Relaxing Weekend . . .

I am glad that the three day weekend is finally here. The past two weeks have been crazy so it is nice to have some down time. We survived our first week of school! Stephen was in San Antonio at a conference for part of the week so I wasn't sure how we would do without him, but we managed. I was able to get up, get everyone ready, and to school on time! The girls LOVED their first week of school. Their teacher, Mrs. Keenan told me that in her 17 years of teaching, she has never allowed her students to try centers the first week of school because they just weren't ready - however, she said this was the first year she had allowed them to do it the first week of school because she has such a great class! She said the majority of her students are very independent and work well together - especially my girls!!! She was amazed at how much Leah could do on her own even with a broken arm! That was great news to me because I have really tried hard to teach the girls to be independent and to do things for themselves. For example, they know how to make their own lunch, wash and dry their own hair, unload the car full of groceries and put them away where they go, etc. I've had alot of people ask me why would I put them in the same class in kindergarten . . . they tell me I need to let them "be their own person". Well, my remark to that is my girls ARE their own person . . . they do well together and they do well apart. Mrs. Keenan told me that they have already made their own friends in their class. As they get older, they will have the whole rest of their life to be apart - why not let them experience their kindergarten year together? I know my girls well enough to know what circumstance they will be most successful in. Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox about that. They have come home everyday singing songs and reciting poems and chants about the letters of the alphabet - too cute! They also went on a search all over the school trying to find the gingerbread man - Lauren said they found him in the nurse's office with bandaids all over him. Speaking of Lauren, she informed me this week that she now has 3 boyfriends - it's funny to me because I don't think that any of these boys even know that they are her "boyfriends". I am beginning to think that she might be a little boy crazy when she's a teen or tween! Her third "boyfriend" is this little boy in my class named Zachary - he comes and plays with both girls after school in my classroom and he has walked them both to class a couple of times in the morning. Leah, on the other hand, thinks that is just gross - she wants no part of having any kind of "boyfriend". She thinks her sister is just silly!

Logan also had a great first week at his new babysitter's house, Ms. Cheryl. He is getting so big everyday - he will be 9 months old on the 6th of September so we'll be taking him for his 9 month well check visit this week. I am anxious to find out how much he weighs. I know one thing for sure is that boy is SOLID!!! Here is a video of him eating some of his little fruit cereal puffs. We have just started giving him these in the past couple of weeks - it's funny to watch him as he tries to put them in his mouth . . . he always has this look on his face like he's not too sure what to think about them. Hope everyone has a nice and relaxing holiday weekend. We are looking forward to spending time together as a family.

First Day of School . . .

Well, we survived the first day with ease! It was a smoothe day all around . . . I got to school really early with the girls (which doesn't happen too often) while Stephen dropped off Logan at Ms. Cheryl's. He said Logan did very well - no tears and went right in with no problem. Logan had a great first day as well and made two new friends, Allison and Brady. Ms. Cheryl said they were busy helping take care of "Baby Logan", and I told her that he was definitely used to that with his two sisters at home. Stephen came up to school to walk the girls to their class and said that they also went right in with no hesitations. I was able to see them several times throughout the day in the hallways and at lunch so that was nice - Leah was very easy to spot with her hot pink cast! Speaking of her cast, she had her doctor's appt. after school today and he said that next Friday she will get her smaller cast that is waterproof (yeah!) She will wear that one for about 7 to 10 days, and then the bone should be healed and she should be good to go!

The girls were so excited to tell me about their first day of school . . . they even came home and "played school" this afternoon which I thought was so cute. They were telling their stuffed animals (which were their "students") - One, two, three . . . Eyes on me! It was so funny to listen to them role play as the teacher. I know this is going to be a great year for them and I'm excited about all the fun things they are going to get to do and learn. Anyway, everyone is tired after a long day so bedtime is calling . . .until next time . . .

Dancin' machines!!!

After a very long and busy week back at work, it was nice to have some much needed down time with the fam! We enjoyed just hanging out tonight with all three kids - dancing in the girl's bedroom and playing games together. I learned some cool new math games at a workshop to teach my kids at school this year so I tried them out on the girls tonight and they caught on really fast. I think they are really going to enjoy math as well as reading in school this year. Tuesday night I was up at school late to attend Kindergarten Parent Info. Night - I felt so proud to sit there and know that my babies were finally going to be at school with me. I just love their teacher Mrs. Keenan - she is just awesome! Then last night was "Meet the Teacher" night up at school. Stephen took the girls to visit Mrs. Keenan (even though they've already met and seen her a dozen times this summer). He wanted to visit their room and meet her too - they were so excited to show daddy their classroom at school. Our school is HUGE, but he was impressed by how well they already knew their way around from being up there with me so much. I didn't get to go down to the kindergarten hall that night because I was swamped with a room full of second graders, their families, plus students from last year stopping by to say hi. Yep, it was pretty much complete chaos! I felt like I was in a daze - kind of like after my wedding reception....after meeting and talking to so many people so fast - (you know that whirlwind feeling). I would have to say that this has been one of the most busiest and hectic "back to school" years that I have had in my 10 years of teaching. I guess it's due to having a new principal with new expectations, being team leader, plus having 3 kids at home instead of 2, and a daughter with a broken arm. I am hoping that things will ease up in the next few weeks. I will post pics of the girls on their first day of kindergarten on Monday as well as Logan's first day with Ms. Cheryl. Have a great weekend!

Hot pink little mama!

Check out my little mama sportin' her new hot pink cast! She is so proud of it! Her doctor's visit went well thank goodness. She has one break in the radius of her arm. We have to go back next week for them to x-ray it again to make sure it is still aligned like it should be. Then, after about two weeks, they will take this cast off and she will get a cast that will only cover her arm from the elbow down . . . . and it will be waterproof! I am super excited about that! No more having to take baths with a trash bag on her arm! She was so brave today. I was worried when they started mashing and poking around on her arm that she would be in pain, but she didn't even flinch. The nurse said that was unusual because most kids would not lay there quietly like that while they put such pressure on her arm like that. Grandad survived the day with all three kiddos by himself! And, I had a great first day back at work. I really like my new principal - she had us break up into groups and we got to go on a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood - she even gave us a gift card for us to stop at Sonic and get a drink . . . yep, I think I'm gonna like her!

My hair is gone!!!!

Well, I decided to do something wild and crazy yesterday when I went to get my hair cut. I knew I wanted a change, but really didn't think I would leave with 7 inches gone! Too bad my hair wasn't just a little longer and I could have donated it to "Locks of Love". I have NEVER worn my hair short in my life! I'm glad I was brave enough to do it because I really do like it. Stephen and the girls were very surprised when I got home, but they really like it too.



Stephen and I enjoyed a nice evening out last night - we haven't had one in a LONG time! First, we went to Fellowship of The Woodlands to see our good friend Wyndell lead praise and worship for the first time. It was so crazy to see him up on the "big screen". I included a clip of him from last night - it was really awesome - he had a big group of supporters show up from our church so
he was excited that we came.


He said they practiced yesterday for 6 hours so he was really tired by the end of the night. Then, Stephen and I enjoyed dinner out at Jaspers (one of our favorite date spots).......so good! It has been a great weekend, but back to the grind tomorrow! Also, I am taking Leah to get her cast tomorrow so I'll have to post some pics of that soon . . . if she will let me - she wasn't too thrilled with me taking pictures of her arm in the sling the other day. Ta-ta for now . . .

Broken Arm Blues

Well, we had a little incident last night at our house. I was on the phone in the house when all of a sudden Lauren comes in and tells me that Leah got hurt. I didn't think much of it at first especially since they make a fuss about the smallest little scrape. I knew it must be bad when Leah walked in the house, laid in my bed, and cried through one of her favorite shows (Hannah Montana). That usually always makes her feel better. I also started thinking it might be broken because she wouldn't let me touch it and she wouldn't move it. I asked her about what happened outside and she said she was trying to get out of the swing when she fell and landed on her arm. I then got on the phone to call Stephen and asked him if he was close to being home yet (this was around 7:30 p.m.). He tells me he is close to the house and I told him that I thought Leah's arm might be broken. He told me to have her lay still and he would look at it as soon as he got home. Within 5 minutes of him arriving home, he said I'm taking her to the ER . . . so Logan and Lauren and I stayed here since it was Logan's bedtime. They got home around 11:30 last night and she walks in with her arm in a sling. I think my first words were, "Oh my poor baby!" She has really been a big girl about it - Stephen said she didn't cry whenever they did the x-rays or anything. All she cared about was if she was going to get a shot. Both of my girls are needle phobics (they take after their mom in that area). Soooooo, I spent most of the morning on the phone trying to find an orthopedic surgeon who can put her in a permanent cast. Of course, no one had any openings for today, but I got her an appt. for Monday afternoon (the day I go back to work - go figure!) I'm sure it will be at least 6 weeks before she'll be able to get it off - only one bone is broken thank goodness . . . it could have been worse. Leah is VERY shy and I told her that having a cast was probably going to give her alot of unwanted attention - I hope she is able to deal with that okay as she starts kindergarten soon. What a way to start off the school year right?

Changing subjects, my little Logan surprised me today. I had bought him a sippy cup several weeks ago, had washed it, and sat it on the counter waiting for the right time to let him try it (in the back of my head thinking he probably will just bang it around and throw it across the room like the girls did when they were little). However, to my surprise, he grabbed that cup, put it in his mouth, and began sucking away . . . almost as if to say, "Gee mom, it's about time you let me have this cup!" I couldn't believe it! The girls were so proud of his big boy accomplishment!

Last days of summer . . .

Well, the last few days of summer are officially here. I really have enjoyed this summer - we've been able to do alot of fun things. It is bittersweet, though. I am excited to start a new school year and get back into a routine because during the summer, there definitely has not been much of one (except for Logan - he keeps himself on a routine)! I start back to work on Monday and Stephen's dad will be keeping all three of them all next week (God bless him!) Then, the girls will start back with me on the 25th of August and Logan will begin going to his new sitter, Ms. Cheryl.


Here are some pictures of us going on a bike ride last night (even though it was very hot), and some pictures of us at the pool this morning (again, extremely hot!)
I know this weekend is the tax-free shopping weekend and I'm thinking about hitting the stores for some back-to-school shopping! It's probably going to be really crowded, but I've got to go to the mall Saturday morning anyway to get my back-to-school highlights and haircut . . . a girl's gotta look her best! I'm also excited about Saturday night because Stephen and I are going to visit Fellowship of The Woodlands church - a very good friend of ours is now a worship pastor there and he is leading worship for the first time this Saturday night . . . so, we thought we would go and support him. He is awesome! He and Stephen were supposed to take a "guys weekend" trip to New York and watch the Yankees play before they tear down the stadium, however, now that he got this new job, that's probably not going to happen. Oh, by the way, don't you like my cute Disneyworld trip countdown ticker I added at the top of the blog? I love it - thanks Sarah! I'll have to post more about that soon. Until then, enjoy the last few days of summer . . .

Wow! It's been a crazy week and I haven't had time to post! It's that time of year again - back to school! I started stressing this week about all of the things I needed to do, meetings to attend, stuff to buy the girls, schedules to make, etc. AHHHHH! Stephen was out of town for a few days so I was holding down the fort by myself. I had my first "Team Leader" meeting on Wednesday with our new principal (which I like very much by the way)! I was feeling a little overwhelmed after our 2 1/2 hour meeting, knowing Stephen was out of town and thinking how in the world was I going to have everything ready to present to my team for our meeting on Friday???? YIKES!! Then, on top of that, Logan wasn't feeling well so my "mom instinct" told me to take him to the doctor ........even though I figured they would probably just tell me he has a cold and it just has to run it's course........and I'm thinking there goes another co-pay down the drain! Well, it's a good thing I took him because they ended up having to do a chest x-ray and discovered he has something called PHPB (I think???) Sounds scarier than it is . . . the doctor said if left untreated it could lead to pneumonia. Imagine trying to hold down an 8 month old baby and keep him perfectly still so they can get a good x-ray . . . all while he is wrapped up in this protective covering jacket . . . all while his twin sisters are about to literally bounce off the wall from having to wait so long over in the corner of the x-ray room! Yeah . . . it was just one of those days. I was soooooo glad when Stephen got back home from his business trip . . . and somehow I was able to get all my notes typed and organized for my meeting, and keep all three kiddos happy. Sounds easy enough, right? Logan is feeling better - we are now doing breathing treatments three times a day - which he absolutely hates, but it's got to be done. My mom took the girls out for some shopping while I was at school on Friday and bought them some really cute outfits to start kindergarten in. They did a fashion show for me when I got home to show me all of their new stuff. I was very impressed by what they had picked up - I've got some stylin' girls! They also got their "back to school" haircut this week and I ordered them both these really cute lunchkits and backpacks with their names on them. I have all of their supplies so I think they are officially set for kindergarten. I am so excited about having them at school with me everyday - I hope they have a good year and learn alot. The teacher I have chosen for them is absolutely wonderful and does the most amazing things with her kids so I know they will just adore her! We went to a birthday party earlier today for the girl's friend, Emiliy, and Stephen video taped them playing on the parachute. They had a blast - I was hoping they would let the adults play on it too, but it was just for the kids . . . oh well.

Weekend in Huntsville

This weekend we went to Huntsville to visit my parents. The girls love going there because they can help Papaw feed the cows and ride his riding lawn mower. They also enjoy rocking on the front porch, running through the sprinkler and swinging from the new swing MawMaw and Papaw hung for them. Here is a couple of clips from Friday night as we were enjoying some time outside after dinner. In the first one Leah is swinging and we are all watching while my dad (a.k.a. Papaw) is watering his "trees". The second clip is of the girls running through the sprinklers and having a blast! They even managed to get mommy and Papaw to run through a couple of times with them, but thank goodness there is no footage of that!

On Saturday, we all made a trip to Jewett (about an hour north of Huntsville) to visit my grandparents and my brother's family. I also got to see my nephew, Tyler Jace, for the first time since he has been home from the NICU. He is so cute! We enjoyed visiting with everyone . . . I think the last time we were there was back in March so a visit was long overdue. I know once school starts it will be hard for us to get back up there to visit everyone. My grandmother made a delicious lunch for us and then Stephen and I challenged my grandfather and my brother to a game of WAHOO! The Evans family is quite competitive when it comes to playing games so let's just say the dice were flying everywhere! Here are some pictures from our visit . . .