Day 692 | Moon Sand

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Birthday party prep is well underway for our fourth (and final) birthday in the last 7.5 weeks. Today's activity? Making a trial batch of Moon Sand for the big birthday party. I had envisioned making a couple of patches and then putting it out in a big tub for kids to play with and then put in to-go containers as part of their party favors (collecting Moon Sand, get it?).

After today's trial, I think I'm going to have to reevaluate. The recipe was super simple (just flour and baby oil [and food coloring, if that's your thing]), the boys enjoyed "dumping" all the ingredients, and they had a total blast playing with it. That doesn't seem surprising unless you consider that neither of my boys really prefer to get their hands dirty (I have no idea where that comes from). However, it was messier than I think I can justify for an indoor birthday party.  I'm not giving up on the idea...just brainstorming other options/tweaks.

Here's the recipe I used for it, although I did a half-batch and ended up using a lot more baby oil to reach the consistency I wanted.

Enjoy!

Day 691 | T-shirt Hack

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I made this pretty sweet gift for my niece's 11th birthday gift. I cut up a too-large t-shirt. Here's what I did:

  • I cut out the neck so it's more of a scoop neck.
  • I cut off the sleeves and then rolled them up and tied them with t-shirt scraps.
  • My favorite element? I cut three strips up each side and then braided down to bring the sides in so the shirt would actually fit.
I hope she actually gets some use out of it. I heart DC!

p.s. Sorry for missing my post yesterday. I have no excuse. We did literally nothing yesterday. I guess that's the problem, I just didn't have anything to report on and it didn't register to me that I missed it. My bad.

Day 690 | So Long, Farewell

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Chase: I'm excited and sad. 
Me: Why's that?
Chase: I'm excited we're going home but sad to be leaving Wee-sconsin. 
Me: I feel the same way. What are you going to miss?
Chase: I like seeing the grandmas and grandpas more. 
Me: What do you like about them?
Chase: They do nice things for me. That makes me happy. 

Special note: Both (both!) boys napped on the plane. I don't think Chase has napped on a plane since he was 3 months old. It was a Christmas (in April) miracle. I guess that proves how exhausting our week has been. I have to say, almost a perfect travel day from start to finish. 

Day 689 | Grandma & Grandpa Time

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Grandma and Grandpa M were sweet enough to drive across the state to hang out with us for a couple of days before our flight back tomorrow. We loved seeing them (as usual) and the boys were overjoyed to spend time with both sets of grandparents during this short trip.

The boys even got a special parent-free time with Grandma and Grandpa this morning. Those lucky ducks (and Chris and I weren't complaining either). 

Thanks again to both sets of grandparents and all the other friends and family that made this spring break trip such a success!

Day 685 | More Birthday Business

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Robbe was nice enough to help Grandma blow out her candles.
It's my Mom's birthday! Lucky us we got to celebrate her special day in person. Woohoo!

We showed up at her office to tour her construction site and surprised her with a ballon then brought her home and surprised her with an Elsa ice cream cake. Robbe and Chase were pretty excited, as you might have guessed. 

Let the birthday celebrations continue!

Day 683 | Sugar Overload

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Busy day around here. We met the Easter Bunny (for the first time) and found eggs during the egg hunt for a candy reward (first round of sugar).

Then my mom and I enjoyed some lovely pedicures and some kid-free time (thanks, Chris!). After a quick round of naps, it was family birthday party time (also for the first time, I think). We were celebrating Lane's 11th birthday and Chase's 4th. Yippee! There were m&m's (round two), jelly beans (round three), and scrumptious homemade cupcakes (the fourth and final round of sugar) to keep the boys soaring on their sugar high. 

As you might expect, they had the time of their lives. So many giggles and jubilant smiles to fill one day. It makes my heart happy. 

Day 680 | Cherry Blossoms

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Ahead of our spring break trip, we needed to make a quick stop down to the Tidal Basin to check cherry blossom progress. Even though the Park Service declared today as peak, it was far from it. There were some fully-blossomed trees (see photo) and it was a lovely morning to be taking in the beauty and chaos of this season in the District, so no complaints when all was said and done. 

Day 679 | Thank You Art

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Check out this fun art craft I did with Robbe for his birthday thank you notes.

I used a regular sheet of computer paper, "wrote" the word thanks with painters tape and then had Robbe use our dot markers to cover the tape and surrounding area. Then I removed the tape and scanned in the art to be able to print off the right size.

Super easy and super cute (at least I think so!). Hope all of you that received one felt the same way.

Day 677 | Haircut Time

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Look at these cuties sporting their new new 'dos.

I know I've highlighted fresh haircuts a few times (probably too many) on here, but I just couldn't pass up sharing this adorable photo. Both of the boys were thrilled to be getting their locks trimmed because it meant they could watch their tv show of choice. 

Chase's pick: Paw Patrol (kind of a throwback since he's been pretty into Frozen and Inside Out, since his school movie party).

Robbe's pick: Truck Tunes (a YouTube truck music video). At least he's consistent.

Day 673 | Undies

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Our little man is very interested in undies. Mind you, he's nowhere near ready for potty training (although he tries by sitting on the potty almost every day).

I decided to let him pick out undies to feed the desire to keep trying and the only ones we could find with trucks came in boxers (I mean real trucks, not from an animated movie). The package arrived today and Robbe immediately needed to put as many on his body as possible.