mommypalooza™ ~ a daily dose of mommy mayhem.

$275 later, we're nowhere near an answer.

The saga of Nathan's Kindergarten woes begins.  Actually, it did start out as a worry and stress for me, but this morning I'm at total peace with it.  I dropped $100 on registration for the school that we had hoped he'd have a space in but from the looks of the open house meeting on Sunday - it's a longshot.  There are only 8 spots left for the full-day Kinder program for new families to the school and about three times that many kids who are vying for a spot.  I think there are a few for half-day but we're not considering that.  Back where I'm from, going to school meant going to school.  None of this half-day stuff.  I had no option of half-day Kinder so why should my kid?  Besides, he's one hundred times smarter than I was at his age so he'll have no problem in all-day Kinder.   

On to Plan B.  I droppped $175 this morning on N's current school where he is in Pre-K.  This guarantees him a spot for full-day Kinder at that school in the fall.  There were four spots left as of this morning.  We really love this school.  We LOVE the size and the layout of the school, the teachers are awesome and the school itself offers so many enrichment programs for their students. 

The first school was our school of choice simply because we're already members of the church there and I've given a buttload of my time and talent to that church.  But, I am perfectly happy with knowing that N will be given a spot at his current school.  This will be the first year they will have a full-day Kinder class and there will only be one.  Most of the class consists of the current Pre-K kids moving up to Kinder so he'll already know just about every one of his classmates!

We should find out by April who gets to keep my little baby this fall.  That will certainly be one lucky school.  ♥

 

Shady shades.

The other day when my mom was in town we all took a trip over to the Great Mall.  My original intention was to look for scarves for the boys since N has "been wanting one his whole life!" (his words, not mine).

Of course with Grammy around, we didn't just stick to the shopping list.  She also picked up some socks for the boys and a pair of new shades for each of them.  Now, I love sunglasses just as much as the next person (probaby even moreso) but I don't think I love them enough to wear them like this:

 

W refuses to wear them any other way - seriously!  I truly think they are more comfortable to him that way or maybe he's just being his stubborn self.  N is a little more mainstream:

 

Anyway, thanks Grammy, for the great shades.  The boys love them!  ♥

 

Lego Club Rocks!

One of the Christmas gifts N received from Santa Grammy is a membership to the Lego Brickmaster Club.  I am sure that most of you, if you have boys, know just what this little club is all about.  Members get a wonderfully colorful and glossy magazine packed with new Lego creations, ideas, and inspiration.  N thoroughly enjoys receiving them and literally pours over them page by page each time a new issue comes in the mail.  He especially loves doing the mazes and other activities in each issue.

But here's the kicker.  With the membership N also gets new Lego models/sets six times a year!  It was Christmas morning all over again when we opened up the mail on Tuesday.

W trying to help his big brother make sense of the pieces! 

 
N LOVES putting these things together by himself and has such a knack for doing it!

 
My proud builder!  (With the amazing First Lady in the background on TV!)  ♥

 

 

Soaking it all in.

Fortunately both N & W were able to watch the President's inauguration today at home just before lunchtime.  N knew who Obama was the minute his face was shown on the TV screen.  N referred to him (before I corrected him) as "Rock Obama" and remembers using the touchscreen voting machine to cast my ballot for me.  In essence, I guess he's had more of an impact on voting in this historic election than he realizes.  I should've made t-shirts:  "I didn't vote for Obama, but my kid did!"

Tonight at dinner, we went over all kinds of fun facts about the President like what his full name was, his wife and kids, the name of the house they live in, the address of the house, the special room in that house that the President also spends most of his workdays in (N was thrilled to learn it was associated with the name of a shape!), the amenities of the house, etc.  Incidentally, W ears literally perked up when he heard me tell N that there is a bowling alley in the White House!  W yelled out, "I wahn go dayyrrr!"  Then we of course told them there were rumors of Mr. President converting it into a basketball court.  They'd take that too.

We also talked about the fact that the Obamas would have their own special cook who would be able to make any special requests for them.  When I asked N if he'd rather have me or a cook make him breakfast he opted for the cook (who wouldn't?!).  But then, I asked him why and he replied, "because I want to order from a menu!"  So then I told him I'd be happy to make up a menu for him to order his breakfast from.  So, I am thinking my menu of offerings will go something like this:  Eggs, Pancakes, Waffles, Raisin toast, Cereal.  Not exactly a chef's menu but it'll do!

Lastly, when I mentioned to N that he could one day be President if he wanted to, he informed me that he is actually going to be a spaceman because it's a much cooler job and that he really wants to go to the moon.  Then I told him he could go to the moon and be a spaceman, then come back and be President.  He got all wide-eyed and then said, "yeah!  The President flies to the moon!"  We both agreed - sounds like a great story that he could be the star of!  ♥

 

Five Things: Kids nicknames.

I am sure many of you have at least one - if not several - nicknames or pet names for your kids.  In our house it seems new names are always popping up.  Here are just a few that can be heard in the T household.

• Wil-da-beast - This of course is one that Will is called quite often.  He will happily respond to it, too.  There's a modified version that he equally loves - Will-da. 
• Wethan - Will totally got us hooked on calling Nathan this lovely name.  It all started back when W couldn't pronounce "Nathan" and it just sort of stuck.  D and I still on occasion call N "Wethan" but he really doesn't like anyone but Will referring to him as such.
• Willie - D is the only one that refers to Will by this name.  I, personally, can't stand the name.  It reminds me of Wilie Nelson.  Not that I have a personal problem with him it's just I'd prefer not to associate my son with his image!
• Nate Dogg - This name comes from none other than the original Nate Dogg.  I personally could never get enough of Warren G featuring Nate Dogg tunes back in the day!
• Willers - I can't quite remember when I started referring to Will as Willers but I remember thinking it sounded awful but then I just couldn't stop calling him that!  Good thing he doesn't mind it!

There are countless other pet names and nicknames that I often make up for the boys but these are just a few of the most used ones.  What are some of the made-up names the kids in your family have

♥

 

The sweetest words.

My ears just got to experience this . . .

N:  "You're the best-est mom ever.  Out of everyone in the whole wide world, I love you the most."

And what's more, wanna know what I did to deserve that?  Nothing.  That's right.  I got those sweet words for just sitting here while watching Toy Story with my boys.  Gotta love motherhood.  ♥

 

Wii want bowling!

We took the kids bowling this past weekend on Saturday because kids bowled free.  W has not stopped asking to go back ever since!  I seriously think the dude will become a professional bowler.  He even makes the crashing sounds of pins falling down at random times during the day.  It's scary.  Thankfully, we've got the Wii to keep him occupied. 

He and N just turned on the Wii and are now playing bowling on Mario Party 8.  Maybe now I can get some time to run upstairs and clean my bathroom!  ♥

 

Being green = economically unsound?

Over the past five years or so, I've become increasingly more conscious of green-ifying my entire lifestyle.  I bring my own bags to the grocery store, am more inclined to purchase things made from recycled materials, we recycle at home, and I try and buy used whenever possible. 

One of the things that I've recently started to think about is the long-term domino effect that all of this earth-friendliness may be causing.  I seriously think that if many of us have shifted our lifestyles in a way that we truly are consuming less, it has undoubtedly played a huge part in the unravelling of our economic sytem.

I mean, think about it.  If people are buying used off Craigslist and from consignment stores; if they're buying used cars instead of new; if they're making things by hand and crafting more - all of these things could have a huge impact on the overall consumption in this country. 

Am I rethinking my buying decisions and advocating for buying new just to save this economy?  Absolutely not.  The only thing I can say is that somebody better start buying new or this country will continue at the pace it has been - which of course would be bad.

So what do ya'll think?  Have you noticed a drop in your family's overall "new" consumption?  Do you think if we all are experiencing this that it does indeed have an impact on the fact that more companies are closing their facilites or downsizing?  How can we fix our country in this crisis while still keeping in line with our Save the Earth mentality?  ♥

 

Ahem, is this thing still on?

Oh, yeah....I guess it is!  I've been so busy in 2009 already, I can hardly keep up.  So here's what's been going on lately.

It still feels like Christmas over at the T household.  On January 2nd, the kids got a nice sized delivery at the door from Amazon.com.  My mom (of course) is still sending them stuff!  But, it's good stuff.  They've enjoyed making train tracks, raceways, houses, car washes, and of course CASTLES with their new blocks.

 
Upon erecting his new castle, N proclaimed that he needed a princess.  Being a housefull of boys, of course (well, except for me), we HAVE NO princesses!  I quickly suggested he go up and grab Little Bo Peep (from our Toy Story collection) out of the toy bins, as she was the closest thing we had to a princess.  She worked beautifully!

 
Even W was having a blast with his new castle and fighting skeleton knights!

We've all been adjusting to being back on a schedule of some sort this past week, too so it's been keeping us plenty busy.  N is back in school and W is back to taking naps (YESSSS!) so that I can troll around online and do random things like clean out my purse.

In other news, I recently found out that I am going to be an Aunt!!  My younger brother, CJ, and his very sweet girlfriend, Cassie, are expecting their first child in September!  Man, did I just type that??  It feels so weird to  see those words!  I can remember when my brother was just this pesky little kid getting into trouble and pulling out my sister's hair at every opportunity he had! 

 
My brother, CJ, and I back in the day!  I am guessing he was about 7 then so I would've been 15 or so.  I can't believe he's going to be a Dad!  I am SOOOOO excited to have a little niece or nephew!

Not much else new to report.  I am still busy filling in my calendar with appointments and to-dos.  I just picked up W's registration for preschool this fall and we've got N's Kindergarten open house on the calendar for later this month.  Lots to look forward to and the year's just begun!  ♥

 

2009: A blank canvas.

Happy New Year!  By now I know you've heard it at least  million times since midnight, but it still has a nice ring to it, nonetheless. 

Yesterday afternoon as I sat for a moment taking my 2007 calendar refill out of my planner cover, I suddenly realized that this new year would feel like I was taking a deep breath and just letting out.  You know, there's something to be said about starting anew.  For an organizational freak like me there's almost nothing better than freshly lined planner pages just waiting to be scribbled onto.  I even went so far as to fan the pages like a library book and then give them a good sniff.  I did happen to notice that my 2009 refill pages have a thinner feel to them than my 2008 ones.  But then again, maybe the pages are lighter because they're not bogged down with all the appointments, things-to-do, grocery lists, menu plans, and random scribbles and notes from my kids and myself from the past year.  Maybe this time next year I'll be saying my 2010 planner pages feel lighter and thinner than my 2009 ones. Well, that's a long way off and I'd really just like to get through this year before thinking about 2010.

While I am not usually one for resolutions, I certainly can appreciate a blank canvas; a fresh start.  Some of the things I look forward to getting a fresh start at are some business things that will be a new adventure, being a more patient mom and wife, trying to look on the brighter side of things than I usually do, and taking the time to care of me so that I feel like a new person every now and again.

For now I am going to stay up late and have fun filling my appointments and to-dos through at least February in my new planner pages!  See, I am totally loving this blank canvas thing.  Too bad the canvas fills up faster than we can usually keep up.

Wishing you a blessed & prosperous 2009!  ♥