Things on Thursday

1. Anthony completed his Summer of Reading program last week! Now I just need to return the log to the library and get his prizes. I am so excited that my little man loves books as much as he does!!

2. I often think about going through all the toys in the toy box and switching some of them out with ones that are packed away....but the, like today, Anthony pulls out a toy he hasn't played with in forever and plays with it all morning! I'm glad I didn't pack it away ;)

3. it amazes me the lack of customer service there is in this country these days. Travis had a horrible experience with a fence company over the past 2 weeks. They FINALLY got things straightened out yesterday and he'll have his fence parts in the morning tomorrow. luckily, there is another company that he can use instead for the future!

4. I'm pretty excited that my daycare will be full for the school year!!

5. I've been caught up on laundry for about 2 weeks. Jus thought I'd pat myself on the back a little ;)

Things on Thursday

err...things on Friday :/

yep I'm a little behind this week!

1. We're going thru quite the heat wave this past week! Phew...its difficult to stay cool when it feels like 115 degrees out!!!!! Luckily we've been able to either stay inside or head to the pool to help with the cooling off :)

2. Pictures are one of my favorite things...which is why i have em ALL over our house :). It warms my heart to look at all the happy memories we have built as a family.

3. I'm working on some sewing projects lately, I'm not sure why I STILL can't sew in a straight line, lol. I'm practicing on some simple burp rags for a friend :).

4. I'm falling SO far behind on uploading and organizing my pictures...maybe that should be #1 on my to-do list this weekend...

5. I know this sounds really cheesy, but I constantly realize how blessed I am for the life I have! I couldn't possibly imagine spending my time with better friends or family!

Summer Sponge Balls

I've seen these little things all over the Blogosphere this summer so I finally decided to try my own version.

I originally used O-Cel0 sponges from Walmart, and dental floss to keep them together, but I think the sponges were too absorbant {or the kiddos were too hard on them :/}

So, next I went to Dollar Tree and got the cheapest, yet most colorful, sponges I could find.
I also decided to try using zip ties to keep them together.

The stacked sponges are the cheapo ones. I cut them in half to make "strips" of sponge like the O-Celo ones also in the picture.

Here is a shot of my little man helping:

He LOVES playing with these in the pool and in his water table.

I snipped off the tail of the zip-tie and Voila!

The sponge balls rest in the outdoor basket that sits in my kitchen!! Its the easiest way I've found to have everything we need to swim in the backyard on hand at all times!

We take these to the public pool too and everyone loves them!

Live, Laugh & Love

Until Next Time...

Mel

Linked at:

Things on Thursday...

1. Anthony is finally old enough to have a small pillow in his bed, so he got two of the throw pillows that my MIL made out of his bumper pad when he was tiny... I was so excited to see his little head resting on one when I checked on him during naptime!



2. I've been sewing some this week...and I'm actually getting better at sewing straight lines. LOL, I know, I know, that's *kinda* important :)

3. We had Grady's for dinner tonight... YUM!

4. I have started watching Extreme Makeover: Weightloss Edition and I am hooked! Check it out...its pretty amazing!

5. I think I might have convinced Travis to take me away for a weekend once he's done with the major job he's working on for the next few weeks...yipee!

Mini Backyard Transformation

I have had this idea brewing for a while now...

We have a little Water & Sand table for Anthony - and its a HUGE hit with all the kids. Unfortunately, it just wasn't really working on the deck. Plus, we hadn't put any sand in it yet, and I was foreseeing LOTS of sweeping the deck off...and that just wasn't going to cut it!

Here is my little man playing with the table while I was mentally preparing myself to undertake the transformation...



So, I decided that {regardless of how sweltering hot it was outside} I was going to use the area we had previously used to house some hideous bushes {that the hubby pulled out earlier in the day} to now house a little play area for the kids - that would include the play table!

Here is out {almost} before (I forgot, as usual, to take a picture of the awful bushes...)



My mom brought me a Lemon tree from Houston when she came to visit earlier this year...and its almost surviving my lack of gardening skills. I've also labeled a few other things in the area. Let's just ignore the 2 extra propane tanks and old mop... ; )

Here is a "during" picture.

So, here's the end result. Some of the Day Lillies look pretty pathetic, but that's just because they were just moved. I'm SO thrilled with the results!







I wanted to make it so the kids wouldn't be stomping thru the mud every time they played in the water, so I used these play mats that I bought last summer at Sam's Club. I just trimmed the outside along the brick edging, so they fit perfectly. Behind the play mats/Water & Sand table Travis seperated a couple of my Day Lillies from one of the other sides of the deck so I could fill in some of the empty space. I also bought the most beautiful {and low-maintenance} flowering plant at the Farmer's Market yesterday. And you can see at the bottom left corner of the 2nd picture...my Lemon Tree! The plan is to buy a big pot at Walmart and plant the tree in it so during the winter we can bring it inside.

I really hope the kiddos enjoy the new play area as much as I do!

Live, Laugh & Love
Until next time...

Mel

Linked at:

Things on Thursday

1. I love short weeks! it's awesome to FEEL like it's a Wednesday, but know it's actually Thursday!

2. I'm hooked on watching Beverly Hills 90210 every day while making the kiddos lunch...they started over from episode 1 yesterday! It's really crazy when they played the last episode the day before :)

3. Our 4th of July was awesome! We got to spend the day with family and friends and then top it off with fireworks! I feel so blessed that I get to experience such a fun holiday every year with the people that mean the most to me!

4. I've got a {much needed} date night with one of my BFFs tonight... yum...Olive Garden!

5. I rearranged our deck the other day so I could see the kiddos while they were swimming in the yard, and once again my hubby was impressed with my ability to rearrange furniture & make it look good. Lol, I don't know why he ever doubts me! ;)