Things they say...

I had fun putting this together last week, and I thought it would make a fun semi-regular feature!

We had friends over for dinner who have adorable babies, one of whom is a 7 month old boy.  My boys loved him!  They brought him toys, talked to him, played with him...they thought he was great!

After our friends went home, and we were snuggled up before bed, Aiden turned to me.  "Mommy, no offense to Connar, but I would really like to have a baby brother!"

Connar immediately jumped in, "Aiden, you could still have me, but we could both have a baby brother."

Then two beautiful sets of blue eyes turned towards me.

"How about if we invite Sam over whenever you feel like you'd like to have a baby brother?"

Aiden snuggled in, "I'd like that.  All the fun of a baby brother, but you only have two sides and I wouldn't want to share you."

Sounds like a perfect solution to me too!

Be sure to swing by my science blog, The Science Mommy, and join in the challenge to create a rain gauge.

Tell Me Something Good Thursday...

This is a regular Thursday post for my good friend Tessa over at Shopper Gal and I decided to chime in this week as well...I hope it's ok that I borrowed your button Tessa!


Not only is today Thursday, but in my little corner of the world we're heading into a 4 day weekend, so it's also FRIDAY!  It's been a good week, here's a bit of what I'm feeling good about this week...

• My husband surprised me on Valentine's Day with the traditional Valentines...candy, a teddy bear and roses...and he took me out to lunch.  The funny part of this story is that I had just texted him to see if he would be interested in joining me for lunch.  His reply was that he was really settled into his video game.  Moments later, he was at my office door!
• It was also my husband's birthday this week and I managed to pull off a surprise Birthday dinner.  This was not an easy feat, but with the help of lots of friends, family and our boys...we had a great surprise party and he loved it!
• I had a great time with my kids this week...Connar has been working on a big project for school and I was able to help with some of the details, while Aiden has been reading up a storm and we've had a good time talking about the books he's reading.  I am so proud of my kids.
• Finally, I am really looking forward to a long weekend with lots of time to ski, play, date my husband and just relax.  I also have an afternoon full of crafts that will be fantastic fun.

What are you feeling good about this week?

Braided Heabands and Family Dinners...

I found a super cute braided headband tutorial last week on...



Since I friends and family coming over for dinner, I thought it would be fun to organize a craft for all the moms and girls.  This braided headband seemed perfect. 

I had a basket full of fabric strips, scissors, needles and thread...everything we needed...ready to go when the party started.

Once the braiding was done, it was time to assemble the headband.  There aren't a lot of complicated steps, so it was fun to braid, sew and chat. 

The younger girls were having too much fun playing, and preferred to have their headbands made for them :) but Desi did all the work on hers.  This was a great "party craft" and everyone left with a fun headband.

Happy 4th of July...

I love the 4th of July!  It's a great holiday for many reasons...one of which is that we have so much fun.  For the past several years we have spent the evening with family friends who have a lake cabin.  In the county where we live, personal fireworks are illegal.  While there are several large local shows, the traffic involved is not fun!  On the lake, where our friends live...fireworks are legal.  This year we packed up our kids, swimming gear and a truck load of fireworks and headed out to the lake!

Traditionally we have scorching hot weather on the 4th of July...not so much this year, it was a bit cold. The cold weather didn't deter the swimmers though.  The kids had several water fights and a game of basketball.

The moment dinner was over, the kids were asking when we could start fireworks!  (At that point there were about 3 hours of daylight)  Fortunately, the truck load of fireworks required a little unwrapping and prepping...that kept the boys busy for at least 30 minutes.

After a rousing game of hide-n-seek, Kyle talked to the kids about being safe and set up some ground rules.  Then they dove into the Roman Candles, Sparklers and Crackling Balls. 

Finally, as it started to get dark, families all over the lake started their fireworks shows.  For an hour we watched Kyle launch our own mortars and missiles while also enjoying the displays around the lake.  It was beautiful and spectacular.  The 4th of July is one of my favorite family holidays!  Thanks to our great friends for their hospitality and friendship.  We can't wait until next year!

H

How did your family celebrate on the 4th?

Getting Crafty…

As I have mentioned, it’s Spring Vacation, so today was craft day!  My friend, Tessa and her kids came over…the boys played and the girls crafted.  Amid video games, basketball (and a rescue pick-up to the skate park during a hail storm) Tessa and I created the cutest picture holders.

We were  inspired by a project at How Does She and had fun incorporating our own twist. 

 

Aren’t they great?  It’s hard to see the printing on the blocks, the bottom block reads, “My Favorite Things” and my stacking blocks say, “Snow Boarding”, “Skate Boarding”, “Soccer” and “Brothers”.  We twisted wire into picture holders and drilled holes in the block for support.  Tessa’s is on the left and mine is on the right.  I had a few blocks left over from the 2x4, and the one in the middle is a birthday gift.  It’s a perfect project to do with friends because it makes a huge mess, but you can walk away to take care of kids – or make lunch – and easily step right back in.  Thanks to the ladies at How Does She for a fun, crafty afternoon!