2010 First day of school

My computer is running as slow as a turtle today for some reason. I have been trying to get my pictures ready to upload for some time. It must be a little sad because there is not much activity in this house today..........

Let the school routine begin. Today was the first day of school for the boys. It is hard to believe they are in 3rd grade already. Where did my little boys go?

Last Friday, we were able to go in and meet their teachers. Jay has a fairly young teacher. This is her 5th year teaching I believe. She is very attractive. I heard that the one of the American Girl dolls was modeled after her. E has a male teacher this year. The only male teacher in the building. I have heard great things about both of them. Luckily, my boys tend to be able to adapt to any type of teacher.

I had to get the first day of school picture of the boys. E was being a little silly while Jay was definitely more serious.

And another. He wouldn't budge.

Mr. cranky pants didn't want his picture taken. He has been missing his brothers today.

The best part was that the husband took the day off today. He was able to walk to the bus stop with us.

The bus stop was unbelievably filled with soo many children. We didn't lose that many children from last year to middle school but we have added many more children. It seemed like the bus was jam packed.

I can't wait to hear how the first day went for the boys. We are going to treat the boys tonight and take them out to dinner.

I would like to be done with 3 please

I said please.

When E and Jay were young I was prepared for the 2's. I went out a bought a book called "Making the Terrible Two's Terrific" by John Rosemond. I took the advice the book gave me and kept it around as my guide. The two's came and went and I thought I had survived. It is hard enough having to deal with one child at that stage so two is so much more work. Ya, I thought I was supermom with really great kids.

I was not prepared when one day they were 3 and they were awful. Much of my time was spent punishing them for one thing or another. I do have to admit that there were times when only one was misbehaving but I never knew which one it would be on any particular day. Funny that I don't really recall details of that year any more just bits and pieces. I guess if your mind didn't let go of some stuff then people would stop reproducing.

I do remember as they approached their 4th birthday how different they behaved. They were much easier to reason with and suddenly all became good in our house once again. Of course, we all had our days but for the most part ok.

So here I am again with one 3 year old who is just being well I guess 3 years old. He is such a darling at times. And I love it when he comes up, crawls in my lap and tells me that he loves me. It melts my heart. He is a Momma's boy for sure.

3 started off ok but has progressively gotten worse. It is the whining and screaming that really can be bothersome. If you look at him in the wrong manner he will cry. We have tried to be patient with him. He is also starting to listen to us when teaching him about asking nicely when you want something instead of crying. It is slowly starting to sink in but there always has to be crying involved first.

I noticed when we got home from our vacation that Tee was especially clingy. No doubt had something to do with the week he spent sleeping in the same bed as me. He was also even more whiny than before.

Now he is peeing in his pants. He waits until the last minute and then decides he won't go to the bathroom without me. He calls my name (the reason was unknown to me) and run around in circles. So he would just stand where ever he was and pee. He has peed on the stairs once and peed on the floor in or around the bathroom several times. Yesterday, when we were outside he came and sat on my lap and then proceeded to pee. Luckily, I figured out what he was doing before it was all over me.

He has been working towards getting a sweet treat after dinner. We have been at this since Sunday.

I had asked Tee if he needed to use the bathroom prior to me going to get in the shower today. I left him downstairs to watch his show before his nap. I called for him at 1:30 and he did not answer. So just as I was headed downstairs he is standing there with his shirt drenched with nothing on below. I asked if he peed on the floor and got a positive response. This time he locked and shut the bathroom door. Ya, like I wouldn't be able to figure this one out. The shirt alone gave it away.

I am tired of cleaning up pee. What could be causing this sudden accident streak?

My guess is that this is the only way he can express his stress. What stress could he have at such a young age? Seriously, he has it made. I guess it might be the fact that he is going to start preschool in a few weeks. He has told me that he doesn't want to go to school. But we have talked about where he is going, our church and the teachers. Every time he mentions his teachers from last year I have to tell them he will have different teachers.

I am hoping that 4 comes quickly. And Mr. Rosemond I think you need to write another book regarding the 3's.

My calendar must be wrong

It is hard to believe that in a week from Monday the boys will be back to school and we will be getting back to a routine. I am not sure where the summer went. I had grand plans to get some organizing accomplished. Boy....did I fail miserably.

We have had a lot going on this summer. It has been a really nice summer and we have all kept busy.

Our garden this year gave us a nice supply of cucumbers and zucchini. The green beans did ok in the beginning but then failed me. I think they were not getting enough water and the zucchini plant was so large that it blocked the sun. I will remember this for next year. I also grew a strawberry bush in an Earth box. It did well and even produced a few strawberries. The Earth box had to be moved off the deck and I think some bunnies have feasted on them. I would like to plant in my garden but I need to figure out how to protect them first. We have planted pumpkin seeds and hope to have a few good pumpkins for the fall.

We have had some work done in our house this summer. Every year we try to take on a project or two. Our plan is to keep our house updated and also design it our way. Of course, there are things we can't change but we are doing what we can. We had granite counter tops installed. We also took out a desk in the kitchen and added a cabinet for additional pantry space. The contractor is now working on installing our trex deck. Our deck was really showing it age. Our choice was to smooth and re-stain or put in something that requires little to no maintenance. We chose the latter.

Well, I guess we are not practical after all. We decided to get another Sequoia. The husband went to the dealership this past Saturday to negotiate. He feels like he got a good deal on the car (it is a 2010 which they are trying to clear off the lot). The car feels so much bigger to me but I have noticed that it is a little easier to manage because it turns so easily. I still miss my old car just a little.

So much to do so little time.......off to do something productive while I have a few minutes.

Home at last

Exhausted! We made it home safely from our vacation. I still have not recovered but hope to get back to our routine tomorrow.

The rest of the beach trip was so nice and relaxing. I think we all finally mellowed out towards the end and were able to enjoy our last few days.

We spent a lot of time on the beach. E is truly a beach lover like his Mom. He wanted to stay when it was time to go. It was VERY hot and humid during our stay. The weather held out for us though. We got in as much as we could during our last few days. We biked, played miniature golf and went on a hike. The hike was mainly to find the GO Cache located in HHI for a friend. I have never heard of it but it is like a scavenger hunt.

We made our trip down to Jacksonville on Saturday. We spent a lot of time with family, which the boys loved. We were only able to visit with my brother's family (they have two young boys) for a short time. E and Jay loved playing with their cousins. They were sad when they had to leave. They would like to see them again soon.

My sisters and I took our kids (theirs are grown up) to the water park. E and Jay each had a buddy for the day. E had a blast going down the slides. He even did the half pipe. I couldn't watch, I was scared for him. He liked it but did not want to do it again. I had to literally pull him off the slides so that we could leave. Jay had a good time but didn't seem to enjoy the slides as much. And Tee had a great time playing in the water. He also went down a big slide with no raft. He had a look of terror on his face as he came out. He said he liked it but didn't want to do it again.

My nephew, C., was my saving grace. He bowled with us one day and went to the beach with us the next. He stayed in the water and helped the boys boogie board. The waves were really choppy and the current was so strong. Tee and I played at the water's edge.

We had a really nice time visiting with my parents.

I had a hard time sleeping during my stay. Tee slept with me and he is a non-stop mover. It would take him sometimes until 4 am to stop moving so much. He kept turning towards the end of the bed that I thought he was going to fall off. No carpet in my parent's house just a hard floor. The bed was so uncomfortable. It is good to sleep in my own bed once again.

By Wednesday the boys were ready to be home. Two weeks was a long time for them. We started our trip home on Thursday when I picked up my husband from the airport. We drove to his Dad's house in South Carolina where we stayed the night. The boys went fishing with no luck.

Friday morning we started our 8 1/2 hour drive home. It wasn't too bad and the boys did really well.

I have pictures that I have not downloaded yet. I hope to work on those soon.

Vacation at last

It was a lot of preparation but I finally got it all together. Yes, I forgot a few things but nothing we can't live without or buy here. Saturday we left early in the morning and boy was it a long day. Thank goodness for the GPS system, we were able to get around 2 backups on I-95. We arrived at our destination around 4pm.

We unloaded and hit our normal first night restaurant. Then we loaded up on groceries for the week.

The boys love the beach. It is unfortunate that jellyfish in the water are high. In the last 2 days we have seen about 20 people come out of the water crying or holding onto a particular part of their body all in pain. I have not wanted to be in the water and neither do the boys. The boys love to boogie board but are a little scared they will get stung. Today E and Jay spent a few hours digging a huge hole while Tee played at the water's edge.

We rented bikes for the week. This year Tee is on a tandem bike with his Dad. Funny that he kept hitting the brakes as his Dad was pedaling. He enjoyed the bike ride.

I don't think the boys got the memo on vacation rules. They have been arguing and not listening since we have gotten here. It has been very tiring for the parents. I guess we are only 2 days in maybe things will be better tomorrow.