School Shopping

I took Wilson school shopping on Thursday morning. Stephanie watched Luke for me (THANK YOU!!) so we could have some quality time together. He had to come along to my maternity conference at the district office where I teach first, but thankfully, that conference lasted all of 12 minutes. So we were off! We quickly stopped at Farmer's Market since we were downtown and bought corn on the cob for the Beach House Bash. Then we went to the mall. He wanted to buy his new tennis shoes first. We went in and looked at several pairs (I looked, he wandered around) and chose 2 to try on. One pair he chose was so ugly! Thankfully he liked the pair I liked better after trying them on. Then we were off to find a backpack. We walked in the next store and I saw the boy backpacks. I held one up, checking the size (didn't want it to be too big) and he was across the store looking at something else. He saw the one I was holding up and yelled "Yes, camo, that's the one I want." I loved shopping with Wilson! Quick. Easy. No indecisiveness! So we bought the backpack and the attachable lunchbox to match. I decided to get him the lunch box because I was planning on buying him an outfit for the first day of school, but on our way shopping I asked him if he wanted a new outfit for the first day and he said NO. Fine with me, he has plenty of clothes! And I already knew what he'd wear on the first day if we didn't buy anything so I was ok with that! The last thing we did was eat lunch. He decided he wanted to stay at the mall and play in the kid's area then go eat at Chick-Fil-A. (he made the day so easy on me!). So he played for 10-15 minutes and then we had lunch in the food court before going to get Luke. It was fun!

Beach House Bash!

Cara planned the Beach House Bash for all of us planning to go on vacation together next summer so that we could choose a beach house together. So, last night we all brought something to contribute to dinner. It was yummy! Grilled chicken, asian cole slaw, corn on the cob, green beans, and bread. After eating we watched the power point of 9 beach homes that Cara and Jason found for us as possibilities. It was fun! We narrowed them down and chose this house - Elephant Walk - for our vacation home NEXT summer! We booked it last night so it is official. It is huge! There will be 10 adults and 6 children. I'm really excited about the pool becasue it has a kiddie pool attached! Definitely something to look forward to (and save $ for!). Then we celebrated my dad's 55th birthday with cake and presents. Happy Birthday Dad! Today is his birthday.

Still Kickin'

What? You've missed my posts? Sorry! Life has been BUSY. School is taking over and summer is over. Here is what has been going on:
-Worked all day Monday, first day in my room by myself without kids. Got a lot done. Missed the boys and Andy though! Came home and when Luke woke up from his nap he wouldn't speak to me or let me near him. He was mad at me for having been at work!
Tuesday- Had a successful parent orientation, spent the day with Wilson and Luke.
Wednesday- Worked all day labeling 1,549,399 things with kid names. And I'm. Not. Done. Do you non elementary school teachers know how many things we label??? It is ridiculous- names go on so many things. The entire morning and part of the afternoon was spent on writing out names. I still have to put these names onto different things too such as notebooks, folders, desks, supply tubs, etc. Not done. Met the boys at the park along with Mimi, Poppy, Lily, Trey, Meg, Danny and Steph for pizza and playtime. Came home pretty exhausted.
Thursday- Today I'm taking Wilson school shopping! He's getting new shoes, a backpack, a placemat (something they sit on at preschool), maybe a new outfit and then out to lunch at his restaurant of choice. I also have my maternity conference this morning. Today is my Pa-paw's 80th birthday! Happy Birthday Pa! So tonight we're going over to celebrate with cake.

Baby Ty updates:
-Still huge
-Thrown up twice this week
-Lots of backaches.
-Plenty of clothes for 0-3, 3-6! The baby shower gave Ty some nice things plus I've gone through the tubs of what we had. Now just need to get them washed.
-Andy set up the crib and changing table, pulled down the carseat, bouncy seat and swing. The mobile is up, we're getting closer to being ready!

Big Brother Class

Wilson had a great time at his big brother class today at the hospital where I'll be delivering Tyler. He was supposed to bring a baby or stuffed animal so he brought his baby Mac. When we got there he colored a picture that said "I'm the Big Kid". Then he made an art project for Ty. Next he sat on the carpet with the teacher and the other Big Kid's to talk about what it's like for mommy being pregnant and what it will be like when the baby comes home. Then they got a bag of goodies- a surgery mask, hair net, and shoe covers. Wilson was too embarrassed to put these on in his class but he put them on as soon as we got in the Jeep! Next, they learned how to put a diaper on their babies. Last, we went to the baby nursery and saw 3 new babies in their bassinets and then the teacher showed them a recovery room where mommy stays for 2 nights after having the baby. I think this was very beneficial for Wilson because I know he doesn't remember the hospital from when Luke was born. He was only 2 years, 6 days old himself! Plus, he was pumped up by the teacher about how cool it is to be a big brother. He was pretty interested in seeing the stump from the umbilical cords and was able to see one on a baby in the nursery. He said he enjoyed the class and had fun!

Bakin' a Cake!

I'm making Andy a cake today as a thank you for all the help he's given me with setting up my classroom. It's a Reese's Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. I found it on Annie's Eats. I'll link the recipe here. When I saw this entry on her blog I knew this would be a cake Andy would love. He pretty much loves anything with chocolate & peanut butter! While making the cake he sampled the batter several times and we all sampled the frosting. I don't even like frosting but this was GOOD! Luke helped me unwrap all the candy to decorate the cake. He couldn't lay down for his nap until the cake was finished! I'll let you know how it tastes after we cut it!

Edited to Add:

Yummy! The cake is so fluffy and delicious! I even enjoyed the icing. I think you could do any type of icing you like with this delicious chocolate cake. Andy's parents were over and enjoyed eating it too. We still have a lot left. I hope Andy's sweet tooth is up for this!

Rules & Consequences

Ok, after reading this post you can just refer to Andy and I as Super Nanny. Just kidding! We definitely don't have this parenting thing all figured out...this is just another attempt that I'm kind of proud of! Andy and I sat down one evening a couple weeks ago and determined our rules. We didn't want more than 4 or 5. We came up with 5 rules which you can see in the picture. Then we discussed and figured out our consequences for breaking the rules. As they need a consequence we X out the one they've been given so they know what they will lose next. It goes in this order: Time out (5 min Wilson, 3 min. Luke), lose treats, lose TV or Toys, early bedtime, and finally a spanking. So far Wilson has gotten up to losing treats and Luke has gotten up to time out. The picture icons really help them to see and understand the consequences.

I ordered this cool hanging responsibility chart made by Melissa and Doug from Amazon. The top half has the boys responsibilities. Wilson's are: pick up your toys, get dressed, brush teeth, and get ready for bed. Luke has to clean up his toys and say please and thank you. Which we have explained to him includes answering mommy and daddy when they talk to you. He likes to ignore what we say to him so we're working on that. We haven't decided what they will earn for having smiley faces on their responsibilities...The first day Wilson earned 2 smiley faces, the next day he earned all 4! So needless to say it seems to be helping. We've tried so many different tactics. I hope this one sticks! It should since it is pretty cut and dry- the expectations are known, the rules are specific as are the consequences. So, I say we're off to a good start!

Cool Contest

Click on this link to win a fabulous, light-weight stroller. I've entered to win. Hey, if you don't have children, enter to win for me! Why this stroller sounds so great is that you can push it with one hand, fold it with one hand, and it has great tires for steering. Anyway, click the link above to enter to win yourself!