Embracing the Messes: Making Advances

Remember when I talked about embracing messes when there is fun to be had? Well, I still am working on not cringing at the mess and not having an anxiety attack when I see dirty clothes, but I’m progressing. Apparently, I’m one of those “just jump right in and get it over with” type people because we didn’t start small.

Exhibit A: Oobleck (google it if you don’t know what it is. FUN, FUN, FUN—especially for the older kids who understand states of matter….so that’d mean I had a blast with this. It made me giddy about homeschooling.)

I’d rate this as easy clean-up, just in case you’re wondering. If you’re looking for the recipe, it’s just cornstarch and water, with food coloring if you wish. You can find exact measurements through that handy thing called Google.

Exhibit B: Slime/Gak. You’ll note this project took place outdoors, mainly because Hannah was napping and we can’t be in the kitchen during that time. However, I’d be lying if I left it there. It was pretty messy at first, so we headed outdoors. I was planning on saving this gak for a while. Unfortunately, the outdoors added elements to our gak including leaves, dirt, and rocks. We found the slime recipe from Pinterest. It starts out quite watery, but with lots of kneading gets much “gakier.”

He loved this one. We even saved it one time and he played with it outside again. We would have saved it again except, as mentioned above, the dirt in it was causing it to change colors. Yuck. We’ll be doing this again!

Exhibit C: Baking soda and colored vinegar. I don’t have a picture of this (so I think that invalidates calling it an exhibit—whatever), but he really enjoyed it. I covered the bottom of a 9x13 pan with baking soda and gave him 3-4 individual little cups of different colored vinegar. Then he took a dropper and added different colors of the vinegar into the baking soda. He loved that it fizzed, but also enjoyed making all the different colors run together. A big hit, and he requested to do it again!

Exhibit D: Fingerpainting. This is where I apparently lost my mind. We started out with individual circles of paint on a lovely Christmas plate. I envisioned him doing just as I would do (my downfall most of the time)—using one finger for each color. You know, as to not mix the colors and make it ugly. HA. Continue looking.

When he was done, there was paint EVERYWHERE. He had to have a bath afterwards. We might wait 6 months-10 years before doing that again. I had to do deep breathing exercises to make it through that one.

And now for the final exhibit, Exhibit E, I give you….planned mudhole maddness.

(Deda, this is a video! I have no idea how to fix that the video isn't centered. Everything is "off" on my blog, but not on youtube. Strange!)

The shower desperately needs to be cleaned now, as you can probably imagine!

So we’re having fun with all this uncharacteristically warm weather for this time of year and really look forward to the other MESSY activities we have planned!

And can I say….I LOVE BEING A MOMMY!!!!! This make life fun!!!!

Embrace the Mess

I was talking to my friend, Natalie, in my driveway today. We were expounding on our young mom's bible study. I revealed to her that I really struggle with embracing activities that make a mess, regardless of how much fun they may be. As I turned to answer Drew calling my name, I saw them. Both of my children. Sitting there in their own little mudpuddle they'd just created, Hannah covered from head to toe in mud. Drew splashing mud every.where. As my mouth hung open wide enough to catch the early mosquitoes everywhere, Natalie reminded me to embrace the beauty of the moment as she drove away. I sighed and laughed aloud at God's sense of humor. He had to have been listening to our conversation.

So we made mud pies. And ruined some good clothes. And took pictures. And made fun, messy memories. And mama smiled the whole time!

We Beat the Heat

This past weekend we visited the Delta to spend time with Andrew's mom. God blessed us with a little cooler temperatures (mid 90s instead of 100s!), so we could actually enjoy being outside. Thankfully, there are two sweet families nearby with pools so we took advantage of them (the pools, not the families) .

If Drew sprouts gills any day now, I will not be surprised. He jumped straight in the water over and over again. He went down the big slide. He floated on his back. You name it...he was there!

I would like to add that after an entire day of being outside with friends and family, we got home that night where Andrew said to me, "Please get that Oreo out of your teeth. It's been there all day and is really bugging me." If you blow this picture up largely enough, you will see the evidence that Andrew decided not to tell me about until it "bugged him" enough. Husband of the year--GONE! ;)


If a lack of pool toys is your problem, just add shoes. Instant fix.

While we were there I got Miss Hannah's crib skirt made with lots of help from Ms. Debbie. Woo hoo! I still need to work on the curtain which is going to take some time measuring and sewing...nothing too difficult I don't think. As soon as I charge my camera battery, I'll take a picture of the bedskirt and post it. I'm in love!

Since we got home, we've been doing a lot of this:

Lying around! I did finally get some housework done today with help from Drew. No, seriously, he did help me at times. I was surprised too. ;)

I have an appointment with my cardiologist this Thursday which I expect nothing to come of, but we shall see! I'm also hitting up a consignment sale on Thursday morning with my mom--super pumped about that! We're gonna need those newborn girl clothes since I can't borrow my niece's clothes....did you hear? They're having another girl!!! Sooo excited!!!

Weekend Recap

We attended the wedding reception of our friends, Heather & Brad, last night. It was fun to dress up and see people with whom I used to work. Made me miss it....just for a minute. ;)

I've gained approximately 8-9 pounds so far during this pregnancy, and do you know where 90% of it has gone? It's all in my face. You lucky people who gain first in your thighs or rear or somewhere hideable!

I couldn't find one picture from last night that I was really happy with, so you got this one. I mean, it's not like I can crop out my face. I tried the "slimming tool" on Picnik.com, but it just made me look less pregnant....and my face stayed the same. *sigh* And when you take a picture next to someone who's tanner, thinner, and taller, the slimming tool just ain't gonna help you. Note to Heather...I'm not taking any more pictures with you. Ever. Or at least until you're pregnant and I'm not. ;)

I've been wanting to add scripture to our walls for the longest time. Etsy.com has a ton of cute (and very affordable) pieces, but I happened to run across one in Hobby Lobby 3 months ago when I had a 40% coupon and snatched it up. So after 3 months of sitting on my nightstand, begging me to forgo my fear that I'd mess up my wall, we finally put it up yesterday.


I LOVE IT! Get ready....we're about to have wall words every.where.


I'm actually considering one like this maybe for Hannah's room (only the script will be smooth and not grainy):


On totally unrelated news, IT IS HOT.

The heat index today is 113 with unbreathable air. Are any of you experiencing this as well?

I almost took one of those battery operated misting fans to church with me this morning because I resemble a sweating pig when I step foot out of the house.

Thanks to this weather, our little man has been spending a good bit of time in kiddie pools & sprinklers. He's not complaining!


Today I did four straight hours of cleaning. My dad asked me if I was that bored. I've never been so bored that I couldn't find something more fun to do than clean, so it must be hormones. I cleaned my washer and dryer, the return air vents, kitchen baseboards, kitchen chairs, and front of all my appliances. I even broke out an extended arm tool for my vacuum and got in the crevices of my laundry room. See? It wasn't everyday stuff.....seriously, return air vents?! Anywho--I feel better!

And that concludes our weekend, friends! Hope your time was as blessed as ours!