Pictures from our weekend

The weather was gorgeous this weekend, so we were able to spend a lot of time outside. Hubby had to work on Saturday afternoon, so I took the kids to the lake for the first time this year. It was 88 degrees, but the water was on the chilly side, so I wasn't planning on the kids getting too wet. Still, the water was too tempting and the kids were completely soaked before I knew it. It's a good thing I keep extra clothes in the car! :-)







On Sunday, the four of us went to the Barton Creek Greenbelt to hike and explore. We're under a drought, so the creek bed was bone dry, but Oliver had fun climbing on the big rocks while Buttercup picked out rocks to take home.




And of course you can't hike without the proper fuel -- breakfast tacos from Rudy's, yum!


Such a fun, wonderful morning with my little family!

Bumping along

Poor third baby. I've only taken 3 belly pictures this time around, and we're getting close to the end! So here he is, or rather, here's my whopper of a belly at 34 weeks.



I'm at the point where only my large maternity shirts come close to covering my belly. Everything else looks ridiculously small. Actually, I only have one shirt that totally covers my belly. This is not it, obviously. :-)


Buttercup likes to pat my belly and say, "Baby brother get real big?" :-) Yep, and it's hard to believe that he and my belly are going to get even bigger. Grow, baby, grow!


P.S. Please ignore the water splotches on the bathroom mirror -- life is too short to Windex every day. ;-)

Making snow globes

The kids and I were at Barnes & Noble the other day, and Oliver saw this book:


Of course it would be perfect for him and Buttercup! So I bought it. Actually, I went home and ordered it for half the price on Amazon, but same thing. :-)

Most of the crafts are pretty involved and geared for adults to make for themselves or their homes, but there are a couple of cute crafts that kids can help with. The snow globe looked the easiest, so that's what we made first. The only thing is, it's a long process (painting, letting paint dry, gluing, letting glue dry, etc) so you may either want to most of it on your own and let the kids help at the very end, or make sure they have something to keep them occupied while they're waiting. :-)

You'll need:
a small glass or plastic jar (I used baby food jars)
distilled water
a strong, non-water solvent glue (I used super glue)
glitter
acrylic or spray paint (I used washable poster paint so the kids could help me)
glycerin or clear dish soap
a plastic bottle cap
a small toy to put inside the snow globe

First, paint the jar lid and set it aside. After the paint dries, use super glue to attach the bottle cap to the inside of the lid. After that dries, use glue to attach the toy to the bottle cap. (Buttercup chose a Squinky because she didn't want to use one of her "Wegos.") :-)


Once the glue is totally dry (about 15-20 minutes), add distilled water and either a few drops of glycerin or clear dish soap to the jar. Place the lid (with toy attached) on the jar to see if you need to add or remove water. The goal is for the water to cover the toy completely. If the water level looks right, add glitter to the jar.


Then spread glue inside the lid, and also on the rim of the jar.** Screw the lid on tightly, then set it aside to dry overnight.

**I used too much glue on this step and it dripped down while it was drying.


Finished product! In addition to using too much glue, I think I also added too much soap, because the water is pretty cloudy and bubbly after you shake it up. They're still cute though! :-)

The return of expandamush

I was thinking of something fun and interesting that the kids and I could do together, and remembered this science experiment from elementary school! One of the older kids in school named it "expandamush," which obviously made a lasting impression since I haven't forgotten it over the past 20 years. :-) I knew that cornstarch was involved, but couldn't remember the rest of the ingredients, so I looked it up online. Turns out it doesn't really have a name (and I still prefer calling it "expandamush" anyway).

The ingredients are: 1 cup cornstarch, and 1/2 cup water. Mix together and see what happens!

It's dry and crumbly when you squeeze it in your fist:


But it will "melt" and conform to the shape of your finger when you pick it up:


It drips like a liquid:


And looks liquid when it's spread out in a container, but it's dry to the touch:


It also crumbles when you try to pick it up:


Whatever you call it, it's fun for everyone!



P.S. Clean up is a breeze, too! :-)

Puzzle workbook

Oliver has always loved learning new things, especially school-type stuff. Lately we've been working together on his preschool workbook twice a week. Not surprisingly, he flies through the math concepts and logic pages, but has a little bit of difficulty with writing letters and reading. So, to make it more fun for him, I bought a maze workbook and a book of cutting-and-pasting jigsaw puzzles for his rewards for completing the letter pages. He looooves mazes -- the first day he did over 10 pages in the maze book, with only 1 mistake! :-)

Today for his reward, first he asked for money (LOL!), but then he chose the puzzle book. Oliver has really enjoyed this book, too, and I recommend it if your kids like doing puzzles!



First, he carefully cut out all of the pieces . . .



. . . then glued and fit them together.


Finished product! Of course, this proud mama thinks he did a fabulous job. What a smartie! :-)

Jumping on the couch cushions!

The Ultimate Protection Plan

If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Psalm 91:9-12

I've always loved that passage, because it's a reminder that God is always watching out for us. I can rest in the knowledge that He knows the best way to care for us and protect us! It especially comforts me as the mom of an inquisitive, adventure-seeking 4 year old boy. Lately Oliver seems to be getting more and more scrapes and bruises while trying new things. Recently, he even bonked or scraped his head every day for a week! Sometimes, you can tell when things might go wrong -- like hanging upside down on the monkey bars -- but other times you have no way of knowing that the next moment your heart will be in your throat. It's times like those that bring me to my knees and make me thank God for protecting my son. I want him to do the things that he wants to do (within reason, of course!), I want him to explore and see what his body can do, I want him to figure things out for himself. But most importantly, I want him to be safe. And while I can't put him in a bubble to protect him, I have God's promise that He will protect my Oliver. And if that's not the best bubble-wrap ever, I don't know what is. :-)