Photo Story Friday - Good Old Fashioned Fun

Last Saturday afternoon, Abby spotted a sign for a block party hosted by a local church - FREE FOOD, FUN, GAMES - so the kids, Papa & Gramma Peggy (surprise visitors!), and I thought we'd go and check it out...

Moon bounces, a horse-drawn hayride, a cake walk, hamburgers, hot dogs, cotton candy, ice cream, face painting...and it didn't cost one penny.

Did I mention the caramel apples? 

There are definite perks to living in a small town...especially in the fall.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

A Twist on Teaching Table Manners

 Here's a "teach it simple" sample for you in case you haven't made it over to check out my new digs quite yet...

To curb the "yuck"s, constant interrupting, and feet…I mean, elbows on the table, I started a reward incentive called Mind Your Marbles to motivate my kids to mind their manners.  The kids can each earn marbles by staying in their seats, saying “please” and “thank you”, and – my personal favorite – taking their plates to the sink. The marbles are dropped into their special glasses lined with a decorated index card. Once they fill it half way, they get to choose a yummy dessert. When the glass is filled to the brim, they can choose the entire meal (plus dessert) for the family – or pick a favorite restaurant!  This incentive has worked wonders. My kids are excited to “mind their marbles” and have even asked to help set the table to earn extras - gotta love that!

*What works at your dinner table?

WW & Proud Mommy Moments - No More Training Wheels!

...and he has the band-aids to show for it!

So happy for that boy of mine (and my back is too)!

Now we just have to work on starting and stopping... 

*For more special everyday moments - check out my new site "Teach It Simple" - soon to be full of our most favorite "easy peasy" family activities, recipes, crafts, and other simple ideas! 

Join in the Wednesday photo-sharing fun at Seven Clown Circus,
 5 Minutes for Mom, Better in Bulk,  and wherever else you can find a link up! 
They are ALL over the place!

Just found another cute meme today (10/13) - 
this accomplishment definitely qualifies!

Well, I Finally Did It...

Remember that idea I mentioned way back before the summer began - the one that I had been sitting on forever and hoped I would have more time over the summer to devote to working on it...before Pat got that job offer, and we packed up our entire house in less than three weeks, and hauled ourselves 15 hours across five states only to start unpacking in a new place and try to get settled in brand new surroundings?

Remember that one?

Well, I am finally working on it. It's right here.

Simple beginnings for my new "teach-it-simple" site soon to be full of "easy peasy" activities and ideas that help families to make the most of everyday moments.

I feel like it has potential...and it's also a great way for me to get my teacher brain and my mommy brain on the same page, especially since I am planning to go back to teaching next year (if I can get through all of the red tape). I even purchased the domain name...I won't even tell you how long ago I did that.

I'd love for you to stop by, browse around a bit, share some ideas, maybe even click that "follow" button...

Like I said, just simple beginnings...but you have to start somewhere right?

Right in Our Own Backyard - Photo Story Friday

What are the odds of two of these making an appearance in our backyard in less than three months of living here?

If you look really closely, you can see a faint second rainbow off to the left - or a "double rainbow" as the kids and I have started calling them. 

I think I've only seen two other "double rainbows" in my lifetime so how cool is this? Really.

We've also seen three or four of these floating in the sky since moving here -

I captured this one from the grocery store parking lot. Then, this afternoon, Abby spotted one from our front porch. Pretty awesome, I must say. (Not that I'd ever go up in one...yikes!)

Gotta love colorful surprises in the sky, especially when we've had more than our fair share of rain clouds over the last couple of months.

For even more color, check out the pics from our latest adventure to see the world's largest crayon! Fun stuff. 



Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Might Need a Tissue for This One

Noah spiked a fever on Saturday afternoon. We were sitting in Friendly's waiting (and waiting) for our food when Noah leaned into my arm, and I could feel the heat radiating from his little face. His temp ended up being 101.6 - poor kid. He just laid on the couch the rest of the afternoon and even fell asleep - which we all know is completely uncharacteristic for that boy of mine.

He's slept next to me for the last four nights - waking up every hour or so, sweating, coughing, crying...I took him to the doctor yesterday who assured me that it's probably allergies with a touch of croup. He woke up around 11 o'clock last night with that barking cough again (oh, and spiked a fever later on - definitely not allergies). I turned on the hot shower in the bathroom to let it get steamy and held Noah in the dark, his arms heavy around my neck, swaying side to side, humming, thinking of how I used to do this when he was a baby. My baby boy - now a whopping 45 lbs and going to school - riding the bus even. I thought about how it won't be much longer that I'll be able to hold him like this. My arms began to ache just holding him for a few minutes last night until I finally had to stop swaying and sit on the toilet seat lid. He curled into me even more, bringing his legs in and sitting "criss-cross applesauce" on my lap.

Being that I haven't had much sleep for a few days and that I am a sap of a mama any way, the tears were flowing - mine this time...not his.  This growing up thing is hard on a mom. As much as I love to see my kids learn and their talents develop, there's a tiny part of me that aches for that snuggly baby sleeping on my chest. Every phase has been amazing to watch - from taking first steps to writing their names, and even now it's neat to see how confident they are and how they've become more independent, especially Abby. She is just loving school. She was beside herself with excitement when she found out she was chosen to be a student council representative. Her reaction was the cutest thing, and I couldn't be more proud of her. But man...time goes by so fast.

Pat is always reminding me that they are still little...and I know that they are. They still need their mama. I've had to stop writing this post twice in the last five minutes because Noah got stuck in a hiding spot and then Abby stepped on a LEGO ( - that is never pleasant). It's just a mom thing I guess....or maybe a sleep-deprived sappy mom thing, and I'm sure it doesn't get any easier the older that they get. I just need to toughen up a little bit - treasure the past and savor the present...

and get in as many snuggles as I can before it's not so cool to hug your mom at the bus stop.

Behold! The World's Largest Crayon!

1500 lbs, people! Enough crayon to color three football fields and then some. 

The kids and I ventured out in search of The Crayola Factory this past Thursday since they had a day off from school - gotta take advantage of those! They don't get another one until Thanksgiving break - no Columbus Day or Veteran's Day privileges around here.  It was a bit of a drive and pretty packed, but the kids had a blast. Watercolors, Magic Markers, Model Magic, and more crayons in one place than I have ever seen!

They even let the kids write on the "walls" - love those window markers!

Abby kept going on and on about how fun it was. Having all of those art projects at your fingertips - how could it not be?

 

I'm glad we were able to make the trip while the kids are still into this kind of thing. As I looked around at the swarms of people, I noticed that a lot of the kids were younger than mine - lots of strollers and little ones toddling around.  I couldn't help but think of how big Abby and Noah are getting, how childhood passes way too quickly...and how grateful I am for the time I have with them and for the  "color" that they bring into my life (to borrow a favorite line from Ramona and Beezus).

Amazingly grateful.