Kindergarten

Today it was Nathan's turn to begin the new school year. My "baby" is in kindergarten!!! He was a little bit concerned this morning because his big brother warned him that today would be tough since he'd be learning Spanish. Thanks, Ian. Yes, this private kindergarten now teaches Spanish. I like Ryan's response to learning this piece of curriculum information: "Why not focus on getting English down first?" (Or something similar to that...sorry to butcher your quote, Ryan).


We were too early so I decided to snap a couple extra pictures outside of the school. As you can see in this photo, Nathan was totally thrilled with this decision. I have NO idea where he gets these expressions (or his attitude).


Happy first day of school to me! I am listening to very loud punk music while drinking my coffee. Bliss!

First Grade

First grade? How did this happen so soon? Ian was so excited to start school at the "big" school (elementary school versus the small private preschool/kindergarten he has attended the past two years). I was barely able to slow him down long enough to take this quick snapshot this morning. I will do my best to get a decent shot this afternoon when he has hopefully settled down a bit.


Fearless and confident Ian headed straight for the bus without so much as a glance behind him. Nathan just kept waving and saying, "I love you, Ian!" Knowing Ian, he had a new best friend before the bus pulled up at the school.


Nathan begins kindergarten next Monday. I cannot believe that both boys will be in school FIVE days a week. Nathan, of course, attends a half-day type of kindergarten, but STILL!!! I'm so excited and cannot wait to celebrate that first day with a huge cup of coffee, loud punk music blasting through our surround sound and a book. My goal is to accomplish nothing that day, but some much needed relaxation before diving into volunteering, more schoolwork (me and the boys), etc.

Under the Sea Muffin Tin Monday

Earthquakes and hurricanes, oh my! We are in full hurricane preparation mode here in Virginia Beach while Ryan "enjoys" the desert of Fallon, NV, but early this week we enjoyed a fun playdate with friends followed by the largest earthquake experienced in this area in over 100 years. A little 5.8 (this description coming from the California girl, not the locals).


Our Muffin Tin Monday playdate technically took place on Tuesday since I have microbiology lab during the lunch hour on Mondays. Fortunately, the little ones are very forgiving. All of the moms brought a themed snack to share and I brought 3 snacks since we had two moms that needed to back out at the last minute. The fun fish-shaped bread was Nathan's request and quite tasty! We also picked up Sponge Bob Cheese Nips and Sponge Bob Graham Crackers. I had planned to make shell pasta, but ran out of time. The ocean-themed cookies were perfect as well! Notice we also had fish sticks and Swedish fish. Fun!!!

After lunch and more fun on the park's playground, each child took a break from the sun and worked on a simple fun foam craft. I had lots of ocean/fish fun foam and stickers on hand so we just dumped it all out and gave each child glue and blue construction paper. It doesn't get any easier than that! I attempted to cut up tissue paper squares so each child could decorate a chipboard fish, but the wind was gusting at random. We decided to save that craft for an indoor playdate.


My silly boys wearing their fish sunglasses which I purchased from Discount School Supply forever ago. After 3 hours of playing and crafting, Nathan was not interested in posing for this photo at all. Too bad! Ian was a great sport, on the other hand. With all of the crazy weather predicted for this weekend, I am so glad we had the chance to spend the better part of a day at the park this week. Thank goodness for 82 degree weather!


Okay, back to laundry and other tasks that require electricity.

Another "Ah Ha" Moment

I am still filling the freezer. I wasn't as motivated as I had hoped the other day. Ryan and I did manage to make 3 dishes/condiments (smashed potato soup - slow cooker, red beans and rice & chipotle ranch salad dressing), but then we ended up eating a bunch of it instead of rushing it to the freezer. Whoops!

As I type this, I'm making breakfast sandwiches to freeze. I'm making 12 and we will eat 4 tomorrow and 2 will be going to the parents of a beautiful new baby from our squadron (along with dinner and dessert). I decided to mix up the eggs and put them in a greased muffin tin in order to get a neat, round egg layer. We'll see how it turns out. Sounds like a good idea, right?

Back to Reality

Ryan returns to work tomorrow and we will be back to "normal". This normal will last for a couple weeks before he leaves again. In preparation, we've been working on small projects around the house (Ryan has, I've been taking a break from projects), hanging out not doing much of anything, attempting to buy a new car (that's a funny story), etc.

Tomorrow is my day to build up my stash of freezer meals. I'll try to remember to take pictures and share the recipes. Having homemade meals and snacks ready to go in the freezer brings me peace of mind and somehow makes me feel prepared to be a solo parent. With a new school year and completely new schedule for our family on the horizon, I want to FILL the freezer.


I saw this idea on Pinterest (my current Internet obsession) and wondered why the heck I never thought to do this before now. My boys love smoothies or yogurt for dessert. I now have 6 packs ready to go and Ryan just returned from the store with yogurt so I can make at least 8 more packs tomorrow. Make-ahead freezer smoothie packs - 1 cup frozen fruit, 3-4plain (or vanilla) frozen yogurt cubes (from yogurt frozen in an ice cube tray), then simply put in a blender, add milk or juice, and whirl until smooth. Genius!

He's Home!!!

Ryan is finally home safely from deployment. Yay! 6 months and 1 day. It seems like forever and nothing all at the same time. It's a very odd thing to experience. We all picked up pretty much where we left off and by the time we were back in the hangar Ian was already talking to Daddy about the Wii.

Enjoy just a couple of photos from our homecoming. More to follow eventually. :)

A photo of the boys and I waiting just inside the hangar for the planes to fly overhead. Beautiful shot by Amanda of Kimberlin Gray Photography, even if it was shot at an angle that makes my rear look larger than normal. ;)


The boys receiving their first hug from Ryan. This one is SO sweet!


A friend of mine took this snapshot (her husband returned the following day on the ship). Please notice that both boys are holding Daddy's hand. They both insisted, as did I, that we hold Ryan's hand. None of us were willing to let go only a moment after getting him back.

For the Moms

Since I have officially reached the nesting stage of deployment and find myself cleaning and organizing more than normal, I thought I would share a photo from today. I decided to finally clean out my favorite red purse that I haven't used in 4 months and I came across a couple of crayons in the center pocket...


I laughed and thought that it's a darn good thing I've pretty much given up using my "fancy" Coach and Dooney & Burke purses.

Now it's time for a fun book recommendation for all moms, especially those who don't have a bunch of mommy friends. You have to read "I Was A Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids." Isn't that the best title? First person to send me an email (my maiden name @cox.net) will get my copy to read and pass on to another mommy friend. This book reminded me of my first MOPS meeting where I broke down in tears and realized I was not alone (on this crazy mommy train). Since then I've joined and started my own playgroup and have found many, many others more than happy to share their funny day-to-day tales from Mommyland. This book is filled with quotes quotes that will make you laugh from real moms from interviews conducted by the authors.

Most of my favorite quotes are not really appropriate for the blog. Oh, what the heck, I'm sharing them anyway! Maybe this will encourage some of you lurkers to post a comment so I know who you are...or maybe not. Here we go!

"Sometimes I think, I can't believe I gave up 9 months of drinking for this." (HA!!!!)

"Whenever my husband leaves his stuff lying around, I lock it in the closet." (Ryan, ignore that comment, I have NO idea where your work boots, Friday patch, hat, various uniform pins, etc., are.)

"A boner in the back is not foreplay." (Best. Quote. Ever. And totally the worst quote ever all at the same time. This book is too funny.)