Being a FUN Mom

While browsing Pinterest earlier, this article on Kids Activity Blog caught my eye. I like to think I'm a "fun" Mom, and Kaylee has voiced it enough times in the past. So, naturally, I read the article to see if I've done or do any of the listed ways. Surprisingly, Kaylee and I do over half of the 20 listed below. I live to hear her laugh and giggle. It's the best. Therefore, I do the craziest things and find ways just to hear that sound. After reading the full list, I've added a handful of new fun things for us to do, and make memories from.

 

The article gives a total of 47 ways you could be a fun mom, but I've only copied and listed the first 20 below; you can refer to the article for the remaining 27. 

20 Ways YOU Can Be A Fun Mom!

1. Do pranks together – your kids will love bringing some surprise to another person’s day.
2. Make your kids laugh with a tickle fight, or one of the other 10 ideas on that page.
3. A great post on how one mom became the fun police.  We don’t always realize how much we hover over our children, trust them and take a tiny step back.
4. Have a silly face contest – see who can have the wackiest face.  Here are some face printables that will make your child giggle.
5. Have a family slumber party.   Everyone (even mom and dad) should bring their sleeping bags and camp out on the living room floor.
6. Take your kids out on a date and celebrate “family day”.
7. Have a playground scavenger hunt.  Use this list of things to find and do and travel around to new playgrounds to find them.  This is a great adventure for the family.
8. Make and share a milkshake, together – here is our peanut butter shake recipe.  You can even blow bubbles in the cup!
9. Read a story, or ten, to your child.  On a favorite book, put yourself or your child into the book, replace the name of one of the characters with your child’s name.
10. You can have a good time learning, too!  Here are five really fun ways to teach science.  Go outside on a hot day with a cup of water and learn about condensation!
11. Make super spy pipe-cleaner disguises together and talk to each other in your “spy voices”.
12. Have a bubble “war” – make bubble shooters and blast each other with bubbles.
13. Find an app and play *together* – my kids love teaching me their favorite games.
14. And… turn off the devices, have a afternoon focused just on your child – here are great hands-free mama tips.
15. Tell your kids a knock-knock joke.
16. Give your kids a big canvas to paint on.  Here are eight different ideas like throwing away the paper and try painting on an old fence, the windows (with window markers, of course) or the bath tub.
17. Give your kids a piggy back ride… and if you are a dad, here are another 25 tips for connecting with your kids
18. Go on a road-trip – for ice-cream.  Go on a meandering ride with your kids and stop for ice-cream on the way home.
19. Take a moment every evening to tell your child how much you love them and talk about the fun things you did together – reflect on family time.
20. Have a song that is just for you and your child… be silly and dance to it.

 

These really are some great ways to enjoy your kid(s) while creating everlasting memories each of you will cherish for the years to come. Kids really do grow up much faster than we ever could imagine. The years have literally flown by since K and I had Kaylee 7 years ago. We make sure to enjoy this time with her as much as possible because it will be gone in the blink of an eye, and we will never get these years back. Don't take the time with your kids for granted. Make them laugh, be adventurous, and create memories for them to look back on. You'll never regret time spent as a family. 

 

  Go and be the fun Mom that I know all of you are. 

 

Add your fun ways to the above list, and share them with all of the other Moms out there.

 

Thursday Bump Date - 28 Weeks

28 Weeks

We're in the Home Stretch!

 

How far along? 28 Weeks & 5 Days

Total weight gain/loss: 21.3 pounds per the scale at our baby appointment this morning.

Maternity clothes? Pre-pregnancy dresses continue to fit. I bought a few sweaters at Target over the weekend. Couldn't pass up those $7.49 clearance markdowns!

Sleep: Not sure what “sleep” is…

Best moment this week: Registering at Babies R Us – Kaylee loved using the scanner to scan everything for baby.

Have you told family and friends: Definitely.

Movement: His little kicks and punches aren’t so subtle anymore, and I'm loving it. This has to be one of my favorite parts of pregnancy.

Food cravings: Crushed ice from Zaxby’s, Salad bars, Carrots with jalapeno hummus, Peach Greek yogurt, Spring Creek seafood (crab cakes, shrimp, and oysters).

Anything making you queasy or sick: The queasiness is beginning to subside – thank goodness. Nothing has really made me sick feeling in the past few days.

Have you started to show yet: Oh yeah.

How big is baby? Asher is the size of an eggplant, weighing in at 2 1/4 pounds.

Gender: Baby Boy

Labor Signs: None.

Pregnancy Symptoms: Acid reflux is the WORST, still waking up between 3-4am hungry, lower back pains, dry skin, and the headaches are becoming more frequent.

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Running and kickboxing. I jogged to the end of our driveway over the weekend, and it really made me miss both so much.  

What I am looking forward to: Getting a call back on the house we found and filled out the paperwork on over the weekend… fingers crossed.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: I’ve been a bit moody for the past few days, and I’m blaming it on this new sleep schedule of mine!

Milestones: Baby shower planning is now well under way.  

Friday Bump Date - 27 Weeks

27 Weeks of Love

{Photo taken at 27 Weeks & 2 Days} 

Things have been pretty busy around our area over these last couple of weeks. I haven't been getting much sleep, which results in me all but crashing as soon as I walk in the door from work. With that said, I wasn't able to get a chalkboard update so this belly shot will just have to do. I've promised myself to be back on schedule next week because I love those little chalkboard updates, and Kaylee loves helping create them. 

 

How far along? 27 Weeks & 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: 20.8 pounds
Maternity clothes? I’m still wearing pre-pregnancy blouses and dresses. I finally had to go out and buy a pair of maternity jeans, and pants for work. My pre-pregnancy work attire started getting a bit uncomfortable this past week.
Sleep: Non-existent.
Best moment this week: We bought the first bit of little baby boy clothes!
Have you told family and friends: Definitely.
Movement: He’s a kicker. He always seems to squirm the most when I lay down in bed every night.
Food cravings: Crushed ice from Sonic or Zaxby’s, Salad bars, mozzarella sticks, and Starbucks decaf white chocolate mocha.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Cinnamon rolls – anything really sweet and fatty.
Have you started to show yet: Yes.

How big is baby? Asher is the size of a head of cauliflower, measuring 14½ inches long with his feet extended, and weighing in at a whopping 2 pounds.
Gender: A handsome little dude.
Labor Signs: None.

Pregnancy Symptoms: LOTS of heartburn/indigestion, I have emotional moments, waking up between 3-4am hungry, lower back pains, dry skin, and some headaches.
Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Getting a full night of sleep, and it’s only downhill from here!What I am looking forward to: Starting work on the nursery this weekend.
Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, Happy, Happy as Uncle Si would say.

Milestones: Scheduling our maternity session, choosing and booking a baby plan with the photographer, and finding the jogger travel system I want.

 

Since we didn't have time for our chalkboard update this week, Kaylee took it upon herself to doodle and make one of her own... It was the sweetest thing walking in to the living room and seeing! She loves him so much already. It literally just melts my heart. I can't wait for her to meet and hold him for the first time. Without a doubt, she's going to make an incredible big sister!

 I'm thrilled somewhat for this coming weekend. Mostly I'm looking forward to Monday being a holiday and no work. K and I are going to take on the spare bedroom over this long weekend; working on cleaning and clearing it out, and beginning the nursery! I can't wait to begin the nursery... the cleaning it out beforehand, not so much. The Turner's have a busy weekend ahead for sure. Wish us luck! 



RUUM Kids

O-M-G!

Have you heard of RUUM American Kid's Wear?!? If not, you're welcome. I found it while on Pinterest a few months back, and just love, love, love the clothes. Seriously though, like I needed another children's clothing store to subject my measly bank account to. To the hubs, if you're reading this, sorry in advance! 

 

Oh well, what's done is done, there's no going back now, my debit card can't get enough of this place! Especially upon seeing the 70% off ENTIRE SITE during my weekly online shopping fix. No way could I pass up a deal like that! Who could... better yet, why in the heck would you??

Here are a few of my favorite picks for Kaylee:

 

 

 

 

 

 ... and these are some of my favorites for Asher:

Unfortunately, they do not have an Infant/Newborn section, however, their Toddler section begins at size 6M. That's good enough for me. I can totally work with those sizes.

 

 Soo, what are you waiting for? Go take advantage of this awesome deal they have going on! If anything, you could at least stock up on Winter clothes for next year. You know, get ahead of the game and all. This is definitely one of those sales that are just too good to pass up.

 

Happy shopping ladies!

 

The Monticello Karting Track



My brother-in-law and a childhood friend of the Turner brother's share the same birthday. So this past Saturday was spent celebrating the guys turning the big 3-OH at the Monticello Karting Track! We had a group of 10 or so make the hour drive out for a fun day of riding and racing.

 The racing track in Monticello has been deemed the #8th best track in the world! There are so many twists and turns, and these karts register speeds at 50+ mph. Our crew averaged a speed of 40-45 mph. The track is just over a mile in length, and the group was given 10 laps around the entire track upon completion of the initial 20 laps used for the "driving school" portion on the short track.

The pricing is pretty reasonable for the session our group went with. Each person paid $70 which included; 30 laps (20 on the short track, 10 on the big track), safety driving class (this is mandatory for first time riders of the track), and racing gear (helmet, jacket, neck brace, and gloves). We spent well over three hours at the place. It was definitely worth the price, and money well spent. Everyone had a blast!

Kaylee wasn't allowed to ride on the track with the adults. The owner promised to let her drive a lap around the short track if the group scheduled after us didn't make it by the time our group finished. Unfortunately, the second group was there waiting as we were finishing. She was bummed, but K and I promised to bring her out again with a friend so they can ride around the track together, and that appeased her. Instead of being able to ride, she tried on some of the racing gear, and we sat in the stands watching our group race one another and wipeout around the corners!

... and this is what a day spent on the Monticello Karting track looks like in pictures...

Once the everyone finished racing, we were able to go take a look in the "showroom" at the cars and memorabilia. The guys loved it; they were pretty much in heaven. Each were plotting ways they could all pitch in and buy one of the cars in the showroom!

If you happen to be in the North Florida area, and are looking for something fun to do, I would highly recommend hitting up the Monticello Karting Track! Everyone really enjoyed it, and talked about it the rest of the afternoon. I know if I would have been able to ride, I would have loved it just as much. I'm already planning my trip out to the track after baby comes!

 



Valentine's Day Breakfast Fun

This Valentine's Day will be our last one as a family of three. I've been thinking of something fun to do with Kaylee, and have a few ideas in mind. As usual, I turned to my trusty Google search engine in hopes of finding possibilities to the ideas I'm envisioning.

 

Google never disappoints.

 

My vision includes a little "love" breakfast with a backdrop and mini photo booth setup with props. The plan is to wake up early, set everything up, cook, and surprise her when she wakes. Just a little something fun, creative, and cute to start the day with. I love creating family memories that she and we will cherish for the years to come!   

 

I myself believe all holiday's to be magical. There's just something so blissful about them. I always adore watching that little face of hers light up with such joy and happiness, but particularly so on these special occasions. 

 

These are the few breakfast ideas I've found via my Google searches...

{via: The DC Ladies}

{via: Project Nursery}

{via: Tatertots & Jello}

    

Next are some backdrop ideas for behind the table, and the mini photo booth via Google searching...

{via: Catch My Party}

{via: Candice Stringham}

{via: Hank & Hunt}

 

These few finds have definitely helped in bringing the vision I have to life. They've even shown me a few new ideas that can be used for the V-day family breakfast I have planned. I still have photo props that didn't get printed or used last year. Now to pulling it all together and making it happen. 

 

I can't wait to see Kaylee's reaction Valentine's Day morning!!