You can never have enough sparkle

I love observing my child as she develops and nurtures her interests. Early on, she displayed a true love for the arts. At age 3 1/2, she sings, dances, acts, colors, paints, and creates.

Our county offers a monthly weekend art class, and I recently signed her up. She made a gorgeous fall tree in September. Today, she decorated a pumpkin. A table full of glitter, glue, stickers, feathers, buttons, shapes, and paints was at her disposal as she released her creativity.

We had a hunch what was coming the moment she selected her paint:

In true Amelia style, we ended up with this:

It is proudly sparkling in the sun by our front door right now.

I am quite certain, no neighbor will have one like it.

WW: Germany? Nah... Helen.

Weekend excursion to Helen, Georgia.

Not quite Germany.
(but that pretzel? was amazing!)

Wordless Wednesday!

Family. Country. Nature.

I am grateful for our land of opportunity.

For family.

For nature.

Our holiday weekend was full of firsts. Joy burst from simple moments, and memories were made.

Shucking fresh corn
Grasp, peel, pull, toss.


Learning a new skill from an uncle
Choose, hold, aim, snap.


Catching lightning bugs
Seek, point, reach, scoop. Giggle!


Picking wild blueberries – and blackberries too
Search, select, stretch, pluck. Smile.



Everyday life can be monotonous. Motherhood doesn't come with a lot of verbal thanks. But the rewards are weekends like this.

What did you do this weekend?

Sweet weekend

Ode to my favorite days of the week!

W is for Waiter. Mama doesn't cook on weekends.   

E is for Eager. Always looking forward to a fun family activity! 

E is for Economy. Mama is going shopping.

K is for Kitchen. I try to stay out of it. Except for art projects and Play-Doh.

E is for Endearing. Nothing turns me to mush like quality daddy-daughter playtime.

N is for Nature. Parks, playgrounds, and picnics. Time to get outdoors.

D is for Daddy. He is home with us. All day long. For two days!

You know what would make weekends even better?
Three days.

Is her thumb green?

I admit it.

I am terrible with plants.

Every single houseplant I have owned suffered an unfortunate (and premature) demise. Same story with outdoor flowers. But will I give up? No! We planted more flowers this weekend. Amelia was very exited to help. I am hoping she has a much greener thumb than I do. If so, maybe these new flowers have a chance at a full season of life.

Wish us luck!

Weekend Recap

Hi friends!

Thanks for coming by 3MomsIn1.com today! Did you miss something this week?

Check these out:

• Potty Training: Part 3 - includes some potty training tips.
• Weekend relaxation in the sunshine. 
• Then came my version of a mid-life crisis.
• Wordless Wednesday: happiness in the small things.
•  For writer's workshop, I shared my top ten must-haves for spring.

Also, if you missed our day at the zoo last month, you can revisit our adventure via today's feature on Toddle Toots! I'm honored to be there. Thanks, Mama Toots!

Solar energy

The sun is here again today! We're lounging outdoors on a day with highs in the mid-70s. An ocassional breeze blows, stirring our hair and lightly nipping our flip-flop clad feet. Our newly painted hot pink toenails glisten in the sun. Birds are enjoying the seed from the feeder and chirp contentedly to each other. Neighbors walk by with their dogs and strollers, always with a smile and a wave.

This is my kind of weekend.

This week

Weekend blog hopping? Welcome!

Check out what I've been up to this week:

• Writing poetry for my own sugar & spice (see below!)
• Over-planning for an exciting adventure
• Recovering from a cruel little bug
• Dreaming of the future... maybe
• Remembering some teenage angst

And... don't forget about the I ♥ YOU GUYS giveaway! Three commenters (or Tweeters) will win a little thank you gift from yours truly. It's not going to make you rich, but it's fun to win something!

A Zoo-riffic Adventure!

After more than a month of cold temperatures and gray skies, the SUN CAME OUT!

The forecast predicted a high temperature of 64. They were wrong... it ended up reaching 70 degrees! What a wonderful, gorgeous day.


The Atlanta area doesn't get much bad winter weather (our January snowpocalypse was shocking!), but our months are very gray. Clearly, the sun has a winter home in south Florida. After weeks of depression-inducing weather blahs, when that first sunny day hits Atlanta, the people head outdoors. The nearby parks were so crowded, it looked like ants pouring out of an anthill.

We knew we had to relish the incredible day as well. We took Amelia on her very first trip to the zoo! This was a huge event for such an animal lover. And she was at a perfect age. She kept her eyes wide with wonder and a spring in her step as we discovered meerkats and lemurs, snakes and gila monsters, panda bears and lions.

In true Amelia fashion (and with typical loud preschooler volume), she kept the commentary running the entire time.



"Woah, those are the biggest I've ever seen!"



"He was scratching his bum! What's his name? Oh, Ivan! Hi Ivan! You have an itch on your bum!?!"

 

"Panda bear! Snacktime for panda bear! Hey, Mommy! She said he is three! When it's my birthday party, I will be three! Hey bear... Amelia is three too!!!"



"He's so funny! It's a tired sleepy day! Hey kangaroo... WAKE UP!!!!"

"It's OK baby elephant... your daddy isn't here? Oh, he's at work. He will be home soon! Shhh, baby elephant. It's OK. You'll be fine. Shhhh, shhhh."

And a silent Amelia in the middle of the path. She did not want to go home.