That's Pinteresting!

Here are a few of my favorite finds this week :)

Wrapping presents to look like angry birds! I will have to remember this with Caleb. His bday is in August. He actually told me he wanted an angry birds party this year, to be exact.

Make a banjo.. this would be a cute craft to do.. with paper plates, rubberbands, stickers, etc.

Is this not the sweetest thing ever? Rachel goes to preschool this fall. I wonder if I should do something like this. I am really going to miss her!

Glow-in-the-dark bowling! Using glowsticks in plastic bottles! My kids would love this.

Make a motivation wall somewhere in your house. I already have a few things like this hanging on my mirror in my bedroom. I like to see them everyday, they really encourage me.

Practicing the child's name, using glue and some sort of snack, like cereal.

There is a website you can send your child's handwriting or drawing and they will turn it into jewelry! That is so cool! What a neat what to preserve something from their childhood.

Might have to make a tshirt quilt for Arnold, to do something with the TONS of band and concert shirts he has accumulated over the years. They are taking over our room!

Haha, this is so true. I love southern accents.

Make a snack drawer in your fridge. Made up of stuff you don't mind your kids grabbing and eating when they want a little something. And it's right at their level!

Got single socks and not sure what to do with them? Turn them into Barbie clothes of course ;)

Love this canvas, made of kids' handprints.

This looks YUMMY! And how perfect for the 4th of July!

I love this outfit!! I looked thru my closet and noticed I have mostly blue, so I guess I love that color on myself! Who knew??

2013 Summer Bucket List!

I wanted to make a Summer Bucket List of things for our family to do this year. So we would remember what we wanted to do.. it is easy for the summer to slip away before you know it! So here is what we have down.. and I am putting stars beside things we have already done. Although some of these you can do several times if you wanted to!! Anyone have any more ideas for us???




1. Catch lightning bugs*
2. Go to a movie at the theater*
3. Visit a splash pad*
4. Go swimming*
5. Play in the sprinkler*
6. Ride bikes*
7. Go out for icecream*
8. Go to VBS 
9. Have a picnic at the park
10. Go on a scavenger hunt
11. Go to a parade
12. Celebrate all 3 kids birthdays
13. Back to school shopping
14. Lay in grass and cloud watch
15. Stay up really late
16. Go bowling
17. Go skating
18. Go to a fireworks show
19. Go to the fair
20. Go to a farmer's market
21. Go to yard sales
22. Go to the local cruise-in
23. Make smores
24. Go to a baseball game
25. Have a NO MEDIA DAY
26. Make sidewalk chalk people
27. Have a water gun fight
28. Go feed the ducks
29. Join a summer book club
30. Put together a big puzzle




I also found this idea and liked it, and wanted to share. Would work good for those of you who like keeping up a sort of schedule...

"Make Something Monday" (crafts, baked goods, etc)

"Try Something Tuesday" (learn a new language, write a letter, etc)

"Wander Somewhere Wednesday" (park, scavenger hunt, out to lunch, etc)

"Thoughtful Thursday" (read a book, write in a journal, do a puzzle, etc) Thoughtful could also mean doing something for someone else.. a kind deed, etc! :)

"Fun & Fabulous Friday" (a fun activity like bowling, skating, swimming, etc)

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving that Brooke's appt to the neurologist went so well this week! It was just a follow-up appt, to see how she had been doing lately. They had been watching her for seizures or any more problems at school. I took all the kids with me-- usually Arnold helps me out at appts but he went into work early. The dr said since her last EEG was normal and she got better reports towards the end of school, that they are letting her loose! So she doesn't have to go back anymore unless she has more problems! Prayers were truly answered! I hope we won't have to deal with any more seizures in the future, that was a scary time. And it was a $40 copay just for him to tell us she was ok, but it was worth it!! :)

Brooke celebrating her last visit to the neurologist!

~I'm loving that Caleb lost his first tooth! Brooke lost her's in preschool so I thought he might lose one early, but he didn't until he was nearly 6. He was so excited.. he ran into our bedroom to tell us all about it. He had laid in bed wiggling it himself until it came out. And he got money from the tooth fairy and was just dying to go spend it right away... ;)

~I'm loving that I got to take the kids to go see Arnold and the band play at a thing they did over the weekend. It was a 1st birthday bash for a local Camping Center. They had a balloon lady out there, some local baseball players, people dressed up, lots of food, and games to play. And of course the band ;) It was so HOT, but the kids had a blast. They had several balloons made because they kept popping them.. they kept her busy! They all dunked the girl in the water too, and thought that was hilarious. They have better arms I guess than their parents! ;)

~I'm loving that we got to go spend some time with friends we don't get to see very often, and celebrate their little girl turning 2! I have loved seeing her pics and watching her grow up, she is the cutest! We went to their parents' house and ate lots of yummy food then the kids went swimming in their pool. Jess' dad was the greatest and kept the kids entertained the whole time, he was great with the kids! Brooke had an incident where she slipped and busted her lip on the pool and it swelled up and was bleeding. It FREAKED me out because I thought at first it was a tooth. But after a little ice and attention, she was ok ;) 

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The kids had such a fun time swimming with everyone. Arnold and I got to watch on the side and relax, which was awesome after the busy day we had ;)

~I'm loving that we took the kids to the movies to see Monsters University! We NEVER go to the movies.. first off because it is crazy expensive (especially for 5 people) but because until recently the kids were restless and wouldn't sit still. But we all wanted to see it, so we tried it yesterday. After tickets, popcorn, and a drink.. at a MATINEE.. it was still $47! I wish I had thought to sneak in candy and stuff like my mom always did when I was a kid ;) But the kids actually did really well and sat through the entire thing. And the movie was great! It even kept me entertained and had several funny parts. I'd recommend it!

Caleb standing with the Wolverine poster. He loves anything superhero!

~I'm loving that we took the kids to Sweet Frog after the movies. It was nearly 6pm when we did that. I knew it was wrong in so many reasons-- using more money after that pricy trip.. eating so close to dinner, etc. But it is Summer time! You have to let loose sometimes, right?! Haha. We said all the popcorn and icecream could be their dinner for the night! ;)

~I'm loving that I took it upon myself to buy my own birthday gifts this year! Haha. I know it was much easier on Arnold ;) I ordered a copy of the new book "Gone Girl" which i have been wanting to read FOREVER! It should get here any day. I also bought me a big planner at Target. I love the Erin Condon ones, but they are too expensive for me. So I found one for alot less at Target, and it still had a pretty design on the front! And lastly, I got myself a Matchbox 20 cd. I love them.. seriously. They made a good comeback. They are in concert this summer but of course on a weeknight when I can't go! boo! 

~I'm loving my new EOS lipbalm! I got the dark pink one.. I think it was raspberry flavor. It works great and smells so good! I had been reading about them on people's blogs, so decided to grab one when I was in target the other day. Man, I give in to so many of the "trends" thanks to FB and blogs! ha!

~I'm loving the cherry limeade powder packets I picked up the other day! I add them to my water and it makes it easier for me to get all my water in since it gives it flavor. It tastes REALLY yummy. I almost feel like I'm drinking a big Sonic drink with hundreds of calories. But these kinds of packets have no to 5 or 10 calories each.. worth it! ;)

~I'm loving that Arnold and I are going to be able to get a date night tonight! While the kids go to their last night at our church's Summer Adventure. Well not a REAL date night, but at least eat something quick and get some time alone to walk around and just have some quiet. And that is nice!

~I'm loving that we FINALLY finished Grey's Anatomy! All 9 seasons. It only took us 6 months, but we are finally caught up with the rest of the world! And I won't spoil anything, but I was REALLY sad at what happened at the end of the season finale! I can't wait to see what happens this Fall!!

~I'm loving that my friend's baby, Eden, is 2 weeks old today! Can't wait to see you again baby girl! :)

~I'm loving that my birthday weekend is almost here!!! I have so many fun things planned, with family and friends. Dinners, get-togethers, good food, good friends.. ahh I can't wait!! :) :)

Rachel's 4th Birthday

I am behind again! Surprise, surprise! 

We celebrated Rachel's 4th birthday on the 18th! The kids woke up especially early and were excited to see her presents, so we let her open them right away. I wrapped them up the night before and left them in my room.. so they came in and we piled in the bed and let her open them while Daddy opened all the packages for her. 

After we all got ready, we headed to the library. We have a library with a great kids' section in it. They have blocks, toys, a play tent, puppets, computers with games, and all sorts of stuff. The kids played with everything and Rachel asked me to read her a few books. Then she put on a puppet show with a kitty ;) I flipped through a few back issues of "Instructor" magazine. They are for teachers.. so it was pretty neat looking into a teacher's life-- since that is what I am going back to school for!

After the library we headed over to Chick Fila to have lunch. Two of Rachel's good friends, Elia and Makenzie met us up there to eat with us. The kids got kid meals and then had bowls of vanilla icecream afterwards. The adults got to sit around and talk while the kids played on the indoor playgym. They love that thing and would stay in there all day if I would let them! Arnold got a peek into our Stay-at-Home-Mom life that day.. all of us with kids out in public trying to contain them, clean up messes and dodge in and out of the crowd in there at lunchtime! He was already stressed and ready to go home. We had thought about bowling too that day, but the kids had already had enough and needed to rest.

When we got home Rachel dragged out all her new toys and played with Brooke. And that evening we went out to dinner at Carrabba's. Of course when we got there it was POURING rain and storming, so we had to run in and were wet when we sat down. Love Carrabba's, but it is crazy expensive.. so we never go anymore. Worked out perfectly that mom had given Arnold a giftcard to there for Father's Day a few days before. So we were basically having a joint celebration for him AND for Rachel ;) We had the greatest waiter and everything went pretty good. I got lasanga which I always get there, and the kids all wanted pizza.. figured they wanted the simple meal at the nice place! ;) And yeah-- our bill for 5 people was $68! Crazy, crazy. At least it was fun to get out :)

The very next day we had to take the girls in for some dental work. A few fillings for Rachel, and some crowns for Brooke. I know some people must judge us, but our girls just have horrible teeth! I never had a cavity in my life, I didn't even know what one looked like! But the girls have really seemed to suffer-- especially Brooke. I felt so bad for them. First was the issue of cost-- it was SO expensive.. at least they cut the work up into 4 visits (yeah, we still have to go back 3 more times for Brooke!!) Both the girls got laughing gas-- for Brooke because she was nervous and for Rachel because she was so young and wiggly. I was super paranoid about how they'd do since they'd never had it, and we had the sweetest nurse who came out and updated me on how they were doing. She said she understood, since she was a Mom, too :) They did great.. Arnold, Caleb and I sat in the waiting room and ate and read books while we waited. The girls didn't even get extremely sleepy or goofy like they said they might, from the meds. Rachel did run around in circles saying "I am an alien!" But she is pretty silly on a regular basis ;)

Rachel's birthday presents. I loved the polka dotted paper, and the ribbon even said "Rachel" on it. Can you tell I love birthdays?? In that big package was a shopping mall playcenter with little dolls.. that has been a hit. She also got that elephant backpack, which says her name on it. She also got a "Figit" and that thing is annoying.. it is always talking in their room. And she got some new Littlest Pet Shops and Mini Lalaloopsies I had been buying and saving for awhile now. I wanted to add to her collection.. I love it almost as much as her ;)  Oh and we can't forget about the play kitchen I scored for $20.. she got that too. It looked like a HUGE bday but I got great deals ;)

Birthday girl! In her outfit she was supposed to wear at her party but never got around to it since she was in her bathing suit the whole time! At least we had another opp. for her to wear it! 

The kids at the library. 

Playing blocks at the library.

Eating lunch at Chick Fila with her friend, Elia.

Rachel and her friend, Kenzie. They had matching skirts-- not even planned ;)

Rachel and daddy at her birthday dinner.

The waiter brought her icecream for her bday. She made such a mess!

Rachel at her dentist appt. They gave her these sparkly anntenna, and she just had to wear them right away. The silver glitter came off EVERYWHERE though, it was a mess!

She also got a butterfly tattoo! We put it on her while waiting on Brooke to get done.

Sitting together, waiting on Brooke. Caleb took this picture. Rachel's right cheek is huge because she still had gauze in there!

Father's Day Weekend

Friday evening my mom and I went over to my friend Chrissy's house to see her new baby girl. Mom hadn't gotten to see her yet, so I used that as an excuse to go see her AGAIN! ;) I held her most of the time and she slept in my arms. I miss holding newborns! When I had to leave and pass her along to someone else she started crying. She is so smart, she knew she was going to miss me, and it was a bad thing that I was leaving! ;) I can't wait to go back and see them again! Chrissy is going to be sorry she told me I could come and visit whenever ;)

Saturday evening the band Arnold is in played a show at an Equestrian Center near my parent's house. It worked out well because they said they would watch the kids for us over night and so we just dropped them off on the way there. After we dropped them off we headed there and there was a stage set up and lots of tables, and they were getting everything ready for the people. I had hoped more people would show up to see them, but it was expensive-- $20 a ticket! They were just the opening act.. a guy named Jonathan Birchfield played later in the night. They also had food catered in so it was pretty nice, but just too expensive. I got in free.. so being the wife of a band member has it's perks ;) One of the other band wives and I watched the guys set up. Then when they did sound check Arnold noticed he had left his slide at home. Apparently a slide is important when playing some songs, so he really needed it. He sent me all the way back home to get it (and home is not close to where we were-- at all!) So I booked it, and thankfully no cops were out for me that day. Then I didn't even end up getting it.. long story.. so it was a total waste of gas. At least I had time to swing by Taco Bell's happy hour on the way back and get a Pina Colada freeze ;) Anyway, then the show started and we sat at one of the tables and watched. The guys did well but they had some technical difficulties and it made Arnold pretty mad (he has a temper!) So he was upset but all in all it went really well. They are hoping they will get even more gigs because of the people that were at that particular show. 

Since we were kid-free for the night we decided to go on a date. Since it was Father's Day the next day, Arnold said he would much rather have a night out than a present. We went to dinner at El Paso. After being outside in the sun so long I wasn't very hungry, but I had a taco salad, and it was yummy! Then we wanted to go to the movies, but it was awhile till the next showing, so we went to Target to walk around. Not like I needed anything there-- I am there all the time anyway-- but it is my happy place! ;) Then we went to a 9:45 showing of "The Hangover 3." I usually don't like stupid movies but these movies are funny, so I didn't mind going. I know Arnold would much rather have seen "Man of Steel" but he was waiting to go to that with Caleb (special bonding stuff, etc etc) so we went on. I had my popcorn bucket with me but we were stuffed from dinner so didn't get any. Since everyone and their brother were there watching MAN OF STEEL we had seats in a small theater and it wasn't very crowded. The movie was funny.. and we almost walked out before the very LAST scene.. but saw others staying so we did, too. Well I could have done without it.. woah! If you have seen it, I'm sure you know what I am talking about!! Anyway, it was an awesome evening and I can't believe I stayed up until nearly 1am the next morning.

Sunday morning of course was Father's Day. Since we had stayed up so late the night before we almost slept late and missed church! We were supposed to meet mom and dad over at their church at 8:30 am.. they like going to early service. We rushed and got there about 2 minutes late, so not too bad. My parents had taken the kids into service with them and they are used to going to kids' classes at our church, so they were restless. It was hard keeping them still.. and of course Rachel had to go pee during the middle of it, so I had to take her out. I love her being potty trained but it makes being in public much more difficult now!! After church we went to lunch with my parents and my Grandpa at their country club. They had a big buffet and TONS of desserts.. it was heaven. I was so stuffed when  I got out of there. And lastly we stopped by Arnold's parents' house to see his dad.

Unfortunately I spent the 2nd half of Sunday sick as a dog. I blame Arnold for having me out there in that horse field all evening Saturday! My eyes got swollen, I got a sore throat and my neck got all swollen. I felt horrible. I went home and went to bed and slept until that night after the kids had gone to bed. I felt guilty since it was Father's Day and I had all these plans to let Arnold rest and give him a break, but I couldn't really help it. Thankfully he is understanding and such a sweet man.. makes me all the more happier that I married him! I told him I would make it up to him! :)

The kiddos with their Daddy. Our tree in the backyard is growing!!

Rachel playing dressup at Grandma's house :)

Dinner at El Paso on Saturday night. Date night!

My yummy taco salad, haha.

Arnold and I on Father's Day morning.

My dad and I at the country club on Sunday.

All the family eating lunch on Sunday.

All the dessert choices! My grandpa ended up getting TWO desserts ;)

The one I chose! I LOVE my chocolate! This was rich.. and I couldn't finish it!

Our family on Father's Day, 2013! :)

Brooke was carrying around her owl in her belt.. while in Walmart.. haha!! :)