what mom does......

apparently she doesn't wash clothes, cook meals, pack lunches and read stories. she plays bunco. with a drink in hand. which was illustrated for his teacher at a small christian school. great. sure i made a great first impression. oh and now i'm 44 (or so he thinks, but is not quite sure).

thanks for the laugh bubbie. i will save this one forever.

bento? what's a bento?

in case you haven't noticed... i've been mia. why you may ask?? well we've been very busy sending this boy,

to KINDERGARTEN!!!

and along with the joys of starting school has come the joys of making lunch each day (except wednesdays because that is pizza day and bubbie is excited about that).

we bought this lunch box: (the one on the left), but that's not really ours, that's the one from the pbk's website, ours is red and blue to match our uniform.

the first week of lunch making went fine, except i noticed all those pre-bagged snacks i bought weren't being eaten. i asked him why and apparently he can't open them and no one has helped him. i was inspired by bento lunches before but thought they looked too hard, too much work, but while at wally world last night i found the perfect plastic box to fit in his lunch box (and it fits to a T!) so i thought i would give it a whirl.... here's what i came up with

dinosaur pb w/ honey sandwich on raisin dirt, with pretzel trees, whole grain goldfish and some cookies. i couldn't do any wet fruit yet because my silicone cupcake liners haven't come in from amazon.

so what's a bento you ask? well mine is as bare bones as it can be, but a bento box is a really tightly packed, cutely presented lunch. there is tons of inspiration online to get good ideas. here are a few sites i have found:

http://bentolunch.blogspot.com/

http://bentoforkidlet.blogspot.com/

http://lunchboxlimbo.blogspot.com/

have you made bento lunches? i would love some inspiration, so please share your links and ideas! check back I will post some more as i get a little more daring and creative!

back from the beach.....

with a not so lovely souvenier....



it all started wednesday night at the beach. bubbie, mema and uncle frankie were the first victims. i think mr.bear had a touch while we were there too. then friday night it hit super dad and saturday aunt mel. i thought we were finally turning a corner. super dad was returning to the land of the living.

i should have known something was up when i told sass she didn't have to nap but could just play in here room where she promptly fell asleep on the floor. after the impromteu (and had to be uncomfortable) nap, she meekly came down stairs and snuggled up on my lap. she mentioned her tummy hurting, but often that just means she's hungry, so i attempted to get her to try a bite of granola bar. big mistake. the volcano erupted all over my kitchen floor. and my feet. yuck.

super dad brought home some pedialyte and we let her start sipping some. big mistake number 2. the kitchen floor took another hit. lucky for me, this time it was super dad's feet that fell victim. oh and one of our recliner chairs (not the one she puked in the last time this winter that took weeks to get out the sour milk smell, now we have matching puked on recliners).

all afternoon she insisted on laying on top of me. the only person who has yet to fall victim to puke bug 2010. what are the odds that i'm not puking in the next three days? i'm praying hard that i have an immune system of steel as friday is bubbie's first day of kindergarten and i will be devastated if i can't take him. pray healthy thoughts over this mama please.

okay, so that's all. sorry for writing the most disgusting post ever. i promise for a more appetizing post next time!

so much better

we did it! it took over an hour. about 8 million redirections. several sneeks out to the trash can when he wasn't looking. but it's done. whew! i feel so much better!



ps. not sure why this last picture insists on being sideways in both post. i have turned it in picasa but both times it came up sides ways.... so weird!

my little junk collector

okay mom. you may not take any pleasure in what you are about to read. i know it's sweet revenge for all the years i had a messy room. just sayin'.


so bubbie is our little trash collector. every piece of paper. every little container has a purpose to him. he needs to save little thing because he might could use it for a project. he is a builder. he has an incredible imagination. but his room is always a mess. i mean there is stuff everywhere. i go into a panic attack every time i walk in there. he tries to straighten up, but i really don't think he sees the mess. to him it makes sense. to me it makes me a little crazy.

these pictures are of his room in it's current state. this was after he cleaned up. yes really. i. can't. take. it. anymore. we had a come to Jesus moment this morning. when he gets home from camp i am going to attempt to help him actually clean the place up. i don't want to hound him. i hate being a nag, but really? it's a death trap. do you know what those tiny little legos feel like on your bear feet. it's enough to make a grown man cry.

does anyone else live with a junk collector? is he doomed to be on an episode of hoarders later on in life? we need help! what can i do to encourage him to take pride in his things and keep his room tidy? i don't need it to be white glove clean, i just want to be able to walk in there and not risk breaking a limb while trying to get him out of bed in the morning.

be on the look out. i will post some after pics if i get a chance.

wow what a morning!

today was a day for the record books for us. bubbie started "manly man" camp this morning. today was pirate day. he was excited. we get to the church to drop him off. we notice right off that the lobby is smokey, but have our worries calmed by being told they were using a fog machine to practice for a show. so i heave up the stairs with an 18lb baby on my hip and two little ones by my side to the third floor. just as we get up there, the fire alarms start going off, strobe lights and all and we are told to head down the stair well, so me and my three climb back down three floors to get outside. luckily the it was just because the fog machines had set off the alarm, but off we were to climb up the three flights of stairs again. i start to wonder if i can write this off as my exercise for the day. bubbie successfully gets dropped off to camp and we are on our way.

the little guys and i stop to do an errand on the way home. mr. bear is beat and so ready for a nap, so as soon as we get back home i run to change his diaper and get ready to throw him into the bed. he surprises me with a poop diaper, so i leave him for just a second to clean it out and throw it in the pail when it dawns on me that i might not have clicked the gate all the way (being that i had planned to just throw him in the bed). just as i head that way to check i hear the worlds worst sound... my baby tumbling down the steps. now thankfully, we have a spilt stair case, so it's only six steps to the landing, then six more. and they are carpeted, two things that worked in his favor. i immediately scooped him up and comforted him and he calmed down pretty quickly, so i was thinking that he had been protected and we were blessed to escape what could have been a lot worse. well we are blessed that he wasn't seriously injured, but as soon as i put him down to crawl and he went to bear weight on his right arm, i saw him just crumble under the weight and knew something was wrong. i was sure he had a broken arm or wrist. super dad raced home and my sweet friends came to my rescue taking care of sass and getting bubbie from camp so off to children's we went. six horrible xrays later (xraying a 10 month olds arms in six different positions is kind of like wrestling a wet cat, he was MAD), my nursed and now napping baby was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his clavicle. thank you Jesus for protecting him and letting that be all! unfortunately there is not much we can do for him, but let him have some motrin and heal up. he is already figuring out how to bear most of his weight on the other arm and is on the move again, but boy this mama has had a long day!

read bubbie read!!

I am so proud of our Bubbie! He has taken a huge interest in reading and is really soaring! This morning I remembered about starfall.com. If you have a preschooler or early elementary child in your home this is a great website to learn everything from letter recognition to word families. Bubbie thinks it's super fun and is learning a lot. It's so fun to see him become an emergent reader!

wordless wednesday - back to school

nothing's better than having your big bubbie walk you in our your first day of preschool

not my kid monday

We are putting a spin on Not Me Monday this week. You get a week off from confessing your own "sins" as a mother and get to rat out your little ones and all the things they did not do this week! Head on over the My Charming Kids to join in on this fun blog carnival today!


Last week was our official last week of summer as preschool starts tomorrow. We packed our week with fun which lead to some great funny moments. Here are a few highlights:

I have recently taught Bubbie how to unhook Sass from her car seat. Once the new baby arrives they will both be in the back of the van and I will need his assistance in this for carpool. As he was helping her out he most definitely didn't squeeze her tiny little thighs and tell her " you need to go work out at the gym, your legs are all squishy"! (good thing he hasn't seen my thighs up close lately!!).

Sass just completed her third week of "nymnastics". She has a mind of her own and does what she wants most of the class but the teacher doesn't seem to notice because she is one of the only ones who doesn't wander off so while the teacher is herding back the others, she is doing her "nymnastics" her own way. The teacher has recently been working with them by gently raising their toes up to the bar while they hang from it. Well little monkey girl absolutely did not pull her feet up all by herself and then do a full back flip while holding on the bar totally unassisted not once, but twice, while no one was watching her!


Bubbie also started t-ball this week. Wouldn't you know that the night it is suppose to start the rain started to come. Not being much of an athlete I had no idea really what to expect when we got there. I should have realized lots of red dirt would be involved, which turns quickly to mud once it gets drizzled on, but what did I have to worry about Sass HATES being dirty. She would never sit in this damp, red dirt and play and play and play all while wearing a white outfit. Not my priss pot! And she certainly would not have enjoyed it!

While we are speaking of Miss Sassy Sass, remember all our potty training debacles? Well they are still going on. She knows what to do and will do it when she wants to but there is no making her. I still put a cloth diaper on her at nap and bedtime. The other day I walk into her room after nap and before I could say one word to her she did not tell me her first "lie" ever!! Not my child! At not even 2 1/2 she would never be deceptive enough to say " mommy that is NOT pee pee in my diaper, it's just some water." ( and I would never have to turn my face to not laugh at such a story!)


And lastly, one confession of my own.... as we had a false alarm thinking our newest baby would be here this weekend which ended up just landing me on bed rest, I most definitely did not allow my two year old to nap with me downstairs instead of up in her bed just so I could get a little more snuggle time with her before she wasn't the baby anymore. Nope, not me!

precious

Psalm 139:13-14

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's
womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and
wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

Yesterday I gave Bubbie a little dry erase board and marker to use during rest time. He is usually not big into drawing or coloring but when he came down from his rest he was SO proud to show me his creation. The above picture is our family. He was quick to tell me that the first person was him, the next was me, then Super Dad and then Sass. At first I didn't notice one more person in the picture, a tiny little detail, but he made sure to show me. Look carefully at me...... do you see new baby? He included new baby in our picture! How stinkin' precious is that?! I was completely tickled by this not only because he added new baby to the picture but I have never seen him draw full people with bodies like that. So cute!

not me monday..... wedding edition

Not Me Monday is brought to you by one of my favorite blogs, My Charming Kids. This is a place where blog mamas can unite together and confess all their imperfections as moms, you know... all the things we would NEVER really do! ;)

Bubbie was asked to be in his first wedding this past weekend. In celebration of this milestone, I thought it would be fun to do a "Not Me Monday - Wedding Edition"! Enjoy!


Bubbie looked precious in his tux. He was thrilled to be part of the wedding and while waiting for the festivities to begin he was on all his BEST behavior. He certainly was NOT wandering through woods, playing with sticks and dirt just moments before the ceremony. No, not my precious boy!



During the processional, Bubbie had to walk down only about 30 million concrete steps to make it into the gardens. I was NOT holding my breath the entire time. I knew with out a doubt that he would do EXACTLY as he was told, you know being a four year old boy and all!


And during the ceremony I NEVER once had to give him the "eye" to make sure he stood still, and didn't bop any one with the pillow. He absolutely didn't try to hand off the pillow to the Bride numerous times while she was being given away and didn't make a single silly face at me through the entire sacred time. Not this sweet boy!

While we are discussing what angels my children were through out the entire wedding, obviously completely due to my wonderful parenting skills.... let touch on this little person for a minute.


See that sweet little angelic face..... not one time did I have to tell her to be quiet during the ceremony. I absolutely didn't keep handing her things like fans and water bottles in attempt to keep her seated and silent. And it wasn't me who finally resorted to pulling out my Iphone so this tiny little one could play Tinkerbell just to keep her from throwing a massive fit during the vows. What kind of mother would resort to that? Not me! My children always sit and be silent when asked!!

As a matter of fact, my children were perfectly posed through the entire event. I never once worried that they would knock over the cake while running through the reception, or that Sass would have an accident in her beautiful white dress. In fact when we attempted to get a picture of the two of them, they immediately stopped running around like little monkeys and posed beautifully, just like this:


It would never take me jumping up and down and bribing with lollipops to get timeless, cherished shots that I will hold onto forever. And I would never trick them into a photo that they will both hate me for one day just so I could have a precious memory. No, not me!!

friday favorites - a good gymboree sale

I love getting good quality clothes at a great price. I have learned my lesson that yes you can buy cute, cheap stuff, but after a few washes it usually just looks like cheap stuff. This than tempts me to go buy more cute, cheap stuff and at that point I haven't saved any money at all!

I was remembering from last year that I bought Bubbie a ton of great stuff at Gymboree for back to school on a really good sale and was hoping it would take place again this year. Well it is! While I tend to find Gymboree a little too "matchy matchy" for him as a "big boy", I can get great deals on good jeans, cargos, khakis, basic tees etc and then just add in some random pieces from other places with them at a later time.

Okay, so you want to know more about the sale. Well first it's only a good deal on big kid clothes, so for once, Sass gets nothing, it's Bubbie's turn! All the big kid clothes are marked to $10, $15 or $20 right now for back to school. Where I live, it is also tax free weekend! SCORE! And if you have a $100 worth, you can do it all online with free shipping. Double Score! On top of all that, I have a 20% off your total coupon and it's gymbucks time!!

What are gymbucks? Gymbucks are a great way to save money. You earn one $25 gymbuck for every $50 you spend. Say I spend $175 on back to school clothes and shoes. Gymboree than gives me $75 in Gymbucks to use at a later time. Since I'm not buying Sass any back to school clothing now, I will save the Gymbucks to get her some fall/winter clothes. When I go to redeem my $75 in Gymbucks I can pick out another $150 worth of clothes and only pay $75 for them. And you can use them on sale items!! Basically I can walk out of Gymboree then with a $30 dress for about $9.

Another reason I prefer to spend a little extra on my kids clothing..... it resells awesome! There are some people CRAZY for Gymboree on Ebay and half the time I end up making money on the clothes I sell on there because people get bid happy. This helps me recycle our clothing budget over and over. Although I am currently holding on to everything until we find out what new baby is!


Here are a few of the items I have in my cart ready to check out:

2 pairs of jeans Reg price- $29.75 sale+coupon =$18 a pair:


super cute pullover reg price: $22.75 sale+coupon = $12

Fun stripey tee shirts: Reg price $14.75 Sale + coupon = $8

Toggle tennies Reg price $29.75 Sale + coupon = $18


Now I just have to wait for the cool weather to roll in..... in about 3 more months!

not me monday

Not Me Monday is brought to you by one of my favorite blogs, My Charming Kids. This is a place where blog mamas can unite together and confess all their imperfections as moms, you know... all the things we would NEVER really do! ;)

I will start off by saying I absolutely would never use my pregnancy as an excuse to eat the dessert picture below. No way, no how! And I totally wouldn't have eaten it for say, three days in a row. That would be just excessive. I never would have justified it by drinking milk and counting the raspberries as fruit serving either. Nope! Not me!


Being an attentive, always on the ball mother, I never would have been so distracted by blogging that my daughter would have had enough time to color all over herself while sitting within inches of me. Not me, I keep an eye on my children at all times.

And in preparations for the Fourth of July, I would never have gone as far as tying red ribbons in Sass' navy blue crocs. Absolutely not! I didn't dress her in red, white and blue as many days as I could this past week just so she could wear them either. That would be way too thematic and bring me back to my first grade teacher days. I'm so not that cheesy!

I absolutely did not condone my brother bribing my 4 year old with $10 to go down the water slide at his neighborhood pool. I didn't encourage it either by explaining to said 4 year old that $10 was enough to buy a new lego set later and I would never had gone as far as telling him I would take him to Target that afternoon to use his $10 towards said Legos. The above mentioned 4 year old didn't ride the slide a thousand times after that because he loved it so much either. Surely you can see the fear in his face.

And lastly, (be grateful I have no pictures of this one), I most definitely didn't try to tiny a URL of directions to our community center this past week and email the link to my friends to only find out that I didn't send them a link to the community center after all.... the link surely wouldn't have directed my friends to an exotic site instead. I absolutely did not laugh so hard that I cried when they called to tell me what I did, sending dirty links on accident is not funny! They would never now refer to music time at the community center as "dirty music time" and I'm sure they will stop teasing me about sending out dirty emails sometime soon!
(PSA: tiny.cc does NOT create 100% unique URLs, learn from my mistake and use tinyurl.com instead and always check your tiny link before sending it or publishing it anywhere!).

Well, that's it! My dirty laundry is aired! Are you brave enough to share yours this week.... come on, you can do it!