Daddy's Helper

Eric was in a wreck this week.  We are so thankful he is ok.

His car isn't ok though.  He decided to focus on fixing his old Ford Explorer 

because it is a cheaper fix than the Hyundai.

He has worked on fixing the AC this week and today, he changed the fuel pump.

Millie was always at his beckon call.

"Daddy, want me help you?"

He never says no. 

 It may take him a little bit longer, but she is always needed.

She is getting good at it too.

He called her over to hand him a screwdriver.  

He then told me to come help her find a screwdriver.

Before I even got close, she bent down and said, "Here it is!"

She was correct.  She held the one he needed.  

So, if you ask Millie, she just might tell you she fixed that truck today.

Spring is Here

I actually love my front yard right now.

Things are blooming and it is so pretty.

I even get out there and weed it sometimes.

The girls have some fairy houses.

I put some succulents in Millie's baby pig planter.

Eric got some gnomes for Christmas and loves them.

The roses are blooming!  I have seven rose bushes.  Well eight, but one is possibly dead.

One came from Grandma Stringer and one came from my Paw Paw.

Look at my cute Winnie the Pooh.  He was bought for Emogene's baby room.

The other six were bought from a resale page.  I got them for $30.  All but one looks beautiful.

Not a bad deal.

Lantana is one of my favorite plants.  

The colors on this one are gorgeous! 

I bought these solar powered lanterns and hung them from my two front trees.

I think I have seven of them.

They look so pretty at night.

I have a few favorite things here.

1. Tomatoes!

2. Hawaiian plants, I have two.  I hope they both bloom this year.

3.  A fake lizard I placed in a spot to scare people.

I had this lizard in my classroom.  The students would get to set it on their desks and squeeze it while working quietly.  If needed, it helped fidgeters get out some fidgeting.  They also liked to be well behaved to get it as a reward.  Emogene knows it is there, but it still occasionally scares her, especially if the wind catches its tail.

I have plans to add a brick border instead of a dead grass border.  

Everything takes time.

What is your favorite flowering plant?

I'm trying to decide what to put around my mailbox.

I also have two of the terra-cotta leaning pots.  What do you put in them?

We can't find anything that lives for very long.

Green Week

This week, we started learning the color green.

We talked about green things a lot and found lots of green things around the house.

Our first activity was a bit messy but they had fun.

I dyed shaving cream green and let them play in it.  After they were done, I pressed a piece of white paper on top of it to make an art piece.

The next thing was coloring.  I would have loved for them to make a big drawing, but Millie wasn't excited about ruining her prized cardboard she brought home from Nannie and PawPaw's house and Dawson loses interest in coloring pretty quickly.

I then had them sort some green and red things to review the two colors we've studied.  That was fun. Dawson hasn't completely gotten green yet, but he is trying.  Millie kept correcting him.  

Then Dawson just wanted to play with the green tractors, and 

then wanted his milk because he was getting sleepy.

We ended our first week of green with some green things for lunch.  They ate on green plates.  

They had yummy broccoli.  It was a big hit with both of them.

I also made them an avocado ranch dip for their nuggets.  Dips are Dawson's LIFE.

He ate all of his.  Millie barely touched her dip.

They then got some yummy green grapes for dessert and later for snack. 

We will do more green things next week!  What would you suggest?

Princesses

Emogene will do pretty much anything Millie wants or anything to make her happy.

They played dress up.  Also, just in case you don't know, Millie calls her Ma.

It is short for Em-MA.  

It sure would make it less awkward while at Emogene's school if Millie would call her Em.

A Boy and A Beast

As you can see, this little boy loves Sheldon.

Sheldon tolerates him.

Fort Fantastic!

Lydda had gotten a fort kit for Christmas and we recently got a climbing thing.

I decided to combine the two.

I got into that thing, awkwardly I might add, and did one side.  I know

Eric would have done a much better job, but I was the one doing the helping.

Lydda was in charge of doing the other side, no assistance allowed.

I could see the gears in her head working.  She would get a little frustrated at times, but

she just kept on working on it.

All the kids had a good time reading, fake napping, or watching a movie inside the fort.

I want so badly to get the girls an outdoor movie projector.  

I think that might be our big family gift next Christmas.

Do you have an outdoor projector that you recommend?

Dog Bed Destroyer

I feel like I have bought 128 dog beds over Sheldon's eight years of life.  It hasn't been that many, but seriously, this dog goes through a lot of dog beds.  He DESTROYS them!  I have tried punishing him by not having a bed, but I don't think he associates the lack of bed with his destructive behavior.

I invested extra money in a Tuff bed.  It lasted two months, which was a record for him, but after Tuff replaced the first "indestructible" bed, we stopped speaking to one another.

Well, when I was pregnant with Millie, I borrowed a baby bed from my sister.  

It came with a really old mattress that I didn't need.  I decided since I had just lost our second Tuff bed, I'd use it for Sheldon.  I bought him a new sheet.  It lasted a while.  The springs eventually started showing.  Then, I noticed another baby bed mattress in the attic, Sheldon enjoyed it for a while too.  I gave up after that and let him take over the couch. 

After finally buying a new couch, I found another old mattress in the attic, and brought it down.  I think they are multiplying in my attic.

I thought that surely an elderly dog will have no interest in destroying yet another bed.  So far, he hasn't.

Last weekend, I asked Eric to build a frame for it so I didn't just have a mattress on the floor in our main living area.  I think Sheldon loves it.  I think he likes that it is off the ground like the couch.

I currently have two sheets for it and it has two mattress covers protecting it.  I take off the top sheet almost every single day to wash it and switch with the other one.  I'm looking to add some decorative ones in the future.

Millie and Dawdee love it too.  Sheldon has to scoot over to share it with them.

He is a strange dog.

Sadie Hawkins Dance

This is their second year of dances.

I heard they had a lot of fun.

One of our favorite moments ended the night.  Eric and

I waited in the car while Hattie walked him to the front door.

Seth went to give Hattie a hug, but Hattie only saw one of his hands go up for the hug, so she high-fived him.  It was hilarious!  We of course didn't know that he was going for a hug until his mom texted me later.  We couldn't stop laughing.  These two make me laugh.

A Warm Day Fun Day

Millie got a water table for Christmas, and we couldn't wait to use it.

She asked if I needed to take off her shirt too.

He tasted every single ball before doing anything with it.

Millie was wronged in some way.

Dawdee was trying to get her to come back to the fun.

We are looking forward to warmer days so we can do this again.