Works for Me...

I'm battling with my oldest... he's pushing boundaries... listening, talking back, disrespectful. I've had it... I thought I'd tried it all, but I had a brainiac moment this evening.

I'd asked him to do something...

he didn't move...

asked again...

n.o.t.h.i.n.g.

So, I simply told him that the shoe chore (that I'd offered him earlier for $... that he turned down) would now be done "for free".

I don't think he knew what to say or do... off he went to the shoe pile. (Sadly for him he just threw them in a big pile and organized 4 pairs, so he later had to do it over during the basketball game... what a bummer!)

New slogan for us... Chores for Free!

sniff ** sniff ** Milestone...

Baby girl came home from school with a huge smile on her face!

She had her shoe trophy in hand (being the other preK teacher, I knew what it symbolized). She had tied her shoe! At the beginning of the year each child gets a white canvas shoe that they decorate. Throughout the year the children practice tying their shoe. When they can do it with some consistency they earn their trophy to take home.

She was so excited! She must have tied and untied the shoe 50 times to practice. She walked to the bus to show the boys as soon as they got home. AND... like good brothers they praised her!

We hung out on my bed while she tied her shoe over and over and over again. At one point she leaned over and said, "Give me a hug mom... I'm so proud of myself!" She received LOTS of hugs. I am so proud of her... but a part of me wanted to cry. My baby girl is so independent; for which I'm grateful, however, she is needing me less and less each day. ** sniff, ** sniff

** I went to take a picture of baby girls shoe and I couldn't find it. When I tucked her into bed there it was... nestled right beside her on the pillow. Too cute!

Memorial Weekend Fun:: Part 1

We have an extra for the weekend. Good friends headed to Vegas so we get one of the girls. We've had a lot of fun... we'll call her Big Girl. Baby Girl and Big Girl have roomed together this weekend.... it's been a lot of fun to see everyone interact. Big girl is 10 months older than Pepe... I have to admit that everyone has gotten along great!

At the zoo...

Pepe needed to feel like a big kid (he and I have had a rough few weeks... any advice is welcome) so I let him take a few pictures at the zoo with my very new and very expensive camera. His subject... me.... so, here I am.

We enjoyed the animals... baby pig and mama

The elk was incredible. The antlers have 'velvet' on them which from what I'm told means that they are not done growing.

Pepe, Phinneous and Baby Girl climbing on the monkey statues during our picnic.

The zoo has a new baby elephant... I think he was born last summer... he has really grown.

Couldn't resist this napping, lazy zebra...


Friday morning on the way to the bus stop we decided to have a neighborhood block party. Saturday afternoon we decided that "Yes, we're really going to do this." So off Joe went to canvas the neighborhood for participants. The neighbors were excited. Many said that they used to have parties all the time... hmm... I've lived here for 7 years and there has never been a party. Well, that is all about to change. Many people had plans, but for those who didn't we congregated in the cul-de-sac with grills, tables and chairs and enjoyed a lovely Sunday afternoon.

Rule 1... Drink lots of pop!

Rule 2... you can never have too many grills, food, neighbors or conversation!

Rule 3... have fun!
Rule 4... kids play and laugh and play some more!

We'll be doing this again... soon. I nannied for a family that hosted pizza on the porch every (or almost every) Friday night in the summer. Everyone gathered, brought a dish/salad and enjoyed great company. I want to start something like this. Every Friday doesn't quite seem realistic, yet... so I'm thinking every-other-Friday and since we grill year round... it has to be "bring something for the grill' and a salad. We'll see what happens :)

Life with 3 :: S'mores!

1. Get fire going... you need that fire to settle down before you can roast marshmallows

2. Gather supplies. I like to use a tray for easy carrying

• Graham Crackers
  
• Marshmallows
• Chocolate (lots of chocolate)
• Water Bottle(s) (my kids always get thirsty around the first eating s'mores)
• Adult beverages
• Hand wipes

3. While waiting for the fire, whittle down the sticks with a nice pointy edge.

4. Sing songs, tell stories, play games
We like to play "I'm went to California and in my suitcase I Packed..." Pepe Kindergarten teacher (4 years ago) taught it to him. Each person packs something that starts with the next letter in the alphabet. Each person has to repeat the entire list on their turn. ex. I went to California and in my suitcase I packed an apple, a bear, a cat, a doll, etc.

5. Enjoy the s'mores, but more importantly your time together. We've yet to had a bad time having s'mores. Everyone ends up laughing and enjoying themselves.

ahh, Nothing on the Calendar

What a moment... I realize that I have nothing on my calendar. Oh, there are plenty of things that I must do

• study (my class ends in about a week and I have a lot of ends to tie up)
• end of year slide show - prek
• end of year slide show - baseball (x2)
• print Father's Day pictures - prek (x2)
• Altered Books (x2)
• Birthday Card to make
• Plan curriculum for next week
• LAUNDRY
• Neighborhood party (We through out the idea yesterday and the neighbors loved it... I wonder who is in charge of pulling it together... ME)

Yep, nothing on my calendar today!

Coupon Codes

I realized the other day that my calendar would run out after July... time to search for a new one. I found one that looked promising, and decided to buy it. When I went to purchase, I was going to be charged $15 for ground shipping... WHAT?!?!?!? Ridiculous.

So, I kept looking. I ended up finding the same calendar on TinyTruffles.com (it's a mom calendar... which makes me cringe slightly). I bought the refill version because it come spiral bound and I don't need fancy, just doable (it gets tossed in my purse, etc). So, I checked out and saw that shipping was $5... then, I noticed the coupon code and thought... "if there is a coupon spot, there must be one out there somewhere"... I quickly googled the coupon code and tried it... guess what... I saved myself 10% off of my order!!!!

Hopefully, after all of this I will like the calendar that arrives. I have three kids schedules (and you know how I enjoy them being kept busy), my work schedule, my school schedule and hubbies schedule... not to mention the "life in general" schedule. I'll let you know how it works out.
Oh, the point of this... ALWAYS check for a coupon code before checking out... you never know what you'll find!

Do you Etsy?

No, I haven't just crawled out from under a rock, but I finally had a ton of curiosity and interest to check out Etsy. I've ordered a few gifts recently and found a few must haves for future gifts from the sight. I hope I love them. A couple of gifts had to be mailed directly to the recipient; which makes me a little nervous as I don't get to check them out before hand. I've heard very good feedback and I am amazed at the talent in this world.

So, do you Etsy? And if so, what have you purchased? What can I not live without?