Hello again!

Wow. It's been a LONG time. Just can't keep up with everything! Here's what we've been up to:

* Tyler is potty training! He has #1 mastered (not at night) but he refuses to poop. He holds it and won't go to the bathroom. I got him to go on the potty one time. Andy & I are pretty frustrated with this. He won't even try!
* We went to Florida over fall break to visit Mimi & Poppy. We had a great visit. We drove which was a long trip but it was worth it. We spent an afternoon at a lovely beach, we were at Legoland on the opening day!, and spent time with family. We got to visit Nanny B in her new assisted living apartment & see Katie & David's townhouse. I'll do a Legoland post sometime.
* I had a girl's weekend in Gatlinburg with several school friends. We shopped, talked, ate, and laughed a lot. It was a great time!
* Andy has his birthday this past Saturday. We celebrated with pumpkin dessert, dinner at O'Charleys, and I got him a new cell phone for his b-day. I think he had a good day.
* Here are 2 recipes I think you should try! Both of these are from my sister. Delicious crockpot recipes! Chicken Tortilla Soup & BBQ. The barbeque is so good. It uses a can of root beer, a pork tenderloin, & bbq sauce. We recommend Sweet Baby Ray's! I'm not a huge fan of BBQ but I loved this.

My New Job

Since I'm updating the blog I thought I'd update you on my new job!  So far so good. My stress level has been waaay down for the most part. It became stressful last week but I'm feeling better now!  We tested the whole school to see who qualified for intervention services in reading and/or math. Those were a long 5 days but overall it was interesting and not too bad. Then we analyzed the data and started making groups. Last week I began pulling my groups. I teach eleven 30minute groups each day. I have groups from K-5th grade which is very new for me and I really love the variety! I teach 7 reading groups and 4 math groups. I literally go from back to back Kindergarten groups to back to back 5th grade groups - but it is great! I met over 65 kids last week. Some groups I see twice a week and some groups I see every day depending on their academic needs. Last week I was struggling with knowing exactly what to do; but after some intense planning on Friday I feel much better now. Today was a great day! I am all over the building picking up kids and dropping them off. I kind of start throwing materials at some points of the day to keep switching groups so fast with no down time in between. But I love it!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Oh. My. Goodness. I've been wanting to make this recipe since July I think. I saw these on a couple food blogs I read and well...I love chocolate and I love cookie dough so I knew I had to make these. Last Tuesday was deemed an official Baking Therapy Evening. It just works for me. Some days I just have to bake something. It helps me feel better - the process and then of course the tasting of what I made. These  weren't just a big hit with me- they were also a big hit with my small group (we celebrated Heather's birthday with them), my boys including Andy at home, and my Mom. So really. Make these as soon as you can! It makes a 9 x 13 so plan to share! Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies from Brown Eyed Baker.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Ty!

Today is Tyler's birthday! We have celebrated tonight just us at home. He wanted spaghetti for dinner with cheesy bread. Since Andy and I worked hard on the cake pictured below this past weekend we bought 5 cupcakes at a local bakery. Tyler was thrilled with his cupcake with sprinkles. We sang and he blew the candles out early! He couldn't wait to bite into the cupcake! He also got to open a new Lego Duplo from mommy and daddy plus a train car from each of his brothers. He was so happy! We love you SO much TW! Andy took pictures of the fun tonight so I'll try to get a few of those on the blog soon. Here are some pictures from his family party on Saturday.

The CARS wilton cake that Andy and I made on Friday night. I baked the cake on Thursday. Then I made homemade buttercream frosting on Friday and did the tinting. Andy did 90% of the decorating. I helped with some of the red stars. Team effort and SO worth it! Tyler was so excited and kept talking about his cars cake.

Six of his cousins at the park. Madelyn isn't in the picture but she was there! We had his party at our favorite local park. The weather was perfect. We decorated in the color red & cars- Ty's favorite color and party theme. The menu was planned for Ty's favorite foods: ham and cheese sliders, cheetos, applesauce cups, and sugar snap peas (on the veggie tray). He was one happy boy. He was so intent on eating that he was the last one over to the blanket for opening presents!

Blowing out his 3 candles! Guess we should have scooted the cake a little closer to the birthday boy!

Wilson reading Tyler his train card. Loved seeing that. See giant Lego head? It is a Lego storage container to hold loose legos! He kept saying "I got big wego!" He was so excited opening all of his gitfts and has had a blast playing with his new things. Thank you everyone for coming!

Back to School!

The boys both had a great start to school. Wilson has walked right into class every day with no problem. So thankful! We have come such a long way! He is really happy in his new classroom and has many of his friends from 1st grade in his class. Luke loves school already. Andy dropped the boys off for the first day of school and he said Luke walked right in, no problems. By day 2 Luke wanted to walk from the cafeteria to his classroom by himself. He said he didn't need Wilson to walk him to class! I was shocked but oh so thankful! Luke was so happy on the first day because he got to go to the treasure box and had 2 recesses! I think he is going to love going to big school with Mommy and Wilson. He has been EXHAUSTED but happy. He has been rather grumpy but we are trying to be patient with him as he adjusts to a school schedule. The pictures are from the first day of school!

Chicken Gyros & Garlic Lemon Chicken

A couple weeks ago we made Chicken Gyros and Garlic Lemon Chicken Kabobs on two different nights. We used tzatziki sauce to go with the chicken both nights. We enjoyed both dishes!

The Gyros were a favorite of Andy's. He loves gryos so I was hoping he would enjoy a homemade version with chicken. The gyro has a pita with marinated chicken (that we broiled), halved cherry tomatoes, purple onion, & tzatziki sauce. The sauce is good though I did add a packet of splenda to the recipe. Plain greek yogurt just needs that added in my opinion! I did not strain my yogurt as the recipe suggests. I just bought greek yogurt. Annie made her own pita bread so you will find that link in the recipe as well. I just used store bought whole wheat.

The kabobs were good and anytime I get to use my microplane to zest a lemon I'm happy! Ha-ha the little things that make me happy..:). The boys enjoyed this chicken though Luke thinks any grilled chicken needs to be dipped in barbeque sauce. Ty refers to it as Q sauce - he loves Q sauce! Wilson, Andy & I dipped it in tzatziki sauce.

Both recipes are from Annie's Eats.

Random Updates

* I'm proud to say I've lost 8 pounds! I am running and still doing the diet thing. I'm cheating a little more so it is a slower process but I am ok wtih that. So just a couple more pounds and I will move to phase 3.

* Wilson lost another tooth. The two bottom teeth in the middle are gone. This is keeping him from biting his nails- I'm thrilled! It's funny to hear him talk right now with the extra space.

* Luke is tired and grumpy a lot right now. Starting kindergarten is hard!

* Ty misses his brothers and me some days more than others. He gets mad at Andy when he tells Ty that we are at school. He says "NO. They downstairs!". Poor thing. It's hard being the youngest!

* Wilson & Luke went to watch Star Wars for the first time with Uncle Mac & Trey last night. They said they liked the movie.

* Luke is starting fall t-ball tomorrow with 3 of his cousins. He is excited!

* I have first day school pictures Andy took on his camera that I need to post.

Tomato Mozzarella Salad

This recipe is from my friend, Jenn. She brought this to one of our summer lunch bunch days and it was delicious! I made it this week. Unfortunately I didn't have fresh basil (I subbed 3 t of dried) or fresh mozzarella cheese (just used good old Kraft that I already had) and it was still very good. It is a very simple recipe!

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Salad3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup onion - chopped
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese- cubed
1 pint cherry tomatoes - halved

Mix dressing and toss with salad. Enjoy!

End of Summer

So I'm officially back to work. The boys were able to go swimming with Andy today.  Andy is thinking of taking them to Krispy*Kreme for breakfast tomorrow as a last hurrah. He is such a good daddy. (Not because he buys them donuts but because he is so good at taking care of them and doing things with them. It's hard with all three!)

We let them play outside tonight until about 9pm for the last night. But before that we did the neatest thing at church. From 7-8 we had a Backpack Blessings night. The school age kids came to church with their backpacks. We sang some songs, prayed over the kids, schools, teachers, etc. Then played a game outside and the kids had icecream sundaes. It was such a positive way to start the new school year. Ty brought his backpack too (filled with wipes & diapers) and had a great time as well. Boy is he going to miss his brothers come Thursday!

The boys are excited about school but a little nervous. Andy will bring them for the first day so they can be dropped off. Pics to come later this week!

Hats off to another great year!

Lost Tooth!!

 My big SECOND grader lost his first tooth tonight! He was so thrilled. Giddy even. He told Andy "Now I'll fit in with everyone else." Poor thing :(  but I'm soo happy that it finally happened! The hole looks tiny but look at the next picture - the tooth is tiny!

 

I am not a fan of the wiggling teeth. Ewww. It just creeps me out. Tonight he showed me his loose tooth and it basically could lay flat almost. I said that thing has GOT to come out! So he and Andy were outside throwing the baseball and I looked at him and said just tug it. He did and it popped right out!

He somehow has this whole tooth fairy thing figured out and told me not to forget. Then he showed me where the tooth was and how to trade it for the big bucks!! Now the tooth right next door is loose too!

Ty's Visit to CCH

On Tuesday we took the family to CCH for an appointment for Tyler. This one was with the Hemangioma unit. We had not been there for a year. Ty's PWS is very faint and hasn't really changed in the last couple of years. It was darker and more noticeable when he was a newborn. The best news is the doctor's feel it is of so LITTLE concern that they don't need to see us for two years! Praise God! They chatted with me about his developments, observed him in the room, asked questions etc. They asked me how we feel about his PWS and I said we have NO concern right now! We are just so thankful that what we thought it could have turned out to be (Sturge Webber Syndrome) hasn't been a concern at all. It is so faint I would say 95% of people never notice it. So it doesn't even really cross our minds anymore. An appointment for CCH comes up and we're like "oh, yeah- that".

We are on yearly visits to neurology. We are still on 6month visits to ophthalmology. That is the biggest threat due to the placement of the blood vessels near the eye and the possibility of developing glaucoma. But God is good and our little Tyler is doing just fine!

Two Tyler funnies:
The boys have a kids coconut scented shampoo. Ty does not like the coconut shampoo. In the bath he says "I no want polka-dot shampoo." It is ADORABLE!!!

Ty sometimes pretends to be a cowboy. This week he has run through the house saying "Giddy howboy". Again sooo funny! Instead of Giddy-up Cowboy it's just Giddy Howboy! I love hearing him talk. :)

Grilled Chicken Bruschetta

I made this chicken for myself Sunday night. I prepped the bruschetta and then grilled a piece of chicken. The bruschetta is delicious and could be eaten by the spoonful or over baguettes. Yum. It was pretty good over the chicken but the chicken was so bland. It needs to be jazzed up even with the bruschetta on top. If you marinated your chicken in something before grilling it would help. So the best part of this recipe was the bruschetta! Try it!
Follow this link to Pennies on a Platter for recipe and picture!

Cajun Grilled Shrimp

Tonight I made my first recipe with shrimp. Andy did the grilling. It was simple and delicious! Andy, Wilson, & I all enjoyed the shrimp. I bought frozen, peeled, & deveined shrimp. They were uncooked. After thawing the shrimp you pat them dry, skewer them, and brush olive oil on. Then you salt & pepper. I did both sides because I wasn't sure. Next you sprinkle the cajun seasoning on both sides of the shrimp and grill for about 6 minutes. Follow this link to Annie's Eats to find the recipe and picture!

Updates

It is hard to believe summer is coming to an end. This week at school we have our Parent Orientation and next week it is back to work with school starting on Thursday. I've been easing myself back into school with little bits here and there. The boys have all of their school supplies and the first day of school outfit ready to go. They are excited! Especially Luke with starting Kindergarten!

I am still on Phase 2 of the Du*kan Diet. Alternating between a protein day then a protein + veggie day. It is tough. The protein + veggie days are relatively easy. It's the other days that are hard. I've had a few weak moments over the last couple weeks but I feel like a treat (frozen chocolate YOGURT :) from Bruster's) is okay. We may or may not have been there twice. Ahem. Anyway! I made a healthier choice, right?! I'm still running and HAVE to find a way to keep going once school starts with the 50 hour work weeks. So all in all I have lost 5.4 pounds. Not too shabby!

We finally got the playroom cleaned up and organized. It looks great! We made Luke a new art shelf with all of his creative supplies. We are donating two boxes of stuff to Good*will. (FYI: I will NOT be going back to the shed that almost broke my hand...ouch!). The boys can actually enjoy their toys now. I am so bad about putting stuff away. I'm kind of messy at home. So I am really trying to put stuff away after I use it and still encouraging the boys to do the same. I feel so much better when the house is picked up/organized so I need to be proactive!

Before school starts we have a day trip to Cincy for CCH appointment, a day at the lake with Andy & CCY. Hopefully a few more trips to the pool.

Dieting...is for the birds.

So. I started a diet on Tuesday. The Dukan Diet. The one Ka*te Midd*leton was on prior to the royal wedding. My friend told me about it and it sounded doable. I bought the book and read up on it. I have NEVER dieted before. I've always been an "everything in moderation" type of girl. But I've been unhappy with myself for a long time. So I decided I needed to do something about it rather than just complain and feel bad about myself. The best part is that Andy thinks I am beautiful and perfect just the way I am. He puts no pressure on me in this area. He has been supportive because he wants me to feel good about myself. I'm thankful for his love and support with this crazy diet thing!!

I've been running. Not a crazy amount but trying for 2-3 times a week when possible. Haven't lost any weight but have noticed my legs are getting toned. Andy said that is to be expected as you are building muscle mass and probably eating more due to the running. So. Diet phase 1 began on Tuesday.

It was the hardest three days ever. But I have lost 3.4 pounds for phase 1. My goal overall is to lose 10 pounds. Phase 1 was protein & non-fat dairy plus 1 1/2 T oat bran per day. Since my weight loss was 10 pounds I only needed to do Phase 1 (ATTACK) for 3 days. So I ate greek yogurt with oat bran, cheese sticks, cottage cheese, tilapia, shrimp, turkey with fat free cheddar, eggs, grilled chicken etc. Those were foods on the approved list.

Now I begin phase 2. I actually cheated on day 3 of ATTACK and had vegetables with my fish. I couldn't stand not eating vegetables any longer. So for phase 2 you do 1 day of all protein (foods listed above) followed by 1 day of protein + vegetables. There are some starchy vegetables I can't eat but that is okay. No fruit still. That hurts. I love fruit! I haven't had anything chocolately since Monday. It's weird. Plus you do 2 T oat bran per day. No carbs.

I have a newfound respect for people who diet and count calories/points. It is so hard. I never realized just how hard it was! Everyday I have thought I should just quit the diet and not do this anymore. But then I remember how unhappy I have been with my belly and go get something protein/nonfat dairy related from the fridge. I didn't realize how many carbs I ate. EVERYTHING has carbs it seems! So here's to phase 2 and seeing if I can lose about 6.6 more pounds...

Tilapia

Last night I made a very delicious fish recipe! I haven't had a lot of luck with fish recipes before but this one I will make again. I found it on allrecipes.com. Andy & I both really enjoyed the fish.

Marinade:
2 shallots, minced --I just used 2t minced dried onion
2 T chopped garlic
2 T fresh oregano --I just used 2t dried oregano
2 T while sugar -- I used splenda instead
2 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T lime juice
2 T tequila - optional --I omitted
1 t salt
1 t pepper
4 tilapia fillets

Directions:
1. Comine all the ingredients except tilapia in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Shake to combine. Add the tilapia and store in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours, turning every 30 minutes.--I marinated ours for about an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
3. Arrange fish on foil and discard remaining marinade.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork.

We Survived!

This week has been good but hard. Andy was out of town for his second week this summer. He was in Florida on a Mission Trip with his youth group. Eight days of single parenting was a challenge to say the least. 3:1 is very overwhelming, at least at the ages of 7 1/2, 5 1/2, and almost 3. The boys have kept me non-stop busy from 8am (or earlier) until about 9pm. I love my boys. Very much. But they have been difficult. When daddy is away Wilson especially tries to get away with more misbehaviors. All in all it has been a good week and I tried to plan something fun for each day.

Fun things we did this week:
Bou*nce U
Pool
Library
Big boys went to a movie with my dad while Ty & I went to lunch at Sarabeth's
Dinner @ Cara's
Dinner @ Maw & Paw's - he made the BEST strawberry-rhubarb pie. YUM.
Met my dad for dinner
Mc*Donald's playdate with friends for icecream and playland
Bike riding
playing t-ball outside

I'm so thankful for my family for taking care of us so many nights with dinner. Daniel & Charissa came over to baby-sit the boys one evening so I could go to dinner with a friend. They just wanted to give me a break and it was so nice. The boys had a blast with them. I know that was one of their highlights of the week! I'm thankful I got all the boys to the Y one time to run. Even though I wish it would have been 3 times.

At this point the house is a mess - AGAIN. I'm at the end of my rope. The boys miss their daddy a LOT. So glad he gets home today. 8 days was too many. I'm tired.

I provide great entertainment...at the DOCTOR!

So. Last week I really hurt my hand. Here is the story. I went to take two garbage bags of stuff to Good*will. I drove to a donation shed. The shed had these two small swinging doors  on the top half of a side of the shed that you pushed in. They automatically started swinging shut - they didn't stay open. So I pushed in a garbage bag and tried to super fast pull my hands out so they wouldn't get stuck. Believe me, I don't know what I was thinking. Next thing I knew the right side of my hand was killing me. It was scraped and smashed by the swinging door. I looked at it and it hurt so bad. I shoved the other bag in with a little more grace and didn't hurt myelf. My hand was hurting terribly and I looked at it again and it was bruising, bleeding and swelling. I was shocked! I just thought it was a bad scrape. The boys were in the van and as I got in Wilson could tell I had hurt myself and asked it I was ok. I wasn't. I was fighting back the tears and trying to figure out what to do. There was a Son*ic next door so I went over and went through the drive thru (they had a drive thru! I was so glad. I didn't know Son*ic had one). I had to tell them I just hurt my hand and needed some ice. They let me buy some for 27 cents and had it in a bag. I pulled over in the Kro*ger parking lot and iced my hand. Then I started crying cause it was hurting so bad. Thankfully I had a band-aid and neosporin in Ty's  backpack so I took care of the cut and calmed down. Then we drove home.

So over the weekend my hand was very sore. A bruise developed over half of my hand. I took ibuprofen everyday and that helped. But it was still swollen and sore after 4-5 days. So yesterday Jenn and Abby separately saw me and looked at my hand. I had tweeted about it after it happened. They both said I should go to the dr. So I did.

I showed up and explained to the nurse how I hurt my hand. Also asked about my ankle that has been hurting after running. So then I had to explain how I almost fell walking down the stairs while carrying a load of laundry a couple months ago. (I basically missed the last step and landed with all of my weight on my left foot - it hurt but no big deal). Then the dr came in and I explained all my clumsy accidents to her. So they did x-rays on both. And I had to tell the radiologist about the two clumsy incidents. I was feeling more and more stupid each time I told the story. Even though everyone was super nice and kind.  The dr came down to read the x-rays and I asked her about a tetanus shot because several people said with cutting my hand on the Good*Will shed I needed a tetanus shot. (Those are good for 10 years).  They asked me when I had my last tetanus shot and I said oh 3-4 years ago. (Which I really didn't want to explain why). They asked me where and I said at a walk-in clinic. I'm a little clumsy. (That was when I was stabbed in the foot by an ink pen. I didn't want to tell another clumsy story). So thankfully they didn't ask any questions but in my head I was like oh, wow. I am a big, clumsy, loser!

So all the x-rays were  fine. My hand is just bruised and swollen but is ok. I am supposed to alternate heat and ice on my hand. My ankle is fine and I can keep running. She just told me to put ice on it after I run if it is hurting. So all in all I'm glad I went. I don't have any injuries it was just a little embarrassing to keep telling my clumsy stories. They probably laughed after I left and I can see why!!

A funny story

Today I needed to run some errands so I told the boys we'd stop at the library for new books while we were out. We had the books in the van on our way to Tar*get. Wilson was reading one of his new books about Castles. There was a section on how to make your own castle. This is our conversation during the van ride.

Wilson: Hey Mom it tells you how to make your own castle!! This is what you need: poster  board, masking tape, (etc, etc).
Me: Oh sounds fun! (Faked enthusiasm while thinking to myself how I reeeally don't want to make a castle).

Then Wilson started reading some of the steps. It continued until we pulled into the parking lot. I was half listening with the occasional ummhmmm and oh. But then he really caught  me by surprise.

Wilson: You also need paint, paint brush, and...cock
Me: What? I don't think I heard you correctly. Spell it for me.
Wilson: C-O-C-K
Me: Hmmm...I don't know what that is (while dying inside!). Let me see what it says.

Finally I get the book and it says cockTAIL sticks. Too funny. But keep reading. We start walking into Target and Luke who has been listening this whole time says:

Luke: Where will you build a castle?
Me: oh at the kitchen table
Luke: how will it fit?
Me: realizing that he thinks we have been talking about building a REAL castle. and I just laughed and said - we'll build a MODEL of a castle. Not a real castle. I'm laughing about it now typing this. I hope it was funny to you because in real life it was hilarious!!!

Happy 4th!

We had a great day on Monday. We started by meeting some friends for a small town parade where Andy grew up. It was great! The parade was at 10am, was only 30 minutes long and the boys loved it. They got candy and saw lots of fire trucks and tractors. Win - win! Then we headed back to our downtown for more festivities. We looked at a few vendors, let the boys play a shooting game, & bought kettle corn for the evening fireworks. I bought two Christmas gifts that I am really excited about!

Then we let the boys play in the fountain. Of course they got soaked! We all took a nap in the afternoon and then Danny, Steph & Co. came over for a cookout. We kept it simple with burgers and hot dogs on the grill. The kids had a lot of fun playing outside. We all spent most of the day together which was fun! Then we went and saw fireworks that evening. The boys had 3 late nights due to fireworks last weekend. We had some grumps but overall it was fun anyway!

Wedding Pics!

Here are some wedding pictures that Andy's Uncle Bill took.

The ring bearers and 3 of the 4 bell ringers. Finley is missing...

Lily & Rori - the flower girls

My two bell ringers! Aren't they handsome in their bowties?!

Bride & Groom after the wedding

Katie & her dad walking from the horse & carriage to the aisle. so sweet and beautiful scenery!

 Post wedding - during pictures, a little distraction was necessary with Mommy's phone.

Katie & David

 Nanny front & center with all of her grand children and great grandchildren. Andy has 2 older brothers each with 3 kids. So there are 9 cousins on this side of the family. Just wait until Katie & David have kids!

Peanut Butter Baking Kick

Luke and I have been baking with peanut butter. First we made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins twice last week. Cara & Jason make these about once a week and love them. I have eaten one before but hadn't made them myself. They are super easy and have ingredients you probably have on hand. Go ahead and make a double batch so you don't have to make them twice in one week!

Then we made cookies. We were going to make Snickerdoodles but I didn't have any cream of tarter. So instead we made Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies that have been on my bookmarks to make for a while. These were chewy and have a lot of honey in them so you taste that flavor as well. Not overly peanut buttery- (I wouldn't like that). These were delicious!

Two more excellent recipes from Annie's Eats!

Our Furniture -- finally!

My dresser - my favorite part is the middle door. Inside are three small drawers. All the drawers have whisper close which means they finish closing on their own!

One of our 2 nightstands. This is Andy's but mine looks the same! Notice our wedding album underneath the nightstand!

The king sized bed that we love! Our temper pedic mattress and pillows are fantastic. Lottie and Ty are on the right!

Andy's dresser

Here is a pic that Luke took of Ty! Isn't he a cutie! Can't believe he'll be 3 in September.

Katie's Wedding

Unfortunately all the pics we have are on Andy's camera and I can't access them. So since so much time has passed already here is a link to pics from Katie and David's wedding! The kids all looked adorable and Katie was a beautiful bride!

Cake Pop - Wedding Favors

Last Friday we arrived at Creekside Resort and Spa for Katie and David's wedding. We arrived around lunch time and my SIL's and I quickly started making cake pops for the wedding favors. We needed 100.  Unfortunately, the night before my cooked cake somehow ended up in the parking lot of our hotel when Andy was unpacking the van so I had to start over and make another cake. Thankfully, there was a Wal*Mart nearby and I could buy everything I needed!

Table ready with lollipop sticks, styrofoam, and sprinkles.

Erin and Steph with the cake pops ready to be dipped!

Steph and I were trying to get all the mishaps straightened out. There was a plate of mistakes that many family members benefitted from!

Some of the finished product. Katie's wedding colors were this blue and yellow.

Cakepops bagged and ready to be tagged.

My MIL, helping us tie the tags on with a ribbon. They said Katie & David with the wedding date on them. These turned out soo cute!

Overall, cakepops were a success and only took about 3 hours I guess. Not too bad. The bride was happy and those people that ate them at the wedding thought they were delicious!

Frostop

Last Thursday we left for WV to go to Katie's wedding (Andy's sister). We stopped in Huntington at Frostop. They have the best root beer. The only root beer I like. They make it there and it is just so good. Anyway here are a few pics. We then went to the park nearby and ate our picnic lunch and let the boys play before driving a few more hours.

Wilson really wants to like the root beer at Frostop but he just doesn't like any drink with carbonation.  Tyler wouldn't even try it so Andy, Luke and I enjoyed the root beer this time around!

Fun Times

The boys have built a couple forts this past weekend. Andy and I let them sleep in the fort Sunday night. Even Ty camped out! It took a few tries to get them to bed and then they conked out. Wilson and Luke created the fort all by themselves. Ty ended up sleeping in the middle, under the coffee table.

 I found this shirt at Tar*get a while back. With the treehouse Andy built for the boys I had to buy it! Unfortunately it only came in Ty's size. I wish they all 3 had one! I finally got them outside to take pics on the same day Ty was wearing his tree house shirt. Score!

Boys will be boys! 

Three of my loves!

Marine Corp Silent Drill Team

We had a fantastic opportunity Saturday night - we were able to see the Silent Drill Team! I have seen them once before in Washington, D.C. It is so cool. Amazing- I was so happy to get to see them again and so close to home! The boys were enthralled. Andy's uncle used to be on the Silent Drill Team. So we met him there and enjoyed some great music and the drill team.

This was so cool to see them in 1 long straight row.

FYI: I'm getting old because when they walked by us I thought - they are SO young. Plus I found a few gray hairs the other day...

So, back to blogging.

ONE post in MAY?! Wow. That is an all time low! Gosh, how have all of you faithful readers survived without my enthralling posts?! Ha ha. Here are some general updates:
- Andy's sister Katie gets married this weekend!
- I'm working on Couch to 10K. I'm in week 3. It's been slow going with the end of the school year. Now I have no excuse. Hoping to run the 10K on the 4th of July.
- Tried a few new recipes lately. Carrot cake as a thank you to Andy for helping me with my classroom. Everybody that ate it said it was delicious! I agree!  I substituted 1/2 cup of oil with 1/2 a cup of applesauce. It was still yummy. Thankfully we had some family over last night to help us eat it!
- Last night we made grilled fish tacos. They were ok. The fish just didn't have enough of a flavor. It was kind of  bland. The corn/tomato/cilantro/lime juice relish was delicious though. This recipe came from my Everyday Food Magazine. It was our first time to try fish tacos. I'm not smitten. But might try them again...
- Summer is now officially here! I finished up on Thursday of this past week. I've been exhausted this weekend. Hopefully now I'll get myself and the boys into a routine of some kind. We've enjoyed a couple days at the pool this past week. Looking forward to many more!
- I have a confession to make. I bought some beautiful vegetable plants in the beginning of May. I never planted them. They are dead. Oh well. I've felt bad about it for a few weeks but thankfully It was less than $7 worth. I did plant the shade plants I bought. I don't have a garden spot. Maybe Drew will build me a raised bed for a garden next year... :) Now I can go throw them away and stop feeling bad!
- Last Sunday we hosted the Youth at a nearby park for their first on location summer sunday night thing. It was so much fun! We played Ultimate Frisbee (which is like football minus the tackling & football plus a frisbee). The boys were playing with us too. We grilled out hot dogs and had a picnic. It was a great time. Looking forward to more family picnics there this summer.
- The boys are all doing well! They are thrilled to have mommy home and I am trying to adjust to the stay at home mom thing for summer. Tyler is so busy and has NO fear. That is a VERY BAD thing! Luke and Wilson are like little fish when I take them swimming. They love the water and swim all over!

Another year ends!

My classroom is packed up and ready for moving! CME is undergoing renovation.They have already begun working on our school. The movers started last Thursday. Half of our school will be in portables for the next 18-24 months. Every box and item is labeled with a yellow label for moving. With my new job I had boxes going to 4 locations...I'm sure the movers loved moving this classroom! 

This was my teacher corner for the past 5-6 years. I can't exactly remember how many years I was in Room 10.

 SOO much stuff for 24 little 2nd graders! I couldn't believe how much stuff I had. I threw a lot of it away and gave a lot of it to my former student teacher.

The view from the very back corner of the room. I taught 2nd grade for 10 years! It was bittersweet to pack everything up and know that so much will be different next year. I'm not a very sentimental person and it all hit me suddenly the last couple days of school.

I'll still see much of this stuff in August! So glad I'm getting to try something new at CME, I couldn't imagine not being at such a wonderful school!

Memorial Day Picnic

We went to a picnic at my grandparents house on Memorial Day. Often, when we get together my maw-maw, my aunt, or my mom makes Cucumber dip. It is delicious. Ty is eating it below. I think this was his first time to try it. I eventually had to put the lid on so he would go play with his cousins and stop eating!

 But mom, this dip is soo good!

Wilson playing wiffle ball. He looks rather into it. :)

Luke getting sprayed by the sprinkler! Madelyn, Silas, and Wilson are in the background.