Weekly Rewind: September 16-21

Well, it was an interesting week at the House, but hopefully it is behind us now and..um, yeah. Parenthood. Gotta love it. That's all I'm going to say on the topic. But, hey, I still love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything (though some days I may look/sound like my hair will be pulled out at any given second)!

Here's a look a what went on this week:

{MONDAY}

 Chillin not like a villain ;)

 

 Looking for Waldo with magnifying glasses - cuteness!

{TUESDAY}

 Showing off their lego building skills

 Playing cars or something outside while I get dinner going

{WEDNESDAY}

What?! No pictures...? Well, that is a shocker...

{THURSDAY}

 I pulled a sneaky move in the car rider line and snapped a pic of my big boy (where the yellow-orange arrow is pointing). Alex and I usually go get Andrew after picking him up, but that little man was out sick. So, it was just Andrew for today. Shhh! No one tell on me! ;)

{FRIDAY}

 Trains, trains, and...

 more trains! 

 Playing outside and enjoying the cool breeze before the storm - it is going to be raining all. day. long. tomorrow. Boo.

{SATURDAY}

 

 It is pouring outside, but there is quite a bit of engineering going on inside! Daddy, Andrew, and Alex are very busy building a train station. 

  During nap time and after the boys were in bed for the night, I got to working on the next project for Austin - diy burp cloths! Fun, right?

Around last Christmas, I bought a stack of bar towels for a project that never happened. I found these the other day while cleaning out the laundry room. Ha! And, I used a ton of my scrap fabric leftover from other projects. And, voile! DIY Burp Cloths! Easy. Peasy. Cut, pin, and sew a straight line. Done! Well, almost. I have a few more that I am going to make. And, yes...some of those are pink. I made 2 sets - one for me and one for friend ;)

Next project on the list: crochet chunky afghan!

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Hope y'all have a wonderful rest of the weekend!

Weekly Rewind: September 1-7

Before I share what happened this past week... Do y'all know what today is?

NFL SUNDAY!! 

And...since it is birthday preparation week for my almost FOUR YEAR OLD!! what?! Check out this graphic I found for Andrew AND the super awesome Green Bay Packers!!

source

 Cool, right?! 

Anyway, Alex had his first week of school this past week (click here to see that post)!! He loves it!!

{SUNDAY / MONDAY - Labor Day}

 

Football players in-training, apparently! It takes Andrew some effort to tackle Alex, too. LOL So funny! While they were playing, I made dome Labor Day cookies. YUM! Oh, and good thing that they played Sunday because the rain just wouldn't chill out on Monday... Boo... Oh, well. 

{TUESDAY}

 

Alex's first day of school!!

Check it out - I got to make lunches for both of them, too! Awesome. Andrew requested the leftover brats we had grilled for Labor Day. Alex wanted a truck sandwich. Too cute!

 

And...while they were at school, I got some birthday shopping taken care of and found a little something for Austin! :)

Isn't that a cute fox?! OK, I know... I would have probably not made this purchase... But, it was the ONLY one in the store. So I had to. It's just how it goes. Besides, I had a certain budget to stick to and with my price matching to the online store vs the physical location, I had some extra moolah. Whatever. It is cute!


Oh, and Mama got herself a treat, too. Hello! Fall is here! Calendar schmalendar. When you can purchase pumpkin spice creamer or lattes it is Fall. You know it is. Don't deny it. 

Don't forget -- to  read more about Alex's first day of school, click here :)  

{WEDNESDAY}

The boys are into playdoh like crazy these days. They sat at the kitchen table for about 2 hours just playing with all the colors and making things. Andrew made a snowman (left) and Alex made a pancake (right). Love these guys.

{THURSDAY}

 No...I won't take a picture of all of their lunches. But it is cute! Those are the monster cookies I made for Alex's first day of school. Yummy!

  And, FINALLY!!! I made Austin's quilt!!! Awesome, right?! The fabric is from Birch Organics sold by CedarHouseFabrics on Etsy! Love it!! My mom sent me some batting that she had, so all I had to get was the thread to match. This was my first quilt, too...and wow. Sewing with batting was a little difficult. Any suggestions for the next time I make one of these? Anyway, it is done! YAY! Next project is on hold until Mr. Almost-Four's party is over!

{FRIDAY}

This day was just stinky. So there are no pictures. Granted, we did have fun hanging out at Kristi's house and pool. So that was a highlight. But this Mama had some issues.
1. I spilled freshly made lemonade all over my kitchen counter, cabinets, and floor before heading out.
2. I dropped my phone in Kristi's driveway which shattered the screen.
3. I got stung on my tummy by a drowning bee...in the pool...which stung me AGAIN when I grabbed it (i know...) to figure out what was getting me. Nice.

But, we did have fun with Kristi and her little man! 

Clearly, Fridays and I have a love/hate relationship...

{SATURDAY}

So glad for the weekend! We were lazy today and it was
WONDERFUL!

Ok, technically, the men in the house were lazy. I was in overactive nesting mode and made a bunch of things for the freezer. YUM.

Look at that! We did go on a family walk after dinner :)

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Hope y'all had a great week!

Up next: Weekly goals and menu plan!

 

Spring Break & the Weekend Rewind

Spring Break.

Warm weather, sunshine, and fun!

Well, I guess we will only get 1 out of 3... The Groundhog forgot what he told us, I suppose... Not even Florida was warm. What is going on here?! Global warming...what a joke...

Anyway, back to Spring Break. We did have a lot of fun. I got over the plague (finally) and we spent some time at Grandma and Grand Daddy's while Jason got some work done at yet another plant. I even got a mini impromptu project done.

So, here we go! We hope everyone had a lovely (hopefully, warmer) Spring Break!

{MONDAY}

 

 We headed out to get some fabric to make shorts, but I couldn't find what I wanted. The boys did though... Andy and Alex spied Lightning McQueen from the other side of the fabric section. So, I gave in and bought a 1/2 yard and 2 zippers to make some pouches for them. They used them on our trip to Florida to keep their special toys with them. At home they are using them to keep their stash of Hot Wheels. Such cuties! 

 We saw the sun break out for a bit and the ground was pretty dry (it had rained early that morning) so we attempted to go outside. That lasted about 20 minutes. I swear to you the sky was BLUE and then within minutes it looked like tornado weather! CRAZY. Andy (bottom pic) was pretty bummed. He knows Mommy's rule - 1st rumble of thunder and we are inside. I was a lifeguard in the Lightning State - aka Florida. Mama doesn't play with thunder/lightning. Fuss about it and you go to time out. Poor guys...they were so happy to be outside. The weather has been mean to us lately...

The weather was so bad out power was flickering and we lost the tv for a bit. So, it was time to practice our tracing. These Leap Frog toys are AWESOME.

{WEDNESDAY}

We arrived at my parents' house just after lunch. Andy cracks me up. Last week he was really annoyed with me because we weren't going to Grandma's house for her birthday. He thought she was having a party and I forgot or something. So, my mom - the party queen - said, "We are having a party!" Well, that meant chips and dip and snacks, etc. Andy asks, "Where's the cake?! Let's make one!" So, he and Grandma made one! LOL So funny!! 

Hanging out on the back porch before dinner. And, still cold here, people... I was chilly in that tank top...

 Time for bed after a fun day. Andy is so big that he no longer fits in a pack-n-play :( Really?! So, I brought along our twin airbed for him. Alex is getting too big for his pack-n-play, too.. But I think we can get a few more uses out of it for him. We will see. 

{THURSDAY}

 

 Hanging outside enjoying some sun shine and a tiny bit of warmth. The boys thought this little bench was pretty nifty. Taking their picture in it was another thing...

 

 William and the little guys playing basketball and frisbee. Andy thought he was the same size as William. So, tackled him over and over again during a quick game of football. 

 Having some quiet time before dinner - coloring and learning about monster hunters from Sean. 

 

 Alex and my dad having a serious discussion about trains. Love this pic :)

 Hmmm...what's that band-aid extravaganza on Andy's forehead... Grrr.. Well, after dinner, we headed out for a walk - something that my family has always done (as soon as the weather start cooperating here we will start doing that again here). Anyway, my mom has these stepping stones that Andy and Alex had been jumping across the entire time we have been here. Well, Andy took a wrong hop and cut his head. But, he is fine! Dad and I took him to CVS and got him some fancy butterfly suture strips and M&Ms. He made sure that we got some for Alex, too. Such a sweet big brother. Well, after quite a mess and band-aid applied he was back to his happy little self. All is well. 

Note: I changed his band-aids Sunday night and his cut looks so much better! It is healing quite well :) 

{FRIDAY}

 We came home and I broke out the special bag of items from my mom's friend, Denise. These guys were pretty happy to be in their kitchen "cooking" up some fun. Thank, Denise!

  Once I got all the unpacking/unloading done, I ran out to grab the mail and YAY!! Look at what I got! It is so exciting to find a box from Random House at my doorstep. This is the newest book that I will be reviewing soon. I'll start reading this tonight. I'm super excited about this one! I love Father Barron!! The show, Catholicism, aired last year (I think) on PBS and it was wonderful. He has a YouTube Channel, if you are interested in hearing what he has to say about the important topics that arise in today's Church.

{SUNDAY}

 Happy Palm Sunday! After Mass, we headed to lunch. I'm in a Chinese food mood these days and my sweet hubby took us out to P.F. Changs!! Love him!! The little guys loved the kids chicken fried rice and our waitress was amazing with them!

 This is our book of the week for the boys. This is a brand new publication - just released in February. It is a great book to share the Stations of the Cross with children. We read about Palm Sunday and will continue on Thursday with the Last Supper. The illustrations are great and the wording in just enough that it isn't baby-ish and they lose interest. But, it isn't so much that it is pretty easy for them to understand. If you don't have some Stations of the Cross book for children this is the one to get. I got mine on Amazon, but it may be available other places.  (No affiliate links here - I just love this book and wanted to share!)

Hope you all had a great Spring Break and are staying warm. That is just so weird to say in the South... Come on sunshine!!

{Some Things to Share}

Please keep my husband's grandfather in your prayers. He is recovering in the hospital from a heart attack. Stay healthy, Dave! We love you!

  Something cool to watch over and over again:

Remember Wile E. Coyote had those crazy contraptions and such to get the Road Runner? Well this video reminds me of that. So cool!!
OK GO - "This Too Shall Pass"

Something funny to watch:

My brother-in-law, Justin, told me about this guy in Paris dressed up like Mario and riding around town playing "Mario Kart" in real life. Wow. Andy and Alex thought this guy was hilarious!
Mario Kart Paris

 Enjoy and have a fabulous week!!

Weekend Goodies

Well, this weekend was not as eventful as one would have hope with the gorgeous weather. I must have caught that yucky virus from Andy. Fun. Luckily, it was the weekend so Jason was home to take care of us. I slept it off and was fine later that afternoon. But, Alex caught it from me somehow (I thought I had stayed away enough. Boo.) and had it this morning. But, I made him sleep it off and he was (and still is) much better later this afternoon, too. So, HOPEFULLY, death is no longer upon us... We were doing so great, too... This was the first time any of us had really gotten sick since about a year or so ago. Darn.

Anyway, here are some pics highlighting some of this weekend. Enjoy!

 Jason pushing around the "bus" - aka the mega-sized box from my bulk Amazon order. I realized that I actually save much more getting cereals, toilet paper, and paper towels than using coupons at the grocery store. But, I'm sure the UPS man isn't a fan of the mega-sized boxes. Sorry, Mr. UPS Man. 

Catholic newspaper in out Saturday mail with the BEST news we have heard this year! I am SO excited for our Christian faith! Pope Francis is going (ok, from the stories I have read so far, he already is) to be amazing!

 Saturday he was all about figuring out how to ride his brother's bike AND wearing his brother's helmet. One day he will get it - a bike, too. But, not just yet ;)

Alex feeling better Sunday afternoon and taking everything in after a day of sleeping. 

Andy being a pirate...Captain Silly Pants. 

 

 Getting in on the ball-throwing fun which somehow turned into dodge ball later. Good times. 

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Here a few things I thought you might like as the weekend wraps up. Just and article and some new things I plan on trying this week at some point.

For parents of young children who have that moment every now and then when you are going to pull out every last strand of hair on your head. Then, you have that one person (or a few) tell you:

“You should enjoy every moment now! They grow up so fast!” 

Just breathe and then READ THIS. 

A recipe just for the boys: 

Easy Homemade Corn Dogs - Chef-in-Training

 Starting my trek into sewing clothes. If anyone has any tips, let me know. This one looks easy, but you never know.

Boys Shorts Tutorial - MADE

  

Realized after Wednesday night that I need one of these...

Sewing Machine Pin Cushion - I Can Find the Time

   

I hope y'all are staying well and not getting anywhere near the nasty sick bug. How was your weekend?