High Five for Friday

Hi there! Today I'm linking up with Jennie to share some fun stuff from the past week. 

1) Saturday we were supposed to go see some hot air balloons but we found out when we got to the parking lot that it was too windy for them to fly (or even inflate). It was a pretty big let-down. But I did score my first ever trip to Hobby Lobby (and I can't wait to go back) and we hit the new Cabela's for the first time too.

Grant and I really enjoyed Hobby Lobby! Husband behaved
himself and tolerated it while silently willing me to leave.

Cabela's was fun to explore. Grant loved the aquarium
and the camping section made me want to go camping so bad!

2) I started loom knitting. Usually when it comes to yarn crafts I am completely inept. But this loom knitting thing is great! I started my first scarf Saturday afternoon and took it outside to sit at the picnic table while Grant played in the sandbox fought bad guys. Just as I was getting done with my first thingy of yarn and was about to head in to attach the second, a bird pooped on my head. But at least it didn't get on my scarf! I'm currently working on my 4th scarf, I love it!

Grant fighting bad guys while I figure out the knitting.

My first scarf! 

2nd scarf! (This is not for him but he was
 tolerant of being my model.) 

3rd scarf! (My 4th one is going to be like the 2nd one
 becauseI bought more of that yarn)

3) Sunday I knew we were going to throw something on the grill for dinner. So I enlisted Grant's help in making some mac & cheese.

He's a very good helper (just ask him)

4) Before dinner on Sunday (after getting the mac & cheese ready) I decided to bust out the slip-n-slide that Grant got for his birthday last year. To the best of my knowledge, this was a first for him and he was a bit apprehensive about it (strange for a boy who is constantly throwing himself around the living room to demonstrate his "ninja moves"). For the life of me, I could not get him to slide on his belly. Even after I demonstrated - several times - how it's done.

It didn't matter, he had fun anyway!

Monday afternoon I decided to forgo cooking dinner in favor of another afternoon on the slip-in-slide. And FINALLY got Grant to slide on his belly! Because I take  bunches of pictures of him, he insisted that he take one of me. It seemed only fair. We had so much fun playing on that thing! I hope the weather is nice this weekend so we can do it again (I don't care how old you are, slip-n-slides are fun!).

Mama on the slip-n-slide!

Finally sliding on his belly!

5) I had a sick boy on my hands this week. It came out of nowhere and didn't last long. By Wednesday afternoon this was happening in my house:

Pirate fireman Leonardo, at your service.

 6) Yesterday our first full sized Kiwi Crate arrived! We had a blast with the mini one I tested so I'm excited to explore the box this weekend and see what we get to do.

I think we're going to have a really great weekend, if I survive tonight. Tonight is Grant's preschool graduation and I've already been in tears over it! We plan to do a little celebrating with him tomorrow (a special lunch at Chuck E Cheese) and have lots of fun over the weekend.

Happy Friday everyone!

Have a great weekend!

High Five for Friday

Ever have the kind of week that just tries every last nerve you have? That's been my week. I definitely needed a reminder of some of the better stuff from this week! So I'm linking up Jennie to share some of it. 

1) Last Friday we had dinner with my friend Janis and her husband. Since her husband's retirement, he's become quite the cook! He made us a delicious lasagna with cheesy garlic bread and Olive Garden-esque salad. My contribution, as always, was dessert. I went with Pioneer Woman's mocha brownies. It was so good to see Janis & John and we had a great evening catching up. It was the perfect start to the weekend.

Brownies!

2) At some point over the weekend I broke out this new bubble toy. It puts little bubbles inside big bubbles. Such a fun toy!

What kid doesn't love bubbles? (If you have toy envy,
you can find them at Walmart or Target)

3) I knew it was going to be a trying week, so I started it off with some yummy Cinnamon scones to go with my Monday morning coffee (and Tuesday morning coffee...and Wednesday 3:00 snack). (Recipe HERE; I was out of honey so I subbed REAL maple syrup and it was delightful.)

4) Workbook time! Grant finished up two chapters in his workbook he's been working on and he was so proud of himself. He loves to learn :)

5) FOOD. 

I'm not really a spaghetti lover but this was good.
(recipe based on THIS one)

Yeah...pasta again.
(recipe HERE)

6) It felt wonderful outside last night and was perfect for a little post-dinner pre-bath baseball. Grant told me "I'm gonna whack the mess outta this ball!"

Happy Friday everyone!

Have a great weekend!

High Five for Friday

Hi! Today I'm linking up Jennie to share some of my favorite stuff from the past week. 

1) I got home Friday evening and sitting on the counter was the Mother's Day present Grant made me at school. He called it his "grass head" and it was a great thing to come home to after a very trying week.

2) So much going on in this picture:

This is how cowboy Iron Man watches TV.

3) On Saturday we went to a birthday party for one of Grant's school friends. So much fun! It's always fun to watch him interact with his friends and it was nice to visit with parents. And the birthday boy's mom had some super fun stuff planned for the kids and I totally want to steal her ideas in a couple months :)

Sack races! 

Pinata!

4) Sunday was Mother's Day! I woke up to cards and presents (some cookbooks I wanted!) and then we had brunch/lunch with my in-laws (I tried chicken & waffles for the first time and it was life changing). Then we spent the rest of the afternoon quietly at home. It was a really nice day.

I always love the cards Grant makes me at school!

Mmmmm...

I snapped this pic on Mother's Day too. He was watching TV
like that and it made me laugh so hard. I'm so lucky to be this boys Mama!

5) I completed two sewing projects last weekend! Another blanket (requested by my mother-in-law for a friend of hers) and a crayon wallet that I've been wanting to try out. I was so excited that they both turned out well!

6) I had to stay home with Grant one day this week (sinus infection but he's feeling much better) and he was jazzed when he found out Grandpa was coming over to fix our broken dryer. Grandpa was very patient with Grant's desire to help and he got our dryer fixed! Woohoo! Being without a dryer isn't fun. We had to rush off to Grant's doctor's appointment right after and followed that up with some ice cream for the patient. This was a sick day Grant didn't mind in the least!

Grandpa's little helper

Ice cream lover

Happy Friday everyone!

Have a great weekend!

Jazz - The Super Special Bear

When I was younger I collected teddy bears. I'd get one while we were on vacation and it kind of became a thing. Then I got them for birthdays and Christmas and eventually I had way too many. When I moved to North Carolina I brought with me only what would fit in my car so almost all my bears stayed with my parents. But Jazz Bear came with me. I got Jazz Bear at the end of my teddy bear collecting phase. I saw him in a store and thought he was adorable with his big belly and he's so soft and cuddly...but I was "too old" for that so I didn't get him. 

My mom did. She surprised me with him later (and for some reason she named him Jazz Bear). But when I moved, he pretty much stayed in closets until I had Grant. Then he became Grant's.

When he was old enough, I told Grant that Jazz Bear is very special. That's he's sort of a present from my mom because she gave Jazz to me and now he belongs to Grant. And that if he hugs Jazz it's like getting a hug from me and my mom. He accepted Jazz Bear as a special thing and most of the time when he wanted to sleep with him Grant would say "Jazz is special because he's from your mama and he was yours and now he's mine, right?" And that was as far as I'd ever been able to go with it because I get really emotional talking about that stuff with Grant.

Next week we'll be coming up on 5 years that my mom has been gone and back in February was 4 years since my dad's passing. It's still hard but I've learned that talking {and writing} helps. So it's appropriate that Grant initiated our first real conversation about my parents. For me, it came completely out of left field but looking back, I think he's been wanting to ask. But he's a smart kid and kids pick up on way more than we give them credit for, so I think he doesn't talk about it because he knows it's hard for me.

It started with Jazz Bear at bed time, it usually does. Grant couldn't figure out which animal to sleep with, so I suggested Jazz. Grant said "Because he's your super special bear, right Mama?" I told him, again, when he hugs the bear it's like a hug from me and mom. Which made him ask "But she died already, right?" I said yes and he asked how she died. I didn't want to get so detailed that I scared him but I wanted to answer his questions. So I explained that she was very sick and that she went to a lot of doctors but they couldn't make her better (an explanation that I'm always worried will scare him but I have yet to find a better way). He knows she's in Heaven so he says she's "up there". 

He also asked if my dad died already too, which he knows, but I think he was just trying to talk about it. So I said yes. He asked why my dad died. You can't explain alcoholism to a 4.5 year old so I said that he, too, was very sick. That he tried to get help to get better but the doctors weren't able to make him better either. He just said "Oh" and laid there quiet for a minute, like he was thinking.

He asked "Who else is up there?" I told him my Uncle Charlie is up there with my mom and dad. And our dog Brodie. And my Grama. He asked "...do you...miss them?" Which of course I do, I said I miss them all the time but I tried to keep my tone light and not sad. I was pretty proud of myself for not breaking down because this was the longest we've ever been able to talk about my family.

Then he broke my heart. He was very serious and a little sad and I want to say even a little sorry for me. He said "So...you don't have any families left?" So I reminded him of how much family I do still have left - him, Husband, my sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws - and that seemed to cheer him up. He was done asking questions then, for now, so it was a good note to end the conversation on. 

He asked some good questions. He was very serious and I feel like he really listened. It was a really difficult for me but I know it's going to have to happen more so I'm happy that I handled this first one so well. It's important that Grant knows my parents and I'm going to be the biggest part of that so I'm glad we're heading in the right direction.

High Five for Friday

Hi! Today I'm linking up Jennie to share some of my favorite stuff from the past week. Honestly, I've had a pretty terrible week so it's nice to go back and think about the stuff that made me smile this week.

1) Last weekend was gorgeous! I went for walks that I desperately needed. Grant & I played outside a lot and took bike rides. It was such perfect weather.

Grant was ecstatic when he got to ride through the puddles!

2) On Saturday we went to our first outdoor movie! A couple parks around do this from time to time and we never get to go. This time they were showing Planes Fire & Rescue - one of Grant's favorites! So I popped an obscene amount of popcorn, packed a cooler, some chairs, and we enjoyed a fun family movie night at the park.

We ate popcorn for days!

Waiting for the movie to start

Hooray!

3) On Sunday we made wind cars from the mini crate I ordered from Kiwi Crate. It was so much fun for both of us. We had races in the kitchen by blowing on them and we were both laughing so hard! I've decided to try out a regular subscription just to see if we like it.

I did have to help but he got to do a lot too. It was
a great activity to do together.

He loved how they worked!

4) I sent a tray of goodies to school for the staff as a thank you for Teacher Appreciation Week. I hope they enjoyed them, they definitely deserve them!

Caramel snickerdoole bars, twix chocolate chip cookies,
and some personalized Hershey kisses.

5) I love Grant's artwork, especially now that he's drawing things that are recognizable. My favorites ever so far is his first picture of me (I look like an orange on two toothpicks) and the family picture he drew for us (we all look like oranges on toothpicks). This week he brought home my third favorite. A brachiosaurus being struck by lightning while eating a leaf (he also told Husband that there is lava but you can't see it because it's far far away but it made the lightning).

6) Last night I finished up a cake for the daughter of friend. She's worked really hard to become a nurse practitioner and I'm so glad I was able to make this cake for her party tonight. Congrats to her!

Happy Friday everyone!

Have a great weekend!