There Really WAS a Party in the Tub!!

 I do not consider myself to be any kind of product pusher, but I do have one to share with you. The only thing dear Giraffe wanted for her big day this year was a "Party in the Tub". (Be sure to check the link!) She had seen the commercial, and bought immediately into the absolute riot it would be to have a tub full of color-changing lights! :) Since it is cheap and I like to get her what she wants, I ordered it immediately! 

Needless to say, Giraffe was DELIGHTED when her big day came and she discovered her present! Not long after, we filled up the tub and set the lights in. The colors were pretty enough, and the 'tizzies' (which maybe don't quite color the entire tub) were fun to watch dissolve. What put it over the top, however, was bubble bath. I dumped in nearly an entire container. We sudsed up the water, the girls hopped in, and I turned out the lights. Much squeals and well over an hour of water play ensued as the lights changed the bubbles to daring shades of   

Blue:

Red:

 Green:

White:

Purple:

And Teal:

So, for whatever it is worth, this is a WONDERFUL and fun bath toy! We are definitely getting our money's worth on this one! :) The lights are easy to assemble (3 AAA batteries required for every light) according to the directions provided, vibrant and lively, and definitely water-proof. The 'tizzies' we could take or leave, but I would DEFINITELY hit the Dollar Tree and pick up a big bottle of bubble bath! The girls' imaginations were going wild! They were in space! They were in the Aurora Borealis! They were on and under the ice of the arctic waters, studying whales and other arctic mammals. :) It really was something to see! :) Put these toys on your child's must-have list!

Belated Easter :)

We had such a lovely Easter this year! :) 

Now, don't think because I posted the colorful eggs that we left out the Lord. We had a lovely morning as a family in our wonderful church. I even had hopes of getting a nice family photo, buuuuuut.... that didn't happen. lol 

In the days up to Easter, we painted eggs, the girls and I. Little Koala was doing this for the first time! She was about as much fun as you would expect of a 20 month old... namely, she slapped the eggs down into the dye with verve, and repeatedly soaked everything in reach of that colorful, happy splatter! lol In fact, I sported a mostly-orange left leg from the knee down for two days to prove it! haha Good thing my Sunday dress was long, and covered!

But I am getting ahead of myself... 

We actually - once again - did the fun/play part of Easter a little bit early. We do this for two reasons. One: Resurrection Morning is busy enough with church that we don't have much time. Two: It helps keep focus on Christ if we're not pelting the children with baskets full of goodies before worship service. lol Last year, we did baskets the week before and had SO much fun! This year, we did them the afternoon before. Grandma and Grandpa tended to Koala and Giraffe in the living room while Daddy and I assembled these in the master bedroom:

They went over like gangbusters! In fact, the baby kept running up to me and giving me hug whenever she looked at each new item! lol It really was so fun! That same afternoon we headed outside for the hunt. Giraffe is by now a pro, so her search was intense and fruitful. The bucket pictured was filled to the top!

Koala was on her first-ever hunt, but didn't let that stop her. She took to it so quickly that Daddy asked "Who taught her how to do this?" lol

Sunday afternoon we went from church to Grandma's house, and continued our merriment with more baskets, another egg hunt, good food, and good fellowship. We couldn't feel more blessed. 

Our Lord and Savior is risen! Our eternity, secure! Our home is stable and comfortable (if messy), and our children are healthy. Life is blooming in abundance around us, and all is well with the world. :) How many times in life can we say all of these things at once? Ah, we are truly blessed. <3

Face Value

Every so often I find out that I am naive. 

I suppose that this is not a terrible thing, but it is startling when it happens. For instance, I recently read a blog with a list of photos people should not post on Facebook ever again. I clicked the link, thinking I was going to sit here and laugh privately about a string of duck faces. (Really, when isn't it funny to see someone pursing their lips and posing? lol) 

Instead, what followed was a list of every single photo style that I have probably ever seen pop up on the walls of family and friends. Each had negative comments about why it shouldn't be posted, and what the poster was 'really' doing when they post that type of photo. Some of the pictures mentioned were

Pictures of dinners:

Okay, I'll give him that one. Special occasion meals, or home-cooked meals you are really proud of are fine. But serial posting of well, cereal-posting (pun) could get annoying, I'm sure. ;)

Pictures of children:

What parent (who also has their own parents, aka the grandparents, online) doesn't put up piccies of the kids for mom and pop to see?

Pictures of feet:
While I find the people who post many 'feet photos' to be perhaps a little impressed by their own dogs, I don't mind these either. Especially when it is someoner having a long-awaited dream vacation and those feet are against a backdrop ocean view. 

Pictures 'with' my kid:
Narcissism! "Isn't my baby so cuuuute!".... but YOUR face takes up most of the photo. lololol There are a few people who post themselves with every single picture of their child. Hilarious! I once spoofed that with my own photo of 'my baby' in the car... in which it was all my face, and just the back of the car seat in the background. lol 

Anyway, you get the idea. It seemed like all of the pictures you could possibly take were listed, along with cynical reasons it shouldn't be posted... aaaaaand most of those reasons were that people are incredibly fake, or the viewers of said photos were doing nothing but trashing the person posting them mentally anyway. 

That is when I realized that either the blogger was wrong, or I am very naive. I don't trash people's pictures. (Although, as mentioned, a few make me laugh!) I also don't think my friends and family think of ME in those ways. 

Not too long after that, I was in conversation and the person made the comment that people aren't themselves on FB. :( Once again, I am faced with this possibility, and I just don't like it. My list is full of people I know, not strangers. I feel as though everything posted by my friends/family is very 'them' of them, very genuine. 

All of that rambling to say that I don't like being faced with the reality that people could be disingenuous. I honestly don't believe my friends are. I feel I know them well enough that, in my little bubble of the world, the posts they make fit right in exactly with their character and personality. So, yup, while I don't like being naive, I even more dislike the alternative. An uglier world, where even the people you are closest to aren't really themselves. What ever happened to just taking life at face value?

Long, Slow Spring

After the tragically long winter we have had, I am looking forward to a long, slow Spring. 

I hope it is a warm one! 

:)