Kindergarten Registration

The big day came for J! It was time for Kindergarten registration in our school district. She was so excited she could barely stand it. She got all dressed up in a skirt with tights and dress shoes. She looked so cute with her tight red curls bouncing around!

When we got to the school we had to wait in line to get the packets of information and the woman asked her if she could write her name on the name tag. J did not answer her too loudly but just picked up the marker and began to write. She is not perfect yet so I was expecting a minor melt down (as mentioned prior she tends to get upset when things are not perfect!) but she did just fine. Once we found a spot to sit she wanted to get up and go play with the other kids. So off she went! She did not even look back!!! Then it was time for the kids to go with the teachers while the parents stayed in the gymnasium. I thought she would be alright but then she seemed a little timid when I told her to go follow the teacher with the black shirt on. She looked back a couple times but ended up going along pretty quietly. After 45 minutes of adult information we were lead to the Kindergarten classrooms and she was having so much fun. They got to make an art project, have snack, listen to a story, and sing/learn a new song! All in 45 minutes!!! When we got home she was all excited to tell Daddy and E about her day (hour) at school. I think she is going to have so much fun.

Here is her 'masterpiece':



Week 10, again.

We love week 10 around here. This is T’s ‘vacation’ from Medical School. As long as T passes his block exams we get to see a whole lot of him during week 10! I do feel a little bad for him though. Since I can (usually) count on him having this time off I try to schedule a large amount of appointments during this week. Which makes our days revolve around schedules instead of being on ‘vacation’. It is so much easier for me to take one or two kids to an appointment than taking four by myself. And it is all about me, right?! Seriously though, I don’t mind taking all the kids if I had to but if I don’t have to than I would rather not.

Here is our week of appointments and activities:
Monday: O doctor in the am. J haircut in the afternoon. Oil change in the evening.
Tuesday: N 2 year pictures in the morning. B haircut in the afternoon.
Wednesday: J 5 year pictures after lunch.
Thursday: Grocery shopping in the morning. O 3 month pictures in the afternoon.
Friday: B and O leave for the weekend after lunch.

*O is a little stinker! He has become a strong thumb-sucker and sucks during the night. Only his left thumb though so he is getting a little flat on the back left side of his head. I met with a PT to see if there were any stretches or anything that could be done now so in a month or two we could possibly avoid a helmet. We are not opposed to a helmet but if we can avoid it that would be great!

*J got a little cut off the ends and a long layer added which makes her curls bounce even more.

*Oil change turned out well except we discovered that the car has a leak by the oil gasket. Doesn’t sound like a big deal but in order to fix it they have to take the gasket out, reseal it, and put it back. Still doesn’t sound too bad but runs around $200!

*N’s 2 year pictures turned out alright. She was not a huge fan of staying in the studio area and wanted to run around. The photographer did not realize that N would get attached to a teddy bear so her pictures are with a random teddy. O well. I was just happy that N was not crying/ screaming and smiled for her picture.

*I got my hair cut, actually trimmed, and enjoyed an hour or so without kiddsies. = ) It is fun to be an adult sometimes.

*J’s 5 year pictures turned out great! I was a little skeptical as to how they would turn out. She is at that awkward stage that for some reason she does not know how to smile. When you tell her to smile she makes a big smile, does not show her teeth, and closes her eyes. Not what I was looking for to remember her at 5. But she did wonderful and smiled beautifully. She had a good time being the center of attention for an hour or so. = )

Disney, Here we come (in July!)

BIG NEWS in the B home… We are going to Walt Disney World!!! The trip is all set. All we need to do is pack and get on the plane… in July! We are lucky that my mom is able to get the time off from work and wants to come with us on this journey. The kids are so excited to see and meet Mickey Mouse!

Here is what we have planned so far:
Day 1: Fly to FL and check-in at our resort. We are staying at the Disney Wilderness Lodge Resort. Then dinner at Chef Mickey’s so the kids will get to see Mickey on the FIRST day in FL.
Day 2: Magic Kingdom. Plus T and I are going to see a show that night.
Day 3: Magic Kingdom in the morning and Epcot in the afternoon and evening.
Day 4: Rest and relax at the resort! This resort has a beach (not to swim in though), 2 pools, a huge playground, and trails to walk on. Plus at night they have campfires with Chip and Dale along with an outdoor movie (Disney of course) under the stars!
Day 5: Animal Kingdom.
Day 6: Animal Kingdom in the morning. Hollywood Studios in the afternoon. We have lunch scheduled with Goliath (JoJo’s Circus), Leo, June (Little Einsteins), Handy Manny, and Special Agent Oso! Then dinner at ‘Ohana to end the night.
Day 7: Fly back to MN and drive back home.

We have been doing a ton of research and found out a lot of things online to help our vacation go a little smoother.

Strollers: We can travel with strollers on the airplane at NO CHARGE! At first we were just thinking about bringing wheels for O and N but then after doing research found that many parents suggest bringing strollers for kids even as old as 8! So we will be taking our double, single, and umbrella strollers. We were also debating if we should bring O’s infant carrier. We thought it may be too hot but then read a review that stated it was nice to have because if your infant falls asleep and you go to a sit-down restaurant then you can just bring in their seat and not have to wake-up your child (strollers are not permitted in restaurants, which makes sense).

Dinner reservations: If you want to eat at a sit-down restaurant you have to make reservations, which can be made up to 180 days in advance! We did not think it would be necessary to do so but we were just checking and there were quite a few restaurants that were already full for days that we are going to be there from 4pm to 8pm. After finding this out we decided to plan each day where we were going and what restaurants we would want to eat at while we were there. For example, one restaurant sounded good and had meals that we would have liked but then we read some reviews and several people commented that they were at said restaurant in February of this year and got FOOD POISONING! Hmm, no thanks. Next.

Dining Plan: We went back and forth about getting a meal plan while we are there and ultimately decided that the meal plan would be the best for us. We will each get 1-Quick service meal, 1-Sit-down meal, and 1-snack per day. By figuring out our restaurants ahead of time we were able to get the “biggest bang for our buck”. We chose sit-down restaurants that adult entrees were around $30-35. I will not go into specifics but this is going to be a great deal and hopefully save us a lot of money in the long run (I will have to let you know after our trip!). We could have got an extra meal per day but decided that we would save the money and just eat breakfast in our ‘home’.

Lodging: Since we have so many guests that will be on this trip it was hard to find proper accommodations. We could have stayed in a deluxe room but they did not honor a military discount for these rooms. We could have stayed in two hotel rooms but there was no guarantee that they would be adjoining or even on the same wing or floor. Or we could stay in a ‘home away from home’. We were able to get an apartment basically. It has a full kitchen (with a dishwasher), two bedrooms, living/sitting room (with a DVD player), full sized washer and dryer, and concierge service (which will get groceries for us if needed). We were able to get a military discount on this ‘home’ and saved substantially.

This will be the perfect way to end our summer before T goes back to Medical school and before J starts Kindergarten!

getting ready!!!

In the B home lately it has been all about getting ready to go to school for J! She is so excited to start Kindergarten this fall it is unbelievable. However, since I have been in a Kindergarten classroom quite a bit, I know that there are a lot of things that she needs to work on and learn before she is ready. Here are a few…
*eating: with utensils, without a bib, cleaning her hands and face when she is done
*bathroom: wiping her bottom when she is done with #2, consistent hand washing
*playing: not crying when she doesn’t get her way, being patient when she doesn’t do something perfect the first time.
… and the list goes on. So (the inner teacher that I was educated to be) decided it would be important to work on these things now instead of throwing her into school this fall blind. We also felt that it would be ideal to get her up-to-date on some of the things that will be expected of her by the end of Kindergarten so she can perfect these things during the year. I printed off the standards and benchmarks for K from the public school website and she can do over half of them! Her weaknesses are in reading and writing; which makes sense to me because we have not really worked on these areas with her too much. I found some Kindergarten workbooks online and the kids LOVE them. Every day after I put N down for a nap we do a few pages. They feel so smart and enjoy showing T what they learned that day. E is enjoying the workbooks too although he is not too big on the writing yet. I don’t know if it is his age or if he just doesn’t care. J on the other hand loves learning how to write all the letters, UPPER and LOWER Case! The other day she wrote her name all by herself! No help from me or even looking at her name anywhere else. Some of the letters were backwards and spread out but hey SHE DID IT! I was so proud of our *little* girl! I absolutely can NOT believe she is going to be FIVE at the end of the month. Wowzers!!!! Some of the reasons I am trying so hard to get her a little ahead is because 1) she is easily frustrated and will shut-down resulting in a crying fit 2) she is pretty shy (probably since she did not go to daycare too long) and 3) she is a tad emotional sometimes and will be heartbroken if kids make fun or tease her. And let’s face it: kids are mean, regardless of how old they are. : ( We feel that school is sooooo important and want her to have a positive experience her first year. We want her to LOVE school!

The Perfect Day

We are not big on celebrating holidays or birthdays in our home. We acknowledge them but don't go all out. Today just happened to be my Birthday and it was perfect! I got to play with the kids this morning and then after lunch headed off to the dentist with O. No cavities for this mommy! Woohoo! Then O had his two month check-up, Yup 2 months old already!!! He is growing by leaps and bounds. Here are his stats just in case you are curious... 14lbs 10 ozs (96th%ile), 23in (60th%ile), and 15 3/4in H.C. (40th%ile). I was a little surprised that his head circumference was such a 'low' %ile since E and N have big heads. Overall he is a healthy, strong little boy. What more could a mommy ask for? Then we came home and T helped each kid make me a birthday card. They were all so excited to show me which card they made. It was super cute! Then I got to open my Birthday gift! T made me homemade brownies; we just finished his cake a few days prior so we were a little caked-out! They were not just any ole brownie; they were TRIPLE~CHOCOLATE brownies topped with ice cream as well as chocolate & caramel syrup. A simply perfect day; It could not have been any better!

Potty Time!

Now I am a complete fan of not having to change diapers but not such a huge fan of potty training. When J was potty trained it was never ending. I honestly think we tried to push the issue and put more work on ourselves than was necessary. We tried for at least 6 months to get her potty trained. Then it was like magic overnight; she just decided she did not want to wear diapers anymore. E was a little the same way. We tried but then gave up after 3-4 weeks and just waited for him to be ready. Then one day he woke up and was potty trained. Now it is N’s turn. I have been avoiding this not only because I am not really feeling ready yet but because she is not even 2. However E decided tonight that N did not need a diaper anymore and told her to take it off. Since she is such a good listener she did just that. Next thing I know T tells N that if she doesn’t want to wear a diaper than she has to sit on the potty chair; which she was SUPER excited to do. After sitting for a few minutes, she stood up and said, “Done”. T looked in the potty chair and SHE WENT POTTY! Big deal in our home! J is so super-duper excited that now SHE gets to potty train N. She is all about it and has been begging us to let her potty train N for the last month or so. I guess whether I want to or not we are going to start potty training N! I sure hope she is a fast learner. = )

Happy Birthday T!

One of my friends has an amazing cooking blog. She makes all sorts of fun foods, including delicious cakes! So… since T’s Birthday is today I thought it would be fitting to ‘steal’ some of her recipes and give it a go! The cake turned out amazing; moist, chocolaty, perfect! Then came the fondant. This was the exciting part for me. I had never worked with, let alone made, fondant. It was a lot of fun and (in my opinion) turned out nicely. Now if you look closely you will see lots of flaws but this is my first try! The finished product:

Happy Birthday T!

Special Treat

The kids and I made some fun Valentine treats today.

Simple Rice Krispie Bars with a little

food coloring and cookie cutters!



Somebody Said...

I got this as an email/forward many years ago and happen to come across it recently. I liked reading this and wanted to share with all my 'mommy' family and friends!

Somebody Said...

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you’ve had a baby…
somebody doesn’t know that once you’re a mother, normal is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct…
somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring…
somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver’s permit.

Somebody said if you’re a “good” mother, your child will “turn out good”…
somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said “good” mothers never raise their voices…
somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor’s kitchen window.

Somebody said you don’t need an education to be a mother…
somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.

Somebody said you can’t love the fifth child as much as you love the first…
somebody doesn’t have five children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books…
somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery…
somebody never watched her “baby” get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten – or on a plane headed for military “boot camp”.

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back...
somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married…
somebody doesn’t know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother’s heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother’s job is done when her last child leaves home…
somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don’t need to tell her…
somebody isn’t a mother.

“The decision to have a child is to accept that your heart will forever walk outside of your body.”
Katherine Hadley

date night!

As many of you know T and I don't go out on dates very often. Our idea of a date is watching a movie or playing a game after the kids go to bed. There are a couple reasons we tend not to go out: (1)we (generally) don't have anyone to watch the kids, (2) there is not a whole lot to do in our town, and (3) a baby-sitter is so stinkin' expensive (we figured it out one day and it would cost us $85 to go to a movie on a date!). Now that A moved back up here we had an opportunity to go out on a 'date' and she was free to watch the kids! YAY!! T had his Medical School Formal on Saturday night. We had a wonderful time with adults. It was especially fun for me to get dressed up and feel fancy. ; ) T even won an award! The Medical Class of 2014 nominated T as the 'Most Likely to Use a Gigantic Word that You Don't Know the Meaning of'. The perfect award for him in my opinion!



Last weekend A was down and she was able to watch the kids so we could go and find a dress for me! It was so much fun. T and I spent almost 3 HOURS shopping at the mall (with O). It really wasn't bad because O slept the whole time and we just pushed him. It actually was nice because then we didn't have to carry anything. Although we spent more time looking for a dress and accessories than I did wearing it on Saturday it was super fun.  I think it is human nature to get caught up in life and not focus on your marriage occasionally (even though we try not to!). Sometimes I wonder how our dynamic or relationship will change when the kids leave us because they are such a HUGE part of our lives. Times like this remind me how much we truly love each other!