5 Months Later...

The past 5 months have been full of chaos around here. Good chaos, if there is such a thing. Which I believe there is.

August was the beginning of the end of nursing school for me. I will be done in exactly 13 days from today. Not that I'm counting or anything. I am looking forward to shifting my focus to passing my state boards and looking for employment in the new year.

Jeff is looking forward to relinquishing some of his "house husband/Mr. Mom" duties back to me. Trust me, he talks about it daily. Daily.

August was also a big month for Aubrey. She is a big kindergartner now. I was devastated that I could not be with her on her first big day of school, since I was in class myself. But I was grateful her dad was there with her. It's amazing how much she has learned and grown in just a few months!


In November we celebrated Jake turning 3! That boy keeps us laughing every day. He loves to play rough, run wild, and he loves all things Lego's, transformers, motorcycles, trucks, and Iron Man. But the best part (to mom and dad anyway) is that he is totally potty trained and we have been diaper-less for 3 months!


As things begin to wind down around here I am finally able to start thinking more about Christmas and less about renal failure, intracranial pressure, shock, heart failure, and so on. No joke.

I was so annoyed when I finally got around to starting some shopping for the kids today and realized some of the items I had previously scouted out online now have prices that have been jacked up considerably! Ordered a few, reevaluating the rest.

Every year we try to scale down on Christmas gifts, yet somehow it ends up being just as out of control as the year before. Maybe my sticker shock will help to keep me in line this year. I once heard a great idea from someone I know about keeping the amount of gifts within a reasonable limit. Her idea was to give each child a Santa gift and 3 gifts from mom and dad (no matter how big or small) that represent the number of gifts given by the Wise Men. Makes perfect sense.

Camp out

In the backyard, to be exact.

We had intentions of doing this at the beginning of summer. But with all the things we have been busy with we just FINALLY got around to it.

Tent, check.
Blankets and pillows, check.
Lantern, check.
Sm ore's, check.

Ready.
Set.
Off to the backyard we go.

Now it's time to come down from the sugar high and all the excitement of sleeping in the backyard for a few "scary" bedtime stories.

First story was told by dad. Then it was my turn. I was banned from telling another story because it was "6 year old scary, not 5 year old scary" according to Aubrey.

The night through the eyes of Jake:

(I think he may have a future in photography.)

I don't care what the box says, a 4 person tent is NOT made for 4 people! Jake and I were having trouble sleeping with a sprawled out bed hog (Aubrey). At about 2:30 am we headed indoors to get some much needed sleep. Ahhhhhh, Tempurpedic.

We finished up our backyard camp out with bacon and eggs for breakfast.

This will most definitely be a family tradition, with a bigger tent of course!

We love Donna!

Swim lessons have been a big part of our summer, just like every other year. When it comes to my kids I have a few fears (OK, a lot!). And something happening to one of my kids around water is at the top of my "crazy mom" list. This year we had the pleasure of working with Donna. She is amazing with the kids and they just love her (despite what the following pics might make you think!).

Aubrey LOVES the water and is a little too brave for her swimming abilities. She still needs to work on taking breaths while she's swimming. She will just take off and think she can hold her breath the whole way there....and then she runs out of air. She just needs to get it all coordinated and she will be able to make some huge progress. Donna still has 4 more weeks left to work with Aubrey this summer and I just know she will improve.

Jake also LOVES the water. However, he prefers mom and dad over an instructor any day! Last week the kids and I went to my sisters house to swim. On the way there he must have asked a dozen times if any swim teachers would be there. He's not swimming on his own yet but he has learned some basics and is on his way.

These pics are from Jake's second lesson. He cried the entire first lesson and on and off for this one. So that was a definite improvement! Aubrey and I giggled a lot during this lesson because he kept holding his breath thinking he was going under at any moment. It was his puffy cheeks
that got me. It was the cutest thing and I could not get a dang picture of it for anything!

Jake has had A LOT of ear infections and last year had to have tubes placed. So now he wears this little band around his head to keep his ears dry while swimming.

And then there's the goggles! Aubrey and Jake refuse to swim without them. They both HATE water on their faces. This has been an issue forever with them. Just imagine bath time...it's a joy (not!).

Chug-a-chug-a-chug-a-chug-a

We have been so busy with all of our summer to-do's that I am just now getting around to sharing them. And summer is already slowly coming to an end!

A couple weeks ago we headed up to the mountains for the day. It was 80 degrees and breezy. We were not in a hurry to come home to hot temperatures over 100!

We had a picnic lunch and then road the Sugar Pine Train. We learned a little bit of history about the logging industry that use to exist in that area and about the old logger train. Half way through the train ride we stopped for a break. We spent our time hiking around a nearby creek and climbing up to meet the engineer. Aubrey got to sit in his seat. There's a reason the engineer was hanging out the window...it was HOT in there!

I loved spending this time with my family and making special memories with them. Times like THIS are what life is all about!

More of our summer to-do's coming soon!

Better Late Than Never

A couple of weeks ago Aubrey had her preschool graduation. It was a very special day for her. And of course I was "that mom" that shed a few tears. I am just so proud of all the ways she has grown and changed since the beginning of this last year of preschool.

The class sang lots of songs to all the mommies and daddies...

Then we enjoyed some cake and punch...

Aubrey and her teacher Mrs. Missy...

Aubrey and her teacher Mrs. Audrey...

Some of her school friends...

And here's a clip of one of the songs the kids sang to us...

After the celebration, Aubrey and I headed off for some girl time and got pedicures. Forgot to take a picture though.

Aubrey is sooo excited to start kindergarten. She recently did her kindergarten assessment and got to meet her teacher. She is looking forward to the meet and greet in her classroom the week before school starts.

I can't believe how quickly my baby has grown up!! Sometimes I wish I could make time stand still. On the flip side, it is amazing to watch her grow and change.

I love these shelves!

Simple and reclaimed.

I'm thinking about some scrap fence pickets that have been laying around on the side of the house. Maybe I need to spend a bit less time reading blogs and start some projects!

You can find this projects details here.

If you have not discoverd Ana-White yet, go now!

Our Summer To Do's...

• Make ice cream


• Go to a baseball game


• Zoo trip


• Hike at the lake


• Picnic at the park & feed the ducks


• Backyard camp out & smores


• $1 Movies http://www.regmovies.com/summermovieexpress/default.aspx


• Make root beer floats


• Beach trip


• Make giant bubbles http://cometogetherkids.blogspot.com/2011/04/really-big-bubble-maker.html


• Water balloon fight


• Buy snow cones


• Local amusement park


• Local library summer events


• Jump @ indoor inflatable center


• Homemade gak http://cometogetherkids.blogspot.com/2010/08/gak.html


• Train ride


• Children's museum


• Animal homes trail walk along the river


• Homemade body paint (Recipe: In muffin cup mix 1 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp water, 1/2 tsp baby lotion, 2 drops food coloring. Stir each color with separate stirrers. Wash off with soap and water. Happy painting!)

We have weekly movie and library trips already scheduled on our calendar. In addition to that I plan to do 1 additional "at home" activity and 1 "away from home" activity from our list. I will repeat the activities that are a big hit with the kids.

What's on your list?

Happy summer!