Tape Roads - Kid Fun

The great thing about this road is its easy to clean up and if the kids get bored just go tape a different part of their room or different part of the house and it will spark their interest again.

Have I ever mentioned how talented my boys are at making all sorts of vehicle noises!

Cinco de Mayo - Recycled Piñata

We had a lovely Cinco de Mayo.

And the DAY OF Cinco de Mayo. We decided we had to have a piñata for that evening. We used empty cereal boxes. Some leftover tissue paper from a baby shower, and some painting tape from when we painted the bathroom.

Filled it with candy we had around the house and paper from our paper shredder to mimic confetti ;)

It was fun to make, fun to break, and even fun to clean up, and it didn't cost us anything.

We try to make some part of each day a special day and holidays help us do that.

So find a reason to celebrate and make yourself a piñata!

Pudding Painting

I did pudding painting in kindergarten and remember loving this. I hope my kids have just as fun doing it. 

 All you need is paper and pudding

It is also a great way to practice SHAPES, NUMBERS, & LETTERS

I know they love clean up (licking the pudding off their fingers ;)

My niece asks me every time she comes if we can pudding paint again.

Green Grass

This quote hangs in my house. 

I went through a phase in my life where I was spending my day thinking about the future, when the diapers would end, when I would have my body to myself again (no more pregnancies, or breastfeeding), when my kids could be my dish washers, and take out the trash. 

I realized I was looking at the grass on the other side, and neglecting my grass. I decided it was time to appreciate my days and my nows. I told myself that every stage of my life can have green grass, if I just take the time to water it, and spend my time finding what I love in the day I am in.

Although I'm not perfect, I have seen positive changes in my life as I have been applying this concept in my life. This quote inspires me daily, maybe it could inspire you

click here for my design

Honey Mustard Mozzarella Chicken

My husband said, "I love this dinner, It makes me feel like I'm rich and dinning somewhere expensive"

Enough said! This is going to be a regular at our house ;)

The recipe is on MyRecipeMagic. Get the RECIPE HERE

One thing I love about this website is you can search for recipes with certain ingredients. It comes in handy when I buy something in bulk (like 5 lbs of ground turkey) and need some more dish ideas for ground turkey!

Gym mom

I never thought I would be a "gym mom"... The mom that goes to the gym everyday to work out and drops her kids off in the child care room. I thought those moms were a bit self absorbed and how selfish of them to use their time on themselves and not with their kids.

Well my perspective has changed! This winter I had my third baby (a beautiful girl, to add to our two boys.) That made 3 kids ages 3 and under. I felt like a super mom! 3 young kids was easy! The first two weeks were a breeze...... but then things started to build. I had a bit of sleep deprivation, my oldest unpotty trained himself, my middle child entered his Terrible Two Tantrums, the snow had kept us trapped in doors, and slowly I began falling behind on all the house chores. I found that the stress was building and getting worse everyday. This is when I decided to become a "GYM MOM" let me tell you the benefits.

1) An hour away from the stress each day really helps the rest of my days run smoother, and keeps the crazy at bay.

2) Exercise is helping my body regain the strength I lost while I was pregnant and I am finding I have more energy and I don't get worn out as quickly as I used to.

3) Exercise is also a great stress reliever and is a healthy way to release it.

4) Not only is my body healthier but its looking better as well. (as shallow as this is to say, it does help my confidence)

5) AND my kids love it! They love getting out of the house to play They ask if they can go and run to the door when we get there. And my baby girl I feed her before I go in and she sleeps the whole time. She doesn't even know I'm gone.

So if any of you are in the same position as me, investing in a gym membership is the best thing I've done for myself this year.

Carstens Cartoon 3

This one made me laugh so hard when I heard this come from my dads mouth

Back in my pageant days I was trying to watch my figure and this was my dad's response to me saying I had to watch what I eat.

And to be clear Merl is no one person but a collage of people ;) and if one of your quotes come out of Merl's mouth it is because it is funnier coming from Merl ;)