The Bathroom

The downstairs bathroom is done! It is beautiful! I'm in disbelief at what Andy was able to accomplish all on his own. Replacing cast iron pipes with pvc, drywall, priming, painting, tiling, and installing the toilet, vanity and mirror! I love our new bathroom! Yesterday he finished up the baseboard and quarter round. He has passed all of the inspections - plumbing, building, and electrical. So proud of you baby!

Now I just need to buy towels in the slate blue color to match the shower curtain. It is so handy having a bathroom in the basement! Although many times the boys or myself have forgotten about it and gone upstairs to use the bathroom! Take a look...

On the left is a bi-fold closet door. I guess we still need to put in shelving. But that isn't necessary quite yet! You can see a little of the light (which has a hidden fan inside of it!) and the pretty shower curtain. It has khaki colored velour stripes running vertically.


This picture shows our new vanity and mirror, lights above the mirror, and new toilet. Check out the tile - you can see just a little bit. The color of the walls is a light khaki.

We have a working fireplace!

Terrible picture of me...but it shows the fireplace and my little karate chopper reading to me for his reading log!! He is becoming such a good reader!!

Yipee! Our fireplace works! We had it inspected and cleaned in November. Last year we didn't get to use the fireplace because we had just moved in and didn't have the extra money to have the fireplace inspected. So we waited a year (Andy patiently, me impatiently!) to have a beautiful fire in our cozy basement. I loved decorating the Christmas tree with a fire crackling and Christmas music playing! My mom said it was so Norman Rockwell! But it was nice. We've enjoyed many fires over the past 6 weeks or so.

P.S. How long will I think of this as the "new house" for all of my blog post tags??!!

P.P.S. See the black coal bucket in the background? This came from Andy's grandmother's house. It has coal in it from when her house was heated with coal. It's a pretty cool antique.

Christmas Break!!

The week leading up to Christmas was wonderful. I got lots of sleep- I am no longer sleep deprived! I know this because I've been able to read without falling asleep in 10-15 minutes! I finished the book I was reading (South of Broad) and started a new book (Hunger Games). I've finished Season 1 of Friends which Andy and I are watching again, seasons 1-10. We started Season 2 yesterday! Love, love, love that show!! The first two seasons are so dated though!

We wrapped gifts, finished Christmas shopping, set up a fish tank (Christmas gift for my grandparents), and made chocolate chip cookies for Santa. We took the boys to see Santa Claus and Tyler wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He wouldn't sit on his lap or stand in front of him. Maybe next year!

We've also gotten to hang out with family and friends a lot! I hung out with school friends one night while Andy was at a Christmas party. We had my teammates and their families over another night. We all had such a great time! There were 10 adults and 5 kids and we had a nice time talking and hanging out together. My parents came over for dinner one night and we had fun playing the Wii and the card game Spoons.

It's just been such a wonderful break so far. I hope this next week goes slowly!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve we went to church at 5 and then went to a nursing home with a group from our church to sing Christmas carols. Our family did this last year too. There were probably 20 of us from church, mostly families with children went. We walked through the halls singing and greeting the people. The men and women were really happy to see the kids' faces - it was really neat. I loved seeing the smiles that our boys brought! We've kind of made this a family tradition of ours since we have a group to go with. It's nice to give to others and I think it is so important to remind our boys that life ISN'T "all about me" like our culture teaches us all the time. Because it's not! We came home and let the boys open one gift from us. Read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the story of Jesus' birth from the bible. Then Ty did the cutest thing- he walked over to his window and peeked through the blinds asking "santa claus?". It was adorable. He was looking for Santa!!

We had such a wonderful Christmas! We have so much to be thankful for. We spent the day with family, had a nice nap, and opened too many gifts! It was a great day. The boys woke up early - Wilson came in at 3:20 the first time, then again at 5 something, and finally sometime after 6. Him and Luke were up around 6:30 but we somehow sidetracked them until almost 7 so Tyler could sleep a little longer. They raced downstairs to find what Santa had left for them. They both got the Lego they were wanting and Tyler got a Buzz and Woody from Toy Story. Wilson's Lego is the Airport and Luke's Lego is a remote control train. They are now built and the boys have had a lot of fun playing with them. Tyler loves his Buzz and Woody. Wilson also got Creationary and Luke got some Pixo's (a craft thing). Andy and I had so much fun watching them. It was cute to watch them take it all in - they found Santa's cookie crumbs on the plate and his egg nog was all gone. The fireplace doors were cracked open and one of them realized that. Christmas is so much fun!! We went to my grandparents for a late breakfast. Then went to my parents house around 4ish and stayed until bedtime. What a great day! I'll have to get some pictures from Andy's camera!

Snow Day #2 & #3

More like Ice Day...we slept in which was a great start! I got a text at 4am saying school was out via Twitter. This morning we took it easy and watched The Santa Clause movie. The boys really enjoyed the movie and snuggling with mommy and daddy. We went to Chick*fil*a for lunch and let the boys play to get some energy out. Then I spent most of the afternoon making caramel corn in case we had school. Three big batches...and now there is no school tomorrow where we were going to deliver 9 bags among Wilson and Luke's teachers. Hmmm...
Andy went and finished some Christmas shopping for us. Then tonight we went to my mom and dad's house for dinner. It was nice to hang out with them and have a change of scenery for the boys! I kind of wish we had school tomorrow - I can't believe we've had so many snow days and it is only December. Tomorrow makes day #3. Crazy! But we're going to enjoy it! I need to do some cleaning and go work at school for a little while so I am ready for January 3rd. Boy does that sound crazy!

Luke's Pre-K Class

Luke loves school most of the time! He has had one classmate that he says is mean that has caused him to not want to go to school on two occasions. But tonight he is a sad little boy because his Christmas party was supposed to be tomorrow but we have a snow day. He is the royal blue wise men in the picture above. This is a picture of his class. We had teacher gifts ready for tomorrow and a book for the book exchange. Maybe they will have the party in January...

Wilson loves karate!

Wilson has been taking karate for 6 months. He is really enjoying his weekly class. We had to encourage him to sign up for the 3rd session but now he is asking us to sign him up again! This past 8 weeks he has been in his new level class and on Tuesday he earned his yellow belt! The level that he is in doesn't actually test for the belt colors yet. Everyone that took this level got the next color belt. He has to move to the next class up to start testing and earning belts without the white stripe. But he is pumped and doesn't quite understand the difference at this point. He is SO proud of his yellow belt. When he finishes his next 8 week class he will earn his green belt. He is learning a lot and is really good at it! He does kicks, punches, uses nunchucks and a staff. For completing this class Andy bought him a staff to practice with at home. We've promised him nunchucks when he finishes the next class. It's pretty cool to watch how much he has learned in the time he has been doing karate! He is taking Shaolin with Master The.

Snow Day #1

Monday we had our first snow day. I was actually pretty excited! It gave me a chance to catch up on things. I did laundry, wrapped gifts, and spent a lot of time in the kitchen. We ran a couple of errands to get teacher gifts and groceries. Wilson played in the snow for a little while but it was so cold. We have borrowed my mom's Wii so they had fun playing that too. I made cake balls and cake pops. Andy and I had fun decorating the cake pops. If you aren't familiar with cake pops, check out Bakerella's website. I took a small tin to school for our Helping Hands auction we have every year. Then I made pepperoni rolls and broccoli/potato/cheddar soup. We had a great day!

Tyler thinks cake pops are the best thing ever! But he only wants the ones covered in sprinkles...

My Lottie Girl

My sweet Lottie girl doesn't seem to be doing so well lately. About a month ago she threw up several times over the span of 2-3 days. So we stopped feeding her dog food and switched to bread, pasta, etc. for a couple days. She got better. Then for the past week or so she hasn't been eating much. Her bowl would have food in it from breakfast all the way to dinner. If you know my girl, that has never been the case. She has always eaten her bowl of food immediately. She isn't the kind of dog that nibbles on her dog food throughout the day. So it kind of bothered me that she wasn't eating normally but I tried not to worry about it. Yesterday Lottie threw up again in the morning before school. Two different places. So I've cut the dog food again. Gave her some bread, pasta, and a plain baked potato over the last two days. I just don't know what is going on with her. She sure has me concerned. I don't know what I should do. Everything else about her seems normal.

Tyler Speak

My favorite things to hear Ty say right now...

1. "oh no!"

2. "oh gosh"

3. watch tb...buzz...downstairs

As soon as he wakes up he wants to watch tb and eat his breakfast. It's so cute. He loves Toy Story!

Black Friday

I just can't bring myself to wakeup in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning to go shopping. I tried it last year for the first time and it wasn't for me. I think I went out at 6:30 or something last year. I remember walking in Tar*get, going part way down an aisle and seeing the line around the whole store. I turned around and walked out. It wasn't my thing. So this year I went to Tar*get at 8:45ish. That is early for me -much more my style! It was busy but not CRAZY. I bought several christmas gifts and crossed some things off my shopping list! It was fun to get some christmas shopping done and I did get some good deals but not at the expense of my precious sleep. That afternoon I even got to nap while Ty napped because the big boys were at my mom and dad's house! It was soo nice!

Today we are going to decorate the house for Christmas! Can't wait!

Thanksgiving #2

On Thursday Andy and I hosted the Mc. family Thanksgiving at our house. I spent all day Wednesday cleaning and that evening I prepped my food. Andy cleaned the bathroom, mopped, and worked hard on our downstairs bathroom. Thursday morning I finished cleaning and decorated the table with some fall decorations I borrowed from Cara. The boys had made a sign for the front door, place cards for the kids table, and handprint turkeys to hang in the dining room. They were so excited to have everyone over to our house! My parents showed up for dinner and I was so glad for them to come.

Everyone came over around 2ish. We had some appetizers since no one ate lunch. I made Jalapeno Popper dip and served it with toasted bread. Erin brought fresh fruit and spinach dip. Everything was yummy! I also made Pomegranate Punch which Wilson thought was lemonade and poured half of the juice mixture down the drain... :(

We had dinner around 5ish. I made sweet potato casserole, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. (Next time for the cranberry sauce I would reduce the pomegranate juice to 1 cup and the sugar to 1/2 cup.) I enjoyed trying new recipes for the holiday. With both thanksgiving celebrations combined I tried 5 new recipes!

The food was delicious. We also had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, corn pudding, green bean casserole, and broccoli casserole. Everyone had a great time hanging out. The kids put on their own Thanksgiving Day parade in our basement which was adorable. It was too hot for a fire but overall it was a wonderful day of hanging out, food, and fun! With 9 cousins we have started putting all of their names in a hat. Each cousin pulls out 1 name and that is who they buy a christmas gift for. So the kids all traded gifts since we don't all see each other at Christmas. They were excited to get to open a present!

Sweet Potato Casserole

As requested, here is the recipe I use for Sweet Potato Casserole! Enjoy!


1 large can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted

Mix these ingredients together and pour into a 9x13.

Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 stick butter, melted

Mix together and spread over top of sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with pecan pieces.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

This dish is always a hit and now you can see why - it is NOT healthy at all!!

Thanksgiving Dinner #1

Tonight we had Thanksgiving with my side of the family at Cara and Jason's house. It was nice to all be together and the food was delicious! The kids had a great time together. I made a pumpkin pie and Sweet Potatoes with sage butter crumb topping, both new recipes. The pie was delicious. Probably the best pumpkin pie I've eaten before. The recipe was time consuming and I didn't know how it was going to turn out but it was good! Homemade pie crust and homemade whipped cream to boot! The sweet potatoes were not the brown sugar super sweet ones that we are used to. These were good, just not the same. It was just a recipe I'd been wanting to try for a while so I'm glad I did. I'll be making the usual brown sugar sweet potato casserole for Thursday.

Andy's side of the family is coming to our house for Thanksgiving this year! We're excited. Everyone is bringing different parts of the dinner. Looking forward to Thanksgiving Dinner #2!

Burritos

So here is the first recipe I tried from the new food blog - The Way the Cookie Crumbles. I made burritos on Tuesday for dinner. Everyone ate them up! Tyler didn't but he's still in a picky phase. I served them like a soft taco with lettuce, cheese, tomato, and black olives. Yum!

Ty Update

Andy took Tyler to CCH on Tuesday. He went for an ophthalmology appointment. He had to get his eyes dilated and miss a nap but daddy said the french fries for lunch made up for that! No glaucoma or any other complications at this time! We still return every 6 months to ophthalmology. His port wine stain is still very faint and unchanged since any previous updates. He went to the Hemangioma unit in August and they are now seeing him only once a year! Our next CCH appointment is for Neurology in December. These have still been every 6 months while he is still in such a critical developmental age. I'm guessing these will begin to be spaced out as well. I'm sure everything will be fine - he continues to meet all developmental milestones and is very advanced with his talking as compared to our other two boys at this age! Praise the Lord for the continued good news regarding his PWS. God is good!

Trunk or Treat

Wilson invited his best friend to come. They both dressed as SWAT team/police officers.

Luke was a "dinosaur" that was really a power ranger costume. He called it a dinosaur. Ty refused to dress up!

Pumpkin bowling!

One of my favorite annual events at our church is the fall Harvest Party. The boys love it too. It starts with a chili dinner, hot dogs and dessert. I entered for my first time in the chili contest with Pioneer Woman's Chili. I didn't win and was totally okay with that. It was my first food contest to ever enter! I also made a pumpkin dessert. Then we go outside and the kids trunk or treat - getting candy from decorated trunks. There are crafts for kids, a hay ride, and pumpkin bowling. It's always fun! This will double as our Halloween trick or treat pictures! We took the kids around our two courts and to about 5 houses on my grandparents street. They all had a good time. I couldn't get Ty to put on a costume at the Harvest Party but I finally convinced him to wear one to trick or treat!

A New Food Blog

I spent a lot of time this weekend looking at a new to me food blog. Check it out. I have bookmarked about 12 recipes! I'll never cook my way through all the recipes that I mark but I like reading and getting new ideas from the food blogs I frequent. Click the link to see for yourself! The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Fall Ball

Up to bat!

Nice Swing!


He looks so grown up here to me.

Running to 2nd base.

Score!

Technically it IS still fall...though t-ball has been over since the beginning of October! Luke played fall ball with his cousin Trey and enjoyed it most of the time! He was on the Wildcats this fall. I think his favorite part was the snack after the game!

Frozen Yogurt

Grandma & her boys

Terry and my mom

I had strawberry cheesecake frozen yogurt. I added the pink strawberry beads? Not sure what they were called. They burst in your mouth. Pretty cool! Check out the spoon - it's like a shovel!

Tyler had cookies and cream with a few crushed oreos on top.

Silas enjoying his treat!

Yesterday the boys and I met my mom, Terry, and Silas for frozen yogurt. The boys had a great time trying a sample, picking their flavor and adding a topping. This place is so cool! They have 16 flavors of frozen yogurt and tons of toppings.

Downstairs Bathroom

This is the before shot...so glad it doesn't look like this anymore!

Greenboard for the sink/toilet area.

Andy's fantastic drywall job - this will be a closet! Tub is on the right.

The beautiful tile I love. Plus my chuck's. Which I also love. But notice the floor around the tile -clean and level for the tile job!

First Andy redid the plumbing, behind the scenes work that you might remember from the previous posts. The old cast iron pipes have been replaced with PVC pipes. Then came floor leveling after repairing the concrete he had to drill up. Now he has been drywalling and sanding...repeat, repeat, repeat. The new drywall is primed, the light/fan combo is installed, and he is working on the tile today. Next comes painting- we picked out a putty color like a khaki with a hint of gray in it if that makes since. I love our tile choice! The bathroom is going to look so nice. We picked out an espresso colored vanity, mirror, and cabinet to hang over the toilet at Lo*we's. I told Andy I might just start getting ready downstairs in this bathroom! Ha!

It was a LOONG week...

This week seemed to go on and on. It was a hard week for me at school. But it's over! So looking forward to two days at home. Nothing exciting planned - just extra sleep and catching up around the house. Last night was good - came home from school and bought my first fresh salmon filets. I made a nice dinner- salmon, rice, steamed broccoli and my favorite wine. But I don't think I'll use the salmon recipe from last night again - the salmon was ok but didn't really care for the cilantro pesto - and I love cilantro! It didn't have much flavor. We LOVED the garlic rice pilaf. Easy - and will definitely make it again. Yum! But I was glad I finally tried fresh salmon! I've always been afraid I might not like it. I had to cook fish with the skin still on one side but like the meat man said, it peeled off very easily once it was cooked. I made sure to not touch or look at it! LOL!

After the kids were in bed Andy's uncle stayed at our house so we could go out. We went to Home*Depot to look at bathroom vanity's. Andy has been working SO hard on our downstairs bathroom (separate post to come). We then went to Star*buck's and had coffee and played checkers. It was fun! Even though he beat me both games. I told him I didn't think I'd played checkers in about 20 years. Of course he has all this strategy and I don't! Anyway, it was fun. Then I fell asleep watching The Closer.

New TV Show

Ok. Let me explain. My mom has been raving about The Closer for a couple of years. She and my dad watch it and she has been telling my sister and I to watch the show. She has seasons 1-4 on DVD so that is what Andy and I have been watching the past month or two. Jason and Cara have also been watching and are ready for season 5! I had Season 1 on DVD from my mom for several months before I decided to give it a try. I don't watch much tv because: we don't have cable, we don't have DVR, and I have 3 children. So without DVR I can hardly ever watch the shows I'm interested in when they are on tv. I gave up Grey's Anatomy after maternity leave with Ty because I just didn't have the time to watch it and now (2+ years later) I've lost the story line.

So being able to watch 1 episode (almost) every night once the boys are in bed has been so great for me! Sometimes I have trouble relaxing because there is always so much to be done.

I'm on the last episode of season 3. The main character, Kyra Sedgwick has grown on me. She really got on my nerves at first. But I really enjoy the show. To me it's like a Law and Order only better!

P.S. I figure my addiction to The Closer is way better for my figure than my recent addiction to Reese's Pieces. ;)

Happy 32nd!

Andy's birthday was Friday. We had fun celebrating! Last weekend while his mom was in town we had his side of the family over to celebrate. His parents ordered pizza, I made a veggie tray and Mountain Mama Mudslide for dessert. One of his all time favorites! We celebrated his mom's birthday too which is in a few days.

This Friday night just our family went out to dinner. We gave him his present and celebrated with pumpkin dessert. Last night Andy and I went to see a movie after the boys were in bed while his uncle stayed at our house to baby-sit. We went and saw Due * Date which was funny. It reminded me a lot of Hang*over. It had some really funny parts - like truly laugh out loud funny. I used to avoid LOL because it wasn't true and it bugged me. But I've gotten over it and use it now too. Some parts that I didn't enjoy but overall it was funny! Happy Birthday, Andy!

I bought Andy his first Christmas present today! Christmas will be here before we know it!

Pumpkin Muffins

Yum. You need to make these muffins. The boys were crazy about them! They are delicious! Andy liked them. Wilson liked them. Luke liked them. Tyler liked them. I liked them. The End.

*I'm just not a food photographer. Or any kind of photographer. Sorry. There is a picture after the link!

Happy Fall!

This weekend we went to the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins, ride on a hayride, and buy apple donuts! It was a lot of fun. The boys fed the goats - even Tyler! I also bought mums to plant for the porch. Andy drilled holes in my planters so the water could drain out and not oversoak the flowers. It looks so nice out there now! I bought a new door mat and a sign that is fallish to hang on the door. I tried two new recipes, buttered rosemary rolls and pumpkin pie squares. I didn't use rosemary on the rolls because that is one of the few herbs I don't have...I just used dried italian seasoning. The pumpkin pie squares are pretty good, but not exceptional! I have many more pumpkin recipes I'm wanting to make this fall. Yum!

Fall Break!

We've really enjoyed our fall break. It's sad to see it come to an end! I'm always a little down on my last day from a break before returning to school - even though I really like my job. It's just hard to get myself back into the swing after a few days at home with my family. Anyway- here's what we've been up to!

Day 1 - my mom and I took my boys and Cara's girls downtown to look at a bunch of horse statues. We ended up seeing 15! It was fun to see all of the different artwork and read the names of the horses. It was like a scavenger hunt. We packed a lunch and ate a picnic in one of the parks. That afternoon I met up with a friend for a walk in a different park. I got a lot of walking in on Wednesday! That evening we hung out at home and made pizza. This horse is name Bluegrass.

This horse is named Teacup.

Day 2 - I had lunch at The Glitz with my mom, sister, and a friend of my mom's named Cathy. She gave this lunch to my mom with Cara and I for Christmas. It was fun! We've known Cathy a long time so it was nice to catch up with her.
Day 3 - we left for Great Wolf Lodge with my side of the family! My parents, grandparents, 2 family friends, my family and Cara's family all went. We stopped at the outlet malls nearby for about an hour and then went to the water park for a couple hours before dinner. We had a great time that night doing GWL's trick or treat scavenger hunt, playing in the arcade, and listening to story time.
Day 4 - we spent from 10:30-3:00 at the water park! It is so much fun. Andy and I took turns riding some of the bigger slides with Wilson or Luke. If you haven't been you should definitely plan to go! Last night we finally ate at our new Cracker Barrel for dinner as we came back into town.
Day 5 - church, cleaning, laundry, grocery list, etc.

Pizza Sauce

Last weekend Andy and I made Pizza bites. We've made them before using homemade pizza dough. Yum! The boys love them too. I've wanted to try the homemade pizza sauce from Annie's Eats for a while and finally got around to it. We put ours in the blender so it would be smooth and not chunky. I don't own an immersion blender. It worked just fine! Have pizza sauce in the freezer for the next time!

Whirlwind

That's how life is feeling. Like I'm in a whirlwind. I'm trying to keep things running smoothly at home and school. So many things to juggle. I've been sick for two weeks on top of my allergies. Went to the walk in clinic this past Sunday and didn't get much help. I did get a cough syrup that allows me to sleep so that was good. Finally made it to my pcp today and found out I have bronchitis. Thankful for the antibiotic and an inhaler so I can breathe a little easier. I'm taking 3 OTC medicines for allergies, 2 medicines for bronchitis, and a cough syrup at night. I'm ready to feel well again! Thankful to have a pharmacist for a sister - she helped me out a lot last weekend in knowing what all I could take. I never would have thought I could be taking this many medications at once. That seems kind of crazy to me but she assured me it was ok as did the nurse practitioner today!

School has been good but busy of course. My student teacher has been a HUGE help. I keep getting new students. Four new students have joined my class in the past 3 weeks. It's been a little wild. I get one settled and then the next day it seems another new student is at my door. I knew it was coming- I started the year with 19 students. Now I'm up to 23. It's just been a lot of new students in a short amount of time. Next week is my student teacher's solo week and my list of things to accomplish is LONG! I'm soo grateful for the time to work. It's always weird to be there, watching in your room, and not teaching!

The boys are doing well overall. Luke loves pre-k at his preschool. He started walking by himself from the drop off lane on the second day. Tyler is cute as can be and talking a mile a minute. He loves playing and eating peanut butter now. Wilson is having set backs in the anxiety department. It's been quite difficult at times but I was so proud of him today. He had been worrying about something happening in his class at school for 3 days. Up at night trouble sleeping, wringing hands, biting nails, saying he didn't want to go on Friday etc. But today with bribing of a piece of cake after school and a trip to the public library this afternoon he used his courage and went to class by himself. That was HUGE! I was kind of dreading today because of what I thought he might be like. He surprised me and I told him many times today how proud I was of his courage. He got 9 books at the library and a piece of cake! :)

I've stopped the thankful journal and I need to start again. It really helped me to focus on the positive things from the day instead of being bogged down by the overwhelming craziness of life. I just keep telling myself to take things one day at a time. Even one step at a time. I'm an organized procrastinator. But I think my procrastination often stems from being a working mom from 7am-8pm when the boys go to bed! LONG day. EVERY day. I remember when I used to come home from work before kids and think I was soo tired. Wow. Somehow things keep getting accomplished, maybe not as soon as I'd like - but I'm getting it done! I'm so thankful for my friends and family who help me!

Party Pictures!

The cake was good!

Daddy decorated, mommy baked. :)

Thomas theme!

Playing with his new track and trains.

He is so happy with the new train stuff!

Opening a gift

Applesauce at lunch

2 Years Old!

Tyler turned 2 on Sunday! We celebrated on Saturday with family at our house for lunch. My mom brought a bouquet of balloons and he was super excited about them! The theme was Thomas and we had a homemade cake with a Thomas on it and Thomas plates. The party was very simple with very easy food. He got several train gifts and some new pj's. He loved his cake! After the party we went to buy new tennis shoes with Gamma and Terry. My mom and dad got him new shoes as part of his gift. He loves his new shoes. Saturday night after his bath he wanted them back on and cried when we took them off for bedtime. So cute! He had his 2 year old doctor visit today and here are his stats:
Height: 93%ile
Weight: 81%ile
Head: 97%ile
He is ready to try peanut butter now! Sunday I let him eat a McDonald's hamburger and fries downstairs in front of the tv for dinner while watching his favorite movie WALL-E! He thought that was pretty great. He opened a few trains from us and a train movie from his brothers. We had a picnic lunch at the park before Luke's t-ball game and it was a beautiful day. Thankful for a sweet, healthy, and very happy boy!
*Pictures to post soon...

Luke's First Day!

Luke had his first day of preschool today! He was excited to go back to school. I didn't get too much info out of him but Andy said he walked right into his class and was all smiles after school. He had fun with his friend Ethan. Luke is looking forward to lunch bunch this year when he will get to stay an extra hour 1 day a week to eat lunch with his friends and have extra play time. I can't believe he'll be in Kindergarten next year. Time flies!

Koclat...Chocolate!

Tyler LOVES Koclat (chocolate)! He especially loves his mommy's chocolate chip cookies! He woke up this morning asking for a cookie... :) I've posted the recipe on the blog before, but here is the link to my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Snowball Quilt

" Made Especially for you by Gamma"

My mom has been making quilts for her grandchildren. Wilson received his quilt about a month ago and is very excited about it! He loves it so much. I helped pick out the material with my mom last year for both Wilson and Luke's quilts. Luke will have his own snowball quilt that has some of the same fabrics and coordinates with Wilson's. My mom has started cutting the MANY pieces it takes to make a snowball quilt. She didn't quite know what she was getting into when she picked this design! I am amazed that she has this kind of talent and can sew and quilt! I defintely don't have that talent! Thank you mom, the quilt is beautiful!

Andy's Blog!

Andy started his very own blog about photography! Check it out! He takes some beautiful pictures. Here is a link to his blog.

School shopping with Luke!

Luke and I went pre-school shopping a couple weeks ago. He had chose a fun backpack and matching lunchbox. A new shirt for the first day, and his new green chucks. He looks so cute wearing them! His foam placemat was found by my friend, Gayla. At his preschool they use the placemat as their circle time seat. Twitter can be so helpful sometimes! We have had parent orientation this past week and Andy took Luke to meet the teacher. He is looking forward to going to school 3 mornings a week! His first day is on Wednesday.

Recent Pictures

Tyler will be 2 on September 12! So soon! He answers almost every question with "yeah". So cute!

So we have a working camera again, time for some new pictures. Luke is starting preschool next week. He is also playing fall ball (t-ball) right now with his cousin Trey. Cute as ever!

Remember the first day of school?

So we finally got the "First Day of School" picture done. I've obviously been having trouble updating the blog. My camera wasn't working for a while but now it is magically fixed (yea!) so I have no excuse for not posting pics anymore! Here is a link to the post from Wilson's first day of school as a big First Grader! He was so excited when we found this shirt. It says Colorado Trail Hike. Has a picture of a campfire on it. Andy was in CO backpacking on the first day of school so Wilson loved this shirt!!

Hello, Blog.

So much going on. Back to school has kept us BUSY! I've had things to post about but it hasn't gotten done...here are a few updates for now!
- I have a wonderful class- of only 18 students!
- Wilson has had a few rough days with going to class, but overall doing very well at school.
- Lots of intense behaviors to deal with at home from Wilson. I'm thankful that he is well behaved at school. Really. But that means he saves up all of his intensity for home. Some nights are rough!
- Doing pretty well with my thankful journal. Trying to keep perspective!
- Haven't run but 1 time since Andy left for Colorado. He was gone two weeks and now has been home for two weeks. Hmmm...guess I need to get back at it so I can do Race for the Cure in October!
- Overwhelmed is my normal state right now. Which isn't healthy. I've lost 7-8 pounds which hasn't hurt me any! 5lbs while Andy was in CO. I'm happy, just trying to take each day one thing at a time!
- I'm really enjoying being on our Leadership Team at school.
- Luke got some kelly green converse and he is absolutely adorable in them! I'll post about his back to school shopping this weekend.
- Tyler is doing well, talking soo much! So proud of my big boy. He'll be two in a few weeks. The way he says light is hilarious! He rolls his l and then adds ight. lulight is the only way I know how to type it!
- Andy and I have laughed the past two evenings watching the double rainbow on you tube and then the double rainbow song. So funny!
Hoping this weekend to catch up on some cleaning around the house...

Thankful Notebook

Really trying to focus on the things I have to be thankful for, as I mentioned in a previous post. Each night I'm listing all the specific things from that day that I have to be thankful for in a little notebook. I'm easily overwhelmed and bogged down by the negative. So maybe this will help!

Today I am thankful for: cooler weather, watching Tyler sing and dance, my wonderful classroom of new students, Andy giving the boys a bath and dealing with a lot of Wilson's VERY intense behavior tonight, getting the school tubs taken care of, making my own taco seasoning because it made me feel so domestic - less sodium and such!, and being motivated enough tonight to start a couple loads of laundry.

Goodnight :)

No concept of time!

My Lukie really struggles with the concept of time. I'm sure it's a developmental thing but he refers to anything that happened yesterday as last year. Tonight, he told Andy he didn't need a bath because he had one last year. We were cracking up! If only he knew what he was saying. :) The reason this sometimes concerns me is that on days I have been at work and I ask him what he did that day or what he ate for lunch, he really struggles to answer me. I don't know if he just doesn't want to talk or if he truly doesn't remember. We usually have to help him remember and jog his memory and then he starts to remember things. He does the same thing if Andy has been gone and asks him questions. Hopefully he'll start to understand and develop his concept of time soon!

She really got me thinking.

I learned a lot this weekend at the Living Proof Live event I attended. It was just what I needed! I have a renewed focus. I heard Beth Moore speak with several friends, including most of my small group and my sister. It was amazing. If you are a woman and you haven't heard Beth Moore speak you need to. She is down to earth and real - even though she was speaking to 11,000 women here in our city! Here are some highlights that have me really thinking about my life:
* In order for God to build, something has to be torn down. He'll never tear anything down that won't be re-built better.
* A desert (unplowed land) in our life is anywhere that we don't let God in. Maybe we say we'll do anything God asks of us except _____. God can turn a desert into paradise. Where is my unplowed land?
* We become what we follow, so follow hard after Jesus.
* God is so devoted to me he will come and get me - with as much force as it takes to bring me home. How do I want my life to end? Am I headed in the right direction?
* God knows what He is doing. He does not have destructive thoughts or plans for me. He has a beautiful plan.
* God has to have our WHOLE heart. Let go of your game. We truly don't even understand our own heart. Our heart can torture us the most because it can be deceitful. Our heart can rationalize things that cause destruction.
*Nothing is too hard for Him. God is stuck right on me. He will never leave or betray me.

I have so many things in my life to be thankful for. It is time for me to focus on those . I am raising three precious boys and am married to the love of my life. That doesn't mean things will always be easy. Life can be hard. But life is good!

What Happened?

If you read yesterday's post you know how well Wilson did going to class on his first day. So why was the second day harder?? He went to bed excited and woke up very excited before I even went in to wake him. Then we got to school and his tummy started hurting. I tried all the usual things. He was then hiding under my desk while my students were coming in. I finally left with him (don't worry, Mrs. B was in there!!) and went to the office. Got some tums which he refused to eat, tried to make him go to the bathroom, had his temp taken. At that point I knew it must be nerves. Took him to get his back pack and walked him to class. There he stood with this painful look on his face whimpering and stuff. I got down to his level and told him I couldn't do this right now. I needed to be a teacher. Told him I loved him and I'd see him around the building. Reminded him of how well he did yesterday and that it would all be ok. He would not show me where he sat. I walked in and found his seat. Then he slowly came in. I told Mrs. G that his tummy hurt and to let me know if she needed me. Then I left him in his classroom.

Saw him less than two hours later and he was all smiles! Tonight when we talked about it he said he thought he knew why his tummy hurt - because he was nervous. Yesterday was SOO good. Hoping tomorrow he can have courage again!

1st Grader!

Unfortunately my digital camera is broken. I tried taking a picture on my phone this morning and it didn't turn out well. So I'll pretend it's the first day again some other time and take a picture again! BUT, Wilson had a wonderful 1st day of school! Yesterday when I got home from work he was acting out. A lot. It dawned on me that he was nervous and didn't know how to let it out. So we talked about 1st grade and all of his friends who are in his class. He had a little trouble going to bed. We talked on the way to school about having courage and being brave and how much fun it would all be. Ya'll aren't going to believe me but he walked to his classroom by himself on the first day! From my room all the way down the hall to his room! Mrs. Engram and Mrs. Dowd would have been so proud of him! I watched him walk all the way there, so happy that he wasn't afraid. There were many days last year that weren't easy. But Mrs. E and Mrs. D helped him through it. Tonight when I put that tired boy to bed he said "I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow!" That's my boy! I'm so glad his fears have subsided so he can actually enjoy himself. :) Hoping for continued peace for him.

My first day went very well too! I even got a gift...a box of instant pudding. Hmmm... :) Thought everyone could use a good laugh!

Funny things that happened today:

* Luke tells Tyler almost every night at bed time "Don't let the bad bugs bite."
* Luke told me today that his pillow sometimes gives him bad dreams. :) I asked him if we needed to change the pillowcase and he said, "No, they all give me bad dreams." Poor thing.
* Luke rocked his new stuffed animal to bed tonight!
* Tyler took his train whistle to bed with him. We kept hearing the whistle from his room for a few minutes after I put him to bed!
* I put both contacts in my left eye this morning. Everything was blurry. Then I figured it out.
* As I was hanging posters this afternoon I accidentally bumped my clock. It fell of the wall and hit me on the forehead as it fell down. I was glad there wasn't anyone in there to see! The clock hands spin freely around now. Had to email the custodian and ask for a new clock. The clock I broke today was a new clock from last year. Oops!
* Luke smashed his silly putty into the TV remote. Not good. I've gotten most of it off. Not really funny but fitting with the day!
We went out for icecream tonight after dinner. It was the hottest day we've had so far this year. Miserable! I'm ready for cooler fall weather. And I can only admit that now that summer is over for me. If it's time for back to school, the weather should cool off now.

Just because I am a woman...

does NOT mean I am stupid! So let me explain. I went to an office store today that gives teachers a discount. I decided to buy a new chair for my desk. Mine is a hand me down and has been broken for a while. I realized I could get a nice $90 chair for $54 with my teacher discount! So I bought the chair. Then Ty and I went to my mom's house for lunch. She said she'd help me put the chair together. We followed the directions and I used the allen wrench and we put the chair together. Now the back of the chair was crooked. One side leaned into the arm rest. So I took the back off and mom and I looked at it and it was on the metal bracket crooked. Not that I had screwed it in crooked. It was defective. So I said let me try again. Put it together, still crooked. We take the chair into the office store and they agree it is crooked. So a man takes it apart and puts it back together because "I did it wrong". Yeah...so about 30 minutes later Terry sees him get the floor model and wheel it over to where he was working. We wait a few more minutes and he wheels the chair out to me. He said "you had the arm rests on the wrong side too." Um... sorry but that wasn't even possible with the way the arm rests were made. They could only be screwed into one side of the chair! It wasn't possible to do them backwards. I say thank you and start walking out. I notice the base of the chair is dusty. I run my fingers across and it is really dirty. The metal bracket between the base and back of the chair has a layer of dust. I said to my mom "He gave me the floor model!" Without telling me or saying anything along the lines of yes, the chair was defective...he just tried to be sneaky and give me the dusty floor model without even saying anything. Well not saying anything other than how I put the chair together incorrectly - but I didn't! I'm not confrontational. I didn't turn around and say "Why is my new chair so dusty?" But I've been very upset by his dishonesty/customer service. I'm not one to call and complain. But should I? I'm happy with the chair, I got a great deal with it being $36 cheaper with my discount. But still. Grrr.

Off to WV

Wilson and Luke are about to go on their first trip without Mommy & Daddy! They are going to WV with Andy's parents, Mimi and Poppy this weekend. They'll visit Nanny B and have tons of fun playing with 3 of their cousins. They have been so excited this week. It has been cute! They've been counting down the days and started packing yesterday on their own. This afternoon I keep answering the question of "How much longer till they get here?". I am so glad they are looking forward to the weekend and feel comfortable going without me and Andy! I think they feel like big stuff! I'm looking forward to a break for a couple days and only having Tyler in the house. It will be weird, quiet, and a nice little break!

Ham & Cheese Sliders, Pizza Bites

A couple new recipes we had for dinner this week. The Ham & Cheese Sliders were super easy to make! I used mini Hawaiian rolls and reduced the butter. Wilson, Tyler and I all really enjoyed these and I am not a ham eater. Ham & Cheese Sliders from Annie's Eats. Follow the link for recipe and picture!

The pizza bites were a big hit! I made pizza dough and stuffed 2 slices of pepperoni and a cube of fresh mozzarella inside. I want to try Annie's homemade pizza sauce but didn't have time this week. Pizza Bites from Annie's Eats. Follow the link for recipe and picture!

School Shopping with Wilson

One of my favorite traditions growing up was back to school shopping. I loved going with my Maw-maw for school clothes, supplies, and out to lunch. It was a really special day. I'm carrying on the tradition with my own kids. Wilson and I went school shopping this week. We went out for breakfast at Panera because he wanted a cinnamon roll! Then we found his back to school outfit at Target. We went to Wal-mart for the school supplies. He chose green whenever possible and had fun picking out a pencil case. He was pretty excited about needing a pencil case for 1st grade! We had a great morning together!

Fun Family Day!

On Wednesday we took a day trip to Cincinnati. We left after lunch hoping Tyler would nap on the way there...fat chance! We went to the Fire Museum, Lego Store, Build-a Bear, and to eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

A visit to the Lego store was Wilson's top priority! We went for a Lego Mini Figure building contest. The store had a contest to see who could build the most mini figures in 30 seconds. Wilson came in 2nd place. He got to keep 1 mini figure for free. We surprised him and let him pick a lego out at the store (within a set price range :)). He chose the farm! It was his first visit to an actual Lego store and he LOVED it!

Luke needed something special as well so we took him to Build-a Bear. None of our kids have ever made a stuffed animal there so it was really special for him. He chose this dog, Brown Sugar, and dressed him in a fire outfit! We bought boots and a little dog bed for him. Luke was so happy with his new doggie!

Our first stop was to the Cincinnati Fire Museum (sorry, having trouble getting the pics in order). The big boys have been a couple years ago but seemed to have forgotten the visit!

They really enjoyed playing in the old fire truck cab. You can turn the lights on and pretend to drive!

Here is Luke sliding down the fireman pole! Love this picture! We did this with all 3 of them several times.

We ended up eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory which was fun. It was a great family day!