Woah

So this is it. The end of the month long challenge. It was pretty intense. Some days were a lot harder than others. And some days were unbelievably easy. Writing wise anyway.

In life, those days had their ups and downs too. Today for example, Day 1 of spring break and I wake up not feeling well. Stuffy, coughing, achy.

I. CANNOT. BE. SICK. OVER. SPRING BREAK!

So I get up and chug a glass of juice, pour some cereal for DD and myself and start my day. We've got big plans to spring clean everything. Today was the playroom. Most peoples first choice for cleaning? No probably not. The method behind my madness? To have the playroom cleaned and the arts center set up to entertain DD while I do the rest of the house. Genius? I think so.

I got the whole room done.

You might have noticed a lack of toys. They're not in the toy box either. Part of my spring cleaning plan is to take advantage of Husband and make him take DD shopping for a new toy tomorrow morning. New lego set perhaps? I'm not sure what yet, but I do know that while they're gone I will be going through the 3 1/2 totes full of toys and throwing away anything broken, packing away baby stuff, and making a donation pile of the toys she never ever plays with.

This way I won't have to hear "Mommy, no, I want that. I promise I'll play with it." Only to find out next week it already has a layer of dust and the faint smell of an ignored toy on it.

Afterwards, God willing, I will have an empty tote ready to pack up the kitchen toys (food, dishes, etc..) and it will be the kitchen "island" to help her cook. And the rest of the keeper toys will go in the colored bins.

The accomplished feeling I got looking at the room while I took those pictures made me feel so much better. I think the lunch of subway helped also.

I'm so glad to have been part of this month long journey with you all. Thank you.

Where's my sunshine?

Today was shaping up to be a gorgeous day, the sun was out in full force, the temp was warm enough for short sleeves. It was great. Took DD and Nephew to see my husband's grandma, and while we were in her house the clouds rolled in and the rain started p o u r i n g like it needed to be filling up glasses and buckets for our next drought. We drove back to Nephew's house and the kiddos laid down for a nap. It is STILL raining. Monsoon season in Washington? The cherry blossoms in Nephew's backyard are drooping from the weight of all this rain. Please mother nature let me have my sunshine back.

The Amazing Submarine Adventure

So today I really needed to clean my car. I had to pull out the stuff and vacuum the floors and the seats and wash the outside (stupid in WA where it rains every day but it still needs to get done sometimes). Nephew and DD came with me first thing this morning to the self service car wash where, $3 later the small bag of trash was out, the stuff for inside my house was in a box in my trunk and the floors and seats were vacuumed up, and I had wiped down my dash with one of those nice lemon scented wipes that cleaned my window too.

Then as we started to drive home, inspiration struck in the form of commercial memory. Maybe you've seen this. Instead of goldfish food, DD and Nephew had toy whales and we went on our own submarine adventure. They came up with the submarine being attacked by jellyfish. I didn't even mention that part to them, which is why it's not an octopus. They had a blast and immediately started talking about going through the carwash again tomorrow. Oh boy, how to explain to two preschoolers that the carwash isn't an everyday thing, when all they see it as is an adventure.

After the adventure we headed home for real and had crescent sandwiches. Meats and cheeses and hot dogs were the fillings for these sandwiches. They filled the little tummies and after picking up Nephew T from his half day, DD and Nephew took naps that they both desperately needed. It was a good day. I made a good memory with the kiddos, I made a good lunch, a yummy dinner and finished off making a few Pinterest recipes.

'Crack' bread, S'more Trail Mix, and Bailey's Irish Coffee Creme Fudge

Nephew's mommy is my taste test guinea pig and she complained just tonight how her jeans were a little too snug this afternoon. -evil laugh- My plan is working! (Shhh don't tell). 2 More days. Happy blogging!

SOLCS - 28

So, who can believe there's only 3 days left in March? Not me. It seems like just last week we started this challenge. There have been hard days, there have been days where nothing seemed to make sense when I was writing, or reading, I get so brain-dead sometimes. But here we are, almost all the way to the end! We did it slicers!

Pat yourselves on the back for me because you all are amazing and fantastic! I have been blessed to be part of this community for the past month. Thank you for welcoming me in with open arms! Thank you for sharing your ideas and thoughts.

lunchtime fun

It started with a note.

Tucked delicately into an egg for Nephew T to read. I made their "Muffin Tin Monday lunch" and put everything in Easter eggs. Hid them around the kitchen and dining area. then I called them all down to lunch.

"Uhhh, Auntie Kara. Where's my lunch?" Nephew asked when they got to the table. I gave them the rules and made sure the little ones listened to Nephew T read the note very carefully. Then it was on! they had a blast finding the eggs and Nephew T asked that I hide his better next time (Next time?! You actually WANT me to make lunch again? -happy dancing-) but other than the eggs being too easy to find, they loved the lunch.

You may wonder why I'm doing an Easter lunch almost 2 full weeks before Easter, but I'm not going to get another Monday with my Nephews before Easter because next week is SPRING BREAK! Nephew's mommy has conferences all this week, so Nephew T has half days and is looking forward to lunches with me.

Nephew

Nephew T

DD

 They all look so happy! These are the pictures of the memories I am making, that make everything else I do in my life as a mom worth it!

Mamma Mia!

MIL and SIL go to a play, once a month or so. I've tagged along for a few of the family type ones where we've gotten tickets for the moms and kids. We've been to see Mary Poppins, Aladdin, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast! I love it. Yesterday was Mamma Mia! No kids. Just a nice girls day. We did lunch, we saw the play (fantastic!) we stopped by Pike's Market to grab some flowers. It was a wonderful day. then we went to MIL's house where the men had stayed home with the kids.

They spent the day playing football and going on an adventure hike! The kids had lots of fun. We were greeted to the wonderful smells of perfectly cooked steak as we drove up to the house. SIL had to run home right away to let her doggy outside and Nephew decided to go home with his mommy. Nephew T however wanted to stay and keep eating steak, so we brought him home after dinner. DD talked a lot about all the fun they had yesterday, so while I was a little worried she might be upset about missing Mamma Mia (she loves the movie) I think she had an even better time with her Daddy and Grandpa than she would have with me.

Try as I might

Try as I might to sleep in today I was up and about by 7. My internal clock was blaring, then my bladder joined in and that was the end. Was able to do stuff on the computer and get breakfast for DD before she even woke up. Then once the sun burned off the fog and clouds we all got dressed and went outside. DD played on her swing set, with chalk and on her bike while Husband and I cleaned out the shed in the backyard. It was a project we needed to get done so we can move things from the house out there. And we finished. Hurray for productive Saturday. I bet if I had slept in I wouldn't have felt so productive though.