Tree Frog

Sydney found a tree frog in our wagon over the weekend.  At first she thought it was one of our play frogs that we take to the pool but then it moved.  She was so excited!

We had squeaky outside to clean his cage and let him enjoy the sun.

She held this frog for an hour or two and then I convinced her to put him on our Japanese maple.
 Before she found the frog she was trying to catch a lizard for at least 20 minutes- he kept hiding behind the rain barrel. 

.Isn't he cool? 

Big Boy

Here are a few pictures of our big boy in underwear!  It was hard to get a good picture because he is so excited he literally would not stand still.

This past weekend he wore his underwear 1/2 day on Saturday and most of the day Sunday without any accidents but I have to remind him to try to go on the potty every 45- 60 minutes.  He has worn underwear to school each day this week and has had an accident or two each day but overall we are very pleased.  He does not want to wear a diaper he wants his Mater (cars) underwear. 

It's exciting! 

God's artwork

Simple Things

Our kids love crafts and I am usually, okay ALWAYS in charge of crafts at our house.  Usually we need a craft on a rainy day because if the weather is anywhere near nice we are outside.
This was a Saturday in February while Bill was at work the kids and I made a birthday banner.

It was so fun and we left it up for the entire week- every morning when Griffin came down to the kitchen he told Bill "Happy Birthday Daddy"

You can make a banner for anything or just let the kids decorate a huge piece of paper like a mural.
We used washable markers and crayons.

Do your kids like crafts?  Care to share any ideas?

Get Ready to Smile

Last week after dinner I got the kids tubbies and dressed and we went up by the clubhouse to take pictures.  I think they turned out great and their little faces bring a smile to mine.

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Sydney has changed so much and is such a little lady!
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muscles
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precious!
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I ordered a bunch so I will have some to share.  Do you have a favorite?

Sydney in concert

Our Neighbor bought her this amp and microphone and she loves it!

Saxapahaw-day trip

There is a town in North Carolina about an hour from out house called Saxapahaw and it was founded by the Saxapahaw indians.  Bill went on a job there and met a guy that has bought the old textile mile and is developing it. 

We drove over with the kids and checked out the multi leveled coffee shop called Cup 22

Bill and kids on upper tier

kids looking out huge windows- see the river and also the building on the right side is lofts

the kids and I- stage on lower level where they have concerts

Syd took this pic of Bill and I

chalkboard table

Griffin eating a homemade blueberry doughnut

then we walked around- toured a loft

walked through the market and then ate lunch at the cafe

these wire flowers were on a display in one of the loft-  I may try to make a few

it was a great adventure and we plan to go back when they have concerts outside in the amphitheater and also farmer's market

Garden Notes

North Carolina weather has been unseasonably warm lately and warm weather makes me anxious to get my hands in the soil and garden.  The kids and I actually planted our seeds on February 29th and they are growing beautifully.  I find so much satisfaction in watching things grow. 

I decided to try growing garlic so I planted a few cloves mid February and they are growing well. 

We received our blueberry plants on Friday and planted them today.  I am new to berries, we never had them at my parents growing up but my grandpa Sandera always had strawberries and raspberries.  I bought a Burpee soil test kit and tested the pH in one of the landscaped beds and it was alkaline so we bought soil acidifier at Lowes today and I added it to the soil as I planted my blueberry bush.  I decided to plant one in the actual ground and one in a larger container and see which one does better.  The variety that we bought is called Top Hat and it is a dwarf bush that will be covered with pea sized blueberries.  If we do well with berry bushes we may buy more next year. 

Bill bought me a rain barrel for Christmas, I know romantic right, but it really was something I have been wanting and I am a practical person.  So today he rerouted the downspout to drain into the barrel and he built a platform for the barrel from bricks that match our patio- I will post pictures another day. 

We will wait a few more weeks to move out plants to the outside garden but we are so excited to have a great year of gardening fun and fresh produce. 

Puzzle

I bought this puzzle and worked on it for 2 weeks.  Bill teased me a little bit saying old ladies do puzzles, "what?"  He says in the 11 years he has known me he has never seen me do a puzzle.  My response was that I really have not had the time- undergrad, grad school, moving and new job, then a new baby and then toddler and another baby.  So anyway I am just now at the point where I think it is manageable and feasible to get out a puzzle and leave it out on the card table in between working on it. 

I could not help but think that puzzles are similar to life in a way.  When I start a puzzle I usually soft the edge pieces from the inside pieces and get the border together first.  There are times in my life when I feel overwhelmed and I really just need to sort a bit and prioritize what to tackle first.  I am the type of person that has to clean my desk before sitting down to work (usually it is clean to begin with) but you know what I mean.  If my house is a mess or just cluttered a bit I really have to pick up and organize before I can work on any projects and definitely before I can relax. 
I am also detail oriented and I loved the detail in this puzzle

Have you put together a puzzle lately?  It is very relaxing, satisfying and also good for your brain!

Read to me Sissy

Our kids love to read, well actually be read to.

Last Saturday the kids and I were home and we were cleaning and sorting through clothes.

Griffin wanted to read books and I was trying to finish a task so he turned to Sydney and said "read to me sissy".

They snuggled up in her rocker and I had to run downstairs to grab my camera and catch the moment. 

They can be so sweet to each other it really does melt my heart.

Zoo

We were just waiting for warmer weather to renew our membership to the zoo so this past Sunday after church and lunch we did it!

Bill and Sydney looking at the American Alligators

cougar basking in the sun

watching turtles, can you seen them all lined up on the log?

seals, they were playing with each other under the water and blowing bubbles

Puffin putting on quite the show- it was challenging to keep the camera on him

Grizzly bear came out for a walk around

peeking at snakes

Sydney took this picture of us by the bamboo

the zoo has a new baby baboon!

this was Sydney's favorite seeing the baby with his momma

chimp right up close

The kids feel asleep before we were out of the parking lot- we live less than 4 miles from the zoo but they were so exhausted!

We paid 88 dollars for a 2 year membership so now we can go whenever we want!  I get a discount through the hospital and we are so thankful.  Regular price wold have been 40 dollars for just the day. 

Thought Provoking

I follow along with the blog The Pleated Poppy and she recently shared highlights from speakers at a conference she attended....here is her post.  I had a conversation with a friend and later with Bill on my thoughts generated by her post.  Check it out and let me know what you think. 

Weekend Morning

This is what Bill's lap usually looks like on a weekend morning.

The kids love for him to read the comics and they think it is hilarious when they try on his glasses.

Garden ready

We have had some very warm weather- mid 60's low 70's in the last few weeks and it makes me want to get outside and start the gardening plans.
I found these pots at Lowes and I will be planting a few tomato and bush cucumber plants in them.

The rest of my plants will go in my raised beds and also this one landscaped area.  I may plant one blueberry plant in a pot and one in the ground and see which one does better. 

The kids and I started our seeds on the 29th of February so they will be ready to move outside mid April.
They had fun adding the water and watching the soil expand

We already have little seeds sprouting and we are so excited.  We planted in 72 cells- 3 varieties of tomatoes and 2 varieties of peppers.

Tomatoes:  bush early girl hybrid, patio princess hybrid and cherry roma

Peppers:  Golden Baby Belle, and Jalapeno Gigante

we also bought squash saffron straight neck and cucumber bush champion

I planted garlic a month or so ago so we will see how that works out

Are you planning a garden?

Silliness and Giggles

A few weekends ago the kids and I had movie night and we watched The Land Before Time.  I bought this movie for the kids because I remember loving it as a kid.  I think it was Pizza Hut that gave out the dinosaur figures- they had Sara, Petri, Little Foot and Spike- do you remember?  Well the kids love the movie and afterwards they were rather silly, probably from the sugar on the kettle corn.  Griffin's laugh just melts my heart.

New Route

We have a new route to daycare, all because of a John Deere tractor.  Griffin loves driving past this huge tractor and if I forget and turn one street past then we miss it and he is upset!  One day the owner was driving the tractor down the street and we were behind him and Griffin's eyes were huge and he was practically bouncy in his car seat.  Every day on the way to and from school he asks me if we can see the tractor.  Does your little boy or girl love tractors? 

New Favorite

Sound Bingo is our new favorite game.  The game is made by Kindermusik and available at amazon.com.  My sister told me that my mom had gotten the game for her kids and it was a lot of fun.  So for Christmas it was one of the ideas I gave grammie for the kids.  Well it is such a hit.  In the box is a CD and each track on the CD is a sound which corresponds to a picture on the game board.  For instance a kitten meowing or a bell ringing.  On the game it says ages 3 and up and the little marker pieces are small but made out of cardboard.  Griffin loves to play and he is pretty good at recognizing the sounds.  Griffin's favorite sound is the fire truck and Sydney loves the bag pipes.  We have played several times and I enjoy it as much as the kids.  They get so excited when they have a bingo, although we have to help Griffin recognize that he has four in a row.  I would highly recommend this game and I may use it a a gift idea in the future!  Do you have any favorite games for children?