Stay at home dads were everywhere!

Today I was surrounded by dads. We went to the library later than usual and I was outnumbered by dads with their young children. Dads reading to their kids, engaging with them and the train set, trying to figure out the computers. Again, at the park, there were many dads with their children, some engaged, some on their phones. I have NEVER seen this many dads during the workweek before. I loved it. Cheers to them. I know that fathers today spent more time with their kids than ever before. I've seen the ONE dad's playdate group on Meetup.com. But, we've (I've) never been outnumbered. It made me wonder if there is a group of stay at home dads that hovers in the shadows until the mass of stay at home moms depart the usual preschool hangouts.

Educational Apps for 3-5 year olds

I love the internet! I really do. Late one afternoon, during that nefarious time of day known as the witching hour, I needed to fill some time before hubby came home and fast. We had already done a boat load of things that day and we had maxed out our tv time. Panic and hysteria were nipping on my heels.

In a moment of clarity, I did a quick search for "best educational apps for pre-k" and clicked on one of the top results that looked like a blog review. After twenty seconds of reading, I bought the first app on the list, TeachMe ($.99 for preschool and $1.99 for Kinder) .Within five minutes, both kids were happily playing/learning. It lasted 45-60 minutes. Awesomeness!

I really liked the TeachMe app because there were apps for each grade from preschool through 3rd grade. I honestly didn't look past the first app on the list, but I'm sure the others are good, too. You can read the blog post from Technologyinearlychildhood.com here. Thank you Karen!

Playing Catchup: October 2014

So, this was October....

They waited an entire year to build a humongous leaf pile. Done! They asked for another one in December...

We spent a long weekend in the Smoky Mountains. Some great friends came up with us and hiked Laurel Falls trail. The foliage was beautiful. The kids were troopers. The hike was 1 mile uphill to the  falls. I ended up making a baby carrier out of my scarf to help carry them on this hike and the next. It was worth it.

 We hosted a chili party at the house. It was a great day. This was their "Make a silly face!" Thanks to Pinterest, I made a "photo op" display. This was the only picture taken with it - KISS again!

I was thrilled to receive a quick Halloween visit from my bestie, Jen, from Virginia. Her boys were able to join our Halloween party at the house. Isn't she stylish?

Here are all of the cuties at our Meetup Halloween party.

My kids can never commit to one Halloween costume. But this year, their favorite kid in the universe wanted to be a Power Ranger. So, they both wanted to be Power Rangers, too. I altered their costumes because they were two sizes too big. That was a sewing adventure for me. The McLeas, my sister and nephew came to our neighborhood to trick-o-treat with us. It was EXTREMELY cold that night, so we didn't ride in the back of the truck as planned. This is the first year the kids really got into trick-or-treating, but we visited over 20 houses - a record.

Playing Catchup: September 2014

My sweet Aunt Connie asked me for my blog URL today on Facebook. Oh yeah, that thing I used to do when I only had one kid. Second to a friend posting a "reader request," this inquiry about my blog rekindled by passion for writing this thing...Since it's been a while, I thought I'd write a monthly summary of our goings on since my last post in August 2014.

So, this was September...

This girl turned 3...She was happy, that is, up to two seconds before I asked her to smile for this picture and again two seconds after. This face was just for fun, just for me.  Seriously, she had a great birthday. Her big present was transitioning from a toddler bed into a big girl bed. She literally squealed when she saw it. Thanks to her Daddy and Uncle Jason for making that happen during her party. She had a themed Princess & Pirates party. This year, she actually had girl friends to invite! I made pirate costumes for the boys to wear and none of them wanted to, awesome. In hindsight, I want to tell myself "KISS - Keep It Simple Silly!" But, I love them and love to party plan and so I do.

Grandma visited...always fun. I love this lady. XOXO














Mommy traveled with other Princesses to Memphis for food, music and fun...We did Memphis right in 36 hours, stayed at the Peabody Hotel, Graceland, Stax Museum, Sun Records, (the other music museum, lol), BB Kings live music, Gus's Fried Chicken, Alcenia's Chicken and Waffles. Much better than all of that cool touristy stuff was getting to spend time with women in my family and seeing how awesome they are in their own right. Love you all!

The kids' preschool FINALLY started...ours starts one month after public schools. The kids and I
were DONE with summer at the beginning of August. Just DONE.















We went apple picking at Breeden's Orchard with our Meetup Group. The kids loved it. Super close, super cute. I learned: 1) that Jason Thomas was very competitive even with picking apples 2) what to do with a boatload of golden delicious apples; and 3) that my kids don't like to eat golden delicious apples.

Counting game with Q tips

I found this game on Pinterest and tried it at home. All you need are straws and Q-tips and a bucket. This entertained the kids for about a half an hour this morning.

First we set a bucket on a child's chair and sat in the floor with our straws. We shot and aimed and did this for about 10 minutes. Then, my four-year-old wanted to try the game on our stairs. We already have each riser labeled with the numbers 1-10, but we did not use them for this game. Next, I laid a tablecloth upside down on our dining room table and labeled 10 sections 10 through 100. We are just starting to learn counting by tens so I wanted to see how my son would respond to this. I think it was a good exercise and help him recognize some of the numbers.

I cleaned out my van!

It was time to clean out the van. It happens every couple of months. The van threatens to mutate into a living beast. One clue was that all four pair of my son's shoes were living there. Plus, you couldn't see the floorboards...don't judge me. If you are a stay at home mom or a busy mom with multiple kids, you know how easy it is for things to pile up out of control. It was so dirty that it was comical. I made the kids document the cleanup with a picture. The small bag was trash and the pop up hamper held all of the "stuff," including 11 shoes, two puddle jumpers, a picnic blanket, pillow and lots of toys and hair bows. The biggest surprise was a new cookbook I've never seen before.

This wasn't the worst it's ever been either. At the beginning of summer, Caroline ate the bottom out of her ice cream cone in her car seat. Melted ice cream congealed in and below her car seat. 

All you can do is laugh and get out the vacuum! My friend and author of Passion Mom 31 wrote a funny story about her minivan and all of it is true. Head over to her blog to check it out.

I dare other moms tosh are pics of their minivans.

Taco Bar Dinner Party

Last night, we had so much fun hosting Game Night at our house and eating from a casual yet gourmet taco bar menu. If you are looking for a quick solution to planning your next dinner party, below are the links to the recipes I used in last night's dinner for 6.

Getting Started
Bon Appetit Taco Bar Menu Planner - This is a great place to get ideas and finalize your bar menu. I used it to guide my meat, toppings and filling options. We had enough food for 10 or 12 probably.

My Menu
Appetizers: Zesty Black Bean Dip, Texas Caviar, Chips
Tacos: Chicken, Tilapia, Shrimp, Chorizo
Toppings: Pico de gallo, peach salsa, salsa, guacamole, cilantro lime dressing
Fillings: Red cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, queso fresca, jalepenos, onions, cilantro
Sides: Rice, Mexican Street Corn
Drinks: Margaritas, Mexican coffee

Mojito Lime Marinade for Chicken by Grill Mates (It was fabulous!)
Shrimp Marinade by Life's Ambrosia (Marinated it in a mason jar)
Fish Taco Marinade (we used tilapia)
Chorizo by Bon Appetit
Pico de gallo by Bon Appetit
Zesty Black Bean Dip by Five Heart Home (my favorite dish of the night)
Texas Caviar by Sarah Fit (my guest actually made our caviar, but this is a similar recipe)
Peach Salsa by Cooking on the Front Burner (great for fish and shrimp)
Mexican Street Corn by The Baker Upstairs
Mexican Coffee by Food Network

Decor
From Bed Bath and Beyond, I found an inexpensive bamboo table runner in festive colors for the dining table and two bamboo place mats in coordinating colors for the island. For centerpieces, I bought two bouquets of spider mums from Kroger on clearance, $1.99 per bouquet. I cut each flower very short and placed it in a votive of dried black beans and water. Finally, I placed a few candles around the house that were nestled in dried black beans. Overall, I spent about $25 on decorations.