hurricane entertainment

We're taking a little break from vacation memories - you're welcome.  :-)

Two Saturdays ago {instead of driving to the shore} Drew and I decided to try out a project I've been dying to do with Asher.  I found this idea on Pinterest {love, love that site!} and couldn't wait to give it a go.

Shaving cream finger paints sounded like they could be a huge mess, so I waited until Drew was home to help out.  That ended up being a wise choice.

Asher l-o-v-e-d it!  {so did Drew}

Well, Ash loved it after we convinced him to give the foam a try.

I'm really not sure why he resisted so much at first - he loves bath time, so it's not clear what kind of torture he thought was on the way to elicit such a strong response.

At any rate, once he got his hand in the squishy mess he was sold!  All you have to do is squirt some shaving cream in a muffin tin, stir in some food coloring, and let them have at it.

Warning:  I'd keep it away from grout if you can.  We have a big tub, so I didn't have any trouble keeping it on the tub walls only.  I'm not positive that it would stain grout, but that stuff is so darn porous, it wouldn't surprise me.

Another warning:  When the foam gets on your skin and you wipe it away some color will still be there.  If you're like me, you'll PANIC assuming your child's nose is now permanently a sickly purple color.  Fear not.  With just a little scrub of a washcloth, it all comes right off.

Clean up was really easy.  The hardest part was keeping Asher from touching every surface in the bathroom when we pulled him out to rinse off the tub before his bath.  I'd definitely recommend a 2 on 1 defense for this project.

All in all, it was super fun!  Asher loved making a "mess" and it was really cheap and easy to make happen.  This is something we'll be doing again soon!

vacay phone snaps

Originally, the plan was that we'd leave for our vacation on Saturday morning.  Little did we know that Hurricane Irene would come and mess with those well-laid plans.  All week I had been packing, cleaning, shopping, and baking in anticipation for the trip. 

Once the coast was evacuated and we realized that we weren't going anywhere {sigh} Asher and I ditched the packing plan and played outside while the sun was still shining.

If we couldn't go to the beach, the beach would come to us.

Fortunately Irene weakened a lot and passed by the Jersey Shore with minimal damage.  We were able to get there by Monday and spent the next 5 days soaking in lots of sun, sand, and salt sprayed air.

Asher couldn't wait to start the fun and woke up early e-v-e-r-y morning.  {The toddler definition of vacation and the adult definition of vacation are rather different}  On my morning to get up with Asher - Drew and I took turns, so we did get some days to sleep in - we went right down to the beach and enjoyed the sun rise.

So beautiful.  :-)

We took a walk in the sand and had some special Mommy-Asher time.  So very worth getting up early.

toes in the sand

You all know of my love for baby toes.  So, of course, I had to get some shots of the beachy version.  Swoon.  :-)

love

love

love

important lessons

Last week was a great learning experience for Asher.  He had aunts, uncles, and {most importantly} two cousins who were anxious to teach him all kinds of important skills.

Like how to play football

and how to tackle Aunt Lisa...

Uncle Chris...

and Grandpa Gene.

{tackling was a rather important lesson this week}

They showed him how to escape onto the deck...

and strike a really awesome pose for photos.

Alden taught Ash the proper way to play with Monster trucks.

It's up, then down.  

Asher - are you listening?  {I just love Alden's expression! ha!}

Alden and Mercer also showed him how to play "pretend" with their toy animals.  Asher was riveted.

A and M taught Asher the importance of hard work.

Hard at work.

Hardly working.

ha ha!

But also how to have fun and run, run, run.

Uncle Chris read some awesome stories

and made sure everyone could see the pictures.

Grandpa showed off his babysitting skills.

{ha ha - sorry, this was a one time occurrence, but the photo was so funny I couldn't resist.  For the record - they only watched for a few minutes before Grandpa Gene took them all to the beach}

and Aunt Lisa shared some pretty shocking gossip.   

Your neighbor did whaaat??

Don't start thinking the lessons were all one way.  Asher taught the others a thing or two as well.  Such as which dinosaur is which...

and how the animal train should be properly loaded.   

Giraffes go in the back, Aunt Ali.

Since we've been home I've been tackled 5 times and had to make a special trip out to buy a monster truck.

I love vacation - and I love our family.  :-)

birds of a feather

Hey there - we're back from vacation!  Did you know we went on vacation?  Maybe not.  Well, we did!

Last week was our annual trek to the New Jersey shore with Drew's family.  It almost got canceled because of Hurricane Irene {more on that later} but we were able to go for 5 wonderful days in the end.  I'm still going through the 100s of photos that I took, but for now, here's one of Asher with his twin cousins.

{in the shirts that I made for them! yay!}

No one is looking at me because there was a super cool landscaping truck packing up for the day behind us.  The boys sat still, but basically thought the photographers were just in the way of something way more awesome.  We appreciate their compromise.  :-)

There are lots of fun stories from our week and once I get caught up on laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and pick out the best of the best photos I'll share some! 

Hope you all are having a wonderful Labor Day - we're enjoying our last day of vacation here!

makin' whoopie {again}

I made whoopie pies for my small group's snack this week and they are sooo delicious!  What could be better than soft chocolate cakes surrounding fluffy, sweet frosting.  a-h-h-h....

These are one of the decadent desserts I can only make when a group is getting ready to eat them.  Otherwise I'll eat way too many and regret it big time.

These are one of Drew's favorite treats too so I made them for his birthday.  If you want the recipe, check here!

just wait until fall

Asher discovered a few leaves that had blown against the curb and was obsessed with picking them up and throwing them into the air.

Seriously, friends, there were like 5 leaves.

He just kept picking them up and throwing them over and over.

I couldn't help but laugh - he is going to love fall!