Play is part of life...

...especially when you're 3!

Uncle Paul teaching Cherish how to do push-ups: 

Tuckered out:

Nighty-night.

"Night Spy Walks"

It's our newest thing. Since it is getting darker and cooler earlier in the evening, we choose to take walks at night. Cherish calls them "night spy walks" and has us dress accordingly. We take "spy scopes", flashlights, an "LED 3rd eye", and Cherish and I wear tiaras. We are a sight, and we have a blast!

Don't worry, Derek accompanies us as our knight protecting his princesses.

Hair Styles by Jenn

Have you desired to have more ideas on how to style your daughter’s hair? Is she fidgety or does she sit still well? Then here’s a site for you: Hair Styles from Girly Do's by Jenn.

Cherish usually likes her hair down and in a headband. However, last night I showed her this site, and this morning she reminded me about it! This morning she picked a style and sat still long enough for me to complete it! I guess the difference in her normal fidgetiness and her willingness to sit still today was that she picked out the style and knew the desired outcome before the activity of styling began.

This is the style Cherish chose--only I had to simplify it quite a bit for her little head.

This picture was an after thought, and was taken after she had been rolling around.... The style holds up!

Here’s to fun and fancy dos!

Updates

Yes, you are at the right place. I just thought I'd add a bit of autumn to the "air"--even though today and tomorrow are supposed to be record heat-indexes for our area. Oh, well. I can still dream of all the wonders that will accompany autumn and winter. So, here's to the promise of the COLD weather yet to come! (Yippee!)

Stress Reducer

It has been a wee bit stressful here lately (dealing with insurance companies regarding a car accident, etc.), so yesterday and today I’ve been simmering potpourri. The recipe is my Christmas potpourri, but it has been a tremendous stress-reducer in our home the last two days. Here’s the recipe:

Chopped apples

Orange peels

Cloves

Cinnamon sticks

Water

Place all the ingredients in a pot and simmer. Relax and enjoy!

I have even refrigerated the remaining potpourri overnight and used it again the next day. Simply add a little more fruit.

If you have a favorite potpourri recipe, would you mind sharing it with me and the other readers? If you add it to the “comments” section, others will be able to enjoy it and swap recipes as well. Thanks!

Here’s to great smelling homes and low stress levels!

Just a Spoonful of Sugar...

I am a firm believer in ♫“a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”♫. (Do you have your speakers on?) ☺

Today marks one week since I decided not to repeatedly ask Cherish to clean her room. Last week I helped Cherish clean her room, and then I strung Christmas lights around the room. I told her that as long as the room stays clean, the Christmas lights stay on. (She is even permitted to fall asleep at night with the lights on.)

What a gem of an idea! (Thanks, God!) Cherish now pulls out toys, plays with them, and puts them back pretty promptly!

Today, Cherish and her daddy were playing “American Girl Dolls” (i.e. dress up the dollies). Side note: Thanks, Aunt Rhonda and Courtney, for the dolls and all their accessories!

After Cherish and daddy finished dressing the dolls and playing with them, daddy went to the kitchen to get a snack. Cherish came into the kitchen and said, “Come on, Dad. We have to put all the American Girl stuff away.” I was surprised and said to Derek, “Who is this child?” He answered, “Our daughter is transformed!” He was not kidding!

Today...playing dolls:

Playing in the evening

(there's no flash on the camera so you can see the effects of the Christmas lights):

Once again, thanks, Mom and Jen, for finding and bringing me my camera. I love you both. ♥

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Better late than never--I guess. Well, since I now have my camera back, I thought I would post a fun get-together we had for my mom's birthday.

To celebrate my mom, we took her to a newly-opened Japanese Hibachi restaurant in her town. The entertainment, food, and fellowship were wonderful! We would do it again in a heartbeat. ☺

Once again, Happy Birthday, Mom!