Everybody Poops....

We made a trip to one of my favorite places today; The Dollar Tree. I told the kids they each got a dollar, and as always they had a fantastic time rummaging through all the toys until they found just the right treasure. I stocked up on sidewalk chalk and looked at a few things for Little Lady's upcoming birthday. Pretty standard Dollar Tree visit.
Until we went to pay. I knew Little Miss had a dirty diaper,but I guess I underestimated the ability of one little butt. We put our stuff on the checkout counter and I pick my little princess up only to find my arm, from wrist to elbow, covered in poop. And Little Lady has managed to get her hand and arm in it, too. And back. And all of her clothes. Wonderful.
So I ask in my most urgent, I'm-covered-in-excrement voice where I can find a bathroom. Apparently the lady at the register didn't see the importance of my predicament, because rather than pointing me to the nearest restroom, she tells me my total. Really? Last thing on my mind.
 "I don't think I'll be paying just yet, cause I'm covered in crap. Where is the bathroom?" I say in the nicest tone one can muster when covered in poo and trying to keep feces covered toddler hands from touching anything.
I understand that many places don't have public restrooms.  Get it.  But serious times call for exceptions. To me, runaway poop is serious.  I'm imagining myself in the cashier's position, and I like to think that I would have been like, "Right this way!" and led me and my stinky posse to a place we could wash up. But my imagination rarely mirrors real life and other people seldom do the things I believe they should.  So instead she takes what seems like five minutes to get permission from her manager for us to use the restroom. And then gives us a vague description of its locale.
Okay, fine. Away we go, with my son walking at what seems to be the slowest speed possible and stopping to look at everything shiny along the way.
Deep breaths.
Fortunately, I had a diaper and a changing pad in my purse. Unfortunately, no wipes.  We weren't planning on being away more than 30 minutes and we certainly weren't prepared for an explosion of epic proportions.   We make do with wet paper towels.
Finally, we exit the bathroom. One frazzled mom with an armful of soiled clothes, one preschooler who doesn't seem to realize how epic this whole scene just was (he's more concerned about the toy he had to leave at the register), and a toddler wearing nothing but a diaper.
We pay. The cashier offers to put the cart away, which I find slightly redeeming, and we get out of there as fast as possible.
What a crappy trip that turned out to be. HarHar.

A SUPER PARTY!

Little man is officially four. As depressed as that makes me, one good thing did come from this; we had an awesome super hero party.  We had to make a few last minute adjustments, because I had incorrectly assumed it would be warm May 4th.  Despite that little setback, it went pretty well, I thought.

Here are a few hightlights.

We had to move everything indoors....Which meant a lot of furniture moving.

We're kind of SUPER.  Mostly me, I mean, those costumes are all made by yours truly.

Let there be num nums.

Super Cookies.  I had originally planned to use a spider web cookie cutter, but the one I ordered was GIGANTIC.  Instead I cut a strip of cardstock, covered it with foil, and shaped it.  

The cake.  My first time using fondant, but it worked out okay.  Maybe a little thick.

I did not make the Captain America costume, but aren't they cuties?

Tatoo Station. 

Design your own super hero.

Kryptonite hunt.  We had to move most of the games to the garage. I put some green paint in a gallon ziplock, put rocks in, and shook.  The kids had to use plastic tongs to pick them up, because kryptonite is kind of toxic to super heros. We also did an obstacle course, but my pictures didn't turn out too well. I blame the weather.

That bad guy is trying to steal the presents. Get him!

He's back!  After this, he reformed and we invited him in for some cake.

Gift bags. 

I just had to add this.  I think the grownups had just as much fun as the kids.  We have the best friends ever.

No Sew Superhero Party Banner!

This was totally an impulse thing.  I was strolling through the felt section at Hobby Lobby (I LOVE FELT!) and stumbled across some cute superhero/comic strip felt pieces.  I bought a handful, with no real plan, other than using it for Little Man's birthday party. I just couldn't pass it up.

I finally decided it would make a perfect banner. So I whipped out my trusty glue gun, a clothesline I snagged for a dollar (I LOVE DOLLAR TREE!), and a pair of scissors and went to town.  First I cut each piece into a triangular shape.  I left about an inch on top to attach the triangles to my rope. You would think when it came to things like this I would be a perfectionist, but strangely I am not. If you are, then by all means, make a pattern first. I just free handed mine.  Then I cut out the letters to spell "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!". Again, use a pattern if you're not a free handing type of person.

I ended up with something like this.

I laid the clothesline across the top.

Added some hot glue.

And folded it down.  I only burnt myself once....or twice. :)

And repeat a until you have your completed banner!

Frozen Dino Dig

 In honor of the freezing rain and snow we are getting on this glorious Spring day, I thought I would share what we did the other day.  You know, two days ago when it was warm and Springish.

I started this first thing in the morning.  I dug through our toys and found all of the plastic dinosaurs we had, plus some seashells and assorted animals.  I also gathered three plastic containers (My niece was coming over for the afternoon).  I filled each container 1/4 of the way full and dropped a couple of critters in. Then I popped them in the freezer. I suppose you could just fill the whole thing, but I wanted them to be in layers. A few hours later I added more water and 2 or 3 more animals.  I did this 3 times until it was full.

I ran a little warm water over each one and TA-DA!, big ice cubes filled with all kinds of fun surprises.

We poured warm water over the ice to hurry along the excavation.

Only one spoon was harmed in this project. :)

After all the ice was melted, they built homes out of tree bark, grass, and rocks for their little  animal collection.

Letter and Color Hunt

It's raining and cold.  Bleh.  Time for something new.  Enter: Letter and Color Hunt.

I'm kind of a big fan of scavenger hunts.  I used them all the time when teaching and I find myself using a lot more as the kids get older. My favorite learning moments are the ones that trick kids into thinking it's a game. I'm sneaky like that. ;)

We actually do the letter hunt two different ways. Usually we use magnetic letters and I hide them all over the house.  The kids have to find them and match them to our letter board.  (I got mine at a teaching store that was going out of business. I like things that cost a quarter!).  At first I only hid the capitals, but now we add the lower case letters in, too.  And as he gets better, he not only tells me the letters as he matches them, but the letter sounds.  Little Miss helps him find the letters, but she thinks all letters are "T" and make the "T" sound.  It's pretty adorable.

Matching the letters.

I decided to mix it up to day and just work on letters sounds.  Little Man picked the letter "T" (wouldn't you know it).  Little Miss has been saying a lot of colors lately, though I don't think she knows what they mean.  I thought I'd give her green and see what happened.

Each one of them had a lunch bag to fill with objects that matched their letter or color.  

Green train. Mom did most of the finding, but she did enjoy stuffing all her green treasures in the bag.

T is for train.  I had to encourage him to find other T things!  He's a bit train crazy.

T is for table.

Look at all that T stuff!

Tire Planters. Upcycling for the win.

Spring can't seem to get itself together here in Kansas. Last week I was literally covering up my little pea plants to protect them from possible frost while the kids ran around the backyard barefoot.  You would think since I've lived here my whole life, nothing Mother Nature has up her sleeve would surprise me.  I must have a memory problem. I'm always shocked to be in flipflops one day and a coat the next.

Anyway, the short term forecast looks mildly Springlike, so I said, "What the heck" and decided to plant my flowers.  I found a guy who was more than happy to donate some old tires so I could try out yet another Pinterest idea.  Super easy project and I thought it looked cute in a redneck kinda way. :) 

I really think the bird poop to the right sets it off.

Hubby drilled some holes in the bottom for drainage and used a big screw to hang them.  I added some dirt and flowers and there you have it.

And an updated picture of our garden.  :)

Sheet Fort Using a Box Fan

When I first saw this my mind was blown. Use a box fan to create a sheet fort? Either my mother didn't know about this or she didn't really love me as a child. I guess I will forgive her seeing as there was no Internet back then.

So now I must pass this sacred knowledge on to my own children who will pass it on to theirs who will more than likely have never heard of a box fan. But at least I can say the buck didn't stop with me.

You will need:
- A box fan (obviously)
- A sheet (the bigger the better and in my case the more wrinkles the better)
- Books, couch cushions anything heavy enough to hold the corners down
- Somewhere to corral your children while you construct this masterpiece. That was the hardest part, getting them to stay off of the sheet while I worked my magic. You laugh, but fort building is very scientific.

STEP ONE: Set your box fan up close to an outlet. Duh, I know, but we as parents tend to be absentminded.
STEP TWO: Drape your sheet over the top of the fan, make sure it's not hanging over the back. I actually ended up clipping it to the fan's handle with a plastic clothespin.
STEP THREE: Spread the sheet out and secure the corners with your books or cushions.
STEP FOUR: Turn on ye old box fan.
STEP FIVE: Take a minute to bask in your awesomeness. Then let them in and bask some more!

PVC Sand Table

Our (and by our, I mean my husband's) latest project was a sand table.  I hate, hate, hate the mess that sand makes.  I understand the sensory learning and hours of creativity it provides, but there's just something about a sandbox that tells kids to hop on in and cover themselves from head to toe.  Ick.  As much as my kiddos loved our sandbox, I often found myself telling them to find something else because I dreaded the cleanup and inevitable vacuuming that would follow.

So I spent a few hours researching and scouring the web for a good sand table....What did people do before the Internet?  Unfortunately I wasn't sold on the idea of spending $60 plus dollars on one.  What can I say? I'm a cheapskate at heart.  Plus I came across some pretty clever homemade sand tables using PVC pipe or boards. I showed them to the hubster who did a fine job faking enthusiasm and figured out a plan of his own.  

Here's a list of materials:

2 storage containers (you could use any size or even just one. I liked the idea of them each having their own side)

Sand

6 pieces of 1 inch pvc pipe

4 1 inch T's

8 1 inch corner fittings

4 bungee cords

1 super handy person such as your handsome husband to do all the work

2 beers to motivate said person :)

Here's a visual.  I'm sure your handy person can figure this out!

The tubs sit right on top. The sand weighs them down so they fit into the frame. Super handy, because now we can just pop the lids on when we're finished and no more sandy bottoms and feet!

And now for the trial run.  I think they were satisfied!

So. Much. Stuff.

When we moved into our house, we had one trailer and one car that held all of our treasured belongings.  We didn't have enough furniture to fill the rooms, our walls were bare, and my mental honey-do list probably took up several pages.

Five years, two kids, and one room addition later and things have changed a bit. The honey-do list hasn't gotten much shorter (my poor, over-worked husband), but the rooms have definitely filled up and I'm running out of space to hang pictures. How does that happen? I've tried to sell bigger things on those Facebook sale/swap pages and I diligently take the kids clothing to consignment every season.  Still I'm left with half a dozen storage tubs and bags full of.....Stuff.

So as much as I dreaded the thought of having a garage sale, here I am.  I've spent countless hours, sorting and pricing and sneaking toys away from unsuspecting children.  You always forget how long it takes to set one up until you are there, knee deep in clothes and covered in stray price tags.

High chair's gone, glider's gone, crib's gone, baby monitor's gone.  I'm slightly sad to watch the last of our baby stuff go, but I have to keep reminding myself there will be lots of  fun "big kid" stuff to fill that space. And lots and lots of memories. 

All in all I am glad, glad, glad  I decided to do this.  Slowly the stuff is disappearing and I've earned almost enough to pay for our half of a four day resort vacation this summer. Mmmmm....Long days on the lake, hiking, bike trails, and grilling with the family. As I sit here in the still chilly morning, that sounds a lot better than Stuff.

Super Hero Birthday: Part 1

Little Man's fourth birthday is coming up. Gasp. I am getting old.  To ease my sorrows I have thrown myself into planning what is sure to be the most epic Superhero Birthday party ever.  At least in my mind. :)

First things first: Invitations.  Here are the invites I just sent out. Early at that. Go me.

I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out, but mostly I'm proud of Little Man for the insert I put in them.

Our house is overrun with toys.  I find them in my shoes, in my bed, in the toilet.  And as awesome as it is to get truckloads of toys on your birthday, the thought of bringing more into our house is a cause for anxiety to me.  So I casually brought up the idea that maybe his friends could bring food and toys to donate to the poor, poor kitties and puppies at the animal shelter.  He's seen those depressing SPCA commercials, so it wasn't all that hard to get him on board.  Of course bossy pants had a stipulation; that he still got presents from grandparents and Mom and Dad.  Deal!

I'm sure someone out there thinks we are terrible people to deprive our son of the wonder that is birthday presents.  Don't worry, his grandparents have that covered.  Besides, what a wonderful opportunity to teach him about selflessness and helping others.  It's a fine line we walk as parents between giving them a better childhood than our own and turning them into entitled little brats.

Anyway, off my soapbox.

Next installment: Superhero Costumes!

A Gardening We Go

I'm going to try really, really, really hard not to make this blog entirely about gardening in the following months.  Pinky swear.  Having said that, I'm super excited we got the opportunity to work on our garden this weekend. I feel so accomplished and there's just nothing better than letting the kids get so dirty they turn the bathwater brown. We had several beautiful days and it was fantastic to be outside.The Weather Channel says we're in for snow this week, but hey, that's Kansas for you.

King of the mulch mountain!  

Wowza, this is going to be exciting!  I figure 3 times bigger than last year means 3 times more fun, right?  Thanks, Papa, for all the tubs!  

I've heard a lot of people talk about planting celery from the store and I just can't pass up a free and easy project.  All you do is take the bottom of the celery stalk (the part you usually toss) and plant it in some soil.  We left about half an inch to one inch above the ground.  I read several different variations, but this is what we went with. Then we put it on one of our handy dandy plant shelves and let the plant work its magic. I have no idea when to plant it outside....I guess I should've Googled that, too. :)

Right after planting.

We did three because we're over achievers like that.

A week after planting.  See that cute little celery growing up through the middle?

The kids and I also started our fairy garden. *SQUEAL!* Well, Little Man and I did. Little Miss mostly just tried to eat everything and chase our poor, poor dog.  I was beyond excited to find all the fairy garden AND dollhouse accessories on sale at Hobby Lobby this last week.  I also bought some polymer clay to try my hand at making our own fairy supplies.  I have visions of tiny cups and vegetables dancing in my head. And of course we hit up Dollar Tree for the gems and rocks and Lowe's for some plants (which will probably die). I think total I spent $30, which is pretty good considering all of the ridiculously cute things I've seen online.  I can't wait to post the finished project!

It's all so TINY!!!!!

Detox Bath FTW

It's been kind of a long week.

I woke up the other day with two mini teenagers. Door slamming, back talking, sassy little adolescents have taken over my sweet babies. Seriously, if one more person under the age of four tells me "no" I  might stage a walk out.

And the whining.  Oh, the whining. Nothing more irritating and slightly comical than a little person telling you in the most high pitched, squawky voice that they, "are not whining." Of course not, darling, it's probably just a quick case of nasal congestion.

I've been itching to try this detox bath I saw online.  After the last few days, I can't think of a better time for a test run. And it was fabulous.  I'm not sure if that was the detox part of it or the fact that I haven't had a bath by myself in a year.  It is true that nothing is sacred with children. Hot, hot water +1 cup baking soda + 1 cup epsom salt + two locked doors and a husband standing guard = thirty minutes of bliss. Sweaty bliss, but bliss all the same.

I think I can make it a few more days, now. :)

The Grass is Always Greener

It probably wouldn't surprise anyone to know that teaching third graders was a stressful and challenging job. I loved planning fun and engaging lesson plans, witnessing that moment when something just clicks, being such an important part of my students' life.  I really loved the people I worked with and well, talking to adults.  I didn't even mind all the paperwork and red tape that goes along with the job.  It was frustrating and satisfying at the same time.
But my to-do list was never finished. I always came home tired with barely enough energy to make dinner and play with my son.  There were always full laundry baskets and a toilet in need of a good cleaning.  By four o'clock my patience was worn thin. I felt like I was spending all my time raising other peoples' kids.
So anyone who's never been a stay at home mom would think life would be simpler after I quit. Well, it is....And it isn't.
I love seeing all of my children's milestones and never missing the quirky things they do and say. I love being the center of their little universes. I love sneaking in afternoon naps and cuddling with them when they're sick. I love teaching them and I love the things they teach me.  I know all these things are fleeting.
But my to-do list is never finished. I'm always tired after making home-cooked meals and building forts all day.  There is always laundry to do and toilets that need scrubbed.  Sometimes I miss having adult interaction and taking showers by myself.  By five o'clock, I'm waiting at the front door to pass off a cranky toddler to Daddy. Don't tell anyone, but I wear sweatpants and forget to brush my hair more often than not.
Who knew being a stay at home mom would be just as taxing as teaching a room full of nine year olds? Not me. I may have even uttered the words, "I would be sooooo bored staying at home". HA! But I honestly think it's something you can't understand until you've walked a mile in a SAHM's shoes....or pink, fuzzy socks in my case.
I guess I can just count myself lucky to have had two of the most rewarding jobs in the world.
Now if someone could just please give me one of those yearly evaluations that are so important in the teaching world.  A pat on the back or some constructive criticism wouldn't hurt. I mean, these are MY kids I'm messing up.

Just Smashing

I pinned this forever ago on Pinterest, but finally got the ambition to try it out. How could we not try something called "Bashing Baked Cotton Balls"? I'm not gonna lie, it was kind of messy entertainment, especially with a toddler and a preschooler. But what's a little clean-up when my lovelies are busy and happy for more than fifteen minutes? Plus all you need for this activity is cotton balls, flour, water, and food coloring. Here is the original blog I borrowed the idea from.


 *Preheat the oven to 300. Line one or two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

 *Mix flour and water in equal parts. I did about 1 cup of each, which was plenty. I am notorious for making way too much of everything.

 

 *Next, I divided the mixture into 3 different bowls. We put red food coloring in one, blue in one, and green in the other.

 * Here's where it gets sloppy. Dip the cotton balls in the bowl of your choice and roll it until it is fully coated. At this point, I was questioning my sanity a tiny bit, but the kids dug it. I highly recommend having a couple damp dish towels on hand to wipe off little fingers between colors.

 * Once you've decontaminated your helpers, stick your cotton balls in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. We went outside to play in the snow while they baked. :)

Finished product.  

*Now for the fun part. After they cooled off a bit, we broke out our trusty tools (plastic hammer, plastic pliers, and a wooden spoon) and got busy smashing those little babies.

Note: They played with these for a good thirty minutes while I made dinner and still didn't use them all. I put the leftovers in a ziplock bag, but when I took them out a few days later they were already moldy. Maybe kept in a refrigerator this wouldn't have happened?

Of course Little Miss had to give them a taste test.

And weigh them....