First Day of PreK - Take 2

E started PreK last week.
Well...technically he started PreK in April.  In order to get him into a program he needs, we needed to enroll him into their school.  So he finished PreK precisely 4 weeks after starting it...and ABCs and 123 were but a review...

So he started FOR REAL last week.  It's a wonder how different it felt this time around.  I cried a little in April...but not so much in August.  He had some trouble on his second first day...walking to the same corner he walked to in April as his boycott of going to school...but eventually was peeled from my arms and sat at his table to begin morning work.  I kissed both of his hands and told him to hold onto them for when he missed me...his fists were still tight as I walked out the door.

He is big.  He is ready. I miss him.

Upon pick up, he announced that he has a new friend.  His name is Body. (pronounced like Cody)
He likes sharks too. Thank you, Jesus.

(Will hopefully add pictures of him and his shark backpack (which totally rocks, btw) once I get my computer situation worked out...currently having some issues...but soon.

It Seems We Have Come To a Compromise...

This is Lily.
She is 'the neighborhood' cat.
Except for she spends neigh a second away from our hood.
It could be that we feed her twice a day.  And rub her behind the ears when no one is looking.
She is an outside cat.
Except for she tries multiple times a day to be an inside cat.
I leave the back door open while the kids play outside.  (much to my husbands frustration: air conditioning the back yard is not wise financially...I agree.  But, I can hear them and they can hear me...gives them a sense of freedom and me a sense of control...it works.)
Well, you can bet Lily will sneak in every chance she gets.
Usually, I just need to say "Liiiiilllllyyyyyy" in a motherly tone and she stops in her tracks.
Other times I have to send the kids to retrieve her and put her back outside. 
Because, I am allergic to her.  She knows this.  I have told her multiple times.
Cats love feline-allergic people...have you noticed that??
So. 
I know that she will try. 
She knows she will not win.
But today we seem to have come to a bit of a compromise.
I caved.
After two attempts to assume her favorite 'off limits' spot of the armchair in the back bedroom, she settled for the door. 
And I did too.

Summer List 2012

Summer List 2012

Swim  Plant a Garden Tomatoes Catch Fireflies Make Rootbeer Floats  

Go to Boppi and GrandBob's beach  Outside Movie Night  Swim in the Ocean   

Sleepover with friends  READ Crafts Build a sand castle Watch the Sunset  S'Mores  

Camp in the side-yard  Stay the night at a Friend's house  Sprinklers  Go to the Library  Make Popsicles Aquarium  Go to the Park  Play in the Creek  Memorize Bible Verses 

 Catch spiders  Build a Fort  Go Fishing    Have a Water Fight  I.N.K.

Apple Fritters from Cleveland Donuts  Read under the stars   

HIKE  Ice cream sundae Sunday Fly on an airplane

E says the darndest things...

Wanting to jot down some of the things Eli has been saying lately...
In no particular order, but all pretty adorable.

"When I turn 5, I want to have my party at Chuck E. Cheesus." ('Cheesus' sounds like Jesus.)

Very matter of factly, in response to Kevin telling him he is the coolest dude: "Yeah...that's what the guy in the lunch room tells me everyday."

When asked why he does not eat meat: "Because I think chickens should live."

In the same vein...whenever we drive by Chic-Fil-A he sings the Tim Hawkins song with his added lyrics:
"Chic-Fil-A...I could eat you 7 times a day...BECAUSE YOU KILLED THE CHICKENS!!!"

Sooo many more, but these are the ones that come to mind right now...

He keeps us laughing!

Where Have I Been??

It's a good question, really.

I feel badly to fall behind on blogging...but life has been busy.  We have done Spring Break. We have had family visit. We have entertained quite a bit in our back yard as this is one of the best times of year back there. Spring and Fall in Georgia??? So. Lovely.

My little sister is engaged. (!!!) It's true!  She will start her new life with a wonderful man, AJ, sometime this Fall.  So my mind is happily swimming in wedding details and loving every second of it. 

We have had sickies. (Chlo had the flu over spring break...poor. girl.)

Eli has started going to school a couple days a week.When he is there, is said to love it...enjoy it...fit right in!  Of coarse, when he gets in the van he doesn't like it and never wants to return.  We have some things we are addressing with some challenges he is facing...it's all too new and a bit on the emotional side for me.  Maybe I will write more about it in the future???  Maybe not.

Had a hot date with Kevin in the ATL that involved tapas and salsa dancing lessons.  Oh. Yes. We. Did.

I have been on Pinterest maybe twice in the last three weeks. (thus, the lack of Pintentional Posts.)

Life has been full.  Mostly good full.  But full.

I am tired. 

I am needing to learn how to allow margin in my life.

I have decided that if I can not find the time to shower in a three day period that I am lacking margin.
(Good measure, yes?)

So.  This week: Shower at least 3 times. Go to bed before midnight every night. Savor my family.
This seems attainable.

Around the House This Week...

St. Patrick's Day and a little Pintentionality

For our third year running, we tried to catch a leprechaun.  Chloe is so into this.  She reminds us every year.  Her first grade teacher asked the whole class to make traps this year to share with the class...Chloe could not wait to get started.

This years trap was complete with a ladder to the upper deck, bed, table/couch, chair, TV and a washer and dryer.  Chloe was hoping the comfort level would have a luring effect on the leprechaun. 

According to the letter they wrote,  they did in deed  appreciate her attention to detail

and thought it to be one of the comfiest traps in town.

While we did not catch the little guys, we were amused by their creativity in thrashing the back yard.  Hammocks all topsy-turvy, bike propped up on a ladder and lawn chairs placed on top of the pergola.  What a mess.

Our favorite evidence was the footprints and green water in the toilet. 

I saw on Pinterest that other leprechauns did the same thing...must have been a union thing. 

Pintentional Post #8

Spring is in the air here in Georgia...
But after a few days of the sickies, I thought the house could use a little freshening up.

Found this idea on Pinterest and it smells fabulous!
Apparently it is supposed to smell like the Williams Sonoma store...I do not shop there often enough to vouch for that...but it smells awesome in my house!

All you need is:

a pot

a lemon

some vanilla extract

 some rosemary sprigs

and water

Simmer all day and have your house smell yummy!

At Christmas time I always simmer:

Clementine peelings and cinnamon in water

This is also a super yummy smell for the house!

Word to the Wise

Over the past 4 days we have become more acquainted with the necessity and beauty of this:

 It's a mattress cover. 

One of those fancy ones you buy at the mattress store. 

The one that they cut a small portion off of

and rubber band to the top of a jar filled with water to show how water proof it is.

Absolute. Necessity.

Not only are they liquid proof...

they are also chunk proof...

while that may be a little too much information...

it is still true.

So.

If you are not yet a parent...or a parent of a baby...

or have not been 'baptized' by a child's vomit yet...

When you transition to a 'big boy or girl' bed,

Do. Not. Skimp on the mattress cover.

I repeat:

DO. NOT. SKIMP.

You will be tempted to buy the cheaper one...

Buy the expensive one.

You will thank me.

And the mattress cover when the stomach flu visits your house at 11 pm...

and 12:30 am...

and 2:30 am...

and 6:00 am...

and 11 am...

Our only improvement would be to have the water proofness also wrap around the sides of the mattress.

They may offer this as the step up from the expensive mattress cover to the ridiculously expensive mattress cover.  I may be swayed to purchase the latter if I am ever in the market for another one.

Water proof mattress covers you are a sanity saver.

And Kevin...

You win the 'Best Daddy in the World' award.

Seriously brave in the face of projectile vomit and gracious in the cleaning it up.

You barely flinched while it dripped from your hands.

You. Are. A. Rock star.

So blessed that I get to watch you be the best Daddy on the planet.

Guess Who is Diving Into Her Pintentional Archives Already...

Me.  That's who.

So...I have started working part time.
Mostly from home. Only one day in the office.
Only 15 hours.
And my brain has felt like mush for the past two weeks because of it.

Also-working-outside-the-home-mothers...my respect for you has only increased over the past two weeks.

How do you handle the constant feeling of forgetting something...or letting someone down??
Does this go away?? Ever? Not ever?!?

Last week I had a melt down on the eve of Chloe's Valentine Party.
In my pre-working-part-time world, remembering on Sunday night that I have a party to organize would have freaked me out a little, but I would have been comforted by the knowledge of a sprawling Monday the day before the party.  Monday would then be deemed 'party planning/party errand running' day. And all would go my kind of smooth with all kinds of bumps along the way.

So, remembering on Sunday and working in the office all day Monday lead to a tiny melt down.  Both Sunday and Monday night.  Ok. Monday's may not have been so tiny.

You know how you are mentally aware that things are going to be stressful...so you prepare yourself...give yourself a little 'you can do this' pep talk and resolve to 'hold it together.'  And then totally blow it??

Me too.  As I was out with the masses on Valentine's Day Eve (seriously...why are you people out in droves?? Since when did Valentine's Day become Christmas???) I maneuvered the crowds, thought I misplaced my phone across town, drove back across town and returned home to find my phone sitting by my computer (only after I had cursed and judged the people at the previous store who would 'clearly steal my phone if given the opportunity', and finally bought the candy hearts that I had meant to buy at 3+ stores over the past 3 days.  Once home, I assembled C's Valentine bags, did a couple hours of work and then collapsed in bed.

The rest of the week was pretty touch and go.
This week has been better, but my brain is still adjusting to the new level of activity.  I am thankful for the work...so trying to keep my head and heart there even in the adjusting.

All of that to say...lacking in Pintentionality this week. 
But Chloe and I did this back at Christmas time for her gift to her classmates.  :)

 Hope your Winter Break is REFRESHING! Love, Chloe



This Valentine's Day Is Brought To You By Pinterest: Pintentional Post #7

Is it possible to O.D. on Pinterest??

If it is...Valentine's Day has proven me a junky.

We had Love Potion smoothies for breakfast this morning.

(Which I saw on Pinterest, but apparently did not pin...)

Chloe and I made this banner last week out of cereal boxes,

twine, doilies and scrapbook paper from the $1 bin.

Chloe's class Valentines this year:

Cello bags from the $1 bin filled with Goldfish Crackers and a note:

Of all the fish in the sea...

I'm glad we swim in the same SCHOOL!

I made these cute I Love You Valentines with the students in Chloe's class for their parents.

They were all very pleased with their finished products.

Lesson in sign language and symmetry in how to make a perfect heart.

We used party ideas and printables from this site.

I spent the entire day in Chloe's classroom.

The sugar consumption was off the charts.

I may be officially Valentined out.

No big date for us tonight.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.

Maybe popcorn and a short movie.

Baths then bed for the kiddos. (maaaybe add the glowsticks again...)

Then plopping on the couch with Kevin to watch an inappropriate amount of television.

Happy Love Day.

I found myself praying through out the day...

Thank you, Lord, for loving us first.

We love, because You love.

Me and E Date Night

Kevin and Chloe are out on the town at their annual Daddy/Daughter Dance.  They both look forward to it every year.  I am so thankful that they get to have this special time together. Pictures to come.

Since they were going on a date...so were me and E.

I asked him what he would like to do on our date...to which he replied, 'what is a 'date' actually?'
Special time set aside for the two of us to spend time together.
He liked the idea. ;)

So.
Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.
Chips.
A sea life documentary.
And some Ben & Jerry's.

He was excited all day.  Kept asking how long it was until night time.  So. Sweet.
Once Kev and Chloe were on their way, we pushed the couches together to make a 'boat', picked up the pizza and completely pigged out on junk food.

We watched the documentary twice and then played Hot Wheels 2012.
(He loves to add the '2012' part...it must be cool because they added it to Monster Jam.)

We tried all sorts of cars to find the best loop-de-looper.

 Batmobile.  Hands down.

 We made the cars jump monster trucks, other cars...we even tried to get the cars to land in his crocs.
The biggest hit was getting the cars to loop-de-loop into a Tupperware of salt...or 'salt pit' respectively.

It was a good, good night.
Love you, E.
Love being your Mama.

Pintentional Post #6: Writing In Salt

Writing in Salt

Or 'Writing in Snow' if you are Eli.
Because somehow writing in snow is waaay cooler.

If you click on the above link, you will see a very zen like box holding a very official looking letter card.
Below you will see my make-shift-found-around-the-house 'free' version.



If you continue to click down the link trail that is the beauty of Pinterest, you may risk feeling like a terrible mother....at least I did...as that Mom is clearly doing an above-and-beyond-fabulous job of educating her young children.

So hang around here and save yourself the guilt. ;)

My four year old does not enjoy coloring or doodeling or practicing writing with crayons or pencils...

But he was totally into writing with his finger in the 'snow'.

It was sweet to see how successful he felt as he wrote all his letters.  Smile from ear to ear. 

Could. Not. Wait. to show Daddy when he got home.

I actually caught him writing all on his own a couple times too! ;)

Where I Need To Spend More Time...

Right here.

 With this little man...

Pintentional Post #5

Reading Power Towers (click on that to get to the pin and a video)

It is safe to say that sight words are among Chloe's least favorite things to practice.
First semester, we were really struggling to make them a nightly routine...hard for both of us.

So, when I came across this on Pinterest, I was excited!

I had the bathroom paper cups on hand and simply wrote her next 50 or so sight words on the bottom of the cups.

She has to read the word and then she can add it to her tower.
The taller or wider the better! She has even made snowflake shapes with her cups.

We have been doing Power Towers for a little over a week, and I am seeing a marked improvement in her sight word success!

YES!!

The Math Power Towers also look like a great idea.  We are not struggling as much with those at the moment, but it would be great practice.  I think I would write the answer to the math problems on the inside of the cup for self-checking.  (not sure if he suggested that on the video...)

This is an easy way to make memory work waaaay more FUN!

When Ordinary PBJ Just Won't Cut It...Pintentional Post #4

PBJ needed some pizazz today...
I knew if I was feeling bummed out about the old stand-by...E was probably going to flat out refuse.

So...this is what I came up with:

Only crumbs were left! WIN!

This post was indirectly inspired by Pinterest with all the cute lunch ideas...soooo...
Pintentional??

I think yes!

Pintentional Post #3

Glow Sticks In the Bathtub

I will be buying glow sticks from the $1 bin every time I shop now.
If you have little ones, I suggest you do the same.

The only way to improve bath time for my kids would now be:

Add glow sticks. Turn off the lights.

All those glow sticks for one buck. Genius.

The kids loved this.

Adding bubbles was fun too...although it did not photograph well.

Your kids will thank you!

On Washing Our Dog...

Note to self:

 When the dog smell reaches an embarrassing and completely unacceptable level,

read this blog BEFORE you get started.

Things I need to remember (but tend to forget) before I am up to my armpits in wet dog hair:

 - Wear a bathing suit.

 - There can never be too many towels.

 - 90 lbs is kinda a lot when needing to be hoisted into a bathtub and is met with much resistance 

 - Dog will become both obstinate and pathetic whilst being bathed.

 - It may be impossible to truly prepare oneself for the imminent 'shake.'

 - Water droplets scattered from the shake will reach unimaginable heights.

(Read: walls and mirror will not be spared.)

 - Even after the water and flopping and writhing has taken place on the bathroom tile, it can not be considered mopped.

 - and the bathtub...yep, that thing is going to need a massive scrubbing to be considered safe for human use.

 - Have an extension cord for the blow dryer.

 - My Conair ion Shine 1875 was not intended for this purpose.  It will not get the job done in an acceptable amount of time.

 - Dog turns into a major Diva (Divo??) when the blow dryer is used. (Loves. it.)

 - Even after the dog has been bathed...you will still wonder if he is really clean.

 - Strategically plan dog bath with enough time to bathe yourself afterwards...lest you have to interact with humans and completely overcompensate with body spray.

(this is his mad face.)

Dear Samson,
You were named this for a reason.  You are BIG. and you are HAIRY.  You are a great member of the family, but your smell is repulsive and offensive. Don't you smell yourself??

I hope you will forgive me for the terrible thoughts I have about you while I bathe you.  I really do love you.  Maybe the blow dry will re-endear me to you?? I'm the one that feeds you, remember??  You and me. 6:30 am and 4:00pm...every. day. On the dot.  That's me.

You may not be as clean as if we sent you to the Puppy Boutique...but you smell a whole heck of a lot better. Thank you for enduring the humiliation.

Love your person,
Sarah

Pintentional Post #2

Tried this last night in the crock pot,
Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken.
I have to be honest...
It wasn't awesome.
Not sure why I thought 3 ingredients would be delish...but I still believe in miracles.
Unfortunately, this wasn't one of them.

In this 'recipes' defense, I did not make it to Target to get the actual 'Hawaiian BBQ' sauce that is listed.
I tried a Kroger knock off called - 30 Minute Marinade Hawaiian. Would not recommend...very little flavor. Kevin added salt first...then pepper.  He does not even like pepper.
We enjoyed this so little that I did not even bother to take a photo of the finished product.

But here is my optimistic first photo.
Chicken was already in the crock pot when I remembered to take the picture.
(ain't no way I am touching that slimy stuff a second time just for a picture!) ;)

I may give it a redemptive attempt number 2 with the actual sauce...or better yet a homemade BBQ sauce that does not have the high fructose corn syrup...and add the onions and green peppers that some recommended.
But...as of today...
thumbs down.

The Things We Do For Love

Saturday night  we and the Hudsons found ourselves in a place we had not previously dreamt about...
foreigners in a new land...
surrounded by Monster Trucks.
The things we do for love.  :)

 Grave Digger was celebrating his 30th anniversary...and was the clear star of the show.

 Monster Mutt...a family fave.

 So kind of the Monster truck world to have a pink truck and a female driver.

Yay, Madusa!

 Tried and tried to get a perspective shot to see how small E was and how BIG the tires were

 The whole fam in front of Batman

(always a joy to capture E's excitement on camera.)

 We wrote our names on one of the demolition cars...pretty sure they were crushed to smithereens...

 El Toro Loco!!

 Ear plugs all around!!  It was SO LOUD!!!

 A blurry picture, but I like the surprise on their faces...

 This is what they saw.

One tire came completely off!

That really gets the crowd going!!

 Kevin liked Captain America...it was his first night out with his new truck.

 Our motivation to embark on a new land.

 Grave Digger literally left it all out on the dirt.

Strange how his run was not the flashiest..yet his truck fell to pieces...I smell a conspiracy.*

 Grave Digger's son was there too...

The Legend is the gray and blue truck in the top corner.

And another shot of Captain America too.

We actually really enjoyed ourselves!

I now get to hear Eli play Monster Trucks throughout the day and exclaim,

"GRAVE DIGGER" in his best growly, 'Sunday, Sunday, Sunday' voice.

It's endearing.

* Admittedly, I am new to the world of Monster Truck rallies...

But it seemed to have a distinct Pro-wrestling vibe to it...

only in ginormous trucks.

Is it possible that some of the trucks show up just to make the stars look good??

Could it be their job to crunch the demolition cars enough to allow the stars to jump and get massive air for the fans??

Did Grave Digger really do THAT much better than the rest to be deemed the Free-Style Champ??

And why didn't everyone elses' truck fall apart??

Don't get me wrong...we hooted and hollered with the rest of them...

we were entertained (which, I know is the ultimate point)

I just was left with a few questions about the 'reality' of it all...ya know??