Monday, August 30, 2010

Bowling and More Bowling

I think we have meet our quota for bowling for the year. This weekend we had two parties. One Friday evening and one Saturday evening and both we went bowling.

Friday night we went to 300 in Addison for a good friends Drew's 30th birthday. Since it was his dirty thirty we all had to wear ridiculous mustaches, so I kicked it up and gave my brows a lift. We had a lot of fun and it was good to see some friends we had not seen in a while.

Bret and his mustache, sooo silly!!

Saturday evening was Bret's dads 60th birthday party. We went to a wonderful dinner with family and friends and then headed over to Shenaniganz in Rockwall for some fun. There was a wait when we got there so we had a good time entertaining ourselves playing games till it was our turn to bowl. Molly had so much fun and was such a trooper.





This is the birthday boy or as he is known by Molly as Sparky. We had planned to go bowling a while before his birthday so Abby got him this bowling shirt with his name "Sparky" on it, so funny!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Princess and Make-up

Monday Molly and I went over to Sherry's for a play-date with Chloe. It was so great because the girls played so well and Sherry and I could just have some adult talk and both being newbies to the stay-at home mom thing we talked a lot about that. It was also nice to be in company with another former teacher since Monday was the first day of school, still a little weird sometimes that I am not there.

I love this picture of Chloe and her princess attire! I don't think she left anything out.

Here is Molly and her princess attire. A crown that is upside down. That was all she wanted.

They both loved to lay in the bed and cover all the way up then pop-up to scare us.



Speaking of princesses my little princess Molly loves to put on my make-up. Well at least I pretend to put it on her. I saw this on another blog and wanted to share because Molly loves it. If your little girl likes to put on make up and you don't want her to put on real make-up just got get some cheap eye shadow and finger nail polish. I went to the Dollar Store. Chip all of the eye shadow out with a knife then use the finger nail polish and paint in areas where the eyes shadow was.
Once it is dry they have there own "real" looking eyeshadow, brush and all, that does not make a mess.
Molly loves it. I make sure to keep it in my make-up bag so when I am putting on make-up and she asks for some I hand her the "eye shadow" and she loves to put it on.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

My Little Helper

I promise I do not make my two year old daughter clean but these pictures do make me look a little guilty.



Molly loves to help me clean especially if I sweep, mop, or clean toilets. Actually Molly thinks it is two big stick objects that she gets to push around the house and into things and the other one you get to stick a brush in water and play with it. I hate to discourage her and tell her "no" and "yucky" because I would love for her to want to clean our house when she is old enough, just wishful thinking! However she is just in the way and usually makes a bigger mess so for now I wait till she is napping to get any of that cleaning done. But if we happen to be at your house and she grabs a rag and starts wiping off things don't take it personal she just likes to clean. I am sure that will change come middle school age.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Summer Lisa


Summer Lisa is what Bret always calls me when summer rolls around and I am not teaching. During the school year I am usually stressed out from the day school starts till the day it ends. I am in bed by 9:30 and usually asleep by 10:00 after I read some of a book to clear my head of the day. I don't like to go out and do things during the week during the school year especially if it puts me at home after my bed time. Every Sunday all of the laundry and house has to be cleaned because there is NO time during the week to get it done. So of course every summer Bret gets excited because Summer Lisa will be out to visit. I am much more relaxed. The house and laundry does not have to be done every weekend because there is always during the week for me to get it done, and I stay up way past my bed time. That is usually what clues Bret in that Summer Lisa is here when it is 11:00 and I am still up. I also don't mind going out and doing things during the week and getting home late. That being said today was when all the teachers had to go back around here I of course did not. Bret told me last night he could already see a difference because usually by now I have slowly stabbed away Summer Lisa over the past week getting ready for things to start but not this year. I even got to do my laundry and clean today! Maybe Summer Lisa will be out year round!

All that being said last night I was so excited that I was not going to be working this year but then today it has just felt weird. I know that probably tomorrow and the next I will quickly get over it but I just have to take it all in today. I guess when you put some much into something it is weird to let go. I know I know of all the stresses, bites, bruises, and claw marks I came home with there is still that part of missing out on things that in the type of classroom I taught in were huge deals. Not that the kids passed TAKS or made all As which are great but when a kid walks for the first time in a walker, or a kid finally is potty trained, or a kid that is nonverbal starts to speak. I could go on and on. These are things that take months or even years to work on and when the students get it you just want to jump up and down screaming with joy. That is what I am going to miss out on. The things that most people take for granted but are huge milestones for my students. I kind of tear up while I write this and think about those students that I just left, but I know and do not regret staying home to take care of my little one so that I don't miss out on her milestones.

P.S. Don't be jealous of my nice natural tan in that picture. It comes so easy for me, HA!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Can You Get Any Closer?

Is exactly what I asked Molly after I came around the corner (and sneaking in this picture) to find her like this. I was getting ready for church and came out to check on Molly and apparently she felt she needed to be a part of the show and up close and personal with Benny the Bull from Dora. Anyways, I did make her move and wanted to tell her that she cannot even see the whole tv that close, that it can't be good for her eyes, and what a headache she would have if I let her watch that close. I did not though I figured I would save that speech for another day.


Thursday, August 12, 2010

Visit From My Parents

My dad had some meetings this week in Ft. Worth so my mom made the trip with him and she just stayed with us for a couple of days. We had a really great time and it was so good to see them! They came up on Monday and left today. I did not do a good job of getting pictures while they were here but here are a few.

My mom and I went shopping one day and this is Molly trying out her cousins hat we got him but I think she looks pretty cute in it.

My dad just had meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday night we met him in Arlington and went to the Rangers vs Yankees baseball game. It was hot but had a good time. When he got back Wednesday we went over to Bass Pro to check out a few things. Molly loved the fish. She kept calling this huge catfish a dolphin.

These are the few pictures I got of Molly and her NaNa and PawPaw. She is playing tent under the blanket beside my dad.

Molly of course made my dad get in her tent. She said there were bears outside so he needed to get in.

My mom kept asking where Molly was and she would just yell from under the blanket "I don't know."

Molly had to take a few breaks from under the tent to watch a little tv.

We had such a good time seeing them! I am hoping with my more flexible schedule maybe Molly and I can make a few more trips to visit them than just the usual holiday times that we go.

Monday, August 9, 2010

My New Adventure


Good Bye Classroom!


Hello PlayWisely!
School is about to start and it is crazy because I will not be going back! After six years of teaching Special Education Bret and I made the decision at the end of last year that it would be best if I stayed home. All of my teacher friends are talking about all the things they need to get done to get their classrooms ready. I chuckle in my head because I think man I am so glad that is not me. Now don’t get me wrong I will miss my friends and even the kiddos, and yes I have had one break down this summer when the realization started sinking in one night while I was paying bills that “oh my gosh August will be my last pay check can we really do this.” I know the answer and yes, yes we can and all for my family and this little girl that I love so much.



It is kind of crazy to think that I have not had a first day of school since 1985(this was brought to my attention by another teacher friend, Sherry, that is staying home this year). Once I finished high school I went straight to college then went straight to teaching but now I will be teaching my little miss Molly.


Now about PlayWisely:

It is a developmental play system designed to enhance cognitive and gross/fine motor skills in kids. A lady here in Rockwall has done research for years with this program and has started it here in the Dallas area. Right now I teach out of the ASI in Rockwall on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Classes are only 30 minutes long and mommies stay to participate. There are only about 3 or 4 in each class and I work with ages 4 months to 3 years. I am so excited about this program. It is so much fun working with the kiddos but it also gives me the flexibility to be at home more. The founder of the company was given research money to work with kids with Autism so I will be helping her with that come January, very excited about all of this and my new adventure. Also all of you mommies I know with little kiddos don’t be surprised if you get an email from me explaining more about PlayWisely ;)




Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Kitchen Make-over

We have been saying since Christmas that we wanted to give our kitchen a make-over. Well we finally did. It took us about a month and after a lot of hard work since we did it all ourselves, some arguing, and a bad contractor that put in the counter tops (that we had to go back and fix) we are mostly finished. I say that because there are a few small things like touch up paint and new border and trim that we still need to do. In the make-over kitchen we put down new tile floor, butcher block counter tops, a new under mount sink, a new tile back splash, painted the walls, and to save money we painted the cabinets and added knobs to them. Okay okay enough talking. Drum roll........

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

And I did not get a before picture of this area but here is the after: