Wordless Wednesday: Soccer Phenomenons

Snow People that are their size

It snowed a little at our house last week.  Which meant the kids wanted more than anything to build snow people that were just their size. It took more than two hours because they didn't want any help. Except for getting the carrots out of the fridge.  Plus they stopped a lot to throw snowballs and eat the clean snow.

Celebrating 31

The night before my birthday I was exiled to my bedroom while Husband, Daughter and Son worked hard in the kitchen making cupcakes.  Little did I know, they were making Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes with Ganache Frosting. (um, I just went up a dress size TYPING the name)

I never got caught up in the cupcake frenzy of late.  I don't watch cupcake television shows.  I don't go to cupcake bakeries and indulge in whatever the newest flavor is.  I just don't.  I'm not a big fan of desserts as a general rule so Husband always has to give a little more effort than I would assume he'd have to if married to a dessert lover.

This year he hit the jackpot and unless he's making a cheesecake, I want him to make these cupcakes for every birthday I have until I'm dead.   Seriously, click the recipe.  Make these cupcakes.  Fall in love too.  They are incredible.

So anyway, I knew they were making a birthday dessert and it was a surprise, but that's all I knew.  Except what I could get Son to tell me when he'd come in to see every once in awhile.  And I'd stand in the doorway of the kitchen and say things like, "What is going on in this room?" and "What smells so good in here."   

Daughter was such a champ.  She'd quickly shoo me away and tell me to go back to my room and read a book or take a rest.  It was pretty stinking cute.  She was a good surprise keeper and did her best to act like there was no reason in particular that she and her brother were wearing their aprons and huddled in the kitchen with Husband for over 2 hours.

Soon it was time to sing and blow out the candles.  and taste.  WOW.  Taste.  Fantastic.  

After eating our cupcake.  Don't be fooled, Daughter was just as messy as Son, but she washed her mouth and hands before the picture.

She's so silly

Dora Loves Boots and Daughter Loves Son

After seeing how much the kids love story time at the library every Wednesday, I've been making the effort to make sure we're there.  The downside of that is, I have to discuss things like Valentine's Day to my kids because they heard books about it for 3 weeks in a row.  I'm not very big on Valentine's Day but really, in its simplest terms, what I told them about Valentine's Day is really what we should make it - It's just a special day when you make sure the people you love know it.  flowers, candies, jewelry, big romantic gestures that aren't made on any other day of the year aren't really my thing but I do think it's important to make sure the people you love know it and create great memories they can carry with them about the importance of showing love.

Well, because we go to the library each week now, we also get library books each week.  Last week, Daughter picked Dora Loves Boots. It's Valentine's themed.  Dora loves her best friend, Boots, and wants to give him a surprise on Valentine's Day.  So she picks strawberries for him because Boots loves strawberries.  And Boots wants to surprise his best friend, Dora, so he goes to Chocolate Lake and gets some chocolate for her because Dora loves chocolate.  Then, like with any Dora adventure, they arrive at their destination with the help of Backback and Map (while also stopping Swiper from swiping).  At Rainbow Rock they reveal their surprises and decide to dip the strawberries in the chocolate for a super special treat.

The kids love Dora, Boots, chocolate and strawberries.  So after reading the book about 17 times, we went to the store and bought out of season strawberries (Sorry, Barbara Kingsolver but they were delicious - at least they were from Florida and not California) and a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Son decided he wasn't going to combine his strawberries with the chocolate.

Daughter was a good dipper

and after all the strawberries were dipped or eaten, the messy fun began. 

He didn't want to mix his strawberries and chocolate, but he sure enjoyed his fill of both.

And they enjoyed a bubble bath after and enjoyed the chocolate covered strawberries for days.  It was a big hit.  And the kids were both excited that they got to be like Dora and Boots.

Christmas Bicycles

Christmas morning, the kids woke up to see the things they'd been talking about for weeks in their living room.  Bicycles (and helmets)   Seriously, I cannot even tell you how excited they were.

Because of the layout of our house and the fact that it rained and rained (and was cold) on Christmas and the week after, they rode in the house.  They'd start in the dining room, go through the living room, down the hall and back into the dining room.  

By the time they finally got to ride outside, they were pros.

Daughter, minutes after discovering her new bike

Son, taking a break from the action

 About a week after Christmas, it warmed up enough that I loaded the kids, a picnic and their bikes and helmets in the car and we met Husband at The Railroad Park for a long lunch.  They loved it.  And because it was a weekday, not crowded.  Perfect for a 4 year old and a 2 year old who have only ridden their bikes inside their house.  And they did great.  We went around 3 times and stopped a lot to run and play.

Just starting off.  She turned around and said, "snap my picture, please."

This little boy did GREAT.  I was so proud of how be managed his bike and how fast he could go!

Also, they both have bells on their bikes that they are oh so in love with.

75% off Halloween Costumes

If you had to guess the size of these costumes would you guess a children's medium (for 7-8 year olds)?   That's exactly what these are.  And because they were 75% off (only about $4 each) I said, "let's give them a try."   Luckily, the costumes were one piece, so after rolling up the sleeves and the pants legs, you couldn't tell they were made for kids at least one foot taller!

Seriously, both of these kids think Buzz Lightyear (and Jessie, and Woody and the rest of the gang) is/are the bee's knees.

to infinity ...

... and beyond

A Fancy Dinner Party

OK, this is by FAR, the cutest kid story I've had to share in a long time.  They blew me away with this one.

The Sunday night that we took the kids trick-or-treating at McWane and Whole Foods (remember the flowers?), Husband and I are in our bedroom watching Desperate Housewives and the kids are playing in Daughter's room.  With fifteen minutes left in the episode, Daughter comes in and asks me to get their vases of flowers off the mantle because they need them for a fancy dinner party.  I say OK and quietly follow her into her room to see what's going on.  

On her Dora table is a white blanket acting as a table cloth, most of their kitchen food and now two vases of fresh flowers.  (melt) I run and tell Husband what they're up to and settle back in to watch the rest of DH.

Two minutes later, Daughter and Son come and invite us to a fancy dinner party.  And seriously, it was an invitation I could not ignore or postpone ... because, really, how often do I get invited to fancy dinner parties? much less ones in my own home?!?

Daugther had turned off her overhead light and turned on the lamp (for mood lighting), had the "table cloth" on the table and the food prepared.  We ooo-ed and ahhh-ed and sat down at our assigned tables.  Before we could start eating, Daughter said we still needed to invite Blue Bear, Baby, Razberry and Baby Elephant (their imaginary friend).  After everyone was assembled, we started "eating."

They were both so pleased with themselves.  

I had some spiced cider in the crock pot for Husband to take to work the next day as a special treat.  So I excused myself, poured 4 mugs and returned with a special "fancy dinner party drink"   We toasted, sipped, toasted, sipped, toasted some more and sipped a little more.  They thought it was fantastic.  

Then Husband had a dessert idea.  He went to the kitchen and came back with a plate of candy corns stuck with tooth picks.  Again with the ooo-s and ahhh-s.  The kids thought that was "very fancy" 

It was such a fun memory to make.  I love how creative both kids are and the fun things they think of to do and play and experience.  It's fun knowing them.

toasting

another toast

I should really get the tripod out more often so we can have actual family photos with everyone in them!

Halloween Part 4: actual Halloween

Remember when Halloween was just 1 day?  on, ya know, October 31?  Well, after a Saturday and a Sunday of Halloween fun, I was Halloweened out by October 31.   I negotiated with Husband that I would make chili and stay home and hand out candy, if he took the kids around the neighborhood trick-or-treating.  

Husband almost got to stay home.  Daughter decided she'd rather help make pizza and watch Charlie Brown all night.  But then at the 11th hour, she said, "I would like to go trick-or-treating one last time as Peppa Pig." Great.  I got them dressed and was glad I could stay at home in shorts and a tank top.

This is what Husband tried to wear.   I have no idea what he wanted to be, but that's the $13 ebay wedding dress I wore our first Halloween when I was a dead bride and his Bill Clinton mask.

The back.  Insane-o man was excited about going backless ...  I couldn't really zip him up very much.

Luckily, the kids are both terrified of the mask so he changed in to more normal clothes for trick-or-treating.

Peppa in more sensible shoes for walking the neighborhood.
My last attempt for a group shot was unsuccessful.  The friendly tiger was a blubbering mess of snot and tears who was pretty mad he got woken up from his nap early.  

Daughter showing off her glow stick and Son with his crazy flashlight from Nanny.

Husband had big plans of walking up this street, down that street, around this corner, to this house, and that house.  I was pretty shocked when 20 minutes later the doorbell rang and it was my family.  Apparently, after 4 houses Daughter decided it was getting too dark and it was time to go home and eat pizza.

showing off her treats

excited about his blue dumdum

I might have been burned out after 3 days of Halloween, but the kids loved it.  Lots of fun memories.

Fun in the Yard

I like it when the weather is below 90 degrees.  It means more time outside.

Son took off his shoes and socks and picked up a shovel for garden digging.  (They are allowed to dig in the empty part of the garden)

Tree climbing after sandcastle building

sun bathing

and poor old Charlie is just waiting for me to sit down so he can crawl in my lap.  What a baby.

Frog Pajamas and the two people I grew in my body

It's that time of the year, time to replace the warm pajamas the kids outgrew during the summer. Daughter picked out a blue pair with frogs on them because last winter her favorite pair was pink with frogs on them.  She had the great idea of putting on her new pajamas and letting Son wear her old ones so they could match. Son agreed that it was a great idea.

Hi, Mommy!

I love how they love each other.  I hope they are best friends forever.

Downstairs Improvement Part 4: The Hoop Tent in the Main Room

So, here's a little sneak peak of the main room, in the form of the Hoop Tent.  I got the idea from pinterest.  It's a quilting hoop, silk panels, string, a circle ring, a topper fabric and fishing line.  Seriously, the picture is beautiful.  And my first attempt to replicate it wasn't too shabby.  I used a quilting hoop ($3 after a coupon at Hobby Lobby), gifted curtains, a discarded shower curtain ring and fishing line.  I also used two throws we already had but didn't use and two more of those $2.50 pillows and green pillowcases from wal-mart.

The space.  It's hard to tell, but there's already a hook in the ceiling which is what gave me the idea in the first place.

I pinned the curtains to the wall for the main reason that I was afraid my kids, who have the reputation of playing hard, would tear them down.  (The door on the right is the double doors (former exterior doors) leading into the drywall room.)

The kids went crazy with excitement.  

Daughter squeezing my leg with excitement

"finished" I added some scrap fabric to the top to cover up the fishing line. THIS is Son's favorite thing downstairs.  

Even though the kids are in love, I'll tell ya, I'm not.  It just looks so bootleg to me.  My favorite part is the curtains.  I've decided that soon, I'm going to take it down and try again for a more polished look. I'm thinking  of dyeing the curtains for some added color to the room, and taking more care with hanging it.  Plus, putting a better fabric as the topper. Truthfully, I'd like to find a bigger hoop too, but so far 15 inches is the biggest I've come across.  There's room for improvement.

STAY TUNED: tomorrow is the grand finale - THE SEWING SPACE!

Downstairs Improvement Part 1: Under-the-Stairs-Room

I guess I should start at the beginning.  In August, we took a family day trip down to Mobile.  But this one wasn't just for fun.  Husband had a job interview. Yes, we were seriously considering moving to Mobile. And if Husband got the job, we would have moved. Husband and I started talking about what-ifs, what-we-need-to-dos.  And talk quickly turned to the list of things we'd need to do to the house before we could sell it or, worse case scenario, rent it out.  Number two on the list was turn the 702 sq ft of finished downstairs space into actual usable family space. In the six years that Husband has owned the house, it's never really been used for anything except a place for the dogs to stay in extreme weather.  Husband ended up not getting the job, but I was still thinking of this list of to-dos.  

Why wait to do these things until we're trying to get rid of the house?

Why not do them now and actually get to enjoy our hard work?

There are 4 finished rooms downstairs (and the unfinished 300sq ft cellar that we ignored except for organizing and cleaning).  There's the under-the-stairs room, the main room, the smaller side room that sustained substantial drywall damage when we learned that the previous owners installed 3 of the 6 water sources in the master bathroom, that's directly above this room, incorrectly, and the half bath.  

I'm starting with the room I was probably the most excited about first.  And except for husband putting two nails in the wall, I did it all by myself.  

before.

bare wood paneling and plain concrete. cold and uninviting.

under the stairs

the 4th wall

The most important thing to me about this improvement was that it be cheap.  We just don't have the money to spare right now.  But I also didn't want it to look bootleg.  Luckily, so much of what I used in this room, we already had or I was able to find cheap.  The only exception?  The $10 can of chalk board paint.  It was the single most expensive thing I bought.

I used wall paint that we already had in the cellar (the blue that Son's room was when Husband bought the house). We already had the white paint I used to paint the window and door casings.  And since we had already decided the main room's floor needed repainting, I used a little of that paint on the floor.  I bought the chalkboard paint for $10.  Thrift store frames for the chalkboards for $5 each.  White spray paint to paint the the frames and a bookshelf I've had since college was $3.  I picked up two pillows that were $2.50 each to use as cushions.  Covered them with pillowcases we already had but don't use anymore. Then bought two .74 packs of chalk. $8 worth of shoe (the wood that usually accompanies baseboards) And that's it.  I still have to get baseboards, paint and install them.  THAT will end up being the most costly thing in the room, but the room really feels unfinished without them.  And I'd like to hang some curtains too.  Just something sheer and light.

Total spent thus far: right under $40

Total fun has thus far: priceless

the kids checking our their new chalkboards.

Daughter's first drawing

the cat approves

I used the bookshelf to butt up against the stairs and I still haven't decided if I'm going to leave the stairs unfinished or not.  The shelf now has coloring books, crayons and simple wooden puzzles on it. (the white strip on the left is the shoe.  I thought that was all we'd need as far as baseboards go, but they aren't tall enough to cover the gap between the paneling and the floor.  boo)

When the time comes that I trust my kids a little more, this is going to become a magnetic wall and I will bring out my 3 packs of magnetic poetry that I packed away when I realized Husband's fridge wasn't magnetic.  I'm excited for the day, but also realistic that it will probably be years away.

Since I took these pictures, I've hung my old cork board above the chalk boards for the kids to hang their art.  I'm really excited about this room.  And I love how much the kids love it.  Daughter calls it "my little room."  And Son doesn't seem to mind she claimed ownership because he has his own favorite thing downstairs and it's not in that room.

After I started painting my measured off chalkboard to fit into the frames and I saw how little of the $10 can of chalkboard paint I was going to be using, I ALMOST decided to scrap the frame idea and paint the entire wall.  But the thought of wasting $10 on the thrift store frames was enough to deter me.  Maybe later that'll be an upgrade to do - A SUPER HUGE WALL SIZED CHALKBOARD.

Treasures from the past

Over the last few weeks, Husband and I have been cleaning up and cleaning out our entire downstairs.  We're talking a finished space that's 5 rooms and about 900 square feet that we have just been wasting but much more on that later.  

Anyway, the cellar is the room where the hot water heater is and various old stuff gets stored there.  All my college notes, my two door sized windows from Jewett, all my jewel cases for my hundreds of cds,  Husband's old dishes from before I moved in, all the Christmas stuff, old campaign signs, all the kids stuff they outgrow and MOST of my Husband's childhood toys and trophies.  Including about 15 wrestling "action figures"   seriously.  When Husband was cleaning up and reorganizing the cellar, he gathered up his wrestlers and threw them in the dishwasher to clean them so he could introduce his wrestlers to the kids.

all cleaned up and ready.  This is everyone but King Kong Bundy -- they've already been playing with him for years.

here's a crazy green tongued guy who's name I don't know and Hulk Hogan in the background

Daughter was amazed.

Son was too.  He kept asking, "who dat? who dat?  He for me?"  

They've been carrying them around ever since.  Son loves to pick out a wrestler and start at his feet pointing out all his clothes and what colors they are and all his body parts.  He loves the ones without shirts because they have belly buttons, a favorite body part in our house.  And those wrestlers have been on all sorts of adventures.  Safaris, airplane rides, trips through the sticky mud.  It's hilarious all the games they think of to include their wrestlers in.

Muffin Tin Lunch

To celebrate their new thrift store table and chairs, the kids got to eat lunch at it (well, and most lunches since.) BTW, I'm loving this new-to-us wooden Dora table.  It's quite durable. and $6 for the table and 2 yellow little tikes chairs -- um, I couldn't pass that up. I'd love to have more childless time to explore our 3 in-town thrift stores.  I love finding good deals.  Maybe I'll start going Saturday mornings now that football has started.

I wish, wish wish, we had two 6 hole muffin tins, so each kid had their own "plate." But we only have a 12 and our walmart only has a 12.  So the search continues.  And they shared well.

Anyway, they had garden tomatoes, apple slices, mandarin orange slices, carrots, celery and cheese sticks sliced up so they fit in the tins.  And because my kids cannot eat celery or carrots without it, dip in their own bowls.  And when I say DIP, I just mean Ranch Dressing.  Nothing fancy here, folks.

I was pleased with how lunch turned out.  They ate a little more than normal and a much bigger variety of healthy foods than normal.  Usually it's a sandwich and a fruit or something similar.  a main thing and one fruit or vegetable side.

If only I had an equally healthy lunch! I think I had a couple of handfuls of raw almonds and a handful of reece's peices.