2011 Week 37

Just realized that the only photos I took this week are of crafts for the Etsy store and blog posts - nothing else! Note to self: pull out that camera more often! Though I am not going to beat myself up for just going ahead and living life and enjoying whatever we are doing. Not everything needs to be documented.

Oh wait, I take that back. Just remembered that Friday we took the kids to the fair. I really didn't go an entire week without pics of the kiddos!
It was a fun little outing for us. We chose to go Friday night because it was one of the few nights the Monster Trucks were going to be there and of course we just had to let Tyler see them. (He is completely obsessed with Monster Trucks. Says when he gets his driver's license he's gonna buy a monster truck :) ) The first thing we did when we got there was track down the monster trucks for Ty to see some in person. They were giving rides in the back of one so we shelled out the cash for Tyler to take his turn. He loved it!

Kaitlyn was trying to be patient but truly she was only excited about the rides. She's getting more daring than she used to be and wanted to go on pretty much every single one of them.

Our chatty little girl made a friend in about 2 seconds flat while waiting to get on this ride. I thought she must have known the girl from school with as quickly as they climbed on the ride together but according to Kate they were just friends right away.
We rode the rides with the kids for about an hour then it was time for the Monster Truck show. Tyler was so excited and so into it. It was so much fun to watch him cheering them on. Kaitlyn wasn't quite impressed and was only entertained for the first 20 min (of the hour it lasted). Eventually I gave her my phone to play with so she would quit pestering us to get back to the rides.

The finale was this guy attempting to do a back flip. Obviously he didn't succeed this time.
Kaitlyn was happy to drag us all back to the rides and we stayed as late as we dared (with Sam having an early morning at work the next day) and had a lot of fun. Sam even managed to find deep fried candy bar! (something he saw on the Food Network and has been scouring fairs for for at least a year)

Quick recap of the rest of the week:
-Sam had drill weekend - that always makes for a very long two weeks for all of us when he doesn't get a day off.
-the kids and I attended a neighborhood child's birthday party at the pool. The first of what I'm sure will be many functions like that. The kids had an absolute blast and because I had threatened Ty that we would leave if he took off his life jacket, I could enjoy visiting with the other parents while keeping an eye on him.

-personally it's been a really low key week. With the kids in school and Sam at work I feel like I have more time on my hands to do with what I will. That means a few fun outings with friends for errands and lunch and lots of extra craft time on my own. If I forget the parts of the week where I was trying desperately to stay out of the neighborhood drama then I'd have to say it was a pretty good, very normal week!

2011 Week 36

Guess what?! Our neighborhood pool is open and fully functional WOOHOOO! We went down to check out as as soon as we heard the news and when Kaitlyn got home from school she joined us too. We spent pretty much the entire evening there with a lot of the neighbors - so fun. We've been enjoying it quite often since, trying to get the most use out of it before the hot weather is gone.

We did a lot of random things over the holiday (Labor Day) weekend. Some time in the pool. Launching rockets (that Sam surprised the kids with one day). And Sam and I even got a date on our "anniversary" (13 years since the day we got engaged!) thanks to a nice friend that offered to take care of the kids for us all afternoon on Sunday.

School, work, and regular life - all pretty normal at the moment. First big craft day with the ladies in the neighborhood went very well. Life is good.

2011 Week 35

More stories than photos this week. Some weeks are like that.
First day of preschool - woohoo! I really thought we'd end up skipping this milestone and I'd be doing "home preschool" (as Kaitlyn calls it) myself. I still probably will a little bit since I've already got the stuff and the facility I'm taking him to isn't something I'm completely psyched about. But it does him good to get out and socialize with kids his own age, learn some of the things he will need to know for school next year like how to take direction from someone other than his parents, how to sit still and follow instructions, etc. And it doesn't hurt that I now have a few hours to myself every morning.
Tyler was SO excited for the first day of school. He wore his backback down to the bus stop with Kaitlyn. And when she was off on the bus he pretty much drug me all the way back home so we could go to school. It was pretty cute. Once we were there he showed no fear, especially when he saw that a little girl from our neighborhood (the one he says he's going to marry someday :) ) was also there. So I left him there without any problems, then came home and got hit pretty hard with the emotions that go along with having your baby hit a milestone like going to school. A nice friend checked in on me in the middle of my little pity party and I gratefully accepted her offer to go for a walk and get my mind off of it. We ended up spending most of the day together and having a great time. I love that I'm making more and more friends here and every week I feel more excited about how the neighborhood is shaping up.

They feed them breakfast and lunch at the preschool but I pick him up at lunchtime in order to avoid naps and because I think jumping from all day at home to all day at school is just too much. It's not like he'd eat whatever they feed him for lunch most of the time anyway.
When I picked him up the first day, one of the teachers asked if he knew the one little girl from our neighborhood already. Of course I said yes and was told that they two of them were pretty inseparable all day and had even held hands and given each other a hug. I've since noticed that every time I go to pick him up, the two of them are almost always together. Not sure if that is only because they only kids they know there are each other or what, but it's cute. Can't believe my little guy already has his first "girlfriend."

First and second days of drop off went smoothly but Tuesday of this week was another matter entirely. For the first time in his life Tyler did the Cling and Cry thing when I dropped him off. Completely threw me for a loop. The day after that wasn't much better. *sigh*

That doesn't keep him from having fun at school, or from the teachers having funny stories to tell. The other day, he was playing in the sand and got some down his pants. And in the process of demonstrating exactly where the sand was that was bothering him, he pretty much mooned the whole class! :)

Kaitlyn is settling in to school rather well. So far the only homework she has had is reading every day and she loves reading so much I never have to ask if she's done it.

The other bright spot in the week was the fact that I pushed the school hard enough to get our bus stop moved into the subdivision and off the busy road. Woohoo!

Let's see what else...Sam took a long weekend with his buddies and went to a race in Bristol. (I'll need to add one or two of his photos) They camped out for the duration and as far as I can tell, it was a good trip.

Almost forgot about the hurricane scare! Of course it would happen while Sam was gone. We had constant wind and scattered rain for 48 hours straight and I have to admit it made me a little nervous. I figured we were far enough inland it wouldn't be a big deal here and I was right. But I did have a little "adventure" helping a neighbor repair a section of her fence that got knocked down in the middle of the storm. No husbands around but we still got it done! :) Once again we were lucky - there was plenty of damage all up the coast.

2011 Week 34

Enjoying the last little bit of summer at home and looking forward to school

which started for Kaitlyn on Thursday. She was so excited and had a great first day.

After the kids got off on the bus I had a little party with the other women in the neighborhood. It was a small group of women that showed up, but oh what a great group it turned out to bed. I'm looking forward to a lot more parties like that one and getting to know everyone a whole lot better.

2011 Week 33

No large events, no real outings, no plans of any sort. It was all about the little things this week.

Getting supplies organized and ready for school. I also organized the art/craft supplies in the playroom and am working on our recipe binder.

- Kaitlyn's first day of dance class - she love it! urgh - really can't believe I didn't take photos but it was kinda chaotic in there with class changes and it being the first day and all. I got her new shoes, got her settled in class then the rest of us did the grocery shopping very quickly while she danced. I hope to stay and watch some of the class next week.
-Kaitlyn learned to tie her shoes! She had learned before then forgotten since kids shoes now are almost all velcro or slip-on. But with only a couple times practicing, she has it down and can now tie her athletic shoes all on her own.
-Hairbow modeling for me

-Tyler is on an "organizing" kick (it's so fun to hear him say that word in his little boy voice). He takes the time to make sure all the trucks and backhoes are perfectly placed and facing the same way when he "parks" them. Each of his favorite toys has it's own special place on his bed and he places them there carefully when he makes his bed.
-I have been turning on the music in the house more often than usual lately and Tyler loves it. He will dance and spin (and spin and spin) to the same few songs over and over.
-I have gone a full week now of nightly walks with the neighbor - 3 miles after the sun goes down and the kids are settled for the night. An actual start to a regular exercise routine!

-for all intents and purposes the neighborhood pool looks finished - right down to the lounge chairs and sun umbrellas on the tables. Hoping to hear about the grand opening soon!
-Sam has had a nasty busy week at work. I think we're all glad it's coming to an end.

2011 Week 32

Museum of Natural Sciences - our fun family outting for the weekend. It had a little bit about a lot of stuff from birds (Kaitlyn's current obsession - we got a whole stack of books about them at the library and she and Tyler have been "bird watching" from the back porch) to dinosaurs. Tyler's favorite part was the T-Rex

Kaitlyn loved the butterfly garden. I think I liked it the best too - it was great to be so close to butterflies that would just go about their business. Really pretty ones too.

Tyler fixates on a few toys at a time and plays with them over and over. Right now he loves his little Optimus Prime Transformer and carries it everywhere, including with him to bed. He has been on a board game kick lately and we play 2-3 every day (Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Zingo, etc). He also loves the army guys and dressing up - cat tail, white gloves, and his "cowboy rope" (which he is also holding in this photo, attached to Optimus).

*need to get photo of Kaitlyn and the girls that Eileen took. They all went out to dinner with her family and to a movie. Kaitlyn has had a lot of friend time and outings lately - sleepovers a couple times per week, playing at friends' houses daily (and them over here), etc. Poor Tyler though feels a little left out. We need to find him some friends his age. I'll work on that this fall.

And we can't forget - Kaitlyn lost another tooth! That one has been barely hanging on since our weekend at Audrey's and Kate finally got brave and yanked it out.

Sam has mid-way through a really long and busy month at work. He's not exactly enjoying it. The kids and I have been doing our best to stay entertained. I do some playing with the kids, worked on some crafting (made my own argyle hat pattern!), walks outside when it isn't too hot. Basically just killing time until school starts and life changes again - which will be soon! We did final registration for Kaitlyn's dance class and ordered shoes. First class is next week!

2011 Week 31

This week in photos
Ty was a BIG help this week with my Friday morning bathroom scrubbing.
Weekend trip to Audrey! Always so fun and something we all look forward to.

The drive isn't bad. Just 2 hours and the whole thing is tree lined and pretty. I love that sections of the medians are all landscaped - crepe myrtle (I think) are in bloom right now. I need some of these for my yard.

At least 5 hours in the pool at Audrey's both Saturday and Sunday - pretty much the only way anyone wants to be outside in this heat. My kids LOVE the water. Kaitlyn is fearless and Ty makes progress with his swimming every time we're out.

Sam took advantage of us being gone and went on a motorcycle ride with his buddy to Charlotte (to see a NASCAR shop of course). Got caught in the rain on the way home and spent time shining up the bike Sunday morning. I gave him a hard time about it and took a photo :)

ha! That hummingbird is fast but I caught it on film (after at least 3 missed attempts). I think this is the last of our gladiolas to bloom

I opened a shop on etsy to sell some crafts - spent a good part of the week getting things done to sell and then getting the online stuff done. Kaitlyn was a very willing model for the headbands and hairbows.