Save the Last Dance For Me

I have a little dancer:


We went to The Shed Barbecue and Blues Joint in Ocean Springs, Mississippi a few weekends ago and it was so fun. I loved the live band and a REALLY loved watching JR groove to the music. He danced the whole time we were there!

Little Dude was content the whole time with his food and playing in the dirt ( I never realized just how dirty little boys can be) and it was fun to listen to his imaginative play.

The Shed was pretty awesome-amazing food-and everything there looked like it had been pulled from the garbage. Seriously, there were chairs with desk tops that looked like they had come out of a school, and there were roles of paper towels to use for clean up. It was the perfect place to take two little boys to eat!

If you happen to be down this way, I would suggest going to The Shed for dinner, but be sure to go later in the day when it is cool so you can sit outside and enjoy the band.

Walk Like A Man

My Little JR is walking! Well, he still needs some help, but every day he stands a little longer unassisted, and walks a little further between the furniture.

Now he is walking fast along the walks, and crawling less and less.

My baby is growing up, making me very happy, and very sad all at the same time.



Also, if you watch to the end, you'll see my elusive Little Dude, hiding in the bathtub, because apparently I am like the paparazzi and he has to hide from my cameras.

Happy 4th Of July from Mobile

We had a great time out boating around the Gulf Shores area with some of Bill's co-workers. All the kids that came did great and were so super cute in their life jackets, too!

Today I had planned on sharing a video of my toddler reciting "The Pledge of Allegiance", but as you can see, there is no video.

We practiced all week long, saying the pledge a few times a day, and Little Dude has done GREAT memorizing it and being able to say it with only a little prompting. I am super proud of him. And we even got the hand-on-heart part going, too.

So, I felt he knew it well enough to get it on tape-but every time I pulled out the Flip, Little Dude would shut down and walk away. Not only would he NOT say the pledge or put his hand on his heart, he wouldn't even look at me.

Sigh. Toddlerhood.

Anyways, we did work on it, and he does, for the most part have it down, but for now my toddler is not doing any photos, so maybe later. In the meantime, we are going to eat a fun flag cake I made, cook out hamburgers, and check out the best place for fireworks here on the Gulf Coast! I'm super super excited for the boys to see the fireworks. Little Dude lost it last year-just like me-and was just amazed with them. Last 4th was our first family outing after JR was born-he was only a few weeks old at the time-so I am really excited to see how he enjoys the celebration this year.

And I'll work on getting another family photo together so I can finally update the one I have on here that was taken last year before the fireworks started.

Happy Fourth Of July to all of you from my family!

Dinner Out With A Toddler

For fun this weekend, we went out to dinner as a family. On a chance, we asked Little Dude where he might like to go-and apparently Red Lobster is his favorite place ever. Marketing gurus-your ads are working on my 2 year old.

Anyways, we decided Red Lobster was, in fact, a great dinner place for us to try out as a family, so off we went.

Dinner was great, our waiter was amazing, and we had a ton of fun! Little Dude even ate most of his meal, proving that it must really be his favorite place ever.

The only thing that can through a kink into a nice family dinner? Well, it went something like this:

Us: eating and talking
JR: GRUNT
Us: Looking at JR, knowing what he's doing.
Little Dude: giggling
Us: smiling
Little Dude: (VERY LOUD VOICE) JR is POOPING!! He's POOPING!
Us: SHUUUSH! It's OK....
Little Dude: (Sorta Loud Voice) Will his poop be green?

Oh my.

New Reviews At Miche Reviews

I have some new reviews to share on my review blog, Miche Reviews! You can see what new online kid-safe virtual world has captured my toddler's heart, giving him a "Jump Start" on learning.

You can see what preschool system has captured my heart because of their great Balanced Learning approach to preschool activities and check out all the amazing resources they have to offer your munchkin.

And for my little JR? Nothing could be better than an organic lovey that is made right here in the USA out of all natural materials. So when he is sucking on Waverly's leg, I don't have to worry what dyes he might be ingesting! And Little Dude loved learning about Waverly's friends, too!

Remember how I got to talk to Suze Orman? Well if you love makeup, I have a great giveaway from Avon and Suze for you, so be sure to check it out!

I was lucky enough to try out the new Diane Birch CD, which hit stores June 2-trust me, if you love Tori and Ani, you will really enjoy Diane's Bible Belt!

To enter giveaways either leave a comment here or on the giveaway post telling me you want to be entered! Take care and have a great weekend!

Fingers Up My Nose

Yesterday I was working, and doing my best to catch up on the huge pile of "to dos" I had, er, still have, while the kids played on the floor around my office. Now that JR is bigger and starting to walk, he and Little Dude play so very well and entertain each other a lot, which is super great for my work hours.

Until one or the other takes a toy from the other. Or JR goes for the train tracks. Or the blocks. Or the race cars...you get the idea.

So, Little Dude came running over, eager to tell me what ever it was that JR had done to him, and distracted me from work.

And so, I took a moment, scooped him in my arms, and started listening to his sordid tail of destroyed train tracks, thrown cars, chewed on blocks and oh heavens no the knocked down complex he had built.

Like a good little parent, I listened, knowing that these were all issues the boys would work out themselves, and by simply letting Little Dude vent all would be well. So I really focused on each word, and each gesture Little Dude used to explain his annoyance at having the train tracks disrupted, because, you know, they have very important work to do!

And then it happened.

Little Dude stuck a finger UP MY NOSE. It took me a second to process what he was doing, and how to react, so for a few seconds, we just sat there looking at each other. Well, me looking, Little Dude still explaining the demise of his trains.

So, I did what anyone with a toddler's fingers up their nose would do, I asked him why his thought it was a good idea to stick his fingers up there. While pulling his hands off my face.

His answer?

Because yes.

Oh geeze.

Fourth Of July Kid Safe Activity

I LOVE the 4th of July, and back when I taught preschool on of my fellow teachers shared this activity with me. I don't know who came up with it or where it is from, but it is SO FUN and great I just had to share it. Little Dude is amazed every time we do it. And you can do it any time of the year with different colors, like red and green at Christmas, or red and purple at Valentine's-you get the idea. I really enjoy watching it, too, because the experiment is just so very fun! It actually looks like magic.

So, without further ado, here is what you need:

* Large, tall clear jar filled with water, the more the better!
* Blue, red and yellow liquid food coloring
* 2 or 3 tablespoons cooking oil
* Smaller jar
* Spoon or stir stick for mixing
* Clear Pyrex measuring cup

What you and your kids do:

1. Fill the jar with tap water. Place it on a table where your child can watch it from several angles. If your child is older, they could even do this step.

2. Invite your child to pour 2 tablespoons of oil into a clear Pyrex measuring cup-your kids will have a blast, and honestly, they can't put too much in. Just make sure you have at least 2 tablespoons, less and it won't work with that much water.

3. Next have your child put in drops of each food coloring into the oil, about 5 drops of each color.

4. Have your child pour the oil into the jar all at once. At first, the oil will be spread around in globules, but keep watching: right before your eyes, the oil and food coloring will first float to the top, and then the globs will “find” one another and come together. SO COOL!

5. Now the “fireworks” begin! The food coloring will begin to separate from the oil and move back into the water, in long streams of each of the three colors. The colors will separate from one another as if they never mixed in the first place, and stream through the water in the three original colors that you began with; it is REALLY amazing!