My Home Away From Home

I haven't blogged since January. I know, I know. I'm a terrible blogger. For the past 4 weeks I have been working very hard in my classroom. So many people have worked together to make my dream a reality. I can't think my friends and family enough for all of their love and hardwork. I've had plenty of time to think about how I want my room to look. I know I will be spending more time there than I spend at home so I want it to be peaceful and "homey". Some of my ideas came from Pinterest & I came up with some of them. I will try to credit as many as I can but honestly there are so many ideas on Pinterest I can't keep up with where I got all of the ideas. I realize that everything will probably change after school starts and I will probably have to change some things around. It's not completely finished but I couldn't wait to share something that has been such a big part of my life. Hope you like it!

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Disney How To

I am by no means a Disney expert. I just thought I would share our experience and perhaps save you some trouble or give you some helpful tips. When planning our trip I knew I wanted the whole "Dreams Come True" experience for my kids. This trip was all about them. We did 4 parks in 4 days. This was possible because I have been to Disney and we did not even approach the rides that they couldn't ride.
Here are some things to do before you go:
Order your free customized Disney maps. This is a great keepsake and the kids loved getting them in the mail.  free disney maps

Start a countdown.
The kids loved tearing a day off each morning and got more excited as the chain got smaller.

I also wanted shirts for each day. It isn't necessary but it did make packing and deciding what to wear each day really easy.

Buy light up toys before leaving! This is a big one. There are always exciting things to do in the parks a night. There are also expensive light-upo and glow in the dark toys on every corner. You can purchase these items at home and take them in the park with you. I bought most of ours at the Dollar Tree and Target.

 I also packed "prizes" for the boys to wake to each morning that were from Mickey. These were also items that I found at the dollar store or Target. I put them in bags for each day. Each bag also contained Mickey snacks that we could take to the park each day. This helped cut down on buying expensive Mickey snacks in the park.

Now that we've talked about what to do before, here are some tips for while you're there.
Let me start by saying we used a travel agent. Here is a link to her page, Macy's Travel . Travel agents are free and have inside information. There is no downside to using a travel agent. I told our travel agent what characters were the boy's favorites and she planned our meals according to that. We loved all of our meals and I highly recommend the dining plan. It is well worth it. You get your money's worth of food and there are plenty of options in every park. Our favorite place to eat was Ohana's. This was not a character dinner but the kids still loved it. The food and atmosphere were amazing. We stayed on property at the Port Orleans Resort. I recommend staying on property, but next time I plan to stay closer to the Magic Kingdom. The bus rides back and forth were long, especially if we had to transfer to another bus or a monorail. We had to leave at least an hour before meal reservations in order to get there on time. I also recommend park hopper passes. These allow you to go in and out of park as many times as you want and to go back and forth between parks. This is very convenient for people traveling with small children that can't spend 15 hours in a park. Make sure you also visit Downtown Disney. It is an experience in itself. Also, something to think about. We had a horrible experience with losing our keys on the 2nd day of our trip. We didn't need our keys immediately so we had someone overnight a spare but you would be in a lot of trouble if you did need your keys. I recommend carrying a spare and leaving it in your hotel room instead of carrying in a park and having a spare at home someone can send you. The most important thing is getting to the park early. That is one plus to staying on-property. You should always take advantage of Extra Magic Hours that are available to those staying on-property. As soon as you get in the park have a member of your party go straight to the most popular ride and get fast passes. Fast passes are tickets that allow you to return to the ride at certain time and skip the line. The best rides will run out of fast passes as early as 10am. As soon as your fast pass says you can get another fast pass, do! It saves you loads of time standing in line. We had  great time in all of the parks but of course Magic Kingdom is the best. There isn't that much for young kids at Epcot, but there are things for them to enjoy. I am a planner so I recommend having a game plan. We knew what park we were going to each day, what time the shows inside that park were, and what time all fireworks shows and parades were in that park. Don't overlook the shows. The live shows are the best part in my opinion. The kids were enthralled, especially with The Lion King show. Don't miss parades or fireworks. They are all awesome!
There is no way to cover everything in one blog but I hope I was able to provide some useful info. :)

Life in Kindergarten

I can't believe it has been over a month since I've blogged. I have been so busy since going back to work. I am so grateful for the 5 years I spent at home being a mommy but I am so thankful to be at work! I really do enjoy working and I am so blessed to have a career and spend a lot of time with my children. I am really enjoying my job. I am a teacher's aide for 2 kindergarten classes. That means that I have 51 sweet babies! It's amazing how fast you fall in love with them. They are all different and all precious in their own way. It is never a dull moment in Kindergarten and time flies. Though I love my students and my job, I am still praying that I will some day have my own classroom. I am trusting in the  Lord and know that it will happen in His time.
The boys are adjusting well to this major life change. Baden misses his brother and he has a new "friend" Jake. Rylan is reading! It amazes me. It's makes me so proud, like when he said his first word. We are so blessed and give God all the glory.

Kindergarten!

I can't believe my baby is starting kindergarten! He has no idea how much his life is going to change. I never realized how expensive it was to send a child to public school. Luckily we have great family support. They have all helped buy everything Ry needs to start school in style. I thought I would share some of our great finds.
                        Every kid needs a great backpack. Our patch was made by Ashlyn Nielsen.

Lunch box by Lands End

Pencil Box by Tootlebugs

First day of kindergarten shirt by Chelle Hollis

We are so lucky to be supported by a great family. Thanks MiMi, YaYa, PaPi, Allie, & LoLo. 

USA! USA! USA!

I LOVE the Olympics! Especially the summer Olympics. I have seriously watched at least 100 hours of coverage in two days. My favorites are swimming and gymnastics. I've also enjoyed shooting, archery, men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's beach volleyball, diving, men's and women's basketball, rowing, water polo, and a million other sports I can't think of. I love the patriotism that comes with the Olympics. It has provided us with great learning opportunities for our kids. I've enjoyed teaching them about patriotism and hard work.
Last night I was watched the women's gymnastics team qualifying round. It always fascinates me how these athletes compete against each other, but also as a team. It was a sad moment when the lifelong dreams of individual all around for Jordan Weiber were crushed by her teammate Aly Raisman. The score popped up and one girl was jumping for joy and one was devastated. All caught on national t.v. As the cameras interviewed an excited Raisman a tearful Weiber stood in the background. I realize this a part of life, but geez, these girls have been trainging for this since birth and they only get one chance. It just doesn't seem fair that only two athletes from each team get to go, even if their scores are higher than the athletes from the other teams. I think is it weird, but awesome that these athletes can go from competing so hard with each other, to working together. I watched Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte vigorously compete against each other Saturday night and then swim the relay together Sunday night. That relay was an awesome race that had me screaming at the t.v.
I plan to use this time to teach my kids about hard work and dedication. We will be cheering on Team USA everyday!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1276946-womens-gymnastics-olympic-qualifications-2012-wieber-out-but-rule-is-unfair

Is it Normal to Cry on the School Supply Aisle??

I've hesitated to write this blog for a while now. It's been a difficult couple of weeks. I've fasted, I've prayed, I've done everything I've been told to do, yet I'm still unemployed. It seems like it's been bad news after bad news. The worst news came Thursday. It felt personal. It hurt. Something I had been counting on and knew that I could always fall back on was taken away. It was a definite blow to my confidence. What did I do wrong? Am I not good enough? Am I too old? Am I too fat? Am I not smart enough? These are questions that I have asked myself. For five years we have lived off of one income so that I could earn my degree. My husband has worked himself to death to provide for us. We are ready for better things. We are ready to pay off some bills and spend more time with daddy.
An all time low was the day I found myself in tears on the school supply aisle at Walmart. Often over the past month I have felt like Pastor Bryant was preaching directly too me. Without his encouragement, I may have given up. As long as I have a mustard seed of faith, I can keep going. I know that there are twenty something little kids out there waiting to be loved and encouraged by me. I know that I can inspire them and help them succeed. I know that I can better their lives. I pray that I get that opportunity. I believe in the power of prayer. Please continue to pray for our family.

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt this in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  Mark 11:22, 23

 

My Boys are Getting Older!

This past weekend we celebrated 2 very big birthdays. My baby turned 3 and big baby turned 30! This was the first time ever that Field picked out a birthday present for the boys. Baden loves to help his daddy cut grass and Field had this vision of Baden trailing behind him on his very own John Deere.

Since this was an expensive birthday present, we decided to have the party at home. NEVER AGAIN. Let me start by saying it is my fault. I put all this pressure on myself to have the perfect party. A party that they will never forget. Like he is going to remember his third birthday party. This party should have been an ad for Pinterest. I love Pinterest. I got all of the ideas from Pinterest. Because I couldn't decide on a theme for the party, I went with colors. That left me a lot of room to do whatever I wanted. We had a balloon walkway. 

                                     


                                                          We had colored popcorn.

I do NOT recommend the colored popcorn. It was great for looks but it took FOREVER to make and it stuck to everyone's teeth.

We had chocolate dipped rice krispy treats. Which I stuck in a wrapped box.

This would have been an excellent idea, if it had not been 105 degrees outside. They started melting and falling. They were delicious though. 

We also had trix pops,

and watermelon stars. I cut the watermelon thin and used a cookie cutter.

The best thing was the koolaid ice. When served in Sprite the ice is really cool and tastes good too. 

We have been blessed with a wonderful family and friends. It meant so much to us to have them there to celebrate. Especially, for Field. It's no secret that Field has a difficult relationship with his parents. It means so much to him to be surrounded by people that love him and want good things for him. Field's biggest goal in life is to be a great dad. I think he excels. I am so blessed to have him as my husband. I fell in live with him at 16 and married him at 19. He's a cop. The statistics are against us but God is with us. There is no doubt in my mind that we would not have made it this far with Christ. I continue to pray daily for our marriage to grow and for the Lord to order our steps. Field has worked so hard to provide for our family. I have never seen anyone who works so hard, sometimes three jobs in one day. This is one reason I so desperately need a job. I don't want Field to have to work so hard. I don't want him to work himself into an early grave. I can't believe he is 30! We are so blessed and I want to thank each and every person that helped us celebrate. It meant so much to have you there.