36 weeks and my mind is STILL running on high

This is my self portrait taken yesterday in a state of creativity. I was tired of the same old belly shot so I thought I'd try it from different angles. I dunno...I'm kinda liking this one for some reason.

Anyway, the school year is rapidly coming to a close and my neighborhood group is beginning to wind down. I will continue to be the coordinator for our playgroup and I'm starting to compile a list of activities we can do this summer to keep us all from losing our minds. Here are some of my ideas so far:

** Have a playgroup garage sale.
** Weekly picnics.
** Have a movie night.
** Host an etiquette tea party.
** Splashpark outings.
** First Tuesdays at the Art Museum.
** Pool parties.
** Potluck happy hours for mom's night.
** Day at the horse races.
** Putt-putt golf.
** Minor league baseball family nights.
** Arts/crafts themed playdates.

I realize some of these are lofty ideas, especially with me having a newborn on the way in 27 more days, but don't some of these sound so fun???

It's the little things...

This afternoon we met A and L at SMG for a matinee movie. The theater was showing Charlotte's Web (the new version with Dakota Fanning)for $2 adult ticket and $1 kid's ticket. The ticket lady let D and A in for free! That's the cute discount, folks.

The boys did great! We brought lunch for them and they ate while the movie played. Both boys started to get wiggly with about 20 minutes left but there were no meltdowns. Next week they are showing Curious George and we are planning on returning. R mentioned that she would like to bring G next week so we'll have to invite them along as well. Even if they don't make it through the whole movie, we're only out 2 bucks!! Can't beat that, huh?

After D's nap we went to Michael's and picked up some materials for a project I've been wanting to put together. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do but I knew that I wanted to make D a form of felt board game. Something quiet that he can play with at church or in the car and not bother anyone.

After checking out all the aisles (twice) we decided on a felt puppy game. I took one long firm piece of felt and folded it in half. They had some felt pieces that are adhesive backed and we picked up 5 colors. I also found some iron on puppies that we snagged. Last, I grabbed some velcro.

Here is the finished product (minus the spinner that I just can't figure out!).



D will spin the spinner and move his puppy to the appropriate colored spot. The object is to get your puppy "home". Cute, huh? And it'll reinforce his colors. He LOVES moving the puppies around the board!! It's the little things, folks...

Three miles and 10 months away

Thursday morning we hosted a meetup playgroup at our house. In the days leading up to the event, we had 8 folks signed up to come and 4 on the waiting list should someone cancel. Well, the morning of, after we ran to PetSmart to drop off the dog, we returned home to find that 5 of the ladies had cancelled last minute! And none of the waiting list ladies could make it, either. Kind of sad, right?

We decided not to let it keep us from having a great time. D helped me make oatmeal cookies. And when I say help, I really mean it! He dumped in all of the ingredients, except vanilla, and even helped me mix it all up. He watched me roll them into balls and helped make sure the cookies stayed in a ball once on the cookie sheet. What a wonderful helper!!!





Three ladies came and we had a wonderful chat about all kinds of mommy things: including breastfeeding, pediatricians and the huge amount of money we have all spent on various toys that were impossible to pass by only to be disappointed at how little time was actually spent playing with them.

One of the ladies, AM, informed me that she lives just 3 miles down the road! Her daughter, M, will be one on July 4th and she loved watching D play like a big kid. She is just starting to stand and seems fascinated with how easy D makes walking look.

AM and I have made plans for this Tuesday afternoon to get together.

Friday I sent out an email to "the regulars" about the kid friendly showing of Charlotte's Web at our local theater. Of the 6 girls who received my email, 3 have responded. Two can't attend due to prior appointments and the other, L, said they'd LOVE to meet us!! So looks like it's a movie date for us tomorrow!!

I found out that R was in the hospital with appendix issues and had to have surgery. I haven't talked to her yet but plan on calling this afternoon to check on her. I bought her a get well card and plan on making some cookies to help her recuperate. Cookies are a GREAT way to help someone feel better, right??

Ogre and Out!

We started yesterday with a little mommy-son date to the movies. We saw Shrek:Forever After. Well, we saw all but the last ten minutes of Shrek. D decided that he was ready to go and couldn't be talked in to staying until the end. If those darn previews hadn't lasted 15 minutes we might have been able to make it!!

After lunch and a nap we were off to R's house for a little swimming. Dominic LOVED getting in the water and splashing and kicking his legs! He squealed and giggled. I couldn't get any photos of him in the water but I wish I could have. He was so cute!!!

We hung out around the patio and talked while the boys played. We talked about how we met our husbands, which is something that I find fascinating for some reason. I just think it's so interesting how people meet. Out of all the people in the world and the chance meetings we have for ONE person to stick out above all the rest is just so cool to me!!



We are going to a local festival this afternoon after D naps. There will be a live performance of The Stinky Cheese Man that we are planning to see. It should be so much fun for D. We invited L and A to meet us out there and they are going to try their best to make it.

So they made it to the show but they only caught the last 15 minutes. Lucky them, the show was RIDICULOUS! The longest 45 minutes of my life!! Talk about ADD!!!

We enjoyed the air conditioning for a bit before grabbing some early dinner and a chocolate ice cream cup.



This week we've got some fun playdates scheduled. A baby shower/playdate, pool playdate and some scrapbooking fun are on the menu.

Have a great Sunday!!!