Five on Friday

I haven't done one of these posts in a while and I figured that it was more than appropriate for my scattered brain at this point in time. Plus, the quicker I finish typing out all these thoughts, the quicker that the wine on my kitchen counter and my lips can reunite. Kids are in bed and Andrew is almost done mowing. I have approximately 15 minutes to get to business....

Ready, set, go.

1.  Favorite book for the 3.5 year old- Disney 5-Minute Fairy Tales (5-Minute Stories)
Okay guys, we are a big big time family lover of books. My kids love to read books. I love to read books to them. My husband loves {not so much} to read books to them {okay he does, but just not the long ones}, and it is something that we are so glad that our children have picked on and hope that they continue to grow in their passion for books. That being said, we have a lot of favorites in our house, and rarely do we get new ones that can even possibly trump the old ones. However, this book
Disney 5-Minute Fairy Tales (5-Minute Stories) is at the top of my list. Elli's list, more importantly. We got it for her for Easter, and the main reason I picked it up was because Mickey was on the cover {true story}. Then I realized that they were the original fairy tales with the Mickey characters thrown in the stories {brilliant}. Better yet, the stories were 5 minutes long! The illustrations are so good, and I would recommend this to anyone with a 3-5 year old. You won't be disappointed. 

2. Fun outdoor activity: It is no surprise that with the warm weather amongst us, we have been spending the majority of our days outside. From zoo trips, to walks in the neighborhood, playing in the driveway, and visiting multiple parks on our ultimate favorite list. I can now understand why schools would get out or the summer.... because who actually wants to spend their time in a desk indoors---right? Right. So although this is true for us, I try to take some of the lessons {not all and probably not enough, and that's okay} outdoors and make them fun. The other day we discovered a new way to implement sight words outside:

Use chalk to write out 8 words, close together in two lines {4 to a line}. Then draw a circle close to those two lines and write the child's name and instruct them to stand on that circle. Then tell them the game is you tell them the word, they find the word, spell it, and then hop to it. Show them, and even jump in on the fun {that was the most fun for Elli. Here is a video of one of the words we did. 

3. I took a selfie and it was important to document it. That is about the extent of this number. I also want to make note that I have been in love with wearing my husband's baseball caps lately {although he tells me that I am not a hat person}. Regardless, I love it. And I feel like it makes me look like a.... soccer mom or something. Don't ask.


4. Steals and Deals

45% off Chicco stroller---Only $79 once placed in cart!

50% off Summer Video Monitor

5. Sibling bond. I'm actually working on a post to talk about this subject in greater detail, but looking at this picture just reminded me again of how precious and wonderful these years are, specifically because I get to watch this bond grow between two of the most important little people in my life. I could have never even imagined when I only had Elli what our lives were even missing out on, what we didn't know could exist, and how much more amazing it would get to have another one to share our hearts and home with. I truly have no fear of bringing home another child in the future as I did the first time around, because I have gotten a glimpse into this wonderful {sometimes crazy and a lot of times fighting between the two} world.