Salt Dough

For Fathers Day I wanted Ruby to make Josh something, so I looked online and found a recipe for Salt Dough. You mix 1/2 a cup of salt, 1/2 a cup of flour and 1/4 a cup of water. Kneed it into a dough and shape it however you like. We made an oval with hand prints, her name and the year in it. I put some flour down on the counter so the mixture didn't stick to the counter. When you are done you put it on a baking sheet and in the oven at 200 degrees and bake for 3 hours. 

We will be making one every year, maybe put them in the flower bed as decoration. Right now Josh has it on his desk :) 

Every child should have a pet

When my step son started coming over he was 3 years old. From the first time he walked in the house him and my dog Nikko were inseparable. He helps feed the dogs and likes letting them out. Ryan is very helpful with the animals.

I've been waiting to see who Ruby will be drawn too. When she was little everyone thought she was wonderful. Now that she can crawl and move a lot more the dogs tend to run away. They don't enjoy getting their tails pulled. But the cats are still very patient with her. Especially Buttons. He will sit with her while she's playing and even lets her "pet" him. She hasn't quite figured that out yet so it's more like hitting and pulling. We are working on it. But he doesn't run he lays there and takes it. He has claimed her as his little human :) 

I remember growing up always having a dog. Dogs were and still are a huge part of my life. I have never not had a dog sleep at the bottom of my bed. Having animals growing up taught me how to be compassionate and helped me be responsible. Plus you always have a great friend waiting at home for you to give you licks. Animals have a way of making everything better. And that is why I will always have more than one animal in the house at all times. 

Rainy Day Play date

On Thursday Ruby had her first official sit down play date. It was so good for her. She really came out of her shell. And it was nice for me to talk to a couple ladies about mommy stuff. 

She spent time with 3 other kiddos, ages 10 months, 1 1/2, and 4. They all got along great, which you wouldn't expect from the age range. I was impressed, the other kids were very patient with the babies and everyone was sharing. It was a real success. 

I now believe that play dates are essential for a child's growth and development. Especially if they are not in daycare. They need the child interaction, they need to form bonds and make friends. And it's great if you can do it without all the germs from daycare. 

You could tell she was having such a good time with them. All smiles. We can't wait to have another one! 

Sandbox fun

When I was a little girl I had a sandbox. I absolutely loved it. I remember playing outside in the sand with all my toys, all the time. I want Ruby to have the same experience. 

I found an amazing one on Pinterest. It looked kinda hard to make but not impossible. I was going to ask my husband and one of our friends to make it, but we have so many other things that need to be done around the house, I decided against asking. I figired I'd just buy one at the store for now. I found an adorable turtle sandbox which was pretty inexpensive. Ruby loves it! She takes the sand and drop it out of the box, I thought the point was to keep the sand in but whatever she wants to do :) Now she has something else fun to do outside this summer. 

Almost Walking

Ruby is ready to walk. She walks up and down the couch and coffee table. She no longer sits and plays, she has to be standing. She cracks me up, she's a wild woman. She will stand on the bottom of her bouncer and play with the toys from the outside. She lives dangerously :) 

Memorial Day Weekend

First of all I would like to thank all of those who have served and are serving now. You have all made this a safer place for us to live and I thank you for that. 

What a wonderful long weekend. It was full of decent weather and lots of family. 

We had a birthday dinner on Saturday for Josh's little sister Jackie. We went to one of the nice restaurants in Hampton with the whole Whitcomb family. Ruby stayed home with Laura; it was past her bedtime. After dinner Josh and I went and got Ryan for the rest of the long weekend. He was pretty tired and went straight to bed when we got home. 

Sunday Josh worked on his race car at his parents house. Me and the kiddos stayed home for the morning so Ruby could take her nap and then after we all had lunch we headed over to meet up with Josh. 

It was fun. Ruby, Ryan and myself went for a walk with Cynthia and Carter when we got down there. It was a beautiful day. It rained in the morning but cleared up in the afternoon for us. Once Josh and his father were done working on the race car I finally got to take a ride in it, because we had someone to keep an eye on the kids. It's very loud :) We took a ride past my parents old house in Hampton. Its very strange seeing different cars in the driveway. :/

Saturday night was a low-key night. Ruby went to bed early, she was tired from the busy day we had. Josh and Ryan watched videos of monster trucks on YouTube and I started sewing a few pillows that I'm making to match our new headboard and a giant one for Ruby to play on! 

Sunday was a yardwork day. Our friend Jimmy came over to help and hang out. I got the flowerbeds cleaned up while the guys cleaned around the new shed. Ruby watched from a blanket that she was playing on. She is not a fan of the dirt, she would touch it and be disgusted and pull her hand away. 

We had a cook out for dinner; barbecued some steak tips, chicken and green beans and had fancy fries with them. (Fancy fries are fries cooked with onion and bacon...delicious). Laura came over and had dinner with us and then we watched a movie. 

It was a really great weekend. I'm bummed that it's over and everyone's gone back to work. 

Shed = Storage Solution

I love my house, I really do, but storage is an issue. We started spring cleaning and got rid of so much stuff, but there was a lot of stuff that we are keeping and needed a space of its own. 

We have a finished room in the basement and we'd like to use it as a office/play space but as of now it's storage. We also have an unfinished part of our basement that is used for storage that is full! The garage is full also. We are running out of space. So to reclaim some space we have invested in a shed. We will be able to put the pool, shovels, bikes, lawn mower, chairs, anything outdoorsy that doesn't need to be in the basement or garage in there. I am beyond excited, I'll be able to organize the entire basement, Josh will have his garage back and the porch will be clutter free and we can sit out there again yay!!! Now all we need is time to do all of that, and time now a days is hard to come by.