Little Volcanoes

Another fun idea I found is experimenting with baking soda and vinegar died with food coloring.  Before we started the activity we looked at some pictures of volcanoes on the computer.

Wes had so much fun watching the baking soda foam and react to the vinegar, and then of course touching and playing in it.

 He picked up the baking soda in his hand and had me pour the vinegar on his hand.  The mixture foamed and fizzled all down his arm.

It tinted his hand green, and we had to wash it off not long after because it made his hand a little sore.  Still he loved it, and we had a blast.

Cloud Dough

Cloud dough feels so nice.  It is super soft and smooth, and fun to play with.  It clumps up like wet sand.  It smells so nice as well.

Also, it is unbelievably messy.

I can't remember or find the exact recipe I used, but I think I halved

7 cups flour

1 cup baby oil

It was either 3 1/2 or 4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup baby oil.  I also ended up adding about another 1/4 cup of oil.

The flour spread from on end of the dinning room to the other just from Wes rubbing his hands together.  I think we will pocket this one until it is warmer outside.

Maybe, I'll try a sensory bag out of it.

Painting with Sweetened Condensed Milk

Painting with sweetened condensed milk has been all over Pinterest so I though it would be good to try. 

The cream color of the milk make the colors really rich and pretty.  It was very thick and sticky, and Wes loved it.  I didn't get a picture, but it was all over his hand and clothes.  Super good sensory activity.  Wes normally can't handle being stick for more then a minute.

The next time we tried it I watered down the sweetened condensed milk.  It was still thick and sticky, but more manageable.

Running in slow motion

Lately I feel that I am running as hard as I can, but live is moving faster them I am.  I always feel busy, but never seem to get much done.  And I am so tired.  We have had several colds over the last month, and when Brynn gets sick she doesn't sleep (thus I don't either).  I have had a few nights where I'll get a three or four hour stretch of sleep, but most nights I am lucky to get a 2 1/2 hour stretch.  I am trying, but it really effecting me and my ability to think and function.

I guess it is just part of having a toddler and a new born.  And I wouldn't trade the opportunity to raise them for anything.  I do better when I think of my life situation as a challenge rather then a trial because my children are such a blessing.  Sleep deprivation is tough though, but it is just part of my life right now.  Although if you talk to me when I am feeling really grouchy (which happens more frequently now) I may just sound like a grumbley grum.

Still, these kids make me laugh.  We have so much fun together.  I love them!

I have tons of pictures from January.

My awesome neighbor friend, Amy, got some passes for a spa day at a tanning place and invited me to go with her.  Neither of us tan, but they had a hydration thing and a water massage we tried.  It was fun to have a girls day out.

We decided to get together the next morning to make sensory balloons with our kids.  We had so much fun.  Wes kept calling Amy, Hannah's mom.  Hannah's mom is a different friend of mine, but they both have red hair.  Amy's kids are super cute and well behaved.  Wes likes playing with them.  She just had a baby girl last July.  Brynn is lucky to have a few good baby friends.

I went to visit another friend, and we had fun taking pictures of our baby girls in an old fashion suitcase.

I like this picture in sepia better, but I love how the colored version shows her beautiful blue eyes.

I love to watch Wes as he plays.

This face makes me laugh so hard.  He looks so angry, but he never is when he's making this face.  I think he's just trying to look at the black triangle you see when look all the way up.

Wesley is so funny.  We were going to go play outside one day while Bret was cooking something.  Wes insisted on helping before we left.  One night when I went to check on him I found him sandwiched between his animal train.

Brynn loves to watch Wes and usually smiles when I get the camera out (or gets any type of attention).

Most of the time I am surprised by how big Wesley is getting, but I  loved how cute and little he looked playing in the snow this day.

Notice how muscular Wesley's tummy is?  Ha ha.

I was carrying Brynn in the front pack and Wes in my right arm.  This happens quite a bit so I thought I would take a picture.  Ha ha, maybe that is why I have a hard time getting things done.

Happy Valentine's Day from my little love bugs!

Edible play dough

Wes had been asking to eat his homemade play dough.  I told him he could, but it wouldn't taste good.  So we made a recipe I found on Make and Takes.

- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 cups powdered sugar

While we were making it Brynn had a major blow out diaper.  While I was cleaning her up, Wes continued to stir the play dough  and made quite the mess.  I didn't have time to dress Brynn so I just put a diaper and wrapped her in a towel.  She loved it.  After I took care of Wes I got these awesome pictures in this post.

Wes enjoyed playing with it, but refused to eat.  It tasted pretty good, but was the texture of play dough.

Stats

In the last 36 months:
I have been pregnant for 16 months.  Exactly half the time.
Recovering from c-sections for at least 4 of those months.
Nursing for 15 if the months.
Had only 3 months of not being pregnant or nursing.

In the last 28 months I have gained:
2 children
1 house
2 vehicles
2 cats
1 awesome camera
and an undisclosed amount of weight (the one thing not desired and hoping to getting rid of soon)

Try breaking you life down in the last 36 months or so.  It's interesting to see the changes.