A Change Would Do You Good

A change would do you good, I think a change would do you good.

Sheryl Crow~

I have never been great with change. I get through it and I do what is required but I worry along the way. My kids have always surprised me because they both are great about rolling along with new routines and schedules. Even though I know that they are happy to try new things I have been extra pleasantly surprised by each of them this week.

My older son started Kindergarten recently and everyone on his "team" except one therapist, is new to him. He doesn't know them and they don't know him or his likes and dislikes. I was very nervous about the new school even though I had heard all about how great his teacher was going to be and had met her a few times. I was nervous about how he would do with a full day how he would handle ALL those kids in that BIG school and if they would really see how smart and special he truly is.

Here we are in week 3 of school and not only are they all adjusting to each other, but my son is thriving in many areas. Sure there are little hiccups here and there but he has tried two new food items while in his classroom and his teacher has already made the decision to send my little man to an additional circle time with the typical students. This happens to be a dream come true for me because I really get to see how much they believe in the "least restrictive environment" policy and how closely they are watching him and working with him. They know how bright he is and the fact that he is already getting his time increased in the big classroom is such a wonderful gift.

My fears about change and new routine turned out to be a waste of energy! My son is happy everyday and he is moving right along. Lesson 1, stop worrying!

The next exciting accomplishment this week was achieved by my younger son. While my mom is happy to cut their hair, my boys are way too hard for her to do. I have been taking them to children's haircut place at the mall for a couple years because they can buzz a moving target and they don't stop for kisses when the kids are crying or screaming. Haircut day is pretty intense in this family and I often consider taking up drinking after we leave the mall.

The place we had been going to, recently closed and some of the girls who worked there plan to open a new place right near our house so we have been waiting for that to happen. I did go to the new store that opened at the mall but I just wasn't comfortable there so have been really dreading any hair growth. I snipped T's bangs and did a little clean up the other day our of desperation but this actually did not help the situation at all. I finally decided last night that I simply could not wait around anymore for the new place to open so we had to take action.

I went to a walk in place in my area and before we walked in I talked to T about being good. While we were walking to the chair, I explained our history to the new hairdresser and she didn't even flinch! The next thing I knew I had a smiley kid watching himself in the mirror and a few minutes later his hair looked great! Well aside from the minor hacking that I had done but it will grow ;). I could not be happier and only wish I had overcome my nerves and taken him sooner.

Our next challenge will be to take big brother there when his hair grows out but our new friend said that she is up for it and not at all worried. He is at least as tough as his little brother but I won't worry about it anymore because lesson 2 is... stop worrying!

A change really can do you good!

A Labor of Love

I actually was pretty happy with the fact that I have never been on a ferris wheel. I am somewhat uncomfortable with heights and I get dizzy on roller coasters so I have never been remotely interested in taking a ride. We took the kids to the Ferndale Street Fair because I had read somewhere that they were offering pony rides and thought that would be a fun outing for my boys. It ended up being a grooming stall only so the kids didn't really get to do much besides have a little ice cream. As we were leaving, we passed by the ferris wheel which I knew my son had seen when we first arrived. I had felt bad during that first moment that it wasn't a fair with actual rides and games.

I tried to pass by and head to the car but he pulled me back and insisted that we get in line. My husband doesn't like rides either and I knew there was no way out of this one. I got in line and luckily the woman behind me gave me pointers on what not to do while on the ride after she said "can you believe the things we do for our kids?" Her son has special needs too so that was the fun part about being in line but once it was our turn to get on the ride, I was very nervous.

I think we went around 12 or 14 times and I just kept counting down until it was all over but my little man loved it and that's all that matters! I made it through and will make a note to bring someone who likes rides along with us the next time we go out on the town.

So Long Summer

It was a great summer with all 3 of my boys and now that it is coming to an end I want to highlight some of the moments. My youngest is starting his last year of preschool tomorrow and my oldest starts Elementary school next week. For the first time in a while I will have a few hours to myself each week so for now I am enjoying every kid filled moment that I can. We had a blast this summer and made a whole bunch of long lasting memories!

Ice Cream/Candy store with cousins!

Bounce House and Slip and Slide! (big brother is peeking out on the swing behind and cousins are outside of this shot) Family Fun!

Sometimes we bring books and toys down the waterslide with us. We like to be original ;)

 

Playing dress up while we shop

Silly brother time

Brothers got matching flip flops of their own so they can stop wearing mommy's!

Had a blast at the Birthday party

Taught Gram to play the ipad

 

Helped Papa drive the boat

 

Yummy Spongebob Ice Cream at the pool

  

  

  

We had a blast at the splash park!

Summer fun for everyone. Now it's time for school :)

Witnessing History and Chuck E. Cheese

What a fun weekend we had in honor of our amazing 4 year old who thinks that he is 14. We started out by witnessing history being made by attending a show on the last tour with the entire cast of original Wiggles members.  It was very special seeing the group back together after many years apart and knowing that this was their last tour before most of them retire for good. The boys loved the show and had a great time singing and dancing.

  

Silly smiles, happy boys!

We went to sleep, woke up and headed to an exciting 4th Birthday celebration at Chuck E. Cheese! We played games, ate pizza and cake and had a blast watching the kids in the ticket blaster grabbing for tickets so that they could win prizes. They also loved seeing Chuck the mouse and hugging him. The party was a huge success and we have such a happy little boy. It is so wonderful to share our happy occassions with familiy and good friends. It took us all day Sunday to recover from our busy weekend but it was well worth it. Such a special weekend!

 

Picky & Picky, Eat Out

How I got 2 picky children I will never know! If it's not a brussel sprout I will pretty much try it at least once. Both of my boys are exceptionally picky. We are somewhat lucky in that there are certain places that we can pick up food from while we are out and about but we are not able to go out to eat at one place and all enjoy a meal together.

This past weekend we decided to go to the mall to keep cool on the 100 degree day and we wanted to eat together with my sisters and their kids, at the food court. I started to pack things for my boys to eat and then at the last second decided that I was going to try to get them lunch out. My little one decided he wanted Mcd's chicken nuggets which was perfect because the drive thru is directly across from the mall. At the food court they have a Sbarro's Pizza that my older son has always rejected but since he has started branching out with pizza brands I decided to order his lunch there.

We sat down at the table with our family and I was about to jump for joy when I realized that this was going to be a successful lunch. Two boys ate two meals out and enjoyed every bite! Such a little thing to some but such a huge and wonderful thing to this mommy!

Donuts and Sunshine

It's a scorcher here today that is for sure! My boys spent the morning in the air conditioned house with their dad and then their big cousins invited them out for a Dunkin Donut run! My boys aren't head over heels for donuts but they do love being with their cousins so we tagged along. We brought our own candy topped brownie for my little boy and for big brother we chose a sprinkle topped donut as he only likes the frosting! We have picky boys in this house but luckily we make it work. After the little snack stop we all came back to the house to cool off on the blow up water slide. The perfect 90 degree Sunday afternoon!

 

Father's Day-So Many Special Daddy's

Today we had a Father's Day brunch for 15 of our closest family members. We celebrated my amazing dad, wonderful husband, great father in law and 2 terrific brother in laws. These are some of the very best dads I know and it was so wonderful being together. As always, we like to indulge in yummy food so I decided to try a few new recipes. I made 2 french toast casseroles, 2 egg casseroles and hasbrowns with peppers and onions. I had never made them before so was a little nervous about how they would taste but figured if worse came to worse we had bagels ;). I made one bacon egg and cheese recipe and altered the second into a vegetarian with cheese peppers and onions. I am so thrilled to report that everyone raved about the dishes over and over and there wasn't a morsel left of the french toast! My Gram woke up feeling a little sick but at the last minute she pulled herself together and was able to come celebrate with us. Nothing makes me happier than everything working out perfectly and spending an amazing day with my favorite people.

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful men in my life!