After dinner the other night, the kids were amusing themselves with something so my husband and I went on a hunt.
“We need dessert. We need dessert.”
And then we spotted it in the pantry.
“Eureka! It’s a miracle!”
Do you see it? The mother of all hidden candy?
Cue the angels singing.
Oh yes we did find that hiding.
Bless my children and their complete failure to remember they have any holiday candy three days after they collect it.
Hold on to your hats…We’ve got news!
We are so excited to have another little person join our family!
We will share more information in a few weeks but for now I will tell you that our family has started the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia.
Would you like a way to help us?
Tell everyone you know about the Big D & Me etsy shop.
Right now Father’s Day printables are for sale and make the perfect gift.
All proceeds go straight into our adoption fund!
Facebook it, Tweet it, Phone it, Email it!
Thanks so much for all of your support!
Over Memorial Day weekend, my city hosts a bike race around the town square.
Although we have lived here a few years, we’ve never had the opportunity to attend until this year.
The cyclists whip around the corners at frightening speeds and accelerate even more on straight aways.
I considered it a win that we only saw one cyclist with a blooded and torn up hip.
The kids found the racing fascinating while I just prayed it hadn’t inspired them to take up the sport.
Since we were also celebrating our 16th anniversary the night of the races, we took the kids to eat on the square and had a little celebratory gelatto.
It was a wonderful night that hopefully we can replicate next year… the only change being I’m having a whole cone of salted caramel ice cream, not just a half.
Definitely a good night.
Well, I didn’t plan on being away from here for a week but that’s just how things turned out.
My husband and I were furiously finishing a project I had said yes to (more tomorrow) and only finished about 30 minutes before the completed products were due. Nothing like cutting it close here 🙂
A week ago the awful tornado in Moore, Oklahoma struck and killed so many.
The following day, the meterologists were telling us to expect huge storms with tornadoes a real possibility. Needless to say, everyone around here was on edge.
Before school, the kids and I brought a mattress downstairs and placed it by the tub. We then practiced getting into the bathtub and placing the mattress on top of us. It wasn’t exact but we did the best we could.
We also gathered bike helmets, important papers, a first aid kit, and a pair of shoes for everyone. We always have our bike helmets handy when it’s tornado time, in case things start to fall on us. It’s probably silly to have them but it always makes me feel better knowing they are around.
Around 1 pm things started to get rainy. At 2 pm Caroline and I headed over to the elementary school because the wind was picking up and really raining. Apparently, every other parent had the same idea since it took me until 2:30 to get the boys. By this point it looked like a hurricane outside and my middle one started to cry. He was saying, “The tornado is going to get us.”
In our run from the school to the car we got soaked so everyone changed clothes once we got home. We turned on the tv and ate ice cream. Hey, it seemed incredibly reasonable to me, if the power goes out, the ice cream will go bad. Hence, we must eat the ice cream. After all, no one was in the mood for a frozen tuna patty so we went with next best thing.
I sent the kids to play while I continued to watch the weather reports on tv. All regular programming was ignored for constant weather reporting which just added to my nervousness.
Thankfully, there is no big ending to this story. The weather passed us by 4:30 pm, my husband came home at 5:30 to ask if it had even rained at the house. I will disclose here that I was ready to slug him at that point as my nerves were just about shot. We had frozen pizza for dinner, again ignoring the frozen tuna for something better, and continued on as normal.
Everything was normal except for the fact that my four year old whining,”I wanted the tornado to come,” and I was busy pricing portable storm shelters online.
For the last 4 years, my family has all gathered for a week in Florida.
Since we are all spread out – Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Canada – it’s a wonderful time for us to come together and have fun.
Last year we started, what my boys hope, is a new tradition – Minute to Win It Night.
The boys loved watching Minute to Win It on tv so I thought it would be perfect for them to set up a night where everyone plays the games.
The boys spent a week of their summer, making posters, choosing teams (red team vs blue team), watching video clips, choosing the games, gathering supplies, and emailing everyone.
Take a look at how our Minute to Win It Night went.
Getting Forked – roll a quarter into the prongs of a fork – good game
Ready Spaghetti – place spaghetti noodles through a soda can, carry the can from one table to another table while holding the spaghetti noodles in your mouth – okay game
Breakfast Scramble – Take the front covers of cereal boxes, cut each box into 16 pieces, and then race to see who can complete their puzzle first – good game
Hut, Hut, Hike! – Bend over and hike toilet paper rolls between your legs and through a person’s arms 15 feet away – Hilarious game
Marshmallow Match – Throw mini marshmallows into a bucket that is on top of a player’s head – good game
Rapid Fire – Player must shoot rubber bands to knock a triangle stack of 6 cans completely off a platform – good game
I’m pretty sure good times were had by all.
To me, the best part of the night is it involves everyone in the family, kids, adults, and grandparents. Truly lots of fun.
And family, you better start training for this year – word on the street this year is that there are new games a comin’!
Awhile back we were on an organic kick so I bought some organic apples for my family.
I bought 16 apples.
The cost?
$26.00!
Yep. You read that right. $26.00 for 16 apples.
I actually didn’t realize that was the cost until I got home and looked at the receipt.
Waaaaaaaay too much money for apples. Did you hear me? Waaaaayyyy too much money for apples!
After dropping off the groceries and kids, I headed out to run another errand.
When I returned and walked through our front door I heard my family in the kitchen and a loud reving noise.
I instantly recognized the sound and ran into the kitchen but it was too late.
The organic apples had been juiced!
$26.00 of apple juice.
How you like them apples?
(And no, they don’t drink the juice with my husband, they just like to witness the destruction of fruits and vegetables)
I spent my Mother’s Day weekend at a soccer tournament for my oldest.
A perfectly good way to spend a weekend in my opinion.
What is not a good way to spend a weekend is to listen to j*ack*ss parents scream and yell at my son and his team.
Are these opposing parents yelling?
No. They are my son’s teammates parents.
Well, I finally reached my breaking point on Saturday. And before I tell you what led to making a public statement I will say this. This screaming and yelling at the kids has been going on for two years.
For two years the kids and parents have listened to the one particular parent I confronted shout:
“Hussle Malcolm. You got to go faster out there.”
“You need better defense out there. George you are too slow today.”
“Oh come on, you gotta play better than that. You need to hussle Jacob!”
“Cross to the left! Move up! You must be kidding me, this is ridiculous.”
“You got to put out some effort out there!”
Every game, parents look back and forth at each other, and mumble to each other about what nonsense this is.
For two years.
I’m as guilty as the next parent in hoping that this moron would change his behavior. Even talks from the coach have been ignored by this man.
And what position does this man’s child play?
Goalie.
Never once has his child heard, “Come on James, you could have saved that ball!” “Unbelievable, you let that ball past you.” “Maybe if you would have hussled out there you could have gotten the ball.”
Never. Not once. But our kids have heard plenty.
So in the second half of the second game on Saturday I snapped.
I just couldn’t take it any longer.
After he shouted something obnoxious again, I turned to him and said, “You do realize those are our kids out there. They are doing the best they can and I’m tired of listening to your crap.”
For a split second I questioned what I had just done.
But then another parent said, “Yes, we are tired of it. Tired of it.”
I didn’t even look at the man for the rest of the game. I was shaking on the inside and ready to blow up at him at any moment if he said anything.
He said nothing.
And for the next game he sat far away.
But he said nothing.
I hope it made an impression on him.
I know it made an impression on my eight year who was sitting with me. I explained to him that while I was angry at the man, I was not angry at his son. I explained that I did not insult the man nor his family, just stated how I felt.
My message to this man and other parents who yell at our kids during a game:
Our children were not competing in the world cup, a championship game, or a game that was really that important. My son was out playing soccer because he loves it and has fun. Be positive and shout encouraging words. Let the coach, coach.
And, if you start yelling at our kids again, I’m pretty sure I won’t be the only one shaming you this time.
My kids think I am the biggest buzz kill ever.
If they had their way they would watch tv and play video games constantly.
But…insert evil witch cackle…they don’t have their way.
I believe kids need time to be bored.
There, I said it.
B.O.R.E.D.
I think being bored leads to creativity.
If technology is always an option, kids never have to imagine, pretend, and create.
The other day after they had been turned away from the computer I walked downstairs 20 minutes later to find my kids like this…
And this…
And this…
Apparently they were playing “Attack of the Zombie.”
See, creativity at it’s best.
The dog may have been questioning them, but me?
Nope? Proud momma.
Can’t wait to see what they dream up today.
(Just a little “Happy Birthday” shout out to my little zombie Andrew!)
My friend Jess, who recently moved to Michigan, shared a video with me. The video is the story of Jayden Lamb, a little boy from northeast Michigan.
This past weekend we celebrated my almost 8 year old with a little party. There were a few hitches and things didn’t go quite as planned. I was frustrated and annoyed and quite honestly, had trouble letting it go.
Then I watched this video again and felt foolish. Jayden’s dad can’t celebrate his son’s birthday with him and I’m complaining because a few kids were difficult at my son’s party.
Take a minute and watch.
Now just be thankful.
And when you have a moment, Pay It Forward – Jayden Style!
I love to buy artsy books for my kids (and sometimes me!) to draw with.
Now don’t get me wrong, I fully believe in blank paper in order to create but sometimes it’s just fun to try drawing an alligator or a funny person.
Here are some of our family’s favorite art books (my kids are 11, 7, and 4 if that helps):
Doodles at Lunch & Doodles at Breakfast: 36 Tear-Off Placemats
and this is the next book I want to get for our house
and maybe in a few years we’ll purchase this one
Happy Drawing Everyone!