Have you heard of the new Squishy Baff stuff you add to your bath water? We decided to give it a whirl this week. The anticipation was running high as we watched and patiently waited for the tub to fill.
At last, the magic began! The girls loooooved it. They let it squish between their fingers and rubbed it up and down their arms and legs. Then they rolled onto their tummies so they could kick their feet up in the air behind them. Hattie opened her mouth in excitement and got a mouth full. Her natural reaction was to reach her hand in to wipe off her tongue. That would have been a good idea if her hand hadn't have been covered in more squishies. Poor thing began to cough and spit, and suddenly her breakfast was tossed up in the water. I plucked each girl from the bath and corraled them into the shower stall while I cleaned out the tub for round two.
After a shower and two baths, we headed outside to get dirty again.
Some of our fun activities for the week have included new Easter toys for the sensory table,
plenty of eggs to take apart and put together,
digging for gold in a tub of split peas,
wagon rides,
silly putty,
and sunshine!
We took a fun trip to the park to feed the ducks. Those pesky seagulls kept swooping in and stealing our bread in mid-throw and a couple fingers got nibbled by the geese.
On the way home, we swung by Mickey D's for a greeeeen SHAMROCK SHAKE!
I found an idea on Pinterest (imagine that!) to put yogurt dots on a cookie sheet and stick 'em in the freezer. Belle was my helper today (imagine that!) as we tried it out. They turned out fun! They melt quickly, but what good snack isn't messy!? Funny story - the girls' Mom returned from work and told me she had learned of a new yogurt snack on Pinterest. I told her to look in the freezer! :)
I got my music tank filled up this week at a fundraiser for veterans' scholarships. Charlie Daniels puts on this fantastic event annually. In addition to the great musical talent, it's a night to honor our nation's top heros and leaves you with that feel-good patriotic pride.
One of my favorite bluegrass groups, The Grascals.
Chris Young
Darryl Worley
The Charlie Daniels Band!
Gary Senise came out and played with Charlie. He does USO tours with his "Lieutenant Dan" Band!
The program for the night listed a surprise musical guest. Well, I think we might have parked in the wrong garage, because the service elevator by my car took us right up into the arena - an hour before the doors opened. We just pretended like we were supposed to be there (we're good at that). Aside from the reserved seating for the military members, we had our pick! Oh, those poor people who had to wait outside in the cold! Anyways, since we had time to kill, the surprise was spoiled - Rascal Flatts appeared. They came out later and completely surprised the crowd. It was a rare treat to hear them do such an intimate acoustic set.
Today has been a gloriously gloomy and rainy day. Have I ever told you how much I love rainy days? I really really do. My Mom sent me this photo of the chickens trying to stay dry, and I had to stop and snap this photo of our dry creek bed, filled to the brim!
Blessings on your weekend, friends! Make it a good one!
Today I'm linking up with Emily at the Anderson crew to embrace the camera - a fun activity to nudge you out from behind the camera to get in the shot! We turned the self-timer on and had some fun!
Mazie's willing to participate as long as she can keep her finger in her mouth.
We have had one beautiful week! The temps have been in the high 70s. If it never got warmer than that, I would be one happy girl! As I pushed the triple stroller this week and felt the beads of sweat start to surface on my forehead, I contemplated moving to Antarctica until next October. Seriously, does this mean I'm stuck with the heat for the next eight months? I only got to wear my winter coat twice this season. That is not enough for me. I need more time for wearing boots and scarves and sweaters!
We've been welcoming spring with picnic lunches outside on the deck and lots of playtime in the sun.
The front yard sidewalks are great for drawing shapes with colorful chalk, pushing trikes, and blowing bubbles. More than a few times, a car has rolled down their window as they've driven by and commented on the girls. One morning this week, a couple pulled over to ask if they were indeed triplets. The gentleman went on to tell me that he was getting ready to celebrate his 81st birthday, had twin granddaughters, moved to the United States from Ireland in the 60s, and how his mother and grandmother were suffragettes during the women's movement. He had the sweetest accent and lots of stories he wanted to share, and I'm sure whoever he shared with next heard a little story about the triplets. :)
We also had a couple days with severe weather warnings and tornado watches. To stay safe, we had to move our fun to the basement. I happen to be really good at building forts. We even took our sleeping bags and pillows and had a couple fun slumber parties, all camped out on the floor. Pure sweetness!
Early in the week, I stopped to sing Happy Birthday to Johnny on my way home from work.
I still need to pinch myself that things like this are something I can just go do on any old day. When I first arrived in Nashville and didn't yet have a lot to fill my time with, I began a hunt for celebrity gravesites in the area. So thankful for parents who will spend long days driving all over the mid-state and willingly walk through huge cemeteries searching for the right headstone with me - if they weren't willing to complete these silly projects I come up with, I don't know who would! Anyways, one such cemetery is one I drive by often. Its most famous residents are, of course, Johnny and June. But there are lots of great gems at this place! (If you come on a tour with me, each stop will include a history lesson and a couple YouTube videos.) At the Hendersonville Memorial Gardens, you can also find Mother Maybelle and a whole bunch of the Carter clan, Merle Kilgore (Ring of Fire, Wolverton Mtn.), Luther Perkins, and Ferlin Husky (Wings of a Snow White Dove)...
...but my favorite person to visit at this site is Sheb Wooley! When I first read his name, I had no clue who he was, but boy was he fun to learn about! He was on Rawhide, Hee Haw and The Muppet Show, just to name a few. Get this - he wrote the song Purple People Eater! And the coolest thing, he's credited as the voice behind The Wilhelm Scream. I had no idea what The Wilhelm Scream was, but this is so interesting...
...The Wilhelm Scream is one of those old canned sound effects that can be heard in countless films. Listen!
One evening this week, I met up with my friend Sarah (who I met through one of Kelly's Show Us Your Singles Link-Ups!) for dinner and a show at the Bluebird. It was Sarah's first time and I was thrilled to introduce her to one of my favorite spots in Nashville. Songwriting just blows my mind. SO MANY times I'll hear a songwriter play who's name doesn't ring a bell and looks like any guy next door, and then he'll start singing hit after hit that I've known by heart since childhood and it just blows.my.mind. that these people are all just walking around the same grocery stores as me. They're all around and nobody has any idea what they've accomplished! You can go to any writers' round at any tiny venue in this whole city on any night of the week and hear a song that you love and it's like, "Dude! You wrote that?!" Hands down, I'll always pick a show like this over an arena show (unless it's Celine Dion or Garth Brooks). So this time we saw Steve Bogard, Hannah Thomas, Charley Worsham, and Ryan Tyndell. Good good stuff, my friends.
Before heading back to my car after the show, I ran into Whole Foods really quick. I like to look for new taro chips and lychee juice, but mostly I like to look for celebrities. You never know who you'll see in sweatpants with no makeup in the frozen food aisle of the Hillsboro Whole Foods. I did get three Las Paletas Hot Chocolate bars - one for me and two to take home for the folks. If you come visit me in Nashville, we will go to Las Paletas. They're a local place that makes unique flavored gourmet popsicles - my favorite being one with chocolate and cayenne peppers.
A couple days ago I sat behind a truck at a red light that had a Wall Drug bumper sticker. It made me smile to see someone else who knows where to get free ice water.
They dismissed school three hours early today, due to the threat of severe weather. I do see the destruction on TV and know it's serious business, but as an outsider, I can sometimes catch myself teasing Nashvillians about their reactions to inclement weather. We had tornados all the time growing up - we just hunkered down in the hallway at school. There might have been two feet of snow, but we were still in class. I know they're doing the right thing by taking precautions and you can bet I'm praying for those who have been affected tonight! Today we had sunny skies and almost 80 degrees, and those lucky kids got to go home early and play outside! This evening, it finally rained for about five minutes at our house. We had some strong winds that ripped part of the rain trough off the barn and we lost a big limb, but all the chickens have been accounted for. Within a half hour, my Dad was outside with his chainsaw, cleaning up. I do love me a good storm.
Now the week AND the month have both slipped by. Where do these things go?!
March 1st marked two years of nannying my triplets! I can clearly remember the first day I walked into their home to meet them for the very first time. The two years since have flown by! There really aren't words to detail how grateful I am that our paths crossed at just the right time. They've not only provided me with a job that has allowed me to spend this season at home, but have become family and friends that I love from the depths of my heart.
Coming into this job after spending so many years doing full-time volunteer work, I knew it would be an adjustment. This family has done such a great job of easing that transition! They are always quick to reassure me that I'm needed and appreciated. That makes all the difference for me - being able to wake up each morning, knowing that there's a need I must go fill. I love the exhaustion and fulfillment that comes at the end of the day. I love that my sleeves are always covered in snot. I love that there is never a shortage of cheeks or necks or toes to kiss.
To celebrate my workiversary, we headed for the zoo! You guys, Nashville has one of the greatest zoos ever. Nashville is just the best! The temps soared to the high 70s and I donned a pair of capris for the first time this year. This was the girls' first visit to the zoo since last fall, so it was extra fun to see how much they've grown since. They were able to recognize the animals and loved making note of what each animal was eating. They seemed to get a lot more out of the whole experience than ever before.
The first stop was the monkeys. When you ask the girls about them, the word they'll use to describe them is "loud". Yes, so loud. You can hear them whooping from the parking lot.
They thought the meerkats were hilarious.
They LOVE the reptile building. They're now big enough to be able to step up to each window on their own and search for each hidden snake, frog or turtle.
Fish are just so exciting! Seriously, they talked a mile a minute while watching them!
Flamingos are pink and stand on one leg.
I had a brave moment and decided to try letting them out of the stroller to walk for a while. They all did so good! They listened to my instructions and stayed right with me.
For reals. The Nashville Zoo is totally better than Disney's Animal Kingdom safari ride.
Annabelle had been looking for the "long necks" all day! It was so fun to watch her as she recognized them!
This is not something you see every day! The zoo is adding a dino exhibit that will open later this month. We rounded a corner to find this T-Rex being lowered into the woods.
Not only is the Nashville Zoo the best, but they also have the best playground!
They each had to kiss this hippo about seven times before we could leave.
I walked them to the top of this tall twisty slide and jokingly asked if they'd like to go down, knowing full well that there was no way they'd go into this dark tunnel. To my complete surprise, they tried it! And loved it! This occupied the next twenty minutes.
We enjoyed a nice snack of goldfish crackers and raisins and hit the road for home. I hope the girls had as much fun as I did, because I had a wonderful day! Can't wait for our next visit! The day ended with an extra special delivery...
...workiversary flowers! See what I mean? This family had already given me the amazing gift of allowing me to spend such a fun day with such sweet girls, and then this!? They are too good to me!
You've followed me from my home in Wyoming to a homeless shelter in Las Vegas. We've laughed with friends in Norway and cried with orphans in China. Now sit down for a bit with me here in Nashville, Tennessee.
Posts
