the cash.  We get pretty competitive with it.

I'll tell you though, the Jello wasn't the greatest of ideas.  I won that year.  Apparently when you steal money from a bank they put dye in. The red Jello stains mimic those dyes.  Ask me why I know.


* Photo from Life as Mom

Anyway, this idea is a GREAT way to celebrate Valentines and I instantly fell in love when I saw it.  Can you guess how much is in the box?  I have a guess, but no way of knowing for sure!  Why don't you make your own!

Happy LOVE day!

Happy Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day!

No really, Happy Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day! You didn't forget to celebrate, did you?



We celebrated with bubble pancakes! I just used this recipe then added in some dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. The pancakes really did look like they had bubbles in them...



And they were super yum with a side of honey!

We're having a snow day here, so Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day really couldn't have come at a better time. I mean honestly, is there a better way to burn off some energy when you're stuck indoors?

Jumping on bubble wrap it is!

And if you don't have any physical bubble wrap handy, there's an app for that! Seriously! We've had a blast popping bubble wrap on my iPhone today!

We had snow in Texas!  I thought after last years' winter, we'd seen our fill of snow for a while, but I was wrong!  In several magazines I read regularly I had seen recipes and ideas for snow paint.  I filed it all in the back of my brain, but didn't think we'd get to pull it out this year!

Our neighbors had mixed up a batch and were sweet enough to share with us.  The boys had a blast playing in the snow and working their fine motor skills pumping the bottles.  You'll notice that this year we all actually have proper footwear.. not like my Ziploc creations from last year...

We even practiced mixing some colors... Cash saw how yellow mixed with blue makes green... but you've really got to spray!

Sweet Elana made an awesome heart.  Heath said it looked like a Care Bear belly and he was right on!

For Stone, there's nothing better than a slide... well, maybe a slide with snow?

He did better with the sliding... walking in this crunchy stuff takes a bit of getting used to!  Still, he made much of an improvement from last year when he wouldn't even go close to the cold, wet snow.

Cash spotted some tracks and was intrigued by the ones with the "polka dots."  We went on a shoe hunt and found exactly what was causing the pattern... daddy's shoes!

If you're interested in making your own snow paint, just grab a spray bottle with water and add some food coloring.  Don't have food coloring on hand? You can use Jello packets, Kool-aide mix, Gatorade, even grape juice.  Pretty much anything that will stain your clothes will color snow!

Happy New Year

My dad is known for his breakfasts..




Cheesy eggs, bacon cooked to perfection, biscuits, pancakes, little sausages... It was all made on a lazy Sunday morning. Growing up, my parents' kitchen had a large island with a stovetop in the middle. The stovetop had a griddle and we loved sitting on those barstools and watching my dad make bacon and flip pancakes.

And these weren't ordinary pancakes, no-sir-ee. My dad was quite the artist. He'd make all sorts of shapes freehand and we loved seeing what he came up with!

On New Years Day he always wrote out the new years' numbers in batter. Freehand. And they were always perfect... At least that's how I remember it!

My kids shouldn't expect free-hand number pancakes this new year, but I might throw a Mickey Mouse pancake into the mix.

Yep, I'm fancy!

Cookie Exchange

I love a good cookie exchange! I was a little unorganized this year and didn't plan a big ta-do, but we were able to sneak the fun into our recent neighbor dinner!





These pinwheels were so perfect and so pretty!





And these snowballs were yummy, but only one Weight Watchers point for three cookies! I've never really done Weight Watchers but have been assured this is really good.

Cookie exchanges are always so fun, but they're also pretty easy to set up for your friends to enjoy. I just set out trays of varying height and threw down a festive tablecloth to make it interesting. I also like using http://www.freeprintable.com/view/print.html?id=3787">printed labels so the table looks cohesive, but that's really as far as you need to go!

Two of my friends who joined the cookie exchange happened to be Jewish and had never participated in one before. I had no idea that a cookie exchange was a Christmas thing, but was thrilled to share the tradition!

Christmas Program

 The little boys participated in the Christmas program at their mother's day out program... with mixed results! Holden (front row, next to his teacher in the red sweater) wasn't having it...

Cash (as you can see) ate up the attention!

Both were super cute in their Christmas sweaters!

The Trains

One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is tradition. As my kids get older, I've realized how fun and important traditions are... They truly get better as the kids get older!



We braved some big crowds this year to see The Trains with NiNi and Pop. What fun!



The boys wanted to get SO close to the trains that they fogged up the glass! They loved all of the intricate parts of the scenery and the trains. They really had a hard time leaving!



Their favorite section was a replica of the State Fair Grounds. Pretty cool!

If you live near us and haven't visited The Trains yet, you have until the first week in January to check it out! All proceeds benefit Ronald McDonald House of Dallas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas

We hope that 2010 has been a year full of blessings for you! Our family has been so blessed this year! Our kids continue to amaze us with their personalities and we love watching them grow! Here are the highlights:

Heath: Continues to work in insurance, but was given the opportunity to work from home this year. What an amazing gift for our family! The boys and I love having him home and really enjoy the opportunity to spend stolen moments throughout the day with him. Heath always has time to wrestle on the floor with the boys and play hide-and-go-seek... but in his spare time he does enjoy a bi-monthly poker game with the other "big boys" in our neighborhood.

Brit: I'm so blessed that I am able to stay at home with the boys! Being a personal driver and chef, working with the boys on Tot School activities, and breaking up the occasional fight fills the majority of my days, and watching them grow has been an extreme blessing! When I'm not being mom, I'm writing about it! My blog, http://www.livingwiththreeboys.com/, was picked up this year by an advertising company. It's a great way for me to make a little money, while doing something I love and staying home with my boys!

Stone: Stone is four and currently in a speech intensive, pre-school program. He loves his friends there! He is a dynamo when it comes to spelling and reading and can figure out any puzzle or math game you throw at him! He loves singing any Laurie Berkner or Jim Gill song and often throws impromptu concerts in the middle of the grocery store!

Cash: What a ham! He is always up for entertaining and loves dressing up and playing pretend. He recently gained an imaginary friend named Palmer - who is constantly getting him into trouble! My three-year-old loves helping me around the house and is the best sous-chef I could ever ask for!

Holden: Holden fills the role of "littlest" to perfection! He's constantly doing everything in his power to keep up with his big brothers. At two, his vocabulary is amazing, and he never answers a question without speaking in a full sentence. He loves playing with his Daddy's old Matchbox cars and never leaves the house without his two (yes, two) blue blankies!

We're going green this year and sending the majority of our Christmas cards electronically... A big thank-you to Lindsey at http://www.prettydarncutedesigns.com/ for designing such a beautiful electronic card, and Jenna at http://www.yellowsunflowerphotography.com/ for taking such beautiful photographs of our family!

Let us know what's going on in your life!  Leave a comment! We'd love to hear from you!

Advent Calendar Ideas - Week Three to Christmas

If you're just starting, you can find week two and week three ideas by clicking on the link of following the Holidays/Festivals tab on the right side of the blog.  This week really starts to delve into the miraculous story of Christ's birth.  I hope you have as much fun sharing these special activities with your child as we have!

Dec. 15 - Create a manger scene with a tent and stuffed animals.  Tear up paper bags for straw and lead the kids in making animal noises.
Dec. 16 - Angels We Have Heard on High!  Make an angel ornament and talk about the angels from the story of Christmas.
Dec. 17 - Holly is a symbol of the crown of thorns Jesus word and is a common decoration at Christmas.  Make some holly cookies to celebrate this tradition.  (I found a great recipe here - almost like a rice crispy treat!)
Dec. 18 - Say a prayer thanking God for giving you a family, just like he gave Jesus a family.  (this is especially special for us - our kids were adopted into our family, just like we are adopted into God's)
Dec. 19 - Read a Christmas book about the animals in the manger. (try The Crippled Lamb, Room for a Little One and Christmas in the Manger)
Dec. 20 - Jesus is the Light of the World!  Make a votive holder by gluing tissue paper to the outside of a jar/votive holder.  (you can find detailed instructions here- and feel free to use a baby food jar to save money on the votive holder!)
Dec. 21 - Help your kids to secretly do something nice for someone in your family.  Talk about how God loves us, so we love others!
Dec. 22 - Ring in the Joyful News of Christ! Use jingle bells, beads and yarn to make a necklace (you can use anything you have lying around, just add some bells!)
Dec. 23 - Make a birthday cake for Jesus!
Dec. 24 - Decorate for Jesus' birthday party
Dec. 25 - Sing Happy Birthday to Jesus!  Retell the story of His birth and thank God for the most precious gift ever given!


Be sure to check out our Tot School posts to see how we're incorporating each activity in our home!

Santa Baby

I think this has to be THE best Santa photo ever taken. How could it not be? The range of emotions, the placement of kids... I challenge anyone to do it better!





Joy (mommy), surprise (daddy), sadness (Holden), terror (Cash) and a bonus choke hold (Stone)... If that doesn't say "have yourself a merry little Christmas," I just don't know what would!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 So fun getting everything decorated for the special holiday!

 And so fun enjoying the fruits of our labors, reading books in our new Christmas jammies while sitting by a roaring fire with the Christmas tree in the background!

I love pulling out the Christmas decorations year after year... so many, many memories are hidden within each special piece!

Oh how I love Christmas cards!  I love to send them, I love to get them, I love them all around!

Remember my post about stalking the mail man?  Yep, it's that time of year again!

My go-to for Christmas photo cards has always been Shutterfly.  They do a great job and I always get beautiful, quality cards. I've also used them to make baby announcements, adoption announcements, life books, birthday invitations, thank-you notes and stationary pads.  Because honestly, who doesn't love things with cute photos?  Especially cute photos of my kids!

We're e-mailing a lot of Christmas cards this year, and I was fortunate enough to have a cracker-jack designer like Lindsey make this possible for me.  (contrary to popular belief, I'm not super-awesome with computers)  But if you don't have a Lindsey, you can use the super easy, super cute customizable designs that Shutterfly offers for all of their services, from gift tags to calendars.  Speaking of calendars, do you have a grandparent or aunt/uncle that's hard to buy for?  These calendars have been a huge success as gifts in our family!

Funny story, last year I shopped and shopped and bought gifts for everyone.  And, everyone asked for their calendar!  So, what do you think they're getting this year?

There are some great deals going on right now, so head over and get a photo gift for all of your giving needs.  You can use code SHIP50 to get free shipping for orders over $50, and if you're a blogger, you can score 50 free Christmas cards.  Wow!  Thanks Shutterfly!

Advent Calendar Ideas - Week Two

I've had so much fun sharing the true story of Christmas through these daily activities and hope that they bless your life as well!  If you missed last week's activities, you can catch-up here.  Since each activity is very brief, it wouldn't be difficult for you to catch up!

Here are the ideas for this week:

Dec. 8 - Lambs were probably in the stable when Jesus was born.  Make a lamb using paper and gluing cotton balls.  (I found a free download here)
Dec. 9 - Stars shown on the night Jesus was born, go outside and look at the start and make a glittery star decoration to hang on the tree. (there's a good idea for a Popsicle stick star ornament here)
Dec. 10 - Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem.  Talk about how we travel today.
Dec. 11 - Jesus had a family.  Draw a picture of your family and talk about who's in it.
Dec. 12 - Choose two or three toys to give to a child who does not have toys.  Remember God gave us the best gift, Jesus!
Dec. 13 - Make an outdoor Christmas tree for birds: Use pine cones, peanut butter and bird seads to make the decoration - there's info and directions here.
Dec. 14 - Act out the story of Joseph and Mary being turned away at the inn by having the children knock on doors in the house.  (my kids are going to LOVE this!)
Dec. 15 - Create a manger scene with a tent and stuffed animals.  Tear up paper bags for straw and lead the kids in making animal noises.


To see all of the fun that we've been having, check out our Tot School Tuesday posts!

Tot School Tuesday - Christmas

In conjunction with our Advent ideas, we're also working through the curriculum and printables at 1+1+1=1.  I can't even begin to tell you what a blessing this site is for me!  I didn't get any pictures of Stone working on the worksheets... mostly because I have to be very hands-on with him to get him to sit... but the fine motor skills that these printables help to work have really unlocked some roadblocks for Stone!  His favorite has been "Help the Shepherd get to Baby Jesus," and since I laminated it, he can do it over and over with his window markers (we like these MUCH better than dry erase because they are washable!)

Our winter sensory bin is ready and full of snow!  My kids loved the snow last year and are equally enjoying it this year!

Since we're really into cars, I let the kids make roads in the snow and use a dozer to move it from one side to another.  Stone and Holden were all over it from the get-go...

Cash was a bit hesitant of the wet, cold stuff at first, but he got into it!

We made and delivered stained glass cookies to a few friends from church.

And then used the cookie cutters to paint!

The boys love paint and I'm hoping to get this set for Christmas!  The set we have now is a bit glopy.

Stone and I worked on spelling using his magnetic letters.  If I go really slow and say the word phonetically he can spell just about anything!  This totally blows my mind, considering I spell about on his level!

Each night when daddy gets home, we've snuggled up in front of a warm fire and the tree to read the Christmas story.  The boys love it, aside from a few mistellings that have cropped up!

I mentioned having several nativities in our first Advent post and have gotten some questions regarding why and which ones.  We love our free-standing nativity and were actually given the accompanying wise man set this year. I also have a nativity set that came to me as a printable.  I printed it off, laminated it, added magnets and the kids love playing with it on the fridge while I cook dinner!  You can find a printable set, along with some other great nativities you can make, here.  We also use a Jesse Tree to tell the story of Christmas, along with the background of Christ's lineage and foretellings of His coming.  Confessions of a Homeschooler (the same place we get our awesome letter of the week curriculum) has some great Jesse Tree links and downloadable ornaments here. Since this has become an awesome tradition for our kids, we've asked for an upgrade from the paper ornaments to these as part of the boys' Christmas presents.

How are you celebrating the birthday of our Savior?