spotted

Have you been on the look-out for the perfect Sunday shoe for your little boy? If you're like me you want something other than the typical chunky soled black lace-up.

Well, today is your day!  These babies are on sale for $19.99. And you have one more day to use discount code JRKPGJMRWYQK 

for an additional $5 off. That puts this $36 pair of suede boots down to $14.99

A BIG thanks to Design Mom for the heads up on the Gap sale.

this is changing my life

i know this is a very bold statement, "this is changing my life." but i have been using teuxdeux.com (to-do list app) for a whole 23 minutes and I am getting so excited to make my list and check things off.

I first heard about this from Suann at Alt Summit, and then later that day from the designer herself, the Swiss Miss.

heart cake tutorial via Swiss Miss

the user interface is amazingly simple and intuitive.

watch a couple of their videos and then start making your list.....its even FREE!

you can thank me later!

airport jammas

 last week when Ben arrived home from his trip I we headed to the airport in our jammas. "We" as in the three boys, not me.

 and to throw in another element of fun they each wore their rain boots.

 i think it made for an added element of adventure.

hookey

we decided to play hookey on saturday. rather than wait around for walker's basketball fame at 11am we packed in the car and headed 1 hour north to the ape caves on st. helens.

a good adventure always breathes new life in me.

I'm back

 I have been having too much fun with these guys since I've been home.

Being away from them helps me gain a greater perspective in life.

It's good to be home.

wingbat

 

Recently the boys completed their reading charts and so we thought it was time for a reward that was bigger than a Trader Joes Organic Sucker. 

They each got to choose a Beta Fish.

 These fish needed a new home, but I was not about to buy three fish bowls at $20 a piece and then fill the bottom with a bag of $6 marbles.

 

Mason jars are pretty.

And as much as I love "What About Bob" the jars just felt temporary.

So what do you do? You head to your local thrift store and find 3 fun glass jars for $1.99 and then let the kids fill the bottom with their own toys, money, rubber-bands, etc. The kids are so proud of the finished product and they each named their own fish.

Hooray for creative rewards!

How do you reward your kids?

play dough

Need to spice-up play dough time?

(look at these silly characters my friends daughter came up with)

We turned our Mr. Potato Head accessories into play dough accessories.

It makes for loads of fun...the kids enjoy it too!

This could be a good stand-by activity for when you have family in town this week.

Enjoy!

little man

the other day my first born son brought me this:

 and then this:

 he reminds me so much of his father.

i love him.

short

Since we no longer have television in our home I have resulted to allowing the kids to watch a movie every now and then. And thanks to Pixar, they don't have to be one hour and 30 minutes long! In fact, our favorites are all about 5-10 minutes long.

This is one of our favorites. It's the characters from Monsters Inc. The best part is it only costs $1.99. We downloaded it to our iPad from iTunes.

Do you have a favorite movie your kids like to watch?

Fall

I live on a street that has a plethora of maple trees. And in the fall, that means large piles of colorful leaves just waiting for someone to jump into them.

 

And jump we did!

 So what do you do with all the colorful leaves?

without

For three weeks now we have been living without television.

the boys playing Conference Bingo (with grapes) while watching General Conference on the computer.

I have wanted to do it for a long time but was afraid of the VOID.

It's amazing the things my kids have been finding to do instead. They don't even ask for TV anymore. Instead, they sit down and read, read to eachother, color, do crafts, play uno, war, Go Fish, etc.

I say, if you're thinking about doing it just do it!

Call that cable company right now and say, "Cable Company, we've had some good times together, but I will not be needing your services anymore. We have too many other things to do!"

What else could I be living without?

Sterling is two

Sterling is full of personality and everyone in the family adores him! His new favorite is the tree swing in our front yard. He also likes to explore. This week I found him:

• putting on mascara
• holding a flower with a BIG bee in it
• saying "Bug! Bug!" and waiving the biggest, ugliest, bug I have ever seen
• super-gluing his eye shut
• sucking on a kitchen sponge (thankfully it was a brand new one...phew!)

 

We had an easy family party. I made Chicken nuggets and roasted garden veggies. The cake was a spice cake with bananas as substitutes for the eggs....YUM!

My favorite Sterling attribute is his hugs. He has always been a cuddly loving boy. There are many times throughout the day when he will come to me to give me a hug. One of this "wrap your arms around my neck super tight and squeeze" hugs. And then he'll give you a soft kiss.

Also, today was Truman's first day of Preschool! He had such a fantastic time that he's decided he wants to go back....YEAH!

 

Doesn't he look so handsome?