Talks With a 3 Year-Old

One of my favorite things to do lately is have conversations with Big Brother.  We talk about anything and everything and a lot about poop and toots (he is 3 and a boy after all).  I could blog so many of our conversations but will go with a few highlights that I don't want to forget instead.

Me:  So what do you want to be for Halloween?  You know, you can dress up like anyone on Halloween.
Him:  I don't want to dress up for Halloween.  I just want to be Ryan.  I like being Ryan.

He has since decided that it is worth it to dress up for candy.  So he wants to be Bob the Builder or Lightning McQueen.  I am still holding out hope for the super hero since we have some really cute capes for the boys already!!

A dinner conversation:
Me:  What is your favorite animal?
Him: A shark!
Me:  Where do sharks live?
Him: In Africa.
Me:  Where is Africa?
Him:  At Mickey Park ...in Florida.  Mickey Park is really, really far away.  We have to drive there.  They have Penguins too.  Penguins live in the snow.  When they get hungry they go get fish in theri bellies then go back to their home sweet homes.
Me:  You are right!  (Then I pick up a blue crayon).
Him: That's azul!  (he points to green) and that's verde.
Me:  Where did you learn that?
Him:  In spanish class, at school Mommy.

He's growing up, more and more every single day.

Farm Trip

Have I mentioned that we have been having the nicest August weather-wise ever?!?!  I don't ever remember August being this nice here, but this year we have really lucked out.  The boys and I enjoyed several outdoor picnics last week.  One day we went out to the farm with some friends of ours and let the  kids run and play and see all the animals they cared to see.  Big Brother was really interested in poop this particular day.  The entire drive to the farm he asked me if different animals went poop and what it looked like.  We spent part of our time at the farm in search of cow, horse, chicken and sheep poop.  Ahhh the fun of little boys!

he loves riding the tractors! 

little brother and his friend Miss G, they were so cute and held hands and walked around the farm.  :)

Puffy Paint

Last week we made puffy paints as one of our projects.  I got the idea from my super-crafty friend, Tracy.  She always has great ideas so be sure to check out her site sometime!  We used her recipe for the puffy paint which was a mixture of shaving cream, liquid glue and food coloring.  It sounds like it would be a huge, sticky mess but it really was not.  The boys really enjoyed the project, especially little brother. He is my budding artist though and loves doing anything with paints or markers.  

We did this project early in the morning so excuse the pajamas, bed head and any other imperfections.  :)  This is life and how we do things around here.   

Not too sure why they decided to sit on the counter or whose idea it was, but if one boy does it the other boy must do it as well.  Everything around here has turned into a competition lately, who can go up the stairs the fastest, who can be the first one to get into their pajamas, who can be the first one down the stairs, etc. 

he actually did 3 different paintings - a record I'm certain! 

while he painted at least 10 sheets of paper, his ear, his pants and feet.

Cardboard Box Fun

A month or so ago I came across this idea of putting Christmas lights into a cardboard box and just letting the kids enjoy something different.  The only problem was that I didn't have a big enough box at the time and I surely wasn't going to go out and buy one.  Then I ordered a whole bunch of diapers from Amazon and they arrived in a gigantic box...perfect!  I ran downstairs and began my project while the Mr. entertained the boys.  When I was ready they came running down and were so excited about their "light box".  It is currently a featured piece of furniture in our family room.  I might give it a couple more weeks and then pack it away for a cold, snowy day.  

Peach Pickin'

 A couple of weekends ago we took the boys out on a little peach picking adventure.  This was something that I had never done before so I really didn't have an idea of what to expect.  I also didn't have any idea of how quickly the peaches would ripen and go from hard as a rock to complete and total there's-no-way-I'm-eating-that mush.  I think we enjoyed a peach each.  Big Brother snuck into the fridge and ate one or two when he thought no one was watching.  He's so sneaky.   The best part of this farm is that there are a million things to do besides pick fruit and veggies.  The boys love going out there and always have a good time!

hello there butterfly

next time we go we will do this again

Blackberry Picking!

A couple of weeks ago I took the boys out to the country to do a little blackberry picking.  I realized that the last time I did this I was quite pregnant with Little Brother.  Blackberry picking is actually MUCH easier than strawberry picking -- you don't actually have to bend down as far and about equally as messy.  I knew that I wanted to make home made blackberry ice cream.  One of the best things I bought this summer was my ice cream maker.  If you are in the market for one, I suggest this one,  it is awesome!  

We picked blackberries to our heart's content.  I am fairly certain that while big brother was running around through the field that little brother ate at least a pound of blackberries.  No worries, they don't use any pesticides.  :)  Once we had a decent amount to take home we cleaned up and headed back home.

he was probably eating a leaf here.  lol

what a mess!

blackberry juice everywhere!!!

So delicious!

I found this recipe for blackberry ice cream from the Pioneer Woman.  Let me just say that I had NO idea what I was doing.  It was the first time I have ever tried to make ice cream that involved cooking too.  It took much, much longer than I was expecting it to take.  The ice cream was super delicious but I am just not sure how often I will be going to the trouble to make custard-based ice cream.   It was SO good though!

After a couple of disgusting diapers (TMI, sorry), I decided we needed to be done with the blackberries and that I needed a way to polish off the rest.  Enter Pinterest.  I found a recipe for blackberry limeades. I made a few changes to it because I can never leave a recipe as is.

Blackberry Limeade

Serves 8

Ingredients:
6 cups water (the recipe calls for 6 cups - I added in another 3 or 4 - the limeade was very strong and I decided to dilute it - it was perfect with the extra water).
2 cups fresh blackberries
3/4 cup sugar (you can add more but this was plenty sweet for me)
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
Lime wedges and fresh blackberries, for serving

Directions:

Blend the blackberries and 1 cup of water together until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Add the remaining 5 cups of water, sugar and lime juice to the pitcher. Stir until sugar dissolves. Pour into ice-filled glasses and garnish each with a lime wedge and a few blackberries, if desired.

Check Your Garden

Those pesky zucchinis can grow to a monstrous size in a matter of days.  Big brother thinks it is hilarious anytime we discover a "giant zucchini."  I admit, it is funny but what am I going to do with all this zucchini???

Painting Like Crazy

Have you gotten on Pinterest yet?  If not, you should.  There are so many neat project ideas, food ideas, decorating ideas, well pretty much anything you can think of is on there and it is awesome.  I have been pinning lots of crafty ideas for the boys and they have really enjoyed all of the activities and projects we have done.  This particular day we did foot prints and finger painting.  Was it totally messy?  Yes.  Was it totally worth it?  Definitely! 

Interested in Pinterest?  I think it is still by invitation only so let me know if you want an invite and I can e-mail you one.  :) 

I heart toes! 

He loves art projects and usually wears over half of them! 

A few of our masterpieces! 

Thanks Pinterest for this wonderful idea! 

Ice Cube Fun

As I mentioned in a previous post, we like to get our chores done early in the day so that we can move on to activities.  I quickly discovered that our schedule for summer was way less packed than our schedule during the rest of the year.  Part of this is due to the fact that we didn't plan any major vacations or anything this summer due to the baby on the way.  I found myself hunting for ideas for different things to do with the boys.  This particular day we filled an ice cube tray with different types of cups.  I gave the boys each a bowl of water, medicine droppers, measuring cups and other things to fill up the trays.  Then we put food coloring in (red and blue) and let them freeze up.  We put the cubes into buckets of water later in the day to play and watch them melt.  I used it as a little learning opportunity and did a bit of color mixing with the red and blue cubes too.  The boys loved it.  

Another thing they love is their dot markers.  The second that I pulled them out, Big Brother exclaimed, "I have those at school!!!" He was very excited to make something special for Daddy.  Little Brother seems to use the markers more though.  He loves to do projects and any kind of markers are his absolute favorite! 

Chores

Several weeks ago I decided that we needed a little more structure and routine in our schedule.  The boys really love routines and knowing what is coming next.  I also knew that I wanted to introduce the idea of chores and have the boys start to understand that we are a family.  A family that works together to get jobs done and where everyone has responsibility.  Our first chore of the week was mopping the floor.  I tried to come up with a task that the boys would enjoy that would also actually help me out.  I gave Big Brother a spray bottle with a little vinegar and mostly water and both kids a clean sponge and put them to work.  They really loved their chore and I made sure to provide them with plenty of praise for a job well done.  Big Brother now asks every day what his chores are, he knows that after chores come activities and fun for the day so he is anxious to get them done!