Better Late Than Never

My "baby" is now TWO! Her Birthday was June 11th, so I'm a little late with this post. :) We had a family party and I think everyone had a good time. We were also celebrating Mr. P "graduating" Kindergarten, so we had a combined party for the kids.

We grilled burgers & dogs and had lots of fun sides. I got the idea for the pinwheel cookies and the fruit kabobs from Pinterest. So fun!

We bought a cake for Mr. P that said Congratulations! I'm so proud of him for working hard this past school year. Even though there were challenges and some hard days in the mix, he learned a LOT and is ready to move on to 1st grade. :)

Kenzie usually isn't big into sweets, so we put a candle in a cookie and gave her one of those.

Of course, she barely touched her cookie and wanted cake instead, haha!

Some of Kenzie's gifts included pretty jewelry, a puppy that barks from my In-Laws, a water table, from my parents, and a beach towel. She is one blessed little girl to have so many that love her!

Mr. P also got some fun things, wow!! He was pretty excited to get GIFTS at his graduation party. Not expected!! He got an Angry Bird water bottle, activity books, a Burger King giftcard, and other fun things.

I displayed some of his school projects and the photo book from Shutterfly to show some of what he worked on in Kindergarten. :)

I can't believe I'm needing to order next year's school stuff this week. Summer has been going too fast. And it's been so HOT. Yesterday we were outside (watering the yard) and by 10:30 a.m. I was hot and ready to come in, ha! Our favorite places to be outside these days are in the water...kids playing in the sprinkler, in the inflatable pool, at the water park, or the splash pad. We've also frequented the zoo which is of course toasty until you enter an air-conditioned building-ahh...Guess we need to enjoy it now because soon enough, we'll be back to the grind.

Hand-Foot-and Mouth Disease (x2)

Well, the nasty virus turned out to be Hand-Foot-and Mouth disease. Awful stuff! The kids had sore throats, dizziness, nausea/vomitting, loss of appetite & lethargy and THEN after the crazy fevers broke, they started to break out in rashes & sores! P-man's throat looked awful with the horrible blisters and Kenzie got the worst of the sores all over her body. Her poor bottom was covered with blisters and the rash was all over her legs. Blisters are still looking pretty nasty on her feet. :( My only consolation is that after children get this, they can't get it again (at least the same strain of it.) It was horrible watching them go through this nasty disease!

P-man's hands with painful sores.
At one point, it was hard for him to even bend his fingers, with sores all up and down the sides of them. :(

Kenzie's rash on her leg

P-man with his genius invention : a Propeller Hat :)

Watching Shaun the Sheep with her baby dolls

Getting outside to soak up some Vitamin D=GOOD for healing!

Even though they felt pretty miserable few days, it amazes me because they were in good spirits, for the most part. Good thing kids are pretty resilient. And I'm SO glad that they're on the mend!

Nasty Virus

Well, my kids have contracted some type of nasty bug. It came on suddenly : fever yesterday afternoon, nausea, sore throat, CRANKINESS, and Mr. P kept telling me that he felt like he needed to puke. Thankfully, he didn't. We have big plans for this weekend, too. Tomorrow evening was supposed to be Mr. P's Kindergarten graduation party, combined with Kenzie's 2-YEAR Birthday party. But now, it's looking like we'll have to move it. Maybe if the littles are better by Sunday, we can have it Sunday evening after church. I took them in to the Dr. this morning to get a throat culture. Thankfully, it's not strep! Hopefully the fever leaves them. SOON. I hate seeing them sick and in pain.

Shortly after the mystery virus struck, yesterday afternoon.

Watching Timmy Time on Netflix today. :)

Neutrogena Bzz Agent Review

I'm a bit of a makeup junkie. I love to try new things, so when I was invited to a Neutrogena Bzz Agent campaign, I eagerly accepted! I didn't expect the amount of makeup that arrived. It felt a bit like having a Birthday, opening my Bzz Kit (which contained about $45 worth of FREE makeup!)

 Happy Day!!

The Revitalizing Lip Balm does just what it says. It makes my lips softer with each use and adds a bit of color. I love the light color and the non-lipstick feel to these lip balms. They're just right! The only thing I'd change would possibly be the shape of the container. I thought they were a bit tricky to apply at first (since I'm used to used to the average, rounded chapstick container). But these little gems are worth the effort and I used the coupons to buy another one to give as a gift. Good. Stuff.

The Brightening Skin Perfector will be a new staple in my makeup bag. It retails for about $12 (excellent) and really packs a punch at any under eye circles or signs of sleep deprivation. The "paintbrush" applicator makes it easy to apply. I realize I should have taken a BEFORE picture, but then it wouldn't be good to scare away people that check my blog, eh? Here's me after a night of going to bed late and getting up early...I think the Brightening Skin Perfector makes me look more rested. ;)

I'm also wearing the nourishing eyeliner in this photo. My Bzz Kit had the black in it. It's perfect for me and doesn't pull or tug at the sensitive eye area when applied. I already owned another color so was excited that I now have 2 in my collection!

So, in summary...I'm definitely a fan of Neutrogena. If you'd like to try any of the above Neutrogena products, click HERE for a digital coupon.

Warning

We were sitting in the van on Saturday and Joel was putting gas in it. While we were waiting, Mr. P observed this "important warning" and took note. He said, "Do not lean back...and squish your little one." I laughed, looking at the graphic because I could kind of understand where he got his interpretation. Life is so much more interesting when viewed through the lenses of a 6 year old.

Kindergarten

This school year is winding down and I'm super excited that we'll have more time in our days to play and get things done. It has been a good year. Challenging and fruitful. P-man learned a lot and is very much looking forward to this Summer and "100 days off!"

Here's a glimpse at our year via the book I created on Shutterfly :

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.

Goosebumps

It's that time again...FrIdAy!! Friday's make this Mama very happy. Even though the weekends go by in a blur, weekends are a reprieve from our normal routine. Weekends usually mean : a little extra time with Daddy. And a chance to get things done around the house & yard. AND weekends usually mean that Joel and I will get a bit of rest & relaxation together. Yay!!

One morning this week, I commented to Mr. P that he must be cold because he had goosebumps! He didn't say much about it, and then later mentioned to me that he DID get bit by a duck, so maybe that is where the goosebumps came from? It took me a minute, and then I started laughing (which he didn't find amusing.) It cracks me up that his 6 year old rationale told him that his goosebumps must be from the time he got bit by his finger by a duck (LAST SUMMER). I love that boy!!

We went to the Children's museum this week to pick up Birthday presents for my nephews at the gift shop they have there. Of course, we needed to play while we were there. I was glad my Mom was able to come with us. It's always fun for me to have another adult with us, when we go! :)

 The kids enjoyed playing on this giant piano! 

It was from a projector, and when you touch the keys, it makes music. So fun!

 Preston enjoyed his first ride on the carousel that they have upstairs. Giddyup!

And since my Mom arrived in time for lunch, I made us some fruit-n-yogurt parfaits. They're strawberries, layered with vanilla greek yogurt and gluten-free cranberry granola. Yum!!