First Day of Preschool

I am doing preschool at home for Little M and Snug this year. We will be working together two days a week, starting for about 40 minutes a day. Today was our first day and they really liked it. We had stories and songs and learned about the letter "A". I am using some Christian school preschool curriculum.

Snug has been wanting to go to school since last year when Mother Hen (who is no longer with us, she has started kindergarten) was attending preschool. We will be doing reading, writing, math, fine and large motor activities. I hope they continue to enjoy our time together.

Our school area.

I Always Blog During Naptime

I do. I always do. But today I am not, because there wasn't a naptime. But right now I am blogging because Snug is running around in his underpants (he "can't want to put on my pants" after he went potty -I am done helping him in the bathroom. He is three. He can do it himself, and I am not going to do it anymore when I know he can do it himself. If he chooses NOT to put on pants, then he is choosing to not play outside.) and Baby J is slap happy. So I decided to share the craziness with you all.

Both boys fell asleep in the van on the way home from shopping, and it took the edge off (you know, all 15 minutes of the trip) and they spent an hour hollering in their room...no naps were taken. Mommy laid on the couch, exhausted, and didn't feel bad for them at all. After about an hour, I relented and let them out of their prison bedroom. They are way wild this afternoon.

We had a good shopping experience though. Coupons to be spent at Bed Bath & Beyond for wedding presents, Jeans $19 at Old Navy with a free t-shirt (one pair for me, one for #1...really $19 is a good deal), picking up Christmas presents for Grandmommy to give at Family Christian Books (saved 1/2 with a coupon), and 40% off a cut of batik for a sling as a baby gift for a friend. I LOVE coupons. I ended up with a little more material than I was anticipating because it was the end of a bolt and they sold me the last 1/2 yard at 50% off to take it off their hands. Snug has been wanting a sling for his "blue beers" for quite some time, so he'll probably get his wish now. He often times takes his "Linus" blanket and wraps it around his neck with the bear(s) attached.

Baby J is taking more and more steps...I'll have to video it again so you can see. He will take about 5 before deciding it is too much work. He also gets on the couch with great proficiency. Getting off the couch...not so proficient.

He had a couple of Dr.s appts. this week. He is 21 lbs, 30 inches. That is the 13% for weight, and 49% for height. We are done with the GI doctor, hopefully forever. Also, he will be getting tubes put in his ears, but we don't know when. He is still significantly behind in speech. That does NOT mean he is quiet...anyone who is in a block radius can probably attest to that this afternoon :o)

Seems how the kids are actually UP as I am writing this, I had better stop...but I feel more organized.

If It Ever Gets Quiet...

If it ever gets quiet at my house I go straight to the bathroom. Although Snug has never played in the bathroom inappropriately (save the time he ate 1/2 a tube of toothpaste...but technically he wasn't playing, he was eating), Baby J is a whole different story.

I think Baby J has bathroom radar. He knows when the door is open. He has like a sixth sense. We rarely leave the door open...usually it is when Snug has used the facility and left the door cracked.

It got oddly quiet while I was trying to find a diaper for him after I got him out of the tub last night. I seriously picked up a diaper and grabbed jammies and he was totally out of the bedroom. I quick dashed back to the bathroom where Snug was still swimming bathing to see his naked little body attempting to climb back into the tub.

This morning we also had a quiet episode while I was on the phone with #1 trying to figure something out (not sure what...the bathroom episode erased it from memory). I rushed to the bathroom in time to hear a large crash. He had climbed onto the toilet and knocked off the basket on the back which holds a kleenex box, wipes, etc. He then followed suit and fell off the toilet. His fall was cushioned by all of the kleenexes he had pulled out of the box prior to the crash.

If it ever gets quiet on Snug's end, I just check the snack cupboard. He is usually "just tasting".

Prayer for Ron

Please pray for my cousin Melissa's father-in-law as he has been battling cancer for quite some time and is on his way, again, to the ER.  Thank you.

15 10 Books

I got this idea from Ethan, Zach, and Emma's mom. I have nothing to post today and was just going to skip it altogether, but one should post on their birthday, shouldn't they? So, because I do love books...

"Here are the rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen ten books you've read that will always stick with you. They don't have to be the greatest books you've ever read, just the ones that stick with you."

The Bible
The Hiding Place--Corrie Ten Boom
Spunky's Diary--Janette Oke
The Harry Potter Series-J.K. Rowling
Little House on the Prairie--Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Cat and The Hat--Dr. Seuss
Matilda--Rhonald Dahl
A Child Callede "It"--David Pelzer
Pictures of Hollis Woods--Patricia Reilly Giff
Oh The Places You'll Go--Dr. Seuss

Carriage Hill Metropark Farm

Today the boys and I, and our imaginary playgroup, went to Carriage Hill Metropark Farm, a living historical farm from the 1800s. We were supposed to meet our church playgroup there, but due to it being summertime and the fact that I really should have gotten the e-mail out sooner, we were alone (except for daddy, but more on that later).

They have fully restored this farm and put back into working order. They boys are in front of the house here. The people working here (both staff and volunteers) dress in period costumes.

Animals are also part of the farm, and the chickens/this rooster are free to walk about as they please.

Snug's chicken catching finesse is about as good as his kitten catching finesse. I'd LOVE to link you to that post, but unfortunately I am having quite the time looking at anyone's blog today, including mine. Google seems to think I am a robot and not a human and is blocking me from all angles. Something about automated queries...Grrr.

Sitting in the window of one of the barns...

They have a blacksmith working there too. Today he was making staples to hold some kind of fencing together.

Playing in the barn...

This wet spot (not an animal barn, used for farm equipment so I don't think it was urine) and crack were most interesting and needed thorough investigation.

Inside the visitors center (pictured at the very top) was a country store where you can buy handmade gifts and penny candy, along with a children's discovery area. Baby J is playing with the wood burning heater. Glad it is fake!

He also enjoyed some time on the front porch...

...while Snug attended school.

Back outside Snug enjoyed some time throwing rocks in the creek. I think he would have done this for hours had we had the time.

Oh look! There's daddy! He is supposed to be home resting after his surgery*. Nope, mommy, with the help of Snug, locked the keys in the van. He came to the rescue and enjoyed the last part of the day.

Baby J did not get to enjoy the creek, as he is not old enough to climb down the embankment and mommy didn't want to risk dropping him in. He sat up on the bridge and watched.

If you live in the Dayton area, you have got to check this place out!

*#1 had a minor procedure today, don't worry, he is FINE. I just had hoped to give him some space. He is so fine in fact, he is currently out mowing the lawn!

Snug is Free Three

When Snug says he is three, it comes out as "free"...but being three is NOT free, in fact, it is the END of being free. So many places children 2 and under a free...but now those days are over! Oh well. We planned our two trips to the county fair (one trip, along with a second time to the Extreme Makeover house I didn't re-blog about...I try to keep things fresh) before he had his birthday and would need to pay the admission fee!
So this is the birthday cake. Like it? Me neither. I had to get a neighbor to watch the kids so I could run out and buy another cake mix. I'm sure I could have made one from scratch...hindsight is 20/20.

This was his "main" birthday present from mommy and daddy. It cost $6.50. Not that cost is all that important, but really, what a deal! We spent $5 on track and little buildings/bridges at one garage sale, and $1.50 on train pieces at another. 40% of the track and the table were free from Craigslist! There string on the one part is a drawer hosting many more pieces of track.

It was a hit! Both boys like to play with it...one boy mostly destroys it...we'll have to work on that.

Here is the "real" cake! Snug wanted a Cars cake, but I don't pay grocery stores to make cakes (unless it is an ice cream cake). This one is iced in chocolate frosting and we used crushed chocolate cookies and green tinted coconut* for the road/ground/grass. The trees were free at a garage sale (and went through the dishwasher, I assure you), Mater and McQueen are courtesy of my cousin Crystal (THANK YOU SO MUCH!).

When he was asked what he wanted to eat for his birthday, he immediately said "Cake!". Hmmm, no. What do you want to eat for your birthday? After listing some ideas, he came up with "zanya" on his own! Lasagna it was...only there was a little meltdown about it at the table because he was still convinced he was having only cake for dinner.

"Zanya" and cake were a hit with everyone!

We had our neighbors on both sides along with the boys' godparents over for dinner, dessert, and presents. In this one is a t-ball set that pitches the ball to you when you get old enough. How cool?

In the top bag was several miniature Bob The Builder trucks, also from Crystal and my Aunt Dawn (again, thank you so much!), in the middle box is a new swim ring as the dogs chewed his old one up, and the bottom box is a Melissa & Doug cake set. That was also from us. He also received a Buzz Lightyear guy (he's never even seen Toy Story...in fact he's only seen "Cars" two times. When you are only allowed 1/2 hour of TV a day and sometimes none 95% of the time, 2.5 hour movies are very rare) who he makes wooshing sounds and flies around the house. Someone must have told him that he flies.

And last, but certainly not least, he got this GIGANTIC balloon bouquet as a present. I had told one of the party goers that he would really like some balloons for the party...well they went all out! He was thrilled with that gift also.

Happy Birthday Snug! Looking forward to the next year and many many more to come!

*take 1-2 drops of green food dye and swirl it in the coconut until well coated

The County Fair

Mama Bear posted here about their trip to the county fair. We also have been this week, and the boys loved it. Ok, ok, Mommy loved it too. In fact, I hope to one day have my boys in 4-H so they can enjoy learning new things and have the responsibility that comes with it.

Of all the things we saw and did at the fair, both boys enjoyed hanging out in the horse barn and catching kitties the most. This little one Snug is holding is the only one he was able to catch without help. It must have been sick because NONE of the other kittens or cats were crazy enough to let him pick them up. His cat catching finesse really needs some...tweeking.

Sorry about the pictures being blurry, my camera ran out of card space so a few of these are with my phone. This kitten is trying to get away, because when Baby J loves on a kitty, he squishes the life right out of it!

I went in to the fair prepared to let Snug pick ONE ride if he even brought it up. I knew it was really expensive. One of the guys #1 works was so nice and gave Snug a ride band for free. His kids are involved with 4H and he is on the fair board. Snug go to ride...

...and ride...

...and ride. He LOVED everything he went on. Nothing was too high or too fast. Many of the rides he was too short to do, and he was really disappointed. I think I have my amusement park boy :o)

Even though the rides were lots of fun, I think Snug enjoyed the animals the most. We discussed the ones you can pet (pigs, cows, horses, sheep, goats) and the ones you cannot pet unless a 4H kid was present to assist (turkeys, chickens, rabbits). I didn't want a hand to be bitten and the love of all things that breathe to be extinguished.

Here is Baby J petting a meat rabbit. Yep, it is gonna be stew. We know this boy, and Snug strutted around like he was big stuff to know him. Baby J also loves the animals and spent a good deal of the day kicking, squealing, and clapping his hands. I think in the picture he is squishing loving very hard on this rabbit's poor head.

"Dis is a BIG pig mommy BIG like me!" (I didn't mention it, but he eats like Snug too. That boy is going to need a bib till he is in college).

LOVING the fair.

Tasting some fair food. We bought "lunch" at the fair, although I don't think that fried potatoes, a gyro, and fried green tomatoes count as "lunch".
We bought those three things and split them between the four of us. I also brought along raisins and water for everyone. MAN fair food is expensive!

We plan on heading out that way again tonight as we have free passes to see another of #1's Buddies race his horse.

Going Political On You

Well...I just had to. Sorry.

To start off on a POSITIVE note, our city levy PASSED today, thank you to everyone who was praying. It doesn't guarantee that #1 won't lose his job, but it is a step in the right direction! Praise God. I may or may not have started crying as the lady was checking my ID and all today at the polls. It was really hard to see how agitated #1 was. We continue to trust God in all of this, but it is hard not to fell a bit sick about it. I cannot imagine our city less 6 officers and 6 firefighters. That would be awful.

Oh, Happy Birthday President Obama. I believe I did hear it is his birthday today. Not sure how old his is. Older than me :o)

Ok, so there was a discussion at camp among my CILTS about our current president. They were speaking about him and his decisions (in a not very well informed way) rather disrespectfully. Now, I will be the first one to tell you that there are many things he does that I do not agree with. However, I believe we need to still be respectful of him and pray for him. I told the girls such, and hope that they will take it to heart.

That being said, I want to bring some things to light that you may or may not know. We need to not only be praying for these issues, but contacting our congressmen!

First up, is his health care reform. Click here to see what I am talking about.

Secondly is a HUGE issue on abortion. Because of the news on "cash for clunkers" and "health care" I think this issue is falling through the media cracks. GUESS WHAT! IT IS IMPORTANT! Actually, it is even tied to the health care issues out there.
Click here for more detailed information. Our government, at least some elected officials, want to overrule abortion laws that have been put in place. When Snug was born premature, under what they want the House to pass, I could have told the doctors to abort him. You know, cause he was a problem and all. Yep. Late term abortion would be legal...babies that could survive outside the womb would be eligible for annihilation. Not that ones who are not old enough to survive should be aborted, don't get me wrong. This new bill is going to be passed or rejected in the next 2 weeks.

But I don't like to get all political on you.

Extreme Makeover, Beavercreek Edition

Extreme Makeover, Home Edition is building a new home for a family about 10 minutes from our house! How exciting! We tried to go over last night, but they are shuttling people in on school buses and they stop shuttling at 7:30 pm...we were 8 minutes late. So we set off again this morning, and I plan on going back at least one more time.

Snug decided it was a "pike" day today. He hasn't had a fauxhawk in a few weeks, but today was a special day I guess. He really liked watching "Scoop" and "Lofty" work on the house.

It was truly amazing to see how fast they worked on the house. When we first got there they were just putting the first parts of the roof on, and when we left a man was using a broom to sweep off any loose debris-we were there about an hour and 20 minutes.

The people working were really great too. This is Dano. He travels with the crew to do security. This is his 28th build. We know pretty much his whole life story because his job is to stand and make sure people are behind the barricades. He likes to talk to people so he isn't bored. I guarantee he wasn't bored this morning! My friend's son is pictured here too, as they happened to be at the site the same time as we were.

This place was HOPPING! Big trucks and Gators and construction vehicles galore. There was construction stuff or tents set up all the way down the street and up a few side streets. Port-a-potties and work tents were in everyone's front and backyards. The neighbors were pretty happy about it as we got to talk to one, and saw several others standing around watching. They were extended an offer to stay at a local Hilton, but as far as the one man knew, no one had taken them up on it-they were happy to be part of the hub-bub.

I am NOT happy with Snug in this picture. He wouldn't get his dumb Nalgene out of his face. My friend got some better shots, so I'll have to print a couple of hers. Do you know this woman? She is DeeDee, a designer from the show. She loved Snug and when he went to shake her hand asked if she could hold him and did I want a picture. Um....sure. Along with overseeing things around there she also took the time to sign t-shirts, greet people, and hold small random boys with obnoxious water bottles.

Had I thought of it earlier, I would have had Stellan's name written on something a bit more substantial...oh well. Dano was nice enough to hold it for me so I can send it to MckMama. I don't think she has one with Extreme Home Makeover yet :o)

Sunday Morning Sickness Cuteness

Well both boys have allergies or colds...not sure which, and I have a nice sore throat from sinus drainage and was up pretty much all night between sick boys and drinking a 45 oz Mt. Dew slushie. Why did I drink that? Well, my throat hurt yesterday and really cold things felt really good so #1 graciously stopped and bought me a slushie. A 45 oz one. A Mt. Dew one. Ugh. It was delish, but I never drink caffeine...so...well...yeah.

So we are all staying home from church and groggy and cranky. I thought maybe a nice video of Baby J taking one teensy little step might cheer everyone up. I took it a few days ago, but didn't have time to post it. Excuse the camera work...he was most interested in grabbing the lens cap hanging from the camera. And the shirt he is wearing might become one of my favorites. It is a garage sale find, and I don't know why one earth it says "England" but it suits him, I think.

Busted!

There is usually quite a bit of drama when it is time to go down for naps, so when the sobbing fit throwing ended super abruptly today, I had to go see what was going on. I peeked through the crack in the door and Snug was sleeping with his bears as he should be.

Next I peeked a little further in to make sure that Baby J hadn't pulled all of his diapers into the crib as has been his habit lately (I moved the changing table to make way for Snug's birthday present and now it is close enough that if he reaches just far enough he can snag a few to pull in). The diapers were all in neat stacks ready to be used. Hmmmm.

I couldn't see Baby J and I kept hearing this "click. click. click." sound. I opened the door just far enough to see that he had pulled off his comforter that hangs on the end of the bed to block light and to be pretty (sorry mom, it is just TOO nice to use). He was reaching through the bars to play with the bead run on the little desk* at the end of his crib. The fallen comforter was shielding him from seeing me (and I from him for a few moments). I ran to get the camera, and as the flash went off, he looked up like "oops. busted."

*We are the proud owners of a little desk and chair that is toddler/preschool size. Eventually it will go in the basement with the rest of the Draycare toys to be used to play "school" or "restaurant" or "burning building for Rescue Heroes to rescue" but for now it is sitting in the big empty spot with the bead run atop it until the train table makes its appearance. THANK YOU to the family who donated it to us :o) It will get much use here, I assure you!