25 Things About Me!

When I first thought about starting a blog my initial post was going to be something about me.  I thought about writing 20ish things about myself or writing a little bit about my life until this point. Neither happened and I figured my birthday (which was on Sunday) would be a perfect opportunity to tell you all 25 things about me. Some you may know, some may come as a surprise and some may just make you giggle :) Enjoy!!

1. I dislike licking envelopes. Tim gets stuck with the job or... I use tape.
2. I've been in 2 car accidents and they were within 3 days of each other.
3. My belly button is pierced.
4. I hate talking on the phone. Sometimes I go a few days without checking my cell phone and it's always on silent...whoops!
5. Caramel Frappes from McDonald's are by far my favorite drink.
6. When I open the blinds they all have to be at an even length.
7. Veal is yummy, but I refuse to eat it.
8. I live by my planner and everyday "to-do" lists.
9. I've never seen the Wizard of Oz, or had the desire to.
10. I love coffee ice cream, but hate coffee.
11. The essentials of my purse are: point and shoot camera, planner, wallet, all different color pens/highlighters, compact mirror, small bag with makeup/tweezers/nail clippers and cell phone.
12. I like reading gossip magazines every one in awhile.
13. Sodas in glass bottles are the best. Orange Cream Stewart's is my favorite.
14. In high school/college I knew all the words to "I Like Big Butts." Now I just know phrases.
15. One of my favorite things to do is play games, any kind... board games, card games, etc.
16. I excessively scrub the dishes and then excessively rinse them.
17. When I was little I choked on Jell-O. It wiggled and jiggled right into my throat and I've only eaten it a few times since then, always chopped up.
18. I prefer hot dogs made in the microwave, not grilled, over a fire or on the stove.
19. I can't pick a favorite...anything. It makes me feel like I'm excluding all the other choices. Lame, I know.
20. I'm a fan of anything with bright colors and polka dots.
21. The best way to relieve stress is to dance around and sing at the top of your lungs.
22. I love to burn candles, some of the scents I enjoy are Orange Creamsicle, Banana Nut Bread, Coffee, Cinnamon Bun, Peach/Watermelon and any cookie/cake scent.
23. I would rather go out for pizza then go somewhere fancy.
24. I immediately peel the stickers off of anything I buy which is why I love goo-be-gone, it removes all the sticky parts left behind.
25. I have weird sensory issues, like... not being able to put a popsicle stick in my mouth, I cant' stand wearing socks and shoes, I'm constantly fidgeting with my clothes if I feel the seams, etc., I can't handle anyone touching my neck... or thinking they are going to touch my neck, I won't eat some foods just because I can't stand the texture in my mouth and I can't have my hair on my neck for too long.

Happy Father's Day!

Christopher and I gave Daddy his gift yesterday as little man was going to spend the night with Grampy and Grammy so Daddy and Mommy could serve snacks at our church's Saturday evening service. Getting a night to fellowship and then spending Father's Day/my birthday with family was a win/win :) We did miss seeing Pappy though, but will get to see him Wednesday!!
Below is how Tim's gift was supposed to be presented but Christopher took the swords and ran off to show them to Daddy :) They had fun for awhile playing swords, although Christopher wants both of them so it's hard to duel! I see these being a favorite for awhile... watch out cats!!

Tim's gift... the swords were picked out by Christopher who fell in love with them in the store and DIDN'T want to let go of them in the store or at home :)

This was the note on the front. The underlined words/phrases were hints for Tim to guess his gifts. We got him Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol (impossible mission), Rivals of Catan card game expansion (rivals), 2 foam swords (duels) and Every Man, God's Man book (every man).

Christopher and Daddy on Father's Day

Christopher and Grampy on Father's Day

Wishing all the dads out there a wonderful Father's Day!!

Ten on Ten

Ten on Ten...

I saw this project a few months ago on my friend Angee's blog and thought, "How fun!" I love to take pictures and it is such a beautiful way to slow down and appreciate all the amazing things in life whether big or small. Lets just say it took a few times of writing it in my planner to actually remember to take pictures before the day was over :)

Here's our tenth:

Watering the lilies we planted last week

Steven laying in his favorite position, "the superman!"

A little R&R during Christopher's nap time! Working on my summer reading list!

Spending a few minutes on pinterest

The "I just got up from my nap and would like to go read those books on the bookshelf" face.

Watching some SVU while relaxing

Funfetti cake!

Building towers from inside the truck is so much cooler!

Went for a bike ride on a beautiful night. Obviously my bike butt is a little out of practice because I had to stop due to the seat becoming way too uncomfortable. Have a new one to put on, will do that tomorrow!

Was going to make pear-sauce for Christopher but figured I would do that tomorrow during nap, it was definitely a lazy Sunday around here which is a rarity, but much needed!

Happy June 10th!

Summer Reading List!

I absolutely love to read and always have! I love the feeling of curling up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate on a dreary day or sitting at the beach in the comfort the warm sun while reading chapter after chapter. I love getting lost in a story and connecting with the characters so much that you don't want their story to end.

Now that Christopher's nap/sleep schedule is pretty regular, which = more time for Mommy, I am getting reacquainted with this love.

Remember back in elementary school when we used to get reading lists? Some were given out for summer so that we would give our brains a "workout," some were given out to earn rewards in the classroom, some were done to see which class could read the most minutes and my favorite ones... the ones that earned you a free small pan pizza at Pizza Hut once you read a certain number of books! Nothing better than knowing all that reading will get you a mini pizza all for yourself :)

I have some books that have been sitting on my shelf for the past year or two as I've been busy teaching and then having a baby and even had a list of "would like to read... someday!" I thought this summer would be a perfect time to catch up on some reading so I made myself a summer reading list to stay motivated :) I know, I'm a nerd like that!

And if I get done with those...

 

I know my list may look a bit ambitious but I have already read the Hunger Games trilogy, Crazy Love and Baby Proof by Emily Giffin.

Anyone else have any suggestions, or any reviews on the books above? For right now I'm just taking it book by book, whichever I feel like reading next, or is available at the library :)

Filling Easter eggs and baskets

It's soon Easter time and I have heard numerous parents/grandparents/teachers say, "I don't know what to put in _____ Easter eggs/basket!" With the rise against not wanting your child to inhale a ton of candy it can make occasions like Easter and Halloween difficult a time to get more creative. Some are even asking, "Do I want to do an Easter basket?"

That is the question I found myself asking last year after Christopher was born. He was almost 3 months old around Easter time so I knew that he would have no recollection of what we did/didn't do. We decided to buy him a jumperoo and deem that his Easter present since it was an item we were already going to buy for him, why not knock out two things at once? This year was no different, Easter was coming and I again contemplated Easter basket or no Easter basket...

My main reasoning for questioning this tradition is that I struggle with overshadowing the real reason for our family celebrating Easter. I don't want Easter (or Christmas) to become about getting gifts, taking pictures with the Easter bunny/Santa or for us to get caught up in all the other fun traditions. These holidays are a chance to get to celebrate the amazing gift of life that we were given through our Savior being born into human form and then paying the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

Don't get me wrong I LOVE HOLIDAYS and everything that goes with them!!!!! It's a great time to get together with family and friends, decorate the house, do crafts, etc. and since these are some of my favorite things to do, I enjoy every moment. (Tim may even say I go a bit overboard!) This is why we decided that there is definitely room, at least for our family, to do both things. It is our job in the joys of the traditions, games, candy and family time to incorporate the story of our Savior and make it the biggest part of either holiday.

For this year I decided brainstorm, and use the wonderful resource of the internet, to compile a list of what could be used to fill your Easter eggs and baskets. I know it is a little late this year as most probably already have both of these things done, but just in case, here's a little help!

* Easter egg ideas:

1. Stickers
2. Small stuffed animals 
3. Coins, or dollar bills if you are feeling extra generous :)
4. Cars (Hot Wheels/Wheelies/Thomas the Train, etc.)
5. Character Band-Aids
6. Treats (Teddy Grahams, Fruit Snacks, Goldfish, Raisins, Animal Crackers, Cheerios, Puffs, Mini M&M's, Nuts, etc.)
7. Temporary Tattoos
8. Chapstick/Lip gloss
9. Party size Play-Dough
10. Mini cookie cutters to use with Play-Dough
11. Puzzle pieces (after finding all the eggs, put the puzzle together!)
12. Mini Erasers
13. Coupon for new book, bowling, movie, date night with Dad/Mom, etc.
14. Finger Puppets
15. Hair Barrette/Bows
16. Jewelry
17. Mini Animals (You can usually find a set or two of these on clearance at Michaels)
18. Barbie Outfits
19. Silly Putty
20. Legos
21. Socks (I always find the cutest character socks in the dollar bin at Target)
22. Water capsules...stick them in water and watch them grow
23. Coloring page/maze, folded up
24. Magnets (Have cheap packs of letter/number magnets at Wal-Mart)
25. Cool Shoelaces
26. Dice
27. Fisher Price Little People
28. Balloons/Punching balloons, not blown up of course
29. Mini bottle of bubbles
30. Stampers
31. Mini Paints
32. Squirt Toys for bath tub
33. Bath tablets that change the water color
34. Packet of seeds that you will plant/water together
35. Inflatable ball
36. Mini slinky (looking for minis is a great idea, or just look in the party favor section for some smaller items)
37. Put a piece of paper with number on it that goes to corresponding prize - great way to include bigger prizes that don't fit in eggs
38.  Bouncy Balls
39. Mini Water balls to play with in summer

* Easter basket ideas:

1.  Book (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5)
2. Toothbrush/Toothpaste
3. Kite
4. CD
5. DVD
6. Toy
7. Sidewalk Chalk
8. Bubbles
9. Bucket/Shovel
10. Playdough (Make your own!)
11. Gardening Tools
12. Jump Rope
13. Crayons/Coloring Book
14. Puzzles
15. Pinwheel
16. Lacing Beads
17. Art/Crafts Supplies
18. Puppets
19. Game
20. Lunchbox
21. Small Backpack
22. Chalkboard Mats
23. Bathtub Toys
24. Outfit/T-Shirt
25. Foam Stickers/Shapes
26. Bubble Bath
27. Summer Shoes (Keens or Crocs)
28. Mini Pillow Pets
29. Small Instruments (Tambourine, Maraca, Egg Shaker)
30. Disposable Camera
31. Swimsuit/ Beach Towel
32. Sunglasses
33. Brain Quest
34. Small Cars
35. Water Bottle
36. Stuffed Peeps (These are adorable, wished we lived closer to a BRU!)

* Easter egg hunt ideas:

•  Have each child find a different color egg (ensures that each child gets the same amount of eggs and easy to put age appropriate items in if you have children with a large age difference).
• Fill eggs with "Bunny Bucks" or "Bunny Money" and have an Easter store. The children can spend the money they got in the egg hunt at the store.
• Do an Easter egg scavenger hunt (hide clues in the eggs to lead to each child's Easter basket). Can put a clue only in the eggs or a clue and a treat.
• Do an Easter egg hunt at night with flashlights (inside or outside).

Some of my favorite Easter memories as a child were going to this huge Easter egg hunt that took place on our Legion field. There were TONS of eggs (and people) and of course lots of candy and prizes. Each year you would hope to find an egg that had a number in so you could take it to the stand and see what big prize your number matched. I also loved getting to prance around in the beautiful Easter dress that my Aunt Reesie had made for me, sue me I was/am a girly girl at times :)

Another great memory was the Easter cantata at our church. I loved feeling like I was at a play and watching to see if there would be any live animals there (one year the man playing Jesus got to ride in on a donkey!). It was so different from any other church service and revealed the story of Jesus's death and resurrection in such a real way. Let me end by saying I understand, and respect, that everyone's beliefs/ways of celebrating are different so I'm hoping you find fun things to do with your family in a style you are comfortable with and enjoy!!

A few days early but have a Happy Easter everyone :)