Great Wolf Lodge

We took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Dallas last month.  We had a wonderful time!  It had a huge indoor and outdoor water park, so we spent most of our time there.  They also have tons of kids activities inside the resort.  We stayed for two days, which was the perfect amount of time.  Here are some of the pictures from our trip.

It took Madelyn a little while to decide she enjoyed the water.  I think there was just so much to do and so many people that she was a little nervous.  She loved this though, you turned the wheel and the water would spray.  She kept saying "I want to go shooting!"

 Andrew, on the other hand, had no problem adjusting!  He loves the water!

Madelyn enjoyed the water sprayers.  That thing behind her is a small mountain with a wolf on top.  When the wolf howls, the mountain becomes a huge waterfall.  Everytime that wolf would howl, Madelyn would run out of the water!

 Family pic.  I honestly think this is the only family picture that we have taken all year!

 The indoor water park  was awesome!  They had so many different activities.  The little kid area was great.  They both enjoyed riding the wave runners and shooting the water.

Madelyn having some fun!

 The Great Wolf characters, Wiley and Violet.  We went to breakfast with them one morning.  The kids really liked them!

 Just chatting with Wiley and eating a giant do-nut!

 We went to the Rainforest Cafe on night.  The kids were scared to death of the animals!

 They really didn't want me to take this picture, but I thought it would be cute.  They were a little cold after being in the pool all day!

 Having fun with Dad.

 Snow cone break.  Andrew later spilt the melted snow cone all over the concrete.  Some poor worker spent forever trying to clean it up. 

 Andrew with Wiley and Violet.  Madelyn didn't want to get her picture made with them!

 Andrew and the frog at Rainforest Cafe

 The water park is the perfect place for Andrew.  He can run and be as loud as he wants!

There were several big water slides that Andrew went down.  Jason and I went with him, because he was not quite ready to do them by himself.  He loved it!

We had a great trip!  The kids keep asking when we are going to go back to Great Wolf Lodge.  I am hoping that we get to do it again soon!

Here We Go Again!

 It's been a while since our last post.  A LONG while!  And I don't really even know where to begin.  So here are a few significant events:  There was Thanksgiving and we were thankful and ate a lot of turkey. Jason and I took a adult only trip to NYC.  Christmas came and went in all it's glittery glory- while not forgetting the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate with all that glitter anyway!  We rang in 2012...in our sleep!  We wished for snow days that never came.  Madelyn became a regular at the many baby showers we've attended this spring.  Andrew has strutted his stuff on the soccer field.  I graduated my THIRD class of Pre-K 4 kiddos.  Jason continues doing things the "Wal-Mart Way." We welcomed summer and have offically become pool bums.  And everytime I think that we have almost achieved this "work-life-balance" thing...I wake up and realize it's only a dream!

So, at the ages the kids are now-2.5 and 4.5- it's hard to do the milestone thing, because they really don't hit those like they did when they were really little.  Maybe that's why I haven't blogged in so long, because my kids are not babies anymore.  So I have decided to do the top ten things that Andrew and Madelyn are up to these days.

 They have a really sweet brother/sister relationship!  She adores her "dudu."  That's right, she calls him "dudu" and we do too.  It's hystarical and he has no idea that it means poop.

 We are officially "pool people." We've been there everyday since it opened. 

 All About Andrew at Age 4.5

1. He is really, really, really, really into superheros.  This all started with the boys in his class at school.  He introduces himself to people with this...in all seriousness, "My name is Andrew Batman Robin.  But people call me Joker." 

2. He definitely has my coordination.  I've seen him on multiple occasions get his feet stuck in the soccer goal and trip and fall.  (Yes, I laugh at him.)

3. He is kind of bossy and likes to let us know when Madelyn needs a spanking (and just how many she should get).

4. He is not into the fine motor development, alphabet learning, letter/sound/number/color recognition.  He can do it- when asked by the right person, at the right time, and if he has nothing better to do.  Otherwise, A is occasionally Q, J, P or 6.  Even though he knows that is the first letter in his name and he can write it.  It drives this former kindergarten teacher CrAzY!

5. He is still very much into cars and trains.  He also likes building with his legos.  He is very imaginative when he plays.  Always coming up with something elaborate.

6. The boy NEVER.STOPS.TALKING.  I mean, never!  He just keeps going and going and going and going.

7.  He is friendly.  He will introduce himself to whomever he meets and will strike up a conversation with you (only if you are interesting, of course)

8. His arm is a lazer and he knows how to use it.  We really are working on controlling our lazer and only using it when absolutely necessary.  Not on random old men in Wal=Mart.

9. He makes me laugh constantly.  Which is good, because I like to laugh.  Example:  Tonight we're at the pool and he says "Mom, I'm all tuckered out."  That's right...he said he was tuckered out. 

10, He has the sweetest little heart.  He cares for others and wants to make sure people are not hurt or scared.  He tries to do the right thing and wants to make people happy.  He genuanly feels bad when he does something wrong.  (not that it always stops him, he is still only 4).  I love this little boy so much!  

Miss Madelyn at 2.5

1. She is a Momma's girl.  She picks me over anyone (even Mimi) 90% of the time.  Problem is, I allow this behavior and so she's a little bit rotten because of it.

2, She loves shoes.  Loves to try on other people's shoes, loves to change shoes throughout the day, loves to match and line up her shoes.  Currently her shoes of choice are Andrew's pirate flip-flops (which he hasn't had a chance to wear) and her hot pink Build-a-Bear sandals. 

3.  She has a tender heart for animals.  She loves our dog and cats, loves Mimi's dogs too.  She walks around saying "Ally loves me, Gracey loves me, Bear Bear loves me." 

4. She is really coming into her own when it comes to talking.  I can understand about 75% of what she has to say.  She also talks nonstop, but isn't as friendly as Andrew.  She is a bit shy.

5. She has good corditation when it comes to throwing, catching, and kicking.  I'm anxious to see what she does with that talent.

6. She doesn't eat much, but when she does, she eats a TON!  She also is like her momma in that she'd rather snack throughout the day then eat a big meal. 

7, She is SO observant.  It's funny, really.  (She gets this from me, because I have a weird memory.  In that I remember names, faces, clothes, and I see trends).  The other night at dinner they played the National Anthem and everyone put their hand over their heart.  When it finished a few seconds passed and another song came on.  Madelyn looked at me and said "like this" and put her hand over her heart.  Funny how she noticed that!

8. She can do everything ALL.BY.HERSELF. she can dress herself, buckle her seat belt, feed herself, pick out her own clothes, etc.  I like that she is showing her independance, but don't like the fit that is thrown before she gets to exert said independence.

9. She has been having a difficult time transitioning to her own bed at night.  Which is weird, because she never had a problem until recently.  She says "I want to sleep with you guys" and will cry and cry until we get her out of her bed and put her in ours.  She falls asleep within minutes and then goes back, but it's a weird phase for her, I think.

10. She is so happy!  She just has a good attitude most of time time and is smiley and she likes to make you smile.  She also knows what she wants and will do what it takes to get it.  Sweet and Sassy all at the same time!

I am going to attempt to do better at this.  I have been doing a lot of work around the house, although there is not a finished project yet!  I am working at work a lot too, trying to get our quality accreditation done and refuel for next year, as well as our summr program that starts next week.  Life is busy!  But I don't think that's going to change for a little while.  So I am going to give this blogging thing another go! 



Taken Over By Toys- Part 2

Well, I told you I would get Andrew's room done today and guess what? I actually did! This was the absolute worst of all the messes from the toys. Andrew actually plays with his toys pretty much constantly. I love that about him! He loves to act out books he has read and movies he has seen using his toys- Thomas the train, Cars, and Toy Story are his loves. I enjoy seeing his comprehension skills as he plays. Nothing beats dramatic play! So, I had to figure out a way to keep this going, while organizing all the toys in his room. I think I have rearranged his room about 3 times in the last year, but I think this time that I got it! I almost moved his room and Madelyn's room around, but Jason suggested I measure first and low and behold the rooms are exactly the same size. So, no luck! Here is what I did:

He got a train table from his Nana and while it is huge, it really contains his trains much better than before. I put the train table under his window. This was a strategic move, because his toys tend to travel down the hallway and end up everywhere. This keeps them on the opposite side of the room and the bed is in the way, so they are contained in his room!! Yea!! I was using his dresser as a nightstand, but decided to switch those around and go back to the nightstand by his bed. I also moved his book shelf to the wall by the door.
Here is another view of his room. It really looks a lot better. I didn't do a close up of his tree, because it still isn't finished, but it is a Razorback tree!

I had most of his toys in his closet in plastic storage bins- one for each type of toy. Well, that wasn't working out for me, so I got three bins that go under his bed. One for cars, one for trains, and one for toy story. If it didn't fit in one of those boxes then it went upstairs to the playroom (which is my next battle!). I moved out the shelf that was in his closet and put it in Madelyn's closet. I put his small brown shelf in his closet and the bins hold shoes, winter stuff, and a couple of special toys. The bins at the top hold keepsakes and school work. His games are also on the top shelf.

I am so happy to have the kid's rooms organized! It has really been difficult trying to figure out what to do with everything. Next up, the playroom...but not for a few more days!

Taken Over By Toys- Part 1

If you haven't noticed, there hasn't been much blogging from me over the last few months. Here is why...I have been in the middle of a hostle take over by the toys in our house. We had toys coming from all directions. Covering the house. I tripped over several dozen cars and trains, slipped on the books that were all over the floor, stubbed my toes on ride-on toys, and wouldn't dare walk through the house at night. It didn't matter how many plastic storage bins I bought or how much I tried to explain the importance of "putting things back where they belong" no one seemed to get it and I was beginning to wonder if Toy Story was true, because I was just sure I put things away. Anyway, I decided something had to be done, but I didn't have any idea what it was and everything that I tried just seemed to make more of a mess and cause things to become even more disorganized. So, I have decided that instead of letting these toys take me over and possibly cause me to end up on an episode of Horders that I was going to do something about it! In the meantime, we have had both kid's birthdays and Christmas is coming, so I knew it was about to get crazy around here! So today, I got started and I accomplished part one- the kid's rooms. This post is about Madelyn's room and Andrew's will come next. I still need to finish his closet and he went to bed early, so I am waiting. He never goes to bed early!

There was a lot that needed to be done in Miss Madelyn's room. The first thing was starting on her "big girl" room. I had found some fabric I loved and wanted to center the room around this fabric. My grandmother had these wonderful curtains made and used the birds in the fabric to make pictures to go above her bed. I love it! We are not ready to convert her crib just yet, but we do have a few pillows to use when we search for her bedding. I think that the curtains really change the feel of her room. And in the corner you can see her adorable little tree! Yes, I am decorating for Christmas early.
I changed her shelves up a little too. I had baskets on them that I used when she was littler, but they just didn't look right on the shelves. They kind of looked to messy, so I moved them to her closet where they are just perfect! I am still putting up a little Christmas stuff in her room and I plan to put some other things on her shelves later, but for now, I am happy and I think they look much more organized! Also, her kitchen is in the corner. I decided that one way to corral the toys was give the kids two things to play with in their room. Madelyn- kitchen and baby doll stuff (that Santa is bringing) and Andrew- trains and cars. That solved a lot of my toy takeover problem. Everything else is going to the playroom, although right now it is in my dining room!

A close up of her little tree. I am loving some deco mesh this year! Maybe a little too much!

And her closet. Ahhh! It just makes me happy to look in here! It is so organized! The bins are not all full to save room for Christmas toys and everything has a place. Who knew how much happiness could come from an organized closet?!

So, my first battle has been won and tomorrow I will finish battle number 2, Andrew's rooom!

The Rainbow Fish Mystery

Ok, this was just to funny not to write down. This is more for me to remember than anything else!

This morning, I went into Andrew's room to get his clothes out of his drawers and noticed two shiny rocks on the bedroom floor. I then saw water splattered on top of the dresser. I peeked into the fish bowl and there was no fish in sight. I quickly shook the fish bowl and again, no fish. I turned on the light to explore the situation further and still no fish. About that time, I glanced over at Andrew's bed to see a streak of fur jumping off and darting away.

I went to tell Jason that there had been a death in the family. He did not believe me right away, so he went to check it out. Being a male, he is very observant, so when he also didn't find a fish I knew Rainbow was hanging out in fishy heaven...or the belly of a very large cat.

I was already running behind and this tragedy just set us back about 10 more minutes. I loaded the kids up with intentions of heading to Wal-Mart during my lunch break to purchase a new fish. I went home to eat lunch and checked the bowl. Still no fish. I ate my lunch and then got sucked in to a very powerful episode of The View. My hour was wasted, so I didn't get a fish.

I got a text from Jason asking if I got a new fish. I hadn't. I hoped that we would get him and Andrew just wouldn't notice. I let him eat a can of Pringles and watch all the Handy Manny he wanted as a distraction. He went into his room and I followed. The kid didn't notice that there was no fish! Success!

After he left his room, I checked the bowl again and I see the body of Rainbow Fish. I am quickly planning his funeral, burial at sea, as I see him start to wiggle. I shake the bowl and he wiggles some more. Then he starts swimming. I walk out of the room, walk back in, check the bowl again (I have pretty terrible vision, so my eyes could have been out of focus) and there is the fish.

I have no clue as to how the fish got back in the bowl. Or where on earth he has been all day, but I am glad to know that my cats are not fish eaters...or at least that I have one very cleaver fish, who I am considering renaming Lazarus.

It's been six years...

...and I still haven't properly displayed our wedding pictures. Until now! I have had a few wedding pictures displayed, but there were so many that I liked and wanted to do something special with, but I just couldn't find the right way to do it. I am re-doing our bedroom (along with every other room in this house :)! I sold our furniture (and we are sleeping on a mattress until the new stuff comes in) because I wanted something that took up less space. I always felt like our room was too crowded. We had our dresser on the wall in our bedroom between the windows, but I don't want the dresser to go there this time. So, I started googling ideas for what to do with this wall. It's not a big space, but I couldn't decide what to hang there. I was going to do some sort of photo collage, but I have them all over my house and I wanted this one to look more unique. So this is what I did...

I bought 9 cheap ($4.00) frames from Wal-Mart. (Have I mentioned that I am trying to be crafty, but not spend a fortune on it?) These two pics got out of order! I ran out of tape and used band-aids to attach the pictures!

I had mats cut at Hobby Lobby for the frames, some vertical and some horizontal.

Oh, I am using my t-shirt quilt as a bedspread for our mattress...it makes me feel young again!

I arranged the frames how I wanted it to look when it was on the wall.

I found these command picture hanging strips at HL and used them. They worked great!

These were the most expensive part of the project!

I started by hanging the first frame in the center of the wall and then just lining the rest along with it. Kind of like a puzzle!

Ta-da! The finished product! I am in love with this!

A better shot! It took me about 30 minutes to do the whole project. Easy and inexpensive!

Another view. Our room is blue and brown, so that is why I choose the blue mats. I like the way they look. I tend to do black and white for everything, so I wanted to add some color!

It's A BIG BIG Calendar!

I have this massive wall in our laundry room and every day when I come home I look at this wall and think "I need to do something with this." I tried several different options and nothing ever looked right, so the wall just turned into a big mess of holes. I thought about having some sort of organizational tool on the wall, but I didn't want anything that would stick out to far. It's not a tight squeeze, but it's not wide enough to have anything really sticking out from the wall, so I was kind of at a loss. I saw a thing in Southern Living where someone had made a cork board wall and turned it into a calendar. I loved that idea, but didn't like the idea of cork board (because it was pretty expensive!). Another battle I was fighting was the fridge. It is always over run with invitations, artwork, etc. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all of those things, but I just wanted some way for it to look more organized. And then I saw the ad for magnetic paint! I knew that I could do something awesome with that stuff and so the BIG BIG Calendar was born!

So, this stuff is great! I used the whole bottle of this stuff. It is the best glue ever! I googled all kinds of adhesives and this was the winner...Liquid Nails!
This is the fabulous magnetic paint!

I bought some moulding from Lowe's and painted it black to make the frame for the calendar. I believe it is 5 feet long and 8 feet wide. Yeah...BIG!

And the paint roller, just for show!

My big, blank, hole covered wall. I guess I could call it my "muse"!

The first thing I did was make the frame. I had to use the leveler to make sure that it was completely even. I used the liquid nails to adhere the moulding to the wall.

This was the most difficult part. I had to measure each space and make sure that the lines were even. I used blue painters tape for this.

I had to paint about three coats of the magnetic paint. I honestly could have done more and probably could have done thicker layers, but it is what it is and I am not re-doing it!

I painted over the magnetic paint with blue paint. I just like the blue and it matches the curtains. Once the whole laundry room is done I will share those pictures!

I pulled off the painter's tape after the paint had dried. I was so proud that the lines were straight and even!

I used the liquid nails again to attach ribbon to the wall along the grid lines. I wanted something fun that matched the curtains. I knew that changing the ribbon each month was not something that I was going to want to do.

I made days of the week signs and hung them up at the top.

Close up of the days of the week.

I used chip board letters from Hobby Lobby and decorated them for each month. I decided that these would be specific to the holdays or seasons that are in that month. August doesn't really have anything, so I just made it pretty and bright for summer! I got scrapbook paper to cover the letters and stickers and embellishments to go on them. I cut ribbon to hang them above the calendar.

A close up of the letters. They are really fun to do! It made me miss scrapbooking (now mine are all digital) but, I don't want to get into that at this point of my life! Too busy to do that!

Here is July. I am doing each month as it comes. I think that it will be easier that way and I won't get board and just throw them together. At least that is the hope!

And here it is! I love it! I can hang invitations on the date of the event. I also plan to make little signs for different things- appointments, birthdays, holidays, school, church, etc.

These are the number cards. I want to do something different and probably have them laminated. Madelyn has torn up the bottom ones, but I plan to use this as a teaching tool also!

Close up of one of the squares. It has the invitation and date (that M tore up!). I used velcro to attach the numbers so I can move them around easily.

So that's my calendar. It's pretty fun! I love walking in and seeing it on the wall. There are still minor adjustments to be made, but this is it for now!