Family Fun :)

    Now that it isn't as hot outside, we have been able to venture out a little bit more. Ella just gets so hot that it is nice to not worry about that :) My mom and dad thought that maybe before our big family camping trip, to Mahoney State Park (a half hour away), that it would be a good idea to have a practice campout with the kids. My parents, brother, sister in law, other brother, the kids and I all packed up and headed to Papa and Granny's house for a night of tent camping. The kids had a blast. We grilled for dinner, made a campfire, ate s'mores, and slept in tents. Uncle Matt and Aunt Tristin slept outside with Kaleb and Ella and I slept inside in a tent just for her ;) Daddy had a work event to go to but we are all ready to show him how good at camping we are when we go in a couple of weeks. Joining us will be some of my dad's brothers and sisters. I have so many great memories of camping with all of my extended family and am excited for my kids to have the same! (pics below)

   We also celebrated a bunch of birthdays last week. Brandon's little brother, John, his mom, Grandma Kathy, and Brandon and his twin brother, Ben, all had birthdays within a week of each other. They had fun singing Happy Birthday so many times and getting to eat cake. Grandma Kathy's chocolate cake is one of Kaleb's favories :)

   And lastly, Kaleb, my baby, started preschool today! Can you believe it?! He has grown so much and is such a little man :) He was very excited today and didn't hesitate at all to go into his classroom with his new teacher and friends. As soon as he got in the van, he was counting down the days until he came back on Wednesday. Ella has been begging to go too, but I told her she has to be 4 too. I just can't even think about that yet! Lol.

    Ella and Kaleb are anxiously awaiting their sports games this weekend. She is ready for another tball game and Kaleb is ready for his first flag football game. I actually had to mold a mouthguard with my 4 yr old, that was hilarious :) Kaleb also starts a new session of swim class at Swimtastic this week. He is very excited. So, busy as usual. Someone asked me, "why do you already have them in so many things, you guys are so busy". Because they love it! They have fun getting out and having somewhere special to go. Plus, it keeps them active. All of us love going and watching them too :)

Stay tuned for some more fun later this week. Daddy and I have a fews days off and the kids have some fun requests, including the Natural History Museum in Lincoln. Yes, I'm serious, my 2 yr old and 4 yr old have been begging to go!

Bags for Sale... :)

   After several requests, I will start making these bags for those interested. You help me design your bag, let me know what colors, or characters you like, choose a size, kinds of straps and add-ons. These are great for strollers of any kind, wheelchair push bars, and walkers. Straps can be secured onto bars with the velcro option or regular shoulder straps can be used. Email me at jen_peters@me.com to order...

Currently there are three options but I am open to special sizes...

1. The Ella Bag Original with Velcro straps. Approximate size 14x12x6
Basic bag--$45
With an initial +$3
With and initial and embellishment (flower, iron ons, etc) +$6
With name and embellishment +$10
Shipping to be determined at time of order
(you choose colors, type of straps, etc)
*pic below with Ella's name on it

2. The Ella Bag Medium size with Velcro straps. Approximate size 12x10x4
(great size for walkers)
Basic bag--$35
With an initial +$3
With and initial and embellishment (flower, iron ons, etc) +$6
With name and embellishment +$10
Shipping to be determined at time of order
(you choose colors, type of straps, etc)
*pic below with Sadie's name on it

3. Little Girls Soft Purse. Approximate size 8x4x2
Bag with initial $15 plus shipping
One color fabric for bag and coordinating fabric for initial
*no photo shown

One more....

I can't help it, Ella looks so cute in these dresses that I had to make another. Can't wait to show her in the morning. It will look much cuter on her ;)

Cure SMA

My sweet blessings. They need a cure for SMA, because they need each other....

Mommy's New Obsession.....

    Well, I found another project to take up the very little spare time that I have. Pillow case dresses!!! I found some easy directions on making them and then added my own twists to make Ella the perfect dresses. They are perfect for her because they are roomy and lightweight. I have made her two but have two more stacks of fabric for some more. That's one of my weekend projects :) Plus, when it gets cold outside I can just put a shirt and leggings underneath of them! I love making her things because her reactions are great. She always gets huge eyes and is so thankful! Pics below...enjoy!
And I also posted some pics of our surgery day when we gave the kids' stuffies new tubies. Post on that on caringbridge. www.caringbridge.org/visit/ellapeters

Ella's Princess Day :)

If you follow Ella's caringbridge site, you know that the poor girl needed a fun day just for her. And I kind of needed the time with her too ;) I decided to take her for a day of beauty at a kids salon. When I first told her that we were going she got upset and said, "I don't want a hair trim. I love my hair, don't cut it!" She fought me tooth and nail despite my efforts to get her excited for her 'princess day'. She wanted to go swimming instead but when we got to the salon she started to change her mind.
First, she had a pedicure. Ella was super excited to get to pick out her nail art and lotion for her foot massage. She got to soak her feet in a little bubbly foot bath that had color changing lights in it. After her soak and massage she got her toes painted. She picked to have ladybugs painted on her toes, so cute! After that she was willing to do anything :) She sat in a firetruck and rang a little bell while she had her hair trimmed. Just a teeny tiny bit off the ends. Then, she picked out a hot pink feather extension for her hair. It was so cute I could hardly stand it! She picked out a ladybug waterbottle for herself and a crocodile one for Kaleb and as she buzzed through the door yelled, "This was the best princess day ever!" Lol :)
After that we stopped for a smoothie and a yummy little bundt cake with Granny. She couldn't wait to get home to show the boys her awesome new hair feather, pretty toes, and the treats she picked out for them. She got Daddy a little bundt cake too.
We had a great mother-daughter day and I look forward to the million more we will have :)

Happy Fourth of July!!

We had a fun Fourth of July this year. The kids dressed up in some of Mommy's creations and we celebrated with family, friends, and fireworks :) Kaleb was very excited about the fireworks, as long as he wasn't too close to the super loud ones. He liked to do the smoke bombs himself (with Daddy close by) and was into watching the big ones from a safe distance away. Ella could take it or leave it with the fireworks. I think her favorite parts were swimming at Aunt Sandy's house and wearing her new skirt and shirt that Mommy made. She kept asking everyone, "Do you like my new dress?" She watched Daddy's show for awhile but asked to go in and watch a movie before the boys were finished. It was pretty hot out though :/
I have found out over the years that being creative helps when you are a Mommy. Not only do my kids love when I make them little things but sometimes it can help with a problem. For instance, the last couple of weeks, Kaleb has been telling us that he is afraid of the dark, and of monsters. Ella, of course, needs to repeat what he says and apparently she is also afraid of these things now. I have tried to reason with him over and over but it doesn't help. I tell him that mom and dad are here and that the dark or monsters can't hurt him. That monsters are not real. That he knows his room and that there is nothing in there. But, in his head these things are true. So, I decided to go with it...rather than fight him on his fears, give him a way to feel better. I came up with the idea of giving him a Monster spray, it is a super strong repellent for monsters of any kind. One spray can keep monsters away! Seriously, instantly the problem was solved :) Every night he grabs his spray (which is just water in a properly marked spray bottle) and sprays his closet, his bed, the corners of his room, and his bookshelf. I asked him why his bookshelf and he said, "because little monsters could hide in there mom" (along with a little eye roll that I didn't already know that). He even walks across the hall to give Ella's room a spray. What a thoughtful big brother :) Since he got his monster spray, he has not complained once and isn't scared to go to bed. Yay for us! No arguing, a little spray here, a little spray there, books, hugs, kisses and a little cuddle and that's it. He's sleeping tight :)....and that's where I'm headed now. Goodnight everyone!