Hold your Breath!

This morning, we went swimming with my mom. 

I'm pretty sure Hannah is a fish.  She has practically been begging us to let her swim (without using words though). For instance, last time I took her swimming, she took her floaties off and somehow made it right in front of me with big huge "help me" eyes.  She jumps in, whether or not anyone is there to catch her.  A lot like how Nicole was at 2. 

So, today, my mom and I (well...my mom really, she had some great tips), starting helping Hannah swim.  She literally jumped from the steps and swam to us for almost an hour.  She was so exhausted that she was asleep before I was even out of the parking lot on our way home.

Nicole had a blast as well.  She is more afraid to learn to swim now.  But, she tried a few times.  She just loves kicking around with a floaty around her.  I wish I would have "let her go" when she was Hannah's age....if you have a little one eager to swim, I say...let them swim. 

Back to School Deals

Hey my money saving friends,

Back to School deals are starting.  There are some awesome deals this week at Staples and Office Depot.  You may have to pay out of pocket for some things, but do the instant or easy rebates,and you'll get most of the money back.

Remember last year, I was able to stuff 2 backpacks full of back to school items for needy children, and spent just a few dollars.  This year (she doesn't know it yet, she might find out on here), I have a dear dear friend who will be teaching in a very low income, very needy school district.  Most of her kids probably won't have much in terms of school supplies, so I'm going to give a lot of the stuff I purchase for her.  I've heard from other friends that have taught out there that often times, teachers end up buying a lot of supplies for their students, out of their own pockets.  So, hopefully I can help my teacher friend not have to do that (and Brooke....hit up these sales too!). 

Do you know of someone or an organization you can donate school supplies to?  This is an easy and cheap way to help them out.  Plus, it's so fun and such a "high" to get all this great stuff for cheap or free!

15 seconds....

....is all she needs!!!!

btw...it's not permament marker, it's eye black, you know, the stuff football and baseball players put under their eyes.  Thankfully, it wiped right off.

Memories in the Kitchen

When my children look back on their childhood, I hope that one memory that comes up is time in the kitchen.  Daily my kids help me with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  Not always every meal, but they are always there for at least most of them.  As Nicole is growing up, I am enjoying the opportunity to teach her more and give her more freedom to work with me in the kitchen. 

Lately, we have been making homemade semi-whole wheat hamburger buns on a weekly basis.  First, let me tell you they are DELISH!  Super yummy.  I don't think I ever want to buy a pack of hamburger or sandwich buns again.  The recipe, found here, is really easy and quick.  She calls them 30 minutes hamburger buns (it's more like 40 though for me). You can also make little dinner rolls our garlic bread from this recipe too.  Whatever you want. 

Anyway, Nicole loves to make these with me.  This is such a terrific learning opportunity.  We get to talk about yeast and why it's needed in bread (which then leads to conversations about how Jesus used the example of yeast in several parables), she gets to practice fractions, addition and division with me as we manipulate the recipe, she gets all kinds of practice in gross motor skills like scooping, pouring, mixing and even kneading.  Yes, kneading.  I think that is her favorite part.  She loves trying to knead the dough, and she's getting pretty good at it. 

(she's eating flour....gross!  To each her own though)

Sometimes I think I can teach them almost everything they need to know while we are in the kitchen.  Maybe I'll try:-)  Today I was teaching both Nicole and Hannah how to peel a carrot (with MUCH supervision).  There are some definite dangers in the kitchen, but I feel like if I teach them how to listen to me, use the tools properly, and follow recipe instructions, they will be more comfortable, and more safe cooking in the kitchen.

Hannah also likes to help in the kitchen, but she usually gets kicked out for eating all the ingredients before making it into everything...and I'm not talking a little nibble here or there...I'm talking about eating ALL of something.  I even want Nathan to cook with me...for now, he just watches from the bumbo or the exersaucer.  As long as I turn around every now and then and make a goofy face at him, he's content.

Here are a few random pictures from today of the kids.  I love these three.  They are precious to me!

Is anyone there?

I have not been very good about updating my blog lately.  I feel like I haven't really had the time.  When I do have the time...or least a few minutes of it, I sit down and can't think of anything meaningful to say.  I guess I'm in a slump. 

Yes, I have pictures to share.
Yes, we have been doing things.
But, I just don't feel like taking the time to download, then upload, then describe the pictures. 

The children are doing well.  I took Nicole to a lunch theater presentation of Cinderella last week.  It was a lot of fun spending time with just her.  She enjoyed the show and got to meet most of the cast afterward.  After meeting Cinderella and sitting next to her for a photo op, this was what Nicole had to say, "mommy, her dress was kind of crunchy and kind of soft".  She also wanted to know why her dress was not blue.  For lunch, Nicole chose to eat Jello, french fries and cake.  It was her special day with me, she got what she wanted:-)

Hannah has gone back to struggling between being a baby and a big girl.  1 1/2 - 2 1/2 is a really hard stage mentally for children, I think anyway.  They want to be "big kids" (especially if they have an older sibling), but they also want to be babies to (especially if they have a younger sibling).  So, she's been a little emotional lately and just struggling to get through it.  It's actually really sweet to watch.  She gets frustrated because Nicole can do things that she can't yet (like, pour her own milk, or make her own PB&J).  But, then a moment later, her only mode of transportation will be if I carry her around, because she refuses to walk.  So....she's in a bit of a rough spot, but I know it will pass and soon, she won't want to be a baby at all anymore!

Nathan is sitting up extremely well now. We got rid of his baby car seat.  He's in a large convertible car seat now, and seems to love it.  He went grocery shopping with me the other day and got to sit up in the cart.  I'm pretty sure he loved it.  He is working on getting into a hand and knees crawling position, but still isn't there yet.  It's ok, I'm not ready.

Speaking of crawling, I have been working hard getting my house in order for a crawling baby around.  I'm training the girls to find "choking hazards", and working to pick up clutter. 

We are trying really hard, as a family to eat better.  It started with the removal of soda from our home.  Jeremy and I both were drinking several cans of soda a day.  So, we stopped, cold turkey....had some serious withdrawl headaches...but we've been soda free for 3 1/2 weeks now.  It's good.  We both feel better.  We watched a movie called Food Inc....a documentary about where our food comes from, how it's  processed and how the businesses run.  It's repulsive, I wanted to just stop eating all together, but I didn't.  So, I am working hard at trying to make healthier meals and snack choices.  It's MUCH more time consuming, but between eating more veggies and drinking less soda, we are feeling better physically than we have in a long time.  Now we have to add exercise to the mix.  That's the toughest one for us.  We seriously do not have time, unless we give up family time, which we are just not willing to.  So...we'll see about that.

Jeremy is working hard, he has some big jobs over the next couple of weeks. I am just doing my thing here.  I'm working on keeping a more orderly home, cooking fresh, healthy meals, and trying to get back in routine teaching my kids through fun activities.  So....that's it.  I'll try to think of something more exciting to share next time.

Hannah's First Sleepover - Alone

Last Sunday, my mom called and asked if one of the girls, it didn't matter which one, could come over to their house and spend the night.  After a little thought, we chose Hannah to be the one to go spend the night.  We picked her first because we knew if Nicole went, she (Hannah) would have a hard time and probably throw some sort of tantrum, but if Hannah went, we could talk Nicole through any sadness she may feel, because she would understand that her turn was next.

So....Hannah go to spend the night at Yaya and Papa's house All - By - Herself!

They played in the pool

They made cookie dough

They ate snow cones (in a cup)

They had a ton of fun!

Just before bedtime, Hannah said to my mom, "Heehee (that's how she says Nicki), Moooo....Heehee, Mooo".  No, she wasn't calling Nicole a cow, she was sad because she wanted Nicki and her little cow she sleeps with sometimes.  To help console her, my mom laid with her until she fell asleep, and slept in the same room with her later that night.  But, Hannah did Great!  She slept all night.  Honestly, I wouldn't have been surprised if we got a phone call around 9 or 10 saying that she wouldn't fall asleep...so, I was really proud of her.

The next morning, she got to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (in bed I believe), make pancakes and then play with Nicole when I brought her over later. 

My dad snapped some great pictures from the morning too. 

Hannah had a lot of fun on her first alone sleep over.  Nicole's time will come soon, maybe even this weekend.  I know my parents enjoyed having some alone time with Hannah too.  It's good for the girls to be away from each other occasionally, but it's so sweet how much they miss each other (Monday morning, Nicole said to me, " Mommy, I miss my Hanny")

  Awe...they love each other!

Rookery Bay

Last August, I took the girls to Rookery Bay's Learning Center.  The Rookery Bay organization takes care of over 100,000 acres of SW Florida coastline and bays.  When I was in middle school, I went to a summer camp at Rookery Bay.  It's one of my favorite summer memories.  I enjoyed the camp and enjoyed all of the really neat things we did.  Well, now they've got this really nice learning center full of exhibits, a small theater, a lookout area, several bridges, walkways and trails.

During the summer they have free kids fridays.  I thought that was what I went to last year.  After tday, I'm pretty sure I didn't!  It was full of children, and this week they were learning about sharks.  Nicole got scared about 1 minute into the talk about sharks, so we abandoned the group of kids and explored on our own. 

They have a nice large tank that even has a little area you can be surrounded on all sides except your back by water.  Here is a picture of Nicole, looking down on her in the area.

We went on a little walk over a bridge to a closed trail.  Aren't these girls adorable!  They held hands all by themselves!  I love it when they are sweet to each on without my prompting.

The girls and grammy all played in the boat play area.  Nicole was driving them to Peyton's house, just 45 seconds away ; )

Hannah enjoyed looking at all of the fish.  I think she especially liked the sea horse.

No, that's not a real sea horse I'm holding silly!  I didn't take a picture of the real ones. 

Last, but not least, what's an adventure to a Florida wildlife sanctuary without meeting some alligators?

No...they aren't real...but Hannah thought they were at first.  Her eyes got huge and then became very afraid! haha.

I really like going here.  But, I would suggest going on a day other than Friday.  Here's why.  Children under 6 get in for free anyway, so who cares if it's free kid friday, at least right now.  There are less people on other days, and there is even a scavanger hunt to do (except on Fridays).  I think we'll go back again in a few weeks, or at the end of the summer.  Do you want to come?

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall....

Whose the cutest of them all?

Memorial Day

Yes, I know I'm late...about 3 weeks late I think.  But...better late than never, right?

The Sunday before Memorial Day, we called up Jeremy's Granny and asked if we could come spend the night.  She lives about an hour away.  Of course, she said yes...and off we went.  We had a nice dinner and evening together. 

Granny got to spend some uninterupted time with the kids.

Nathan got friendly with Granny's dog, Patches.

The girls played piano.

And, they ran around outside like crazy kids because "there were not stickers in her yard" (um...we have stickers in ONE part of our yard....not the whole thing! Whatever:-)

Hopefully, we can make more trip up to see Granny.