Back to reality

Well, it is almost December 1st. We had a great time in Disney. I have so much to post about I think I am going to do several small posts. We are back into school, work and routine. Our Christmas decorations are up and we can't wait to celebrate our Savior's birth! Hopefully things will settle down this weekend and I can write all about our trip!

Liar liar pants on fire!

It always amazes me that while Caden and Paige are a lot alike they are so very different on many ways. I call Caden honest Abe. He could not lie if his life depended on it. Some days he will come home from school and tell me little things that have happened. For example the other day he told me his name was called for talking. I asked him if he got his color changed or a stick taken away and he said no, he just thought he should tell me. I can just look at him cross and he will start spilling the beans about everything even if it is not that bad.

Then, there is Paige. My sweet, shy, on her best behavior at school Paige. She will lie at the drop of a hat. And it is not just that she will lie, but even when she is caught she will stick to her lie! Just yesterday she wanted a lunch able for lunch. I told her she had to eat everything else before she could eat her cookie. I got busy with work, but out of the corner of my eye I could see her running back and forth to our bathroom. She did this three times. Then she walked by and I noticed she was eating a cookie. Of course when I asked her if she finished her lunch she said yes and proudly showed me her empty container. I knew right away she must have gone and threw away the food because Paige eats like a bird and never finishes her plate. But when I went into bathroom I could jot find the food. So I asked her if she really ate it all and she stuck to her guns and said yes. Then, I said Paige it is a sin to lie did you hide your food? Once again she said no. I went and looked again but no food. Finally I pulled out the big guns. I told her God is watching and knows what she really did even if I can't find the food. That finally broke her and she told me she had flushed it! Not only is she a liar but she is good at covering her tracks! We had a talk about lying and hopefully I got thru to her.

My mom hates it when I call it lying. She says her babies never lie they just tell stories. Well, I believe in calling a spade a spade. I am going to have to keep an eye on her when she becomes a teenager for sure!

One proud Mama!

**WARNING** This post is full of bragging.

Lol. I try not to brag about my kids. In my experience it usually comes back to bite me in the rear. But.....it is my blog about my kids so if I can't brag here then where can I? Lol. And I probably have a total of 3 other people that read this so it really doesn't count right?

That said, here I go! Today was report card day. Paige had great notes from her teacher. She had mostly M's (which means mastered). There were quite a few E's (which means emerging) when it came to her alphabet. I knew that was going to be there. She had told me a few weeks ago they tested them on their letters and she missed a bunch. Sure enough I did my own little test and she missed a lot. Mother of the year here just kind of assumed she knew them. But we have been working on them since and she knows most of them now. Overall I was very happy with her report card. She is one smart cookie and pre-k is helping her grow in many ways academically and socially.

Caden had field day at school today. At first I did not think I was going to make it there but I was able to sneak away and stay long enough to watch tug a war. He had a blast with his friends. It was also report card day for him too. I was super excited when I opened his. To be promoted to 2nd grade he needs to be on a level 18 reading level by the end of the school year. The first six weeks and he is already on a level 22! Everything else he got all E's (excellent) on! Way to go Caden. He also had perfect attendance. I think he was proudest of that because he got a gift certificate to Golden Corral. He of course remembered it from when we visited my grandparents and can't wait to try the chocolate fountain again. Lol

I am so proud of my two little scholars! We celebrated by going to the movies to see Wreck it Ralph. It was a great day!

Happy Halloween!

Well, we survived Halloween and walked away with tons of candy. We went to the church for a little trunk or treat and had a great time. The kids really wanted to trick or treat in the neighborhood so we left a little early and walked around our block.

It was fun, but I was reminded why I have not done it sooner. Some of the houses were great, but some where way too scary. Needless to say Paige is in Caden's bed tonight. Lol.

Overall we had a lot of fun. All the kids were adorable and we have enough candy to last thru the new year. Now if I can just not eat it!

Pumpkin time

Last night we carved pumpkins. We usually make a trip to the pumpkin patch, but we have had so much going on Jimmy just picked us up a couple from the store. Caden chose a spider design and Paige wanted Frankenstein.

Of course Jimmy and I ended up doing most of the work, but the kids enjoyed scooping out the insides. In fact, Paige sat next to me and played with the seeds and goo the entire time. Gross. Now we are officially ready for Halloween!

Paige turns 5!

Friday my baby girl turned 5! Maybe because she is a girl or maybe because she is my "baby" but she still seems so little to me. We started Friday off with donuts before school. That evening we let her open a few presents and got ready for her big day Saturday.

For months she has said she wanted a Halloween birthday party. I have a birthday close to Halloween too and growing up I had a few Halloween themed parties. They are fun and easy to find decorations for. Lol. We rented a bouncy slide and had it at our house. I found several ideas on pinterest and tried to have all of Paige's favorite things at the party.

My kids love a good piñata. Lol. I did not plan any games but I decided to have a treasure hunt. I could not find a Halloween piñata I liked but when my sister spotted a treasure chest one she suggested that the piñata could be the treasure. It was perfect and the kids really liked finding it.

Overall I think it turned out well. There was not a big turn out but Paige said she had an awesome birthday and she is still taking about how much fun she had. I have to say I had fun too. So, I would call it a success.

Happy birthday my sweet Paige. I love you more then you could ever know!

Counting down!

I am not "crafty" and rarely do stuff like this. We are just so excited about our trip to Disney when I found an easy countdown calendar I decided to make it. We can't wait!!! Everyday we tear off our Mickey ears and we are one day closer!

14 years

Monday was our 14th wedding anniversary. Man, that makes me feel old. Lol. Seriously, I think we get better with time. It is rare for us to go out alone, but we always make a point to go to dinner on our anniversary. And everytime we do I wonder to myself why we don't do it more often. Of course I know the answer....work, kids, just life in general. It only takes a little time away with Jimmy and I am quickly reminded why I fell in love with him. He is funny, smart, witty and of course I think very handsome. But he is so much more then that. He is the one that knows the best and the worst parts of me and still loves me. He has stuck by me thru the good and the bad. I can't imagine what my life would be like without him. I love you Jimmy T!

Weekend wedding

Saturday we drove to Weimar to Jimmy's cousins wedding. It was at a beautiful bed and breakfast. The weather was perfect for an outside wedding. The kids had a blast playing outside. They found a little spot in the garden where there were lots of frogs and snails. Jimmy's mom and grandmother were able to come with us and stayed the night at our house Saturday night. There were lots of places to take pretty photos but of course the ones with me and jimmy did not turn out.

This will be a busy week for us. Jimmy and I will celebrate 14 years together tomorrow, Paige's birthday is Friday and her party is Saturday. Looking forward to a great week!

Over the river and thru the woods

To Grandmother's house we go! Lol. This weekend we took a last minute trip to visit my grandparents. Their health is failing and I am ashamed that I have not made the trip to see them sooner. Usually we stay at my aunts house, but with both our families getting bigger and my grandparents bad health we stayed at a hotel.

Can I just say my kids love staying in hotels. Paige was the official elevator button pusher and Caden was in charge of swiping the room key. I think their favorite thing was riding on the luggage cart. A close second was getting to eat at Golden Corral. Lol. They are still talking about the chocolate fountain.

We had a nice visit with my grandparents and cousins. My dad let Caden practice with his bow and arrow and BB gun. Paige even got a try. You can see in one of the pictures Caden is not very happy about it. He said that was just for boys. Sorry Caden, girls can shoot guns too. Overall is was a quick but good trip. One I need to make more often.

Student of the week

Paige was student of the week at her pre-k! She got a certificate, a sticker, and a pencil. She also got to go visit the principle who gave her the prizes. I am so proud of her. I was so worried how she would do with the move to her "big" preschool. It is great to have just a little confirmation that she is doing well. I think I was more excited than she was. Lol. I called my mom right away who was of course very excited too. Paige is not one for a lot of attention. She asked me why everyone was so excited? Lol. Being humble is a good thing I guess. Way to go Paige!

Picture time!

I love picture day at school. I usually coach the kids on how to smile, and beg Caden not to do anything silly. Lol. This year I got a nice surprise when I opened Caden's picture. We had gotten his haircut and I love him in his yellow polo shirt. That will make the perfect picture I thought. Well, I had forgotten Caden had his shell necklace he got from Florida in his backpack. Apparently he thought he needed an accessory. He must have put it on at school because he did not leave the house that way. I just had to laugh. Of course I still think my baby is very handsome, necklace and all.

What a weekend

Yesterday was Columbus Day. That meant no work and no school! We had a nice long weekend. We started Saturday off with Caden's soccer game. This was the first one Jimmy was able to make it to. Caden did well and it was beautiful weather. Then we were able to go see the kids friend Jase play. He did great and it was a lot of fun. We did not want the fun to stop so we invited Jase to go see Hotel Transylvania with us. The kids had a blast and judging from the amount of laughter I think they liked it.

That evening while Jimmy watched the kids I was able to attend a ladies fellowship at the church. There were several speakers including Jase's mom Jessica. They all did a wonderful job and I cried the entire time! It was so much fun getting to spend time with the girls.

Monday we went to Main Event with some friends of ours. We all had a great time bowling and playing putt putt golf.

It was a great weekend full of family and friends!

Memories

Ever had something you do or eat bring back a memory? Sometimes with dinner I make garlic and cheese toast. Jimmy laughs because everytime I do I tell him how my Aunt Rhonda would make us pizza toast when I would stay the night with my cousin Sarah. It was basically the same thing but it had pepperoni on it and she would make it for us instead if ordering pizza. We were far from poor growing up but did not always have $ for extras like pizza. We would eat that and homemade brownies and have the best time. We are the same age and some of my best memories were made at their house. I wonder what my kids will remember some day about their childhood?

A day in the life of me

I did this post last year about this time. I think it will be fun to one day go back and see how much my day to day life has changed. Maybe I will look back and say "how did I do all that?" Or maybe I will think, "I wish I had all that free time." Lol. I remember during the summer when the kids went to Jimmy's parents for a week I did not know what to do with myself. Most days I feel like there are not enough hours in the day. But I know this is just a short season in my life and it will pass quickly. I try to guard my family's time and keep my priorities in line. I feel like we are so busy and we do not do even half of what other people do. I don't know how they manage. I just try to keep a balance. I went back and read my other post. I wanted to make sure i include the same type of information. Caden started first grade this year and now Paige goes to pre-k half a day everyday. I still work from home. I think that should cover it. So, here is what my average week looks like right now.

Monday- Alarm goes off at 5:15
Get dressed
Do my morning job duties for work
Fix kids breakfast
6:30 feed the kids breakfast, make their lunches and get them ready for school
7:10 take the kids to school
8-9 go to the gym
9-11:30 work like crazy! Lol
11:40 pick up Paige from school
12-2 give Paige lunch, clean and work
2:30 pick up Caden from school
3-5 finish up work, make sure homework is done, clean, fix dinner
5:30-7. Dance and soccer practice
7-8 bedtime routine
8-? Finish whatever else needs to be done! Lol. Usually laundry, work on Sunday school lessons and get everything ready for the next day

Tuesday- looks exactly like Monday but we have tumbling and no soccer

Wednesday- no dance or soccer
Church! This is also our family dinner day.

Thursday- I think my favorite day of the week. The daytime is the same as all the other days but our evening is free!

Friday- Daytime routine is the same. This is usually the day I add paying bills, making my meal plans for the next week and grocery shopping.

Saturday- soccer games at 9. Then whatever! Sometimes birthday parties. This is also my catch up day on my cleaning schedule.

Sunday- Church, and more church. Lunch with family and get ready to do it all over again!

Not the most exciting post, but one I want to remember.

Sam turns 3!

Today was Sam's 3rd birthday. I can't believe he is three. His party was at a place called the Little Gym. The kids all ran around and had a great time. His cake was so cute. Monster trucks! That boy LOVES cars. Lol. I think every time he leaves my house he leaves with a car. He just makes me smile. I hope he had a wonderful birthday. We love our Sammy!

Life lately

What does our life look like lately? Soccer and dance on Monday, dance on Tuesday, church Wednesday. Soccer games and birthday parties on the weekends and more church. And everything else in between. The days are starting to blur together. This will be a longer post but I am trying to play catch up!

The fish drama continues. Caden's fish died again!!!!! So my dad bought him some monster looking fish that I hated. The thing was evil! But it did not last long. It died too. Not sure what is going on but my dad said maybe we needed to start over. So being a good grandpa he got Caden a whole new tank and rocks. This time Caden opted to get two little hermit crabs. We will see if we can keep those alive. At least I am not afraid of them like the devil fish. Lol.
Paige is still loving dance and school. Tumbling is her favorite so far. Tap is a close second.

Caden went to a skating party this weekend. I was surprised how well he did skating. He ended up being the only boy that showed up to the party, not that he minded. Several times at the party little girls would come up to me and say "where's Caden?". At one point I looked up and saw him holding a little girls hand! It caught me totally off guard especially when her mom asked me if I saw them. I took Caden to the side and told him not to hold her hand. Lol. I questioned him about it later. I know it was totally innocent, but her dad did not look too happy. Lol. He seemed shy about it at first but then told me he was just helping her skate. I decided not to push it further. He is her friend and right now that is all he sees it as. He did not seem to see the problem or understand why her daddy did not like that. Lol.

Oh my. I am so not ready for all that. He will be a ladies man for sure. Of course jimmy laughed it off. But I reminded him how he would have felt if it was Paige and not Caden. Ha!

I am sure I am missing a lot, but that sums up the major happenings lately. This weekend is Sam's 3rd birthday! We are super excited about his party.

What do I want to remember?

Today I was thinking about why I started this blog. I want to one day look back and remember the little things. I am not a big picture taker or scrapbooker. To be totally honest there is not even very much written in my kids baby books. That is the real reason I started this blog. To help me remember. But what do I really want to remember? Today I could post about how I have been sick the past two days, or about parent orientation at school. (both of which I thought about writing about) Sometimes I think I am pretty random with what I post about. Sometimes I mean to blog about things, but I forget or don't have the time. I am hoping that the stuff I take the time to write about are really the things I will look back on one day and be glad I made the effort to document.

So what do I want to remember today? Today after school I took Caden to get a hair cut. I want to remember how big he looked sitting there all by himself. One day I will look back and think how little he was right? Then we went to Baskin Robbins for an after school treat and one on one time. I want to remember how happy he was just spending time with me. We talked about his day and he told me several jokes. I also want to remember how he told on himself when he told me he was moved in class for talking to his good friend. Lol. He is honest if anything! Then when we were done he picked up his trash and mine and with a wink said, "I got this mom". After we left he gave me a big hug and said he loved our date. These are the things I really want to remember!

Tumbling class

Last night was Paige's first day of tumbling class. True to form she was nervous. She did get very excited when she put on her new gymnastics outfit. When she walked into class she saw one of her friends from school. Thank goodness she knew someone. She had a blast. When we got home she was very excited to show daddy and Caden her back bend and forward roll. She was asking me this morning if she got to go again tonight. I guess you could say she liked it!

Weekend fun

Tomorrow is Labor Day, which means no school and no work! We have already had a great weekend. Saturday Paige was invited to a birthday party so Caden and jimmy went dove hunting with some friends of ours. They did not have much luck shooting any dove, but they had a great time and came home exhausted. I got to see video of Caden riding our friends four wheeler by himself. I try not to be over protective, but it did make me nervous. I just remind myself that is what boys do and it is good for him...right?

Anyways, while they were gone Paige and I went to her friend Ally's 3rd birthday party. It was a princess theme and totally adorable. All the girls dressed up in their princess dresses and there was even a real princess there. Paige had a great time and I will be honest when I say it made me wish I was a kid again. Jessica did a great job with all the details and everything was so cute!

Today after church Paige went to her first play date. Her best friend at church Cailyn asked if she could come over and play. They had so much fun together. These girls are going to be double trouble some day. Lol.

I am not sure what we are going to do tomorrow. Hopefully just relax and get ready for the week!

Off to a good start

We made it thru the first week of school! We not only made it but everyone was happy. Not one tear was shed. Caden loves his teacher, his classmates, and seems excited about the new year. Paige is making new friends and came home everyday excited about what she had done that day. Such a big relief! It was a little rough getting back into the early schedule. The kids were passed out by 8 and I was ready to pass out by 10. Lol. Next week we will add soccer and dance into our schedule. I am hoping that this week will set the tone for the rest of the school year. If so we are going to have a great year!

Birthday part 2

Jimmy picked up Caden from school yesterday and when he got home we gave him his birthday gift from us. A new bike! He outgrew his a long time ago and I sold it in a garage sale a couple of months ago. He was super excited. Then we met family at Casa Ole for his birthday dinner. We picked up an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins on the way there. Yum! Ever since it opened he has been asking if he could have an ice cream cake for his birthday. It was good, but the 5 to 10 mins they told me to let it sit out to defrost was not nearly enough and Jimmy broke a knife trying to cut it for us. Lol. Everyone had a great time eating and talking and then came time to sing to Caden.

Casa Ole has their own birthday song they sing to customers. They told us they would sing the regular happy birthday since we had our own cake and candles, but Caden wanted the cha cha cha song. He had been waiting for this! Lol. He put on a big show for everyone there. We were all cracking up! He loves to make people laugh so that was right up his ally. He told me this was the best birthday he ever had. :).

He loved all his gifts and before he went to bed he said he wished this day would never end. Me either buddy. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time too. (yes, I cried again!)

One last thing. He did have a friend party a couple of weeks ago. I will eventually get around to posting pictures of it. They are still on my sisters camera.

Seven

Seven. Seven. Seven. I keep saying it over and over to myself. How can that tiny little baby I held on the day I became a mom be seven? As if yesterday was not emotional enough today I am a bowl of mush thinking about my little boy on his birthday.

Is it possible that he grew up overnight? It might be that he is in first grade now or it might be that I am just a crazy mom, but I swear this morning he looked different to me.

Dear Caden,

You are such a wonderful boy. You have a tender heart and such a happy spirit. You love life and your main goal is to just have fun. I hope that is something that never changes about you. I know this is going to be a great year for you. My prayer for you is to grow closer to God. I just know this is the year you will be saved and I am praying everyday for that. Mommy loves you!

First day of school

Today was Caden's first day in first grade and Paige's first day in Pre-K. They were both very excited. Caden walked right in and knew exactly where to go. I had to make him say goodbye to me. It is funny how last year I cried because he was upset and nervous and this year I cried because he is so big and is not even going to miss me. Lol. Paige started out brave this morning and told me she did not need me to walk her in. But, the closer we got to school I could see her nerves kicking in and she told me that maybe I did need to show here where to go just incase she forgot. She did not cry or put up a fight when we left, but I could see the panic in her eyes, poor thing. :( I am not sure how I will get any work done today. I stayed up praying last night and I know today I will spend a lot of time on my knees too. It is so bittersweet watching them grow up! K, I am going to end this post now before I start crying again!