Three Thing Thursday 6/6

1. I do not know what possessed me to have both kids' birthday parties at our house a week after school got out...and to have them on two consecutive days. Well, actually, I do know. With late summer birthdays, we like to be able to invite their school friends. And we didn't want to take up two separate weekends with the parties. But it has been a crazy week of busy-ness already even without the prep work. However, the parties are shaping up to be cute and fun.

2. It's summer! I thought they craziness would slow down, but it just transforms into a different kind. We've got library story times, special library events, summer movies, summer track, camps, reading programs, VBS and a lot of fun stuff at home planned. It really never slows down, does it?

3. Because it's summer, I'm trying to be focused with a lot of what we do. One of the things we are doing is this Around the World in 60 Days activity I found in Thriving Family magazine. I found a large wall map with velcro tags/animals/labels on clearance at Walmart and it's up in our hallway. Each day we learn a little about a new country, read a Bible verse, and do a simple activity. It's a fun way for the kids to learn something new while reinforcing our faith.

Lazy days of summer

Yesterday, the kids and I made our own sidewalk chalk (1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup cornstarch and a few drops of food coloring for each color). It was overcast outside, so it wasn't too bad of an afternoon to play outside. The ants decided to join us, and the kids had fun seeing if the ants would cross lines of their sidewalk paint.

My sidewalk chalk fun (I think I'll make this into a poster)

When the little craft paintbrushes weren't working well, I had to create these for the kids...easy peasy...cut up a regular sponge and clipped them with clothespins. How's that for quick thinking?!

The kids were ready for a lazy day today (not that we have done a lot here lately, but we have had to get up and go the past few days). We watched a Tinkerbell movie this morning, complete with this popcorn I found on Pinterest. I didn't use all of the butter mixture, and the kids loved it.

Then we painted rocks...a simple project, but they had so much fun! Ryan made dinosaur snakes (or something like that) and SB is still working on making a hamster and a worry stone. Such fun for a lazy day!

And I've got some crafty things of my own in the works :) More about those later...

Fruits of the Spirit

In the Bible study my friend Chandra and I are doing together (God's Wisdom for a Mother's Heart by Bobbie Wolgemuth), a recent day had us looking at Galatians 5:22-23 and the fruits of the spirit. The book suggested we look for these things in our kids and praise and affirm them when we see these qualities.

I decided to make them each a visual reminder of these traits. We've decided to make this an Easter project. Our goal is to learn about and demonstrate each of the 9 fruits of the spirit...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control...before Easter.
The picture shows what it will look like when we are done. For now, they each have a little tree of their own that is blank. We'll add the fruits as I "catch" them showing one of the qualities. It's already led to some really good discussions with them about growing in Christ and how we show people these things.

Family run

We had told the kids that we would take them on a run, a first for us, this weekend if it was nice. It wasn't. But that didn't stop us!

Notice her BondiBand, SPI Belt and running "tights" :)

It was cool and rainy, but we geared up and got the jogger out for our first family run. I love that we didn't let the weather stop us! We had so much fun together. SB ran the whole first mile and did awesome! Ryan, at just 4, handled a lot more than I thought he would. He hopped in and out of the jogger quite a bit, but that was what made this run so great...no set pace or distance, just us being active.

We actually ran to McDonald's (about 1.25 miles in about 20 minutes), had lunch, and ran/walked home (almost another mile in about 17 minutes). I stopped the watch if we were loading or unloading the jogger.

Yes, I know running to McDonald's might seem a little ironic, but the alternative was having Dad pick it up and eat it in front of the TV.

I have to say that this run ranks right up there with some of my best!

Firsts

I'm behind on these, but I can't go without posting about them. The school year has definitely started, and with it, my little ones are on new journeys of their own.

Sarah Beth has started first grade. She's already reading and a perfect angel at school (too bad that's not always the case at home).

Of course, Sarah Beth's first day is also my first day. We managed to have breakfast all together that first day, even if I did have to get there by 7.

And my baby, my little buddy, Ryan has started preschool. He's attending Learn & Grow, which is at our church. He's a little confused going to school at the place where he normally goes to "class" on Sunday mornings, but he seems to be enjoying it. We're pretty sure he's already gotten into trouble at least 3 times, but hey, at least he's honest about it. A friend drops him off and either my brother or sister-in-law takes him home, so our contact with the teacher is limited. For now, we're taking his word for what goes on in class...scary thought :)

I have to admit, routine is good for me, even if the runs are hotter (in the garage on the treadmill) and earlier (4:30 or so). Now, if I could just get control of those after-school munchies! I keep meaning to pack healthy snacks, but somehow, I also end up eating chocolate or a granola bar...but usually both.

Garage sales

Our nephew stayed the night last night (our kids are going there tonight), so this morning, we were looking for something to entertain them. There was a garage sale at a church down the street, so we took them there. The kids each picked out a toy, which a nice gentleman gave them for free. The nephew picked out a Scooby Doo, SB picked out a stuffed flower, and R found a toy level. Then a lady said they could have a book, but only R found one...a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one that he dubbed "super cool." We also found SB some clothes for 50 cents a piece...can't beat that. I'm so amazed how little it takes to entertain them...proved further by another garage sale where the kids each got a 10 cent toy for free...a metallic Buzz Lightyear, a tiny toy gun, and a magnetic block toy. And I came away with three pairs of pants for $1.50...and they fit! Can't beat a cheap day of entertainment...especially with the promise of a kid-free night to come!

Crazy Me

What possessed me to plan two birthday parties, on the same day, back-to-back, in my house?! We are having a rock star party for SB...it will be her first "kid party." They are decorating some white, cardboard guitars to get things started, followed by karaoke (yes, I realize that 5-year-olds can't read and therefore karaoke is really pointless). Then we'll have cake (store-bought, thank goodness) and open presents and end with a guitar-shaped pinata.

Then, right after that, we've invited our families as well as a couple of our friends with boys R's age to stay for hotdogs and an all-star party as a way of celebrating his birthday. We're switching decorations to sports themed centerpieces, and to top it all off, I'm making baseball and football cake balls. The baseballs are funfetti cake with vanilla frosting. The footballs are devil's food cake with chocolate frosting. I've yet to dip or decorate them and I'm already regretting this idea. Why didn't I just book Jump for Joy or Chuck E. Cheese or Gymnastics Sport Center?!

But, for those that have never tried making cake balls, here are the steps. I had the passing thought to take pictures while I made them, but like I said, it was a passing thought, one that didn't even hang around long enough for me to find the camera. But...I will try to post pictures of the finished product.

Ok, back to the steps. Boy, these thoughts are passing like crazy.

1. Bake a cake, any flavor, according to the directions on the box. Yes, you can bake a cake from scratch. But why would you?
2. Let the cake cool for a few minutes and then crumble into a big mixing bowl.
3. Add 1/2 to 3/4 a can of frosting. Your choice in flavors. Make sure it goes with the cake though. I'm not to blame for your choices. It will be hard to mix. Use your hands if you want. A spatula will work though.
4. Let this chill for a while. Actually, don't. I tried cooling it today. It didn't work as well.
5. Form into balls, or in the case of the above-metioned footballs, weird pointy oval shapes. I use a cookie dough scoop, but you'll want to roll them a little to smooth them out. Place these on waxed paper and chill. This time, you really want to chill them.
6. Melt some almond bark or other coating, if you prefer, and then dip the balls to coat. I use two forks. It's messy no matter what you use. Put them back on the waxed paper. You can decorate with another color coating or sprinkles or icing. I'll be using icing to make the laces on the balls.
7. Enjoy. You'll want to hide at least half of them, or they'll be gone before you really meant to serve them.

World's Worst Blogger

I must be the world's worst blogger...I have ideas I want to share...pictures to post...but I forget to take the pictures...and then forget to blog.

I made zucchini bread again using my healthier recipe. Why didn't I take pictures? I have no idea. Maybe it's because the kids woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and I was just thrilled they were playing nicely at the table with Play-Doh that I didn't want to risk it by stopping to take pictures.

I'm making kebabs later to take to my brother, his wife and their new baby...well, obvioulsy, the new baby won't be eating any (at least not directly)...but it's because of the little Princess that I'm taking the meal in the first place. She's absolutely beautiful, and I am so excited and happy for the new family! I've somehow become Meal Coordinator for them...and I love it! I'm so amazed that people are so generous and thoughtful and want to help them out during this time of adjustment!

It's an overcast summer day, and while I should be taking advantage of it by getting outside with the little munchkins, I'd really like to be in the kitchen trying something new...like PW's coffee bread recipe or baked French toast casserole. Of course, neither of those things are helping me get back on track with my healthy eating. I've got to get back to making healthy choices, both when it comes to food and exercise. I haven't run in a week, so I'm going to do that again starting tomorrow...just jumping right back into my training plan. And yes, I am training. For a 10K. Again. This one is Sept. 25, so I know I have to get started. And part of that is running...duh. But part of that is eating healthy foods. We have lots of fruit and veggies now, so it's just a matter of choices.

Isn't that really what everything is about...making choices? Making the choice to be happy. To not yell. To model good behavior instead of doing the whole "do as I say and not as I do" thing. To smile. To laugh. To find joy in the little things. To be generous. To help others. To love. Those are my choices today.

Oh, wow!

Now I know what it feels like to have 4 children...and let's just say, I don't know how you parents out there with 4 or more do it! It's quite the circus around here...fun, but crazy! We took all the kids swimming yesterday and are going back again in just a little while. Thank goodness for my in-laws who helped us out in the pool. We just don't have enough arms for four little one in the pool! The plan for today is to swim, come home and eat lunch, take baths, and watch a movie. That should get us to the evening, and then I have no idea what I'm going to do to entertain them...alone! Chad has to work! I'm hoping for an early bedtime :)