Discovery Center fun!

After being inspired by an article in Family Fun about "staycations", we decided last weekend to adventure out to Murfreesboro to the Discovery Center for kids. I'd heard good things about it, and it didn't disappoint. It was about a 45 minute drive, and only cost $15 for our family, which I thought was great. Eliza and Davis had a great time. Here are a few highlights of the trip.

An antique fire truck, complete with real hats, coats, and boots to try on, and you can climb all over it. They both loved it!

A two-story "super-slide". Eliza did it a LOT and was really proud of herself.

They had several train tables and block stations. Davis liked this one the best.

Thank goodness we don't ride bikes like this anymore!

Digging for dinosaur bones and fossils.

Antique car for climbing on. Because of the Nissan plant nearby, there were several car centers to play in. We'll definitely go back when Davis is a little older.

Evidently Davis knows more about changing a tire than I do...

Ugh, this water table was gigantic (this is only one small corner) and really cool, but Big D got SOAKED TO THE BONE. Not so much fun when it's 35 degrees outside and mommy didn't bring a change of clothes. And the water was a little stinky. But man, they loved playing in it.

Gigantic magnetic wall. I think Stephen liked this one better than anyone :)

W-I-N-T-E-R Bingo

I know I've mentioned before how much I love Family Fun magazine, and I just thought I'd share this idea I got from the February issue. You can print out the templates here, and since mini-marshmallows have pretty much become a staple on my weekly grocery list (hey, they're small, non-messy, and provide that little bit of sweetness I crave after every meal), we had all the supplies handy. Eliza LOVED it, and it was a great way for her to pracice sounding out words. Just thought I'd pass this on for one of these cold, rainy days we seem to be having lately!

John Piper on the economy

I saw this on our pastor's blog, and thought he gives such good insight into the current economic crisis.

Tooth fairies and Tennessee basketball

Well, Eliza's had a lot of excitement around here lately. Last week she lost her first tooth, which was quite dramatic, as most everything is with her these days :) Finally she let Stephen pull it and the tooth fairy paid her a visit. Below is her new toothless grin and her rendering of the tooth fairy.



Then this past weekend we took Eliza, along with Gram, to her first Tennessee basketball game. This little girl LOVES her Tennessee Vols, so she was jumping up and down with excitement for the several days leading up to the trip. Davis stayed behind with Mimi and Grandaddy (thanks!).

Our seats were in the nosebleed section, but we made the long trek down to the student section to get a picture with Smokey. And just let me add, I walked right by the usher guarding that section, while he stopped Stephen. He mistook me for a student perhaps??? Or maybe it was that Stephen was carrying Eliza that gave him away. I choose to believe the former :)
Eliza was very brave (overcoming her fear of large stuffed animals, i.e. mascots) to give him a high five and get this pic.

She was having a great time cheering, until about the end of the first half, when she started this.

Laying on Stephen's lap. But some cotton candy at halftime perked her up.

But that perkiness was short-lived, as by the middle of the second half, she began chanting "I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home." But I distracted her with the world's longest game of "Guess the animal", which lasted for the rest of the game.

She had a great time, especially spending the night in a hotel, which she thinks is the greatest thing ever. We look forward to more trips like these as the kiddos get a little bigger!

Tagged again!

I just love this blog-tagging! It gives me something to write about that I normally wouldn't. Here is the latest tag that my sweet friend Brandy sent me:




a.) choose the 4th picture folder on your computer
b.) choose the 4th picture
c.) explain the picture
d.) tag 4 people


So, here it is:



When I saw what the 4th folder was on my computer, I had to laugh. It's titled "Facebook", and it's a bunch of old pictures I scanned and put on my facebook page just for kicks. When I saw this was the 4th picture, I just had to smile. Ahh, young love! This was taken in the spring of 1998, our senior year of college and just a couple of months after Stephen and I started dating. This was my dormroom, complete with no air-conditioning. Brutal. Anyway, we were heading out to my sorority's spring party on a riverboat. And this is proof that Stephen did once have hair :).



I don't remember what we were laughing about, but something had us cracking up. Hence, my BIG mouth. But when I think about it, really, what WASN'T there to laugh about in those days? That semester, I only needed 1 class to graduate, so I was taking 4 graduate-level education classes towards my master's, and they all met at night, once a week. So that means I had ONE class during the day, and that was only 3 days a week. What in the world did I do with ALL THAT FREE TIME???? Yes, I had homework, and I worked part-time at Old Navy, but that still leaves LOTS of hours with no responsibilities. I know I spent time with Stephen and had regular "Party of Five" watching parties in my room. These days I'm thrilled to have even one uninterrupted hour of time to do anything by myself. Don't get me wrong---I wouldn't give up my precious children and life now for anything. I love being a wife and mom to my little ones. But it's hard work--there are times when I yearn for those carefree and simple days of college. When all I had to clean was my little room, and pretty much everything I owned could be moved home in one carload. I ate out most meals and only cooked in my microwave. But I guess that's what growing up is all about---with all the responsibilities I have now comes much joy. And the realization that my life is not all about ME, but about my opportunities to serve my family and others.



Would I go back to those days of endless free time and only having to worry about myself? Nah, I'd rather be exhausted and overwhelmed with these little crazies by my side any day!




So, here ya go---tag, you're it!
1.) Susan V.
2.) Tiffany S.
3.) Ann H.
4.) Staci W.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas "Baking"

I'm somewhat "challenged" in the kitchen. I love to watch the Food Network, and I REALLY love to eat, but cooking is just one of those skills God decided was best not to bestow on me. I'm always amazed that I can take a seemingly simple recipe, and completely mess it up somehow. I have a few tried and true meals and desserts that I stick with, and thankfully I have a husband who will eat pretty much anything and is just grateful he didn't have to make it. I have dreams of someday making these elaborate meals when I don't have a child attached to my leg and have endless free time, but for now, I'm content just getting edible meals on the table. So, when it comes to baking at Christmas, I take the easy way out and look for cute EASY things that even a child can make. And like the turkey cookies we made, it's really more like crafting than cooking. Right up my alley.

I found these little Rudolph cookies in my old standby, Family Fun magazine. They were super-easy to make; here are the ingredients.

I put the icing on, and Eliza broke the pretzels and added the eyes and red nose.

Of course Davis had to join in on anything that involves food.

My other favorite goodie to make is Candy Popcorn; many thanks to my friend Suzanne for introducing me to this addictive snack. It's very easy too---just a bag of microwave popcorn, white chocolate chips, and sprinkles, just for fun. For the popcorn, I like a good butter flavor--I mean, what's better than salty, buttery, and sweet all in the same bite?? YUM. Make the popcorn, and melt 1/2 bag or 1 cup of the chocolate chips in the microwave. Then put the popcorn in a big mixing bowl, pour the melted chocolate over it, and stir it around until all the popcorn is coated. Then spread it out on the counter on aluminum foil or something like that. As you can see, I had to improvise. Yes, that is a trash bag; but it is a clean, new trash bag. I coudn't find my roll of Press N Seal, and all I had in the drawer was an empty box of foil (didn't I mention I'm challenged in the kitchen?) But the trash bag worked just as well. Spread out the popcorn, and sprinkle with the sprinkles, and just let it dry. Then snack uncontrollably until it is all gone.

Davis became an addict, too. He even pulled up his own chair so he could get his little grabby hands on more of the goods.

Snow and sugar plum fairies

We had our first snow the night before last, which is always exciting. Especially exciting since we never really know if we will have snow at all around here. I remember as a child (I grew up here) sledding ALL the time---we lived in a great hilly neighborhood and we'd start each time by putting plastic baggies on our hands and feet beneath our gloves and socks (not sure why?), layer up with all our snow gear, and then head out for hours of fun. We'd get together with the neighbor kids, and work away down the street, sledding down everyone's back yard. Then we'd come home, take off our sopping wet clothes, and sit in front of a space heater in the basement floor warming up. Good times. I loved playing in the snow as a child. But as an adult, I'm more of a fan of sitting inside, nice and warm and dry, and watching it fall.

Since it started snowing late Thursday afternoon as it was getting dark, we just turned off the inside lights and watched it fall through the window. Perfect. Then Friday morning, Eliza didn't mention anything about wanting to go outside, and I sure didn't, so I took a deep sigh of relief as the snow was melting and I thought we would get away with not having to go outside.

But then our sweet neighbors rang the doorbell, and that was the end of my warm and dry day. So we layered up in non-snow clothes---besides some snow boots I got for Eliza at a consignment sale, we have no snow gear. I'm always afraid if I buy them snowsuits, I'll jinx the chance that we will ever get snow. But after about a half hour of getting dressed, we headed out and they did have a blast.

Here's my snow princess and Stay-Puff marshmallow man.

Our neighbors Jacob, Joey, and Andrew brought their sled and taught Eliza the art of making snowballs. Which she practiced by hurling them all at me.

Also this week, Eliza's class at school made gingerbread houses and mommies came to help decorate. After buying one of those kits last year and doing one at home, I was curious as to how her teachers were going to do 14 of those things, which are quite labor-intensive and have to dry over night. But I loved what they did---Miss Patti collected empty little milk cartons from her daughters school and a couple of moms (me included) took them home and hot-glued graham crackers to them, and then glued them to a heavy paper plate. It worked out great---they were very sturdy, and other moms just brought in icing, gum drops, candy canes, gummy bears, fruit roll-ups (for windows), pretzels (for doorframes) and coconut (for snow). They turned out very cute and they kids had a great time!

Last weekend, we went with our playgroup to see a local youth ballet production of a mini-Nutcracker. I took Eliza last year, and wasn't expecting much as it was kids dancing, and the tickets were so cheap ($6 adult, $4 child). But I was sooo impressed by the production. The sets and costumes look like what you see in a professional performance, and the dancers were beautiful. And it's only a little over an hour long, which is perfect for little ones. And for me, too, really. I always fall asleep in the real one. Here are our little sugar plum fairies---aren't they precious!

Whew, that was a lot! But I'm now FINISHED with all my Christmas duties, so I'm looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the rest of the holidays, and focusing on the real reason for this season. And I'll be counting my blessings, too!

Scrapbooking

I finally got around to getting some more scrapbook pages printed and here are a few I really liked. Yes, they are all pretty much from last year, but it was fun to look back back and see how much my babies have grown. I got them printed here, and they have a $.99 sale a couple of times a year. I'm going to fill up the two albums I have now, and then I think I'm going to just start having them made into photobooks, and just do one for each year. Winkflash and Artscow now do 12x12 photobooks, and I like the idea of having a year's worth of pictures all in one book. And their prices are good too, only about $25 for a 20 page hardbound book. I'm actually caught up in scrapbooking up through this past Easter, which is really good for me! This past spring, Stephen took the kids to his parents for the weekend to give me a little "mini-vacation", and I got about 30 pages done in those couple of days, which was fantastic. It's amazing what you can get done with no interruptions. My goal is to one day stay caught up and scrap the pages as soon as the I take the pictures, but I don't really ever see that happening in the near future :).

A few videos

Here are a few little videos from the past week or so. Below is Davis checking out the Christmas tree for the first time. He said "big ball" about 200 times.

Here is Eliza's Thanksgiving program at school. They did a great job!

And here's our nightly PJ dance party in Eliza's room. Not sure where Davis gets his dance

moves. He looks like a little old man.

We sure are thankful for our healthy little monkeys!