Look At What I Just Made

Strawberry Scroll by ~mommatothreekids on deviantART

Leah was so cute this morning with her cake roll. You should of seen the look on her face. All smiles. She found the cake roll on the halfway and started to play with it right away. She even tried to take a bite of the strawberry. She wasn't to happy to discover it was felt! She ended up being very protective of her cake roll. She insisted that I put it in a tupperware container. I'm going to try to make a couple more rolls. I still need to work on my hand sewing!

The Best Story

It's not too early to get little kids excited about writing their own stories. I absolutely loved this book. After, we were done reading this story. I decided it would be a lot of fun to take turns telling a story. I started the story about two boys walking in the woods. I had everyone at the kitchen take a turn continuing the story about the two boys. The story got wilder with each person. The two boys went to a cave, fought of a monster, explored a cave, and even went to outer space! The boys had so much fun. I decided to take it another step. I had the boys tell me their own stories while I typed it up on the computer. The kids loved it! Landon and Logan both requested copies of their stories to take to their teachers at school.

The best story is one that comes from the heart The library is having a contest for the best story, and the quirky narrator of this story just has to win that roller coaster ride with her favorite author! But what makes a story the best?

Her brother Tim says the best stories have lots of action. Her father thinks the best stories are the funniest. And Aunt Jane tells her the best stories have to make people cry. A story that does all these things doesn’t seem quite right, though, and the one thing the whole family can agree on is that the best story has to be your own.

Anne Wilsdorf’s hilarious illustrations perfectly capture this colorful family and their outrageous stories in Eileen Spinelli’s heartfelt tale about creativity and finding your own voice.

"Moanly"

Logan S.

(Logan's oral story typed by Mom)

Once upon a time, there were a big tornado and there was a big rock coming down and another big rock came down. A light bulb came down and it was fire. All of it was fire. A big monster came and it took the earth. The whole planet! A big tornado came and the earth was taking and the world was taken. A bigger monster was as big as Logan. It killed them. The monster and tornado kills them. A tree felled down and killed the monster. It didn't kill the boys. The boys run away from a million trees that had fallen down. A big monster came after the boys and earthquake came! A bigger earthquake came!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A volcano caused the earthquake. The boys died! Another monster came and ate them! A big tornado came again. A big fan came down and kept on going. The boys land in the fire and die. They hear a big boom and they get out. The boys go home!

The end.

A True Story...

The boys Get In Trouble

by Landon S.

(Landon's oral story typed by mom)

Once upon a time, the boys ended up in the woods. When their mom told them not to. Because she said there was monsters and other things they shouldn't go there unless their dad or mom came than they meet a whirlpool that was named "meokiey"! Than he said to hop in and than they ended up in a pirate ship stealing their gold and throwing it into the river surrounded by the two boys. They got really trap and the meokiey whirlpool came and sucked them up and the pirates where in the water dead. The boys hopped into the whirlpool. They ended up finding a spaceship in space. The whirlpool came back and let them hop in. They came back to back to earth and they were so tiny. They could fit into a speck. All of sudden, they were in their house and they were so small. They called meokiey the whirlpool back to make them big again. Their mom saw them but she said not to go back their again. The boys did again. They snuck out of the house. They went a different path and they meet other whirlpools and it took them all over the world and space. Than they went on a new trail they had never been on before. They meet the biggest world pool and it went into the ground and sucked them up and the whirlpool sucked up the whole earth.

THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The weather is so confusing...

One day the weather is warm and nice. The next day is cold and snowy! I can't seem to figure out the weather around here. Just the other day, I was outside working on my flower beds and today I'm stuck inside doing nothing. I could clean up but that's so boring. I much prefer to be outside. This morning, Landon discovered it had snowed last night. I was very surprised. I didn't realize it was even going to snow. The snow has been lightly snowing all day long. Leroy went this morning to his concealed weapon class. I'm not really sure why he needs to carry a concealed weapon but that's another discussion. He thought it was quite fun to be outside in the snow shooting his gun. The boys thought it was especially funny. I ended up taking a couple of pictures of the snow and of the kids enjoying hopefully the last little bit of winter can't wait for SPRING!!!!!!!! I caught Logan outside trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

Marble Painting Marbles

Marble painting is a popular method of painting for preschool aged children and up. The activity isn't too messy and the results are beautiful and always different.

AGE LEVEL: 2 years and up

MATERIALS NEEDED:1. Cardboard box, with sides approximately 4 inches high. A copy paper box lid is perfect, but any other box would work great too. 2. Paint, 3-4 colors is preferred 3. Spoon 4. 1-3 marbles for each color of paint 5. Paper -- just about any kind of paper will work, however, it works best with paper that is thicker than traditional copy paper.

SET UPTo protect your workspace, cover it with newspaper. Place a smock or old shirt on each child that will be participating in this activity. Place each color of paint on its own plate, and then put 1-3 marbles in each color of paint. Put one spoon into each color of paint.

PROCEDUREPlace a piece of paper in the bottom of the box. The better your paper fits the better. Have the child scoop the marbles out of each color and place them into the paper lined box. Next, have the child shake the box from side to side and tilt it up and down, creating a motion that has the marbles rolling all over the paper.
After the marble have distributed the paint on the paper, you will see a colorful display of lines and designs. Remove the marbles from the paper and place them back on the paint plates so that they are ready for the next child. Remove paper from box and allow to dry completely.
Marble painted artworks looks great on your refrigerator or bulletin board, but it can also be used for other purposes such as book covers or wrapping paper. Be creative!

Playdate Fun

A couple of things, I do to help make playdates function better is to start off with a couple of activities. Sometimes, it takes the kids a little while to warm up to each other. Usually, two things will happen at my house. Either kids come over to play and they trash the house looking for things to play or they ended up fighting. I figured out that if you have a couple of easy group activities it seems to help bring all the kids together. Once, we were done with the activities all the kids took off playing and my house wasn't trashed by the end of the playdate. I set up two different activies. I had the kids make their own pasta neckales. Logan and I dyed the pasta the night before so it would be ready for the activity! Now, my daughter has a hard time sharing her toys. She really doesn't have to share her toys with her brothers because they're not into dollys. So, when her little friend Gracie came over to play it can get interesting. Leah really wasn't to happy but Gracie playing with her stuff. So, I pulled out my St. Patty's Sensory Tub! Presto!!!!!!!!! The girls were busy and happily playing together.

Spring is Almost Here!

The crocuses is the earliest spring flower to bloom. For the past couple of weeks. I have been wondering when my crocuses would start to bloom. I couldn't remember where I had planted them. So, the other day while outside. I saw just a tip of this yellow crocuses in the front flowerbed. Logan and I raked all the leaves out of the flower bed and decided it's time to start getting ready for spring. Another thing about the crocuses...My mom had a bunch of crocuses planted right outside our family room window. I use to love to look out the window and see the crocuses coming up in the snow. So, the crocuses is really special to me becuase it reminds me of home.

Yellow Crocuses

Logan and Leah were busy digging for worms. Yes, worms. Leah especially loved holding them. She isn't a prissy type of girl. She's all rough and tough!
I picked up this set at Walmart. It's made by Jiffy-Seed Starting kit!

I don't really now what I was thinking by letting the kids help me with this project. Next time, I need to make a mental note to do this outside. The whole table top and floor was covered in dirt at the end. The boys did a really good job filling up all the trays with dirt but they lost interest when it came to planting the seeds. I finally had to pop in a dvd so I could finish up this project!

Finish product!!!!!!!!!!!! We ended up planting a whole flat of flowers and veggies. This year I'm going to try to grow my whole garden out of self watering gardening containers. I'm not sure if the seeds will sprout but that's the chance were taking.

He makes everything possible...

for our family to be safe and secure in this world of challenges and changes. He makes it possible for me to be home with the kids and allows us to fullfill all of our dreams. Job security is hard to come by now days. Leroy recieved a big promotion about a month ago. He is now a Techinal Expert (don't ask me what that means) its a lot more stress but more money. With all of the recent layoffs at work. I'm very blessed to have such a talented hubby.

About four months ago, Leroy had to go to Austin for special training. I wasn't crazy about the idea of him leaving us for a whole week but we survived. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I came out of the whole experience a lot stronger. So, today in the mail...He finally recieved his certificate for completing and passing the certification test for Tipping Point. Leroy said this was the nicest plaque he has ever recieved before. Leroy is planning on hanging it up in his office tomorrow. He even let me take a picture of him holding it which isn't something normal does. He is very humble and modest about all of his wonderful gifts God has given him. I just wish he was a little bit less cranky. I really can't complain. So, I'm very blessed to be married to such a wonderful man and father to our children. Thanks, Hubby!

St. Patty's Sensory Tub

We just finished making this awesome sensory tub. Check out Teaching Tiny Tots for the directions on how to make your own sensory tub. The only thing I had a problem with was locating those chocolate coin candies. I was hoping to throw a couple of them into the tub. The kids had a blast helping me putting the whole tub together. The kids really thought is was cool we were painting the large lima beans as gold nuggets. I also found the green St. Patty's day cups at walmart for less than one dollar. We are also dying noodles green to add to the tub.

Logan busy painting his gold nuggets.

Leah wasn't to crazy about painting her beans but just had fun painting with the yellow and gold paint.


I finally decided to move the sensory tub outside on the front porch. Leah kept spilling the beans and rices all over the floor. This might need to be an outdoor project from now on....

Another successful activity!!!!!!!!!

Reading To Her Babies

My little mommy is so cute. She grabbed her blankets, three babies, baby cradle, play cell phone, and a couple of her favorite books. I walked into the family room and discovered her reading her My First Word Book to her babies. She was opening and closing the book. She was looking at the pictures and was reading to her babies. She was pointing out the oranges and apples. When she came across the page with all the car. She started to make car sounds "Vroom"! My boys never did anything like this it so much fun having a little girl.
She was even talking on her cell phone. She is so funny. Leah hasn't had any accidents today! Maybe we can get her fully potty trained.

Reading Challenge: If You Give A Pig A Pancake!

A good book with a good breakfast!

The kids help with mixing up the batter and I fried them up in my cast iron frying pan.

Landon is getting really good cracking the eggs open and not getting any shell in the batter!

Leroy picked up some real maple syrup to go with our pancakes! Yummy...The syrup is so expensive. We tried to use it sparingly.

They turned out delicious!

Look At What Logan Just Made!!!!!

Logan created this really cute felt food item all on his own. He informed me this morning he wanted to make something out of the green felt. Next thing, I knew he was busy

sewing! He somehow found a needle already threaded. He made it half away around his creation when he ran out of thread. So, I re-threaded the needle and I helped him finish it up. He even stuffed it and everything. So, can you tell what veggie he made for his little sister. Well, it's kinda hard to tell but it's a green bean.

If You Give A Pig A Pancake!

All this week, in honor of national pancake day! I'm going to be trying all different kinds of pancake recipes. This will be the first one I'm going to be making for my kids. Doesn't it just look yummy! I can't wait to try it out!

Pancake Recipe:

1 cup (140 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (7 grams) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (28 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (240 ml) milk
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Plus extra melted butter for greasing the pan.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, milk, and melted butter. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, all at once, and stir or whisk just until combined. The batter should have some small lumps. Make sure you do not over mix the batter or the pancakes will be tough.
* Add fresh blueberries to the batter - amazing!

Recipe is from joyofbaking.com

Look What I Just Bought Off Etsy!!!!!!!!!

Isn't this the cutest bag ever. Leroy and I went on a date today! We ended up picking up a brand new pair of running shoes. Too bad I hurt my knee the other day exercising:( My new workout shoes are going to be so nice to workout in. We also stopped off at P.F. Changs for lunch. I was good only a salad and lettuce wraps for me. So, we ended up walking around. I mention to Leroy I would really like a new bag. My dark blue diaper bag which I have been carrying around for the past 6 years I'm completely sick of it. I don't really need a diaper bag anymore. Leah can use the potty but wants to currently wear diapers. Hopefully, soon I will not need a diaper bag. I'm so sick of lugging my old diaper bag which I really use as a purse which really holds diapers or wipes. Please don't ask to borrow any wipes from me becuase. I don't carry them anymore. So, Leroy said I could get a new bag. I couldn't find one anywhere. I thought about making my own bag. I even looked up some pattern designs. Than, I realized I have way too many projects at the moment. Plus, I want the bag to look nice. So, I decided to check out Etsy. I never been on this site before. I decided to give it a try. I came across this awesome bag. I love it. It's sooooo me. I love the bird on the front. Can't you see me running around with this bag on my arm! Yes, I just bought it. Yes, it was expensive but don't tell Leroy. Hopefully, he wouldn't check the paypal account to closely. I can't wait to get it in the mail. Yes, it's time to get rid of my ugly diaper bag and more grown up bag for me. Yes!!!!!!!! Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!

Blue Bird Hobo Bag

Spooning Activity

Our latest school tray is this fun spooning and pouring activity!

This was a first time for the kids. I decided to go ahead and purchase a couple of bags of lentils for this fun activity.

Leah did a really good job transferring the beans from one jar to another! Also, I let the kids practice pouring the beans from these cute little ceramic pitchers into the creamer bowl.
I really wish had haven't even try this activity. The kids somehow managed to spill most of the lentils on the floor:( Okay, I wasn't watching them too closely mostly my fault. Anyhoo, lots of fun and inexpensive activity. Really good for developing those fine motor skills. The kids really enjoyed touching and feeling the beans. When Logan first saw the beans he asked me if we were going to make peanut butter? I'm like "no" these are lentils not peanuts. So, I guess, I might need to look up how to make your own peanut butter for a future lesson/project! I even caught him eating a couple of the lentils. Gross!!!!!

My next project

Strawberry scroll felt cake by ~apple-pai on deviantART

If You Give A Pig A Pancake

In honor on National Pancake Day...I decided to make Leah this really cute pancake breakfast food for next weeks reading challenge over at TeachingTinyTots blog. Check it out, if your interested in joining the challenge. We haven't done the reading challenge in a while. I feel really bad about it but my house was in some serious neglect aka super messy! I'm almost done with the house. Last night, I ended up staying up late making this really cute felt breakfast for Leah. It consist of two pancakes with a dab of butter, one sunny side up egg, and one slice of bacon. If I have time, I'm going to try to make a couple more pancakes!

Yummy, I told Leah this morning. I made her a special breakfast. She was so excited! She was a little bit disappointed when she realized it wasn't real food. She didn't waste any time playing with her new play food. Seriously, the food felt hobby is really addicting and fun!

Update!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I did make my own laundry detergent. It does work. I ended up using Ivory Soap bar. I couldn't find the laundry soap bar. The first load I washed didn't come out too clean. So, I decided with my next load to use a full cup of detergent. Yup, it works great now! I'm going to keep on making my own detergent! Completely satisfied!

Self-Education 101

Yup, I learning how to crochet! It's really hard. I can't even finish the first video! I'm going to have to wait until the kids are sleeping. Way too many distractions.

Accident Prone Son

Dear Son:

Please be more careful when playing outside on the neighbors tree swing. Also, make sure to hold on tight so you don't fall off and hit your face on a big stick on the way down! Please ask for permission next time you want to swing.

Love, Mom!!!!!

Dear Neighbor kids:

Please don't let Logan swing on the tree swing again:( Also, if he gets hurt please come to the house and tell me what happened. Logan told me that you and your older brother hit him with a big stick. So, please come to me and let me know what happened!

Side note: Logan ended up with a goose egg only a couple of days ago. He had an incident of trying to be like a bee and colliding with the coffee table. Grandma was really worried about you but that was nothing compared to what you did yesterday afternoon.

Yipee!!!!!

I decided to try on a pair of my old size 8 jeans. I tried them on about two weeks ago and they didn't fit. I decided to give it one more try. The pants fit! They are tight but I finally was able to zip them up! Yes, my hard work is starting to pay off. I'm so excited! If I just lose a couple more pounds. I'm going to buy myself a whole new wardrobe.

Come Join The Club!

Yep, I'm starting up my own birding club for children of all ages!

I'm going to call the group "Bella Vista Birding Club" open to all ages young or old!

This past weekend we were able to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count!

The neighbor kids joined in the fun and loved learning all about our backyard birds.

I took all the boys down to Lake Bella Vista to try to identify waterfowl!

I brought my trusty pocket size bird book to help the kids and myself identify all the birds.

Aaron thought he saw a bold eagle which I knew was wrong. I haven't seen any eagles at Lake Bella Vista in almost 3 years! Any way, its a lot of fun! The boys loved.

We ended up feeding the snow geese and Canadian geese at the lake.

I know its against the rules but oh well! Those birds are aggressive. The boys ended up climbing on top of the picnic table to feed the birds. I ended up taking off for the van. They were starting to even frighten me.

So, on Monday, I took the kids to Tanyard Creek to watch for some more birds.

I'm going to take the kids Lake Ann on Saturday to watch for some more birds.

So, if your interested. Let me know. It's a lot of fun!

Damaged dam currently out of commission:(

Searching for waterfowl

See the gate! It keeps everyone from crossing the dam which I just hate!

If you see these waterfowl in the background. I can't figure out what type of bird they are? Any ideas? It's not in my bird book.

Wow, these birds are aggressive!

Snow Geese and Canadian Geese

The First Sign of Spring

It's hard to tell from this photo but its a Robin! This was the only bird we saw at Tanyard Creek this afternoon. I was so excited. It was actually on the ground when I discovered the bird trying to locate a worm. It had it in it's mouth but I couldn't get the camera on fast enough. The robin goes away in the Fall and comes back in the spring! So, spring must be coming early this year!