31 cents

Doesn't get you much, but last night it got you a scoop of yummy Baskin Robbins ice cream! They do this every year and we haven't missed one yet! Our local clown couple: Melody and Happy were on hand. The firemen were there accepting donations. So after filling our tummies, painting our tattoos, picking our balloon "animals" and donating our money; the kids were not exactly still for the picture!Which cracks me up since it was their idea! Not even the "heavy" thunderstorms could keep us away from our 31cent ice cream. It was difinitely worth it, even if my picture didn't turn out. Hopefully another fun night for their memory banks!

mmm, Burritos, that sounds good!

This past weekend I was on a short road trip with some of my MOPS girls for some training. What a great time we had. Unfortunately, the only time I got my camera out was at dinner Friday night! Check out these burritos!!!

My fearless co-coordinator, Jaime! I don't think she ever resorted to the fork like the rest of us!

Alison, one of our MOPPETS coordinators. She's picky so she had tacos.

Our awesome mentor mom, Sharie, setting the example! This place was her idea!

Jenny, the finance girl ~ she split one with me. Now that's the type of girl to have in charge of finances! *wink*

Josie's in charge of publicity and has rocked as a discussion group leader. Don't let her fool you she's not all prim and proper! *smile*

I wasn't going to post mine, but figured I'd be ridiculed if not. SO here I am chowing down on a Chipotle gourmet burrito! I would highly recommend them, just make sure you go with a friend. And if that wasn't enough, we went to Braum's afterward! (Just for you Kelly!)

Hello ~ Goodbye

NO, I'm not promoting Target (though my friend Jaime found some great deals there last week!) I'm not even going to attempt to back track! I'll try to post pages, if I ever get those done! Yes, I'm already behind in my digi scrapping. I'm just here to say Hello again!

So last week we said good-bye to G'ma and G'pa Lion! We had a great visit and look forward to seeing them again at Christmas. We were able to do lots while they were here, but Little Lion enjoyed his haircut from G'ma most of all:

Little Lion with G'pa Lion showing off their "bald" heads. He informed me that G'ma gives him a whole bag of fruit snacks and I only give him one sucker! Who knew fruit snacks were higher on the list than suckers!!?!!

Loved this picture of the grandparents with the kids! I always get better smiles when Daddy Lion is around! *smile*

Drowning . . .

in Easter candy and busy-ness!

Yes, I am still alive. The last few weeks have been jammed full. G'ma & G'pa Lion have been visiting and we have had so much fun packing in all the events we can. We have less than a week left with them, but I figured I'd better take the time to at least post some Easter pics!

I'll spare you the pics of the 5, yes FIVE, Easter Egg hunts that were accomplished in 4 days! And we had just brought home our candy jar from church empty from Halloween/Christmas candy! (Yes, we give your kids candy at kids church, how else would they keep coming back!?!)

I hope you all had a very blessed Easter and I promise to be back into blogging routine soon!

Adorable Dress

There is such a cute dress being given away here. You really need to check it out. If you don't have any girls, go comment and you can win it for my Little Pumpkin! *wink* I know she'll look so precious in it! *smile*

Spring Break . . .

Oh where has it gone?!? We have been busy everyday and now it's coming to the end! Monday we just enjoyed hanging out around the house with Grandma and Grandpa Lion. (Yes, they made it in!) Tuesday we had our friends over for a playday and PSE photo tricks (I did manage to blog about that!). Wednesday we headed to the park with some friends! It was a great day to be outside! Thursday visited the zoo nearby. Another awesome day to be outside! Today we were chillin' at home with our neighborhood friends. Little Lion and Daddy Lion left for the church Father/Child camp out late afternoon. (I couldn't convince Daddy Lion to take Little Pumpkin!) I worked at a consignment sale most the evening and I think I broke even for the day! *grin*

I'm overwhelmed with all the pics so I leave you with some highlights!

Going GREEN for St. Patty's day!

Little Lion, AJ, Mr. M at the park.

Little Pumpkin has NO FEAR! She did this multiple times ~ gymnastics here we come!

Our guide through the zoo! He was constantly aware of where we were and where we were going! I don't think the map left his hands except when he ate!

Group pic! Having fun with G'ma and G'pa. So thankful for the nice weather! (They are too!!!)

I Heart Faces Entry - GREEN!

Okay you've seen this photo 3 times now, but today my sweet friend Josie showed me some fun tricks in PSE for photos. She also convinced me I should enter it into the photo contest at:

Be sure to check out I Heart Faces. We'll see if they think this blue-eyed, green-haired, joke-telling, five-year old is as cute as I do! GO GREEN!

Today's accomplishment

These are not new pictures, but I finally put them in a layout . . . enjoy!  *smile*

Just for Lisa

I know two posts in one day!  

Anyway, Lisa shared some great digital scrapbooking items with me today and I was inspired.  Then she held me accountable to posting my page!  So here it is:

New Baby, Newsboys, and Nails

What a packed full weekend!  It all began Thursday eve. when my step-sister and her husband came into town with their new baby ~ Claire Louise.  (I'll say she was named after me, but there are some other women in Lauren's life that share the name!)  

Pop and Baby Claire.  Can't you see the pride oozing out of him?!? 

Little Lion seems to think they resemble each other ~ "they both have no hair!"

Friday night:  NEWSBOYS!!!  Need I say more?  While we were "dating" Daddy Lion and I were able to attend two different NEWSBOYS concerts, so this was a little stroll down memory lane . . . We realized we are much older than we were!  But we still enjoyed ourselves.

Our friends tagged along too!  Mr. C is a BIG fan ~ NEWSBOYS are his "fav!"

Later we found out that that might have been Peter Furler last night in concert!  SO glad we went now!

And of course who doesn't enjoy the drum off!  Duncan is just amazingly gifted.  Enjoy the clip!

Saturday was more of Baby Claire and a fun couples night with my MOPS table.  Nothing like a good game of "Battle of the Sexes" to give everyone a good laugh.  We tied by the way.

Sunday we headed over to my mom's again for lunch and just family time.  Little Pumpkin has become obsessed with her nails . . . Lolly's favorite pastime.  I don't think Lolly emptied her hands completely when she walked in the door before Little Pumpkin had her in the bathroom picking out polish.  This pic is blurry, but I loved it!

I'll leave you with some of my favorite pics from our family photo shoot on Sunday.  (I didn't get one of the whole group . . . hint hint . . . POP!) 

 Tia & Little Pumpkin

I think even Baby Claire was tired of pics!  Check out the yawn.

(I forgot to brag. . . my mom made the beautiful dresses for the girls!)

The proud parents!

And my favorite:

too precious for words!  

Guess who?

So as you all know, we are experiencing some awesome weather right now!  It's close to 80 outside and looking like that for the next few days!  WOOHOO!!!  I'm in heaven.

So last night after the lawnmower man finished.  The kids and I were just enjoying being outside. Little Lion is all about jokes and riddles right now.  (I remember loving those joke books you could check out of the school library. . . I apologize profusely mom and dad!)

Anyway, this is Little Lion working on his chalk art.

Little Lion:  "Guess who this is:  Who has a beard? and a mustache? and he works in Afghanistan?"

Mommy:  "PAPAW!" (that last one gave it away ~ we were thinking Santa)

So, Papaw; here's your portrait in chalk by Little Lion!  Priceless I'm sure!  *wink*

Our little neighbor boy saw us outside.  He and Little Lion had some scooter races!  

Of course, Little Pumpkin was hanging right in there with the boys!  They are always so sweet to her.   However, sometimes this worries me for the teenage years to come!  Living in the present, living in the present, just keep reminding myself.  *wink*

Lawnmower man?

Okay these pics are blurry, but at least I'm blogging!  *wink*

So I'm sitting at the computer catching up on blogs . . . reading about my sweet bugg getting her driver's license!  WOW, it doesn't seem possible.  ANYWAY, I glance out the window and see my Little Lion DRIVING!?!?

Okay, so it's just the lawnmower and yes, Daddy Lion was with him as was Little Pumpkin too!  

I think this was the best part about his day!  Even beating out the ice cream truck!  (Yes, the ice cream truck did come through our neighborhood today!  IT's MARCH ~ I'll be broke before we get to May!)

Love this; Little Pumpkin still waving . . .

Still waving . . .

Look closely . . . She's STILL waving!  Hello future Miss America!  *wink*

Under the Weather

Today, well it was really yesterday that Little Lion was sick. (Being the good rule follower, it has not been 24 hours since his last toilet time, so I stayed home with him from church.)

My sweet friend, Magnum, called to check on us. Little Lion answered the phone:

Magnum: Are you under the weather today?

Little Lion: No, I'm under my house.

*lol* Too funny! He is feeling much better; in fact you wouldn't know he was "sick." We're looking forward to eating a real lunch (his favorite noodles) and seeing how that goes!

I have one Little Lion who really wants to make it to Cubbies tonight! *smile*

Sibling love and Monday fun

My mom gave Little Pumpkin this sweet dress that was perfect for a "Valentine" Sunday. I had the kids stand outside before church and I actually got this great shot! Can you believe it!?!


I am so blessed at how well they get along. (They have there moments.) But for the most part they love each other and play so well together. Little Pumpkin is always asking for "brudder" (brother). And I'm afraid we will have to start enforcing a kissing/ hugging rules upon them. Especially Little Lion. . . I don't think the other little boys in Kindergarten are going to appreciate his enduring love!

Monday was President's day and our friend Alligator was out of school. So she and Little Lamb came over to play for the morning! I didn't get my camera out soon enough, so this is the only pic I have of the group.


The girls were just about to leave and they love getting gumballs out of the dispenser, so that's why their cheeks are a little "swollen"! Thanks so much for coming out to play. . . we had a great time. That's another area of our lives we feel so blessed in ~ great friends!

AWANA Crazy Hair night - Take TWO

So, the real crazy hair night was last night! Last week I had my sister go with me to that scary store in the mall to get the hair color spray. I love her! They did not have any red (which is what he really wanted b/c "red's my favorite color you know"). So we opted for blue. At least that's what the cap looked like. . .

Prepare to be sprayed!

Daddy let it over spray a bit to get the eyebrows too. Which was no big deal, right!?! Last time we did this and the stuff washed right off . . . you know where this is going.



Little Lion's reaction to seeing himself in the mirror! He loved it!!! Wanted to keep it on his face for Cubbies. Don't think so . . .


Well, okay, some of it will stay. Only because apparently "teal" is a little hard to come off than green!


Little Lion with Alligator before AWANAS. The teal was a little more Gothic than what we were shooting for, so against his fair skin . . . well don't you think he looks a bit like "Eddie Munster"!


Little Lion with Ms. S. They look like they came out of the 80's!

Well, the story doesn't end there, unfortunately. At bath time we scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more. Most of it came out of the hair, there was just a blue tint to his scalp and face still.

I being the ingenuous mom that I am, remembered that I got sharpie of Little Pumpkin's hands and my tile floor with a magic eraser. So off to the kitchen to find it. However, unknown to me this was a Scotch-Brite erasing pad. Apparently there is enough difference that you should not use it on your child's face!

Yes, my poor son looks like he got into a pretty rough fight. No pictures, I don't won't to remember this at all. SO if you see my son out and about, don't call CPS. I even walked him into school today so I could explain to the teachers. Can you even imagine how it would have sounded from Little Lion!?!?

The blue is all gone now. Just waiting on the remainder of his battle wounds to disappear! Lessons learned the hard way. *grin*

AWANA Crazy Hair night - Take ONE

Sunday was a bit crazy . . . our whole weekend was a bit packed, as you probably gathered from the many trips to and from church! Anyway, Sunday night was crazy hair night:


At least according to the schedule!!! URGH! Apparently the decision was made to move it to the next week, so stay tuned for some more crazy hair! *smile*

Little Lion decided he needed to share this joke with everyone while taking pictures of our crazy hair!

Courtesy laughs are well received and greatly appreciated! *wink*

What's On?

It's not that Mommy Lion doesn't live with us anymore . . . she's just busy. Digital scrapbooking. Learning PhotoShop Elements 5. She'll be back someday, probably.

In the mean time, I'm eyeing the old computer in th attic again! The kids are watching "Magenta Comes Over" (if you don't know what that is, the question below will probably not be answerable).

We've started looking at Sattelite TV, may Dish Network, maybe Direct TV, they're both just more expensive than we want right now. Each one has multiple tiers with more and more garbage thrown in. Here come's the question.

What do your kids watch? I mean that you're proud of! Maybe I ought to say it this way: What shows do you like your kids to watch? If it's PBS, we can get that with the base package, plus $5 for local channels. If it's Noggin, we'd need to pay a bit more, and I just don't see it happening. Depending on the provider, Nickelodeon is in the bottom tier, but I'm not really sure I want my two year old watching Nick. From what I see of cartoon network, I'm not usre it's for us either.

What channels do YOU get that we should try to get for Little Lion & Little Pumpkin? Is it defininately worth it to get a premium package so that we can get THAT channel?

Recently Overheard . . .

It was missions weekend at church the last three days.  Little Lion & I were driving to men's breakfast Saturday morning and passed a skunk on the side of the road.

Little Lion: Daddy, what's that Smell?

Daddy Lion: It's a skinky stunk.

Little Lion: I didn't see him?

Daddy Lion: He was sleeping back there on the side of the road.

On the way home . . . 

Little Lion: I see that skunk daddy, laying out there in the sun.

Daddy Lion: He sure does stink.

Little Lion: Oh, I think he's just happy.

Back again for missions night . . .

Little Lion: Hey Mommy, did you smell that skunk?

Mommy Lion: Yeah, he was stinky!

Little Lion: He's been sleeping there all day.

Daddy Lion: Shhhhhhh, you'll wake him up and then he'll spray us!

To church this morning . . . 

Little Lion: Hey Daddy, I don't see that skunk anymore.

Daddy Lion: Yeah, but I can still smell him.

Little Lion: Still sleeping I guess.

Home From Church . . . 

Little Lion: That skunk's got a real problem.

Daddy Lion: Yeah he's been sleeping over there since yesterday.

Back to church tonight . . .

Daddy Lion: Hey Little Lion, do you smell that skunk?

Little Lion: Uh . . . , yeah . . ., and daddy?

Daddy Lion: Yes?

Little Lion: I think he's actually dead.

I thought it was too funny not to share.

"Pot" belly . . .

This morning we are hanging low at home . . . lots of sickness, that I don't want to get, going around. So it's a Pajama day! The kids were playing well, and I was getting some deep cleaning done in the kitchen - yuck!


Blake walks in and says "Hey mom, check out my pot belly."


The funny thing is, he was being quite literal: