Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Lauren's preschool

Lauren started preschool last Wednesday at Federated Preschool, the same one that Dylan went to. I wasn't sure how she would do after the incidents at dance class and swimming lessons this summer, but she was amazing! She walked right in and started playing with the toys. It was kind of sad, I was expecting her to want me to stay with her for a while. I am very proud of her! She is loving every minute of it and loves the fun crafts they do. 

Life has gotten a lot quieter around here since Dylan has gone to school. Ethan loves to play by himself or with Jack and there is no screaming. I think Dylan was instigating a lot of the problems over the summer, but what is a 6 year old to do? I have been able to enjoy some crafting time, with everyone getting along! It's very nice! Ethan and Lauren have also been getting along really well. I love that my kids are into books and that they read them together! I started a little reading nook in the corner of the playroom, and they love it.

Before the reading nook was started, they just took their books in the kitchen to read them!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

What a life!

Does life ever settle down? I'm beginning to think that it doesn't. I am getting used to the busy schedules that I have to keep up with, Dylan's school and soccer, babysitting, and keeping up with the house, but things will change again this week as Lauren starts preschool and dance class. Babysitting has gotten a lot easier as the baby is 6 months old now and Dylan is not here to torment the boys. The little boys are getting along so well, it's amazing and way cute! They truly are best friends. A friend also needed help watching her kids while she is in class, so I picked up another family for just 4 hours a week. Juggling everything keeps me on my toes for sure!
Dylan is loving school this year. He has a great teacher, Mrs. Younts. It has been a little challenging getting used to being at school all day. It means going to bed on time so he's not tired the next day. Dylan is a grumpy tired kid. Last week we had the chance to meet his really grumpy side. Not so much fun! He went to bed at 6:15 and didn't wake up until 8 the next morning! He sure was tired! Dylan and I have had to have some talks about the different things he has run into this year. Like eat your lunch during lunch time, which means talk during recess. He told me that he can't talk during recess because he has to play tag and you can't talk while you are running from someone! Silly kid. And we talked about sitting in the front of the bus (There are junior high kids on the same bus) because I don't want him to hear/see what the older kids are doing. He really likes to ride the bus because his friend, Kaleb rides the bus too. He started his fall soccer league the end of August and had his first game on the 25th. He moved up to the U7 league, so they are playing on a much bigger field and the coaches are not on the field, only a referee. Very different as the boys have to run a lot more, but I'm sure they will get used to it. Dylan has a really good coach, so that makes it nice. They ended up loosing their first game, but I think they have good potential by the next game!
Ethan proved to be our ER baby 2 weeks ago (August 18). He was sitting in the computer chair and Dylan thought that it would be fun to spin him around. Dylan said that Ethan was enjoying it, so he went faster, and faster. Fun times until Ethan fell off of the chair and got a nice gash in his forehead. We took him to urgent care and they used a glue to hold it together. Poor little guy! He was not cooperating, so they had to put him in the papoose to hold him down. I think that was the most traumatic part of the whole day. Other than that, Ethan was a really good sport and didn't cry too much. It was kinda weird because the wound didn't bleed a lot, it would just have a drop run down his forehead every minute or so. He was doing great later in the day and has returned to his rambunctious self. 

I have been busy with canning a lot this past month. I thought it would be fun to can salsa again this year since we ran out. We really like it and tomatoes were a great price. I ended up getting 75 pounds of tomatoes and made 2 batches of salsa and then canned the rest of the tomatoes. It only took me 2 days, but I got it done! (Thanks to a wonderful friend who came over just to help me out!) Then the next weekend, my mom and I canned 2 bushels of peaches. I have turned into a canning fool! There is just something satisfying about canning your own food and knowing that you have storage in case something happens. 

It has been a lot quieter around the house now that Dylan is at school all day. Jack and Ethan are playing great together and Lauren is loving playing with her little princesses and polly pockets. The baby is crawling already (at 6 months), so we have to keep little pieces put away! Lauren is growing like a weed and love to see her princess movies, with Dylan gone in the afternoon. 

Lauren had her doctor's appointment in Indy with the specialist last week. She said that Lauren is doing great and that we should continue with her dance and swimming. She has definitely improved the strength in her legs over the past year. She is even riding her bike really well!
 
I haven't been in the writing mood lately and I don't know why. Maybe I need to exercise more often. My friend and I ran/walked 3 miles last night and it sure felt good. Now if we could only get our schedules to work together so we can do it every night! Ricky and I have been going to couples volleyball at church the past couple of weekends. It is really fun and something we both enjoy. It's nice to have something to do together! I have been going to volleyball on Tuesday nights and then working on hairbows with a friend on Wednesday nights. Oh yeah, I signed up to sell hairbows and headbands at a craft show in November. Maybe that's why my life is so busy! I am getting excited about it and have been working hard on them. I also learned how to make a circle skirt for Lauren and she absolutely loves it! She wants to wear it everyday! I might just have to make some more for her! It only took me about 30 mins to make it, and it's way cute! 
 
 Last weekend, we decided to spend the day on Sunday with my grandparents. Ricky had this feeling that we should go see them, so I didn't object at all! I love going to see my family anytime! They are both doing well, and it was so nice to spend the day with them. The kids had a great time, too! We played some cards, which was fitting to Grandma's shirt. It said, "I only have a gambling problem when I lose!" Too funny!

  Someone said something funny and I captured her with her hand over her face. Such a fun memory I will always have of her!
 The good shot!
 Lauren and Great Grandma Drennan. Lauren was getting very tired at this point, but we managed to get a smile out of her!
That's all I can think of right now, hopefully someday I can get back to posting every week and then I can print off my books that have our families history on them! Someday!