I'm Back
11 years ago
Are you trying to find something new to do with your children? Well, here's a game that every family must own. It's called Zingo.
What is Zingo you ask? Why, it's "Bingo with a Zing!" I was told about this game at a jewelry party one night and how fun it is. We took back a game Christopher got, and already had, and purchased this. It is fabulous! It says for ages 4 and up, but Sophie, who will be 2 in a few short days plays this game all by herself. All day long! She is crazy about it! She has learned so many new words and our whole family enjoys playing it. We even have a Zingo dance that we do when you win. (Also mentioned to me. I like to give credit where it is due.)
Now, I know some of you are not crazy about this next product because it involves tiny pieces and lot of work from you, but at our house it has been a HUGE hit! Think tiny little squares in shades of yellow, blue, red, green and black. You've guessed it! Legos!!! Now, I love to build things and put them together, but Brandon does not. So this toy is not for those who don't like to sit down and build one truck after another. But if you do, this will provide much entertainment. Even Sophie likes to join in and can build her own trucks. Well, sort of. She can stick blocks on top of each other.
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Now, if you are looking for a great Bible to read to your kiddos, we got a really good one for Christmas this year. My mom found it by reading other blogs so you may know about it already. If not, then I'm glad to pass this information along. It's The Jesus Storybook Bible.
It tells the stories of the Bible in such a fun and detailed way. I can't wait to read it every night with Christopher and love that it's his first choice when it comes to books. The neatest part about it is that at the end of each story is relates what you've just read to the story of Jesus coming and how they are connected. It's really cool!
That's all I've got for today. These have been quite the hit at our house lately. I just thought I'd share some ideas with all of you. The smell coming from my beautiful daughter is getting worse by the second so I best be going. Later!
And I hope it's true. I checked the weather this morning and was shocked to find out it is 18 degrees outside with a windchill of, get this, 8!! (My laundry room is 48 degrees, any wonder why I don't want to do any?) This isn't FL weather and I'm not liking it too much. But to get back to the light I saw. It's going to start warming up! By this weekend it should be, and remain, in the 50s and possibly get to 60 at some point in the next 10 days. Thank you Lord!!!
Yesterday I checked the weather on the Wii and was curious what the rest of the country was experiencing and to my shock it was warmer in the state of Washington, yes, that's the big one next to Canada, not the little political thing, than it was here in FL. Isn't that crazy???
Regardless of the weather, we had a great weekend. We woke up and went to the Donut Hole for breakfast and then to the outlets to walk around. We like going anywhere along 98 when the tourists aren't here. I've been trying to avoid it still so I wouldn't spend any money b/c once you get to those outlets it gets tempting.
We bought Sophie a little belt, so she could be like the rest of the family and it is glittery and colorful and she loves it. we came home and had lunch and then put the kids down for naps. I had a baby shower for a friend to go to that afternoon and it was so nice to have a couple hours with my medical wife friends with no kids. I think we were gone like 4 hours b/c we had so much fun!
Sunday was Brandon's turn to get away. We went to church and then in S.S. found a couple guys that wanted to go to the movie as well and you would have thought they were little boys just given a bunch of quarters and let loose in Aladdin's Castle. It's was hilarious! They went to go see Avatar in 3-D and Brandon loved it. Everyone says it's great, but I'll just have to wait and see I guess. Not much for Sci-fi myself.
Now the kids and I have to get ready to take them to mom's day out and then I'm going to come home and do some stuff around the house. Nothing exciting. We have company coming this weekend, so I need to clean a little, but I know it will only be dirty by the time they get here so I'm a little torn. But don't worry, I have a long list of to-do's, so I'll find something to accomplish, even if it's just shower and put supper together for tonight. We have a busy week and I'm looking forward to it. I have felt very house bound lately and miss getting out to do things. I hope you all have a great week and are staying warm!
Brick was out with us watching the kids ride their "tractors" around in the driveway when he took off between two houses. By the time Brandon got to him he'd caught another squirrel. Two pounces and it was over.
Brick: 2
Squirrels: 0
Brandon took photos, but I will spare you them. He's quite proud.
Today Christopher has mother's day out and so Sophie and I get to hang out together. We haven't had one of these in a while and they can be nice. She has quite the little personality and knows exactly what she wants and how she wants it. I don't really have any big plans for us, other than going to the commissary. We are flat out of milk and juice and the kids are thirsty. Maybe if someone would stop giving the little man so much to drink at night we'd have some left over this morning and I wouldn't have two sets of sheets to wash today. (I love you dearly, honey!) Yup, two days in a row he wet the bed. Thankfully it was just enough to wake him up and make it to the bathroom, but still.
Oh, and our cable is officially gone now. I still have some show for the kids saved on Tivo. I recorded a whole bunch knowing this day would come. And I fully welcome it. I miss being able to turn on the weather. And now that Diane Sawyer is gone it's easier to not turn on GMA. But I still miss Robin Roberts' face too. They just seemed so sweet! I'm almost done with my third book in the series I'm reading and hope to finish it today during naps. I think I'm starting to ramble now. Maybe it's b/c Sophie climbed up here and is getting into everything she can get her hands on, most of which she wants to eat. So, happy day to you all and happy weekend! I have a baby shower (kid-free too!) to go to tomorrow and I can't wait. : )
Last night Brandon told me that they had to shut down the operating rooms at Eglin due to the cold weather. It's so cold there is no humidity. (Can you imagine, a South without humidity?) But this is actually bad. Or maybe inconvenient. The humidifiers for the OR won't work due to the lack of humidity from the cold so there's a chance of sparks literally flying. Labor and delivery can't deliver any babies now because if they have to go to c-section, it's too dangerous. Those poor women have to pick a different hospital and be delivered by Dr. Stranger because it is too cold in Florida.
On a totally and completely different note, I decided to try a little experiment this morning. When Christopher crawled into bed with me this morning we turned on the weather to see what today was going to be like. It's 23 with a wind chill of 15. Brrrrrrrr....!!!!!!!! I told him that tonight we should set out a cup of water to see if it freezes from the cold. He didn't want to do that. He wanted to set out Brick's water bowl. (We'll have to have a talk about that later.) Then when I went into the kitchen I realized. It's probably cold enough for it to freeze now. So we set a cup outside the door and we are going to check on it every 30 minutes to see how long it takes, if it takes, for it to freeze.
Finally, we are saying goodbye to a "friend" today. Cable. I know, I know, you think we are crazy, but it only seems to my our lives more frustrating and we fight more because we can't hear or see what is on. The last few weeks I've been watching less of it and reading more and I feel much happier. The kids only watch it because we turn it on and are content playing anyway. We got a new tv for Christmas, but we are playing Wii a lot more now and it's fun because the kids are finally old enough to play with us... sort of! We are also going to start having game night on Wednesdays and pizza/movie night on Fridays. Don't worry, we joined Netflix, but I see Brandon using it more than me. Did I mention I've been reading? Karen Kingsbury is my new BFF. I read my first book in a week and last night finished my second book in only four days. It's not a race, it's just that good!!!! If you are looking for a great Christian author, I highly suggest picking up one of her books. You won't be able to stop!
(I know I change my background constantly, but when I saw this warm brown it made me feel like I was by a fire with a warm brown blanket over me and my next Karen K. book in my hand.)
(I had to put this photo of dave in here. He, as you can see, is the goofiest one of the bunch!)
This year we went to Pensacola with some fellow residents to see the replicas of the Nina and the Pinta. It was so crazy how small they actually were! They said it was a crew of about 27, but it really only needs 5 to sail it. The people aboard the ship actually sail it from place to place, no motor. Just a long board in the back that you move from side to side and some sails. Can you imagine? If you are wondering where people slept back then, they'd just plop down on the floor and sleep. I think I'd probably kill someone or jump overboard if I was on it back then. (This girl needs her sleep and a wood floor in a boat isn't going to work!)
After we looked at the boats we all went to Chuck-E-Cheese for some games and pizza. Now, this is a place I go purely for my husband and kids. If it were up to me I'd drop a bomb full of Clorox on the place and not let anyone enter until it was dried by the sun and then only my kids and our friends could play. Sound mean? I know it does, but just the thought of all the germy, dirty, snotty, slimy hands that have been in there grosses me out. My kids included. And can you believe that children (and one adult I saw) run around there... (gulp!) barefoot?
Ok, we left there and went to the mall, where Sophie napped in the stroller long enough to stay awake the whole way home. Christopher never napped, but he's come and go with those these days. That night, as we were getting ready to eat supper, Christopher informs us he doesn't feel well. We just assume he's really tired and had a full day. Brandon picks him up, Christopher puts his hand to his mouth and then throws up. A lot. I take off for a towel and start wiping up the floor. Brandon asks why I'm not cleaning them up and I quickly tell him it's b/c I can't get to them without cleaning the floor first. I love my family, but will not walk through throw up for them, unless they are dying. He got sick one more time that night and then we all just went to bed. Our goal on new year's is to get into bed as soon as we can and start the year off with as much sleep as possible. Gives us a better first day to a new year.
Everyone felt wonderful on new year's day and we had a lot of fun together. Brandon and I sat down the other day and talked about things we wanted for ourselves and each other for the new year. I have a really hard time doing this b/c I know I'm not going to follow through, so I just don't bother listing anything. But he's better about this than I am. I listed realistic things and hopefully we'll stick to it. Here's to a new year!
Photos I forgot to add from round 2 of Christmas. Brandon didn't get as many as I thought, but I wanted to have all the kids on here. We had a great time at Mimi and Papa John's spending the night with all the cousins.
Jingle, our elf, in one of his many hiding spots.
Christopher finding his new firetruck Santa brought him.
Sophie playing with her new dollhouse.
The kids opening a new present they got.
Christopher hugging Papa John.
Campbell, the baby of the family. She's so sweet and good!
Camille, the middle one. She is four days older than Sophie.
Sophie giving a high five b/c she's excited about a new present she got.
Precious Cameron, the oldest. We love getting to see her. She's like a big sister to my kids and I love playing with her too! She's the best little shopping buddy you could have!
It is so cold here! I think they were saying that it's the coldest the entire country has been in years and I believe it. Our highs this week are 40 degrees. At night, we are at 20. To some of you up north that may sound great compared to the negative temperatures that you are experiencing right now. They even said the "s" and "f" words this morning. "Sleet" and "flurries" on Friday afternoon are a possibility. (Maybe that crazy real estate agent we had here wasn't so crazy after all in talking about the kids sledding down the driveway.) But I wouldn't mind those temps if I had this to look at:
But I don't. I have water to look at. With sand. And ugly, scary trees with no leaves. It looks beautiful and warm out, but it's not. And I can figure that out without even opening a door or a window b/c our house is freezing!
Have you ever been so cold in your own house that you wear thick socks and slippers to try to warm up your feet just a little? Have you ever wished that you hung on to all those granny panties you got rid of years ago? Or better yet, that you were a guy and had boxer briefs b/c then your bottom might not be cold? Do you look like a homeless person in your own home b/c you only wear your sweatpants and your husband's sweatshirts b/c they are bigger and cover more? Do you have to buy several gallons of milk at a time to keep up with your new hot cocoa habit? I do.
I try to stay in the middle of our house b/c it's the warmest part. If you go within a few feet of a window or door you will feel the coldness hitting you. I don't even open the door to the laundry room b/c the vent in there doesn't work. I've actually turned on the dryer to try to help warm up the room. And our bathroom.... doesn't even have a vent. Yup, you got it. You have to pee in the middle of the night and you will wish you just had on a diaper or a whole in your pants just so you don't have to pull your pants down. (Yes, I said that.) Our bathroom in our house in Huntsville was great! They placed the bathroom vent right over the toilet which made it nice and warm in the winter.
I'm off to play games with the kids. And maybe vacuum too. Maybe that will generate some extra heat in the house. Hope you all are staying warm!
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