One thing I love about parenting is being able to start new family traditions with my children, as well as carry on some favorites from when my husband and I were kids.  And Christmastime just calls for family traditions!

I’ve already shared one of our traditions with you.  Today I’m going to share another with you:  pictures of the kids in front of the tree for our family Christmas card.

Here are just a few of the 40+ pics I snapped the other day, trying to capture just the right one (or ones) for the card.

So, how many of you snap the kids’ pics each year for the Christmas card?  Any tips you’d like to share to get that perfect picture?

The post Pictures for the Christmas Card first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

I was thinking, even though my husband was on call and couldn’t head to church with us, and even though we would be pushing for time, I was going to take the kids by myself.

Then they came upstairs…

I really do NOT like washable crayon.  When it gets wet it is a paint consistency that leads to trouble, and to the bathtub.

What have your kids done that made you change your plans to go somewhere?

The post Washable Crayons = A Mess in the Making first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Getting to see my sister and her family at the halfway point between our houses in Peoria, Illinois.

I already told you about our travels on Friday.

Hurricane Issac brought plenty of rain on Saturday.  There were a few breaks where we were able to get the little ones out of the hotel rooms to run around.  Their favorite part of going outside?  This huge puddle in the parking lot.

There was also plenty of time for water play  in the hotel pool and hot tub, which our little ones used like their own personal kiddie pool (it wasn’t very hot).

My sister also brought tons of kid crafts left over from VBS…And my daughter wanted me to take her picture with each one.  (Yes, that’s a sure sign she is  a blogger’s kid!)

Instead of going to the zoo like we originally planned, we opted to stay dry at a Chuck-E-Cheese nearby, where even my teenage nephew and 21 year-old niece were able to “be a kid.”Yes, I could have included a pic of my nephew and niece having a blast at Chuck-E’s house, but I thought they’d prefer this pic instead…On the left is Legoman, whom I’ve mentioned before in the post The Power of Prayer.  Do you think he’s checking out my blog on that laptop?  (Hey, an aunt can dream, right?)  The next one is my sister, followed by her daughter and daughter’s boyfriend.

After watching the kids having fun together, and just being able to hang out with my sister, I’m hoping we get to do it again sometime soon!

How was your Labor Day weekend?

The post Labor Day Weekend first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Free food, drinks, snow cones, ice cream, petting zoo, games and prizes?  Hey, I couldn’t wait either!

This year they added something new – a huge blow up fire truck with a slide in it!  (I even got to try it out with my littlest preschooler.)

After winning some great prizes, we settled down for some hotdogs and chips.

Then Peanut got her face painted,

and Monkey devoured his blue snowcone.

We went home with 2 happy, and tired, kids.

Have you taken the kids to a festival this year?

The post Summertime Festival first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

This year’s theme? It all had to do with night time animals, sounds, etc.   And you know my kids couldn’t wait until the day they brought the bats!

Peanut got to help demonstrate the size of the largest bat – who has a wing-span close to 3 ft.

And then they got to get a picture with one of the Egyptian Fruit Bats.  Evidently bats rank higher than the Easter Bunny or Ronald McDonald because Monkey refused pictures with both of them, but really wanted his picture with the bats!  (Don’t you just love big sister’s face there?)

What summer fun have your kids had that they really looked forward to?

The post Egyptian Fruit Bats first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Are your kids in a library summer reading program?  What fun things have they gotten to do?

The post Meeting Ronald McDonald at the LIbrary first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.