Mud!

"Huh? Why?" This is how my kids responded when I ask them if they wanted to get dirty and play with mud. If you can't tell by their reaction this is something I've never invited them to do. Even my husband was a little leary of my idea but I figured what the hey, I want summer to be fun and full of excitement and if a little dirt gets them excited for 20 minutes or so, who could it hurt.  Here's to a happy and free summer!

All in a days work.....

My To do list may be a mile long and my house appears to look like a tornado ripped through it but we we're busy having fun.

It's Almost Here!

It's hard to believe summer is almost here. In two days my kids will walk out of their classrooms and I'll inevitably have tears in my eyes watching them say goodbye to their teachers and friends. They will be so excited for summer, the later nights and sleeping in, walks in the woods to the lake, endless water play, trying to reach the leaves as they swing up in the air, feeling their toes in the sand, letting the sun kiss their cheeks and turn their hair a lighter shade of blonde. I will be sad to watch them leave their room knowing they are growing up so quickly right in front of me, getting smarter and a tad bit sassier by the minute.  I want this summer to be different.

I want to ENJOY every minute I have with them. Even though I know now it will be crazy and busy, I want to spend every minute living life and enjoying every minute. Take in every giggle, every smile and love every minute of my precious time with them. I'm not going to sweat the small stuff, I'm not going to let frustration take over when things don't go quite as I planned.

I'm going to let the sand touch my toes, let the sun kiss my checks all the while I'm going to watch my 3 beautiful babes grow before my eyes,  I will lay with them in the grass as we watch the clouds go by, read a book under the trees as we listen to the birds sing us a sweet song, let the water touch our toes as we throw pepples in the water, let them spray me with the garden hose, stay up late and look at the stars,

sleep in the tent and tell each other stories and not worry about the sandy feet and sticky marshmallow hands touching me as we drift off to sleep, go to the library, the park, and the swimming pool, bake cookies for the neighbors, get messy with paint, blow bubbles,

go fishing, plant a garden, pick strawberries, make jam, go on a nature hunt, look at bugs, dig for worms, smell the flowers, paint rocks,

have a water gun fight, go for a bike ride, jump in the lake, visit the marsh, feed the ducks,

 climb in trees, build forts and ENJOY every minute!

Beginning to look a little like Christmas....

Sorry all if you're expecting Day 2 of the challege it will have to wait.  Instead we went and got our Christmas tree! :) So our tradition is to pick out our tree together and cut it down.

When we get it home we all make homemade pizza together,

and then it's time to decorate the tree!

We did decide that the tree we got this year is a tad fat for the space we have but I think it still looks great! Joe and I hung the lights and we let the kids decorate it themselves, partly because at that point I was wiped out! I'm sure I'll have to do a few miner adjustments to the placement of ornaments! :) I made hot apple cider this year, a tradition I'd like to add every year! Yum! And decided next year I'm bringing hot chocolate to the tree farm! :) Now it feels a little bit more like Christmas!

21 Days-Getting Organized Challege ~ Day One

So I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed with all the "stuff" that seems to have accumulated in our home in only a few years! Seriously it's hard to believe that it's been four years since we had a house fire and lost most everything! How is it even possible that we have filled it so quickly with so much "stuff''! It is seriously ridiculous! Anyhoo I'm having a go at a plan to get organized!! 21 Days - Getting Organized Challege to be exact! Found it on Pinterest! Love that site! The blog A bowl full of lemons is where it's at! Not sure I'm gonna follow it exactly to the tee everyday but it's a start. Is it pathetic that it took me almost all day to clear out 3 junk drawers!! :)

This is before:

Drawer #1

Drawer #2

Drawer #3

Scary right! I'm actually embarressed to show these!! And it's not just one, but 3 junk drawers!! Hello you have so much junk you need 3 DRAWERS!!!

Moving on it was actually impressive what I found inside!

Mason was excited I found his Robin mask! Now Batman has his sidekick!

1 Kindle charger, 5 earphones, 2 Mp3 players, 1  2-way adapter, 1 USB charging cable, 1handsfree cell phone set.

2 childproof safety latches, 4 childproof outlet plugs, 1 attachment for child safety gates. Apparently my house is not very childproof :)

3 toy cars, 1 leapfrog game, 2 3-D Dinosaur puzzles, 6 misc Lego/K'nex pieces, 2 puzzle pieces from 2 different puzzles, 4 misc game pieces, 2 diary locks with 1 set of keys, 5 Nerf darts, 2 colered stones, 2 barrettes, 1 haritie, 8 bracelets +1 watch bracelet, crayon sharpener, 2 mini notebooks, 8 misc Go Fish game cards, 1 set of playing cards, 1 matchbox toy jet, friendship bracelet string, Fish Net magnet puzzle piece, Learning counting bear & Learning link, silly key chain, Dinosaur toy, Hunting figurine hat, Handy Mandy screw, mini flashlight keychain, bracelet links, train set piece, matchbox set wrench, and one googlie eye! 

6 pairs of sunglasses

3 tape measures, 1 mini tape measure, compass, screwdriver, 2 lighters, wire? (not sure where that came from) 4 rubber round somethings??? 1 pegboard hook, 3 flashlights, black tubing? again not sure about that one, and 1 set of kids garden gloves.

2 Special notes one from my mom and another from my sweet little girl, 1 handmade coupon book from same sweet little girl. :) 1 birthday card for Eli with money still inside! Stack pile of coupons most of them still useable, 5 gift cards, 6 Pizza Ranch Gift Certificates, 47 pizza ranch tickets,  3 YMCA free passes, 17 scoopie tokens (yep already used 10 for free kids meal) 8 free ice cream tokens.

Rabies certificate and tag for cat, 2 measurement cards from doctor appts for Eli and Mason, 2 YMCA Swim progress reports for Emma and Eli.

This is the organizer I bought in my attempt to become more organized. :) See how organized it looks. Drawer got too full so I moved it to the counter. :)

2 old cell phones, 1 back massager, 1 dry erase doorknob message board, 1 set of ear plugs, 1 barbie bathtub scrubber,4 foam chair protectors, 1 Mr Potato Head glasses, Hot Wheels Car Silly Bandz, 1 small notebook, 1 foam bathtub letter, Zhu Zhu pet Kungfu sword, Bracelet, Stylus, owners manual, K'nex instruction manual.

3 Birthday candles and 9 old clothespins

1 coaster, 2 remotes, 1 battery charged candle, 2 sticky tack packs, feathers, 1 button, 1 small dowel rod, 1 sun catcher, 2 rock tumbler kits.

2 bags of allowance money (totaling $1.38) and $2.40 more in loose change.

3 wallets

a bunch of magnetic photo holders.

In addition to all of that: 3 small notebooks, 6 phonebooks, 2 MOPS directories, 2 student directories, 3 take-out menus, 2 rulers, 1 kids scissors, glue, 7 markers, 5 crayons, 7 colered pencils, glitter scratch-it notebook, 2 devotional books for kids, 2 Bibles, 1 container for batteries. And the finished results.........Drum roll please..............

Wah-lah!

I actually have extra space! Now if I can just keep them that way! Day 1 I'm feeling pretty good!