The prize

Thank you to all of my readers for leaving comments on my 1,000th post.  I was slightly worried that somebody that I don't know at all (like one of my many readers in Russia) was going to comment and win, but, phew, that did not happen.  Can you even imagine the cost of shipping Hobby Lobby decorations to Moscow?

 

Congratulations to Michael's cousin, Parm, for being the give-away winner!

 

  I had to wait until now to blog about it because I didn't want to ruin her surprise.  It would be a bit of a let-down, in my opinion, to see what you're getting before it comes in the mail.

 

So anyway, last Monday the 21st we headed to Hobby Lobby to go shopping.  Everything Easter was already 40% off.  They have also already brought in all of their 4th of July decorations so Easter, 1 month before Easter, was already consolidated to 2 aisles.  Hobby Lobby is crazy. 

 

We found this sign right away and into the cart it went. 

 

We seriously, seriously, seriously considered getting this wooden plaque, 

but then decided that we didn't want 2 things that said "Happy Easter". 

Luckily we found these stacked, cheetah print eggs.  Um, yes please. 

Then it was on to Target for some candy and a card.  And an entire cart full of other stuff that we didn't need, but totally needed.  Isn't that the way it always goes at Target? 

 

Here's a better look at everything.

Parm got everything in the mail today and sent me some pictures of the decorations at her house.

Parm lives in Vermont and I do believe that I can see snow in the reflection of the window.  I find that to be hilarious.

It took me exactly 26 months to write my first 500 posts.  Then it took me 6 days short of 37 months to write the second 500.  At that rate I should be writing my 1,500th post and doing another give-away sometime in 2018.  I used some pretty sloppy thinking and math to come to that number so correct me if I'm totally off based on your calculations.

 

I'm not planning on having any more children, starting any new jobs or moving during that time though, so maybe I'll be able to pick up the pace a bit. 



Photo Book

I got one of those free photo book offers from shutterfly last week.  They come once every six months or so. Of course I waited until the last day to redeem the code to even get started on the book.  I didn't have a ton of time to put it together so I thought the easiest and quickest thing to do would be an entire book full of comparison pictures of Spencer and Elliott.

 

It didn't take as long to put together as some of the other books I have done.  Maybe I'm just finally figuring out what mistakes not to make over and over!

 

Then I went to order it (about 6 hours before the deadline) and everything went haywire.  The whole site just crashed whenever I tried to place the order.  So I called their 800 number.  After waiting on hold for a loooooooong time (they said it would be 45 minutes, but it wasn't that long) I got through to a customer service rep who placed the order for me.  Apparently the free photo book offer is quite popular and so many people were redeeming their codes all at once that their server kept going down.

 

I think it came out pretty cute.

Click here to view this photo book larger

 

Salt Dough Eggs

Pinterest told me that we needed to make some salt dough egg ornaments for Easter.  When Pinterest tells me to do something, I listen.

 

So, last Friday we measured out the salt and flour.  We added water and stirred.

 

Then we worked out our aggresion and kneaded.

 

And kneaded some more.

 

We rolled and cut.

 

Spencer used a straw and a toothpick to add a hole for the string.

This is the link for where I got the idea and the recipe:

http://www.designmom.com/2013/03/diy-salt-dough-eggs/

 

We bought pastel paints and stickers to finish our eggs.  We were going to buy paint pens so our eggs could look like these eggs, but they were $17 for a pack of 4.  Stickers seem much more economical.

We had planned on painting all of the eggs on Saturday, but we got sidetracked by Spencer's room.  Spencer's room had become completely out of control in the last 6 months.  It was to the point where I felt anxious when I was in there because it was such a mess.

 

So on Saturday morning we took a little trip to IKEA. After breakfast in the cafe we hit the kid section and bought a bunch of matching, stacking containers.  When we got home we pulled everything out of his closet and out of the corners of his room (where he likes to make piles).

 

This is what we started with.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, six hours later we were done.  But I don't have any after pictures.  Because I am a lame blogger.

 

It is much, much, much better in there now.  I actually want to be in his room so I can just revel in the organization.

 

The new plan is to paint the eggs this weekend.  Once we're done I'll show you.  And perhaps I will throw in some room "after" pictures too.

A long, busy day

Last Wednesday was a humdinger of a day.  We had a leisurely start at home then we loaded up with the stroller, drinks, snacks and a change of clothes and headed to downtown Phoenix to meet Michael at work.

 

Then we went out for an early lunch.

Michael went back to work and the kids and I headed to the Arizona Science Center.

 

We started outside with a little water play.

 

Then to the building block room.

 

I made a pretty sweet pattern.

 

So did Spencer.

 

He even expanded it more.

 

There was a little bit of play within a human stomach and intestines.

 

And a lot of giggles on the colon slide.

 

They threw boogers INTO a nose and had them sneezed back at them.

 

And Spencer totally and completely lost in his wheelchair race.

 

We took a little break during our flight from Phoenix to Las Vegas.

 

It was Elliott's first time on a plane.

 

We spent a lot of time at the wind table.

Then we headed to the IMAX theatre (within the Science Center) for a movie about coral reefs.  I ended up sitting on the floor with Elliott and let him watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on youtube on my phone.  Thank goodness children under three are free for IMAX.

 

After the movie we played a little airball.

 

And for the first time ever, Spencer was able to lift himself with the ropes.

FLASHBACK TIME!

 

Spencer, age 2, on the same seat, in June 2010.  I think the same kid is in the background too!

The "Hard" and "Harder" seats were taken each time we tried, so I was stuck lifting Elliott on the "Hardest".  And they weren't kidding, it was tough.

 

We built some ball runs.

 

Learned about weight.

 

And watched dust balls dance.

 

Spencer took a break on a bed of nails.

 

And Elliott kept grabbing the string during the strobe light experiment.

 

Then we headed to the 3rd floor for a little sand and water play.

 

And, finally, back outside for 10 more minutes of water play.

 

The kids were both soaked by the time we left so I changed both of them in the car.  Then, after a little more than 4 hours at the Center, we headed to dinner with daddy.

 

Then we split up.  Michael and Spencer went to a spring training baseball game,

 

and Elliott and I went home. Where I put him immediately to bed. 

I spent the rest of the evening on the couch with Ginger trying to clear some stuff off of the DVR.  It was absolutely lovely.