Summer Bucket List: Take One!

Am I going to do a Summer Bucket List post everyday?

Probably not! But today was our first day and I'm all excited!

I went out on a limb and bought an actual bucket for our Bucket List at Target's Dollar Spot. Then I wrote down all the items on pieces of construction paper and folded them up.

We let Kat do the first draw! This turned John into a weepy mess (he plays the tortured Middle Child well). This, in turn, caused Kat to turn into a weepy mess. So with sniffles, wails and snot rivers...the job somehow got done!

And First out was SCAVENGER HUNT!

We loaded snacks, drinks and Kat into the wagon and hit the pavement.

Louie's Challenge was to find as many things with the letter "L" as he could.

John's Challenge was to fine as many yellow things as he could.

Kat's Challenge was to be cute and give Mom a work out hauling the wagon around the block.

John kept simple tally marks on his sheet of paper and found 23 yellow things: dandelions, fire hydrant, hose, three types of flowers, a bottle cap, spray paint on the street, road sign...to name a few.

Louie wrote his list out and found 20 "L" things: light pole, leaf, littering (not us! he found a wrapper on the ground), license plate, lawn, lines, lace...to name a few.

This is an activity that I'll throw back into the bucket in a week or so and we can look for different letters & colors.

Sum-Mah (pronounced summer) Kick Off!

My boys final day of school was Friday (both grade school & pre-school). They were all excited to get on with Summer Vacation, but I just couldn't put my heart into it until yesterday. Saturday was a normal day for us...since they wouldn't have been at school anyway. I know. Mom's a Party Pooper.

So yesterday I suggested we do some Putt Putt! It's on our Summer Bucket List. It's also one of the items on my 101 in 1001 Challenge. John has spent Saturday night with my folks so Sunday we were just a family of four (in other words...equal
parent / kid ratio). YAY!

One of our local malls has an indoor putt putt course. And it's Black Light!!! Extra fun points for Me. Gotta make up for my former lack of enthusiasm.

We even put Kat in argyle for her first time golfing!

I've got to stop feeding this kid radio-active foods!

I was impressed with Louie's game. We've never taken him before, and most holes he could do in four shots. Kat was awesome at throwing the ball, giggling and twirling around in a psychedelic frenzy. All in all...I'd call it a success!

To top Sunday night off we let the boys "camp" in the living room.

Two cute boys cuddled up in their sleeping bags on the floor. That's what you'd think, isn't it?

Not for us! We took Living Room camping to a new level!

And scooted the love seat across the room next to the couch. It made a huge (and lopsided) bed! The boys loved it and whispered themselves to sleep.

Ahhhhh...summer...

Linking Up HERE!

Little Wonders' Days

Guest Blogger!

Happy Sunday, Everybody!

Today I'm doing a GUEST POST over at delicateConstruction! It's my first time guest posting anywhere...so head over there and show me (and delicateConstruction) some LOVE!

 Michelle has an AWESOME blog with a TON of fantastic crafty & kid friendly ideas! If you already follow her, reach around and pat yourself on the back. If not...what are you waiting for?!?

Things I love:

Pennant Wreath

80's Baby

Peacock Inspired Mobile

And my list goes on and on...and on! So when you're done reading my fab. guest post, hang out awhile and get inspired! Michelle also hosts some great Linky Parties:

And a New One!

A Modern Day Love Story...

...Otherwise Known As...

Kat {Hearts} Princess Pink Piggie

It all started on a Sunny Thursday Afternoon. Mommy (me) piled the kids into the Swagger Wagon (really...it's a Kia, but I like to call it my Swagger Wagon. don't judge me.) and headed South to our FAV consignment shop. 

It's our FAV because they opened up a Dollar Store version right across the street from the main shop for overstocked items. LOVE! Everything is one dollar. Swimsuits, Jeans, Toys...WHATEVER. Books for 50 cents. Love, Love, LOVE!

As I searched for some summer clothes, Louie read some books to the Littles. After awhile, Kat decided to follow me around.

Then It Happened!

We strolled past the toy section. There sat Princess Pink Piggie. Their eyes met and locked. The world disappeared. All that was left was a girl and a large stuffed pig. My girl locked onto that thing so strongly I was reminded of  the "imprinting" from the Twilight series (yep. I'm a Twilight nerd.). 

I'm glad it was only a dollar. I'm also glad that it seemed fairly clean. The idea of buying a used stuffed animal is less than appealing to me. But she had her claws wrapped around that thing so tightly, there was NO coming between them.

Here they are saying their "Good-byes" as Princess Pink Piggie was heading to the washing machine and Kat was heading for a Lysol Spray Down.

One final lop-sided glance before shutting the lid.

Now that Princess Pink Piggie was clean we had one more obstacle to overcome. VELCRO! The pigs hands & feet (or, rather, hooves?) had velcro patches on them. I'm a fan of velcro on most things. But it's too scratchy for a lovie PLUS it gets easily snagged in my girlie's fine hair. So, it had to go.

A sneaky little minor surgery while Kat slept did the trick!

Reunited in the Morning!

Hmmm...little bit shaggy. I'm debating...cut the bangs or no? What do you think???

Little Girl + Stuffed Pink Pig = PURE JOY!

An Army of Perrys...

This is my LAST Birthday Cake post. Promise! Until Kat turns two in a couple of weeks...

We found a really cheap affordable way to throw Louie a swim party for his friends. A local indoor pool charged us a buck a head. A DOLLAR A KID! Woo hoo! So I had a lot of hungry 8 year old mouths to feed. Eighteen to be exact.

We did pizza and non-caffeine pop...

...and THESE!

Doo Be Doo Be Doo Bah! Perrrrry!

I gotta say. They were pretty cute. And the boys got a huge kick out of them!

Wanna know what's under all that teal frosting?

TWINKIES! I frosted frosted each Twinkie with vanilla frosting. Then I stuck on mini marshmallows and stuck mini chocolate chips onto those. The beak (or bill if you will) is an orange Mike Ike. And the (beaver) tail is a chocolate wafer cookie, cut into thirds.

Side Note: One of Louie's besties (do boys use that phrase???) has some severe food allergies. He isn't able to consume Twinkies so I used two Krispie Treats stuck together to make his Perry body. He also wasn't able to eat the chocolate wafers so I flattened out a Tootsie Roll to use instead. Just as cute. Just as Yummy!

Linking UP Here:

delicateCONSTRUCTION

Marvelously Messy

Singing Three Little Birds

Embellishing Life

Hey, Where's Perry?

Phew! This week has slipped by!

I'd like to say I was busy whipping up a creative frenzy. But I wasn't.

It's been a lazy week. Not much has gotten done...creative OR otherwise! I keep telling myself that I'm just un-winding from Louie's EIGHTH birthday on Sat. and mentally praparing myself for his school buddy party this coming up Sat. It's been working for me! :)

So. What about my title? Where's Perry???

Do any of you watch Phineas & Ferb? With your kids? When your kids are asleep and you're gobbling stream-lining their Easter candy stash?

We DO! I don't like too much TV time and most of the shows that seem to be geared to my pre-tween child make me cringe. But we LOVE us some Phineas & Ferb! And who could say no to making a Perry the Platypus Birthday Cake? Not ME!

I think it turned out pretty cute! All the cousins thought it was hilarious! All the older Aunties & Uncles were like, "What on Earth is that?"

I made two sheet cakes (Funfetti. It's how we roll.) and layered them. The frosting is tinted with Wilton's Teal coloring. Louie was the judge when it came to tinting. The eyes are marshmallows with chocolate chips. If I were to do this again...I would have cut one marshmallow in half to use (the eyes are a bit buggy). Then the beak, feet & hands & tail are craft foam that I eye-balled and cut out.

"He's got a beaver tail and a bill! And the women swoon whenever they hear him say, "GluggGluggGlugg!"".

Here's the Birthday Boy with his favorite Agent P shirt on and his Agent P hat! Funny story...the fedora was my great grandfather's. I've always loved it and kept it. Louie is named after him and he loves his "Pappy in Heaven's" hat!

We do a big cook out for the family and set up in the garage. Louie and I quickly whipped up this sign half an hour before the party started! If you've got a Perry Theme...you need to throw a little Heinz Doofenshmirtz into the mix!

Linking Up Here:

Spunky Junky

Simply Designing

Inspiring Creations

Homemaker in Heels

Fireflies and Jellybeans

Craft Goodies

Self Indulging Post...

Welcome to another Weekend, Everyone!

One more week of school for my boys and then it's on to Summer Fun!

Couple of things to share today!

First...drum roll...I've reached FIFTY Followers! Hooray!

#50 is a good friend of mine, Mary! Thanks, Mary!

I love to blog. It is great "me" time and it helps me keep a little bit sane! But it feels good to know there are awesome people out there (like you all) who are willing to read my Blabbing! :)

And...Lastly...

because I can't help myself...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOUIE!

Thank you, Sweet Louie. For turning me into a Mommy 8 years ago. For being a cuddly peanut. For making me realize that my heart is now carried outside of my body. For all the reasons you gave me to hold you and rock you and sing to you.

Thank you for turning into this toddley little man. Who excelled at anything he tried. Who had endless questions. Who made me think. Who made me worry. Who rocked out to Johnny Cash. Who always remembered to say "Please" and "Thank You". Who always wanted one more kiss and one more book before bed.

Thank you for turning into this great kid. Who pushed me to be more creative, more spontaneous, more patient and more agile (dodging Legos and Matchbox cars on the floor!). Thank you for melting my heart with your sweet songs. Thank you for rekindling the excitement of learning new things. Thank you for sharing endless stories about your days spent at school.

Thank you for being this ultra-cool, ultra-suave dude. Thank you for butting heads with me...it shows me you are not a follower. Thank you for being loyal to your friends and always routing for the under dog. Thank you for being an awesome big brother. Thank you for Loving your family, neighbors and the environment. Thank you for saying quick prayers when you see a fire truck or ambulance. Thank you for reminding me that we should forgive our enemies. Thank you for being a Beautiful Child of God.

And Thank You, Dear Lord, for knowing that we needed Louie.

Summer Bucket List

Kelly at Little Wonders' Days is hosting a Summer Bucket List Linky Party and rounding up everyone's Summer Bucket Lists! I'm so excited to be able to share what we're doing and to see what everyone else is up to! Plus...I'm ALL about lists and never pass up a chance to make one! :) Last year I had our Bucket List in my head and, while we did some of the things, it was too easy to get lazy and there was lots left undone.

Not this year! I've compiled a lot of stuff to keep us busy and (fingers crossed) out of trouble!

I've diced up my master list into three categories. The first category are the things that we will be doing on a regular (if not daily) basis...like summer reading at the Library. Next I have the category "Spontaneous Bucket Fun". These are the things that I'll write down on slips of paper and then have the kids pick from an actual bucket. My goal is to have everything needed to do these things rounded up and ready so we can do whatever the kids pick from the bucket. My final category are things that take a little more planning, need to be done on a weekend, or things Dad wants to be a part of.

Now...on to the list!

On-Going Summer Fun:

Participate in the Library Summer Reading program

Visit the Zoo (Zoo Crew Thursdays)

Children's Museum trips

Garage Sale-ing Fridays with Gram & Gramps

Go to the Pool

Muffin Tin Mondays 

Spontaneous Bucket Fun:

Shadow Watching

Summer Science Fun Box

Walk to Dairy Queen for a treat

Visit a new playground

Water Balloon & Squirt Gun Battles

Make Gum

Make Rock Candy

Make Popsicles

Tie Dye Shirts

Catch fireflies

Do themed scavenger hunts (Color, Letter, Shape)

Paint Rocks

Make Ice Cream in a bag

Make Lemonade from Lemons

Make giant bubbles

Eat lunch in the shade of our tree

Go to a spray park

Make homemade bread and butter 

Make snow cones

Make Root Beer floats

Visit the fish at Cabelas

 Make 4th of July Decorations

Make Silly Putty

Make finger paint

Make fizzy sidewalk chalk

Make water toys

Make chalk paint

Make Moon Sand 

A Little More Planning:

Visit Fun Plex

Visit the Lincoln Children's Museum

Visit the Lincoln's Children's Zoo

Go Bowling

Play Putt Putt

Go to a Baseball Game

Go to an Imax movie

Go to a Farmer's Market

Walk over the River Bridge downtown

Go see Cars 2

Pick Strawberries

Visit Mahoney State Park
Plant some Veggies

Linking Up the Summer Fun Here:

Super Complicated Recipe...

Are you up for it?

I was nervous.

But I made it work with my mad cooking skills!

You take some popped popcorn and put it in a baggie.

Then add some Cheeze-Its.

Then add some Fruit Cheerios.

Then add some mini marshmallows.

Then add some milk chocolate chips.

Then add some Kix cereal.

Then do it 27 more times!

This equals what we call Stash Busting Snack Mix and it's what my almost-8-year-old asked to take to school tomorrow to share with his friends for his birthday!

Saturday is the big day in our house! My BABY turns EIGHT!

Waaaaaaaah!

Mail Call

I've got a funny story to share with you.

We (my 1 yo, 3 yo & myself) go to pick up my second grader from school every day. When we get home, the boys (7 & 3) take turns running down to the mailbox to bring up the mail.

The other day, Louie (the one who's seven), in all his supreme second grade selfishness booked it out of the car and down the drive before I could even unbuckle John (the one who's three). CHAOS, CATASTROPHE and everything short of the APOCALYPSE erupted from my poor little John.

It was truly the end of the world as he knew it.

I know. What's so funny about this? Just wait.

In my desperation...and before my neighbors could call CPS...I shouted (I had to in order to be heard), "John! Why don't you run up to the front door and see if Mommy has a package!"

And he was off! Totally worked. I knew there was nothing there...but it distracted him and gave him something to do to feel important.

Are you ready? Here it comes!

There WAS a package!!!

Totally wasn't expecting it...but it made an Angry Little Man turn into Over the Moon Happy!

Me too!

Awhile back I was reading a post on banishing paper towels over at Who's Watching the Baby?.

It reached out to me, because I had just been having my own inner debate about the evils of paper towels. So I checked out Kristen's link to THIS GREAT ETSY SHOP and I liked what I saw. So much that I ordered from her! (and she doesn't know I'm writing this...so I hope it's okay!) I liked a lot of her things & I'm going to buy more...I'm just pacing myself! I would seriously go check her out.

AND she has great timing...because this little package of gold came RIGHT when I needed it! :)

I got inside and I ripped it open:

LOVELY! Nice, soft, re-usable, napkin/towels! Cheerfully wiping up my nasty kid messes!

And all prettied up with a BOW! It's the little things...

Rainbow! I played with them for awhile.

Princess & The Pea, anyone???

I was SO excited and John was smug and kept telling Louie, "I made Mama happy!"

And Louie was put off enough because the mailbox only held our stinky boring old water bill...I didn't even need to talk to him about stealing his brother's turn at the mailbox!

Karma.

ps...It gets funnier. I was reading Funky Polkadot Giraffe and she's hosting this linky!

Mustache Love

Kind of sounds like a song, doesn't it?

Meerkat Love?

MUSKRAT Love!

Anyway...back on track, Amy! I'm talking about Mustaches (Mustachi? How do you make that plural?)!

I'm sure you've noticed that they are EVERYWHERE! On mugs & glasses & wall art & cupcake picks...And Tom Selleck and Burt Reynolds are thinking, "I knew it would come back!"

So I wanted to share in some of the Mustache Love that's going around. That's how I came up with:

Muah-Ha-Ha-Haaaaa!

No, my three year old isn't jacked up on growth hormone injected junk food! He's sporting the super cool Mustache Key chain we made as a gift for his Godfather!

I'll be honest. I didn't take a lot any photos of the process...because I didn't think it would turn out so darn cute! But I really like it...so I'm sure I'll be making some more! I just HAD to share NOW!

So here's what I did. I went out looking for some leather, but I found this gigantic roll of bumpy black vinyl at Hancock Fabrick for super cheap! I bought a small piece and I could probably make 100 more of these babies out of it...it goes a long way!

I did some searching for mustache silhouettes online and found a nice, stereo-type 'stache and sized it just right. Then I printed it out and used that as a template. I cut out two. Then I put the "wrong" sides together and did some mustache trimming (heeheehee) to make the pieces match up exactly.

I used black thread and whip stitched the pieces together. I thought this would be tough with the material and the double thickness, but it wasn't too bad! On the tip of one side, I wanted to add a loop for keys. I (or you) could add a piece of ribbon, or material to add the ring, but I just stitched it right on the tip of the mustache. (You can just see the metal of the ring on the left side)

Now. Really. I'd love to stay, but I've just found my keys and MUSTACHE!

Cross your fingers...

I'm entering this in: