Bye-bye sippy cups!

Last weekend I cleaned out a cabinet full of sippy cups. Half of them were missing lids, stoppers, or were just gross and smelly from sitting in hot cars.

I am glad to have more room in my cabinets now!

Garage clean out

Last weekend, Matt and I tackled the garage together. I wish I had taken a picture before we started, but I am thrilled to report that we are nearly finished.

Matt even installed pegboard around many of the walls so that we could hang items which were previously strewn about. There is even a chance that I could actually park in it one of these days!

We set aside a large area for the boys' bikes, bats, and other sporting items. I am hopeful that by having an accesible place to store their things we can teach them to put them away. Previously, we had chemicals and other dangerous items in there so we did not let them go into the garage and all of their toys were everywhere on the back porch. Now those piles have been cleaned out and the dangerous chemicals and paints have been stored in bins out of their reach, so now we feel comfortable letting them in.

It was HARD work and was EXTREMELY hot, but I am SOOOOOOOOO glad we did it, and I am very proud of Matt with his handiwork on the peg boards.

We discarded a lot of things that we had been holding onto for no other reason than they were not broken and could possibly used in the future. We decided to put them at the end of the curb to see if anyone wanted to pick it up. Fortunately, a family drove by and asked if they could take some of the items. We talked with them for about 15 minutes, and I was grateful that they even wanted to have some of the things that have been sitting around in our garage unused. They were a very sweet family and I am glad those things will be put to better use. Plus, I am glad they are not taking up space in my garage any more. I guess the saying is true...one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Floating the river

We went on our annual vacation to New Braunfels last week. My in-laws rent a house on the Guadalupe River near the "Horseshoe" part of the river and we all pile in there and hang out together. The river this year was the best I have ever seen. Yes, it was still cold as ever, but the water was just the right speed. Some years when the water is low the float takes several hours, and other years it is so fast I worry about my boys tumping over.

The boys loved to float. They enjoyed watching the ducks, swimming in the water, seeing the turtles, and most of all they LOVED the fast water. They shrieked with laughter every time we went through it. "Booties up!" they would yell (if you have ever floated the Guadalupe River you know why because the fast water usually is very shallow and there are rocks just underneath the water that will "get you" if you don't lift up at times).

This year, a photographer was standing on the banks of the river taking pictures of people going through the rapids and would toss them a necklace containing his web site so tubers could purchase pictures.

I bought several shots from the web site, ones that I could not have captured myself because it is in the rapids part of the river.

Daddy and #2 relaxing in the water


I guess a "few" others had the same idea as we did...

It was so peaceful that #1 even caught a nap during one of the floats!


Me floating on the double tube with 2 of my boys:

My nephew "R" and brother-in-law "M"

Mimi

Matt with my niece "M"

My brother-and-sister-in-law "C" and "D"

My niece "C"



Booties up!!!

The best Mother's Day present...

A kiss from my sweet boys!

3 year old preschool program - goin' to the beach!

Puddles

Small wonders bring special joys!

#1 and his cousin E had a blast walking in the rain puddles at Gram's house a few weeks ago. They spent nearly half an hour making handprints and footprints on the sidewalk. #1 was afraid his shorts would get wet so he hiked them up while he played.

A lesson in sharing

When I dropped my kids at summer school today, their teacher told me a funny story that happened yesterday. She said #1 was laying down at nap time and had his finger in his nose. He pulled out his finger and asked her, "Would you like to have some of my booger?" She said he had such a sincere face that he actually wanted to share it with her. I guess I should celebrate the fact that he has learned a lesson in sharing rather than cringe with disgust, right?

Just a spoonful of yogurt makes the medicine go down!

#1 has been prescribed some medication that has to be swallowed whole, so we have been working on teaching a 5 year old how to do it. We started by using the Mini M&Ms and a cup of cold water or milk with a straw. We asked him to take a sip first so that his throat was cold and wet and might make the pill slide down easier. Next we put the M&M on his tongue and asked him to drink from the straw.

At first, he would have a mouth full of water or milk with the M&M but I would see his jaws chewing the M&M before swallowing it all. Every time he swallowed an M&M without chewing it he got to have 5 M&Ms as a reward. He finally got the concept and we started him on his trial pack of medicines.

One day he accidentally chewed the pill so I made him swallow it anyway. BIG MISTAKE! The medicine is a time-release medicine so it made him incredibly sleepy at school (he fell asleep in the hallway at school while waiting for his classmates to finish going potty and was sleeping on the playground as well). Lesson learned!

When I mentioned it to his teacher, she said that as a child she had a hard time swallowing pills herself, so here are a few things that helped her:

1. Dipping the pill in butter to make it slide down more easily
2. Putting the pill onto a spoonful of yogurt or pudding (since you don't normally chew those things).

Anyway, some days have been really rough getting him to take his medication and others were fairly easy. Yesterday we went through 2 cups of milk, 2 cartons of yogurt, and after an hour of trying he accidentally chewed it so I made him spit it out. Today was a breeze and only took a few sips from a straw of his juice box.

I thought I'd share these tips I learned in case you have little ones who need to swallow pills too!

Let's snuggle..then again let's not!

My youngest son came up to me last night with a mischevious grin on his face. He wanted me to hold him so my heart melted a little bit as I anticipated his sweet snuggle.

Right after I pulled him onto my lap, he tooted, then climbed down and walked away giggling.

So much for snuggle time...that's a boy for you!

Birthday party for the cousins

My niece K and nephew C's birthdays are a few days apart in April, so they decided to have a combined birthday party at my parents' house. They rented a blow up moonwalk that was a big slide, served cotton candy, and did face painting, with a pinata to top it off. The kids had a ball!

Last field trip of preschool

I attended the twins' last field trip of their preschool career. It is hard for me to believe that they are finished with preschool, even as I type this. We went to the Downtown Aquarium and saw many fish, sharks, and other reptiles. We touched the stingrays, rode the train, and ate a picnic lunch. Since the boys were in separate classes that were in different places, I spent the first half of the trip with #1's class and the second half with #2's class. It's hard to be in two places at once!

Every time I am with the preschool group on a field trip, I come home with a bigger sense of appreciation for their teachers. They do a fantastic job juggling their responsibilities of keeping track of that many kids in public but at the same time making it a fun and educational experience for them. Their patience and love for the kids amaze me.

I am so blessed to have my children at Northland Christian School, where they are loved on and have so many opportunities to experience the world through fun and exciting field trips!

Swimming at Mimi's house

Problem: Mommy did not pack swimsuits over the Easter Holiday because she thought it would be too cold to swim.
Solution: Heat up the hot tub and swim anyway!

Ahhh...so many problems are easily solved because my in-laws live in the country, where it doesn't matter whether you are wearing a suit or not! Plus, their grass gets 'watered' by our boys so they won't have to run inside to go to the potty. :)





P.S. Yes, Matt was wearing shorts!

Easter pictures (a bit belated, I know)

Let the Easter Egg hunting begin!


#3 hunting eggs


My niece K


My nephew R


My other nephew R


#2 showing off his prize egg collection


#1 was proud of his treasure of eggs


My nephew R is the son of one of the biggest UT fans I know.


Checking out the goodies in their Easter eggs