T Shirt Bag

I am adding to the post by Diaper Diaries. She wrote about some cool environmentally friendly bags.
I saw this idea in a recent Martha Stewart issue. Environmentally friendly and free! Just need to be able to sew in a straight line.

Save the Date

March 20 would have been the 80th birthday of Mr. Rogers. In order to honor him on this day, we’re all supposed to wear sweaters. Conveniently enough we probably won’t have put them away yet.
Check this out

Mobile Growth Chart

Do you keep track of your children’s growth on the inside of a doorway? Its one coat of paint away from destroyed. Since we move a lot I came up with this plan…
I screwed 2 yardsticks to the inside of the doorway. That way when we move or paint it can come down and be preserved.
For more WFMW check out Rocks in My Dryer.

From The Mouths of Babes

(As we’re leaving Lowe’s and walking to the car through blowing snow…)

Nathan: “I’m so done with winter.”

I wonder where he heard that one?

Dick Weber? Not So Much.

(Dick Weber is a famous bowler from St. Louis. St. Louis is also home to the Bowling Hall of Fame.)

I haven’t bowled since Ricardo and I were dating. I’ve been wanting to go to see how my Wii skills translate into real life.

Lets just say, not well and we even had the gutters up for the kids. The first game I bowled an 80 something and was blown away by Ricardo’s 138 or something. The next game (by the way, we should have only bowled one game. 2 hours of bowling with very tired children is not so fun.) I actually tied Ricardo with a 107. Had I not banked the ball off the gutter, I would have knocked down that last pin, gotten a spare in the 10th frame and would have run away with the game. I still had a big ego boost that I could at least compete with him. It just took me a while to get my groove on.

The kids had a great time too. Piper Ann even wanted to do it. Whenever I bring up bowling, she always says, “I’m just going to watch.” It made me proud to see her come out of her comfort zone.

The Verge of Spring in The Lou

When Nathan goes back to school on Monday, he will have only gone to school once in 11 days. I think we’re both going stir crazy.

Yesterday we got a nice coating of freezing rain, followed by a nice coating of sleet, which was covered up by a dusting of snow. Needless to say everything is shut down. I didn’t even go into work last night. It wasn’t enough to keep Ricardo from driving 10 miles to have a beer with Mr. Binder who’s in town for work.

I think this is typical end of winter weather for St. Louis. I certainly hope we’re on the verge of spring. Cause I’m gonna go crazy.

Giant Bites?

Oliver is having trouble with his fruits and veggies lately. Its extra frustrating for me, because before he turned 2 he ate everything.

I came across a coupon and a sale for Giant Bites ( I think that’s what their called.) They look like chicken nuggets, but they’re actually filled with vegetables and some extremely salty, not good for you sauce. I busted those out the other night during dinner. I made regular steamed broccoli for the health conscious in our family. Of course Oliver couldn’t get enough of the sodium laden “veggies,” but none the less he was eating broccoli for the first time in months.

Meanwhile, Nathan and Piper Ann were in complete disgust of what I was trying to pass off as deliciousness, that they were fighting over the remaining steamed broccoli and negotiated their way into fair portions. It made me proud, plus they also ate potatoes.

I know what you’re thinking…potatoes, big deal. My kids hate potatoes except in the french fried form. I hope this means that they’re coming around. We’ll see.

Mackinaw, Here We Come?

So, Ricardo says he’s going to climb back on the aluminum horse this spring.

2 years ago he thought it would be a good idea to do an almost 300 mile bike ride from Cedar Springs, MI to the bridge in Mackinaw City with only 6 weeks of training.  It took him almost a year to get back on the bike after the ride.

Meanwhile I had a great time waiting for him in Mackinaw. 3 adults and 5 kids shared a 500 square foot “chalet” with ants and a bottomless crib. (“Um, sir, if I put my baby in that he’s going to fall to the floor. I think its missing the bottom.”) We decided to get an additional “chalet” for the second night. The thought of squeezing 2 2oo lb men into the “cozy” cottage with us didn’t really seem appealing.

I think the bike ride to Ricardo is like childbirth for me. When you don’t do it for a couple years, you forget how painful it is.  While he’s got his rump sitting on a hard seat for hours on end, I’ll be drinking it up with a good friend and completely losing control of the children. Good times, good times.

My Big Marketing Plan

…that I won’t get paid for.

I came up with this plan while scrubbing glue of the wall. Nothing like a tedious job to get you thinking.

This morning we went to Walmart to get a few things. I told the kids we could go to McDonalds or something after, if they were good. I know, bribing with food is straight out of the AAP handbooks, sorry dad.
Of course there was a heated debate over McDonalds vs. Burger King. Its not like it matters they never eat the food anyway. They just like the stupid toy for 5 minutes and I usually end up throwing them away. There are a few that have stuck around…Cars from the movie, Strawberry Shortcake, and for some reason those stupid Build-A-Bear stuffed animals (obviously not by my choice).

So here’s where I came up with my big marketing plan. What if you had your choice between a toy at the drive thru or a $1.50 toy voucher to Walmart in your happy meal? When I go into Walmart or Target, I never walk out with only “what I intended to buy.” There’s usually at least one extra.

That way you could save up your vouchers and buy something worthwhile. It will attract you to, say Target or Walmart or whatever to redeem your vouchers. Meanwhile they have your attention to buy other things while you’re there.

Back me up here people. What do you think?

So Close…

but so far away.

Here’s where I’m at 8 days later.
I still have a 2ftx3ft section to go. Then I have to scrub the walls to get the rest of the residual glue off. Finally, I’ll be able to paint. Of course I won’t just be painting a solid color. I’m painting the walls “homey cream” and then I’m going to paint a border of different width stripes in red along the top. Wish me luck.