Tyler's Birthday Party

On Saturday, we were lucky enough to celebrate Tyler's 2nd Birthday with lots of family and friends at the Little Gym! I was a little nervous about how Tyler would do with organized activities and what not, but she was a trooper and only freaked when they blew up the air track, but she had a blast playing on it! LUCKY FOR ALL OF US, they asked a ton of questions about the child before the party started, and we were able to warn the instructors of her fear of bubbles, SOOOOooooo, there were no bubbles to be had! Her Princess cake was quite the hit ($40 at Super Target for all of you who are wondering, and I only say that because 6 people asked me at the party)!
Last but not least is a picture of the greatest big brother there ever was! He was so patient and really grasped that it was Tyler's special day and that the presents were hers. It must be tough being almost four and watching your sister open tons and tons of "girly" gifts not meant for him to play with! I think it helped that there was chocolate cake involved!

Mommy Getaway

This weekend, four of us, were able to escape the heat and spend some time relaxing and becoming SUPER mommies once again! We had a fabulous time doing absolutely NOTHING! Our weekend consisted of food, more food, wine, board games, and movies! TONS of gossip, TONS of debates, and TONS of down time!

"ROAR, Donkadoor!"

This morning in my haste, I was running around getting things ready for school, when Jackson asked me if he could be the Dinosaur from Toy Story when he gets older, I didn't hear him, so I said no, I just assumed that he was freaking asking to play his Leapster again-HORRIBLE PARENT, I know, but I admit it! He spins around and says, "Well, my teacher told me that I could!" I was like, "Your teacher told you that you could what!" To which he repeats that he wants to be the dinosaur from Toy Story-his FAVORITE movie, although he likes 2 better than the original, and then he started practicing his roar! I just LOVE that there are teachers out there that are encouraging the imagination of one three year old boy! I told them this story this morning, and they were like, "Well, he could definitely be in the movies one day!" LOVE THEM!

"ROAR,Donkadoor" is how Tyler says, "Roar, Dinosaur"! The girl loves dinosaurs as much as Jackson! I don't know how she would feel if Jackson got the new Fisher Price remote control dinosaur, but she likes them on TV, and she practices her roaring right along with him!

Moving On UP!

My little boy is a baby no more! Since the end of the summer, I have had to pay more money to shop in boys vs toddler, this means shoes, pants, shirts, shorts, hats, etc. all cost a pretty penny more just because he moved up a department! It's amazing how one size can cost so much more! On the up side, Tyler will wear the toddler size for the next 7 years, so therefore, I will save money on her!

A little story about Jackson so that you can understand WHY we are constantly moving up in the size department! We were at Target checkout counter on Tuesday, when suddenly Jackson starts gripping him stomach and telling me it hurts with HUGE crocodile tears streaming down his face. I in turn thinks that he needs to poop, so I ask him if he wants to go to the bathroom. He says no, so we go to the car, I tell him to get in the car and he is limp hanging on the side of the car telling me he can't because his stomach hurts to bad. So, he decides now that he needs to poop, so we go back in, the three of us (Tyler, Jackson and I) cram into the handicap stall to see if he can go poop, NOPE, just more tears. We are driving home with the whining and crying, when I pull into Wendy's, on the off chance that we are making a trip to the ER, I need something for Tyler to eat, so I order some chicken nuggets and fries. Jackson consumed 4 chicken nuggets in like 20 seconds, fries, some goldfish when we got home, more chicken nuggets, milk, etc, etc, etc. He was hungry, and you would have thought that his appendix was bursting. The next morning, before we went to school, I made sure to feed him a Ham, Egg, Cheese Pocket AND AJ's Cinnamon Muffin because I didn't want any phone calls asking me to come pick him up because of his stomach hurting. We discussed how next time he feels that way, he needs to tell me that he is hungry, use his words and ask for a little snack or something. DRAMA!

Tyler, did not cry at school yesterday, YAY! They said she did great! Looks like things are on the up and up! It was Pizza Day, so she ate TWO pieces of pizza, grapes and cookies. Maybe I should feed my kids some more! LOL!

NO JURY DUTY!!

Did you hear me shriek with excitement wherever you are?????? I have so much to do before this weekend, and this is really going to help me get things in order while the kids are at school tomorrow!

How much did I love this guy this weekend??? Let's hope that he keeps it up! Cardinals are 2-0 for the first time since 1991! While I cannot stand the Cardinals, I have to say that I will root for them if Warner continues to throw it to my guy!

Dishwasher Safe!

OK, so I got two Calphalon frying pans last year for Christmas, and I love them, LOVE them. I had to throw one of my Farberware saucepans away last week BECAUSE the handle was coming loose, and I envisioned holding it over Jackson or Tyler's head when it broke, in turn scalding them alive, etc, etc, etc. I often hold super hot pots over my children's head-not really, but you know I always envision the WORST thing possible occurring (also makes it easier to buy something new, if I have a reason)! Anyway, the point of this is that while I really want these pricey pots and pans, I am not yet willing to commit to the fact that they are not dishwasher safe, which means that the two I have sit in my sink until I am ready to use them again, or until my mom comes over and just cannot let them be! SOOOOOO, while they are really pretty and cook great food, I just don't know!

On a side note, I am pretty sure that Karissa has these pots and pans, and they are perfect for her since her dishwasher has been broken for months now which means she does everything by hand, INCLUDING ALL THE STINKING BOTTLES THAT A SIX MONTH OLD GOES THROUGH!! She is my hero!

Just some things that I LOVE!

Here are some things that I currently cannot live without!

Love my toes!

I am like a three year old, I cannot stop looking at how fun they are!!!! Tyler and Jackson keep roaring at my toes! These hold NO candle to Aleisha's argyle toes that I am still drooling over, but I still like them!



Here are the argyle toes that I WILL have one day, LOL!

Happy Birthday Ian!

Lots of fun had by all at Gameworks, except maybe mommy, I was too busy running around AZ Mills like a chicken with my head cut off trying to do some back to school shopping to enjoy all the games. However, I did manage to eat lunch with them where I had the BEST patty melt and fries that I have had in a LONG STINKING TIME! As you can see my "kids" love to drive. . .




I even caught Pat and Jackson working on their sniper skills...

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Yesterday was our first ever, Back to School Ice Cream Social. The kids had a blast making sundaes, and overall, they were incredibly well behaved! The best picture of the whole day was Will and his ice cream grin! He seriously melts my heart!

The ice cream social transitioned to a camp out!

And then, they all know they can't leave the Jackson and Tyler's house without having some fruit snacks!

BLAH!

First Day in the Orange Door!

I cannot believe that I dropped Jackson off for his second year of preschool. I was looking down at the pink door and looking at all the new moms dropping their children off. It seems like not that long ago, that was ME! Anyway, no big thing, Jackson was THRILLED to use his Buzz Lightyear lunch box, wear his new shoes, and play with play dough! Didn't even look back! It won't be long before I am dropping off at his college dorm. MAYBE then, there will be some tears because I know he won't be returning home at the end of the day, but until I am no longer responsible for feeding the beast daily and making sure that he gets to bed, I don't think there will be any tears shed! He is one of THREE boys in his class this year, so if you are the mom of a boy, we will definitely be scheduling some playdates soon. He is going to make a GREAT husband one day, with all these girls and women around him, he has no hope!