Holding a Molting Lizard

Salad in a Sombrero

Could have posted this on Savory Salvations due to the pictured green salad, but instances like this are actually part of our real life.

Instapost: A Day In My Life Featuring A Hairnet

Family Fun: Action Karts

It was one of those weekends that flew by due to the dauntingly busy schedules that large families bring. Every child has their need and accommodating this all together creates a fast and furious time warp. And on the note of fast, we found ourselves enjoying a brief stop at Action Karts. Ages 8+ can enjoy lap after lap of high speed fun sold in 10 minute increments. Friendly service and a safe clean track deliver the perfect pit stop for fun times. 

Click here for details: http://www.actionkarts.co.nz/

We're building a rocket. Is dinner ready?

More frequently than ever is the time that I walk into a room in my house and I see a table full of random, sometime questionable, things. The photo below exhibits the most recent randomness. I asked what a bunch of broken match sticks missing their combustible bits were doing on the dining table. (These  missing red tips were gathered in another questionable place not pictured here.)

Nonetheless, I immediately asked what was going on and their answer is the title of this post: We're building a rocket. Is dinner ready?

Perfect.

Leave Lunch Notes

Real Life Tip:
Leave notes for your kids in their lunches. It's fun and they love it. Well, atleast, until they are too cool for lunch notes at about age 11. More importantly, you've shared just that much more love with your children guess what?  That makes you parent of the year. Congratulations!

Now get writing...

Stick Family Three

Our dear friends shared their most recent family photo with us. Their very artistically inclined daughter combined her skills with her absolute love of nature to create this: A naturally artistic rendition of her family.

Creativity is key to a happy childhood and photos like this prove just that. We love.

Fly Trapping Station

As a mother of a crew of boys, it's quite often I'll walk into one of the rooms and find something random like this. A sheet of baking paper splattered with Maple syrup straight from Canada. At $10 per bottle, you would understand my gasp at viewing what I quickly found out was a, "fly trapping station". Of course, it is.

You'll notice the family house flyer below promises $1 per fly caught. I'm sure the station will eventually work and yield profits. It's day 2. Not a single one caught yet.

Scenes from Our Real (Working) Life

We ventured into the rubble to capture this shot. Working with children is joy. Just look at that gorgeous face!

Buried Spoon

It's often the occasion that my children do things to shock me. Actually, I've grown quite numb over the years. Tons of toilet paper, random kitchen creations and spontaneous water fights have become the norm in this house. Today, I was vexed by my latest finding. A spoon buried in the back yard. I'm not going to even ask. I'm grabbing it, putting it in the dishwasher and moving on.

A buried spoon...really?

A Land On The Hand

Happy Easter Weekend

Real Conversations

Me: I thought you wanted your ice cream in a bowl not a cone?

Child: My brain is not really working and it's making my mind change.

Shhh... The Mantis is Praying

These were the words uttered by my 4 year old after spotting this beautiful mantis inside the house.

Nature Collection

The most recent additions to the nature collection of a four year old.

Double Rainbows

Parental Real Life

Toy Shopping for the Holidays? Read THIS First...

The robotic fish, of which I have half a dozen, are listed. The detachable tail poses a choking hazard.

It is the season to be shopping and the focus is definitely on the children's Christmas List. Every year, a new wave of toys is pressed upon us as we try to sort the best for our brood. We can become overwhelmed. Of course the appeal to the child is going to determine which toy they gleefully open Christmas morning, however as parents, we need a baseline. Safety. That is why we regularly check Recalls.gov where the governance of toy safety is maintained and presented to the public. You can even receive updates. Clinical Pediatrics released a study showing an increase in toy related accidents in children by 40%. Most injuries are in the under six range and are related to choking hazards. Another big concern are scooters which are popular all over the world but accidents are heavily abated with the use of a helmet, knee and elbow pads. Protection is power.
Check out the article via CNN.com

Photo Focus

Here's a look at what we've been up to in our real working life. 

Enjoy.

Soapy Sunny Day

We neglect this blog. We admit it. Between the shopping and eating, the salvation of our real life gets lost. So after a few meetings of the minds, it has been decided that we will commit to daily bits of salvation. Coincidentally that's our Twitter handle: @bitsofsalvation so be sure to follow us there, too. Whether it's a photo, quote, current topic or rant, it'll be a daily thing that inspires us and we'll share it with you. Today it's the dawn of spring. The sun was out so the kids uncurled themselves from the winter couch and stepped outside. They chose to delve into soap concoctions and potions. Good old soap and water mixed with whatever nature has to offer was on the ingredient list. Half a dozen various reusable containers, spoons and a few tea towels made the creativity all happen. Fitting for a day that had seemingly been magically transformed from dark to light in a matter of hours. The children played and created with the sun above. Enough cannot be said for the powers of Vitamin D and these photos are proof positive that the sun rays energize the body, mind, and spirit.

A few tips...

Set a limit on soap. The fun can last for hours but there is not an endless supply.

Soap play can become a safety hazard with spilt bottles and containers. Have plenty of towels and always put soap lids back on.

This is definitely an outside activity. Enough said.