Things Heard Around Here

Kellyn: Mommy, those are nipples.  Mommy, you have nipples.

Of course, this picture is not hanging in the privacy of my own home.  It hangs in the dentist office waiting room.  Of course, the waiting room was not empty except for Aric, Kellyn, and me.  My only hope is that the other people in the waiting room were hard of hearing.

Swim Lessons and Growing Up

This summer we signed both kids up for a two week swim lesson class.

It started out well, but quickly deteriorated.

After 3.1 days we pulled Kellyn out of the class.  She was running away crying from the instructor and would not calm down.  It was obvious that she just wasn't ready.  We didn't want her to waste other people's time or money with her antics.  Maybe next summer she will be able to handle the stress of swim lessons.

After about three days of class Aric informed me his hair looked like a girl's.  He said it was too long and got in the way of his goggles.  We let him look through photos and made an appointment for a haircut.

The first day Ryan and I did many double takes when we looked at Aric.  It is such a dramatic difference.  We are slowly getting used to the new haircut.  Aric loves his new cut.  The whole way home from the salon he checked himself out in the rear view mirror.

We don't want to be the parents who fight with our kids over hairstyles.  It's just hair and we know it won't always be like this, but if it is that's okay, too.

Five

In case you didn't notice, Aric turned five a few weeks ago.  I still can't wrap my mind around him turning five.  How did time go by so quickly?

We ended up celebrating his birthday all week long, because Ryan had to be out of town on a business trip that week.  We started the week with a small family celebration on Sunday.  We grilled out, ate outside and then made smores.

On Aric's birthday my friend, Laura, and I took the kids to an aquarium and Legoland.

We spent the morning in the aquarium, had a picnic outside, and then went to Legoland.  The aquarium was small, but kid friendly.  They had several bubbles, windows and other displays where the kids could get a closer look at the aquatic life.  We didn't expect much from Legoland.  Thankfully we were pleasantly surprised.

There were rides, displays, a 4D Lego movie theater, a Lego pit, a place to build and race Lego cars, and karaoke.  What more could a kid ask for?

We finished out that night with some cupcakes and a slumber party in the living room.

The following Sunday we finished out Aric's birthday celebrations with a small party.

We had plenty of food, cupcakes, homemade ice cream, a Nerf gun war, and a pinata.  I was exhausted when the party was over, and kind of glad to be done celebrating a long birthday week.

 And that is how we celebrated Aric turning five.  It makes me exhausted all over again.

Things Heard Around Here

There is a fly in the kitchen, so you should close your mouth when you chew.  If you don't close your mouth then the fly could go in your mouth and poop in there.

...the wisdom of a five year old.

Quilt Blocks

I recently accepted a quilting challenge from one of my friends.  Although we do not live close by, we are working through two quilts together.  I am excited to be pushed and learn new sewing techniques.  The other bonus from this challenge is that I will have quilts made that can be used and eventually passed down in our family to future generations.

Last night I found myself with some free time after the kids went to bed.  It's been a stressful week with swim lessons and I needed to do something for me.  I decided to work on my blocks for this month.

One of them is the 2013 Mystery Block of the Month.  Starting this month I am mailed the instructions and materials to make a quilt block.  Next summer I will have enough quilt blocks to make a full size quilt.  The fun part of it is that I have no idea what the finished quilt will look like.  I know what fabric line the quilt is made from and that is about it.  It's kind of fun to not know, and not be pressured to make the quilt all at once.  The block didn't line up exactly, but it was a good learning experience for me.

The second quilt I am working on is a block of the month class on Craftsy.  This one is an online class, which is kind of nice.  I can watch someone else's techniques and learn from someone with more knowledge. I decided to make this quilt in black and white fabric that I had on hand.  I want to make this quilt using material I have rather than buying more.  I already have visions of using black and white gingham for the sashing between the squares. I had two squares to make for the first month.

Now I'll just have to hold myself back a bit and not try to finish the rest of the quilt in the next week.

Kellyn's Quilt

Kellyn's room is a work in progress.  I have a theme for it: fairy tale, but it has been a slow process bringing it together.  One thing that I finished this week was her quilt.

I found the fairytale fabric shortly after I finished Aric's room and I have based everything in her room around this fabric.  One of the quilting stores in town is eliminating their fabric section.  I went last week with Kellyn's quilt in mind and found exactly what I needed to make her quilt.  I spent the next few days cutting fabric squares and sewed it together over the weekend.  Apparently that's an insanely short amount of time to make a quilt from start to finish.  Once I get started on a project I tend to be driven.  It helps to have a husband who doesn't mind picking up some of the slack when I'm in project mode.

One of my favorite parts of the quilt; the fabric on the back is the same as the fabric on the front.

Now back to work on the rest of her room.

Pony Ride

For the last few months Ryan was in Texas for a nine week school.  The kids and I stayed home except for a quick trip to visit half way through.  It was a long nine weeks and we were happy when he returned.

As a reward for being good while he was gone we arranged a big surprise for them:

We didn't tell them until we arrived what their surprise was, but they quickly figured it out.

They both had a great day, though, Aric claimed he wasn't as impressed.  Thankfully it was nothing that a tractor ride couldn't fix.