Great Buys!

I sold our bedroom furniture...a few month ago. I've never loved it and I was ready for a change. The problem was I never replaced it because I was always selling the dressers that I re-did. So we have had our clothes on the floor in piles for at least 2 months! 

It was our new normal...crazy. :)

 Well, a couple weekends ago I came across this beauty at a church yard sale and when I saw the price tag of $15 I had to have it! I decided to go with some color in our bedroom. It pops and I love it. I glazed the handles and some indention's on the dresser body to bring out all the details.

So glad to finally have a dresser again!

 I also scored this last weekend at Goodwill. I seriously had a shoppers high from my good deals. :)

I found this homemade bulletin board. I think it was a twin headboard possibly...I loved the style right away and when I saw the price tag of $5 I had to have it.

I added some fabric on top of the cork board  to clean it up a little and it is now on the wall in our office space. Since taking this picture, I added some hooks to the bottom and that is where I keep the kids' backpack. It is a perfect set up for us!

And this was my deal of the year, drum roll please....

I paid $12 for this leather chair!!! I was so excited. It needed some conditioning (which cost almost as much as the chair itself) but is in excellent condition. I have always wanted a chair like this!

Fun finds!

Evolution at Qcumberz

I always take a picture when I change things around at my vendor space at Qcumberz to remember what all I have. :) It is kinda fun to look and see how things have changed for the month. It has been going really good and I think I'll continue to do it. :)

I'm having fun shopping and love that I can bring a little extra money for our family!

Field Trip to Dairy Farm

 Cadence's preschool class had a field trip to a dairy farm yesterday. One of the families in her class own the farm so we were able to take a tour. Their milk is sold to our local Fry's and other grocery stores. :)

 We were able to go around the whole farm on a hayride to see all the cows from newborn to full grown. And also watch them being milked (below). I found the whole process really interesting. :)

 They were even allowed to feed the baby cows with bottles and I was really proud of Cadence for being brave enough to be that close to it. :) We were told they would suck our fingers if we stuck them out and sure enough...just like a baby they sucked on it. Really slobbery!

The trip ended with cookies and of course milk. Isabelle was along and was able to join in with the other kids...I think she felt like a big girl to be with them. :)

Fun morning!

Cadence - 4 1/2 Years Old

I want to capture the kids' personalities and the things they enjoy when they are little. I think it will be so interesting to look back and see what things have stayed with each one into adulthood. :)

 Cadence LOVES to draw and be creative. If there is one thing that is consistant with what she will want to do it is to make her own pictures (not so much a coloring book) or make a craft. She just started being more creative in her pictures she draws with adding more details. She also just figured out how to cut out a heart by folding paper in half...so that is her new favortie thing.

 She likes to build, sort and put things in different areas. Not organized or clean up the things but just move stuff around. She will take all of her shoes off the the door organizer and make a pile of them. She will dump out all her baby dolls in a pile and then use the basket they are in to put her markers in. I guess in her mind it makes sense. :)

 She can write the alphabet & her name (still writes some of them backwards) and her numbers up to 19. She can verbally count to 34. She can make the sound for each letter and she is starting to try to figure out what a word starts with.

She also loves to be read to. She will always pick reading a book over watching a show.

She loves to dress up (mostly in her dance outfits or Rapunzel dress). Likes to have her hair done in braids and she wants to decide what she will be wearing for the day.

Cadence is very tender hearted. She is sensitive and so loving.

She is very easy going...but if she is tired, look out! A new Cadence comes out and it usually ends in a big fit with uncontrollable crying. It almost always happens when she is tired so we are able to work through it pretty easily. I rarely have to give a consequence for her not listening or for doing something she shouldn't.

Her love language is for sure physical touch. She is content to just sit and as long as I have a hand on her somewhere, she is good. Loves to snuggle!

She is very aware of taking care of others and making sure things are ok. She is so generous. She will gladly share her treat or money she has earned with her sister & brother.

I love her dearly.

What am I saying??

Cadence had my phone and took this picture of me...

What do you think I'm saying?

:)

Folk Festival

This weekend my mom wanted to take the kids to a folk music festival that was at Saguaro Ranch Park. They had a sleep over at the other grandma's house the night before, so Mark and I picked them up and headed over to the park. It was a beautiful warm day.

 The festival wasn't real great but the highlight was seeing the peacocks and the kids being excited about them. The above picture was all the kids looking through the fence at them...

 And then Dylan and Jake realized they could fit through the gate and went in to explore.

Dylan took the above picture. :)

 This picture was to capture the peacock on top of the light post. Cadence put her brave face on and decided she was ok being that close to it. :)

There was a beautiful rose garden.

 Grandpa bought everyone treats!

 Cadence was generous and was sharing...looks like Mark is ready to gag on that spoon. :)

Thanks Mom and Dad for the nice afternoon and always thinking of the kids!

Wildlife World Zoo

 We went to the Wildlife World Zoo this week with my mom. It has been a few years since we have been there and I had forgotten how much I really like this zoo! I love that all the animals are so close and you can really see them well.

 Dylan LOVED feeding the giraffe's. They are really fun with how long their tongues stick out!

 Isabelle said she wanted to feed but when that tongue came close she decided otherwise. :)

 We also tried feeding the birds. I finally got one to land on me and tried to hand off to Dylan but he was nervous about it (of all the animals, a bird is what he was worried about :)). Cadence entered the bird area but found a safe spot by a wooden pole and didn't move the rest of the time. She is just so  nervous around animals.

This huge snake had his body upwards on the glass when we came by and then plopped down and was moving all around. Isabelle stood there with her arm pulled away like the above picture the whole time...worried that the snake might touch her. :)

Dylan also loved the petting zoo. They had goats, deer and small llama's. He spent a long time in there feeding and just petting them. He is a lot like me with animals. He asked if we could have a goat at home and I told him maybe one day when we have a really big backyard. :)

The day ended with Cadence being brave enough to touch the large turtles. She was very proud of herself for not being afraid. :)

It was a beautiful & fun day!

This week the kids are on spring break from school. Yesterday we spent the day with our friends from our old neighborhood, Rochelle, Thomas & Ella. We had met randomly one day while playing at our neighborhood park and have stayed friends ever since! Actually the girls are in the same preschool class now.

Rochelle had a great idea of taking the kids for a little hike. She knew of a easy trail on the side of South Mountain. It was a perfect trail for the kids...all but Isabelle. She wanted to be held the whole time, so I got a good workout. :)

 There was a small ramada where the kids had fun exploring, climbing and having a snack.

We ended the day with some ice cream at a local shop near their house. It was great to spend the day together and so fun to have the kids enjoy each other!

Growing Alfalfa Sprouts

I grew alfalfa sprouts years ago when we were first married and for some reason stopped. They are so easy to grow and when I saw the seeds at our local plant nursery (Bakers!) I picked up a package of seeds and decided to give it another go. :)

All you need is:

 seeds

a jar

cheese cloth or a piece of panty hose

and a rubber band

Day 1: you put seeds in jar (enough to cover the bottom)

Cover with water. Put in dark cool place and let sit overnight

 Day 2: Dump out water.

Rinse 3 times a day for the next 3 days

Keep in dark place.

 Day 4: Rinse one last time and sit jar in sunlight.

This will make the sprouts turn green (sorry for really bad photo :()

After a day or two they will be ready to eat!