Oh Christian!

1. Go into his room this morning and realized that he has peed all over his clothes.

2. Give him a bath.

3. He doesn't want to wear a shirt because he didn't wear one at all yesterday, so I let him go without a shirt on.

4. Put him in his chair and give him cereal with milk. I don't put a bib on him.

5. As he eats his cereal, he dribbles milk down his chest. (he ate 4 bowls by the way!)

6. Do I bathe him again or just wipe him down??

Great fun!

On Sunday, we went out to the Fremont lakes with some friends of ours. We had a blast! This other family has older girls the same age as Megan, another daughter a year younger than Courtney, and a boy a year older than Christian.  They all have somebody to play with!!

We bought another jetski last week, so now we have two and they ran all night long. Between the two dads going out and the two moms going out and kids going each time, I think we all got plenty of jetski time!

We arrived there about 4:15 and by about 6, the kids were getting hungry, so we got out some food we brought.  Then we all returned to the water.  By about 8, us moms were realizing that the sun was going down and we should probably feed everybody supper.  We tried to order pizza, but nobody picked up, so we got out the rest of our food, put it on the table, and let the kids dig in! This other family had brought a whole watermelon, so that was super-good!

We were there so late that we lost sunlight.  We actually had to turn the headlights on our car on to finish cleaning up! We literally shut the beach down! But of course, we couldn't find Courtey's flip-flops anywhere on the beach because we had limited light.  This is her 2nd pair we lost this summer (remember she buried one in the sand at a park back at the beginning of summer and it was with this same friend!).  So I need to go buy her another pair, luckily they were just $1 from the Dollar Tree!

We finally left the beach about 9:45 and got home about 10:15.  Too late to take showers, so we just put everybody to bed.  Needless to say, I have been changing sheets the last day because our beds are full of sand!

All I have to say is great company, great fellowship, great fun...let's do it again!!!

(Side note: When I went to give Christian a shower Monday morning, I realized that his stomach had broke out in a pretty big rash.  By noon, it was spreading under his armpits.  I let him run around all day without a shirt on, so I think it was from his life jacket rubbing on him.  I think he had his life jacket on almost the whole time we were by the water. Hopefully that was it because I don't need anymore allergies in this house!  It's almost gone this morning (Tuesday)

New Camera- finally!

About 6 weeks ago, we were at a wedding and I gave Christian my camera to hold. Guess what he did? He dropped it! Not only once, but twice.  A little bit later, I went to go take a picture and it was all blurry. He broke my camera!  (This is our 3rd camera since we had Megan.)

Since we have been through so many cameras and I actually broke #2 and I was in possession of #3 when it got broke, I felt I should use some of my piano money to buy a new one.

Last weekend (a month after I broke mine and missed many, many cute kid moments!), we went to a local camera store because somebody had suggested a specific camera and where we should buy it. It was an Olympus shockproof and waterproof camera. Perfect! I can drop it from 5 feet and it won't break- I love the concept!

We went over the camera store, but after looking at the Olympus, I wasn't sold. Instead we bought a Fuji XP 100, it was also shockproof and waterproof.  We got the camera home and then realized we could've bought it for $100 cheaper online! So the next day, Matt took it back.  After reading some reviews online, we also realized it didn't stay waterproof very well and it didn't take very good pictures.

Since we have always had good luck with canons, I started looking at the shockproof/ waterproof canon cameras online. These were a little bit more money, but canons always worked great for us. The reviews said the pictures were fine on these cameras, but the buttons were put in odd places and it was hard to hold and take pictures.

Yesterday, we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart to look at them again.  We looked at the canons and the fuji and there was a $75 difference, so we settled back on the Fuji.  The canon was hard to zoom and take pictures, the buttons were in odd places!  We found a salesman and asked if he could price match it from Sam's, so as he was looking on Sam's website for the price, I asked him his opinion of the camera. Somehow it came up in the conversation that we didn't really want the camera because of the waterproof capabilities, we just wanted something that my two year old could drop and not break.

He then mentioned something that made us change gears.  He said that we should consider buying a regular point and shoot camera and buy accidental coverage on it.  He also mentioned that the waterproof cameras don't have very good pictures (which I noticed) because there is extra thick glass on the lens so it can withstand the pressure of water.  We don't need that!

So we start over. He showed us the regular point and shoot cameras and how much better the picture quality was on them. I was sold!  I was also looking for a camera that didn't need time to focus before taking a picture.  I finally settled on a Sony with four year accidental coverage! I think I am finally set with a new camera! And if my two year old drops it, I can call Nebraska Furniture Mart and they will fix it for me!

Repeat after me!

Christian's langauge has exploded lately. He is getting to the point where he will repeat everything you say.  He repeats what the girls say too. I notice that when nobody is even paying attention to him, he is mimicking what we say and do sometimes.

Just today, I heard, "watch out"

He has also said, "sorry mommy," "please (or peas), and "thank you."

He likes to call me mommy lately and I don't quite know why.

He has also begun pretending with his toys! This has helped a lot. He will now sit with his trucks and cars and play with them and he will be occupied with them for awhile. I have been waiting for this moment. No more chasing him up the stairs because he is bored or trying to get him out of my pantry after he's pulled all my spices out.  Now he will get two cars and drive them around, hook tractors and wagons together, and play! I am a happy mama!

Goals for Today

1. Renew my Nebraska State Teaching Certificate

Even though I am not teaching right now, I don't want to let this expire! I have done my two classes necessary to renew it and today, I went online and filled out the application and paid my money.

Not only did I have to do that, but I also had to request transcripts from two separate colleges. You know how difficult it is to find a button that says, "request official transcript?"  It took me awhile and then I found out that cost me another $20!  Really though, this is a lot cheaper than letting my certificate expire and then having to take even more classes later.

2.  Get Courtney's birthday invitations ready to go. I have the paper and I just had to get it put together on my screen and print them out.  I think we are going to have to get some more ink before I print them out. Can anyone guess what kind of party she wants? Of course, Penguins!!

Anybody want to donate some $$$ for jaw surgery??

The saga of my jaw problems goes on!

I went in yesterday to see an orthodontist to see what her opinion was on my jaw.  I have seen my regular dentist and he thinks Invasalign would solve all my problems and I have seen a TMJ specialist and his treatment plan included appliances, medicine, electronic stimulation, etc. We also didn't get a good feeling about this doctor.  I have also seen a chiropractor and he says if I just "worked on my stress," all my troubles would go away.

Who is right???

So I went to get yet another opinion yesterday.  A true orthodontist.  Her suggestion was jaw surgery! Ugh!! I kind of knew this was coming. While I was growing up, my dentists have always said that I might end up having jaw surgery some day because of my jaw. They never really said (or I don't remember) what the problem was, but now I know.

My bottom jaw is too small for my top jaw.  They don't come together right, they don't work together like they are supposed to and this is why I deal with TMJ and headaches on the right side of my head so much.  I told her I clench my teeth when I am stressed and she said that that doesn't help my problem.

Her treatment plan:
1. 9 months of full set of braces to straighten my teeth
2. jaw surgery with braces on, they would break my bottom jaw back where my wisdom teeth were and put in titanium screws to extend my jaw forward to match my top jaw
3. continue with braces and tweek my bite  and tooth placement after surgery.

Sounds like fun, huh?? She said they would not have to wire my jaw shut! oh gee, thanks!

This is also very pricey, even with insurance! Yikes!

I think I am going to go get a second opinion, but honestly and unfortunately, I think she is 100% right!

Back to School?

I really think my girls are done with summer. Either that or they're tired of being stuck in this house because it is over 100 degress out! They just could not entertain themselves today, and it has been this week for the last week or so!.  Their playroom is closed because it is a disaster, so I mention they could work on that, but of course, "we don't want to." That is fine with me, but go find something to do and stop irritating each other!

I don't plan on starting school until after Labor Day, which is still over a month away! I am still getting things ready for school and I am still enjoying my break!

I would consider starting school, but when we do read-alouds, we really need to not break our weeks up. We are planning a vacation in the middle of August and I don't really want school started yet.

But you know if I actually said, "We are starting school today," I'm sure they would take back what they said!  I could consider finding some workbooks for them to do, just to keep them busy until school starts.  Or this heat could let up and I could chase them outside!!

Inspiration

We have gotten a little lax with chores this summer.  The playroom has been closed for over a week and the girls don't seem to care.  Courtney doesn't really care about earning money and doesn't do her chores, Megan does her chores, like feeding the dog and making her bed, but not cleaning her room or playroom.

I decided to do a little motivating this week.  I am scared that once school starts and we are out to time to do housework, everything will just fall apart and cause me stress!  I think that for this month yet before school starts, we need to get the girls back in the habit of doing chores (and me doing dishes every night!).

We cleaned the girls' bedroom really good last week and I told Courtney that if she kept it clean all week, we could go to the movie next Monday morning and I would buy her POP! Yes, pop is what it took to motivate her.  She is so excited and says she is going to clean it everyday and she has!  She says she doesn't care about money, it's pop!

Then of course Megan asks, "Do I get pop too?"  Hmmm. I don't really need to motivate her like Courtney, but I definitely want to do something for her.  I need to think about that one.

Why didn't I think of pop earlier?? I just can't do pop every week, but it might work to just get her into the habit of cleaning her room and making her bed.

Our Animal Friends

I am glad to say that I think our ant problem is almost officially over. I have seen maybe one or two this last week, but nothing like we had a week ago. I am really glad they are enjoying their new houses. :)  Courtney thinks they like their new houses too.

On the hand, we always seem to have a fly flying around our house. My girls have named him Freddy.  I don't know if you know the song, "Fredy the Frog makes me feel so fine, every friend of Freddy's is a friend of mine. etc." It is off a Little People's ABC Cd we listen to in the car. So now we sing about Freddy the fly.  It's quite comical.  Anyway, he keeps bothering us. If I kill one Freddy, then we name the next one Freddy the 2nd and so forth. I think we are up to Freddy the 14th or so now.  I don't mind Freddy being around, just don't buzz in my ear!

I should also add that we have been finding a lot of spider friends around out house lately. Unfortunately, they all get to go to spider heaven right away. :)  If the girls see one, they will say, "Mom, we found another spider friend!"  So I grab a tissue and go take care of it.  They are usually tiny baby ones, so it's not a big deal or they find baby daddy long legs in a corner.  Some are a little bit bigger, big enough that instead of sending them to spider heaven, I would rather catch them and identify them. But I don't. They must go before we have more.

Summer Class is over.

It was my turn to go to school this summer.  I had to take one class to renew my Nebraska State Teaching Certificate.  I took it online through Doane Lincoln ($250 cheaper than UNO!) and I just finished the last assignment tonight!

It was a class on technology and the Internet.  I am so behind in terms of technology! I guess I will worry about catching up when I get back into the classroom someday!

Now to fill out the paperwork to renew my certification.

Christian and bedtime

Christian has always been a snuggler. He has always liked to snuggle with blankets and he loves to have them right next to his face when he is sleeping.

For the last 6 months ago, he has been connected to two of his really soft blankets. He needed both of these when he went to bed. Before this, we would rotate between the two, but then he figured out that he had two of them, so then he had to have both.

For his birthday, he got a stuffed frog from some friends. He loves this frog!! It is as soft as his blankets, so now at bedtime he needs two blankets and his stuffed frog.  He uses this frog as his pillow, so it is nice and flat already.

Today, he added one of Courtney's baby's to the mix.  He always needs things in pairs, so I'm not surprised that the baby now goes with the frog.

Now, we have two blankets, a baby, and a frog.  Seriously Christian, it's cute and all, but there needs to be an end to this sometime!  (maybe he'll drop the baby here shortly). 

The poor thing can't even hold all of his items at one time. 

Megan's story

Megan loves to write stories and last week, she wrote one that I thought was pretty cute!  We have been reading a lot of Amedlia Bedelia books around here and the girls love it that she takes everything literally! They giggle and laugh so much when I read these books to them.

Last week, Megan wrote her own Amelia Bedilia story:

"Amelia Bedelia, please make me some tea," said Mrs. Rogers.
"Okay," said Amelia Bedelia.  She got a piece of paper and wrote a large T.  "Here is your tea," she said.  "Do you want it in a cup?"
"Yes," said Mrs. Rogers. Amelia Bedelia got a cup and put the tea in the cup.  She put it on the table.
"Thank you," said Mrs. Rogers.  "What is this??"
"Your tea, ma'm," said Amelia Bedelia.

"Please attack the kitchen and my room please," said Mrs. Rogers.
"Okay," said Amelia Bedelia.  So she attacked the kitchen.  She hit and punched the floor and table. She went upstairs and did that to Mrs. Rogers' room too.

"Please put my money in the bank," said Mrs. Rogers.   to be continued...

Questions

I challenge all of you, answer these questions in 50 words or less! And remember, my girls need explanations and like to understand everything!

1. Could you survive a hurricane if you had a lifejacket on? Why or why not?

2.  Why did it take so much longer now to build a house than in the olden days?

These were two questions that got posed to me last night on our way back to Omaha from Fremont. And we talked about these two the entire way!

Courtney's ant friends

Courtney loves it that we have ants in our house, she calls them her little friends. Yesterday, she had at least five crawling on her arm (she put them there!).  I was vacuuming them again yesterday and she always has to "save just one!"

Last night, Matt went to walmart and got some ant traps/ bait. They look like little houses and they are filled with poison that the ants take back to their nest.

Today I put one by our new set of ants crawling around and I said, "Come on ants, come to your new home!"

Courtney said, "Is that their new home? Are you going to let them live??" She had a huge smile on her face.

"Yep, sure thing Courtney!!"
_____________________________________________________________________

I went over this morning and wanted to make sure our ant friends were finding thier new home. While I was looking at them, I noticed there was some crumbs on the floor. I had vacuumed last night, so I knew they weren't there then. I said, "Why are there crumbs on the floor??"  I looked at Courtney and she just smiled. Then it dawned on me, "Courtney, did you put them there?"

She said, "Yes, I don't want them to die!"
_______________________________________________________________________

About 1:30 this afternoon, somebody from Rove Pest Cotrol rang our doorbell. They always want to spray our house for bugs and we  have never hired them. Matt and I grew up on a farm, just kill the bugs! Anyway, I was standing there telling him that we do have silverfish in our house (because they nest in the wooden shingles) and also that we have ants right now.  He said, "I can take care of those for you, get rid of them right from the source." You know this was music to my ears.

He left and I came back inside and Courtney was by her mound of ants in our living room crying. "He's not going to kill them, is he?" I told her that he wasn't going to do anything to her ants. Apparently she had caught onto what we were talking about.

Then I asked her, "Do they like their new house? Are they all going in it??"
______________________________________________________________________
July 15th- Courtney told me, "Mom, there are a lot of ants over here, we better get them a house too."

I did it!

Matt has been asking me for about six months to make him some steamed broccoli.

Last night, I did it!  And no, it was not hard at all!!!  Just about as hard as putting chicken in a crockpot and turning it on!

Since we have been trying to new things around here thanks to Courtney and Christian's new diet, this is now added to our list of "new foods."

I tell everybody that this is much a diet for me as well as for them.  Since I am in charge of dinner and grocery shopping around here, I have learned a lot in the last month. I have tried many new recipes and have figured out how to cook gluten-free, egg-free, milk-free, citrus-free, and peanut-free.  And honestly, I think we are eating a lot healthier. Now, can we keep this up when we are officially done with the diet???

swimming lessons are over.

We finished swimming lessons yesterday and I think we finally learned something! Matt and I were frustrated  by the fact that every time we enroll our girls in swimming lessons, they usually spend half of the time sitting on the side of the pool waiting for their turn. And we are paying for them to sit on the side of the pool and learn nothing!

We decided to do semi-private lessons this summer and they worked out great!  There were three kids in their class.

Courtney had not really put her face under water all summer and could not float independently when she started.  By the end of two weeks, she was front floating, front floating and kicking, front floating, kicking AND doing freestyle arms, back floating, back floating and kicking, getting items off the bottom of the pool, and she even jumped off the board yesterday!!

Megan does really well in the pool.  She can do her backstroke well and was starting to learn to breathe to the side on freestyle.  Within the last two weeks, she has become more confident in her side breathing and is doing much better. She also learned the dolphin kick and how to dive- which we are still working on! (She tends to bellyflop because she does not keep her head down far enough.) She also went off the board all by herself.

We did lessons through Barb Graeve's Swim School this year and I think we will do lessons with them again.
I just need to get them to the pool more to practice what they have learned.

How many pairs of goggles do we need?

Since the two older girls are enrolled in swimming lessons, we needed to get them situated with goggles.  We are doing a different program this year and they are required to have them. 

Megan is very responsible with her goggles and takes good care of them. They are always in her swim bag and where they are supposed to be.

Courtney, on the other hand, has quite the story.
Monday- She had a purple pair in her bag, she took them to lessons, wore them, got home, and they were gone.

Tuesday- She borrowed a yellow pair from the pool for lessons.

Thursday- She couldn't find the same pair she borrowed from Tuesday, so I opened a new pair that the teacher had brought. Except they were not for younger kids, they were for older kids, so between her teacher and I, I think we spent half the lesson trying to get them to fit on her face. They never did work well! I gave them back at the end of class.

Friday- I stopped at the Dollar Tree to get her a new, cheap pair. She wore these during lessons and they worked fine. They were really cheap and frustrating  because they kept coming apart.  I ended up tying a knot in them to keep them on her face.

Monday of this week- I picked up her goggles from the Dollar Tree and tried to tighten them but in the meantime, I broke them, so those went in the trash and now we are on pair #3.
On the way to lessons, we stopped at Target and got her a good pair and I bought a 3-pack!  They were Speedo goggles, so I knew they would not break.  She wore the pink pair for lessons.

Tuesday- Somehow the pink pair went missing- they probably joined her purple ones from last week. :)  So, I pull out an orange pair from her 3 pack I bought at Target.  (This is exactly why I bought a 3 pack!)

Wednesday- I already checked and her orange goggles are in her swim bag.  We'll see if she can keep track of these!

I teased her yesterday that her goggles were probably buried in the mess in her room somewhere or under her bed!!!

Quotes by Courtney

1.  "I know why God gave me curly hair. It's because I am a mess-maker and my hair is always messy too!"

2.  I was vacuuming the living room and we seem to have a little ant problem going on in there. Of course, Courtney my animal rescuer was right there.  "Please mom, don't kill them! Let me save at least one!"  She picked one up an ant and let it crawl down her arm.  (Now, this is the girl that SCREAMED last year at any bug- we sure have came a long ways with her!!).
I thought she was going to break down in tears when I vacuumed the ants up. I told her that they would probably be alive inside the vacuum cleaner, they were joining their friends that I vacuumed up last week. :)  That made her feel better.

3.  "Courtney, what do the 50 stars on the American flag stand for?"
 Courtney- "The 50 countries!"
"What do the 13 stripes stand for?"
Courtney- "The 13 colonies!" (At least she got one right!)

4.  I told the girls that we are going to start every day of school with the Pledge of Allegiance.  I asked Courtney if she knew it and she did...partly. She said it for us and kind of made up her own words if she didn't know them.  I busted out laughing at her version! They must have said it in preschool this last year. If I get a chance, I am going to write her version down and put it on my blog.

A New Game at our house

My girls just came up to me and said, "You are a slave hunter"

I respond with, "What are you?"

"Workers on the Underground Railroad!"

Can you tell what we have learned about this summer??

Getting Better

I put Christian down for a nap about 15 minutes ago and he is asleep already!

I'm so glad he's not screaming at me for an hour and a half again. Hopefully he will keep this up!!

Consequences of the 4th

Now that the 4th of July is over, I have to deal with getting Christian to bed by himself again and not be scared of fireworks anymore.  It really scared him this year!

Here is how naptime went today:
I put him down around 2 pm like usual.  He automatically stands up, grabs his two blankets plus his stuffed frog, hollers and yells, "Mama up!" for the next hour. I went in every once in awhile to reassure him, lay him back down, and walk out again.  After about an hour, I hear an airplane fly over head and he screams! I go in there and it clearly shook him up a little bit.  I sat down beside his crib and started to sing to him.  He was all sweaty and obviously was very scared!  This is two year old anxiety! Megan soon came in and she started singing too.

Soon I said, "Do you want Megan to go get you some music?" Of course he says, "Uh-huh!" So Megan gets her CD player and puts in some Mozart for kids music. He is all calmed down and we sit down in the glider and act like we are sleeping.  Soon the phone rings, so I had to get up. He was still calm, so I motioned Megan to get out. I was still determined to get a nap out of him! He soon realized we were gone and started crying again, but you could tell he was getting tired.  I went in and laid him down because he looked like he was going to fall over! Eventually he did go to sleep, after an hour and a half. He then slept for an hour and a half. I was happy with that.

Tonight:
Matt put him to bed at 9 and it is 9:30 and he is still screaming, "Mama up!" He is pretty upset again.  We turned the music on because that helped this afternoon, but it doesn't seem to be helping any. I also turned his light back on, maybe he won't be so scared that way!  He might be at this for awhile.

I figure we can let him cry it out now or I can go in and get him and then we would have to deal with this later.

I really wish those people that thought it was so cool to shoot off fireworks at night, and especially right by our house, could come over and deal with my two year old!!!

Glad it's over!!

Call me a downer, but I am glad the 4th of July is OVER!!!

Hopefully there will be no left-over fireworks tonight and we can all go to bed on time and in our own beds (Christian!)

I think Christian is going to be scared of being in his bed for awhile.  It may take a couple of weeks to get him used to putting himself to sleep again.  I think he has fallen asleep in my arms the last 2-3 nights. Poor thing.

And now onto the rest of summer!

Finish my grad class, go to the lakes a few more times, go on vacation, and back to school!

4th of July- what I like and dislike

Let's just start out by saying that the 4th of July is probably one of my least favorite holidays, but one of the most important holidays in our country. Here is why!

Things I do not like about the 4th of July:
1. The noise!!! I do not like loud noises AT ALL. I actually still plug my ears! But now I have to plug Christian's, so I will sacrifice my hearing for his. He will take my hand and put it over his ears and say, "more, more."
2. People don't start shooting off fireworks until 10 pm, right when I want to go to bed, for at least 4 nights before the actual 4th of July!!
3. They usually don't end until about 11.
4.  I know it's legal in Omaha now, but really? How much money is being blown up, just in our neighborhood??
5. I think if the neighbors are going to shoot super loud ones right in front of your house, they should at least invite you over (since nobody is going to go to sleep anyway!)
6.  The trash is all over the place! Why are YOUR burnt up fireworks in MY yard?
7.  On the night before the 4th, do you need to start shooting fireworks off at 8 pm rather than 10? And continue for the next 3 hours??
8.  I put Christian to bed last night at 8:30 like usual and since the neighbors were shooting them off right in front of his window, he was scared! Poor thing, I went into his bedroom after a little while to check on him and he was curled up and shaking, he was scared so bad!
I ended up holding him because he wouldn't let me put him down. He finally crashed at 10:45 on my lap, in front of the TV!! Don't forget for 2 hours I not only held the young man, but also his stuffed frog and two blankets!!
I remember when we first moved into this house, the neighbors did the same thing and Courtney wouldn't sleep in her bed for about a month.
I know it's legal and people can do what they want and I guess I can live with it for a couple nights out of the year, but I wish they would come over and deal with the children at night and then again in the morning when they are cranky because they didn't have enough sleep!
PS It's not just our neighbors across the street, it's our whole neighborhood!
9.  I wish people would sit back and realize WHY we shoot of fireworks and celebrate. This holiday is about as bad as Christmas/ Easter. We have commercialized it so much that we forget the true meaning.  Do you know how big of deal it was that our founders wrote the Declaration of Independence and split off from England? HUGE!! This is what led to the Revolutionary War and the creation of the United States of America! Can we say, "I'm proud to be an American??"
10. Fireworks are dangerous. I saw a neighbor get hit in the head last night with a firework that flew crazy and what about those lanterns that you light and then let them float away? What if those landed on a house? And started a fire? Growing up on the farm, we always had plenty of room to light fireworks and we were always a long ways away, but here in town, you only have the street.  That is not much room to get back and be safe.

Things I like:
1. My girls can watch a fireworks show from their bedroom window. (I don't care if they are up late, but just not sooo late)
2.  A time to get together with family and friends.
3.  We get to celebrate our country! No other country gets to celebrate the 4th of July!!
4.  The fireworks are pretty.
5.  Matt gets a day off of work.
6. I LOVE seeing flags everywhere!!

Rest of Summer

I looked at the calendar yesterday and we have the rest of our summer booked!

Week of July 2nd- Swimming lessons
4th of July- of course, go see some fireworks!
Saturday, July 7th- Two weddings

Week of July 9th- Swimming Lessons

July 15th- Speaker at church.  A husband/ wife missionary team are back from the Phillipines and we are going to go to their presentation.  I really want Megan to go since our last book from 2nd grade was about a missionary in the Phillipines.
Week of July 16th- various library events, but nothing week-long
July 20th- Women's Event at church

Week of July 23rd- Megan wants to take dance camp with her old dance teacher.
Week of July 30th- Homeschool conference on the 3rd and 4th, Dodge County Fair that same weekend

Week of August 6th- Courtney wants to take a bug camp at a local community center, we are first on the waiting list. We have Courtney's kindergarten physical scheduled this week, she is already crying over the fact that she has to get some shots. (PS we got a call today and she is registered for bug camp!)
Week of August 13th- Courtney's birthday is on Tuesday, so I think we will do her party on the 12th.

Week of August 20th - I think we are going to go on vacation this week!! We are thinking about heading north and seeing some of Laura Ingall Wilder's homes, maybe heading up to Minneapolis/ Great Lakes Area, and maybe Adventureland in Des Moines.
Saturday August 24th- wedding reception
Week of August 26th- Should we start school here at the Ruwe house?? Or recover from vacation??

The next weekend is Labor Day and summer is over!!
I really wanted to start school a couple of weeks before Labor Day this year.  Last year, I started one week before and we didn't end up getting done until the end of May. If I start earlier, we can get done earlier. :)  But of course, my girls already seem a little bored with summer and were begging to start school the other day! I'm actually enjoying my time off. I have time to get laundry done, clean up, and get other things done!  What am I going to do in the fall??

Swimming Lessons

Today Megan and Courtney begin swimming lessons.  We are doing semi-private lessons this year and paying quite a bit more because we have not had good luck with City of Omaha lessons or any other lessons where there are 6-8 kids in a class and they sit on the side of the pool for most of the time. Megan really excelled at swimming last year, mostly because we were at the pool 2-3 times a week and she was able to practice.  I need to get Courtney to that level now.

I have heard great things about this swimming school (Barb Graeves) and it is a little bit cheaper than other semi-private lessons around Omaha.  We'll try it and see how it goes!

Naptime!

Today Matt went to go help his brother do something and left me here with the kids. Being Sunday afternoon, I didn't feel like doing much.  The girls wanted to watch a movie, so I said sure!  They put in "Sleeping Beauty", I made some popcorn, and we all settled down to watch.

Everybody watched the entire movie except for me.  What did I end up doing? Falling asleep on the couch! Christian was on my lap, or somewhere near, most of the time.  I should have really put him down for a nap, but since I was so tired, I was just lazy and didn't put him to bed.

When Matt got home, I was waking up and he asked, "Did Christian get a nap?" I replied, "No, but I did!"

For the record, I don't think I fell fast asleep, I was still aware of what was going on around me. I just had to rest my eyes for a little bit. :)