{Day 5} Mom! There are two Chuckies!

How could anything be more fun for kids than a Birthday Party at Chuck E Cheeses? We had the honor of attending Jonathan's friend Hamilton's 4th birthday party today.
Jonathan and Hamilton went to Small Steps at Zion Lutheran Preschool together until February when Hamilton was diagnosed suddenly with Leukemia. We've been so blessed to have stayed in touch with Ham and is family and are so relieved that so far all his treatments are going well. So this was an extra special birthday celebration. It's so magical to see Jonathan and Hamilton playing together--like no time has passed between the time they've been together--playing trains or airplanes or rocket ships or anything else that spark boys' imaginations.
When Jonathan got home, and I asked him how the party was (Daddy took all 3 kids while Mommy had a spa day with my Mommy) he exclaimed, "Mommy, did you know that there are TWO Chuck E Cheeses? One that dances on stage and one that walks around!" Too cute!
Delaney had fun at the Cheese's house too but she got a special belated Birthday present today from Aunt La La and Uncle Matt -- Movie and Dinner out!
They went and saw the final Shrek movie then went to Kings for dinner. It's always fun when you come from a large family to be the only one on a date night. Thanks, Aunt La La and Uncle Matt for making our girl feel so special and so loved.
Sorry for the short post... I am still under the weather. Maybe better tomorrow. One can hope...

{Day 4} Pump those legs!

I have a confession to make... I never made the jello :(

I am not a failure on the 100 days of fun challenge though because we did something even "funner"... we had friends over--Delaney's self-proclaimed future husband, Riley and his sister Avery. They begged so my BFF Tiffany and I just HAD to relent and spend some time together (he he... and the kids think we plan playdates so that THEY can play)

But that was yesterday. And today... well, we pulled something from the jar, but never got around to it. Again I remind myself...the purpose of this challenge was not to stick to the jar and suck all the joy out of the day, but complete the task. The goal at the end of the day was to HAVE FUN. And we did.

Jonathan's last day of Music Camp was today. So when it was time for us to pick him up, Delaney went with me and we stayed at the school and went to the park. We climbed on the Monkey bars, spun around on the twirly thing (what IS that thing called) and pushed each other on the swings. My sweet, tender boy pushed his momma on the swings today. How big he's getting. He also insisted on spinning me around on the twirly thing...all by himself. His chubby little feet in their Toy Story flip flops going as fast as they could, round and round, trying to pick up speed. When he was done, he was the one that was dizzy. Then I watched anxiously as he climbed to the top of the Monkey Bars and was relieved that my "growing-up-too fast" boy needed me to help him get down. He still needs me :)

Delaney continues to amaze me. She's been trying for so long to teach herself how to swing. Today she did it! I wish I could bottle up her excitement and pride. It was contagious!



So I'm going to check Day 4 off as a Fun Success! Ready for tomorrow?

{Day 3} J-E-L-L-O

Did you sing the letters in your head as you read my blog post? I did when I was typing it. Today's challenge was an easy one... {make some Jello then enjoy it with whipped cream and sprinkles b/c sprinkles makes everything better}. Okay, so I haven't officially made the jello yet at this point...but I am planning to. While singing the J-E-LL-O song in my head I came across a great blog entry on one of my favorite photography sites (here's the Link if you have some time) and it really got me thinking... life WAS so much simpler when we were kids. There were no scheduled playdates... you played outside with your friends ALL DAY and groaned when you had to come in when the streetlights were on. We didn't need anything to "spark" our imagination...we were full of ideas... secret clubs, pretending to be the Mandrell sisters or the Gong Show, treating our bikes like the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard. Even playing the characters in MASH which was my Dad's favorite TV show. We would run to the top of the block watching for him to walk home from the bus stop and carry his briefcase home for him. Every night was the same. He'd come home, take off his tie, lay down on the couch, watch MASH. My mom would ALWAYS call us in for dinner when there was only 5 minutes left in the show and we would all ignore her until MASH was over--she'd get so mad. To this day, I never understand why she didn't just plan dinner for when MASH was over--it was only 5 minutes. Dinner would be a comedy--I would try to smuggle unwanted food on my plate away from the table in a napkin tucked in my pants and excuse myself to go the bathroom. It worked a few times before my sister Laurie ratted me out that there were hot dogs floating in the toilet. From that point on--no bathroom breaks during dinner. My brother always had to be strapped into his seat with my dad's belt because he never sat still. My sister Laurie was the tattler and informed Mom and Dad every wrong she had witnessed by us during the day. Megan, the youngest, was the baby and got away with everything (still does :) ) Dad worked hard and made an honest wage, while going to night school to get his degree. Mom worked hard keeping the house and stretching the budget as far as it would go. I remember fondly her basket of coupons, so organized. As an adult, I now realize what a chore coupons are. We ate a lot of generics--remember the potato chips in the black n white bags? Did we know we were poor by today's standards. No way! We never wanted for anything. We had everything we needed. I hope my children will look back on their childhood as fondly as I do.
So now, back to the Jello... I may even get a little crazy today and make Jello Jigglers and savor another taste from MY childhood. Stay tuned...

{Day 2} The Letter of the Day is...

Today's challenge was picked by Delaney from the jar.
"Choose a {Letter of the Day} and do activities and eat food that start with that letter"
This is one you can really have fun with. Let me also clarify that I woke up feeling extremely under the weather today but with a strong resolve not to abandon my challenge as easily as I abandon my diets.
Now, remember I said that I was sick this morning and wonderful hubby had already made breakfast for the munchkins... pancakes. So I thought--go with it. Letter "P" it is.
Lunch (prepared by said wonderful husband) consisted of Pierogies, Potato tots and Purple smoothies... which lead to my favorite shots of the day...
{Purple Mustaches}

One thing I do realize as I post these....my point n shoot sucks!!!! Time for a new one?

After lunch, I realized that I couldn't just FEED them the letter P's, we actually had to have some activities that involved "P's"

Out came the {Play dough} and I do mean out... OUTSIDE (gosh, I love summer--no play dough to scrape off the wood floor!)

We continued with the P's for dinner... a Picnic in the Park! Okay, so we had Arby's that does not start with P, but Jonathan really had to "pee" half way through dinner (okay--that was a gross reach). The park was fun and we even Picked up some trash in the park -- a good lesson to teach our children--that we should leave a place looking better than we found it. (I love my husband for teaching us such great boy scout lessons).

Thunder and lightening ended our perfect day so it was home for PJ's and Prayers... a Perfect P Day!

{100} Days of Summer Challenge

Today is June 1st. It's the first day of Summer in my mind because it's the first day after Memorial Day. It's neat and tidy... it's the first day of a long summer with 3 kids. But then I realized, that's just a matter of perspective... it can be as long or as fun as I choose to make it to be. So I choose to make it a memorable one not only for me...but for my kids. They will only be 5, 3 and 1 for one summer only.
I invite you to go on this journey with me. Here's how we will begin... a jar full of ideas... 3 willing kids... one Mommy armed with a camera (point n'shoot or otherwise) and I'm sure some hilarious stories will be created along the way.
So... the jar. We made them at MOPS a few weeks ago (well, actually, I was lazy and JUST completed mine today, in fact) But hey, perfection is a blessing and a curse in my world.

Inside the jar is a hundred or more ideas for fun things to do this summer. Every day we will pick one one (or make one up). Every day we will do something fun. Everyday I will document it (see--this is a double treat for me-time with the kids--but also time with my camera--it's a win-win!)
Okay.... here we go!

June 1 - {Day 1} - FUN WITH GRAPES
Okay, so I made this one up because we didn't officially pick one out of the jar. But we sure had some belly laughs today seeing how many grapes the kids could fit in their cheeks. Yes, I know it's a choking hazard... no we will not do it again. But how can you resist these cheeks?

See you tomorrow!

Happy Valentine's Day {2010}

Addison's first Valentine's Day

Handsome Boy

I have been playing around with Textures in Photoshop and had to post this picture.

My handsome little devil...I love you "Mr. Ticklelicious!"