Painted Halloween Pumpkins!

I painted Halloween Pumpkins with the boys - they had a wonderful time, didn't eat too much paint (*cough* Andrew *cough*) and they've lasted for several weeks on our counter as a great Halloween decoration.

The activity itself probably lasted for under ten minutes, but that didn't make it any less fun :)

Apples!

Give your kids apples.

For dessert.

Sweet, crunchy, and an event when they have to wait until after lunch!

Idea for embellishing a lunch box

I don't like going to the mall.  I don't like being inside, under fluorescent lights, I don't like driving the busy, divided highway to get there, I don't like using my precious babysitting time to be there, I don't like dragging my complaining kids in the stroller who want to get down, run away, and fondle everything over $100 that they can reach.

So, I kind of put off getting Will a lunch box for his first lunch at school.  He'll be staying at his preschool for a little extra time just one day a week, and having lunch there.  That way, since his normal school time is only 2 hours and 15 minutes, I'll have a chance to get more done with Andrew one day a week.

Only, he needs a lunch box.  And all the other kids are probably going to have SUPER CUTE lunch boxes.  Because what parent doesn't want their adorable little preschooler to have the coolest lunch box ever that will make them smile at lunch time?  No parent.  We all want that.

Except I didn't go to Pottery Barn kids, or Hanna Andersson, or even manage to Amazon Prime one from Skip Hop in time for tomorrow.  I didn't even hit up the local toy store, Magic Beans, that I'm sure has lunch boxes.

Epic.

Fail.

So I did what any parent would do in the eleventh hour, after all the stores have closed, the night before their child's first school lunch ever.  (I may have been in denial, because this seems like a big deal, Will actually eating a meal without me...)

I rummaged around the house.

I found a lunch box of Greg's.  (Sorry, honey.)

I found colored duct tape in the basement.  (Huh?  Ok.  Cool.)

I spent over half an hour making the best darn duct tape train I could, and cut out Will's name in bright letters to label his lunch box.

Is it from Pottery Barn?  No.  Did it cost a lot?  No.  Is it, from an artistic perspective, of any merit whatsoever?  No.

Will he love it?  Probably.  Does it have his name on it in big, bright letters for the teachers to see?  Definitely.  Will any other kid there have the same lunch box?  Hell no.

Love you, Will.  Doing the best I can.

Happy 30th... to me :)

I turned 30!  And I'm still alive.  I'm only mildly surprised.  I realize I've just alienated all of you who are over 30... except perhaps you remember feeling the same way.  After all, when you turn 20, you have 21 to look forward to.  When you turn 30 you have... umm, well you see my point.

To celebrate, I ran my first half marathon on the last day of my twenties, something I'd been training for for four months.  (Read about my journey on my other blog, www.iamrunningthis.com)

My husband then surprised me with a birthday party where he rented a bouncy house and invited all of Will's playgroup friends and some of our favorite neighbors over for a wonderful afternoon of fun, complete with Qdoba catering so none of us had to cook or clean up from dinner.  The toddlers ate like champions, the weather was perfect, my parents were in town and helped with everything, it was a wonderful time!

If you're looking for the perfect gift to give anyone who is having a big birthday, my mother spent hours and hours putting together an amazing photo book of my last thirty years.  Since I grew up before the world of digital cameras for the most part, she had to recruit my Dad's help in transferring images from slides and prints, as well as choosing from hundreds of images and organizing them to tell my story.

It was such a heart-warming, powerful, and beautiful gift.  Many of these photos, since they were in slide format, I haven't seen in years.  Even the recent ones were often from their cameras rather than ours, and it was fun to see memories I shared but different photos than the ones we have.

My friends at the party enjoyed laughing with me over photos of my teenage years, and smiling at what a happy childhood I had, which is very obvious from those early pages.

It almost... almost, makes it easier to leave my twenties behind ;)

Yeah... We hired a babysitter on a weekend

This was such a revolutionary idea the first time we did it, but there's a lot to be said for hiring a babysitter on the weekend!

We had lots of family time, friends over yesterday, a long morning at the playground today, car washing and a snack this afternoon... And then 3-6 with a babysitter so Greg and I could have a break and get stuff done.

I wrote a post for my running blog and tackled a closet that was driving me crazy, he went for a swim and is trying out running shoes.

(Wow, they didn't even use it as bonding time... Yikes!)

I know.  We're rebels.  We love it.

And in fifteen minutes, we'll have a nice meal together as a family and then bath and stories.  What a great day :)

Teaching toddlers to empty the dishwasher

I've been trying to embrace Montessori principles in our house, helping the boys learn to do things for themselves when I can.

This morning, I discovered that they were both very eager to help me empty the dishwasher! Will, almost 3, has helped me in the past.  But this was the first time they both helped together.

Will emptied the glasses one by one, carefully setting them on the counter under the cabinet they go in.

Andrew took utensils out one by one and chucked them into the silverware drawer.  

Yes, I had to rearrange the silverware and put the glasses from the counter into the cabinet... But for the whole time I emptied dishes, it was quiet, they were happy, and each felt like they contributed something.  And you know what?  They did.

I didn't think an 18 month old could help... Makes me wonder what else they can do that would please them and help me!

Sort napkins from clean laundry?

Andrew set the table along with Will?

Teaching them to be part of the household helps all of us!

Teething strategy - napkin!