Its Where I Be ...

Just because I know you are interested- a little update on CLV.
There is still a bee hive under our front step
There are still mud daubers around.
There are still earwigs everywhere.
The mosquitos have now decided to enter the mix.
My neighbors are still awesome. Though the really awesome one's moved away- if you are reading this we miss you...
Ruby has had some interesting encounters with some of the kids around here.
Imagine the following.
A little girl about 18 months old named Judy. About a head shorter than Ruby (minus the hair ball coming from the top of her head) chasing her with a stick THE SIZE OF A BASEBALL BAT. I saw this happening but just assumed that Judy was simply trying to play with Ruby and by coincidence had a stick in her hand. Did I mention that it was the size of a BASEBALL BAT? Anyway I guess Judy's mother knew better than that because she came swooping over just in time to save little Ruby from a bat to the head. Then when the weapon was removed from Judy's hands she simply tried to punch Ruby. I am pretty sure that Ruby was oblivious to any of the potential bodily harm and the only thing that scared her and had her running to me for safety was the mother swooping in to save her... We haven't really seen much of Judy lately. Or sticks the size of baseball bats... for that matter.
Oh- and-
The water is back...

It starts small and slowly builds over the summer.
If I'm brave enough maybe one day I will ask what it is for... and fill you all in.
I know you are wondering...
Cause- This is where I be..... you know- if you need me.

My Life

If there is one thing I can say about my life it is that I am prone to embarrassing situations.
Secretly- I like it.
It gives my life a little spunk gives me and Justin something to laugh at when we are lying in bed at night.
(He is prone to embarrassing situations too... maybe even more so than I am.)
I like that about him.
I also like to laugh- a lot.

Recently I encountered this embarrassing situation:
I took Ruby and Noni to the spray park where we met up with Jenn and her two boys.
It was all fun and games until a spider crawled on my arm.
That was not fun or gamey.
That also was not part of the embarrassing story- just a simple side note.
Anyway- Ruby was walking around with her bucket- filling it up with water here and there.
Then she got sprayed with water.
I know- the horror- of all things to happen at a SPRAY park.
She doesn't yet understand that getting sprayed is fun...
Anyway I went over to comfort her and was bent down talking to her-
when out of NO WHERE a fountain turned on
And yes- I was unknowingly perfectly situated directly over it.
I was soaked.
Right. up. the. bum.
I let out a little scream and ran with Ruby to where I thought there was safety.
It turns out- I was in a SPRAY PARK- and there is NO safety in a SPRAY PARK.
So I was soaked.
I was able to dodge what water I could and get Ruby and I out of there safely.
Even if we were soaked.
There are 2 things that I wish would have happened.
Number one: that someone would have videotaped it.
It was that awesome.
Number two: I wish that Justin was there. It is just funnier if you are there.
I wonder what will happen tomorrow....

A Fifty Pounder

A recent purchase:
(Look at Ruby- 'chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool...')

This is our deluxe-state-of-the-art-stroller-that-we-love.
It takes us where we need to go when we need to go there and it does it with ease and style.
It can take any bump that is in our way and handles like a dream.
We take it wherever we can. (It is honking huge and may or may not have trouble fitting through some doorways and maneuvering through some aisles...)
But what it lacks in a small exterior it makes up in heart...
It has taken us on many adventures.
With it we have been able to traverse through:
Disney World

Mackinac Island

Canada's Wonderland
And countless walks so far.
I wonder on what other adventures this stroller will take us?
Oh, and you want to know the best part?
If ever I'm tired I can just hop on in and get Justin to push us all...
(He's super strong and NEVER gets tired)
This situation hasn't arisen- but I am sure our stroller could handle it...
Now if you will excuse me-
My chariot awaits...

Anyone want a ride?

OH The Things That Plague Me...

I don't like bugs- I'm not going to deny it... And I am pretty sure you all know that by now.

I don't hate bugs- I do understand that they have a purpose and are necessary- I just don't like them. This summer has been the worst of any summer.
We began with the huge, furry, black spider with what appear to be white dots on its back- but may be stripes. I don't know, I don't care... I don't like them.

I'm pretty sure that between Jayne (my neighbor) and I, we got their population down to a manageable number. Thanks for your help Jayne!!!
But it seems that once those were gone in came the ants to take their place.
They over took our back patio at one point and when we did the sidewalk chalk paint it was like a smorgasbord for these ants.
Apparently they like cornstarch, water and food coloring- who knew?
Luckily ants don't bother me. But their hills are EVERYWHERE- and Ruby sat on one.
It wasn't a pretty sight and now I am pretty sure ants bother HER.
There are also these interesting mini red spiders that are everywhere.
They are incredibly small- I'm not even sure that they are spiders.
But I have it under good authority that they are.
So I believe them.
Even though I don't mind these red spiders- they still plague me.
I haven't 'wikipedia-ed' them
Too scared... what if they turn out to be some sort of deadly little killer red spider.
I would rather not know.
And don't get me started on the jumping spiders.
We also have what appears to be a bees nest under our front step.
They seem friendly.
They haven't stung anyone- yet...
Then to finish off my nerves we have an earwig army in our backyard. And our house.
They are always everywhere at one time.
And I am finding them constantly.
What do earwigs do anyway?
What is their purpose?
And what eats an earwig?
I hope its birds.
I don't mind birds.
Whatever it is I hope they do their job soon.
And finally, I found this in the house today.
Its called a mud dauber.
I wikipedia-ed this one.
I probably shouldn't have.
It just wasn't a good idea for me.
I prefer to be ignorant when it comes to bugs.
Anyway- just so you don't have to go through the trouble of wikipedia-ing it yourself I'll fill you in on the important details.
It is a wasp. Not aggressive apparently. But it will sting, or bite or whatever they do, if it has to I am sure. It has a very thin body with a huge bulb on its bum- as you can see from the picture. This just adds to its creepability.
There are different types- this is a black and yellow one.
It builds nests in the mud.
In order to procreate- it paralyzes a spider and lays its eggs in or on the spider.
Then when the young eventually hatch they eat said spider.
This is probably the only time I have EVER felt bad for a spider.
It just seems so cruel.
And the creepiness of the mud dauber just went up another notch.
But they do get a point from me because they eat spiders. (I guess I didn't feel that bad for the spiders)
I don't know what to think about these wasps.
Mostly I just wish they would stay the HECK OUT OF MY HOUSE!!
Seriously. I can't deal with too much more of this...

Chalk Paint!

If you are looking for something fun to do this summer- I am telling you chalk paint is the way to go!
it only involves 3 ingredients:
Equal parts cornstarch and water
and a few drops of food coloring

I used about a cup of each to get this much paint (I didn't really measure that exactly I just mixed until it seemed like a good consistency)
Be careful with the food coloring or your hands will look like this:
Ruby loved mixing the colors- it was a great way to teach her about what colors are made when certain colors are mixed together...
Doesn't she look smarter since I taught her that?? I am sure she will remember the lesson...

Once you have done all that grab your children and your old paint brushes and head outside for some painting fun!!!

(I did have both my children- Noni was just in the Ergo the whole time) A photo to prove it...


And if you want some added fun- grab your neighbor too!!
And the best part is you can make signs like this:
It happened to be our anniversary that day- so we surprised Justin with this sign! It was really fun. I am sure there will be many chalk painting days in our future.

*A little warning- DO NOT paint too close to your house- like we did. Ants apparently LOVE cornstarch and water- I mean who can blame them.... We left to celebrate our anniversary and came back to a sidewalk full of ants. It was awesome- if you like that sort of thing.*

Poor girl-o

This is my sweet little Girl-o

I really love her- she says and does the best things.

We were going to the movie a few weeks ago and she wanted to see a Woody movie. I told her Toy Story wasn't out yet... She said 'Well, maybe it's in.' Good thought- but sadly, no. (On another note it came out yesterday- so we took Ruby- it was really good! We had lots of fun!)

Another time we were at Superstore and we were loading up our groceries into the van and a moth got in. Just Ruby and the moth in the van together- needless to say she was not happy. She may have inherited her dislike of moths from Justin. So Justin was holding Myers and backing slowly away from the van and I was holding Ruby and trying to remove the moth from the van. I was scooping and trying to coax it out when my movements were a little jerky and I may or may not have accidentally hit Ruby in the face- now she thinks moths punch people in the face. She cried for a long time. And then Justin told her moths don't punch so don't be scared of them- it was mom- that didn't help. Eventually I got the moth out.

At the stake center for the youth musical (which was great by the way!) I was giving her a drink from the water fountain and I got a direct hit- right in her eye- WARNING- those water fountains spray far and they spray hard. She was a trooper though.

She also recently- independently squished her first spider.

She is now the bug finder in the house. She finds them and Justin saves them- unless he isn't home or they are spiders.

She may or may not be developing an intense dislike for certain bugs. I don't know where she could possibly be getting that from....

Upcycled Coat Rack Tutorial!

A few months ago (and when I say a few months ago I mean about 7) a friend and I visited our local ReStore while she was in town. That store is AMAZING!! That is a place to go to get the creative juices flowing! While we were there we discussed a possible project and picked up the supplies needed. I think in total (minus the paint) it cost me $7. And with the supplies I made this:

This is a very simple project and I love the end result!
The supplies I used for this project:
An old cupboard door
7 used (I'll call them vintage- it sounds better!) knobs
Black Spray Paint
Sand Paper
Drill

First I sanded the cupboard a bit to help the paint adhere to it.
Ruby loves to help... and she is such a good sander!
Then I measured and drilled the holes so they would be evenly spaced. (I decided on 7 knobs but you could use as many or as few as you would like)
I used a drill bit that would be the size of my screw so they would just slide it but not move around too much when they were in there.... I can't remember the size and I suppose it depends on your knobs as well and the screws that work with them...
(Ruby loves to drill too... what can I say? A true DIYer at heart...)

Next, I counter drilled about a half of a centimeter on the back so the screws would be sunk in a bit and not mark up the walls- this step would depend on the thickness of the middle of your piece of wood. My cupboard happened to be really thick...
I just used the largest drill bit we had on hand... It has to be the size of your screw head or larger.
Then I spray painted it.

Sanded it down again and spray painted again lightly (just some parts that I missed) then sanded again to get a more rugged/used look.

Then I sprayed with a clear topcoat just to protect it a bit more.

Screwed in the knobs and voila- done.

I love the way it turned out and it is going to look great in my entryway. I made it especially for Ruby so she could hang up her coats there when she came in from play!

Just a few things to review- my cupboard is REALLY heavy- so I am still working out how to hang it on the wall safely- I recommend finding a lighter cupboard, you could use ANY piece of wood that you have or can find, there are a lot of possibilities out there. Definitely check out your local ReStore- it is definitely worth a look, you can get a good deal, reuse, and have your money go to a good cause!

**Now just another note- apparently Kim and I are truely great friends with minds that think alike- because as I was finishing this tutorial I saw that she had just posted a project she had recently finished of her own, here. It turned out amazing! Just another idea along the same lines for you to go with!

Meat Head

I got Ruby some lunch.
Ham, cheese and crackers.
I went into the kitchen to get a drink for her.
I turned around 2 seconds later and I saw this...

I laughed.
She laughed
and pointed
and said- 'He's a ham head.'
And indeed he was.
Until we had our laugh and I asked her to take the ham off his head.
And then she ate it.
She's awesome....

I Touched An Elephant

And no one was there to witness it or document it. (Hence no pictures)
They were on their way to the spray park- apparently it was too hot for them to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity. Unless we go back, of course. Which we probably will... But none the less I touched an elephant. And it was AWESOME. Her name was Opal- she is three years old, she has surprisingly coarse hair covering her skin- and I am pretty sure we bonded. I should be an elephant trainer.
How do you even get into that profession? It seems like a wonderful job. I wonder if I could take my kids to work with me? I'll look into it.
We went to the African Lion Safari and I loved it. We all loved it!
And the pictures to prove it!

Justin was in charge of the following:

DRIVING THE SAFARI
ATTRACTING THE BABOONS TO OUR CAR

TAKING CARE OF THE KIDS
AND PROVIDING SHADE....

HE DID A GREAT JOB.... WE LOVE HIM.

Red Yellow!

I feel like we have been go-go-go here and I haven't really made any time to update all ya'all on what we have been doing!
We have done a lot of fun things lately- and what would my family blog be if I didn't write them all down?
Seriously.
So slowly over the next week I will be posting about all of the Snelldogs great adventures that we have been having so far this summer!
In no particular order of course.
In fact they won't even be chronological.
But who needs to worry about fiddling with dates anyway?
Firstly...
We went to Medieval times with the Weibes and it was amazing!
We were on the side of the Red and Yellow Knight.
Sadly he was not the winner.
But we liked him.
And so did all the french female teenagers that were on the side of the red and yellow knight (and there were A LOT).
After much waiting and anticipation we were able to surf through the throngs and get this picture.
Ruby was all dressed up in her princess outfit-
A silver dress, tights, a crown Jenny made for her, a flower scarf turned belt that jenny made for her (what would we do without Jenny?), her super hero cape (which apparently doubles as a princess cape quite nicely) and a sword. What princess outfit is complete without a sword?
Ruby even got a flower from our Knight. We like Medieval Times. Though I will say those crowns really aren't that flattering. Maybe I should get Jenny to make me my own personalized princess crown.

2... well technically 3 winners....

The giveaway has ended!
And the name has been chosen!
And the lucky person is JUSTIN!
But technically since he is my husband that may not seem legit... so we drew another name.
AND it was....
JENN NEEB!
And because it was so much fun we decided to draw another winner...
SO>>>
CLAUDIA!
You are the other lucky winner!
Send me your preferences for which knit good you would like and your address and we will get those sent to you!
Just email me at snelldogs@gmail.com!!!

Hopefully we will have many more giveaways in the future!!!

One day...

I asked for this for our anniversary-

Sadly I don't think I will get it.
Seriously- isn't it a beautiful bike?
Alas, perhaps one day- if I save my pennies-this baby could be mine!!!
I want it in orange- you know- if anyone is looking to get me a gift any time soon....
I would LOVE this.

Don't forget about the giveaway! One day left!

Snelldog Smarts {scrabble genius}

Yup- we're smart.
And just to prove it- if you haven't been convinced yet- I thought I would give you an example of some pure genius!
Ruby has been learning her letters lately- and she loves it!
We spend a lot of time just spelling words with her and teaching her to recognize letters and sound them out.
One day a stroke of pure genius came to Justin- He pulled out a travel edition of Scrabble that my sister gave to us a couple Christmas's ago.
And he started to use that to teach her!
The best part about it is that there are lots of multiples. So, unlike the alphabet board that we were using, we were able to spell words with more then one of the same letter in them!
Ruby loves it- and we love it.
A piece of paper and a pen work too but this is more fun.
So if you or anyone you know is learning their alphabet then it is time to pull out your trusty scrabble game, blow off the dust and bring on the learning!!

Don't forget to check out the giveaway and enter!