Working so hard!

This is what I call progress. Right at this moment I'm vacuuming the kitchen (Roomba), washing clothes (washing machine), reheating coffee (microwave), downloading pictures, and blogging (laptop). All this while I should be working! Oops! :)
Hope your day is starting out as productive as mine!

Pipe Cleaner Fun

I just came across a great new carnival! Run the Earth, Watch the Sky is starting a carnival with ideas for free ways to have fun with your kids. What a fantastic idea, right?




I didn't think I had anything good to post just yet. I just found this carnival tonight, and it should be tomorrow. Pretty quick turnaround. But I did think of something that we did a few months ago. My sister was in town with her daughter and we took a road trip. My sister had mentioned needing more ideas for the plane trip home and I told her that on our recent plane trip I'd packed but not used pipe cleaners. We packed them for the road trip, and ended up needing them. When the kids started to get cranky we pulled them out for some pipe cleaner art.

This was a huge help and kept the kids entertained for a good while. And, if nothing else, your kid does have feet to keep him entertained.

This week in pictures and some lamps

We are having Easter lunch at my house. I wanted to use my china for Christmas, but we had breakfast and left town right afterword. It seemed easier to keep it a bit casual. I really want to have the table look nice. My mother-in-law is the type that always sets a fancy table. If we were to give her 20 minutes notice that we were crashing her dinner, she would have the china out and a nice dinner ready to go on the table. She certainly doesn't demand that from others, but she says that she enjoys setting a fancy table to show her family she appreciates them. I can't see myself doing that too frequently with a toddler in the house, but I do want to make holidays special. Anyway, I'm spending a bit of time this week planning the menu and table.

Here are some pictures from the week. I'm getting better at taking pictures frequently again!

A sleeping bag we got from a garage sale the weekend

Wearing a crown (made from a pant leg I cut to hem)
"Hi Mom!" Wearing gloves.

Also, Jared installed lamps for me this week. I fell in love with these lamps a month or so before Christmas. They were pretty expensive, so I didn't think I'd be able to get them. I wanted to hang them above my sewing table for task lighting. My sewing machine has been in a room with no overhead lighting since we moved back home. It's hard to sew with no lights, but it isn't necessary to have two expensive lamps either. :( Anyway, for Christmas my parents gave me a gift card for a little over half the cost of the lamps! Jared and I went ahead and ordered them, and I was so excited! However, since the room has no overhead lighting, it was going to be quite a chore to get them up in the vaulted ceiling and figure out the switch. Well, he and his dad took care of most of it this weekend, and Jared and I finished it up Tuesday! I LOVE THEM!!

My lamps!

Sent this email to my Mother In Law (subject: Ransom)

I, the eyeless bandit, am holding your hat for ransom. Meet me at my house, and bring with you, your family (including dog), hugs and kisses. We will meet tomorrow after church. Be there or never hear from your hat again! (insert maniacal laughter here)

Love Miles (the eyeless bandit)

P.S. My mom updated my website with February, March, and April pictures (I should hold her hats for ransom to get it done sooner)

Easter Egg Hunt

The playgroup/Early Childhood PTA that we are in had their annual Easter egg hunt today. Jared and I were going to take Miles, but last week Jared got notified that there was a work day at his shooting club. He had missed the last one and felt like he needed to make this one. I called in the backup. My mom took him with me. He had so much fun! We got there early enough to play on the playground before the hunt began.

So did everyone else! There were so many kids there! Miles still had fun. For the most part I was able to hang back and just let him play. Finally everyone started lining up for the hunt. We went over there and found out that they were going to begin by age groups. The little kids (one and under I think) were first. Ten minutes later Miles' age group was to begin, and ten minutes after that the oldest kids would hunt.
On the way over to the hunt area, I was telling Miles that there are surprises in the eggs, and explained to him that he had to find them and put them in his basket. I may have done too good a job getting him excited. When we got there and I told him that he had to wait he was not happy and a tantrum ensued. Anyway, he managed to wait and they started his group. He did a great job "hunting," and had fun.
As a side note, even for the oldest group, they didn't hide the eggs. Everyone had to bring two dozen filled eggs and they just tossed them out on the ground. It was fine for the age group Miles is in, but I think it would have been a let down for the older ones.


We took advantage of the other kids preoccupation and went back to the playground. He had fun, but at some point picked up his basket and started back for the area where the hunt had been. I followed him and he shouted "fun" and went to the area where his age group had hunted. He was disappointed that there were no eggs left, but then spied the ground where the younger age group had been. It looked like they hadn't hunted at all! He ran over there only to be disappointed again. I guess the parents had set their kids down in an area and let their kids pick up, open, and explore. Then put back down. All the eggs had been opened. He still enjoyed sitting and going through them. After that we went over to the Easter bunny. Miles actually went up to him for a little bit. Then it was time to head back to the car.