Praises of a Wife and Mommy

About the Book: Enchanting illustrations. Giggle-inducing text. Unique and loveable characters. Join Pugtato and his cute and quirky pack of pals in this heartwarming picture book that celebrates the power of friendship, compassion, and believing in your own unique gifts.  When Pugtato’s simple, quiet life is disrupted after he digs up a strange object in his garden, he enlists his best “spuddies” to help (they are more clever than he is, after all). Tweetroot is certain it’s a new egg for her nest. Tomatoad is quite sure it’s a toy just for him. And Purrsnip simply won’t stop scratching it! Luckily, Pugtato has another  very  special spuddy to ask … Pugtato Finds a Thing : Introduces kids 4-8 to a hilarious mash-up of pet and vegetable characters by the inimitable illustrator Sophie Corrigan Written in delightful, giggle-inducing, rhyming text Eye-catching cover features spot gloss and embossing   My Review: This is a cute and silly little book that is great for kid...

A little painters tape and chalk and you can create a masterpiece!    We eventual broke the chalk up in baggies and added water and then used a paintbrush to make it go faster.  

Be safe with this one!  My kids have been around a camp fire so much so they understand safety.  They are also 12 and 9 so they are older!   We put some rocks in the fire and heated them up for about 10 minutes.   Carefully we removed them from the fire and used crayons to decorate them.   They were melting very quickly and since crayons are wax they should last awhile! 

All you need: Dandelions Bucket of Water Have the kids collect dandelions the bigger the better!   Then take the head of the dandelion off.  Then just like string cheese peel layers of the stem and place them in the bucket of water.   Enjoy watching them curl up!   This kept my kids busy for at least and hour! That is saying a lot because they are 12 and 9! 

Covid-19 is actually bringing so many more people back to nature! We haven't been to this park before but we had a great day.  We were on so many trails and saw some great beauty.  There was a little river/stream and huge rock structures, big trees, and so much more!  I loved hearing all the bird chirping!  

So there is a story with this log.  One that I am disappointed in myself for.  You see that log? I saw it and thought oh that would be a fun one to walk across.  Soon after my husband and kids started to walk across.  Titus showed a little fear but faced it and walked across.  I on the other hand tried twice an chickened out.   I got really shaky and nervous and gave up.   My daughter even yelled, "mom, fear can go to hell."  To which I was a proud mom but I didn't face the fear.  I did not cross the log.  DARN IT!  

It was a beautiful day to get outside and we headed to a walking trail but quickly found ourselves going off the path and investigating.  

It sure took a long time with window markers instead of paint!  Next time I will use some washable paint!   However the best part was seeing the sunshine come through the window and create a colorful reflection!  

How are you staying busy with being home more?   I asked on our local free site if anyone had any house paint they wanted to get rid of.  I got several cans and now I have painted several canvas's.  I am trying new ways to do the pour painting!  I make a mess but it is very therapeutic for me.    What are you doing to stay busy? 

Any other mom out there looking for ideas on helping entertain their kids while they are out of school.    This Covid-19 I keep hearing, "I am bored!"   So this package that arrived in the mail sure made them happy... even if it was short lived!   It didn't take much effort or much time to break these geodes.  A couple hits and boom they were cracked open!  

Here we go again... I got this wonderful and beautiful Bible in the mail and immediately Selah my 12 year old daughter was begging to make it her new Bible.   (She has so many Bibles so I was like I think we need to bless someone else, and now she is mad!)  This art collection bible has some other great features.   You can see some of those great features in the image below.   I really like the the pages of this bible are thicker.  It makes me more likely to take notes in the side margins that are provided because the paper isn't so thin.    Thanks Zondervan for sending me this book for free in exchange for an honest review.  I was not paid for this review and all opinions expressed are 100% my own.  

Who is ready to purchase some amazing art? 

My students have enjoyed the "Moldy Bread Experiment."  We learned a lot and made some good observations each week.   First, we are worried about preservatives because our store purchased bread never got any mold!   Second, we realized that we need to clean our surfaces more in the classroom!  Last, we used social skills and turn taking throughout each week while we made observations. 

Here are a few highlights from day 1:

This lovely group of girls and boys went to camp this week!   6 girls and 3 boys are going to grow closer to God and closer to each other and I am blessed to be a part of it.  

Paxton's Corner Coop Where cupcakes and ice cream collide!  :)  I Scream you scream we all scream for... cupcakes!!!  Yep, that's right we did NOT eat ice cream we had cupcakes!   However, this new place was doing July in January and they had icee cupcakes and ice cream sundae cupcakes!   I had the sundae and I did enjoy it.  I tasted a little frosting from the icee and wow that was super sugary but yummy too!  This was about a 35 minute drive for us to get to but it was worth it and we had some fun! 

Look at how adorable these two kids are!   They sure are growing up!  Makes me emotional a little bit just looking and knowing how fast time is going.