2010 a Recap...

Once again, it has been a while since I've been able to post. The fall seems to hit us hard w/husband's school starting, cross country season, oldest daughter's school (and in turn school friends sharing germs), then Halloween, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas. It's enough for me to DO those things, let alone reflect on them and write about them. We haven't been without family drama either... our relationship seems to be built up around family drama, so in some ways it seems par for the course. But.... I'd be lying if I said that I didn't envy those people for whom life seems to fly by effortlessly. Of course, the grass is always greener on the other side. You think your family is the only one with problems, but really, everyone's got 'em.

But I digress... this post was supposed to be a re-cap of 2010....

I started off 2010 pretty pregnant, not that you can tell from this picture. But I also got a snazzy new haircut, which I desperately need again.

On February 21, we welcomed another sweet girl into our family...

Fast forward and we had a fun 4th of July, first having a parade at my dad's and then going to shoot fireworks at husband's grandparent's house.

I got to spend some quality time w/middle daughter while husband took oldest daughter to visit his dad's family.

We had another first day of school... oldest daughter is now in PreK4!

We celebrated halloween as tinkerbell and snow white

I got a little bit of sewing in... I'm doing much better doing applique and made turkey shirts for Thanksgiving for our 3 girls and our niece.

And did a few crafts here and there... this is our advent calendar made from pages in magazines & a gift bag.

Went to see Santa

And had this waiting under the tree (from mom & dad)... we built this play kitchen w/a few supplies & a nightstand!

And most of all... we had a lot of fun as a family. Here is hoping 2011 is just as fabulous!

some day

Emily at Chatting at the Sky has a beautiful post today about remembering what it is like to be a mom to little ones... which got me thinking about this:

I'll never forget last summer... I was pregnant and nauseous all the time and had just finished doing the 'big grocery shopping' with my then 3 & 1.5 year old in tow. I realized that I hadn't thought to find a parking space next to one of the cart return stalls and I had just loaded up the girls, started the car to get the a/c going (blasted Oklahoma 100*+ summers) and loaded all of my groceries into my trunk. I stood there with my cart, probably looking pretty perplexed, and weighed my options

• leave the cart in the middle of the lot where it will probably get caught in the wind and put a major ding into some undeserving person's vehicle
• make a run for it, leaving the girls in the car, and hope no one notices that there is an unattended car running
• unload the super cranky children and make them go with me to the cart stall

... and then like an angel, another mom pulled up next to me saw the trouble on my face and offered to take my shopping cart for me. I will NEVER forget that small act of kindness. She mentioned that she knew what it was like. I hope that some day I can offer the same kindness to another.

Twister!

This movie was filmed in my husband's home town. Oklahoma is considered to be 'tornado alley' and we are 'famous' for our tornadoes. Unfortunately, the one we experienced yesterday has claimed at least 7 lives. Trust me, we have EXCELLENT reporting (and forewarning) when it comes to tornadoes in Oklahoma. For there to be numerous lives lost means SERIOUS weather... of course that is confirmed by the reports this morning of no fewer than 26 seperate tornadoes. Scary.

Now, here's where I start to sound like a fool... many of my non-Oklahoma friends know that we are famous for our tornadoes and make it a point to tell me how they don't know how they could possibly live here... tornadoes seem so scary. And, don't get me wrong, they are. But to me, it isn't any different than any other kind of impending threat that is based on your region. Sure, we get tornadoes, but coastal people get hurricanes or earthquakes. Some get ridiculous fires, others get monstrous snow storms (take into account that Oklahoma's great blizzard over Christmas 2009 resulted in about 12 inches of snow w/3 ft drifts. Some of my east coast friends would consider that to be a dusting)... we all get bad weather and other natural disasters, so instead of thinking that one is worse than another, I prefer to do my best to stay educated about what WE have and know how to keep my family safe. We do not have a basement or shelter at our house. I'm sure eventually we will prioritize that in our finances, but for the time being, our hall closet protects us well (with the girls wearing bicycle helmets) or, if it looks particularly ominous, our next door neighbors do have a shelter in their backyard.

So, please pray for our safety and when I hear about your wildfires or blizzards, I will pray for yours.

mommy

my first mother's day w 3 darling daughters.... LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

occasionally I still get the question "are you going to try for a boy"... ummmm.... no. not that I have anything against boys, but really, I believe God will give us the children we are meant to have, our hands are pretty full at this point, and the assumption that our family isn't complete without one of each gender makes me feel like the person asking me must not realize that there is not one canned 'boy personality' and one canned 'girl personality'... with 3 daughters I know that they are each very different, and they are each such wonderful gifts to me

I thank God for that!!

Sewing challenge...

I'm on a bit of a crafting/sewing kick these days... not that I've accomplished all that much, BUT I have scoured the internets =P and found some great tutorials that I'm trying out a few at at time. I have already done this tutorial once, just to try it out... and came up with this:

I'm pretty happy with the results, although it turned out MUCH bigger than I was expecting, so I think I'll make a few adjustments to the size. The size of this lime green beauty is perfect though on my teal oversized bag. Anything smaller would have been swallowed up, I think.

Anywho... my budget is tight this year, so with Mother's day right around the corner, I've got some crafting planned for gifts. I'll be making those flowers for my mom & stepmom, one for oldest daughter's teacher (because of course, in honor of mother's day coming up, we busy moms also get to busy ourselves with thoughtfulness & stress of teacher appreciation week), and one for each of the girls' godmothers.

Additionally, for my mom, I am working on this little project. As I've mentioned here before, my family has never been one to keep any kind of history or link to our past. I'm determined to change that for future generations and starting by having each of my parents do a little journaling for me.

I'm hoping to take a few pictures and show off the results of these projects soon, so stay tuned!

sewing...

Well, little number 3 got 'all washed up' this weekend, but leading up to it, I was itching to try a few tutorials that I've found online... the pictures are NOT great, and I didn't even get a picture of the baby in her matching outfit (after mass), but the main goal of this post is to link to some great tutorials that I recommend....

the girls skirt came from here

the rosette (which actually comes out MUCH smaller than the tutorial pictures would make you think, fyi) came from here

and little one's matching onesie/dress (not shown... I'll try to get a picture of her in it in the

next few days and update) was an interpretation (I didn't use elastic for the skirt, I just sewed a ruffle - one long running stitch set at highest tension and longest stitch, then pull the threads... next time the elastic may work better) from here

Happy sewing!

3

Baby girl #3 has arrived... I can't begin to describe the wonderful. She is perfect and beautiful and lovely. I'm loving the time I have to spend getting to know her. This was easily the hardest labor I've ever had, but I also appreciate this 'after' so much more. I guess that is a pretty decent trade, considering I have a forever of 'after' and the labor was only temporary...

more on her birth story in a bit, but for now... feast your eyes...

have you had the baby yet?

I'm getting that and similar comments a lot lately... you're so huge! are you having twins? when is the baby coming? what is the baby doing?

I'm getting to that uncomfortable and cranky stage these days and the snarky answers that I come up with in my head, fortunately aren't leaking out to the rest of the world... yet.

But, today is the 16th, and my edd is the 25th. Since I'm using a new doctor this time, I don't know his policies on letting moms go past their due date, but all signs point to the fact that I'll be holding my sweet baby girl within the next 9 days. Only 9 days left! It is really hard to wrap my brain around.

We have 2 major things left to accomplish 1)choosing her name (which won't be posted here anyways, but trust me, it is HARD finding a name that you and your husband agree on that 'goes' with the names of your other 2 girls) and 2)buying a minivan. We're hoping to do that on Friday (if I haven't had the baby yet!!).

That's right... I'm going to be one of 'those' minivan moms. And since husband coaches soccer at school, the 2 older girls already have a deep fascination with all things soccer. Which means, I may eventually have to become... gulp... a soccer mom. Maybe I should start wearing jumpers and keds... sigh. I'll think about that another day.

But really, this post is about my baby. I cannot wait to meet her, to hold her, to nurse her, to witness her sisters meeting her for the first time. I cannot wait to take that first bleary-eyed photo of the 5 (yes, I said FIVE!) of us together. Baby girl come soon! Your family cannot wait to meet you!

mildly disheartened

Just have to put this vent out to the world... need to let it sit out there and be my 'silent voice' as it were...

Fake people drive me crazy. As an introvert, I do a lot of sitting back and observing... and when you keep your eyes and ears open and mouth shut, there are plenty of opportunities to pick up on two-facedness, shmoozing, charlatan-like behavior. There is a person in my life who seems to personify this lately. A person whose role is supposed to be 180* in the opposite direction. I'm not sure what insecurities lie beneath to make someone choose the fake over the real, I go back and forth wondering if it even matters. To be a learned person, to be a public figure, to represent yourself as a holy person but at the same time to live a life of greed, arrogance, and belittling... is there really any excuse that makes up for that? Some more patient, more understanding than me may try to say this person is "only human", but the blatant inconsistencies between how a person "presents" him/herself to the greater community and how a person individually criticizes and makes others feel unwelcome is not acceptable.

Maybe this is generally the response of a mother wanting to protect her family, guard her cubs if it were. I'm not sure. What I do know is that I am proud of my beautiful family and grateful for God's blessing on us. There isn't much I can do about this person, other than pray I guess. Why doesn't that feel like enough?

4

Today, my oldest turns 4. This one feels especially significant for me, and the only reason I can think to explain it is that my 4th birthday is the first one I really remember. There's a sense within me as a parent that if I know I have memories, clear specific memories, going back to that age, then my kiddo can too. And that reflects on the intentionality in my parenting. Not that I'm not already intentional, just that... I hope I'm not screwing up too much.

But enough about me...

a few pictures of my beautiful girl...

2 turns at joy

in the past few weeks, despite the chaos, i can look back and remember specifically 2 things that are so joyous in my world...

the first is a major milestone, one that has been a LONG TIME COMING...

oldest daughter has struggled so hard with the potty training issue. when it comes right down to it, the girl is stubborn and the only answer to the potty training issue is that she would be 'trained' when she was darn good and ready. there wasn't ANY getting around that. i worried that we may be backsliding when 3 days in a row her teacher sent home clothes needing laundered from accidents. after those 3 days, i sat with her as she got dressed in the morning, showed her the 'pretty panties' that mommy had just purchased (some may call this wasteful, i call it grasping for sanity, but i am so over trying to scrub out stains from underwear. in our house they typically get thrown out) and how mommy really wanted her to try to not have an accident, to go poop and pee in the potty, and keep her panties pretty. now, i am nowhere near arrogant enough to think that it was those words that made a difference. i was pleading with her more than anything, and as i tried to hide the desperation in my voice, i know that above anything else, SHE made a choice that day. and boy did i get to hear about it. her wonderful teacher used her cell phone to let her call and tell me "Momma! I pooped on the potty- at SCHOOL!!!!!" I rejoiced with her, congratulated her, told her daddy would take her for a special treat, and encouraged her to keep up the hard work. I thanked her teacher for helping us on this journey and for sharing our joy and making that moment special for all of us. This all took place last week on Wednesday and we have been 100% accident free since then. In fact, she isn't even wetting her pull-up at night. This morning I asked if she thought she wanted to try to wear panties at night but she said no. I definitely will not push on that. I'm just SO PROUD of her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My other joyous story can actually be told in pictures. I don't want to sound snobby or arrogant, but I believe that I have 2 really beautiful daughters (and I'm growing a 3rd... watch out world!)... their similar looks really strike me at times, and this time was no different. I happened to catch a shot of younger daughter smelling some mums at a local garden center and the picture I caught looked (un)surprisingly similar to another one I had caught 2 years before (of her sister)... what do you think?

younger daughter almost 2, October 2009

oldest daughter almost 2, October 2007

Cruise Control...

I'm sure its obvious if anyone is even still checking my poor little blog here, but I'v ebeen on serious cruise control. Keeping the car between the lines was about all I could manage for the last 2 months... here is a short rundown...

~husband started school and another season of cross country (which means waking up at 5 am)
~oldest daughter started school only 3 days after a diagnosis with a double ear infection
~youngest daughter developed an ear infection shortly after that
~youngest daughter and husband were diagnosed with a strange virus that resulted in sheer exhaustion, fever and sores in their mouth that made it difficult to eat or swallow

~youngest daughter came down with bronchitis followed up by a nice round of thrush from her antibiotics

~oldest daughter got a stomach virus

~husband and I caught her stomach virus

~oldest daughter came down with bronchitis

~oldest daughter got another stomach virus

~I was diagnosed by my ob/gyn with a medium (fist-sized)fibroid growing off of the back of my uterus (on the outside) toward my spine which can cause some pretty uncomfortable back pain
~meanwhile youngest daughter has had 5 weeks straight of unexplainable diareah

Yeah. Needless to say my life has been hectic, messy, frustrating, expensive, and tiring. Oh and did I mention that in the middle of all of that our dryer and our heater stopped working? Fortunately for us, the fixes for those only totaled $40 (which is good b/c our savings is about drained)...

We racked up well over $200 worth of co-pays to the doctor not to mention I-don't-know-how-much extra we've spent on: prescriptions, otc meds, sprite, carpet cleaner (for the diareah and vomit), paper towels, disinfecting wipes, ramen, applesauce, gatorade, etc. I think once we add all of that up the toal comes to around $500. Yikes. That is kind of a lot when you think about it. I could have a new couch for $500 easily. I need a new couch, but I won't be getting one anytime soon.

But, for now, I am grateful. Yes, you heard me... GRATEFUL. Today, my family (for the most part) is healthy, my bills are paid, I have a job and a roof over my head. Oldest daughter is THRIVING at her school, youngest daughter's language skills are skyrocketing, husband finishes cross country season this weekend, and this weekend we celebrate oldest daughter's 4th birthday with not one, but two fabulous birthday parties (one for family and older friends, one for the girls in her class). We also happily celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary, found out that this little peanut is going to be a girl (Lord help us! ha ha), and managed to go on 2 date nights within one week. Not too shabby. We are blessed.

So, Thank You Lord, for this:

And this:

And this:


And this:

And this:

Amen.

how's this for pictures?

We went and had family photos done today... since blogger will only let me upload 5 at a time, I'm not going to do all of them b/c I'm lazy and impatient, but here is our family thus far, before I am showing too much...

does anyone know how to rotate a photo in blogger? i am clueless.

ok, not to sound snarky or full of myself, but how blessed am I?

Me as a teen

Life has been busy, that's all I can say. That's why I haven't posted lately.

Moving on...

June (from ByeByePie) did a post on herself as a teen and asked others to do the same, so I'm blogging it...

I think confused best describes me in high school. I think I was always caught in the middle, never exactly going full force into one side or the other...

a few examples...

I was really smart in high school but totally not interested in things like homework. So, I'd get to school early, find a friend who would let me copy theirs, get a halfway decent grade, rock my tests, and move on down the road. I think I had a 3.5 gpa by the time I was done, but with a little EFFORT I totally could have been one of the 8 valedictorians (seriously, from a class of 104 we had 8 valedictorians and they ALL gave speeches at graduation. How's that for ridiculous?) who all had something like a 4.2.

I was super dedicated to my faith. We went to mass every weekend, I attended weekly religious ed classes and was one of the few members of the youth group. I loved going on retreats and doing volunteer work. Meanwhile, my circle of friends at school were what you might call 'the rough crowd'. I was the only virgin among them (gasp!), the only one who didn't smoke (and I'm not just talkin' cigarettes) or drink. Just call me Sandra Dee. Or not. I still had some of my rougher moments for sure.

I had a pretty happy home life. We lived in a great neighborhood, took some nice vacations, had all of what we needed and most of what we wanted. But the summer before my senior year (on their 20th wedding anniversary) my parents announced to my sister and I that they were getting divorced, which tore my world apart and completely unsettled any sense of commitment, family, or happiness that I had known. To this day, even after experiencing tragic deaths of loved ones, I still believe that my parents' divorce has been the hardest most troubling experience in my life. Its something that (I believe unbeknownst to them) still makes holidays difficult, birthdays awkward, and leaves me questioning everything I experienced through my childhood.

I don't mean to make all of my life seem tragic and horrible, but re-living my teen years is something I wouldn't do for a million bucks. There's a lot to be learned through that time, but most importantly, I'm glad I'm on the other side of it all, having learned the lessons and mostly being able to move on.

2 more to go

Oh my sakes.

When your world comes crashing down, it really crashes, doesn't it?

Last week on Thursday, looking forward to a nice 3 day weekend, husband and the girls and I went out to eat at Interurban. We were needing a nice relaxing, low energy kind of night, one without cooking or cleaning or rushing.

I'd spent the day indulging my new preggo belly in 'whatever sounds good' and thought I'd top it off w/their yummy fish tacos. Mistake number 1.

Did I mention it was 'free chips, salsa and queso- all you can eat' night? Mistake number 2.

When we got home, w/everyone's bellies full and bedtime still just a little way off, we all cozied up on the floor to watch Mary Poppins. Mistake number 3.

About midway through the movie I started to feel some rumbling in my tummy, so I got up off the floor, onto the recliner, and checked out for a bit. (Didn't go take my prilosec immediately, waited about an hour) Mistkae number 4.

(are you seeing a pattern here?)

Fast forward to midnight, clutching the toilet with all my might and wishing I was DEAD... sigh. I was short of breath (b/c it hurts to breathe when you think that your heart has grown fingernails and is attempting to claw its way out of your chest), dizzy, felt like my hands, feet & chin were going numb. I started to worry about stroked symptoms I had read on posters in doctors offices. Husband had been up with me for a while, seeing how truly brutal my stomach can be, and we decided it was time for a trip to the ER.

That was a less than positive experience, since my attending doctor was ready to send me home after 20 minutes. I had received a very special 'GI cocktail' that included lydicane, which hadn't done anything other than numb my tongue and she didn't even bother to find out if that had helped. With my pain level staying nice and high around an '8' both husband and I demanded further treatment, time and examination. There was discussion that it could potentially be my gallbladder, but a test revealed that was not a problem. They did finally give me a shot w/a nausea medication and some morphine which brought my pain level down to about a '4'. I could finally attempt to rest (not sleep, mind you, just rest) and went home with a new prescription for a more pregnancy-safe heartburn medicine.

I spent the next 4 days pretty much exhausted and passed out on the couch. I'm restricted to a bland, acid-free, fat-free diet which is making eating interesting. At this point I'm going to spend most of my paychecks at jamba juice. Getting this little nutrition doesn't lend itself to having much energy which comes at a super inoportune time because husband is gone all week at CHWC.

The good news? I finally landed an appointment w/a GI doctor for later in the month and husband will be home on Saturday AND I have taken next week off as my own little stay-cation. I know the girls will appreciate having both mommy and daddy home for an extended period of time and not be passed around between family members and babysitters. Although, I think we will be hiring a babysitter so that we can go catch Harry Potter one evening.

Life never slows down.

a stowaway

I had a suspicion as I left for St. Paul that I might be bringing along a stowaway. A little someone who decided to join me on the trip without paying for a plane ticket!!!

Turns out I was right. The prayer candles above represent the prayers that I offered at the Cathedral of St. Paul for the 4 members of my immediate family. Yes, I said 4. Yes I know... I have 2 little girls and a husband and now one little bun in the oven.

So, I'm currently exhausted and desperately trying to catch up here at work, but I'm still around. Haven't forgotten any blogging obligations, just trying to make it through the next few busy weeks. So, hang in there with me.

Leavin' on a jet plane

Tomorrow I leave for St. Paul, MN to attend the NACFLM conference.  I've never been given the opportunity to travel in this job, mostly because I've been pregnant a significant portion of the time I've worked here.  I'm especially thrilled for this opportunity because of an NFP pre-conference all-day workshop I'll be attending, along with a number of keynote speakers that will be speaking (particularly Christopher West!).  Not only is this my first time to travel for my job, its also my first time to leave the state since I became pregnant with my oldest kiddo.  

Needless to say, I'm a little nervous.

Leaving my kiddos  w/my husband is not the scary part.  Leaving my kiddos is the scary part.  I haven't been away from them for more than 2 nights in their entire lives.  I know it will be great.  I know that absence makes the heart grow fonder.  I know that my plane won't crash...  but I can't help but be nervous about all of that.  

I booked into my trip nearly a full day with nothing to do, several stops are planned (including here and here).  We get to attend mass at the beautiful Cathedral one evening.  I know it will be great.  But... pray for me while I'm gone?  And... pray for my family while you're at it?

Success

My oldest kiddo made it through her surgery just fine!

Here she is waiting for them to take her back...

they were running early, so she was actually finished with surgery before it was even scheduled to begin. She was pretty cranky and out of it when we first got to go back to recovery to check on her. It was heartbreaking and at the same heartwarming to hear her crying all through the recovery area (she was way in the back) with the very nice Dr. Smith (the anesthesiologist) holding her and rocking her.

and here she is in the car on the way home...

by 10:30 in the morning she was running outside with her dad to see the trash man come and pick up our trash and she helped dad pull the trash can back up to the house. I'd say that's a pretty easy recovery!

Here's the sweet thing being treated to her second helping of ice cream for the day (chocolate with 'moshmewoes', otherwise known as rocky road)

I'd say it was an uneventful day aside from the fact that MY allegies are the devil and have taken over my poor head and body. I was seriously in bed by 7:30 last night, not to mention that I had about a 1 1/2 hour nap midday. I guess all of the lack of sleep from my heartburn was catching up with me.

Thank you God for a successful operation. Thank you for holding my baby in your sweet hands and keeping her safe.

hard to breathe

I had that stinking heartburn again last night. 1 prilosec, 1 zantac and 4 tums took until 2:30 to kick in. Blah. Leaves me a little bleary eyed this morning and my thoughts are a little fuzzy. Then I got a call back from oldest daughter's ENT. He's only available for surgery on Wednesdays (she needs her adenoids removed) and we need to do it either this week or next week. So by 9 am this morning with no coffee in me (I'm cutting out caffeine until I have a few nights heartburn free) I was facing booking a (minor) surgery for my daughter for first thing tomorrow. She can't eat after midnight and that's harder to handle for younger patients, so they book in order of age. She gets the 8:00 appointment which has us at the outpatient surgery center by 6:45. She'll be under full anesthesia for the 30 minute procedure and I know it will be the longest 30 minutes o fmy life. I keep going to my facebook profile and looking at this picture

it's from this weekend, we went up to see my MIL for her birthday. We were out to dinner and the girls just started hugging each other and I had to snap a quick shot. All I had was my phone handy, but really that's all I need. Oldest daughter's beaming face as she embraces her sister is burned into my memory. And I'm terrified. I'm sure the sleep deprivation is playing into this quite a bit, but putting your child's life into the hands of another in such a significant way leaves me feeling helpless. It makes me want to say "NO! Forget the surgery. I'll sleep in her room every night and stay up and make sure she can breathe all night long. Don't worry about me getting any sleep, I've done without it in the past, I'll find a way to manage."

See? There's that pesky sleep issue again. So I'm muddling through the day, trying to clear up any last little work issues so that I'll have tomorrow off, and if anything else comes up, I'll have everything settled and not need me to attend to it for a few days.

So, please keep my sweet girl in your prayers. I'll post an update as soon as I can.

Summer is upon us

For me, summer doesn't mean much different from any other season. I go to work M-F, I help with our programs, I meet with clients, etc. etc.

For husband, it means being home most of the summer with our girls while fitting in 1)writing new lesson plans 2)preparing for CHWC, 3)attending a first aid/CPR course, 4)leading a week long (evening!) soccer camp, 5)being trained in 'care & prevention' (a sports injures class), & 6)a conference on using technology in the classroom. He's not exactly accustomed to his 'free' schedule yet. He's grown kind of used to a set plan for each day. He hasn't gotten to do much 'planning' for being a SAHD for the summer.

For my girls it means no daycare, fun times with daddy, and being at home.

For our family it means 1)not paying for daycare for 2 months (!!!!!!!) 2)coming up with free/inexpensive ways to spend their time 3)not draining our family's budget in the process.

Yesterday I put together a calendar for husband. It is color coded (green for zoo, blue for pool, purple & red for local libraries, black for other libraries) and lists the activities that are available this summer each day. Since our 'metropolitan library system' shares resources, many activities are duplicated from day to day, so I did my best to find the most age appropriate (not to mention most local and interesting) items for each day. They are offering TONS of great things to do (everything from plays, to storytime, toddler aerobics, art, music, movies) and most are free. A few required advanced registration, so for those I listed that information w/the phone number.

I made an additional page that includes the hours of operation for local pools (we do have access to some free pools, but since it will mostly be husband by himself, going to one that has a splash park or kiddie pool is the best option for him), indoor play areas, and libraries.

Finally listed on that page is a list of at home ideas. I divided it into two categories "indoor & outdoor" and tried to come up with a variety of ideas under each category.

The calendar is hung above our family calendar, with the extra list to the side where husband can glance when its been raining for 3 days straight, he needs an indoor activity, and shipping them into the playroom or putting on a dvd has gotten old.

This was the best way I could think of to contribute and prepare our family for the summer. I'm looking forward to finding a few more ideas, though!