Some weeks are better than others!

Sometimes the best laid plans just aren't gonna happen.  This has been a challenging week and so some of our plans didn't pan out.  One child was throwing up on Tuesday, and another one was throwing up this morning.  In between Tuesday and Friday I was really not feeling well.  Hopefully we have gotten it out of our system.  I am writing this to encourage you in case you've had a challenging week too!  Make sure you are making time for yourself so that you are equipped to deal with the days that are a bit harder.  As my sweet friend Jamey put it, bein a momma aint for sissies!  That is sooooo true and I hear that advice in my head constantly.   

However, we did explode sandwich bags (it is a very fast experiement but they loved it), make lava lamps (they loved that one too), visit the library for a magic show, get Father's Day stuff ready (each child got to pick a place to get a $5 gift card to go spend a date with dad), have a play date, and go to football camp.  So the week wasn't half bad with all of its challenges.  We were planning on going on the Grapevine Friday Fun Train today but we will save that for another day.  :) 

Finally, set your kids up to entertain themselves well for the days when you are just exhausted or not feeling well.  We have lots of books at the ready, many workbooks for them to go through (they love workbooks), a few computer games that we all like to play together, sports equipment galore outside, and a table with all kinds of paper, markers, and crayons for them to create beautiful pieces of work :).  Between all of those things, the kids have gotten pretty good at entertaining themselves when we are having a slower day. 

Have a Fantastic weekend!!!

Flying Monsters & Magic School Bus

Dad left at 5:30 this morning for an all day disc golf tourney and so this morning I was scrambling trying to figure out how I was going to entertain the crew for the day.  My initial plan was nixed by my 7 year old, which included a visit to the Museum of Nature and Science in dallas to see an IMAX movie and go to a temporary exhibit there called the Magic School Bus.  His request was to stay home all day and be lazy.  I was pretty certain that was going to result in a lot of fighting and yelling, and so I asked him to figure out a plan with his brother (who liked my proposed plan) and my only request was that the plan included getting out of the house.  They decided they wanted to go to the museum and see the movie, but not go to the exhibit.  That's a long drive for a 40 minute movie, but I accepted this plan for 2 reasons:  1.  when the kids are in the car they are quiet.  That's 80 minutes of silence and happiness for all.  Yes, please.  2.  I kinda wanted to see flying monsters too, so off we went.  We brought a lunch to eat afterward outside.  The movie was great, and was primarily about the Terasaurus (spelling?), and a proposed explanation for how they became extinct.  They are basically flying lizards of sorts.  The boys of course loved it.  Clara wasn't too certain whether she was going to like it so I got snuggles from her the whole time.  Turns out there was live music outside, so we got to eat our picnic lunch in the shade and listen to great music.  Great outing and highly recommend it.  Later this summer we will be heading back to check out the magic school bus exhibit and I will keep you posted about it!

One last sidenote - there is another IMAX movie about Whales, and if you go to the Museum website and click on the exhibit, there is curriculum and activities that you can do with the kids after they see the movie.  I checked it out and I think the kids would have loved it, but they wanted to see Flying Dinosaurs instead. 

Park Exploration

We have this great feature in our navigation system where you can search for parks nearest you, and so the other morning while the oldest child was in a morning camp, I took the other two park exploring (meaning search for the closest park and find one we haven't been to before).  We stumbled across a great low key park in Flower Mound called Colony Park (http://www.mapquest.com/places/colony-park-flower-mound-tx-265840879/).  They had a playground for both the little ones and big ones, swings, a huge soccer field, and tons of shade.  Sometimes I just want to go to one where I can easily keep an eye on all 3 at the same time (rather than somewhere like Kids Kastle).  Here are some pics:

We also visited Highlands Park (http://local.yahoo.com/info-24454721-highlands-park-lewisville), which is super dooper low key, but was fun for them (ages 2 and 5) for about 20 - 25 minutes before we moved on to the next park.  :)  This one was really great for the 2 year old.  And just an FYI - there is really no shade so you will need a cooler morning.  Here are some pics:



Free Splash Park Alert!

I LOVE finding new places to explore and it's even better when it's free.  A friend of mine visited WJ Thomas Splash Park in Carrollton this morning and said it was great, so you can bet we will be visiting there very soon!  Great for the little ones.  Here is the link!

http://www.cityofcarrollton.com/index.aspx?page=1462

Here is a pic! (from the link)












This morning we paid a visit to Chick Fil A to hang out with friends (mom and kids both), and this afternoon we are going geocaching.  Should be fun! 

Science Projects

I am frequently searching pinterest for great ideas for the kids.  I have selected some science projects that I found there to try out this summer.  Here are a couple of the winners:

The Exploding Sandwich Bag
What you will need:
-sandwich sized ziplock bag
-1/4 c warm water
-1/2 c vinegar
-1T baking soda
-toilet paper

Tear off a square or two of toilet paper and put a tablespoon of

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baking soda in the middle.  Twist or fold the toilet paper around
the pile of baking soda making a small packet.
Next, open your sandwich bag and pour in 1/2 cup vinegar and
1/4 cup warm water. Zip the bag closed, but not all the way.
You'll want a small opening just large enough to drop in the
packet of baking
soda.  Move the experiment to the sink or outside!  Put the baking
soda packet into the bag and then quickly zip it all the way
closed.  (I found it helpful to carefully put the packet in, then
hold it towards the top away from the liquid so I could zip the
bag all the way closed, then let it drop in)
Once the bag is sealed, give it a quick, gentle shake so the
packet drops into the liquid and set it down.  The reaction will occur
almost immediately and the bag will start to fill with carbon dioxide
It'll get bigger and bigger until it finally POPS! Site I borrowed this from: http://www.cometogetherkids.com/2012/02/exploding-sandwich-bag-experiment.html Swirling Colors Milk What you will need: -milk (whole or half and half - skim won't work) -tray or shallow bowl -food coloring -cotton swabs -liquid dish soap (dawn works well) Pour some milk into your tray.  You'll want it at least 1/4" deep. Add several drops of food coloring near the center of the tray. Dip a cotton swab into the color (don't stir it, just dip!).  Nothing really happens. Now, dip your cotton swab into your liquid dish soap and then dip back into your milk.   (again, don't stir, just dip it in and hold it in place for a few seconds!).  Watch how the colors "jump" away from the soap, and then begin swirling around on their own!

Passports for the Summer

Last summer I got the kids each a notebook to journal about their summer, draw about it, etc., and I think they wrote all of 2 sentences in it.  One of the moms from my son's preschool shared with me her great idea of making passports for the kids to date stamp their activities.  This was a brilliant idea for a few reasons:  1.  they are used to the idea of a passport because with their "Highlights, Top Secret Mission" puzzle book they get it comes with a passport and they get to add a country sticker to their passport every time.  I think this is actually their favorite part of receiving a new puzzle book.  2.  Now they can just date stamp an activity when they do it if they want, or add a little more if they want.  Lynn showed me how she did hers, but I improvised some.  Here are the pictures: 

I took brown cardstock and cut it in half for the cover and back.  I stamped their names and the title on the front with my stamp letters.  I bought the tag on the front from hobby lobby.



Then I thought of what activities we would be doing this summer, and found some clipart.  I printed the clipart, cut it out, and glued it onto black construction paper, like so:  :)

I cut computer paper into the size of the passport and added 2 pages for each activity which includes things like swimming, sports camps, California, Family camp, bowling, etc.  Here is another picture:



Obviously this isn't professional work, but we are talking a 7, 5 and 2 year old here.  They can take a picture of something and add it, date stamp it (I have stamps with each month as well as number stamps but you could get a date stamper or just write it), draw something, write something you liked about the day, etc.  Hopefully they will actually do it and have a little journal of their summer at the end of summer!

Summer plans begin!

OK, so it's been awhile since I've written!  But, I hope with the next few posts to inspire you to take advantage of this summer with your kids.  If you're anything like me, you need to make a plan in order for anything to actually happen!  So much thought has gone into this summer.  With the removal of the daily routines of school and sports, I always have high hopes of re-orienting our family to each other and to use the time to deepen our relationship with God.  Over the next couple of weeks, I plan on sharing with you the scripture reading plan I hope to engage our kids in, some fun science projects, outings we plan to go on, etc. 

Today I ventured out to the local Christian bookstore to find them each (the boys are 5 & 7) their own actual Bible - an upgrade from the picture/preschool Bibles they have been using over the years.  I've been finding the younger one reading his Bible in bed at nighttime, and in the morning as time permits, so I figure the time had come to get him the real deal.  (He was jumping up and down with excitement when we got it - made me so happy)  I also got them a journal to jot their thoughts down on questions they have, or to draw pictures about what they read, etc.

Our church gave us a very helpful resource for the summer that includes all kinds of summer activities to consider.  Included in that resource were recommended weekly readings for the kids.  With each reading were questions to consider reviewing with your children to help provide some clarity to the readings.  I'm so excited to begin this new routine with them.  Here is the link to the Summer Family Activity Book if you are interested:  http://www.thevillagechurch.net/mediafiles/2012-summer-family-activity-book.pdf

I created a calendar for the summer with all the plans that I will be sharing with you, and on that calendar I have included the readings we will be focusing on week by week.  They are all from the book of Mark.  And for the adults, if you didn't read my prior post on the Chronological Bible I have been going through, it has continued to be a great Bible for me.  I highly recommend it.  It separates the readings into a daily reading and provides great summaries of each reading to help prepare you. I like that I don't have to think about what I am going to read and that I can just dive right in as soon as I wake up.