What do you call four kids crammed into an icecream truck? Adorable!

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!!!