I swore I'd NEVER buy it again, but I did.....

Pin It Now! PLAY-DOH. I guess I am going to have to recant part of what I said about it here.

You see, we now have a table in our backyard that is far away from our house, so I thought just maybe I could bring this stuff back!

I was trying to think of new ways my daughter could entertain herself while I am busy home schooling the boys, and I saw some play-doh at Fry's while grocery shopping. I just couldn't resist. What kid doesn't like to play with it?

I am happy to report that the current arrangements seem to be working out just fine. I keep the play-doh in a basket on a very high shelf, and when the kids want to play they take it OUTSIDE!! When they are done they put it all away and bring the basket back inside to me, and it goes right back on the high shelf.

My only OCD complaint is..... Why, why does Shiloh insist on mixing the colors?!!!!! But, just so you know, I let her. It's hers. I don't like it, but it's hers. She is having fun and that is what matters.

Fun Lunch

Pin It Now! My child, who usually loves to read, has been going through a "reading funk" lately. Nothing seems to be of any interest. This can make home schooling a bit challenging, to say the least. So, last week I told Mullin he could pick any genre he wanted for the subject of Reading. He picked cooking.

We found a few neat books about food at the library: a book about healthy eating, one about disgusting foods ( very gross book--yikes, people in Cambodia actually eat tarantulas!), and finally a book with a few fun recipes with the history of certain foods included.

Today, we made all kinds of fun characters out of eggs...


Mullin learned how to make hard-boiled eggs, and he really did do a lot of these eggs himself. I just wasn't ready for him to chop any fingers off using a sharp knife to cut carrots. We actually turned this whole project into a wonderful Sunday lunch that consisted of eggs, cheese, couscous, lettuce, tomato, chives, carrots, and a fruit bowl. Creating all of the eggs with Mullin was really fun!!

We made a mama hen with her baby chicks. Aren't they adorable?

Some toadstools, a rabbit, and a mouse. You know what's missing, right? A giant gnome as the centerpiece!!! Oh well, I don't have one...yet. Still looking for the PERFECT one.

Toddler Math

Pin It Now!

A few days ago I mentioned in passing that I needed to make banana bread with our over ripe bananas, but I also said that I didn't know if I had enough of them. Shiloh wanted to know how many we needed, so I checked the recipe. We needed 4--I only had 2.

In her cute little voice, she said, "Mommy, we can just cut them in half, then we will have 4."

Call me crazy, but I was a bit shocked that my 3 yr. old could do fractions in her head. On the other hand though, she didn't get the fact that we needed 4 whole bananas. Anyway, we made 1/2 a recipe, and she was happy!!!

Shiloh's First Dental Exam

Pin It Now! I told Shiloh this morning that her teeth were going to shine like princess teeth after the dentist cleaned and brushed them, to which she replied, "Mommy, princesses don't have to brush their teeth, they're just like that."

Cori was so sweet and gentle and made great princess conversation with Shiloh. Afterward, she gave Shiloh a pink and purple Belle toothbrush.

Not scared, one bit! She did a fantastic job. Plus she watched Mommy get her teeth cleaned first.

Both Cori and the dentist asked if Shiloh sucked her thumb--she has the kind of overbite they see in thumb sucking children. Shiloh does not suck her thumb, it is just the way her teeth came in. She probably inherited the overbite from me. So.... all 3 of my kids will end up with braces sooner or later. :(

Yea, no cavities! What a beautiful, princess smile!!

Easter Sunday

Pin It Now! Mark led worship for the sunrise service, so he wasn't here for a family picture. My cute kiddos by our beautiful Yellow Bells.

Still trying to get that perfect picture, but ya know...

I interrupted band practice when we arrived for the 9am service and snagged Mark for a quick family pose--thanks Staci!!

***If I were famous and this pic ended up on some trashy magazine, I am sure there'd be a circle drawn around my middle and the words, BABY BUMP, inscribed. Yes, it is a baby bump, but not b/c there's one in there. It's just the souvenir my 3 babies left for me to keep forever. I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings by getting rid of it now would I? ;) Okay, really, I am working on it, but M&Ms just keep magically appearing in my closet.