Camp's Outer Space Playdate

Several weeks ago, we inherited my old childhood bedroom furniture to use in Camp's big boy room. The big piece of that was my bunk bed set complete with one of the original mattresses. It has a space themed design, and it is pretty much awesome. We decided it was too old and had been in storage so long that we needed to upgrade for our boy. But, how could I just throw away such a cool mattress? We put it outside and let Camp go wild jumping on his new moon bounce. Thus, the idea of an outer space themed playdate was born.

Yesterday, several of our good friends came over to enjoy some space fun. Here's a look at our out-of-this-world playdate!

We did a cute little fingerplay/song that I found here: http://mrshomeec.blogspot.com/2010/09/preschool-lesson-space.html

This was supposed to be a create your own constellation on paper craft, but we discovered that the stickers didn't stick (they are pretty old), so the kids just used the chalk to draw on the "night sky."

Make your own constellation viewer craft. I found the idea here: http://blog.austinkids.org/2009/02/17/exploring-our-universe/. This craft turned out much better!

Moon, Stars, and Planets garland- I just added some moons and stars to the pom pom garland I made for Camp's 2nd birthday party.

Space Sensory Tub with black beans, bouncy balls, pom poms, decorative gemstones, space erasers (from Dollar Tree), and wooden stars. This should only be used for children who are past the "I put everything in my mouth" stage, and be prepared for your two year old to spill the beans all over the house. Next time, I will put this tub inside our big blow up pool with the rule that it must stay inside the pool. I got the idea for this tub here: http://www.mrsliretteslearningdetectives.com/2013/02/space-themed-sensory-and-freebie.html. Another idea to add would be glow sticks or glow-in-the-dark stars. I plan to add the letters of the alphabet to the stars so Camp can go on a little space learning scavenger hunt!

More moon and stars decorations

Beverage station

Fruit rockets! Strawberries, bananas and canned sliced pineapple on a half skewer :-)

Hubble Hummus with pita and pretzel chips. We had these cool star plates leftover from New Years!

I used cookie cutters to make these moon and star cheese snacks.

Moon Pies (duh!) and Marshmallows (hubby came up with the white dwarf idea!)

Space Snacks

Homemade star lab planetarium. Thanks to my wonderful husband for putting this together for us!

The famous moon bounce!

Thank you to all our astronaut friends who came to explore space with us!!! It was truly a BLAST!

Snow Much Fun Playdate and REAL Snow 2014

Because it was snow much fun last year, I decided to host another play date to celebrate winter and snow! Camp got the stomach bug on the day we planned it, but I was able to reschedule for the next when it just happened to be forecasted for snow! Our little play date seemed to be the conjuring factor for it to actually snow the next day! I guess we need to plan a SUNNY SIDE UP play date next.

Here are a few pictures from the fun we had this year! Thank you to our friends from the play group that came out to throw snowballs, make snowmen and enjoy snowy snacks with us.

The awesome snowball set that Camp got for his birthday really took our snowball fight up a level this year! Thank you, SherBear and Jampa for the Snowtime fun! (found at Hallmark before Christmas)

Snowglobe cookies with snowflake sprinkles are ready for decorating.

Melted Snowmen and "Iced" tea!

Served Hot Vanilla Milk with optional mini marshmallow snowballs. So yummy!

Painting snowglobe cookies with edible paint

My little polar bear artist

H is making his snowman while baby polar bear chews on mommy's shirt!

SMILE!

SNOWBALL FIGHT!

darling friends and craft

adorable owl winter napkins I found on the cheap at Ollie's

Cute little snowman name craft the kids made! Of course this would be sideways-sorry!

And the snow (well mostly ice) came the next morning! Camp loved watching it fall and crunching in it as he walked in the yard, but he was cold so the love didn't last long.

The kid refused to wear a hat, but Mommy wanted to stay warm :-)

I think he thought I was crazy for trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue.

Baby #2 update: 22 weeks

I had the most miserable moments of either pregnancy this past weekend: THE STOMACH BUG! My poor sweet Camp had his first stomach virus, and I felt so bad for him. He handled it so well...way better than I did when it hit me! I'll spare you the details, but I was miserable and am just now starting to feel normal again 3 and half days later. It didn't help matters that this baby is some kind of Olympic gymnast and loves to tumble, spin, and kick at all times! That is not fun on an upset tummy.

Anyway, moving on...

How far along? 22 Weeks 

How big is baby? The book says baby is about the size of a small grapefruit- between 13 and 16 ounces! Baby is about 7.5-8 inches from crown to rump :-)

 

Maternity clothes?  Haven't tried my regular jeans on lately but pretty sure they wouldn't fit now...mostly just wear yoga pants or leggings or jeggings now. I have worn a couple of maternity shirts as the regular ones are getting kind of short! I'm so grateful to friends who have loaned or passed on their maternity clothes...but I still need a good pair of jeans that fit.

Sleep: I lost a lot of sleep during the whole stomach bug thing but was able to rest a lot over the weekend while Jonathan played with Camp. As long as I stay asleep, I am good, but if I wake up (or am woken up), I can't go back to sleep.

Best moment this week: Camp and I both recovered from the bug!

Movement: Oh yeah. This baby is way more active now than Camp ever was in the womb. It's really cool but so weird at the same time. He or She is mostly active (or at least I noticed it) at my bedtime or in the middle of the night.

Food cravings: Last week was doughnuts! Haven't had much craving this week due to the above mentioned virus, but I did really want ice chips and slushies. Cured that with a Route 44 Powerade Slush from Sonic. Stay hydrated they say!

Food Aversions: Not really (aside from the obvious last few days)

Gender: Still a big question mark here!!!

Pregnancy Symptoms: Another bad acne breakout; can't squeeze through spaces I used to be able to!

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss:  Nothing today...

What I am looking forward to: Seeing the baby again this week and hopefully finding out if we're having a boy or girl!

Upcoming appointments/events:  I'll have my 22 week appointment and another ultrasound on Thursday.

Weekly Wisdom: Avoid the stomach bug at all costs!

Milestones: Camp is now a happy Camper in his big boy bed in his big boy room...time to work on the nursery!

Bump Picture: 
@ 21 weeks

@ 22 weeks

 

One Dollar Wednesday: Tank Top Hanger

It's been quite a while since I posted anything for One Dollar Wednesday, but this week gave me some time to make a quick little Pinterest project come to life that needs to be shared! I bought these fancy (okay, not so fancy) plastic, bright green shower curtain rings at Dollar Tree a couple of weeks back. They come in a couple of different colors, but green seemed fun.

I forgot to take a picture until I had already emptied out a few rings! These come 12 to a pack.

I gathered up most of my camisole type/spaghetti strap tank tops that I layer under shirts and sweaters. I wanted and needed to get these out of my drawer to make space for other things like jeans and t-shirts. You can use any kind of tank top or even scarves!

Just hook each ring on the bottom of a sturdy hanger (I think I might have to switch mine to a plastic hanger because the velour ones are nice but kind of flimsy), slide your tanks onto the rings, and click the rings closed. And ABRACADABRA: Tank Top Hanger!!!

Pretty tanks, all in a row!

Hope you liked this post and can use that dollar wisely this week. Be sure to share any other neat ideas you have for these inexpensive shower curtain rings.

Our Hall Bathroom Remodel

In December of 2012 (yes, that was over a year ago), we had our hall bathroom partially remodeled. We got paint, crown molding, a smooth ceiling, new flooring, new toilet and new vanity with all new fixtures! Our old bathroom had a lot of character, but we had a mosaic tile floor that was starting to come up in little pieces. Everytime you walked in the bathroom, you would come out with more pieces of tile on your feet. Plus, there was some pretty horrible wallpaper with a green vanity, yellow sink and yellow toilet. I have a couple of before pictures but I can't seem to find any of them, but believe me, it was, "Yikes!"

It took several days of living in a mess and trying to keep Camp (brand new to walking) out of the way, but the bathroom was done, and I was so happy. Well, you didn't get a post about it then because of course I wanted to add a few finishing touches. Over a year later, and we're finally ready to reveal! I hope you like it as much as we do!

This is the view when you come in from the hallway. It's a pretty small bathroom, but it works for guests and our little guy.  Map of Italy artwork was a gift from my close friend Kristin as a thank you for hosting her bachelorette weekend. I got the spiffy shower curtain from Marshalls!

I love the crown molding and non-popcorn ceiling. The wall color is hard to really tell in the pictures, but it's a minty green. It's a special blended color that I made up, so I call it Howell Green.

New WHITE toilet and WHITE sink with beautiful vanity, It took me forever to find a mirror that would work, and I think I'll still keep looking for something with some more pizazz. This one from Wal-Mart suits for now!

We got a fancy new light fixture, and Jonathan hung these great little pictures of Italy that my mom gave me for my very first house. They suit this bathroom perfectly I think. I have no idea why the walls here look blue, but I promise the room has just one paint color.

I am overjoyed with this awesome textured tile floor that we picked out. The best part is that it's no longer a choking hazard!

I have had this "bath" towel hook just about forever, and I still really like it. Great place to hang, you guessed it, towels!

I am so happy to have this room complete. It's ready for visitors and another little tush in the bathtub in a few months!

Baby #2 On Board!

I have been horrible about blogging lately, so I'm starting this year off with the most exciting news...we're expecting! Camp is going to be a big brother in 2014!!! 

We told our parents like this:

We made the announcement to our close friends and other family at Camp's 2nd birthday party:

And we told Facebook with this:

Today, I am 20 weeks pregnant! That's halfway there...and it's really hard to believe.

I am "borrowing" my great friend Mandi's blog post idea to give you the updates thus far. Thanks for the idea, Mandi!

How far along? 20 Weeks

How big is baby? According to my book, baby is between 9 and 10 inches head to toe and weighs about 9 ounces- about the size of a mango!

Maternity clothes?  My regular jeans still fit, but just barely. I bought a pair of maternity jeggings on clearance, and they are pretty much awesome. I'd say I'm wearing mostly regular clothes and a few maternity things.

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty well but having a lot of bad dreams about random stuff.

Best moment this week: I'm totally nesting, so we're moving the guest room upstairs to make room for Camp's new big boy room. That will leave the nursery open for our sweet little "Peppermint."

Movement: I felt the first little flutter about two weeks ago! The baby seemed to like Oreos because I felt a lot of turning and twisting last week when I ate a bunch of them dunked in milk.

Food cravings: Most recent was fried pickles, but it's usually whatever pops up on Pinterest. I'm mostly wanting salty and savory this pregnancy.

Food Aversions: Everything is still okay with me usually, but when I get hungry at night after dinner, I usually don't want to eat anything!

Gender: Baby was very uncooperative for the ultrasound at 18 weeks so we didn't get to find out the gender. We are going to try again (and drink OJ and do jumping jacks) in two weeks.

Pregnancy Symptoms:  a tiny bit of acid reflux, pressure below the baby

Belly Button in or out? In, and I just did a double check to make sure, haha!

What I miss: being able to move heavy things

What I am looking forward to: revealing the baby's gender to everyone (and finding out ourselves hopefully)

Upcoming appointments/events:  I'll have my 22 week appointment and another ultrasound on January 30.

Weekly Wisdom: We decided to move Camp into his big boy's room with new bed first and then work on potty training in a few months instead of trying to do both at the same time...I think that's a wise plan, right?

Milestones: Half Way there!!!

Bump Picture: (this is from 18 weeks because I haven't changed out of pajamas today to get a decent pic!)

***UPDATED: 20 weeks picture. Bad lighting and shadows but you get the point.