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Look out boys….

….there’s a new sheriff in town!

Success at last!!!

Well, mostly anyway……Middle E has finally graduated to big girl undies, after a long and frustrating power struggle. She still has the occasional accident (more occasional than I would like, but one cannot complain in these circumstances!) So–to celebrate the big step in her life, we promised her that we would take her to Chuck E. Cheese for an evening of fun. We left the littlest E behind (as well as the camera, which I could kick myself for doing) and had fun with just the two “big kids”.

I remembered going to Chucky’s when my little sister was a kid, and that it cost my parents an arm and a leg for some gross pizza and broken rides/games. I didn’t want to pay $15 for a less-than-tasty pizza, so we ate at McDonald’s on the way(not much better, I know, but we were dealing with preschoolers here…..), and then just played games when we got there. I found some awesome coupons for tokens on the Fat Wallet forum–$10 got us 40 tokens with 60 free!– along with a printable reward chart for pottytraining. Middle E was able to receive 10 additional free tokens for being pottytrained, so she was in heaven. And this particular Chuck E. Cheese was extremely clean and well-kept. I was very impressed!

It was a fun night–I think we enjoyed it as much as they did, and I did come away with one picture from the evening, compliments of the Chuck E. artist’s booth. Thanks, Chuck!

In honor of my blogging friends….

To know someone here or there

with whom you can feel there is understanding

in spite of distances or thoughts unexpressed~

That can make this life a garden.

–Goethe

Fairies and Tigers and Cats—oh my!

A friend (from the daycare where I used to work) hosted a costume party last Saturday. I allowed the girls to choose what they wanted to be. I wasn’t sure if that was a wise choice or not, but decided to see where it took us.

Big E, of course, chose something girly and feminine–a fairy. But it couldn’t be just any fairy–it had to be a fairy PRINCESS. Nothing is complete without a princessy touch, don’t you know…..

Middle E, being the independent and free-spirited child that she is, decided that she was going to be a black kitty. But she too had specific requirements for this costume—it had to be an alley cat, not just a regular cat. Since I do not know the real differences between alley cats and the common feline (other than their level of tameness, which I think is debatable due to the fact that I cannot stand cats), I just played along and convinced her to buy a sparkly pair of ears, tail and a bow tie that came in a set. *Note: I think the costume was actually a character from “Cats” or something, but it worked…..* We picked up a pair of black stretch pants (they had little silver hearts on them, which only completed the “show cat” appearance), paired them with a black hoodie and she was ready to go.

Little E was the easiest of course. At this age he does not have an opinion and was content to be shoved into the tiger costume I had bought on clearance for $3.99 before he was born.

It was a nice party and the kids came home with candy and stickers galore. There were other prizes also, but some of them “happened” to end up in the garbage. Mommy is on a cleaning/ purging kick…..

You’d think I would learn!

Isn’t it wonderful how God continues to work on the rough edges of our lives, even when we aren’t always asking for His help? I have been struggling in the area of contentment, but have not been praying about it like I know I should. But the Lord is so good, and obviously WANTS me to be content in Him.
Yesterday, as I was reading for my ladies’ Bible study (Lies Women Believe….), this verse kept popping up. I am sure I have read this verse many times, but God really opened my eyes to what it meant. Gretchen once talked about “the veil being lifted for a moment from our eyes”–and it is so true.
Thank you Lord for the reminder again…..now if I would just learn my lesson and find my joy in You alone!!

Psalm 16:11~ “YOU will show me the path of life; in YOUR presence is fullness of joy; at YOUR right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Q&A

Have any of you made your own baby food? Furthermore, have you figured out if it saved you money and if it did, how much? I made my own with Big E, didn’t at all with Middle E, and am now contemplating it with Little E. I have not figured out the cost differences yet, so I was just wondering what others out there have done.
Also, if you have any suggestions or “recipes” , let me know!! (Actually, if it were up to Little E, I think that he would eat steak and potatoes. He is a very advanced eater for 6 months!)

My little pumpkins :-)

Whose eyes???

Mommy’s?

OR……

Daddy’s?

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives

Back in college, I was a big restaurant connoisseur. (I had to look that up, by the way….I can never remember how to spell it!) I even had my own restaurant journal, where I could log the prices, favorite entrees, addresses, and overall impressions of the restaurants I visited. Nowdays, I still love going out to eat and finding new, fun places–BUT, 3 children under the age of 5 (and the lack of money that comes with that situation) keeps me from frequenting noteable dining establishments. My restaurant requirements now include (and not in any particular order):
1) Cheap kids meals
2) Easily accessible bathrooms
3) Patrons that do not mind screaming and food throwing
4) Quick service for quick getaways
One of our favorite places to take the kids is just a few blocks from our house. Some of you have referenced it before—the great Mullen’s Dairy Bar. Unfortunately they do not have a website–they ought, it is a fun place that people would like to discover. I believe this person (or maybe her sister) even worked at Mullen’s.

With grandparents, for Middle E’s birthday and just for fun

On Thursday, I was able to meet my friend Morning Rose for a playdate at the awesome new park in her town. Afterwards, we went for lunch at the Market St. Diner and Bakery. What a fun place! Every time I have driven past it, I have wanted to stop but never had a chance. So it was nice to finally try it out and do so with friends. When I googled it, I was surprised to find it is a part of a network of restaurants. They all look really fun (and delicious!) Perhaps if I can ever work through my two aforementioned reasons for not going out, I will try them. Otherwise, I will just walk back down to Mullen’s and enjoy my medium-thick strawberry shake and mini corndogs…..