Meal Plan - 9/28/09

I'm dragging with my meal plan this week. I have exactly one meal idea in my head as I type this. Time to look through my recipes for inspiration! Let's just tackle dinners for now, okay?
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Monday - Leftovers (sorry, Honey!)
Tuesday - Shepherd's Pie
Wednesday - White Chicken Chili
Thursday - Garlic Chicken Farfalle
Friday - Crust-less Quiche
Saturday - Eat out
Sunday - Lasagna Roll Ups

Dessert - Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Bully Prevention

Yes, that's right...we're a month into Ryan's first year of public school and it's already happened: we've had a run in with a bully. I didn't think Kindergarteners were capable yet, but it seems that I'm completely naive.
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Last week, Ryan came home from school and casually mentioned that a kid called him a "baby." I found out he's in another Kindergarten class and that he also rides Ryan's bus. I got the impression that he called him a baby at recess and again on the bus, and Ryan said that the bus driver told Ryan he could change seats to sit farther away from the kid. I took the opportunity to remind him of what he learned this summer at church about forgiveness: don't get even, do the opposite. Kids can be mean, that's life, as Christians we need to display kindness, blah blah blah. It was a great teachable moment. And I thought it was over.
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The next day after school, he tells me, "The mean kid was mean to me again today. His name is Aden." I guess he overheard the bus driver say, "Aden, leave Joe alone," so Ryan isn't this boy's only target. This time, Aden didn't call Ryan a baby. Instead, he walked over to Ryan on the playground while he was building a sand castle and kicked him in the hand. According to Ryan, he said, "Don't kick me again" and Aden said, "Okay," and walked away. (I'm assuming Aden was trying to kick his sand castle down and kicked his hand instead. That makes the most sense from a kid's perspective, but who knows?) I reaffirmed that he did the right thing: to stand up for himself without retaliating.
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When Mike heard the story, he immediately started teaching Ryan to block hits and defend himself physically, which I can kind of understand from a man's perspective, but if two kids are going at it on the playground, by the time an adult shows up, both kids will get in trouble. I was at a loss for how to properly guide Ryan using our fundamental Christian values of forgiveness and using our words, without raising a wimp.
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At this point, I decided to email Ryan's teacher and let her know what was going on. Being that this is our first child, I have no idea how schools handle these situations. Are there formal rules against bullying? Are there consequences? Do they handle each case individually or have a zero tolerance policy?
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That was last weekend, so it took the teacher a couple of days to get back to me. In the meantime, Ryan (again, casually) mentioned to Mike that he saw some kids playing baseball on the Kindergarten playground (they're separated from the bigger kids) and stood in line to have a turn. I guess the other kids were from Aden's class and were all friends and yelled at Ryan to get out of line, then Aden picked up a bat and started swinging it at Ryan to chase him out of line. It was a plastic bat, mind you, but still. What on Earth?!?!? Now my kid is being chased with a baseball bat???
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The resolution came Monday morning when both Aden and Ryan's teacher spoke with Ryan to get his stories. At first, Ryan didn't want to say what happened (because Aden was sitting right there) but the teachers assured him that they want all of the kids to feel safe at school and he finally opened up. A note went home with Aden to his parents and every day this week, Aden has left Ryan alone. Ryan's teacher also said that all of the Kindergarten teachers would have a talk with their class about bullying and name calling and explain that it's not acceptable. I'm glad that's over, for now.
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What's ironic, is that the first day when Ryan came home and said that he was called a baby, a flyer was in his backpack for a free "Bully Prevention Class" at a nearby martial arts studio. Mike and I signed Ryan up for the class this morning and I'm SO glad we did!
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They addressed resolutions that I didn't know how to verbalize to Ryan and gave the kids valuable lessons to deal with bullies. The class had kids 5-10 years old, so it was a pretty broad age group, but the lessons were the same for all of the kids and I want to share what they taught us. (they asked the parents to sit in the back and attend as well)
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First, they explained what a bully is and that the reason they pick on other kids is because they are jerks, not because there's anything wrong with the other child. (kids offered reasons why they get picked on: having glasses, liking to read, being too tall/too short, looking different in general, etc.) The instructor stressed that if you get picked on in school, there is nothing wrong with YOU. I really liked that he concentrated on building the child's confidence because confident kids have an easier time letting things roll off their backs than insecure kids.
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Next, they roll-played one instructor poking another instructor. The "just walk away" technique didn't work when the bully simply followed the victim, continually poking them. They had the kids practice being polite and saying, "Please stop poking me," then said that if that doesn't work, say firmly and loudly, being bold and using eye contact, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" The volume wasn't necessarily a shout, but the intent is to get the attention of a nearby adult and to let the bully know that you're serious and can stand up for yourself.
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The next step after telling the bully to leave you alone is to tell an adult or teacher. And if you're at school, they stressed telling your parents when you get home. They went through several examples of "telling" vs. "tattling" and the "telling" examples were all when someone is at risk of harming themselves or someone else. Or as we call them in our house: "safety issues." They really stressed that telling an adult about a safety issue is NOT tattling, no matter what the other kids call it. It seems that whenever kids tell an adult anything, they're often labeled a "tattle tale," but for safety issues, they made sure they understood that it's not only okay, it's absolutely necessary if the behavior is going to get corrected.
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They also went over what to do if another kid is getting bullied or picked on. The advice was the same, but you're supposed to skip being polite and tell the bully, "LEAVE THEM ALONE," then take the victim by the hand/arm and pull them out of the situation. If they're getting hit or beat up on, they suggested telling a nearby child to get an adult and go over and shout at the bully, "STOP HITTING THEM!" to draw negative attention to the situation. They addressed the common thing most people do: standing there to watch as a crowd gathers. They explained how this is unacceptable if you want to keep the bully from getting away with this kind of behavior. I loved that they taught the kids to not only defend themselves, but to help others in need.
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The last thing they did was teach three very easy self-defense moves to get out of situations where they might be hurt. The first was if a kid grabbed their wrist with one hand, the next was if they grabbed their wrist with two hands and the last was if they grabbed them by the shirt with both hands or put their hands around their neck. All of the response moves got the victim out of the way of the bully quickly without hitting back or hurting them. This part of the class was very hands on and hard to explain in writing...I wish I could! They practiced each move with each child and with all of the moves, the child was to firmly and loudly say, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" and walk away to tell an adult, after they get out of the bully's grip.
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The information in this class was awesome. So great, in fact, that we signed Ryan up for a month's worth of sessions to learn more. They made the class fun for the kids while being firm with them (they answered, "yes, sir" or "no, sir" as a group whenever they were asked a question) while giving them tons of positive reinforcement and building their confidence. We had planned to sign him up for flag football this fall, but missed the boat on that, so decided this would be a wonderful activity for Ryan to learn self-discipline, self-control, self-confidence, focus, respect for others and even a few more self-defense strategies.
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The whole Aden situation spooked me because Ryan is not a passive child. He speaks his mind and stands up for himself and knows to tell an adult when there's a safety issue. But in this case, he didn't. He did tell me (thank goodness!) but there wasn't an adult nearby on the playground when his hand was kicked or when he was threatened with a bat and it scares me that it didn't occur to him to tell a teacher! Kids act differently in peer situations than they do at home, that's for sure.

Maternity Pics

A few weeks ago, my photographer friend, Jolie, took some beautiful maternity pictures of me. She needed some outdoor shots for her website and I was a willing model! (Sidenote: she prefers to do maternity shoots at 32 weeks and I was 31 at the time. I guess that's the ideal time when expecting moms are round and cute before getting completely swollen and lumpy???) It was extremely hot and I felt fat and disgusting, but I am shocked thrilled that Jolie was able to capture some decent photos of me and the baby bump.
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Here are a few that are edited with some fun textures over them. And I'm no cowgirl, but how cool do I look in this hat???





In this last picture, you can't even see my roadmap blue veins all over my belly! Now that's the power of Photoshop, people. There's a slide show with a few more of the pictures here.

19 pound newborn

Okay, I seriously feel like I'll be making these kinds of headlines on October 20-something. Watch out America! I won't be able to beat the current record of a 24 pound baby, but this boy's going to be big, I can feel it.
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Woman gives birth to 19 pound baby...read for yourself! Can you say, "Gestational Diabetes" - ??? If you click on the 3 slides of the baby, in the last picture, the poor boy looks like he's going to eat the kid next to him as he wails away.

Feeling Manic

Honestly, I feel a little bipolar lately. I get surges of energy and get tons done, then feel completely depleted and can't lift a finger, though the demands of life don't slow down. In a given day, I'll go from feeling tired and useless to blissfully content and on top of my game.
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But in general, I think my brain is bored. My to do list is dwindling (please don't send me hate mail if you're stressed out!), the daily upkeep of life is becoming dull, I don't feel challenged...I think I need a project. What a perfect time to have a baby, right? Please remind me of my boredom when I'm whining about being overtired and overwhelmed in a few weeks, 'kay?
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What's hilarious about all that I just said is that just a couple of weeks ago, I felt like I was drowning under the pressures of having no time and no energy. Even this past Monday, I was frustrated to the point of tears that my poor son took 45 minutes to understand how to properly write a lower-case "y" within the boundaries of the paper with the top and bottom line parameters. 30 minutes of homework took an hour and a half...my patience was maxed out and I was trying desperately not to show it to Ryan so that he will continue to have positive feelings about homework for as long as possible.
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Yet today, I accomplished more than I have in the last 2 weeks combined. My house is clean, coupons are clipped, emails are caught up, bills are paid, phone calls are returned, appointments are scheduled, I've read every magazine in the house, I've become bored with peeking around the Internet, the house is decorated for fall (partially wishful thinking...I'm ready for it to cool down around here), I even started making my annual homemade Christmas projects and wrote our Christmas letter. Mike and I watched movies the last two nights after putting the kids to bed because there is nothing on tv. I took the Real Age test and found out my body thinks I'm 29. (woo hoo!) I did save a couple of errands to run tomorrow while Kaylin is at school and I have some honey-do's for Mike for this weekend (mostly heavy lifting), but other than that, my to do list is bare. I'm so ready for my 161 pictures to come in the mail so I can have something to scrapbook!
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People have warned me about saying this out loud, but I'm just going to say it: I'm bored. At this moment, anyway. And every evening this week. My days aren't always boring, but when the kids are in school, napping or down for the night...I'm bored. That's why I was so excited to aide in Kaylin's class, but apparently other people's crazy kids have proven to be physically exhausting and mentally draining. I'll still do it, but now instead of looking forward to it...I dread. I've woken up at 5:30 the last two mornings and just laid in bed, awake, because I didn't know what to do with myself until everyone else got up at 7:00. I think I may have even nodded back off this morning out of sheer boredom.
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Okay, so go ahead and throw your stones and rotten tomatoes. I know 99% of you reading this are rolling your eyes, if you haven't already logged off of the computer in disgust. I remember the days when I longed to be bored. That word wasn't a part of my vocabulary until earlier this year.
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I have a feeling these next 4-ish weeks until the baby arrives will be long ones. So if I seem a little manic, please forgive me. I feel like my posts have been a bit erratic because I don't have anything interesting to say. And blogging about being bored seems so...boring.

Boys and Girls {a perspective change}

I've had some pretty inaccurate pre-conceived notions about boys vs. girls over the years. In college, I worked at a church "mom's day out" program and found that my 13 boys were less work than my three whiny girls. The boys would fight over a toy, but eventually one would give up and find interest in something new. The girls would fight over a toy and both come running to me after their tiny feelings were hurt when so-and-so attempted to emotionally scar them for life. So for years, my mind was set that boys were mellow, girls were whiny and over-emotional.
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Then Ryan grew into 2...3...4 years old. Granted, he "gets over it" pretty quick when he's reprimanded or doesn't get his way, but I quickly realized that boys are a bundle of energy. They. Never. Stop. And their attention span? Forget about it! When Kaylin was 2 and Ryan was 4, she would sit still to color or do a craft far longer than Ryan ever would at 2...let alone 4! So I decided that girls were more mellow than boys.
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It seemed fairly consistent with kids I know, with a few exceptions (as there always are) and my opinions seemed validated for a while. The first time I volunteered at Ryan's 3 year old pre-school class, I was relieved by the chaos that I observed. Few of the other kids listened to instruction, most of the other kids also had NO attention span and Ryan seemed more the "boy rule" than the exception. It seemed my expectations of him were too high.
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This was my perception until yesterday. Boys = wild and unpredictable, Girls = mellow and mature. Until I volunteered in Kaylin's class. First of all, I should note that the last time I volunteered at school was in May, and that was with 4-5 year old kids that were Kindergarten-ready. Yesterday, being with barely 3 year olds who had never been in school before was...beyond exhausting.
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Mind you, nearly ALL of the kids were a challenge in one form or another, not just the boys and not just the girls. But the two who exhausted me most today were both girls. Granted, maybe they've never been away from their parents, maybe they didn't get a good night's sleep or have a decent breakfast that day, kids have "off" days just like the rest of us. But WOW were they a handful today: sassy, belligerent, disrespectful, blatantly disobedient...wow. I was under the impression that Kaylin was pretty well behaved for her age and yesterday confirmed that 100%. In comparison, she was an angel. And not just because I was aiding...you could tell she was just doing her thing. And maybe today she was having a one of her "good" days. But I suddenly feel even more blessed that my sweet girl has the disposition that she does. I'm not sure I have the energy to aide with the rest of the kids in her class, though! Oh holy night...
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So what's my point? I guess I've finally realized that boys and girls are very different, but you can't really accurately label them one way or another. It all depends on their personalities. All little kids need to get their wiggles out, not just boys. They all need a variety of activities and don't sit still for long. Few are truly "rule followers" and most prefer to challenge authority instead of go with the flow. When put in a group, most will conform and listen to instruction, but not all. Many will line up, but you'll always have a wanderer or two. Especially at the ripe young age of 3.
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I just don't look forward to aiding over the next month. I need to mentally prepare myself and get out of my Kindergarten-maturity-level mentality. These are 3 year olds, after all! I was hoping to aide a lot now so I could take a break when the baby's born, but I'm not sure I have it in me! I need to reserve that kind of patience for helping Ryan with his homework every afternoon. I don't have the saint-like patience of a pre-school teacher! I can only (calmly) repeat myself (again and again and again) so many times before I mentally go insane and start biting my lip...

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps

If you've never been to PF Chang's restaurant and tasted their lettuce wraps, you're missing out. And you might be a little confused by this concept! You place the filling inside of an individual lettuce leaf, top it with sauce, wrap it up and enjoy. It's intended to be an appetizer, but can be eaten as a meal.
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I modified this recipe based off of a friend's suggestion and it turned out really good...easy ingredients with a little less sugar. I'm thinking bibb lettuce might work better than iceberg next time. The kids had a huge problem keeping their wraps wrapped!
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Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons oil (canola or vegetable work best)
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup water chestnuts (one small can)
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons chopped onions
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 6-8 whole leaves iceberg or bibb lettuce

Special Sauce

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil (or canola if you don't hae sesame)
• 1 tablespoon hot mustard
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1-2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions

You can make the following sauces ahead to save time. Should last at least 1-2 days:

1. Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.
2. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
3. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.
4. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.
5. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

To make the actual lettuce wraps:

1. Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
2. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.
3. Remove chicken from the pan and cool.
4. Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.
5. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.
6. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
7. When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are.
8. With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.
9. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
10. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce leaves and wrap up into individual cups.
11. Top with "special sauce".

Next time I serve this to my kids, I may just chop up the lettuce, top it with the "filling" and drizzle the "special sauce" on like salad dressing. We practically had to feed the wraps to both of our kids, which was a pain, but they LOVED them.

Meal Plan - 9/21/09

Breakfast
{Melt-in-Your-Mouth} Apple Coffee Cake
Whole Grain Waffles
Oatmeal
Cold cereal
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Lunch
Turkey sandwiches
Cheese and crackers
Crockpot Applesauce
Carrots
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Dinner
Monday - Baked Potato Bar with leftover chili, cheese, broccoli and sour cream
Tuesday - Quesadillas
Wednesday - Tuna Casserole
Thursday - {Frugal} Bean Stew with Olive Oil Bread
Friday - Taco Salad
Saturday - PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps and Veggie Fried Rice
Sunday - {Healthy} Chicken Pot Pie
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Dessert
Rice Krispie Treats
Chocolate Pudding made with avocados (You have to try this now that avocados are cheap and in season! It's so good...very rich...kind of like the center of a chocolate molten lava cake.)

Rambling...rambling...

Sorry I've been absent for a couple of days. I think I've sort of been recovering from the crazy beginning of the week. The days have been wonderfully quiet, getting back into our routine, running countless errands while Kaylin is at pre-school, it's been lovely. Then Ryan comes home from school and everything is a whirlwind. In a few short hours, we cram in an after school snack, deprogramming "Kindergarten Ryan," homework, dinner, limited Daddy time, baths, bedtime...I collapse into an exhausted heap at the end of it all.
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Anyway, I do have lots of random thoughts that I need to get out of my head, so here goes.
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(Ryan just came out of his bed to have me scratch an unreachable part of his back and I swear my mind just went blank. Hang on...my thoughts are coming back to me. Wait for it...nope, nothing. I blame the pregnancy. I'm losing brain cells every minute.)
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Ah, here we are. I have a topic. I had a really uncomfortable day today. I think the baby was in a weird position because I couldn't breath right, I couldn't get comfortable, I just wanted to whine. Then he moved and started doing all sorts of calisthenics in there and I remembered that being pregnant is SO COOL. Feeling a baby move inside of you is incredible. Truly amazing. Indescribable. And whether I'm comfortable or not (currently, I'm NOT) - being pregnant rocks.
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But wearing a skirt while 8+ months pregnant does not rock. And tonight is the last time I will be wearing one this pregnancy. I'm so big and uncomfortable that I need to sit like a trucker with my legs spread apart so my belly has somewhere to rest. Otherwise, I practically need to be reclined to take a full breath. That just doesn't work in a skirt. I'm a real lady, I know.
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Ryan went to a birthday party tonight until 8:30. His bedtime is 7:00 now that he's in school and 8:30 is past the time when he turns back into a pumpkin. (not a cute pumpkin, like as in Cinderella...you know what I mean...) Not to mention that all they did at the party was eat. Pizza, popcorn, an ice cream sundae bar, cupcakes...they were running around being Transformers when I picked him up. We just got home (he was bouncing like a Super Ball) and he has officially hit his wall. He's crashing in tears in his room as we speak because I told him to stop coming out of his room every 2 minutes and go to bed. We're talking inconsolable sobbing, people. Getting to bed 2 hours late with a rare sugar high does that to my kids. Oh wait...I hear...silence. He must have moved into his sugar coma now. He'll wake up a new man.
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While Ryan was at the party tonight, Mike and I took Kaylin out to dinner and for frozen yogurt. She. Loved. It. It is so interesting getting to spend time with each child alone now that I'm so used to them together. Of course, I have her alone all day M/W/F, but seeing how she interacted as an only child with Mike AND me was intriguing. She was hilarious, first of all. And very well behaved. She loved the attention, but didn't require all eyes on her all the time. It reminded me that we need to start intentionally having dates with our kids individually.
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I needed to kill about 20 minutes before picking Kaylin up the other day and went into Michael's with my little 40% coupons. Do you know what I found? Their huge display of Princess and Pirate birthday party themed stuff was clearanced out. And it wasn't picked over at ALL. Sure - thanks! A month after Kaylin's Princess party and everything is on super sale. But I was smart. Her favorite color will be pink for years to come, I'm sure, so I stocked up on party favor goodies that are pink, but not necessarily geared only for a princess party. I was thinking of doing a small tea party next year and pink goodie bags work just perfectly for a tea party. I felt silly buying party favors for a birthday party that's 11 months away, until I thought of it like buying Christmas decorations in January when they're at their cheapest. Then I didn't feel quite as ridiculous!
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Switching gears, someone found my blog by searching "pampered chef batter bowl boob cake" - I'm guessing they were disappointed when they found Kaylin's Princess Cake that I made with the Pampered Chef batter bowl and not a "boob cake." Because really? Ew.
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It's been so long since I've scrapbooked. I just ordered 161 pictures online last night with the intention of getting caught up before the baby arrives. Does anyone else use Artscow? They hook you by offering 100 free 4x6s every month and 50 free 5x7s. It's a lot of free pictures, let me tell you. But their shipping is really high and unpredictable. Actually, I think I ordered just the 100 free 4x6s one month and it was $8.95, so that still works out to 9 cents a print, which IS a good deal. But they emailed me a code for free shipping on orders over $10 the other day and after adding and taking away a gazillion different products (I was thinking of Christmas gifts) - the code didn't work. Plus, they have so many "free" items logged into my account, finding $10 worth of non-free items was a challenge. I'd add an item, see that it was free, then notice my shipping jumped up $9. I called the contact line and got a voicemail. (I think the company might be international because the English on the site isn't always grammatically correct.) It was a joke, so I decided to forgo the free shipping and just order my pictures and be done with it. I'm not saying don't use the site, I'm just saying: Artscow users beware. The pictures ARE free, they just make up for it in shipping.
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Okay, I think that's it. That was a lot more than I thought I wanted to share, but Mike's entranced in a college football game and I guess I'm a little bored. Thanks for hanging with me while I ramble on and on. Have a great weekend!!!

School Paper OVERLOAD!

I have spent the last two afternoons completely stressed out and overwhelmed with school papers.
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It started Monday afternoon when Ryan came home with his new homework binder. The problem is that Ryan's class started getting daily homework assignments last week, when we were on vacation. There were a few things that happened to make the paperwork unmanageable. There were past homework assignment and detailed instructions from last week that we needed to catch up on. Plus, Ryan had shoved in-class projects that were in his cubby from last week randomly into the binder; these had no instructions since they were done in class. AND we still had assignments and work to do for Monday and the rest of the month of September. The homework binder combined with keep-at-home reference forms for writing practice, in-class assignments with at-home follow up work, the monthly school newsletter, the weekly class newsletter, forms for class t-shirts and yearbooks, forms that needed to be completed and returned to the teacher the next day and a packet of information about the PTSA was all enough to send me over the edge.
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I needed to feel structure. I needed to find a way to organize all of this paperwork. What I really needed was a system for all incoming paperwork, moving forward.
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Here's what I came up with:
- "Reading materials" will go in a designated area on our junk counter with the intention of reading them while Ryan does independent assignments at the kitchen table. Once they're read, they'll either go directly into the recycle bin or into another area if an action is needed. (if a check needs to be written or something needs to be signed and returned, etc.)
- "Action needed items" will go on top of Ryan's closed backpack and will be dealt with after dinner, when I make lunches for the next day.
- "Completed assignments" and artwork will go on the fridge, then will either get passed on to grandparents or hidden at the bottom of the recycle bin. I'll keep some choice pieces and take pictures of others to scrapbook at the end of the school year.
- "At-home follow up work" will stay in the inside pocket of his homework binder to be done after his homework is completed IF we have time. If the homework takes too long, I'm not going to feel guilty about tossing it in the recycle bin. It's unlikely we'll get to it later and I don't need the clutter.
- "Keepsakes" will go into a 3-ring binder that I have designated for Kindergarten. I mentioned before how I plan to have one binder for each child for each year of school. I'll only keep enough to fit in the binder. Period. As it is, 15 binders (counting pre-school) when they graduate high school will be A LOT of keepsakes!
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This post titled What To Do With Kids' Artwork by Simple Mom compiles all of the ideas I've heard of, used and tried over the years for ALL of the arts and crafts our kids create. It's worth reading if you have little ones.
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One other thing I'm doing to capture Ryan each month of the year is this idea from Becky Higgins. She's providing the template pages to customize for yourself and it's very low maintenance, but I know will be priceless to look back on later.
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Here are links to the cover page and August's 2-page spread to start the 8.5x11 project. (click here if you're a Mac user) I had Ryan and Kaylin each write their name and do a self portrait last night (because I clearly wasn't stressed enough...) and they turned out so sweet. I put them in the front cover pocket of their 3-ring binders for their keepsakes for the year. I'm changing the August pages a bit to include the pictures I took of Ryan at the beginning of the year. (I don't have a class picture or a picture of the backpacks, but I do have a picture of him at his desk and of him with his teacher.)

All of the pink circles at the bottom of Kaylin's picture (above) are her toes and the blue circles on either side of her head are ears and hands. I have no idea what the rest of the black markings are all over the page. As far as I was concerned, the picture was complete before the black marks took over, but it's not my picture so what do I know? Here's Ryan's:

Tuesday's Time Saving {Post-Vacation} Tips

When you're getting ready to go out of town, consider preparing your kitchen for your arrival home. I thought I did this, but I was wrong. For example, before we left for California, we ran out of milk and eggs. Knowing that both will last more than a week, I bought a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs to leave in the fridge. Both were gone within 2 days of our return, but it kept me from having to rush out to the store.
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In addition to the basics, make sure you have enough food on hand to make a few meals before needing to make a grocery run. My mom made us a casserole to eat on Sunday night so that I didn't have to cook (thanks, Mom!) - but yesterday, I found myself in a bind. I knew I'd be short on time, so I needed to make something quick. I had planned on quesadillas for dinner, but managed to run out of refried beans in the pantry. So I went to plan B. I pulled out some tortellini from the fridge that was set to expire on 10/1. But when I opened the package, I found mold. (*sigh*) I didn't really have a plan C, until I found some ravioli in the freezer that I must have bought at Costco a while back.
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This was all happening as I'm trying to help Ryan with his make-up homework from last week, complete Kaylin's paperwork to send for her first day of school today and prepare for our first Bible study for the fall semester to arrive at 6:45. Not having a complete plan (and worse...running low on my emergency food stash) made for a very stressful evening. I had a plan for dinner, I just didn't check for all of the ingredients, so it didn't work out.

Kaylin's 1st Day of Pre-School

When did my baby girl get so big? Today, Kaylin seemed SO OLD as she trotted confidently off to her first day of pre-school. She was beyond excited all morning, talking about all of the things she'd get to do and the friends she'd make. There were no tears when I left (from her anyway - I was fighting them back - all the way to the parking lot) and it was dreadfully quiet in the house with her gone. What am I going to do with myself for 2.5 hours, twice a week, for the next 5 weeks???
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A familiar mom was aiding in her class when I dropped her off. This mom was in the playroom last year; that's where Kaylin went when I volunteered in Ryan's room. So in addition to remembering her teacher from when Ryan had her 2 years ago, she knew another adult in the room, which was nice.
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When I picked her up, she told me all about their snack (in great detail...she loves food like her mama), how they painted with marbles in an empty box, how she played with a girl named Abbie on the playground and how someone accidentally hit her but they apologized and she told them, "it's okay." I didn't get nearly this much detail from Ryan on his first day of pre-school, let alone his first day of Kindergarten!

Kaylin LOVES wearing her backpack and even put it on in the garage to walk into the house, then took it right off to show me what was inside. She's just suddenly so mature to me.
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I'm looking forward to volunteering in her class next Tuesday to meet the other kids and see how she interacts with everyone. I need to get as many volunteer days in as I can before the baby comes. Trying to work it in with nursing, naps and a newborn's specific schedule is going to be interesting!

California Highlights

Although we had a great week away, I'm actually glad to be home. I'm a routine kinda girl, so vacations are a nice break from reality, but a week is enough for me. That probably sounds crazy. Living out of suitcases and eating out all the time is fun for a while, but I like getting back to normal at home and feel settled again!
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Our trip started on Monday. After driving all day, we checked into our hotel and spent the evening at Downtown Disney, walking around and shopping.

Tuesday was our big day at Disneyland. It was unusually warm that day - I pitted out my shirt before we even got INto the park! The first thing we saw once we entered was Goofy, but since we knew we would see him the next day for breakfast, we made a beeline for Mickey Mouse. Even though the line behind us was long, they scooted him away just a few families after we got this picture. I was shocked that we were all smiling and facing the camera at the same time! I forgot to get my souvenir Disneyland ornament, so I'll likely put this in an ornament frame and display it on our Christmas tree every year.

That evening, we hired a babysitting service (this lady was amazing...she arrived with toys and crafts for the kids) and had a night out, just the adults. We ate dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp then headed back to Disneyland until it closed. I got my fill of Mickey-shaped turtles and our friends loaded up on Mickey candy and giant lollipops for their kids.

Wednesday was breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. Before she went to bed the night before, Kaylin said she was going to ask Goofy to make her some eggs and when we arrived that morning, Ryan announced, "HEY! This isn't Goofy's house!!!" I should have clarified that Goofy's Kitchen wasn't actually going to be IN his kitchen. Mike got this picture of Goofy in front of the enormous buffet. I've trained him so well!!!

After breakfast, we headed down to San Diego.

We ate lunch at an awesome hole-in-the-wall Mexican place and hung out on the beach for a while.


But Thursday was our big beach day. All. Day. Long. Sand was in every nook and cranny...hair, ears, fingernails, you name it.

That night, the kids spent over an hour collecting seashells.

Friday, our friends went to Seaworld and we drove down to Seaport Village for the day. They have great little shops and a beautiful atmosphere right on the harbor.

Then Saturday, we hung out at the beach again and drove home after dinner.

Our favorite memories...
Ryan:
Getting his face painted

Playing in the waves with his friends

Kaylin:
Meeting Minnie Mouse (thank goodness we found her...we ran out of time to meet any of the princesses that Kaylin's been talking about for MONTHS)

Getting buried in the sand

Mike:
The rides - I actually caught a picture of them on Splash Mountain...I skipped that one, but went on the Indiana Jones ride, despite warnings from signs and every employees who saw me in line. Um, yeah, it was pretty rough and I now understand why it is not recommended for expectant mothers!!!

The beach - this is a picture of the guys on the patio of our friends' rented beach house. If you notice, it's right on the boardwalk which is on the other side of the beach. Next year, I think we're going to try to get a beach house near them but not as close to the water; cheaper than beach-front, yet closer and more convenient than a hotel.

This picture was taken from the same patio without a super zoom lens. Being that close to the water was amazing.

And this shows the front of the house (the yellow one on the right). Since there's very limited parking nearby, it's like having your own private beach!

Mine:
Our Anaheim date night


Going to Goofy's Kitchen - it was $100 for our family, but character breakfasts are SO worth it to me. The buffet was amazing, the kids loved spending time and dancing with the characters...I highly recommend it. We even ran into someone there; a little girl we taught this summer in Ryan's Sunday school class. Small world!