and we’re off!

so, we are heading off on our first family vacation in five years tomorrow!  last time we went on vacation (ocean city, maryland), annabelle was two.  five years later and two more kids in the mix…we are heading to florida (driving)!!  yep, we are cazy like that:)

just a little update on our weekly themes…

Turn it off Tuesday…not a favorite of annabelle’s…she was trying to convince me all evening [she did wonderful and stayed busy all day, but after 5:30pm she was missing the tv] to change it to “terrific tuesday or tasty tuesday”

Wet Wednesday…we filled lots of water balloons, but those were gone way too quick…so we let the kiddos use the hose to torture spray each other…and it never fails, we {ahem…I} always choose to allow the kiddos to run through the sprinkler, etc. the day joe mows the lawn…so we get the added bonus of wet AND grassy kids:)

Thrifty Thursday…yep, finally decided on an appropriate –th word that i could use with thursday:)  today we didn’t go in search of thrifty things, but we were able to clean out closets/drawers last saturday (on squeaky clean saturday…believe me, i know how ridiculous i am…ha) and we passed them on to a family that could use them.  in the future thursdays to come, i see a lot of yard sales and thrift store trips:)

Fun Friday….well, tomorrow we will be in the van for at least 10 hours…i will let you know how “fun” it is.

florida or bust…

amber

make-it monday…a weak attempt

so, it turned out to be a lovely day for a trip to the zoo.  we spent 5 hours there and we made it to every section except australia! my point being…we got home later in the day and were kind of pooped.   so, my make-it monday was an idea i saw on my favorite website (tipjunkie).  i had the kiddos stand against the fence and i sprayed them with water to make fence art!  i know…it was a weak attempt at something “made”!  they loved it though:) 

 

i guess i should say…some loved it more than others.

my other ideas for make-it monday were:

*homemade tub paints

OR

*prepare and print activities for their travel bags (since we will be in the car for 17 hours this weekend)

joe made the comment that we MADE a trip to the zoo for make-it monday…ha!

so…tomorrow is turn it off tuesday!  no tv, computer, etc.

be back for wet wednesday,

amber

finally…

ok, so it has been almost THREE months since i last updated!!!  i have a lot of catching up to do.  today is my first official day of summer.   there are going to be a lot of changes for our family.  i am gearing up for a summer at home with the kiddos.  i have created a behavior plan for the kiddos this summer (that is the teacher in me for sure).  it is a visible chart that they can move a clip up and down on based on their choices.  as soon as we decorate their clips, we will be ready to begin!  also, i am a person that enjoys themes!  whether it be for birthday parties, social gatherings, etc.  so i am working on a summer “theme” to our weeks home together.  for my sanity and  theirs:)  here is what we have come up with so far:

*Make-it Monday*

{try new crafts, meals, any fun new CHEAP ideas}

*Turn it off Tuesday*

{no tv, computer, electronics in general}

*Wet Wednesdays*

{swim, sprinkler, water balloons, splash parks, etc.}

*Thursday*…??? drawing a blank…need some help here

*Fun Friday*

{trips to COSI, Franklin Park Conservatory, AHa, or any other crazy thing we can get into}

*Squeaky Clean Saturday*

{work on house cleaning things…clean closets, floors, bathrooms, etc….not everyday cleaning things…bigger projects.  my husband will LOVE this one:)}

*Sabbath Sunday*

{a day of rest, reflection, church, praise and worship}

what will you be doing this summer?

amber

Photo Challenge 7/52 & 8/52 & 9/52

since i took my internet fast a few weeks ago
(more about that in a future post) it has taken me awhile to get back on the computer for more than a few minutes at a time…so, i am going to do the last three weeks photo challenge  updates now and then i should be caught up.

week 7/52

{on date night, we walked up mt. pleasant…i love this photo because i almost completely cut myself out and we were laughing.  we were able to see our house from mt. pleasant…fun times!}

 

week 8/52

{on our “date” annabelle and i went to polaris, she got her nails done, and we hung out at barnes and noble.  here she is riding the escalator holding her starbucks vanilla bean frappuccino (aka…vanilla milkshake). it was nice to have one on one time.}

 

9/52

 

{i choose this picture because i did a HORRIBLE job writing annabelle’s name in melted chocolate…luckily the kids got to decorate their own cupcakes, but the adults were lucky enough to eat this beauty…ha!}

amber

wordless wednesday

amber

Resolution Review: February

{*1.}run a 5K at my dad’s memorial walk

i purchased a used treadmill from a coworker and have used it once and went to the gym once.  i WILL be participating in the 5k…i just might barely make it over the finish line:)

{*2.}read the entire Bible in 2011

{2.}respond right away to emails and phone calls

i decided to not rush through the bible in a year just to say i read it…i was barely making it through Leviticus.  my small group leader recommended using, “search the scriptures” which would take three years to read the bible…and it would help lead me through in a way that should make more sense to me.  i have been thinking a lot about what to replace that resolution with…i am HORRIBLE at responding to emails and phone calls in a timely matter.  so i feel i need to be more diligent with getting back to people.

{*3.}have a date night once a month with joe

this month was joe’s turn to plan:)  we took a walk up mt. pleasant and ate at…

Penn Station (neither of us had been there and we enjoyed it!) the we went to the movies and saw

 

{*4.}have a day out with each kid (mom and me day)

annabelle and i took a trip to…

 

sweet and sassy for some pampering. she got her nails done and we went to the toy store for her to cash in a reward. the we went to barnes and noble and had a little treat and looked at some books.  gavin and josie will be getting their dates soon:)

 {*5.}read one new book a month

Dune Road was the book of the month.  it is written by jane green and i have read almost all of her books.  my sister handed down to me her kindle…it was the first book i read on a kindle.  i loved the book and would recommend any jane green book!

 

{*6.}continue (and improve) our family blog

i just updated the background and i am thinking about putting a survey question up…just to see what kind of feedback i might get.

{*7.}scrap the first year of my kiddos’ lives (most likely digital scrapbook or photo book)

not one thing done:( am going to go for a scrap weekend this spring though…in hocking hills

{*8.}lose weight…had to put this one on here

just weighed myself for the first time in a long time!  my goal is to lose 10 pounds by the end of the school year…if not more.

{*9.}try one new recipe a month…that is huge for me!

this month i tried a recipe i had seen on a blog i read.  it is brown sugar and lemon chicken.

 

i used chicken breast dredged in flour, salt and pepper, and paprika.  cooked them in a skillet until golden brown on each side.  put the chicken in a baking dish.  use what is left in the pan and squeeze lemon to get the scrapings loosened.  then pour that over the chicken.  then sprinkle brown sugar on top of the chicken…cover and allow brown sugar to melt.  we served the chicken with israeli couscous (a new item in our house) they are little pasta balls.  i used chicken broth instead of water and the ENTIRE family love it!  we also served edemame with it.

the results are………

two thumbs DOWN

one thumb TO THE SIDE

and one (two, if you count me) thumb/s UP !

 

{*10.}be intentional about girl time with my friends

i have scheduled a 31 party for april, so i am looking forward to having girls over for that!  i was able to visit with rachael and annie during annabelle’s birthday party.  i feel like we can always pick up where we left off!  also, the momology ladies are quickly becoming friends that i get to meet with EACH week!  i love it!

{*11.}journal my year (handwritten, thanks to my new journal from a dear friend)

i have jornaled more than i did last month, but not as much as i would like…always something i can improve on.

amber

abc’s of me

Age: 31

Bed size: king

Chore you dislike: cleaning the bathroom

Dogs:one dog, dakota (a beagle schnauzer)

Essential start to your day: coffee…FOR SURE!

Favorite color: brown

Gold or silver: gold

Height: 5’9”

Instruments you play(ed): percussion…but i never learned to read sheet music

Job title: first grade teacher

Kids: 3…annabelle(7), gavin(3), josie(2)

Live: lancaster, ohio

Mom’s name: janet

Nicknames: jo, josie, josephine…my siblings names all start with “a”…so i was called by versions of my middle name [jo]…until i met my future husband [joe]…which by the way is where we got the name for our little girl

Overnight hospital stays: 3…for each of my children’s births

Pet peeve: when others “one up” me in a conversation…i don’t play back

Quote from a movie: “shelby, open your eyes, open, open your eyes!” [steel magnolias]

Righty or Lefty: righty

Siblings: aaron (36), angela (34), and ashley (almost 30)

Time you wake up: alarm set for 5am, get up closer to 6am {ha!}

Underwear: uh….yes, I wear them.

Vegetables you don’t like: swiss chard and slimy spinach

What makes you run late: traffic and loading and dropping off three children

X-Rays you’ve had: only oral x-rays

Yummy food you make: cake balls and strawberry pretzel salad

Zodiac sign: gemini (june 1)

amber