Wonderful site for busy moms

I have recently made the best purchase I have ever made for my own sanity. I became a member of the ezmealz program and I LOVE it!!! This is a meal planning program that you pay 15 dollars every three months for. Basically, these two women sit down and take the sale ads for many different stores and they make a menu that includes seven dinners ( a main course and two sides). Every week you log on to the site and you print the menu, which includes three different grids. One box has the menu for each night, the next box has the ingredients that you will need for that night and the last box tells you how to make everything in a few easy steps. You also get a shopping list that is broken down according the the layout of the store. So you have produce, meats, canned goods, and so on. The best part about this is that they base the menus off of what is on sale for the week and the meals are wonderful. There are many different stores and meal options to choose from so there really is something for everyone. I have been doing this for 3 months now and I have to say that I do not have the first complaint. I have not made the same meal twice and every night my husband tells me how much he loved the meal. Check it out and I know you will be as happy as I am.

Click on the link on my page for the ezmealz plan.

School

Seems that my son is just not the school type. I knew this before I sent him. I contemplated home-schooling him, holding him out a year or just biting the dust and sending him. Obviously I choose to send him and there have been many times that I have questioned my decision. School is against everything that he believes in. He is my child that does not like new situations and will go kicking and screaming if made to do something he is unsure of. Not to mention that he has more energy than he knows what to do with. So, needless to say, starting Kindergarten has not been an easy task. After the first day, he came home and told me that he went to Kindergarten, finished it and is not going back. Once he realized that he had to go back, he dug his heels in and tried with everything he had to get out of it. The first week he got in trouble 4 out of the 5 days. Most days I was home crying just knowing that I made the wrong choice in sending him. But now, going into the second week, I might be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I have gotten any notes home from the teacher and he seems to be a little bit happier when I pick him up. I am praying that this will continue to be the case and we will end up having a great year.

Kayce is loving school. She claps when we pull into the drive of the church and starts yelling "school, school". She is very happy with her teachers and seems to just love everything about her cute little room.

Back after a LONG summer.

I am back. Most of you probably think that I was gone forever, but after a much needed, fun summer, I am back in the swing of things. Since the last post I published was from Feb., I will use this post to update everyone.
B turned 5 on March 25. We deceided that we really wanted to make a big deal about turning 5 since that is the offical crossover from toddlerhood. Since Disney is having their year of celebrations, we made reservations to spend 3 days visiting the parks. Darren's mom and dad came with us and we went to MGM and Magic Kingdom. B had a blast. He still talks about turning 5 at Disney World.
K turned 2 on Feb 17th and is really coming out of her shell. She is much less shy with people but is still the exact opposite of B. She loves to cuddle, loves her thumb and blanket and is very particular as to the way things should be. She is much more particular than even I am.
We had a very busy summer. It started out with a visit from my brother and his family. After hanging at our house for a couple of days, we all went to the Keys for a long weekend. We all rented RV's right on the beach and had a blast. I can't wait to go back. After that, we went to the TN mountains for a week with my husband's side of the family. It was a very relaxing week and the kids had a blast. From there we met up with my brother and his family one last time in PTC before we had to say goodbye. They are now in Germany for 3 years and we are already missing them. We can't wait to get over there to visit and explore Europe. After our sad goodbyes, we returned home for a few days only to pack up and head to Melbourne with our friends for a week at a beachfront condo. 7 kids and 3 moms = 3 tired moms. We did have a great time and the kids are still talking about the fun week at the beach.
We are now home and in one week B will start Kindergarten. I am a little sad and exceited all at the same time. My babies are growing up and there is no stopping it. I am just hanging on and enjoying the ride.

Kayce is 2

I can't believe that just two years ago I had this precious little baby girl. Time really does fly!! I am scared that I will go to sleep and wake up tomorrow with children who have grown up to be teenagers. In two years this little girl has gone from a shy mommy's girl to a very independent strong willed girl who is ready to take on the world. She will go poop on the potty but really wants nothing to do with peeing in it. I think this is because she has watched Blake stand to pee for so long that she thinks that is how she should do it. Many times throughout the day I will see her walk up to the toilet and pull her dress up and then shiver. I know she is peeing but when I try and sit her on the toilet she pitches a nice little fit. So Blake is now commanded to shut the door when he pees and Kayce is not allowed to watch big brother for awhile. She is trying to talk but really only babbles. Blake was a very late talker so I am sure she will start sooner or later. She still does not have a full set of teeth. I think we are setting new records on that one; however, it does not slow her down in eating everything in sight. She LOVES shoes. Today she went to the doctor in a cute little dress and her pink plastic boots. I am just not willing to fight over shoes. I thank God on a daily basis for the two wonderful blessings he has given Darren and I and I look forward to many more birthday celebrations.

we are back

We are back from our semi-wonderful trip to Kansas to see my brother and his family. It would have been a wonderful trip had we not all come down with the stomach bug the last two days we were there. It never fails that whenever there is a big trip planned, someone gets sick right before or during the trip. But aside from that, we did have a great time. We stayed at a fantastic place called Great Wolf Lodge where we did a lot of this

while it was doing this outside

We got to eat with the dinosaurs and do a little of this

the kids got to see this for the first time

Kayce spent a lot of time doing her most favorite thing (dressing up) and looking like this

and this

and in the end, Blake got to do this

Doesn't he make a cute little pilot.
But most importantly, we got to spend time with

the best cousins ever. We had a great time and can't wait to do it all again soon.

I've Been Tagged!!

Thanks to my dear friend Mary Beth over at Four Silly Sisters, I have been tagged. The directions are as follows: Open a document or photo folder and choose the fifth folder and then the fifth photo in that folder. Next, post the photo with a description about it and then tag 5 friends to do the same.

So this is my picture. I actually love this picture because it is a rare find and I was able to get it on the camera. Kayce LOVES her big brother and really strives to do exactly what he does, when he does it and how he does it. Blake, on the other hand, does not always love the mini me he has running behind him and has recently started going in his room and closing the door just to get some alone time. Don't get me wrong, he does love Kayce, but he does not always show it. This picture is one of those moments when he did not mind her being in his space.

The other reason I love this picture is because this is Kayce when she is ready to snuggle and just be loved on. Thumb in mouth and blankie in hand. When she inserts her thumb and grabs that blanket you know you can head to the rocker and she will be right behind. I know that won't last long and oh how I will miss it when it is gone. But for now, she is simply to cute.

For my five tags, I choose the following:

Amanda at 2 fun sons

Lori at Peach out of Water

Marianne at Villafjolle

Since I am not huge in the blogging world, this is it for me. So I really hope you three participate and have a great time finding your fifth picture.

Toy Story

I live in a house made of toys. They are even in my bathroom. While I sit on the toilet doing my thing, I look around and see toys. Plastic lipstick, GI Joe men, trains, plastic pink shoes, a doll with her head turned in weird ways. I just can't escape the toys. There are times that I feel like they are watching me and laughing. I really want to purge and get rid of some but my dilemma is as such: about 99% of the toys in this house were a gift from a grandparent or an aunt or uncle. So every month as I start going through the house sneaking toys into my big black bag going to the children's shelter, my guilty little brain starts to say things like, " the next time the grandparents come to visit they will notice that this toy is not here and ask what happened and you will have to tell them that you gave it away". The big black bag gets emptied and put back under the kitchen sink and all of the toys do a happy dance because they are safe for one more month. So my question to all of you lurking out there, What do you do with all of the gifted toys that come into your home? Do you just live with toys harassing you daily by laying under foot because they just refuse to stay in their designated places or do you just show the toys who is the boss of the house and get rid of them and break the news to the ones that gifted the toys that they no longer reside at this address?? The toys are forming their game plan for the month and I refuse to go down without a fight.

Resolutions

I have never been big on resolutions and really only because I never keep them. But this year I resolve to do better. I have been thinking long and hard about this and what I really would like to change about me and/or my life. I also think that by making them public to those of you who do follow us throught this blog, I might feel that accountability to stay true to myself. So without further hesitation, here are the few resolutions I have made for myself:

1. to read my Bible everyday. I began to do this last year ( again a resolution failure) and made it all the way to Deuteronomy. I have picked up where I left off and so far have stuck to reading a couple of chapters per night.

2. to be a more patient mother and wife. There are really times that I am ready to throw the towel in with my kids and my husband (don't tell them I said that). These feeling really show their head when Blake and kayce are scraping and screaming at the top of their lungs, when I have asked Darren to do something (like take a library book back on his way to the store) and realize a week later that the same library book is sitting on the counter and I am getting nasty emails from our local librarian. This year I resolve to not focus on the negative and instead realize that the kids are kids and Darren does most everything I ask him so if he forgets one little thing, I will patiently and positively respond.

3. to hire a housekeeper. In the perfect world I would already have one. Doing housework feels like I am about to have to rip out my toenails. I know this sounds lazy and I do agree but this is my one pet peeve. Somehow, someway I will find a housekeeper that I can afford and welcome her into my home with open arms.

There you go. Whether you are interested or not, that is what I resolve to do in the year 2009.
On another note, the kids are doing great. We had a great holiday season with lots of wonderful time with both sets of grandparents. The kids LOVE to spend time with the grandparents and I am so glad that they have such a close relationship with them. Blake is becoming quite the train lover. He now has a geotrax layout in our familyroom, a thomas the train table and layout in his room and now a L&N layout on a roll-away platform that he and Darren built which he can roll under his bed when he is not playing with it. Kayce also loves the trains but spends much more time at her vanity table putting on her make up and combing her hair. Most of the time they are both loving all over one another and the rest of the time they are fighting and screaming. True siblings in the making.

Only 5 more days!!

I love Christmas!! This has not always been how I felt but I really do love it now. I love giving gifts to everyone, I love all of the opportunities to get together with friends and family, I love the smells and lights, and most importantly, I love that this is when our savior was born. I feel very blessed this year as I have two healthy, beautiful children who drive me out of my mind sometimes, but who I love more that anything else in this world. I love how Blake is coming into his own. He loves to get on the computer now and watch trains on Youtube and he knows how navigate the computer all on his own. I love when he tells me I am his best friend and gives me big hugs (because I don't get them when I want them anymore) and I love watching him be a big brother (when he is not body slamming Kayce into the tile floor). It is amazing to me how opposite my two children are. Besides the obvious gender issue, Kayce is a very calm and content child. She does not need to be entertained, she will snuggle for hours in our arms and she is very unsure of new situations and people. Blake is very energetic and constatnly moving from one thing to another. It is very rare that he is not in the same room with us, regardless of which room we are in. He is a social butterfly who never meets a stranger. He can make friends with a wall if you give him enough time. And I love every trait of each of my children just the same. My favorite thing to do at this time of year is to sit next to the Christmas tree, all lit up, and just thank God for every blessing I have in my life. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Singletons

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

YUCK!!

I have many weaknesses but I know my biggest weakness is vomit. I think God knows this because he blessed me with a child who has only thrown up once or twice in his life. Unfortunately, this record is officially broken. Blake woke up around 4:30 am coughing. Darren got up with him and tried to put him back to bed and right when Blake was climbing the ladder, he hurled all over the bottom bunk and floor. So we cleaned him up and got him back to bed. I prayed the rest of morning that it was just a fluke. He got up and ate breakfast and acted fine. He said he wanted to go to school and stay for pizza. I was so happy. Well, 30 minutes after dropping him off I get a phone call fromt he school saying he is complaining and wants to go home. I start praying again and head to pick him up. Seems that right before I arrived, he hurled again. So I officially braced myself for a day of throwing up and started to plan out the best was to deal with my adversion to vomit and my child who is now vomiting. I got him home, bathed him and got him to sip on some Gatoraide. I then covered the couch with a waterproof crip sheet, towels and put a bucket next to the couch. I explained to Blake the importance of hitting the bucket if he felt sick again. As expected, he started feeling the need to vomit again and bless his heart, he hit the bucket. I am so proud of him and relieved. I now am waiting for the dr to call in some Zofran so we can make through the weekend. I have disinfected my entire house and am now praying that this is only 24 hours and that Kayce will not get it. I can almost guarantee that she will not be able to hit the bucket and my palms are already sweating thinking about it. I hate illness!!!!!

I'm finally back

I bet you all thought that I had retired from the blogging world. You would be right in your line of thinking but I am now back. I guess I went through a long moment of writers block. But after a long break, I feel like I can start to update the blog again. The sad thing is, not much has changed from my last post. Really!! Other than the kids getting older things are pretty much the same here. The weather is still hot, the kids are still wild and I am still doing the same things day in and day out. Kayce is starting to think about talking instead of screaming for everything. She still knows how to play with cars and planes much better than she does with baby dolls. Blake is still 200% all boy. He is well trained in the selective hearing department but is getting somewhat better depending on the day. One difference is that they are finally learning how to play together instead of aggravating one another. As I type this, they are both playing Blake's GeoTrax and have been for the past 30 minutes. That I am thankful for. So, even though I am back in the swing of blogging, we are still doing the same things as before. Hope eveyone is doing well.

Summer is FINALLY over!!

It is funny how things change as you get older. I remember that I used to live for the summer when I was a kid. Summer meant that I would go to Kentucky and stay with my grandparents. I would spend most every waking hour with my cousin, Eric and together we would rule the world. We spent most of the time outside riding our bikes up the railroad tracks, exploring the fields and ponds and simply playing with whatever caught our interest that day. Some summers my brother would join us and add to the trouble. Whenever anyone asks about memories of my childhood, I always go back to my summers in Kentucky. Now as an adult and more importantly as a parent, I really dread summers. Not because I don't want to spend time with my kids, don't get me wrong. But it is very hard to play with kids toys all summer long. Not only that, but it is so hot here that the kids really don't love being outside unless it involves water. So when school starts, things just seem to flow better in our house. We have a schedule and the TV is usually off, thank god. So as sad as it makes me to admit that I don't live for summers anymore, I will admit it and start living for fall.

Fay, Fay, Go away!!

Fay has decided to take up residence here in Florida. Really, she is moving at a snails pace of 8 mph and is just lingering over us with rain and wind and tornado warnings. Someone should really lock her up in a house with two children ALL DAY LONG. I don't think it would be near as bad if I knew that I had the option of letting them outside to play a little and get their energy out. So we have played Wii, we have played battleship, we have had lots of snacks, we have watched lots of cartoons, we have attempted to have naps but the heavy rain kept the little one up, we gave baths at 4:00 in hopes that it would be a calming experience (not), and now we are counting the minutes down to bedtime. In addition to all of this fun, we have been watching the weather to keep up with the tornado watches and warnings. The eye of the storm is still heading our way, so the worst is yet to come. Obviously, Fay never had kids of her own or she would know better than to sit on us for so long.

I'm still here

I am getting bad about not posting but at the end of the day it is so hard to sit and do anything that requires thought. This summer just seems to go on forever. The kids will start school in two weeks. Blake will be in the four year old class and really is not looking forward to having to write and learn new things. He says that all he is going to do is play. If this is any indication of how the rest of his schooling will go, we are in trouble. Kayce will be in the "puppy" class for 18 month olds. There are 10 little ones in the class and two very brave teachers. We met her teachers today and Kayce did fine as long as no one touched her. She is getting better about venturing off on her own but don't dare touch her. Her head will spin and green stuff comes flying out of her mouth. Ok, not really but it is about that dramatic. Her teachers will have lots of fun with her this year. The good thing is, once she gets over the fact that I leave her, she is just fine. I am really hoping that the next two weeks fly by. Not because I want to get rid of my kids or anything, but Blake is becoming stir crazy and I can only play GeoTrax so many times in one day. Let the countdown to school begin.

Vacation

We are finally home from our busy summer fun. I love summer and I really love traveling to see all of our family but it is always nice to come back home and get back into the swing of things. We had a great trip to the mountains with Darren's family. We did a lot of things that the kids really enjoyed. We learned that Kayce can fall asleep anywhere. We all went on a hour long horseback ride and after laughing and calling the horse "brewster", she fell asleep and slept for most of the ride. When we got back to the stables, Darren handed her to me and she woke up laughing and ready to go again. Then another day we went tubing down the river, again about an hour or so long. The ride was very relaxing but there were a couple of places that we went down rapids and things would get a little wild. She fell asleep after the first wild thrill and slept the rest of the way. Thankfully she was with Darren and he was able to stay in the tube and not flip over. Blake loved everything we did but he really loved being able to drive his own go cart this year. Granted, he ate the wall the majority of the time but he did not care. We spent a lot of time relaxing and enjoying spending time with one another since it is not often we all get to do that as a family. Now we are back in Florida and watching the weather channel every night praying that we will be spared another summer from those lovely hurricanes. The kids are catching up with their sleep and I think they are enjoying not doing anything. We will be spending the rest of the summer hanging out at the pool and with our friends that we missed while we were gone.

Summer Update

We are halfway done with our summer adventures. So far we have had a great summer and are looking forward to the rest of our fun. The kids and I has a great trip to Kentucky. The adults on the trip had the very emotional task of going through my late grandmothers estate and getting it ready to auction in September. I will say that was the most emotionally draining thing I have done in a long time. The kids, however, had a ball with my cousin and her family. They were able to ride their bikes all day, go on a real steam engine train ride, pick apples from the trees and just run around playing. They loved it. We then went back to Ga and rode back to Florida with Darren's family. By the time we got home, the kids did not want to look at their car seats for a couple of days. We had a very relaxing week. Thursday the kids left with Darren's parents. So Darren and I are alone for a whole week. We really did not know what to do with ourselves at first but now we are figuring things out. We have gone to restaurants that we typically avoid, we have gone to the beach and left without having the dig sand out of peoples cracks, we have gone fishing and enjoyed the silence, we have walked on the beach at night because we don't have to worry about bedtimes. I really had forgotten what it was like to feed myself first and uninterrupted. Don't get me wrong, I miss my kids beyond words, but Darren and I really needed some time to focus on us as a couple and not as mommy and daddy. So here we are on Sunday night and we just decided that we are going to lay on the beach in the morning before he goes to work. I am sure that we will be very refreshed and ready to go by the time we drive to Ga on Thursday to meet the kids. After we pick them up, we are heading to Pigeon Forge for the week. This will be Darren's vacation for the summer and I can't wait to get somewhere that has no sprint service so that his phone will remain silent for the week. That is our summer so far. I hope everyone is have a great summer!!!

Post Surgery

Blake now has tubes in his ears. I have to say that it was unexpectedly easy. We got to the surgery center around 6 in the morning. Blake was in his pajamas and took his beloved train blanket and ducky. They took us back around 6:15 and immediately gave him some happy medicine, which was a good thing because he was not letting anyone touch him up until that point. Once he got the happy medicine, he was a happy kid. It was actually quite funny. He was laughing at anything and everything. They let him stay in him pajamas and he took his blanket back with him. About 10 minutes after they took him back, the doctor was out telling us that everything went great and he was in recovery. This was the worst part for us because he was out of it and crying. As soon as I got back with him, they let me hold him and he calmed down but was still very out of it and upset. When he calmed down he asked if he could have something to eat, so we got him something and went home. We was pretty drunk when we got home so we put him on the couch and he was in and out of it for about an hour. Then, all of a sudden, he got up and went to the bathroom and started playing with his geotrax. He did not say anything else about the tubes all day. I really don't think he remembers the surgery, which I am ok with. He has never complained with pain and has been very agreeable to wearing the earplugs at bathtime. So, all in all, I have no complaints and only time will tell if they will reduce his ear infections or not.
Monday starts the beginning of our summer plans. We are all flying to Atl on Monday. Darren will fly home on Wed and the kids and I will go to Peachtree City. Then my family is going to Kentucky for a week. We will come back home to Florida with Darrens family on the 26th. We will be here for the week and then the kids will go back to GA with Darrens family. Darren and I will head to Ga on the 11th of July and then we all go to Gatlinburg for the following week. Needless to say, we are not hurting for things to do this summer. I am really looking forward to spending time with our families and seeing people we have not had a chance to see in awhile. I hope everyone has a great summer!

Sorry no pictures

I have not been doing a great job with my camera lately, so no pictures this time. Since the last post, Blake went to the ENT and he is having tubes placed in his ears this Tuesday. I am hoping that this will take care of most of his medical issues. The rotten thing about the whole thing is that he will now have to wear ear plugs whenever he gets in the water. I am really hoping he is going to be ok with that because he has just recently started to swim and he loves the pool now. He will jump in and swim all over the pool with no fear now. We are going to have plugs made just for him and he will be able to pick the color out, so I am hoping this will make him be ok with wearing them. Only time will tell. Other than that, there is no real news coming out of our house. I hope everyone is having a great summer so far.

Better days

Since my last post, I have had much better days. The kids and I were scheduled to fly into Atlanta two days after Kayce had her seizure. I was not sure that I really wanted to chance flying with the kids by myself after that incident but the morning we were to fly out went well and we went on our way. Thankfully, the kids did great and we had a very nice visit in Atlanta and Kentucky. Of course, the wellness did not last long and as soon as we got home Blake started to run a fever and was feeling horrible. We went to the Doctor and he said that it looks like Blake has elmers glue in his ear. Of course it is not glue but it is so full of fluid that is what it looks like. We are off to see a ENT on Monday and have accepted the fact that we will more than likely be getting tubes in his ears, and possibly removing his adnoids and/or tonsils. As much as I really don't want him to have to go through all of that, I am so ready for him to not be sick and on antibiotics all the time. Other than that, things are going great. We have been swimming a lot and Blake is really taking off this summer. He is all over the pool!! Kayce loves it to. She is not afraid to step right off into the water. Here are some pics of the kids at the pool.