It Might Not Seem Like Much, but...

Oh Hi! Did you miss me? Well, I been workin real hard in the backyard with my husband and kiddos. The privacy fence is done and I stained the entire thing by myself. Three solid days of manual labor and about six days to recover. Here you can see what it was like before (on the left) and after (on the right) Here's those boys workin hard. They've painted.
They've painted some more.
They've hauled bricks.
And Joey reports that he got to caulk something today. That's my man!

Ok, here is what daddy has been working on. This is the back of the garage, where the loft will be, before we started.
Cut out the rotted panels.

Replace them.
Paint them. And add some windows.
More windows, and prepare the ground below for the birds.
Ta-da! Looks real nice.
I'm starting to get a picture of how this is going to be, and I'll sure keep sharing pictures so you can get it, too.

Today's Workout, plus..

Tae Bo Rockin Abs, 41 minutes, 333 calories
Slowly getting back in after too long of a break (besides fence and loft work)

Sorry no updates lately, I've been a little down and didn't want to drag it on here. I promise to get my pictures sorted and get something up tonight after the kids go to bed.

Today's Workout

2 mile walk/jog with the boys on bikes, 40 minutes, 357 calories

I Learn Something New Every Day

First of all I have to say that I had a great time at scrap night Saturday. I got a lot done and learned new things, like always. I admire the creativity that I get to sit with and observe. I can only hope for a smidgen of that talent. I did learn something new, though. Now I can show of my pages on here. As you can see, I need to work on getting rid of that line down the middle, but this is one of the pages that I made that night. Love the Cricut, love typing my journaling, love simplicity, love my boy.

It's Done, People!

17 gallons of stain + 5000 square feet of privacy fence + 5 trips to the Menards + 3 warm, sunny days = 1 tired and sore Mama (and perhaps a little crabby) with a huge sense of accomplishment.

That's all I have to say about that for right now. Pictures and more details later.

ETA: Sparkpeople says that for how long I was painting, I burned 3840 calories this weekend. Works for me.

Today's Workout

Biggest Loser Cardio Max, 44 minutes, 497 calories


Total for week, 195 minutes, 2042 calories

Today's Workout

Tae bo II Advanced 2, 56 minutes, 580 calories

Total for week, 151 minutes, 1545 calories

I have to say that one of the main reasons I've been able to convince myself to work out still is because of this blog. I will be embarrassed to quit, but I'm getting really frustrated. All this work the last 6 weeks and I have not lost a single pound. I need to see some results real soon or I'm really going to get discouraged and maybe quit and accept the embarrassment.

Artiste in Residence

Joey has been carrying his little notebook around and writing notes to all of us. Most of them are pretty normal: Dear Mom You are a good Mom, but his one to Ben was worth sharing. I never knew he read matt.

Deer Ben.

I

thot

you

Wer

a

good

dror

But

you

are

a

sckriBl

r.

He is really quite astonished that Ben would want to just color something rather than write or make something that is describable.

He also let us know that he likes going to the "Librier" and that he misses his pigeon "Joe-Joe."

Drumroll Please

We had the boys' conferences this afternoon. Ben was first. His teacher went over the stuff he knows first- letters, shapes, colors, etc. He knows all his colors, some shapes, a few letters, and no numbers. I'm not really concerned because he has 2 more years before kindergarten. I really just wanted to know about his behavior. Good news! He is decidedly not the naughty kid, and he got an "always" for keeping his hands to himself. He has his moments where he needs reminders, but nothing unmanagable. That is all I can ask for at this point. I am so happy with his progress.

Joey next. We walked in, sat down, his teacher showed us several papers with stars on them, said he is doing great in reading, great in math, hard worker, great listener, she has no concerns. The only thing I asked about was social and she said even there he is doing well- seems to play with other kids when he has a chance. Also a very happy conference.

Not that I expected differently, but it was a good day at school today. I am so proud of my boys.

Today's Workout

Elliptical, 40 minutes, 325 calories

Total for week, 95 minutes, 965 calories

Who Would Google Me?

I have this thing on my blog so I can keep track of where people come from and how often they visit...Well, one of the features shows what people google to come to my blog. Sometimes it's funny, irrelevent things, but today someone googled my name. That's kinda creepy to me. I know I have this blog out there for the public to see, but I have no idea who would come looking for me. Was it you? Was it an old friend? Doo-doo doo-doo (That's supposed to be creepy music)
I just don't know, and I am totally curious. I don't like secrets. I like to know everything.

Today's Workout

Tae bo II Advanced, 55 minutes, 641 calories

Bet you're getting tired of only seeing workout updates :)
I'll try to put something else up tonight.

Today's Workout

Tae bo Amped Full Throttle, 54 minutes, 619 calories

Total for week, 229 minutes, 2355 calories

Today's Workout

Tae bo Rockin Abs and Rockin Buns, 62 minutes, 518 calories

Total for week, 175 minutes, 1736 calories

Crazy Day

So this morning had to be one of the most stressful days at work ever. And I can't even talk about it. I can only say it involved police and orders of protection. And the kids seemed to sense my vulnerability because they were beyond wild and crazy. That's all. Feel sorry for me. I'll be okay tomorrow. Thanks.

Today's Workout

Tae bo II Advanced 2, 56 minutes, 594 calories

Total for week, 113 minutes, 1218 calories

Not counting the heavy lifting and manual labor out in the yard, but it's almost done! (insert happy squeal)

I Wish Someone Else Took Pictures At My House...

'Cause you sure would have gotten a treat tonight. I was soaked, dirty, tired and wrastling with 4x4's in the rain this morning.

But let me start at the beginning. Daddy took Friday through Monday off work with the grand idea that he could install our entire privacy fence in that time. Do you see where I am going with this? Oh, and the boys really wanted to help. They even got their own work gloves.Well, with some help from his brother, Michael and friend, Jim (this was one of their short breaks)Friday he got a bunch of the posts cemented in, Saturday got panels up on two sides of the yard, and by Sunday night was still only halfway done cementing the third side. Here is before and after on the back. It looks so great.
And here is that nasty third side. The ground slopes so it has been difficult lining up the posts, plus the people who installed the original cut the old posts off at the ground rather than remove them so we had to dig some of those out.
Then when things seem to be going well, we hit a rock the size of a mountain. This sucker took a couple hours to get out.After that, it was pretty much the end of the day, and the end of Daddy's extra helpers. We decided that rather than have my planning time at school this morning I would stay home and help try to get this done. Of course it started raining the exact minute we started working, rained for a solid 3 hours, then quit when we stopped for lunch. We had piles of dirt all around the yard which turned into piles of mud that I kept slipping in. My gloves got so soaked that I had to wring them out. But I am very proud of myself. The panels you see in this next picture I installed.
And these are some of the old posts that I literally yanked from the ground with my own hands.

The boys? This is how they stayed busy Saturday afternoon. "Helping" got real boring after a while.

So, yeah, I wish someone would have taken a picture of me wet and filthy so I could have a memento of my contribution to this project, but I just have to satisfy myself with writing about it and taking pictures of everyone else.

Today's Workout

Tae bo II Advanced, 57 minutes, 624 calories

Good workout.

Update coming on the fence. Suffice it to say for now that it has been a looong weekend.

Today's Workout

Tae bo Amped Core Express and Live in LA, 50 minutes, 509 calories

Total for week, 246 minutes, 2375 calories

Last week, 267 minutes, 2589 calories
2 weeks ago: 240 minutes, 2372 calories
23 weeks ago: 175 minutes, 1915 calories

Today's Workout

Tae bo Energy, 40 minutes, 317 calories
It was boooring. Not doing that one again.

Total for week, 196 minutes, 1866 calories

Life Is Good

Nothing really exciting going on, just been feeling like things are going well in many areas or our life right now:
*Ben has shown dramatic improvement in attitude and anger the last few weeks. All of his teachers report that he is doing really well and I have witnessed some great moments, like interacting with unfamiliar people and being purposefully nice to his Daddy and friends.
*We've gotten back into our routine which I apparently was really missing. I just feel so calm when I know whats happening next and what to expect of myself. I get up at the same time every day, go to bed at the same time, workout, watch some new shows, do a small amount of housework, read with the kids, read by myself,...it's just great. Sounds boring, but it is all I want out of life.
*Speaking of working out, I've been a beast on that front. I'm getting stronger and more confident, even though the scale isn't being my friend yet. With as much as I've been doing, there should be some results any day now.
*I finished reading the book of Matthew in the Bible last night and now will be going on to Proverbs, per Jacque's recomendation. I don't think I understand it all, but it is giving me a sense of peace to be doing something productive in that area.
*Daddy has been working hard at getting our new privacy fence installed. There is something about seeing your man work hard to improve your home that is just heartwarming.
*The only negative going on right now is the lack of a paycheck. I finally get my first paycheck next week, pretty much been broke since August. I try not to stress about it too much, I know it will be fine, but I'd sure like to have some money in the bank right about now.

*Oh, and Joey's pigeon died. Apparently we bought a sick bird and we couldn't make him well. Joey is not too traumatized, which is good since this will happen again (and again) with all the birds we will have.

Today's Workout

Tae bo Rockin Buns, 43 minutes, 416 calories

Total for week, 156 minutes, 1549 calories

Getting ready to watch Biggest Loser now.

Today's Workout

Tae bo Amped Full Throttle, 55 minutes, 600 calories

Total for week, 133 minutes, 1133 calories

Faith

I have been really thinking about my faith lately and what my beliefs are, what it means to me and my family, and what I can do about it. It really started when I got this job at a Christian preschool. Although I've gone to church (off and on at times) all my life, I don't feel like I was really applying the message. Then I started working with one of the most faithful (without being pushy) women I've met, Carol. Then Carol was dying and the faith that her family showed was truly an inspiration.
Yesterday our Pastor gave a sermon on understanding and studying God's word. He asked those of us who were willing to commit to reading the bible to stand up so he could pray over us. I decided that this is the time to learn more and I stood up. Last night I pulled out my confirmation bible and decided to start with the Gospel of Matthew. I'm easing my way in, since the Gospels are pretty familiar to me. The one verse I read that made me think was "Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one."Matthew 5.33-37
So, why do we swear on a Bible in court still? Why did we ever? This goes against the whole idea. It kind of makes me think of all the things we hear that don't actually come from the Bible, that aren't actually His Word. I have some reading to do.

After I'm done with those, I'm going to find a "read the whole Bible" study guide. I'm sure there is something like that out there. Or I'll just go back to the beginning and work my way through it. I don't know. But I shall be reading the entire Bible in the next few months. Join me if you wish.

Today's Workouts

2.25 mile walk with the boys in honor of matt, liz, and madeline. 50 minutes, 225 calories

Jillian 30 day shred, 28 minutes, 308 calories

Today's Workout

Biggest Loser, 60 minutes, 532 calories

Week total, 267 minutes, 2589 calories

Last week: 240 minutes, 2372 calories

2 weeks ago: 175 minutes, 1915 calories

Lots To Share

First of all to my scrappin' girls: Hooby Lobby ad for Sunday has many things 50% off including stamps, paper and embellishments.


Second I have some before pictures of our fence and pigeon loft remodel:
This is inside the back of the garage, where the loft will be.

This is outside the back of the garage. Daddy just put up the gutter. He also plans to replace the bottom of the siding and put windows in.
The fence is going to be 6 foot wood privacy fence. Right now he's working on digging up tree roots and old fence posts.
These are some of those heavy panels I carried the other day.
Ben really loves helping his Daddy. He fetched the pieces for the gutter in between playing in the loft area.

Third: You should be so proud of me. Yesterday I had an irate parent and I handled it so calmly and professionally. I was able to calm her down without getting defensive or upset. I was so awesome.

Fourth: I wanted to document the boys prayers. Tonight they were thankful for friends, food, walls, beds, stars, toys, stores (Ben); movies, Mrs Johnson (we still think about her alot), bats (apparently they eat bugs), Jesus and God, and please help Jesus' birthday come soon (Joey).

Fifth: I haven't done a gratitude list lately. I am thankful for good friends, Billy Blanks, cereal, string cheese, my husband's hard work, the new season of television, inter-library loan, part-time jobs, Johnny Appleseed, cooler weather, hugs and kisses.

Sixth: Joey has been writing again. I just found a piece of paper that says "I love my mom." His favorite ice cream is vunlu (vanilla), show is chootr (chowder), and suoprman. He has also read almost an entire Junie B Jones book over the last 3 nights. He got his first progress report today: all satisfactories, and the teacher said he is a hard worker and listens well. He warms my heart.

I think that's all for now. Have a good weekend.

Today's Workout

Tae bo Total Body Fat Blast, 52 minutes, 560 calories

Total for week 207 minutes, 2057 calories

Had a migraine all day, but recovered to work out :)

Down 3 pounds this week, but still not caught up.

Asthma Attack

My nail polish remover was sitting on the end table today (yes, my house is a mess). Ben saw it and asked "is that to give bugs asthma attacks?"
"No, it's for my nails. Why?"
"Well, we need to give bugs bad food so dey have asthma attacks and dey don't know where de doctow is so dey get dead."
"Why do we want them dead?"
"Cause we don't like bugs. Not spidews or bees or beetows, or odo (other- I can't figure out how to write it) spidows, or ....."

So funny.

Today's Workout

Biggest Loser Power Sculpt (in honor of my show starting back up last night), 53 minutes, 505 calories

Total for week, 155 minutes, 1497 calories

I'm seeing muscle again.

Real Busy Again

Last night I went to bed completely exhausted. First, we had Ben's field trip to the Apple Orchard. Since I am staff as well as mom, I did more helping than enjoying. It was good, though, because I got to visit with some of my former students and parents. Then after dropping Ben off at his second school I got to come home and do manual labor. First we had to unload the trailer from last week of floor panels- you should have seen me staggering around the yard. Then we had to return to Menards to load the cement, 4x4's, and fence panels. 20 50lb bags of sand and 20 4x4's. My arms wanted to fall off. We were still finishing up when it was time to go pick up the kids so I ran for them and came back. We all came home and shoved the trailor into the garage so Daddy could go to work. I came in and washed dishes, cooked dinner, straightened up in hopes of finding my keys (they've been missing since Saturday- they seem to be nowhere, and the boys are too big to have hidden them from me.) Then it was time for Joey's first Tiger Scout meeting. Dropped him off with Daddy while Ben and I ran to the grocery store for milk (ran out again) and to the library (I have a bunch of books to read right now!). Picked Joey up, came home, showers for the boys, bedtime stories, into bed. I also had to get publicity done for my genealogy society, then I was hoping for a few minutes of reading. I think I managed about 10 minutes before I closed my eyes for the night.
Ok that doesn't really sound like that much. You'll have to trust me that I had a really busy day yesterday:)

Today's Workout

Tae bo Rockin Abs + Elliptical, 46 minutes, 403 calories

Total for week, 102 min, 992 calories

Today's Workout

Tae bo Amped Full Throttle, 56 minutes, 589 calories

Yes, I am actually up 2 pounds. Grrr.

Seriously. Grrr.

Today's Workout

Tae bo Fat Burning Blast, 53 minutes, 564 calories

Total for week: 240 minutes, 2372 calories

Last week: 175 minutes, 1915 calories

Our Newest Venture

When my dear husband was young (before we met), he raised and raced homing pigeons for a time. He has always recalled that time with fondness and I should have known that this was bound to happen. A few months ago his friend who has quite a managerie at his house brought home some pigeons. The more hubby visited the birds, the more convinced he became that he really wanted to get back into it. He finally asked for my approval to build a loft in the back of the garage a couple weeks ago, yesterday we spent 4 hours at Menards getting all the building supplies (plus we're re-doing the privacy fence in the backyard), and this morning we went to a "small animal swap meet" in Freeport. I never knew. There were all kinds of birds, rabbits, geese (why not just stop on the side of the road?), ducks, swans, kittens, llamas, etc., and supplies. Of course, we are not ready to actually have pigeons yet, but of course we bought two. These ones are not to race, but for Joey and Ben to call their own and be involved. The black and white is Ben's called Sammy, and the red and white is Joey's called Jo-Jo. I'm sure there will be many adventures to report in this whole process of building, breeding and racing. Stay tuned for the mishaps.

Today's Workouts

Tae bo Sculpt Express, 45 minutes, 425 calories
Mowed the lawn, 15 minutes, 75 calories

Total for week, 187 minutes, 1808 calories

Ate a piece of ice cream cake before I worked out:(
But at least I still got up:)

Today's Workout

Tae bo Rockin Buns, 48 min, 515 calories

Total for week, 127 min, 1308 calories

A Lesson In Rudeness

Is it not considered rude to tell someone that they are rude? Or gang up on them in front of complete strangers? It just baffles me when I run into people who feel "entitled" to respect from others but don't give it. And those store cashiers are people, too. They are not getting paid extra for people to yell at them.
Here's the story: I was in line at Target and the woman in front of me had some shorts which she thought should have been clearance. Anyone who shops at Target knows that their clearance has red tags, but apparently she didn't care. She pointed out the rack that she got them from to the cashier and then to the manager. The manager walked over to the rack, came back and told her that the clearance sign is on the back of the rack and the shorts are clearly marked $8.99. I was relieved because, really, I had been in line for a while and wanted to check out. All of a sudden this lady is yelling at the manager that she is rude. The manager apologized, several times, saying that she didn't intend to be, she just was trying to let her know that the shorts were not on clearance. As I'm gaping at this woman, another woman from another line started lecturing the manager as well. Oh. My. Please control your mouth if you have nothing nice to say. So the poor manager eventually walked away with a very red face, and the poor cashier had to complete the sale while these two ladies just ranted and raved. I have been treated badly many times by those customers who are always right, and it never gets easier or less embarrassing. We all say things that perhaps come out the wrong way. Just because we are employees does not mean we have to be called on it out in public. I find myself smiling in commiseration with cashiers frequently, and it just gets worse and worse.....
Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox now. I realize I was ranting and raving there.
Just please, please, remember that cashiers are people, too, and we all deserve respect.

Today's Workout

Elliptical, 30 minutes, 260 calories.

Week total 79 min, 793 calories

Portrait Session

With the beautiful weather today, and since I didn't get any good pictures of Ben on his birthday, I decided to drag the boys out for a photo shoot in the front yard. Here are some of my pictures after I played with them on Piknic:

Funny Conversation

Conversation we just had:

Daddy: Who wants to go to Home Depot?

Boys: Me!

Mommy: It's too close to bedtime, and Daddy likes to wander around. Let's watch tv for a few minutes instead.
(Mommy leaves the room for a minute)

Ben: Let's blow up ballons and put them in our beds so Mommy will think we're in our beds when we go to Home Depot!

Mommy and Daddy: (Falling on the floor laughing)

PS: Guess who's at Home Depot right now, too close to bedtime? (How can we resist?)

Today's Workout

Tae-bo Fat Blasting Cardio, 49 minutes, 533 calories

Still going strong

Goodbye To One Commitment

So here's a little bit of what's been going on in my head:
Last February I discovered an awesome company called Once Upon A Family. I thought it was so awesome that I decided very quickly to become a consultant and start selling their products. Even though I've never sold anything in my life and am not very good in new stiuations, etc, etc. There were lots of reasons for it not to work out, but I really believed in the product so I took a chance. Eighteen months later I have to say that it was a good decision. I had to step outside my comfort zone and do some very new and big things like public speaking and I will never go back to being that girl who couldn't talk to people. Unfortunately, I'm still not much of a salesperson. The only time I made decent sales, the effort was way more than the payoff. Now I haven't had a sale in several months, and if I don't have $300 in by the end of this month I lose my consultant status. So...if there is anything you would like to order, now is the time. I have so much else going on right now that I think I am going to let this go. Visit my website and check out our new products and September specials, then let me know if you need anything. Many thanks to my girls who did support me in those first months when I was trying to get started.

PS: I will give you my cost for anything you order, generally 20% off.

Today's Workouts

Tae-bo Total Body Fat Blast, 54 minutes, 580 calories

Total for week, 175 minutes, 1915 calories

Is that a pound yet?

Happy Birthday Ben!

My baby is four years old today. I know this is a worn out line, but wasn't it just yesterday that we went into the hospital to have him? Then he was a happy-go-lucky baby, a busy toddler, a feisty 2 and 3 year old. What is in store for us next? I really feel that school is doing him worlds of good (I just hope I don't suddenly find out that he has been awful there) and he is really starting to go places. He learned to snap the other day simply because his brother could do it. Now I wonder if he'll just start reading because he sees Joey doing it. Daddy's coming home for half an hour this evening so we can have cake on his birthday, but first we're going to Sapora Playworld and then the favorite McDonalds for dinner. He got a remote control dinosaur and a view-master projector from us, and various what-nots from grandma so far.

I have more to talk about, but saving it for a separate post- stay tuned for more details:)

Today's Workouts

Biggest Loser Workout, 55 minutes, ~600 calories (I accidently stopped the stupid heart rate monitor and lost my total)

Total for week- 121 minutes, 1335 calories


(In case you are starting to think I am insane or starting out too fast, I am taking tomorrow off. And I feel pretty good but real sore today. And I stepped on the scale which gave me great motivation. I'm not telling how much I had already gained back, I'll just let you know when I'm back to where I was.)

Today's Workouts

Tae bo Rockin Abs, 40 minutes, 422 calories

Total for week, 66 minutes, 735 calories

1st Day Recap

The first day went really well. We had only two upset parents because they didn't have the physical that they had all summer to get so their baby couldn't start. One crying 3-year old in each class, but they both stopped in the first 10 minutes. A couple of kids who I can tell are going to be quite the handful. And mostly just a great group of adorable kids. We are going to have so much fun this year.
Daddy and Grandma managed to get Ben onto the bus this morning, and Daddy was able to pick up both boys with no mishaps (it was not a sure thing). Then Daddy walked out the door to go to work as soon as I walked in. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be a little hard because we won't see each other at all, but the other days we'll have a couple hours in the afternoon while both kids are at school. We have plans tomorrow afternoon to go shopping for Ben's birthday present. Poor Ben. I will never have another child with a September birthday. I have been so busy getting ready for school to start and getting all of us in a routine that I haven't even thought about what we're doing for his special day. And Daddy and Joey are going camping for the whole weekend so we won't be able to do anything then. Oh well, at least he gets to celebrate at school, twice, unlike Joey and I.

Today's Workouts!

I managed to get my butt up and work out today for the first time in... well, let's just say a while. So I'm going to do like Sardonic Catholic Dad (on a much smaller scale) and hold myself accountable on my blog.

Today: 26 minutes, 313 calories, Jillian Michaels Cardio Kickbox

Woo Hoo

It's Almost Time

First of all, a big Happy Birthday to Candi. Looks like you're having a great one so far, so here's one more wish for a happy day.

Last night was meet the teacher night at my school. So I had to finally get my room all the way ready for the first day. I have pretty much been working every day and I felt like it was almost ready, but I still was there all day yesterday doing last minute touch-ups. It turned out great, and we had an awesome turnout of kids and parents, and grandparents. At one point I swear there were 50 people in my little room. It was overwhelming, but from the small amount of time I was able to spend with the kids, they all seem great. I now cannot wait for school to start. I have so many ideas for what we're going to do this year, and I feel like I'll have more freedom to do things my way after getting that first year out of the way. All I have left to do is make a couple phone calls to parents who haven't turned in physicals, make nametags, and add my two new students to my lists. (I am down to 2 openings, yay!)

Joey is doing better- no more teasing.

Ben seems to be just loving school. He is so independent.

Tomorrow my sister and I will be braving the Waterfront crowds to go see Montgomery Gentry. I'm looking forward to a night out before we get back into the day-to-day. I am also looking forward to getting back into that routine, though. I sooo need to work out again, and we've all been eating out way too much.

Sounds like a lot of people are going away for the weekend, so enjoy! I hope to be writing about us going away for a weekend very soon.

My Baby Got Picked On Today :(

Joey was telling me about his day in school today, and he quietly said "some boys laughed at me today."
"What happened?"
"They laughed because I pull my pants all the way down when I go potty." (Crying begins)
(Note here that Joey has always worried about drips in his underpants so he always pulls his clothes down so they're out of the way while he goes. He also waits a while to make sure all the drips are out before pulling his pants up. We know he's wierd. It's just one of his quirks. And Daddy warned me that he would get picked on, but we didn't think this soon.)
"Oh, honey"(insert breaking momma heart) "What did they say?"
"Nothing."
"Well how did you know they were laughing at you?"
"I just did."
"Did you you see who it was?"
"No, I was in the bathroom and heard them laughing."
A few minutes of this back and forth and I'm still not entirely convinced that they were laughing at him, but this evening we practiced going potty without pulling the pants down just in case. One of my biggest worries is seeing my babies not fit in or get picked on. Please, please, please let this be an isolated incident.

Ben's First Day

Ben got to have his first day/meet his teacher today. Teacher seems nice, kids seem ok for the most part (one buddy we're going to have to watch out for), transportation is a MESS. Last year when Joey was in kindergarten, the bus picked nim up and dropped him off at our driveway. This year they are apparently cutting back on something because all the preschoolers and kindergarteners are riding together and bus stops are on the corners. Fortunately the corner is only 3 houses down, but that is not nearly as convenient as it once was. Also, when I got the schedule in the mail (2 days before school started), it has him getting on the bus 45 minutes before school, and getting home 45 minutes after school. I'm sorry, but my 3 year old cannot be on the bus for over an hour a day. Seriously. We live 5 minutes away from the school. Well, we are not the only ones with a problem because that was all I heard about at school today, so hopefully somebody at transportation will realize that this will not work. Otherwise Ben is about to become a car rider, which he'd really rather not.

But other than that, I am looking forward to a great school year for both kids. I have realized that I am going to have 3 afternoons a week without kids. I get to grocery shop by myself, work out on my own, and make appointments without dragging them along. Yay me.

1st Grade is Way Harder than Kindergarten

Maybe it was dropping him off in the car instead of loading him on the bus, but I had a hard time leaving my baby at school today.He had to get out of the car and go to the playground by himself and then to his class by himself. I went to work for the 2 hours that he was at school but I was just sooo nervous for him that I couldn't get anything done. So we went back to pick him up half an hour early. Fortunately we weren't the only ones. There were several moms waiting for a while. When he finally came out at the end of the last line he looked so happy and proud. He was a big boy and handled all the independence just fine. I asked about his day and he said he was a little scared on the playground at first but then he found his buddies from kindergarten. He likes his teacher, can't wait to bring his lunch, learned that a penny is one cent, said the kids in his class were not too naughty (just one was a little crazy), and generally had a great first day.

Tonight I meet Ben's teacher and tomorrow he gets his first day. I'll update that tomorrow.

Some Things I Forgot Yesterday

The craziest part of this week: Hubby is in Canada for work. He left yesterday and will be back tomorrow after both orientations and Joey's first day is over. So I had to find a sitter for the boys for both evenings because Grandma also went on vacation this week. Somehow I get abandoned in my time of need. Good news- we were at a Birthday party for our old friends Andy and Amy's daughter Abby on Saturday and they agreed to watch Ben tonight and both boys tomorrow night. The kids actually got along and played together really well on Saturday so hopefully they will again.

On his way to the bus station yesterday, Daddy called in to the radio station and WON! We have reserved seat tickets to the Montgomery Gentry show next Friday night. It has been a long time since I have been to a concert so I am looking forward to it.

Is everyone as obsessed as I am with the Olympics? The boys have been getting quite frustrated with their lack of movies. Michael Phelps- awesome. I saw him get all of his gold medals. When we went to the pool Friday, Joey jumped in the same way Michael does. But he has decided that he wants to play Volleyball in the olympics when he grows up.

Girls gymnastics- hello? Rip-off as Bela Karoli says. I felt really bad for Alicia on the beam and Nastia on the uneven bars. I do not get that tie-breaker thing, either. And where did Shawn Johnson go?

Ok, I think I covered everything now. I'll try to update sooner next time.

I'm Still Here :)

Ok, ok, I'll try to update the crazyness now.

So the biggest thing is that my babies start school in two days. Joey has 1st grade orientation tomorrow night and his first day Wednesday. I have parent orientation for Ben's preschool Wednesday night and he goes for an hour on Thursday. We found out that Joey doesn't get busing (bussing?) so we're trying to work out what we are going to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays since he gets out at 2:40, I don't get out til 2:45, and Ben gets off the bus at 2:51. A little tight. Today we went shopping for lunch stuff for both boys. Joey will be packing a lunch for the first time, and Ben will need to eat quickly between his AM and PM preschool on MWF. We also timed how long it takes to walk to school in case that could be an option for Grandma some days- about 15 minutes and both boys were whining the whole way home so that is going to be last resort.

What else? The boys finished up swim lessons last weekend, and we made it to the pool one more time on Friday (saw an old friend there). Joey has gotten so big and brave. He went down the slide and jumped off the diving board! Last year he wouldn't get his face wet, so huge improvement. Ben also loves the water and gets to do level one next year even though he will not be 5 yet.

My school- I've been working hard on getting my room ready, at least a few hours each day. It's finally starting to look presentable so now I have to get all those first day things ready. We drove in to Schaumburg yesterday and stopped at the IKEA for a few things. They had a rocker for $10 and some cute little finger puppets for my puppet theater. We have meet the teacher night next Wednesday and then school starts the following Tuesday. I feel good about being ready by then, especially now that I can go while the boys are at school rather than dragging them with me. I also did some shopping at Kohl's the other day for some nicer work clothes. I feel the need as the director to wear something a little nicer than t-shirts every day. I had a 30% off coupon and managed to get 2 pairs of pants and 8 new shirts for $100. The other good news is that even though I've gotten a little off track with working out this summer (I will get back to it when I settle in to my routine) I was still able to get size 14 pants. That made me very happy.

The boys have been driving me and each other nuts the last several days. We are very ready to get school started and have a break from each other. This summer has been a very new experience with having so much free time and together time. I already have plans for how to do it better next summer, but it was really great getting to do the things that we did. Even though it wasn't a hot summer, on the days when we were warm and restless we could just head to the pool for a couple hours. I got a ton of reading done, to the point where I have to take a break now or my head is going to explode. I learned how to stay up late and sleep in (though I might decide that's not a good thing come Wednesday). The boys and I played UNO and Big Fish Little Fish together with minimal fighting.

Oh- and my boy started Tiger Scouts. He loves his uniform and is very proud to wear it. This is at rocket day last weekend. He had a cool Speed Racer rocket that he managed not to lose:)

See that one bottom tooth sticking out? It came out later that day with no help from Mommy. And the tooth fairy managed to show up on time this round.And one more shot of my cutie baby. I know you love it.

I Know My Life is Easy, But...

Sorry not feeling the updates lately. I am feeling soooo overwhelmed with all I have to do to get ready for school to start. I have still been working for the Park District and then dragging the kids to the preschool with me to try to get my room set up. The good news is that we enrolled 8 new kids just this week, so that stress is eased a bit. But I still have a lot to do to get my room ready, plus director work so school can start, plus I might want to at least get the first week's lesson plans done. You know, it was my ambition to get the whole year done over the summer. Hmmm, not so much.
The kids are going to my Dad's from Sunday to Wednesday, so I'm hoping to get a bunch done then and finally be able to breathe. I'll try to do a better update during that time, too.

I Been Playin With My Pictures Again

So I was bored and blog-surfing tonight when I came across a blog telling me to check out Picnik. Since I was bored and all I went on over and found this really cool, free, easy, photo-editing site. It's not the fastest in the world if you want to do a bunch of pictures, but I had fun playing with a couple of the pics from yesterday's carp-a-thon. Doesn't Joey look handsome? Here's a fun one. First, sooc (straight out of camera). 60's style. You can actually make your pictures look like you took them 40 years ago. Actually when I look at it now it doesn't look so dramatic. Let me try again. 60's style plus cross something or other. Pretty cool.

Carp-A-Thon 2008

We had the big Carp-a-thon yesterday allll day. We got up and woke the boys about 5:20 in the morning, were on the water by six, and didn't get home until 8pm. Here we are in the morning bright and shiny and still waiting for good things to happen. Shortly after this picture I noticed welts all over Ben's body and Joey started feeling sick. Ben was fine, but Joey ended up throwing up over the side of the boat a few times. After that he was fine and we stayed on the water. It was kind of boring and we didn't have too many bites, so the boys tried to rest and I tried to get some sun.
After a few hours we managed to get one fish for each of us. Ben got the biggest at 7.1 pounds.
Next was Joey with 4.14 pounds. Mommy's was 2.7 and Daddy had 1.7. Not the best fishing day but we did pretty good. The winner's fish was a record 27 pounds.
Ben ended up getting the trophy for his age group. We were all excited and surprised. (Joey was more upset and surprised because he didn't get one.) He was also on the local news last night.

You can watch it here (click on Carp-a-thon). The boys also won big tackle boxes (I'm trying to convince Ben to let me "borrow" his for my scrapbook supplies), and had fun playing games. It really was a great day because we were all together doing something (mostly) fun all day.