Summer Bucket List

I made a summer bucket list last year and while we didn't get to everything I had hoped, having a list helped me with ideas when the days were long and hot and the kids wanted something fun to do.  Because I seem to operate better with a list, I thought I would do one again this year.  Many items will be the same, because, let's face it, they are easy, fun and cheap.  But a couple are new to this year!

Make playdoh

Get snow cones
Make sidewalk paint
Get ice cream from ice cream man
Take a boat ride
Go to splash pad 

Go on a picnic
Swimming at grandmas
Have a cookout
Pick berries
Zoo

Make bubbles

Go visit Dad at work for lunch

Have a playdate with friends
Play in sprinkler
Set up pool in backyard
Watch fireworks

Make an art project for Dad

Movie night at home with snacks

Have a water balloon fight
Make ice cream in a bag

Attend story time at the library
Make edible finger paints
Go to Top That Pizza (girls LOVE this place)
Visit the Jenks Aquarium
Fly kites
Make lollipops

Go on a nature scavenger hunt
Create own tshirts
Make bathtub paints
Play board games

Make fluffy stuff
Catch fireflies

Have a root beer float

Eat rice krispy treats

While I really hate summer here in OK because of the heat, I do look forward to making memories with my kiddos during this time of year! What items are on your summer bucket list?  Did I forget anything important? 

Oh yeah, I have a blog!

So, I've been slacking in the blogging department lately.  I blame it on doing school with Isabelle.  We do our school day during the time Lawson is taking his nap which was when I normally did my blogging!!  

I decided that I would share pics of our new picnic table that Jason built in order to get back into the swing of things.  Luckily, I have about 10 more posts in my brain that I am ready to write, so hopefully I will get back to some sort of regular schedule.

After Jason built our deck last year we were blessed with some patio furniture from one of Jason's clients.  And while we were very thankful for free furniture, it wasn't super functional for us or the kids.  The chairs sat too low for the girls to sit and eat at the table and reclined too far for adults to eat!  So while they were great for just chillin' in the backyard, they didn't serve any purpose other than that and the table was basically useless.

Fast forward to me finding the wonderful world of www.ana-white.com.  This is the same place we found the plan for the beds we made for Isabelle and Molly.  I love this site and her plans are great and so when I saw this picnic table I knew it was perfect for us.

We sold the other furniture and bought materials for this beauty.  Here is the link for the plan

first lunch at the new table

Jason did all the work, of course, but I did help paint.  And since I had to watch the kids and keep them from running out to the garage while he was working, I figure WE did make the table.  Haha.  It is so nice and the girls love to have their lunch outside.  It would figure that right after we finished it we had a bit of weather that prevented us from doing much eating outside!  Now that it is nice again, we plan to spend more time at our new table.  

If you need a picnic table and are handy with tools, this table might be a good fit for you.  Cost wise it was about the same as buying a new picnic table and painting it yourself, but quality wise it is much, much nicer.

Thanks to my wonderful hubby for putting up with me finding him new projects to build all the time!!

Pete the Cat and other favorite books

I attempt to make reading a priority in our house.  I love reading and grew up loving reading and I hope my kids have the same passion for it that I do.  Because I love reading it should come as no surprise that I love buying good books for my kiddos.  One thing that drives me crazy is bad children's books.  And there seem to be a ton of them.  So, I thought I would share some of our favorites in case you are looking for some good books for your little ones.  And, I would love any suggestions you have for me!

First, Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck!

We checked this one out from the library and it became an instant hit with the girls.  Now, we own it and we can read it as much as we want!  It is a very cute tale of a boy trying to escape hugs and kisses from his Auntie Elsie.

Next, Pete the Cat's I Love My White Shoes.

The girls love, love, love this book.  It is one of the books we have read so many times that they can "read" it with me.  I really like this book also!  And, it was another book we found by checking it out at the library and then buying it.

We also love the Jesus Storybook Bible.  Like a lot.  This is a must have for every family in my opinion.  We try to read to the girls from this every night.  We don't always get to it, but we have been through the whole book more than once and they don't seem to be tired of it yet!

A couple of books that we love, but have yet to purchase are Duck Tents and Can I Just Take a Nap??

These have been checked out multiple times from the library and when we have them we read them over and over again.  The first is about a group of five ducks going camping and the second is about Aiden McDoodle trying to find a quiet place to take a nap!  Great books!

Molly's favorite book, Everyone Poops.

Isabelle's favorite, Cat in the Hat.

And Lawson's favorite, the only book he sits still for, Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.  (thanks, Rochelle!)

So there you go, just a sampling of the books we love and that we read on a regular basis at our house.  What are your favorite children's books?

what we've been up to......

Our household has been busy, busy, busy within the last month or so.  Here's what we have been up to!

I ran my first 10K.  Now, I am trying to figure out what is next.  For sure the Tulsa Run in October and the Jenks Half Marathon in November, but it feels like I need something before then.  Of course, in Oklahoma you don't really want to be running long distances during the summer months, but I do like having something to train for.  Right now I am just working on building up my miles and enjoying my longer runs on Saturday with my sister!

pre-10K

afterwards with my sister

my good lookin' hubby who watches the kiddos while i run

Jason's dad and step-mom came for a visit.  I took a grand total of zero pictures while they were here.  The kids had a fabulous time with them and are still asking when Paw Paw and Elaine are going to be back over.

molly riding her bike one of the days scott and elaine were here.  luckily the weather was beautiful while they were here!

Lawson has been falling asleep in the floor.  Seriously.  He will be playing and then BAM, asleep.  I feel like a bad mom (a little) for not knowing when to put my kid in bed, but there is no warning that he is tired.

Molly's nap schedule or lack thereof continues to be a problem.  Sometimes she does great without a nap, other times she clearly needs one and will fall asleep easily (but then be a nightmare at night) but without fail, waking her up is terrible.  On another note, her head seems to be healing great.

Lawson's 15 month checkup was last week.  Turns out my big guy isn't so big after all.  We've known he is not gaining a lot of weight for awhile, but this appointment, he fell off the chart for weight.  My pediatrician and I discussed some reasons why he might not be packing on the lbs, and we will see the ENT in May to discuss surgery to get adenoids out, but until then we are loading him up on high calorie and high fat foods.  Kind of weird to be planning unhealthy meals for my baby.  Also awesome are the comments from well meaning people about his size, or what we are feeding him, or the fact that he still uses a bottle, not a cup.  After talking to a friend of mine I have decided the best policy is to keep my big ol' mouth shut about what I am feeding him and how I am feeding him.  Regardless, I am pretty sure he is the cutest 15 month old on the entire planet.

eating nutella for the first time.  he liked it.

Isabelle is ready to start school.  She asks everyday.  Her mother is maybe not quite that ready.  I am terrified to buy a curriculum and have it be the wrong one for her.  They aren't cheap and I hate making bad decisions.  However, I think I have found one that will be great, isn't too terribly expensive and I am almost ready to pull the trigger.  

Other things that are going on...

1.  My brother and sister-in-law find out the sex of their baby today.  I am pretty excited.  Not that it matters, but I am hoping for a girl!

2.  I have joined a book club and am ready to start reading!

3.  We are in the planning phase for our summer and I am already anxious to start doing some fun things with the kids.  

4.  Jason is still very busy at work, and is working on some pretty cool and exciting projects.

5.  I started watching another documentary.  WHEN WILL I LEARN???  After watching just the first half hour or so I am seriously thinking about trying to go vegan or at least trying to be vegan for most of the week.  Cuh-razy.

6.  We are selling our patio furniture and building a picnic table (and maybe a kids table also) to replace it.  I love this one from ana-white.com.  I can't wait to have it done and on our deck!

That's some of what we've been up to.  What about you?

A few reasons why we are going to homeschool

Yep.  We are going to homeschool.  There, I said it.  No more speculation.

When Jason and I started talking about school for our kids homeschooling was never on our radar.  After all, aren't homeschooled kids totally weird?

However, when it came down to it, we don't feel like public school is an option for our kids, and we can't currently afford private.  After talking to some other homeschooling families, we decided to at least look into it as an option.  Here are some statistics I came across in my research.

Over 2.04 million students are currently homeschooled.  That is a 78% increase since 1999.
When it comes to test taking, homeschooled students consistently outperform public school students.  They did well whether or not their parents were certified teachers.
Homeschooled students graduated from college at a higher rate than their peers.

And while those numbers/stats are impressive, they aren't the reason we are going to try this whole homeschool thing.  Here are just some of the reasons we are homeschooling.

Our big reason is cost of private education.  Yep, we can't afford private school for three kids. (or four for that matter)  And frankly, we think that even if the time comes when we could, we would rather pay for their college, or family vacations, or both.  And like I mentioned before, we just don't feel like public school is the right choice for us.  I am not bashing public school or saying kids should not go to public schools, but after prayer, it just isn't for our kids.

Another reason, I like my kids.  Whaaaat?  I do, I like my kids.  I don't have any desire to only spend time with them when they are at their worst during the day.  Maybe your kids are different.  Mine are at their best during the day.  About 4pm each day I start to think they are a little crazy.  They get a little cranky, don't want to obey, start arguing and fighting more and are generally just out of sorts.  Then we have dinner and bath time and story time and it is off to bed between 7-8pm.  If school started at say, 2pm and went until 6pm and served dinner instead of lunch we might have a deal.

Next, we decided that the best time to give homeschooling a try was during the pre-k, k and 1st grade years.  Who knows, maybe I will try it and it will be horrible and we will change our minds.  But, if I only try through 1st grade I won't have done that much damage, right?

And one last reason (but certainly not the least important) is our desire to teach our kids from a biblical world view.

The things listed above don't even begin to scratch the surface of our list of reasons we are homeschooling, but they are some of the biggies.  Making the decision to homeschool/go to public or private school is not one that should be made lightly.  We have spent time praying, discussing, and researching our options.  We have talked to people who we respect who are in public schools and private schools and who homeschool to get their opinions.  And, just in case you are in the camp who wonders, "How will those poor Dickinson kids ever get socialization?"  Rest assured that they are around other kids at MOPS, church, play dates, and soon enough, sports.

Have you ever considered homeschooling?  What made you take the plunge?  Or, what changed your mind?

Molly's Noodles

Last Thursday, Molly and I had the fun experience of going to urgent care for her to get stitches.  In my experience with kid traumas, here is the where stitches stack up against the others (number one being the worst).

1.  Concussion for Lawson

2.  Stitches for Molly

3.  Molly biting through her tongue

I am not counting the two surgeries (Lawson's and Isabelle's) in this list because they weren't really "traumas."

So, here's how it happened.........

pre-stitches at the urgent care

Molly and I were playing in the living room.  I needed to go make lunch so I told her we were done playing for a minute.  She decides to start running/spinning around the living room.  I had not got up off the floor before I heard a loud CRACK and see Molly's head colliding with the corner of our stone coffee table.  Honestly, I was not the least bit concerned that her head was going to split open.  I thought, based on the sound her head made hitting the table, that she was going to have a concussion.  As soon as it happened, I scooped her up and looked at her head.  Within a second, her and I were both covered in blood.  I started yelling at Isabelle to find my phone and call Jason while frantically getting something to cover the gash in Moll's head.  After yelling repeatedly at Isabelle, I realized the phone was plugged in on the counter.  I grabbed the phone, called Jason and yelled at him to come home, then proceeded to call the Dr. who said I needed to take her to the ER for stitches as their office was too busy.  At some point I thought, "hey, maybe I am overreacting," so I took off the washcloth and looked at the cut.  I was NOT overreacting.

Fast forward to Jason coming home and confirming I was not overreacting and Molly and I leaving for the urgent care.  Once we were there, we got in fairly quickly (praise God that her cut stopped bleeding pretty quickly at home).  The doctor and nurse were very sweet, but Molly did NOT enjoy her time there.  For starters they wrapped her up in a thick fleece blanket to prevent her from moving around.  Molly h.a.t.e.s. being confined or restricted in any way so this made her VERY mad.  It also made her extremely hot.  Then they put a paper with a hole cut-out over her face which only served to infuriate her more.  She was scream-crying for me to make them stop before they even started with the lidocaine shots.  Those apparently hurt like the dickens because just when I thought Molly couldn't scream any louder, she was.  She kept asking me to make them stop the poking and telling me she was ready to be done and go home.  When they started the stitches, Molly must have heard the word needle, because she then started calling her stitches, noodles.  If she hadn't been so upset, I would have thought it was much funnier.

right after they were done she asked to see her "noodles"

After we were all done, and Molly was mostly calmed down, I took her to get lunch at her favorite place, Chick fil A, and all was right with the world.  By the time we got home she was back to her old self.

We have to go back to the doctor on Tuesday to get her four stitches out, and until then we have to keep it nice and clean.  She is doing great and it looks like it is healing very well.  I am praying for no scar or one that is barely visible.  I would hate for my beautiful daughter to have a scar right in the middle of her face.

she has done great leaving a band-aid on and keeping it clean

I am not at all surprised that Molly was my first kid to need stitches, but I am hoping this is a one time deal. I don't think I can deal with any more noodles for awhile!

How we Celebrated

Here is a little recap of how we celebrated Easter this year!

1.  Saturday night we attended our church's Easter services.

best family pic out of like 10

handsome hubby

my bff, my sister

2.  We had Easter tacos for lunch on Sunday (a tradition for our family).

3.  The girls ate a ton of candy from their Easter baskets and then proceeded to act like crazy people the rest of the day!

4.  We had an egg hunt in the front yard.

another great one of the hubby

most of the fam

5.  Molly was finally able to fly her new kite.

6.  After a full day of family, food, and fun everyone in my house was asleep by 9pm!