We’ve had some nice weather here and there. It doesn’t last long, so when the sun shines, we go out. Ella is big into her own bike right now. She will not let you help push her, but has to ride her own bike. The kids went out for a little ride, and Ella hoped on her bike with her bike helmet.

I get the best looks when people see Ella on her bike with her bike helmet. Everyone just laughs at her. We had time to kill one afternoon between naps and dinner, so we thought we’d take a quick bike ride to our friends house. They live about 2 streets away, and it took us 45 minutes to get there, because Ella insisted on riding her bike. I didn’t think it would be bad at first, because I could push her. No! If I tried to push her, she would shake her bike till I let go. Longest walk ever! I ended up carrying her part of the way home to get home fast, but that didn’t work out so well for me later that night. I ended up with a few contractions, and learned my lesson. Oh, what to do with Miss Ella.

Tuesday, we got our hands dirty. Well, Ella did. Jameson stayed squeaky clean. In rearranging rooms, I need to rearrange some wall decor. Half of Jameson and Ella’s room is decorated in decor that matches the crib bedding. So, I need to take it all down and hang it in the other room around the crib. To replace it, the kids made their own decor. Since we were going to be making a huge mess anyway, I though, why not invite a few friends to join in our mess? So we had a few friends over, gave each kid their canvas, and let them have at it.

Ella, loved it. As you may remember, she is our little artist. At least this time it wasn’t on a wall.

Ella was fine using her fingers, but Jameson was not about that. He needed paintbrushes. He also needed green, his favorite, and blue. We had a few different containers of blue, and even though they were the same color, he needed paint from both.

Jameson took the longest to cover his canvas. I needed him to make sure to get paint around all his letters, so when we pulled the tape off, the letters would be visible. It took him forever. I cheated and did Ella’s to make sure her letters would show up, but then she continued painted. Ella loved painting so much that when everyone else was done, she was still going. I finally told her it was time to clean up, and she cried. I guess I might need to get the paint out more often.

She ended up covered in pain. Even managed to wipe some on her face. The pictures turned out great. I had to let go of my crafting OCD and let the kids use whatever colors they wanted. Maybe next time I’ll only get out the colors that will match. Oh well, this is their picture, right? I’ll show you the finished product when I get them hung. But trust me, the kids love their own work, and they look good.

Jameson told me we needed to get bird seed to feed Tweety one day. Well, I had seen this idea on the blog Eighteen25 and wanted to try it. So I bought some birdseed, and Monday we got busy. I had told him we first needed to clean things up, and he exclaimed, “Yah Mom, I need to do the dishes.” By all means, kid. Knock yourself out. It’s about time you earn your keep.

I know you’re all jealous of his non-matching, too small pajamas and tennis shoes. Those are his running shoes by the way. He has taken to using different shoes for different purposes. His other shoes are Vans slip-on shoes that are his “jumping” shoes, and his Vans skater type shoes are his “climbing” shoes. We even had to take all three to the park last week and he changed shoes as he did different things.

Anyway, back to bird seed. We mixed our pectin with birdseed, and mashed it into our cookie cutters. Jameson would mix for me, but was not about to touch it and get his hands dirty.

Then it was time to let them dry. We had to keep flipping them to make sure they got nice and dry. In the meantime, Jameson entertained himself while I did some crafting.

This kid’s imagination does not end. He has a sound effect for everything. It’s a little ridiculous sometimes. I was working on something, and he used some of my crafting supplies (bathroom tiles) to put his little lego men on. I couldn’t help but record him. I wanted to ask him what he was doing, but didn’t want him to know I was recording him.

It was a long wait, but Tuesday morning, we headed into the backyard to hang our bird feeders. Our first fish hung up great, but after that, it kind of went down hill. Our string didn’t hold so well, so we ended up setting the feeders in the trees and around the yard.

See our fish hanging in the upper left corner? Jameson was out checking to see if Tweety was going go come and eat. I have no idea where he heard about Tweety from, but whatever. We’re still waiting for birds, but the squirrels have definitely found our feeders.

So, I just told you about how I made this…

I’m a little obsessed with them right now. I also love to see who looks at our little stories on here. So, I was thinking. How about I make you one? Then, you don’t have to rub your fingers raw trying to get that paper off. I’ll do it for you and send it to you. It can be along the same lines as the one above, or kept to an 8×10 and your picture will cover the entire board. You can have lettering or no lettering. Whatever makes you happy. Sound good?

How about I give you till Friday night (March 30th) at midnight to comment. Leave us a comment, thought, or funny joke. (We’re all about the jokes around here.) One of the lucky comments will be picked and then, a picture will be sent your way. Well, you’ll have to send me the picture you want on your board first, and then, I will send you your awesome new display. Hope to hear from you!

Yesterday, I had to go visiting teaching. When we were done, I walked outside and felt the sunshine. Do you know how often that happens here? Hardly ever! Even in the summer months, feeling the sunshine is not always an option. So, I looked at the kids, told them to get in the car, we were going to the park. It wasn’t busy, which, for this park, is rare. The kids loved it.

Jameson was showing me his rock climbing skills. He heard Dad talk about rock climbing last weekend, and now can’t wait to go. The whales are part of the water play in the warmer months, but for now, they are great to climb on. We spent 2 hours in that sunshine, and loved every minute of it.

So, I told you about how I spent Monday running all over town getting supplies and other things done. Tuesday was a day to recover from Monday and get some things done around here. Or at least finish a few projects that have been in the works.

***Christina, these are for you for your birthday, so if you want it to be a surprise, look somewhere else. I haven’t mailed your box yet.***

I’ve needed some place to pin things, but didn’t just want to hang a cork board. I saw an idea online, not quite sure where, and made my own version. There is a place to put post-it notes for thing that immediately need attention.  On my sister’s, I put a place for a dinner menu with grocery list.

I saw the video for this here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NjYbAAQ4vw

I did a little variation. So I did the whole dry overnight, woke up Tuesday morning and started the rubbing process. I rubbed the picture 3 different times, and was still left with some white film of paper on the picture. I read through the comments on the video and someone mentioned rubbing the picture with vegetable oil. So when I got most of the paper off, I rubbed with oil, then immediately covered with Mod Podge. My boards I cut are about 10 in x 12 in, so they are a little bit bigger than the picture. That’s why I turned this picture so the board was horizontal. I cut out her name in vinyl and added some ribbon. Next time, I might try to stain the wood. I’m happy with how it turned out, though.

I really like the effect of seeing the wood grain through the picture.

Monday, we had lots to do. We had Kevin’s birthday dinner to get ready, and I needed to get a few things done before my Tuesday night Young Women activity with the girls. Our activity was planning the camp fundraiser, which meant I had a few craft I wanted to finish to display for the girls. I saw an idea Sunday on Pinterest…yes I finally caved and signed up. But then, I needed the supplies for that project. So, Monday morning we got up and got going. We were out the door before 10 am, which is an accomplishment around here. We headed to Michael’s first for supplies. I needed medium transfer gel, and it was no where to be found. I had 2 ladies helping me look, and we finally found it facing the wrong way under the wrong sales label. Meanwhile, my kids were rearranging the opposite side of the isle. Anyway, it was finally found, and we pressed forward. Next stop was Home Depot where we got our wood and had it cut, along with a sander. I thought about wrapping it for Kevin, but really… I wanted it. Next stop, post office. Rose (the kids favorite post office worker who always gives them candy) was off on break so we were able to make it in and out pretty quick.

We continued on our was to the bread outlet store. The kids love going, because I let them pick out a box of donuts. They’re only $1, and I let them eat them as soon as we’re in the car. As you can see, Ella loves the powdered donuts.

Then we headed to Staples to get pictures printed. For the project, I needed pictures printed with a laser copier instead of inkjet. I got a few pictures in case I messed up, and they were pictures mostly of the kids, and my sister’s family. The girl handed me the pictures and told me, “These are the cutest pictures ever.” Why thank you. I think our kids are pretty cute, and it is now justified. We left Staples and as we walked out, a man came up behind us asking if I could get him some food. The fact that he asked for food an not money… sure, no problem. We walked into Safeway next door (which was our next stop anyway) and bought him a sandwich along with one for myself. Then we started our shopping excursion to get stuff for Kevin’s birthday dinner.

Are you tired yet? I was. We got home, put Ella down for her nap, made the birthday cake, and then started vacuuming while I waited for the cake to cool. I was determined to get rid of any trace of dog hair around the house, so everything was vacuumed, dusted, and febreezed. In the process, I realized I was supposed to go visiting teaching at 3:30. So we hurried and finished, then woke up Ella, and headed out. Made it back home, realized we didn’t want to have dinner by ourselves, so invited some friends to join us last minute. As I was cooking dinner, Kevin text me to let me know he was going to be late. Really!? On your birthday? I was far enough into dinner that I needed to keep going. So, we ate Kevin’s birthday dinner without him.

Kevin managed to get home in time for cake and a present. The kids helped him blow out his candles.

Kevin was able to get a nap in after dinner festivities. His friends had planned to come over with cake later on. They did their run for the night, and then had their own little celebration. While they were gone, I started my project. I know, you really want to know what it is. 🙂

So Happy Birthday to my man who is finished up his twenties. It was a long busy day, but we got everything accomplished. I’m glad we were able to take a family vacation the weekend before to help celebrate his birthday, because Monday wasn’t the best day for him. Maybe next year, we’ll do better.

Saturday, Jameson and I got creative while Ella was napping. I saw an idea on someone’s blog about using a shower curtain to create a floor map for your kids. So, when I was out shopping a few weeks ago, I picked one up and have had it ready for a day when we needed it. The great idea about a shower curtain is that if it gets ruined, no big deal… it was $2. Plus, Jameson had a car mat and never played with it. So, we busted out the shower curtain on Saturday. We started with a park in the middle, and went from there…

I taped sharpie markers to each side of a box, and used that to make even roads. Jameson decided what buildings we needed, including a race track, police station, and a beach.

He played with it the rest of the afternoon. We made houses for all his friends, and parked the planes at the airport. Another plus, each time we get it out, we can add details. Like the other day when he asked if we had a post office on our map. Oops, forgot that one. No worries, next time we get it out, we will add the post office. Now, I’m on the look out for when shower curtains go on sale. Maybe next time we’ll draw a castle and the kingdom. Who knows… endless possibilities.

We told our friends we would watch their dog for the weekend for them, but we didn’t tell the kids. Honestly, I forgot about it until earlier in that day. They dropped the dog off after the kids were already in bed, so they had no idea. Friday morning, we woke up when we heard Jameson wake up… and we waited. We heard his footsteps go down the hall, and then heard the dog’s collar jingle. Next, we heard Jameson knock on our door, open it, and say, “Dad?” Kevin looked at him and responded like nothing was wrong, “Yes…” Jameson looked at us and said, “A dog just came in our house last night.” We laughed and told him he should probably let the dog out to go to the bathroom then. He closed the door, and ran all excited. Then we waited. We heard Ella a few minutes later get out of bed. From down the hall, we hear, “Hey Ella! A dog just came in our house last night!” She squealed and yelled, “Dog!” We were laughing. Good thing their not afraid of dogs. It was just pure excitement.

The poor dog. This dog was run ragged all weekend. There were many time I heard Jameson yelling at Ella to get off the dog, and then I’d find her like this.

See? The poor dog. He is a really good dog which is why I said ok to him being here, I was just worried about shedding. It wasn’t too bad, though, because he was de-shedded before coming. They came to pick him up Sunday morning before we left for church. Ella cried when Jack (the dog) left. The she whined the rest of the morning about the dog. One day my little girl. But having a dog for the weekend made me remember, we do not need a dog around this house any time soon.