Rhys Turns 2!

First of all, let me say, it was the most pitiful birthday party ever! Rhys was sick on his birthday with a runny nose and cough. Poor guy!

I baked the cake the day before and although it was a bit feminine with the frosting and sprinkle colors, it was what I had on hand. Sophie was very interested in eating birthday cake and Rhys was whining and fussing that this whole birthday experience was even happening. So Mommy blew out the candles and served up the cake. In a whirl of gift wrap, snot, coughs, and chocolaty crumbs, he was soon down for a well needed nap.Happily, he was doing much better after sleep and medication so we went to play in the fountains and watch the water show for the rest of his birthday. See! There's our happy boy!Besides a few falls and scraps, he had a terrific time! He loves playing in the water.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Rhys! We love you very much and couldn't imagine life without you!

Municipal Services Open House

So we've been up to some serious business around here...no really. Saturday morning we went to the Municipal Services Open House since we tax payers just spent $7 million on it, it seemed only right to see what we got for it. They had several info booths with games for the kids about recycling, storm water, hazardous waste disposal, and such. Then we had the chance to tour all the city equipment like fire trucks, amulances, the back hoe she saw on our street a week prior, tree spade, and our kids' favorite the garbage and recyling trucks. Every week they bring a bit of joy to my little ones by roaring into our alley and doing what they do best.

Pat, May I Buy a Vowel?

Rhys, who started speech therapy with 3 consonants and one vowel ("uh"), is now using a lot of different consonants and, in the past couple of weeks, 2 vowels! It has been near murder to get a vowel other than "uh" from him in the past. We are now hearing him say the long e (especially when he requests Teeeee for TV) and long i (like when he melts my heart with "hi").

We just started him in Developmental Services, as well, which looks at overall development. We will be focusing primarily on receptive language (identifying things we label, following directions) and age appropriate play (such as feeding a baby doll, rolling a ball back and forth, pretend cooking).

We are grateful for the services being offered to him and feel pleased that we are slowly closing some of the gaps in his skills. Rhys is such a delightful little guy. We are glad to help him catch up in his early years.

Y is for Yippee!

As in "Yippee! I just taught my last class!" Next week marks the end of our co-op preschool but it's not my turn to teach so I'm done! This week we letter Y took center stage. Some of my favorite activities planned for Y were :

Bug Yoga in which we practiced yoga poses titled as Butterfly, Moth, Dead Bug, and Spider

Finger painting with yogurt

Watching a short yodeling video and having a yodeling contest

And the BEST of all was our yellow hunt we took outdoors

On our yellow hunt I was hoping the kids would see more than dandelions but wasn't planning on it. They had sharp eyes, though, and found yellow leaves, paint, and a ball, as well. Shockingly, at the end of our street we came upon a huge yellow back hoe! The kids thought that was pretty cool and I thought I was pretty cool as a teacher to have "arranged" this surprise. We asked the worker the name of this tractor type thing and he informed us it was a back hoe and that they were digging to find a leak in the water line.

I thought that was very generous of them to talk with a lady with five preschoolers. When we started to make our departure, Rhys started to cry because he wanted to stay or at least complete walking in the direction we were going when we came upon this contraption. Well, one of the workers said that they were at a standstill until other workers arrived so he offered to move the back hoe, settle it down securely on the ground, and let each kid climb in to sit in the driver's seat! His name was Ben (who has a three-year-old of his own).

Thanks to Ben, 4 of the 5 kids took the opportunity to try it out (the seat, not the controls), even my little Rhys who was thrilled! I even got to try (all while silently chiding myself for not bringing my camera or phone to get pictures of the kids). We thanked them profusely, looked into the deep hole they had dug, and said our goodbyes. It was a fun experience and made me appreciate good people that take time to help and serve others.

Another fun activity we did was play In n Out restaurant while practicing money sense with pennies and nickles. With the first two In n Outs opening in Texas yesterday, and one being in our town, I thought it appropriate to celebrate with the kids!
Neal made a late night run after the kids went to bed and was lucky enough that a friend of ours was in the drive-thru line (for 2 1/2 hours already) and let Neal into his truck to order with him. They passed the next hour in line chatting. Thanks Sterling! The restaurant had been open approximately 12 hours and their order number (at least on that register) was 4,613. There are a ton of Californians in Texas and we have been waiting for them to do business here. The place was insanely busy the entire day with no advertising. That's how much people love their burgers.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful and influential women in our lives. We are better people because you have touched our lives. We love you and appreciate you very much.

My day was great! Slept in, put together a recipe with my husband, talked with loved ones, attended church, and hung out with my family. Not too bad at all. Sophie and Rhys even got me a lovely "Mom" pendant. At church they always honor the women by gifting them with a musical CD (I have a wonderful collection of uplifting, peaceful music because of these gifts over the years) and chocolate.Even with all the craziness, I LOVE being a mother. My kids keep me thinking, playing, and learning. They are a delight to watch develop and grow. They help me look at things with a new perspective. For this, I am very grateful...and somewhat exhausted.

Back in the Game

Last year was such a mess that we stopped doing couponing and making deal runs. It was just too much to keep up with back then. Thanks to a friend of ours (M.M.) and her amazing stock pile, we are excited about couponing again. Tonight's deal was 35 items for $1.90!There's cheese, strawberries, cereal, pasta, cottage cheese, pudding, yogurt, chips, almond milk (something new to try), and gum! For personal care items there's toothbrushes, flosser, body wash, breath and air fresheners! For $1.90! Isn't it exciting!

This is the kind of thing that gets us all giddy. This past week has been mostly uneventful with two exceptions: 1. Keri enjoyed a Girls Night Out on Thursday and 2. Sophie spent last night throwing up! I liked 1 way more than 2! She's holding everything down fine but is fighting an occasional moderate fever.

I spent much of the day doing loads of laundry to clean the sheets, bed skirt, blankets, and towels that were casualties of last night's events. I leaned the mattress up against her dresser to strip the bed skirt off. Later, and feeling better, Sophie discovered that if you push the mattress over it creates a spiffy makeshift slide!

Previous Quote of the Blog

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. --Mother Teresa