Tiny Talk Tuesday - Summer Songs Edition

So have there been any songs that are "stuck" at your house this summer?? LOL!!

My crew has had two that have lingered in our home;)

The first was a song (and movement) to Agency D3 VBS that we attended at our church in June. I'm not sure of the official title of the song but any time someone in the house uses the word "more", we start singing:)

"More, more,... oh, oh, oh,oh, oh,... more, more, more than just a good man!" So very cute to hear them all start to sing with the perfect pitch and timing with each other. And I love that it's a song about Jesus being "more than just a good man"!


The other song is funny:) We finally got to see the LEGO movie during one the $1 deals at a local movie this summer! The kids were sooo excited to finally see it and Nate made it through a whole movie (I think that was a 1st for us... minus the time we took when he was too little to care).

Here is the "full version", my kids just sing the "chorus" :)


And of course my kids totally add in different words to include what we're doing or something that has been done. Seems like we get a new version to sing every few days;)

"Everything is awesome when you're part of the B_________ team, everything is awesome because it's kind of about me!"

So what songs, sung at the tops of their lungs, have you heard in your house over and over and over this summer ???

Hugs, Kisses and Animal Mtg at the Manger

This morning I was greeted with a little toothy smile:)

And as we snuggled for a bit before we started the day, Nate asked, "Where is Daddy?"

Brian put the kids to bed last night while I attended a meeting, so Nate remembered being with his daddy as he fell asleep. Then Nate had slept in until 8am which is when Brian starts his day at work so he missed seeing Brian in the morning.

Nate continued, "So you are going to stay with us today, while Daddy is at work?" LOL! It was funny that he was asking this.... hmm, we have the same arrangement 5 days a week;)

Then he added, "You can stay with us because we give you hugs and kisses!" Definitely the BEST way to start the morning and the BEST reminder of the blessings of this season of getting to stay with them:)

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I'm totally not ashamed that we still have up Christmas decorations!! I love Christmas and taking down all the pretty and meaningful decor makes our house look soo bare. They will come down sometime this week (or next week!) though:/

Meanwhile, Nate is still playing with the Little People Manger set we bring out every Christmas!! He loved the set this year. He's take it out of his "busy bin" and ask,"Will you tell me the story?" Music to this momma's ears... just beautiful and simple! Christmas!

This week I found a meeting happening at the manger scene... a meeting of animals.

I had to see what the "hub-bub" was about :)

I know it was a silly arrangement of Nate's, but in that moment it really hit me when I saw they surrounded Him... Baby Jesus!

I was still... I was reminded of how we should have Jesus in the middle of it all. That even a small child knows that Jesus is the most important person! And in this case Nate thought even the animals gave Jesus all the attention.

I love stopping to see sweet moments instead of just rushing through my days and tasks. I am VERY guilty of always being in a rush with an impossible "to do" list each day. And I am thankful for the encouragement and reminders I get when I take the time to stop and enjoy and even look for the small blessings among the messes and the every day moments with my kids.

Link up or share in the comments if you also have some "tiny talk" moments this week:)

Mower Sleeper... strikes again

I know I'd shown this before... but at 2 Nate slept in Brian's arms on the mower. And it's soo sweet to see him now at 3... still falling asleep in his Daddy's arms doing his most favorite thing in the WORLD... ride the mower with Daddy.

If he could just stay awake to enjoy the ride.

Gotta love the mower... Brian serviced it himself... we're totally keeping this until it doesn't move;) It may not be pretty... but it works (for now)!!

It's just something about the loud noise, the gas engine smell and Daddy's arms that makes it a cozy spot for a nap;) Daddy likes the time, too;)

Looks like we're not the only ones who are exhausted!

More Wordless Wednesday at  5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go.

TTT: An 8 yr old's text

We had a field trip last week and I didn't have a pocket for my cell.... I know not a good idea for momma not have a cell pocket:/ My trustworthy first-born agreed to help me out... she definitely enjoyed the privilege:)

We had a laugh though when Brian came home from work. More concerned than usual, he asked how my day had gone. When I quickly said that it had been a good day he looked less worried. I asked about his releif.

He relayed to me that he had received a text stating "Chris is driveing me crazy!" earlier in the day. And how he had worried all day that Chris and I were have an off-day.

LOL!!! Too funny that my 8 yr old is texting secret messages to her Daddy:)
We made a plan for her to use an "A" at the end of her texts from now on so we don't worry Daddy all day:) LOL!!

It's your turn:)

Not Napping, but Pottying

I've always been a nap encourager:) In fact, some of my "bigger" kids would still take a nap if I had them take a "quiet time" during the day... which I really need to phase back into the afternoon... somewhere:/

For months now Nate has been a non-napper. Most of the reason is that we use the time to run errands and that I spoil him by staying in the room with him until he falls asleep. And we had been using the time it took him to fall asleep as read aloud time (a sweet hour of the day) until the stillness made me sleepy too;)

The ending of our read aloud/Nate falls asleep time was due to the fact that in the evenings, after he had a nap, he would be up to 11-12 at night!!! Yes, when the older ones would head to bed Nate would be wide-eyed... while we'd read in bed all the older ones would crash and Nate would look at us and say, " I go downstairs with you, now!" Not quite the relaxing evenings parents look forward to during the busy days... especially since Brian and I use our evenings to work:/

Nate actually does very well without a nap... sure he can get fussy at 8ish... but that's totally reasonable for a tired 2 yr old. Anyway, we're working on some solutions...

Two days last week he came up with his own plan of crashing on the couch at 6-6:30 and sleeping through the night:) Definitely shows that this little guy NEEDS sleep... even when he fights it hard:)

This week he had us all laughing as he fell asleep eating a bowl of cereal at 6:30ish pm... it was the only thing he wanted to eat!I call it "picking my battles":)


After the video I cleaned him up, changed him into a diaper and laid him on the couch to be with everyone else... he totally fell soundly back to sleep, I moved him upstairs about 9ish (and brushed his teeth) and he slept through the night.

He woke me up at 6:45am with a dry diaper because he needed to go potty:) 

Oh yes!! He's doing that too:) Gotta love kid-led potty training... he was ready without me!! Totally awesome and it's been very easy (besides tending to the tot on the pot with 3 kiddos needing to be schooled)....

NEVER thought I'd say that!!

Tool Man

Boys love to carry around their tools;)

Not as funny, but it reminds me of Chris carrying around his "tools"!!

Afternoon Siesta

Jack napping.

Collar napping.

Too funny to see them napping "together" as we ate our lunch.

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

Hat Song, No M'am & Introducing

Nate has loved the song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star for months. it's been a hoot though to hear him turn any word or phrase into a "Twinkle, Twinkle" verse;)


I loved his finale (the 1st one)!! And of course the normal older sibling squabble in the background... nice! LOL!!

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Nate and I were watching the above video...
Nate: Two Nate! (he was watching one and then himself)
Me: Yes, one Nate is here and there is a video of Nate on the computer.
Nate: Why?
Me: Because you are very cute and I have to take pictures and videos.
Nate: Tute?? No M'ammmm! (with his little smirk!)

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And after MUCH analysis and too many names tossed in baskets, we've come up with a name for our little puppy:) The name cam up a few times throughout the process. We liked it because it's short, easy and fun.

Now formally introducing JACK... the puppy who is now named;)

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Ok, it's your turn;) You can submit a blog post URL or just put your cute kid quotes in the comments;)

Mower Nap & Extra Rider

Nate's been known to fight naps and then crash in some strange ways! It was a weekend afternoon and I had just started to get the kids down for nap/rest. And then Brian started the mower:)

Nate perked up! And then ran outside and waited until Brian invited him on. Minutes later...

Really was sound asleep:)

As soon as Brian woke Nate he had another rider... waiting her turn;)

The neighborhood dog had to see the Miracle Mower for herself:) LOL!!

She LOVES riding on things... mowers, golf carts:) We've already had a couple of neighbors say that she rides with them... LOL!!

I love Nate's expressions as he tries to tell "Sissy" to get off the mower!

BTW... Brian's mower was off with the Nate & dog pictures:)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday: Gotta Watch Those Boys:)

Chris loves soda!!!! It's a treat when we're at church socials or when I have to make a cake;) Or when we're visiting with family.

Grandma and Grandaddy brought some soda with them during the week they helped us pack up. I have to say with all the work and the heat, it was nice to have something else to drink besides water:)

But we all got a laugh when Chris was trying to talk Grandma into another glass of root beer.

Chris : "But Grandma, I don't feel drunk!"

LOL!! Took me a minute to realize he knew he was drinking root beer. And then to remember the "drinking" conversations we have had with the kids during Little House on the Prairie episodes :)

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One of Nate favorite new words is "teys" for keys. I know part of the reason is that we have a little book that talks about keys, it's one of his favorites to read at bedtime. We've even caught him sticking our van keys in the ignition:/

We'll now he is making his own keys;) And he knows exactly where they go;)

He's soo proud of himself;)

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Chris and I were playing cards one hot afternoon. After a few hands I let him shuffle the deck. For some reason "shuffling" is an honored job while playing cards:)

But what was precious was Chris saying "chuckle" instead of shuffle;)

And you've got to watch him when he shuffles, he tries to give himself the "wild" cards!! Little rascal:)

Let me say, that I often get busy with too many "housekeeping" things and neglect simple things like playing a game, coloring or even get watching the kids create stuff with their toys. But from our couple of cards games, I really was reminded of the need for me spend "playtime" with them.

Funny, how I read a blog about it a few days later;)

Now it's your turn. What have your kids been saying:)

Our Week of Cleaning

In my life this week...
We are really in the thick of moving.... but first was the cleaning. There was a contract-cleaning for the house, but the amount we would have paid was kind of ridiculous especially since we were told by a few people that they had to re-clean because the paid cleaners didn't clean cupboards, blinds,etc! So we thought we'd to it ourselves and get the credit... a few hundred dollars NOT on a loan is good:)

While Brian was out of town Monday through Wednesday night the kids and I packed a closet or two, unloaded our stuff and then spent hours each day cleaning... H.O.U.R.S.!!! We came home exhausted each night, ate a quick meal and then headed back to the house for another day of cleaning.

On Tuesday we did attend the library's reading time and then a program in the afternoon. We also had a picnic at the park... we all needed a little break. And on Friday we spent the day at the beach with family:)

Honestly our week has been packing and cleaning, unpacking and cleaning! The BIG move is this weekend;) I'm really hoping that after another week of cleaning, packing and unpacking, we'll be able to sit back and finally enjoy some summer days:)

Helpful home schooling tips or advice to share... 
I'm slowly learning through schooling my kids that sometimes completing a task/assignment with them turns out to be more a heart issue exercise than an academic one. I need to recognize those moments as teaching character moments and not push for a completed assignment but encourage their hearts instead.

I am inspired by...
Empty closets. There is soo much to pack, but seeing an empty closet pushes me to open the next closet/room and start again:)

My favorite thing this week...
Besides our beach trip, was  seeing Chris on the couch "reading" for fun!!!

I had to see what he was soo quieting "reading" :) I think he is my non-fiction reader!

What's working/not working for us...
Really late getting home, dinner and bedtime! We have been out soo late this last week... like getting home after 9pm and then having to feed the crew. They haven't been in bed before 10 each night. And that means the parents stay up even later:/


The good thing is that they have been sleeping in until 8am or so:)


We're reading/learning....
We've been reading about Lewis and Clark and their adventures! It's very interesting the travels and experiences that they had.

I'm cooking...
Barely. It's been very simple around here and it's only going get easier as I move more of the kitchen stuff to the new house.


I'm grateful...
Our school/play room at the new house. It's the only room with new carpeting and that was almost clean (that is the task for this week's visits). The kids used this room a lot this week as "their" room as I cleaned. It was nice to have a place for them to hang out:)

I'm praying for...
Good attitudes! It's been a challenge to balance all that needs to be done and all we (the kids) want to do... they really want a "summer break"... swimming in pools, playing at parks, chasing a new batch of kittens our neighbor has, etc! It's impossible to be outside with them and inside packing.... so it's requiring balance!

A picture to share...

One "fun" task for the kids was to test all the light switches and electrical outlets. Armed with sticky dots, Anna tried every outlet with a clock radio and Chris flipped all the switches being sure they all worked. They marked the ones that didn't work with dots. Thankfully not many dots were used:)

Nate got a hold of the leftovers;) I had to take a picture though when one rubbed off onto his ear:)
BTW... his old shirt is a hand-me-down from Chris. Nate loves this shirt. He calls it his "ah-ah" shirt... monkey sounds;)

Here's to 5 more days until moving day and grandparents coming, too:)

Linking up to Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weekly Wrap-Up.

Whoops!

I am still in awe how well Nate can drive a powered kid vehicle!

He scares me silly as he heads full throttle down our driveway toward the highway that runs in front of our house. But he always turns at the last possible second to stay on the sidewalk and continue the journey around the church yard back into out driveway...

to do it all over again.... yes, even the part that scares me... again and again and again... until naptime;)

The other day though (at a friend's house)...

Whoops!

Ok, maybe he's not the safest yet! But for being a 25 month old driver he's pretty good and super cute in their little blue Mini Cooper:)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!

SOOC: Under a Pillow

Nate fell asleep like this...

 

His Daddy sleeps with his head under the pillow, too!! But Not his whole body;)
How fun to be small enough to totally fit under a pillow!!

 

And really nice and cozy when you refuse to wear much clothing when you sleep!! LOL!
Definitely doesn't get it from his mommy....
who has been known to put on an extra layer before bedtime;)

This is What Tired Looks Like

After meeting up with some friends (some passing through and others we are moving closer to) at a park last week, Chris crashed after we returned home and he had been bathed.

Sound asleep!

It's also the perfect time for the Little Brother to snatch all the cool cars Big Brother has been keeping from him:)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!

Not Quite The Womb...

Boots, Skates and a Tractor

Nate had been eye-ing the roller skates for awhile. He never could understand though that he had to wear his shoes for them to fit right.

Recently he tried out boots:)

And a nice ride (or at least sitting) on the tractor;)

I thought it made the funniest combination:)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!

Who Likes Peeps???

This weekend while we were out we were handed a box of Peeps! No, really we were :)

So this week after a very nutritious lunch, I pulled out the Peeps to see what the kiddos would do:) I have a couple marshmallow lovers and so I really thought they would be a hit.... I mean once ever year isn't bad;)

Since it was Nate's first time with a Peep... I had out the camera and caught his Peep experience:)

LOL!!! His poor little face. To me it says something like "I've been tricked, these aren't good!"

My middle two who have both have a "sweet tooth"... loved them:)

  More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go,

And Then She Snapped and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!