Snow Much Fun!

Since it snowed over the weekend, we didn't have any snow days but we did have some fun in the snow. Gracie got the sled out right away.

Bub decided to try out the new snow shovel that Daddy bought him. Evie stood in the garage all mad as can be. She wanted nothing to do with being out in the cold snow. Gracie helped shovel the driveway although instead of using her shovel, she used her hands. Finally we headed out back to the hill. Gracie took her turn down the hill first. Then Presley took a turn. This guy liked being pulled around and didn't want to get out of the sled. We weren't out there more than half and hour and this girl was whining to come inside. And then Gracie got snow down her boots so she wanted to come inside too. Oh well, the snow fun didn't last much longer than the snow did but that's part of the crazy weather with living in Chicago. Next time we'll hope for a snow day!

Messy Masterpieces!

This weekend, Evie and Presley started their very first Park District class! It's called Messy Masterpieces. Gracie did this too when she was 2 and these little ones were just babies. It seems like yesterday. I love park district classes. Aside from most of the classes for young children being during the day, I did find this one offered on Saturday mornings. It was nice to be able to do something with just the little ones. It took place at Gracie's school so they were pretty excited. They got to come in and sit on the carpet. The class is set up where there are craft and play stations all around the classroom and the kids can move at their own pace from activity to activity to practice thier fine motor skills.

The teacher was Miss Darlene. She was Grace's preschool teacher last year. She is super nice. She explained all the stations that were set up. Evie wanted to go make some snowflakes first. Prelsey made a snoflake but with glitter. Grandpa came with to help! The big hit for both of them though was the bean and rice table. They had so much fun scooping and pouring and digging. But I did manage to get them away to have some fun with the dot paints. These were a hit. I need to go to Michael's and buy some. It's such an easy way to paint without the huge mess! Another fun idea to try at home is marshmallow painting. Basically you dab paint on the bottom of a marshmallow and wall-ah...instant designs. We decorate some mittens. Here they are showing off thier masterpieces. We also spent some time playing the popular playdough. Played with cars in shaving cream. And painted with ice cubes. Such brilliant ideas to try at home too! Evie and Presley had so much fun. They can't wait to go back next week! It's fun to be messy!

Busy!

I know I haven't blogged in a while but life happens you know and our life is busy!!!! Since break ended last week, I headed back to you know where and it was a long week. Despite the problems going on in my neighborhood......we still managed to have fun. Thank goodness that this was a long weekend. First up, we headed to a bouncy house to meet up with my good friend Carolyn. We haven't gotten together in forever but the kids were instant friends. Evie couldn't wait to head on in. Of course the wrong way because that's the right way!

Gracie and Peyton were immediately hooked on each other. They took off hand-in-hand and headed all over the bouncy place. They even tried to play some games. Then Evie atttemtped to and actually managed to climb this ladder on the big slide all by herself! Yay! Both my girls had fun on the slides best of all. Guess who didn't want to partake in bouncy house fun? Mr. Wuss sat by me the entire time. He did however, eat the most pizza for lunch though. My girls and Carolyn's girls, Peyton and Reagan, played really well together. I'm so glad we fianlly got a chance to get together. Carolyn is such an amazing friend. We hardly see each other but when we talk every 6 months or so..it's like we pick up right where we left off. It's hard to believe I have known her since 1st grade! Thanks for going with us! We had fun! Next up, it was time to play in the snow. Gracie has been waking up everyday and looking out the window to see if it snowed. She was so excited when it finally did. She couldn't wait to get out there. She helped Grandpa shovel the patio. Then it was time to pull out the sled. Grandpa pulled her around for a bit. This weekend we also managed to go see "Beauty and the Beast." Well, Gracie and I and Grandma did. The little ones just got to meet some chipmunks and play in the mall with Auntie Amy. But Gracie did like the movie. One of her favorite princesses right now is Belle so she was thrilled. Today we had some fun with our friends Allie, Emma, and Jackson. Allie and Gracie even dressed up as Princesses but I forgot to take pics. Next time. Now time to get these kids to bed so mommy can relax before headed back to work tomorrow :(

Glow-In-The-Dark Bath!

We spent the other night taking a glow-in-the-dark bath! I found the idea on Pinterest and the kids LOVED it! You can find a tube of glow sticks in the dollar spot at Target. We divided them up and practiced our colors with them. The kids liked it so much that we did take the entire bath in the dark!

Pajama Picnic!

Today we slept in and hung around in our jammies. I just love being on break. I decided that today we would have a picnic in our pj's right on our very own kitchen floor. So that's what we did. We just had PB and J sandwiches and some chips and cheese sticks but it was so yummy.
We put out our beach towels so it was somewhat like what we would do outside.

Presley loves his PB and J sandwiches. He also loves not wearing clothes apparently. I promise you that he does wear clothes. It seems that any pictures I post, he is in his diaper. This is mainly because after a diaper change, he gets up and runs away and it's not worth chasing and fighting with him and spending the next 20 minutes trying to get him redressed. Oh well. Evie has a special way of eating her PB and J. She takes it apart and eats it one slice at a time. She especially likes the jelly part. And Gracie Girl, well, this is about the only thing she is eating right now. We are experiencing some eating issues as we have in the past and I can only hope it gets better. It's a frustrating experience and I just want my girl to be healthy. Thankfully my other 2 are good eaters. We tease Gracie telling her she is going to be a "cheap" date in the future because she will hardly eat any food! And speaking of dates, Gracie and I had our very own first ever Princess Kingdom Party today. I should have taken pictures. Gracie put on her Belle dress and I put a dress on, over my pj's. She got out my tiara from my wedding because she knows where I keep it and she wore her tiara and then she went to work putting makeup on! Doesn't she look beautiful? I promise to take pictures of the next "Princess Kingdom Party" as Gracie calls it. It was fun to dress up with her. Presley even joined in the fun and had his nails painted for the occasion too!
I am so lucky to be on Christmas break and to spend all my time with my kids. It is so much fun! So far 2012 is great!

ASA Playdate!

Last week, my friend Jessica planned a playdate for all the girls from my college sorority who live close by in the area to get together and let the kids play. It was so much fun! Not only did my usual girlies-Jessica (the hostess), Anne, and Lindsay come, but we also got to visit with some other old friends-Amy, Katie, and Sarah! 2 more were supposed to attend but they could not make it. The kids played well and we had "Halloween pizza" for lunch. We set out lots of little tables for the kids to eat.
Here is Scott, Gracie, Evie and Presley.

I think we had 14 kids in all! Check out the eating madness!

Here is Levi, Will, Emma, and Adam.

Jackson and Anna got stuck sitting up in the high chairs.

And little Shelby ended up just sitting on a chair on the floor.

It was so great to catch up with everyone. It's hard to always get plan a get together with so many people because you know...life gets busy! We definatley intend to plan more of these days especially in the summer, when we can go outside and play! Jessica actually put together these yummy cookies! Eat your heart out Martha Stewart!

The kids did play together very well. There weren't even any meltdowns or anything! We had 14 kids under the age of 6 there too! And actually, there were even 3 sets of twins there! Can you spot them?

I stood on the staircase in order to fit everyone in the picture. Not one of them even cried. They just sat there with a look like "get this over with already!"

All of our friends are Scott, Lanie, Lily, Winnie, Will, Emma, Shelby, Levi, Evie, Presley, Jackson, Anna, Adam and Grace. Good job kids!
Thanks for having us over Jessica! We had a blast and ASA girls, I hope we can get together again soon! It was great seeing everyone! Any other ASA girls out there that want to join in the fun next time, let us know! We would love to see you!