Edible Playdoh

I am trying to cram every last fun activity in that I can before school starts in less.than.a.week. (Holla!)

Yesterday's afternoon activity: edible playdough! Click here to find the recipe I found on (shocker!) Pinterest. It was super easy - just three ingredients. The hardest part was stirring it and getting it mixed up well!! Good thing I had my favorite two helpers....

 And I dug these super-cute aprons out of the "dollar store" box in my closet. Yes, I have a ton of stockpiled goodies in there!!

 Immediately after I told the kids they could actually EAT the playdoh, Abby did this:

 What a shocker. Nate was a little more apprehensive at first about eating it, and chose instead to get down & dirty. Think he enjoyed it!?

 Finally, I had to tell Abby "Put your hands up. That is enough eating." And this was the face I got.

 

 Besides making a TON of poopie jokes, this was Nate's favorite part: making a snowman family. Out of "poop balls" nonetheless.

I love doing little things like this with the kids - though clean-up was a b#tch! It's all worth it when Nate said over and over "This is SO FUN!!" :)

Sleepover Time!

Nate had quite the weekend. Uncle Kevin left after lunchtime on Saturday, and his bud Noah arrived after naptime for a SLEEPOVER!!

Before I could even finish talking/getting instructions from Noah's dad, the boys had run off and started having gun battles with each other (yes, this is a common theme around our house these days). Though both boys are a bit shy and sweet, when they get together, they play like they are ALL BOY (which is something I love to watch)! Gun battles, sword fights, remote control cars, wrestling matches on the bed, ninja kicks, dueling Leapsters, climbing up door frames like Spiderman....they did it all. And surprisingly, Abby got in on the action too and

1). had a ball

2). didn't get hurt and

3). didn't annoy the boys!

Greg & Abby went to get some pizza at Mellow Mushroom, and we had a giggle-filled dinner where both kids just thought everything out of Noah's mouth was hysterical. Looks like he has two admirers now! In fact, at one point, Abby was chasing Noah around the house trying to kiss him. She is getting aggressive, ha!

We treated Noah to one of our faves, Summer Snow, and he loved his first sno-cone.

Back at the house, it was time for pjs and the movie "Cars 2." They asked for popcorn but oops I didn't know the box was empty. So we opted for root beer, goldfish, and pretzels and that seemed to hit the spot.

The boys went to bed around 9:30 pm and settled down pretty fast. (As you can tell, Noah was not a fan of the camera!!)

They both slept soundly till 7 am and then it was time for a big breakfast! Chocolate chip pancakes (and waffles for Greg), sausage, and fruit salad.

The boys played played played until Noah got picked up around 11:30 am. They loved pretending to be cats (!?), building legos, and doing puzzles. And - oh yeah - a silly string war!! Nate hated it at first - didn't like it being sticky - but he quickly caught on and they "decorated" the craft room for me :)

I'm so glad Nate has a good buddy from school and hope this sleepover tradition can continue!!

A Special Visitor

The kids got a special treat Thursday evening.....Uncle Kevin came to visit!!! He was driving cross-country, from CO to TN, and luckily, he fit in a 2 day stop in Alabama. (We are always happy to see Uncle Kevin, but his visit was more precious this time....since he is moving to London in a few weeks.)

Kevin is always a good sport, especially b/c Nate wants to play with him every.waking.second.of.the.day. And #1 on Nate's list: gun battles!! He barely let Kevin finish his dinner before bombarding him with bullets. And of course, Abby hadto get in on the action too.

                              

 Kevin was sweet and brought the kids some toys. Nate's mud-slinger Jeep was a big hit, as were the ramps that Uncle Kevin constructed.

Later in the day, I told Nate I liked all the ramps he & Uncle Kevin were building...

N: Me too! They are awesome.

Me: Uncle Kevin has really good ideas, doesn't he?

N: Yes! I want to BE Uncle Kevin!! :)

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 And Abby loved playing & brushing the hair of her new Dora princess from Uncle Kevin. Anything with "accessories" is always a big hit with Abby!

 Dora's hair changed colors in the bathtub with warm water!!

Friday morning, I took the kids to a neighbors' birthday party, while Greg & Kevin went out for a yummy breakfast at the Waysider. Nate kept asking to leave the party (keep in mind, this party had more sugary treats than any kid should ever be exposed to!) b/c he wanted to go home and play with his jeep. And Kevin :)

The kids had haircuts that afternoon, and then after dinner we went for an ice cream treat at Sweet CeCe's. And of course, Nate requested that Uncle Kevin put him to bed on Friday night. They read his favorite Avengers book, so Nate was in heaven.

 I tried to get a good shot of the kids before Kevin left, but as usual, Abby wouldn't cooperate and this was the best I could do:

Thank you for visiting with us, Uncle Kevin!! The kids had a ball with you and already miss you terribly!!

More Splash Pad Pics

So, my friend Alba is uber-talented when it comes to photography, and she captured these awesome pictures of the kids last week when we were at the Splash Pad. Just wanted to share!!!

This last picture cracks me up.....b/c Alba told Abby to pose and MAN oh MAN did she ever! Can you say D.I.V.A!? These are her favorite 3 boys for sure....and I think she relishes time with them and being the only girl! :)

WOW

This is how Nate used his naptime today - to organize all the costumes in the dress-up chest.

Should I be worried!?!?

Sibling Love

In preparation for a sleepover with Nate's school buddy next week, we finally bought a mattress for his trundle bed! (Up until now, we've just been using the extra space for clothes storage, etc.)

No surprise - Abby wanted to have a sleepover with Nate last night, and he obliged. He even let her sleep on the "new bed" in case she had to get up in the middle of the night and pee. What a good big brother!!

After they were tucked in, they chatted (well, mostly Abby) for about 10 minutes before Daddy went in and threatened to make Abby go to her room to sleep. That did the trick and they had a perfect night together!

I was watching the video monitor this morning, and Abby woke up at 7 am on the dot. Of course she had to wake Nate up and they talked for a few minutes and played in his room. Then I hear Nate say "Abby, you were a good girl last night!!!"

I see many more sibling sleepovers in their future.....

Back Into the Swing of Things....

I feel like June passed us by WAY too quickly, and now it is already in mid-July and I haven't done half the stuff I wanted to with the kids this summer!! School starts in less than 3 weeks, so I made it my mission to do "fun stuff" with the kids every day this week.

5 days and 1 exhausted momma later, Mission Accomplished.

MONDAY-- we met David & Anthony at a mini-splash pad. All the kids were happy to finally play with each other & cool off, and I was happy to catch up with their momma, who I hadn't seen in almost a month!

 TUESDAY -- I braved the free kids' movies at the theater and took the kids to see Happy Feet. Abby and I were not fans, but at least Nate enjoyed it. And yes, I brought snacks from home! :)

 WEDNESDAY -- I got a sitter in the morning for the kids, as I had some errands to run (not to mention a hair appointment that had been originally scheduled for July 5th, but a cute little nephew decided to change my plans for that day!) The kids loved Miss Brooke and had fun playing outside, doing bubbles, playing CandyLand, building forts, making crafts, watching movies, etc. I broke out a "new" board game (again, a Christmas present I had stashed away) after nap, and it was a big hit! It was a classic - Chutes and Ladders - one that I have fond memories of from childhood.

THURSDAY -- we met Sadie at the pool despite the cloudy weather. The sun finally came out after our picnic lunch, and we ended up staying 3.5 hours! The only way I could drag the kids home was to end our day with an ice cream bribe :)

On the way home, I asked Nate if he had a good time and he grinned and said "YES!" I asked if Sadie was his girlfriend and he replied, "I haven't decided yet!" :)

FRIDAY -- I took the kids to gymnastics and had a h.a.r.d time keeping up with my wild Indians! They were all over the place and had a ball with lots of their friends. Then we tried out a new-to-us restaurant, Iguana Grill, for lunch. The best part - Greg met us! The food was delicious (it's a tex-mex place), and the kids devoured the chips & salsa as usual.

On the way home from lunch, I asked Nate if he had had a good week. He said yes. And then said "what are we doing tomorrow???" I don't know about you Nate, but I think I'll be taking a breather.....