Silly Putty Recipe

Today we made silly putty, or as Silas calls it "silly puddin'." The first recipe we tried didn't turn out so great and our silly putty was stiffer than the stuff I remember. So in an effort not to rob my kids of a real silly putty experience we tried again.  

Here is the recipe that worked:

1 whole bottle of  8oz glue...then add a few drops of food coloring and stir...

 ...pour glue into 1/2 tsp of borax mixed with a 1/4 cup of warm water and stir...

...keep stirring, drain liquid, knead...and BAM here it is...

The green was our second attempt!

 "Silly puddin' is SO fun!"

ONE month.

*eats every 3-4 hours.

* wakes up 1 to 2 times at night to eat and now goes back to sleep.

*prayed for a cuddler, and got a cuddler.

*loves his swing...especially for naps.

*started smiling at 2 weeks, especially towards Silas.

*wearing 3 month clothes, because he's super long.

Silas and Lois have been awesome with Asa. Silas is really great about helping bring me things. Lois wants to help with everything, like changing diapers and getting him dressed, and even feeding Asa. Silas told me one morning that Lois fed Asa a pancake, and sure enough 2 week old Asa was chewing on a pancake! 

So what is it like going from 2 to 3 kids?

It's feels normal, yet crazy at the same time. Maybe crazy just is the new normal.

These past 4 weeks are a reminder of my need for God's grace not just in raising my children, but in everything!

           I am weak but He is strong!

                                                     

Backyard Scavenger Hunt

In an effort to soak up these last few weeks of summer and the warm weather, we went on a backyard scavenger hunt! Silas and Lois loved it! Silas was a little disappointed though that we couldn't find a deer in our backyard. :)

And in the meantime, Asa got to enjoy an uninterrupted nap!

My Big Kids

During this transition of becoming a family of five, Jack and I have started referring to Silas and Lois as 'the big kids.' Jack will offer to take the 'big kids' with him when he goes out somewhere. 

How did Silas and Lois become my 'big kids?'

For the past few weeks since Asa's been born, we've been inside more and so I've been trying to come up with some fun activities for the kids to do. I had an extra canvas and we put strips of painter's tape on it, and then the kids got to take turns painting a color in each shape.

The kids loved pulling off the tape, and seeing that they made art!

Asa is here!

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1 month...

...until Asa's due date!

Let the countdown begin. :)

Special Pancakes

Pinterest and I have a love-hate relationship. I see all these cute, fun kids ideas on there, but when I actually try to be craft mom, it never goes as planned and it's a total flop. So, you can see why I was so excited when colored pancakes were a hit this morning in our house! You would have thought I'd hung the moon. Here's the pancake recipe, and I just let the kids stir in some food coloring. Silas, of course, picked red and Lois picked pink as their first choice of colors for pancakes. The finishing touch was syrup with sprinkles on top. :)

Mission accomplished.

Homemade Lotion for Eczema

This is my favorite lotion for treating eczema. I have tried most over the counter lotions for Silas, and this DIY recipe has worked the best!

The ingredients are simple. Two parts raw shea butter to 1 part coconut oil. For this batch, I used 2 T of shea butter and 1 T of coconut oil. I got the shea butter from World Market and the coconut oil can be found at most grocery stores.

 Fill a pot half way with water. Double broil over medium heat until its melted.

 Once it's melted, remove the bowl and put it in the fridge for 30 min-1 hour until it starts to solidify...

 ...like this.

Then with a hand mixer, use the whisk attachment to whip into lotion consistency. 

Lastly, put it in an empty container. Baby food jars work great for this, but I just didn't have any! Enjoy!

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Asa Matthew.

When Silas was born, we literally took thousands of pictures of him! Someone told me, "Wait until you have your third, you will have a couple lines written in a journal somewhere and that will be it!" And how true those words are. But here is my attempt to document at least a little something about this pregnancy. 

I am delivering in Franklin, but after 2 ultrasounds the doctor sent me to Asheville to get a better picture of Asa's heart. We made it a family trip and brought the kids. Silas thought it was awesome seeing Asa on the screen. Lois was just concerned about what the tech was doing to me, and so she stood by the bed and held my hand most of the time, which was totally precious. The best news was that Asa's heart looked perfect! Praise the Lord!

The ultrasound tech surprised us, and gave us a 3d ultrasound, and we got to see Asa's little face!

This has been the fastest pregnancy, most likely due to Silas and Lois keeping me busy. I was nauseous the longest though, probably until about 16 weeks, and mostly at night. Have I had any cravings? Jack has made frequent trips to a local thai restaurant this pregnancy. :)

What really has made this pregnancy so special though, is how excited Silas and Lois are to have a brother. They tell Asa goodnight and give him hugs and kisses, and Silas is always very careful when he sits on my lap so that he doesn't squish Asa. It feels like Asa is already a part of our family. Only 8 more weeks until he makes his debut!

Lois turns 2.

We celebrated Lois' birthday for what felt like the whole month of May. But what two year old doesn't love weeks on end of extra attention and presents? So needless to say, Lois had a great 2nd birthday! 

Her birthday celebration started with Gram and Poppy and Aunt Nee coming to visit.

We continued the celebration at playgroup that week with some Minnie Mouse cupcakes! 

On her actual birthday, we had breakfast cupcakes, opened presents, drove to Clayton, GA to go to Chick-fila where Lois got her own ice-cream cone, and ended the day at the Fun Factory with numerous rides on the carousel.

Oh the cupcake! I took Silas to the Dollar Store so he could get Lois a birthday present. I tried to encourage him to think about things that Lois likes...like Minnie Mouse, puzzles, ect. We strolled through every aisle and there was nothing that was really sticking out to Silas....and then he locked eyes with this cupcake! And I'm sure he was thinking, "Lois loves cupcakes!" But yep, it's totally a dog toy, AND she totally loved it! :)

We ended Lois' birthday month with a trip to Amelia Island, FL to celebrate Nana's 60th birthday, and Nana and Papa couldn't help but make it a joint party!

Lois' favorites:

Color: pink

Accessory: shoes, necklaces

Song: "bom bom"... Veggie Tales Theme Song

Food: Cheese & chocolate

Pastimes: reading, playing with Silas