What a Bubblelicious Day!

It all started as one mommy's dream. To find a No-Spill Bubble Tumbler with three bubble wands. You would think this to be an easy mommy task...but alas, after much searching the mommy felt great despair. She feared she would never see such a product beyond the neighbors driveway. Until she went--on a whim--to that mecca known as Target. And there, the mommy triumphed in her quest and in her home there is much rejoicing. (And the mommy has successfully checked another item off the Summer To Do List while not spilling bubble juice everywhere.)

And the loyal subjects of the kingdom rejoiced with their mommy.

And they blew bubbles.

Tips on Tuesday: Cake Wrecks--because a Laugh a Day keeps the Doctor Away!

Let me begin with a little explaination. I usually try to 'tip' you with great ideas to save money, time, lifestyle ideas, etc. I've been saving this post for months--just waiting for the right moment to share. I wanted a day when we all need a really good belly laugh. I think today is that belly-laughing day. Before reading farther, please grab a tissue or two...once you see and read this post, I hope you'll be laughing so hard you'll be crying. I cry (from belly laughing) everytime I visit the following site. I'm reading backwards to the beginning. I consider it a theraputical website.

Enjoy!

All of the following photos and most of the captions/quips are from a fantastic, award winning website. Check it out at www.cakewrecks.com.

The following is the description of their website:

What is a Cake Wreck?

A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.

Would you like to see the cake that inspired it all?? I'm sure you've seen this one before...

Best Wishes Suzanne--and underneath that, We will Miss You

I think the decorator totally understood what was being asked of her.

Welcome Baby in Pink (see--the decorators are following instructions to the last letter...maybe white icing wasn't the look the cake buyer was going for?)

Miss Jen, CakeWrecks owner, has a LOT to say about this cake. One of my favorite points is to notice that the poor gal has been spanked so hard that she's now flying several feet off of the ground. But this cake is truly ok for the office because they did put the big red "DON'T" symbol on it. Check out the whole post here.

In case you weren't sure, it's a foot. With possible toenail fungus. I'm not sure what the lumpy look is--perhaps it's a genetic condition? Keep in mind--this is a real cake and people were supposed to eat it. Bon Appetite!

Some cakes speak for themselves.


Here's the real mascot:

Here's the cup cake version:

I see how they are VERY much the same logo. No changes at all.

I implore you to read the whole Good Luck in China cake post. I'm telling you it's a MUST read for people everywhere. (You've got tissues at the ready, correct??)

At first, I thought the wreckage was the fireman that looks like a girl. But that's not the main commentary. Check out the hose that man/girl/person is holding. Nope, you're not the only one with your mind in the gutter. Just go read the post. I'm telling you it's worth it!!!!

So we eat the bride at the reception? I'm creeped out on so many levels.

Wonder what the card said?

Supposed to say, "Happy Fatherhood Shawn & Glenn"

Instead we have the ever popular new celebration, "Happy Falker Satherhood"

Must watch the video on this post. Again, have tissues at the ready. Still laughing here!

I found the whole site through a Facebook Connection---but found out when I went to visit that Jen and the Cake Wreck Crew are fellow BlogHer members. They are currently a Top 5 finalist for "Funniest Blog 2009". Winners announced the end of the month--hope they get it.

Toothless Joe

Nathan lost Tooth #3 this week. My mom wants to point out that I missed blogging the loss of Tooth 1 and Tooth 2 this winter. He lost both 1 & 2 in the same weekend at the start of February. However, it was so traumatic for him that I was only able to get one photo at the time and he looks scared to death. You'd think I had beat the tooth out of him instead of him losing it on his own.

It looks like those first teeth prepared him...sort of...for more enamel soldiers to fall. We knew one of his top teeth was loose, but he wouldn't let us touch it. Figured it would eventually come out. I'd love to say I was a well-prepared mommy who thought this out in advance---because it's brilliant---but, I just gave him the Starburst he asked for after dinner. (Mental note: Starburst stick to loose teeth and aid in their removal.) He was eating his candy and all of a sudden, he hands me a tooth and says, "Look mom, I just lost a tooth."

We almost had a tooth fairy malfunction, but thankfully he doesn't remember to check without prompting. Whew! We don't lie to our kids about fictional characters, but this child is determined to believe in fairy tales. I try to let it go.

Here is Mr. Smiles with his top tooth (top right as we face him) missing. Yes, I know it's hard to see, we were having trouble getting a picture of it. It's easy to spot when you are talking to him. And with his Tooth Fairy money, he had a happy time at the store buying some Bakugan cards.

Tips on Tuesday: Celebrating America and The Star Spangled Banner--Our National Anthem

I had a few requests for more information after my first Celebrating America post. My plan was to get this written and posted on the Fourth of July...but if you saw the post about how we spent our holiday, you'll understand why this is a little late.


Below is information regarding our National Anthem. I know a lot of people would lobby to abandon this for another song, but when you know the meaning behind the lyrics, I don't know if you would want to change anything.


Some things you might not know about the National Anthem. It was written by Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Baltimore, wrote this while being held captive on a British ship. It was during the War of 1812, when Key went to attempt to negotiate the release of American prisoners. While aboard the ship, he heard about the plans to attack Baltimore and was kept as a prisoner until after the attack.


Here is the story as I have heard it. I found this reprint here. The author is unknown, but they credit a WHO Radio broadcast from 2003. I saw a video made of this exact wording back in 1995, so I know the origins precede the radio broadcast. I apologize that I haven't found the author to credit. The photos below are the actual flag that flew over Fort McHenry. After I heard the story behind the song, I no longer wish to change the song. It speaks to the heart of the American spirit.


The Story behind The Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key was a lawyer in Baltimore. The colonies were engaged in vicious conflict with the mother country, Britain. Because of this conflict (and the protractiveness of it), they had accumulated prisoners on both sides. The American colonies had prisoners and the British had prisoners. And the American Government initiated a move. They went to the British and said let us negotiate for the release of these prisoners. They said, “We want to send a man out to discuss this with you.” They were holding the American prisoners in boats about a thousand yards offshore. And they said, “We want to send a man by the name of Francis Scott Key. He will come out and negotiate to see if we can make a mutual exchange.”

On the appointed day, in a rowboat, he went out to this boat and he negotiated with the British Officials. And they reached a conclusion that men could be exchanged on a one-for-one basis. Francis Scott Key, Jubilant with the fact that he'd been successful, went down below in the boats and what he'd found was a cargo hold full of humanity. Men.

And he said, "Men, I've got news for you tonight, you're free!" He said, "Tonight I have negotiated successfully your return to the colonies." He said, "You'll be taken out of this boat, out of this filth, out of your chains.” As he went back up on board to arrange for their passage to the shore, the admiral came and he said, “We have a slight problem.” He said, “We will still honor our commitment to release these men, but it'll be merely academic after tonight. It won't matter.”

Francis Scott Key said, "What do you mean?" He said, "Well Mr. Key, tonight, we have laid an ultimatum upon the colonies. Your people will either capitulate and lay down the colors of that flag that you think so much of, or -- you see that fort right over there -- Fort Henry?" He said, "We're going to remove it from the face of the earth."

[Key] said, "How are you going to do that?"
[The admiral] said, "If you will, scan the horizon of the sea."
As [Key] looked, he could see hundreds of little dots.
And [The admiral] said, “That's the entire British war fleet.” He said, “All of the gun power; all of the armament is being called upon to demolish that fort. [The fleet] will be here within striking distance in a matter of about two and a half hours.” He said, “The war is over; these men would be free anyway.”
[Key] said, "You can't shell that fort!" He said, “That's a large fort.” He said, “It's full of women and children.” He said, “It's predominantly not a military fort.”
[The Admiral] said, "Don't worry about it. They said we've left them a 'way out'"
[Key] said, "What's that?"
[The Admiral] said, "Do you see that flag way up there on the rampart?" He said, "We have told them that if they will lower that flag, the shelling will stop immediately...and we'll know that they've surrendered...and you'll now be under British rule.”

Francis Scott Key went down below and told the men what was about to happen. And they said, "How many ships?", and he said, "Hundreds." The ships got closer. Francis Scott Key went back up on top and he said, "Men, I'll shout down to you what's going on as we watch." As twilight began to fall…and as the hays hung over the oceans as it does at sunset, suddenly the British war fleet unleashed.

Bam!

He said, "The sounds were deafening." He said, "There were so many guns, there were no reliefs." He said, "It was absolutely impossible to talk or hear." He said, "Suddenly, the sky, although dark, was suddenly lit." And he says from down below, all he could hear, the men, the prisoners saying was, "Tell us where the flag is. What have they done with the flag? Is the flag still flying over the rampart? Tell us!"

One hour. Two hours. Three hours into the shelling. Every time the bomb would explode and it would be close to the flag, they could see the flag in the illuminated red glare of that bomb, and Francis Scott Key would report down to the men below, "It's still up! It's not down!”

The admiral came, and he said, "Your people are insane." He said, "What's the matter with them?" He said, "Don't they understand this is an impossible situation?"

Francis Scott Key said he remembered what George Washington had said. He said, "The thing that sets the American Christian apart from all other people in the world is he will die on his feet before he'll live on his knees.”

The Admiral said, “We have now instructed all of the guns to focus on the rampart to take that flag down.” He said, “We don't understand something. Our reconnaissance tells us that that flag has been hit directly...again...and again...and again, and yet it's still flying. We don't understand that.” “But”, he said; “now we're about to bring every gun, for the next three hours, to bear on that point.”

Francis Scott Key said the barrage was unmerciful. All that he could hear...was the men down below...praying. The prayer: "God keep that flag flying...where we last saw it."

Sunrise came. [Key] said there was a heavy mist hanging over the land, but the rampart was tall enough...there stood the flag...completely nondescript...in shreds. The flagpole itself was at a crazy angle. But the flag was still at the top. Francis Scott Key (went aboard and) immediately went into Fort Henry to see what had happened. And what he'd found had happened was that that flagpole and that flag had suffered repetitious direct hits...and when it had fallen...that men, fathers...who knew what it meant for that flag to be on the ground...although knowing that all of the British guns were trained on it, walked over and held it up...humanly...until they died. Their bodies were removed and others took their place.

Francis Scott Key said what held that flagpole in place at that unusual angle...were patriots' bodies.



The Star Spangled Banner
O! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?


On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.


And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.


O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

God Bless America!

What we did for the Fourth...

Our personal "Field of Dreams"...the former garden plot, overrun by herbs like mint and chives. We've fought the herbs for two years. Now we're taking this space back.

The boxes dreams are made of. We did (thankfully) buy the 'ready to assemble' kit instead of the kit where you cut everything yourself. The kit comes with all the wood precut and ready to go. (Don't let that statement fool you, every board has to have starter holes drilled for the screws, nuts & bolts, brackets, etc.

Of course it was raining on Friday and Saturday! Sean & my dad put tarps on the deck to keep the rain from dripping onto them. Then they started assembly on the tower under the deck.

Dad worked between showers and flattened a spot to put the tower.

Once the tower was in place, they built the monkey bar section and then the swingset section.

Sunday was a LOT warmer and sunnier. We finished the safety pieces on the tower and attached both monkey bars and swings. We were also trying to level out the dirt and scrape it flat. Once that was done, Sean & dad treated for ants, treated the dirt against weeds, put down a weed stop, then they covered with sand. It happened to be on sale this weekend at the hardware store, so we ended up putting in 3/4 ton fo sand.

Then we hung the components and tested what we could.

And.....Tah Dah! We have a swingset!

Here the kids are enjoying the fruit of Poppa & Daddy's labors. They played out there until bedtime with a neighbor and they spent the afternoon playing again today.

Birthday Bonanza Part 3

Here's the birthday everyone has been waiting for....Miss Rebekah has turned 3. She's growing up so fast! She chose a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday cake. She and I couldn't decide if we wanted Pink or Purple frosting--so the nice cake lady suggested using both. What a great idea!! And, I'm sure you notice how nicely her cake matches her birthday dress.

Rebekah & her BFF (Best Friend Forever). They are both blowing the Mickey Mouse blowers. They had a great time playing and eating and hanging out. Her BFF is only two months older than Rebekah and is our neighbor. It's so nice to have a friend so close!

Below are some of the many gifts she received. Now, I must tell you that Andrew was helping by taking photos during the early part of her party. He is a very artistic (aka blurry) photographer when there is so much going on. He also thinks movies are more fun because, "Mom, you can make photos out of the movie frames." While it's true that I can, my camera is only so good and most of the frames are not clean enough for a photo. So....if you gave a gift and don't see it represented below, the photo might be too 'artistic' to use online. I'll trim them down for the scrapbook.

This Princess Doll Bed came all the way from Hawaii. My folks found it at a big rummage sale and discovered it comes apart and lays flat. They managed to pack it into their suitcase and bring it home with them. Rebekah uses it every day.

Here are more gifts being opened. She got a Princess pillow from her BFF and she sleeps with it every night. She got fairy wings and Poppa made her a birdhouse out of recycled wood from the hurricane. Ever since she saw the episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse where Goofy builds a birdie house for Baby Red Bird and his Mommy, she can only talk about Poppa helping her make a bird house. So this is officially the birdie house for Baby Red Bird and his Mommy.

Sean's mom (not knowing the party theme) sent a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse puzzle and a Winnie the Pooh puzzle. Rebekah loves both puzzles. We were worried that she might not be able to do them since they are each 25 pieces. What were we worried about?? After a couple times with help, she can now do the puzzles, "All by my-self!"

Rebekah, you stole our hearts from the moment we saw you. You've grown so big and yet you will be my baby forever. I love you!

Birth...

First birthday...couldn't even walk...

Second birthday...in a ballerina or princess gown...

Look how big you are today!

Happy Independence Day!

Have a safe and happy fourth of July.

And remember to thank our active duty military personnel and our veterans for keeping us in a land that is free!

Birthday Bonanza Parts 1 & 2

What can I say?? June is quite a busy month around here. In the month of June, Sean, Rebekah & I all have birthdays---my father in law has a birthday---and Sean & I celebrate our anniversary. Top that off with Father's Day and we find ourselves doing a lot of eating out and gift buying.

Sean's birthday was low-key, which is how he likes it. He wasn't sure he would be able to sneak away from the office to have lunch with us so we took the kids to McD for some playplace time to burn energy. (That week was so hot you couldn't be outside with the heat index.) He ended up meeting us at McD for a really super lunch. (Sorry, Dad---but the kids loved it!) Then we made him go to dinner with us since his original suggestion for a great gift would be us going to dinner and he'd do whatever he wanted home alone. We put the big old nope on that and drug him to dinner. Here's a photo of gifts at dinner.

My birthday was one with a somewhat significant number attached to it. I guess I figure the Bible says in Genesis 6 that man should live to be 120 years on the earth. So if we're supposed to live to 120, then 60 is only the halfway point and you can't really be over the hill until 61. Besides, most senior discounts kick in by then so you can rejoice to be on the downward side.

I think several friends and my sister wanted to make a big deal over this, but I was pretty happy with nothing other than time with my family. We went to dinner (steaks--yum, yum) and had presents and cake at my folks' house. I got some jewelry, a CM album from my sister the Creative Memories consultant and my sister also wrote 40 Reasons why she loves me as well as sending up an entire bag of canned Chicken & Dumplings. (Don't knock it until you try it. I don't have a recipe to make chicken & dumplings, so I get canned sent up from the south when the opportunity arises.)

Here's a bouquet that arrived from a dear friend of mine. Rebekah was convinced that since it had a balloon, it could only be for her birthday party. Sorry--this one's mine! I got a few pictures of some of the flowers before they got too wilted. This beautiful bouquet stayed nice for not quite two weeks. I couldn't believe how long these flowers lasted. What a wonderful surprise!

Hope you enjoyed Sean & my birthdays. I know we did! I'll get Rebekah's birthday posted soon. It takes a little more time with about a hundred photos and videos of the day to sort through.

Tips on Tuesday: Celebrating America

How do you view the 4th of July? Is it just a day to be off work and get things done around the house? Or do you take time to remember why we celebrate? Do your children understand the reason we celebrate the 4th? Are we taking time to instill in our children an understanding of where our country came from and why we celebrate? We want to teach our children to respect our country and to understand the meaning of our Anthem and Pledge.

I hope you'll consider ways to celebrate America with your family. It doesn't have to be related to the Fourth of July, but if you're looking for a place to start, it's a great time!

Some of the ways we celebrate this great country is by teaching our children a few simple things. First off, I was appalled to learn that (depending on which article you read) 60-70% of American citizens do not know the first verse to the Star Spangled Banner. Even less know there are more verses that we don't traditionally sing. We've taken it upon ourselves to teach our children the words to the National Anthem. We're proud of the anthem and what it means. We've learned the meaning behind the verses and share that with our children.

Second, we teach our children the Pledge of Allegiance. They still teach it in school, but my kids went to Kindergarten already knowing the words. They are important to me and I want my children to understand their importance. (And I'm so happy to report that in our school, after they say the pledge, they sing a patriotic song every day. I know that's not in every school, but I'm happy to know my children learned simple and complex songs at school. Everything from Yankee Doodle to God Bless America.)

Third, we work hard to teach our children how to respect our country. My boys (and girl) know that your hat will come OFF YOUR HEAD during the Pledge or National Anthem. (Same is true in churches, but that's a whole other story...) We are working to teach our children to stand out of respect when the colors are presented, during the Pledge and Anthem. We teach them to respect the flag and simple rules about not allowing the flag to touch the ground. We fly our flag proudly and explain why.

We also take time to explain to our children the sacrifice made by the servicemen and women who have been in the armed forces. Sean grew up as an Air Force brat and my father was in the Air Force during Vietnam. I want my children to know that families make sacrifices to serve our country.

There are some simple (and fun) things you can do that can be used as teaching moments. I find my children are a lot more receptive to teaching when it's done in fun. We have taken our children to parades and told them a little about the floats regarding the Armed Forces and even the service people (firemen, police, etc.) that are in the parade. Don't get me wrong, we focus on the fun of the parade and getting candy--but there are some great teachable moments.

We have made flag cakes before. It is very difficult to get 13 stripes and exactly 50 'stars' on a cake. We usually don't have the right amount, but we discuss the 13 stripes for the original 13 colonies. There is no official reasoning set for the colors, but George Washington had suggested red for England, blue for the sky and white for liberty. Other interpretations are red for the blood shed in battle to free our country and white for liberty/purity and blue for justice and freedom. If you've never made a flag cake, you bake a 9x13 cake (usually white, but we're a chocolate family). Frost with cool whip and use blueberries for the 'stars' and sliced strawberries to make the seven red stripes.

You can go a step farther and sing Happy Birthday to America before cutting and eating your cake.

There are lots of fun crafts, color sheets and projects available to download and print for free. Just Google "Fourth of July Crafts for Kids" or "Celebrating Independence Day". Both gave me terrific results.

And if you'd ever like to read all four verses to the Star Spangled Banner, click here.

Tips on Tuesday: Be the Best Parent You Can Be

I know there's a love/hate relationship we Americans have with one particular family. Either you love Jon & Kate or you don't. There doesn't seem to be middle ground. For those of you--like me--who have watched their show forever, I'm saddened by the breakup of their marriage.

It points out the one concern I've felt for them for years. They always talk about how they put their kids first.

Here's my point. When you put your kids first in your marriage, it forces your marriage (and your spouse) to take a backseat to the children. I've heard it time and time again from so many people whom I respect and from a lot of sources. To be the best parent you can be--love your spouse. To be the best example for your children--love your spouse. The best example any dad or mom can set is to love their wife/husband with their whole heart.

Our pastor reminded us on Father's Day that you were with your spouse before your children. When the kids are grown and gone, you will be back with your spouse. You have to continue to cultivate that relationship throughout all the years of your marriage. I believe that with my whole heart. Keep your marriage the priority so your kids know that their future spouse should come first when they get married, too.

Do your kids a favor--go out on a date with your spouse...or buy a little gift for them...or take time to share your day with each other--even if it means telling the kids to shush for a little bit. Show your children how important your spouse and your marriage is to you. By giving them a clear message of your love for each other, you provide the best security for their hearts and minds.

Sean--I love you more today than I did 18 years ago when we said, "I do."

Happy Father's Day!

I'm blessed, blessed, blessed!

• I'm blessed beyond belief to have a Dad who has always been there to support me, help me and cheer me on.
• I'm blessed to have not one, but TWO awesome father-in-laws who love me for who I am. (And that ain't always a pretty thing!)
• I'm blessed to have a husband who is an awesome Daddy to his kiddos (and often an awesome 'daddy' to the neighbor kids or kids at school who aren't as blessed as we are).
• My kids are blessed to know their Daddy, their two Poppas and their Granddaddy and they love spending time with them.
• Most of all, we are blessed to have a Heavenly Father who loves us and I'm happy to know that my entire family are princes and princesses because our daddy is the King of Kings.

Happy Father's Day, 2009!

Andrew's School Awards Night

I somehow missed posting about the End of Year Awards Night at Andrew's school. It was very nice and he was given a certificate of achievement for his activities (he tied for the most activities with another kid on his team) and a second certificate for maintaining a 4.0 GPA this year--making him a Summa Cum Laude. All 4.0 students are considered Summa Cum Laude.

I tried to get him to smile before we started, but he didn't see me--so he looks a little 'blank'. Then I caught him lining up to get his certificates.

These pictures are receiving the certificate (from his Reading teacher) and the second one is a handshake from the principal. She's a fantastic gal and really loves the kids and puts them first.

We're very proud of him and all that he accomplished in his first year of middle school. He had an awesome year both academically and personally.

Road Trip!

I had a fantastic opportunity to go on a road trip with my friend (and author) Cheryl St.John and author Mary Connealy. I hadn't met Mary before, but she's a totally fun gal! We went to a bookstore where Cheryl & Mary had a signing with Julie Miller and Bobbi Smith.

In this picture are Julie, Mary, Cheryl & Bobbi (front row). Back row is Connie--my mentor and friend from www.onceuponaromance.net and Tina from the bookstore. I always have fun since I rarely get to talk to Connie face to face. Since I review a lot of books for the site, I always enjoy time together. Tina is a real crack-up and just shoots of little one liners--we were rolling at some of her antics.

After the signing, we went to "lupper" (lunch/supper---Tina's word) at Olive Garden. Yum, Yum! In this picture is Trudy (another reviewer), Connie, Myself, Julie, Bobbi, Mary, Cheryl, Tina.

It was a fantastically fun day and we had a great time.

Tips on Tuesday: Our Judeo-Christian Nation Video

Awesome video.

Congressman Forbes asks the questions "Did America ever consider itself a Judeo-Christian nation?" and "If America was once a Judeo-Christian nation, when did it cease to be?" on the floor of the US House.

Baby, Oh Baby--I've got a Bicycle Baby

Baby, oh Baby--my baby's got a bicycle!

We found a little pink and purple bike at a garage sale at a price so awesome we had to buy it! Ever since we've gotten the bike, she wants to go ride it every day.



Sean & I trail along behind her as she careens down the sidewalk. On days when I need a break, Sean gets his exercise being her bicycle shadow.


I think she loves her new bike!

Tips on Tuesday: Summer Reading

Do you remember the Summer Reading Club when you were a kid? I remember reading all summer long to earn a medal from the March of Dimes (read-a-thon they no longer do) and a coupon for a pan pizza at Pizza Hut.


Well, times have changed. If you know how to play the game, your children can get a plethora of free stuff just for reading books this summer. Check with your local library for details, but start soon--most libraries and other reading clubs for children run from June 1-July 31. I've put all the offers I've found below. Enjoy!




Half-Price Books is running a program from June 1--July 31. The "Feed your Brain" program requires kids to read a minimum of 15 minutes per day for five out of seven days. Take the completed log form into Half Price Books and receive a $3 shopping card. You can turn in one log per child per week throughout the promotion.





Borders has a Kids Reading Challenge that is not free, but offers a 50% (or more) discount on select items. Ages 12 & Under can read 8 books, put them on the log and turn in at your local Borders store for select items at a big discount. In the fine print, the selected items are all $4.99. Might not be totally free, but a few of them look well worth the $4.99. And since the eight book requirement isn't any hardship since we're reading daily, we are going to do this one. This program goes through August 31, so you have a little additional time.




Barnes and Noble has a Summer Reading program where you read 8 books and earn a free book. This program goes through September 7. Just be aware that this one requires the most work--which is very minimal. After downloading and printing the Summer Reading Journal, you write down your favorite part of each story.


The B&N offer is limited to school aged children in grades 1-6.


If you hear of any other reading programs, let me know. My kids love to cash in on their summer reading. And studies show that just 15 minutes a day of reading helps children retain much of what they learned over the past school year. It also helps their reading skills to improve and encourages a life-long love of reading.

Sprinklers, Spraygrounds and Sunshine--Oh My!

Rounding out Granddaddy's trip to see us, the kids ran through the sprinklers one day and we took them to the local sprayground the next day.

For those who don't know what a sprayground is--I'm beginning to think it's a Midwestern thing. We create playgrounds that are water toys and sprayers. The water is recycled so it's not such a huge waste and rainwater (and snow melt) is part of the water used for the sprayground. There's a button to push to start the waterworks and then it typically runs on a 15-20 minute cycle. When the pumps kick off, hit the button and go again. (Andrew is pushing the button to start the water in the photo below.)

The first water-oriented day was late afternoon on a Sunday. The kids were chomping at the bit to get their swimsuits on and get wet. They wore us down and we agreed to let them run through the sprinklers. Rebekah didn't want her swimsuit and promised to stay out of the water and stay dry.

You are probably amazed that I am so gullible that I took her word at face value. I think Sean knew better, but let me live in my delusional world where children do NOT run around in the grass soaking their brand new dress that Mommy has saved since her birth for her to be able to wear. I'm sure it was purely accidental that I came out to get pictures of this...

She was watching herself 'dancy, dancy, dance' in the reflection on the front door. Then she turned around to conduct the music she hears in her head.

Here are the boys running and playing in the sprinklers. These first two photos are my current 'favorites of summer'. I'm always amazed and floored when my children play with such total abandon. Then he is distracted by figuring out the mechanics of the sprinkler system. His smile with a background of daisies--how can you not fall in love with him?

Andrew is running through the sprinklers--but the photo makes it look like he's marching.

Here the three kiddos are checking out the grass stuck to Andrew's foot.


The next day we decided to head to the Sprayground. We went late in the afternoon and had a really great time. The grown ups got to relax, most of the time, while the kids ran and had fun. First are a couple of rare moments when the three kids were together in one photo at the sprayground.

Here's Rebekah waiting for the sprayers to come up--and running through the water when they turned on. She loves this area of the sprayground because it only gets her legs wet. Her face stays dry.

Musical Beds

Last week found us playing a new sort of a game at our house. We decided the new family game is Musical Beds. This is when nobody is really sleeping well, but trying to find a place to collapse for a few more hours of sleep.


One particularly bad night, Sean fell asleep on the couch while I went to bed in our bed. At this point, all children were in their regularly scheduled beds. In the night, Sean woke up and came to bed. Later on, Andrew was having trouble sleeping and moved into our room on the floor. His settling into our room woke me enough that I decided to sleep in the spare bed in Rebekah's room. Eventually, Andrew took my spot in my own bed.

At 6:00 am, Rebekah woke up and wanted to sleep with me. I put her in the twin bed with me and she fell back asleep pretty quickly. By the time she fell asleep, I was wide awake and decided to just get up and have a day. (Good thing I got up--you'll notice she is sleeping rather soundly on MY pillow. She's the biggest bed hog I've ever tried to sleep with!)



At some point, Nathan stumbled out of the Nathan Cave and wanted to try to sleep more. Unbeknownst to me, he climbed into the bed with Rebekah and tried to sleep. When he came out of his room and disappeared, I thought he was in the bathroom. After a long absence, I decided to go looking for him.



This is what I found...isn't it precious? Shortly after this, he managed to get back OUT of the bed without waking his sister. She got another half hour of sleep.



I'll admit it--after such a lousy night of sleep, I did take an afternoon nap. And I'm proud of my napping status.

Tips on Tuesday: Summer To Do List

It's back....

For those of you who read through this site often, you may recognize this chart. It all started last summer when I read about this idea on a friend's blog. I took it and ran with it thinking it would be a little something fun for the summer.

Not only was it great summer fun, but we ended up doing a Fall version, a Winter/Spring version and now we're back with Summer 2009.

What is this little something? It's a Summer Fun Chart/Checklist! As a family, we make a list of all the things we want to accomplish over the summer. (Mom gets final veto power and can add whatever she wants.) I make sure reading and naps make every list. Hooray!

This summer brings back many of our favorites--I think the Children's Museum makes every list. We carried over Chuck E. Cheese from the Winter list and Movie Night is back. However, I realized after we posted the chart that we still managed to leave important things off. We forgot the Zoo (big oops there), Catching Lightning Bugs (what summer is complete without that) and going to a local Baseball game. Trust me, we'll get those three done---even if they aren't on the checklist. We might even write them in and check them off as we do them.

Keep in mind that it doesn't have to be expensive to add to the list. Park, Library, Sprinklers, Bubbles, Game Night, Playdough--it's all free and cheap fun. The places we have memberships to make the list each quarter to remind us to use the passes we paid for.

We've already crossed off several things on the list. We check each week to see what we're trying to work into the following week. Then at the end of summer when school is starting, we know we had lots of fun and I don't hear the kids saying, "We never got to do anything this summer."

***Hint from Robyn***

For things like Reading, Naps, Park, etc that you want to do repeatedly throughout the summer, I have a great tip. I use different colored markers and each week or every other week I'll add a colored square just inside the check off square. As the summer goes by, you get a rainbow of squares and amazingly enough, it never quite gets full so there's always room to do just a little bit more of that. I fill it in completely a couple of days before I change the chart for the next season.

Sesame Street Presents...The Body

It's true--we forced Andrew to be in the Elmo photo with us. We went to the Sesame Street exhibit at the Children's Museum. We happened to be there the day Elmo was doing Meet & Greets. After I stood in the line for almost 40 minutes, I had made up my mind that a family picture was what we were having. Stand here and smile or I'll ground you for life. (And have a nice day--Love, Mom.)

Wouldn't you know it---after I wait in the MASSIVE line (for the family & Elmo photo) and they tell me I might not be close enough to make it through in the 30 minute 'Elmo window of opportunity' and blah, blah, blah---translated as: Line is too long, you'll never get a picture, but we'll 'try' for you. We did make it for the family photo and I was happy.

Then, we're wandering by for the end of the 2nd Elmo photo op and with about 5 minutes left, there's only 6 people in line. We hop in the line and one other person got in behind us, then they closed the line. No more Elmo photos. So we were able to get one of Sean & Rebekah. She's fine with a human barrier between her and the character. Please, do NOT put the girl where she could be touching the Elmo. Large crying jag will ensue.


The boys had fun with parts of the exhibit (the pooping expo was a big hit) but soon went off to play with the huge ball exhibit. Grands was with us so he followed the boys while Sean & I spent more time with Rebekah at Sesame Street.

Above is Rebekah doing the motion station. She's pedaling and jumping (and kicking, running, etc). When she jumps, it makes Grover fly into the sky.


Here's Ernie's Rub A Dub Tub. You learn all about Soap and washing hands/body, Toothpaste and brushing teeth and a Brush and Comb teaching about combing your hair.

In Elmo's World, you used the magnetic pieces to dress Elmo for the weather or for the activities he was going to do. Dorothy the goldfish was in her bowl and there was a shoe to practice tying laces.

One more fun Sesame Street activity. There was a little obstacle course and this wall says Crash. When you run through it it says Bam. I laughed so hard I almost cried.

As a final act of fun, we bought tickets to ride the carousel. First picture is Andrew teasing me, then Nathan in the red shirt (Andrew at the far right). Then Sean with Rebekah.

Sean was the 'designated safety guardian' for Rebekah. Check out his relaxed posture! I yelled at him to stand up and guard the baby.