Organized Boards

I have always been the kind of person who waits until something looks dirty until I clean it. This means I would have marathon cleaning binges. With the beginning of a new school year (with a lot of changes in the works), another semester of grad classes, and a growing and moving toddler, I can no longer be this person. I searched Pinterest for chore board ideas. Many of them seemed to complicated for me. But then I found one I liked. (Example)  I liked the simplicity of it, and used it as a model.

I went to Michael's for my supplies. I found huge frames (11x14) on clearance for $6 and scrapbook paper (which was also on sale for half off). At home I already had stencils and a Sharpie. I measured and cut my paper into 3 sections: daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning. (You can always use one background, but I liked the clean division.) Then I listed the chores. Some of the charts I had seen on Pinterest listed every single chore, but I just combined things because I knew what I meant. I just needed a way to keep track of things that had been done and things I still needed to do. I loved how it turned out, so I also made a menu/note board. I can keep track of the dinners and notes for the week (helping with shopping and deciding what to do every night). A dry erase marker lets you use these over and over.

Cleaning Board

Menu/Note Board

Menu/Note Board filled out

I hope these help me to be a little more organized at home this year.

Goodbye to Another Summer

Today was my last day of summer break. Originally I was going to go to a workshop for the new common core standards, but yesterday I started feeling really bad about not being with my little man and I backed out. I am not normally this person, and I did feel terribly guilty. But, I feel more guilty about going back to work tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and I am super excited about this year. I love getting a new group of kiddos every year and learning who they are and letting them get to know me. But I will miss Dylan more than words can express. There's something amazing about getting to be the first and last thing he sees everyday. I am actually tearing up as I write this...I think tomorrow may be a bit difficult.

I wanted our last day to be a blast! So, Michael worked from home (and is doing most of his work tonight so he could be with us during the day) and we took Dylan to the movies. At 10:00 AM, they have $1 kid movies everyday during the summer. We figured if Dylan cried or got antsy we wouldn't be out a lot of money. This week they were showing The Smurfs. Dylan LOVES Toy Story and will sit through any of them, but we weren't sure about The Smurfs. He did GREAT! We sat through the whole thing and he only got loud once, but I think he was yelling at Gargamel.

We then ran to Target to get a few things, grabbed lunch, and Dylan took a nap. (I took one too, because by this time I was struggling with a headache.) After his nap I wanted to take Dylan to Saxony Beach. It's this neat little beach area that is less than a mile from our house. I was really bummed when we got there and it was closed. We came home and I filled up his little pool and he had fun splashing away.

Next we took a family field trip to Lowe's (Michael tells Dylan it's Daddy's toy store) and got some home improvement ideas. We will be starting one very soon! After a yummy dinner at Noodles and Co we came home for our nighttime routine. Tucking my little monkey in tonight was hard because I know I won't see him in the morning...or all day. But I know when I pick him up I will get a BIG smile. I am going to work hard and be a good (great) teacher, but I will be counting the days until our two weeks off in October.

Here's to a great summer!

My Monkey is One!

I realized recently that I never blogged about Dylan's first birthday and it is an event I want to remember. (Plus, blogging is a great way to procrastinate doing my grad work.)

Dylan has been our little monkey since before he was born. We decorated his nursery with monkeys, I got monkey clothes for him, and I even had maternity pictures taken with our favorite monkey. So of course his first birthday party had to be monkey themed.

I began searching Pinterest for ideas months before his actual birthday. Making his party outstanding became a small obsession. I wanted to make my own decorations, but I had never really done anything like it before. After months of work, and a tiny fortune (when you buy a little here and a little there over a course of time...it adds up) I had the results I wanted. Here's a peek into his party.

Banners: I added monthly pictures to the number ones.

Party favors: they were filled with yellow, green, and brown M&Ms.

Up close

Palm trees Michael and I worked on together.

Kids' favors: cute bears I couldn't resist!

Table center pieces: I thought the blue table clothes looked "ocean-like" with the palm trees.

Balloon Drop (Kids loved this!)

Fabulous monkey cake I ordered from a friend. It was yummy and cute!

Dylan's Smash Cake

He loved it!

Mommy and the birthday boy.

Michael asked me if I am only going to do this for his 1st birthday, and I told him probably. But, this party was so great I may change my answer on that one! I can't believe my little guy is growing so fast. I am happy to have so many pictures to keep these memories alive.

First Family Vacation

(I have been trying to finish this for weeks. I finally just ignored grad work and house stuff to finish.)

We did it! We flew on an airplane...twice...with a toddler and survived!

I have been really antsy for awhile. I needed a get-away badly. So Michael and I planned a trip to Florida. My BIL and his wife invited us to stay with them and we took them up on the offer. Bonus: they still had all their baby stuff so we could travel "lightly".

I am always a wreck before any flight. I'm not nervous about flying; I'm nervous about missing a flight. We are always at the airport super early because I get nervous about checking-in and security. This trip was no different. Getting through security with a toddler was a sight! We had about a half dozen of those tubs for shoes, bags, laptop, camera, etc... and then we had to fold up the stroller and put it through. Then we had to collect everything and they had to test the liquids in the sippy cups. Once we were through security I was able to breathe normally again. (For the most part...I still had to fly with a toddler!)

We boarded the plane and a nice gentleman was our seatmate. I immediately felt bad for him because I didn't know what could happen. He said he'd been through this with his own kids, and not to worry (like that stopped me.) Before take off the flight attendant informed the man there was an empty seat a few rows up if he would like to move. He said he was fine, but she told him it was more for our sake, and Michael said he wouldn't hurt our feelings, so he took the other seat. This was a blessing because Dylan was antsy and after we got in the air he began getting fussy and whiny. He didn't want snacks or drinks or toys. I knew he was tired, but he wouldn't sleep. Finally, after passing him back and forth a few times Dylan finally fell asleep in my arms. The rest of the flight was great. And after we landed everyone around us cooed over him (happens everywhere we go!).

We spent the next 6 days having a blast. We spent all of our time with Michael's brother and SIL and their beautiful 6 year old twin girls. We went to Orlando and visited Downtown Disney for some shopping. We ran into our good friends, the Ho family, who was also on vacation. We all had dinner together; 6 adults and 6 kids! We stayed overnight and had breakfast with Pluto and Goofy. Dylan loved that! We spent a day at Clearwater Beach, but Dylan was NOT a big fan. He did much better when we went back another evening and just walked the shore (it was a lot cooler and that helped).

We had fun the whole trip, but my FAVORITE part was our last full day. We went to Busch Gardens! I loved seeing the animals, eating food, and riding rides, but my favorite part was the Sesame Street area they have. You know you are a parent when your excitement stems from the happiness of your kids. Dylan LOVED this park. He got to meet some of the characters he loves watching on TV. He had his picture taken with almost all of them. He enjoyed going through the giant tree-house with Michael, bouncing on the rope bridges. He liked riding the carousel. But the part he really enjoyed was the splash park. He would run around getting wet and when he got splashed in the face he would squeal and go in for more. He also enjoyed an animal show that had critters doing all kinds of things. I can't wait until he's bigger and understands even more.

We had a great trip! We did so much and spent time with family we don't see often enough. When we got home and started looking through pictures I was already mentally planning another one, but Michael said "We just got home!" HA! I loved this trip and can't wait to take many more with my wonderful guys!

Dyl with his beautiful cousins, Brooke and Ashley

The Build-a-Dino we just had to get!

Family!

Yay to sunsets on the beach!

Brooke with Uncle Michael and Dad (Marcus)

Brooke, me, Ashley, Debbie, and Dylan

Family pic with some characters (sorry it's a bit blurry)

Dylan meeting Elmo (His favorite) and Big Bird

His face says it all!