Day at the Indianapolis Children's Museum

One of the best parts about living in Indiana is having the BEST Children's Museum!  Seriously, if you have never been, you have got to make it a priority!  This week is the debut of their new section called Take Me There, China and my boys were appropriately dressed for the occasion thanks to Aunt Bonnie!

We love our Panda shirts!

The museum was decked out in their usual over the top festive way...you truly felt like you were being transported right to China!

                    

                             Wish I would have gotten a better picture of the lobby....breath taking!

To enter the exhibit, you pass through an actual replica of an air plane...have a seat in the real airplane seats and watch the sky go by out your window!

Once inside the exhibit, you are immersed in Asian culture.  We got to see authentic demonstrations from a Chinese man that the Museum brought in for the grand opening!

Then it was off to the very realistic Chinese restaurant where kids of all ages were preparing Chinese cuisine and serving it to their customers seated and waiting with their chop sticks.  Had I not thought it would be frowned upon, I would have thrown a few elbows and stir fried up some Chinese grub myself!  I did indulge, however, in punching a few of the keys on the cash register....hehe

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a good picture of the twins having fun taking care of their baby Pandas.  Kids are allowed to take a stuffed bear and feed it a bottle, weigh and measure it, and give it a complete check up to make sure it is growing and healthy!  A scrubbed nurse is available to educate and assist the young Panda doctors as needed.

The last area you pass through before exiting back into the real world are snippet tours of what real Chinese homes look like and information on what living there is like for the locals.  We didn't stay in that area too long as toddlers barely care about how they live, let alone others!

As usual, it was a terrific day at the Indianapolis Children's Museum, and we are looking forward to visiting again soon!

Cabin in the Woods

When I was a kid, my family went on vacations every summer.  They were almost always at a rental cabin in Kentucky where we spent our time boating, swimming, hiking and just enjoying family time!  As us kids grew up and had families of our own, we continued the tradition together with three generations of Sparks'...two years ago we even had 4 generations there!

I will always have fond memories of our Cabin in the Woods!
My FAVORITE items that bring back these great memories!

My Mom

I have been thinking about how to even come close to expressing in words what my Mom means to me, and I've come to realize I will never come close!
I used to love watching her put her make up on in the mornings. She sat at a vanity that I remember as being very fancy..she probably didn't think it was, but in my mind it was perfect. I thought she was beautiful and couldn't wait to be grown up enough to use that make up, curling iron, and aqua net hairspray!
When she vacuumed, she would line up the chairs so I could pretend to be riding on a train.
When I came home from school, she would stop what she was doing to listen to every detail about my day, and in her eyes, it was the most important thing she had heard all day.
We stayed up late watching movies...horrible 80's teenage love movies and she never seemed bored.
Sometimes, when I was struggling with whatever teenage drama I had at the time, she would leave special letters of encouragement on my bed.
In college, she wrote me EVERY day...I loved checking my mail.
Now, a day doesn't go by that I don't think "what would Mom do?" when faced with a decision.  Her endless love and devotion to her family is steadfast and she never asks for a thing in return...it's truly and inspiration!
Like most kids, there were many times I didn't appreciate her the way I should have, but her unconditional love never faltered.  I hope to be just like her when I grow up!

                                                          My Beautiful Mother

First Potty Training Outing

So, a short back story to get everyone up to date, Tanner and Logan are PETRIFIED of public restrooms.  Something about the echoing sounds of toilets flushing and hand dryers going off send them into a tizzy!
Well, typically my mom (Mimi), my niece and great-nephew, the twins and I go on weekly outings, and us potty training victims were itching to GET OUT!  Today was the day...we were to meet at a restaurant that has a great play area, and Momma was equipped!  I had two changes of clothes a piece, plastic bags for possible wet clothes, wipes....and a potty seat.  Yes, I brought my own potty seat.  I was gonna make this a success if it killed me!!

The Throne

They actually sat on the potty before we went into the restaurant!  Yay, SUCCESS! But...the distraction of a fun playground reared it's ugly head and off to the restroom we went for 3 clothing changes. Failure?  Not at all because Mimi came to the rescue and helped my darlings over come their fear of echoing potties!

                                                         Mimi says it's not scary!

I've chalked the first potty training outing up as a success overall...but ready to be home bound close to "our" potties and crowd free clothes changing.  Share your stories and suggestions about your "successful" outings with potty training kiddos!

Had to share a picture of my adorable great-nephew!  

A Cardinal in Our Nest

We have recently had baby cardinals hatch in a nest built in our front door wreath!  It's been so much fun watching them grow, fly to and from the nest and listening to the momma cardinal chirp away in maternal joy!  I'm reminded of my grandmother, Wilda.  She loved to bird watch and had a special love for cardinals.  Every time I see a cardinal, I think of her....hmmmm, I wonder if this is why red has always been my favorite color?!

In honor of my grandmother,Wilda, cardinals, and the color red, I have compiled a few beautiful things from my favorite Etsy shops!

A Cardinal in Our Nest!

Suggestions, Opinions, Criticism...Please

So the Mason Jar craze is still going strong, and as a crafter it's getting harder and harder to keep this trend in my shop fresh an unique. I have come up with something I like and enjoy creating, but I would love as much feedback as I can....from all of you!  So give it to me...honest opinions, suggestions to make them better, ways to make these creations a MUST HAVE!

How To Spray paint: for the Impulsive and Impatient

For those of you who haven't picked up on the fact that I tend to be impulsive and impatient, let me tell you, spray paint and I have had a VERY rocky relationship!  I have sprayed, de-sprayed, and re-sprayed more times than I care to count. Therefore, I am sharing what I learned in simple terms for my other impatient and impulsive paintaholics!  I would have pics...but, well, I decided to write this on a whim.  See what I mean?

Step one:  WAIT until the temperature is right.  Read the directions on the can to see what temp it recommends and follow them!

Step two:  Clean what you intend to spray paint with mild soapy water, dry, and wipe down with some rubbing alcohol.  This gets the oil and dirt off so you get good adherence. If you need to sand anything, you want to do that before cleaning.

Step three:  If you can, spray outside, or at least in a well ventilated area.  Lay down a drop cloth under the to be painted item. This part is hard for us impatients, but you need to SHAKE the can...yes, for as long as the directions say.  Yes, for 1-2 minutes...DO IT!

Step three:  Sweep the can side to side as you spray a LIGHT layer.  Light layer!  As in so light you wonder if the paint will even ever sufficiently cover your piece.  Then stop and WAIT!  You want to wait at least an hour before even thinking about another coat. Again, read your directions for specific re-coat times...then walk away and forget about it.

Step four:  After you WAITED the allotted time, keep spraying light coats on until you achieve the coverage you desire...waiting the instructed drying time between each coat.

I appreciate that this sounds over simplified and kind of like a "duh" type thing to most....but sometimes us impulsive and impatient paintaholics need emphasis on the obvious.  HAPPY SPRAYING....