Why summer is amazing....

Summer is the best.

My kids don't sleep in any later, therefore I don't....and that's okay.

It's hotter than the surface of the sun outside....and that's okay.

We are in summer school, which means less time for tomfoolery around the house...and that's okay.

Because, it is only the end of June and we have already done all of this.....

Lots of swimming

Hanging out with our best buddies

Lots of cuddling in the laps of special family members

Attended a beautiful wedding

Lots of hanging around at the zoo

First day of summer school/camp

First backpack

Swimming lessons

Lots of running through the sprinklers

Special airplane rides (this was on the way home....when I wasn't sick and didn't want to die

Lots of napping

Lots of watering (the golf course...)

And lots of special brother time! 

Not exactly the vacation I was looking forward to.....

So, my crew flew up to Ohio last week, to spend some time with our pretty awesome extended family. Zack  is blessed to have 3 of his grandparents still living, and all within a few miles of each other. Not to mention like a million cousins and their kids. To say I was looking forward to this trip would be a very BIG understatement. I was so excited for the boys to ride on an airplane, for the family to meet Matthew for the first time, for the boys to run through the super soft Ohio grass and catch lightning bugs and....you know, just enjoy life together.

And while we did enjoy our family and the boys did ride on an airplane, that was about the only stuff that went according to plan. The rest was pretty much ridiculous. So much so, that I have to go through it in bullet points.....

• The night before we were to leave, I got a low grade fever and sore throat. Then Matthew woke up at 4:45 am and never went back to sleep. I knew then that things would not be going smoothly..
• On Thursday, I still felt awful, still had fever, but toughed it out anyway and decided to go. The whole way to the airport, I knew I was going to throw up, but I was in denial and able to control myself. Literally, the SECOND Zack put the car in park at the park and ride, I opened the door and threw up in the parking garage...I was okay until we went through security where I almost passed out and had to sit on the floor in line. Could that be any more nasty? Sitting on the floor at the airport? Then I had tell the very nice man that was replacing the garbage bag on the trash can, that I was about to barf in it....he kindly moved out of my way, let me do my business and then gave me an extra trash bag to carry around. And carry it around, I sure did. In the airport, on the plane, in the car on the way to the house....
• On the plane, Matthew screamed for 45 minutes straight....like, full blown screaming. Our flight was stuck on the runway for that long and he was NOT cool with it. Since I was potentially very contagious, I sat against the window and tried my hardest to fall asleep while Zack put on his Super Dad cape and took care of our screaming child. Then on the landing, the weather was so bad and foggy that our super not awesome pilot got too close to another plane and had to back off and keep flying for a little while....not cool. At this point, I thought my ears were going to burst out of my eye balls. I figured something was seriously wrong with my head.... Note to self.....NEVER fly with an ear infection.
• We finally made it to Ohio and I went straight to bed. As far as the rest of my family....They were headed to a scheduled family picnic at a local park. Sounds awesome right? Not when it is 55 degrees outside and pouring down rain. Not sure why they didn't cancel it, but after about an hour, the whole family was home and freezing cold. We actually had a fire in the fire place....in June.
• Friday I woke up and realized I needed a doctor....Urgent Care, ER, I didn't care. My Uncle Randy chanced my germs and drove me to a CVS Rediclinic, where it was determined that I had a double ear infection, dehydration and a swollen throat (possible strep, but they decided the antibiotics would kill it if it was, so they didn't test) 
• I spent the entire day on Grams' couch while my family went out and played. It was still raining...
• Saturday, I felt better, so I was finally able to see some more family! It was still cold, but not raining, so we took the boys to a local park to play....where it was discovered that Jonathan had fever. Awesome.
• Saturday night was a family wedding, which was absolutely beautiful! Praise the Lord for stopping the rain and bringing out the sun! However, when I drove the 30 minutes home to pick up the boys and take them to bed, we realized we didn't have a house key. So we waited an hour while my sister and her boyfriend drove back to the wedding to find somebody with a key. The poor boys didn't get to sleep until almost 10:00.
• Sunday, my Uncle Doug was preaching at a large church in Akron, but since Jonathan was still feverish, I couldn't go. Major bummer. 
• Sunday night, Jonathan accidentally got a double full dose of Motrin (even longer story) so I freaked out and waited 45 minutes for the on call doctor to call me back and tell me if he was going to live or if we needed to pump his stomach.......(kind of kidding, but I was concerned enough to call) "He is fine. Just don't ever do it again, slap on the wrist."
• Around this time, I spilled the remainder of Matthew's pink ammoxicilian on Grams' white carpet. (shhh...she doesn't know...) praise God, I got it out. I would have been in serious trouble! But this just meant I had to call for a new prescription to get the rest of the medicine I needed to finish the treatment. Embarrassing. This was like my 3rd call to Bluefish over the weekend.
• On Monday, all went well. We all felt better, got Matthew's medication, made it to the airport in time...life was good. Until I helped my sister-in-law, Becky, into the restroom.....the MENS restroom. Yes, I helped send my mentally handicapped sister into the mens restroom. Thankfully, a nice man helped her out.

If you are still with me, thanks :) I honestly had a great time, once I felt better. And I am blessed to have been sick there since people where around to help with the boys and I could rest. My Grandma's both went out of their way to make sure I was well taken care of! But, I am really sad that I didn't get to visit with my family more, that the weather wasn't conducive to playing in the soft grass, that Matthew didn't seem to enjoy the airplane....but, what can you do? I was still blessed to go and I am even more blessed to have married into such a wonderful family!!

Our first week of summer!

Well, our first week of summer has come and gone. And dang, it was a doozie....

We decided to head to Austin to hang out with my family while Zack worked late every night. Everybody was excited, our bags were packed and we were on our way! We stopped in Bastrop to get cookies at Bucees (I guess we could have bought gas or something, but at that point, cookies seemed like the best idea...) and Matthew was on fire. At first, I thought it was because he had been napping with his blanket in the back of my heat box of a car. Unfortunately, when we got to my parents, he was still hot....fever of 101.7. It was about this time that I also noticed he had some seriously gross gunk coming out of his eyes...What an awesome way to start summer.

The next day, he still had fever and gross gunky eyes. I talked to the doctor and we ruled out pink eye (thank goodness we have missed that train so far...) and decided to just keep watching him. The fun continued that morning when I somehow walked into the leg of our kitchen chair and bashed my pinky toe into oblivion.You know, the same chair that has been there forever...in the same spot...A few hours later, it was black and blue and really painful. I assume I jammed it pretty bad cause I could barely walk! Luckily, it has gotten better each day since, but man, that was no bueno. Add to it that I am a huge baby....whew, my parents had to hear about it ALL day. not to mention how many pictures of it that I texted to Zack and my friends...

The rest of the week I watched Matthew's fever fluctuate and his eyes get more and more gross. By the time Thursday rolled around, his fever was 102.5 and he was crashing fast. I decided to head home early the next day and take him straight to the doctor. Double ear infections.....poor little guy. 

And finally, tonight we were at my in-laws grilling burgers and Matthew put his hands on the back of the grill....not the actual fire or anything, but it was hot enough to burn one of his little hands. He didn't lose any skin or anything, but has a few tiny blisters on the tips of his fingers. My poor baby, can't seem to catch a break this week.

The good news is that Jonathan was a rock star all week and never got sick and had a wonderful time at Honey and Papa's! He went swimming, on golf cart rides to feed the donkeys, fishing....every little boys dream vacation!

On a related note, another thing I struggled with this week was terrible canker sores. I had 4 pretty big ones that even left my face swollen and puffy. For those that know me, you know this isn't anything new....I get them a LOT. But lately, they have been terrible. I am talking 4-5 at a time and really big/painful. My dentist doesn't really know what to do, my regular doctors don't know what the deal is....everybody just tells me it is stress. But I am not stressed enough to cause this! My dentist has even given me prescription meds and they don't do a single thing. I have switched to a more mild toothpaste, started taking a multi-vitamin (in case they are caused by a vitamin deficiency,) cut back on acidic foods.....I just can't figure it out. Does anybody else deal with these? Anybody have any tips for me? Over the counter stuff doesn't help at all, prescription stuff doesn't help, NOTHING helps! I have to figure it out!!!

So, this week was kind of a bummer. But at least my parents are seriously amazing and we had a great time anyway. They helped take care of Matthew and did everything in their power to entertain Jonathan. I even got to take a cat nap twice while the boys were napping. What a treat!

Here's to hoping for a better, more healthy week coming up!  (and help me figure out where these canker sores are coming from!!!)

We finally did it....

Zack and I finally dominated as parents and won the title of "parents of the year" for real...(not just in the sarcastic way I normally win it...although, in my book, those totally count.) Somehow, without planning anything until the night before or the morning of, we pulled off an amazing Memorial Day weekend. Allow me to show you how much we rocked these boys socks off....

Saturday morning we surprised Jonathan and Matthew with a trip to the zoo! They also got to ride the carousel for the first time and Matthew decided that it was WAY better than the one at the mall :) 

On Sunday, we had a fun BBQ at my in-laws house. Good food and great company! Can't beat that! After dinner, we headed to the park and my sister-in-law, Becky, had a great time pushing Matthew in the swing... he was happy to oblige :)

Then, at the last minute, we all decided to spend Monday at the beach! And somehow, Jonathan, who is scared of everything in the whole freaking world, LOVED the ocean. He wasn't scared of the murky water that he couldn't see through, the horrible sea weed that was taking over the beach or the weird things brushing up on his leg....but his Daddy was....and I laughed at him a lot.

It was truly an excellent weekend and I think the boys really enjoyed every minute of it! Luckily, the fun doesn't stop today....the boys and I are headed to Austin tomorrow for the rest of the week! Zack has lots of work to get done here at home, school is out, and we are ready to sit by the pool and play!! 

I can't believe my first year is already over....

My inaugural preschool year is over. How in the world is it already over? There is some serious truth to the old adage that says time moves faster when you are doing something you love and enjoy. I was all kinds of cheesy and cliche today....tearing up over sweet notes from parents, tearing up when I said goodbye to my babies at the end of the day, tearing up when I sent my own children off for their first "last day of school." I have been thinking about this all afternoon and realized there are quite a few things that I seriously love about my job....things that will carry me throughout the summer until the regular school year starts again.....

• I love the relationships I built with parents in my class. I lucked out BIG time this year in regards to my parents. I got some of the sweetest notes today from parents, notes that made me feel truly appreciated. I have had parents ask me for my opinion regarding their child and genuinely care about my answer. I had parents tear up today when they picked up their babies, just as I teared up when they left. And at the end of the day, I am all mushy-gooshy thinking about my first set of "preschool parents" and not ready to let the love fest end. Would it be weird to email them this summer just to say "hey!!!".....probably.....right?
• I get to see my own babies whenever I want. I get to see them working in their class, eating with their friends, playing with their friends....I was able to attend all of their big events this year, join them for spontaneous lunch dates in their classroom and grab a hug and kiss from Matthew whenever I wanted. Nothing beats that. Nothing. 
• I got to watch the kids in my class truly learn. Some of them came to me unable to name one letter by sight. And when they left, they knew the whole alphabet. That is pretty amazing. I know I taught my 8th graders some great things, and they always did awesome on their state tests, but there is something about watching a 3 year old learn things they will utilize every single day, for the rest of their lives......
• My co-workers. I freaking love them. I doubt my co-teacher even reads this, but if you do....Jenn, you are amazing. I hope you know how much you taught me this year and how much I cherish our friendship. And you should read my blog more.

Those are just some of them. Obviously, there are so many more, but we are teetering on a pretty lame, boring post, so I have to stop somewhere.

It has been fun to think about how far we (the Ley family) have come this year at school. When we started, Matthew was only 8 months old....he refused bottles, barfed all over his teachers, screamed during nap time...he was basically awesome. Now he refuses real food, screams during nap time and tries to escape their planned activities.....basically just as awesome as before. Jonathan was 2 and a half....he started out as the class clown, went through a weird "I am a space cadet" phase thanks, in part, to his Singular prescription, and ended the year back as the class clown.....but a very smart class clown. I like to think he is the smartest in the class. Obviously. And me....when I started teaching, I was a hot mess. I was FREAKING out about decorating my classroom, had no idea what size label to use for name tags (and I mean, you can NOT mess that up!), literally had no idea what to teach.....y'all should have seen me trying to lead my first circle time....oh. my. goodness. I just kept looking at Jenn with pleading eyes, "HELP ME!" And help me, she sure did. I am leaving this year so much more confident. I love teaching these kids. 

I apologize for this somewhat over dramatic review of our year. I just want to always remember how much I enjoyed this year, how much my boys enjoyed this year and how seriously thankful I am for the opportunity.

Time for another installment of "things that make Katy weird...."

So, I am two days back into my blogging routine and already, I am out of stuff to talk about. And when the world fails to provide you with enough blog material, you can always fall back on a good "confession" post. So here you go :)

1. With almost anything, I prefer the crumbs at the bottom to the whole pieces at the top. I will always dig to the bottom to find the good crumbs of chips, cereal, crackers, cookies etc...I have found there is a much better flavor/bread ratio with crumbs. The better flavor is well worth the awful scene I make trying to shove crumbs in my mouth....

2. We are officially on a strict budget now to help offset the expenses coming our way. I have always been pretty cheap, but that was always because I wanted to be. Being FORCED into being cheap is not nearly as fun. However, I found a loophole. Today, I had to take something back to Lowes. $6.00 back on my credit card, yay! I then promptly turned around and went to Target where I spent $40 on "essentials," but it was okay because I had just put money back on our card.....see how that works?

3. I got tired of fighting Jonathan to eat lunch today, so I eventually let him up from the table. About 10 minutes later, I looked over and he was sitting on the couch with 3 fish sticks in his hand. And instead of yelling at him to get back to the table, I took a picture. (I love that he couldn't even be bothered to look at the camera....) And then I realized that he had shared a fish stick with Matthew, who was now walking around the room with it in his hand. Mom of the year for so many reasons here....

4. I give my kids fish sticks. 

5. I think Sam's Club has the best Coke Zero fountain drink in all the world. I will fight the traffic, the parking lot, my screaming kids, the crowds....just to get one. And the fact that it is only .89 cents means it is in my new budget. So couple that with the free cookie my kids get from the bakery, it is a legit outing that actually saves me money since I don't have to provide their snack for the afternoon out of my own pocket. 

6. I use Goldfish to smooth over all major issues in the house.

7. Sometimes, especially on rainy days, I let the boys climb all over the furniture. That's cool....right? I mean, I cover it up by saying "we are building a fort!" but I think we all know it just means, "mommy is really tired and there is nothing else to do, so she gives up."

I guess that's it for now.I can't focus anymore, now that Reba is on for the next two hours and the boys are napping :) Priorities, you know....

And, I'm back! (with a pretty boring, lame post...)

Yeah, yeah, yeah....it's been a while. I got it.

To be honest, things haven't really been that much crazier than normal around here....it's just been....life. So, let me try to catch y'all up on where things stand in the Ley household. 

The boys are so old. I mean, holy cow....they are just so old. They are both about to finish their first year of "school" and it has been so wonderful for both of them. They have learned so much this year. To say we have been blessed with amazing teachers is such an understatement. Jonathan dominated his spring musical performance last week by knocking some innocent girls off the stage while he was dancing, Matthew got sent to "baby jail" for trying to escape down the hallway too many times, they both run around First Steps Preschool like they own the place (they do own it though....let's be real.) Jonathan even went to his first book fair a few weeks ago.....a BOOK FAIR. Are you freaking kidding me? Those are for like 3rd graders....when did he get old enough to go to a book fair? He even made me go back with him later so he could show me the books he wanted. 3 years old and already knows how to make a "wish list." Not a good sign. I will write a longer post about their school year later, but for now, we are excited to celebrate the end of the year and all of their amazing accomplishments. 

We have had a lot of fun the past few months visiting friends and family, spending time with Zack (whose work schedule has FINALLY died down a little) and celebrating Easter, Mother's Day and my 30th birthday. In March, Jonathan and I were blessed by my sister-in-law with tickets to go see her in Midland. Jonathan has flown a couple of times before, but this was the first time that he was actually aware of what was happening....and oh.my.word.....dude LOVED flying. Now, I will say that the Midland/Odessa area is seriously lacking, but we loved being able to visit with Aunt Katie! (Yes, we share a name. Yes, our names are both Katy/Katie Ley. Yes, it is annoying.) A few weeks later, my parents took both boys for a few days so that Zack and I could relax and just be generally lazy. It was awesome. Seriously.We spent the weekend up in The Woodlands, shopping, sleeping and eating.  Man, I love eating. It's basically my biggest downfall. ....uh, moving on...My 30th birthday fell on Mother's Day this year, so my parents came in and helped us celebrate! My parents always go out of their way to make my birthday special. They are pretty awesome in this area. (I also still get a Christmas stocking and an Easter basket....yeah, my parents pretty much dominate in the holiday arena...) This year, my dad watched the boys so that my Mom and I could go shopping and eat lunch. It was so nice to go shopping without my little nuggets yelling from the stroller that they just "HAVE TO HAVE A COOKIE!!!!" or "If I don't get to play on the playground I will be SO sad." (obviously with a very good puppy dog face attached...) The rest of the weekend was spent eating, doing whatever I wanted and sleeping late. And of course, celebrating my beautiful Mama and Mother-in-law. 

The only crappy stuff that has been going on lately has been with our house. We recently decided to have the trim work replaced with hardiplank siding. Expense #1. Then I had a contractor come and look at our master bath shower because it is leaking and generally gross looking due to some mold issues. Turns out there is moisture behind the tile which is growing some kind of disgusting mold which may or may not be killing us. Expense #2. Finally, we realized that the HUGE tree on the side of our house has roots jacking up our driveway. Upon further investigation, there are a few pretty big roots making a beeline for our foundation. Tree must be removed. Expense #3. So yeah, that is all super awesome.

Other than the draining of our bank account, it has been a wonderful spring. I am still absolutely LOVING my job and all my sweet kiddos. In fact, I love it enough that I agreed to teach summer school! For the first time in my 8 years of teaching, I am willing to come into work over my summer vacation! That says a lot :) I even have some of the same kids in my summer school class that were in my class this year. That makes it even more fun!

And now, picture evidence of the past few months...

So excited to be on the airplane! Note to self, the car seat was unnecessary. And so stinking heavy.

I swear, Katie and Jonathan are soul mates. (Sorry Katie....you are soul mates with a 3 year old...)

Waiting patiently for their first big Easter egg hunt!

I have finally jumped on the "dress your kids in adorable matching pajamas" bandwagon....and I am so glad I did. How cute are they!?