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!