Plumb Tired Out...

Well friends, I'm just plumb tired out tonight. I'm sitting here in a daze, checking my email after a few days of ignoring my inbox and felt like updating you. We closed on our new house on Thurs. and have been working in it since then, getting things ready to move in!

We couldn't be happier and can't wait to be settled into the new place. I might pop in a few times over the next week or two but I'll probably be pretty absent due to all this, plus being 7.5 months pregnant!

Be Inspired

- An adorable play-dough gift idea (Thanks Mommy Secrets for pointing me to this!)

- A neat Valentine's treat with leftover candy canes!

- Love love love this indoor snow day!

Delivering Meals

Today we are delivering meals for two friends who recently had babies!

On the menu is:
Crockpot Sloppy Joes
Scalloped Potatoes
Carrot Sticks
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (in my humble opinion!)

Luke and I happily spent part of the morning baking these cookies...yum, they are so good!

Double Strollers - Yes or No?

Crystal at Mom of Littles is pondering double strollers today and asking for input. This has been on my mind lately as well....

I don't plan on making any purchases before the baby is born. I think I'll wait until warmer weather arrives and see if I have the desire for one then. I'm thinking baby in a carrier and toddler on foot or in a stroller will work for awhile? Am I being overly ambitious here?! If I found a great deal on Craig's list or ebay I might change my mind but so far I don't see one calling my name.

Charades for Kids and Adults

This past weekend I had the chance to take a mini vacation with a group of families from church. We had a great time relaxing at the Galena Farmhouse!

One of the fun games we played was called Ambassadors. This is a great charades type of game perfect for adults and kids to play together!

To play:
- Form two teams and select one person who will not play, to lead the game.

- The leader needs to make a list of about 10 words that the teams will act out in the style of charades. The leader can give the words a theme. For example all the words we acted out had to do with our trip to Galena.

- Each team goes to an adjacent room, the leader sits in the middle of the two teams with the list of words they have created.

- The leader yells "Go" and one ambassador from each team runs to the leader. The leader will whisper the word they must act out to their team to them.

- Each ambassador runs back to their team and attempts to act out the word using charades. Remember no speaking or writing!

- If the ambassador tries but can't get his team to guess the word, the ambassador whispers the word to another teammate who tries again, etc. The original ambassador can not speak but can continue to help act out the word.

- When the team guesses the word, a new member races back to the leader to get the next word on the list.

- The team who gets through the list of words the fastest wins!

My Favorite Kid's Bible

Do you have a copy of The Big Picture Story Bible?

If you don't, let me just tell you that, so far, it is my absolute favorite kid's Bible. This Bible doesn't contain fluff, yet it captivates a toddler with pictures and story. It's also great because it doesn't just tell bits and pieces of the Bible. It tries to capture the "big picture" of the Bible and I think it does a great job!

We read between 1-3 of the chapters after breakfast each day as part of our morning routine. Our current favorite is the story of creation! I love being able to see Luke, 23 months, start to learn the stories. He often asks to read it and doesn't want to stop! He also requests certain stories and is starting to memorize them as well. He often knows what is coming on the next page before I have turned to it. It's a great way to start the day! I definitely recommend this Bible and building a time of Bible reading into your morning routine with little ones!

Notebook Experiment

I love Amy's Notebook experiments and recently decided to try one out for myself!

Experiment: Can I create a deep dish pizza like Amy did?! If you live in Chicago land, shouldn't you be able to make a deep dish pizza? I decided to see and tried out Amy's deep dish pizza experiment originally inspired by Chocolate on My Cranium.

Results: Let me tell you, if you are a fan of Pizza Hut Pizza, you will like this pizza dough recipe! I think the butter in the pan is the secret ingredient! It was also super easy to throw together, definitely a plus for me!



Conclusion: I still usually stick to my no rise pizza dough recipe, but this new recipe will definitely be thrown into the mix on occasion! It's great for a change and makes a nice big pizza!

Be Inspired

- Time capsules would be a fun family activity.

- This cereal box puppet theater is super cute!

- I'll have to remember this coloring book.

- I love these New Year's interviews!

- Simple Mom's take on classic toys that are actually worth the money.

Look What I Got!

One of my sisters got me this fun book for Christmas! I can't wait to try out a few of the fun filled activities! The nice thing about this book is that is has activities for ages 12 months to 10 years. We should be able to get a lot of use out of this. I'll be sure to let you know what we try!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great finish to 2008 and a wonderful start to 2009!

We brought in the New Year with a fun family night full of Boggle, Guitar Hero, and Apples to Apples!

Boggle is a great new game we have that is fun because it only requires two people! It's a great game for couples (mental note - good wedding gift!) I'd never tried Guitar Hero before but after my brother-in-law convinced me to try it, thought it was great fun. And then of course Apples to Apples is a great and hilarious game for a crowd!