Ok, so I meant to post this on a Wednesday but am just getting around to it.

I have done something lately that I came up with all on my own
(that's not saying that other moms haven't been doing it all along)
and it WORKS!

We go out to eat fairly often.

Not fancy places.
Not daily.

BUT often enough that sometimes it goes well and sometimes not.

We tend to always pick places that has things for the kiddos to do, play on, climb on, etc. just to keep them entertained.
NOW
I have a better idea.

My kids are LOVIN' Uno right now. Yes, Uno. The card game (thank you very much CBC Summer Adventures folks!). They are also new fans of Battle/War card game (thank you Taira). SO, I decided to put the cards into ziplock bags (those boxes never last) and take them with us when going to a restaurant... usually it's Uno because Battle/War lasts too long.
It is AWESOME!



They are actually so entertained that they are a bit upset when the food gets there!
Everyone has had fun.
Healthy, family fun, while waiting for the food.
It's perfect!

another option (that I tried this past week) was some cute little pattern manipulatives. I ordered them from Scholastic and they loved them! When they had finished all of the pattern cards they loved just playing with the cute little figures. Some examples are Bear Counters, Doggie Counters, etc. I got Halloween ones with cute bats, spiders, and ghosts WITH the laminated pattern cards for only $9. I am ordering a Christmas set too. They are GREAT!

YEA!
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I'm not sure where my kids got this.
Not sure at all.
Seems like something they should desire when they are older
Or I have at least somehow warranted it.

But never-the-less it happened today.
I was just making dinner and suddenly Caleb said "I'm running away!"
Georgia responded with "Me too!"

I was shocked at first and didn't respond at all.
Then I said "Really? Where are you going to go?"
They replied "Dadaw's house. We're running away to Dadaw's house."

So they went and got their bags, packed them, and then headed for the door.

I was confused yet grinning.
I went to watch them (grabbed my camera first of course!) and asked them a few questions.
First, Georgia went to open the van door.
I said "Sweetheart, y'all can't drive. If you're going to run away, y'all will have to walk."
They said "OK."

They started to walk to the sidewalk.
I said "Ya know, it's a LONG walk to Dadaw's house. You may want to put on shoes."
Caleb agreed, Georgia said she could do it without shoes.

Then they were off.

I let them walk to the end of our yard/walk and said "You can walk. You can walk all the way to the bridge (it's just a part of our street about 5 houses down) and that's as far as you're allowed to walk without Momma. I don't plan on walking to Dadaw's house. If you walk past the bridge, I'll have to give you swats."
Caleb replied "But Momma, Dadaw doesn't live at the bridge!"
"Yes son, I know. You're not allowed to walk to Dadaw's house."





They were upset.
They came back.

I heard all evening that they wanted to run away to Dadaw's house.
I asked Caleb why and he said he wanted to live at Dadaw's house.

Simple response.
Simple reason.

When I asked why he said "Because Dadaw has cheese balls (cheese puffs he traditionally gets for the kids when we visit), he has the ball game (a pool table), and I love him!"

hmmm...makes sense to me!

I'm not sure how long it would take two kids to walk from San Antonio, TX to Slidell, La but I'm guessing it would take a long time.

I love that they love their Dadaw though.

Later I went to take a look in Caleb's bag to see what he thought important to take with him when running away... He packed: a coloring book, some HotWheels, our UNO game, a kaleidiscope, a bouncy ball, and a bottle of shampoo.
Nice to know he'll at least try to keep clean.
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Put fruit on a stick
make probably anything into a kabob
and
it is SO much better!

While the kiddos and I were home (while they had the flu), I tried to find little things to do during the day that were fun and different (yet we had everything we needed at home already).

Caleb had been asking to make kabobs for a while
so, we did!

Here they are proudly showing their kabobs.

And they probably made/ate 3 each!
Healthy and fun
perfect!



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I really like to play with my kids, I really do.
But one of the things I seem to enjoy even more lately is watching them play together.
Really play together.
Talking to one another.
Planning with one another.
Working through ideas together.
It's precious.
(albeit rare too!)
And I love when I can sit by and watch.

I redid our playroom (AGAIN!) and really divided up the areas better. There is an art area, a dress up area, a play kitchen/home area (the kitchen came BACK in from the garage), and a "baby" area. This was designed with Georgia in mind.
Caleb doesn't usually play in the playroom much. He takes his HotWheels all over the house. Georgia though likes to "play baby" and it's adorable.
Once the room was rearranged it was brand new to them and therefore very exciting.
They BOTH immediately went in to try it out.

Here they are, both of them, "playing baby".
Georgia said that it was "the baby room" (which I guess she gets from my place of employment) and put all of the babies down for nap. It's funny...she has baby dolls but when she plays baby, it's with stuffed animals.






All babies were fed and had their diapers changed and then put down for naps.
Caleb helped out and even sang to his baby while he gave it its bottle.


Georgia patted one and kept saying "Shhhhh..." real softly while she rocked it.





So sweet.
So cute.

It's another one of those little daily things that I am so happy to get to see.
(yes, many of them really do have diapers on...the little baby doll kind you can buy. She loves them!)


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Oh...and this is what happens when brothers and sisters play together...Bulkhead gets to come over the the dollhouse for a princess party!

As our lives get busier and busier and we have so many things going on outside of the home...I reflect and cherish the time we have inside our home.
I truly try to make the most of our time together lately.
Each Saturday I ask each child, "What do YOU want to do today. Pick one thing." And we do those things. Plus more but at least those things.
Sometimes it is "Go to the park" sometimes "bake cookies" (which we did a while back from scratch and I was so proud!) sometimes "make slime" or sometimes "a picnic!" As long as they are things that have the three of us together and doesn't cost a lot of money... we do it.


Georgia's favorite thing to do lately is DANCE.
She loves it.
She puts on her "twirly skirt" sometimes..and dances to our favorite cd "Kids favorite praise songs".
It's adorable!

Here she is twirling around and then dancing with her favorite "person"... Baby Bear.






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