It's the Little Things... like motown in the kitchen!

Sometimes when we're fixing supper, we turn on a little Pandora radio and have our own dance party in the kitchen while our food is cooking. 

Tonight, we were tuned into a motown station, one of my personal favorites. We were dancing, twirling, spinning, and just generally getting down with our bad selves when Max stopped and said, "Mama," holding out his little hands. He grabbed a hold of my hands, twirled around once, and then took my hand in his little hand, brought it to his face, and kissed it. <3

Max has always been a loving baby, but lately, there are times that I could just melt into a puddle because of some of the little things he does or says.

For example:

I was cleaning up in the kitchen last week, when Max started saying, "MAMA, MAMA, MAMA, MAMA, MAMA..." A little peeved by his impatience, I said, "Yesss, Max?!" He looked at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes and said, "I laaa yeww."

It really is all about the little things and little moments...

It's the Little Things... like a diaper box turned robot costume (made especially by Daddy!).

Our little dancing robot

"Dancing is the poetry of the foot." -John  Dryden

It's the Little Things... like flour memories!

One of my favorite childhood memories involves flour, a kitchen stool, and one of my favorite people I've ever known.

:)

As a kid, my sweet Ms. Blanche let me stand in her kitchen, put my little grubby hands in her flour, and make a HUGE mess... playing in the flour! I love that memory.

 I always loved the cool, soft feel of that flour on my hands. I even loved the way it smelled. To this day, every time I smell or touch flour, that memory floods my mind.

While I'm no Ms. Blanche (although a girl can strive for it!),  our sweet Max did build a flour memory today.

I was so excited to find this FLOUR recipe for CLOUD DOUGH. (Just as messy as sand, but so much more fun!)

This was our adventure of the day today...

   

Ingredients: 1 bag of flour, 2 cups of baby oil... mixed together in a plastic tub! (How easy is that?!)

Excited... as always... to get MESSY!!!

The cloud dough has a really cool and unusual consistency: it can be molded , but still has the soft, flour feel.

Our cloud dough castle!

I loved passing on my flour-loving legacy! :)

"Happy memories become treasures in the heart to pull out on the tough days of adulthood." 

-Charlotte Davis Kasl

It's the Little Things... like painting on the sidewalk!

Our adventure-of-the-day involved one of Max's favorite things to do: PAINT!


Painting on paper? Anyone can do that... 
So, we tried out a new recipe for SIDEWALK PAINT. 
It was easy to make, WASHable, super-fun, and a great way to start this hot day!

Sidewalk paint secret recipe (shhhh): All it takes is 1 cup of cornstarch, 1 cup of water, and food coloring. A muffin tin makes the perfect artist's palette.

Ready to begin our sidewalk masterpiece!

A true Picasso! 

Crayola's got nothing on us! :)

And needless to say, after all that beautiful painting, we really needed to cool off on this hot, hot day.

Ever wondered how to avoid a water sprinkler?

Watch the video below and take notes:

"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it." -Danny Kaye

It's the Little Things... like hoses, shaving cream, & EIEIO!

If we had to choose a theme for our weekend, it would have to be WATER! From the water hose and swimming pool outside to the bathtub inside, we cooled off, cleaned up, and played hard.

Lifeguard Max supervises the filling-up-of-the-swimming-pool! (No running, please!)

Swimming lessons with the best teacher! Check out these 2 faces. :)

Blowing bubbles and kicking those legs! What a little fish we have!

Tonight at bath time, Max took it upon himself to clean everyone else up. 

See below the bearded lady (or not-so-much anymore) and friends:

Max enjoyed being the "shaver" more than the "shavee."

No one escaped the shaving fun!

Not only did we have water-fun all weekend long, but we also visited the brand-new Bells, TN (believe it or not!) McDonald's for supper tonight. Movin' on up...

Mama: "Max, do you want to go to McDonald's for supper?"

Max: "YES! EIEIO?!"

I bet he was really disappointed that we not only didn't meet Old MacDonald, but we also didn't see a single pig and cow.

"The sky is perfectly blue. The clouds are perfect too. And here I am with you, what could be more right?" 

-Winnie the Pooh

It's the Little Things... like fondue on a Friday!

Alice Cooper's "School's Out" has been my theme song of the day! And while school may not be out "forever," it is certainly out for 2 months, and that, of course, calls for a celebration!

We love creating fun, new suppers/appetizers/desserts in the fondue pot, and the end of the school year is the perfect occasion for such a fun, snacky, unconventional, supper! (Because normal is wayyy too boring!)

Thought I'd share my fun "taco fondue" recipe that was super-easy:

"School's OUT Queso Dip"

(2) 15 oz cans chili, without beans

(2) 8 oz packages cream cheese, cut into cubes

1/2 cup diced tomato

1/2 cup diced green pepper

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat the chili & cream cheese in fondue pot. Stir frequently until the cream cheese is melted. Garnish with tomato, green pepper, cheddar cheese.

For serving, use taco/tortilla chips.

It was yummy, and tasted a LOT like the skillet queso dip you can order at Chili's. 

Max loves to help "cook," stir, and taste-test in the kitchen. Looking forward to more cooking with my Max this summer!!! 

"No more pencils

No more books

No more teacher's dirty looks...

School's out for summer" 

-Alice Cooper ("School's Out")

It's the Little Things... like leftover festival floats!

If you know Max Matamoros very well, you will know that he is a big fan of pretty much any form of transportation: cars, trucks, planes, boats, even tricycles.

With this said, it should come as no surprise that Max loves the Disney/Pixar movie Cars. When I say love, however, I'm just not sure I've used the word strongly enough. In Max's 2 short years of life so far, he HAS to have seen this movie close to 2,000 times. He knows every character, every song, every line to the entire movie. (Oh yes, and Cars 2, as well.)

When driving to work this past Monday, I had a very hard time keeping myself from turning around and heading back to Bells to pick up my Max to show him the amazing sight I found before me. So, today, we found ourselves in an adventure the likes of which Max could have never imagined.

If the sun seemed a little brighter this afternoon, it had to be our little Max's face lighting up as he saw THIS...

My favorite quote of the day and the first thing Max said when we got out of the car: "Where's Lightning?!" 

Yes, if you are not acquainted with the movie Cars quite like my little family is, that is THE Mator (a leftover float from the Strawberry Festival- that has been waiting just for us and our weekend adventure ALL week)!!!

What a day: Not only did we see THE Mator, but we also saw the Chick-fil-a Cow and an ambulance with flashing lights on the way home. (No worries, the Chick-fil-a Cow was not the one in the ambulance, although he did look pretty hot.) 

AND...We have also celebrated our special Yakko ALL day today. We are so glad he happened to the world. Happy, happy birthday to him!

Goodness, all of this... before 3:00 pm. Who KNOWS what adventures await us for the rest of the day!

Wisdom from Mator: "Ain't no need to watch where I'm goin'; just need to know where I've been." -(Cars)

It's the Little Things... like bedtime routines!

The letter of the day must be "T"...

for:

Tuesday...and a very TIRED toddler and teacher!!

Is it Friday yet?! 

Bedtime is one of the sweetest times in our household. Max has a very particular bedtime routine: brushing teeth (which often takes more than just a little persuasion), a bedtime story (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See is currently a favorite), bedtime prayers, followed by finding EVERY stuffed animal friend and favorite car or truck to pile into the bed to go to sleep. 

Most nights feel more like turning the page of a Where's Waldo book... instead of finding Waldo, though, we're finding our MAX! How in the world does he have any room to sleep? 

Leaving no animal (or truck or car) behind, he drifts off....

"There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep." 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's the Little Things... like a picnic in the back of the car!

The Matamoros fam is already functioning in summer-mode, despite the fact that summer has not yet officially arrived. 

The "unofficial" official start to summer is, of course, marked by the last day of the school year. Two more looooong weeks... but who's counting?!

Unable to wait two more weeks for a summer adventure, Mother's Day seemed like as good a' time as any to make it count with: a picnic at Sonic in the back of the car. (Talk about fine dining!)

Who knew eating in the back of the car could be so much fun?!

No picnic in the car is complete without a turn in the driver's seat!

"A mother's heart is a patchwork of love." -Author Unknown