First and Last Day

It’s the last day of 1st grade!

1st and last day pictures starting with 1st grade……

I love seeing how much she grew each year!  She always looks like a teenager to me by the end of the year.

We get to start these with Nolan as he starts PreK in the fall.  I just bought him shorts in the same pattern as the jumper that Janie has on in her PreK picture…..too cute!  I am definitely pro uniform.

Confidence in Motherhood

I’m linking to Kelly’s Korner today for the Build Em Up Series.  Today’s topic is confidence in motherhood.  There are so many choices that come with being a parent….

disposable or cloth diapers

breast or bottle fed

working mom or stay at home mom

swaddle or no swaddle

schedule or let the baby lead the way

spank or time out

And the list could go on!  That’s a lot of choices and you don’t even know this person.  I don’t think parenthood needs to be so black and white.  Kids need structure but they are also pretty adaptable.  I know every time we made a BIG change…..moving from the bassinet to the crib, first time going to bed without nursing, moving from the crib to toddler bed…..Tim and I were so worried about how it was going to go and expected the worst.  Well, guess what, it wasn’t such a BIG change for my kids.  We were shocked when they just went with the flow.  There were a few tears on occasion but it wasn’t the horrible night that we were fearing.

I don’t think you need to put yourself in one camp or the other.  Try different things.  See what works with your family.  When it doesn’t work anymore, change it up.  I still haven’t figured some things out and my kids are 7 and 3.  Consistency is key but it doesn’t make sense to keep doing something that isn’t working for you.

Last Game

I cannot believe that this is the last week of school!

We had a good weekend.  Janie went to a birthday party on Saturday morning.  We had to leave before they headed to Build a Bear because we had to get to Nolan’s last baseball game.  I wasn’t too disappointed about not bringing another stuffed animal into our house.  It seems like we have them everywhere and Janie can tell me why each one is special so her so I can argue, even though I only see her with it after it “almost” makes it to the Goodwill bag.

This big guy got to meet us at the game.  We were so happy to see Jacob!  His mom was picking up our stroller.  That was pretty much the last of the baby stuff….kinda sad but so happy that we can pass it on!

Nolan had fun at his last game.  Here are the things that I think he picked up the season:

• It’s really cool how they can make white dirt on the field.
• It’s fun to put dirt in your hat, glove, shoes and pants.
• When you have a bat, you must swing when a ball is coming at you.
• When people yell, you should run somewhere.
• You stand with your hands on your knees and then run to the ball no matter where it goes.  Whoever gets the ball wins the game.
• After the game, you put your hand out and walk by the other team.
• The best part of the game is the snack and drink that you get at the end.

He was super excited about his trophy.  I’m proud of our little ball player!

This week

It’s been a busy week so I haven’t posted much.

Janie had her end of year party.  It was a pirate theme Wipeout…so much fun!  I’m really going to miss her teacher.  She has been great and makes everything so special for the kids. They even made a pirate movie on land forms!

Nolan ended up with an ear infection.  That tube that was still attached a little bit is now in the ear canal.  I’m praying that he won’t need another set of tubes.

Nolan has his last baseball game today.  I just looked up the fall ball registration because I’m going to miss it.

Speaking of baseball, last night at dinner we were talking about baseball and home runs.  I explained that when you hit the ball out of the park, you get to run all the way home.  Nolan said, “what if you get hit by a car?”  I didn’t get his question and then Janie said, “he thinks you run home to your house.”  Maybe we need to hit up a Braves game!

I finished The Shack last night.  Although it took me forever to get through it, it was really good.  In one part that really hit me, it was explaining how our imagination is always in the past or the future.  It’s most likely worse than we expect and God is never with us.  Something to think about!

Healthy Mini Lasagna

I found a recipe for these mini lasagnas on myfitnesspal.  I made it a few weeks ago and it was a hit!

24 Wonton Wrappers

Garlic

Italian Seasoning

Non Stick Spray

Muffin Tin

1 lb of ground meat (I used ground venison but you could use lean beef, ground turkey or turkey sausage)

1 cup Pasta Sauce

1/2 c Part Skim Ricotta Cheese

1 1/2 C Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 c Parmesan Cheese

Brown the meat with garlic and Italian seasoning.  Once browned, add pasta sauce to the meat.  Spray Muffin tin with non-stick spray.  Layer one wonton wrapper in the bottom of each muffin hole. Then add a spoonful of meat/sauce mixture to each wonton wrapper, add some Ricotta cheese, and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Start second layer wonton wrapper, sauce/meat, ricotta cheese, top with the mozzarella cheese. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.  They were calculated as the following per cupcake: 135 cals 5.76 fat 12.6 carbs 1 fiber 10.4 protein.

Big Weekend

This was a big weekend for the Bs!  Nolan got the game ball at his game on Saturday.

Then we were off to Janie’s dance recital.  She kept telling me that she was embarrassed because she was going to have so many eyes on her.  I think the dress rehearsal on Friday put her at ease a little bit.  But she was still nervous (or embarrassed as she says).

I just love the picture below.  Face those fears and know that we we always be there to hold your hand!

Well, our little hip hop star rocked it!  She really knew the routine and did a great job.  On the way home she said, “Mom, you aren’t going to believe this but I really LOVED being on stage!”  I am so proud of her for stepping out of her comfort zone and finding something that she really enjoys!

Janie had quite the audience!  There were 12 of us that came to cheer her on and we all went to dinner afterwards.  It truly was a great day!

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful mom!

Not only is she a great mom, she is also a great nana!

And to my fabulous mother in law who happens to be a great grandma as well!

Midweek update

I am so happy to see the sun!  It has been so rainy and cold here.  Janie’s field day and lemonade wars were cancelled on Monday and Tuesday.  Such a bummer!

I finally got out of my reading rut!  Looks like this will be the first book that I actually finish (excluding The Boxcar Children and Ramona the Brave) in a long time.  It’s still free on the Kindle and Nook so go get your copy!

Janie has her dance recital this weekend.  I’m really excited and kind of nervous!  I hope it will be better than her last recital…….

She pretty much did this the whole time.  Granted, she was only 3 and it’s hilarious now!

Nolan’s eye is healing well.  He gave me another scare Monday night though.  He flipped off the back of the couch and landed on his head on our hardwoods.  It happened at bedtime so I kept him up for awhile to make sure he was okay.  He really enjoyed The Voice so I’m thinking that was his plan all along!

I’ve always wanted to try BareMinerals but I’m cheap frugal.  I was at Ross (it’s like TJ Maxx) a few weeks ago and saw a mineral makeup kit for fair skin for $7.99.  Of course, I had to give it a try.  When I put it on, I look like I’m going to the Oscar’s….as the trophy!  Not quite the look that I had in mind.

Books

I like to read but since I finished the Hunger Games books, I have started a number of books but just can’t seem to finish any of them!  I don’t know what my problem is.  Here’s the list of books that I’ve started:

The Shack – I’m about half way through but fall asleep every time I pick it up.

The Secret Life of Bees – Again, about half way through.

Crazy Love – Honestly, I had to put it down because I was feeling so overwhelmed.

Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride – This was a Nook Free Friday download and I’m not hooked yet.

A Prayer for Owen Meany – This was a recommendation but I can’t get past the first 10 pages.

Sparkly Green Earrings – I’ve been wanting to read this and it’s currently free on the Kindle and Nook so I downloaded it last night.  I read the first chapter and I think I will finish this one!

It’s so hard to say goodbye

Janie made friends with a little girl on the bus in Kindergarten.  This was the first friendship that she established without me.  She made friends in preschool, of course, but we always knew the parents and planned play dates.  I had never heard of Taylor, didn’t know where she lived or who her parents were.  It turns out that Taylor comes from a great family and has a little sister that is just a year younger than her.  The three girls became great friends!

Taylor and Avery are moving across the country on the last day of school.  I remember the tears that fell when I told Janie that they were moving.  I don’t think it has really hit her though because as we talk about summer plans, she asks if the girls can join her for different activities.  Some friends threw a surprise going away party for them this weekend.  It was great to get all of the kids together on last time!

I really hope that the girls will keep in touch!  I would love for them to be pen pals.  Remember the excitement that you would get from getting stuff in the mail?

The party was at the bowling alley and it was Nolan’s first time bowling.  This is what he did each turn…..

Unfortunately, it didn’t help much!