Dear Sam's Club

Your strawberries are beautiful. I hope you do not mind that I come in every week and buy three or four cartons. My son Calvin could eat strawberries for every meal and would not stop even if his pee turned pink - he is a boy and would actually think that was cool.
He looooovvves strawberries!

This is a typical dinner around here in the spring. On this day we had a friend over and a neighbor as well. Strawberries, pears and cheesy bread. Yum.


Typical haul from Sam's minus the toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent and hand soap - oh, and the 4 gallons of milk.

Recycled Art - Egg Carton Flowers

This craft requires a little prep work and is very messy and time consuming. It is also adorable and I recommend you try it post haste.

Cut a bunch of bright colored tissue paper into about 3" or 4" squares. You'll need about 15 per child.

You'll need a toilet paper roll for each child. Seal off one end by gluing a circle to the bottom. I used a scalloped circle punch and hot glue. These will be the vases for your flowers.


You also need to cut apart your paper egg cartons. Make different shapes for the flowers - you'll need about 5 per child.


I used water soluble paint and set out a dish of each color with one brush per dish. Each child started with a dish of paint and once they had used that color, everyone passed their dish to the left leaving the paint brush in the dish.

Start by having the children paint the inside of the flowers and then turn them over and paint the outside. Set them aside to dry.


Now we need to paint our vases. Encourage the kids to try stripes or polka dots and a variety of colors. Set aside to dry. By this point everyone is going to be covered in paint. Do not panic.


When dry, you need to make a hole in each flower with a pair if scissors.



Then, take pipe cleaners and wind the end of each one around your finger forming a thicker part at one end.


Thread through your flowers. Voila! Stems!


Now, take three pieces of different colored tissue paper, pinch in the center and glue to the inside of a flower. Repeat. Let dry.

Throw some rocks inside your toilet paper vases and add your gorgeous flowers. Done!

A Few Things

Here is a photo of the french toast I ran off to make after my last post. I've decided the cheap french bread from Sam's Club makes the best french toast. I make this once a week as the kids love it and it is an easy way to feed a lot of people quickly (I typically use whole wheat bread because that is always in the house). One big change we've had to make in the last couple of years? No more real maple syrup. Have you seen the price of maple syrup these days?! I plan on making a freezer full of strawberry jam this year to get us through next winter - it's delicious on french toast.


I took the kids to see How to Train Your Dragon on Saturday afternoon. We were celebrating a bit of good new for once. Two big thumbs up! Cute movie, great animation, good message and no inappropriate adult sexual innuendos that seem so prevalent in kids movies these days. All three of the kids loved it.


I obviously was not the one who posted the school lunch menu this month.


I wore these two pins together to church today. I made the fabric pin and I can't remember where the other one came from. I am going to be on the lookout for pins this summer at garage sales! Also, please note that I am wearing yellow. I never, ever wear yellow because back in middle school/high school, a woman in my ward did my color wheel (was this an Amway thing?) and told me yellow was bad. Why, twenty years later I am still following that advice is a mystery, but I think I can pull off yellow with my darker hair (I'm covering the greys) and paired with a brown jacket. I wore the dress to church today on a trial run (it still had the tags on) and I think it is a keeper though it may make me look pregnant.

Speaking of pregnant, I overheard Calvin talking to one of the daycare kids this week who's Mom is pregnant. When she said her Mommy had a baby in her tummy, Calvin piped up "Do you know how you get a baby in there? When your Daddy loves your Mommy 101 or thousands and thousand -sooooo much, then they can have a baby." Smart kid.

A Few Things

Dear Anonymous St. Paul,


Thank you for Valentine's and St. Patrick's Day too. You are very kind. I would like to make you a cake but since I do not know who you are, I am giving you this virtual card.

This week the kids are out of school and I am bone tired - fall asleep on the couch when the last kid leaves and drool on myself tired. It's not pretty.

This little guy no longer needs his helmet. He is having a rough week discovering that it does in fact hurt when you run into things with your head. His forehead is covered in welts.


He has also learned to climb the stairs. Out come the gates to be cleaned and installed!


We have been reading books about fire safety. . . .


. . . . and practicing
stop.
drop.
and roll.
Preferably not on each other.


We spend every day at the park.


Having the older kids around to push the swings has been very helpful.


We take long walks with buddies.

I'm sure we look pretty funny marching through the neighborhood with a constant dialog. "Hold hands, stay on the white part, car coming, don't pick that up, you dropped a glove, don't step in that, look a bird, wait up, hold hands . . . . "


The bikes are out of the garage and the older kids have discovered croquet. Max keeps bugging me to let him have a water balloon fight which I think needs to wait until it is a bit warmer - like 60's or 70's. He thinks that's mean. I think he's crazy.

Sophie has been sleeping over and having friends sleep over and singing songs I have never heard before - she is growing up way to fast.

Calvin is learning how to read one word at a time.

I have a little 5 week old baby coming a few hours a week. She is so little and the slowest eater ever.

I have to go and make French toast. Have a great day!

Thursday at the Park

Thursday was gorgeous. We left the house at 9:30 and did not return until almost noon for lunch. I am so glad we have a nice park so close to the house. Today it is still chilly. I miss last week.


This little one slept the entire time.


We took up every swing .


We wore this guy out. Let's take a closer look.

Brid Feeder Craft

Remember those pinecones we found on our walk? On Thursday - maybe Friday (the days start to run together), we made bird feeders out of them. Super quick and easy.

Tie a piece of yarn around each pinecone leaving a long tail.


Let the kids smear peanut butter all over the pinecones.


Set out dished of birdseed, dried fruits and nuts and let the kids sprinkle them on. The larger dried fruits like cherries need to be pushed into the pinecones. When done, take outside and tie to a branch. The kids have been very excited to see how much the birds have been enjoying their treats!

Happy Little Things

There are happy little thing in the midst of all of the stresses. The kids are out of school this week. I'm not sure that's a happy little things for me, but they are pretty excited.

Sophie's oral surgery on Friday went well. It only cost $1000.00 for fifteen minutes and a pint of ice cream. That's some expensive ice cream. Sophie held an ice pack to her face for the entire day and ate only soft foods - then she went on a sleepover. She's enjoys telling people that they removed her frenum. She was a trooper.

These flowers make me happy. Thank you Sam's Club for your cheap flowers. I bought them for myself. Just because.


This weekend, I took the kids to the movies. It had been a really busy, hard week and we needed a night out. I met up with some friends and the kids all went to see Diary of a Whimpy kid, while we went to see Bounty Hunter. Diary got mixed reviews from our kids. Max thought it was OK, Sophie liked it and Calvin said he really wanted to see Princesses and the Frog.


Bounty Hunter was funny, but I'd wait for the rental. I may as well tell you that I have issues with Gerard Butler. The guy should be the hottest thing in Hollywood - he's working the tall, dark and handsome with a bit of swarthy thrown in and he has a Scottish accent - yum. The problem for me? He comes across as a compete idiot. Maybe it's just the two films I've seen him in? Plus, he seems full of himself in spite of being an idiot. Clearly, I have issues - he's just not my favorite romantic lead. I want to just look at him but not let him actually talk which doesn't really work in a movie these days.


Other happy things? It is almost peep-toe season. I went ahead and wore peep toes yesterday even though it was chilly because my toenails are a pretty pink and I like to see them. Shoes are a good investment because no matter how chubby you become, your shoes usually still fit. I've had these shoes for years and years and they still fit - happy! By the way, who is sending me Oprah magazine? I did not order it, but it has been coming for months.


Last night we had dinner with friends and played Ticket to Ride. I rarely win at this game but I love it anyway.

I am setting a goal of losing three pounds this week. Summer is coming and frankly, I need to get serious about becoming svelte. Wish me luck!