Top 10

 Top 10 for the Week:

10.  Summer.  Was just chatting with a friend today how I thought I'd have MORE time during the summer--since I wasn't traveling back and forth to Paw Paw two days a week.  Yeah, not so much.  

9.  Hair-DOS.  Jay did Mal's hair when I was gone for Relay for Life.  WAY impressed.  In fact, he did it again today.  I'm going with the "well, daddy does it SO much better than I do" speech.  It's working.  We will see how long it lasts.

8.   WATER.  Solves everything with my kids.  They can be in the worst moods, tired, bored, happy, sad, mad, whatever--and water makes EVERYTHING better.  I am so serious about this.  I am planning our day around water.  Either in our backyard pool/sprinkler, the lake, or great grandpa's pool.  The kids can't get enough of it.  And I enjoy that it wears them out:o)  And that it's refreshing.  I've applied so much sunscreen so far this year that we are almost done with our third bottle.  I need to look into making my own!!  It's so expensive.

7.  Gatherings.  I LOVE summer gatherings.  Seeing people we haven't seen since last summer.  Chatting, catching up, letting the kids play.  It's so fun.  And I love the fact that our kids are getting older and are becoming a little more independent.  Able to do things more on their own.  This weekend was filled with these gatherings!  And the whole fam enjoyed them.

6.  Shipsy.  My mom and I had a chance to go to  the Shipsy Flea Market for the FIRST time ever!  My SIL invited us to join her and her grandmother.  We had so much fun and only tackled half of it!! We are definitely going back more than once!  To finish the rest of the flea market AND to check out the shops downtown (mom was disappointed we didn't get to the quilting stores).  BUT we were limited on time with the babysitter...and when you make an impromptu stop at a garage sale on the way and another at a resale shop on the way home--your time is limited.  But we got great deals.  A cool wooden chair for $1, an really nice end table for $7.50, and 5 older frames for $3.00.  And that was only a few of the deals!  Great day!
 
5.  Dentist Visit.  My kids rocked their dentist visit this week.  LIKE SUPER ROCKED it!  I was SO impressed.  They did so much better than I ever thought they could do.  But it had a lot to do with the hygienist as well!  She was incredible.  So glad that Mal's first tooth cleaning was great.  Hopefully, this means we will rock the others as well:o) 

4.  Clayisms.  Poured a WHOLE, NEW bottle of shampoo into the tub today.  I'm feeling this a prelude to other strange, mischievous things he's going to do.  Jay just laughed.  Cause he's a boy too.  He knows.  And I can only imagine what he was up to at Clayton's age.  Also this weekend, Clayton had a weird rash on his body.  It like comes and goes.  We first initially thought it was poison ivy...but then it went away.  We are thinking it has something to do with our kiddie pool.  When he rubs up against it, it irritates his skin.  I'm puzzled, but glad it's not poison ivy!!  He's been pinching more.  LIKE HARD.  I'm not pleased.  Mal gets pissed.  Not sure how to handle that one. 

3.  Malloryisms.  I had another nap with Mal today:o)  (Last weekend we took one together and we  held hands through it--I know dorky, but I thought it was cute and really soon she won't be taking them anymore).  Today I held her in my arms while we slept.  I loved it.  Too bad that tonight she struggled going to sleep because of that nap!! Looks like we have a no napper.  BUMMER.  We also discovered this week that she can buckle her car seat by herself!  This is big.  And she's so proud.  For the last month or so she's been using these IF and THEN statements (actually I think I might have written about this before).  Like "IF you don't dance with me, THEN I'll stay in my room."  Little Miss Bossy Pants.  Yeah, not going to happen lady.  Mal's coveted blanket named Corner, is falling apart.  This weekend, she took a turn for the worse.  Mal's response, "This is going to be a huge bummer." 

2.  Our Backyard.  Is a nature preserve.  No, really, we have tons of wildlife.  I am so impressed with what it truly offers our family.  This week:  Jay caught tadpoles in our pond and the kids were able to already witness one change into a frog.  The kids and I also saw that a set of our cranes had babies.  TWO of them!  Last year we had two, but we are assuming coyotes got one of them.  This year, I'm hoping for the best.  They are SO cute!  Reddish/orange and so small.  Our garden is doing great too.  The move is seeming to be successful.  AND our cherries are almost ready!  I never could have imagined that this property would give us so much joy, peace, and fun. 

1.  Relay for Life. What a great experience.  A BIG thanks to my SIL who has drawn me into the Relay for Life world.  I am honored to be a part of it now and look forward to the next. 

Well, I'm still exhausted from Relay.
So I'm heading to bed.
Hope you all have a great week!
Keep cool!

Until next week,
Mrs. Newell