ethan-ism...

last night we were in the car and avery was hitting her head with her hand (do your kids do this too? why? i don't know...) anyway, she was hitting herself in the head and i said, "avery don't hit your head! you'll hurt your brains" and ethan (quick as a whip) said, "avery has two brains????"

funny kid.

i {heart} minwax...

so you remember the table and chairs? well, in my pregnant "i am so freaking hot and can't stand it anymore" haste last summer when i painted that set of furniture...i didn't seal it. it will be fine..i thought. it wasn't. the kids got marker on it, paint on it that wouldn't come off (it was orange..which usually i love but you know), food on it that wouldn't wipe...gouges in the paint, paint chipping off...it was sad for me because i spent so much time on it and it wasn't holding up well.

so i finally took it outside one week fixed all the dings and scrapes and started sealing it with minwax polycrylic...it looks so much better! awesome! (you can see it all shiny in the pictures of ethan's birthday...below) also, i rediscovered my love of plasticized tablecloths...i went to Big Lots (love that store) and they had them in all sizes and shapes for only $3.50. it was awesome. i got a "food" one and an "art" one for the round table. and it has saved so much grief for me! love it!

(p.s. after about three days of "having a picnic" on the floor of the kitchen where the round table used to be, every meal ethan said..."when is the table coming back in???" i guess even the novelty of a picnic can wear off...who knew?:))

MAD science!

LONG POST...but lots of pictures!

ethan's party was a lot of fun! we had 12 kids running around...not all of them wanted to wear their lab coats (ordered from here...they have lots of sizes, they are disposable and not expensive...it's the shipping that'll get ya!)but i think all of them had a good time.

we started off by having the boys (all boys but avery) build with marshmallows and straws until everyone arrived.

then we split into two groups (coordinated with different colored stars on their name tags) and kendall did the egg in a bottle experiment/trick and made english muffin pizzas and i took a group and made bubbles and they colored playdough that i had already mixed up.

(eggs in the bottle afterward...)
(mixing up bubbles...and the kids took home their own bubbles and playdough)

then we switched groups. after that they opened presents while the pizzas cooked...then we ate. then we did soda geysers in the back yard (didn't get pics because i was helping with it...)

then we came back in and had brain cake (the boys loved it!) this was very easy to make and i am pleased with how it turned out! i baked it in a pyrex 2 1/2 qt. bowl. very fun!


(they all wanted their own gummy worms...)

i created some "specimen" jars for the decorations...thought it might be good to have some creepy critters floating in "chemicals" ...just colored water:) but they were fun!

(we also had various caution signs up around the rooms where we were...i just googled those)

and lastly the boys all went home with a little something from us...they took home their playdough and bubbles along with some candy and fruit roll ups...


our happy scientist...


avery with her snake from the jar...


all in all a fun time had by everyone! exhausting but really fun:)

family birthday party...

or "breakfast for dinner" and "dinner for dessert"

that's what i called it anyway:) we had a family get together today for ethan to celebrate his birthday! {thank you family for coming to par-tay with us!}

we had breakfast for dinner...waffles, fruit, breakfast casserole, juice...YUM! and then for dessert we had dinner: Spaghetti and Meatballs!





{from the book Hello Cupcake, I own it, it's so cute and they have a new one out now as well, i saw on their website}


these were a lot of fun to make and they went together really fast!

we had LOTS of fun blowing up balloons and playing with grandparents and aunt and uncle that were there (Katie we missed you!!!!!!!!!).


and i think the birthday boy was really pleased...mission accomplished.


stay tuned for a Mad Science birthday party...taking place on saturday! whew!

f i v e

he's five. it's amazing.

on friday he turned the big 5. the time is flying by with him. with all of them. i love him so much. he is so considerate, so loving. he saves treats for avery, smiles and talks to blake so sweetly and wants to give me a hug or kiss about 18 million times a day. he is sweet. except when he's jumping up and down and having a tantrum but hopefully those will get fewer and far between:) ethan we love you so much! thank you for being a great son and brother!


the camera situation has been fixed! yahoo! meet...penny...pan...lenny...lumière...i can't decide what it's name is:) suggestions are being taken! it's a panasonic lumix...i got it at costco and i am just so happy about it. i think i will love it!



here are the other cuties..just for good measure:) blake turned 8 MONTHS OLD this week...also amazing. man...fast forward i'm telling you! he's super cute..and getting more opinions...imagine that:)

what's new pussy cat?

whoa whoa whoa...

not much. still on the lookout for a camera i want. i've done research...read reviews but the problem is i don't do it all in one sitting so that makes it fragmented and then i have to redo some of it the next time i sit down because i can't remember etc...blah blah blah...anyway...

blake has tried and loved cheerios and those little puffs that dissolve in the mouth...he has peach-mango right now. he delights in trying to pick them up and get them to his mouth. it's fun to watch:)

avery can be so sweet and then the next second be screaming about something. it is truly amazing to behold. when she's sweet though...it's pretty dang special.

we are in love with the movie Horton Hears a Who. SO FUNNY! really, quite hilarious. if you haven't seen it, watch it! borrow ours! but only for a day because the kids want to watch it everyday it seems:) or better yet come over for a movie party. we'd love it!

the bug stayed...

so the kids were throwing up on Memorial Day and then i thought we were done but on Friday...it came to me! YUCK! but i would so much rather it be me than Blake so i guess i can be grateful (so far) for that. this seemed to linger longer than the last time i had something similar (which wasn't that long ago, come on!) i am just today beginning to feel mostly better. when i get hungry i feel ill again...it's a process yeah?

anyway...still no camera, mostly because i don't want to have to fork over the cash for it...they are expensive...i don't want to get a cheapy one just to have it be poor quality or break or something. but nor do i need an uber expensive one...just middle of the road but good quality you know? anyway, i need to get one soon... i am missing some really funny things:)

this week i am doing a class at a church meeting teaching how to sew a reusable grocery/shopping bag...and i am cutting the material (which is thrifted sheets) and i need to go do that...but thought i would check in here :):)

as a sidenote: we made our first successful trip to the pool today (me and the three munchkins by myself!) and i think it went well overall (thanks ladies for helping me watch the kids!) and avery celebrated afterward by saying, "Hey mom, no one drowned at the pool! i didn't drowned!"

yes avery, that is a good day! can you guess what our conversation on the way TO the pool was about?:)

what kind of camera do you have?

'cause i need a new one!

i never wanted to take pictures more than when i can't! strange how that happens. so what kind of camera do you have? feel free to give me places, prices, names, where did you buy it? how do you like it? have you had it for a while? how is the battery life? give me the low-down! i am on a camera buying information hunt!

thanks.