Making bread

I recently started making my own bread. I don't do it all the time but when I do I always ask myself why in the world I ever buy bread. It's so simple to make it myself, cheaper....and MUCH MUCH better!! So try it I say. You will amaze yourself at what you can do. (pictured is the French bread I made last night)

I started after getting the book The Food Nanny. I've talked about her before on here, but trust me when I say it's the best cookbook I have ever gotten. I've used tons of her recipes and every single one is amazing! And the best part is there's not many ingredients and they are all very simple. So if you are in the market for more recipes or a change in your food, or a great system for staying organized when it comes to preparing food for your family, check out The Food Nanny!

Sydney is sitting

Look at me mama!! Sydney is sitting! And she is moving quite well on the floor. When I her down she'll be on the the other side of the room when I come back in by scooting or inchworming her way there. She also just started getting on her hands and knees this week and bouncing up and down. The last two weeks she has made huge progress! My girl will be crawling sooner than I know!

It's time for Baseball!

We as a family have put off sports for a while because we wanted to focus on family time together instead of running here and there and not having quality time as a family at meal time and such. The kids have always had swim lessons off and on. Boston played two seasons of basketball last year and Dallas did consistent swimming. They both decided they really wanted to play baseball this fall so we signed them up with the Y. Tonight was their first practice. They are on separate teams with kids their age.

Boston was first. He amazed me and the coach. When he threw the ball it was SOOOO FAST and FAR! The only baseball he's done before was with me or Sean in the backyard. What an arm this kid has! And when he was up to practice batting each kid got 5 pitches thrown to them and Boston was the only one that hit all 5 balls. Looks like my little lefty might have a future in baseball.

Dallas had practice next. I was really impressed with how focused he was and how patient he was standing at the base he was assigned. They would rotate so they could learn each position. Dallas looked like a little pro out there and explained to me, "You have to be patient while you wait for the ball mom." He did really good hitting. Funny thing is that he hits like a right handed person but he's a lefty. Sean wants them both to hit with their right so they could learn to be switch hitters. He too has a great throw.

On a side note: Sean was in Tampa at a Rays game that his clients took him too. We raced home after practice to see if we could see Daddy on tv at a REAL baseball game!

So looks like we might be spending a lot of time at ball games! (note my picture of Dallas' leftie glove)

Back to School Celebration

Traditionally I have always taken the boys to Twistie Treat for the first day of school but since Dallas really isn't a fan of ice cream I decided to make a cookie cake instead. I didn't have a lot of time today with all my running around but I whipped this together and threw on some icing. Not my best work, but the boys loved it anyhow! When I picked them up they each had a bag with a granola bar and Superhero silly bands in it. Then after dinner I surprised them with the new Toy Story 3 video game. That was a huge hit! (and good incentive to do good at school....because otherwise there's no gaming after school!)

After dinner we were off running to Boy Scouts....let the games of school craziness begin!

First Day of School

The first day of school went amazing today!

Here is Boston who is going into 2nd grade. He is sporting his school uniform and a star wars back pack with star wars lunchbox

Boston is such my big man now. He's so independent, doing everything on his own. It seems like just yesterday he needed me to dress him, tie his shoes, fix his food and buckle him in his seat. Everyday I am reminded to pay attention and love each and every moment because in a blink of an eye he will be heading off to college saying, "Mom do I have to take ANOTHER picture!"And here is my Dallas who is entering Kindergarten. He is sporting his school uniform with a Superman back pack and lunch box (complete with a cape!)When I looked at this picture I was awestruck by how grown up he looks. It's amazing how much he has grown in the last two years on every level. I am so proud of him for all he has accomplished and the mountains he has had to climb over. I know the Lord has big plans for him!The boys in the back of the car while we waited in line to drop them off. They had ants in their pants to get out and head to their new classrooms and begin this new adventure! I wasn't allowed to walk them in and it was a little hard for me to watch Dallas walk away from my car knowing I wasn't going to see him until after 3:00 today. What a long day! But I just focused in on the fact that Asher and Sydney and I would have some nice one on one time together and Asher was really excited to be hanging out with mommy!

First we went over to my friend Joy's house to meet a few other moms who's kids also go to the same school. It was a great time together with some new friends. I have been so impressed with how friendly everyone is at this school. They all reach out to make new friends and help each other out. It was such a blessed time together with these lovely ladies.

Then Asher and I headed to get new tires on my car, went to Toys r us to browse around with my mom while the tires were getting put on. I ran home to meet he appliance repair man to fix the washer and back a cookie cake for our Back To School celebration today.

Then it was time to get my car and head to pick up the boys. They jumped in the car with the biggest smiles on their faces so happy about this new school, their teachers and the new friends they made. It couldn't make mommy feel any better.

The Night Before Kindergarten

School starts tomorrow. School starts tomorrow! School starts tomorrow!!!

Yesterday was a great day....we went to Chuck e Cheese as a family and played and played and played.

Today...well....lets just say mama was internalizing the stress of sending Dallas off for his first day of Kindergarten. Was Dallas nervous? NO! He couldn't be more excited.

I of course was checking lunchboxes, checking back packs, checking lists, checking, checking, checking. And then when it was time to go to bed I went to get the "The Night Before Kindergarten" book to read to Dallas. Of course it's missing....and we own 2 copies! Then it was my mission to find this book. I was almost in tears upset because I couldn't find this silly book, as if his first day of Kindergarten depended on it.

I know he will be just fine. I know he is in good hands. Ahhhh....take a deep breath Cricket....breath....

End of summer at the lakehouse

Today I took the boys out to my parents lakehouse for the day. We have been living up our last week of summer and today was jam packed with all kinds of fun for 3 boys!

There was some tree climbing....and of course a paparazzi photographer mama

Boston - 7 1/2 (who loved to jump down from high up in the tree...giving his mom mini heart attacks envisioning a trip to the ER days before school starts.) Dallas - 5 1/2 (who enjoyed hanging up there for a while with his big brother. They were two peas in a pod today)

Asher - 3 (he enjoyed the tree for about 2 minutes and then quickly wanted down....to find frogs, lizards and anything else that moves that might not be fast enough to get away.)

I didn't climb the tree but enjoyed watching them have fun

We went for a boat ride and everyone got to drive the boat. And the weather was just perfect!

Captain Boston

Dallas driving with Papa - he was a CRAZY driver!

We also went out on the SeaDoos. Boston, Dallas and I were out trolling for gators when we spotted one and went in to get a closer look. When Dallas started to get a little nervous I started to head away from him and this was when the SeaDoo shut off. We were out there for about 5 minutes yelling to the dock and finally my mom saw us. We were rescued by Papa in the boat.

The boys also managed to swim in the lake and play on the beach for a while and drove the tractor around.

It was a really fun day and a great way to end the summer!

Children: a blessing from the Lord

There was a very elderly man sitting in the booth backed up to ours tonight at Perkins. When we walked up I said to him, "I sure hope we aren't too loud for you." He smiled and replied, "Oh no sweetheart, you could never bother me." We ended up talking while we were waiting for our food. He found out that we have 4 kids and laughed and mentioned to me that there was a bar over there in case I needed anything. Ha Ha. I asked him if he had any kids and he said that his wife passed away in 2007 and that they didn't have a lot of money when they first got married and decided not to have any kids because they didn't want to have them without a good amount of money. Then he said that when they had the money there were too old. It made me sad. This poor old man had no one.

No wife

No kids

No grandkids

No great grandkids

He was all alone eating dinner. My heart ached. And it made me feel so blessed for my 4 blessings. We might not have a lot of money because we had 4 kids very early in our marriage, but I'll take a handful of kids over a big house and money in the bank any day!! Thank you Lord for many arrows in my quiver!

Boston and Dallas meet the teacher

Tonight I took Boston and Dallas to meet their new teachers at their new school. When we drove in Boston said to Dallas, "wouldn't it be great if we could go here all the way through high school? I then said, "This school does go all the way through high school boys!" They started jumping up and down. How funny that that was what he thought of.

Here is a picture of the boys in front of the school bell. Here is Dallas meeting his Kindergarten teacher. He played with the toys she sat out for a little while. We even found out that 2 of the girls who are in his class were in his PreK3 class 2 years ago. And we have been beyond blessed with an amazing teacher who is ready and willing to help him out to make things transition for him. Teachers truely are a gift from God! I'm so excited for this new journey for him and I know he's going to have a great time.

Boston is a big 2nd grader this year. Since we homeschooled last year for 1st grade, the last classroom he was in was Kindergarten. What a big difference a kindergarten class is from a 2nd graders class! (Especially since we had just left Dallas class). I'm so excited for him and this new adventure. He thought it was super cool that there was a ships steering wheel on the front door and a whole class theme about it. I know he's going to have a great year.Here's my grown up little 7 year old at his seat

Here's a picture of boston with his teacher (on the right) and her assistant (on the left). Not a great picture. I was holding Sydney and I obviously wasn't keeping the camera very steady with one hand (if you knew how much my camera weighed you would understand.) His teacher has 3 boys of her own and homeschooled for 4 years. Yah for teachers who understand boys! It seems to me like we have hit the jackpot with both the kids teachers this year. Daddy had to work late, and Asher spent the night with Nena and Papa, so I treated the boys to Perkins for their favorite pancakes. Boston said the blessing at the table and said, "Thank you Lord that you let us come to this awesome restaurant and have these amazing pancakes and thank you for our new school." Isn't it funny the little things in life that are such a big deal to little ones. Mommy was thankful she didn't have to prepare the food and clean up and even more thankful for God's divine hand in choicing this school for my boys!

Dallas Eye Dr

Took Dallas today to the eye doctor to get his eyes check out. He sometimes squints at things and pulls things close to look at them. I thought it would be a good idea to check them out before school started. Sure enough he is far sighted (20/40) with a stigmatism in his right eye. So he will need glasses to do school work but doesn't have to wear them all the time. He thought this was pretty cool since Harry Potter wears glasses. Of course the first pair he picked were Disney and he was pretty dead set on them. At least they were the cutest AND the cheapest.

He looks adorable in them and picture coming soon as soon as they come in......