Wordless Wednesday

I'm BACK!!

Holy cow!  How has it been almost 2 years since I posted on my blog?  I think about it often, but I just haven't gotten around to doing it.  I have really missed sitting down and writing out my thoughts and feelings.

Here is what has been happening lately:

• We celebrated our third New Years Eve in Lubbock.  This is HUGE!  We have never stayed in one city this long, and we still love it!  Lubbock has been so good to our family, that we are not sure when (if ever) we will leave.
• Maddison is now 11, Gabriella 9, Brayden 5, and Paisley 2!
• Marco is about a week away from opening his new restaurant, Aspen Creek!  It is crunch time and he's feeling the pressure, but I am so incredibly proud of him!
• I love my job as a Parent's Day Out teacher, and couldn't be more blessed by the church I work for and the friendships I have made!
• We found a church home, for all of us!  Gabriella gave her life to Christ and was baptized last year, and Maddison gave her life to Christ this year and will be baptized soon!

Lubbock has really blessed us in many ways, a few we weren't ever expecting, and some are far better than we could have ever imagined!

So what have you been up to?

Typical Texas Bluebonnet Pictures

Wordless Wednesday

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the kids together:

 



Naptime=Playtime 4 Cloud Dough

Brayden and I are having so much fun with our naptime=playtime activities. 

As I was searching pinterest for new ideas for my Indoor Fun and Games board, I came across one of my new favorite blogs for fun ideas, Kara's Classroom.  I first found her post on cloud dough and then searched through her blog and I cannot wait to try more of her ideas.

Cloud dough was easy to make, and Brayden had lots of fun playing with it. 

To make cloud dough all you need is 7 cups of flour, 1 cup of vegetable oil and a big container to put it in.  *I wish we would have had a bigger container, but our little one worked just fine.

To start, we gathered our flour, oil, container, and a towel to sit on.  Brayden helped me count and measure out the cups of flour and then mix in the oil. 

He played for awhile with just the dough till we were interrupted by Paisley who wanted to join in the fun.  She started off in her bouncer, but she did not want to stay there.  I put her in the bumbo and gave her a cookie cutter to play with.  Brayden loved trying to make the cookie cutter shapes in the dough.  Next time, I want to come up with more things for him to play with in the dough, even though his hands and the cookie cutters worked just fine. 

After the big girls got home from school, Brayden told them what he had played with and they wanted to play too.  Even my girls liked it, and this is why I want a bigger container.

Overall, the cloud dough was a HUGE success and I cannot wait to get it out again!

Any suggestions on what else to play with in the cloud dough?

Letter Obstacle Fun

It has been very cold here for a few days and the kids really haven't been able to go outside.  Thursday it was snowy (and I kept the girls home from school) and I wanted to do an activity to keep their bodies and minds active but that was also fun.

I found this post from pinterest, and thought I could do something similar.

I used small and colorful sheets of paper and wrote a letter on one.  Then I taped them all over the floor, chairs, bench, and table.  Then I had the kids jump to each letter.

For Brayden (3), we started with saying what each letter was.  For Ella (7), I had her tell me a word that started with the letter.  For Maddi (9), I had her tell me a word and spell the word for each letter.

The next time through, I had Brayden count the letters, Ella made up an addition problem with each number, and Maddi made up multiplication problems with each number.  Ella did lots of +1's and +0's, and I am ok with that.  Maddi did some x1's and x0's, but for the 20's, she tried to figure out what two numbers multiplied together would make that number (ex:4x5=20).

The kids loved getting to climb on the table since it is something that is normally not allowed.  We also changed it up and did different exercises over the letters.  They did jumping jacks, high knees, bear crawl, crab walk, going backwards, and so on. 

They laughed, worked their brains, and their bodies.  I would say it was a successful indoor activity!!

 

I love you because...(Simple Valentines Craft for you Children)

I wanted to let my kids know how much they mean to me since we have had some rough couple of months here and there.  I thought I could make them something for each of the kids that would be tailored just to them.  I came up with this simple craft because of all the Valentine décor floating around pinterest right now.

I took some construction paper and cut out a bunch of little hearts.  Then I cut out 3 big hearts, one for each of my bigger children.  On the big hearts I wrote their names, then wrote I love you because.

I hung each of them on their doors on a ribbon, and wrote on the little hearts things I loved about them.  For example, on some of Brayden's I wrote that he loves to cuddle, he loves monster trucks, and he is a great big brother.  I plan on adding one everyday till Valentine's day (and hopefully for a long time after).  So far I have added 4 hearts. 

 

The kids love seeing what new heart I add to their ribbon every day.  For me it is a great reminder that my kids are very special in their own way.  This is an easy thing to do for your kids to let them know how much you love them. 

 

*I didn't do one for Paisley for obvious reasons (she is 4 months old and would not understand (I will include her in the future though)).

Snow Fun

Ella's 7th Birthday Party

This is a serious better late than never post!!  Not only am I a terrible blogger, I am also a terrible mom!  I just looked through my list of posts and realized I never posted on Ella's 7th birthday!  It's still October right?  Jeez I am awful!

She is very close to being a Halloween baby, and I was very excited this year when she decided to do a Halloween themed party.  I started pinning lots of ideas and tried to figure out how to make it fun.

Some of my favorite things were the sweet treats that I made.

Boo Mix, Witches hats, and pretzel bites.

 

I attempted to make mummy dogs.

They were cute and the kids loved them, but mine looked nothing like the pinterest pin.

 

 I loved that I could decorate for Halloween and leave it up as décor for Ella's party.

 





I bought packages of pumpkins, witches hats, and ghosts for the kids to decorate with foam stickers.  I am pretty sure I won't do that again.  It left a lot of mess from all the little stickers.

 

It was a very nice day, so the kids played out in the back for a very long time.  I was worried since the kids were in their Halloween costumes, but luckily only a few accessories were misplaced, and they were found and returned before trick or treating.

 

Of course Ella wanted to play the Mummy Wrap game, which is just wrapping each other in toilet paper.  This game has been a hit with my girls for a few years and they ask for it at every party.  The party guests always seem to enjoy it as well.  It gets lots of laughs, makes a HUGE mess, and since I use dollar store toilet paper, I don't feel bad when it ALL goes in the trash.

 

I made some easy cupcakes for her party.  I wish I knew how to make an awesome looking cake, but it is just not in my repertoire.  Even though they were not amazing cupcakes, they served their purpose.

 

 

Of course, there were presents opened and gift bags given on the way out, but more importantly there were lots of laughs heard that day.

 

I love my Ella, and I know she had a blast.  Hopefully next year I will get her birthday post up on time.

Our Christmas 2013 Part 3

Catch up on Part 1 HERE

Part 2 HERE

Christmas morning was great!  I love seeing the kids dig into their stockings.  I had some bigger plans for the kids' stockings, but those were ruined by two girls peeking in my closet.  Oh well, they loved everything in their stockings and it all worked out.  Ella's big Santa present was a bow and arrow, Maddi's was a scooter for her American Girl, Brayden's was a Superman and football, and Paisley's was a giggly pig.

My dad and step mom headed for Christmas with her family, and we headed to my mom's house for Christmas with the McGregor side of the family.  It was small, but very nice to catch up with my uncles, an Aunt, and a cousin and her little girl.  We opened presents and had dinner there.  My mom made all the kids pjs and Brayden put his on immediately.  She also got each of them a game and we had fun trying them out.  The night went too fast, and of course there wasn't enough time spent over there.

Thursday morning was spent watching the kids play football in dad's backyard.  Paisley napped in my arms, as Brayden, Ella, and Maddi tried to figure out how to catch, throw, kick, and tackle.  Then came the task of packing up everything, getting some snacks together, and figuring out how to fit everything in the car.

It took forever to pack up and make sure we had everything we needed to bring home.  Marco packed up the car (then I repacked it so everything would fit better).  The car was packed full, and I don't think we could have fit anything else. 

We headed to get the dogs and start our long drive home.  Paisley did good on the first leg of the drive home, but not so much after we stopped for dinner.  She threw a huge fit, so we ended up pulling over so I could feed her again in the car.  It worked out though, because Brayden needed to go potty while we were stopped.  Once I thought I had her calmed down, we started back on the road and she started throwing a mega fit.  So much so, that I had to switch spots with Ella while we were driving.  There was no where to pull over, and I wasn't about to have Marco pull off to the side to possibly be hit by a semi.  So Ella and I switched spots.  She loved sitting in the front for the few minutes it took me to get Paisley calmed down and asleep.  Then, we switched back.  It was an exciting drive home, needless to say.

Unpacking the car when we got home was no fun, but we managed to get everything in the house.  Then we opened up our gifts to each other.  The kids did an amazing job of picking out gifts for each other.  This year instead of dollar store gifts, Marco took them to use $5 for one thoughtful gift.  Brayden got each of the girls a Ty animal from Cracker Barrel.  Both Ella and Maddi found great gifts but they were over their $5 spending limit.  Both girls said they would give their own money from their piggy banks to make up the difference.  What amazing girls!  Maddi got Brayden a superman shirt with a cape, Ella Hello Kitty slippers, and Paisley a little piano toy.  Ella got Paisley a ball toy, Brayden a superman cape, and Maddi some silly stompers slippers.  I really love that they enjoy buying and giving to each other.

We had an amazing Christmas and the only thing that would have made it better would have been getting more time with everyone.  I am glad that the kids and I went in early with out Marco, it meant I was able to spend time with my two best friends.  Even with all the stress, I am very happy we made the decision to go leave the house for Christmas.  The kids had a blast, and it was more than worth it!!

Thank you if you read it all :)  I didn't realize when I started writing about our Christmas that it would end up so long!

 

Our Christmas 2013 Part 2

Catch up on Part 1 HERE

When we left my brother's house Saturday night, we drove to my best friend, Roxy's house.  She had no clue we were in town, and I couldn't wait to surprise her.  I was talking to her earlier that day, and I almost gave myself away, but I had to make sure she would be home when I was going to head to her house.  I tried to record her reaction on my phone but some how stopped the video instead of recording, but it was priceless!!  I enjoyed an amazing night of catching up and only wish there had been more hours that night for us.  The kids and I spent the night, and Roxy and I stayed up way too late chatting and listening to our kids' laughter.

 

Sunday was her annual cookie party (a tradition we missed last year), and I was so excited to have made it this year.  The kids love rolling out their own cookies, making messes with flour and dough, and then decorating the cookies how ever they want.  These cookies are always used for Santa cookies, since they are overly sprinkled and frosted.

 

After the cookie party, the kids and I headed to my mom's for a big kid sleepover with Grani.  The big girls love spending the night with my mom and Brayden was going to try it out for the first time.  They had a blast!  Pepe, our elf, made an appearance, they made chocolate mice and cupcakes, and just overall enjoyed some Grani time.  Brayden did great staying with her, and I got a semi-kid free night.  Paisley and I went back to my dad's Sunday night.

Monday afternoon, Paisley and I headed to my mom's house.  I heard how Grani almost made Pepe lose his magic by accidently knocking him over.  Maddi and Ella freaked out for a few minutes, but Pepe let my mom know (when she was by herself of course), that he was ok because grandparents can touch the elves.  That was a close call though.

After the elf fiasco, mom and I loaded up the kids and went to see my grandpa.  It is a long story, but after a fall he had, he has been placed in a home where he is getting 24 hour nursing care.  But he seems to be slowly declining.  We took a few pictures and tried to talk to him, but he had no idea who we were.  The whole situation is very sad, and I don't like talking about it.

To end Monday on a happier note, the kids and I went to see my other best friend Marsha.  Her hubby, Cliff and I went to high school together, so I have known them forever.  Marsha has an older son, Blake, that Brayden just absolutely adores, and a daughter that is 1 month younger than Ella.  Cliff went to pick up Marco from the airport, which was perfect for me to get in some Marsha time.  I just love her!  Marco and I hung out way too late after he got there.  We let the girls spend the night with Persy, and the rest of us headed back to my dad's.

 
Christmas Eve we headed back to pick up the girls and do some final Christmas shopping.  Maddi started feeling bad, and ended up running fever all night.  She was puny most of the day, but had nothing more than fever.

 
We were getting together for Christmas at my dad's Tuesday, so both of my brother's came there.  The guys played pool, the kids ran around like crazy, Pepe left the kids some green milk (with magic dust to help them sleep), we ate, we opened presents, and we watched movies.  To end the night, my dad drove us around his neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.  When we got back, the kids put out their reindeer food and Santa cookies, and it was off to bed.

 

Part 3 Coming Tomorrow