I need a new swim suit so today I am shopping for one with my daughter.
Why am I going shopping with her?
Because going bathing suit shopping with one child will be a lot easier than with three children.
School ends tomorrow and I must get a suit.
Can you imagine the shaningans that would go on outside of the dressing room with two boys?
It will be must easier to take only my daughter though she will be highly critical of anything that is not pink.
Crossing my fingers I find one!
Parenting can be a delicate balancing act.
Whether you are guiding your children in friendships, school, or at home, parents are always looking for this balance.
This past holiday weekend, my husband and I decided to take our family on a short “staycation” in town, visiting local attractions and spending one night in a hotel.
Our first stop was the Dallas Museum of Art – a fine institution in the art world.
There we contemplated. Observed. Pondered.
Found what the art meant to us.
We were one with the art.
At this point of our trip we were enlightened and philosophical.
And oh so bored.
We decided to change things up for our second stop.
Yes. We. Did.
We went to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum!
Want to broaden your children’s horizons and redeem yourself in their eyes as a satisfactory trip planner?
Go here. Nothing like a few shrunkin’ heads to help with that.
As our day ended my husband and I reviewed our two museum stops and felt like we had done our job as parents and found some balance for our children.
Refined and freakish all in one afternoon, in terms of parenting, you really can’t beat that.
In April, you might remember, I had a monthly goal of ordering some personalized gifts.
One of the places I ordered gifts from was the etsy store Take Note.
I was absolutely thrilled with how they came out and wanted to share the etsy shop with you.
Jill, who runs Take Note, will work with you and send proofs to ensure you receive the color combinations and fonts you desire for your cards.
There are many different options to choose from:
I ordered 4 sets of cards and each arrived in a clear case with a ribbon around it.
I think these cards could be a wonderful gift for so many occasions – graduation gift, new baby gift, wedding shower gift, birthday gift, teacher gift, hostess gift, holiday, the list goes on.
In fact, I thought they were so wonderful I ordered a set for my family.
If you’re in need of a personalized gift for someone, make sure to check out Take Note.
My goal for today is the same goal I have for every national holiday.
Somehow I never accomplish it.
My goal is to not be that neighborhood idiot who goes and checks to see if they have any mail.
Every. Single. National. Holiday. I. Am. Out. There.
Once I’ve opened the mailbox, seen no mail, and remembered there should be no mail, I have to do the walk of shame back to my house, casually glancing this way and that way, hoping no one saw me this time.
Wishing you all a wonderful Memorial Day and hoping none of you take the walk of shame with me.
Caroline – “Andrew wants to be a zookeeper when he gets big.”
Me – “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Caroline – “A princess.”
Ugh.
After having two boys, I’m really struggling with this whole princesses thing.
And after seeing this, I don’t feel much better.
Have a great long weekend!
15 years ago today there was a wedding…
today there is a family…
I love you Derek – thank you for always being there when I need you. You are the best dad, husband, and technical consultant 🙂 a girl could ever ask for.
Today is free Slurpee day at 7-Eleven!
You can pick up a 7.11 oz drink. No purchase is necessary.
My kids are so excited I’m picking them up after school to go get one.
Walk, run, race to get one from 11 am. – 7 pm.
When my oldest was little he was fascinated by dinosaurs.
At three, he knew more information about dinosaurs than most adults.
We read so many dinosaur books, I’m fairly sure I could have become a paleontoligist with just a little field work experience.
In fact, one day while reading the newspaper I read about dinosaur tracks discovered 30 minutes from our house. I loaded up my three year old and ten month old and we went hiking until we found them – the large group standing around them helped us find them 🙂
For Christmas that year we bought him the Prehistoric Park videos .
These are the BEST dinosaur & prehistoric animal DVD”s EVER!
The 6 DVD set focuses on Nigel Marvin and his travels back in time to capture prehistoric animals and bring them to the future. The concept might sound quirky but these videos are fascinating. They are filled with tons of information and humor.
My 7 year old is now obsessed with these videos and requests them constantly while our three year old daughter loves them too. What about my oldest who’s now ten? Yep, he still sits down and watches them.
If you have a child who is interested in wooly mammoths, saber tooth cats, or dinosaurs you must get these videos immediately. I promise your kids will love them.
I was cleaning off my desk today when I uncovered my sons’ bags they decorated at their Valentine’s party.
Appears to me that they already have conflicting views on love.
the 7 year old
the 10 year old
Looks like I’ll only have one romantic on my hands.
In an effort to have my boys try more food I took them to the grocery store to choose something for dinner.
My rule was the food needed to be something neither of them had ever tried.
We walked past the fruits and vegetables and nothing caught their eye.
The seafood department was different. I blame it on the worker who offered to take out a lobster for them. They were fascinated, getting to touch it and ask questions about the animal.
So they lingered in the seafood department and chose fish as their item to try.
Alex picked out some tilapia fillets while Andrew decided on catfish.
They decided to make their own fish sticks so we bought a fish fry mix as well.
Once we were home, the boys were very involved. Alex made the batter and they both dipped the fish.
Doesn’t quite live up to the Pepsi vs. Coke taste test hype but it worked.
Everyone had to taste both kinds of fish and give their vote as a favorite.
Alex loved the tilapia and ate several pieces. Of course, anything covered in tons of ketchup is always good. One vote for tilapia.
I chose the catfish as my favorite. One vote for catfish.
My husband chose the tilapia. Two votes for tilapia.
The deciding vote was all Andrew’s. Either a clear winner was about to emerge or he would declare a tie. This was his moment.
But …he was convinced we were trying to poison him.
“I can’t eat it.”
Eyes begin to water.
“It tastes terrible!”
At this point he’d eaten roughly one millimeter of the fish fry coating.
Cough, gag, cough.
“I can’t do it.”
“I hate this!”
Suddenly our fun experiment had come to a screeching halt. Just to be clear we were taste testing FISH STICKS! It can’t be that bad.
Maybe I should have just poured some Pepsi into a cup for them and called it done.
And so…the tilapia won by default.
I will call this experiment a success still and bring them to the store to choose something new to try. I’m not sure what item they will choose next but I can assure you when we walk past the seafood section Andrew will say, “There’s the catfish that I tried. It was gross. It made me cry.”