So Far this week....

Besides, going to the swimming pool and swimming lessons, we have gone to the Trail head, where all of the water shoots up out of holes in the concrete. We have also gone over to Landon's house(a friend of Ben's from preschool). This was a great day, it really wore Ben out before his nap and then his afternoon swimming lesson. We have been to the Library and gotten more books and movies...and Collin has decided he likes playing with Ben's baby doll named Joey(which my mom gave to Ben to prepare him before Collin was born). All of this outside activity is starting to make me tired!! Did I mention it is really hot here in Louisiana? It is getting so hot that it makes you want to strip off your clothes to the bare minimum...no matter what you feel you look like...I am embarrassed to say, today, I went to K-mart after the pool in my swimsuit, cover-up and flip flops...and it was still too hot...I could have even lost the cover-up...but I wouldn't dare! The cleanliness of my house is suffering! But I am a little too tired to care! Is it really still just the beginning of JUNE??? We did have a great snack this week....I am not completely into the organic thing, but we tried this Organic Brownie mix, and it was about the best tasting brownie mix I have ever had! I thought I would share...and it has no preservatives or red dye...if you are into that kind of thing. Hope your week has gone well!

With all of the extra summer activity...treat yourselves ladies...and I have to mention...we did eat all of it in less than 24 hours...that is a little embarrassing!

CB

Congratulations Summer!!

This weekend we went to Ft. Worth, TX to see our niece, Summer Brown, graduate from high school. While any high school graduation is a reason to celebrate, we felt extra proud of Summer. She graduated valedictorian of a 300+ class at Trimble Tech High School in Ft. Worth. She has also received a huge scholarship to LeTourneau University in East TX. She had already received an $8,000 per year, full tuition scholarship to LeTourneau because of her grades and scholarly performance early in the spring. Late in the spring after a series of interviews, Summer was awarded an additional $75,000 in scholarship to the school which will get her well on her way to a great start and career! She plans to focus on a pre-med degree. Congratulations Summer! We are so proud of you!! We also had a great time visiting other family members. We spend lots of time in the car..but it was well worth it. The best part of our car rides....the few times the boys fell asleep! The first 7 hour day, they both took only one nap...it was for 30 minutes!!

And yes, that is a pillow case clipped together with a chip clip...this was Ben's idea for an improvised Superman cape...I thought it was pretty creative. Earle and Eric(Earle's Brother)
On the way home we stopped for ice cream, and because we had to get back in the car, we decided just to get Collin a cone to gnaw on with no ice cream....When I looked back in the car seat, to my surprise, I realized that this choc. dipped waffle cone was what Earle got for him....great idea, Earle! Collin was tickled to death about it, but I think next time we will get a plain one!!

Getting a hold of our Summer Routine!!!

Okay, summer, with two children of completely differently physical capabilities has proven to challenge me this year! First of all, what in the world am I supposed to do with them all day to keep them occupied? We go everywhere, just the three of us. When Ben was in school, I would take Collin along on my errands, while I did have to tote him around, it was generally quiet....but with Ben, there are many, many repeated questions, opinions about what we are doing, and there is always a huge need for us to be outside and physically active. Here are a couple of pics of us on some errands....we three! The first picture is at the Dr.'s office, and the second is at the grocery store.





I can't wait until Collin is old enough to play outside with


Ben and interact with him like a playmate!

Maybe next summer, we have got to get him walking first!~!

After a few days of running countless errands, to take up some time, a friend of mine, Angela Clem, suggested that I put Ben in some swimming lessons...it has been the best thing!! He loves it and it completely wears him out.

Here is our summer routine as of this week, and it seems to be working...things can vary...

• Get up, let Ben watch Noggin while he eats his breakfast and I feed Collin.



• Finish Breakfast, put Collin back into his crib for some crib play time while I get dressed to to the the PAC(Pelican Athletic Club) which is where I work out and we can go to the pool.



• Get kids dressed and Go to swim, usually around 10:00am(usually I put Collin in childcare and just take Ben to the pool)



• Leave the PAC around 12:00



• Get home to eat lunch and then put Collin down for a nap.



• Read some books with Ben, and let him have playroom time, or a nap if he needs it.



• 3:00 Get Ben ready for his swimming lessons.



• 4:00 Swimming lessons for Ben and Collin and I watch.



• Get home just before 5:00



• Dinner between 5:00 and 6:00



• After 6:00 maybe a walk with Dad until 7:00



• Bath time and Bedtime for Collin,



• Ben might get to stay up and play bowling or baseball on the Wii with his dad,



• Usually by 8:00 Ben is in bed and Earle and I are FREE!!!

So we may not go to the pool in the mornings everyday, but here are some other options...we have been trying to go to the Library, sometimes we can go to the park, but it is starting to get really hot here in Louisiana. There is the occasional play date, or possibly McDonald's or Chick-fil-a playland. Oh yes, and occasionally some errands have to be run.

Some things I have learned that make our swimming pool outings easier are:

• Always have the kids pre-showered and as Ben would say, "greased up" with sunscreen before you get in your car to go to the pool, that way they can just get right in, and if you have to hold another child your hands are at least free of one. Don't come in street clothes, just swimsuit and t-shirt and flip flops or cover up.



• the little floating ring for Collin with the mesh netting for the toys and the little awning...it is great!



• We typically just dry off at the pool, and I put on my swimsuit cover up and just get back into the car like that, it save us the chaos of the locker room clean up and getting dressed time, we just do that at home.



• I made the mistake of buying a huge pool bag, but it does not go over my shoulder, you have to carry it in your hands...that was a big mistake...get one that goes over your shoulder.


• I am not one to spend money on clothes for myself...but seriously, ladies, invest in a good swimsuit that fits you so that you feel more confident on all of these pool outings! I finally got one that I could order by size and bra size with an underwire and a skirtini...it cost way more than I would have ever thought, but I don't feel like I have to hide behind a tree or large float! I got mine at a place called Bora Bora, but my friend Rochelle, told me that you can order them like that from Land's end...each piece probably will run you about $75.00,(so if you get both pieces $150.00+ OUCH!) but it is totally worth it...if you can save up for one. Dillards also has some good ones. And no, the only swimsuit picture you will see of me will be a headshot! In this one I can feel confident that my "girls" are not falling out and I am not showing my glory to the world while I chase my kids.

This is the little float for Collin that is awesome! I got it at Target. Bathing Suit Picture...Playing at the PAC...

Swimming Lessons at Northshore Swim

Last but not least, I wanted to show you this series of books that I found at the Library...those of you with older kiddos, probably have already seen these, but Ben is trying to learn his letter sounds better, before he starts to read, and these are really good. They are called the Sound Box Books...one for every letter by Jane Moncure. I thought that maybe I should buy the series so both of the boys could have them...but they are really expensive...about $15.00 per book. So we will be using our library quite a bit this summer!! Hope you are all off to a great start! Please give any summer tips you may have, I can always use some to make things easier!!
CB

Another Goodbye!

To all of my Fairview Heights, O'Fallon friends....my good friend Whitney DeSambourg is moving your way next week. She is the one in the middle of the pics. She is a hoot and a half! She is actually going to be living in St. Louis, but I will be happy to give you her info if you that work over in St. Louis would like to meet up with her! She won't know anyone and I am sure she would love to meet some friends! We went out for Mexican food with her last night, and tomorrow will be the last day we see her before she moves.... We will miss you Whitney!! We love you! Keep in touch!!

CB

What Goes on Behind the Scenes...when I go to check my blog or e-mail....

The first time I went to check my blog this afternoon, I had left Ben downstairs sweetly eating a pizza for lunch at his playroom desk....this is what I came back to find......as if coloring on the wall was not a creative enough outlet...how about sponge painting with his pizza....I have got to hand it to him...I have never thought of that! It is a good thing we have not painted that room yet!! Thank goodness for Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!!




The next time I went back up to look some things up for Coffee Break, Ben was supposed to be having, playroom time....remember how I posted what works for me a while back, well it turned out a little differently today. I heard him screaming, I ran downstairs, he was screaming because his spiderman flip flops were wet. I looked him over, there was white stuff on his leg, so I asked, "What is on your leg?" He replied, "Baking Soda, I am sorry, Mommy" I walked over to the bathroom and saw this in front of the pantry....then into the bathroom the entire floor was flooded over and there was a piece of baking soda box sitting in the bottom of the toilet...even the sides of the walls were covered in water....I think he was trying to wash it off of his legs and feet...the moral of the story,
*Don't leave the Baking soda on a pantry shelf that can be reached because your kid might want to play with it? Wait a minute, how does he even know what Baking Soda is or what it is called?
*Lesson Learned---Baking soda actually does a fantastic job cleaning tiled floors...I think I will use it again!!

After I had finished cleaning up the mess of Baking Soda and Water, I thought to myself, where is Ben??? This is what I found....

I guess he was ready to get out of his wet clothes! Now he was quite calm and watching Noggin. Enjoy! Hope everyone has a great day...I think I will take my laptop downstairs now!!

CB

Destin Florida Family Trip

We had a great time in Florida this past week with my family. The boys really loved it! We were there with Lorie, Josh, my parents, and we got to see my Aunt Suzanne, her husband Bobby, along with their kids. Sorry the slide show is so long...you don't have to watch all of it, mainly for the family... hope to do it again next year!

Enjoy!

CB

Coffee Break

To those who are interested, our next study title on Coffee Break is going to Be.....

Where Do You Draw The LINE???

Where do you draw your moral/ spiritual line?

Is your line drawn in the same place that God's line is drawn?

How can we not be "judgemental," but still be a strong christian example and person of God to our children, friends, at work and in the community. Where is the place where your opinion of what is right collides with God's opinion?

This is something I have really been thinking about for myself lately. Whether it is a line drawn socially with my friends, or being a wife or mother? We are going to look at several scriptures to study this. I want to make sure I know where to draw my lines...sometimes I feel that they can change. We are going to take a deep look at this and hopefully this will move an inspire us as people of God to be more confident of the examples that we are setting.

I will start posting this next week, which is the first week in June!! Hope everyones' summer is off to a great start.