Day off at Betty Brinn's

Casey had the day off of school so we picked up Grandma Karen and headed downtown Milwaukee to Betty Brinn's Children's Museum.  There was so much to explore!

Caleb took Joshua for a ride in the truck.

 Riding the bus with Grandma!

 Everyone else plays around the sandbox, not my Caleb, he sat right in the middle.

 Joshie had fun playing with the apple cart while his brother's played in the sandbox. 

 The boys had to use different shapes to tile the floor. 

It was like a puzzle so of course Casey enjoyed it. 

 Here is Casey building a track and Joshie staring at this one certain piece he had to have.  I swear he picked it up at least 7-8 times before Grandma distracted him.  Casey is so patient with him. 

 This area was new.  The boys loved all of the cool ramps.  You let your golf ball go and see how far it can travel. 

 They also had a giant size golf ball attached to a cart.  It was an interesting walking toy for Joshua. 

SO BIG!

 Here's Caleb playing with the golf balls...pretty sure this was his favorite part.

 Casey created a tower.

 Joy and her boys!

 Joshua talking to himself in the mirror.

Music plays and the squares light up.  You are suppose to dance to the beat, Caleb prefers to jump.

 We slowed down enough to create some snowmen at the art station.   

 Here is Caleb conducting an orchestra.

There is so much to explore at Betty Brinn's.  One of these times I am going to talk the boys into playing in the grocery store area...it looks like so much fun! 

Fun with girls!

We have started a date night swap with my sister's family this month.  One night a month we get the girls and one night a month they get the boys.  Now that the kids are older it is much more manageable to take care of the 7 kids.  I knew her girls like to do crafts so I made sure I had a fun project to keep everyone busy:)

We started the evening out with pizza for dinner. 

 Then it was time for dessert!  I let the kids pick their own sprinkles for their cookies.  Who knew that could be such a fun project.  Can you tell Hannah is giving me "the look".

 I love catching fun moments on camera.  Casey loves hanging with his cousin Hannah.

 Time for the craft project.  We made animals with using hearts. 

Lucy had a great time just gluing hearts together. 

 My favorite moment of the night was when Casey and Hannah were singing as they were crafting.  Hannah was singing a Justin Bieber song and Casey busts out with "the boys in the sink" a Vegetale song.  Then they moved on to singing their own lyrics.  I was giggling around the corner.  So should have video taped it.

 Here is Hailey with her glamorous fish.

 Hannah made a butterfly.

 Riley and Casey made caterpillars. 

So much fun having girls around.  This Sunday they get the boys and we are heading to

The Cheesecake Factory!

Ahh, the joys of boys...

On Sunday the boys had their matching sweaters on and I thought it would be fun to get a picture with my little men.  Do you know how hard it is to get a picture with 3 active boys? 

Love Boat

Last night Matt and I had the opportunity to go on a date with my siblings and their spouses.  Riverglen Church (where my siblings attend) has a wonderful group of volunteers that plan fun events for married couples.  Last night's event was the Love boat.  We had dinner catered in from Mama Mia's and lots of fun entertainment to follow. 

Some of us dressed up in our formal attire for the event and others wore their beach gear.

When we arrived we got to walk across the bridge to board our ship.

 This was the centerpiece at our table.  We were on the island of Martinique. 

 Here is my headless sister in law doing the limbo contest. 

She could have won if it weren't for the dress!

It is always nice to have a night away as a couple.  It was fun to share it with our fun, yet dorky family (Andy said it first on Facebook...)

More projects inspired by Pinterest!

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.
Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

I have never felt so crafty in my 33 years of life.  I have been painting, crafting and cooking like a crazy woman!  Tonight's dinner was a recipe I found on Pinterest...taco bake.  Matt and Joshua gave it a thumbs up. 

This past weekend I was on a mission to create banks for the boys.  Now that Casey is six we decided it is time to start giving him a weekly allowance.  I wanted to create 3 banks for each boy; save, spend, give.  This is part of the Financial Peach Junior program created by Dave Ramsey.  The money in the savings jar will be put into their bank account, the spend jar can be used to buy whatever they want, and the give jar will eventually be their tithes.  For now they will use their give jar to buy things for others in need. 

I found a cute picture of a mason jar bank on you guessed it, Pinterest.  Casey helped me decorate the jars.   All I needed was mason jars, scrapbook stickers, cardboard and fun paper.  Each set matches the decor in their bedroom.  Totally easy and fun!

Casey's jars...stars.

Caleb's jars...balls

 Joshua's jars...airplanes

 The top was a cardboard circle covered with paper.  I cut a slit large enough to fit a quarter through.

Matt and I needed a jar too!



The boys each have responsibilities around the house. 

Joshua's duties include helping to unload the dishwasher...just kidding. 

Casey's responsibilities:

keep his room clean

make his bed

put away his laundry

keep playroom clean

clear the dinner table

Caleb's responsibilities:

keep his room clean

make his bed

keep playroom clean

set the dinner table

 

Another fun thing I have been experimenting with is fun braids that I found on Pinterest. 

Here is my attempt at a waterfall french braid. 



 This one I came up with on my own.  I used the overhead projector to assist me in painting this above our storage bench in the kitchen. 

The next thing I want to tackle is this area....

Busy Bee

I am no longer going to tell people I am a stay at home mom.  I am going to tell them that I am a busy bee!  I believe that there is a misconception about people that choose to stay at home.  I think a lot of people think that it is boring and maybe even unfulfilling.  Really, it is what you make of it.  My favorite part of being a SAHM is that I control my days, for the most part.  I don't have anyone telling me what I have to do and when.  Some days I choose to stay home all day and others we are out and about.  Today was a whirlwind type of day.

I woke up at 6:30am and decided to rest for a few more minutes.  I got up and went downstairs about 6:45 so I could sneak my daily Bible reading in before the kids got up. 

I had a few extra minutes to check my email and go downstairs to assess the laundry situation.  I got the laundry started, but never got around to finishing it. 

7:00am and my morning boy Casey came down to join me.  The rule in our house is that you don't get out of your room before 7:00am.  Casey is almost always up by then.  Joshua followed shortly after.  He was not happy to have a flash in his eyes. 

We started out by eating some breakfast and coloring.  As they were doing that I was making my Target list and going through coupons. 

I also took a moment to jot down my list of things I wanted to accomplish today.

I woke Caleb up at 8:00 because we needed to leave the house by 8:45.  Casey and I had a debate about where his snow pants were.  I ended up being right, they were at school.  After I got him out the door it was time to get the little men ready to go.  I needed to deliver a meal before heading to the YMCA for my ZUMBA class. 

No time to clean up the breakfast mess...oh well.

We made it to the YMCA just in time.  ZUMBA here I come!

 Caleb is in the last stages of potty training.  In order to help motivate him to stay clean and dry while he is in kid care at the YMCA, I bribe him with some play time in the kids gym after I pick them up.  All 3 days this week it has worked!  Usually I would be called during my workout to come and change him...stinker.  Anyways, here are some shots of the kids enjoying their time in the kids gym.

 It is now 10:45 and we are off to Target.  I have a list of household items that we are in need of.  The main one being the Downy sheets for the dryer. 

30 minutes later and we are in the car jammin' to Vegetales Christmas CD. 

Gotta stop for my $1 coke!

 We get home and the kids eat lunch while I unload the Target loot. 

 Caleb loves to help me clean up the floor after meals.  He also likes to help set the table. 

 It is now 12:30...time to play!  Caleb and I start with a game of memory.  He beats me fair and square both times. 

Joshua enjoys chewing on the cards we aren't using.

Gotta sneak Joshie's 11 month picture with the sausages in!

Time to work on those small motor skills.  We decide to draw a train mural

 on the back of a cardboard box. 

Joshua enjoyed playing with the markers until I noticed that he had an open one!  A little blue marker on his face and hands.  Good thing they were washable.

We were having so much fun I decided to keep them up a little bit longer than usual.  Joshie started to get hungry and tired.  Here we are cuddled up having our ba-ba.

 What would playtime be without a game of catch?

 Ahh...it is 1:45 and I have finally taken a shower!  Now it is time to do my study and relax a bit.  I spend the rest of nap time cleaning up the house, playing on the computer and getting some of the random things checked off my list. 

 Casey gets home at 3:30 and his brothers are still sleeping.  We sit at the table and have a snack while Casey tells me about his day.  Then we work on his homework, reading two books and journaling. 

The rest of the night is a bit of a blur....Wednesday nights usually are.  The boys watch a video while I get dinner ready and set the table.  Matt gets home and we eat.  Tonight we had Zesty chicken bake.  After dinner Matt, Casey and Caleb head out for Awana at church.  Joshua and I headed out to do a couple of errands.  We went to Walgreens to pick up medication and Office Max to get a mouse for my laptop. 

When Joshua and I got home it was time to have a bottle, read books and tuck him in.  I then painted a cute little All Star quote on Caleb's wall.  I sat down to start this Blog post and my big boys got home. 

I think that tomorrow we will hang out at home.  This momma is pooped!