Farewell For Now

Well, my little hiatus turned into 5 months!
I've decided that keeping up on this blog is fun, but my little baby is even more fun!... & truth be told, time consuming! In fact, he just woke up from his nap!
Maybe one day I'll return and post about all the boy stuff we've been doing, but for now, it's goodbye :)

Out of Commission Due to New Arrival!

Home Depot Kid's Workshop

Have you heard about this?
On the first Saturday of each moth, Home Depot puts on a workshop for kids ages 5-12.
My boys went with their dad for the first time on Saturday and had so much fun.
They got to use a screwdriver and hammer to build a little table that can also be used as a football stand.
Check out more details here.

*photo from the home depot website*

This is definitely something we'll do again!
Did I mention that it's completely FREE?

Artwork Display

Here's an idea if you don't know what to do with all of your child's school artwork.
The refrigerator fills up really fast!
We have a small loft area in our house.
That has become the designated artwork area.
I hung a few knobs on the wall,
then added string.
My kids painted wooden clothespins
and added their artwork to finish the project.

When they bring something knew home, they decide which piece will be taken down from the wall to make room for the new piece.
For a more sophisticated look, I've seen this done with curtain rods.
I prefer this way because my boys got to help with the project. It's not in a highly visable location in our house anyway.

I'm Famous!

OK, not really. But a photo of mine made it onto the cover of a book!

I really love photography. It's not something that I spend a ton of time on.

Between kids, pregnancies and life in general, I haven't devoted a lot of time to that hobby.

But a year or so ago, I started uploading photos to a stock photography website.

Every now and then, I make a little $. I rarely get to see when and how my photos are used.

But, it's fun for me and something that I can do on my own time table without pressure from real clients.

Well, last week, someone bought my photo for a book cover and emailed me to let me know how and where it was used.

It's a book about traveling with kids. I've never read it, so I can't recommend it one way or another, but I'm sure I'll order a few for myself, just because of the cover.

Here's the link if you're interested in checking it out:

The Mom's Guide To Traveling With Kids

Chocolate Balloon Cups

image courtesy of bakerella.com

I saw THIS RECIPE quite a while ago on BAKERELLA.
We finally tried it yesterday.
It was fun and in the end turned out well.
But, before you go trying the recipe, let me first say,
Follow The Directions!!!
I know, you're probably smarter than me and when you read a recipe, you do what it tells you.
I just thought it looked so easy and fun, that I jumped right in and didn't read carefully.
3 things Not to Skip:
- wash the balloons
-spray lightly with cooking spray
- let the chocolate cool

If you Do Skip, just for the entertainment value...

the balloons will POP and you'll have liquid chocolate sprays all over your kitchen,

yourself,

and your child who is trying to help.

p.s. we didn't actually make the pudding recipe. we just filled our cups with ice cream.

I used to be lifeguard...

but it's different when it's your own child...

Sunday evening C & E were setting up a board game while I finished dishes.

I heard E coughing in the other room.

It quickly turned to gaging.

I left the dishes to find E barely breathing.

And, then it turned into only one tiny gasp of air every few seconds.

My husband ran into the room and grabbed the phone to call 911 while I attempted to do the

Heimlich Maneuver for a Child. I thought I was doing it just right, but it didn't seem to be working very well.

I just couldn't seem to get a good thrust.

That's when I realized that my gigantic belly was in the way! Duh! I had completely forgotten that I was pregnant.

I switched with my husband who said 911 was not answering???

I tried calling and got a recorded message???

My husband's attempt at the Heimlich finally dislodged the small chess piece that was causing the choking, along with some blood.

Don't ask me where it came from. I can't even remember how to play chess.

E seemed to recover quickly, with just a sore throat for about a day.

I think the chess piece must have cut his throat a little.

So, this got me thinking about 2 things:
1) What would I have done if 911 never did pick up?
And
2) What would I have done if E ended up passing out because of the lack of air?

I searched around and thought I would share the answers with you. These are things that every parent should try to be prepared for.

1) I decided to ALWAYS have the Fire Dept. and the Sheriff's Office phone #s on the refrigerator and in my cell phone.

2) Know the Heimlich & CPR. Like I said, I used to be a lifeguard and have been a swim instructor for years. But, if you don't keep current, you forget. And, I found out that the recommended guidelines have changed a bit over the years.

Sometimes I wonder how kids survive to adulthood!

One more thing I found out:

 the #1 choking hazard for children (after food) is

balloons!