Leprechaun Trap

This week I decided to teach Makenzie all about St. Patrick's day, which entailed a whole new vocabulary: leprechauns, shamrocks/clovers, and luck (I don't think she really understood the concept of luck before- when I asked her what lucky meant, she said, "I win games!" because when she wins we always say, "wow you're sooo lucky"... so I guess she wasn't too far off).

I knew I wouldn't be able to explain the whole leprechaun thing myself so we went to the library the other day and checked out a bunch of books about St. Patrick's day and leprechauns. She's crazy about them!! Her favorite is one about a dog who rolls around in some leprechaun's clovers and gets lucky, it's called "Lucky Tucker." She wants me to read them to her all day, and when I'm tired of it, she will sit there by herself and study each one.

When Justin found out Makenzie was learning about leprechauns, he took her outside on a leprechaun hunt (it was so cute). Jarom's coat is green so we pretended he was a leprechaun. I can tell Makenzie's not sure if this leprechaun thing is for real or pretend, but either way, she likes it.

So when I saw some ideas in Family Fun magazine to make leprechaun traps, I figured that might be a fun tradition to start. I made this hat out of a big Country Time lemonade can (you could also use an oatmeal container) and just wrapped felt around it with double sided tape. You just cut a hole in the lid and then cut an x-shape in the middle of the felt that covers the lid so the leprechaun can slip through when he tries to get your gold bait on top. Makenzie loved helping, and she even broke those twigs down to size for the ladder by herself (I was surprised she could do that). For the gold on top, I happened to have some gold spray paint so I just sprayed some cotton balls, but you could use anything, even crumpled yellow paper.

Obviously we won't be catching any leprechauns, but I'm planning on leaving some fool's gold in there that the leprechaun might have dropped. Anyone know where to buy fool's gold??

I've never really thought much about St. Patrick's day (I'm usually lucky if I remember to wear green), but now that I have kids that can get into it, it's really fun!

Diapers Deal

Just thought I'd share a good deal on diapers if anyone's interested!

Right now at diapers.com, you can get $10 off your first order and free shipping on orders over $49. On top of that, you get a free subscription to Parenting magazine, but if you don't want the subscription, you can do a mail-in rebate for $14.97 instead.

So I bought a box of Huggies size 4 (150 ct.) for $38.99 and a smaller pack of Huggies size 4 (34 ct.) for $10.99 ($48.99 total), then got $10 off and free shipping so it came out to about $40 total. THEN when I get the $15 rebate, it's only $25 for 184 diapers... which makes them less than 14 cents a diaper... can't beat that!

If you're not into mail-in rebates (they can be a pain), it's still a good price on diapers and you get a subscription to Parenting, so it's pretty cool (they add another year if you already have a subscription).

If you want the $10 off code, they gave me the code TARA1288 for anyone I tell to use at checkout. I also get $1 credit whenever someone uses it... I'm not sure if I'll buy diapers there again, so I promise I'm not just trying to make a buck (literally), but I just thought it was a good deal so might as well spread the word!

Wow.

I am sure all of you are aware of the hype right now about vaccines causing autism. I made the personal choice to have my children immunized, although every time I brought them to their doctor's visits, I prayed the whole way. I was worried sick that my kids might become one of those horror stories you hear: "they were fine one day, got immunized, and the next day they were autistic."

I did hear on the news that the courts have ruled there is no conclusive evidence that vaccines have caused autism. And if you asked our pediatrician, you would know it's a hot spot for him. When I expressed my concern about immunizations with Jarom, he said, "I can guarantee you that Jarom will never have autism." (can I have that in writing?) He believes it is the fact that autism doesn't really manifest itself until the toddler years (he says doctors often see early signs of autism as infants, but it's too early to say), and since so many immunizations are given during those years, that's where people point the finger.

Regardless - immunizations scare the crap out of me, and especially ones that are new.

So when I got this mailer from a family clinic yesterday, I was appalled.

"We are currently conducting a research study of a vaccine for meningococcal disease, a serious bacterial infection.... The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety of the meningococcal vaccine....
Your child may qualify for this study if he or she:
-is 2-5 years old
-has a complete set of primary vaccination shots
-is healthy
If your child qualifies, he or she will receive the study-related vaccinations, physical assessments, and office visits at no cost."

Are you serious??? What parent would do that? Hey Kenz, I know you're healthy and survived all your immunizations alright, but let's give you this extra one they're testing and see if it messes you up or not - FOR FREE! Yeah!

Man... using your child as a medical guinea pig is just messed up.

In honor of David Letterman:

The Top 10 Reasons My Valentine's Weekend Rocked:

10. Wrestling season ended Friday night.

9. We went to a church dance on Friday and got this little polaroid snapshot:

(priceless, I know)

8. I guess the gentleman taking pictures just couldn't resist capturing the fact that my clingy baby was interrupting our "date night," and snapped this as I was walking back into the dance. (We did in fact pay for babysitters to watch our kids, with some other kids, at the church. Next time we will have someone watch them at home, where going back to Mom isn't an option!)

7. Justin and I decided on no presents, but I thought it was cute that we both got each other foil wrapped chocolate hearts. We think alike.

6. Did I mention wrestling is over?

5. We got to go to the gym together (never happens) and Justin ran a mile with me! Go Just!

4. We test-drove one of these:

(yep. A minivan. But at least it's a Honda, right?)

3. We went to another dance on Saturday, that our friend Aja threw, and had a total blast.

2. Justin had Monday off and took the kids to the children's museum while I SHOPPED and SHOPPED for hours by myself! What a treat. I made it a point to go into stores that I dread taking kids to (Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, makeup counters at Dillard's, etc.).

And the number one reason that my Valentine's weekend rocked:

After nearly six years of marriage, Justin and I finally have a song... well it might not be permanent, but we love it right now. We love that new song by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat - Lucky. It reminds us of when we were dating (which consisted of four months together and 8 months of separation... I was in VA for the summer and then studying in Spain for the next f our months. We missed each other like crazy.) We listened to it at least a dozen times this weekend.

More food

Ok so my dear friend Shannon saw my need to get out of the house and invited me over to decorate valentine's cookies this morning. Couldn't wait to get out and do something! Then I woke up and saw snow, and since my car is very unpredictable in wet weather right now, she offered to bring the cookies to us. So we didn't get out, but we at least had fun with friends.

Makenzie and Weston were pretty stoked about the frosting-coated beaters.

And Jarom loved Shannon for giving him a little taste, too.

They each frosted two cookies, which they ate, and were done. But that was okay because we got to chit chat while we frosted cookies and they played.

And there they are. Oh man, those things were like the krispy kremes of cookies. They seriously just melt in your mouth. That Shannon... the girl can bake!

(p.s. after Justin's mom's killer sugar cookies and now Shannon's, I have decided that the secret to perfect sugar cookies is sour cream. Just so you know.)

Agghhh!!

We're going crazy in here!

It's dreaded February. My winter rut month.

Honestly... how many times can we do:
-craft time
-toy time
-movie time
-story time
-play dough
-coloring
-baths
(yes, it has come to the point that baths are the highlight of their day)

One thing I definitely didn't anticipate going into motherhood was how much work it takes to keep toddlers entertained. And educated, oh my. It takes a lot of self-motivation to keep them stimulated and away from that beloved-begrudged t.v.!

While it is rewarding to read books to your kids, teach them letters and numbers, make crafts with them, etc., it is very self-sacrificing. My selfish side prefers the summer months, when we can get out of the house and just do things that are fun for all of us!

We do sometimes go for walks when the sun is shining and we pretend it's warm... we play in the snow every once in a while... but other than that, I'm just feeling like it's the same ole' thing day after day.

So if you have any ideas... please share!

Mmm. Chocolate

If you're looking for something REALLY easy to make (we're talking 5 minutes) to get in the Valentine's spirit, make these. I just wanted something easy to do with the kids that would get them excited for Valentines. Makenzie loved making them, and Jarom points at the counter and screams whenever he sees them (because I won't let him have one, poor thing).

Just melt some chocolate chips (I would recommend milk chocolate, although my recipe called for semi-sweet) and dip marshmallows in it. Add some sprinkles and you're done!

Married to a teacher

I will admit: being married to a teacher can be really cool sometimes.

Like right around June 10th, when we realize we have more than 2 months to hang out and have fun while Justin still gets paid.

It's also nice most of the year when he gets home before 4 p.m.

But let me tell you... the last couple of months are really making up for it.

As you may know, Justin is coaching wrestling this year (again). And he is working his butt off! He hasn't gotten home before 10 p.m. one day this week. I miss him. Seriously, he is a stranger. We can't wait until next week when wrestling season comes to an end and we get our Justin back!

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In case you're curious (I'm sure you are...), the team is doing well. Here is a pic of the jv team after they won the region tournament last week:

(Photo courtesy of Emily Norton) :)

And tonight was the varsity tournament- they had two finalists. I missed one but their heavyweight took second, not bad!

Thanks for the pic, Emily. It's nice to remember what my husband looks like. :)

Reading Baby

Have you guys seen this? It's unbelievable!



Guess they had her in the studio as well.