Thursday, September 29, 2011

Writer's Workshop - 9/29/11

So after an endless number of weeks of forgetting, I'm finally getting around to doing another Writer's Workshop. I rather like the topic that I picked a lot. It made for a nice daydream, at least.

4.) 10 things you would do if you didn’t have to work.

So my first question is this: Am I not working because we've won the lottery, or because my husband's salary magically doubles so that my income isn't necessary anymore? Because each scenario lends itself to different answers. If we suddenly became wealthy, one of the things I would do is travel. A lot. I would take the kids to see the world. And I would also take some trips on my own, or with just me and my husband. I love going to new places, and I just don't get to do it nearly as often as I would like. Therefore, if Raegan wants to study abroad when she is in college someday, we will make it happen. Totally.

I'm guessing that I probably need to think of what I would do if we were still the same financially, but I didn't *have* to work anymore. So what would I do?

1. Spend a loooooot of one on one time with Raegan. Do lots of fingerpainting and playdough and jumping on the trampoline.

2. Take a nap at least once a week. Naps...... mmmmm.......

3. Do a LOT of baking and try out new recipes all the time. I love to cook so very much, and I wish I had more time to do what I would like to do in the kitchen. I would like to get into some more in depth, difficult recipes, but I just never seem to have the time. I would also like to make every single recipe that I've pinned so far on my Pinterest. Check it out. There are some pretty tasty recipes on my Food board.

4. Going along with #3, I would also start up my own business that had something to do with baking. My mom and I were talking about running a bed and breakfast, with me doing all the baking and cooking. How totally fun would that be?

5. Be thin. I was going to the gym at least 5 times a week this summer because I would go as soon as Luke got home from work. I'm guessing that my inability to do this anymore has something to do with the fact that I'm just a few pounds from my goal, but unable to budge the scale.

6. Do all the crafts that I want to do. I started a Burlap Wreath on Sunday and all I've managed to do so far is wrap the wreath in burlap and get the loops on. I would love to take up sewing, and get back into crocheting again. It was always such a relaxing hobby for me.

7. READ!!!!! I don't get to read nearly enough, and I love it so very much. I would make it a priority to spend at least one naptime of Raegan's a week reading. (After I penciled in my own napping day, of course.)

And honestly, I really can't think of anything else. I feel like my life is pretty balanced the way it is. There are things that I would really like to have time to do more frequently, and I would love more than anything to stay home with Raegan, but I think things are pretty good the way they are. I'll let you all know if a miracle occurs and I do get to stay home. That way you know when to come by and sample treats. ;)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Painting

All of Raegan's pretty new paints!


Alright. Here's my Bad Preschool Teacher Confession. I hate paint. I hatehatehatehatehatehatehate it. I do not like any kind of painting. But, I know that a lot of my students aren't going to get the opportunity to paint if they don't do it at school, so we paint. We paint at least once a week. And I hate every minute of it. Ugh.

So you know how very much I love my daughter when I tell you that I bought fingerpaint for her today. I have a couple craft ideas that I want to do in the next few weeks, but I also wanted Raegan to have the opportunity to just paint. I don't think they do very often at daycare, so there you have it. At first Raegan kept asking for water because she's used to painting with her watercolors, but when I showed her how to dip her fingers in it, she was all "OKAY!"

She loved it!!! The only way I could get her to be okay with being all done was by P-R-O-M-I-S-I-N-G that we would do it again soon. :) And I must say, I don't mind painting all that much when it's with Raegan. It was actually kind of fun.

Hmmmm......


Two hands!


Posing


YAY!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Parade

I took Raegan to the parade downtown this morning. The last time I took her to a parade was for the county fair last August. Now that she's so much older I figured she would enjoy it a lot more. (I was right!) At first she was a little hesitant about waving to the people in the parade, but as it went on she really started getting into it. She was especially excited the first time someone threw candy to us. CAN-EE!!!

Eating some crackers and waiting for the parade to start


She was excited because the marching band and twirlers were coming down the street


Cheese!


Waving


This was Raegan's favorite part of the parade. She kept yelling "Donkey!" and laughing! It was too cute!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Our Sunday Afternoon

This morning after church I took Raegan to Walmart with me to pick up some various odds and ends. I've been meaning for weeks now to buy her some paint, because we have yet to do any painting at home. (She has gotten to a few times at daycare, so that's something at least!) I wasn't impressed with the one type of finger paint that Walmart offered (or perhaps I should say I wasn't impressed with the price!) so I'm going to hunt down my homemade finger paint recipe at work this week. In the meantime, I bought watercolors.

Raegan started hounding me about painting as soon as we got home, but I was mean!mommeeee! and told her she had to wait until after her nap. Smart girly is smart, because she started hounding me about painting again the second she was done with snack. I didn't get any pictures of her painting (which she absolutely adored every second of) because I didn't think to grab the camera beforehand, and I was not about to leave her alone with paint. However, here is the finished result:

Masterpiece deserving of a frame!

After painting, Raegan wanted to do playdough for awhile, and then color with crayons. (Actually, she wanted to paint again, but I said once was enough for today.) So after our Afternoon of Art, we went out in the backyard to play. It was a beautiful afternoon to be outside!


I let Raegan play in her water table for awhile, because it wasn't too terribly chilly out.


I love when she makes thoughtful faces at me!


Radar discovered a squirrel on the side of the tree and thought he was going to panther stalk it. It was really funny to watch him slink across the backyard.


When I told Raegan that Radar was trying to eat a squirrel, she got super concerned and went running over to tell him no. :)


A little pat for the disappointed kitty.

New addition

Here's the newest addition to our family's collection of toys:



The pictures don't really do it justice, but with the chance of rain all weekend, my husband hasn't wanted to take the cover off of it. :) Luke's been searching for a bigger boat all summer. I was really pleased, because he got this one for almost $1000 less than what our top limit was, and it's in really good condition. I only wish he would have found it sooner, because with the cooler weather upon us, I really don't think we'll be going to the lake anymore this year.
On Friday, the kids had a lot of fun playing in the boat with the cover on it. It's practically a huge tent for them!


Zane's soccer game

Here are some pictures from Zane's game last weekend:










The next couple pictures show how well Raegan kept herself entertained during the game! :)







Go Me!

I don't know if you all remember my plan that I posted about in here last month. I just wanted to update, because I'm so totally pleased with my self control with my credit card! :)

I've been using my Old Navy card to get gift certificates to use in store. The deal was that you had to buy groceries, gas or dining out to get the triple points. Every!single!time I've used my card for one of those things, I've instantly gone to the ATM and pulled out cash to put in an envelope to go towards the credit card bill. We just got the bill yesterday, and it was insanely big. Like, I would never have that much on a store credit card. Ever. But I had every single penny of it covered with the money I had been setting into the envelope. AND, we got a $10 gift certificate with the bill, thanks to how many points we racked up with our purchases. Pretty sweet.

The triple points deal continues through the end of the month, so I'm hoping to get at least $5 more in gift certificates before it's over. Now that I've proven to myself that I can handle a rewards credit card responsibly, I'm contemplating signing up for the rewards card that gives you an extra 5 cents off per gallon at Kwik Shop gas pumps. I already get pretty good savings by using my Dillon's plus card, but who doesn't want to save as much as possible on gas these days? :)

Monday, September 12, 2011

Playdate fun

Last week my friend Katie and her son Greyson came over for a playdate at our house. I was super excited because we've never had anyone over for a playdate at OUR house before. Raegan and Greyson enjoyed playing with Raegan's kitchen set, and it was so nice outside that we were able to let them jump on the trampoline for awhile before Katie and Greyson had to leave.








Jet Skis

The last time that Luke went to the lake with his brothers, he brought one of his brothers' Jet Skis back with him. Raegan really enjoyed sitting on them and pretending to drive them!





Friday, September 2, 2011

New words

Sorry Mom, no pictures in this post! (But I am giving you a short video, so that's good for something, right?) This is just a quick update about new things that Raegan is saying, so that I can remember how funny she is now in the years to come. :)

Something new Raegan has started saying this week that I absolutely LOVE is "sure". More times than not, when you ask her a question, her answer is "sure." "Do you want some more banana?" "Sure." "Do you need to sit on the potty?" "Sure Mommy." I love it! :) Another fun thing that she has learned is Mommy and Daddy's actual names. Every now and then she will randomly call us Luke and Shannon, and it cracks me up! And just today I asked her what Mommy's name was, and what Daddy's name was, and she was able to answer. Now I'm trying to teach her to say her first and last name. My girl is getting so big and smart!

Tonight when I was rocking Raegan before bed, I told her it was time to fold her hands to say her prayers. She folded her hands and said, "God is great, God is good, Thank you goldfish." lolololol (At daycare they do the "God is great, God is good" prayer before lunch each day. I love that most nights when we do prayers we say thank you for a lot of her favorite foods. She's definitely my girl!

Raegan also loves to pretend to talk on the phone right now - either one of our cell phones or one of her play phones. She always follows the same script: "Hello. Yes. No. Bye!"