So here I go again with my sensory tubs, except this one is more of a fine motor skills activity and it was a hit! I went to the dollar store and got a pack of pom-poms. I put them in a bowl, got some spoons and a muffin tin and let the kids go at it. They quickly figured out that they were supposed to transfer the pom-poms to the muffin tins. They really enjoyed it and it kept them busy for a long time. I let Alice free style it but I gave Jude specific instructions like "grab all the green ones" or "find me 3 purples." It was a good way to practice colors and numbers as well as fine motor skills. Towards the end they just began to dump and gather, dump and gather. This is one that I have done a couple times and they really enjoy it.

Derek and I never really put much stock into valentines day. I make sure to let him know not to get me things like flowers, jewelry or chocolate. Nope, I am not that type of girl. I am the type of girl who likes a laugh, which is why Derek and I usually get each other gag gifts. This year I had the perfect gift in mind. I spray painted a pair of shoes Gold!!! If you know Derek then you know that this is the perfect gift for him. Happy Valentines my hard working man!

It was time to cook dinner and the kids were just all over me trying to get my attention. They were hurting for an activity so I whipped out another of my sensory ideas. I filled up the sink (thankgoodness it was empty) with warm water and bubbles, then I gave them cups, bowls, and towels to play with. Wow, they had a good time alright. It kept them quite busy while I finished cooking dinner. Jude did a very good job of keeping it in the sink. Alice...well...she did less well. In fact she was having a good time making big splashes. I should have cared but I didn't. They turned my kitchen into a giant puddle and got themselves soaked inthe process but it was worth it for them to play and feel happy. And I just threw a couple of big towels on the floor while we were eating and it got most of the water. The kids of course had to be stripped down to nothing but they had so much fun that they didn't even care. My cutie munchkins.

Here is a clip from our pirate party. We had already gone through the string maze, jumped into the bottomlesspit(over the wall onto the mattress) across the river(blue towel and pots and pans) throught the tunnel, sloved the letter clue, searched throught the telescopes, followed the golden trail, and here we are at the treasure. The kids were so into it and so excited.

Good times! Really good times! Jude just turned 3 and I threw him a big ol' pirate bash! We started with a game of pin the patch on the pirate. The kids liked it a lot but felt that if they pulled their bindfold down that it would be much easier to put the patch where it was supposed to go. Then we went on a treasure hunt!! Derek was the leader and he did so good. First we led them to the backyard through a string maze, then up over the wall to jump on a mattress, the over a river on stepping stones, through a tunnel, then they had to solve a clue to find a key, then they had to follow the trail to find the treasure chest. They had such a good time!! They jumped and celebrated when they found the chest and were so excited to see what was in it. The treasure chest was actually a pinata so we let all the kids take a good whack at it and then let Derek take over to bust it for us. Then we went inside for cake and icecram. It was such a such a such a fun birthday.

Jude's birthday party was on Saturday but his actual birthday was on Friday. We took him out to menchies and made him a little family party. We let him open a present and blow candles out on a cake(cake flavored icecream with sprinkles). Then we did coloring on the wall. He had a really good time. I just can't believe he is 3!!!

Ok so this is going to be the first of many posts like this. I am trying something new called sensory tubs. It is just what it sounds like, fill a tub with something and let the senses take over. For our first try I did flour. It worked out great. We started with writing letters and numbers in the flour with our fingers then we did hand prints, then I hid a bunch of coins in the flour and had Jude search for them. I gave him a little cup to hold the coins in and he had a great time looking for them. It was fun to have the flour in our fingers and hands. Jude even went one step further and tasted it. He got super messy but had such a great time. Then I changed it up a bit and gave Jude water to dump into the flour. It made a gooey sloppy mess and after working it awhile turned into a dough which is a whole new sensory experience. Jude and I adored this activity and are going to do tons more like it.

Happy Valentines. Angie and I whipped out the arts and crafts supplies and had the kids make valentines for all grandmas and grandpas. The idea was to have hand prints in the shape of hearts and for the most part it worked although it was a rough start. I kindly explained to Jude that I was going to paint his hand and then put it on the paper. He was ok with the explanation but not so much the application. I put the paint on his hand and he lost his mind. He tried to wipe it off on his other hand, on his shirt, on his pants. He did not like it at all. I got him to calm down enough to walk him to the sink to wash his hands. So all squeaky clean and you know what the little punk says to me? "Mommy I want more paint." UGH! So I tried again and this time Jude was Ok with it. In fact he quiet enjoyed it. All the boys were enjoying the mess. I had to strangle hold Alice to get the paint on her hand. She hated it. I ended up just washing her hand after one card and doing tracings. After we got everything how we wanted it we cleaned the kids up and walked them down to the mail box to mail their valentines. It was such a great activity.

Fun fun day. There is a super cool park that I had never been to before that I thought would be fun to go to. It had all sorts of crazy contraptions that I had never seen at a Saint George park before. I skateboard simulator, a rock wall, a rope bridge, and a huge seesaw that was more like a set of scales. I wasn't sure if the kids would be old enough to enjoy themselves but I was so wrong. We must have been there for 3 hours. And the adults had just as much if not more fun then the kids. Angie and I really got going on the scales. We were having a blast and even though we could have stayed on it all day there was a line of kids forming so we let them take a turn. There was a decent sized hill there and I had bought some iceblocks so we could go sleeding. SOOO MUCH FUN!!!! I wasn't sure how it would work but it worked great! We had so much fun and everyone kept going up and down and up and down till we were just tuckered. The one draw back was that we all had soggy butts from the melting ice but it was so worth it. After that we had a lovley picnic at the top of the hill and then more of everything. A great great day.

We have a super cool light up ball. It flashes and vibrates and makes a huge racket. The kids love to take it into a dark room and pass it around. Alice just grabs it and stares at it hyponotized(I couldn't get a picture of it) and Juse just holds it and laughs. It is a super fun sensory activity, not to mention it makes some really cool pictures on the firework setting of my camera.

Finger painting!!! I found a recipe for edible finger paints, that way when the inevitable finger goes into the mouth it isn't a big deal. It makes a white bade and then you just add whatever dye you want and tada, finger paints. Well Tada was what it was supposed to be. I got to much cornstarch in it and it made more of a fingerpaste. It ended up working out for us because there was less dripage and it was really easy to spread around the paper. Now Jude requests it almost everyday. And since I made a big batch of it I just whip it out for an instant activity. TADA!

The ever popular... MESSY KITCHEN BAND!!! They know how to make music, er, or at least a lot of noise. But as long as that noise was going I knew that they were having a good time and staying out of trouble. Nothing more a mommy could want.

Silly Jude and silly Alice, it was after bath time(hence why Jude is less then dressed) and they pulled down the cushion from my papasan chair and started having the time of their lives! They were crawling under and over and just laughing and laughing. Our most favorite picture is the one where all you can see is a little Alice foot poking out. They really had such a grand time. Forget expensive toys and flashy games, just random household objects for these two.

Here is Jude singing his current favorite song "I love to see the temple."

Incase you don't know the real words it's I love to see the temple. I'm going there some day. To feel the Holy Spirit to listen and to Pray. For the temple is a house of God a place of Love and beauty. I'll prepare myself while I am young, this is my sacred Duty.

Now that you know the words it is even cuter to watch Jude the Jude version of the song.