washing the car.

taking a break from a day at the pool, my children were very excited when i suggested that they wash my car.  as for them, it didn't seem like work at all, but a good reason to make lots of bubbles in our driveway and a really good chance to use the hose to spray one another.

 

or, as it ended up, slade taking great pleasure in spraying his sisters every chance he had.

 

but, in the end, they all worked very hard, my car was very clean, and they had lots of fun!  it was a great day!!!

sponge balls.

last thursday, sia celebrated her last day of preschool before taking a break for the summer. as she said goodbye to all of her sweet little classmates, she gave each of her friends a sponge ball to have fun with during the summer.

i made the sponge balls using the tutorial found here. after making enough for the entire class, i packaged each of them in cellophane bags and added a tag instructing the children to "make a splash and have a ball this summer!"

happy april fool's day.

have you been fooled yet today? slade has anxiously been awaiting for april 1st to arrive, so i am sure my little jokester will try to fool me with a prank or two this afternoon. hopefully, he won't try any pranks in school today!! (i can only hope.) however, i really intended on packing him a gag lunch today, but i just didn't get it together in time. he would've really been fooled. there are so many ideas here if you'd like have some fun today!

{image via family fun}

more often.

i often wonder why we don't get together more often? last night, i put together a small birthday celebration here at home. my children went to bed, friends arrived and the party began. i served roasted garlic with french bread, spicy tomato shrimp, bruschetta and a wonderful tray of cheeses and crackers with fruit and nuts was brought. (thank you simone!)

it was exactly the night i needed. we chatted a lot. we laughed. and laughed some more. and before the night ended, we celebrated two birthdays with my favorite semi-homemade cupcakes. it was such a fun night. really... we must do it more often!

just thinking.

wouldn't this be fun!! hmmm...

image available here

happy for snow.

we were been hit by snow storm down here in the south and (happily) we are snowed in at home. i loved watching the snow fall on sunday night. it was so very peaceful as the house was quiet and the kids were asleep. and, how beautiful it was to wake up on monday morning with a heavy blanket of white on the ground.

my children were very happy school was canceled and immediately wanted to head outside. we played in the snow lots yesterday...

and sled down hills (that are usually neighborhood roads)

it's so, so cold here... but so much fun to be snowed in!

again school is canceled today. and, if we are not outside playing, we'll be inside keeping warm while sipping hot cocoa, playing games, watching movies and working on school projects that are due later this week.

a little christmas tradition.

i've been meaning to share this with you...


a little more than a week ago, our little elf arrived. here we found him sitting above the coffee bar in our kitchen. tinsel, as we call him, came to our home a couple of years ago and continues to come each year during the holiday season.

just after thanksgiving, he arrives and sits upon a shelf so that he is able to see and hear everything. the children can talk to him, but he cannot speak. nor can he be touched or his magical powers might be lost. each night he returns to the north pole and tells what he has seen or heard throughout the day. when we wake up each morning, tinsel is (almost) always in a different spot. i love the excitement as slade, elle and sia try to find where he might be. or, once in awhile i will hear them telling him their requests for santa claus!

quirky as it may seem, my children have come to love this little christmas tradition. they are always very sad to see their tiny elf friend leave on christmas day. but for now, tinsel is here to stay and my children know he will be watching and listening throughout each day!

hamster ball.

have you ever seen a human hamster ball? i don't think it's something i would ever want to do, but my inquisitive son was anxious to try. so, we paid 10 dollars for him to run (and sit and lay) inside a huge inflatable ball that floated in a pool of water.

actually, a little wierd.
here they are inflating the ball as slade stands inside.

he's all sealed up & ready to go.
(and all i could think of was... suffocation and germs... ugghh!)

although slade said it was fun, i thought he looked a bit bored. perhaps if a group were doing it all together it might be a bit more fun. however, i really am not a big fan of the human hamster ball!

hot. hot. hot.

temperatures soared into the 100's today. although it was so hot outside, it was perfect for all day swimming and a water balloon fight. simple fun, absolutely enjoyed.

happy weekend.

What are your plans for the weekend?

We plan to take a ride or two on the carousel circuit here in Binghamton, New York. There are six antique and historical wood-carved merry-go-rounds located in some of the nearby parks. And, like years ago, these magical rides are still "free of charge" to be enjoyed by everyone.

So during this weekend, we will be taking advantage of this great entertainment bargain. I hope you too have a magical weekend that happily goes around and around!