The first day of second grade

Today was the start of the school year. My boys are going into 2nd grade. EE was a little anxious this morning. He really did not want to ride the school bus for some reason. I am not sure why even though I asked him repeatedly.

Tee was adamant about caring his back pack to the bus stop. He asked me if he could get on the bus. But he is now excited about starting pre-school in mid Sept.






The bus stop was a zoo this morning. Even though many of the kids moved up to middle school this year it seems like we have more kids than last.

After successfully shuttling the kids off to the bus, I came home and got ready for the back to school breakfast I hosted this year. My neighbor has hosted this event for the last 6 years. I think she needed a break this year.

I worked my tail off to get the house clean and ready the night before. I knew the morning rush out the door would be too much. I also asked everyone to bring something to share so that I did not have to prepare everything. It seems like the popular item was muffins or some kind of bread. These are all wrapped up for the husband to take into work tomorrow.

There were about 20 people here. It turned out to be a very nice morning. Tee was able to play with some new friends.

The last of the people did not leave until 1 o'clock. It was just a few of us talking.

I can't wait to hear how the first day went. Believe it or not I have missed the little guys today. I guess we will all be back in our routine soon enough.

The last days of summer

This is the last day of summer for the boys. Beginning Monday morning we will be back to the mad rush of getting dressed, fed and out the door. We had such a nice summer but I think that I am ready to get back to a routine. I think the boys are ready also.

Yesterday, for the first time this summer I took the boys to the pool at our gym. Luckily, a few of their friends were there. They all had such a good time. EE was non-stop going down the slides. I had to make him stop to eat lunch. Jay went down a few times and that was good enough for him. Tee loved playing in the zero entry area with the fountains. It was such a nice day and I still got to get a workout in. I am not sure why we had not done that all summer.

We got teacher notifications on Wednesday. Well, I got one postcard telling me the teacher EE had gotten. I ended up calling the school the next morning to find out who Jay got as a teacher. Like last year, his postcard got lost in the mail. The 2nd grade team at the school has a really good reputation. There are 7 2nd grade classes with 17-18 students. We feel lucky to have such small class sizes. There were a few teachers that I would have liked the boys to have gotten but I am sure we will be fine with who they have.

We just got back from the meet the teacher at school. Of course, it started raining as we were getting ready to go but it let up as we got to school. Our first stop was EE's class. I had to read the instructions written at the front of the room so I could figure out what to do with his supplies. She gave fairly simple instructions on how to put all of the supplies away. He should be ready to go Monday morning.

Our next stop was Jay's class. The teacher is a little older but seems very nice. My stress level started when I saw a neighbor who had been sitting in the class for 20 minutes following instructions on what to do with supplies. I had to label every pencil, crayon, marker, eraser etc. These were very specific instructions. I don't like to follow instructions much honestly. My neighbor was giving me a hard time saying that I had to follow instructions like the rest. But the rest didn't have a 2 year old who was trying to get into everything. It took me over 30 minutes to finish and I probably didn't do everything correctly. I have a hard time figuring out why each crayon had to be labeled. She did assign each child a number and we only had to put a number on the crayon but for the love of God....why. What made it worse was that the office came on the intercom asking the families to leave. Then we had to slip out through the office through a sea of people waiting to get in for the next go around.

I think it will be an interesting year.

Too ambitious, maybe, but rain does not make for a great outdoor party

I don't know why but my husband and I tend to think we can accomplish a million things in the matter of a few days. My husband had a week off and we had a long list of projects. We didn't account for the 2 days we would be away. We probably had 15 items on our ever growing list and we maybe completed 2.

It wasn't for a lack of trying that is for sure. We decided to change out our outdoor lights. My husband went to the home improvement store and picked some out. He pulled the first one out of the box and it was broken. He was ready to give up but I thought he should at least open one more. The second one was broken as well. They were returned.

Our outdoor furniture is in need of some major tlc. It is very faded. On Thursday my husband painted one of the chairs. He tried it with a brush first and then decided to get the sprayer out. The sprayer was much faster but we knew there was no way he would be able to get them all done by Saturday for our party.

The rest of our time was spent cleaning and getting ready for our party. The weather forecast was not promising. I always feel like the weather is not what they say it is going to be so I was a little hopeful.

Saturday morning brought us some rain but then we ended up with cloudy skies. As the party time approached I hoped people would arrive on time because it was clear that our outdoor time was going to end fairly soon. The kids were able to swim and jump in the bounce house for about 1 1/2 hours. The party then moved indoors, in the basement.

My most embarrassing moment was when Tee got out of the pool walked over to the grass and pulled his bathing suit down to go potty. I know we are a little redneck but I can't take that child inside every time he has to go while we are swimming. I am thinking it is good he doesn't do it in the pool. Luckily, only a few guests had arrived at that point.

The party ended up being fine just not the way we had planned it. And we still have a long list of to dos.

A little fun

My husband has the week off. The week will mainly be a "staycation" but we did manage to have a little fun early this week.

A few months ago when I visited my friend in Pa. we talked about meeting in Hershey Park. It just so happens that she and her husband have the same week of vacation. Our plan was to meet at the park.

We ended up getting there before my friend so we did a few rides while waiting.


Tee was looking at the ride he was about to get on.

Here he is on his very first ride, the balloon flite. He liked it the first few times around and then he was crying a little. He remembers the ride and he also remembers crying.


The boys rode on the carousel.

We got family pictures early in the day. It was so incredibly hot this day. We were full of sweat the entire day.


The boys were good sports in riding rides with Tee.

My husband and my friend's husband rode on a ride called Storm Runner. It takes you out on the track and counts down from 10. Then it shoots off like a rocket at 70 miles per hour. It goes every which way it can. Not a ride for me.

In fact, I did not ride on any rides. I was typically the one either with Tee or taking pictures. I do not like roller coasters so I was fine. The boys rode on one little roller coaster. Ee loved riding on the Swings up in the air. He went on 2 times. Jay did not want to have anything to do with them. He was definitely a little more conservative. He rode a rocket ship towards the very end. It is a ride in which you get to decide how high you go. You can go all the way to the top or stay in between by pulling on the lever. As he and his Dad were getting buckled in he says that he has to go to the bathroom. He stayed in the middle for the ride.

We let the kids play in the water area for a little while as well. It was a nice little cool off for a very hot day. They did not do any of the rides but played in the little fountain area.

Tee was so exhausted. Luckily, my friend brought a stroller with them (I had an umbrella stroller) which she let me use for Tee to take a nap. He got a good 1 hour cat nap. This was certainly a blessing otherwise he would have turned into a crank and we would have had to leave the park.

We were able to have dinner in the park and then went and toured the Hershey Chocolate Factory. It was very neat and I am glad we were able to do it that evening instead of going back the next day.

We had the best time. My boys and my friend's boys get along so well. I am hoping we can get them together again soon. Her boys are very well behaved.

We ended up at our hotel around 8:30. It was the worst night sleep I have gotten in a long time. Jay was having a hard time staying asleep. He kept getting up to go to the bathroom. We had the ice maker on so that we have ice for the cooler the next morning. I woke up every time the tray turned over. The hotel was off the highway and all night long you could hear the trucks driving by shifting their gears. Then morning started at 5:30.

On Tuesday, we drove to an outlet mall that was sort of on the way home. We were all tired but we managed to shop a little before we headed home.

The rest of the week will consist of house projects that we need to get done. We are also getting ready for the "work" family party this weekend. Hopefully, after this weekend we will spend some time on the weekends doing and visiting some of the places I wanted to do this week.

Oh geez.....

Tee's door and lock opening skills have really improved over the last month. He now can open the few doors we have with round knobs. The other night when the doorbell rang he went up to the front door unlocked it and opened the door. EE and Jay are trained to NOT open the door unless I approve and am around the area.

This morning I decided to run on the treadmill down in the basement. As a precaution, I set the alarm. I didn't remember I set the alarm until I opened the door in the basement to go out to the pool later on in the morning. The alarm was so loud. I made a mad dash for upstairs darting around children who were scared to turn it off. As soon as I turned it off I went and got the phone. I received my call and spoke to the representative. He asked me my code which I honestly could not remember. I gave him what I thought it was. We said our goodbyes and that was that.

Or at least I thought that was that. The husband called me on my cell phone which I thought was weird. He questioned where I was and was surprised when I told him I was home. I explained that the situation and that I had already talked with the company. He had gotten a call stating the police where going to be dispatched to our house.

Sure enough 15 minutes after the alarm went off I had an office standing at my front door. Then I started thinking isn't 15 minutes a bit of a delay if someone was really breaking into my house? Did he know that it was a false alarm and decided he didn't really need to hurry? I guess the alarm had been shut off which would not have been the case if someone was breaking in. Certainly makes me think about our safety a little.

Potty Humor

Going potty is still pretty exciting to Tee. He gets very excited to see number 2 in the toilet. He must announce every time he farts, but then politely says "excuse me". He is all boy!

He has a potty seat that sits on top of the toilet. He has a guard on front to catch the pee that sprays up. It is a little difficult for him to climb up on his own with the guard but he manages most times. Sometimes it falls into the potty- yuck. I took the guard off of his portable potty because it kept falling off. Each time he goes to the bathroom I have to remind him to hold his p*nis down.

I don't often get alone time and especially none when I have to go to the bathroom. The other day Tee comes in and says "mommy hold your p*nis down?". I quickly explained to him that I am a lady and I don't have one. We call body parts what they are in this household. No cutesy names are made up.

Another time I was in the bathroom Tee decided he would bring in the wipes to clean me, as he put it. I never know what he will say next.

Hopefully an hour or so of quiet

The older boys are at a birthday party a few houses down and I put Tee down for a nap a little while ago. He has skipped his nap 3 out of the last 4 days and I am hoping he has a little shut eye today. When he doesn't nap it means that I have to hurry through dinner and clean up to get him bathed and in bed no later that 7:30(preferably by 7:15). It is a definite trade off between napping and early bedtime. I am not ready for him to give up his nap just yet. I still hear him talking upstairs. I guess I better move on.

This past weekend was a hot and humid one. We spent the day in the pool on Sunday. This was for sure the only way we managed to stay cool. We often ask ourselves what we would be doing without the pool in the back yard. It is a good way for the kids to expend some of their energy and they have fun doing it.

My niece finally received a job offer yesterday and believe it or not started today. We were all very excited for her. She literally has been looking since January both here and Flroida. It is an admin support position. She will have benefits plus vacation and a few sick days. This is what she needed. I am going to miss having her around during the day, but I am glad she found a job.

One of the nice things about having my niece around is that the husband and I can go out every once in a while without having to pay a sitter. The sitter I have bee using is not cheap. A few Sundays ago we went out with our neighbors to a restaurant that we had not been to before. They sat us in eye shot of a board that had a wine listing but no prices. I saw one that caught my eye so I ordered a glass. The restaurant was primarily seafood which I don't eat much of. I ended up getting a salad and a shrimp appetizer. And I also got another glass of wine. Imagine my surprise when we got the bill and noticed that each glass of wine was $15. The wine was more expensive than my meal. I am positive we will not be going back to that restaurant again.

I am in the midst of planning a party for my husband's work people and their families. We are doing a pool/moon bounce party. I am struggling with the fact that many of these work people don't have children and what will they do here. I guess we will have to see what the RSVP is like.

Well, today will be one of the no nap days. I have him watching the Little Einsteins and must get a few things done before I have to focus my attention back to him.

Crafty

My nephew (just graduated college and is now getting ready for law school) spent his summer working at a camp in North Carolina. I think he has had a really good time. A few weeks ago he sent my niece (his sister who is staying with us) a little baggy of play doh and a recipe.

I knew the boys would be intrigued by making play doh so today was the day. Just the thing to do on a rainy day. He listed the ingredients but did not offer any instructions on how to prepare. So I guessed. I boiled the water and poured into the dry ingredients. He also stated to add kool aid to give it color. I let the boys each pick out two colors. My thought was that you add the color to the play doh after you have mixed it. I now think I was supposed to add the kool aid to the boiling water for color. Maybe next time I can get it right.

We ended up putting some food coloring on the play doh for a more vibrant color. And now we all have hands with a few different colors. It was a fun activity that was enjoyed by all.

Tee decided to not nap today. And he has been up to no good this afternoon. He decided to take a black crayon to the wall in the sun room. Not just a little mark, no he colored over a large part of the wall. Needless to say I was less than happy. I guess I better pick up the crayons from the floor and maybe hide them for a while.

A tweet about Twitter

I have heard a lot about Twitter. Some of the people who have blogs also have a twitter account and many times you are able to see their recent tweets. There are a lot of celebrities who twitter. So why is it that people want to detail many aspects of their life for others to see? And more importantly why would anyone want to follow someone on Twitter?

I have never been on twitter until recently. I have never had the desire to be on twitter. I have a hard enough time keeping up with my blog, facebook and the blogs of others I read. I could not imagine (nor would I want to) keeping a twitter account updated on my daily happenings. Honestly, it would probably put people to sleep.

Why would I have gone on Twitter? Well, I have been following a story of a little boy named Stellan with a congenital heart condition. This condition makes his heart beat dangerously fast. He was diagnosed in utero and the parents were told he would not make it. I think he is now 8 months old and is still struggling with his condition. You can read about him here. His Mom does such a nice job with her blog. Recently, Stellan was back in the hospital because of his condition. She posted the link to her Twitter account, as that is where she would be putting her updates. I wanted to know how Stellan was doing so I clicked and saved the link to her Twitter account. Thankfully, Stellan is now home and on medication. I am not sure what the short term plan is but I know that Drs. would like to wait until he is older for surgery.

As I read some of her tweets, I noticed that she had a few from the McGraws. That is right both Robin and Jay. You know I had to click on Robin's account. I saw a few of her posts. The ones I read were mostly about her walking in the mornings with a friend or going here or there. Really not so interesting.

I don't get the attraction to Twitter. Even after reading a few entries from people, I don't understand the how or why people twitter. I suppose it is really not for me to get, it is what it is and I don't have to have anything to do with it.

Back to school shopping

We had a fairly low key weekend. We spent Saturday laying out by the pool. It was a cloudy day but our water was nice and warm thanks to the heater. I can't believe that I have had to heat my pool water at the end of July. This seems so wrong. It was a nice day and an early evening for the little ones.

I did have a situation arise that I did not handle well. I got a call from a boy down the street. He is the same age as my boys. He wanted to know if the boys could swim at his house. I heard him talking to his Mom and I am not positive she knew who he was calling. I did not know what to say so I told him we would have to see what was going on after lunch. After lunch came and I did not answer the phone and we were out by our pool.

I don't like it much when a child calls my child to set up play time. The parent needs to be involved and call me to discuss the specifics. This child typically comes down to play with my boys but neither parent ever comes down to talk to me. He will ask if he can play and then he will go home talk to his parents and then come back and say he can play til such and such time. How hard is it to walk a few houses down and have a conversation. There have been times when his older sister will walk him down to see if he can play here.

I am uneasy with the parental supervision in the family. I accept that everyone parents differently. I remember the time the boys were over there for maybe 1 hour to celebrate the boy's birthday. I walked down to get them and they were watching a Transformer Movie. This is NOT something I would let my children watch. On Saturday, he wanted them to swim at his house. Although I am very comfortable with how my children manage themselves in the water, I still feel they need supervision. The boy is a little on the wilder side and I think great care should be given at the pool.

Speaking of the pool. They had their pool put in this Spring. Well, not just a pool but the entire backyard has been transformed into an oasis. That is what I have heard anyway. I would really like to see it.

I will address this at some point with the Mom. Not sure how to say what I want to say but hopefully it will come out well.

Sunday brought rain into the area so we decided what better time to shop. We drove west to a really great Prime Outlet center. G*p was running their family and friends promotion (30% off) so I stocked up on school clothes for the boys. They got some very nice clothes and I feel like I saved a lot of money. The boys also got new shoes for the year. Their feet grow like crazy! The husband and I managed to buy a little something for ourselves as well. I love this outlet mall and so worth the hour drive and the whiny kids.

Speaking of whiny kids. The Tee man has really started to slip on his potty training. He has pooped in his underwear 2 times. I knew the regression would happen but I am ready for it to be over.