Where I've Been...

So you've probably been wondering why my posting has been almost non-existent lately. I've got this little guy to "blame"...

He's 6 weeks old today and the whole family is absolutely in love with him! I was exhausted during the entire pregnancy so DIY projects got pushed to the back burner. I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty again soon, but for now I am just savoring every moment with him until I have to go back to work in another few weeks.

Indian Summer

We've been having an Indian Summer here and the kids are loving it! Temps were up in the 80s today - I can definitely get used to this! The other day I took the kids to a local arboretum and we took a little hike through some woods. It's kid-friendly and the path is a circle so you don't have to worry about walking all the way back to the beginning once you've reached the end.

I took a picture of them in a gazebo and told the kids to make each other laugh. The little guy started tickling his big sister - that's one way to do it! :-)

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Here they are fascinated with a tiny bug. Actually, it may have been a caterpillar. Either way, I thought it was so cute!

Is anyone else not looking forward to the cold that's coming? Don't get me wrong, I love that we get all four seasons, but in the winter I like to snuggle up under a warm blanket with hot chocolate and avoid going outside when possible!!

Chalk Bin Solution

Ever since putting up this removable chalkboard, it has been covered with all sorts of drawings, doodles and messages.

The whole family enjoys writing notes and drawing pictures for each other. There was only one problem: no place to put the chalk and eraser. The kids could never find the chalk and I ended up just using a napkin to erase what was there. It was a pain and not a good solution. I started searching for a small, light container that I could use, but was coming up empty handed.

Finally on Friday I found the perfect solution. I was at Office Depot looking for something else, and I saw the school supplies was on clearance. Enter this little beauty for $1!

I know it's bright pink, but I did what any other self-respecting blogger would do and pulled out the good old spray paint.

A few hours later it was good to go! I used some command strips to hang it on the wall.

It's the perfect size for the eraser and chalk and now everyone can find what they want easily.

Here's a zoomed-out view. It sits in this little nook right when you enter the kitchen so I don't have to worry about anyone bumping into it. Now to swap out the light switches and plate for some white ones...

p.s. Besides Office Depot, Target was also having 70% off school supplies, so now's a great time to stock up on essentials for next year.

Linking up:
Hi Surgarplum |

Happy Labor Day!

Thanks for bearing with me while I took some time to spend with my family before the start of school. Here are some pictures from our time in Hershey, PA.

The famous "Kissing Tower"

Granted, this was the kiddie scrambler so it wasn't such a big deal that the kids had their hands up, but my daughter was tall enough for the regular scrambler and her hands were up on that also!!

Good thing the kids take after their mom in their love for rides, and not their father.... Two guesses who was screaming on this one :-)

The place where we went mini-golfing in Harrisburg had this incredible sign:

We visited Hershey Gardens which was unbelievably gorgeous! This was in the butterfly house.

We even got to watch butterflies emerge from their chrysalis!

At the end of vacation - kids are couch potatoes and hubby is hard at work!

Tomorrow is the big day and we are all excited! Enjoy the rest of your long weekend!

Be Back Soon!

The summer is on its last legs and the kids are almost ready to go back to school. I know some moms have already sent their kids to the first day of school, but here we don't start until the day after Labor Day. I am off to enjoy these last couple of weeks with my kids, while spending some time here...

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Bring on the chocolate!! Follow me on Instagram @ famlovehome to keep up on the latest.

My Love is like a Red, Red Rose

My birthday was just the other week and my hubby was so sweet to surprise me with a bouquet of roses sent to my office! I got them on Thursday and brought them home with me since I don't work on Fridays and I wanted to enjoy them all weekend.

Aren't they gorgeous??

I then had some fun taking pictures and playing around with my camera and different aperture settings.

I thought that a few of these blown up could make a beautiful arrangement on a wall in a girl's room, guest room, or even a bathroom. What do you think?

Summer Fun Continues

Summer fun is already in full swing and the kids are loving camp. Over July 4th weekend, the hubby and I both had some time off without the kids so we headed to the newest tourist attraction in our area - Ripley's Believe It or Not. I had been to some other locations before, but this was a first for the mister. We left the place thinking that there are too many people in this world with too much time on their hands. A Justin Bieber artwork made completely out of candy - seriously?

They had a huge "penny" made out of a gazillion real pennies.

Then there was a "coffin" made out of cigarette butts and cigars. A little tongue-in-cheek in a not-so-subtle way!

And a scaled-down replica of Hogwarts made out of a half a million matchsticks. I can't imagine the patience needed to construct something like this.

They also had these really interesting glass bottles with wooden arrows through them. We could not figure out how they did this, so if you know please share!!

We do allow the kids to have fun also :-) Here they are playing some arcade games at Chuck E. Cheese.

And my sister-in-law is being kind enough to give my daughter swimming lessons this summer. I am so proud of how much she has progressed so far! Unfortunately, my son doesn't like to venture too far off the steps at the edge. We're making progress with him though...

What kind of summer fun have you and your family been up to? It's been so hot by us lately that even walking from the house to the car is enough to work up a sweat!

Summer Fun Begins

The other week our local police department hosted a Public Safety Day for the entire community. The highlight of the day, besides for getting to explore all the different police/fire vehicles, is the Kiddie Police Academy. My son is at the age where his dream jobs are to be a: fireman, police man, paramedic and construction worker so this was a perfect way to spend the afternoon. Not to worry, my daughter had a great time too.

First they had to go through an obstacle course (didn't get any pictures of that unfortunately). Then they learned CPR.

Next activity was to get a description of a suspect from an officer and draw a police sketch. It was so cute to see their completed drawings and how different they were from each other.

Then they had boot camp and practiced their push-ups and sit-ups.

The cadets from the academy were really running most of the activities and they looked like they were having as much fun as all the kids were! Here they are chasing after a "bad guy" and then snapping hand-cuffs on him before leading him to "jail."

Last up was practice at the "shooting range" where they had to throw balls into a box. My son is actually a pretty good shot! When they completed all their activities, they got a special certificate.

There were a bunch of booths from different agencies like the FBI and local government offices giving out freebies so you can't go wrong there! :-) Outside they had all sorts of cool emergency vehicles, police horses and dogs, and helicopters, but this bomb robot was my favorite.

The summer has gotten off to a great start and we are all enjoying the more relaxed, lazy days. The kids are in day camp and loving it and my office has changed to "summer schedule" so what could be better?!

How are you spending your summer? Any vacations coming up?