The Birthday Plate

We have recently celebrated three birthdays in three months which reminded me I've yet to document the infamous "Birthday Plate" on the blog.

Several years ago when Braeden was just a tiny tot I went with some friends to a girls night at Do It Yourself Crafts in Homewood where I painted this plate.

My idea was that when each person's birthday rolled around they would get to eat off the birthday plate. That was over five years ago and no one has managed to break it yet the birthday plate tradition is still going strong.

The boys love the birthday plate and often times ask to eat off of it when it's not their birthday but, the birthday plate only comes out on birthdays.

And, don't you think for a second the adults are permitted to have a birthday without the plate.

The birthday plate even goes with us to the dinner location of choice which means we've had to carefully pack it up and bring it to several places like Edgar's Bakery and Waffle House.

It really is just something fun to make birthday memories with our children but in just a couple of months everyone will have celebrated a birthday in the Taylor house and eaten off the birthday plate and the sentimental value of this plate will double, meaning heaven help me if it ever gets broken.

Wondering Why Wednesday

Another installment of "Wondering Why Wednesday..." Why is the toothpaste smeared on the bathroom wall?

Brooks Turns Three

This past weekend we celebrated Brooks' 3rd birthday with a day full of his favorite things. He chose every activity which made for a pretty interesting day.

His first request was a day full of fun at Chuck E. Cheese. Can you see the excitement?

He only likes Chuck E. Cheese if mom or dad are close by otherwise he just watches from a distance.

That evening he got to pick our dinner location. As if an afternoon full of Pepsi products and low quality pizza wasn't enough...he wanted to have dinner at Ihop with his Bop and Granna.

Oh, and he's going through a sunglasses phase so he will probably have these on the next several times you see photos on the blog.

After dinner we came home to have cake and sing happy birthday and let our new three year old open his presents.

Cinnamon sticks, cupcakes, pizza, soda, pancakes and birthday cake aren't exactly what I would call healthy food choices but hey...it was his birthday.

Happy birthday to my favorite three year old!

Braeden-ese

Our oldest son, Braeden, is at it again...making up words and using them confidently despite the fact they don't exist in the English language.

Photo courtesy of Allison Lewis Photography who should be taking your pictures if she's not already.

Pinnacle [pin-uh-kuhl]: noun- a house or shelter for a dog or cat. Mom, when the Crosswhite's go on vacation do they put their dog in a pinnacle?

Woggilin [wog-uhl-in]: verb- Move or cause to move up and down or from side to side with small rapid movements. Everytime Brody hears music he starts dancing around and woggilin his booty.

The Purple Water Bottle

The late two/early three stage is by far a favorite of mine simply because of the language development and new found ability to communicate.

These past few weeks little Brooks has become quite the Talky-Talkerton around our house.

Each of our boys has a Nalgene water bottle they use at lunch, dinner, etc. and because the only colors they made at the time in kid size were green, blue, pink and purple...Brooks got a purple one. I'm SO thankful now that he got purple because if we had picked another color I wouldn't have this adorable video to share with you.

Wondering Why Wednesdayw

Another installment of "Wondering Why Wednesday..."

Why are Legos in the dishwasher?

A Few of My Favorite Things: Iphone Apps

I've mentioned before that I have a few apps that make my life much easier to manage. I've recently discovered a few more that I really enjoy and wanted to share.

-Usually Britten handles the tip (and the check for that matter considering my job doesn't pay very well) when we go out to eat. But, on the rare occasion I go out to dinner without him, I need a little help calculating the tip.

The free app Tipstar lets me enter the amount of the check and then choose excellent (20%), good (18%), acceptable (15%) or other. I then enter the size of our party and it calculates the tip, grand total, and will even divide the tip between the number of people in your party in case you need to split the check.

-This next one is going to scream, "I'M A MOM!" but you already knew that so no need to explain.

Sitorsquat is a free app from the folks at Charmin that uses satellite technology to locate the nearest bathroom around. You can even search specifically for restrooms with changing tables for those moms who have yet to master the lap change.

One drawback to this app is the fact that the information is supplied by app users so unless someone has contributed the details of that restroom, it will not show up. However, the longer it's around the more useful it will be. You can even access photos and user reviews on each restroom to help you make your decision. I think it's perfect for those long road trips.

-If only I'd had this app in November when I went on my first Black Friday adventure.

Red Laser lets you scan an items barcode and then pulls up a list of online prices to compare. Perfect for those times when you are in the store and think to yourself, "I wonder if I could find this cheaper online." Well, now you can find out with one simple scan.

Weather Bug Elite does cost ninety-nine cents but it's well worth it due to the fact that it gets the boys excited about checking the weather each morning during our math meeting time.

The app is quick to update and the pictures are easier for kids to interpret than some of the other apps.

-Tout is an app I use a lot. It lets me capture 15 second videos and instantly share them with family and friends or upload them to social media sites with one swipe.

So there ya have it! I'm going to stop for now in an effort not to overload you but I'd love to hear which apps help to make your life more manageable.