Joe's 5th Birthday, Matey!

Forenote:  I am not a huge fan of pirates.  I don't like glorifying them due to their lack of morals.  And the fact that they are still active today gives me more pause.  But during our stay at the Camosy's we indulged in the Disney channel and Joe's favorite show was Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  And a five year old boy after 6 months of crazy transition deserves to go on a treasure hunt and find some booty.  You can click on any of the pictures to make them bigger. And if you click on the bigger picture it will proceed to the next one.

His first clue led him to the upstairs bathroom where he found Thomas trains.

His second clue led him to my sewing room/guest bedroom.  There he found Angry Birds shirts (one for him and one for Ben).

The third clue led to the laundry room where we just got this really neat coat cubby.  There he discovered a Super Mario puzzle.

The fourth present was hidden in the oven.  He got the Angry Birds pig.

The fifth present was hidden under his pillow.  It was an I Spy game and book.

The sixth clue led him to the school room.  He got an Angry Space Bird.

The seventh present was in the fireplace.  We used money from his AZ grandparents to buy him Sonic figures.

The eighth present was hidden in the toy closet in the basement.  He got an Imaginext Dragon Wagon.

His final clue led him to the dining room where his treasure chest cake was waiting for him.

All these presents were not from us.  My parents were visiting for his birthday and so we added them to our treasure hunt.  It really was a blast to follow him throughout the house looking for his presents.  The joys of being five!!  For breakfast he had french toast.  We were very happy that opening day for baseball was cancelled.  It was a high of 47 degrees and raining on and off with a wind chill.  There was even sleet/hail this morning.  For dinner we went to Panera at the request of the birthday boy.

Side note:  You can see my new couch in the pictures of Joe opening his presents.  We really like it.  He is also sitting in our new dining chairs in the dining room.

Making It Count: Week 2: Blow Painting

It's Making it Count Tuesday! Every week, Pam and Sarah are co-hosting the Making it Count Tuesday link-up. Start with any one of those fabulous ideas you have found online. Then, do it. Make it. Cook it. Create it. Take it from the screen, give it life and let it bless your world. When you're done, snap a photo, write about it and share it with us. Make your time online count.

I love art projects.  I have books and books about them.  I have pinned many pages of art project.  I have tons of art supplies on my shelves.  But I never find the time in the day to do them.  And so the paint goes unused and the paper gets dusty.  I also find that I am a control freak when it comes to the children doing art.  The words, "Here, let me show you how to do it" comes out of my mouth often instead letting my children explore because there must be a "correct" way to do the art.  I know that this is not what art is all about.  And so Making It Count Tuesday was a great way for my children to do art and a perfect way for me to practice letting go of control.

I got this idea from Raising Sparks.  I had the paint and the paper, I even had the eye droppers, straws and googly eyes.

Blowing took a lot more effort than my kids realized.  Standing on the chair gave them a little more control.  The eye dropper was a hit and a good way for me to let go of control.  They even got to pick the color of paper they wanted and choose where they wanted the paint. :)

Here are the finished projects.  Hooray for ART!

Little Sparks used this project to talk about germs.  I tried calling them germs but my children kept referring to them as monsters.  I did limit the number of googly eyes or my oldest son would have gone crazy.  Overall, it was a success and I might try another art project next week!

Making It Count: Week 1: Mom and Me Book

It's Making it Count Tuesday! Every week, Pam and Sarah are co-hosting the Making it Count Tuesday link-up. Start with any one of those fabulous ideas you have found online. Then, do it. Make it. Cook it. Create it. Take it from the screen, give it life and let it bless your world. When you're done, snap a photo, write about it and share it with us. Make your time online count.

I have been so excited to participate in this.  I had just discovered Pinterest when we moved.  Now we are just beginning to have moments of being settled.  I have a couple things in the works and have made some new recipes but no pictures of them.  This was easy and definitely needed.  I have four younger brothers.  Relating to a girl is something I have little experience in expect being one myself.  So, this is great way for my oldest daughter and hopefully my other daughter (and future daughters) and I to keep the lines of communication open.  Amelia and I went shopping at Michaels and found this cute journal. 

I wrote in the front cover dedicating this book to us.  And I hope it is one of many!

Then, I wrote a letter (I have to be honest, being my first I used the guideance of those who went before me and copied their letter).  I found the idea at Mamajennblogs.com who found it at confessionsofahomeschooler.com who found it at The Homeschool Post who doesn't remember where she got the idea from.

Basically, it asks Amelia if she would like to be my pen pal.  I write to her and leave it on her bed and she writes to me and leaves it on my bed.  I am so excited for her to do this with me.  My oldest son chimed in that he would like to do this too with his father but there might be a communication gap due to my husband's penmanship.  I think it would be fun to do a Mother and Son book as well but I will leave that up to my husband to decide.  I don't want to take that away from him.

Easter Pictures in the Sun Room

Easter 2012

We celebrated our first Easter in our new home. The Easter bunny filled their baskets in the dining room and hid eggs in the living room. I almost didn't get pictures because the batteries in my camera were dead but Daddy saved the day (and an opened gas station.) Check out the cutie below celebrating his first Easter! He is so smiley.

Updates from Mary Ann's House

I don't have pictures from our move. All the kids were sick and it was just too crazy. But at our temporary house (Mary Ann Camosy) I got a little video of Charlotte and Henry.

Charlotte's 2nd Birthday

Charlotte's 2nd birthday was celebrated before we moved. Aunt Ann, Uncle Pat , Arizona Grandma, and Illinois Grandma and Papa were there to celebrate. She received a vacuum, some play food, some Elmo books and a pink purse book. She also got a sand and water table that we haven't opened yet. Maybe on the next warm day. She had the traditional Sesame Street cupcakes.

Mia's First Communion and Henry's Baptism

Amelia Therese receive Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist and Henry Ignatius was baptized in the Catholic Church at Holy Family Church on January 28, 2012. Fr. Butler celebrated the sacraments. Mary Dausman and Uncle Pat are Henry's Godparents.