My go at art!

I joined some friends tonight for a lesson in painting at a really cute place called Cajun Canvas!  I was expecting that I would be terrible seeing that I really cannot paint, but I wanted to try and see what I would come out with.  Plus, it was a nice break from the this insane week! So, here are the pics from my go at art. Please try and keep the laughing to a minimum!

The background which I was excited turned out well.  I was feeling pretty good about it at this point!

My friends who did a much better job!

These are branches in case you thought it was hair...the instructor called them "swoopie" and suggested large flowers to go with the large branches.  She was very kind about it...I am sure she went to the other room and laughed.

Hard at work! That is baby G.  He is precious!

So, the end product still did not turn out as good as I wanted.  I managed to do the large flowers, but I had a hard time shaping them correctly.  I finally got the hang of it on the last two smaller flowers.  I plan to tell everyone that I was going for a tropical theme all along...

Do you see the cute, SMALL flowers and branches on my friends' paintings?? Yep, that was the intention. My dad can paint and a great aunt on my mom's side can paint.  That means someone on both sides of my family has real talent when it comes to this stuff, and I somehow missed that gene! I will say that it was a lot of fun, and I will give it a go again sometime! For now, I think I will stick with paper and glue!

The intention of indoor camping and meals!

This past week, we experimented a bit with the sleeping situation for the boys.  We have had a big problem with Logan sweating at night to the point that we are having to change his shirt and pillow case before Lyndon and I head to bed.  He has been sleeping on the top bunk, and we were making every effort to keep the room cool for him and comfortable for Bubba who sleeps with two blankets and still has ice cubes for feet in the morning. We suggested to the boys that they switch beds and let Logan sleep on the bottom.  They weren't on board with that, so we dismantled the bunks and they now have separate beds.  It is working great, and we have not had a sweating issue at all!  At any rate, the top bunk, once dismantled, created this really fun fort area under it.  It is too small for the boys to sit up under, but we found another way to make use of it! Bring in indoor camping and movie night!

A little snack for the movie! More on this in a bit.

Daddy created the tent! He obviously does not fit in it very well!

We brought up our portable DVD player and watched Despicable Me, very cute movie!  The intention was that the boys would sleep on the sleeping bags for the night, but Bubba gagged on a piece of popcorn (the healthiest part of the treat) and puked a little leaving a slight smell that I was not comfortable sleeping in. But, we did have a good time watching the movie and spending time together! Maybe next time, we will try sleeping there...or at least let the boys try it!

Meals for the week of March 26-April 1

26) Incognito Burritos with Mexican rice

27) Beef Bourguinon with potatoes and strawberry salad

28) Mini cheddar potatoes with fresh veggies

29) Tomato soup and grilled cheese

30) Italian Beef polenta with broccoli

31) Angel hair pasta spaghetti and asparagus

April 1) out to eat/leftovers

Have a great week!

First soccer game and Homeschool art!

This week has been a bit crazy with practices, and get-togethers!  I have totally neglected the laundry which is never good!  I thought it would slow down with the layered-clothing thing for winter, but now we have added the two-outfits-a-day thing from spending time outside.  However, I will never complain about the fact that it is warm enough to spend all day outside, so more laundry it is.  I had in my head that spring was here and we could put away the winter stuff, but guess what?? Logan had his first ever soccer game today, and it rained all day and got up to a whopping 45 degrees.  I was not a happy person as I pulled my sweater over my head and huddled under an umbrella with Luke.  I will say that he had a great game despite the crappy weather and even managed to score 3 goals!  I am just a little proud of my guy!

Look at those smiles!  They were drenched at this point and cold, but they were having a blast! I could not help but laugh as I watched the realization on Logan's face that he was actually playing on a team and in a game.  He has only had two practices, but I was amazed at how quickly their little minds picked up on the situation.  I had to explain to him what it meant to be on a team, so I was a bit worried that he would not know which way was up at the game.  Thank goodness he has more athletic ability than me! He jumped right in and never looked back.  I hope he keeps that mentality for a lot of things he does in life!

So I did not actually get the pic of him scoring the goal, but here is the post-score pic!  He was excited but was trying to keep the celebrating under control per instructions from the coach...

Our first game was a success!  They don't technically keep score for this age group, but let's just say that we totally killed!

Earlier this week, we joined our Homeschool group for some art time!

They had to us crayons and water colors to create a picture that represented spring...

...I love that my boys are completely different!  

 Logan HAD to have the sun and some flowers.

Luke's was a bit more abstract.  He just wanted that orange crayon and paint.

They were all proud of their work as they should have been! 

St. Patrick's Parade and promotions!

This past weekend, Luke continued his search for Leprechauns at the  Charlotte Irish Festival!
                                            

Patiently waiting for the parade!

Only at the Irish Festival can you see a giant Guinness as the mascot!

I love the intense looks as they watch the parade!

And, who knew that Storm Troopers originated in Ireland!

They are difficult to see in the picture, but they brought out the Clydesdale's!

Our sweet friend! She dances in an Irish dance troop! 

Cuteness...

...Trouble!

Jackpot (no pun intended)!

 A Leprechaun sighting!

In other news, Luke was promoted to the next level in swim class!  We are very proud of him and celebrated with a little ice cream after dinner last night!  Great job Luke!

Meals!

Oops, I let the week get away from me!  I will back track and post for the next week!  Sorry...lots going on these days!

March 12-25

12) Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and broccoli
13) paninis
14) Tee Pon Pork with rice
15) Baked salmon, rice and veggies
16) Chicken pita sandwiches
17) Broccoli and beef pasta with bread
18) leftovers
19) Mediterranian flatbread sandwiches
20) roast, potatoes and salad
21) bruschetta and Greek salad
22) Chicken gumbo
23) Blue chees pear sandwiches
24) Walnut and rosemary oven-fried chicken
25) leftovers!
Happy meal planning!

Looking for Leprechauns!

Lyndon surprised the boys yesterday and today by taking off from work!  We spent the day putzing around. Of course, it was St. Patrick's Day, so one of our most important tasks was to find a Leprechaun.  We explained that Leprechauns are very small and can hide well, so it takes a lot of time and energy to hunt one down.  We also explained that they really like to take socks which is why it is not uncommon to find just one of a pair after sorting laundry.  The boys are really interested in what they do with the socks.  Logan thinks that maybe they use them for their nests (he is still on the bird's nest and what they use to put them together), Luke thinks that they are just out to get his favorite Spiderman socks.  He is determined to hunt this little guy down and recover the socks.  He is down right angry about the situation!  We searched hi and low yesterday and even drove all the way to Greensboro thinking maybe we could find one along the way.

We stopped at our favorite spot to feed the geese and ducks!

On the hunt!

Then we drove to a really awesome farmer's market in Greensboro.  I fell in love with the yummy stuff they have there!

These orange slices remind me of my Grandmother Babe.  She had these every time I came to visit!

Very yummy homemade breads, cookies and pastries!

We ended the day with no Leprechaun sightings, but we discovered several missing socks this morning while doing laundry.  Luke was beside himself and had to show daddy!  We will continue our hunt today and see what we come up with!