46 Days of Summer- Easton Town Center

Woof Woof finds a new home

I had to work today in Newark, Ohio for a few hours, so I brought the kids along for some fun. I had all intentions of going to Dawes Arbortum. Well it poured down cats and dogs... well, maybe just a dog (lol) so that plan was cancelled. So after I was done in Newark, we drove back into Columbus and headed to Easton. There is plenty to entertain yourself with there, so I knew I could keep them busy.

Between throwing pennies in the fountains, walking through the Lego and American Girl doll stores, they spotted Build-A-Bear. I'm sure if you know me well, you know how I loath stuffed animals. This store is this momma's arch nemesis. Yet they had Isaac's favorite minions in the front window and he just wanted to look.

We went in and I about died to find out that a stuffed animal that will sit in the corner of the room in a week, was $26.50. Nope, we are not buying one. They begged. They cried when we left the store. Isaac asked for my phone and called Jeremy to plead for it. He left 5 voice memes. Jeremy text me back and the softy he is said to just do it. My answer was compromise. I told the kids they could SHARE one animal but would have to decide together which it would be.




The decision was this puppy. They're totally into 101 Dalmatians right now, so it's not surprising that they picked the pup. They both helped stuffed it. They named him Woof Woof. She asked if he wanted a sound box. NO! He's white and black and soon to be very dirty and I need to wash him. Then the sales clerk says, would you like a scent? Ugh, no, but they begged and the cotton candy scent did smell amazing- so yes, he now smells good. He has not one, but two hearts so both could do all the magic rub down, kisses, hokey pokey, etc. with the heart. The bath was the cutest. They both were so into it. At the end we registered him and got his birth certificate. Then they wanted a collar, a bed, a brush for it. Um, no friends. I don't even want the dog! I caved and let them get a collar.  Ugh, this store is making a killing off my softness.

So Woof Woof is currently hanging out every moment with one of them. I am giving it a week, maybe two until Woof Woof is sitting in the corner and I have to take care of him! teehee

47 Days of Summer- Learning How to Ride a Bike

Look Mom...No Hands! (or training wheels!)

Isaac has been trying to ride his minion bike with no training wheels for a few days. On the 4th of July we had friends come over who had more patience than us and jogged beside him to get the hang of it. He listened better to them more than he ever would us!

Tonight with our bike helmets on, it was a family bike night. We decided to head to a nearby church parking lot so Isaac could practice.  And it started off perfectly. We made it to the parking lot just fine. But you see these cement signs? Isaac needed to work on his stopping. He went straight into one and hit hard. Tears and all.

But back on the horse (or bike in this case) he tried again and by the end of the evening was weaving in and out of the signs. Olivia had is mastered on her training wheel bike. Isaac couldn't be outdone. We stayed until sunset and then started to head home. Isaac had gained confidence in his bike-riding skills and Olivia enjoyed having such an open space to fly around on her bike!

We will continue to practice and hopefully by the end of the summer he will be a pro. I love heading out on the bikes, but now we still have to wait on Olivia and her training wheel bike. She is in no rush to get rid of hers!

48 Days of Summer- Game Night

Getting our Game On

How many games do you have? Every time we go to Goodwill or Once-Upon-A-Child we find another great game we don't own. Tonight's adventure included them each picking two games and having a mini-marathon of games.

Now you have to know that I enjoy playing board games. I can't wait until they are old enough to enjoy a good two hour game of Monopoly!  I bought operation this year for them and they hate it. Way too hard for them. So, that one will sit in there for awhile.

So tonights games of choice included Minion Memory and Candyland (Isaac's picks) and Moustache Smash and Gooey Louie (Olivia's picks).

I find that not only are these mini-game marathons exciting and fun, but it's always a learning opportunity for my kiddos when they lose. They're sore losers, so I am trying to get them to not stomp away, pout about how they always lose, or kick or punch each other (yes Olivia whacked Isaac in the head earlier today when we played a game of Super Why!). Not to mention that you are sneaking in some math skills and in some games, reading skills.

Isaac is usually our board game champion, but today wasn't his day. I won Candyland and Gooey Louie and Olivia won the other two.  Isaac didn't quit to stomp off, so I consider that just a big of a win as him actually winning the games.

49 Days of Summer- Happy Fourth of July!

Fourth = Fireworks, Family, and Friends

What do you do on July 4? Anything special? Do you have a special tradition or is every year a surprise? 

Ours is more of a mixed bag, but the actual day, more recently, has always ended with fireworks. I've always been able to see them over the holiday weekend and the one year I didn't, Jeremy hasn't forgotten about because I was miserable. I LOVE THEM. The kids and Jeremy enjoy them too, but this is a must-do on my holiday list. See fireworks with family.

This year we were back in Lima for the Star Spangled Spectacular, and spectacular they are. We have watched them here for the past six years or so and I'm always amazed at how long they last and how stunning the show is. 

This year was no different. We didn't make it down to the park until about 30 minutes before. Typically we camp out on the street, but opted for a lawn chair in the grass this year. We still took the double stroller down with the kids. Isaac is too big for it, but it makes life 100% easier when the show is over and it's time to walk with thousands of other spectators back to our car. Ear muffs are encouraged too. This is the first year in a while we forgot. But we didn't forget the bug spray- another good idea if you don't want to itch all day on July 5!

So from our family to yours, have a wonderful Fourth of July.  

 

50 Days of Summer- Sparkler Fun

What would 4th of July be without Sparklers?

I'm not a big fan of letting my kids near fire, but on July 4, they got to get in on the fun a little. Sparklers seems like the perfect ticket. Just enough magic to have fun, but not enough that I have to worry about them seriously hurting themselves.

With a bunch of packets of sparklers in hand and a water bucket to put them into after (we learned our lesson last year when Isaac tried to pick back up the sparkler and touched the hot end!) we set them free to swirl around all night. My brother had picked up some other smoke bombs and we watched Jeremy and him be stupid smoking the porch, but the kids were content with their cheap sparklers.

For an hour the kids tried spelling their names and at one point Isaac ran around with two at a time swirling them in the air. We had neon sparklers this year that were bigger and lasted longer, but weren't as cool as I thought it was going be. Oh well, we tried. Save yourself the extra few bucks and just get the cheap old regular sparklers.

Tomorrow we'll be heading back to Lima for the fireworks, but until we get to see them, we'll have our own show!

51 Days of Summer- Flag Shirts

Happy Birthday America!

We headed to Lake Erie to my parents home for the holiday. I had at least three outfits for Olivia to wear for the weekend that were patriotic. Isaac on the other hand had one thing to wear that was red, white and blue. Much to my surprise my mom had a craft that would not only keep them busy, but also double as a cute holiday shirt for the cousins to sport throughout the holiday weekend.

The t-shirts came from Walmart. Nothing special just cheap white t-shirts. Mom had pre-cut the stars. I have a stampin up punch that could whip it out in a punch, but note that if you try to duplicate that each kid needs their own. Next we painted their hands with blue paint and placed the pre-cut star on the shirt. We had the kids press their hands down and told them to aim for the star in the middle of their palms. They all did a nice job. Then it was time for the stripes. We waited a bit for their handprint to dry then just took masking tape and made lines. No measuring, just eye-balling.  (Is that a technical term or what!) After they painted on their stripes we pulled off the tape and above is the final project.

Mom and I laughed that we thought we were 4-H leaders all over again. Working on projects the week before judging. The kids really did a nice job and were super proud of their work. As you'll see in the next post, they wore them most of weekend as each was super proud of their shirt. Happy birthday America!

52 Days of Summer- Cookout Cupcakes

Cupcakes for the Holiday!

It's the 4th of July weekend and we have plenty of cookouts and get togethers to attend. I never know what to bring. I enlisted the kids to help out this year. 

With a funfetti cupcake mix in hand, I had the kiddos help me whip up the mix. The hardest part is keeping them from licking everything in process. I made them with the small mixer just so I would have two beaters- one for each kid!

The hats, cupcake liners and edible eyes came in a Wilton kit. Normally, I would get out my cake decorating kit to swirl them up to look like the picture, but I'm trying to tame my OCD with everything being picture perfect, so if kids want to slop some on with a spatula, so be it. 

The end product is pictured here. Not perfect but they tasted delicious and didn't have to take any home. I call that a success!