Catch them being good.

Family Fun Night.

We made a new addition to the living room.

After much rule-making about when it's okay and when it's absolutely not okay to use the amp, we had our first night of keeping the electric guitars in the living room. The acoutsics and other little instruments are always avaibale, because you never know when the spirit will move you. Well, I decided that rockin' out just wasn't happening enough behind the closed doors of Dad's home gym. So we shall see. So far we haven't awoken, nor have our neighbors, to the screams of True covering "Vertigo" by U2.

Smarty boy.

It amazes me that no matter how much TV and Leapster this kid loves, not matter how disinterested he is in drawing, art, or anything else academia besides books, he just absorbed all the letters and numbers anyway. I took so many measures with my first child, and nothing like her hunger for knowledge really showed up with number 2. He's very typical, stereotypical really. First his passion was balls. The race cars. A minor offtrack into dinosaurs (way out there, I know :) ) and back onto race cars. He loves sports. I mean He. Loves. Sports. He's a very physical kid, physical "love language," physical learner. Therefore when we assemble this huge floor puzzle of an alphabet train, he has to tap each letter while he says it's name. In a rock and roll beat, because he loves that too.

But even while he's all boy and very predictable as far as all that's concerned, he's still a three and a half year old that very much wants to be like his big sister. Which explains the orange toe nail polish with blue glitter on top. Dark blue. Because he's a boy. :)

Joy it Up!

http://jenlovelady.com/
I have been taking this course for 7 weeks and I highly recommend it to all moms. I have to say, I feel as though I have really got a hold of the reigns on home management, as well as adding some serious joy and depth to my everyday life. I have found time each day to do the daunting things I've been putting off for months, but more importantly I've made it a priority to practice personal development daily, have daily talks with God, and be more present for my family. Jen is starting up this exact same course, and I have already registered for session 2. She's also starting one for moms that own their own business, so check out her site!

Great Wolf Lodge.

We took the kids for a surprise stay at Great Wolf Lodge over the weekend and it was such a blast! I'm telling you, this place thinks of everything. Mind you, it's a one time a year event for us as it's pretty expensive, and there are lots of opportunities to spend money once you're there too, but it was a fantastic getaway for our family. Amazing splash park, magic wands that light up and activate different features throughout the hotel, video arcade, onsite Starbucks (for me) and a bar & grille (for E). The best part for me, aside from seeing a very happy family, was that True had just as much fun as every kid there because the staff went to great lengths to feed him all of his specialty items, allergen free. He got sorbet with gummy bears on top, a caramel apple, real french fries that weren't itchy (a new height of bliss for him), specially made smoothies. You name it.

This place rates tops in my book.

Our second home.

This is the simplest idea but last week I set up camp in our second home, our car. I bought a trunk organizer, but you could easily use a big bin for less money. Mine has three compartments, the middle one being an insulated pocket for snacks, water, juiceboxes, etc. On one side I organized all of my reusable shopping bags, and on the other I placed the items we need for various outings each week. Soccer shoes, Hapkido uniform, extra clothes for accidents, and a fully stocked swim bag. I also stocked the car with wipes, bandaids, sunblock, allergy meds, a new stash of books for the back seat, and sunglasses. It seems that this mama who claims she loves the simple life is actually on the go quite a bit, so knowing I'm prepared and don't have to pack snacks, sports equipment, etc. every time is a big weight off my to-do list.

Art camp.

Ofcourse I got some great shots of my kids at Art Camp last week, but check out this eye candy! Don't you want art camp too?