Staying Busy

The boys and I have been staying busy with trips to the pool, library, and playing outside. We are thrilled!!! to have Andy back home after he was in Costa Rica for 12 days leading a mission trip. The big boys went to Grand(parent) Camp at Aldersgate for 2 nights with my mom and their cousins Madelyn and Caroline. They had a blast. Thank you so much mom for taking them on such a wonderful adventure. I know they are making great memories!

Luke just got a new green bike. He was ready for a bigger bike and is doing really well riding it! Here is what it looks like. It is from Wal-Mart. Green is of course his favorite color. My mom just got him a bell for his new bike. He is pretty happy!
 

I kept myself busy while Andy was away by watching Season 1 & 2 of Downton Abbey. I LOVE the show and am terribly dissapointed that Season 3 doesn't begin until January 2013!!!



We have started some a new chore routine and behavior system. It seems things have to change up quite often around here. The boys are all starting out with several dollars worth of quarters in a jar. Each has his own jar. At the beginning of the week they get all of their quarters. As they complain, whine, don't follow directions, etc they lose a quarter. I'm hoping this will encourage some behavior changes...we shall see!

The new chore routine is something I saw online but didn't repin. It was a link I followed from a pin. ANYWAY it was an idea from the Duggar's (who I know nothing about other than the fact that they have a ridiculous amount of children). Here is my adaptation to their idea:
I wrote on small pieces of paper different chores the boys need to do. A set for each. I wrote their name on an envelope and each day I will choose which chores they need to do. They can't have tv, electronics, or free time until they are done. As they finish a job they bring me the slip and I go check the work. Wilson and Luke were very independent with their chore cards! Here are some of the jobs I included:
Wilson- pick up toys (there is a separate slip of paper for different rooms), clean up floor in bedroom, make bed (or strip sheets), put dirty clothes in hamper, walk Lottie, read Jesus Calling Devotion, read 15 minutes for summer reading, do 3 pages of summer workbook, scoop Lottie's poop
Luke- pick up toys (separate slip for different rooms), clean up floor in bedroom, make  bed (or strip sheets), put dirty clothes in hamper, take out recycling, read daily devo with mom, read 1 book, do 3 pages of summer workbook
Ty- pick up toys (same as above), put dirty clothes in hamper, make bed (just putting animals & blankets on the bed)
And this pin fits me perfectly! :)
 

Pizza Quesadillas

Pizza Quesadillas- Yum and EASY! I made these for dinner last week. We had leftover pizza ingredients from making pizza so all I needed was tortillas. These were a hit and super easy!

New Med

A little update on my guy. We've been on the new medicine for two weeks. We have worked up to a whole pill now each evening before bed. I have noticed some positive changes. He is still very anxious about many things - poison, death, cancer, breaking his neck, earthquakes, etc but he is needing reassurance about these things less often. Before it was constant, multiple times an hour. Now it kind of comes and goes throughout the day. So while we are still dealing with those issues they are less frequent. I'm trying to focus on the positive changes however slight they may be at this time. My heart is breaking for him and I just continuously act like everything that worries him is NO BIG DEAL. Every night at bedtime he also wants to tell us what worries are on his mind. Usually it is the same ones I've already heard through the day but it gets them out of his mind so he can sleep. So I think it is safe to say we are on the right path this time to helping him. :)

Zoo!!

Wilson's class went to the zoo in May and our family tagged along! We had such a GREAT day. All of the animals were out and about. The only exhibit not open was the penguins because they are renovating. We watched a sea lion & seal demo (some of my favorite animals at the zoo), watched them feed the bears, and toured around the whole zoo. The boys had a great time. Wilson rode up with the 2nd graders on the charter bus. We had one of his friends travel around the zoo with us. We met up with all of the classes for lunch and the rest of the day we were on our own. We stayed after the school group left to finish and then met up with some friends for dinner.We had a great day! Enjoy the pics!

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Summer = Awesome

Updated 20 in 2012 post!

I'm reading!
I'm exercising! - Cute story- I started back on the C25K today. Luke said he wanted to run with me and Andy joined in as well. Luke was a trooper. Today was easy but he hung in there! It was so sweet to have him running with me.
I'm sleeping more!
Lots of time with the boys!
Life is good. :)

A  couple recent recipes:

Pretzel rolls by Pennies on a Platter - I read this blog but am trying to pin recipes I've bookmarked so they are all in one place. I finally made these and they were good! I actually took a picture of one I made just for you all to see!
Honey Lime Chicken- Oh. My. Goodness...we love this chicken! We've had it twice. I drastically reduce the cayenne pepper so that the boys can eat it too. I just shake a little in the gallon size bag I marinate the chicken in. The chicken is juicy and delicious on the grill! Make this!

Pinterest Project #3

I wanted to do one more nice thing for the boys' teachers before school let out. I saw the cutest pin on Pinterest and decided this would be it. I started by getting some glass jars at Hobby Lobby. I happened to go on a day that they were all 50% off!  Thankfully on the pin there is a link so you can print the tags for the jars. I made a double batch of our favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies from Annie's Eats. The the boys filled the jars with cookies. I was super excited to use by baker's twine I found in the clearence bin at Crate and Barrel after Christmas. These turned out so cute!