Pajama Walk

Our new favorite thing to do in the evenings. We bathe the girls, get them into their pajamas, and then we all head out for an evening pajama walk right before dark.  We all love this activity, but I can tell that it really helps Marley wind down before bed.  She gets to explore a little bit and is much more willing to go to sleep.  This is definitely something we want to keep doing!

Summer Setting Collage

I am finally finding a use for all the scrapbook paper and stickers I have been collecting in hopes of becoming an amazing scrapbooker.  No, it's not scrapbooking.  It's projects for Marley!

She woke up from her nap to this invitation today.

I told her the basic idea: summer.  And then I just let her put things where she wanted.

We talked about what happens in the summer, what the leaves look like on trees, and our favorite things to do.  And I loved her finished product!

Campsite, pond, picnic blanket, cooking over the fire, plenty of bugs, flowers, and a beautiful tree.

The tree was actually glued on well enough that we were able to hang this on the wall.  Marley requested to do autumn next.  

Ice Cream in the Dryer

Seriously, we made ice cream in our dryer!

We set out to make ice cream in bags.  You put your ice cream mixture in a quart size bag, then put that into a gallon size bag, half-full of ice.

 

However, the recipe did not tell us how hard it was going to be to shake the bag for 15 minutes.  And how cold our hands would get! 

So, my genius husband said, "Let's put them in the dryer on the no-heat setting!"  And I have to confess that I thought it was a crazy idea and I wouldn't let him put mine or Marley's in.  The last thing we needed was a three year old who had been told she was having ice cream, but instead we were cleaning it out of the dryer.

But it totally worked!  So, we did all three that way.  And it was delicious!

 Vanilla with Ande's mints on top.

I made blackberry ice cream.  Amazing.

Vanilla with chocolate chips.

We all loved it!  And I would definitely do it again!  Here is a recipe we used.

1 cup half & half

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Any mix-in you would like (I added 8 mashed blackberries)

Put all of this ingredients straight into your smaller bag.  In the gallon size bag, put in 1/2 cup salt and fill it half way with ice.  

Then, stick your small bag inside the bigger one and put it in the dryer for 5-10 minutes with no heat.  Just keep checking on it until it is the consistency you want!

{this moment}

{this moment} is a Friday ritual from one of my new favorite blogs, Soulemama.com. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

 If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

..........

 

Right now, I'm

: packing for our camping trip and wishing I had done more last night.
: nervous about how the weekend will go.  Highs in the 90s.
: frustrated with Henna, who seems to want to be a very naughty puppy the past few days.
: thinking a lot about what kind of schooling we want for our kids and how we can make it happen.
: exhausted because Vivi was up most of the night with a stuffy nose.
: nervous about how our day today will go.  It's an all day affair at a local park with the Army.  Sports events, kids' activities, food, splash pad, and heat.  Doesn't always go well with two little ones.

: loving the artwork around our house.  On the chalkboard, there is a picture Marley drew of our family sleeping in bed together.  The dry erase board is covered in letters and shapes.  
: thankful I got a chance to shave my legs before we go camping and swimming all weekend.
: avoiding cleaning my kitchen.
: wondering if the pair of shorts I bought yesterday will really work, or if I should return them. Things always fit differently at home.
: sore from my cardio class yesterday morning and bike ride with the girls yesterday afternoon.
: slowly organizing all of our pictures and videos from the last seven years to make sure we have two master copies of everything.  I might have an emotional breakdown if we lost them one day.
: doing my absolute best to stay positive and relaxed about everything this weekend.  I'll be leaving all my worries at home.
: going to have breakfast with my girl.

Have a Happy Thursday, everyone!

Good Morning

Mornings used to be brutal for me.  I'm not a morning person, a trait I got from my wonderful mother.  Marley would come barreling in the room at full-speed requesting breakfast and it took all my strength just to open my eyes and tell her I would be right there.  It took a lot of willpower to climb out of my warm bed where I was snuggled up against a dreamy, cozy baby, but a mama's gotta do what a mama's gotta do.  I would spend the first hour of my morning in a fog, and since I'm not a caffeine drinker, there wasn't much I could do about it.  I just waited it out. 

I decided to make a change a few weeks ago and start getting up with Asa at 5:30 in the morning.  He leaves for PT then and I get a chance to slowly wake up, upload and edit pictures, write a little, read a book if I want, and just enjoy some alone time.

Then around 7, my girl comes out of her room.  She is still sleepy and wants to cuddle or read a book with me, and it is now one of my favorite times of the day.  I rarely get to spend alone time with her, so this morning time before Asa comes home and Vivi wakes up is our time.  The computer gets shut and my phone gets put away and I do what Marley wants to do.  We cuddle on the couch and talk about the day, we read a couple of books, and we tell secrets no one else can know.  And she is so happy.

When she is ready for breakfast (which doesn't take very long) she helps me make it.  She gets to sit on the counter with me or help measure the ingredients for pancakes.  I love how simple things are during this time.  We are both so fresh and content.   

I look forward to this time, now.  I still wouldn't say I'm a morning person, but I am getting there.  Going to sleep earlier really helps.  And having such sweet, precious alone time with my girl makes it priceless.

Nap Time Battle

Shortly after Vivienne was born, Marley started refusing to take naps.  It was a frustrating battle every single day, that usually ended with both of us upset and no nap.  So, after a few months I stopped making her.  I decided it wasn't worth the battle and if she was done with naps at three years old, so be it. 

I instated "quiet time" every day after lunch instead.  She could read books or play in her bed, no shut-eye required.  Now, Marley's quiet time wasn't always so quiet.  She would come out every 10 minutes to check if quiet time was over.  And I would usually come back to a disaster of a room, books every where, blankets and quilts off the beds, and clothes out of the drawers. But, I just needed a little break in the afternoons and this was how I could get it.  We just had to do some clean-up afterwards.

When Asa came home and we got settled at our new house, she was still having quiet time.  But all of the sudden, she stopped coming out quite so often.  Her bedroom was suddenly very quiet!  I would go in to check on her, and day after day she would be asleep!

Toys, books, stuffed animals, and Emma (the baby doll) are usually covering her bed.  But she is napping!

We still call it "quiet time" because she is still not a fan of the word "nap".  But every day around 1 in the afternoon, she takes a good nap and wakes up refreshed and ready for an adventure.  She comes out and says, "I've been quiet, can I get out now?" in the sweetest little voice with her hair disheveled and her blue eyes trying to stay open.  And when she looks that cute, of course she can get out of bed, because I just want to cuddle with her and kiss her rosy cheeks!

Bike Riding and Sprinklers

This weekend, we got Marley her first bike.  She has been practicing with the bikes every time we go to Walmart.  She had picked out helmets, talked about bike accessories, and asked us every time we passed a bike, "Can I have a bike one day?"  So, she finally got one.    

And needless to say, she was beyond excited.  She was jumping up and down at the store and when we brought it home in the box.  (Surprisingly, she was totally okay with not getting a pink bike covered in princessess.  Who says girls can't have an orange bike?!)

But once Asa took it out of the box, she was a little nervous.  Her face changed to a more serious look and I could tell she was unsure.  I have realized in her three years old life that Marley does things at her own time.  If I push her to do something, she won't or tells me she can't.  But if we wait it out and let her decide on her own time, she is happy and motivated to accomplish it.  So, I just talked about how great it looked and how perfect it would be.  And I hoped she would catch on and get excited again.

When Asa got it finished, she climbed on.  She looked so adorable in her purple helmet and hippie dress.  She looked ready to go, but she was still nervous.  She had a very serious expression as we helped her navigate down the hill in front of our house. 

Once the sidewalk got flat, I stepped back a little and let her get a feel for it by herself.  She still wasn't smiling, but she was pedaling and making progress down the concrete.

All of the sudden, she realized what she was doing.  She stopped and looked behind her at the distance she had traveled, then turned back to me with her mouth wide open.  She was so proud.  I love seeing that look on her face, when she believes in herself and feels like she did something amazing.  I can tell her how great she is doing or how far she has gone, but it doesn't get a reaction like that.  I love seeing her get that excitement and joy because she knows she did it. 

She was on a post-bike-ride high when we played in the backyard that afternoon.  We set up our new sprinkler for her to play in, and she had a blast.

 I love seeing my girl this happy.  Here's to an amazing, sunny, fulfilling summer!

Please pause for this Diva Moment

This Diva Moment is brought to you by my Number One Diva, Marley.


I literally cannot stop laughing about this picture.

Finding Happy

We set out on an adventure today.  I've been in a funky mood the past two days and I couldn't seem to get over it.  I needed something new.  I needed to find some Happy somewhere.  So, we packed up some snacks, diapers, the sand bucket, and a blanket and went out for some Happy.

Asa has been talking about going to this little spot on the river for a while.  We had no idea what to expect going down there, so we didn't really wear the right shoes and we were missing a few things that would have been nice to have.

 

But none of that really mattered once we found the perfect spot to relax for the afternoon.  We had rocks, sand, water, and sunshine.  A recipe for Happy.

Marley got as sandy as she possibly could.  She dug, rolled, burried, threw, raked, and wallowed in the sand.  Asa fished and Henna explored everything she could and ended up completely waring herself out.

I was having a big debate in my head about getting Vivi out of the Ergo.  She was squirmy and ready to get down, but I just looked around at the ground and pictured the sand in her hands and mouth and diaper and it felt overwhelming.  I thought, I'll just stand her up and let her get her feet in the sand.

Well, she loved it.  She laughed and kicked her feet and looked like it was the best thing she had ever felt.  I couldn't just make her stop there once I saw how happy she was!  The sand ended up looking completely perfect in the creases of her chubby hands, between her toes, dusted on her cheeks, and, yes, even in her mouth.  And once it was all over her, it was a like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders.  Everyone had found their Happy.

Being with my happy family makes me happy.  When I can see both of my girls loving life and having a blast, how could I be anything but happy?  That's really all I need.