Sink or Swim?

During Asher's 2nd nap today I wanted to spend some time playing with Alexander. I really want to take more time to engage my kids and encourage their curiosity and desire to learn, as well as just be a more interactive mom.

So once Asher was down we went around the house and Alexander picked out things he wanted to see if they sank or swam. I filled my sink with water and just before he put something in the water he would cast his vote. Once we saw the results (which he got them all correct) I would have him explain why it did or didn't float. It was a fun activity that cost us no money. I'm guessing we will be doing this again but maybe with a "what would make it sink?' twist.

Easter projects

So today as I was tinkering around my house I realized that I really want to do Easter baskets this year. I have never done them because my husband is so anti-sugar that I could never convince him it was a good idea. So with Pinterest in hand I started looking for stuff to do, all no candy options. I love how many options and ideas there are available. The picture to the left is exactly what I had in mind! I don't want to just buy a bunch of here today forgotten tomorrow toys for the boys, I want them to be creative. I have over a month to collect ideas and figure out what I want to do for them.

So my plan is to spend a few weeks collecting ideas and trying different things. I was so unhappy with my valentines gifts for Alexander's schoolmates that this time I am really going to do my best to make sure my ideas are produced how I envision them. I am determined to make these so awesome that that boys will be excited about it for years to come. I might also be inspired to add a few little things to share with our boys about the meaning of Easter to us and the resurrection of Jesus and how important that is to us.

Alexander's School Valentines

In case you didn't see my earlier post I want to explain real quick how excited I was to make Valentine's for Alexander's school this year. The past two years I have not done anything as creative as I would have liked. So this year I was determined to do something special. I spent some time on Pinterest, walked around Target, set a budget (which was not much at all) then I came up with my plan.

First I will say that they are a lot simpler than I wanted them to be. This happened for two reasons, their names are Josh and Alexander ;-) They both had a different idea than me about how much was too much. So I tried to work within their ideas and mine to create something special.

First I got my supplies ready

Then I put some goldfish in a bowl so Alexander could help scoop (notice his snack while doing it!)

                                             

Then we folded the bags and stapled them

Then I traced his hand for the teacher gifts.

My very simple, yet still creative Valentines gifts!

The girls got gifts with a cutie orange that says "I think you are a cutie" The boys got one with goldfish that said "I'm glad we are in the same school" and the teachers got lotion that said, "You deserve a hand" I really hope that the creativity of the gift makes up for simplicity of the design!!!

Next on my list

Remember a time we used to print pictures? I miss that! Through the years I have moved a box full of printed pictures from home to home. Well yesterday while at Costco I saw a set of albums on sale I decided that it was time to preserve my pictures and put then in a place they could be viewed easily. 

Last night I began the task of organizing, categorizing and sorting through 34 years of pictures. At first my husband was not excited about the project with all the pictures spread out all over our table, but I quickly found him sitting at the table looking through the stacks, laughing and reminiscing about our early years together and how silly we looked. It didn't take him long to realize the value in preserving these precious memories. So off I went and today on Asher's first nap I completed the first book full of all my pictures leading up to Josh and I got engaged. What a fun trip down memory lane. Not only do you remember where I came from but was reminded of the amazing friends I have gained through the years. I hope to get so caught up this week that I can get to printing all my digital pictures which started with my first digital camera I got for Christmas when Alexander was only 6 months old! What a treasure these pictures are!!!!