Summer Bucket List - Post Three (and a HOUSE UPDATE!)

"Build a swing set" - CHECK!

We just bought this swing set on Saturday. My only request to my husband was that it get built "sometime by the end of June". He busted his butt and it was done by Wednesday, which is before the end of May!! He had a some help from neighbors, but he put most of it together himself.

What a stud. :)

Of course, the day after it was finished was the first rainy and cool day we have had in awhile! But I still took Nora out during a break in the rain with a towel, a jacket, and a smile for a good half hour playtime:

You may have noticed the other "new" item in that part of the yard. Visit this post to see what this corner of the yard used to look like. Here's what it looks like now:

We got a "new to us" shed a few weeks ago. It was only a few years old and only needs some paint to make it look new again, but getting it here was a little difficult! It had rained a lot before it was delivered and the guys got a truck stuck in our yard. Luckily, they got it out without much yard damage!

Next step in the house project: porches. I am excited!

Until next time . . .

Summer Bucket List - Post Two

"Messy Fun With Three or More Kids" - CHECK!

Nora, -L-, and -NB-. All were getting ready to "jump in". :)

I actually didn't have shaving cream in mind for this activity. I was going to have them make mud pies, and spray bottle paint, and all sorts of messy stuff. But if I want to do things like this with "three or more kids" I knew I needed to get it done soon before they all head on vacations and what-not for the summer. So, shaving cream it is!

They were actually so CLEAN about it. I told them they must have been doing it wrong or something. :) lol
Until next time . . .

Memorial Day Weekend

So far our Memorial Day weekend has been a ton of fun! We purchased Nora's swing set and got it home, and then yesterday we took Aunt Rachel to the beach. After the beach, we took Nora to where Daddy was fishing. She. Had. A. Blast!! Daddy helped her fish for over an hour while Mommy cheered them on.

I love this picture so much. Watching them fish together was so awesome. Nora has this determined "I'm going to catch a fish" face, and Cory is just being a good daddy and helping her out. Love, love, love!

The highlight of course was Nora catching her first fish! Wow, was she excited. I was prepared to deliver the "sometimes you don't catch anything" speech, but it turns out it wasn't needed this time. She caught this one and three more, and didn't want to stop until she was hungry enough to have to eat something ("smarshmellows"). What a great time!

Until next time . . .

Summer Bucket List! - Post One

A lot of the kids I watch are teacher/administrator's kids. This means that I run around like a sun-of-a-gun during the school year taking care of them, and then summer shows up and BAM! Nada. Just Nora and I sitting and staring at each other twiddling our thumbs. I am grateful for this time - especially this year, seeing as it's my last year with just Nora - but I also get bored easily, and Nora doesn't really enjoy playing with just me for too long before she starts asking to play with her friends. Like she has already done 10 times since this morning.

ANYWAY, I went ahead and made our family a "2012 Summer Bucket List" to keep us me occupied. And since yesterday was the official end of school around here, I went ahead and started checking things off today! :)

The bucket list looks something like this:
1. Go to the museum of transportation
2. Build a swing set
3. Go to the pool at least ten times
4. Go to a baseball game
5. Go to a festival and ride rides
6. Go to the farmer’s market
7. Go to the library
8. Go to an outdoor movie
9. Nora/Daddy Date to the zoo
10. PB and J Festival
11. Nora/Mommy Date to Splash City
12. Celebrate Dad’s 30th Birthday
13. Celebrate Nora’s 3rd Birthday
14. Meet Nora’s new cousin
15. See fireworks
16. Have a yard sale
17. Get new porches
18. Drink a fun fruity or coffee drink
19. Go get Snow-cones or Tropical Sno
20. Have a movie day with a fort and pillows in the living room
21. Pick out a baby crib
22. Slip-n-slide
23. Visit all the grandparents
24. KBK
25. Pick Nora’s preschool
26. Go to TWIST
27. Do something messy with three or more kids
28. Go to the beach at least five times
29. Go meet daddy for lunch
30. Go up in the arch

I wrote this all out of a piece of posterboard, hung it up smack-dab in the middle of the house,:

And made plans to check TWO things off today - the "first" day of our summer!:
3. Go to the pool at least ten times (first time)
10. PB and J Festival

We started off by heading to the Rec Center to swim.

Nora and -L-.

The girls had a fantastic time swimming! After swimming, we were going to head up to the PB&J Festival, but even though the schedule had it starting today, the empty square told us that it was definitely NOT starting today. So we had some lunch with my mom, and then she decided to get the girls some cupcakes. The oh-my-good-gracious kind of gigantic, yummy, featured-on-TV cupcakes! We decided to enjoy those on the square:

Nora, -L-, and my momma. Luckily they had bowls and forks we could have as well! :)

After we had cupcakes, the girls ran around the square and the fountain for a little bit, closely supervised of course!:

Well, mostly! No one fell in anyway. :)

The girls enjoyed throwing pennies in the fountain to make a wish, and getting splashed by the fountain when a strong breeze went by. Then we headed to Mimi's house for rest time. It was a really fun day!

I won't be checking off much next week because I have some kids coming over and preschool tours to take, but look for more Bucket List posts soon! No doubt we will be heading up to the beach at some point. :)

Until next time . . .

16 Week Update - "The Baby Files"

How far along? 16 weeks tomorrow.

Maternity clothes? Yes, although I am done buying them until fall.

The belly progress:

Believe it or not, I have only gained 10 pounds in my first 16 weeks of pregnancy. But I feel like I have just SHOT OUT all of a sudden, and these photos seem to prove that! I already feel like I am swelling a little bit (my shoes and wedding rings already don't fit right.) It will be a long, swollen summer!

Sleep: I am sleeping just fine. I am finally not getting up to pee three times per night anymore - at least for a little while. ;)

Cravings: Today I really wanted pepper jack cheese cubes at Gilliganz.

Best moment this week: I felt the baby move on Mother's Day!

Movement: Very little, but I am not really there yet.

Gender: Not finding out! I was convinced it was a girl until today, now I am not sure. Only 24 more weeks until we know! ;)

Labor Signs: Ninguno, gracias a Dios!

What I miss: My sciatic nerve hurts me a lot, so I would have to say: having no back pain.

Weekly Wisdom: Time to finally put a lid on all my worries and truly savor and enjoy this pregnancy.

What Stereotype I Embody: Crazy-emotional.

What I Bought This Week: Nothing this week. Last week we got the book sling and baby book.

What I Checked off my To-Do List: 16 Week Doctor Appointment. The baby's heartbeat checked in at 155, and all looks well!

Until next time . . .

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

Today Nora was running in Aldi's (yes, I am that mom!) When she got to the end of the aisle she stuck her belly out and LOUDLY told everyone there "I have a baby in my belly. A BIG baby!" causing all of them to chuckle at her and look at me funny.

We were buying a few groceries, and I let her hold the bacon bits so she could "help" me. She holds them up and asks "Mommy, we buy fish food?"

One thing I work on a lot with Nora is her manners. She says please and thank you (or gracias) for EVERYTHING. But, some things she hasn't quite grasped yet. For example, a conversation from last week:

Nora: I toot! I toot! I toot! (which means she farted)
Mimi: What do you say?
Nora: PEEEE-YEW!!!!!

Until next time . . .