Sweet crafts

One of the things that the kids get to do at school is make crafts. They both really LOVE to paint, color, play with play-doh so school is great! They have already come home with some adorable crafts. I can honestly say that they LOVE it. Yesterday when I picked them up, Parker was SO excited to see me. He gave me a HUGE hug and kept saying "mommy, miss you". I die. I mean, seriously, he's precious. Conner is happy to see me too but he isn't lovey dovey like Park. Neither of them cry when I drop them off, in fact, they don't even tell me 'bye'...break my heart!

Parker's theme in is class is owls. Here's the owl he made.

Conner is in a class where crafts and Science are HUGE to the teacher. It's no surprise that he came home with this on the first day!

When it Rains...

we go outside. Yesterday, after Parker had pitched fit after fit (like he's doing now) the kids decided they needed to go outside. No lie, 30 seconds after the door closed, it started raining. It's not cold here yet so they played in the rain. Why not? They loved it!!

Josh also changed the battery in the small power wheels 4 wheeler. It does wheelies now. What 3 year old wouldn't love that?!

Sometimes the joys are just the opposite of JOY.

As the boys grow and develop their own personalities, the challenges are greater and I don't know what to do when those challenges arise. Often times, Conner bothers Parker until Parker loses it. Right now, Parker is laying on the floor screaming at the top of his lungs and kicking his feet (on the hardwood floors). He has been doing that for the past 10 minutes or so. This is the third time today that he has had one of these terrible fits. There is absolutely nothing I can do to calm him down. He gets snot all over his face and is a hott mess. But when he's done, he's done. He returns to his sweet little self.

In other news, this morning we went to IHOP (yum) and then we headed to Dick's Sporting Goods to get Conner some cleats, shin guards and a size 3 ball. He's playing soccer this year and I'm so excited about it; he's pretty excited too. His little shoes are the cutest cleats ever. Everything is just soooo small and so super cute! I can't wait until he gets his uniform next weekend. You know I'll have my camera ready!We picked up this set and saved about $20!

Third times a charm...

I've been writing this post in my head over and over again. I can't seem to find exactly the right words but when I realized that there's only (shamefully) 4 people really reading this blog, I decided that I might need my safe haven again. I won't know until next Wed (as in Aug 29) but if I do, I don't want to excite you just to break your heart. I'll just let the photos tell you :)

 

How do I feel? Blessed, excited, terrified, nervous, excited, nauseous, tired, excited.  Why next Wed? That's my first ultrasound. They offered to do one earlier and I declined. Why? I can't change the outcome either way so why stress myself out? As the date gets closer I am more terrified and more nervous. I don't want to go through the same experience I had in 2007 but if that's what is going to happen, then I know I'll need a place for my thoughts/feelings. If all is well, I'm going to need a place for my thoughts/feelings and updates.

I have not posted anything on FB (nor will I for a while, so please don't you either) and have not told any of my friends. I can't find the right words and maybe I'm just not ready. Maybe I'm just too afraid that I may have to un-tell. Maybe I'm worried that people will think "omg, another one" as if I have 6 kids already. I don't want to face judgement this time. Let's face it, for Conner's pregnancy I was so afraid I was going to lose him. Then once I thought I was in the clear, I went into pre-term labor and was scared again. With Parker...well I was just freaking out. I think I spent a lot of his pregnancy in denial. I already had a baby (for real). This time, I'm EXCITED. I don't want to tarnish that by telling or having people judge me (as if it's any of their business anyway). I don't want to let anyone down if this pregnancy doesn't end with a baby. I know what you're thinking "what a terrible mentality". Maybe but I already told everyone once and went to that ultrasound appt to find out that the pregnancy was not viable; that baby had no heartbeat. Devastation. that's what it was/is. I'm sure your first thought is OMG (mine too!) and your second...wonder if she wants a girl. Nope, don't care; I just want a healthy baby, because really, that's all that matters.

To my boys...

Often times, we have rough days in our house and I don't always use the hard moments as teaching moments (even though I should). I lose it, they lose it; it's not pretty. But at the end of the day, there are some things that I just want to teach them. Things I hope that through out their lives I DO teach them.

Boys:
Use your manners. Please and Thank You will get you so much farther in life than never acknowledging someone giving you something. Manners will make you a kinder person.

Pray and pray hard. Pray for others before you pray for yourself. It will keep you humble and thoughtful.

Chilvary is NOT dead. Open doors for ladies...your friends that are girls, your girlfriends, the old lady at the grocery store, your mom. It's the nice thing to do. When you start dating, you can pull out her chair too.

I want you to know that I love YOU. I love you for the little person you are and the big person you will become. I will love and cherish your wife b/c you do. Your happiness is very important. Do what makes you happy.

Dream big...then follow those dreams. Don't waste your dreams, go out and achieve them.

When people doubt you, work harder. Prove them wrong and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. You can do anything you put your mind to.

Go to college and go away to college. It will break my heart the day the 2 of you decide you are leaving this house. I will cry my eyes out and worry about you and miss you more than you will ever know. BUT, I will be proud of you. Get the college experience. You will never regret that.

Make your decisions slowly and without haste. Learn from every experience. It will make you the man you become. Don't have any regrets about the choices you make.

Be thankful..always. Be thankful. There is someone out there that will have it worse than you.

Be a good listener not a good talker. Actually hear what people say to you, don't just listen half halfheartedly.

You are each other's BEST friend. You have a friend in one another for life. Don't take that for granted. Trust in each other, lean on one another and always stand up for one another.

I would NEVER

So, Jennifer posted this and it got me thinking...how many times have I said NEVER and it came back to bite me in the butt?!

• I will never let my kids eat fast food. pfff. when your kid won't eat but then will eat McDonalds...you do it. um they have TOYS in their meals. score!
• I hate crocs..HATE them. Never will my kids wear them. Their fav shoes? Crocs. Yep. joke's on me. 
• I hate mini vans...never. buy me a surburban. Guess what we looked at last weekend and I fell in love...yep a mini van. Dare I say I'm excited. they are amazing for moms/small kids
• I will never bribe my kids. LMAO. ask my kids that one. they love chocolate and gum.
• My kids won't drink coke...they drink sprite...often. whatevs.
• My kids will only eat healthy foods. I will never let them have junk. Who was I kidding? Don't get me wrong, they eat healthy foods but they love hot dogs, pizza and junk. 

What are some things that you said NEVER to? aren't they funny? 

First Day

Today was the boys' first day of school. Both kids walked right in and didn't even care that I was leaving.I won't lie; I cried a little when I got in the car. It didn't last long b/c my phone started ringing! I had to put my big girl panties on and suck it up. Now that I'm home though, I am ok. I did take a few photos this morning before we left. Of course, Parker didn't want to participate! 

 

I love them. 

School Days

**discliamer**there are no photos in this post. if you don't like words come back tomorrow for 'first day of school' photos.

Tomorrow the boys start school. Am I excited, YES. Very. Conner is also very excited to go back to school and play w/his friends. Parent orientation was last week; Josh stayed here to keep the kids and off I went. alone. heaven. Parker lucked out and got Conner's teachers from last year. They are nurturing and wonderful. I'm very happy he will be with them this year. He has 6 little kids in his class; 3 boys, 3 girls. Perfect. He's going to LOVE it. Conner's teacher...O.M.G. amazing! Seriously. She holds a degree in Anthropology; LOVES science, all things bugs and nature and loves to blow things up (age appropriately of course). As soon as she started talking, I loved her and am SO SO excited for him this year. The other moms in his class are equally wonderful and he has a few friends from last year joining him. I'm thrilled. While I was at parent orientation, I signed up to be a sub. Let's face it, teaching is part of me and I really miss the classroom. I don't miss it enough to put my kids in daycare and go back but I do miss it.

The boys had meet and greet yesterday and (bad mom me) I forgot the camera. Oh well I guess. We spent an hour in each of their classrooms with the teachers and some of their peers. Parker is sooooo sweet. He listened to his teachers and played nicely with the other kids. There was one time when he and another child both wanted the same toy and he was distracted very easily. When Josh asked him questions about what he did last night, little dude remembered some stuff. Smart little boy. Conner's classroom is SO fun. There's a campfire (not a real one), a huge pirate ship, lots of dinosaurs; it's like a little boy's paradise! He also played very nicely with the other kids that were there. He was SO precious talking to one of his teachers. When he's really thinking about something, he cocks his head to the side and kind of squints...I caught him doing that when they were having a conversation. I don't know what the were talking about; I was talking to another mom about where she got her cardigan.

The best part, Conner is going three days every single week (M,T,W). That means I will have 2 mornings where I will be all alone in our house (for now). I can clean, go back to bed, eat on the couch, eat cake and not share...basically do whatever I want. On Tuesdays, it will just be Parker and I. It will be nice because there will be no screaming out of Parker. No sibling fighting. I know I will miss them but 6 quiet hours a week will definitely be nice. I will admit that I'm a little worried about how Parker will do when he realized I'm not there and neither is Conner. He's very used to his brother being by his side and this will be a new thing for Park. Even yesterday, Conner was there with him. I know he'll adjust but I nope it's not a hard adjustment for him.
I promise that I will take some photos tomorrow morning before we head out and maybe even once they get there but probably not. The school kind of frowns upon any parent loitering. Some of the kids get pretty upset. Stay tuned for some first day of school photos. I have to go fill out some paperwork and figure out what they are going to wear!

Weekend News

We had a great weekend! Josh was actually HOME both days and it was really nice. Saturday the weather was questionable so instead of going to the lake, we decided we'd just go to the Yellow River Game Ranch. We always have a great time feeding the animals. The kids love running around and it wears them out!

They have squirrels that run around all over the place and I don't know why but Conner is determined that he will one day catch a squirrel. It's hilarious! Here's him trying really hard.

 On the way out of the ranch, there are some ride on horses. You know the kind, you put a quarter in and they go. Most of them are REALLY slow but there's one there....it does THIS...

I have a photo almost identical of Josh and Conner; Conner was a little younger than Parker though.

On Sunday, we took the boat out on the lake. It was just our family, which was really nice and relaxing. We always wind up anchoring and swimming for a while. We did that, then we cruised around, stopped at the marina. The kids had some popscicles. We beached the boat so Conner could play; he enjoyed the muddy sand :) Parker loves to nap on the boat.

Puff Paint

I decided that I need to do more craft activities w/the kids and I've pinned a bunch of things on pinterest so I was not lacking in ideas. I don't have tons of craft supplies on hand so I decided to look and see what I had before deciding on an activity. I grabbed elmer's glue, shaving cream, food coloring and egg crates.

I wanted them to try to make ice cream tops on the triangles...FAIL. They had fun though. and they didn't fight for about 10 min! score.