The Summer provides many new safety issues, especially concerning small children. Here are a few helpful tips and links to articles that have helped me to think about ways that I can keep my children safe in the summertime! Water Safety - It's obvious, but never let your child in any amount of water without …
Do my thoughts jump around or do they glide? An odd question, no? When thinking about this question, I immediately knew the answer. Of COURSE my thoughts jump around inside this brain of mine. Does anyone REALLY having thoughts that glide seamlessly throughout the day? I imagine that in this hectic world we live in, …
As you know, we love H-E-B. Not that we needed another reason to love this store, but here's another one: the H-E-Buddy Summer Reading Club. The love of reading isn't an issue in my house yet. The boys love to listen to books and the Captain is beginning to read a bit on his own. …
The famous Australian kids' band, The Wiggles, just announced that three of the founding members, Jeff, Murray, and Greg, are passing down the torch to some NEW Wiggles! The Wiggles announced on their website that while Anthony will be staying put as the Blue Wiggle, there will be a new Purple, Red, and Yellow Wiggle after …
Memorial Day is a vacation for many US citizens. It's a day to head out to the lake, go fishing, have a bbq, or whatever, but let's not forget what it's all about! Did you know that Memorial Day was originally called "Decoration Day" and it was created to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of …
It's already 91 degrees here in Texas. It's HOT, and since it's only May, it's definitely guaranteed to get much hotter. We have a kiddie pool, but we don't keep it filled up because it's not safe for either the Captain, who is three, or Baby D, who is one. If they go outside alone, …
Captain Fussybuckets has been to the dentist each year since he turned one. He has always been a good dental patient, sitting in the chair nicely for the teeth cleaning and check-up, and has always received a good report. Well, we took him to a new dentist (actually, this is the fourth dentist he's been …
This week, May 7-11th, is Teacher Appreciation Week! Teachers have one of the hardest jobs on the planet, and this time of year is the worst because the kids are ready to be out of school and the teachers probably are, as well. Lots of huge testing has gone on recently and probably continues throughout …
My sweet friend Michelle just told me about this fantastic project, 21 Days of Prayer for Sons, hosted by the MOB Society (For Moms of Boys, By Moms of Boys). I'm up for a challenge, and we all could stand to pray more and my sons could always use more prayers for them, so I'm …
Three year olds are weird. I always knew this, from my days of baby-sitting and teaching Bible class, but boy, is it true. Three is that awkward stage between toddlerhood and preschool where the imagination goes crazy and they have a vocabulary to express themselves. Today alone, my son has used the word "poop" inappropriately …
This past weekend, we were able to go visit my family in a whirlwind trip across Texas. We were able to eat at our old favorite restaurant, visit my grandmother and parents, attend our niece's 4th birthday party, go to church with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece, and spend some good time with our family. …
Mommy wasn't as prepared this year and then the weather played games with me, so I changed their Easter outfits at the last minute. Oh well, here they are! After church egg hunt: Baby D refused to hold his Easter basket. Luckily he has a few young ladies who volunteered: the Captain and his stash: …
Back when I was a kindergarten teacher, we always had a unit studying the life cycle of different insects and animals. We used the Ladybug Land from Insect Lore to teach our students about the life cycle of ladybugs and the kids LOVED it. Captain Fussybuckets has been really into bugs, insects, and butterflies lately, …
Tomorrow, April 2, 2012, is the fifth annual World Autism Awareness Day. This is a day to raise awareness about autism, so be sure to wear blue to show your support! Did you know that the CDC updated it's estimate of autism prevalence in the United States to 1 in 88 children? This is more …
I've always hated red food dye because of the moustache it leaves on your upper lip when you drink stuff that has red food dye in it. When we were working at the children's home, there were a few kids who always had a red moustache and I'm sure it was embarassing! The other day, …
I love when the bluebonnets bloom. It's one of the most beautiful sights...to drive and see the bluebonnets covering the sides of the roads! We missed the bluebonnets last year, so this is Baby D's first time. He wasn't too impressed. The sun was hot, the flowers tickled his feet, he didn't want to sit …
This is Blank Blank, the Captain's favorite item, his treasured blanket that used to be his daddy's. He's very attached to it and it has been washed many times. As you can guess, it's very worn! My dear husband is on a search to find this blanket, even though it was probably discontinued many, …
Although we aren't really affected by Spring Break, as Daddy still had to work and we don't go to school, we got to visit with friends, relatives, and also hang out with the school aged kids more often than usual! We had a great week! We also planted our front flower bed, found ladybugs, and …
1. "I want to be 1 for Halloween." 2. "I want you to be a cheerleader, Mommy. And a Mermaid." 3. "When you eat hot dogs, they're really good for you. But chips are not!" 4. "I want to save my M&Ms. Keep them for me and if anyone that we don't know comes in, …
Let me tell you about the past two nights in our house. Baby D, who just got over strep, now has some sort of allergies/teething problems. He's been crying in his sleep, 🙁 not sleeping well, tossing and turning, going to bed late, and waking up early. This kid hates to sleep with anyone, so …
I just learned that today is World Read Aloud Day! What a fun day to celebrate literacy! The LitWorld website states that at least 793 MILLION people worldwide remain illiterate. Everyone should have the opportunity to pick up a good book and just read. World Read Aloud day "motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to …
Sleep is one of my most talked about subjects, just ask any of my friends on Facebook! I'm constantly posting about how the boys slept, how I slept, what woke me up, etc. And you blog readers know that I like to post about this topic, too. 🙂 So a few weeks ago, when I …
There is a commercial on TV that is urging parents to buy a certain program so kids can get "a head start on learning." I truly believe that pushing a child is not going to work for his/her education. I think surrounding them in a proper learning environment can be extremely beneficial. I am, by …
We recently took Captain Fussybuckets to the doctor for his 3rd year well child checkup and the pediatrician asked us if he was taking a daily vitamin. I proudly said "yes!" and she asked which one and I said "some gummy." She then went on to give me a lecture about how gummies don't have …
As some of you may know, the 3 year old, Captain Fussybuckets, has been having issues about sleeping in his own bed. Some of it is his age, some of it is the fact that he's been sick a lot lately, but, almost every night for the past few months, he's been making his way …
Grammy and Grampy bought Captain Fussybuckets these awesome blue chairs and kids' table from IKEA and they have been SO beneficial to the Captain (and Mommy and Daddy, in some ways...) We run into them in the dark and are CONSTANTLY moving blue chairs back to their place. Where will we find the traveling blue …
Target (and other stores, I assume) have all of their Christmas stuff on super clearance! I scored a Gingerbread House kit for $2.99, as it was 70% off. I am cheap and would never have bought one for full price, but it made a cute after Christmas craft for Captain Fussybuckets and me! I told …
2011. A lot of good things happened to our family in 2011. Likewise, a lot of not so great things happened in 2011. I can't believe that it has almost been a year since we resigned our positions as houseparents at the children's home. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that we were …
It seems like we've had a rough couple of months here at the Fussybuckets House. First, a stomach virus that hit the Captain right before his birthday party, then a cold that affected both boys, then another stomach virus that affected ¾ of us for a few days, and now, here we are in the …
We had a great Christmas Eve at Grandma's and then Christmas Day here at home. The boys got to wear their jammies to church and we had a great lunch with some great friends! Here's hoping that you and yours had and continue to have an awesome holiday! The cousins (minus sleeping Baby D) …
You may have noticed that things were quiet on the blog this weekend. Then again, maybe you didn't, because it's a crazy hectic time of year! All of us except for Daddy had the stomach bug towards the end of last week, and then got well just in time to head to my side of …
This may sound crazy, but I never know what I want for Christmas. Okay, I take that back. I do know what I want for Christmas, but it's not the glamorous stuff like jewelry, new clothes or shoes, or ... whatever. So here is my list of things I REALLY want for Christmas. 1. Cabinet …
We were able to take the boys to see "Yo Gabba Gabba! Live!" this weekend and it was amazing! We didn't tell Captain Fussybuckets where we were going, so he had no clue! It was THE cutest thing ever. Two days before the show, he had started saying he wanted to go to "Onnidonni." We …
The Plasma Car by PlaSmart is THE coolest ride on toy! There are no batteries, pedals, gears, or electrical parts. The Plasma Car is powered with only Kid Power, which makes it perfect to burn off energy inside on cold winter days. When Captain Fussybuckets first got his PlasmaCar, he had never seen one …
Dear Lady with a Louis Vuitton handbag, talking on your iPhone and not facing the play area at Chick-Fil-A where your grandson is playing, The place is a madhouse because you and other grandparents and parents aren't watching your children. Sure, it's Family Night, but that doesn't mean it's Send Your Child Into a Closed …
Life is hard. Being a kid is hard. Being the parent of a busy kid is hard, too. I'm not the parent of a busy kid...well...they're busy, but not in the sense that I'm talking about. I am meaning busy as in going to school, having after school practice, having tons of homework, and barely …
The boys are all HUGE candy lovers. They all like sour candy and chocolate. Yeah, I know, that doesn't leave much that he doesn't like. Candy is everywhere and people love to give kids candy. And that's fine, but we all know that too much candy is not good. Find out which candy is the worst for …
I'm a sucker for baby in a pumpkin pictures! I have a picture from when our oldest was a newborn and it's one of my favorites. My brother is a master gardener and he grew some HUGE pumpkins this year. He gave us this little jewel to play around with, but there were much …
Captain Fussybuckets will turn 3 on November 1st. We're going to have a small, family birthday party on that following Saturday, I believe. Daddy has already arranged to have a small bounce house, perfect for Fussybuckets and his other 3 three year-old cousins, and possibly Baby D. But the dilemma is what to do for …
