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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

It's Been awhile :)

Books
I have read a lot of books since I last posted, too many to mention them all ;) Will blog again about the next book I read.

Mom Tips
I have one of the hanging, soft sided, cube organizers hanging in each of the boys closets. There are 6 sections in each one. In each section I put a shirt, shorts/pants, undies and socks. This way, outfits match and there is no mad rush in the morning to figure out what to wear. They can pick which outfit they want from the 6 sections, so there is still some choice . My 3 year old B, gets himself completely dressed all by himself in the morning. My 7 year old L, likes it because he could care less about what he wears, so it takes some of the decision stress out of the equation. I like it because when my husband helps to get them dressed, he is able to do it easily and then he does not pick something weird, or ruin 2 outfits, because a certain pair of bottoms only works with a certain top ;).

Boys
L turned 7 this spring and started 3rd grade this fall. He is loving his new school and new teachers.
B turned 3 this spring and started 3 year old preschool and goes 4 mornings a week.

They both ride the bus. I drive them to the school at 7:30 to catch the bus. At noon the bus drops B off at the house. There was an added charge for this, but it was well worth it. At 3:30 I drive to the school to pick L up when the bus drops him off.

Starting next Monday after school, L will resume piano lessons 1 day a week.

Baby S is not so much of a baby anymore. He will be 16 months on the 10th! He is running all over the place. He is quite stubborn. His favorite thing to do right now is to pinch you and then he says OW! He is eating all big people food, and has even learned to use a straw! They grow up sooo fast.

Life in General
Daniel and I have been very busy lately helping to launch the new Hope Johnston Grimes satellite location that will be at Summit Middle School.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Ha ha ha - my husband is sooo funny :) Hope you all enjoyed his fun yesterday :)

Books - so, still no new book, as I was subbing yesterday, I did not make it to the library to check out a new book :( And, though I am done with all the Wilbor ebooks on my droid, I have yet to figure out how to return them early. You can only have 3 books out at a time. This means I cannot check out new ones until the old ones expire :(

Mom Tips - I know that our winter season is almost over, but you can tuck this little tip away and use it next year. I use a silver Sharpie to write on all of L's winter gear and other things he takes out of the house that I want to make sure make it back in the house. Gloves, hats, boots, backpacks, games, lunch bags, shoes, etc. Silver Sharpie shows up well on those dark/black items. If the items are light colored, I use a black Sharpie. I always just write his last name. I do this for 2 reasons 1)so bad guys don't call him by name and try to trick him into going with them etc. or whatever bad guys do and 2)so the items can be passed down to his brothers, if there is any life left in the item after L gets through with them. BTW I LOVE Sharpies, I have them in every color - I don't use them quite as much as a SAHM as I did when I was teaching, but I still LOVE them :)

Boys - Baby S was STANDING in his crib this morning. He has been pulling himself up some, but this is the first time he has done it in his crib. He is also clapping when you say yay!!! He is growing up soooo fast. Gave him some banana pieces this morning at breakfast. He had some yesterday when daddy was home with him. The second time was only slightly better. He is not good with new tastes and textures, will have to try things LOTS of times with this one. His older brothers seemed to take to new foods quite quickly. I need to get the sippy cup going - he is officially 10 months tomorrow. L's conferences with his second grade teacher are tomorrow, things have been a little rough behavior wise at school, so I know it will not be a stellar conference in that aspect. Not worried about his academics, but I do wish he would behave better while he is at school.

Life in General - Had fun subbing in a Kindergarten classroom yesterday, while my husband stayed home and played Mr. Mom. I think it is good for him to stay home once in a while to get a sense of how my day goes :) I'm just glad I have a good hiding spot for those bon bons ;)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Books - Well not a book today, but an article in theMarch issue of Architectural Record discussing the history of the library building and how the digital age is changing the building. It seems that library usage is up, even with the introduction of Kindles and other electronic books. People are using the library as a place to congrgate rather than a place to get their books.

Mr. Mom tips - Sometimes it is ok to bribe your children to get them to nap, which in turn allows you to nap.

Boys - Nothing too exciting here except that all of them are still alive, healthy and accounted for after today.

Life in general - If you haven't figured it out yet, the blog today comes from Daniel. I got to play Mr. Mom today while Heather was substitute teaching. I had a day planned full of TV, bon-bons, Facebook, Craig's List, People of Walmart and sleeping. Boy was I wrong! I started with a scramble to get all three boys up, dressed and in the car to get L to the school bus. Succcess! Then back home to feed the other two. A little playtime before heading to the library for story hour. I was expecting to get together with all the stay at home moms after story hour for wine while the children napped, but they all laughed at me when I suggested it :( We made it home for lunch and nap time. Finally some time to relax...wrong...ok maybe a little, but I promised Heather that I would do a little work while home today. I did get the laundry folded and much of it put away and two other loads washed. Next I had to watch Thomas because B woke up from his nap and it was time to cash in the bribe, then off to pick up L from school. Now we just sit here and wait for Heather to come home so things can get back to normal. I can't wait to go back to work tomorrow. I never did find the bon-bon stash.

Monday, March 7, 2011

March 7, 2011 (Monday)

Books - Almost done re-reading the fist book in the Twilight series. I still think it is even better the second time around :) I am not going to review this one much, as I feel it has been done with so much hype with all the movies. I am sure I will read another book between the books in the series, as I am on the waiting list for the next e-book.

Mom Tips - today's tip is not just for moms :) this tip has to do with garbage. In my city, we have single stream recycling, meaning you get to dump all your recyclables into the same big rolling cart and you do not have to sort them :) So, we have two regular size kitchen trash cans in our kitchen. We have a cabinet that pulls out that hold both cans. So, here are the hints. 1)I line both cans with trash bags. 2)I use a big rubber band on each trashcan to hold the trash bag in place - amazing the difference this makes in keeping it where it goes. 3)When the recycle can is full, I take it out to the rolling cart and dump it, leaving the trashcan liner in place. Usually the garbage is full at this time as well, so I take off the rubber band, pull out the full garbage bag and put it in the big rolling garbage can. I then swap cans, the recycle can with its liner is now the garbage can. I put in a new liner in the garbage can, secure it with the rubber band and it now becomes the recycle can. The recycle liner does double duty, and my cans always stay clean.

Boys - L's 7th birthday party was this weekend, and it was a success!!! The show, Phineas and Ferb, was the theme. He had a great time, and a friend of mine made an awesome cake.
Baby S is pulling himself up a lot now, I guess it won't be long until my baby boy is walking - they grow up too fast.
Little B got down stairs before me this AM while I was dressing Baby S. He comes back upstairs and says "I'm going to my room" This results in a groan from me, as I know he has done something he is not supposed to. I told him to come here - he does. The tell tale chocolate smears give him away. He got into the chocolate kisses that his brother did not put away last night. He goes to his room, I go downstairs and find the wrappers - wait for it - in the bathroom where he had gone to hide to eat them. He knows mama does not accept chocolate for breakfast or before lunch :)

Life in general - Not real excited about the snow, again, not sure why I am more ready for Spring this year than I ever remember. If you looked up the Diva cup and found you were interested, they are on babyhalfoff.com, for, you guessed it, half off. 19.99 plus shipping.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

March 3, 2011

Books - The new Twilight movie comes out soon - I decided to re-read the series. I just started rereading Twilight today. I am reading it on my Droid free through Wilbor. The first time I read the series, I wanted to know what happened at the end, so I read it very quickly. Taking my time this go-round :)

Mom Tip - Two tips today as they are quite small.
1) pack the diaper bag the night before if you know you are going somewhere the next day- makes things less stressful in the morning.
2) I have a zippered cosmetics bag in the diaper bag for all the little things. I get mine free every six months from Clinique's bonus days, but they are pretty inexpensive if you don't get them free :)

Boys - Every Thursday, Baby S and Little B go to a great in home childcare provider while L is at school. This allows me to volunteer in L's classroom and do all my in town shopping and erands without toting around 2 little ones. So, not much to report on the boys today ;)

Life in General - Got Baby S's baptism invites DONE!!! Yay! Will be spending Friday getting the house cleaned for L's 7th birthday this weekend.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

March 2, 2011

Books - Just finished reading another free Wilbor downloaded book on my droid - I LOVE that app! Her Mother's Hope: Marta's Legacy Series Book 1. Good book, looking forward to book 2. Marta, the main character is a Swiss 12 year old with a terrible and abusive upbringing. She bucks up and overcomes. She works hard and moves from country to country bettering herself along the way. She marries and has children and repeats some of the same abuse, though not consciously. She overcomes much, with her faith playing a strong part.

Mom tips -ALWAYS ask for the insert in kids prescription liquid medicine. It makes it SOOOO much easier to use a syringe to remove the medicine from the bottle. No sticky mess, no icky label, an you get the exact amount of medicine and the kids receive it all as well. The syringe allows you to squirtt the medicine in the back of their cheek and you can give it slow or fast :) PLUS as an added bonus, when the prescription meds are gone, you can pull the insert out, wash it and insert it in the ibuprofen or acetaminophen bottles making those meds easier to get out too :)

Boys - yesterday during naptime (which I think is a lost cause for Little B) Little B unwound all the toilet paper from the roll. Mama was NOT happy :( I told him that was not a nice thing and he should not do that anymore. He was sad and said "but I wanted a doot de doo" - he wanted the cardboard tube inside the toilet paper roll to use as a horn ;) how can you be mad at that? Baby S can get him self from laying down to sitting up all by himself now :(- I suppose this is bound to happen at 9, oh wow, in 8 days it will be 10, months. He is getting sooooo big. L had a GREAT day at school - that makes me happier than you know, as he has had a rough last few days.

Life in general - Loved seeing the sun today :) Really wanting spring to get here this year, don't remember being so in a hurry for spring in years passed.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

March 1, 2011

Books - Just signed up for Blogging for Books. This program sends you free books if you agree to blog a review and post a review on one of their sites. Waiting for my confirmation e-mail to get started.

Mom Tips - Cute spring shirts are arriving in the stores, but sadly, they are short sleeved. Have no fear, mom tips is here! Ha ha ha, silly :) but, I do have a solution. I buy long sleeved white onsies, or long sleeved white t-shirts for the older kiddos. You can then put them under the new cute short sleeved shirts and voila! they get to wear those cute new shirts NOW. As an added bonus, the shirts last for more than one season. Plus, the "layered look" is IN. This works great at the end of summer as well, when all those short sleeved shirts go on sale and they can wear them into the fall and winter.

Boys - As we are pulling into the garage this morning, after dropping L at the bus for school, Little B (almost 3) asks "Where is Daddy?" I tell him that Daddy is at work and he says "no he's not, he's in the baffroom" I ask what he's doing in there and Little B replies without missing a beat "he's poopin" followed by lots of giggles. Boys and poop humor, I think I am in for a lot of that with 3 little boys, and 1 big boy aka their Dad :)

Life in General - Need to get Baby S's baptism invites started today and done and in the mail by Friday. March snuck up on me. Also need to buy L's 7th birthday present on Thursday for his party on Saturday. Busy mommy this week :)

Monday, February 28, 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

Books - I have a droid phone and downloaded the free Kindle e-reader app. The Classics are free to download. While on the waiting list for the e-books from Wilbor, I am reading the free Classic Bram Stoker's Draccula. It is very interesting. It jumps around some, giving several different character's view points. I am enjoying reading it while I read other books.

Mom Tips - Baby S had been waking up soaked through in the mornings. I tried just going up a size in diapers, but that was not enough. I learned, from my friend Jen, a neat little trick. Kind of a wierd trick, but it worked when Little B was a baby as well. You take a ladies femine napkin, aka pad, peel of the backing and stick it to the inside of the diaper along the front top. Keep it where the diaper padding is, don't let it hang outside of the diaper or it won't help and will leak more. It works sooooo well!

Boys - Little B was very excited the other day when he saw Baby S standing up holding on to my legs when I was sitting in the chair. Little B (who will be 3 in May) said with a smile and great excitement "Baby S is standin up! ... like a boy! ... like me :)" I wonder how excited he will be when Baby S takes his first steps?

Life In General - still using my Diva cup and loving it. Google it. If you want more info, let me know and I will be happy to chat about it with you.

Friday, February 25, 2011

February 25, 2011

Thinking about trying to stick with the same format each time: Books, Mom hints, boys, life in general. Will try that for a while :)

Book - Counting on Grace - a book I downloaded for free on my droid 2 from the Wilbor website through the library. Great read about a 12 year old girl and her family that work in a factory in the late 1800's. Kind of a plucky, spunky little thing, told from her point of view. Enlightened me as to the child labor laws and their beginnings.

Mom Hints - Diaper Bag organization - I use quart size freezer bags to put an entire outfit in, socks, onsie, top and bottoms. This way, if there is a blowout or a bad spit up, the entire outfit is in one spot - no digging! Since I have 2 boys still possibly needing outfits, I wrote their names on the bags. This also makes it easier for husbands, grandmas and childcare providers. As an added bounus, you have a bag to put the yucky clothes in, so the yuck does not get on the rest of your stuff :)

Boys - they continue to keep me busy. Little B and I got to snuggle a bit this AM, that was nice. No funny story about him today. Baby S is army crawling a lot! He is just starting to pull himself up, but not really sure what to do when gets there. L is really into the book The Name of this Book is Secret. Luckily, there are 2 more books in the series, need to find him a new one.

Life in General - I get to play teacher this afternoon. I sub about once a quarter, to keep current. I am subbing half day in a 5th grade classroom this afternoon. Hope not too many of them are taller than I am ;) I taught 5th grade during my 5th year of my 12 years of teaching.

Hope you have a great day :)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Test

a test to see if a notice is sent when I post something new :)

Hello

Hey all,

Thought I would try my hand at blogging! Not a writer, or one to journal, but thought I would give it a go.



A friend of mine blogs about free books - she gets them free if she agrees to write a blog review about them, which is one of the reasons I decided to try it. I love to read, so will be including som book reviews in this blog.



I am a stay at home mom of 3 boys. L will soon be 7 and is in 2nd, B is almost 3 and S is almost 1. They are my world, so I will be sharing about them a lot. I would like to include mom tips - several friends have said they like my ideas, so I will write about them here.



My husband is a wonderful man. He is an architect for Hy-Vee and enjoys designing grocery stores. I am sure he will also be included.

Not much for my first entry, but I guess you have to start somewhere :)

H