Completely Random!

This is a completely random post but as I sit here in the dark nursing little man. I'm thinking I know my oldest is growing up and getting crazy big but I just got a reality check of how big he's getting.

 The boys were laying on the couch watching animal planet. It was a little past there bed time but I was hanging up wet laundry ( I don't normally do laundry at night but we've been busy and I haven't kept up on it. So I really needed to do a load tonight or the boys would be going commando and  sock less lol ).

I go to tell them time for bed and there both passed out. I  don't want to wake them so I figure oh I'll just carry them to bed. Um I haven't picked up my oldest in a while and lets just say it was quite amusing.

He's tall ( the top of his head comes up to my chin ). So I struggle to lift him when I manage to get him I then have to walk down the hall into his room and get him on his bed.

I so wish I could've taken a picture or recorded it.  It was hilarious! His long skinny toothpick legs are dangling with his feet almost touching the floor.  I'm out of breath holding back laughter trying to hurry as quick as I can to get to his bed.

That was my slap of reality for the day : )

DIY Kids Tent!

If you've read my summer ideas for kids #3 post them you've seen the tent I made for the boys. I figured I would share how I made it. I'm not a sewer (I wish I knew how to maybe one day I'll get a sewing machine and learn). So I came up with a no sew tutorial.

DIY Kids Tent

• Hula hoop (I got mine from dollar tree for $1 they had different sizes. I got the biggest one they had)
•  Stitch  witchery (I got it at Walmart in the sewing isle for around $ 2.50)
•  Fabric you could also use curtains/sheets (I got the fabric from walmart the blue & green fabric was $2 per yard & the avengers fabric was I believe $ 4.54 per yard. I got 2 yards of each fabric (There was a lot of  really cute marked down/clearance  fabric as low as $1 per yard. 
•  Iron
•  Ribbon (hanging up)
•  Command hook

Take the tape holding the hula hoop together off and pull the ribbon off. Take your fabric and using the stitch witchery hem top and bottom * Make sure you leave the top the hula hoop is gonna slide on threw wide enough*

For ours I did alternating stripes. I just cut the fabric in half length wise. Hem the sides together again using the stitch witchery. Continue all the way round. * Leave the last two ends open* 

Slide the fabric onto the hula hoop and secure the hula hoop together again. If you want to make it look more put together you can wrap and glue ribbon around the part of the hula hoop that is exposed when the fabric is pushed open.

Take some thicker ribbon and tie 4 pieces evenly on to the hula hoop. Take the ends together and make a knot/loop at the top. 

That's it! Pretty easy there's so many possibilities you can do with this. You could use it as a canopy of your kids bed, put in a corner as a reading "hangout" area. It would be really cute with strings of light strung across the top of the hula hoop for night time as well. If you use sheer fabric for girls you could attach some pretty flowers to. 

Sorry this isn't the best tutorial but hopefully you get the idea and it helps you if you decide to make your own : )

Good Learning Websites For Kids!

I wanted to share a couple good learning websites for kids that are FREE! Even though the boys are on summer break I still do learning activities, worksheets and reading with them. These 2 sites are also ones me and the boys like and help keep learning fun.

https://xtramath.org/ is a good one that helps kids master basic math facts. Once you sign up your kid(s) the first time they do it they will take a kind of a pretest to see what they know. It only takes a couple minutes and from there they start them at there level.

What's nice about it is it only takes a couple minutes once a day. You will see your child start to remember and get the answers quickly.

At the end of every week you'll get a email of there progress report.

The other site is www.starfall.com It teaches children to read with phonics. It's perfect for preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, special education, homeschooling and ELD, ELL, ESL.

My boys like it they also used it at school. While we love reading from books and do so everyday sometimes it's nice to change it up and keep them engaged and eager to learn.

Hopefully these sites will help you and your kiddo(s) in there learning journey : )

Peach & Strawberry Smoothie!

We love smoothies in our house and have them quite often. I thought I would share a peach & strawberry one with you today.

Peach & Strawberry Smoothie

• 1 single server container of yogurt vanilla or plain ( I used plain greek but you can use what ever you like)
• 1 bag of frozen peaches
•  About a handful of frozen strawberries
•  Enough milk to blend (I used vanilla coconut milk but regular milk, almond milk, rice milk are all good to)

*This amount makes enough for 3*

Place yogurt and the fruit in the blender add just enough milk to blend. This will give you a really smooth, creamy,  thick smoothie almost like a milkshake.

Enjoy! Hope you like it : )

On The Go Reusable Bag Giveaway!

I found these child of mine (by carters) on the go reusable bags when I was at the store. I had seen other similar bags online but they were more expensive and it really wasn't a necessity. So I was excited to find these and hoping to get good use out of them with the weather getting nicer. There's lots of things you can use them for like keeping your diaper bag or purse organized, perfect for wet or dirty clothes (think accidents/beach/pool). There machine washable. Have a water resistant liner, pvc free. There's a strap with snap that can attach to your stroller, diaper bag, purse.

I figured I would do a giveaway so one of you could enjoy one to : )

  THE RULES

 1. Follow me on GFC (if you already do thank you and I appreciate it!) (Also leave me a comment if you would like a follow back)

2. Leave a comment  letting me know which pattern you would like if you win.

3. US residents only (sorry!)

That's it pretty simple : )

The giveaway will run from 6/4 - 6/18. I will use a random picking tool to pick the winner. I'll announce the winner on 6/19. I'll get the winners contact info (privately) and get it mailed out asap. Good luck!

Summer Ideas For Kids #3

The weather by us has been a little crazy one day it's hot and muggy in the 80's and the next it's chilly, rainy and 60°. So the boys have been stuck in the house more then they would like to be.

 So I made the boys a little tent "hangout" and we made a pretend campfire. You can't have a campfire with out s'mores right! So we made some s'mores for a little treat and played for quite a while : )

You don't have to make a tent like I did. You could just use good old sheets and chairs/couch (some of the best tents I can remember have been made that way). I will do a separate post on how I made ours though.

Pretend Fire

•  Red & yellow tissue paper
•  Brown paper or foam
•  Glue or staples (to keep it together)

Roll the paper or foam into logs. You can secure them with either glue or staples (what ever you like). Take 1 piece of yellow tissue paper and fold it in half do the same with 1 piece of red tissue paper. Over lap them at a angle and crinkle them till you get your desired flames look. Place your logs and flame how you would like. Let your kids imaginations go : ) It'll keep them busy for awhile : )

Have fun!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Me and the boys made some chocolate chip cookies today. We have a few yummy chocolate chip cookie recipes. One of them being Nestle ; ) but we decided on this chewy one today. Freshed baked cookies and a glass of milk make everything better right? The boys licked there plate clean literally so they must be yummy!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/4 all purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 1 tsp baking soda
•  1 1/2 tsp corn starch
•  1/2 tsp salt
•  3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks of butter (melted)
•  3/4 cup light brown sugar
•  1 large egg and 1 egg yolk
•  2 tsp vanilla extract
•  12 oz bag of chocolate chips or chunks

*Makes 16 Large Cookies*

In medium bowl whisk melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar together until there are no brown sugar lumps. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients flour, baking soda, corn starch and salt. Mix together (the dough will be very soft). Fold in the chocolate chips.  Cover and chill for 2 hrs or up to 3 days.   (You NEED to chill the dough or the cookies will spread flat).

Preheat oven to 325°. Roll dough into balls (the dough will be crumbly but the heat from your hands will keep it intact). If you want them to look luscious gently press some extra chocolate chips on top. Bake for 11-12 minutes (No longer then 12 minutes). The cookies will look very soft and under baked. Allow them to set on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy! If you try them out let me know what you think. : ) What's your favorite kind of cookie?

Stuck In My head!

My little guy got the fisher price puppy not to long ago. He loves it he'll bob his head, smile, giggle and clap when it's singing and playing music. Of course I'll sing along while it's going. Now some of the songs are stuck in my head lol! This isn't the first time this has happened. Having 3 kiddos it's happened more times then I can count : ) I'm sure it'll be something else stuck in my head it's just a matter of time.

Do you have one of your kids songs stuck in your head from a toy or tv show?

Let Me Know If You Like It Better!

I changed the background color. Would you mind letting me know if you like it better this way or the other and if it's easier to read. Thanks so much I really appreciate it : )

Poor Little Guy!

Little man had his 12 month check up (a little earlier then he was supposed to because his doc was gonna be outta town) and unfortunately it didn't go as smoothly as I had hopped. They weighed him he's 19 pounds and 28.5 in long. The doctor came in the room to check him and ask the normal questions they ask at every visit. He showed me his chart and said he's doing pretty good normal steady growth for him. Then he was going over how much food and milk does he get a day. Once I told him he's still pretty much exclusively nursing and not really interested in food yet (he might take a small taste of something or he just doesn't want anything to do with any food) he gave me this are you serious what the hell is wrong with you look. That's when he said oh no his weight is a little low, he needs more calories, he should be sleeping straight threw the night not waking at all to eat. He told me not to breastfeed him until he's ate food first and then I could give him whole milk or nurse if I wanted to. After that he asked if I had any concerns. I brought up that he's not crawling yet or walking (I'm not really to concerned with it though he's right on trace with everything and he can get from one spot to the next he's recently been trying to pull up on things to I just figure he will when he's good and ready to). The doctor checked him out and said his tone seems just fine and he tries to take steps when you stand him up and hold his hands. So he said to bring him back in 1 month to see if he's made any progress and to check his weight. After that It was time for the dreaded shots and finger prick. Poor little guy was a trooper though. The nurse came back in to tell me that his levels were 9.5 and they should be 10. They then sent me down to get blood work done (I felt so bad for this poor baby multiple shots, 2 finger pricks and now blood work). The lady was having trouble finding a good vein but stuck him any way and missed, she didn't end up getting any blood and so he has to go threw it again! I got a call from his doctors office the next day saying they never received anything yet. I told her what happened and that we need to go back, she got a little snotty with me and said we'll he needs it done sooner rather then later. I'm more than a little annoyed and pissed with the whole situation. Any way we went back this morning to try again it was a different person this time and he got it thankfully cause I wouldn't put him threw that a third time. I asked if there was a big difference doing it this way then a finger prick and he says no its pretty much the same thing. So I don't know why they had him get it done then. Little man's asleep in my arms now so I figured I would vent. Sorry this is so long sometimes I just ramble : )