Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Dino-mite Week

**So I have a big confession.  I meant to post this on a different blog--a shared one for our preschool co-op.  But I accidentally published it to my personal blog.  I know how shocking it might be to see a new post here in...years.  And I feel somehow like I've been caught cheating or something.  {Sigh}.  Maybe if anyone sees this, I'll be tempted to do a real update on my blog.  Maybe.**

Learning about dinosaurs was a lot of fun!  I got to use a lot of ideas I've been wanting to try from Pinterest.  Hopefully we can do the field trip in a couple of months--I would love to take the kids to the museum.  I wanted to share my highlights from last week.

This is a picture of cracking open the "fossil rocks".  (I had to hold the safety goggles on so they wouldn't slip off their little heads.)  They loved the surprise of what was inside--each one had a different dinosaur or bug or ocean animal.


We used the bingo markers to "stomp" on the letters like dinosaurs.  The ink was a little messier than I would have guessed, though.  I just threw them away because the ink was so wet and Karma saw them in the garbage and was like "hey?!"  Don't you love when that happens?  Look at cute Aspen's fist in this picture, she's all intense!


They practiced tracing the letter "G" with a wet q-tip.  They did really well this, too--all them did it really slow and focused.  I'm definitely doing this again!




I loved how the moveable dinosaurs craft turned out.  They had so much fun making making them.  Karma even talked about it in her blessing on the snack!


I think every one turned out so great and unique.  It's so funny how some put a spike on the head--looks like a dinosaur party!


And to end with my favorite picture of the week...this is all the preschoolers watching a puppet show that Miranda and her dad performed for them.  They used dinosaur puppets and talked about how dinosaurs went extinct.  




Monday, September 6, 2010

If you see me at the thrift store buying up all the old lady nightgowns, this is why:

Before: zip-up nightgown
After: darling embroidered top (zipper removed)

Just found this blog a few weeks ago and I'm hooked! So inspiring--she's refashioning 1 old dress (or nightgown or mu-mu or whatever) every day this year on a budget of $1/day. So cool. If you're like me, you'll be inspired by her creative vision and addicted to seeing the before and after photos. She only has 85 days left to go, so there's lots of old posts to scroll through...

Saturday, August 28, 2010

A Day at the Beach

I'm so good about getting professional pictures done for my kids. I go to JC Penny's, and for Miranda--who loves to get her picture taken, and pose, and smile, and show some drama--it was perfect. Spent tons of money on their $3.99 portraits.

But for little Brad, it's a different story. His 12 month pictures, I bought two 8X10's, although I don't know why I did, because he's bawling in both. For 18 months, we tried it again. Even hauled a cool, vintage Red Flyer tricycle through the whole store, so he'd have a fun distraction during the portrait session and brought Grandma along for help.

Nope. Still bawling, clinging to me, whatever. Geesh--you'd think it was pure torture. So I scheduled family photos with a cute friend from my sorority days--Jen Tate--because we needed to document his cute smile in pictures! And here you go:As easy as that, I guess. Jen also got tons of smiles from her, of course! And lots of candids, my absolute favorites...Want to see more? Check out some of her other pictures and PLEASE leave a comment (we get a free print if we get 20 comments!)

Also, this was a fun, fun family activity! The kids were exhausted after playing in the sand/sun/water/salt :) for 2 1/2 hours! We are wondering if we can plan one more trip back while the weather is still nice before the bugs get too bad...If you go: take a change of clothes for the kids on the ride home, a couple gallons of water to wash all the dried up salt off your skin, lots of drinks in a cooler in the car, and a few buckets for the kids to play with in the sand.

I'm Pathetic

So, it's been a while since I've updated. No news flash, there.

But, we've been having a fun summer, jam-packed with fun:
playdates with new neighbors
playdates with family and old friends (the best kind)
re-landscaping the yard (mostly Jeremy and some hired help)
enjoying our new brick patio
my amazing sister helping me paint/glaze my huge hutch
studying for and teaching Relief Society
exploring local parks (my kids are at such a fun age!)
watching a few cars crash at two demolition derbies
seeing a few movies here and there
enjoying 'Wendys' for dinner in the mountains
hitting the library about once a week
working too much
getting family pictures taken

I realize I really need to post more details on some of these updates, but I haven't really been taking many pictures--sad to say.

BUT, we did need to get some updated family pictures! I have a friend from my sorority days in college who is such a talented photographer, and when I saw this post, I was completely sold. I **love** the beach theme.

So my little family went last week for our session.
Jen has posted a few 'previews' on her blog. If you feel like checking them out, please leave a comment! If we get 20 comments, we get a free print! You should also check out her other work--she's really great with kids and has great style!

I know. Pathetic. I haven't posted an update for almost two months, and here I am begging for a favor. But just think, now I'll owe you one...

P.S. If you're feeling really charitable, my twin and her family just got their family pictures a week earlier--same place, same photographer, same girl's outfit, same Red Flyer wagon (thanks mom!) Leave a comment for Holli--she only needs a handful more to get her free print! Then she'll owe you big too...

Monday, June 28, 2010

Carnival

Aaah, summer. I love it!


I wanted to take the kids to the carnival but Jeremy had to work late, so I took them by myself, after an already long day. I knew it would be worth it once we got there. We all enjoyed it until it was time to go, but both kids were overly tired. (We didn't even stay that long or late...) Even though both had a meltdown before we arrived home, I was glad we went and so we went back again a couple days later, this time with Dad, which made things SOOOO much easier, and let them ride a couple more rides. Looking at the pictures, though, I wonder if they really enjoyed it as much as I thought...This is Miranda's first ride--a roller coaster. She had huge, surprised eyes the whole ride and was griping the handle bar. Notice the girls behind her loving it, and the girl in front of her, who is huge--maybe it wasn't a good choice for a first timer... She said afterwards that her favorite ride was the "car". She took it so seriously, making sure she was "driving" (ie wiggling the steering wheel back and forth) the whole time. This was Brad's only ride besides in the stroller :) I would have done more, but he didn't enjoy this, and I had to hold him before it was over. Next year...When we went back with Dad they seemed to have a little more fun! Dad's always make things much more fun, don't they?









Monday, June 21, 2010

Chocolate 'Stache, Anyone?


Happy Father's Day!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Children's Tylenol Recall

I spent way too long today trying to figure out if the two bottles of Children's Tylenol I have stored in the medicine closet have been recalled. I know, it's been a few weeks since the recall, and I'm just now getting around to checking it out. Turns out, both of them ARE recalled, so now I'm in the process of waiting for my refund/coupon from the manufacturer.

If any of you still need to check into this, this will save you some time:
You will need to open the box/package to get the NDC number from the bottle. It's printed small above the product name. (There are examples on the website if you can't find it). Type the NDC number in here to see if it's a recalled product.

If it has been recalled, this is the form you need to fill out to get a refund or coupon for a replacement product. When I e-mailed it in this afternoon, I got a response that they had a "high volume" of e-mails, so I think it might be a while before I get my refund. In the meantime, I'll go buy a replacement for the ones I have to throw in the trash!

UPDATE: Last night I got a response from McNeil's saying they will send me a refund check within 2 -3 weeks. However, I don't think there is a replacement product yet. They are still trying to resolve the mistake before new product is manufactured at the plant. Here is the FAQ page. Luckily, in the meantime, I have a couple bottles of Equate brand, so I think we're okay with that...right?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Critter Walk

This is Christopher "Critter" Groscost. Ever since winter/spring this year, Critter had had a lot of ear infections and finally had tubes put in his ears in March. He still wasn't returning back to his cheerful self, though, and his skin seemed to look a little gray colored. The next trip to the doctor included testing his iron levels in his blood and lead to the discovery that he has cancer.

He was diagnosed with Leukemia in April this year, right before his first birthday. He has two older brothers and wonderful parents who started a blog, Critter's Cancer, after he was diagnosed. His family is having a One Mile Walk/Run to help support his family and raise money for his expensive medical bills. It's on Saturday, June 26th and our family is planning on participating. I know summer is super busy for everyone, but if you don't already have plans, it should be a good event. Check out the info on the Critter Walk here!













Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Overheard

Mom: "It's too early for chocolate." (What?!)


Brad: "Shooooessss!" (He knows it means going outside.)


Miranda: "Mom, do you have blue nail polish?"
Mom: "No, I don't."
Miranda: "We'll have to go to Walmart and buy some blue polish."


Miranda: {In the car} "Why did you let the fly out the window?"
Dad: "Because it's gooey.... It landed on a bowl of soup and got gooey." (Always the teaser.)
Miranda: "No! It's not gooey!"
Mom: "So it could go find it's family."
Miranda: "Oh." (Satisfied)
(I think we've just begun a long phase of answering questions that I would never think to ask, let alone consider the answers to...)