Thrift Shop

Spring Break Day 1:

I'm going to try as hard as possible this week to stick to my guns and keep the electronics to a minimum!  We did okay today -- even if we did have two screen time windows instead of one -- and the thing the makes me the happiest about eliminating the constant electronics, is the creativity that ALWAYS flows once they realize there are other things to do.  :)

This afternoon, while Ethan and I were working on some Conference file folder games for the little ones, Grace, Sophie, Jane, and Alex worked on transforming Alex's room into the "Sunny Days Thrift Shop."  Hahahahahaha.  They were all so excited to have me come up and see it when they were done, and I have to say -- I was quite surprised and impressed with the extent of the transformation!  They had to do quite a bit of cleaning and organizing to get it looking the way they did!  Hahaha. 

{Stuffed Animals $2}

{Action Figures $1.  Diapers $3}

{Lights 50 cents (? I think ?}

 {Toys $5}

 {Beds $100. (And WAY overpriced.  Haha)}

{Clearance for 50 cents.}

I always love it when they come up with their crazy, creative ideas.  Here's to hoping the rest of Spring Break will spawn some more...  :)

Abracadabra

Ethan with the Amazing Mr. Jacobs, Magician (and Math Teacher) Extraordinaire

I know everyone has been waiting with bated breath for the recap of Ethan's fantastical Magic Show night from last Friday!  Hahaha.  Unfortunately, ALL of my pictures are SUPER blurry and terrible because the lighting was so bad in the "Auditeria." Which, let's pause for a moment, to discuss the mockability of the term "auditeria."  I mean, really?  Do we need to have the cafeteria and the auditorium combined?  Is this a new thing in the Elementary schools?  Hahahaha.





Nevertheless, after practicing and practicing for months and months, Ethan's 6th grade Magic Club was ready to do its thang.  Ethan stayed after school that Friday to finalize preparations for the big show and hang out with the crowd, while eating pizza and bonding, and waiting for everyone to arrive.  We, of course, arrived WAY too late to get our "reserved" seats for the night, and ended up on the very back row in the very back corner.  Prime location. Hahaha.  Alex was hopped up on the goofballs the ENTIRE time we were there, and kept running back and forth down the hall by the lunch line and begging for more snacks from the concession stand.  The girls stayed in their seats the majority of the time and were rather riveted by the performances even though both Sophie and Jane had already seen portions of the show that afternoon during school.

I found a spot in the very back center of the room where I was able to stand and snap some pictures, but none of them really turned out.  I didn't even bother with attempting a video, because the sound and the picture quality would have been unintelligible.  It's really too bad, because all of the kids did such a great job!  But, at least we've already forked over the pre-order money for a DVD of the show and will be able to add that treasure trove of footage to the family vault.  :)

{Ethan is in the navy , large-scale gingham shirt in the center.}

All in all, it was a night to remember.  Even if it did end WAY too late for the three year old in our company {and others.}  Thankfully, even though we got home after nine, we managed to hustle everyone straight up to bed without too much fuss.  It wouldn't have been that big of a deal normally, to get to bed at that time, but we did have Daylight Savings time changing issues still wreaking havoc on our family.  Hahaha.

"The Vanishing Lady" -- Ethan's "specialty act" with Shelby.

{According to Ethan: "The name comes from the Queen of Hearts that vanishes.  I put the card in, and it magically disappears.  Then, Shelby shows that the card is actually on the bottom.  Then I do it again -- this time MORE magical, and when I turn around, I show that the card is still there.  Then I turn BACK around and Shelby shows that the card has magically disappeared.  The whole magic act is performed with a lot of laugh lines here and there.  You know, comical banter."}

And...scene.

Withdrawal

In case you're wondering what electronic withdrawal in a three-year-old looks like, wonder no more.  Haha.  I figured out how to set the TV yesterday, for only an hour's worth of viewing each day during our "Screen Time" window of 3:45-4:45, and to say the kids were upset when they came home from school and discovered this new development would be an understatement.  I've been a little lax over the past few weeks with enforcing our House Electronic Rules and, as a result, the kids have been having almost non-stop screen time.  On Sunday, as I watched the majority of the children STRUGGLE to sit and be still during Sacrament Meeting, it clicked with me {yet again} that the constant stimulation and entertainment coming from their all-access screen time during the week was having a negative effect on their ability to handle life un-plugged.  

I decided that setting the TV for an hour each day was a nice happy medium between free reign electronic usage, and cancelling cable altogether. Here's to hoping that Alex will make it through the week!  Hahahaha.

 "Just let me!!!!!!"

 "If you don't let me watch something, I will eat all of the candy!!!!!"

"Build-a-Bear Workshop is the Best Place in the Mall!"

This morning I decided it was finally time to use the Build-a-Bear Workshop cards that Alex and Jane got in their stockings at Christmas.  Mostly because I didn't want the morning to be wasted away in another "screen time" fest for the little ones.  Because unfortunately, that's been happening WAY too frequently these days.  Getting out of the house and doing something fun was the best thing for ALL of us this morning.  :)



Of course, they were so antsy to get going that we ended up arriving before any stores were open for the day, and we had a good 15 minutes to kill by walking around and window shopping.  Not exactly the funnest thing for a 5 year old and a 3 year old.  Hahaha.  We managed one full lap of the mall before stores started opening and then we rushed back to Build-a-Bear to get our building on.  :)  Jane wound up glomming on to the most visually assaulting option of the bunch as soon as we walked into the place, and Alex, meanwhile, opted for one of the half dozen superhero-themed options -- The Hulk.  Hahahaha.  It took awhile to get them corralled over to the "stuffing station," but once there, the magic began.  They were so excited to fill their animals and then equally excited and serious when it came time to jump start the heart that would go inside their pick.  The "air bath" station was also very fun, and choosing an outfit pretty much sent them through the roof.  Alex was insistent on getting an Ironman costume for The Hulk, and Jane found the perfect outfit for her multi-colored junk.  Hahaha.

 And yes -- he HAS been rocking this entire jammie concoction for the whole week.  He's only changed out of it for preschool, and then changes right back into it when he gets home.  Hahahahaha.  What can I say?  He likes to be comfy, and since I can't blame him, I like to choose my battles.  :)

 "Warming up" the hearts to fill them with love before stuffing them inside their animals.

 And then stuffing away.

 Rainbow the Brite.  Hahahahaha.

Fluffy, The Hulk Ironman.

When it came time to name their animals and print out their "birth certificates," Jane went with the apt moniker "Rainbow," while Alex went rogue and decided to call his "Fluffy."  In the end I let them each pick out one more outfit -- a Daisy Girl Scout ensemble for Rainbow, and a Thor costume for Fluffy -- and we were on our way!  The kids couldn't even wait to get home before digging into their boxes and playing with their junks in transit.  It was a successful morning.  :)

Of course, once Grace -- our resident junk-lover -- got home, she quickly rounded up ALL the Build-a-Bear animals we've collected over the years and helped Alex and Jane get them all dressed.  :)  I was worried for a second that she might commandeer their stuff from them -- as she's wont to do -- but she didn't.  So I'm really proud of her.  Hahahahaha.  

Supercuts

I woke up this morning and decided that today was the perfect day for Jane and Alex to get haircuts.  And since I've gotten rather lazy about cutting their hair myself, we decided to make an excursion out of it and went to Supercuts.  :)  When I asked Jane how she wanted her hair, she replied that she wanted the same haircut as me so that we could be twins.  Hahaha.  I just love that she still thinks I'm the coolest and wants to be best friends.  Alex, on the other hand, was quickly appeased that we weren't at the "Borics" by the cousins' house once he saw the free suckers at the checkout, and pretty soon, both their haircuts were underway.  After wrapping things up at the Supercuts, I realized we were running out of time and were going to miss the bus anyway, so I made the executive decision to head next door to the Panera, so we could all eat some lunch, and then just drove Jane and Alex to their respective schools.  It was quite the action-packed morning!  Hahaha.  Enjoy the photo essay of our day.  :)

 Jane REALLY likes taking selfies.  Half the pictures on my phone are from her swiping it and taking pictures of herself.  Hahaha.

 She also REALLY likes it when I raise my eyebrows and make my forehead "all bumpy."  Hahaha.  I guess she'd be sad if I ever got Botox.

 And finally, see that smile?  She lost her first tooth!  And by lost it, I mean literally lost it.  Hahaha.  The morning it happened, she ran into my bedroom to tell me, I told her to run downstairs and put it in a ziploc baggie so it wouldn't get lost, and by the time I came down, she was already searching for the lost tooth under the couch cushions because she had forgotten to follow my directions.  We never did find the tooth.  AND we completely forgot about leaving a note for the Tooth Fairy.  AND she didn't even notice.  So, I guess having ADD is good for something.  Hahahaha.  

 She kind of loved her first shampooing experience.  I can't really blame her.  :)

 Meanwhile, Alex was super excited to discover that his Dum Dum had turned his tongue blue. 

 Cute little glamour girl!

And we're twins!!!