There is such thing as a free lunch!

I'm all about the "Free". If I can find free family fun... even better. So, guess what I did on Saturday? I tried to find all the free things I could. I had some motivation to get out of the house because Mike was re-arranging the garage (building shelves, moving stuff around). So, away we went.

But, I forgot my camera. So, just imagine what it was like with me, a van full of kids, and a sunny day...

My friend Leenora and her Auguston peeps sponsored the movie Toy Story 3 at the theatre. So, we started there. It was E's first movie and it was in 3D, so she just sat there watching with her little glasses on like a pro. It was a fun story, but got a little intense when the Toys started to meet their demise in the garbage dump. At that point, E got a little worried, climbed on my lap, and fell asleep. It was an interesting coping strategy, but one I remember from Psych. textbooks. So, she missed the end of the movie when all started to be ok. The Toys all live happily ever after (spoiler alert!).

Moving on... we found the Optimist Family Festival at the museum. Bouncy castles, entertainment, face painting, airbrush tatoos, balloons, prizes, free hot dogs... and one, Mr. Flowers-- the balloon guy. The line looked short. But, we waited a long time for a balloon twisted into a bunny, a crazy hat, and a flower. I think he needed an apprentice balloon-tier-- and a new wig. By the end of all this, I had a killer headache and 8 kids at the playground. That was free, too.

We headed home. Kids were pooped out. Mom had a headache. Snacks. A little trampoline action. A fun Saturday.

Oh, and the shelves in the garage look great.

My little helper

Some of our famous words as parents come from ones we heard when we grew up. Um. I think I have one my children will probably cause some "eye rolls" in the future...

If you live here, you help out.

(This also comes out as the rhetorical question: "Do you live here?" when I'm particularly frustrated.)

So, I am very grateful for the help I get, when I get it.

Enter: the helper.


She's really great at sorting the cutlery!!

Things always go faster when there's a lollipop involved...

However, it's more like homeschooling than anything else.

Studying the intertwined nature of the plastic cutlery basket. This is a science lesson, for sure.

Followed by a short drawing session-- look at my E's mom!!


Must inspect the cuteness that is "me" in the mirror-- while I sing a song or two.


Music and Health classes covered.

So, when you live here, you help out. You never know, you might learn a thing or two.

It's not a fashion show... but...

I am married to a die-hard hockey fan. He is borderline obsessed with it, I think. So, on the eve of elimination from the playoffs, I forced him to enjoy the May sunshine and go for a walk in the park with his family. But, he dressed like this:

And, just because I love him (and it was his birthday the next day), I dressed like this:

We were teased and heckled a little as we walked around the lake... but the team lived to play another day, so maybe there's something to that. As a die-hard fan, He seems to think we made a difference in promoting our teams' morale (really, I don't think the multi-millionaires cared... but I digress...)

I am a strong promoter of a child's individuality. It has taken time to "give up" on matching socks and only be concerned with whether they are actually wearing socks that are clean. In fact, our two house rules are: Love Jesus. (this covers just about everything, btw!) Be clean. (this covers the rest). So, when the girls show some effort in putting things together, I now celebrate. I have learned that the way my children dress does not reflect on me, personally. How many times have we fought over "what do I wear?" It's not worth it, to me any more. Hey, if my kids love Jesus and are clean, what else matters... Chances are, though, if they "match", I probably put the outfits together, but if they don't... well... they love Jesus!!!



That said, here's a few prime outfit combinations of late--

"I did it all myself, Mom!"

May Birthdays!

Most of the photos I have of my birthday involve one cake with a pile of candles shared by me and my dad. I don't think I ever had my "own" cake! Now, I see myself repeating this in my own family. Both Elyse and Mike have May birthdays. Not only that, they usually fall in the same week as Mother's Day. So, this year the question was: "are you doing anything for their birthday?" Usually I throw this big party, but just didn't feel like I was up to it this year. ( I find that working out of the house is more taxing (and more rewarding) than ever. I gotta be honest here.... this just crept up on me this year!) I found myself calling family and friends on my way home from work to share in Elyse's birthday. After a snack of sugary cupcakes and balloon madness, I realize and recognize that these are moments to celebrate rather than worry about whether the house is clean enough or if the cupcakes have enough sprinkles.

So, did the kids have a good time?? I hope so!! This one sure did!!

(she's singing Happy Birthday to herself, here)

And 4 days later... we repeated the whole celebration! Look, there is no shame in an ice cream cake! Just pure goodness-- and he gets his own!!

But, he had to share it with the rest of us!!!



Oh, and then he spent the rest of the night playing with his new birthday gift... a PS3. He's been waiting for 3 years for this day. I found out that it "only does everything", but I'm not sure what that means quite yet...


Right-- it was Mother's day that week, too... Never a dull moment around here!