"WOW, I like your crown!"

My princess wear a crown EVERY DAY!!! And everywhere we go people are always commenting, "I like your crown." I don't even notice it anymore, its just part of Meeka, so it still catches me off guard when people comment on it. And it makes me smile every time! She wears it to play, do art, cook, to the dentist, and even to basketball; it’s just part of her. She has been wearing a crown every day for well over 6 months now…wonder how long it will last? To be honest, I will be sad to see it go! 

Everyday

Doing Art

cat sitting

At the museum

Cooking

Pinewood Derby

This weekend was a Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. All of the boys look forward to this race and spend hours thinking about what they want their car to look like and how fast it will go. Logan planned out a design and Michael carved it out. Then Logan sanded and painted the car all by himself. He went into the weigh-in and test runs with high hopes. Unfortunately when they helped us add weight to the car they drilled into our back axels. We had one wheel falling off and another that would not spin. Luckily a great handy Cub Scout leader of another den told us he would help us out and repair the car's wheels. So we went home that night and Logan had his fingers crossed dreaming of success.

He made it a sports car and painted it "Velvet Red"

He decided it would be an Audi

He even added detail to the bottom

This is what the bottom looked like after adding weight…yikes!

So the day of the race came and his car looked fixed, what a releif! 

All the cars lined up and ready to go

Putting graphite on the wheels one last time before the race

1st Race

Ready, Set, Go!

Unfortunately, Go fast his car did not. He came in last every time he raced. And honestly, I am not sure who was more heartbroken, him or me? I could tell from his face he was so disappointed. But he stayed and watched every race. He walked away for a second after it was all over, but he composed himself quickly and was there with the rest of his den to take pictures and have a small snack I made for the den. 

It was so hard for me to watch him come in last every race. I know how hard he worked on the car. I know we tried our best and we can't always win. But it was still hard…I am getting tears in my eyes just thinking about it. 

He recovered well though and although he was upset, he never cried or got angry. And he said int he car on the way home, "Maybe we can look up how to made a fast car next year." I am so proud of him. His car may not have been the fastest or the best looking, but he designed it and painted it all himself. And for that he deserves a medal in my heart!

Great Job Boys!!!

Saying Goodbye to Blue Teddy Bear

Take a look at him….can you tell he was well loved?

Logan received this blue teddy bear with a little rattle inside from my mom on the day he was born. We also bought him some stuffed puppies as lovies too, but this is the one thing that has stuck with him through thick and thin (and its pretty thin now after 8 1/2 years)!

Last week Michael told Logan that it was time to retire blue teddy bear. It was not something that was meant to be mean or spiteful, it was just that he is now 8 1/2 and he doesn't need to be twirling the hat and sticking it in his ear every night to fall asleep….yes thats what he did! :)

He was a bit fearful and reluctant to say goodbye to blue teddy bear. He had tears in his eyes. Michael told him it was his decision, but he was a big boy now and he could do it, but it was up to him. He let him think about it for a bit and then came back to him. Logan decided that he was going to give up blue teddy bear. And to be honest he had no problems at all. He has never once asked for it and it certainly made no difference in him falling asleep or anything. 

I was a bit more emotional about it. I didn't want him to take it away; it made me sad. In fact, I got tears in my eyes too thinking about it; so I stayed out of it. This is my first baby and he has sleep with this teddy bear  forever. It has been up and down and across the country. It has moved with us 5 times, been in countless hotel rooms and many many road trips. Once it was thrown in the trash and Michael and some associates even went through the entire dumpster at the hotel to retrieve it!

Every time I washed it I could hear that tiny rattle clanking in the dryer. In fact this might have been more traumatic on me that it was on him. So I kept the blue teddy bear. I really don't know if he will ever want to see it again when he is older, but I just could not part with it for now. It is a sign that my boy is growing up; maybe thats why I was so reluctant. But I have to face the truth, he is growing up, but he's still my baby!

Valentine's Painting

On MLK day, after the dentist is was snowing and very cold. We stayed inside and decided to get out some paint and do some Valentine's Painting. We made heart stamps out of household items and we painted canvases too.

We made stamps from:

• a toilet paper roll shaped into a heart
• Bubble wrap cut into a heart and taped onto an oatmeal container lid
• an apple

For our canvases, we made the word LOVE on one and we made XO's no the other. We made them in masking tape. Then the kids went crazy painting with red and pink. Melina even used the toilet paper stamp to reverse stamp after she and Meeka painted the canvas.

masking tape on the canvas

painting their canvas

The final product. The kids were trilled with them!

Pictures (cheer, aquarium, dentist)

This week has been crazy busy. I have a couple things I want to write about so I have memories of them, but I have not gotten the chance yet. This morning I have a but of time to get some things done…maybe I'll get to that, after working on my neglected housecleaning.

 I have some pictures from last weekend that I want to "scrapbook" (I love how I can just post and they are "scrapbooked"…my kind of archiving these days!)

Cheerleading

Melina's first cheerleading experience for BC Naz. She was excited and nervous, but she sure was cute! Her life goal right now is to be a cheerleader!

 The Newport Aquarium

Both Logan and Melina got their report cards on Friday. We were very proud of their accomplishments, so we decided to surprise them and take them for a day trip to the aquarium and out for sushi. We met our great friends there too (that was a surprise as well) and had a fantastic day!

All of the kids asked for the camera at some point to take a picture of something that interested them. 

I have included their pictures.

Meeka liked this "purple flower"

Melina took a picture of the octupus!

Logan and the piranhas

Sharks!

Alligator.

Checking out the croc's

Logan liked the Alligator Turtle

Carson and Ava enjoyed the Sea Otters

Getting all 6 in a picture was impossible….5 is the best we got. :)

Friends!

 Meeka's First Trip to the Dentist

On MLK day Logan, Melina and Meeka had dentist appointments. 4 kids, 3 appointments, 2 hours and 0 meltdowns! The morning was a success in my book!

X-rays
(she looked so small in that machine)

Counting her teeth

4 kids in the room.

The time has come, the time is now...

So Gretchen went….

Last week I officially stepped down from the Organizer position of Dayton Mamas. Honestly, it was a tough decision. I have enjoyed my time, met so many great people, and had a lot of fun organizing playdates and parties! But, I felt that it was time for me to step down. When we first moved here, Logan was in 1/2 day Kindergarten and the other 3 kids were home with me all day. I needed something, anything, to fill my time and make friends for myself and the kids. This group allowed me to do that from day one. It was my lifeline and I have met THE BEST friends through this group!! (Ya, know the kind who will go out of their way to help you- ya, me too!!!) Because I had been blessed with finding friends for myself and my kids so quickly after moving here, I wanted to help keep that alive. I know how important that can be, especially when you move or you have your first baby and you are just entering into the world of motherhood. It is vital to have someone to talk to! Plus for selfish reasons- I love having fun and creative things to do with my kids. And had fun, I think we did! We had big parties and small playdates and busy bag exchanges and ice cream socials and all kinds of fun!!! But now my kids are getting bigger (thats hard to say and admit!) I have 2 in elementary school and 1 in preschool. We are just so busy with soccer, basketball, dance, gymnastics, art classes, boy scouts, girls scouts…well you get the picture. And as the kids get involved with more activities, my time is being spent not only running them all around town, but helping and volunteering with what they are involved in. I know that I can not do it all, but I am also not going to use every activity as a "baby-sitter" for my kids. Right now they love that I help and I am there for their activities. Logan is not embarrassed that I am a Den leader for cub scout, he LOVES it! And Melina LOVES when I am in her classroom. And I LOVE that they LOVE it that and I know they will remember it. So as life changes, so do my priorities.  I have loved every minute of my time with Dayton Mamas and I am not leaving the group (since I still do have some little ones too!), but I am passing the torch to others with smaller children. It is now their time to make a difference. I hope that I did. 

Homemade gak (slime)

Since we have had illness in the family and the weather here has turned cold again, we have been spending a lot more time inside the house. This week we made gak, which filled some time for us, and gave us something new and exciting to play with.

Empty 2 full 8 oz bottles of Elmer's Glue into a large bowl.
Fill the bottles back up with warm water.
Shake and then pour the water/ glue mix
into the bowl as well.

Add a drop of food coloring to make it fun!
Pour 1/2 cup warm water into a glass and add 1 tsp borax powder and
stir until dissolved. Slowly add mixture to glue mixture and stir. As it forms into slime you will need to kneed it with your hands.

Have fun with it!
(Meeka would not touch it. Carson thought it was great!)

Store in a baggie for future fun!

Family Pasta Night

We have had grand dreams for a while now of having Family Pasta Sundays; a day where we all make homemade pasta together and in the summer, when our garden is in season, homemade sauce too. Maybe make some meatballs or pesto as well.  We finally got a pasta maker for Christmas so we broke it out this Sunday for our first Family Pasta Day! It was a HUGE HIT! The kids not only enjoyed making the pasta, but eating it too! Everyone's bowl was licked clean!

putting the dough through the kneeder

And out it comes. Fold it and do it again!

Each kid got to do the whole process with 2 sheets of dough.

Making the dough into noodles!

Drying the noodles.
We cooked them fresh after all the noodle were cut.

Looking satisfied after a good meal! 

Yummo!

The noodles were a bit long….

Maybe we should make them shorter next time.

Bath time a requirmenet!