swimming in sunshine

This morning I packed up the car, the kids, a lunchbox filled with E's favorite "SAM-ICHES!" a bag of sand toys, and went on an adventure. While singing "we're gonna go-go-go-go- on adventure"... If you watch PBS Kids you know exactly what I'm referring to. Anyway. Our adventure.To the lake. I looked that like ridiculous woman dragging two kids, arms full of giant flotation devices, bags of things overflowing, to find stairs leading down to the beach area.
Needless to say, E went NUTS. We swam. And swam. Floated with floaties and swam some more. D even woke up from his slumber got in his airplane and joined the fun.
Best part, there was hardly anyone there :)
Worst part, finding smashed Miller Lite cans on the lake floor. {Welcome to Louisiana}
Luckily, this lake is about 15/20 minutes from our house, is free and will make our stay here at Fort Polk suck a little less since I plan on making this a weekly thing. Which reminds me, I need to stock up on some sunscreen for my creatures.
Honestly- I wish someone would invent a waterproof cellphone so I could get up close and awesome photos of my kids. Because, they L-O-V-E-D their day. And, I'll say it, because I think they're awesome.

{I know what you're thinking... She's awesome :-)}

This week, we're going to get back into our routine, play group, {maybe story time}, and unpack-unpack-unpack. One day, it will feel like home. And look like it too. Finally- this week, HOPEFULLY, I'll be featuring a toddler friendly {more than likely educational} craft for you guys to try at home should it catch your fancy.



Try not to have a Case of The Mondays tomorrow ;-)

Since Easter?

Seriously, I haven't blogged since Easter? Easter feels like it was last year.
I suppose I have been busy and a little, well, I'll just say it, lazy. Good news, I am almost done with school :) Finally!!! People keep asking me what I'm going to do after school. My answer is NOTHING. I get an awkward silence from the other person, but I'm taking a break and doing nothing. I've been a little overwhelmed lately and I can't wait to just, sit back, relax and play with my little creatures :)

We also moved. Unfortunately, not out of Louisiana. But out of our horrible house. We lost good neighbors and new friends in the process- but I guess that comes with the the territory. Welcome to the military. 


Finally. I need to get off the internet and Google. Sometimes too much information is dangerous ;-)
I am absolutely TERRIFIED of sending my children to public schools. And I haven't figured out if selling one kidney will be enough to send Emma AND to private school preK-12, or if Codi is going to have to chip in on the organ trade. Then, I've stumbled across unschooling. Which is a form of homeschooling. If our public education system continues to fail, private school becomes out of reach and moving to Canada is out of the option- homeschooling may become our only option. And unschooling may be tagging along. Please Google it. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised.


Looking forward to picking up my blogging again :-) I'll be honest. It has been missed.

pbk addictions

I need the world to know that I have a SERIOUS addiction to Pottery Barn Kids. Like, I need an intervention.

eggs and cards.

I've been doing "College Algebra" for like 2 hours. I'm taking a quick little break, then back to work. I have NO desire to do homework on a holiday, I'd rather do nothing tomorrow :) Also. The inventor of the 'snuggie' (and whoever picked it up for distribution) was a freaking GENIUS! My arms are staying warm while I work. GENIUS! I should be on an infomercial.

This whole week I wanted to do lots of fun Easter things with Emma. As it turns out, that didn't happen because I'm car-less (long story, my Jeep Commander, the tank, is beyond repair, so depressed) and I couldn't go to the library. For some reason our household doesn't have a printer. Which makes ZERO sense every time I think about it, which is often. And yet, we still don't have one. I can't answer that. We don't have one because we haven't bought one. What, a predicament we're in.

ANWAY.
So, Emma and I were limited to fun little things around the house. Which isn't much since I'm not the Easter Bunny and I can't just pull Easter things out of my ass. But, we did decorate eggs and Emma made grandparents Easter cards. Emma drinks the tub water so I wasn't about to put colored dye water in front of her. And to top it off, she has the attention span, of well, a two year old. Plus, I didn't want to dye eggs, I'll be honest. But, I still hard boiled some eggs and found a way more fun way for her to decorate, thanks to my Pottery Barn Kids magazine. On the cover in one of the Easter baskets they have eggs decorated with flowers and other things, I don't remember exactly. So, I hard boiled 5 eggs. Whipped out my scrapbook stuff, some stickers, felt flowers and other flowers and the glue stick/double sided tape squares. I laid it all out for Emma and she did really well. She didn't drop an egg and they turned out great.
She also glued/stuck the flowers on blank white cards and colored in them. She was pretty much over crafts by that time, so her real Picaso work isn't obvious in the pictures ;)

her first egg all completed

this was pretty much her favorite thing

sticking flowers on her egg

the finished products. i did one of them too.

 

her cards :)

On a side note:
There was a LIZARD in my son's bed yesterday morning.
Louisiana is GROSS.

HAPPY (early) EASTER
Have a blessed day and enjoy your families!

easter baskets.

Toddlers and Easter baskets. I said I was going to wait until Easter Eve, but that didn't make sense if you needed an idea or two for your little creatures Easter baskets.
If you have toddlers did you have an issue with this like me? We don't do candy for Emma at our house. She didn't have her first piece of candy until Halloween, and that was one Reese's cup. Then, she didn't have candy again until January. She loves being able to have a "treat" which she gets when we do movie nights. And those are pretty far and few between.
Back to my point. When you hear Easter you think candy and chocolate. But not at our house :)
I filled Emma's bucket for UNDER $10. I spent a little more on Declan's, but like I've mentioned, they don't make baby stuff for a dollar.

So, looking for ideas for toddler Easter baskets, here ya go.

I splurged and got the kids these buckets, from Target. They were $5.
They're' cute and well worth the money.

Because Emma is all that is girl, a 'pretty' (bracelet) and a compact.
$1 each.

I loved gardening with my mama when I was little. I hope to pass that on to Emma.
That tool set was the most expensive thing I purchased for her bucket $2 from our PX.
The watering can ($1) is from Walmart and so are the seeds (.40cents)
The gloves and yellow planter are from the Target dollar section. ($1 each)

And because Emma LOVES to be outside.
Sidewalk chalk and bubbles. Each $1. Both from Target.

The finished product!

Her eggs will be filled with Teddy Grahams, Animal Crackers and Yogurt Raisins.

And since it is Easter.
She will get a FEW Reese's Pieces and that adorable Chick egg with Reese's
Both under $1

Now. For Declan. 

A Fisher Price toy and a baby sock monkey.
Tell me that monkey isn't adorable. Because it IS.

His ALMOST finished bucket.
I'm thinking of a few more small things, since it does look pretty sad.

This week, starting tomorrow, Emma and I will be partaking in some fun Easter things. I told you, I love holidays.

Now, everyone go make your toddlers some fun little baskets, or in my case buckets.

jump starting easter

No pictures. Whooppssiiiieee.
Today, we took Codi's car and I managed to fit the double stroller in Codi's car. A two-door Toyota Celica. I had to take the front tray off and the shade thing for the front seat. But I got that sucker to fit. Then we managed to get both kids in there. That's a sight all in it's own. We then drove our happy cramped asses an hour away, finally out of the house, for some much needed (well, it was needed in my book) shopping and lunch.
I am a holiday fanatic and Easter is just around the corner. I have been shopping since the end of March for Emma's Easter basket. Sad, right? Today, I finally finished her basket and thought I finished Declan's. And then I saw it. His poor basket looks so pathetic compared to Emma's. But they don't make much baby stuff for under 2$. That's right, everything in Miss Things basket, I got for under two bucks :-) So, I guess if I matched their baskets by price, it would be about the same. But his basket looks so sad compared to hers. I guess he won't mind. He doesn't even know what's going on. I mean he laughs when he burps and poops. SO, I'm thinking an Easter basket isn't at the top of his priority list.
Anyway- when I do an Easter Blog, I'll share what I did and for how much, plus cost. So keep an eye out for that.  Maybe Easter Eve?
Today, I did my part in jump starting the economy. I'm fairly confident I could do it all by myself if we didn't live in Siberia BFE Fort, Polk. Where you have to drive an hour to get to anything decent. I complain a lot about where we live, but to me, it's worth complaining about. So, suck it up and keep on reading. We went to Target, which I love, and plus I L-O-V-E the dollar section. Mainly because they have books for a dollar. Emma is my little book worm and 98% of her books are from the dollar section at Target. True story. Plus, everything is a dollar. How could you not love that? Besides that, I bought the same shirt for Emma in three different colors. With that being said, I am my mother's daughter. If you like it, get it in different colors. I do it for myself too. I have like 6 of the same tank top, but they are all in different colors. It just makes sense.
They also have some old school DVDs on sale for 3.99$, so if you live near a Target, hop on over there and stock up. Stewart Little (1&2), Jumanji, My Girl, Casper, The Sandlot. I told you old school, but awesome. And for 3.99$, why not. I'm down for a sale. And speaking of sale, the new Harry Potter is on sale for 14.99 at Target too. So get that. I'm anxiously waiting to watch it.
We then made our way to Old Navy. I had a Gap gift card- which I mysteriously acquired before we left Washington, and we don't shop at the Gap. Mainly because we don't have one. I'm getting side tracked on how crappy Louisiana is again, whoopsie.
So, this awesome 50$ gift card. Ah. Emma got some rockin' shirts, a dress, not that she really needed any of that, but she did need new clothes. Catch what I'm saying? Declan got some little man clothes. He's pretty much past the point of dinosaurs on his clothes. So, we're going to move on to little man clothes. He got lots of polos. He looks so cute in a collared shirt. All grown up and handsome.

And now we're all tired. And sleepy. I wish it was bed time. I wish I had some ice cream to be honest.  It's a nice day to have some ice cream. BUT THIS PLACE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE AN ICE CREAM STAND. No DQ, nothing. No ice cream. Which is almost morally wrong in my book.

Enjoy your weekend. Spend time with your family. And enjoy the little things :-)
Because that is exactly what I plan on doing, so you should try it out.


Actually, I think a nice walk to the gas station for some freaking ice cream is what I'm about to do. Maybe not. But still. It's a thought.

no books.

I neglected my blog so badly that I had to log in. How sad?
I am officially a full time student again. Usually nap time is my time. But Declan has forgot about his coinciding nap time with Emma and now I have homework. Three classes. Two under two. And no books :) My first week of class and my retarded school didn't send me books. Then, they sent me an Algebra book I already own when I complained. I had to explain three times I already had that book, but didn't have my other books. This was Monday. It's now Sunday. And I still have no books.
Luckily, Al Gore invented the internet and I can get my Google on. Thank you Al Gore, I tip my hat to you.
Hopefully, you picked up on Mr. Gore. If not, I'm shaking my head in shame at you.

Currently- I'm enjoying a tall glass of water, an Almond Joy, and a rerun of Army Wives (since I'm caught up to the current season. Yes, I was that obsessed.) and am curled up on the couch with my heating pad. Which I'm fairly certain I'm addicted to. I'm so content I could fall asleep.
But, Declan has the magic timing. Tears in his sleep :( And he worked himself up so much that I can't put him down. Let me tell you. It's hard to type, read, and focus with a squirmy sleeping baby laying on your chest. Try it. Let me know how it goes.

That's all I have. Nothing exciting. Nothing fantastic.

On a final note.
Why does everything for girls have to have Dora the fucking Explorer, every Disney princess known to man, and Tinkerbell on EVERYTHING? Seriously.
Now. I'm done. On to bullshitting my way through this paper.