My New Years Resolutions

I want to be ahead of the game on this one and get these out publicly before I forget! Maybe if I type them out and actually post it for everybody to see, I will follow through with them.....maybe. So here is my list for 2013!

1. Be purposeful in bragging on my kids and husband. Everybody knows I love my family with my whole being. That should never be a question. But I am also very bad about being sarcastic, rolling my eyes, saying things that I think are funny but end up being a little mean etc...when I talk about my boys and Zack. I find fault in small things and then get embarrassed by them when we are out in public and end up apologizing more than necessary. This year, I want to be the biggest champion for my family. I want to share all of the wonderful and amazing things that they do with anybody that will listen. Instead of saying things to others that might embarrass Zack (all while rolling my eyes) I will brag about his commitment to his new job and the late hours he has been putting in to provide for us. Instead of apologizing when my kiddos are a little loud or crazy, I will laugh along with them and share something they did recently that was equally silly and crazy. I have been blessed with a tremendous family of boys and I need to make sure the rest of the world recognizes how awesome they are.

 

2. Make it to Sunday worship service more often. We are good about going to Sunday school as much as we can, but we rarely go to service beforehand. The main reason being baby nap schedules over the past 3 years. We went to service this past Sunday since there were no ABFs and I was reminded of why I love it so much. The number one way I connect to Jesus is through music. There has never been a doubt it my mind about this. As soon as the band starts playing, I just zone out. I feel connected. My heart literally feels happy. I feel closer to the Lord at that moment than at any other time. And yet, we rarely go to worship. This needs to change in 2013.

 

3. Get back in shape and be more healthy. Not lose weight, but get in shape. Before the boys were born, I worked out every single day. I drank lots of water, ate lots of fruits and veggies etc...When I was pregnant, I was even better. I was so conscience of what I put in my body and what I did to stay fit and strong for my little ones. The past year......not so much. I am not looking for a magic diet or crazy work out plan. I don't want to do P90X or Insanity or anything else along those lines. I just need to make exercise a priority again and make sure I am eating enough fruits and veggies. Less carb loaded snack foods and more protein rich, better for you snacks. You know....just be healthy.

 

4. And finally, I want to make a difference in the lives of others. I have an incredible opportunity to influence the little lives in my class at school, the little boys asleep in their bedrooms right now, my friends and other mommies....And I need to do something with it. I don't know how or what I should do, I just need to do it. I recently spent some time with some of Zack's family members and they are doing just that....making a difference in the lives of so many others. Mine and Zack's included. They are just kind, generous, real people. I want to be like that. I want to know that the way I behave, the words I say, the impression I give off.....that it influences others.

 

So there they are. In writing. The four things I am going to work really hard to accomplish in 2013. 2012 was pretty amazing, but I have even bigger hopes and plans for 2013 (And NO...they do NOT include more babies....)

 

Happy New Year! Here we go! 

My Christmas gift to you....a blog post.

Well, it appears that I forgot about this here blog....my bad.

 

Let's just recap the past few weeks, shall we?

 

(And I am fully aware that using a recap as my first blog post in over a month is a cop out.)

We got new laminate flooring in our living room (thanks to our wonderful families for all their help!)

Jonathan learned how to take up carpet...

 

 

 

Jonathan had his first Christmas pageant at school.

Someone started walking...and hasn't stopped since....

My little angel at the Christmas Eve children's service

Christmas Eve service

 

We hung stockings for Santa and put out carrots for the reindeer (although, Jonathan seemed to think they were more for him than for the reindeer....)

 

 

Santa came!

We ate. A LOT.

We tried to make our first gingerbread house....Nailed it.

Jonathan got his first bike! And then told me he didn't want it anymore.

 

Matthew agress that December was pretty much awesome.

 

Zack, Jonathan, Matthew and I all wish the very best for your family this season and the new year! May God bless y'all as graciously as He has blessed us!

Post Thanksgiving Confessions

Its been a wonderful week at our house. Lots of time with Daddy, lots of eating, lots of family fun, a billion errands (which, in case you don't know us well, is our idea of a fun afternoon!) and lots of relaxing. So here we are, Saturday. The back end of vacation. As we end Thanksgiving and embark on the holiday season, I need to get some things off my chest before we get any further into the festivities.

 

1. Even though I have been home from work and Zack has been home to watch the boys, I haven't worked out at all. A few walks to the park here and there, but other than that, nothing. And I am the Queen of Excuses, so don't try to top me.

 

2. I just ate my 4th box of Nerds. But they are the fun size, so it's cool.

 

3. For my morning "snack," I had leftovers. I justified it because I didn't have an entire plate, I just took a spoon to the Tupperware. Like 10 times.

 

4. When I am on the Pinterest food board and somebody "accidentally" pins their new workout routine to it, I get pissed. If I am lusting after fatty desserts, I don't need to know how you rocked out your post baby bod. In fact, I don't EVER need to know how you did it.

 

(Why are all these confessions about food??)

 

5. So, our Christmas tree looks like a super hot mess this year. There are no lights on the bottom, Jonathan helped me put the ornaments on (think 4 ornaments on a branch...) and our angel for the top has lost her wings. And you know what, I absolutely refuse to change a thing. Our tree is a symbol of us working together and I love it.

 

6. I vacuumed out my car today and had to empty the vacuum immediately because of the large amount of Cheerios and raisins. Some of them were fuzzy....it was nasty. Those carseats are like a big garbage disposal that just also happen to save lives.

 

7. My sister and I are watching Undercover Boss right now and we are both crying.

 

8. Zack and I are FINALLY replacing the horrible carpet in our living room. But we are so, so cheap. So, last night while were talking with the guy in the flooring department at Lowes, I was explaining how I really liked one style, but I didn't want to pay that high of a price. I basically wanted him to show me something comparable with a lower price tag. He pretty much made fun of me and laughed in my face. And for a split second, I wanted to punch him and rip his dangly earring out of his ear. Luckily, my kids were with me so I had to be on my best behavior. And yes, he had a dangly earring. I mean, that's cool and all, but it doesn't make you better than me. You chose to spend your money on flashy jewelry.....I chose to spend mine on everything else.

 

9. In the car, I force the boys to listen to Christmas music. This is non-negotiable for the next month.

 

10. Zack has a CPA conference (I know, don't let the excitement overwhelm you) in Las Vegas in a few weeks. Earlier this month, he had a conference in New Orleans. I am happy for him to be able to travel a little and get out of our crazy house for a while.....but.....I secretly hope the conference gets canceled and he doesn't have to go. Even more honest......I wish I could go instead.

 

And that's that. Hope you all enjoy the next few weeks with your family while you celebrate the holidays!!

One year ago today

A now, a trip down memory lane....One year ago, the day before Thanksgiving, our lives took an unexpected turn. I was 31 weeks pregnant with Matthew and had just come home from a family breakfast to IHOP (pumpkin pancakes are the freaking bomb you guys.) About 5 minutes after we got home, I got a call from my OB-GYN saying that my pre-term labor test had come back positive, I was officially on bedrest and there was a decent chance that my baby would be born within 2 weeks. Obviously, this phone call put a halt to all Thanksgiving plans, pregnancy plans, and most importantly, our plans to hit up the mall that afternoon....For the whole story, you can go back and read it here.

I spent the rest of the week on hospital bedrest. Everybody was pretty sure Matthew was going to come almost 10 weeks early. It was scary and stressful and pretty annoying that I was eating my Thanksgiving dinner in the hospital and not with my family. However, we made it past that first hurdle and I spent the next 6 1/2 weeks on strict home bedrest. If you need a reminder of how that super fun time was spent, you can refer back to my bedrest survival guide posts. :)

It was not the holiday season that I wanted. It wasn't the way I wanted the season to go for Jonathan and obviously not for Matthew! At the end of it all, Matthew stayed put just long enough. 7 weeks later, just 24 hours after being taken off the medication that was keeping me from going into labor, I was back in the hospital delivering a beautiful, HEALTHY, baby boy.

So this holiday season, I am vowing to make it memorable (in a good way. Not in a "holy crap, if I move a muscle the wrong way my baby will be born 10 weeks early and be in the NICU for weeks" kind of way...) We are going to sit around our table tomorrow and be thankful for our healthy babies. We will decorate our house for Christmas just a little more than before. We will spend the holiday season shopping, going to parties, making cookies, forcing the boys to make handprint art to put all around the house, eating more than necessary and just spending as much time possible as a family.

It's been an amazing year since that phone call last November. And this week, I am especially thankful for my wonderful, sweet, kind, nutty, super fun and most importantly, healthy little boys. Thank you Lord for protecting them, every step of the way.

Around Here....

You guys. I have not been feeling the whole blogging thing lately. I just don't feel like I have anything to say that hasn't already been said on Facebook or to you guys in person/on the phone. So, I am not going to make excuses or anything.....I just don't want to blog a lot right now. Maybe I will get back into it soon....we will see! As for today, things have been crazy around here the past few weeks. We made it through Crazy Sick Week 2012, celebrated Halloween, went to some fall festivals, had some visitors and Zack and I were even able to get away this weekend without the kids! Here are a whole bunch of pictures to show off what we have been doing!

 

My sick little Matthew

 

Jonathan enjoying his first corn dog at the Katy Rice Harvest Festival.

 

 

 

Insula play group Halloween party!

 

First time bowling at the Talan Holmes Bowl-a-thon! He loved it!

 

Carving pumpkins with Daddy.

 

Happy Halloween!

 

First time trick or treating

 

He was not thrilled that he couldn't eat all his candy that night....

 

It's been a fun month, but I am ready for the holidays and for my boys to be healthy! I can barely wait to celebrate the holidays with my sweet kids and family AT HOME and not in the hospital/on bedrest like last year! Oh, and I am already listening to Christmas music. Sue me.





What the crap is going on around here?

There is seriously some kind of crazy huge black cloud hanging over the Ley house right now. The last few days have been so ridiculous, I have to document them so that I can look back later and say, "well, at least things aren't as crazy as they were that weekend in October of 2012. Let me just hit the main points....

 

-Last week, Jonathan was sick for 3 days with a high fever and some other random symptoms. This resulted in me missing work and the boys staying home for 2 days.

 

-Sunday, Matthew woke up with a high fever. And it was pitiful.

 

-Sunday, Jonathan woke up with an ugly rash that covered his neck and arms. It wasn't itchy or anything, just strange.

 

-Because of these things, we had to cancel Matthew's 8 month pictures (keep in mind, Matthew is actually 9 1/2 months old already....) which I wanted to take at the same age we took Jonathan's when he was young.

 

-Oh, I forgot....starting on Thursday, I have had what appeared to be either a spider bite or the beginning of a staph infection on my leg. By Sunday, it was as wide as a tennis ball, super gross and really painful. I finally went to the doctor today and it is, in fact, a staph infection. 10 days of antibiotics. Yay.

 

-Monday morning, we realize that our ghetto washing machine is leaking all over the laundry room. After some super shady men came over (I am not exaggerating when I say they showed up in a beat up old truck with their company name on a magnet slapped to the side....crooked.) we learned that the drain was clogged. So now, I have to wait for Zack and his Dad to try and figure out what to do....

 

-Monday evening, our TV goes out. A phone call to U-Verse determines that it is a problem on their end and they won't be out until tomorrow, sometime between 8am and 8pm.

 

-And finally, Matthew's fever has been gone all day (Thank you Jesus!) and he was a happy little clam. I went through our bedtime routine as normal, bottle, cuddles, he falls asleep and I lay him down. About 10 minutes later, I hear him talking, so I go in to see if he wants to finish his bottle. I pick him up, he barfs. I lay him on the changing table, he barfs. Every time I lay him on his back, he barfs. But in between, he is as happy as always. He is playing, laughing, kicking his arms and feet etc...And it isn't gross, food barf. It is simply the entire bottle I just fed him. It was like the worlds worst reflux attack (without the pain) In the end, he changed clothes 3 times, I changed 2 times, he got another bath etc....Thank the Lord, he is asleep right now. And clean.

 

The only good thing from the last few days is that my parents were in town Friday and Sunday night. They are always such a huge help!! I think my Mom was ready to take me to the ER on Sunday when she looked at my leg. Yeah, it's that gross. All of this being said, please say some prayers tonight for my boys to get/stay healthy, my gross staph infection to go away, our washer and TV to be fixed etc...At the end of the day, we are all truly healthy, we have food on our table and a roof over our head. Please don't think I don't recognize our blessings. Even in the face of crazy, we are blessed!

 

 

 

 

Gross. Super gross.

We were at the park. Beautiful day, happy boys, yummy picnic lunch....life was good. And then Jonathan decided he needed to go to the bathroom. There wasn't anything super close, so I suggested he go behind a tree. I know this is controversial, but I feel as though it is a perk of having a boy. So he pees. But instead of pulling his pants up, he tells me he is still going.....with a look of total confusion on his face. And holy crap, he pooped. In the park. In public. Without toilet paper. The whole time I am screaming "NO!!!!! STOP! STOP!" He didn't stop. Instead, he did his business and looked at me like "Uh, clean this up so I can go play please."  So I cleaned him up (thank God for a diaper bag full of baby wipes) and used a ziplock (thank God for my picnic lunch) and totally doggie pooped our pile of shame. Jonathan didn't care at all about what happened. We had a little teaching moment and he went on his way.

 

Today, we had a play date at the mall. While we were eating at the food court, my little germ pod decided it would be fun to lay on the floor....of the food court. The same floor covered in old chicken nuggets and 10 year old, caked on ketchup. I told him to get up because that was super nasty and not a good place to play. And lo and behold, he did! Then he moved about 2 feet to the left and laid back down.

 

Later during our play date, we were at the play area (the same play area where Jonathan marked his territory about 5 months ago) and I picked Matthew up to let him "go down the slide." On our way over, he started barfing but I didn't realize it. About 4 feet later, a poor, totally traumatized mom was like "YOUR KID IS BARFING!!" I looked down, and sure enough, we had left a trail of spit up. Like, a big trail. This was no little spit up. This was like a "Mom, you shouldn't have fed me all that squash and then stuffed me full of crackers because you wanted to keep talking to your friend" kind of spit up. I cleaned it up, the best I could, and we went on our merry way. Note to all Katyites.....don't put your kids on the floor at the Katy Mills play area....

 

The other day, I was sweeping the 10 acres of tile we have in our house, and I forgot to clean up one of my piles. Before I found it, Matthew found it. And helped himself to 2 rebel Goldfish. Goldfish that were covered in dust, dirt, fuzz and probably a whole lot more that I don't want to think about. Jonathan is bad about doing this too if he spies a Cheerio. I could blame them, but I feel like this one is my fault for A) not sweeping up the pile and B) not sweeping often enough that it allows for that kind of nasty accumulation.

 

And you know what is funny about all this? They have a runny nose, but that is it. No crazy disease from eating off the floor, no contagious rash from rolling around in old chicken nuggets, no trauma from pooping at the park or barfing in the play area. So now, instead of freaking out when one of them eats dirt, I will just laugh and think "well, they didn't get sick from eating dirty Goldfish or playing on a nasty floor.....who cares about a little dirt?"

 

Being a mom is gross.

A whole bunch of crazy.

I wonder what it is about blogging that makes me feel like I can confess a bunch of random stuff without the fear of being totally flamed for it....Maybe it is because it usually turns out that all of you weirdos that read this, are actually just as weird as me :) With that being said, here you go....some more examples that you are not alone in your craziness.

 

1. I have gotten so lazy lately that once the boys go to sleep, I nearly refuse to do anything but watch TV, eat dessert and play on the computer.

 

2. In the past two weeks, I can safely say I have only been drinking about half a glass of pure water a day. And that is usually right before bed when I realize that I haven't had anything but soda and Crystal Light all day. And don't waste your breath telling me about all the "crap" in those drinks. I don't care. Like, for real....do. not. care.

 

3. At school, I look forward to snack time more than the kids. I rarely hear a little one tell me they are hungry before snack time. I, on the other hand, start complaining about an hour before.

 

4. I completed two Pinterest crafts this weekend and totally felt like a rock star. I mean, it takes a true rock start to accomplish two, moderately time consuming, activities in a 4 day period. Right?

 

5. Last week, Jonathan ate chicken nuggets like 4 days in a row. The kid refuses to eat. I even had to bribe him to eat chicken nuggets. The only thing that he will eat without arguing is chips. And what kind of mom would just let her son eat something fried, greasy and fattening day after day? Oh, wait......crap.

 

6. Going back to number 1....lately, I turn my phone off at 8:00. I am awake until about 10:00 but I am just done dealing with the outside world by 8:00.

 

7. For the first time EVER, I am joining the texting world. I no longer have to pay per text anymore :) But let's not get crazy here.....try to keep your texts to a minimum because it still takes me about 10 minutes to type one out. And I know this makes me sound so old.....and I do. not. care. (sensing a theme here tonight?)

 

8. And finally, in appreciation of number 7....I am still on my Dad's cell phone plan. So, thanks Dad for letting me get texting  privileges :)

 

9. "Here is one for you....My Mom lets me eat grass. She says it builds my immune system....joke is on her because I eat grass cause it tastes good."

 

 

Hope you guys are all having a wonderful week!!

A few things I've learned in preschool...

The boys and I are now two weeks into our preschool career and I must say, it's going really well! Jonathan seems to really like his class and Matthew is doing better every day. In just the past two weeks, I have already learned a lot of pretty important lessons and since a lot of you have preschool aged kiddos, I thought I would share :)

 

1. I'm sorry to tell y'all, but my kids are pretty much the greatest kid artists ever. Matthew makes a killer painted hand print and Jonathan can glue feathers on a bird unlike any kid I have ever seen.

 

2. It pays to be a teachers kid. I love that so many of the other teachers and staff members know my kids and look out for them. During our first week, Matthew basically refused to sleep. So one day, as I was walking my class to music, I found our assistant director rocking Matthew in the front office. I mean, seriously? My boss was rocking my baby so that he would be happier....that is pretty awesome.

 

3. There is nothing cuter than a 6 person stroller driving by your classroom window or door. Oh wait, there is....a 6 person stroller that has your adorable baby in it.

 

4. Little kids love their teachers (for the most part.) This one is a biggie for me, coming from 8th grade where the kids pretty much hate your teacher guts. They want to be right up in your business ALL the time. I have one sweet little one who doesn't really nap. So during nap time, if you are standing anywhere near her, she will start to rub or tickle your ankle until you look down at her. It is pretty much the cutest thing ever.....except  for a 6 person stroller with your baby in it.....

5. Being the line leader is basically the biggest deal in the history of the world. And if you aren't the line leader? That just means you have free reign of the hallway from the back of the line. Luckily, we found a way to combat this, it's called being the caboose. For some kids, it's just as special of a job. Other kids don't understand why some kids think being at the back of the line is fun. Don't they understand that the goal is the be the line LEADER? 

 

6. Meal time is also a pretty big deal. The key here is to bring something for lunch that all the other kids have too. That way you can announce to the entire class "I HAVE THAT TOO!!!!" I always feel sorry for the kiddos who don't have what everybody else has. In our class, it seems like yogurt is a winner. For Jonathan, the key is to send a granola bar.

 

7. And finally, preschool freaking rocks. I seriously love going to work everyday. I loved teaching 8th grade, but there were a LOT of days where I was watching the clock. It was a long day and a lot of frustration, paperwork, emails, crazy kids......but now....the days goes by before I even realize it. We play, sing, learn brand new things, make some awesome art work and I get to watch little ones discover new and exciting things all day long! And my boys? They love it too :)

 

So there you go....so far, so good. I think the Ley's will hang out in preschool for a while :) And just for fun, here are some pictures of my classroom! It has a changed a little since the kids have come and we discovered different needs, but it basically looks like this.

 

 

 

Update!

First of all, an update on my date with Jonathan.....well, I took him on a semi-date. We never did make it to dinner and/or ice cream or something totally awesome, but we had a good time together anyway. My sweet cousin, Marybeth, was in Houston last week at Texas Children's Hospital. I knew I wanted to go visit her and I made sure Zack would be home in time for me to go up there at a decent hour. At the last minute, I decided to take Jonathan with me. And it was super fun! He LOVED walking around the "front yard" of the hospital and playing on all the big balls they have in front. We pointed out flowers and the setting sun and ambulances that were parked in the parking lot. I let him walk the whole time, press the elevator buttons and knock on Marybeth's door, so he felt like a really big kid! We had a very nice visit with my family and Jonathan acted like a rock star! On our way out of the hospital, the security guard at the front stopped us and asked Jonathan if he liked cars. Obviously he said yes, and the security guard took two BRAND NEW Matchbox cars (still in their package!) out of his desk and gave them to Jonathan! It was so sweet :) I do want to add that TCH-West Campus, is amazing. There were so many sweet, super nice people who stopped to talk to us! So yes, I took Jonathan on a date. It was just a little unconventional :)

In other news.....Yesterday was our first day of preschool! To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I had no idea what to expect. But I am happy to report that it went really well! I have a class full of sweet little ones and my co-teacher is beyond amazing. She has a lot more experience, so she helps me a lot! Jonathan and Matthew both did well in their classes too. Matthew only napped about 45 minutes during the entire day, but hopefully once he gets more used to the new situation, things will get better for him. Jonathan loved his new class and teachers and told me all about his friends when he got home!

 

Matthew is officially crawling now and man, is he on the move. As if that wasn't enough to give me a heart attack, he is now pulling up on everything! I will look over and he is just standing there! It is so crazy to see your baby grow up so quickly!

Everything else is going great right now! Zack's work schedule is the same as always, busy, but we are pretty used to it. This weekend, we are heading to Austin to celebrate Papa's 65th birthday and I am so excited to relax and let the boys play on the golf course! Jonathan keeps telling me that he wants to feed the horses and drive the golf cart. Hopefully he doesn't take after his mom with his golf cart driving skills.....

Life is good right now. School is good, Zack is good and my boys are loving each other! Don't let this picture fool you, that is actually a goodnight kiss :)

Our Summer Bucket List

This summer, after spending far too much time on Pinterest and getting too many ideas in my head of things we just HAD to do, I decided to make a bucket list for my boys. You know, fun stuff, like "go to the beach" and "go to the zoo." There were 35 things on the list and we accomplished 30! I considered this to be pretty good until I realized that the few things we didn't do were probably the most important. I am almost embarrassed to say that I never took Jonathan on a "dinner date with mommy" and Zack never took him for "breakfast with dad." I mean, seriously. What kind of parents can't find time to accomplish these simple things? I always had such good intentions....every weekend I thought to myself, "I should take Jonathan to dinner tonight at his favorite restaurant!" But then, life would get busy. Matthew would get fussy, Zack would have work to do or we would decide to go do something as an entire family. And believe me, I know that just because summer is over doesn't mean I can't do it, but it just makes me feel so guilty that I couldn't do that one. I had nearly 3 months!

 

I have spent the last few weeks working on my classroom and going to some really great trainings on early childhood development. One thing that I have heard over and over again is the importance of building that connection with the little people in your life. Little ones just HAVE to feel loved, important and special. Now, obviously Jonathan and Matthew are loved, important and special, regardless of whether I have the chance to go on a mommy date or not. But how special would that make him feel? How important would he feel knowing that I left Matthew and Daddy at home so that we could be together? Just me and him.

 

So my goal for the next week, before school technically starts on Tuesday, is to take my wonderful little guy on a very special dinner date with mommy. And I encourage you to do the same with the little people in your life. Let's take time out of our busy schedule to shower them with love and undivided attention. I plan to report back next week with a fun review of our night:)

And here is a random picture of us completing #24 on our list, "have a breakfast picnic!"

Some long overdue confessions

Nothing important, just checking in to get some things off my chest!

1. Lately, when I am rocking Matthew to sleep, I sing Christmas carols. He seems partial to Silent Night and O Little Town of Bethlehem. Why is that my voice always sounds super awesome when I sing Christmas carols but not so awesome when I sing everything else?

2. When Matthew is fussy now, I let him eat crackers until he feels better. Hopefully I am not teaching him to stifle his emotions with carbs.....

3. Today, I tried to do something funny to cheer Jonathan up after his nap and he, very matter-of-factly, told me "that's not funny Mommy." Yikes. Things are bad when your 2 1/2 year old doesn't find you funny.

4. While we were playing t-ball in the backyard, I missed the ball.....multiple times. Jonathan on the other hand, hit it. Every time.

5. I have put any semblance of a diet on hold for a while. I know this seems stupid, but I am just tired of worrying about it. I have lots of other things to focus on right now and obsessing over what I am eating, how often I do cardio and if I will have a chance to work out in my living room......are not really that important. I take the boys on a long walk every morning (and sometimes in the evening) and do a quick work out when I have time (which is hardly ever.) And that is just going to be it. And I just don't feel like stressing out about it all. I am probably a good 5-10 pounds higher than I want to be and right now, I don't care.

6. I spent nap time yesterday watching Snookie and JWow. Judge away.

7. Sometimes, when I just cant hack it anymore as a good mom, I put both kids in the car, turn on Jonathan's favorite Bible songs and we just drive around. Sometimes for as long as an hour.

8. Zack's Grandparents made him some really awesome cookies for his birthday and I sometimes sneak one when he is at work. He hasn't noticed yet, but in a few days, when they are all gone, he will redo his mental calculations and realize he has been screwed over.

Until next time :)

Preschool, here I come!

You guys, I am in a total blogging rut. I just don't feel like I have anything important to say right now! Life is just chugging along, nothing major happening. And to be honest,  I think this is a great thing. I am genuinely enjoying my time with my boys and we have settled into a good routine. Life is just.....good.

This week I did change our routine up a little in preparation of our new schedule once school starts. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I attended the Weekday Ministries Conference with my new First Steps team! It was my first look into what goes behind teaching preschool and it was delightfully surprising! Coming from a public school background (and a middle school one at that!) made everything I heard and learned this week, new and exciting. For example, the very first thing that happened Tuesday morning when we all met at the church to carpool, was our director starting our day off with a prayer for safe travels. I mean, seriously? What kind of awesome job have I stepped into!?

The rest of the week was not only encouraging but it built my confidence as a new teacher. I left this afternoon feeling excited and ready to get a hold of these sweet little kiddos!! One of the sessions I went to was called "Faith Development" and it equipped me with some great tools to help build the faith foundations in these 3 year olds. Teaching 8th grade English has always been fun and rewarding, but I truly feel like I have the chance now to literally shape the future for these kids. We are their first experience with teachers. We are their first step in a long journey of learning. If we screw this up......oh man. I don't like to even think about that.

So yeah, I am excited. However, I really need to practice my finger puppet shows and brush up on preschool science lessons! Matthew and Jonathan have really enjoyed watching me learn these new tricks:)

Summer Fun!

In an unexpected turn of events, we have actually been busy doing lots of fun summer stuff lately! Usually we are more of the "stay at home and relax" variety, but I have really been trying to get the boys out and about this summer. You know, the whole "we are busy making memories!" kind of thing. Well, that and the "they both take much longer afternoon naps if I wear them out" kind of thing....

Some highlights from the past few weeks include a trip to Honey and Papa's house in the Hill Country, a family beach trip to Galveston and our small group trip to the lake! Our sweet friends invited our entire group (and all our kids!) to spend the weekend at their great lake house. Everybody had a blast!

Playing some golf with Papa!

Stealing Honey's sunglasses!

Matthew did great on his first trip to the beach!

Lunch break!

At the lake! All the little "Mamas" wanted to take care of Matthew!

There would have been more water if my son hadn't thrown half of it out...

The kid table!

We have a few more fun activities planned for our last few weeks of freedom. I think Jonathan is getting pretty used to our schedule of sleeping in later, playing all morning and then resting all afternoon. He is in for a rude awakening when school starts back up! Then again....so am I!

My favorite Pinterest finds!

Since I am so positive that you are all waiting to know exactly what I love on Pinterest, I made you a list! (Hopefully I am not breaking some unwritten rule in blogland by linking to other blogs....I found them on Pinterest, so obviously their information is already out there...)

Brown Bag Pop Corn- Put 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels in a brown lunch bag and fold the top over twice (no staples....you know, what with metal being a fire hazard and all...) Microwave for 1 minute, 30 seconds. Top with your favorite toppings. WAY cheaper and WAY better for you than regular bagged popcorn!

Cheap Foaming Hand Soap- Once you are done with a bottle of foaming hand wash, refill the bottle with about an inch of regular hand soap, body wash, baby shampoo etc....Fill the rest of the bottle with water and shake well. Voila! A whole new bottle of soap for next to nothing. I just did this with some Aveeno Baby Body Wash and it totally worked! That stuff is expensive so I was super happy to find a way to stretch it out. It lathered up really well, smells just as nice and worked the same!

The quote: "Let him sleep. For when he wakes, he will move mountains." I want to find a really sweet print for the boys rooms, but so far the majority of what I can find are vinyl wall decals. Has anybody seen this as a cool printable?

Baby flashcards- These are done by the Wee Gallery brand and I love them. We had hard copy cards for Jonathan, but gave them back to a friend for her own kids. When I found these pinned from the Similac website, I was so excited. Matthew LOVES to watch them as a "peek-a-boo" game and the animals even make sounds. Now, I am not an advocate of putting your baby in front of the computer for extended periods of time, but 5 or 10 minutes never hurt anybody!

Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies- These cookies are freaking awesome. They are yummy, easy to make and look cute too. Obvious win.

So what are some of y'alls favorites? If you are not into Pinterest, have you found anything out in cyberspace recently that I need to be aware of? Please share!