Oh, How Pinteresting!

It's Wednesday again, which means it's time for another "link-up" party!

It's Oh, So Pinteresting! with Michelle at The Vintage Apple!

This week, I am dedicating my Pinterest post to my wonderfully silly, amazing kiddos.  These are a few ideas that have found inspiring, some of which I have already implemented.  Others, I cannot wait to try!

These are ice cubes made from Kool-aid and dropped in Sprite.  How fun for a hot summer day?!




I really want to print this (poster-size) and hang it above their bookshelf in the playroom.  It is such a great message, and my kiddos love books.




I mean, really, who wouldn't want this in their playroom??  Not saying I can make it happen, but wouldn't it be awesome?



Birthdays are a REALLY big deal to me.  Really.  And, I love balloons.  When I saw this idea, I knew we would be doing it.  I almost did it Christmas morning, too, but decided to save it for birthdays.  I know I would love to wake up to these on my birthday!  What a fun surprise!



This is also pretty cool for a birthday morning:




We have done this for the bathtub, and it was a huge success.  They loved it, and it was easy to clean up when bath time was over.  Win-win!




Anyone have kids that get restless waiting for food at a restaurant?  Anyone get restless themselves??  Ha.  Why didn't I think of this before?  Thank you Pinterest, you have saved us yet again!



"If it's not messy, it's not fun."  Enough said!  This is a great idea!




Time Out Jar. It is really easy to make. The goal is that when they are feeling out of control, they shake the jar, then sit and watch the glitter settle in the water. When the glitter settles, they can get up. This one is a really great technique to use in the "quiet corner" for children who are a *bit* too excited.



The "Savings Shadow Box".  I love this, too!  You just take a photo of what your child is saving for, then put the money in the box.  It is great for kids because they are so visual.



Okay, last one...

Yum!  Just pour Capri Sun into a Popsicle mold and add sliced fruit :)




See yall next Wednesday!

Here, We Love Purple and Live Gold

Here in the south, we take football seriously.  Especially SEC football.  Being from Louisiana, we are a  Tiger family.  We love purple and live gold.  We win with them, and we lose with them.

 

I am sure most of you know that last night was a semi-important game.  We prepared for it much like we did any other game.  We dressed in full purple and gold attire, and baked some yummy goodies!

"L-S-U!!  L-S-U!!"

She is such a great little helper!

She was very proud of her "Ella-Shoe" cupcakes.  She wanted to eat all the batter ;)

Here is Austyn's creation going in.....

...and here it is coming out.

*Gannon was too busy playing Kinect with Daddy to have any interest in the kitchen*

That is, until it was time to decorate!  He finally made an appearance!  Like me, he was upset that we couldn't find any purple sprinkles, sugar crystals, or other toppings.  We only had yellow, but hey, we rocked it!

Yum, yum!

Geaux Tigers!!

Although we lost the battle, I still believe we won the war.  These cupcakes are still celebratory.  They represent a beyond great season.  LSU had an undefeated season with the toughest schedule in college football.  It has been said that this team is among the greatest in college football history.  We may have lost last night (in an epic fail!), but we are still very proud of our Tigers!  We are eagerly awaiting next season and can't wait to see what's in store!

We have made it to the third trimester!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: Twenty-eight weeks!

This marks the start of my third trimester!  Oh, my gosh...How are we already here??

Only 74 more days (hopefully) until we meet Baby M.  Okay, so it is actually 84 until my actual due date, but I am really, really hoping for 74 days from now :) 

 

Size of baby:
Baby M weighs between two and two-and-a-half pounds, and is about 14.8 inches long.

Fetal Development:

"By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world." -babycenter.com

"Baby's now the size of an eggplant!  Baby's lungs are mature enough that, if born right now, she has a pretty good chance of surviving (with help from medical technology). Her skin is still pretty wrinkly (one byproduct of living in amniotic fluid) but will smoothen as fat continues to deposit."
-thebump.com

Movement: Baby M kicks and wiggles more and more everyday. Those rolls and squirms are even waking me at night sometimes. I absolutely love it!

Heartbeat: 160

Gender: We don't know!

Gut feeling: Nothing has changed here for anyone. The kids and I are saying boy, and Bryan says girl.

Cravings: White gravy!! I want chicken strips or chicken fried steak and white gravy all. the. time! And, pizza rolls!! I know, yuck...but YUM!! haha

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +11 pounds

MaternityClothes: I am still wearing both regular and maternity tops, but I have retired my regular jeans, finally!

Sleep: Sleep has actually gotten better...for the moment :)

What I miss: Honestly, I am really, really sad that I can't soak in a really hot bubble bath!

Symptoms:

-Morning sickness is still here, but she only visits in the morning. I know better than to try to eat breakfast...I just make up for it the rest of the day!

-Clumsy!! Boy, am I clumsy! I drop everything, I trip over my own feet, and I knock over any glass in my reach. Sheesh! I ran into a tent pole at Academy the other night, and at Subway, I turned to leave the register and ran into the post that makes the line...Oy. I was like this with Gannon, too, but had no sense of recovery. This time, I am able to save at least most of my spills.

-Vivid dreams! I know I have talked about these before, so I won't go into detail about all of them, just let me tell you...Wooo-eeee, there have been some doozies! Ha!

Leg and foot cramps! Yuck!  These have really been inensifying lately.

-Back/hip pain! This has actually gotten much better since I have been seeing the chiropractor. It isn't gone...but it is much better! I have stretched my appointments out to four weeks, now.

Missing Feet-- I am having more trouble every day reaching my feet! Putting on my socks and shoes has become a real chore, ha!

Braxton Hicks Contractions:  I never really had these with the first two, but I have them all the time with this one. 

Indigestion! I didn't experience this with the first two--actually, I have never experienced this, so it's new for me. It's nasty. It leaves me nauseated at night when I am trying to fall asleep. It leaves me starving and nauseated at the same time. Weirdest. Feeling. Ever!

Oh, How Pinteresting!!!

Today, I am linking up with The Vintage Apple for the first time to take part in her "Oh, How Pinteresting!!!"

Bryan already isn't a huge fan of Pinterest because he thinks I spend too much time there.  Well, he is probably right, but that really doesn't stop me!  It helps me to be productive, too. 

For instance, I found Ask Anna.  She has a blog with tons of cleaning tips.

Like, how to deep clean your washing machine :)

I have also found some great kid-friendly recipes.  This is Gannon's favorite.  He loves the way the cheese stretches, and I love that he is actually eating!  We serve it with pizza sauce on the side for dipping.  Gannon and Austyn can even help me prepare this one!

Well, if Bryan wasn't a fan before, he is certainly not, now!  I have made a pin board just for him!  It is called Bryan's Honey-Do.  I am sure he appreciates that, ha!

Here are some of the things I would love for him to do/build/make.

Patio furniture made from pallets (he gets pallets free at work).  How great is this?!  Now, we only have to buy a few chairs and cushions!

I really think this would be the most perfect art table ever!  And it is so simple!

Seriously, why don't I have this already?  Perfect for juice boxes, soda, anything!

This is why I married an electrician!  Who doesn't need hideaway outlets in the kitchen and bathroom??

No words.  I just want it.

And finally, why couldn't he turn an old bookcase into a beautiful doll house for his little princess?

Well, that's it for my first link-up.  Stay tuned for next Wednesday's edition of Oh, How Pinteresting!!!

Welcome to 2012!

Welcome to 2012!

The new year started perfectly over here, with the kids playing (TOGETHER!), the Saints on TV (and they WON!), John's Chowder and cabbage, homemade potato chips, and just great family time in general.

We spent some more time organizing the play room for the kids and putting new toys together for them.  Gannon got several Lego sets, and he couldn't wait to get them out and start building.  Problem:  He wanted to start on step 26, and was pretty angry when he couldn't figure it out.

So, Bryan and I got to play Legos!  Gannon did the work himself, we just had to slow him down enough to look at the directions.

Here he is with his finished product:

For lunch, we broke out our new potato peeler (thanks, Mimi and Pappy!) and made some homemade potato chips.  The munchkins had so much fun!

Here they are peeling the potatoes:

Austyn needed a little help at first, but she was so proud when she did it by herself.

Before:

After:

Yummy!

After lunch, the kids went back to playing with their toys, and it got really quiet.  Well, as a mommy, the quiet scares me a little....

We went into Austyn's room to check on her, and she had passed out on her floor with her toys.  It was really cute, so I told Bryan I was going to get my camera.  Well, she heard me in her sleep and she whined, "No, Mommy!  Don't take my picture!"  Little stinker!

After she woke up, we started to put together the Melissa and Doug art easel they got from Ma'ma and Pa'pa.  They had so. much. fun!  So did Daddy!

She was so proud of herself for writing an A all by herself!  Way to go, Austyn!

Bryan had just as much fun as the kiddos!  Check out his Lightening McQueen :)

I hope your new year started as perfectly as ours did!  I am so excited about all the changes the new year has in store for us.  For us, 2012 will be the year of Baby M, our little caboose.  I cannot wait to meet this little munchkin and see just how the dynamics of our little family of four will change.

Happy New Year!