Laundry Room

I was talking to someone at convention about stain removers after Brett got grass stains on his tan linen pants... This is the spray-it's Shaw Carpet Stain & Soil Remover-I sometimes use for stains. I heard it was good for carpet stains & it's also for use on clothing. I picked it up at Menard's. I recently used it on Brett's light blue polo & shorts that he spilled chocolate ice cream on. I didn't spray it until the next day & then when I washed it the stain was completely gone. It didn't work so well for grass stains but my washing soda & borax combo always works for that. (I need to make more laundry soap soon.) The other thing I love is the Downy Wrinkle Release spray. It's handy for hems on skirts & quick jobs when you don't have a lot of time. Actually now I put a little fabric softener in the bottle, add water & shake! Same thing but cheaper.

I can tell it's Monday morning

I don't understand:

• why a 3 yr old child comes wearing shorts & a t-shirt because "she wanted to".
• Then why her mom has her wrapped up in a blanket and carries her in like a baby. If she chose to wear summer clothes & mom allowed it, then she should be allowed to feel cold.
• When 4 yr old big sister is allowed to decide whether or not she goes to preschool. "She says she doesn't want to go but I'm not sure if it's because she's sick or what this is all about." OK? She doesn't feel good. If she's too sick for school (she's not) she's too sick for day care. I understand she's tired & needs to rest so that's OK. What's not OK is that "if she changes her mind, let me know & she can get picked up for school". No, I said, I think someone else needs to decide if little darling goes to school, not the 4 yr old! Ok, I didn't say it quite like that. Guess who gets to take a nap today?
• Why she along with her sister drag in pillows and blankets to my house. I don't have room to store that stuff & I don't want it laying around. I've already said too much so I bag it up & put it in the closet. They don't need it and they don't care but mom can't say no. I don't understand why kids can't ever hear no?? Well I know they can because they hear it from me!

Maybe the parents just don't see it? You know, the full picture. I understand about picking the battles to certain extent, but sometimes, the parent just needs to be the parent! Ok, now you've heard how I really feel! LOL

Taking Brett to the bus

This is what we do every morning. About 8 a.m. we (this is my group today & two more come later) walk around the corner to the bus stop. The little ones ride in the wagon & the bigger ones like to walk on the curb. Then we sit & watch Brett get on the bus. One more week & then we have to drive him to school as the bus service ends. Good timing since it's going to get cold! It's been so enjoyable to take him down there on these nice mornings. I'll probably never have to do it again because he won't have bussing again until 4th grade. By then he will be able to walk to the stop by himself.

The Most Chocolately Milk Ever

Brett made this for his snack tonight & yep, he drank it all. Yikes, I better supervise a little more.

People Drawings Before & After

Brett brought this home from school. The art teacher attached a note explaining what the activity was. The kids were to draw a picture of a person. This is his drawing: Then they talked about all the body parts & were asked to make another drawing, a self portrait. You can really see the differences! Pretty neat! This poor guy is missing an ear. Love the knees, elbows & lips!

Certainly not all true....

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a dynamic, vibrant person. You aren't afraid to pursue your passions. When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy. You tend to be afraid of change. You are never ready for things to be different. You find novelty to be the most comforting thing in the world. You love anything that's new or unusual. Your ideal day is active and full. You like to keep busy with your favorite things, and you appreciate a routine. You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

Thursday's Random Thoughts

• It's fall here at least in the sensory table: silk leaves & bugs. The kids are enjoying it.
• I just took my three kiddos for a walk/ride in the wagon down the block & back. We can't go too far since 3 yr olds can't go too fast or far. I wish I could pop them all in the bike trailer & go down the bike trail. I'm going to ride with Brett tonight. It's such a perfect day!
• My 2 yr old just said "I have a baby at home named "Dolly" and another one her name is "Another Dolly" and "Boy Baby". Cute!
• Yesterday almost 3 yr old said "You make the best food". E always used to say "You're a good cooker". It's nice when even the kids appreciate what I make them.
• Brett has been in school for over 15 days already. He really likes it! Day 15 wasn't so good.... He fell asleep in Wed night mtg last night & slept straight through for 11 hrs! I think he's fighting off a cold so I hope it works. To bed early again tonight!
• We're going to convention this weekend! Our first time at that location. Looking forward to a few more meetings & seeing lots of Damon's family.
• I wish I could just drink my meals. I'm sick of trying to decide what to eat all the time. Too bad I can't live on caffinee. I think I did yesterday...
• We had a showing request for yesterday at 2:30pm. Nope that doesn't work for me. If they want to see the house they will have to reschedule but haven't heard from them yet.
• Damon cut the grass on Tuesday night. Now that we got rain, it's nice & green and beautiful out there. I love to look out & see the yard looking so nice.
• I have plenty I could be doing but not feeling an urgency for any of it!

Shoe & Handbag Sale

Ok, I'm not a big shoe shopper cause I'm really picky & my feet are wide so I have a hard time finding what I like & what fits. But I sure like some of the new things in the Kohl's ad that came in the mail yesterday! And I don't really need any more bags or shoes since I just got several new pairs. *Sigh*. I might have to look anyway since I really like Nine & Co and Apt. 9 brands. Shipping from the Kohl's website is reasonable too, only $3.95! I probably really need a plum colored leather satchel don't you think?? : )

***I bought the plum bag. : )

Hot Dog Breath

On the way to convention, we stopped at Walmart for a few things. Then we picked up lunch at Subway. Brett was getting sleepy & gnawing in his hot dog. I asked him to eat a bit more. Next time we turned around & looked, he had shoved the whole thing in his mouth & dropped off to sleep! It was too funny!

Brett's Room Art Project

This just blew me away when I looked at it yesterday! I had no idea he was capable of this. At first I couldn't figure it out. Then I asked him "what this was all about" and he said "it's my room". Sure enough it is. Wow, look at the details! The blue border is a nice touch too. I thought this was so amazing. I labeled everything so you could understand what he drew.

This made my day

yesterday. Brett brought home his "All About Me" booklet he made at school. Check out these drawings:

That's cookies, pizza, ice cream cone, string cheese and Pepsi. The kid never has Pepsi! He said it was supposed to be Root Beer but the teacher told him to spell Pepsi. Maybe because it's shorter.

This is what really got me. Look at all my GRAY hair!! LOL I know I'm way too young to have as much as I do, but my 6 year old even drew me GRAY hairs!! Too funny. I love it. That's Speedy the turtle on the bottom right in his tank. By the way, this template is on Child Care Land if anyone wants to use it.

Birthday Weekend

We had a nice weekend celebrating Keith & Brett's birthdays. Saturday at the lake was wet but we still had fun. Brett was wet and dirty after playing by the water all day. It was great to see everyone & laugh so much! Sunday Brett had birthday cake #2 and really enjoyed opening his presents. I have more pictures that I'll upload to Flickr eventually.

Authentic Page

Friday

• We had a fun time at Chuck E Cheese last night. Here's a couple pictures of the kids. Brett & Ellah were so cute together. They were excited & happy to see each other. While walking through the games they had to keep touching each other's hands & stuff to make sure the other was there. So sweet! Of course we picked a busy night to go-there was a school fundraiser going on. We still had a good time & the pizza was really good! With a coupon it wasn't so unreasonable.
• It's a humid day. I didn't want to put the air on but it's not easy to work & do laundry, etc when it feels icky. I think humidity makes the house feel unclean.
• DcMom told me this morning she's expecting. I would get her infant in September. Perfect timing! I got three emails this week inquiring about infant care and I said my next opening wouldn't be until September so it's likely filled already. DcMom was relieved & I wasn't surprised really since she recently had two Dr. apts. I have to say I'm a bit envious that people seem to be able just plan these things & it happens.
• I'm sooo looking forward to my chiro appointment tonight. My right side (knee to neck) will probably never be the same after having Brett. My hip gets tight & sore and it hurts to walk. I'll feel better tonight! They are so great about getting me in right away.
• 2009 calendar kits are out! I'm going to make these for the dcparents for holiday gifts.
• The little kiddos are practicing cutting with scissors today. I love to see them concentrating so much & learning something new, using those little muscles.
• It feels great to have appreciative dcparents! We had BFast2Go (muffins & juice to go) this week. New dcMom was so surprised & thrilled. She gave me a hug! LOL Her parents also came to pick up dcgirl and said such nice things. Often I don't hear the "good things" from the parents. I hear it from someone else they told. So that makes me realize that if you're thinking something nice about someone, that may mean something to them, you should tell them. Life is too short to not be generous & kind.

Daily Dose of Brett

For those of you that need it! : ) I thought Brett looked so cute this morning wearing this. I was surprised he agreed to put it on. The sweatshirt is from Auntie Shanda. He's finally growing into it! It's cool out this morning & we even felt a few sprinkles but it's supposed to get to 80 this afternoon. I hope it does! Tonight we're going to Chuck E. Cheese! We're meeting Ellah and her mom there. We were there once for a dcboy's 1st birthday - years ago already - but Brett hasn't forgotten. The dckids talk about going to CEC all the time so that's partly why he wants to go. We've always avoided going - the time we were there, I thought the food was rather bad and it's just expensive. Plus I don't want to be nagged about going all the time! I said we'd take him before school started but we never got to so we planned to go tonight so he can see Ellah and have a special night with her. I told him Tuesday night that we had a surprise for him & told him to guess where we were going. Somewhere he really wants to go to. He said "That's easy! Chuck E Cheese's!" Should be fun. Of course we'll take pictures! Friday night we have no plans. Saturday we'll be at my cousin's on the lake for (my brother) Keith's 30th birthday party. Saturday night & Sunday we'll be at my Mom & Dad's. Sunday we'll celebrate Brett's birthday - on the actual day! I'm going to order a cake instead of making one this year. Looking forward to it all! I got Keith a cool birthday present so hope he likes it. Last night Brett fell asleep during mtg. It was at our house so we left him sleeping after meeting. Damon carried him into his room and changed him and he didn't remember a thing this morning! He slept a good 11 hrs but NO he wasn't tired from school! LOL He woke up a sweet happy little boy ready to go back today. Each day at school Brett has been learning letters with Jolly Phonics. He told his teacher "I know my letters" and "we have this book & CD at home". So cool, I'm glad he had a bit of a head start in that area. They are starting the Bridges math program and he's liking that. Last night at supper I asked him if anyone ever told on him. (Trying to see if he's behaving!) Well, once. Ashton did. Then I saw this little smirk like he thought he was getting away with something. He almost did but he remembered well two times he got told on but he didn't remember why that time. Doesn't sound too serious. Damon told him that the teacher writes these things down everyday and we will be meeting with his teacher next month so he better behave! He didn't like that we'll be talking to his teacher at conferences. : ) I called the bus company last night after Brett was dropped off at a different spot again for the 3rd day. She said he will be dropped off in the same spot he was picked up from now on. They told all the drivers they can't make up their own routes. They have to drop kids off in the spots the parents were told in the letters at the beginning of the year. So that's good. He knows where to get and how to get home now and I won't have to worry. I've been baking bread for the freezer. Except I have no room in the freezer. What to do with 8 loaves? Guess we'll have to use something up that's taking space in the freezer. I want extra made up for our use & to take to convention. It never stays in the freezer long! I canned a dozen jars of pickles yesterday. I should do at least that many more. Just not sure when! Convention next week! We're pretty much ready (not packed but we have what we need/will be easier getting ready with Brett in school Wednesday morning). Have to remind Damon to get a few things dry cleaned that he might need to take along. I am working on a 5 week rotating day care menu. Now to get organized so I have everything on the list for the next few weeks. I think I'll add our dinners on there too. Yay for Thursdays! K is off so no visiting teachers or therapists. It's a bit quieter of a day and tomorrow's Friday.

Sweet Peas

I love these flowers. There's just a few this year despite how many seeds I planted. The cucumber vines took over & crowded them out.

Shower Curtains

Because Neisha wanted to know. I made both of mine.

Not too bad for a Monday

• I was very organized & ready for my day and it went smoothly with 7 kids in the a.m. and with a visiting teacher present. Ahhh, days are more trouble free with Brett in school. it's true.
• Nice 2.5 hr quiet naptimes are back!! I *love* it. Today I was so tired I didn't do much during that time.
• Tonight Damon was sweet & went to the grocery store for me. I dreaded going out. I put the list in order by aisle to help him out.
• I promised I'd make cookies if he did. I also made two batches of muffins for BFast2Go for parents in the a.m. and started 4 loaves of bread. Boiled eggs for breakfasts & salads. Emptied/filled the dishwasher and cleaned the floor. Started some laundry. Got Brett in the shower & ready for bed.
• My goal was to go to bed by 9:30 pm. It's now past 10:30pm.....
• Tonight Brett's bus was 25 minutes late. I was starting to worry after 10 mins. but other parents were waiting at the corner so was I wasn't freaking out. Then the neighbor & his child walked by & no Brett. I went outside to see if he was coming and one of the dcdads was dropping him off! Apparently the bus driver dropped Brett & A off quite aways from the normal spot in the (light) rain and her dad went looking for her and brought them both home. It was a hectic time for me so I haven't talked to her parents yet but I will in the morning and call the bus company to see what's up. They have been dropping him off on our corner & if they change that I need to know!! I'm so glad he was with Allison though, a big 3rd grader.
• Brett was excited about hot lunch today. They had Pizza Hut pizza. He's liking the next 2 days meals so he's doing more hot lunch this week. Simplifies the morning a bit although I like to pack lunches for Brett & Damon. He also had music & library time today.
• My day started at 5:30 am & now it's very late so hopefully I haven't wrecked my Tuesday. So much for my early bedtime goal. Try again tomorrow night!

What Brett Learned Today

Brett's School Picture

Six Years Page

Brett will be 6 years old next week so we did pictures & I made this.

Saturdays Projects

This was one of my projects today besides cleaning the house for the open tomorrow and lots of errands: painting a desk. Last night we ran into Goodwill and I spotted this. It's really a vanity without a mirror but I thought it would make a great little desk.

I wanted it but wasn't sure how it would fit in Brett's room since it's so full. Damon thought I was crazy. This is a true statement because I asked him if he thought I was & he said yes. I told him he just needs to trust me! We left without it. Today he stopped back in and picked it up for me. I spray painted it and now it's in Brett's room! I wanted him to have a spot to write and draw so this is just perfect. I'd like to find a stool that will be the right height or I there's an extra chair downstairs that will work too. I love it and I think Brett will use it a lot.

I like nice furniture. I used to sell Thomasville ($10-15,000 bedrooms & dining rooms) and I'd fill my house with it if I could afford it. Since I can't, I love to find nice useable pieces and fix them up. Or not. Four of the other pieces I have-dressing table, telephone table, antique dresser & little drop leaf, I didn't do a thing to. $20 for the desk plus $6 for spray paint. It's fun to look at (cheap) stuff & see potential!

Now on to this project.........

Brett's Updates from School

"There's no school on the "S days". Yay for Saturday & Sunday! During recess time, because it was raining, "we watched the Dr. Seuss story Bounce on Dad." (I think he means Hop on Pop!) "We only have enough time to eat like applesauce, chocolate milk, and cake." He claims he didn't have enough time to eat all his lunch today. I know that's a problem with them talking too much, not having a lot of time as it is and recess is waiting. The other two days he ate almost everything I sent with him. Yesterday he had art class. He made a paper strip "playground" art page. Looks fun! Today he had music. Everyone got to hit "d" on the xylophone. Brett's supposed to be VIP the week we're gone to convention coinciding with his birthday. I forgot to tell the teacher he will be gone 2.5 days so I better do that next week. Stomach flu is already going around... the neighbor girl Brett rode the bus with already missed a day of school. At least it's only the 24 hr or less kind. Runny noses are here too. I'm hoping Brett doesn't get either. A kindergartner in town (other school district) was accidentally dropped off the bus miles from home. We questioned Brett on how he knew when to get off the bus. He just knows where to get off by looking at the street. There's a whole group who get off on our corner, not just him. It doesn't surprise me that he knows but yet it seems like they should have to double check somehow. What if he was unsure but didn't ask and just got off on the wrong stop? Eventually the driver will know who gets off where. I'm just surprised it doesn't happen more often. I can tell he's going to grow like crazy this year. It seems like he's been eating a lot the last few days!

Videos of Brett

Today I uploaded some videos to Flickr of Brett when he was little. It's been fun looking at them again and telling Brett about the things he used to do. Like how he used to call hot dogs "dog-gogs" and meatballs "beatballs". There's a few more I need to look for & add but here's his videos so far: videos

First Days at School Page

The picture & text isn't new, just made it into a page for his book.

Brewers Game

We went to the game with Keith & Maggie on Tuesday night. It was a late night but fun!

Life this week

• Even though this is a short week, it has seemed long! I'm looking forward to no plans tonight or this weekend. (Other than getting milk & juice AGAIN tonight.)
• Brett made it on the bus-barely-this morning. It's raining so I didn't want to wait out there too long & then the bus was early so he had to run to the corner but that's OK. I saw him get on so I know he's there. I have just 4 kiddos this morning so I pulled the wagon with three riding & one walking besides Brett.
• One dcgirl started preschool this week. She comes here until noon (sometimes only 2 hrs.) and then gets picked up for school. It's not a bad thing but I wish she would just be here.
• This school year, I have kids in two school districts to keep track of days off & early release. Mix in three sets of split parents & all the issues, kids coming & going with school schedules, Brett in school now too...my head spins. Things are not so automatic for me any more. Time to get used to a new routine. In some ways the younger group is easier, just different.
• Yesterday I had a meeting with a dcg's mom, early childhood teacher from the school district and 3 therapists. I expected the mom & teacher but wasn't sure the therapists were coming-PT, OT and speech. She wasn't responding well in the classroom environment. I know she will do better here. She talks & interacts with the kids here pretty well. It sounds like someone will be coming Mon-Wed for an hour to work with her and observe. I'm not concerned about it too much. If anything it should be a help to me. It will be good for her and I will learn a lot. Just one more thing in my day.
• The Charter guy was here yesterday. Our internet has been intermittent for a few weeks. He made some changes & said things were not set up quite right on the line so hopefully that takes care of it. Strange since it's been set up that way for almost 7 years?
• We're having an open house again on Sunday. No real interest in the house.

Cute kids

This is my newest cutie.