Pumpkin Project

If your kid ever comes home with a note from his third grade teacher and it says you have to create a pumpkin to look like your favorite character from a book....well let me show you what you might have to do.



This is how ours turned out. My Son loves those, Diary of a Wimpy Kid books that are so popular right now. He choose this for us {{rather me}} to do. How do you really bring a stick person to life? I had to think awhile, but I ended up just doing this.



I even gave this poor pumpkin some arms, legs and a backpack to match the cover of the book.



Here is my Son with the finish product. We were invited to his classroom to see the other students pumpkins they created. If I don't say so myself, I think ours was the best. ha!

Little Punk

This little girl of mine was all attitude when I put on her sisters Halloween wig. She wore it for the longest time and it was the funniest thing ever. She looked so old with all that hair. Hannah Montana watch out. There is a new rock star diva in town.

Crazy for Rubber Bands

It's all the rage. Kids out here are just crazy for these rubber bands and they are flying off the shelves. Stores can't keep them in stock. These crazy bands come in all sorts of colors and shapes. The kids pile them up their arms and wear as many as the can. Kinda like those jelly or friendship bracelets back in the day. This is the new thing that they all want now.







You wear them like this and then some.



Jared has his and wears them proud.



Is this sweeping the nation or is this just a Kentucky thing?

Fun in the Dark

The other night I was trying out some of these glow in the dark flowers I bought. I turned off the lights and it was an instant party. The kids played with them forever. What a great babysitter this was. Why didn't I think of this earlier? I was able to take some really cool pictures of Jared and Madison having some fun in the dark.






When I accidently moved the camera, this is the picture I got from it. Neat, right?



I think I'm going to have to have another glow-in-the-dark party for someone's birthday. Kids really seem to love these neon lights.

Lucky Charms & Shamrock Shakes

Did you remember to have your Lucky Charms cereal for St. Patty's Day? How about ordering a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's?



Well...we tried to get a green shake from McD's but they no longer do that. Boo!!! Can you believe that? They always sell Green shakes on St. Patrick's Day. Well not anymore, sorry kids. I had to come up with a quick alternative plan because they were looking forward to them after-school. I instead ordered a couple vanilla milk-shakes and added green food coloring to it. Wha-La! It was green and it was yummy.



Color not so good on camera, but I tell ya they were minty green.



Everyone was happy and we all had an extra 500 calories added to our diet that day. :)

A Day in the Life of Me

Here's a rough outline of my typical day's schedule. All is subject to change in a moments notice, but this is a normal day for me and my bunch.

6:00 AM~ Madison wakes up for the day and we come downstairs to watch what I've recorded on TV the night before. Start the coffee!!!
6:45~ I wake up Jared and Brittany for school. I make their breakfasts, pack a lunch for Jared and try to get ready myself. Search for a morning cartoons that all will agree to watch before they actually get dressed for the day.
7:30-7:45~ Wake Johnny up so he can get ready for work and I put the kids in the car. We leave for school and I down a cup of my favorite raspberry white chocolate mocha coffee before we go to kick start my brain!
7:45-8:10~ Drive like a mad women to get to TWO different schools that are ACROSS town. I pray we make it before the 8:10 bell rings. They hate to be tardy, but sometimes it's out of my control with lots of traffic and slow cars in my path.
8:30-9:00~ Now I'm back home, I haul Maddie and her HEAVY car seat back inside the house. Put her in the exersauser or walker with a few snacks to munch on while I make her breakfast. I make a bite to eat for myself in the process. Start a load of laundry, soak dishes to wash, and finish my TV show program from what I started earlier. Feed Maddie her baby food.
9:00-9:45~ Clean up the kitchen, living room, make beds and try to get Maddie down for a morning nap.
9:45-11:30~ I get caught up on my blogging or run to the store during this time. It's easier to do stuff when Madison is sleeping rather then awake and fussy.
11:30-2:00~ The baby and I eat some lunch, playtime, and work on a project off my to do list. Clean or organize something else really fast.
2:00-2:45~ Put the baby down for an afternoon nap while I steal a moment to jump on the computer to see what's going on in the world, or watch another DVR TV show.
2:45~3:45 Pick up Brittany from middle school and meet Jared at his bus stop.
3:45-4:30~ Fix the kids an after-school snack, look for paperwork in his backpack from Jared's 2ND grade teacher. Sign whatever/Read bulletins and get homework ready for the evening. If it's nice, we go outside for some fresh air and sunshine!
4:30-5:45~ Brittany gets on her computer to chat with friends, animate her drawings. Jared goes for playing his XBox or with Lego's. Maddie goes down for another short afternoon nap. I finish whatever cleaning and start cooking dinner.
5:45-7:00~ Serve dinner to the troops, clean-up and TRY to catch up on my reading/books from the library.
7:00-8:00~ Homework time with Jared, playtime with Maddie before she's gone to bed for the night. Shower's/bathtime begins.
8:00-9:30~ Watch whatever favorite prime-time TV show is on that night. Then everyone gets ready for bed.
9:30-10:00~ Good-night my kiddies and if I have the energy left I sometimes wait for the hubby to come home. Most night's he's not in till 11pm or Midnight. If I make it that long, I will watch some late-night TV with him otherwise I'm fast asleep.
2AM~ Maddies up for a feeding (I'm Sleepwalking during this time)
4AM~ Up for another baby feeding then if I'm awake enough I sometimes jump online in the middle of the night. It's the only time I can do so without interruption.
6:00 AM~ Alarm goes off and I'm ready to do it all over again.

So now I hope you can see why you don't hear from me as much anymore. My day is pretty full and it's only getting busier. If the kids don't have school, my schedule is a little more crazy. Add in Jared's Spring baseball practice soon, doctor's/orthodontist appoitments and play dates with friends...I'm constantly on the go.

I'll rest when I'm dead I guess. If you haven't heard from me it's because I stay rather busy. Either I wait till Madison gets older or enlist more help in order to have free time for myself. I'm thinking of you all, I sware, I just don't slow down enough to keep up with everyone like I use to. Hope you all understand.

Not Again!

Today I woke up and looked out my front door and saw this....



NOT AGAIN! MORE SNOW and another day of SCHOOL CANCELED. Now this is just getting crazy. As soon as it melts, another Winter storm comes in. This is the most snow I've seen in all my years of living on the East coast.





It makes for a pretty picture, but it's too cold for this Cali girl.



At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see an Olympian ski by our house. I think we somehow ended up in Vancouver by mistake. Ha!

New Places to Play

I find Lego people in the wildest places. For instance, Last night I found these guys in the wooden letters that spell out her name.

I spy a Lego Storm Trooper


and another Lego Storm Trooper here


Ah Ha! The boy is at it again. This time standing in Madison's crib of all places.


I guess it looks sorta like the Hollywood sign to him.


What an imagination this kid has got.


Then he started attaching them to the mobile.


That poor thing is just dangling there. He must have done something really bad. Ha Ha


Just another day in the life of a Lego and his builder.

{{NOTE}} ALL Lego's were promptly removed before Maddie went back into her crib. I am on the constant look out for little things she can put in her mouth.

{{Disclaimer}} No Lego's were harmed in the filming of this event or even the boy for that matter. :)

Crazy Hair Day

Every year Brittany's middle school has crazy hair day. She didn't know what to do, but decided on just making it messing. Lot's of weird hair clips and colored spray. This is how she left the house this morning. What a sight she was.





You should have seen the other kids being dropped off if you think this is bad.



I hope someone doesn't call child protective services on me for letting her out of the house like this. LOL

Spider-Monkey Boy

What is wrong with my Son? He LOVES to climb the door-ways in our house about 20 times a day. I guess it's good exersize right? I'm amazed he can climb to the top so quickly. He's like a little Jackie Chan. I think it's a boy thing, because my Daughter never did this. Boys have a lot more energy I'm finding out. Here he is, climbing the doorway in our dining room. We've now nick-named him Spider-Monkey Boy because of this. I keep telling him not to do this. He's gonna fall and break something, but it doesn't stop him. If I bought him a rockwall I think he would still continue to climb in the house. I'm hoping this is something he'll grow out of. I wish I felt so good to have the energy for half of what he does. :)

Here's him in action!