Another Crayon Adventure

Remember those giant super crayons I made? Well, turns out the kids think those crayons are too big for their tastes.  So, I decided to get a box of those small bathroom cups and do a remelt.  PLUS, we have recently switched from bottle glue to glue sticks in our home.  And I've been saving the empty ones for just this purpose.

Off I went.

This time I melted them in the microwave.  At about 30 seconds a time. Stirring in between.

The key to the cups was to get the crayons in SMALL SMALL pieces so they'd melt faster.  I was using wax lined cups and some of my cups almost melted away before the crayons did!

one of the cups I poured into the glue sticks.  It doesn't take much melted crayon to fill up a glue stick.  the paper cup was perfect for pouring.  Just pinch it a little to form a mini funnel.

Son sat down at his make shift craft table and started to get to work.  He definitely seemed to enjoy the glue stick crayons and the smaller giant crayons.

Another McWane Visit (with Friends)

Friday we enjoyed a trip to McWane with friends. It's fun to watch 3 toddlers play (mostly) together and discover and investigate.

I can't remember where I put our 3 orange tickets. Maybe I'll edit later if I find them. (Added bonus of our membership that I didn't know about -- my guests get free parking in the deck too. That's a $5 savings)

a little fun in the rain

The kids' snow boots are now rain boots. (Well, Daughter outgrew her snow boots, got a new pair and Daughter's old snow boots became Son's new snow boots) I wish they had their raincoats, but they were in the car, with Husband at work.

stomping the puddles.

collecting water

sidewalk chalk art in the rain

btw, when we came in and I took those boots off, all four of them had water in them!

Turkey Creek Nature Preserve

I'm not into Mother's Day. I don't want breakfast in bed. um, crumbs much? I don't want home (or store bought) cards. I'm not interested in flowers or brunch or mani/pedis or special jewelry with my kids' birthstones in them or all the other stuff that Hallmark and other marketing conglomerates tell me I need. (that's fine if you do. I sincerely hope all your Mother's Day dreams come true) I just wanted to spend the day with my kids and the man who helped me make them. And that's all I want pretty much every Sunday.

We went to Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson. We've been talking about going since in opened in 2008 and we finally felt the kids were old enough for the "hiking" part.

The start of the "trail" we went on. I'm not sure if a paved walkway in the woods can count as a hiking trail under normal circumstances, but when you have a 2 and a 3.5 year old with you, it does! It ended up being exactly what we needed. One big hill that we all ran down and then huffed back up on the way out, the rest was pretty steady and easily manageable for us all.

Daughter wanted to take this home, cover it with peanut butter and bird seed so the birds would have something to eat. Say what you want about television, but a couple of hours of it a day gives my daughter some fabulous ideas that we haven't read to her in books.

(notice the chicken mcnuggets and fries we had for our picnic before we started? Mom of the day award right there. a lunch of tan/yellow)

Husband and Daughter starting out. Don't you LOVE her long shorts? I do. I would have gotten more than one pair if they were cheaper than $11!

Old Man Son and his walking stick. We laugh that he either acts like a baby or an old man. I also made sure his shorts had lots of pockets because he's a rock collector.

a scenery shot. It really was a nice walk. We heard lots of birds and saw a couple of lizards and I even spotted a couple of black berry bushes.

At the end. We stopped for a water break before we headed back to the car to get to another trail and the water.

walking back. It's nice when your kids want to hold your hands.

"Daddy, take my pitcher three times." This is one of them

Son and Husband getting into the water at the Eagle Scout trail. Daughter and I kept walking down the trail a little bit and met them later.

We met them at a faster part of the water and you can tell by the expression on his face, Son thought I was holding on entirely too tight. But I was in no mood to have to perform a heroic rescue.

Our view of The swimming Hole. We played on the upper shallow side.

Daughter checking it out.

I would suggest if you want to get in the water here to bring appropriate shoes! the kids didn't mind stepping on tons of little sharp rocks but I did. Husband said if I didn't spend so much time getting dead skin off my feet then I'd have a natural layer of protection. (I wore my socks and that helped a little but next time I'm going to bring my crocs and get water shoes for the kids)

digging through the rocks to find "meteors"

throwing rocks. seriously, my kids LOVE throwing rocks in the water.

Husband watching the kids play

splashing. I stayed out of this little bit of fun. Next time, I'll pack extra clothes for everyone and not just the kids.

Also, Daughter got her shorts soaked and asked me if she could get "butt wet" I think she meant "butt naked" because when I said yes she tried to take off her panties too! sorry, kid. no skinny dipping.

Son threw his fair share of rocks

Son and Husband playing. notice Son's hands full of rocks

climbing

another big view shot. lots of people came and went while we were there.

Daughter and Husband out in the "deep" I said, say cheese and to their right, Son did. So they looked

"ccchhhheeeeeeeeessssse"

Son also chose to take his pants off and play in just the diaper

out in the "deep" She was a little apprehensive about Husband taking her out there, but did great.

the finale of the day: ice cream

strawberry

cotton candy

Mother's Day win.

Life is pretty fantastic when you're 2 - birthday roundup

Don't you just LOVE the way Son spreads dandelion seeds so we'll have even more to enjoy in the future? blah.

dunking

He was pretty interested in watching the NCAA tournament with Husband. Basketball seems to be his favorite sport of the moment.

(sigh)

I can't even begin to tell you how happy this picture makes me. I don't even care that Daughter is wearing a pair of her flood jeans and her hair looks like a bird lives in it. Or that Son is sucking those fingers. It's an amazing, perfect picture.

Son's cake. I thought Husband did a great job baking, building and decorating Blue. Daughter said it was an octopus and never really changed her mind on the subject.

Poor buddy. We had his party right after nap time. And he wasn't really awake or into it yet.

Daughter claimed Blue's tongue.

He asked for and got the nose.

FINALLY.

He perked up and started "hiding" in the hall and waiting for us to ask where he was. Then he'd burst through the streamers and laugh and laugh and laugh.

I love cloth diapers ... a lot

I'll miss them. but my love for fully potty trained children will eclipse the sadness of saying goodbye to cloth diapers.

Son is in the midst of potty training. He loves to do his business in the potty and loves to cheer and give high fives. (plus somehow I've managed to not give reward treats to him. Remember, Daughter got a Hershey Kiss? It's nice that cheers and high fives are reward enough for him)

But potty training means lots of wet underwear. (He picked out a 6 pack of dinosaur briefs, he loves to wear them but forgets their purpose a lot) And LOTS of exclamations about how happy I am we have hardwood floors.

seriously, any mom who has ever potty trained with carpet - you deserve a medal. They hand out mom medals don't they? Well, they should.

Sunday RUN Day (or how I almost killed myself 2 days ago)

Sunday after the park and a trip to Wal-mart for soil to start my seeds for the garden. I had the brilliant idea to run outside.

I've been on the elliptical for 30 minutes a day, 5 or 6 times a week for a month and a half. Surely, I could handle week 4 of couch to 5k. surely.

surely. NOT.

I forgot how much of running is mental. And skipping to week 4 is like skipping an entire month of preparing mentally. I also forgot how HIGH impact running is. burning 400 calories in 30 minutes on the elliptical is like taking a bubble bath in clouds when compared to running on pavement. seriously.

My lungs were like, "It's 65 degrees out here. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO US?!?"

My calves and quads were like, "This hurts. This hurts a lot. We're going to make you pay for this for days."

My feet were like, "Those insoles are crap. You need to buy new shoes."

My stomach was like, "Stop or you'll be sorry." I threw up five minutes later and they mocked a little more, "See, I told you."

The stomach evacuation meant I missed one of the 4 runs. But Husband ... Husband was a rock star. He had the double stroller with two sleeping kids in it and still completed it. He did amazing. He pushes me for sure.

The kids after we finished. Son just starting to wake up.

Husband resting.

Me pretending that I'm mostly ok.

time to replace. insoles or no insoles.

I asked Daughter is she wanted to get out and run and she said, "maybe later." I reclined her seat so she could get a little more comfortable.

loving on Son. waiting on Daughter to wake up.

Finally awake and ready to go. I love how Son runs a little like Phoebe Buffay. He's all out.

Unfortunately, he's also a little clumsy. And Daughter got a little too close. Son tripped. Daughter was right behind him and landed on him. There were tears. But no broken skin.

After a short break to listen to music by the big tree they were ready to run again.

After his fall, Son only wanted to run while holding Husband's hand.

I was happy that even after they fell neither kid wanted to go back to the car.

Daughter got to decide our path because she was the first runner.

Husband wanted me to take this picture and he made sure to ask if I lined up the sun between the trees. (yes, I did.)

We ended up doing the 30 minutes of intervals of week 4 and then we kept walking (5 laps is 3.3 miles. a 5k is 3.1) to finish 5 laps plus let the kids sleep a little longer. Then they wanted to run an almost entire lap.

It was fun, but wow, I my quads are still so sore. Even after stretching and time on the elliptical yesterday. Husband is coming home a little early today so we can run again. I think I'm going back to WEEK ONE!!!