It's OK (by me)

  It's that time again. A time to reflect on who cares, so what, it's ok! I'm going to play along with airingmylaundry today as I tell you what items/events/activities  are OK by me.

Click here for her current post!

  It's OK that I may actually miss out on the 2 special limited time drinks offered by Starbucks.

  It's OK that the end of the year is almost here.  I'm focused on starting a new year!

  It's OK that I have my DVR set for the new season of Housewives of Atlanta and Steve Austins Broken Skull Challenge coming up in November!

  It's OK that I'm reading 2 books at one time because one is for fun and the other is for my book club!

  Are you ok?  Because if your not you should be! 

Goals for week of October 30

Its a new week and I'm excited.  I have taken the last two weeks off from my fitness and now I'm ready to get back into it.

1.  So fitness goal is 25 miles of cardio.... do stipulations. Walk, jog, run, hike or bike!  Preferably spread out during the week instead of 2 days of cycling.

2.  Reading goal will be finish the book I didn't complete last week!

3.  Snack for the kids for the week.  Even though we made cookies last night.

They will appreciate something to nibble on in the afternoon. I'm thinking either Jell-O, granola bars or energy bites.

4.  Start on November goals. Organization is my focus for the rest of the month.

5.  Get ahead on blog posts.

  How busy is your week going to be?  Do you already know what needs to be done for the month of November?

School with Letter E

E is for egg.  Little man helped make hard boiled eggs.  I have to laugh that he likes to cook and bake but will not try different foods.  So nope he didn't try these when they were done but, he enjoyed helping in the kitchen.

  Each week there are similar activities we do and some unique to the specific letter we are on.   Each week we read books.  Boy, letter E books were a challenge.  A lot of books with the letter E related to names of the characters. We did find some with a little creativity.

E is also for Earth!  After reading a book about Earth we made a craft.  He painted the earth and sun.  He knows the earth rotates around the sun and we read it takes 365 days so the outside of our dial has all the months labeled.

Lastly we celebrated with donuts. Hmmm, I will find a way to sneak a treat. E is for eat! 

This looks like one of our less then busy weeks but, we did continue his folder, various workbooks, writing, and music.

It's OK (by me)

  It's that time again. A time to reflect on who cares, so what, it's ok! I'm going to play along with airingmylaundry today as I tell you what items/events/activities  are OK by me.

  Find her latest It's OK post here.

  It's OK that I have waited for Grey's Anatomy to be back on tomorrow!

  Its OK  I indulged in Mozzarella sticks today from Sonic because they were on sale for $.99!

  It's OK that fall is finally approaching because I appreciate the beautiful trees when I catch a glimpse.

  It's OK that I am planning our trunk or treat events for Saturday. Everything always happens in one day. This weekend we went to a smaller trunk or treat.

 The kids really enjoy the decorated trunks.

So that's how I feel about that! Oh and Halloween is in 6 days and one child keeps changing his demands and you know what that's OK too!

A Spider for Your Party

I promise this creepy crawler won't crawl off the table.

I picked up my supplies at Dollar Tree and  had items on hand.

He's really easy to assemble and although I didn't eat him my taste testers said he was good.

 1 package of Sno Balls will allow you 2 spiders.

I actually had Tootsie Rolls on hand and used 1 large one cut and rolled into 8 pieces.  (Tootsie rolls are available at Dollar Tree)

2 mini chocolate chips for eyes. I also had these on hand but regular chips would be fine!

I placed 4 legs on each side and inserted them into the body.  For the eyes after persistent pushing were also inserted into a slot.

Do you make little critters for Halloween? This was my first but he was fun and the kids enjoyed it.

It's OK (by me)

I'm going to play along with airingmylaundry today as I tell you what items/events/activities I missed but didn't lose sleep over.

You can find here latest it's okay post here.


  It's OK that this week Grey's Anatomy will not be on due to the traditional playing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  I enjoy watching the shows of my childhood with my kids.

  It's OK my kids are taking turns with a cold. It means everyone can go to bed a little earlier for more rest.

  It's OK that I didn't complete my fitness goals last week. My youngest was sick and momma makes him feel better then daddy. One point for mom.

  It's OK that I'm thrilled my daughter attended a library event for teens. She tends to be a home body so her leaving was a big deal.  She even won a signed copy of Turtles All The Way Down by John Green before the book was released! She made pins and inspirational plaques so she really enjoyed herself too.

Now it's your turn. Say it loud and proud! What are you OK with?

Maymount Adventure in Richmond Virginia

  Richmond is a few hours away from me so when the kids and I travel there we take advantage of the sights unique to the area.  One of my favorite places to visit although this only makes my second visit is Maymont.

  Maymont is a large estate that includes gardens, a mansion and winding trails showcasing a variety of animals.  You cross bridges, walk past streams and waterfalls and even climb stairs as you stroll the 100 acres.

There are several garden arrangements. The Japanese garden was our favorite. 

 I spy with my little eye a waterfall! It was so unexpected that it was really neat to see.

On the trail we saw the regal Bald Eagle!

American Bison were visible from the trail!

A barn showcases the transportation of the past.

The kids got a kick out of the other kids!

Maymont is definitely a must see in Richmond, VA.  In addition to all of this, they also offer activities and several special events for an additional fee throughout the year.

Weekly Goals for Oct 16, 2017

  My goal this week I'm going to keep them short and sweet.  I feel like I'm getting sick and my kids are finishing up being sick so this week is going to be relaxed.

  1. This week in school we will be doing the letter G.

  2.  I dumped a lot of my pictures yesterday and with a little more blog organizing I can clear out somemore. Fingers crossed for another 100! I'm down to 1400 which is huge progress for me.

3.  I am still nursing one book but will have that and another book done by the end of the week!

4.  I wish I could set a fitness goal but since I'm under the weather I don't even want to bother.

5.  However since I am sick no time like the present to work on getting that ever so important water down. Let's shoot for 8 glasses!

6.  I am finishing up one collaboration and would like to seek out my next.

  Do you have any deadlines or goals for the week?  How many lists do you have?  I have my to do list, grocery list, meal plan, birthday list for upcoming birthdays and of course holiday lists coming at me.  It's never a dull day!

Pete the Cat book and fun

  My son was recently introduced to Pete the Cat and it's catchy songs and loves the books so I decided to make something he can continually play with circling around one of his favorite books.

  He attended a kids event at the library and had fun listening to a couple stories and participating in those activities so some fun at home is a win as well.

There was a sorting buttons based on color or size and he even made a Pete the Cat hat.

For the Pete the Cat I love My White Shoes book I decided to make some shoes.  

I used foam for this craft based on what I was using them for.  Of course you could use plain paper or cardstock. I then colored everything with permanent marker.

In this book Pete has some shoes that he's strolling around in and gets dirty.

He steps on strawberries, blueberries a mud puddle and then a bucket of water (I didn't make a bucket).

I colored each shoe to indicate what was stepped in.

He stepped in strawberries.

He stepped in a pile of blueberries.

He stepped in a puddle of mud.

Lastly, he stepped in a bucket of water.

I made these with foam so that they could be play with on the window or bathtub.

The permanent marker also helps maintain the color with the water.  

Use the shoes for color identification or make more fruit for number counting. 

I did color one side on all but, you could also color one shoe two different colors and have two feet stepping on the items or he is a cat after all you could give him four feet of each color.

I also threw in a lacing activity.  Another piece of foam with several holes punched in and a piece of yarn.  My son can lace but, this will be good practice to learn how to tie.

Have you read the Pete the Cat series with or to your child?  What's your favorite Pete the Cat book?  Have you read this book?

Lego Fun for Everyone

  This past weekend we were given tickets to check out Brickfest Live.  This event was in Richmond VA which is a nice ride for us.  The kids didn't know where we were going because I like to provide random surprises!

  When we walked into the Richmond Convention Center we were immediately greeted and directed to the appropriate room!

Surprise!

  They knew where they were going and now it was game time!

  Upon entering you are immediately excited at the endless Legos in sight.  The only question is where do we start?

  We checked out the giant mosaic area first.

  People were lined up on the other side of tables making prearranged tiles. Color-coded cards were used to make the specific tiles.  2 individuals were adding the completed tiles to the mosaic on the floor.

  The kids started out with making their own tiles.  They could choose to make one from a card provided or make their own design. 

After you were finishing you got to put it up on a wall along with other micro works of art!

Have you heard of MeeperBots?  

You could give the robotic cars a test drive! 

They were controlled by an app on your phone!

I think our favorite Legos were the one under the black light.  Not that everyone had a playroom with a black light but now after this show it makes a cool option to have.

Legos stimulate the imagination and creativity.  

My son thought it was so neat to see the Lego cars line up for a race.

This whole setup would be super easy to set up in the house compared to a black light. 

Legos are not just about building.  They are so versatile!  Look how they can be used to embellish! We had fun playing 9 holes of golf! 

Did I even mention how easy it was to spend hours at this event?  I never heard I'm bored, not even once!

We did skip the Lego video game section as my kids are a little younger.  This station had about 6 screens and the game looked action packed and entertaining.

 Animated Legos in a black lighted room was pretty neat.  Mom, can you make that? Um, no our Legos don't move unless you make them move.

If you can dream it you can build it. Architecture lane.  A row of famous buildings Lego style were neat and maybe the closest I will get to these landmarks.

A pool of blue just in case it's your favorite color.

Last stop before we left was to check on the giant mosaic but we had to take pictures with some groupies first.

Our day was complete and now the last stop was to see the progress of the mosaic.

It was coming along nicely!  It was neat to see how everyone was working together to make this.  My son thought it was neat as he is a Star Wars fan!

I was provided this trip for review.  All opinions were my own.

Have you checked out Brickfest Live?  I saw adults have just as much fun as the kids!  Have you seen the glow in the dark Legos before?