Sunday, August 31, 2008

Disney Day #1

Despite the forecast of rain, it turned out to be a really nice day. It was overcast all day but with the breeze (windy at times) it kept the heat down and kept us cool. While we were watching the Jedi Training Academy show it did lightly sprinkle a bit, but it wasn't enough to even care about. It was barely spitting. The boys had a good view of the show once all the kids who were not picked to be on stage left. I guess if they weren't picked, then the parents didn't want to stay and watch? It was quite amusing when Darth Vader came out and it looked like he was looking our way, Logan backed away! LOL Ian backed away when he saw the Storm troopers. When I asked him why, he said he thought they may shoot him. He loved the show though.

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It was more crowded than I thought it would be. I'm hoping tomorrow will be the travel day for most people. We've gone the past 2 Labor Days and it's been very low crowds so we're crossing our fingers for tomorrow. We didn't get to do the Toy Story ride. By the time we got there around 11ish, all the fastpasses were gone and the wait time was 80 minutes. Later in the day, the wait time was 110 minutes! Ouch. Even with the crowds, other shows weren't too bad. Dh and the boys saw Indiana Jones while I went to feed Bella (it's too loud at the show for her). Dh and Logan hopped on Star Tours which said 25min wait but they were in and out in probably 15-20. Logan and I went on the Tower of Terror (my fave ride!!!). The wait time said 30min and we were done way before that. We maybe waited 15min? So times were off but in a good way! The TOT was awesome as usual. I got to sit in the back and if you ever get to go, you must sit in the back row. I swear you get more airtime when you drop. It's the best!

We got to see the Pixar Block Party Bash and I wasn't all that impressed. I'd much rather see a parade with the floats going by slowly so I can see everything. This all bunches together and stops in sections of the parade line so you really only get to see one float in front of you. The others quickly pass you by before stopping in front of *their* crowd. It's hard to explain. You can kinda see what I mean by watching THIS. Here's a cute video of both of my boys dancing at the end though. I was surprised that Ian got up and danced.
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Oh did you want to see more pictures? Of course I have them!

Look at these teeny little Crocs I tried on Bella. Aren't they adorable? They are the smallest size available and they are still way too big. She has little feet I guess. I didn't get them though. I was afraid she's just kick one off and poof- there goes $$.

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From the Muppet store: I like this idea!
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Can you read it?
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Indiana Jones shop
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Logan's "scared" face. LOL
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I think they need to fire their mouse uhh...housekeepers.
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Be back tomorrow with more Disney fun!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Labor Day Weekend

Busy, busy!

First, I hope all my New Orleans friends stay safe with Gustav on his way. Let's pray it fizzles out for you!! Let's also pray that Hanna fizzles too. No. more. hurricanes.

Today started out with dh having a computer job to do so he wasn't here all morning. I took all three kids to Costco to do some grocery shopping. Costco was a madhouse. On the weekends they have those little booths set up so you can get free samples of foods they carry. We're talking about mini-cups. At one booth they were giving out samples of ice cream. I don't know what kind it was because I couldn't get near the booth. You would think they were giving out $20 bills! There was a line of people blocking the aisle trying to get a mini cup of ice cream. Thank goodness the boys had no idea what was there. I was not about to stand in line for that.

We got home and the skies opened up. It was blowing! I backed in so I could stand under the overhang and water was still coming into my truck. My carpet got wet in a few places. Once dh got home, we just hung out for a while and then he took the boys up to our favorite pizza place to meet his buddy for dinner. He brought me home a whole pizza (I only asked for a slice!). Apparently Moe had made a mistake pizza so dh got a bargain on it. LOL He was proud of himself for getting said bargain and happier still that I liked sausage on pizza. It's not like he could have eaten it! ;)

Tomorrow we are headed to Disney-Hollywood Studios I think with possibly a stop at DTD in the afternoon. We'll see how the weather is and how hot/tired we are.

Monday I think we're going to the Magic Kingdom. This will be our third Labor Day at Disney. We aren't spending the night in Orlando though even though it would be easier. It will cost us less in gas just to drive plus we'd have to find someone to watch/feed our dog. I'm excited to go because we haven't been in a couple of months. *gasp* I must say, the economy is pissing me off. We aren't able to do a vacation at all this year. :( Oh well... I know we're better off than many so I count my blessings and move on.

Happy Labor Day!!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Man...uh... woman...uh... thing overboard!

I've mentioned it before but Legos and specifically the Lego people are a big thing in our house. My dining room table is usually covered in Legos. This is what I found the other day....

Do you see the Lego person being left behind?
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Apparently there are all sorts of characters on a pirate ship including Clone Troopers and knights.

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Studying strategy?

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Guess he needed a Lego size view.

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I'm sure there were sound effects to go with this. You'll just have to imagine the Indiana Jones bullwhip snapping or the theme song being hummed. I hear it or the Star Wars theme all the time.

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Thursday, August 28, 2008

What the hell.....

Was I thinking? It's the end of hot-as-Hades August and I *walked* to go get Logan this afternoon pushing the double stroller. It's not a leisurely 5 minute walk- it's 1 mile. Not only is it hot as HELL but I had to push that stroller UP a few hills. O.M.G. I stunk by the time I got to school and even poor Bella was sweating. She had cute little sweat dots all over her little nose. I didn't bring any water so we were dying of thirst. (I just checked the weather and it's 95 degrees out!!!!!!! Somebody slap me.)

Halfway home, Logan was whining and crying because he had gnats flying around his face and he kept slapping himself. Then I heard from him, "I can't walk one. more. step." Oh the drama! We walk much longer at Disney but this isn't as much fun! Let me tell you, walking into our air conditioned house never felt so good. We all took a cool shower (it's so hot out that our water isn't even cold) when we got in. Logan has tumbling tonight and I know we'll both sweat it out again but I couldn't go there smelling like that. Yuck!!

Needless to say, unless something drastic happens, we won't be walking to school again until it cools off. And I mean, it better be in the 70s or below or REALLY low humidity.

Santa shops at Target?

Ian was playing with Legos this morning and I was once again informed that Logan wants 20 Lego "armies" and 20 "robots" for Christmas. Ian also added that Santa can go to Target to buy the armies and robots. By armies and robots, they are talking about Star Wars figures. These boys are obsessed with Lego people in general and Star Wars especially. If I could buy just sets of the people they would be ecstatic. I checked on Ebay for just figures and they go for a ridiculous amount of money. All that for bitty pieces of plastic- amazing.

Dear Neighbor,

Just because you live in a rental home does not give you permission to let the yard go to crap. Your grass is 2 foot tall. Please mow it. I see your car there every day. I see you walking around outside on your phone. Get off the phone and mow your damn grass. If you can't mow it, then hire someone to do it. Thank you.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Selling my Mei Tai

I'm just not using it like I had hoped I would so it's up for sale on thebabywearer.com if anyone is interested. HERE's what it looks like. Asking $70ppd.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Ugh!!

It's just been one of those days. It started this morning when I took Logan to school. I wanted to walk to school- he didn't want to so we drove. I found a parking spot up front, go to pull in and some lady is taking up both spaces! She's now in her car trying to back out but I'm in her way now. The way the spaces are angled, I can't just pull out (have to pull out onto the road) and keep going. I had to pull out, drive back across the tracks, do a U turn in the church parking lot and head back towards the school.

Got home and Ian is still whining about a popsicle! He wanted one this morning and dh told him to ask me. Uhhh no. You can not have a popsicle at 8am. Why didn't he tell him that? Then I heard more whining and more whining about various other things.

Went to pick up Logan and decided it was too damn hot to walk as we had to go to tumbling tonight and I didn't want to be sweaty/stinky. Now Ian's whining about not walking to school. Oh and I got bit by an ant waiting for school to let out.

Later on I sent the boys to clean up their room. I popped my head in and Ian is butt naked. He looks at me and says "I didn't peepee in my underwear." Yeah, that means he did. I sent him straight to the bathroom to sit and told Logan to keep cleaning. He's been having too many "accidents" lately and it's really getting on my nerves. He knows he has to go but he doesn't want to stop what he's doing and go. Now I hear from Logan that his floor is wet. Ugh!!! I wondered why all the shoes were neatly placed in matching pairs in a circular area of their room when I popped my head in. Now I know. Ian had put them there on top of where he had peed!!!! He was trying to hide it. So now I have to wipe up pee, wipe the shoes, spray Clorox disinfectant and dry it all while trying to make dinner because we have to leave for tumbling class in less than an hour. I was so mad!

Got dinner done, had the boys sit and eat, got Logan dressed for tumbling, called dh to see if I had to drop off Ian at his office, ate my dinner, fed Bella and when dh walked in, we walked out. Phew. Got to tumbling and the minimal air conditioning they have is apparently broken. It was broken last Thursday too so I thought to bring my Squeeze Breeze fan in to keep Bella cool and me as well. I was melting even with the fan! Logan looked like he been in a shower after he was done with class. It must have been 100 degrees in there.

Now we're home, Bella is in bed, the boys are bathed and getting ready for bed and I still have to go grocery shopping. What a day!

Monday, August 25, 2008

5 months!

I have been so busy with Ebay auctions today, I didn't do my 5 month photo shoot with Bella. Of course I did get a few shots of her today. Here's one and hopefully a video from a week or so ago.

Today:
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Logan putting on a show for Bella to make her laugh:

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Smile!

No matter how overwhelming and stressful life is, they always makes me smile.

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Thank you

Thank you for the comments so far. I'm so overwhelmed with all that I have put out for sale, I'm not sure I could do Ebay. There would be so much to photograph and document. When I say I have a lot of stuff, I mean I have 10 years worth of clothes of mine and at least 3 years worth of clothes from two boys. Those that know me, know how much I like to shop! ;) I don't have enough hangars for it all!

I do have a couple of bags of shoes and NWT outfits that I may Ebay. This stuff is just overwhelming my house right now so it has to go. I think dh may blow a gasket if our house doesn't get tidy soon!

Calgon, take me away!

Yard sales are for the birds!

Why did I say I wanted to do this?

This is what my living room looked like earlier today.
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Good heavens! I've been sorting stuff all. day. long. We have tons of boys clothes! I have no idea how to price them though. Toys, cooking gear, flower arrangements, baskets, maternity and plus size clothes, vhs tapes, books, an owl, baby bottles, barely used breastpump with tons of unopened extras......ugh. If you've had a yard sale before, feel free to comment. How do I set up the baby clothes when I only have one long table? I hope to hang all the adult clothes. I have some blankets/old sheets I can use on the ground too.

Pricing?
Books- $0.50
Baby/toddler clothes- $0.50 or full outfits (2+pieces) $1.00
Maternity/plus size- $2.00ea
Toys- depends
Sound good? Too low/high?

I know I have readers- loyal, awesome in-real-life and 'net friends as well as strangers(still awesome if you're reading!). Hit me with all your greatest advice. Don't make me beg!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

A long Ikea day

We finally made it to Ikea this weekend! Yay! We even took all 3 kids. The boys were really good for the most part. I think we were there for at least 4 hours including lunch. Bella was perfect. I wore her for the first half and after lunch I put her in the stroller. She even took a nap in it without a fuss.

Lunch over there was decent. The boys had mac & cheese with fruit and gobbled it all down. Dh had a veggie wrap and I had some chicken & fries. We all shared a slice of their apple cake with vanilla sauce. The cake was so-so. My chicken was really good though- tender and moist and the fries were seasoned. They have some yummy honey-mustard sauce too. On our way out we picked up some cinnamon rolls too. I just ate one- yumm!

We got a few things for Christmas gifts, a ladybug rattle/toy for Bella and this huge playmat for her. It's really nice. It has a baby proof mirror and some toys attached to it plus it's skid proof on the bottom. It's much larger than our little playmat and since she rolls all over the place I really wanted something bigger. We don't have nice soft carpet anymore. We also bought some new cutlery for the boys to use. I didn't see any plates for them though. I was hoping to find some sort of melamine type plate so I could stop using paper.

I found so much I want to get for us and Bella's room. They have really cool flower lamps for her bedroom and in a couple of years, I want to get her a toy kitchen and buy her these and these and these. They are all metal and can actually be used for cooking. I could easily furnish and decorate my entire house in Ikea stuff! I can't wait for ours to open! It will only be 25 minutes away versus 90 minutes away!

On our way home we hit a nasty storm. A lot of lightning and torrential rain. I could hardly see in front of me and we were going way below the speed limit. Thank goodness it was over in a few minutes. I hate driving in the rain! After hitting Mickey D's for dinner for the boys and Publix for subs for dh and I, we headed home. After putting Bella to bed, I went out to SuperTarget for some groceries so I'm just getting home once again. I started this blog probably 4 hours ago and I'm just getting around to finishing it. Phew! Busy, busy!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Tumbling update

Just wanted to update on Logan's tumbling class. He's doing so well. I'm so proud of him. Last night there were only three students so Logan basically got an hour long private lesson! The other 2 students were with Shea as they were older and had a higher skill level (you can see them in the background). Our coach, Torian, is so awesome with Logan though. Logan is really learning to listen better and take instructions. He's getting stronger and can hold himself up in a handstand against the mats on the wall. He's getting better at actual tumbling (rolling) and grabbing his knees to stand right up. His favorite thing to do though is a back flip. I was told once again that boys who cheer have an almost guaranteed scholarship to college so if I can help it these boys will cheer! LOL That's about the only way I'll be able to pay for them!

Here's a little video of him last night.

Shameless Mommy Brag

Skip this post completely if you don't want to ready my mommy brag!


I walked Logan into class today and his teacher told me she had asked the Gifted program teacher to come evaluate Logan. She noticed that he picked up a book at the media center the other day that was more advanced than kindergarten level and heard him reading it. She also mentioned she had started the testing they give each student to evaluate them and that by question #4, he was way ahead of her. She couldn't keep up with whatever it was she had to write. She told me it was the fastest test she had given and she can do these tests in her sleep. LOL Her son is in a gifted program so I'm more comfortable with her evaluation of him.

Now I'm not saying Logan will make it into the program although I hope he will. He may still need to work on his comprehension skills. I tested to get into the program when I was at that school and missed getting in by a few points or something like that. The class is only like 30? minutes a day too so he would still be with his classmates most of the time. I want him to keep learning without having to do the same things all over again in kindergarten that he did in Pre-K. Today for example, they were learning about the letter A. I know there are students in kindergarten who still need to learn their letters so I think this would be a good opportunity for him to push further.

So that's my mommy brag for the day- at least the school part of the day. I'll post about his tumbling accomplishments next. ;)

Fay, Fay, Go Away!

Enough already! How long can you possibly hang out in Florida? I know it's a great tourist state and who doesn't like to visit Disney and the beaches but you've really outworn your welcome. Go away already!

Here's the funny part of this storm. When all the schools were closed on Tuesday, we didn't get a drop of rain. It was barely even breezy. Today it's headed back across the state the opposite way and it's gloomy and spitting rain and windy as all get out. I walked outside this morning to put out the trash and I swear the mugginess took my breath away. I'm pretty used to Florida weather but this was just bad!

Could some of my northern friends please walk outside and blow some cooler air this way? I'm ready for fall!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

I'm learning!

I may get the hang of this school thing soon. :)

I dropped Logan off this morning so early! I think if it happens again, we'll head to breakfast first. I learned today that siblings can eat free too (Debbie, can you verify this? I heard it about another school in our district that Amy sends her kids to). We usually eat breakfast at home. Even if he just gets a milk, it counts though!

I'm learning that parking out front and walking to get Logan gets me out so quickly. I'm home by 2:25. We do get there about 20-25min early but the kids don't seem to care. We hang out in the car for a few minutes before walking up to the front. Ian just roams around. It's far better than waiting in car line forever. I'm sure car line will calm down but for now this works and Logan is happy.

I learned today that I can go to lunch with Logan and bring Ian and Bella. Yay! I know of moms in other schools who do it but all schools are different so I asked about it. I'll have to make it a semi-regular occasion. Maybe when dh is on vacation he'll go with us- or just him alone. We can eat in the cafeteria or outside at the picnic tables.

I know this will be a year of learning- for both of us.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Updated!

I updated my blog roll this morning. I don't know if blogger is having issues or what but if you don't see your name, it could be that I was having "feed" problems. Blogger isn't detecting them or something like that. I don't really know what that means or why I can't add you. I'll try again later.

Back to School

And the cars are already speeding thru the school zones. Yes, I'm sure you'll be hearing about it a lot on my blog. Do they not see the big yellow-green or orange cones in the road? Maybe it's the big bright signs they are missing? I guess the kids walking on the sidewalk are all too little to see thru that huge SUV/van's windshield. No, that's not it. They are just MORONS. Stupid, stupid people in their own little world....

I did see my friend I was talking about on Monday. The one with the little girl in Logan's class. Well, she actually spotted me as she was driving by to drop off her dd and since it is a school zone and she had to go slow with traffic and all, she said hi. I know I'll see her on school grounds eventually! And if not, more than likely I'll see her at one of the holiday functions in our family.

I forgot to add, I didn't wake up until 6:46 this morning! OMG. Thanks dh!! I slept thru two flippin' alarms!!! He said he thought I was feeding Bella. She was with me but she had gotten up at like 5am so I had fallen back asleep with her next to me. When did he plan on waking me up? When I had 5 min left to go? Argh.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Attention Bloggers

Ahem...certain people who will remain nameless really need to update their blogs. You know who you are!!!

I know you could write something! How about starting with 1st day of school pics? hint, hint! And keep writing, I don't care how boring you think your life is, I want to read about it!

Do nothing lazy kind of day

Since TS Fay decided to pull a no show on our county (not even a drop of rain at my house!) and schools were closed, we had another do nothing lazy kind of day. I did do a few chores like dishes, laundry and yard sale stuff but that's it. We didn't even go to tumbling class since I didn't know if the gym was open and noone answered my msg or email. I'm glad school is back in tomorrow. I need that push to get back on a schedule plus I need my sanity. The boys can drive me crazy with the fussing and fighting and bickering and tattling. Oy! They are still very good kids, they just have their moments. I know this is only the beginning too. Dh has already warned me about brothers. He has two brothers, he would know!

Monday, August 18, 2008

1st day recap

Logan had a very good day. I guess they didn't do a lot but he did bring home a couple of art projects and said he did some reading today and played outside at recess. I had quite a bit of homework with all the forms to sign and papers to read.

When I picked him up today, I went thru the car line. OMG. I'm not sure if I want to do that again. I got there a good 20-25min early and the line was already backed up. People who came later than me, got in line in front of me due to where they were waiting (side streets). I ended up putting a dvd in for Ian to watch since it was taking so long. I think perhaps Bella was watching it too by way of her mirror. ;)

When I finally got to the gates and got Logan, I discovered there's really no where to to pull over and buckle him in. I basically stopped on the grass and anyone behind me just had to go around. I can't believe all these tiny kids aren't in safety seats anymore. There's NO WAY they are big enough for the adult seatbelt.

Logan did tell me he was crying at one point because he didn't want to go to the "back" car line. He wanted to be picked up out front where I had parked this morning. He had some thought in his head that a stranger would take him. I don't know why he was thinking that though and had to explain that his teacher wouldn't let that happen. Since car line was such a bear today, I'm rethinking picking him up over there anyway. I may start picking him up out front. Ugh decisions!!

Other than car line, he had a good day and so did we. Ian only asked about him a couple of times and even napped at our new earlier time. Thanks to Hurricane Fay we don't have school tomorrow so we'll see how Wednesday goes!

Logan's 1st day of school!

Logan's first day of school is here. I got up at 5:40am because Bella wanted to eat. I dozed until about 6:10am though when I forced myself to get up. Logan and Ian got up early (nothing unusual there) and got ready to go. I'm so glad dh is here in the morning to help out. Logan had no qualms about Kindergarten whatsoever! He was excited and itching to leave. I think that made things much easier for me because I had no tears at all today. I'm still sad he's growing up but I'm excited for him.

I made his lunch last night (corndog muffins, blueberries, ww bunny crackers, juice box and a kiss) and showered last night so I actually had time this morning to wake up and enjoy breakfast without rushing. We took a few pics out front and then a few more at school. He wouldn't give me one of natural smiles today-only his "cheese" smiles. I got a lot of goofy poses too.

There is one little girl I know in his class. I've known her mom since I was a pre-teen or maybe even earlier. She was and is best friends with my aunt/cousin Charlie who I grew up with. I knew her dd was going to this school but I was surprised to find her in the same class. I'm sure I'll see her mom around eventually.

I can't wait until this afternoon to hear about his day! I'll update with that later!

(I erased the name of the school)
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His teacher, Mrs. Coleman
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Sunday, August 17, 2008

One day left

This is Logan's last day of summer vacation! How did the summer go by so fast?! I'm going to have to make sure I get to bed early so I can haul myself out of bed at 6am (ugh!!!!!). I'll try making his lunch tonight too so I won't have to deal with that. He wears uniforms so no big deal there. Plus dh will be up to go to work so I'll have some extra help getting everyone out the door.

Kindergarten- here he comes!!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

What a day!

Got up this morning and got ready to go out. I had a lot on my plate today. I needed to stop by the store and see if I could find some shorts/capris for myself. I'm still wearing some maternity shorts (thankfully you can't tell they are) and one of the pairs is starting to rip at the waistband. I've worn them out! So I stopped by JCPenney and Kohls and found nothing, nada, zip, zero. Ugh. I hate this time of year when jeans are in and shorts are out. We still have a good 3.5mo of hot weather to look forward to. After that, I had to stop at Costco for some chickens for a party with the IL's plus food for our house. I had to drop the chickens off at Franky's house and then come home, feed Bella, get the boys dressed, cook some baked beans and Boca burgers (which I totally forgot to do) and oh, did I mention dh threw his back out today and couldn't help with any of it?

Got to the party and had to cook the burgers. After we ate, it was time to feed Bella again and I got to relax a bit and hang out with my future SIL and her mom and friend. Bella was passed all around but was the perfect baby! She smiled, she cooed, and she never cried.

We got home and I fed Bella and put her to bed, got the boys ready for bed and then left again to try my luck one more time to find some shorts. Thankfully Bealls was open until 10pm tonight. I was there about an hour and a half trying on clothes. I did find 3 pairs though! Yea!!!

Now I'm home for the night getting ready to watch Phelps swim his last race and thinking of all the stuff I need to get done tomorrow like grocery/hurricane shopping and laundry. It never ends.

Friday, August 15, 2008

New Cooking Website

I'm all about finding new websites to peruse and came across this one tonight thanks to another blog I read. If you have kids that like to cook, go check it out!

Open House

Last night was Open House for Logan's new school. After being super lucky at finding a parking spot (it was raining), we went exploring. We bought a spirit shirt and then we found his classroom. I don't like that there's no roofed walkway to it though. Are they going to make them run thru the rain to get to the lunchroom? Or am I going to have to go find a rain coat? I wouldn't even know where to look! We've never owned one.

His teacher was very nice. We were the first ones there. Logan picked out his seat for Monday morning and we talked a bit. Logan explored his new classroom and seemed to get pretty comfortable. He started talking the teacher's ear off at one point. I learned that all gates are locked to the school during the day and the teacher's door is locked at all times too. Sounds like good security. She also carries her cell phone on her at all times.

Afterwards, we went over to the Media Center to take a look around. We talked to the librarian a bit and I was dismayed to find out that there are no strings(violin, viola, etc) classes anymore! I hate budget cuts! We also walked over to the music room where the kids- starting in 1st grade- can learn to read music, play the recorder (not looking fwd to that! LOL) and sing in a chorus.

Before we left for home, we stopped by the lunchroom so he could peek in the window. It's so small! Much smaller than I remember.

I'm so excited for him yet so sad that my baby is off to kindergarten already. Less than 3 days left....
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Go USA!

Just a shout out congrats to Nastia Liukin for getting the gold and to Shawn Johnson for getting the silver in the Gymnastics All Around final last night! Despite the weird scoring from the judges, you still managed to do it!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Helluva storm!

Boy oh boy did we have some storms last night. I'm used to the Florida afternoon thunderstorms but these were crazy! We had one right around 7pm or so. I was nursing Bella before bed and I could just slightly see the tree limbs thru my blinds whipping around and I could hear the rain beating on the windows all the way across the house. It came thru pretty quickly but around 11:30pm there was another cell that came thru even worse. There was one clap of thunder that me jump out of my skin it was sooo close! It set off car alarms outside that aren't usually set off by storms. Right afterwards, my tv froze in the middle of the men's gymnastics. Darn it! The storm knocked out my DVR box and dh's cable card on the big screen.

I called Verizon this morning and they just got here to take a look at it. I saw a Verizon truck earlier just a few houses down and it's the same guy. Turns out the storm knocked out my neighbor's phone, internet and tv service. My next door neighbor said she saw one of her lawn chairs fly by last night. One of my other friends in the neighborhood had the same problem. Chairs in the pool, limbs down, etc. What a night!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Today is your birthday

Today was dh's birthday. Poor guy is just getting old(er). LOL He's suffering from bald-itis and keeps thinking out loud about shaving his head completely bald. I even went as far as researching those shampoos that help "regrow" hair. Not worth it.

So I asked him last night what he wanted for dinner tonight. He said he really wanted calzones. Great. I have no bread dough, I have no yeast, I can't get to the store. After asking online about alternatives to frozen bread dough or making my own, I decided today to pack everyone up and head over to Publix to get the fixins' for them. I ended up with refrigerated pizza dough in a can, pizza sauce, ricotta, Hidden Valley ranch dressing, croutons and a Carvel M&M Ice cream cake.

I had it all planned out- a nice salad, a slice of calzone and some ice cream cake for dessert. He was so happy when he saw I made his calzones that he didn't even see the salad stuff smack dab in front of him. I made 2 huge calzones (one pizza crust/can each) and would you believe he ate the ENTIRE freakin' thing!! The boys and I shared part of the first one and he ate the rest of that too. Good heavens!! He said it was so good, he just didn't even think about it. It made me ill just thinking about it. I thought he'd at least get a lunch tomorrow out of half of it.

For his birthday gift, I got him 2 tickets to see Phantom of the Opera at the Performing Arts Center. He really wanted to go see it (yes I've got a hubby who likes plays/musicals!!) so he was excited about that. The boys made him some birthday pictures too. I think he had a *good birthday overall!

*(He did find out we are completely losing health insurance though today so that was a huge bummer. We thought we may not be able to afford the new coverage and then we got notice that we could cover him and the kids but now there's not even a option for coverage which bites!! The company didn't qualify for the program or some BS like that. I had to apply for the FL Kidcare program today. Whole other vent!!!!)

Is it time for school yet?

The boys are driving me insane with all their fussing and fighting and arguing and tattling. Ugh. I wake up to Ian screaming at Logan for something- usually it's fighting over a stupid little Lego figurine. I think it's gotten worse the past couple of weeks.

I hear "Mommy, Logan's doing ____". "Maaaama, Ian's doing ____".

All. day. long.

Today they had made a huge mess in their room so I told them to clean it up. It will take them hours to clean up the smallest of messes. It's really ridiculous. They play, they read and then they make an even bigger mess without moving an inch to pick up. I had to threaten no lunch until they cleaned up and then immediate naptime if they didn't move it. Eventually it got done but with no shortage of me yelling at them. I feel like that's all I do anymore. Nothing else seems to get thru. *sigh*

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Back To School party!

Our playgroup had a Back To School party today at Lithia Springs. We each contributed something for breakfast/brunch, let the kids play on the playground and then went over to the spring to let them get wet and play. I think everyone had fun!

Every few hours the lifeguards do a *safety check* of the water. I really don't know what that means or what they are looking for, but they make everyone get out of the water for 15 minutes. One of the moms was joking that it's just a way for them to cool off. LOL As Logan was coming out of the water, he was complaining about his leg. He had scraped it on the rocks. But the drama really began when he saw it was scraped and bleeding. I don't think my son will become a doctor! Andrea was nice enough to put some non-ouch foam cleaner on it and then some Mela-Gel but Logan was still crying about it so we decided to go home. I really wanted them to get some rest before Logan had tumbling class tonight. I guess it was a good thing we left when we did because it started sprinkling as we got out on the main road and then we hit a downpour. If you want to hear what happened at the Spring, go check out Andrea's blog! Apparently it was quite the sight!

Monday, August 11, 2008

USA, USA, USA!

OMG! Did anyone else watch the 4x100 Freestyle relay(swimming) last night? What a fantastic race! Not only did we win the Gold but but we smashed the World Record by 4 seconds! It was an amazing comeback and you have to go watch it!! Oh those poor French who said they were going to "smash us" look mighty stunned!

Women's gymnastics- I hope they have all the jitters out now. They did not have a very good day although they did post some good scores. I can't wait until Tuesday for more!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Giving credit

I decided to play around with some of my digital scrapbooking stuff to make my header so here's credit to the author- "SHABBY MOMMY" (c) 2005 Shabby Princess Designs of www.shabbyprincess.com

I really must get back into digi-scrapping!

Saturday, August 09, 2008

School

Yippee! Our school info came in the mail today! Logan will have a Mrs Coleman for his kindergarten teacher. AND they will have an open house before school starts. Double yea! Unfortunately it will mean Logan will have to miss tumbling class and I'll have to deal with a cranky Bella since it's right at the time she's ready to go to bed. Oh well, it's only one night!

Clutter Clean

Dh is sleeping. He didn't even wake up to tell the boys goodnight! In his defense, he did wake up early this morning thanks to some loud children and he did work on cleaning out clutter in the laundry room today too. We're trying to get ready for a yard sale and we have so much crap! He did find a couple of cool things though like my Junior High "yearbook" and my high school class picture, my college English papers and my old sticker book complete with Garbage Pail kids, scrath & sniff, Hello Kitty and more! There were also some HS newspapers and my Cabbage Patch kids' birth certificates. LOL Yep, I kept them!

He found a box of books, most of which will go into the yard sale. There are a few there that belonged to my dad when he was a kid, so Dad, if you want them, let me know or I'll just put them away. I have Snoopy & The Red Baron, Robin Hood, The Man in the Iron Mask and a couple of others. These are all OLD books (sorry Dad!).

So now my house is a COMPLETE disaster area. I have bags of toys in the living room, boxes of stuff in the dining room and misc other stuff all over the place. Ugh. Now is when I wish we had a garage to store stuff in. My house is going to look like a mess for weeks! It's going to be at least 2-3 more weeks before we have a yard sale. I think I'm beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed about this. Too much to do!

Friday, August 08, 2008

Olympic Opening Night Highlights

Wow! The Chinese know how to put on a show. The drummers were amazing. All 2008 of them! The giant LCD screen on the floor and the screens around the top of the "bird nest" (stadium) were so cool. I love how every athlete in the parade of nations will walk across paint and then leave their footprint on that huge picture the performer artists started at the beginning of the ceremonies. If you didn't watch the ceremonies, pop on over to YouTube and search for some clips. They were amazing to watch!

Fashion:
Hungary's outfits- WTH were they thinking being so matchy matchy with the women's suits? The material would have been fine just as a skirt, but both skirt and jacket were too much. I know it was a flowery print, but from afar, it looked like red cow print!

There was one other team at the beginning of the parade that had these awful drab olive green outfits on, but I can't think of who they were. I'm sure it will be on the web tonight or tomorrow. I'll try to find a picture.


Sheer number of athletes:
US Athletes- Wow again! 647 athletes are taking part in the Olympic games this year. But seriously, how many times must we see Lebron James and Kobe Bryant? The cameras keep cutting back to them, even when the rest of the nations are still walking! And where were all the gymnasts in the parade? I didn't see a one!

President Bush and Laura Bush- why did they look so flipping bored everytime the camera panned over them?? It's the Olympic opening ceremony. I would be so freaking excited to be there! I believe I heard he's the first US President to attend an Olympics outside of the USA.

How cute is the little boy with Yao Ming? His name is Lin Hao and he was a survivor of the earthquake that killed so many. 20 out of 30 of his classmates were killed during that disaster. He went back to help two of them. He's only 9 years old! I thought he was younger seeing him next to Yao Ming. It just shows you how TALL Yao is!

End of the opening ceremony:
How neat was that? He "ran" along the perimeter of the stadium with the torch as the scroll unrolled and then lit the torch which was huge and beautiful! And check out all the fireworks. Wow!

I know there is more I'm missing but that's all you're getting for now!

Rained out

Well almost, it was more thunder'd out than rain. I packed everyone into the car this morning along with towels, toys, beach blanket, dry clothes and lunch to head back over to Lithia Springs for some fun with our friends. We were only there an hour before we were kicked out by the lifeguards due to inclement weather in the area. The boys had fun while it lasted at least. Ian and I sifted for shark's teeth but all we found were freshwater snail shells and stones. Bella sat on my lap and Logan played in the water with his friends.

After we packed back up, we came home to enjoy our lunch and then it was naptime and dinnertime. I tried desperately to get in a nap but it's damn near impossible in this house. I have one son or another constantly asking me something or telling on their brother. I woke up with a headache to boot. Ugh.

We'll try again on Tuesday for a Back To School brunch with our playgroup friends. Cross your fingers for good weather!

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Kindergarten Countdown is On

And I'm. Not. Ready.

Supplies- check
Uniforms- check
Anxiety- check

I haven't received anything in the mail yet about school although I did receive a recorded call this morning stating I should give the post office until Tuesday. There is no orientation set up to meet his teacher or see the school BEFORE school actually starts. I think we'll go up there someday next week to look around and find his classroom. I have so many questions. Thank goodness for my friend Debbie who has helped me with so many of my questions already. Her dd went to this school for K last year (and she also knows our pre-K school) so I've been bombarding her with emails asking question after question. I hopefully have a better idea with her help than someone who doesn't have that mentor already in the school.

I'm excited for Logan to go to school but I'm also anxious. He's a sensitive kid. He cries easily. It's just who he is. He likes to have friends and gets his feeling hurt easily so I forsee many tears in the coming year. Thankfully he also makes friends easily. He'll be in school all day long which will be so different for me. In reality, it's only a little over 2 hours longer than Pre-K but it's a lot! Plus we'll have homework for the first time. Life is about to get more interesting....

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Video

Why does my video always look so crappy after I upload it? Anyone know?

Bella 4month video

Bella's 4mo check up

Oh the fun of dragging 3 kids to the doctor's office. Thank goodness for the nurse who gave each boy a pen and pad of paper to draw on while we were waiting. I know I should have brought stuff but I just wasn't thinking about it this morning.

Bella is 19 weeks or just over 4 months old.
Weight- 12lbs 11.04oz (21%)
Height- 25 inches (68%) (and that was with her scrunching up a bit)

Looks like she will be tall like her brothers but on the skinnier side if she keeps going this way. Now usually after shots, my kids tend to sleep the rest of the day but apparently she wanted to be different and stayed awake most of today. I'll just have to hope she sleeps tonight. She's been up more often as of late and I'm tired! She's also been more smiley which I love. She even gave the Dr. smiles- maybe it's a guy thing. She smiles for the Dr, her daddy and her brothers but only sometimes for me....hmmm. She better not start flirting yet!

Here are some pics from today!

Look Mom! I gotta new skill! Yummy toes!
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Sorry for the crappy quality, I had the ISO set on high and forgot about it.
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Video coming later if I can get it to upload somewhere.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Motherhood

I love this cartoon. It's called Baby Blues. You just know these guys must be fathers! I can relate to a lot of what they draw/write!

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Yes, some days do feel like this. And that "sucks" is in the literal sense at least for me. I love(d) breastfeeding my kiddos! (Well except for the painful part at the beginning)

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And this is sooooo true! Bella just won't sit still to clip her nails. And no, clipping while sleeping is NOT an option!

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Monday, August 04, 2008

Day at the "beach"

We went with some friends to Lithia Springs this morning for some fun. The water was just as cold as I remember! Logan had a blast with his friends and Ian pretty much played on his own. I sat in the water with Bella for a bit and dipped her legs in. I don't know how much she liked it although she didn't fuss. After a bit, I got us both out and sat down to watch the boys play. Bella ended up falling asleep in Heather's arms before Jen came and put her down in our little take along bed thing. She actually napped for a bit! I was surprised. After packing up and changing everyone, we headed over to the playground for a bit before coming home for a late lunch. The boys are tired as is Bella although everyone claims they aren't. Bella hasn't even napped but for a few minutes today. Hopefully she'll sleep well tonight.

Here's a few pics of our day!

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He fell asleep no more than 10min from the house.
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This was actually an upside down shot, I just flipped the picture. I took this from the front seat while we were at a light. (that extra strap is the tightening strap, not her harness)
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Logan wanted to try his hand at photography so I handed him the camera. I like this shot! It's looking thru the back of the headrest.
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And me driving.
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I spared you all the pictures of the back of the seat, his legs and the ceiling as well as houses in the neighborhood. LOL

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Countdown is on!

The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics start in 5 days!! Opening ceremonies are on Friday and gymnastics start on Saturday. I'm ready! Are you??

Saturday, August 02, 2008

PT Update

No accidents at all the past couple of days! Woohoo!!! He's still wearing a diaper to nap and to bed but at least for naps, he's been waking up dry.

We're talking about going to Orlando tomorrow and I don't know if I should put him in a diaper for the ride or not. He's not good at holding it- when he's gotta go, he's gotta go! I don't know how close the bathrooms are at Ikea either. And with the layout being so confusing, we may never find each other in the maze! ugh.

Lithia Springs

For those not in the know, Lithia Springs is a natural spring near where we live. It is located right off of the Alafia River. It is 72 degrees year round which even on a hot day feels downright cold! My parents took us there a lot when we were kids. It was and still is super cheap (back then I think it was maybe $1/car and now it's $1/person) and close to home. We had a lot of good times out there. I specifically remember going to the concession stand and buying huge pickles and packs of Now & Laters though. I wonder if they still do that. Catching minnows was always fun too!

Dh used to go there as a kid too and he decided to take the boys, by himself no less, over to the spring this morning. I got up and helped him get everyone ready. I'm not sure he would have made it out the door otherwise! He said Logan loved it and Ian barely got into the water. The water is pretty shallow unless you over or near the actual spring. They did find shells and a sharks tooth and played on the playground for a while before coming home. We'll have to do a family day out there soon.
Here are a few pics:

Here you can see just how clear the water is!
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Birdie that wanted breakfast:
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I told dh that he must have been taking pics of the bird just so he could look at the girl! LOL! He claims he didn't even notice her.
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Shell hunting:
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PUSH!!! (Logan was trying to push Ian on the float board)
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