Little Okie Homestead

Another fun craft filled day with Easter around the corner. We had a bunch of egg cartons laying around and we needed something to do so I searched for some ideas online and Monkey chose to make these fun Easter egg holders. All you need is egg cartons cut up, paint & supplies, black marker, colored feathers and glue.      Painting the egg cartons all different fun colors! Then it was time to dye the eggs to put them in our fun holders! Grandma bought special tie dye for the eggs. Monkey enjoyed this for a bit but it didn't last long.  Goose joined in for a short time and tried to enjoy an egg with us!  But with a fever of about 100 degrees he wasn't to happy to be doing anything other than cuddling and shortly after this picture he went to bed for another short cat nap.  Monkey enjoyed coloring on his eggs before he put them in the colors Entertaining Monkey while we waited for the eggs to get done! I was tickling hi...

We were at the zoo with friends when I over heard a nice mom near by say to her kids... "You all have been such great listeners that you each get a Mommy Buck when we get home." So naturally it sparked my interest and I had to ask what exactly are Mommy's Bucks and she was nice enough to share the idea with me. I was so excited to get started and I did that night! Mommy Bucks is money that you make from home (google it and find printables, cut up paper, go to the dollar store and find the fake money) and that your kids can earn around the house and/or for good behavior. Then you have a bin full of goodies such as books, crayons, stickers, snacks, toys, etc. that they can buy with their money earned!  I loved this idea! It has worked wonders! It can teach so many things while also accomplishing good behavior. Of course I'm not opposed to other forms of discipline when needed also. I'm excited for Monkey to start learning the concept of money and of ...

So now that I have struggled with having a failed birthday party for Monkey we had to cancel. Not because of any of my concerns posted yesterday but because of the wonderful Colorado weather that dumped 8 inches of snow on the ground and there is still more falling from the sky. So now we have a little boy who is disappointed that he doesn't get to have his party today. The good news is that we can reschedule for next Saturday, which I avoided at first because it's the day before Easter, and the weather is suppose to be nice so hopefully we can have the party at the park like I originally planned. So everyone that is somewhere where it is snowing or having bad weather stay warm and safe like we plan to here in Colorado and all of you enjoying warm weather today I'm a little jealous of you today. I really wish that we had that so Monkey could celebrate turning 4! Hope everyone can enjoy their Saturday!

So I planned Monkey's birthday party for this Saturday because his actually birthday is Easter which we will spend with family. Once again I tried to plan his birthday party at the park which is always a toss up with a March birthday. I have plenty of experience with birthday's at this time of year as mine is only 3 days after Monkey's and the weather here in Colorado can change quickly! So we have had to move his party to inside our house which means that I have to find things for the kiddos to do instead of spending time burning energy on the playground. Well as I have been getting everything together for his new party everyone started canceling on me. We were down to one child and 2 babies coming as of Wednesday and then it dropped again to only the one family with the child and baby. I feel horrible for Monkey. I completely understand everyone has things going on and that came up so I'm not upset I'm just feeling like a failure because his 4th birthday is lo...

We have maybe finally figured out a bedtime routine with both boys. They share a room so there are some difficulties because they are both pretty light sleeps but I'm hoping this schedule will continue because it is just awesome! 7:30pm: Cleaning up toys (Time depends on how many toys are out). Goose nurses.   8:00pm: PJ's, potty and brush teeth for Monkey. PJ's and diaper for Goose    8:15pm: Story time. This includes several books. A fun library book, a learning library book, a book of Monkey's choice, a Goose board book, a chapter from The Magic Treehouse book series and a Bible story.   8:45pm: Prayers. Monkey doesn't like to pray so we all sit together and hold hands (Goose too until he gets to antsy. I try to pray for each member of our family, for good rest for the night and prayers over whatever our plans are for the next day, and then for anyone else that might need prayers that relate to the boys such as their...

You know that scene in Big Daddy where Frankenstien is playing the game I win?  Well that is our house now! Monkey has invented his own 'I Win' game and loves to play.  He finally has made the rules more even where we can actually win too! Want to know what it is? Here is how the game goes... Monkey: "Mom, what are you doin'?" Mom: "Typing on the computer." Monkey: "You win. Now say 'What I'm doin'?" Mom: "Monkey, what are you doing?" Monkey: "I'm doing up and back down on the couch. See? I win!" Now if you answer with a funny answer like "Flying an airplane" you lose but it is funny.  We have times where we play funny answers and he just cracks up! Then we have times where we play both and he never knows what I'm going to say & he thinks that's funny to. In other words my life consists of always being asked what I'm doing because he thinks it...

I'm so excited to be co-hosting with Melissa! I have been a long time reader & finally got around to co-hosting! I can't wait to see all of your holiday traditions & I'm sure add a few to my list too! Holiday Traditions? What are those? I'm not sure we have any set up in our family. We never really had anything that we did every year growing up either. So I'm not surprised that we haven't thought about setting anything up for our kids either. Last year we tried doing the  Three Wise Men Gifts  but I of course bought more than just 3 gifts. So what is the plan this year for holiday traditions in our house? Bass Pro Shop Winter Wonderland to visit Santa Three wise men gifts  One Santa gift plus the stocking Baking cookies at Granny & Great Popa's house Baking cookies at Grandma & Popa's house with cousins & then heading to the local fire department & police station to share with the men & women that keep us safe throug...

I have been struggling with many of the movies that are out today for children. They have inappropriate language, behavior & even teaching our children that big business & working hard are bad things! I'm seriously appalled with several movies that we have watched recently & have even considered watching all children movies before I let Monkey watch them. There are still some good ones though like 'How to Train Your Dragon' . I think this is a super cute movie. I'm actually watching it right now while Monkey taking a nap. There's really nothing else on to watch at the moment anyway. Although Hiccup disobeyed his father repeatedly throughout the movie he does it for a greater good for his people. He knows that something just isn't right about the way the people treat the dragons. He wants to fit in & get his fathers approval so he tries to kill the ultimate dragon, the night fury. When it comes down to it he just can't do it. Hiccu...

We all have our secrets but homemakers, housewives, whatever you want to call us are sometimes in a league of our own! We have the perception that we sit around and eat bonbons all day, (man I wish that was true)  but we are normally very busy raising our little ones and sometimes secrets just come with that terriorty. But today on  Growing Up Geeky 's Toddle Along Tuesday we are sharing some of those secrets with you. Come along and share with us what you keep from everyone about your daily life ;) Showers have become a luxury and not a routine of everyday! The times that I get to shower when Hubby is home I take loooong showers whether I hear the baby crying or not. I think I deserve it after a long day and I think he deserves to care for a crying baby once in a while. I love that my boys are on the same schedule for nap time! Why is that a confession? Because I don't mind staying up until 11 or 12 with him until he goes to bed at night. I don't ...

I get asked every year from many family members what I think my boys would like for Christmas gifts. In reality they don't need anything. We are so blessed to have everything they need and then some. We have toys and clothes overflowing most of the time. So this year I thought I would try to look at toys, books, ect. and make a list that would help guide everyone to what we are looking for this season that my boys will use. I think it's very important for toys to be things we will actually use and I think that learning toys are always important too. Monkey actually prefers toys that he can learn from but he also enjoys board games or books. So here is my list. For Goose   (this list was hard because really what does a 5 month old baby need?) 1.)  Fisher Price Growing Baby Animal Activity Puzzle Monkey loves puzzles & I think that they are fun learning toys. I never knew they made puzzles for little guys like Goose but I would love to start int...

I haven't shared much about being a board member on a local non-profit here in Colorado but I am today because we just had our first Run, Stroll & Roll 5K Free Community Event! It was a blast! Own Your Own Health  is a great organization that is helping people take ownership of their own health. Our mission is Encouraging, developing & supporting ownership of your health and healthcare.  My family has a special bond with this organization for at least two reasons: 1.) my best friend is the founder and executive director and she has the most kind spirit of anyone I know! 2.) because when Hubby was sick this past April not only did the mission of the organization and the information they provide help save his life and get him the care he needed but Tiffany was there for support every step of the way! Here are just a few pictures from the event. Kelsey Campbell from the 2012 London Olympics was there and she signed Goose's shirt. ...

As requested via my facebook page this momentousness 300th post with be about our favorite moments with Auntie M! Pretty sure she was just joking about it but I figure that it would be a good thing to share how much we care about her and her family! She always takes us fun places! Sleepovers we always end up sleeping in a funny way! This one actually breaks my heart because we didn't know that his gallbladder was hurting him so much & that he would have to have surgery  just a few days later :( She brings Rex's fun cousins with her! Thanks Aunt M for everything you have done for us & coming to visit! We love & miss you a lot! Happy 300th blog posts to me! What to see what I was doing for the 100th and 200th blog post? Nothing special but fun to look back! No celebration on those milestones! 100th Post 200th Post

Couldn't this be a better picture? We have one rule about jumping in our house: it must be done on Mommy and Daddy's bed or on his mattress on the floor. This time Goose loved watching him jump. He was laughing and having a good ol' time!