Sensory tub #1

I told somebody that I would try to put this on here today. I will put some more tomorrow. This is my ice cream sensory tub. It is just a rubbermaid storage container filled with large pom poms, ice cream scoops, fake bananas, ice cube tray, bowls, and cleaned out sundae syrup bottle. I bought the tub at Walmart, poms at hobby lobby (they are half off until sunday), the bowls and scoops came from dollar tree as well as the bananas and ice cube tray. My boys absolutely love this.

Also want to add that I got this idea from Counting Coconuts blog. She has great sensory tubs.

When Do I find the time?

So Everyone always asks me when I find the time to do things. Truth is, we never sleep! LOL I wake up before everyone and go to bed way after everyone. Here is a little glimpse at a typical day:

6:15-6:30   Wake Up. I try to beat the alarm because it scares the crud out of me. Get dressed, fix hair, makeup

7:05           Wake up the big boys. I lay out clothes and iron the night before. It is laid out in a line according to their age. They know this and grab stuff and go.

7:15            Make breakfast. A wants cereal everyday. B wants oatmeal. C and D usually want pop tarts.

7:30            Wake up little boys. Put their clothes on and sit them at the table

7:45            Everyone lines up to brush teeth and get their hair combed. They are then to make their beds, put on their shoes and back packs and sit in the front room and wait for everyone.

8:00            Drive big boys to school, then off to work.

8:20            Arrive at work and prep for my children for the day.

8:45            Finally take my kids to the rooms they will be in during the morning and breathe a sigh of relief. Then I pick up all the stuff they messed up in my room.

9:00-12:00  Preschool

12:00-12:30 Clean up while my boys eat lunch at a table in my room

1:00-3:00     D naps, C gets a little cartoon time and 1 on 1 with Mom. This is also when I do dishes, sweep and mop, vacuum and wash all the glass in the house from the morning.

3:00            Leave to get the kids from school because the traffic is AWFUL

3:30-4:00    Homework (someday I will post my feelings about this) and Snacks

4:00-5:00    Free Time to play in rooms or go outside. Most of the time the big boys play Wii

5:00            Everyone goes into the backyard, but D to play so I can start supper

6:00-6:30   Supper

6:30-7:00   Clean up supper mess

7:00-7:30   Baths (or as we call it the worst chore in the house)

7:30-8:30   Play room

8:30-9:00   Bible story, story, prayers and bed time

9:00-10:00 Iron clothes and layout for next day, make lunches, double check folders, put anything up that is out of place, Run a few miles for my sanity, watch Texas Rangers (usually this is on while we are doing night rituals minus story time.

10:00-11:00 Shower for me, check email and bed.

This is a loose schedule and thankfully I have an iphone to check all my blogs, websites, and facebook. If I am going to do a craft, then it is mainly during nap or bedtime. Sometimes I get lucky and it is something I can do on the porch while the boys play outside. Sometimes I am really lucky and it is something they can do with me.

A New Haircut

B came home today so excited! He hopped in the van, told me he had a great day and we drove home. After everyone unloaded and scattered, I started going through backpacks. B runs back in the kitchen and said "I can't believe my hair." After speaking to his teacher and learning this is not the first time. He is now on scissor restriction. (and has no wii for lying about it)

Counting rocks...or so I thought

So this morning was so beautiful and cool, I thought I would take my class out early. On the way out we met a classmate who was running a little behind and mom said she would take him to the park to meet us. He eventually made it over and had a tough time leaving mom. I took him over to the sandbox and we sat down scooping dirt into buckets and talking about the different shapes of sand molds. He became interested in the rocks in the sand, so I seized the moment to talk about the differences in color and size and then we began to count our pile. Then I started to help him look for more when I picked up 2 odd shaped "rocks" when I realized I had a handful of dry cat poop. I could have lost my breakfast, but I ran inside to wash my hands (3 times). When I returned 5 minutes later, I noticed that there were ZERO children in the sandbox. I can't say I blame them.

While I am on the subject of the sandbox. My preschool truly has the best park in town. It has huge tires and bridges for the children, along with swings and a water center. However, the neighbors leave food out for the feral cats and we go through spurts when we have tons. I remember watching the news and they had a broadcast about this being against the law. Is there anyone who has any safe ideas for deterring these little guys?

Knock, Knock

A had briefly mentioned a friend yesterday after school and asked us tonight at dinner if he could go to the movies with him. I told him that we must meet the boy's parents before they hang out.

So tonight during Big Brother eviction (totally missed it), the boys asked me for popcorn. It was getting close to bedtime, but I figured it wouldn't hurt just once. I popped the corn and we all plopped down on the couch. We only had about 10 minutes to bedtime when we hear the doorbell...

A had apparently had lunch with this child and his mother at school last week, told them we didn't have a phone and they would have to come by our house in for us to let him do anything. Thankfully their family was awesome and they came inside to visit for a half hour.

He is going to see Spy Kids tomorrow. Thanks to that sweet mom for saving me from that movie.

Dancing Ribbons

I have made these before using shower curtain hoops, but the children always got their fingers pinched in them. I  was stoked when I saw them on Pinterest using wooden curtain loops. They are $8 for 7 at Lowe's and I had the ribbon on hand. This was such a great idea. Found the easy tutorial on www.grungezombie.net .

Valuable Lesson

Not all "whites" are the same when it comes to paint. I thought I would touch up the house with the paint leftover from the previous owners in the shed. What a mistake! All the doors look like they have spots and the trim is now horrid. I just got back from lowes with new paint, brushes, and rollers. Next time my husband begs me to leave stuff like this alone, I might listen.