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!

Back To School

OK, now I've had my first back to school breakdown. So it is officially time to head back to work! The feeling of being overwhelmed about too many things got the best of me. It happens every year - you'd think I'd be used to the transition by now. It's hard to return to working 45+ hours a week after being home with your kids for the summer. It seems HUGE. But it will all work out and life will go on. Trusting...

Teaching - Year 10

So I can't believe I'm coming up on my tenth year of teaching. That sounds crazy to me. I did start young but I don't feel like I'm old enough to have been in my career long enough to start year 10! Maybe 5...definitely not 10! I'm very pleased with what I've accomplished in my teaching years so far - Master's degree, National Board, supervised student teachers and practicum students, and started a club last year. All while making babies with Andy and growing our family! There is no way I could have done this without my family and the support they give me. Andy and I have found a way to make it work with kids, jobs, stress etc. It's not always easy but we've made it work. I'm thankful to him for the countless times he's told me it will all be ok, we can get through this, and life will get easier! My mom has been another huge supporter and given me the courage I needed to return back to work after maternity leaves, get through the National Board panic attacks, and keep tackling school stress day after day.

I'm thankful to be at a wonderful school and have so many friends at my workplace. The upcoming school year is full of change. New staff, new staff roles, new teammates, new math curriculum, new students...you get the idea! Lots of change - which can be good. But it also makes me a little anxious. I will continue the club, serve on SBDM council, have a student teacher in the fall, and be a national board mentor. I'm trying to wrap my mind around a new year and the fact that summer time will be over next week.

I can't believe Andy and I will have a 1st grader in our house!

Summertime Thoughts

So we've entered my last free week of summer. So sad. Next Tuesday Andy and I are going to school to set up as much as possible. All furniture and technology for sure - then as much beyond that as possible. My mom is keeping the boys so we can be sure to get a lot done. I'll probably go in a couple other times that last week of July. Then starts PD, first day preparations, Parent Orientation etc. So I'm making the most of this last full week of freedom! This summer has been great but it has flown by. It was definitely a short summer.

Here are some things I've enjoyed:
* California. Wow.
* TN with my family & extended family
* shopping with the girls (SIL, MIL & friends from school)
* reading
* taking the boys to the pool, library, and just hanging out at home
* staying up late and sleeping in till about 8am
* getting myself back into running- just need to do it more
* the good feeling after a big cleaning project- cleaned fridge today and cleaned the Jeep a couple weeks ago. Still need to tackle the van and playroom...

Things I'm still looking forward to:
* Cincy with Andy and the boys to visit the Lego store and have a fun day!
* Taking Wilson school shopping
* A day at the lake
* more reading
* more pool with the boys

Things I could have done without this summer:
* falling out of a hammock swing (butt is doing better but still bruised. On a weight machine at the Y today I really felt it.)
* injuring my arm while trimming bushes for 3 hours. I developed tendonitis and had horrible pain for 2 weeks. Then wore a splint for 5 days and am feeling back to normal!
* Fighting and whining. But I wouldn't trade my boys for anything!

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

So. Yeah. I made another dessert! At least I've tried a few new recipes lately! We had Andy's mom, dad, and sister over for dinner and it gave me an excuse to try this recipe. It is very easy and could easily be doubled if you want a 9x13 for a lot of people. I stuck with the 8x8 so we wouldn't have as many leftovers. Yum! Oreo Cheesecake Bars by Annie's Eats. Follow link for recipe and picture.

22 Months!

Tyler is 22 months old today! He is doing great! He talks so much it is unbelieveable to me compared to my other boys. He has at least 50 words. My favorites right now include: bless you (after a sneeze! He is so polite!), Lottie, baseball, lemonade, and the noise he makes for Wilson. He uses inflection and sounds for that one. He repeats many words around us at home. He thinks peas and blueberries are balls. He has decided he enjoys the pool. He LOVES to play, read, sing, and be big like his brothers. He absolutely loves to play Thomas the Train and to watch "choo-choo" on the tv. He is very much into silly bands right now. He has found Wilson's around the house and he'll put them on his wrist. When Wilson tries to take them back he gets very mad. So today he got his own pack. He wore them before his nap and again after dinner. He likes to take them off and put them back on. He's cool like that. He is definitely aware of what Wilson and Luke are doing and if he thinks he is missing out he lets you know. He is cutting 3 teeth right now which was a little rough on him earlier today. He is a sweetheart and I love him so!

Here's what we keep eating...

over and over! Therefore I feel like they are worth mentioning again!! So I am cooking just haven't been trying new recipes. I did checkout a few cookbooks today at the library.

Guacamole: Yum. Since Ty and I are the only ones who eat guacamole I've just been using 1 advocado at a time. Solved my problem from this recipe - it made too much and turned brown. Now I just take 1 advocado, mash it in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, 1-2 drops tabasco, 1 splash Worchestershire sauce, and a spash of lime juice. Add a small spoon of sour cream and some diced tomato if I have any. I've been leaving out the onion. And poof, you have guac in 5 minutes. That's a good and bad thing. :)

Chicken Ranch Pizza: Love the pizza dough. It is chewy and delicious. It's our new family favorite. Andy and I really like this chicken ranch pizza as well.

Chicken Quesadillas: Life is good when I get to eat these once a week! Ha! Seriously though, I love them. I like to have homemade salsa and/or guacamole along with these. If you're not up for making salsa buy the Garden Fresh Gourmet. I know you can get it at Meijer and Kroger. It's really good salsa.

A Fun Fourth! (Post # 600!!)

So this weekend we had a lot of family fun! We went downtown for the morning on Saturday. We met up with my parents and my sister's kids. They all had fun but it was hot! Sunday evening we had a cookout at Danny & Steph's with part of the Mc. Clan. Then we went to watch fireworks. It was a fun evening. I dug myself out of my cooking rut to try a new pie - Mississippi Mud Pie. It was pretty good! Oreo crust, chocolate ganache, toffee, coffee icecream etc. Yum! We had fun coming up with other ice cream pie variations. Follow the link to Annie's Eats for a picture and recipe! I did not make my own coffee icecream. I bought blue bell coffee icecream! I'm making another dessert from her blog tomorrow for a birthday celebration. Based on my luck with this food blog I'm sure it will be delicious! Annie's recipes are always good. So here is a link to the Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake as well. Enjoy!

I keep getting hurt.

OUCH!
I have so many injuries it is ridiculous! I hurt my right forearm the other day when I spent 2+ hours trimming our bushes. My arm knotted up and has been incredibly sore for days. I've been taking ibuprofen around the clock. Last night at my sister's house I was attacked by a hammock swing. Literally. It hurt so bad. It was one of the accidents where you want to jump right up and say "I'm OK! Really!" (Even if you aren't) but I could not get up for a couple minutes. Here is what happened...
I walked out on to Cara & Jason's deck. They got a hammock swing for Christmas but I hadn't sat in it. So I thought it would be a good idea to try it out. BAD IDEA. I got in and a few seconds later I fell to the floor. The screw had been coming loose apparently and it slipped right out of the ceiling. I fell on my butt bone. Then the wood bar and chain came falling down. I have a really sore breast bone and a knot on my head. Several people (all family) were on the deck and saw it happen. I was stunned, laying on the deck crying, with people standing over me looking down. I was so embarrassed! It of COURSE made me feel like it fell out of the ceiling because of my weight or something. I couldn't stop crying because it hurt so bad and I was embarrassed! I went into the bathroom to try and pull myself together. Andy came in a few minutes later and helped me calm down. It was awful. My butt was immediately sore and I put ice on it. Came home and took more ibuprofen and went to bed. I've been really sore today in all 3 places but I've survived! It's really hard to bend down and get back up. Once I was OK again we reminisced about all of my "accidents"...being stabbed in the foot by an ink pen, attacked by a Herbie trash can, almost broken two toes and a knee cap on different occasions by bumping into door frames in my house...etc. I think I'm clumsy.