Teacher Meet and Greet

I felt that I prepared Izzy as best I could for a new school year. We read some great books - my favorite being "What to Expect at Preschool" - and had some very intense conversations. Her biggest concern was that she would have new teachers. She really loved her teachers from last year so I knew this would be a potential problem. I explained to her that she would have some old school friends in her class, as well as meet new school friends. It really helped that her best school friend Sarah would be in her class again this year.

I think she was both excited and nervous for the teacher meet and greet. I could not get a straight smile out of her.





Posing with Pete on her way out...




I didn't get much information from either Pete or Izzy when they came home. Izzy said she likes her new teachers and that was about it. Pete told me that not much happened. The kids and parents just hung out and played for 45 minutes. I knew that was the plan so I didn't expect much more detailed info.

I do know that Izzy had her picture taken in a pair of sunglasses for the new bulletin boards the teachers were going to put up. They wanted to have pictures of the kids for them to see on the first day. I sure hope Izzy gave them a better smile then I got.

Keep your fingers crossed for her first day on Wednesday!

Izzy's New Scooter

Do you remember how we got Izzy a clock for her room in hopes that she would learn to stay in her room until at least 7? Well, what I failed to mention was that Izzy also asked for a scooter that day. I flippantly told her that if she stayed in her room 10 mornings then we would get her a scooter. Well, that was 10 days ago. Today is the day Izzy claims her prize.

First test spin is in the house.


Here is our very hastily made star chart. It served its purpose though. I simply wrote "Izzy's Bedtime Chart" at the top and then listed the numbers 1-10. Each morning she would put a star sticker on the corresponding number.



I actually did quite a bit of "research" on scooters because I wanted to get a decent one. I also wanted to find the best price. We have decided to go with the Radio Flyer My First Scooter. The biggest difference is that it has two wheels up front. The turning radius isn't as sharp as scooters with one wheel, but it is more stable. And really, how sharp does a 3 year old need her turning radius?

We took Izzy to Toys R Us yesterday and she got to try one out. She was given a choice between pink and red. While I had originally wanted her to get red so that Drew could use it someday, I was pretty sure she would pick pink. I was wrong. Izzy picked red!

We did not buy the scooter at Toys R Us though because I knew Target had them cheaper. The problem was earlier in the day I went to our Target and they didn't have any. So once home I looked to see if I could get one online (Pete gets a discount) and do you know the pink one is $5 cheaper then the red???? However, the pink one was on a 2-6 week back order. Forget that. So, I called around and found a nearby Target that has a red one in stock.

Here she is testing it out outside:






Drew wanted to get in on the action too. I am sure by the holidays we will have two scooters. Guess if the pink one would have been available I could have gotten it?




The question is will she continue to stay in bed until at least 7? I know a couple mornings she was up before 7 because she came into my room a couple minutes past 7 and had straightened up her room.

Oh, and this is the first time Izzy has had a star chart and reward system. The other day while we were out Izzy saw an umbrella she really liked. I told her that we would not be buying it, but if she would rather have that over the scooter as a prize she could. She thought for a minute and said she would rather have the scooter, but asked what she could do to earn the umbrella? Hmmm, I think we may need to start considering an allowance.

I think I also need to start Christmas shopping...

Here she is taking her very first spin on her scooter.

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Back To School

Tonight I have Izzy's back to school orientation. I am not expecting any new news regarding the program, but I will get to meet this years teachers. Tomorrow Pete will take Izzy to her meet and greet where she will meet her teachers for the first time. A wise friend reminded me that I need to include Pete and relinquish some of my control :) I am comforted to know that a couple "friends" from last year will be in her class. Besides, I will take her on her first day - maybe we all will?

Like with all things new, change will come. A big change will be three mornings of just me and my little guy. I am SO excited to spend time with just him. He is at my most favorite age (aside from his tantrums) and I think we will have lots of fun together. I have vowed to have plenty Mommy and Drew time, but I also vow to get my house under control. I plan to get rid of all the old clothes, toys and clutter! Craigslist here I come.

First things first...the rain has let up today so here are some current backyard pictures.






The kids and I had a lazy morning and then just ran some errands. We hit up Michaels for some flexible poster board which will go on the wall of my "Mom Management Center" as well as $1 craft kits for the kids.

Izzy working on her butterfly.


My Management Center. I will have to see if Pete can clean up the wires after he installs my cork board.


Well, since I am posting this a day later than I typed it - I know need to go get Izzy ready for her meet and greet. More to come later today.

Rain Rain Go Away

We got hit with rain. I'm not even sure what hurricane the rain might be from, but we've got it!

Here is my backyard.

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The creek continued to spill over so Pete parked himself next to it as he tried to figure out what our next move should be.



It amazes me how far the water came up. Typically the water is about 30 feet or so past the clustering of trees.



After the water started to subside the kids and I headed to the mall to meet up with a new friend. We were actually supposed to go over to their house this morning for a play date but because of our possible flood situation I felt it better for us to stay home. Once our situation was under control we decided to all meet at the mall.

We had SO MUCH FUN! I typically take the kids to "Murder Mall" about once a week for no other reason then to get yummy cookies and kill some time. It was fun going with some friends. We met our new friends Stephanie and Rylie at the pool this summer - they just moved here and didn't know a soul. Imagine us being one some of the first people you meet. Lucky them :)

The kids were all so well behaved and really had fun playing together. Stephanie let my kids in on a little secret - that you are allowed to play with and pet the puppies at the pet store. I have always told my kids that the puppies at the pet store are just for looking at. We refer to the pet store as the "mini zoo". Darn you Stephanie. It actually killed quite a bit of time and my kids LOVED playing with the puppies. No fear by either of them, although I do think Drew is allergic just like his Daddy. I, being the smart mom I am, taught Stephanie that not all rides "ride". Therefore Stephanie won't have to shell out $.75 for every ride Rylie wants to go on.

When we returned from the mall I was shocked how much the water had gone down. If it wasn't raining again so hard, and we weren't under a tornado watch, then I would take a picture to show you. Chances are with the rain it will just go back to the first picture on this post!

...Pete is bringing home dinner tonight. SCORE!

Drew is almost 2

We are one month away from Drew turning two. I am already feeling melancholy.

He could quite possibly, most likely, be my last baby. How can my baby be turning 2 one month from today?

I think I am in denial. I had planned to throw a big "end of summer and Drew's turning 2 party? at the end of September. As it stands I have planned nothing and probably won't. Pete will be travelling to Los Angeles for the Ohio State v. USC game the second weekend of September; the following weekend I will be gone for a girls beach weekend; and then the following weekend is Drew's birthday. I really don't have much time to plan. If I am going to throw a party then I want to do it right. Funny thing is that in Denver we planned neighborhood parties and had cookouts very often. Here...notsomuch.

As I continue to ramble, and since Pete doesn't read my blog I will tell you that I am having an ongoing internal debate on whether or not to have a third baby. I won't bore you with the details, well not now at least, and while I believe Pete is happy with the two great kids we've got...I think if I pushed hard for a 3rd then I could get one ;)

Oh, Drew is fussing - last two teeth are almost through - so I will have to write up my pro/con list regarding a third another day. Maybe I should take a vote and let that be my deciding factor?

Last Pool Day?

This truly is a post that I have done to document a typical summer evening at our pool. I took the camera to the pool on what I believe will be our last decent pool day. I have plenty of pool pictures, but very little video coverage. Pete was not with me so it made getting videos that much more difficult. A couple of times I had to the ditch the camera to jump in after an overzealous Drew. I wanted to remember great this summer turned out to be - I was so scared going into the summer of how I would handle two non-swimmers at the pool. I miss Denver terribly, but summer nights at our pool are hard to beat!

I am holding out hope we make it to the pool again before we have to head indoors to swim. But if not, here will be a reminder of my summer days.

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Of course I will also need to remember the pool showers. I will fondly remember my evening of swimming followed by bathing my kids outdoors so that they would be ready for bed. Now if only we would have been smart enough to remodel the kids bath while it wasn't being used! Summer nights didn't get much better.

These pictures are more for me to remember the outdoor showers. I had promised the kids as soon as the showers were over and pj's were on that we would play on the playground. The showers were quick and not full of fun water play.







Goodbye pool...til next year.

Dr. Seuss

Drew's latest obsession is Dr. Seuss books. He loves "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Cat in The Hat". He also likes a dvd we have that sings a song about "Sneetches".

His attention span isn't too long and we usually only get through about 4-5 pages before he walks away. Usually he comes right back and wants to start all over. Pete loved these books growing so I let Pete reminisce about his childhood while he reads to Drew.

A current favorite of mine is how when you ask Drew a question he responds with "Okay, yessss. Yesssss". He has progressed from my last favorite of "Ooooo-kay" (with a long drawn out 'O').

If you listen closely you can hear Drew answer Pete with an "Okay, yesss. Yessss" when Pete asks if he wants to read "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. I just wish he answered with as much gusto as he usually does.

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Oh, and I do know that Izzy's pj shirt was on backwards in the last post. She actually knew as well, but I told her if she wanted to wear it that way to bed it was fine with me. ...so she did.

7:15 am

I am sure many of you have checked back numerous times just waiting for me to post about our morning wake-up time. Well, there you have it. It was 7:15 when a sweet little someone came into my room to say good morning. I wish is was later, but really once school starts I wake her at 7:30 so this is good. I can't complain because it is better than 6 something.

Drew didn't get up until 9:30. That meant Izzy and I had two hours of just us to play. Lord, two hours is a long time with a three year old ;) We read new library books, made muffins and then did a caterpillar craft.

For the first time I let my control freak self allow Izzy to put the muffin batter into the pan. She actually did a really good job. We made 12 mini-muffins and one heart shaped muffin.




Once Drew was up the kids ate 8 of the 12 muffins.

The library we went to yesterday has an art room in it. The current theme is bugs. Izzy was having such a great time copying all the various stations crafts that she didn't want to leave. Unfortunately for her, Drew pooped and I didn't want to change him in the bathroom. The library is VERY quiet and I knew Drew would scream and pitch a huge fit if I changed him in the bathroom. So we left.

We decided to recreate some of the crafts at home. So far we have done a caterpillar. I also saw some cute fingerprint bugs that we will try later.

I had to practice some self control, again, when Izzy chose to attach the legs to the front of the caterpillar where I would have rather attached them to the back. Oh well...it is HER caterpillar and not mine. *I did make one and attach my legs to the back*


We have a birthday party to attend tonight up at our pool. It is for a 6 year old girl. We just got the invite last night so I had limited time to get a gift. The kids have been asking to go to the mall for dinosaur cookies so it all worked out. If you know the mall then you know I am limited in where to shop for a 6 year old girl. I went to Claire's and think I did okay. For those of you who aren't familiar with the mall it is nicknamed "Murder Mall". Really the only reason to go there is for soft pretzels and cookies...and Build A Bear.

That's all I've got. I am going to finish eating the chocolate fudge frosting out of the can and then head to the pool~

I Sent Him Out For A Cheap Clock...

Isabelle has been getting up earlier and earlier lately. She used to sleep until at least 8, if not 8:30, everyday. Then it was 7:30 and now more recently a few minutes past 7. The last two days have had her up before 7!!! Even while on vacation with, no real down time, and late nights she was still up before 7:30.

Well, I decided she needed a clock in her room. I explained to her that we were getting her a clock and that she could come out of her room and find me once the first number on the clock said 7 or 8. I asked her if she wanted me to cover the last two numbers. No. I asked her if she wanted me to hang a number 7 and 8 on her wall to remind her of the appropriate times she could get up. Her response "No Mom. I know what a 7 and 8 look like already." Well good. She then says to me, "Mom, I can't know when there is a 7 or 8on the clock if you don't put a clock in my room." No kidding smarty pants!

So, Pete's job was to buy Izzy a cheap clock. I'm thinking he can easily find on under $10. Heck, I don't want anything fancy, just numbers. He tried the drug stores and grocery stores. No cheap clocks. The clocks had iPod docking stations and such and were no less than $40. So, he goes online (via phone) and researches kid clocks and where to buy one. He brings home the Disney Princess Alarm Clock Radio which also projects magical stars around your room. It wasn't cheap by my standards. It was $25 or so he says :)

IZZY WENT HOG WILD when Pete gave it to her. She flipped her lid! I swear I can't remember the last time I saw her so excited over something? Honestly I don't know if she was that excited over her bike? She had so many thank yous and I love yous that it was worth every darn dollar. Pete reminded me that she had asked for a radio in her room (I talked her down from the requested tv). He also thought the magical stars might serve as a new nite-light to replace the dimmed lamp she insists on having on.

I put her to bed and she asked if she could play her music. Oh, greatest feature of all...is that you can set it so the radio doesn't play, but some Disney princess music does. I imagine she will figure out how to change the settings pretty quickly, but for now when she turns on the radio it plays princess music so she will never get stuck on loud static. It doesn't get much better than a toddler, twirling around in her ballet slippers while dancing to princess music and laying kiss after kiss on her daddy ;) Pete's little princess for sure!

So, fingers crossed that she won't come out of her room before 7. I think tomorrow will be easy because when she wakes up she will just start playing with her clock.

Oh, and the stars did work as a nite-light. I was told she didn't need the other light on. Although she was perplexed as to how Pete knew that there would be stars that lit up in the dark since he bought it during the daytime?

Keep your fingers crossed!

Beach Trip

One of the reasons that I started this blog was to document all the travel we had planned for 2008. So far I have yet to blog about two of our biggest trips: Chicago in May and Ogelbay in July. The truth is that it just seems so overwhelming. I can't figure out a good way to retell the experiences and there are somany pictures to sort through. Oh, the hassle...but I am determined to get to it soon! Perhaps I will tackle Ogelbay this weekend?

For this vacation I think I will post a couple key pictures and then "slideshow" the rest.

I took it upon myself to plan this vacation months ago. I happened to be looking at our upcoming summer plans and noticed that there wasn't a true "just us" vacation planned. Pete and I both feel that it is important to try and take a family vacation as well as a couple's vacation each year. So far we have only done the family trips ;) Being that the beach is only a few hours away and we had no other beach trips planned it was a no brainer as to where to go. Last year we rented a house with another family and we had a great time. It was such a wonderful location that I thought it would be a good idea to return. Once the kids are older I am all for trying out new beaches, locations, etc. but since I knew this place would work well I booked us a villa.

I found this picture from last year and while I knew that Drew would look alot different, I wasn't prepared for how much older Izzy appears to me.

Last year (well, 15 months ago)


Last week


The vacation was wonderful. I don't think we could have asked for anything more. Pete was super dad and super husband! The kids had such a good time just having daddy's undivided attention for 4 days. On Saturday afternoon I decided that I wanted to nap. So I took Izzy into the bedroom with me and left Drew with Pete. I didn't tell Pete what I was doing, I just left. He peeked on me and asked what was going on. I told him that I was going to take a nap. He wondered what to do with Drew? I said whatever - you'll figure it out. I am happy to report that I slept for 3 hours and in that time Pete put Drew down for a nap AND made his own lunch ;) Way to go Pete!

The kids were great. I can't brag about them enough. Neither of them had adequate sleep, but their moods rarely showed it. I am sure all the outdoor activity helped. We went out to eat a couple of the nights and I am happy to report they were very well behaved. I did have to bribe with ice-cream, but I am okay with that.

We arrived at about 2 on Thursday and after we checked into our villa we headed over to the pool - with the kids play area.



Drew is carb loading prior to his big swim. Actually I just love his cute little body so I had to show it off.


The favorite of the pool was by far the submarine. Izzy entertained us all with many stories about why we were on the submarine, where we were going, and reasons we needed to abandon ship.











Pete showed Izzy the dumping buckets




And the biggest bucket of them all!

After this bucket dumping, Izzy decided that she wanted to do it herself. Pete had to convince her that he needed to at least hold her hand because otherwise she might get knocked over from all the water. She got a ton of water dumped on her - but still wanted more.

As if outdoor swimming isn't enough we also hit up the indoor pool one night after dinner.


More pool pictures, should you want to see any...

What would a beach trip be without some trips to the beach? The first day on the beach Drew was a bit of a pill. I attributed it to the lack of sleep. He really just wanted me to hold him while he took everything in. Thankfully I was able to stroll him a bit and then he fell asleep. Izzy LOVED the beach. Again, superdad Pete is an awesome play partner - jumping waves, building sand castles, looking for shells, etc.

Thankfully Drew warmed up to the beach on the second day.




I just love these two pictures for no other reason then I just do.










And some more...

One morning while Pete was out running the kids and I walked over to Starbucks (kids still in pj's) and then found a really cool tree to climb on.



It was called the Broken Oak...






Poor Izzy just wanted to keep climbing higher and higher and I told her we needed to wait until Daddy was with us so he could spot her. Unfortunately for her we never went back.


Even better then climbing the tree was this puddle we found on the way back to our villa!

It really was a great "just us" vacation. It doesn't get much better than a day that starts out with Starbucks, and ends with children exhausted from lots of fun family play!

note: I remember telling Drew one night "I love you boo" and he said "I know Mama! I know." with a giggle. At least I know I tell him how much I love him - often!