My son, the bully

So what do you do when your son's preschool teacher calls you at home to tell you that he has been pushing kids off of picnic benches and throwing chairs at them? You hope it's an isolated incident. That is, until the Director of the school stops you in in the carpool line 2 days later to tell you that he was hitting "friends" again today and threw a huge tantrum in her office. Great. Fantastic. My son is the bully. My worst nightmare. What am I going to do? I mean, it's not like I have any control over him. His teacher actually called me again tonight to clarify things and make me feel better, but it just did the opposite. Apparently he is the kid who harasses the other kids when they are having story time. She said she thinks he is just looking for a reaction, and not intentionally being mean. But come on, how is he going to be able to make friends if he just bully's them all morning long. I just can't stand the thought of him being a mean kid, or a bully. Breaks my heart. I need to come up with a plan.

On a lighter note, the boys were wanting to make cookies the other day. I didn't have everything we needed, so instead we made smores. Why haven't I thought of doing this before with them? I put them to work counting out mini marshmallows and chocolate chips to put on the graham crackers. Then we talked about how we had to put them in the microwave so that the marshmallows can melt. They were so amazed. Educational and yummy, sounds like a win win situation to me. Here are some pictures of the fun.

Better days tomorrow!

Emily

The Nursery Diaries - Chapter 2

I had dinner with some girl friends tonight who were interested in seeing some pictures of Baby Girls room, so I thought another chapter of the Nursery Diaries was in order. I am not the best photographer, so the pictures aren't great, but they will work. This first one is a close up of the crib skirt that my mom made for me. It has two different fabric with a ball trim in between. These fabric coordinate with the fabric that my curtains are being made with.



Here is what the crib looks like with the skirt on. Mom is still working on the bumpers (decorative purposes only). You can see the husband in the background hanging up the mobile that he picked up today. He has been really into helping me decorate this room. Surprising!

I tried to get a wide shot of the room, but this was all I could get. We painted the rocker the same color gold as the stripes on the ceiling, and are having the cushions recovered in the same fabric as the curtains. I still can't get over how much I love the wainscoting!

A shot of the ceiling with the new light fixture.

This last picture is of the dresser that the husband picked out. I gave him an idea of what I was looking for, and this is what he came up with. We are going to add a changing pad to the top to make it the changing table. Also, I am just trying out that picture to see if I like it in the room. If I do keep it in there, we will be painting the frame either white or gold. Thoughts? Suggestions?

We obviously still have some work to do, but I am excited about where it is going! Next time I will show a close up of the new zebra carpet. It turned out fabulous!

Emily

A Fair and a Breakthrough

It finally happened, Joe Finney went poo poo on the potty!!! I am beyond excited with this recent breakthrough. Although I know we still have a long way to go to fully potty trained, this was a great first step! I have been putting him on the potty the past few nights, and nothing. I was getting discouraged because I really want him out of diapers before Baby Girl arrives. Two in diapers is no fun (not to mention expensive). So I was thrilled and he was proud when it happened tonight.

The boys and I had such a fun weekend. Saturday was spent at the state fair riding kiddie rides and eating fair food. I am disappointed because I forgot my camera (seems to be happening a lot these days) and there were some great photo ops. Luckily, my friend Theresa (who came with us and brought her nephew Nolin) got a few pictures with her camera phone. The quality is not great, but I figured I would put a few up anyway.

Here is Joe Finney and B5 in the bumper cars. I thought maybe they were too small to do these, but they were specifically for kiddos under 48 inches. B5 had a blast, but Finney was not too sure about things.

Then we moved on to the bumper boats. This was hilarious. B5 kept complaining that the boats didn't go fast enough....

and Joe Finney kept making his boat go around in circles. I am surprised we didn't have a puke incident afterwards!

On Sunday we went to a birthday party for one of my friends. Kids were invited too, and there was a pool involved, so you know good times were to be had. The second we got there, the boys went straight to the pool, which also had 3 of these water fountains that sprayed from the ground into the pool. Who knew all it took was a little water sprays to keep these boys entertained for so long? You would have thought we gave them chocolate covered ice cream they were so happy. After that, they got in the pool with daddy, and swam around for a while and then had lunch. And this is what they looked like after we got home

Finney just laid there a snuggled with me for the longest time. I love those boys!

And finally, tonight I made pizza (special request) and tomato-cucumber salad. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed making (eating) this salad this summer. I am very sad because I think my cucumber plants are almost done for the season. I think I am the only one in this family who eats it, but oh well, more for me. So I will leave you with this beautiful picture!

Emily

28 Down, 10 (or less) to go

Went in for my 28 week appointment today, and had an ultrasound as well. Everything looked good and Baby Girl is growing right on track. She actually looks a lot like Finn in her ultrasound pictures. It's amazing to me that you can see the baby in so much detail in those things. Also makes me realize just how blessed I am. With my 30th birthday right around the corner I am becoming increasingly sentimental and aware of my life. Growing up, I thought that at 30 years old I would be living in some fabulous apartment in some big city (Chicago, I'm sure), with a fabulous job, fabulous clothes, and fabulous friends. I would work my fabulous job by day, and then join the girls for drinks at night. That would be my life. How shallow that sounds. And how perfectly God has worked to place me where I am today. I have two beautiful , sweet, feisty little boys. I have an unbelievable husband (who is not very good at surprises). I have the best family you could ever ask for. I get to stay home with my kids and experience their precious little (well, BIG actually) personalities. I have a few really good close friends who I know will be with me for life. I have a sweet little girl who is going to be arriving sooner rather than later. My heart is full. My heart is content. As the song says "It is well, with my soul."

Enough of the sentiments, on to the pictures...

I took these next couple of pictures after we got home from school on Wednesday (or was it Thursday). We discovered this great new fruit snack called Fruit Rollup Stickers and the boys have the best time whenever I give them this special treat. B5 made himself a pretty sweet 'stache with his blue "stickers".

My sweet little Finney clown. You can't beat that smile.

This is the boys building a fort, one of their favorite activities. They honestly had almost every pillow in the house (and blankets too) to build this architectural beauty. I love that they are so creative, but I am cleaning up pillows at least 17 times a day!

B5 on his "first" day of school. This is technically the second day, but they will never know.

Again, his smile just melts my heart. No wonder he rules the roost around here, he knows how to work me for sure!

Next post will be Part Two of The Nursery Diaries. I have new carpet in the room and also want to share a picture of the beautiful bedding that my mom made for the crib. That's it for now.

Emily

New Beginnings

Today B5 and Joe Finney started their first day at their new preschool. I should have taken a picture, but time did not allow such a thing. Tomorrow I will take one and then write "1st day of school" on the back. They won't know, will they? All went well at the drop off, no crying from any of the parties involved (including me, but I almost did). Teachers said that the boys did very well, and B5's teacher even called me this afternoon to let me know how he just seemed to fit right in with the other "friends" (that's what they call the students). His class has been together since last year so most of the "friends" already know each other. My little Finney was so talkative when I picked him up, so I know he enjoyed himself. He told me that they did projects and played outside. Sounds like fun to me!





Today was also the start of our new carpet/hardwood installation to the whole second floor. I can't even tell you how excited I am about this. Not just because the carpet is fabulous, but because I can finally get the nursery finished. I had been waiting until the carpet came before I purchase a dresser/changing table. And without the dresser, I have not been able to organize baby girls clothes and determine what else I need to get for her. Now I can get everything ready. My plan is to be completely finished by early October in case she decides to come early.





Here is a sneak peak of the carpet that is going in all the bedrooms upstairs

It is a beige tone on tone zebra print. I really had to talk the husband into this one, but seriously, is it not the most fabulous carpet!

That's it for now. I will try to get some pictures up tomorrow of the boys 1st (2nd) day of school!

Emily

Art, an Ark, and Aquatics

Wow, what a week. We were on the go non stop this week, but we sure had a lot of fun. My lack of posting the past couple of days has been due to my sheer exhaustion at the days end. They wore me out, and I wore them out, mission accomplished. Let's start with Tuesday. This was Art project day, and as you can see below, its a good thing I moved it outside. We started with finger paints and paper, and ended up with an extremely colorful deck. Luckily, the finger paints were washable, and then deck came clean with a little bit of water, soap, and creativity (more on that later). This kept the boys busy for hours. Who knew that all it would take was a little bit of washable paint and a large deck?

Joe Finney hard at work. I wish I would have taken a wider picture to show the extent of the "canvas".

The next day we decided to take a trip to a little place called Henry's Ark. In my opinion, this little gem is better than the zoo by far. It is basically a petting zoo on a farm about 15 minutes from our house. But it does not have your typical petting zoo animals. For starters, we were greeted by a hungry looking ostrich as soon as we pulled in the parking lot. This guy was not stupid. He knew we were bringing carrots, and he was determined to get a couple.

The first animals you come to are the zebras. They didn't come too close to us this time, but the last time we went, the zebras ate the carrots right out of the boys hands. Henry's Ark also has llamas, sheep, goats, pigs, water buffalo, peacocks (even an albino peacock), donkeys, porcupine, and many other animals, all of which you can feed. The best part about this place; it is free. It runs solely off of donations. Also, unlike the zoo, it is never crowded, and you could get in and out in about 30 minutes if you really wanted too. That is what I call great entertainment value!

The boys warming up to a very hungry goat. I wonder if anyone else feeds these goats. All of the other animals would casually and gently take maybe one or two baby carrots. But these goats would have eaten the whole bag if we let them.

B5 attempting to feed a brown sheep. These guys weren't too interested in what we had.

This is the guy who greeted us in the parking lot. He also walked us to our car as we were leaving. Trying to get more carrots out of us, I'm sure.

On Thursday, we took a trip to Target to buy some scrub brushes and sponges. Then when we got home, I filled up a bucket with soap, and set the boys loose on the deck. This was our cleanup effort for the activities we enjoyed on Tuesday. They had a ball. If only they could clean up their toys as well as they scrubbed that deck. It was sparkling.

Finally, today we went to the Oldham County Aquatic Center. I forgot my camera, which was a shame, because there was some really great photo ops. B5 and Joe Finney spent a good hour (out of the 3 hours we were there) running in and out of a large mushroom waterfall. So cute. The other two hours were spent going from pool to pool (there are three), checking out the "big" kids going down the water slide, and checking out the "big" kids jumping off the diving board.

Maybe next year we will be ready for the diving board.

I have so enjoyed this past week being able to spend lots (and lots) of time with my precious little guys. It's nice to get some alone time with them before "baby sister" arrives. More adventures to come...

Emily

Modern Day Picasso

With the boys being out of school this week, we have been trying to plan plenty of activities to fill our days. Yesterday I had some good friends over with their little ones for a play date and lunch. It's a rare thing for us all to be able to get together, so I was very excited to see everyone. Since we had picked up (way too many) blackberries and peaches from Hubers the other day, I planned our lunch menu around that. We had chicken salad with peaches, blackberry corn muffins, tomato and cucumber salad (fresh from my tiny garden), and fresh fruit. We also had some Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets and mac & cheese for the kids.
The chicken salad was so good that it would just be wrong not to include the recipe. I got it from the June 2009 ed. of Southern Living Magazine.

Party Chicken Salad
1 Cup chopped pecans
1/2 Cup Mayo
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
4 small fresh, firm, ripe peaches, peeled and diced

1. Stir together mayo and next four ingredients in a large bowl. Fold in pecans, chicken, and peaches; cover and chill for 2 hours

That's it. Easy and delicious. Try it for your next party and I guarantee it will disappear quickly!

After lunch we moved the kids outside to burn off some energy. Well, at least my boys needed to burn energy, the other kids were not nearly as wild as mine are. Which brings me to a different topic entirely; whats the deal with my boys being so wild? I mean, I know they are boys and that's just how boys are, but really? I see other moms that have 2 boys and they seem much more well behaved than mine are. I would love any input on this. But I digress....So we take the kids outside and give them paint and an easel, and they are as happy as can be.


Quite the little artists, aren't they? B5 calls both of these ladies his girlfriends.

Moving on to the water toys....

Two of the most well behaved kids I know playing nicely with each other. I didn't know that could happen. Mine play nicely for about two minutes and then start arguing over toys (or markers, or tape, or food, you fill in the blank). By the way, please ignore the huge belly in the corner of the picture, not my most flattering pose.

It was so refreshing to be able to spend some time with good friends. Sometimes that's all you need after a couple of rough days. Thanks girls!!

Emily

Little Farmers

I took the boys to Hubers Farm on Friday. I have decided that we really have to do something (or go somewhere) every day in order to keep our sanity. Being in the house for too long seems to bring out their wild side. So we picked up NeNe and headed north. The 30 minute drive to Hubers is totally worth it. You could spend hours at this place. I have taken the kids to the u-pick farms here, but I have never taken them to the Family Farm Park. It was amazing. Picture acres upon acres of land with a petting zoo, mining company, pedal carts, playground, mountain slides, rope maze, and mini tractor rides. There is also an area where you can ride the ponies. The boys were in heaven here. The fed all of the animals (with the Hubers provided corn), then ran off to the playground, then to the inflatable slides, then to the rope maze, then to the mini tractors, and finally to the pony rides. It was like a whirlwind, but tons of fun.




I didn't think we would get Joe Finney on the horse, but he surprised us. He was a little nervous, but I am proud of him.

Byrd, on the other hand, couldn't wait for his turn to ride. He was big smiles all the way around.

Here they are watching the horse get groomed before they were able to ride. I can't stand how cute those two are!!

Farmer Finney.

Farmer B5.

After playing for hours at the Family Farm, we went up and had a fabulous lunch at the Huber Winery. I would highly recommend making the trip up there before blackberry season is over and picking up some freshly picked blackberries and peaches (or, even better, pick them yourself). That's it for now.

Emily

A New Adventure

Its been a long day. The boys were up super early and were full speed from the start. I had to teach yoga this morning, so we were out the door early, off to the boys last day at their current school. It was bittersweet. The teachers they have had this summer are amazing, and the director of the school is sweet, flexible and accommodating. You can't ask for much more in a preschool. It was pretty sad (for me, the boys didn't really understand). But I am optimistic about the next year and their new school. "A new adventure" as I have been telling the boys.

We had orientation at the new school tonight and it seemed to go fairly well. B5 really took to his new classroom and his teachers were very nice. Joe Finney, on the other hand, started shaking the second we walked into the room, and wouldn't let me put him down. I think it will be fine once the newness of it all wears off (fingers crossed). Everyone keeps telling me how wonderful his teacher is, so I am holding to that.

We then rushed off to what I thought was B5's last t-ball game (it wasn't, they rescheduled another game for the game that was rained out on Tuesday). To say that B5 doesn't quite have the focus yet for a team sport might be a bit of an understatement. He spent the whole time in the outfield rolling in the grass and lifting up his shirt. I wish I had brought my camera, but this pregnancy thing has made me very forgetful. A grandparent of one of the teammates made the comment that "B5 will do well in the circus when he grows up". He then proceeded to show me a tattoo of a clown on his bicep. Hmmm, thank you sir. Not quite sure how to take that one.

Now, thankfully, the boys are in bed sleeping peacefully. Its amazing how much the boys look surprisingly like angels when they sleep. Now for the pictures. I am going to do a series of a few blogs called The Nursery Diaries, showing the progress we have made on the nursery. I have decided to do a total overhaul. New wainscoting on the walls, new paint on the walls and stripes on the ceiling, new light fixture, custom window treatments and bedding, refurbished furniture, new carpet. Have I left anything out? The color scheme I went with is pink, white, and metallic gold. Which, by the way, it is very hard to find anything for a girls nursery that is not pink and brown or pink and green. People, if you are listening, not everyone likes those color schemes. How about a little creativity? I'm just sayin. Here is a little sneak peak of what we have done so far.

Here is the new wainscoting my friends dad put up for us. I think it looks amazing. For the paint color, our painter took a fabric swatch in and had it color matched. The husband said it reminds him of Victoria's Secret. Not really the look I was going for, but to me the color is perfect.

The stripes on the ceiling and the light fixture. I can't believe how beautiful these stripes turned out. I love them. I wants stripes on all of my ceilings now. The husband was pretty adamant about "no stripes on the ceiling", but I convinced him otherwise.

A sneak peak at one of the fabrics I selected for the room. I think this will go on the curtains and the glider. Maybe somewhere else too, not sure yet. So what do you think? Am I on to something here? Hope you enjoy as much as I do! Nursery Diaries, Chapter 2 coming soon!

Emily

A cookie for your thoughts

So I woke up this morning to what I thought was surely Armageddon. It was pitch black outside but there was this amazing lightening storm like nothing I had ever seen before. And it was pouring down rain. It went on like this for at least, I don't know, 3 or 4 hours. I went ahead and took the boys to school because I had to teach yoga this morning, and when I pulled into the parking lot, I stepped out of the car into what I thought was a huge puddle. The water was well above my ankles, but then when I looked down, I realized that it wasn't a puddle, it was a river. A river right in the middle of that parking lot. I heard on the radio that they had to rescue people from UofL by boat and that the Downtown Library has over a million dollars in damages from the flooding. Crazy day around here. So whats a girl to do with two little boys on such a rainy day? Make cookies of course!

B5 wanted to help, but only with the chocolate part

.They love helping mommy clean the bowl.

Chocolate smiles.

The finished product. Husband will be very happy when he gets home from work. These cookies always end up delicious. I use the same recipe every time, one that my my gave me in a cookbook that she made me for a wedding gift. I usually make a double batch, but alas, I was out of vanilla, so one batch was going to have to do for now. These will be gone by tomorrow.

I must have been in a baking mood today. I also made blueberry bran muffins, pancakes, and cinnamon rolls. I guess rain brings out in the baker in me.

That's it for now.

Emily

And So It Begins

I am starting a blog. Obviously. I'm not really sure why I felt the need to do this at 26 weeks pregnant, but here goes. I am not really that great at scrapbooking or even keeping up with photo albums, so I thought this might be the best way to create something that the kiddos can look at in the future. So they won't think thier mom is a slacker. Also, I thought that some of our friends and family that we don't get to see very often might enjoy seeing these boys (and soon to be girl) grow up. I plan on trying to update at least every other day or maybe more depending on how this preggo mama is feeling. So for today, I will leave you with this little gem of B5's first T-Ball game. He is way into it, let me tell you. He ran around with his shirt over his head the whole 2 inning game.

And Joe Finney wishing he was on the team.

Thats it for now.
E