We Love Gymnastics

If you’ve kept up with us on Facebook, you know we love our parent-tot gymnastics class. I recommend this to any stay-at-home parent (yes, dads too, Joe will be going with Sophia this fall) and for either gender child. Not only does Sophia have a lot of fun at gymnastics, but she learns many gross motor skills that I never would have thought to teach her.

 The class starts out with stretches, then after the stretches we head over to the “circle”. This is an obstacle course type activity where the kids make their way around the circle doing things such as climbing stairs, jumping, somersaults, crawling, and other fun movements. Next we move onto the bars, where the kids take turns hanging, doing their pike, monkey walking, and playing peek-a-boo. This is Sophia’s favorite part of gymnastics. Then we head over to the balance beams, followed by the trampoline. 

Here is where I am grateful for gymnastics. Sophia had never been on a trampoline, and it wasn’t until her first class that I noticed she wasn’t able to jump with both feet. She would sort of “hop” on one foot, and lift the other. Now that she has been in gymnastics for a little over a month, she can jump with both feet at the same time! I know it seems silly, but this is a big deal to me. I never would have thought about her learning how to jump, and better yet, she has mastered the skill.

Parent-tot is hands-on for the parent as well, so I wasn’t able to get too many pictures.

These lovely girlies were in Sophia's class.

 Part of the circle is to jump on each rectangle and say it's color.

  Here is Sophia's straddle.

A tuck.

 Peek-A-Boo.

 Toe-touch.

 At the end of each class the kids get to jump into the foam pit.

 

We have so much fun at gymnastics, and we can't wait to start a new session this fall!

Memorial Day Weekend

Our Memorial Day Weekend was a successful one! I added a few things to Joey’s, “Honey-Do” list, and he took advantage of the extra day off to get things crossed off.

Project: Fire Pit

Specs: Sturdy, eye-pleasing, affordable

Deadline: The Honey-Do list has no deadlines, we know better than to request such thing.

It turned out better than I had imagined (love when that happens). It is nothing too fancy, but it is perfect for the future summer nights we will spend outside.

 We did not have a level, but Joey didn't let that stop him from making a near level fire pit.

 The little project manager approved of the sturdiness, and the height as well.

I am so excited to sit around this beauty and enjoy countless summer nights with my two favorite people.

Track and Field Day

I love being a mommy, but there is one thing that ranks a close second: cheering my younger siblings on in any event/sport they are doing! Even if it were a crocheting race, I’d be there! Today Carmen had a Track and Field day at school, so Miss Sophia and I geared up and headed to the high school to cheer our favorite third grader on.

We had a blast, and Carmen did great! She placed first in Hurdles, first in Frisbee, second in the 50 yd Dash, and second in the 100 yd Dash.

Makeover Monday

It’s only Monday, and I’ve already crossed something off of my to-do list.

I have been needing wanting a nice wicker patio set for our screen porch. I was looking for something like the Threshold™ Belvedere 4-Piece Wicker Patio Conversation Furniture Set from Target.

 

I couldn’t bring myself to spend $797.00 on a patio set. I knew there had to be a cheaper way to get what I was looking for.  I decided I would hunt down some wicker furniture, no matter the color, and paint it. I waited for a few months until I found a set for sale.

I’m part of an online mom group that makes it easy to buy from and sell things to each other, sort of like a giant online garage sale. On Friday I found a VERY nice four piece set on the site, even better it was only $30. Excuse me while I get my jaw off of the table! $30?!?!? Sure it was a little faded and some parts of the wicker were falling off but seriously…how could you pass that up?!? I have no idea. I went to pick it up almost immediately. 

Thanks to the new CR-V, I was now able to fit more than a week’s worth of groceries in the back. Unfortunately the CR-V wasn’t quite big enough and I ended up taking two trips, regardless it was totally worth it.

So I got the pieces home and put them in the porch until I had the time to paint. I dread putting this before picture up. My porch was a mess!

 

 So there it sat until Sunday afternoon. By sunday evening we had the first..

 And second coat done.

I hope you, too, have a good looking guy to help you paint during those hand cramps.

Just look at that concentration!

I spent all day Monday putting two more coats on each furniture piece.

Okay, not ALL day Monday, of course I had to go shopping for some new cushions. So Sophia and I headed to Home Depot with Aunt Nina.

Before I reveal the afters, here is a breakdown of my total costs:

Furniture: $30

Spray paint (10 cans @ $2.89):  roughly $30

Seat Cushions (4 cushions, 4 pillows) $114

______________________________________________

Total Cost:   $174.00

    Total Savings: $623.00

 I would really like to find a rug to add to the porch, but we will save that for another day.

To make the porch feel a little more "homey," I added a white serving platter and flower vase that I had bought at T.J Maxx awhile back.

 

I did have to buy some fake flowers though because I cannot keep plants alive! Thankfully S isn't a plant and I can keep her alive :)

A Brand New Car

This weekend we went car shopping! Okay, so it's not BRAND new, but it is new to me! We made our first BIG mutual investment. Yup, we are the proud owners of a Honda CR-V and I, I mean we, absolutely love it.
This is going to sound ridiculous, but I haven't taken a picture of the outside yet! I know what you are thinking, why don't you go out now and take one, well the birds have "marked" my car already! Really birds?

Honestly, the first thing I took a picture of in our new car..our groceries. It may not seem like a big deal, but I love that I can keep an eye on Sophia while I load the groceries. And even better, all of the groceries fit. :)

 

We love our car so much that we sing about it. ;)

Yes,even Sophia was singing. She was singing to Aunt Jolene (daddy's sister) in the backseat.

I hope you all had a good weekend.

A Happy Mother's Day.

First, I want to wish my mom a Happy Mother’s Day! She is the strongest and most caring person I know. I hope I can be half the mother she is, because “just” half is already the best. That’s right, my mom is better than the best! The greatest thing about having her as my mom, is Sophia having her as “ya-ya”. Coincidence that she spoils Sophia (by letting her have what she wants) and her given name is ya-ya? Maybe. So anyway, Happy Mother’s Day mom!

My birthday was my favorite day until I became a mom. Mother’s day ranks over my birthday now. Why? Because we moms work hard for the title, and it’s nice to be recognized for it (at least) one day in the year.

Recognition is NOT the best part of Mother’s day at all. The best part is the fact that you can brag (for lack of a better word) about your kid(s) all day when people tell you Happy Mother’s Day! Today you can go on & on about your children without feeling like you’re just blabbing.

I am beyond blessed to have Sophia as my daughter. She truly is the best thing to ever happen to me. We rocked matching outfits today!

Let’s not forget about this stud muffin. (Sophia got her good looks from daddy). Yes it is MOTHER’S day, but I wouldn’t be a mother without this guy. He has seen the best, worst, and ugliest sides of motherhood. Through the good and the bad I am, thankfully, recognized as a great mother more than once a year by him.

Enough with the gushy! Take a look as how I spent Mother’s Day this year.

 Daddy got to sleep in this morning...again. Thanks daddy! :)

 

French toast, eggs, and sausage for breakfast. Sophia made sure we prayed before eating. (excuse the chocolate that she has all over her face, she has become a skilled climber).

 

We finished painting ya-ya's gift before church.

After church we headed to the zoo!

Instead of packing lunches, I requested Subway for lunch. No mess=out the door faster.

Our first destination was the monkeys! Sophia loves monkeys, why, I have no idea. I need to get a video of her saying "monkey," it is too darn cute!

Next up, the giraffes.

 Then we headed to the aviary.

I love comparing pictures from last year to this year!

Sophia has the wing span of a Cooper's Hawk.

 We took a break from the animals and enjoyed a giant sucker.

We headed to the prairie dogs, sucker in hand.

Again, I love looking back to pictures.

They were boring to Sophia, so we checked out the giant tortoise.

 We rode the zoo's small train ride. We are big fans of Chuggington, so Sophia was pretty stoked for the train ride! Unfortunately we had to stand in a long line. Sophia got impatience.

Luckily we made the last ride of the day!

We ended our fun-filled day with a cook-out at mom's house.

Here is her finished Mother's Day project on the back patio.

It was a great day today! I hope all of you moms had an awesome day, too!