Too Cute Not To Toot!

I've seen, and maybe have shared, the idea for making a fun sprinkler using PVC pipe but this one is the best from The Scrap Shop with a fantastic tutorial. 

Sticking with the water theme, this slip and slide looks like tons of fun from Diary of a Preppy Mom.

This next post is something I really need to take time and read . . as well as posts one and two.  Cheerios and Lattes is sharing basic "learn how to swim" techniques for kids.  I want to read these so the next time we are in a regular pool, we can work with Nate - who LOVES to swim!

It's a "Short" list this week - it's been too hot to sit with the computer for long periods of time so I haven't focused on getting posts up :-) 

Enjoy your holiday week!

Summer Fun - Week 4

Welcome to another week of Summer!  You can check out our first 3 weeks of fun by clicking HERE. 

Last week was a little differant because the kids were gone to Papa and Nana's house part of the week.  So the summer fun for Monday, Tuesday and Wedensday was . .. fun with Papa and Nana :-)  I know they had tons of fun and wore their grandparents out!!!  The boys came home on Wednesday and we are glad to have them home.  Yes, I LOVE my children more than anything but every once in awhile it sure is nice to have a break.  My husband and I, as I shared earlier this week, enjoy a great day out on Saturday.  We cleaned out the garage on Sunday, took apart the treadmill on Monday and moved it out on Tuesday.  Not to mention I did a lot of cleaning and organizing without any extra help ;-) LOL  We are at the front end of a forecasted heat wave so I think we will be spending lots of time in front of a fan or in the pool. 

Thursday - This day was horrible with heat - we hit 95 degrees with a heat index of 100.  We didn't do much - the boys played in the pool for awhile but then came in and just hung in front of a fan. 

Friday - Even though it was still hot, the humidity was down. I found this cute idea for ice boats over at Alphamom and thought it would be fun to make them and float them in the pool. 

 Ummm . . .yeah.  Not such a good plan.  The boats all fell over sideways.  The straws did not freeze right in the middle of the ice and the ice kinda cracked in weird places so this was kind of a "fail" HA.

 As a matter of fact, Josh said, "Mom, those are not boats, THIS is a boat" - and then he went and found that tub boat.

 He even went a step further and said that they did not belong in the pool - he promptly removed his and put it on the steps.

Nate is like, "What is the world IS this thing?" LOL  Oh well.  In the end, we ended up just playing in the water.  The boys had fun dumping buckets of water on me since I accidently filled the pool with COLD water (yes it was COLD!!) and in the end, Josh ended up letting the giant ice cubes melt just enough and he ate them instead :-)  

This week  should be fun - I've finalized my July plans - I'm throwing in more "pool" days on the calendar - in this heat, the pool is the most fun thing and I've also realized we don't have to do a NEW thing each day, we just need to do something. 

I will confess, the library program has totally fallen off the radar.  It's too warm to load the boys up in the middle of the afternoon for the weekly activity and we aren't doing a lot of reading - we all prefer to sit in our own chairs with our own fans :-) 

Goals for July (and a Recap for June)

It's that time again - time to plan out some goals for July and also to give you a recap of June.  I feel pretty good about what I accomplished in June and, considering the fact that sometimes summer is my very slow, non-productive time, that says alot.

Here's June's Recap:

1.  Summer activities - I wanted to make sure everything was ready to go the week before and I did pretty good on this except for the last week.  I did get our couple of activities done for the week by mid-week but it is less stressful to do it the weekend before.

2. Decluttering - My goals were the basement and then going through every room/closet and cleaning stuff out.  I accomplished both.  Well, to be honest the basement is about 90% done - I have some surfaces to finish clearing off - a table, a shelf and some things on the cedar chest that need new homes.  I did get through all of the rest of the house and, in total, I took about 6 trips to Good Will. 

3. The Big Room Switch - The treadmill is gone (I was actually sad to see it go - I wish I had a place to put it where I could actually use it but I'm thankful that my parents will be able to use it!); about 1/2 of the carpet is pulled up (I had hoped to have all of it and the carpet tacks gone but we didn't get that far), and I cleaned out our family files and put them in a portable file plus I also finally got a file box just for our taxes from past years - no more searching through an old shoebox when I need something! 

4. Potty Training . . . uummm not for lack of trying but we are making very little progress. 

5 . Clean the garage - DONE!!! :-)

So now, on to some goals for July.  Lets be honest, July tends to be pretty hot here in Michigan and I keep hearing talks of a heatwave.  Our A/C is a bunch of fans and a kiddie pool so I am going to try and keep my goals very doable despite the heat.  I am not complaining at all - I just know myself and what I will accomplish in the midst of sweating season.

1. Summer Activities - Continue with the plan to prepare things a week in advance including making sure we are prepared for field trips and outings. 

2. Decluttering - The goal is to finish up the final things in the basement.  As in most homes, our basement is cooler then the rest of the house so I'm going to use that to my advantage in finishing up this project. 

3. The Big Room Switch - We want to get the carpet and carpet tacks out of the master.  I would like to have my husband hang up some shelving in my pantry which will then allow us to move the freezer into the area we've been using as canning storage.  Then I can move my husbands dress clothes downstairs and can also hang the boys winter stuff in the master closet.  See, just little steps :-)  I would also like to pick out the paint for the walls, and figure out the decor so I now what to make and possibly start making it/finding it to buy.  Along those same lines I also want to pick out colors for the new "master" as well as decor and decor ideas for the classroom.  I'm not sure if I will get any of the plans done but I need to plan first!

4. Homeschooling - this is a new goal item.  In July I need to register my kids for Friday School at our local homeschool building, order/print some of the components - I say some because some will have to wait until August.  My main goal really is to accomplish at least one complete task each week toward preschool this fall. The last thing I want to do and really, pray about, is joining a MOPS group.  There are none "local" so I have to drive about 20-25 mintues away.  I'm interested in this for me but also to give more interaction of my kids with others.  Not sure I want to commit to that yet (Why do people plan things SOOO early LOL and YES when I have to leave home at 8:00 AM - it is EARLY!)

5. Potty Training - Just an on-going process at this point.  It will happen when it happens, right???

6.  Photos - I want to finish backing up all of our photos and also all of my educational files.  I'm so close and just need to wrap up lose ends so I can then store all of our back up discs off site (ie at my parents house).  I also owe my Father in Law and My mom some photos so I need to get those printed/burned as well!

7.  Celebrations - As July rounds the corner, I have to start thinking about birthday parties and Christmas.  My goal in July is to completely plan Josh's 4th (WOW) birthday party.  Yes, just plan.  August will be the execution of the idea month!)  I also want to start some Christmas lists - yes it is early but by doing this we can start watching for some things and also we can budget better.  I think it is a great idea to start shopping for Stocking stuffers now since that is what always seems to mess with my budget later!

You may have noticed that in July there are a lot more planning and desk goals then really strenuous goals.  It's a lot easier to work in front of  fan and NOT sweat.  :-) 

Our Menu

I really have nothing extra to add this week - we've worked to stay cool and, other than Thursday, did pretty good at that.  This next week is also supposed to be hot - I think you'll notice our menu kinda shows that too!

Saturday - Burgers and Corn on the Cob (Yep, Burgers once a week!)

Sunday - Probably KFC - I have a concert and my husband has to work; we'll walk in the door about the same time and then I have to run the babysitter to church . . the easiest thing is to grab dinner out.

Monday - Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos, Rice, Chips and Cheese

Tuesday - Chicken Fried Chicken, Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes (easy peasy - you buy them in the store all made and they are REAL and GOOD!), and green beans

Wednesday - It's the Fourth!!!  Pork Chops on the Grill, Baked Beans, Outback Salad, garlic biscuits and then Strawberry Shortcake for Dessert

Thursday - Pork Roast in the Crock pot with potatoes and carrots cooked right with it.

Friday - Sloppy Joe Trianges and Hashbrown casserole.

Several of these recipes are new but make use of things I have in the freezer.  I hope they all taste good.  Also, it is possible that on Tuesday, we are going to feed the kids something they love like Mac and Cheese and we'll order out - kinda a date night with dinner and the watching our local fireworks outside in our front lawn :-)

Food Friday . . Ummm. . Oops!

Of all weeks not to have a recipe - the week of the commenting challenge!  Normally, on Fridays, I post a recipe.  Whether it be something new I've tried or an old family favorite that I remember to take photos of . . I always have something!  Well, it's been a little warm in these here parts so we are eating a lot of hot dogs, burgers on the grill, Little Ceasers . . .you get the idea. 

If you are visiting - check out the tab near the top of the blog for all of the recipes I've posted (or at least most of them . . I "may" be just a little behind on linking a few up!). 

I actually really enjoy cooking on normal days - baking, trying new recipes, experimenting with new flavors - but my kitchen is hotter than anything right now so my daily goal is to not turn the oven on.  I'm doing a lot of Crock Pot Meals (or sides like baked potatoes or sweet potatoes cooked in the crock pot- yum!) and we are using the grill a lot too.  I also have a basic rule of thumb - if the temps hit above 90, we grab something out (or, like last night, the boys eat hot dogs cooked by dad since mom (also known as "me") had to head out for a hair appointment. 

Here's hoping for some new recipes in the weeks to come - I need to get busy cooking some fun things and taking photos!

Stay cool!

Commenting Challenge Topics

Welcome to those of you stopping by from Jennas Journey for her third annual Blog Commenting Challenge.  Some of my regular readers might wonder why this is so much fun . . .well there is really one reason.  If you write a blog, you love to get comments.  It just makes you feel good.  So during this week, it is not only fun to find new blogs to read it also so much fun to have extra comments showing up!

On Tuesday, Jenna's topic was to share why we started our blog.  In July, 2010 I came across a blog called The Sullengers - it had hit facebook because they little 2 year old daughter was fighting for her life after a near drowning incident.  As I saw photos of that little girl laying in a hospital bed, it broke my heart because she reminded me so much of my own little 2 year old boy at the time.  I was beyond heardbroken for the family when I logged in one day to find that little Preslee had passed away.  After realizing how much Ashely's blog had touched me I realized that maybe I had something that would impact someone else.  I did a lot of thining about the title of my blog and, after being asked what I did for a living by someone and having no answer other than "Ummm . .I don't work" . . "The Unworking Mom" was born.  The topics of my blog change - I enjoy sharing things we do as a family, Craft ideas that I find AND actually complete, recipes, homeschool ideas and books that I'm reading.  Writing a blog is sometihng I really enjoy for me personally - it is my "adult conversation" some days in the midst of toddler fun!

On Wednesday, the topic was our media useage - I am only on facebook.  I don't tweet or do any other social networking.  Personally, I enjoy facebook a lot - it keeps me connected to family and friends and I love just reading what people are up to.  I'm also an big fan of Amazon because I love to find free books for my Kindle.  And yes, I greatly enjoy Pinterest.  I tend to be a fast pinner, meaning I just pin ideas that catch my eye, and then I go back later and look at things - sometimes deleting them because they aren't good for various reasons. 

Normally on Thursdays I post about the books I've read in the last week or that I am currently reading but . . .I figured I would answer a couple of these questions today instead.  Next week I plan to get back to my normal Book post :-)

A Date - Doing what we Love Best.

If you are visiting from Jenna's Journey Comment Challenge - Welcome!

I've mentioned on a few posts that my kids have been gone - they are actually returning today after being with Papa and Nana since Friday.  Here's my advice - if you have someone who can take your kids for overnight or for a week, do it :-)  It's so refreshing to get that break and it is good for the kids too!

When we planned this kid get-away, we planned it purposefully around a weekend that my husband had off so that we could spend some time just the two of us and actually get some stuff done. 

To begin with, my mom so graciously came over on Friday and stayed all day even though she was taking the boys home.  Why?  Because I had already been planning to go scrapbooking all day when we made these plans so she was going to watch the boys and the munchkin for me, like she usually does.  She stuck around all day and headed home once Darryl got home from work :-)  I enjoyed a fantastic day with friends and got through Easter 2012 (If you remember, I'm working to stay current so being caught up through Easter is a big deal!!)  Darryl got to enjoy a quiet night at home. Alone.  No kids, no wife.  That is a true rare deal for him and I think he enjoyed it :-)

We decided that we would take Saturday out to just get away and that is what we did.  One of the things we did pre-kids was take off for the day and just drive - stopping along the way to do fun things and always (or so it seemed) ending up at Lake Michigan for the sunset. 

 The very first thing we wanted to do was . . .clean the truck :-)  We washed it and vacuumed it out so that we weren't driving around with 3 month old cheerios rolling around at our feet HA! 

From there, we headed to lunch at a place called Grand Woods Lounge in downtown Grand Rapids.  Darryl had heard some great things about it and really wanted to try it out.  Now, recently, we have gone several places looking for the perfect burger and have been highly disappointed.  We both ordered burgers (each a different one) and let me tell you - when we want burgers THIS is where we will go!  Thankfully it was a beautiful day because they have a huge outdoor area (that is covered) that we really enjoyed - the indoor area is very "lounge/bar" like so it isn't some place we would go when it was super busy but for an early lunch it was perfect. 

 If you know my husband at all, you know that he loves Grand Rapids history AND Coffee.  We killed two birds with one stone :-)  First, we drove around as we headed towards Grand Rapids Coffee Roasters as he was looking for the path of the old Street Cars.  He has done tones of research and knew where the bridges were and the basic path that he wanted to follow.  He loved it (I loved just riding around with the sunroof open HA).  We ended up at this awesome coffee place which on the 5th floor of an old furniture warehouse.  The Business is open to the public on Saturdays from 10-3 for free coffee tasting and you can get a coffee roasting lesson to boot!  If you so choose, you can even have him roast beans for you right then and there while you wait.  Darryl loved it.  I got a bonus while there because, you see, I'm not a fan of just "coffee" so I was wandering around when I noticed this guy taking some cool photos so I asked him about a technique he was using.  Come to find out this guy is a professional photographer and used to do the late night scene chasing after celebrities and the such.  He got burnt out on that lifestyle and now does nature photos - specifically lightning.  In 20 minutes he gave me about 3000 tips and ideas  - no joke, I wish I could have spent a day with him because he was such a good teacher and his speciality is low lighting/night time stuff . .plus he even gave us some cute ideas to try with the kids.  He gave me his e-mail and said to contact him with any questions or if I want some ideas on some fun shots. 

 Once we left the Coffee place we drove back roads to the cemetery.  One of the things that we feel is important with our kids is to start teaching them about their heritage which includes family members who have passed on.  Obviously, we didn't have kids with us but we wanted to stop and visit Darryl's brothers grave site.  In the future we will take the boys - Nathan carries Darryl's brothers name as his middle name (Adam) - Darryl and Adam were 16 months apart and best friends all through their life.  It means alot to have two boys of our own so close together who are already best friends.  Ironically, my parents took my boys to visit my grandmas spot - which is something that we wanted them to do to.  We want them to know grandma too :-)  We also found Darryl's grandparents spot as well while visiting the cemetery. 

 When we left the cemetery we drove out on  one of our favorite roads (funny how you have favorites, huh?) and come upon the old Poor Farm in Ottawa County.  Again, my husband loves historical things like this and always tries to find old Poor Farms.  This one has been turned into a County Park just within the last few years and it is just a cool place to stop.  We didn't walk on any trails or anything - just read the signage they had posted this spring about the history of the place (which is really awesome) 

After leaving the park, we drove on towards the lake shore and had to decide where to eat.  Now originally we were going to go to a free Selah concert but we decided we really didn't want to be tied into that time frame and instead headed into North Muskegon to Bernie O's Pizza.  Several years ago when we camped - it rained the entire 2 1/2 days so we ended up finding this pizza place to eat dinner at and fell in love with it.  We were not disappointed when we ate there on Saturday - it was fantastic (and busy!!!).  Such good food :-) 

Naturally, from there, we drove to our favorite, secret beach (notice I'm not telling you were it is!!), got out our beach chairs and sat by the water for well over an hour.  The sand and the sound of the waves - there is nothing like it, anywhere.  I wish it hadn't been cloudy so we could have seen the sunset but it was still beautiful.  No trip to the beach is complete without a drive along the lake shore and, of course, stopping for ice cream. 

It was a great day - very relaxing and just a break from every day life at home and at work. 

We did work on Sunday, don't you worry :-)  We spent 3 hours cleaning out the garage and re-organizing it as we do once a year.  We also cleaned off all of the outdoor toys and rearranged a few things before being done for the day! We then treated our selves to some incredible smoothies from a local ice cream shop before relaxing for the rest of the day.  That night we enjoyed a HOT dinner (something we don't always get to do) of Steak on the grill, sweet potatoes (cooked in the crock pot!), asparagus and garlic bread. 

Nothing better than making great memories with the one you love!