Open House

So last night we went to the open house at Blake's school. He was so excited about being our 'tour guide' as his teacher had told them that he talked CONSTANTLY from the time he got home from school until he went to bed. Now don't get me wrong, I am totally thrilled that he loves school the way he does but the constant talking started to drive me nuts! But as any good mother would I patiently listened to him tell each and every story and detail. He has a great teacher and he is enjoying school as much as I could ever hope for.

Not sure why there is such a pained expression on his face but I think it's kinda funny.


My 1st grader in his desk. His class is the only one out of the 3 at Roosevelt that get desks. He is pretty proud of that!

Ketching up...

I know I have been terrible at keeping up with this blog but I promise to be better. I feel like I am constantly playing catchup with everything. I am FINALLY doing some much needed catch-up on my photo albums and photo collage frames. I have the boys' books up to August of 2010 after a long hiatus! The 3-photo frames in our living room have been up there for 2 years without being changed...until now. One of the collage frames in our hallway still had pictures from our wedding...nearly 10 years ago.

With a little extra time on my hands now I'm hoping to start and finish a few projects that I've been putting off...making us a bed, learning more about photography and baking and cooking more new recipes. Wish me luck...

More Hunting...

The boys have been enjoying hunting season to the full degree. Avery has informed me that it is 'fun' to get up at 3:30 in the morning. Last night they were upset that they weren't getting up until 4 am instead of the usual earlier time.

So mom has been getting lots of alone/quiet time and is not disappointed at all! Here is a picture of one of our little tired hunters during his nap. Notice the camo hat in the corner of the picture...gotta have it there so when you wake up it is there to put on. I think the boys are in love!

Hunting Season Begins!

Every year my husband has a countdown going on a calendar at work of how many days are left til early goose season. Periodically I'll ask him how many days are left and he'll know the answer off the top of his head (YES, he's that obsessed). Each August I can feel the days getting closer as a black trailer is parked out in front of our house and a boat blind is filled with broom grass and decoys are meticulously set out and repainted (don't worry if you don't understand what these things are I didn't either until I met my husband).

So tomorrow is the big day! I used to dread hunting season as it meant lots of time with my hubby gone and me having to take care of the kids on my own. Well the day has come when BOTH boys want to go with their dad and he happily gets all their stuff ready for the season. So tomorrow I am going to wake up to an empty house, except for the dog, and enjoy every minute of it! My plans for the day include sleeping in (especially since I am up late trying to teach myself a few things about photography) and then slowly getting myself ready for a day of shopping with my mother-in-law who, herself, endured many years of hunting season. She however is a much better wife/mother than I'll ever be because she would get up and make them breakfast before they went hunting. Not this wife/mom...she enjoys her sleep!

I'm really hoping that my two overly-excited boys can drag themselves out of bed in the morning at 3:15 am since they both were up later than their dad tonight. They will be tired tomorrow...hopefully that means that I am going to be able to come home to everyone napping after my shopping escapades!

Smore's Goldfish

I know I've been absent for way too long again but I'm back. I have a suggestion for all of you mommy's out there. Go out and get yourself a bag of the Goldfish in Smore's flavor...and then HIDE THEM!. They are absolutely to die for. I don't know what it is about them that makes me want to eat the whole bag but they are not for sharing.

Warning...if you give them to your kids they will love them so don't share. It's okay to have your secret stash of a mommy treat.

Parenting

I always thought I would be a good parent and I like to think that I am most of the time but sometimes I just really think I SUCK! I feel like I have no control of what is going on around here with the kids sometimes. I feel like I don't know what technique to try next and am at my wits end.

Having a 4.5 year old is hard. I would have said that when Blake was that age but it is nothing compared to raising a 4.5 year old Avery! The child just comes with all new challenges. One of our biggest seems to be napping and bed time. No matter how tired the kid is he always seems to find a way to stall. Now some of you are probably thinking that at 4.5 he no longer needs a nap...well let me tell you he does! I know my children and Blake still takes naps. All I'm asking for is a short nap...just to take the edge off. However that is not on his agenda. It is so stressful that sometimes I just lose it! Today is a good example. I get so frustrated and start to yell...well who can go to sleep after just getting chewed out? Probably pretty hard but apparently I expect it anyway.

Sometimes I just wish I had Super Nanny here to tell me how to deal with these kids. I'm sure that wouldn't solve the world's problems but man it would be nice!

Random Thoughts

It has been so long since I have had time to sit down and blog but I promise I will try to be better about it. However I've started reading other people's blogs and realized that they use it as sort of an outlet to express themselves more than a way to update people, so I thought I might give it a try since I doubt everyone wants to read my every thought on Facebook. I am home alone (a rare feat) at 11 am on a Monday listening to MY music and only the noise I choose...so here are some of the random thoughts I've had recently.

-Am I the only one who organizes CDs by alphabet? I like organization and disorganization just makes me cranky. To me finding something right away when I want to find it is important rather than searching through the stack. so I alphabetize my CDs. My hubby is constantly teasing me for this but guess who can find their music when the time comes?

-There is something to be said about being home alone once in a while but I almost find that I can barely figure out what to do first. I have been reading up on photography on one of my favorite blogs . I took a shower and then started cleaning the bathroom...WHY can't I find something more exciting to do?

-I think I have a Facebook problem because I find myself constantly formulating interesting posts. I don't always post them but my mind automatically goes there!

-I will never again have more than 1-2 magazine subscriptions. I have a stack of 20 or more magazines that I need to read, consisting of: Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, Taste of Home, Family Fun, Rachael Ray. I enjoy all of them and 3 of them were gifts for my 30th birthday, but I just can't keep up.

Those are my random thoughts for today and I'm going to give this blogging thing a better shot in the future and I hope that I can find the time to keep posting...in between my other jobs as baker, daycare provider, wife & mother.