Elephant Toothpaste

More Pinterest fun!

Click here for the specifics on how to do this experiment!

We had to do the experiment a second time to get a better reaction, but it was so worth it!

Cherry Blossoms

Saturday, I decided to take the boys into the city to see the Cherry Blossoms. I've never seen the Cherry Blossoms in "almost" full bloom, but let me tell ya...they were beautiful! Click HERE for the link to the Cherry Blossom website for more information. The weather was perfect, the Metro was fun and PACKED, and the boys did a lot of walking with me with minimal complaining! What I learned MOST from this trip...I now know where the public bathrooms are:)

We hopped on the Vienna Metro Stop...


Got off at the Smithsonian stop....along with what seemed like HUNDREDS of other people....



This is our view as we started the LONG trek to the Jefferson Memorial. Beautiful day, huh?




After we hit the restrooms, we started walking around the Cherry Blossoms...

We just kept walking...and snapping pictures with my phone and camera...so you might see some repeats!



The sidewalk that surrounds the Tidal Basin was just plain gorgeous. I didn't get too many pictures because there were people everywhere, and it was really hard to stop and snap a picture and keep my eyes on the boys at the same time. I can multitask like any mom, but I was slightly concerned for the boys' safety!

The boys really wanted to go out on the paddle boats, but the line was incredibly long! Plus, Eric wasn't with us, and I think taking 2 kids who can't swim on a paddle boat by myself is a little outside of my comfort zone. Maybe another time!

Here's a view of the Jefferson Memorial from the wall around the Tidal Basin

Then we continued to walk some more...

Once we made it to the memorial, the boys raced up the steps!


And then C decided he needed to take a break!

These pillars were HUGE. Look at silly B...he was "being a statue"

Jefferson's Statue...

It makes B look so small!!!

Check out the view from the Memorial...
Breathtaking!


I did end up "bribing" the boys just a little bit...I know...bad mommy. However, the walk to the Jefferson Memorial from the Smithsonian Metro stop and then BACK was a very long walk for 2 little ones. There was a Refreshment stand right by the paddle boats. So, I told the boys if we could make it all the way to the Jefferson Memorial and back, I'd buy them a hot dog. It worked;)

Hot dog, chips, popcorn and a drink...$9...not bad in my opinion! Ball parks charge way more than that.

On our way back, we passed the Tulip Library that was already in bloom!

So pretty!

We finally made it back to the Metro, and hopped on for the 30 minute ride home. The boys wanted to "ride like big boys" by standing and holding onto the pole the entire time!

All in all, it was a very fun day! Boys were happy to be outside, the weather was beautiful, and the scenery was gorgeous!

HOLY Pinterest!

I am totally enjoying Pinterest. I feel like I can exhaust my creative ADHD personality by cruising through that site, and seeing what my friends "Pin." I have a whole basket of summer activities for the boys that are both educational and fun. Here's one!

CLOUD DOUGH

What the heck is Cloud Dough? You got me! I found it on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try. I love simple homemade activities for the kids. I love them even more when they are CHEAP! For under $7, I made this...

All you need is 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil. Mix it together and VOILA...moldable, smooth, yummy smelling Cloud Dough. One regular sized bottle of baby oil made enough for 2 1/2 batches of Cloud Dough. So I had 2 1/2 cups of baby oil and 20 cups of all purpose flour. I just dumped it all in an under the bed storage container I had in the garage and mixed it thoroughly with my hands. I added some plastic bugs I bought in the dollar aisle at Target. These kind of "sensory" activities are GREAT fine motor skill enhancers!

The boys LOVED it! It's incredibly smooth...I liked it too:) Once we were done with it, I just put the lid on the top and stored it in my garage. The boys did get flour all over their clothes, but that's what I get for walking into the house to get a Diet Root Beer and leaving them unattended. It's only flour, and washes off easily....it could totally be worse!

My other obsession on Pinterest are all of the recipes. OH MY GOODNESS I could spend hours looking at them all! I made the Pinterest Trifecta Dinner tonight. Three different recipes...all of which were delicious, easy, and DEVOURED by my kids.

Cheddar Baked Chicken, Oven Roasted Broccoli, and Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

All of these recipes were very easy and DELICIOUS! The broccoli and chicken recipes will definitely be on my menu rotation...FOR SURE. Brandon and I enjoyed the tomatoes...Eric and Connor don't like tomatoes unless they are in "sauce" form. Fine with me...more for me and B!

Hey Kids...GO FLY A KITE!

Today was GORGEOUS, and the rest of the week should be as gorgeous as today! After I ran my errands, I went home, packed us a lunch, grabbed Rena Bena, picked up the boys and hauled butt to the park to enjoy this beautiful day.

I tossed one of Eric's old kites in the trunk in the event that the day would be windy. I'm SO glad I did! The boys took turns flying their first kite!!!

Here's B taking his turn!

C taking his turn

Rena seemed to be bored with the day's festivities. Either that, or she's just being her plain old lazy self.

When we got home, and played in the back yard...here's what she was doing...

Her name fits her so well. When we rescued her, she was so serene! "Serena" as a dog's name seemed too long. So, we shortened it to Rena! She sure does bring serenity into our lives with her sweet gentile personality and grotesque snoring abilities. Gosh, I love this dog!

Now, here's Jade:(

She's had a really rough couple of days! I took her in for a dental cleaning on Monday, and ended up having the vet remove a very suspicious cyst on her front right doggie elbow. We noticed it around when we moved here, and it was only about the size of a pencil top eraser. Now, it was closer to the size of a nickle or even quarter and bright red! Since she was already under anesthesia, we agreed to have it removed. We sent it off to get a biopsy on it, and should know those results in a few days. She HATES that cone thing!!!

I didn't make her wear the cone when I put her to sleep last night because I wanted her to get some good rest. This was her when I got up this morning...

She didn't move. She didn't even look up at me. She just laid there. For those of you who know Jade...she NEVER "just lays there." Usually, she's trampling me down as soon as my feet hit the front entry way floor. I laid now by her and just rubbed her ears and chin for a little while. The fur around both of her eyes was all wet...I'm sure she was crying in pain:( She perked up a little once the boys got up, but instantly went back to being sad as I put the cone back on her when we left. Poor Jade...she's our first "baby" I hate seeing her so down and out. I hope she gets back to her normal, obnoxiously annoying, forever greeting self in a few days. I felt kind of lonely today without her all up in my business all day long!

Da Boys

Since I gave up Facebook for Lent, I'm sure there are some of you out there who are having Danko Boy Picture Withdrawl!

So, here ya go!

Most of you probably don't know that our little Brandon now wears glasses! He flat out FAILED his vision test at his 5 year old well check. I took him to my optometrist in September for a "before school" exam and he was fine. I took him to the optometrist at the military facility and he told us B's prescription is +2.50 in one eye and +2.75 in the other! OUCH!!! While it's normal for young children to have a slight prescription with no need for corrective lenses, B's eyes are outside what they consider normal for a boy his age. So, the doc gave us what he calls an "academic prescription." That means, he needs to wear glasses at school, doing activities at a table, while on the computer, and playing any hand held device. He does not need to wear them for sports, riding his bike, or watching TV. They started out giving him only 1/3 of his actual prescription in the hopes that his eyes will still continue to strengthen and possibly outgrow this. He looks just SO DARN CUTE in them:) Deep down, I have a feeling his Fine Motor Skills delay is a direct result of him not being able to see at an arms length away. I hope this will help him move right along in his handwriting and other fine motor areas.

We went to a paint your own pottery place this weekend called Clay Cafe. I REALLY miss Just Clayin' Around in Fayetteville:( This place was nice, but the prices were much higher and the customer service just wasn't the same. We did have a really fun time though!!!

B painting his Robot.

The final product! Seriously...he's so cute in those glasses. I can't get over it :)

C painting his Angry Bird

C's finish product! He did that 100% by himself. I think he did a FANTASTIC job.

Notice the tired eyes?!?!?! This was the day after the time change. They didn't want to run any more errands, and just wanted to go home to take a nap. They stopped napping about a month ago. You know your kid is TIRED when they pass up an opportunity to get popcorn and a drink at Target! I really wanted to get my errands run, but gave in and took them home for a nap. I read a few chapters in my book and snagged a 45 minute nap myself. All in all, it was a GREAT Sunday afternoon!