First Day of School, First Day of School! {Part 1}

Have y'all seen the movie Nemo? Ok, who am I kidding... If you have kids, then you have seen it about 5,000 times... or more, right? So, who remembers this scene?

Well, I was totally Nemo. I had to actually wake up the boys! WHAT?! For the ENTIRE summer they were up around 6-ish. First day of school rolls around and I have to wake them up at 6:30. Sheesh. Who wants to bet that they wont sleep in tomorrow morning (off day)? Silly boys.

Anyway, today was Andrew's first day of school - PreK-3, that is. And he was VERY excited this morning!

 

Andrew: PreK-3

Ok...where has the time gone??? I mean, really...  

Watch and see...

Mother's Day Out: Older 2s/Younger 3s Class (mid-year when we switched schools)

Preschool: Younger 3s Class (the 1st half of the year before switching schools).

Aw...if you look closely, he still has the little wrist roll. Not sure when it disappeared, but he was just about to turn 3 that month.

Preschool: Younger 2s Class...

Oh. My. Gosh. He was just about to turn 2 here. Wow. 

I mean...WOW. My little boy is growing up. 

Actually, he is growing up TOO fast. As we were walking up to his building, I asked him some things:

"What is your teacher's name?" 

"What is your hook number where your bag goes?"

 Etc, etc...

"Mama, I know. I'm almost 4, you know." 

Sheesh. And, we get up there and he had everything taken care of. He even said "good morning" to his teacher. Sigh...

Oh, and WAVED goodbye to Alex and I. I got a hug from him after I picked him up though. Goodness...

Speaking of Alex...

He was not exactly thrilled that it was not his first day of school. But, I got him to be a bit happier with me after taking him out for a donut and a trip to the library. Only, he thought we were supposed to get Andrew after those things. He was NOT happy when he realized we were heading home. One more week, sweetie. 

Alright, people. There is the update on Part 1 of our Back-to-School extravaganza. Part 2 is coming up next week when Alex gets his day to start school.

Have a great week!


Update: Click here to see Alex's first day of school!!

Weekly Goals & Menu Plan {Back to School - Week 1}

Hello! Welcome to the Back-to-School, Part 1 Week! :) Andrew starts school this week!! But before we get on that topic, let's take a look back at what happened last week, shall we?

{MONDAY}

It was a sad morning... Sure, I woke up bright and early, but there was NO coffee creamer in the house ANYWHERE. Oh, it was so sad... 

 

But, I did plan out the boys' lunches/snacks for the first full week of school. So that is something. 

  We did head out and got some coffee creamer (and by some I mean 3 huge things so we wouldn't have THAT again...) after breakfast - thank goodness! We also ran to the library for some book hunting. 

{TUESDAY}

YUM. 5:30 AM Coffee :) 

Tuesday was "Meet the Teacher Day" for Andrew! YAY!! He is so excited about his new classroom! 

After lunch, we headed home to get out some back-to-school books and get a few to-do's done. 

I love these little books! 

Eddie Gets Ready for School

If You Take a Mouse to School

Sea Monster's First Day

The Mine-O-Saur

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

The Night Before Preschool

Mama's jobs for the day:

Clean up that stinkin' hall closet that is filled to the top with puzzles and games! 

 MUCH better! Now to just add a few labels...

 And, of course, under they boys' bathroom sink. You would be amazed at what I found under there... 

{WEDNESDAY}

Project day :) Fun! 

 What do you think? They boys are still so excited that I made them a railroad crossing sign for their room! Just a few more small things to add and their room will be 100% DONE! 

 We did this project while Alex was napping, so when Andrew and I got to the drying stages we ran out to grab the mail. Look what came for Austin! Awesome. Gotta love fun things from Zulily!

{THURSDAY}

Working hard on his school work. He had to count how many of each shape he would find, then write the numbers. He did a great job!

{SATURDAY}

 

 Guess what we FINALLY did...?!

HELLO! We FINALLY painted Austin's room! YAY!! The color is called "Mineral Deposit" from Sherwin-Williams. I love it! Now, I can really finish up this room. YAY!

While, the paint was drying, I was able to get a few things from the attic that I knew I had saved...like my baby bjorn and the pack-n-play (that has the bassinet/changing table parts). But, guess what my husband found!

HAHA!! Apparently, I only saved the essentials in case of a new baby! Too funny! Yep. All Packers things ranging from 3 months to 18 months. That. Is. Hilarious. 

{SUNDAY}

 Birthday Party Time! We headed over to Gerald's house to celebrate his 3rd birthday. The boys loved that pinata! Check out that face Andrew is making. He CLEARLY needs to be on a t-ball team! Maybe next year... 

My hot Sunday night date...with my planner, massive lists, and a fun drink sans the much-needed/wanted rum LOL It's orange juice, sprite zero, and pink lemonade. Jason had some then said, "We need some brandy." Haha! It was pretty good, even if it wasn't  a "real" fun drink.

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So, you can see that some of those things I wanted to take care of actually happened. Let's see how the rest turned out:

Family Goals:

1. Work on schoolwork on off-days after breakfast Done!

2. Family walk after dinner Yeah....so didn't happen. Apparently Baby Austin doesn't want to do that...

3. Work on learning the "Glory Be" before bedtime (they almost have this one down!) We have all the words down except for the "world without end" part. So, it is a work in progress. But, isn't that how it should be with your faith? ;)

Personal Goals:

4. Wake up at 530 am...fun! (Though, it really isn't all that bad. This will be the 3rd week in a row now) Happy to report that I am now waking up BEFORE the alarm clock! Ha!

5. Read Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace (part of the Hello Mornings Challenge) in the morning  It is so wonderful to have the mornings start like this.

6. Begin gathering items for hospital bag with the thing that are ACTUALLY needed/used (some of these lists are ridiculous, people... Who puts these things together? Not REAL moms that's for sure). This is only partly done. I did get most of the things set aside, but not all.

Home Goals:

7. Crafting: Football scarf from old Packers shirts of mine (similar to this) / Make train Crossing sign for boys' room The Packers scarf is just hanging out for the moment. I have the materials and such set aside. Maybe this week. But, I did finish the train crossing sign!!

8. Do: Paint Austin's room...for cryin' out loud! It's is supposed to be the perfect weekend for this - keep your fingers crossed! OH. HAPPY. DAY!! The room is FINALLY painted!!!!

9. Organize: Hall closet and under boys' bathroom sink / Go through scrap fabric stash for smaller projects for Austin Done, done, done! Now to decide on those smaller projects. I have a list. Just not sure what all I want to make.

Bonus Goal:

10. Andrew's Birthday Party To Do's: Order invites / Decide on menu / Chose 1 or 2 activities (all with Andrew's help - he cracks me up!) I love having my helper boy Andrew :) We got all of these things done for this part of the planning. Yay! This is going to be a super fun party! :)

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This Week's Goals:

Family Goals:
1. School starts this week for Andrew! Re-read our back-to-school books this week. Bed by 7:30pm / Up at 6:30am
2. Family game night - Yay!
3. Continue working on the "Glory Be" with the boys before bed

Personal Goals:
4. Rise and shine! Waking up at 5:15 now due to school this week.
5. Keep reading through Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace in the morning.
6. Finish up getting hospital bag together.

Home Goals:
7. Crafting: Start working on football scarf / If fabric comes in this week for Austin's quilt, then I hope to start on that, too.
8. Organize: Laundry room / under our bathroom sinks

Bonus Goals:
9. Austin's room to-do list/timeline
10. Freezer cooking to-do list/time line

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Looks like a much easier week than last now that Austin's room is painted, huh? Our menu is pretty easy, too. Thanks to a few requests from preschooler #1 aka Andrew :)

Monday: Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken, Rice, Broccoli

Tuesday: Spaghetti / Dessert: ABC Treat Bars

Wednesday: Bean & Cheese Burritos, Chips/Salsa

Thursday: Pizza / Dessert: M&M Cookie Bars

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Grilled Chicken, Salad, and Fruit

Sunday: Ham & Cheese Sliders, Chips

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Did I wear anyone out with all of this yet? Well, it's not going to slow down anytime soon, that's for sure! Andrew starts school in the morning, so be on the lookout for a fun post about him tomorrow!

Have a great week!

Getting Back Into It {10 Weekly Goals + Menu Plan}

Hello, hello! We are officially down to one week before school starts! Andrew starts K3 next week and Alex (gasp!) will start K2 the week after. Holy moly, right?!

Anyway, I figure it is time to get back into the swing of things here. Yes, I have still been checking off goals I want to accomplish for the week. And, yes, I still made menu plans for the summer. But, I will be back to sharing those again (starting today!)

But, first...

Let's rewind back to the weekend! Which was...awwwweeeesssommme!! Seriously. 

 

Saturday was just a day for the mamas! Like...ALL DAY Saturday! I love my boys so very much, but being able to be out of the house for an entire day was so great. Not having to worry about whether or not we will get home in time for a nap. Not having to clean up after everyone. Nt having to worry about which restaurant has a kids' menu. It. Was. Great. Kristi picked me up at 9-ish and we didn't get back home until 530-ish. Ah-mazing! Wondering where we went? Well, we headed out to the Babypalooza (a baby an maternity expo for mamas). Sure this may not be our first times in this department being mamas already and all. We wanted the free stuff! Ha! Too funny! But, oh...we came home with BAGS of freebies - bottles, formula, giveaway entries, coupons galore, nifty reusable bags (which I love!), and LOTS of information. It was great. We even ran into a mama friend who got interviewed and was on the news the next morning! Very cool. I did grab a few freebies for the boys, too. Other than the ring pops, this may have been the highlight for them!

The doctors are ready for Austin! LOL

 

After that we had lunch and sat at the bar (yeah, I know...kinda mean since we couldn't drink. But, I'm sure we will get out again some time after our babies are delivered. By the way, I love a wonderful Pink Moscato and Cosmopolitans just in case there is a delivery service come November!). Then, we headed out to Buy Buy Baby to get Kristi registered. And, of course, I ended up buying something(s) for Austin! Check out his "going home" outfit!

 

  AHHH!!! Love it!!

And, how cool is that? His little outfit has Andrew's blue, Alex's green, and Austin's orange - complete with a little fox on the front! So. Stinkin'. Cute. And how about that hat?! LOVE!!

Once I got home with all of the goodies from Saturday's adventure, I was quite impressed (and surprised) at what I came home to... Wait... Wait... 

A CLEAN HOUSE! 

 

What?! Yes! A clean house, 2 little boys who already had a shower and their pajamas, and, of course, a wonderful husband! Awesome. A whole DAY for me AND a clean house... I don't need to win any other kind of lottery. That was the best thing ever! Thanks, guys!!

 

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Of course, weekends do come to an end and real life must continue. So, on to this week's goals and menu plan!

 

Family Goals:

1. Work on schoolwork on off-days after breakfast

2. Family walk after dinner

3. Work on learning the "Glory Be" before bedtime (they almost have this one down!)

Personal Goals:

4. Wake up at 530 am...fun! (Though, it really isn't all that bad. This will be the 3rd week in a row now)

5. Read Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace (part of the Hello Mornings Challenge) in the morning

6. Begin gathering items for hospital bag with the thing that are ACTUALLY needed/used (some of these lists are ridiculous, people... Who puts these things together? Not REAL moms that's for sure).

Home Goals:

7. Crafting: Football scarf from old Packers shirts of mine (similar to this) / Make train Crossing sign for boys' room

8. Do: Paint Austin's room...for cryin' out loud! It's is supposed to be the perfect weekend for this - keep your fingers crossed!

9. Organize: Hall closet and under boys' bathroom sink / Go through scrap fabric stash for smaller projects for Austin

Bonus Goal:

10. Andrew's Birthday Party To Do's: Order invites / Decide on menu / Chose 1 or 2 activities (all with Andrew's help - he cracks me up!)

 

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Getting hungry after seeing all that I want to accomplish this week? No worries! Here's the menu plan (I actually have the next 2 weeks decided, but I'll just share this week's for now). 

Monday: Balsamic Chicken, Salad, and Fruit

Tuesday: Summer Pasta, Salad

Wednesday: Pancakes and Sausage (requested by Alex haha!)

Thursday: Leftovers/Sandwiches

Friday: Tacos, Chips and Salsa

Saturday: Grilled Chicken, Potato Salad, and Fruit

Sunday: Leftovers/Sandwiches

 

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Well, people. That is all I have for now. As I get some of these projects done, I will post them on our Facebook and Instagram accounts. So, drop by and check us out. Otherwise, you will have to wait until the end of weekend to see our progress. 

Have a great week everyone!

This Week at the House: Aug 12-16

Taking a look back at this week's adventures...

{MONDAY}

I'll spare you the pictures... But, apparently it was a day of "nesting" for me. I cleaned like crazy (welcome to the 3rd trimester, right?) and organized for the upcoming preschool year, organized Austin's room/dresser/closet, and even got a bit of shopping done in between thanks to my Zulily app (which is really a BAD idea...I may need to get that thing off my phone). 

{TUESDAY}

Terrible pic, sorry. The boys' have been doing GREAT on getting their "school" work done after they have cleaned up from breakfast. Andrew and Alex are doing so well with using their scissors correctly (I hear Andrew's new teacher is pretty serious about scissor usage, so we are READY!). Alex now knows ALL of the ABCs - in order, in any voice (from monster-voice to quiet mouse whispers LOL) thanks to Andrew! We are DEFINITELY ready for back-to-school! We meet Andrew's teacher next week!! Then he starts the following week. Alex will start the following week. And this mama is excited! I excited for them to see their friends again and I am excited for a "mini-break" before Austin arrives in 11 weeks :)

 

And, speaking of getting ready for Austin's arrival...  Check out this cute onesie Andrew saw at Target.  LOL Yes, there is a reason... Andrew and Alex have both decided that orange is Austin's color and that his baby is going to be a fox. Andrew has an elephant named Tusker. Alex had a lion named Roary. So, Austin will get a fox (thanks, Nana!) and Andrew and Alex think his name should be Mr. Fox. Oh, my. I have very particular...and silly boys, don't I? I can't even begin to imagine what life if going to be like when Austin is big enough to play with them!

{WEDNESDAY}

 

Oh, doctors appointments...ugh. Honestly, I don't mind going every month. I get to hear Austin's happy little heart. But this past appointment was just obnoxious. I can't stand the glucose test. No the drink is not horrible. Just a really sweet version of the red Hawaiian Punch. But, you have to down it in front of the nurses while they ask you a bunch of stuff... Then you have to wait in the office for an hour... Then you get to hand over some blood. Fun. Not. I know it is a "good" test, but really? I have better things to do than hang out at the doc for an hour. The quiet was nice, but you know. I just think that there should be a better way to figure out if I have gestational diabetes or not. Someone get on that! Luckily, there is a Starbucks at the hospital, so I busted out of there as soon as they gave me my bandaid. The funny thing about this Starbucks is that I have only HEARD the espresso machines from the other side of the wall where I was holding newborn Alex. Sweet memories. But, when you are in a hurry to get back to your regular doc appointment, you have only seconds to take in that moment. But, the good news is that I passed that test, so yay me! 

{THURSDAY} 

 Look who joined us for breakfast this morning! Kristi is just a month behind me and today was her appointment, so I offered to watch her little man. He is such a sweet kid!! These guys were SO funny all together. The conversations that they have crack me up - mostly because I have not a clue in the world what they are talking about. So funny!

 We played with playdoh for most of the morning. We made animals and letters to begin with. Things got crazy after a while when they all start making telescopes and horns and such. LOL

Best friends forever!

 After we cleaned up, I let them watch some Super Why and such. Then giggles galore began. Look at these silly monkeys! I love that you can see all those little legs and toes - SO cute!

The sillies didn't stop at the couch, though. All of a sudden there was this group of little men taking swigs of Alpha-Bits cereal and yelling, "CHEERS!" Ah, well...this is the cutest little fraternity in the world, right?!

 After a while it was time for Braxton to get home and EVERYONE down for a nap. But, I ran out to the mailbox before and check out what Austin got in the mail! I guess when I joined some baby club from Fisher-Price, they decided to send a gift! Fun!! 

 Alex was sleeping for a bit and Andrew was being....rather quiet... That is sometimes a good thing or a bad thing. This time it was the cutest thing! He was trying on his Daddy's belt. I heard him say it was "time for work" once he got it where he wanted it. Adorable!

One everyone was up, we had to get ready for Mass - today was the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary (a Holy Day of obligation -  so it's a big deal for us). We picked up Jason from work and headed out to grab a quick dinner at Zoe's - yum! Afterwards, we headed back to Jason's work to get his car...

 The boys were rather excited that a train was passing by ans BLARING its horn more than a few times. This is the EXACT reason why Andrew says he wants to be an engineer like Daddy when he grows up. Not because he knows that Daddy does super cool stuff with computers and robots, but because he is under the impression that his daddy is a TRAIN engineer. He knows he doesn't drive the trains really - he just thinks that he must work with the trains by using those computers and robots. LOL So cute! Yes, we have tried explaining it, but he doesn't think so. Especially at times like this one where a train (or two) is just hanging out behind his office. Love it!

{FRIDAY}

Movie night! I wonder what will be tonight's pick...

And, apparently some more nesting ;) I'm working on all the games and puzzles we have just thrown in the hall closet.

Luckily, dinner has been cooking away in the crock pot since lunch time. Can't wait for our "Stuffed Pepper Casserole" YUM!!! No, this is not a crock-pot specific recipe. I just tailored it to just make it happen.

Y'all have a great weekend! Hopefully, there will be some painting going on... If not, I am sure we will be enjoying these wonderfuly wacky temperatures! It was 64 when I woke up this morning and it is only getting up to 73. Sweeeet.... 

Y'all have a great weekend!!

Wordless Wednesday

Weekly Rewind: August 5-10

Well, I can finally say (after hitting the "publish" button...) that I am caught up on posting pictures! Whew! I take too many pictures... Nah, I don't think so!

{MONDAY}

Chilling in the pool in the shade 

 

  Awesome little Frisbee throwers! Can I just say how excited I am!!!??? I can't wait to take them to play disc golf!! I wish it said my name, Shaun's, and the others whole helped in the making of this, but here is the course we designed! So cool, huh? Eh, at least I have all the paperwork from it still ;)

 Ok, you have to look very closely to see...but Andrew is chasing this dragonfly that keeps coming to our yard. He's pretty big, too! It is just to the right of his head. 

{TUESDAY}

 

Spelling their names with Super Why! Alpha-Bits Cereal at breakfast!

{WEDNESDAY}

 

Zoo Day!!

 Letting Mommy rest make a menu plan/grocery list while watching "The Cat in the Hat"

Making a puzzle while I make dinner

{THURSDAY}

 Putting together Jason's lunch one morning. I put a surprise message in his lunchbox! Gotta love it!

 Look where I found the smaller one during nap time - love him!

 Another cute moment captured while making dinner

{FRIDAY}

 UGH! Laundry day... At least I have some super cute helper boys who think that making a laundry train is the best thing ever. :) 

 2 boys, a bug, and a dump truck. Sweet. 

 Of course the outside play didn't last long...rain! But, we did see a great surprise out the window afterwards! Love rainbows!

 They were pretty impressed, too!

 Once the rainbow faded away, they had to get back to their puzzle making. This puzzle (similar) is so LONG!

{SATURDAY}

Jason's company picnic was Saturday. It was a lot of fun! The boys thought that the boat was the coolest thing there (except the great food!). Thanks, again, Mr. Ken, for letting the boys hang out in your boat and giving them a ride! They LOVED it!!!

 Checking out the boat

 So pretty! 

 Headed out for a little ride (and, yes...they had their puddle jumpers on at this point)

 I enjoyed the bits of sunshine on the dock as they headed out. 

What a great week!! Hope y'all had a good one, too!