Party Number 2

Today was the second of Jake's 4 birthday parties this year. 4 parties?!?! Am I crazy? No, I am not one of those parents. Jake's definition of a party is getting presents and comsuming sugar. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we were not able to have all of the grandparents here for one party. So, last weekend we had a "party" with DH's parents when we dropped the boys off. That was party number 1.

Today was party number 2 with my parents. They came in for the day. After a lunch of homemade pizza, he opened his gifts. Check out Jake and his new toy....

And he's off.....

Darn, he's cute!

Then, after sweating in the humidity watching Jake try out his new skateboard, we headed back in to the air conditioning for some cake. This year's theme is pirates, so here is the treasure chest cake...

A little lopsided, but it definately meets the requirements of lots of sugar! It was really yummy!

My student hat...

is fitting quite comfortably tonight. I drove to Normal for my first Masters class of the semester. After going over the syllabus and the projects for the semester, he dismissed us. That was about an hour into class. Now, that might not seem like a big deal to you. But, since it is supposed to be a three hour class, I was so excited to get out early. Not having to drive the hour and fifteen minutes home so late was definately a plus. So, I drove home, stopped at Baskin Robbins, and have been surfing the net since. Ahhhhhhh, relaxation!

(Remember, the boys are gone at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and DH is there, too. He left tonight to pick them up, and they will all head home tomorrow. So, not only did I get out of class early, but I came home to an EMPTY HOUSE!!!!)

Do you hear that????

Kid-free silence! We dropped the boys off at my in-laws, since I have to head back to work tomorrow. Yep, I am dusting off my teacher hat to see if it still fits. Since the boys don't start school for another week, DH's parents are watching them until Wednesday. So, I get a kid-free night!

A night I deserve, by the way. Yesterday's party was a great success. My boys have the nicest friends. There were three little ones, 1st-3rd grade. Then, there were five big ones, 4th-5th grade. The little guys had a ball with action figures and Pokemon cards, while the big ones played basketball, soccer and football. It was such fun watching my boys having so much fun. There aren't many things I enjoy more than seeing my boys truly happy.

Then, we headed to Josh's little league picnic. The boys had a good time. Jake spent much of his night riding a scooter around the park, baseball hat on backwards, no shirt on. Maybe doesn't sound that entertaining to you, but if you saw how skinny my kids are, you'd laugh out loud at how ridiculous they look with no shirt on.

I am signing off to clean up the kitchen and get ready for my 1st day of school. Wish me luck!!

What Have I Done?!?!?!

It started innocently enough....I forgot to RSVP for my son's friend's birthday party. DH thought it would be nice to have the friend over before going back to school, since son #1 (Josh) had to miss the party. OK, fine. Then came the idea...why don't we invite over a few more friends? A few friends turned into a few more, then all of a sudden, we are having seven boys over for lunch and play tomorrow. With our two, that makes 9. Nine boys, from 1st to 5th grade. I must be insane!

So, I am spending today cleaning the house and cracking the whip so the boys will clean the basement. That basement may be essential tomorrow, since there is rain forcasted for tomorrow.

If you have a good thought or prayer to send my way, I would appreciate it. I'm gonna need all the help I can get!

It's official...

I am officially a Graduate Student in the Special Education Department at Illinois State University. I received my acceptance letter today, and registered for my fall class. I really enjoyed my summer classes...I am such a nerd....I love learning! But, when I realize how much I will have to do...you know....all of those hats I will have to wear. I just hope I can balance them all without them all tumbling down.

If you give a mommy a utensil bar....

(in the style of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie )

If you give mommy a utensil bar,

she will hang utensils on it,

which will clean out the utensil crock,

which will need to be washed. Once that crock is washed, she will clean out a drawer to fill it up again,

which will empty out a drawer that will have to be wiped out. Once it is wiped out, it will have to be filled...

with spices from the cabinet. Since the cabinet is empty, she may as well wipe it out, too. That empty space in the cabinet will remind her that she wanted to get the canisters off of the counter.

So she will put the canisters in the empty cabinet, but they will have to be washed first.

Then, she will be interrupted to fix dinner, for which she needs a spoon to stir. She will reach for one from her new utensil bar,

And remember where all of this work began!


So, anyone want to guess how I spent my afternoon and evening???

Update on allowances

Well, we had our first shopping trip since the boys started getting an allowance. Naturally, I forgot to have them bring along their spending money. In fact, I had completely forgotten about the allowance thing (hey, give me a break...I've been sick, but that is a whole other post...)

We were at the mall. While we were eating, Jake announces that he wants to go on the carousel. First, I responded with my usual "No." Then, later in the meal, Josh said he wanted a quarter for a piece of gum. Before I could respond, he said, "I wish I had my allowance with me". Then, the lightbulb went off. I told both boys that I would loan them the money to do what they want, as long as they paid me back as soon as we got home. Josh accepted his borrowed quarter and headed to the gumball machine. I asked Jake if he wanted to borrow a dollar for the carousel. He thought for a moment, then decided against it. An AHA! moment.

After we had walked through the mall a little bit, Jake saw a vending machine with Pokemon figures in it. He decided to borrow a dollar for that. He was pleased with his purchase, and promptly paid me back when we got home. It will take some time, but I think they both will consider their purchases wisely.

So, the next day, as we headed out to run errands with DH, both boys grabbed their wallets on the way out the door. Amazing how fast they learn.

Allowances

Oh, all of the decisions that parents must make. DH and I have decided to start the boys on an allowance. There were several reasons behind this....1. To teach them fiscal responsibility. 2. To help them learn the value of money and saving. 3. To stop the constant "Can I have ______" when we go to the store. So, we sat them down after dinner and explained the concept. They will receive $2.00 each week, payable on Sundays. They are required to save 25% of their allowance and any birthday money they receive. The other 75% is theirs to spend as they see fit. So, how long till they are begging me to take them shopping?!?!?

As we were discussing this, I could see the light in Son #2's eyes widen and twinkle. You see, he's all about money. He's always wanting to know how he can get more. Much more materialistic than his brother. I'll bet he's the first to make a foolish purchanse. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Superman Returns....

WOW! Great movie! We were in Chicago with some friends, and took the boys to go see it. Normally, this is not the kind of movie I would go see, but since our little group was almost all male (7:2 ratio), my opinion was irrelevant. We saw the movie on an IMAX screen with 3-D glasses. Very cool! Plus, the hottie who played Superman was quite a piece of eye candy. Definately recommend this movie.

Hotter than......

Fill in the blank with whatever expletive suits you. The point is that it is HOT! We just arrived home from a trip to Chicago, then Iowa, to a house that was 91 degrees! Yuck! My poor AC will be working overtime tonight.