Our Adventures with Ryan and Riley Cate

confessions, part two

I believe it is time for another confessions post!

1.  I wear flip flops year round.  I have not bought a pair of closed toed shoes in YEARS!

2.  ryan is on time to school (starts at 7:20a.m.) every day;  we have not been late/tardy one time this year.  riley is late to preschool (starts at 8:45a.m.) almost every day (explanation:  we come back home, get ready, and get engrossed in things at home:  my work, cartoons, toys, etc, and leave late for preschool 4 days out of 5). 

3.  I despise styrofoam.  the touch, the feel, the noise.  ick!

4.  I am already planning riley's 4th birthday with is more than 3 months away, and have been scouring my favorite websites and pinterest for party favors, the most precious birthday outfit, etc!  I have not, however, used these planning skills to plan what is for dinner later today.

5.  if we drive thru anywhere with french fries, I cannot stop myself from eating some on the way home.  sometimes, I eat out of more than one box to "distribute" the munching.

6.  I organize my grocery basket as I am filling it.  I put like items together on the grocery store conveyor belt.  in my pantry, all the pictures on the cans must be facing forward.  if someone moves them, I move them back.

7.  when dropping ryan off at school in the carline (remember the 7:20a.m.?), I wear my PJ's and big sunglasses (even though it is barely light).  I do brush my teeth, but I will be in trouble if I am ever needed in ryan's school for something, pulled over, or have car trouble.  for some reason, that has still not stopped me.  riley follows in my footsteps and wears her PJ's with bedhead as well!

8.  I have way too many tv shows set to record each week on my DVR, and feel an obligation to watch them in a timely manner once they are recorded.  I believe this to be the reason I am always behind on laundry.  I have no immediate plans to make any changes to that.

9.  I am addicted to zulily.com.  It may or may not be a sickness.

10.  I do not believe I have ever met a potato I did not like:  mashed, smashed, broiled, baked, fried, with cheese, or any other way (see #5)!  why can't I feel this way about carrots? 

january, already?

well, 2012 has been a busy year already:

• the kids (and the BIG kid) went back to school january 3rd, everyone was ready to see their friends, but maybe not to get back into the early morning routine!
• on january 4th, I began the process of getting my 4 front teeth crowned, which is something I have wanted to do for a long, long time!  by february 1st, I should have a new smile!  and that is something to smile about.
• we had a family movie night to see alvin and the chipmunks:  chipwrecked at the theatre, and it got rave reviews from both kids!  along with the drinks, popcorn and laffy taffy. 
  
• davon and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on january 8th.

the rest of january and february are shaping up to be busy months!  now, if only we could trade our current april/may-ish weather for some january cold!

pet peeves: a big reveal

because I thought this would make for interesting blogging material, a little "get to know things about me you probably don't want to know", I am going to let you in on a not-so-secret list of my pet peeves.  there are only a few.  (or perhaps a lot!).  

this is not a comprehensive list, but what fun it will be for my children to read this in book form one day and realize just what a nut their mommy was when they were kids!  welcome to crazy, kids!

note:  rude people does not need to be on the list.  it is an obvious one.  it should go without saying.

1. public nose blowing
   unless it is an emergency, do not blow your nose in a restaurant.  or a cubicle.  or in a check out line.
2. people who play with their feet
   I am not a foot person.  I like pedicures and shoes and that about covers it. 
   (davon, this one is for you.  leave your socks on.  and in the name of all things good and holy, please stop teaching our kids to pick at their toenails!)
3. "I'm just sayin'.." after a rude remark
   newsflash:  saying "I'm just sayin'" at the end of a statement does not get you off the manners hook!  If you feel the need to say "I'm just sayin'" at the end of your statement, it was probably rude and should have been kept to yourself!
4. public nail clipping (esp in the workplace)
   I used to sit in a cubicle close to someone who clipped their fingernails (and let's hope nothing else) over their keyboard.  Nail clipping should be done in the privacy of your own home.  enough said.
5. the noise made by styrofoam, and little hands touching balloons (squeaking)
   *shudder*  I have to leave the room if my children are opening a present packed in styrofoam, or playing balloon volleyball.
6. the feel of chalk
   the feel of chalk makes the hairs on my arms and neck stand up.
   no chalkboard or sidewalk chalk for me.  I do love a nice chalk marker!
7. personal space violaters
   if we are not close personal friends or family, PLEASE do not touch me. 
   do not brush me in an elevator. 
   do not touch my armrest in the movies (I will get up and move if a stranger sits in the chair IMMEDIATELY next to me at the movies). 
   do not stand too close to me in the checkout line. 
   there is plenty of space on the earth; leave a little room!
8. cell phones in movies or PUBLIC BATHROOMS
   if you need to make or receive calls, the movie theather should not be on your list of planned activities.  oh, and public bathrooms are DIRTY, leave your phone in your purse for a multitude of reasons:  the germs, the fact that no one else wants to hear your conversation, and oh, the person you are talking to does not want to hear all the flushing.  yikes!
9. mispronunciation of words
   nuclear (not nucular), escape (not excape), supposedly (not supposably), anyway (not anyways), and the list goes on and on...
10. lists that don't end on a nice, clean, even number, like 10.

so, any soulmates out there who detest these things as much as I do??

drumroll please! {davon's classroom}

davon's classroom is 95% complete!
no need to really show before pictures, it was an empty classroom with desks and a chalkboard only, and a lot of the previous teacher's piles of junk!

the elementary school where he is was built in 1999 and has been maintained beautifully.  it houses grades pre-k through 2nd, and is named, Jean C. Few Primary School.

 

looking in from the doorway -- we have since hung some "tissue paper balls" which you will see in later pictures hanging from the ceiling.

 

 

helpers!

 

 

 

 

 

mr. bledsoe!

 

 

still helping!

 

unwrapped, hot glued crayolas + hairdryer = melted crayola art!

 

who needs curtains?  davon has paint chip window valances...  (my mom and I worked hard (and stealth-ily) to "collect" all those paint chips!)

 

the room "theme" is mostly frogs, dr seuss and rainbow colors.

 

my favorite people.
a new teacher. 
a new kindergartener with a fanta orange mustache.
a new pk-3'er with a goofy grin.  love all of them so much!

 

davon's classroom is really amazing, these pictures I snapped with my iPhone do not do it justice!
congratulations davon, and good luck on your first day!

coming up:  "meet the teacher" and orientation day for both kids on monday, first real day of school on tuesday, my birthday on tuesday, dance on wednesday, and a nap on thursday?  haha!  busy week ahead!

are you pinning?

 

Do you know about www.pinterest.com?

It is a really cool (new?) free website that allows you to "follow" your friends (and complete strangers if you like) and see what ideas they have "pinned".

For instance, I love recipes, and am always looking online for new ones.  But, a lot of times, I see something, and don't bookmark it at the time, but then think about it again later and can't remember where I saw it.  I also love to look at fun ideas for kid projects/photography/party planning/holiday decorating, etc., so this site is perfect for me.  It is better than my internet favorites because I can organize my "pins" into boards on the site, and all my friends can see them!  I can also see what my friends have "pinned", and "repin" if I want to.  You can also "pin" your own things from the internet, etc for others to see.

There is a waiting list to get a pinterest account, but it only took a week or so once I signed up to get an email "inviting me to join" (I am sure they only have so much space?).  I have heard it is faster if someone "invites" you directly, so if you want to try it out, send me an email or leave a comment with your email address and I will "invite" you.

What more can I say, I love it so far!  When you click on a "pin", you can also see exactly online where it came from (the original place), so if you see a food item that looks good, you can click on the "pin" and you get many more details including a link to the original post (with directions, etc).  Here are a few ideas I have found so far that I love (to give you an idea of what is out there!) --

cookies and cream cheesecake cupcakes

 

candy corn tree

 

chocolate covered ghost strawberries

 

homemade pizza rolls
(I already made these in less than 10 minutes and my gang loved them!)

 

oreo snowman pops

Only one question:  Am I ever going to find enough time to do/make/bake/create all of these cute things I am finding?!?

man's best friend {abby}

 

our dog abby does not get much "press" on the blog.  but it is not because she is not a wonderful dog.  she is, in fact, the best!  we bought her 6 weeks after we were married at only 8 weeks old, which makes her 11.5 years old now.  she went from being the puppy of third floor apartment-dwelling newlyweds to the dog of a family of four, who sometimes eats dinner at 10pm, after a conversation of "who fed the dog?".  she is so sweet and mellow, and perfect for our family.

she is a nine pound miniature dachshund, and is almost completely white-faced from age.

she traveled with us to the lakehouse this past weekend, and loves going!  (at home, she sleeps most of the time).  I snapped this photo of her on the dock, and I love it.  such a sweet, sweet girl!

lifes little moments, volume 5

it's been awhile since I did a lifes little moments post, so I have accumulated quite a few pictures on my iPhone!  these are the moments captured "in the moment", when my main camera is not with me!

friends at hamburger depot!

 

waiting for thomas!

 

everything is bigger in texas, including the corn dogs!  we had to have ALOT of ketchup to go with this corn dog!

 

swimming at the hotel pool in nacogdoches!

 

dinner at one of our favorite places in nac, clear springs!  hand dipped onion rings?  yes, please!

 

kindergarten round-up!

 

reading to baby cameron.. with a sonic drink close by..  a girl after her mommy's own heart..

 

carwash!

 

who wants an ice cream muffin?

 

sweet little man sleeping in his beanbag chair next to his constant sidekick, mickey..  mickey even got to borrow the mcqueen pillow, he really ranks!

 

ryan's pre-K graduation picture..  future class clown?  most likely to become a stand up comedian?

 

safety glasses at dinner.. (and using his hand as a napkin..)

 

waiting patiently at the doctor's office for her 3 year old well visit, looking stylish of course!

 

and first day of summer preschool, moving on up to the BIG KID class of 3-year olds! 
(Notice she has her princess keys in her hand and is ready to G-O!)

 

teacher appreciation week!

(better late than never..  I intended to get the post up earlier in the week, but, sometimes life happens!)

our kids go to preschool at St Andrews Day School, and we love, love, love our preschool!  it is a fairly small preschool (75 kids maybe?) full of wonderful teachers who are dedicated to the children, and parents, and the love of learning.  I love it there, and will be sad for ryan to leave at the end of this summer!

this week was the official teacher's appreciation week, and I think that they deserve way more than a week!  we need to think about our kids teacher's year round, on the sunny days and the rainy days, and on the non-hallmark days!  bring them a sonic drink or a starbucks, or pick up a candy bar in the grocery store checkout line.  think of them when you shop for your kids valentines, or easter, or even buy them lunch one day.  teachers work very hard, and they are not doing it for the money or the glory!  they are doing it for the love of children, and we love our teachers!  (including of course our daddy/husband who is so close to being a teacher himself!)

here are some fun teacher appreciation ideas that I did this week!

 
(thanks a latte from eighteen25)

 
(o"fish"ally the best from eighteen25)

 
(box of goodies from eighteen25)

it is also easy to organize a week of "treats".  we did: two breakfasts (donuts/coffee/OJ and kolaches), two lunches (schlotzsky's trays/chips/iced tea and pizza), a cookie cake, and large sonic drinks.  all I did was send out an email explaining my plan (in detail, I am a detail person) and people wanted to help!  even if you do not want to organize something on a large scale, leave 5 minutes early and drive through for a muffin or a sonic drink.  (I believe sonic drinks are the new "apples", ha!) 

I bet any teacher in your life would love it!  and it doesn't even need to be teacher appreciation week!

s-p-r-i-n-g-b-r-e-a-k!

spring break is finally here!  and we at the bledsoe house are very excited!

our plans include:  going to the lakehouse, playdates with the murrays, a week off from work, the southeast texas state fair (which will include a giant corn dog for me and a candy apple!), grilling steaks, (hopefully) catching some crabs in the crabtraps at the lake (and then making a jumbo lump crabmeat topping for the affore-mentioned steaks), crawfish, spring cleaning the house, kite flying, taking pictures in front of the azaleas, and maybe even a nap!

choo-choo!

guess who WON "Day Out with Thomas" (the train) tickets?  ME!
we have been once before, but are so excited to go again!

watch out thomas, we are coming to visit on April 9th, and now there are two of us who really like you, and scream, "TTTHHHOOOMMMAAASSS" every time we hear a train!

 
(by the way:  this is a "you know you are the parent of a preschooler when" moment...  did you ever think I would be so excited to win tickets to a talking train (who is sometimes kind of obnoxious) event?  the kids were SO excited, and it makes it all worth it!)