Yummy in my Tummy wordart freebie

You must know that in a house of all boys food is a high priority. It seems the kitchen never closes and someone thinks it is time for a meal or at least a snack constantly. My 5 year old is the worst at this. He is always "starvin'". Crazy boy, he will be back to the cupboard after a bowel of cereal or some other snack less than 2 hours after a nice meal. I can't complain however, they are not generally picky eaters. Being a farm girl at heart my boys know just where their food comes from. They help plant, sow and weed the garden. They help to cook and clean just as much as mom. No free pass for being a boy~ NO WAY! 

In fact, my 13 year old is becoming quite the cook himself. He makes one mean cheesecake, from scratch no less. Yeah, I know you are all jealous of that. hehehe. Helping grow the food they eat teaches them to enjoy it more. When my oldest 2 were little and frowned at their vegi's I simply reminded them about how they helped to pick and bottle them. Suddenly their plate of green beans took on a whole new look. Somehow, the beans looked yummy after they remembered how they worked hard to have those green beans to eat through the winter. There are still a few vegi's they just don't like but mom doesn't mind at all. If they don't want brussel sprouts, well, we will just have broccoli instead.

Laced throughout the pictures of my little ones are numerous photos of them eating. Sometimes what they should and others, well, they are boys after all.  This popular phrase by Winnie the Pooh fits right in with my little guys.

Memories today...word art freebie

We had a wonderful weekend. We traveled to Idaho for a family reunion. There were a lot of people there but still just a fraction of our very large extended family. It was great to see my cousins. I haven't seen them for years! You don't realize how much you miss family until you see them again. We are hoping to plan a trip to Texas to see them again in the next year or 2.

We love to travel. I enjoy the quiet (sometimes) time on the road. It is a great time to talk with my boys. We make a point to turn off the electronics and just look out the windows or play those long lost road games. My boys travel well. It helps that we have always had to travel to see some family or other but they generally do well. The trip back is the hardest (they are usually tired and grouchy) but we try to time it for a nap or settling in for the night. 

Each trip is memory laced. We mark milestones with our trips. The boys will comment, "remember when we went to Oregon" or "yeah, that was on our way to Nauvoo!" or "that time we went to San Diego". There are lots of them. I keep them straight based on how old each of the boys were. Soon, we get to add Colorado and Texas to our growing list of states we have visited. Generally, we camp along the way with our little pop-up. Sometimes we stay in a hotel. Either way you grow closer as a family when you travel together. There is something about the tight quarters that discourages the "he's touching me!" syndrome. (I wont' add that I pull out the movies in times of desperation).

In the end, it's all about families. About making memories together. The house, the garden, the cars, the toys, the clothes....all of it will go to the way side, but the memories we make together will remain with us forever. I want my children to have all the memories I can pack into their big minds. I want the to know how to work but to remember our trips. The fun we had together.  The sights we first saw together. Then I want to be with them when they pass it on to their kids.

The classic summer road trip! I love it!

Our love of Legos....

 We love Lego's!

We do. 

The boys (dad included) will spend hours building, creating and imagining. We always give Lego sets for birthdays and Christmas. Ok, sometimes even just because. The Lego creators continue to come up with some of the most amazing sets. The boys always put them together...then over time they get taken apart. We keep all the instructions on a hook ready to be used again but lately the boys have been flexing their own creative minds to build sets of their own.

 I love to see their latest creations. 

Mr. Josh, who aspires to be a chief, built his Lego kitchen.

 Don't get in the way of chief preparing his feast.

Santa even made a stop for Mr Tyler.

Lego's are great for boys (and girls). 

They stimulate the mind. 

They help develop math skills. 

They build creativity. 

They encourage problem solving.

Most importantly...

THEY ARE JUST PLAIN FUN!

Mom's beware. 

If you want a few moments of peace and quiet let your kiddos get lost in the Lego world. They last forever and endure all the abuse little boys can give. They do however, provide a bit of torture of their own. If you have even stepped on a Lego, you know just what I mean. And may I suggest wearing an apron with pockets while vacuuming.

Keep an eye out for sales. They don't go on sale a lot so stock up when they do.

 Stash them away for future gifts.

You will score big time mom points!

(just sharing our love of Lego's, no incentive required)

Lego Table

When I saw this I knew I needed to do it.

Big brothers tend to have issues with little brothers wrecking their Lego masterpieces.

Now little brother can join in with his own creation that is just his size.

And hopefully it will help to corral the Legos to one corner of the living room.

I got the table from a yard sale for $3! 

I might have a bit of a problem finding the Lego pieces...lol

This is only a small, a very small portion of our Lego's.
This is after all, a house of BOYS!

Big brother was none to thrilled with mom gluing his Lego bases on a table but amazing things happened...ALL the boys, big ones included, loved this little table.

And here's a sneak peek at the beginnings of another Lego masterpiece. They build all around it and even take turns using it. I don't know how much better the Lego's are contained but little man is happy.

Hot mom HOT!!

Our back yard faces west which makes it extremely hot in the afternoon. We have planted some trees and plan to build a covered deck next summer but until the trees grow and the deck is built it is hot Hot HOT!

We put a screen door on the back door earlier this summer, which I love. I don't have to worry so much about yelling, "Shut the door".

Even with all this we still have a problem. The back door gets too hot for the kids to close leaving the sun to poor in during the afternoon hours. Mr. M was telling me "hot mom! HOT!"

I didn't want them to get burned so this is what I came up with.....

I used cow magnets to hook the towel over the hot door. Cow magnets are really strong. Farmers use them to prevent sharp objects from going through a cows digestive track and tearing things up. You can get them from Cal Ranch or any other farming and ranching store. I love that they hold lots of papers or thick fluffy towels.

The towel gets warm but now I don't have to worry about little shoulders and arms touching the door and getting burned. It is just a temporary fix for the rest of the summer that didn't cost me a thing!

Clipboard project

Each week my friend and I get together and do some project or another. It has become something I look forward to each week. My little piece of indulgence. Just some girl time to talk and laugh and enjoy while the boys are in school.

Our plan over the next little while is geared towards organization. Appropriate for springtime don't you think? This week we opted for clipboards. One for each boy. They were already given explicit instructions that their school papers go on their clipboard, not in front of mom while I am in the middle of preparing dinner.

Having all boys can be easy in some ways. I simply pick the same style and somewhat coordinating papers and repeated the process 4 times.

I love the way they turned out. I am totally into monograms right now. It gives each of them ownership of something and a place to put their stuff.

Of course there is a draw back...

I amy not want anything covering up MY artwork. he he he!!

Since I already had my cricut out I cut some more monograms.....

One for each of the boys doors. Except the 2 little boys still share a room. That will change in the coming months but that is what is great about vinyl. It is easily taken off.

I also cut a "Welcome" sign for my front door. My friends looks amazing on her cream door. I wondered if you would notice my on my brown door but dear hubby commented on it as soon as he walked in. Yeah, he knows just what to say to make me smile! Gotta love the man!

So what do you think? Are you a fan of monograms too?
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