Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Eskimo Joes Shoot Out....

Parker's friend Jacob came over again and they played, played, and played. He always enjoys his visits tremendously! They certainly keep me on my toes. It is so fun to sit back and listen to their conversations. Oh my goodness!!! Well they swam, played super heroes, played with cars, played super hero memory, reenacted The Sandlot, and had a big SHOOT OUT! Very very simple game, but they loved it. I stacked Eskimo Joes Cups (Which are the most useful cups in the world. I don't know how anyone survives without them. haha) forming a tower. Then they took turns shooting the cups with dart guns. We used different guns, and tried different angles and strategies. They really "got into it". Casey was in the other room laughing. (He later shared that he was actually laughing because he can't possibly understand how I do it all day everyday or why I would "choose" to do it.) Here are a few images from our afternoon. Thank you God for little boys!!! It still amazes me their ability to make little things dangerous and exciting, and their fascination with bodily functions. :)

We started out taking turns. But then decided it was more fun to both shoot at the same time.






Paxson decided it was easier for him to just knock them over with his gun. :)

Family visits...

We started the day with a visit to Mamaw. The boys and I made her a "bouquet". In the past we sent flowers, but I wanted to do something a little different. I used photos of all her great grandchildren and Parker and Paxson's hand prints. It turned out pretty simple and cute. Parker was very proud to take it to her.


Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.



Jeremiah 30:17
"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds," declares the LORD.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Saturday Savings...

As I mentioned these are a few of my Savings from Saturday
Toys R US ..........(birthday presents shhhh)
Shark Bit Hot Wheels
GI JOE Duke Set
Before Coupons: $43.21
After Coupons: $$30.11
Savings: $13.10
Target:
10 Smart Ones Meals (these are great for quick lunches)
2 Boxes Morningstar Spicy Black Bean Burgers (so good with quac., salsa, onions, sour cream, tomatoes)
1 lg. bottle Irish Spring Body Wash
1 Degree Fine fragrances line
1 oral B toothbrush
2 Soft Soap Elements Pump kits
Before Coupons: $48.78
After Coupons:$16.34
Savings: $32.44

Walgreens:
6 Rolls Scotch Magic tape
1 lrg. bubble mailer envelope
2 bottles AJAX kitchen dish soap
2 GOT2B hair products..hairspray and mouse
2 Bottles of Listerine mouth wash
16 SnackPak puddings
Before Coupons: $52.60
After Coupons: $14.32
Savings:$38.28

CVS:
1 tube Colgate Advanced toothpaste
2 Herbal Essence Hair products ..leave in conditioner & moisture shampoo
Before Coupons: $13.21
After Coupons: $3.41
Savings: $9.80

I won't bore you and keep posting my savings...it's just still so exciting to me right now. :)


Sunday, July 26, 2009

Family Matters

Family Matters

Dadaw and Parker discussing if the bridge was safe to cross!




Pasxon stayed with Daddy while Dadaw and Parker crossed the "crickety" bridge.







Enjoying his first watermelon ice cream slush! Think he likes it???



I think it's evident he liked his. He didn't want to put the cup down. He was pretty demanding about the drink. He was a little temperamental. He had previously eaten at least 8 Choc. Covered Cherry Hershey Kisses in about 10 minutes. Hmmmm .....Guess you couldn't stop giving them to him. I'll say it again Dadaw just can't resit his little great grandchildren.


After a wonderful day with Dadaw we spent the afternoon swimming and eating dinner with Meme and Dandy. They brought yummy Gouda, blue cheese, and jalapeno & cheddar burgers for us to grill. And some Windthorst sausage. It was awesome!

Great company, great dinner, Great Day!!!

Isaiah 26:12
LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.


Enjoy the videos:





Saturday, July 25, 2009

A quiet day...

Paxson and I spent the day together while Parker spent the day with Meme and Dandy. It was a great day for Paxson and I to play around and relax. We spent the morning shopping, the afternoon swimming, and the evening eating and playing. Very peaceful.



Paxson held up quite well. We went to the Farmers Market, Walgreens, Hobby Lobby, Toys r Us, Target, WalMart. Can you believe he made it through all that shopping. I'll share my savings later in another post. ;)

Friday, July 24, 2009

Parker Swimming Video

Look at me!!!!

Parker swimming! He does it all. Such an exciting summer! I can't believe he is almost four!!!







Thursday, July 23, 2009

Bedtime Stories...

Bedtime stories are a tradition in most families and ours is no different. As a young child I remember my mom and Gammer telling me some extraordinary and elaborate bedtime stories. They are irreplaceable memories from my childhood. I remember the stories my mom shared with my brother and sister. I know that they to treasure them as I do. My mom has shared some of the same stories with Parker and he excitedly listens with anticipation just as we did. My sister has carried the tradition on and shares stories with Parker. It is always interesting to me to hear about others stories. I have made great efforts to share my enthusiasm about bedtime stories with Casey. He has gained a keenness for them and truly values the opportunity. I was listening in the other night when he was telling a bedtime story to Parker. (They usually are about camping.) His story was about fishing with Dadaw and falling in the creek. Big Bubba getting a fish hook stuck in his finger and Parker catching the biggest fish of all. Daddy's stories usually transpire from his childhood. As I layed next to Parker he looked at me and retold the story. His personal version. Then he said wasn't that the "greatest story ever mom". That's why I love Bedtime stories so much!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Gotta Love your friends...

Parker loves his friends at school. He misses them during summer and I try to provided him as many opportunities as possible to see and play with them. His good buddy Jacob has come over for a few play dates this summer and it is extremely evident that they have enjoyed their time together. On the way to our house, Jacob looked at Parker and said "Parker I love you!" Parker replied "I love you more Jacob!" Just one of the many sweet conversations that came up during their time together this afternoon. Now of course a few minutes later they were chasing one another fighting evil and attempting to wrestle. Boys are WILD! Yet, honestly I love it!!!






This picture of Jake and Parker was taken last summer during a play date.













Riding bikes and the gator. Paxson tried hard to keep up. Actually they have been very good to include Paxson.....So far....


Enjoying Popsicles on the back porch.




Swimming....Paxson opted to stay out of the pool. He tried getting but the big boys were a little wild for him.



Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies....I usually measure and then let Parker pour...but today I let them do it all. They weren't real sweet, I think they were a little heavy on flour. They were good and certainly looked homemade. :)




Fighting Evil... Can you guess who is Spiderman and who is Wolverine???

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Crazy coupon lady...

I have started following a blog called It's hip to save. The link is at the bottom of my blog if you are interested in checking it out! It is defiantly worth your time! It certainly does take time and lots of organization, however it is so fabulous. I check it in the morning and in the evening then make a list and print coupons every evening. Actually I enjoy the challenge of finding the best deals. I would like to share my first experience using the recommendations from
It's Hip to Save.




Target
  • 5 Smart ones meals
  • 2 boxes morning star spicy black beans burgers
  • 1 16 oz. coffee mate creamer
  • Before coupons: $22.95
  • After coupons: $ 7.64
  • Savings of : $14.95


Albertsons

  • 3 boxes of Total Blueberry & Pomegranate Crunch
  • 3 boxes of Banana Nut Cheerios
  • 1 box cheerios
  • 1 box multigrain Cheerios
  • 2 boxes of Nature Valley trail bars cranberry & pomegranate
  • Total before coupons: $39.80
  • Total after coupons: $14.00
  • Savings: $25.80

Target

  • 10 Smart ones meals
  • 1 bottle Axe shampoo
  • 1 large box Glad flex shield trash bags
  • Total before coupons: $45.66
  • Total after coupons: $22.57
  • Total Savings: $23.09

Today's Spending:$44.21

Today's Savings:$62.84

I don't have really have anything else for the next few days........ Pretty decent for my first attempt! :)

Monday, July 20, 2009

Little Chefs

Nothing fancy...just a few pics from Sunday






Parker wearing his "cooker" hat.



Little Pax coming in to help.









Paxson's turn to run the register.





Paxson serving cookies.







Paxson baking the cookies.



Parker taking my order.


(I think he has tried to wear his new shirt from VBS everyday since. You know it is interesting to me how much he enjoys receiving new clothes. Actually he is so grateful for anything he receives, it is pretty sweet how he shows so much excitement over the simplest things. Don't you just love the excitement that young children see. Everything is exciting to them. I sometimes wish I hadn't lost that. I wish I could still see and feel excitement before anything else. But as an adult I tend to start thinking, reasoning, analyzing, worrying, justifying often to soon and sometimes miss the excitement. So I feel fortunate to be reminded on a daily basis that everything can be exciting. ---even the electricity going out----hahah)


God Bless everyone!! I love you all dearly!!!





Psalm 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit

He always come through...

I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer. Psalm 120:1 NLT







It's funny how things work......it just popped out there.........just what I needed to hear!!!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Vacation Bible School...

This past week was vacation bible school at our church. We started attending the Methodist Church where I teach and the boys go to pre-school this past year. Here are a few snap shots from the week. Parker really enjoyed himself and took pleasure in learning more about our glorious Father. This past week Parker has brought about so many adorable questions and endearing comments about Jesus! It has been wonderful! Paxson enjoyed playing with two other little ones in the nursery. They work hard to keep the ratios low which is so important to me. He is so hesitant about new people or new situations. But he did very well, it took him a little time to warm up each morning but they girls were great to encourage and distract him. Every time I peeked in he was smiling and having a great time. Which helped me to have an even better time. I was the craft leader for the 4 & 5 year olds. I really enjoyed working with slightly older children. I so enjoy teaching two year olds, but I think in a year or two I would like to move up a little. Two's are great right now while I still have a young one. Ramble Ramble Ramble...sorry
Here are the pics!

(I borrowed the pics from a freind..thanks Steph!)
It was "Camp Edge". They decorated the atrium in a camping/forest theme. It looked awesome. So so so much work goes into VBS.




Paxson after the first day. Riding home from VBS.



Parker in dance & movement class.

Parkers in the morning camp meeting. (Opening session)

Parker in art class.





Parker in science class. He talked about this class with such excitement! :)

Paxson in his new shirt. Preparing to watch big brother sing and dance. On the last day the children preformed for family before a big pizza party. Every child that attended received a VBS shirt. They were cute and Parker was so proud that we all had matching shirts.




A special shout out to Bahama Bucks for the free snow cones! They generously donated snow cones to everyone attending and helping with VBS. Such a great family...thank you!



http://fumcwf.org/archives/category/childrens-ministries/childrens-events

Thursday, July 16, 2009

My Handy Helper...

Okay, so anyone that has young children, works with young children , or spends time around young children knows that if there is silence there is good possibility to fear what is taking place. Well, this is exactly what happened this afternoon.

Parker and Paxson were playing in Paxson's room while I was preparing dinner. I noticed that it was quiet.......hmmm I knew I should go and check, but sitting down for a bit was so tempting. There are not many opportunities between 6:30 am and 9:00 pm to simply sit down so ...............................Just as I was about to sit down Parker came running in and said "come look, I fixed things like I thought you would like them. I didn't think you would like how it looked when it was messy." I walked into Paxson's room and saw exactly what Parker meant. He said "Paxson made a big mess all by himself so I cleaned it for you." I passionately thanked Parker, gave him a big hug, and boasted on his accomplishment.




The truck had been outside in the pool, and was filthy. Paxson insisted on bringing it in the house. Choose your battles! The pics don't really show everything, he mangaed to fit inside Paxson's bed. I asked him where Paxson should sleep and he said in a very certain voice " mom, you should just take everything out when he needs to go night night."

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Parker Thinking.....

Parker poured a cup of juice for himself today!





Well, I am sure many of you are thinking big deal...........there is more to the story! He has poured himself drinks many times but today it particularly caught my attention and reminded once again how smart my little guy is. He came in the living room and told me he just got some juice to drink. I didn't think much of it because I assumed he just got water and was pretending. He kept reiterating that he got himself a cup of juice. So I looked and sure enough he had gotten a cup of juice. This is when my curiosity really began to rise.... I knew I just opened a new bottle of apple juice. I knew it was almost full so it was still very heavy. I knew it was on the top shelf in the refrigerator. I knew I didn't hear any messes or screams of frustration come from the kitchen.



I really didn't ask many questions, he simply explained that he climbed up the refrigerator and "reached" it. I just smiled and reminded him that I would be happy to help him next time. A little bit later he came from the bathroom with the bottle of apple juice. Again my curiosity began to escalate. I asked him why he had the juice bottle in the bathroom. He explained that he put his cup in the bathtub and poured the juice there, because he doesn't like making messes. BRAVO!!!! Everyday I continue to be amazed with the thinking processes of young children. Such a thinker! Now I know some of you are thinking, really this is not that big of a deal. But all you moms and fans of young children know THIS is a big deal. So much processing, planning, coordination, ingenuity and direction took place in this small task. We call it Parker Thinking around here. :)

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Just Another Saturday...

Well it was pretty much a normal Saturday around here. Which was needed, it seems as though we have been pretty busy lately. We started off by making pancakes and sorting laundry. Then we headed for the Farmers Market, it was Black Eye Pea Day. yum yum. They had several different recipes prepared using BEP and fresh cornbread. Parker shelled some BEP and Paxson observed with hesitation (as he does with new experiences). They enjoyed a popsicle and selected some fruits and vegetables for the following week. I will so miss the Farmers Market this winter. Once we got home we had lunch, swam a little and the boys rested. After checking my email (and Facebook ) I attempted to start cleaning and Paxson woke up. Paxson's idea of cleaning is pulling all the DVDs from the cabinets opening them and throwing the DVDs, dumping all the plastic bowls out of the kitchen cabinets, opening boxes and pouring things out from the pantry and pouring out whatever he is eating or drinking at moment. Parker's idea of helping clean is to constantly try and explain that he really should not have to help clean because Paxson makes all the messes, not him. He is a such a good debater. :)


Paxson was pointing out that there was something"NASTY" on the ground. That is his new favorite word. He says it with great enthusiasm and repeats it many times so everyone knows what he means.

Parker shelled almost a whole bag of black eye peas from their pods. Were pretty city I suppose. It's kinda sad huh, he has never participated in removing beans from their pods. So I do love opportunities like this. He wanted to buy another bag (BEP in their pods) to take home for cooking. Mommy selected the bag that was pre-shelled. You gotta take the shortcuts sometimes. :)


Now do you really think Paxson did this all by himself? Paxson's room was completely clean prior to this explosion. Believe it or not this only took about 15. Things were even pulled from the closet shelves. (I know you mothers understand how quickly this can be achieved.)