Lazy, Hazy Days........

O.K. It isn't June yet. And, if you are a faithful reader of this blog, you know that summer is my LEAST favorite of all seasons. But LAZY sort of appeals to me at times, so if the shoe fits, etc., etc.

Now that daughter #3 and family live in the same town, I get to see a lot more of them. And occasionally I can help out with watching the kids. I have had that opportunity a number of times of late and that gives me the perfect opportunity to "be lazy". We just kind of do what we want. And how much fun is that!

One visit was right before Mother's Day and we used that day to make something for Mom. Harrison was in school and then at a play date so I knew I wouldn't get my hands on him until later in the day when Jen got back into town and came by with dinner. I also knew that he would want to be a part of whatever gift idea I came up with, so I reached back in time and decided on one I did years ago with Hannah & Morgan.

The 2 little ones and I set out to find the perfect spot for a picture. After trying EVERYWHERE outdoors with no success due to the bright sun that day, we decided on an indoor shot. We took the pictures, downloaded them, adjusted the size, etc. The kids loved seeing their faces on the computer monitor and then again as they spewed from the printer.

I had already purchased a distressed black frame with 3 openings, so we were good to go. We filled in 2 of the spots and as soon as Harrison arrived, I whisked him away and repeated the process with him. Thank goodness for the digital age-never thought I'd hear myself say that!






As you may be able to tell from the above pictures-which we used in the frame-I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Jennie loved it and I am sure it will hold a special spot in her home for years to come.



Their next visit provided the above opportunity. Thank you Pinterest. I simply filled glass pie plates with baking soda and then mixed white vinegar with the 3 primary colors of food coloring. I gave each of the kids an eye dropper and the fun began! I don't know why I was so excited because the reaction of the baking soda and vinegar was what it always is-bubbles. But what fun it was to see it happen right before my eyes-or better yet, the eyes of the kids!



They caught on very quickly and I thought the fun might be over as soon as the plate was full of color, but not so. The bubbling continued on and on. We even got in a quick lesson on colors and how we get secondary colors-did I tell you these 2 are pretty smart!?


This was one of our finished plates. We had to stop just because we used up all of the vinegar. This was really a no-brainer and kept the kids occupied forever!

This week's visit saw us raiding one of the game drawers that hadn't been hit for a long time. You see, these 2 have a pretty set routine when they get to my house. Presley heads to the dollhouse and Hudson heads to the Legos. Then, a snack is very quickly in order followed by "Cars" or "Barbie Princess" DVDs. I was determined to break the cycle this visit and get out some of the sadly neglected toys since the 4 oldest have grown up on me. We pulled out some of my Discovery toys (have I ever told you the story of how I became a Discovery toy dealer when we were expecting my first grand daughter just so I could purchase the dealer's package? I'll save that for another day. And yes, it was O.K. to do. At least that is what the lady who so gladly accepted my rather large check told me...but I digress) and I was quickly told "I know how to do this. We have this at my school.". But, I persevered and we had a good bit of fun until it was back to the Legos and dollhouse. And, of yes, by then we were ready for food again so I pulled out the big guns and made mac & cheese. A fun day was had by all!

And today, after a doctor's appt., we are on our way out of town again. Then, several more things on the calendar over the next week and I pick this time to finally get decorating MOTIVATED!!!! Don't know where my mojo has been the last many months, but it is coming back and ideas are flowing. Too bad there isn't a spare second in my life right now, but I am confident there will be soon. After all, June and summer are almost here and what better thing to do but hibernate inside and re-do some rooms? So far, all of my ideas involve the expenditure of some big bucks, so I will have to revamp or do some quick talking! We will see where this leads. Stay tuned to find out!