31 days of Little Things -Reading Aloud

I still occasionally read aloud to my kids.  Well, lately it has been only my youngest.  He is 10 in the 4th grade but he still enjoys the sound of my voice - lol. We just finished reading War Horse by Micheal Morpurgo.  My youngest is interested in World War II so I thought he might enjoy a read about World War I.  My criteria for a read aloud is that it must be something I enjoy reading too.  This fit that criteria.  I will admit this book does explore death and can be a tear jerker in places. My son is in 4th grade so he was pretty sensitive to some of the scenes. However, these are handled gingerly by the author.  We had some great discussions about this book. This is a great tale about loyalty and friendship between beast and man.

Need some more suggestions for Read Aloud check out Life as Mom post.  She has some great ideas and links.

I am linking up to Nester's 31 days of blogging.  Check out what everyone else is writing about.

31 days of Little Things - Waiting for the bus

I have taken to waiting for the morning bus with my son.  He is 14 and conversation doesn't come easy.  There are things he wants to share with me but it is hard.  So I wait and listen.  He opens up a little out there in the darkness waiting for the bus as I hold my coffee trying to warm my hands. It is our little bit of time. I try not to say much.This is when I hear what is going on in his life. He doesn't need me to say anything but just to be there.  The hardest thing in parenting I found is to just listen and not direct or advise. There is certainly a time and place for that but not in this early morning dawn.

31 days of Blogging - Oh some Linky Love

Thought I would send out a little linky love.  Today is the last day to register to vote in my state of Washington. 

Teacher Tom had a great article on Charter Schools, " Say No to Charter Schools." Charter Schools are up for vote in the state of Washington.

I saw this on Blogher and thought she had some amazing points.
5 Things you didn't sign up for when Beoming A Stay at Home Mom

Check out what everyone else is blogging about for 31 days straight.

Sunday Stroll - Port of Everett

Handsome Pappy on the Dock Everett

Yesterday after Brunch with Nonna and Pappy.  Everett is the half way point for us to meet. We did some exploring some paths around the Port of Everett.  It wasn't raining. Of course, we did a bit of geocaching.  One of our caches brought us near this Fisherman Statue. 

We also found a cache near this sculpture.

There seems to be a lot of paths to explore around the port and near the naval base.  During the summer, you can take a ferry to Jetty Island from the Marina Park in Everett. Here is our adventure to Jetty Island 2008

31 days of Little Things - Saturday Breakfast Tradition

We are breakfast people.  There I said it.  My husband is Mr Breakfast and regularly makes us these really fabulous egg scramble or breakfast sandwiches during the week.  I am totally spoiled in that department.  On some Saturdays, we hit up our favorite breakfast places.  It hasn't always been Saturday but at least twice a month we eat breakfast out.  It is a tradition we have with our kids.  They are usually family run joints.  The food is good and everyone knows your name. It is a little something that we all look forward to.

I am joining Nester in blogging for 31 days straight.  Check out what everyone else is blogging about.

31 days of Little Things - Halloween Story

My youngest wants to be a werewolf for Halloween.  Out and about on Monday, Mrs Epi and I picked up this werewolf costume -mask and shirt.  I was so excited to show him after school.  He put it on right and way and ran to the mirror AND startled himself looking in the mirror.  It was so classic.

That is a little something that has made me smile all week long. 

I am linking up with Nester's 31 days of blogging.  Check out what all the 31 dayers are blogging about.

Attack in the Stacks

Last Saturday, we attended a geocaching event held at a local library called "Attack in the Stacks".  We got to play detective. It was a murder mystery with the clues scattered in various caches.  It was a lot of fun. Lucky for us, the rain held off for most of the event.  I have to say that overall geocachers are a very friendly group. 


some cachers convening on a cache
with a clue

We had fun looking for the caches with different cachers throughout the event.  On our way to a cache, we were surprised by some wildlife.  An owl swooped down in front of us.  We think we surprised the owl who was after a squirrel. 

Owl

There was even a mystery for the kids to solve.  They got severed bubble fingers.  Of course, Chuckles had to pose dramatically. 

31 Days of Little Things - The War on Frump



 

The Nester is once again doing 31 days of blogging. Check out what others are writing about for 31 days.

My best friend and I have been subtly trying to win the War on Frump.  We are trying to break out of our Mommy Uniform and kick it up a notch.  We have resorted to taking advice from her 15 year old by wearing something you love, something you like(compliments/matches), and some bling.  The amazing thing is I actually feel really better when I do this.  I have no idea if I look better but I do feel more put together.  I have been wearing real shoes not sneakers and breaking out the jewelry. We both agreed that it still had to be comfortable. We laugh because our Hubbies are oblivious to our little war. IS your mommy uniform getting you down?  KICK IT UP A NOTCH!

31 days of Little Things - Pendants/banners/Garland

Hi my name is Heather and I like to make Banner or Pendants.  It is ran addiction.  I made this one with the help of Chuckles.  It's festive, right? Of course I got the idea from Pinterest.  The original is from Twig and Toadstool and it was a colorful skeleton one.

 

 

 

It is small thing I do to make things interesting. Most aren't that complicated. I don't do complicated and most are made with construction paper. Here are some examples :

4th of July
Bunny Garland
Apple Banner
Peeps bunny Banner

I joining the Nester in blogging for 31 days straight.  Check out what everyone else is blogging about. For my series so far click here.

31 days of Little Things - Do you pin?

Do you pin as in Do you use Pinterest?  I admit I am addicted to this site.  I love that it acts like a storage place for your idea boards essentially.  I was always forgetting to bookmark those great ideas I would see out in blog land or I would have no idea why I had something bookmarked. Secondly, I have tried so many things because of pinterest and the majority have been really successful.  You can click on my link located on the right side of my blog to follow my pins on Pinterest. There are a lot of 31 dayers (those people who are linking up to Nester and committing to blog for 31 days) who are doing 31 days of Pinterest. Here are a few. 31 Days of Pinterest: Pinned to Done, 31 (more) Days of Pinterest, 31 Days fo Pinterest, 31 Days of Pinterest Projects. ( I am pretty sure I missed some) This one is cracking me up 31 Days of My Non-Pinteresting Life. 

Here is a link to my pinterest board that has things I have tried and were successful. My favorite are some of the food ones such as Banana Bars and Hootenanny.

The Nester is once again doing 31 days of blogging. Check out what others are writing about for 31 days.

31 Little Things - Rubbermaid Mop

Please check out what everyone else is blogging for 31 days. The rest of my 31 Little Things Series can be found here.

This falls in the category of  a little Household Tip.

I think I may have turned into a Mop snob.  I really don't know how it happened.  I have lots of wood flooring and animals (2 cats/2 dogs) plus the two man wrecking crew.  Doesn't that sound like a nightmare - fur city.  I mop a lot.  I admit I broke up with my Swifter Wet Jet. Sorry Swifter, I didn't want to buy your pads anymore. Don't they remind you of giant sanitary napkins. I use The Reveal Spray Mop by Rubbermaid.  I love the washable pads and the interchangeable bottles.  Yes at the outset this is a little pricey but so worth it.  I love I never have to buy those pads and I can fill the bottles with whatever I wish.  It also feels a lot studier than the Swifter Wet Jet to me.

*** This is totally NOT endorsed by Rubbermaid. Though I wouldn't be opposed to it. ( LOL)

31 Little Things -Been Baggin It

The Nester is once again doing 31 days of blogging. Check out what others are writing about for 31 days.


A local bigger town than the one I live in has a plastic bag ban.  So, if you don't want to be charged 5 cents for a paper bag you must bring your won bags. They are about 2 months into their ban.  It has been challenging for me to remember my bags especially at non grocery store places. There has been a learning curve. I have found not all bags are created equal. 

Most grocery stores you can purchase these fake cloth bags.  There work well except you have to wonder how you clean said bags.There was a statistic out that 85% of people don't clean reusable bags - EWWW!

I have been trying to keep this Avon small foldable bag in my purse.  I have a hard time remembering to put it back in my purse.  I love how small it folds up.

I like these wipeable plastic bags.  They also stand up on their own.  I think the cashiers like these the best.

I accidentally purchased these wipeable zipper ones.  These are a little annoying. The opening is hard to get your hand in.  I consistently find that the cashiers/baggers overload these.

It is nice to have an insulated bag.  I got this handy dandy one from Mrs Epi's hubby.  It is really nice when the cashier actually uses it for cold items.

I really would like this Totebuddy.  It is like a trapper keeper for your bags. It is a little bit on the pricey side but I like how it keeps all your bags organized.

31 Days of Little Things - Wild Kingdom and Squirrel Moment #1002

On Monday, I wasn't feeling the greatest and I was out and about grocery shopping.  I just wanted to be DONE! When I saw this car with the whole dashboard filled with mini plastic animal figures.  It cracked me up.  They had the whole animal kingdom ont heir dashboard.

Which leads me to my squirrel moment. 

Squirrel Moment - random though or idea not related to what is currently being discussed or related to the current situation or purely a chain of thought progression

 

What kind of person drives around with the whole Wild Kingdom on his dashboard. How do they stay upright?  Stick with me, then I saw this cool digital art project for kids at Mrs Knight's Smartest Artists.  Where you take pictures of plastic animals outside to practice your digital photography.  YOU KNOW I HAD TO GIVE IT A SHOT!

 

I know I am a little odd.  Something that made me smile actually ended up being a little inspiring. 
I am participating in Nester's 31 days of blogging. Please check out what everyone else is blogging about. (YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!) For my complete list of 31 day post click here.



31 Little Things - Blog Anniversary

I am participating in Nester's 31 days of blogging.  Please check out what everyone else is blogging about. (YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!) For my complete list of 31 day post click here.

Today's gem is a little funny from the funnies. Today is my blog anniversary.  I have been blogging for 5 years.

In case you didn't know, my blog is named after an out house that was placed against my fence way back in 2007.   This is the post that started it all. I have collected a lot of related honeypot funny stuff.  A couple months back this cartoon, Tundra, ran in the paper. It cracked me up.  So this is my little funny for the day.

 

In case you need more reading material, check out these posts.

Wizard of Ooze aka "What to Show Out of Town Guests"

Fan Mail

Headquarters

 



This blog has been an amazing outlet for me.  I can't believe I have been blogging for 5 years. My best Friend made me this exploding Honeypot that I have sitting on top of my desk- Honeypot Central.  Someday I am going to do a video of  it exploding.

 

31 days of Little Things - Easy Halloween Crafts

I have decided I am crafty NOT handy.  I love to craft with kids.  When I had kids in the morning, I would often be crafting by 7 am.  I love a good easy little craft.  Here is an overview of some my favorites. I think these crafts are probably best for elementary age. (Notice the Paper Plate Theme)

Paper Plate Skeletons make a big window statement in my neighbor's window. It makes me want to make some for my windows this year.  This craft uses brads which are immensely fun for the younger kids.

Paper Plate Skulls
This is based on a Day of the Dead Craft. My youngest wanted to do this craft again this year. The skull with the mohawk was my hubby's last year.  The family that crafts together STAYS together.

Paper Plate Mummy

Haunted Houses are probably the most request Halloween Craft. Something about being open the windows.  This craft tends toward more adult involvement especially with cutting the windows out.

Frankenstein

 Halloween wouldn't be complete without a good Frankenstein craft. 

The Nester is once again doing 31 days of blogging. Check out what others are writing about for 31 days. I joining Nester with my own 31 days of Little Things. Little things that inspire, motivate, and help me get through my busy life.







500th Cache

The boys holding up  5 -0-0 in honor of our 500th cache

Yesterday we found our 500th geocache.  Yes, we are addicted.  We found it in a cemetery- creepy. The cache we found for our 500th was called "The Deadliest Cache."

Couldn't resist applying photoshop to this picture
of the Angel Grave Stone



Some of us couldn't but help but play in the leaves.Chuckles cracks me up.

31 days of Little Things - Starting the Week Right

Source: via Melissa on Pinterest

I saw a facebook post that said what do you do to get ready for Monday. I thought this would make a good post for this Monday. I like to start my week off smoothly.  I find Mondays to be a bit rough.  I do a little bit of preparation to make my week run smoothly otherwise things just get overwhelming. Preparing for my week usually happens on Sunday. For it to be smooth sailing for me these things need to happen

I have the majority of my kids laundry done for the entire week.  There is nothing worse than running out of clean stuff before the weeks end or searching for a clean pair of socks.  It sucks the life out of me.  I do occasionally run loads during the week but the majority is done on Sunday.

I use a notebook to map out my appointments and commitments so I know what I am up against for the week.  I like to write things down.  It is very loosely organized but it is in my handy dandy notebook so at least it is in one location. For more information about my really high tech (not) handy dandy notebook click here.

I grocery shop for the entire week on Mondays. I have usually made up my grocery list on Sunday when I browsed the paper. The coupons might not be clipped but the ads have been browsed.

This is the bare minimum I have found I need to do prior to Monday to make my week successful.

The Nester is once again doing 31 days of blogging. Check out what others are writing about for 31 days. I joining Nester with my own 31 days of Little Things. Little things that inspire, motivate, and help me get through my busy life.

31 days of Little Things - Sign Wisdom

I saw this on a sign in my town.  These type of signs are hugely popular around here especially at church's but this was on a auto place sign.  It is my little deep thought for today.

The Nester is once again doing 31 days of blogging. Check out what others are writing about for 31 days. Haven't seen read my whole series click here for the complete list.