Merry, Merry!

It was a Wednesday

Last Wednesday, I followed myself around with a camera all day. I like to do a "day in the life" post every once in awhile so I can look back and see what life was like when the kids were a certain age, although this is my first one with pictures. This is definitely the longest post I've ever done, so you may want to skip it since it will probably bore you to tears! :)

Started the day bright and early at 6:30 when Whitt woke up crying for a bottle...

Started a load of laundry (yawn...see, I told you this would be boring!).

Breakfast for kiddos. Nutri-grain Eggos. Yuck-o, but it's their favorite.

My friend M's kiddos, N (4) and S (2) come over every morning at 7-ish and play until I take everybody to school at 8:30. Nobody would stay still long enough for a picture...

It wouldn't be morning if we didn't have a tantrum!

Whitt fell and bumped his head. Poor buddy...never a dull moment, though!

Getting ready to leave for school...after two quick diaper changes, a hunt for both girls' bows and an assortment of shoes and socks, we are off and running!

After everybody was dropped off, Whitt and I met this little cutie, H, and his mama who refused to let me take her picture in her adorable exercise clothes, for our regular Wednesday walk. It was our coldest morning yet and we ended up cutting the walk a bit short and sitting in my car for a little while and chatting. Much more fun (and warm!). :)

Next up, a hair cut appointment for Whitt.

P.S. It's 10:00 am, in case you're wondering. :)

Back home to start another load of laundry--fun stuff, I tell ya!! I wash sheets on Sundays and Wednesdays, so I keep the washing machine and dryer pretty busy on Wednesdays.

Next up, more fun stuff---unloading the dishwasher. Oh yeah, I lead the most glamorous life!

Grocery store, then to school to pick up Grayson. Emma Claire went home with her best friend, Isaac that day for a play date. What an interesting play date that would turn out to be! :)

Home for lunch. My delicious lunch of carrots and hummus, which I ate while fixing Grayson and Whitt's lunch. I had a picture of Grayson and Whitt eating lunch but it got lost in space somewhere and I have no idea how to add a picture to the middle of all of these, so I'll just tell you about it: Grayson and Whitt ate lunch. :)

More laundry.

Whitt went down for a nap. Hooray!

Grayson helped me put clean sheets on his bed,

and his sister's bed. Such a good helper!

Then he stayed upstairs and played

while I started yet another load of laundry

put clean sheets on our bed,

and folded some clothes. During all of this, I got a funny phone call from Isaac's mommy informing me that there had been an "incident" at his house involving some scissors and Emma Claire's hair. Isaac's mommy was crying, I was laughing, and I was dying to see the damage. I hung up the phone, made a phone call to Amy, who had just cut Whitt's hair that morning, and scheduled an appointment for Emma Claire for later that afternoon. :)

As soon as EC got home, I took a quick shower

and dryed and straightened my hair and put on some makeup.

Next, we paid Amy our second visit of the day, where she fixed the damage Isaac had done to Emma Claire's hair....

Like I said, never a dull moment!! :)

Now she has an adorable bob and we still love Isaac to death! :)

So after EC's haircut, we came home and she ate a snack and played with play dough while the boys wrestled

and I fixed supper.

Whitt decided to pull out about 200 plastic baggies and spread them all over the kitchen floor, which kept him and Grayson occupied for a solid fifteen minutes while I cooked. I'll take what I can get, even if it means a mess to clean up afterward!

Ben came home from work just in time to change clothes and join us at the table for supper. We love it when Daddy gets home!

After supper, we cleaned up and put pajamas on and had play time for a little while.

Ben did a little work while Grayson played games on my iPhone.

Goodnight, Whitt! Love you, sweet boy!

Time for bed--somebody is melting down!

We love Richard Scarry books!

Daddy read our daily devotional to our nail biter and his sister....

we brushed teeth...

said prayers...

gave kisses, and it was lights out!

A couple more loads of clothes were begging me to fold them. I looked at them and decided they could wait until the next day.

I thought this looked like more fun.

With this guy. :) Spent the rest of the night hanging out with my hubby and talking about our days and our cute kiddos.

And that's it---my Wednesday, in pictures. If you're still awake, I'm impressed! :)

Christmas present ideas

Some friends and I have recently been talking about Christmas present ideas and it gave me the idea to do a post on some of my kiddos' favorite toys. Most of these are toys that we've had for a year or more and they still play with almost daily, and many are toys that have been such hits in our house that we've given as gifts to others. In no particular order....

1. Plasma Car

This would probably rank up there as one of Grayson (5 years old) and Emma Claire's (3 years old) favorite toys. They each got one last Christmas, so even as a 2 year old EC loved it. The Plasma Car is the Roller Racer (please tell me y'all had these as a child! My brother and I played with ours for years!) of our kids' generation. Or decade. Whatever. Anyway, it's a battery-free ride-on toy that's powered by wiggling the steering wheel back and forth. My kiddos get more speed by just using their feet to push themselves so that's what they usually do, but they love it anyway. It can hold up to 220 lb so adults can on ride it, too---it's actually pretty fun!

2. Little Tikes Deluxe Wooden Play Kitchen and Laundry Center

Santa brought this when Grayson was 3 and EC was 1, and it's also been a toy that has been played with daily. It's now also one of Whitt's favorites. I like it because it's a pretty gender-neutral kitchen, as so many play kitchens are geared toward girls, and I also love that it's held up really well over the past two years.

3. Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube

This toy has been a favorite of Whitt's since turned one. It is really cute---you push one of the instrument buttons and it starts playing that instrument's sound as part of a Mozart song, and you can continue adding other instruments until they're all playing together. The songs don't get annoying like a lot of other baby toys (I don't put batteries in most of our toys, but this one is worthy!) and the edges are rubber and rounded so it can stand up to being dropped, thrown, etc...

4. Hot Wheels Monster Jam trucks

If you have a four or five year old boy in your life, you HAVE to go to your nearest Target or Walmart and get some of these. Grayson is OBSESSED. They're only $3.50 each and provide hours of entertainment---could it be any better than that?? He went through the cars/train phase (and still plays with them, but not as often as he did), but he went to a friend's house this past summer and loved his monster trucks, so we gave him a bunch for his birthday in August and he continues to play with them every. single. day. We're even planning on taking him to a real Monster Jam in January---he's going to flip!!!! :)

5. Smart Snacks Sorting Shapes Cupcakes

Emma Claire got these for her second birthday and they are still a hit, both with my kiddos and with friends when they come over to play. It's a fun shape sorting game that also doubles as a play food for their kitchen. They're much heavier and more durable than they look, which for some reason gives them added appeal to the kids. They really are one of my favorite toys, too, and I've given them as a gift a few times as well.

6. The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

I cannot say enough about how much we adore this bible. We have several children's bibles, but this is the one that Grayson and Emma Claire actually ask to have read to them--and once we start reading, it's hard to stop! It has 348 pages and we read the entire thing in a week and a half, and have just started to read it again. The stories are captivating to little ones, the illustrations are beautiful, and it's written in a way that preschoolers and younger children can understand. I love how it teaches them about both the Old and New Testaments, and it leaves them with minds and hearts that crave more.

7. Bilibo

The Bilibo is such a fun toy! It's a shell-shaped piece of plastic that has endless possibilities---my kiddos like to sit in them, spin in them, stand on them, put them on their heads, and lay on the ground and put them on their backs and pretend they're turtles. We have two, and now that Whitt has discovered how much fun they are, I'm thinking we might need a third. :) It's really a simple toy that encourages the children to use their imaginations, but I have a feeling it will be a favorite for awhile!