Baby vs. Chocolate Cup Cake

Her feet still smell like chocolate.

You've Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

Mae is now One! Happy belated post baby girl. This lucky girl can't complain though, she got lots of good presents and a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Tobler. It was really special to have my parents drive 15 hours out to visit us. My father hadn't seen the kids since they came out last year for Mae's blessing. There was lots of hugging and attention to go around for the kids, Max seems to be having a bit of attention withdrawl now that they are gone. We didn't do much, but the visit was rewarding anyway, or maybe because of that. I always seems to strike out when it comes to taking anyone who visits somewhere good. This time we tried the "World Famous AQ Chicken House," Meh, but it was cute to see Mae dance and groove to her birthday serenade at the resturant. We got her a strawberry cupcake to celebrate, but waited until the next day to let her dig in, as pictured above. We attended Max's soccer practice which sounded a lot more fun then it actually was, but he did look cute as he always does. As with all parent visits I scored some great stuff. The folks actually stuffed a full size freezer and a twin mattress into their Toyota Landcruiser! I also got a lovely picture and all the family Christmas Ornaments. Mae also recieved some wonderful gifts in the mail. Special thanks to Michele for the cross stitch and toys. Mae loves her pink septer and headband! And a very special thanks to Carol for the SHEEP HAT! Mae looks adorable in it. Picture to come soon. Speaking of picture....I was going to get a family portrait done of the four of us, since I figured the 2:1 ratio of adult to kid would help, but no one wanted this to happen and by no one I mean Jeff. I bascially post this fact to absolve myself from my mother-in-laws missing birthday gift. Sorry Carol. Will send a belated gift soon. To top off the visit we managed to pass on a cold to my parents thus continuing their tradition of getting sick every time they visit grandchildren. Sorry. It was a good visit and I hope it will not be too long before we see them again.

Joy to the Fishes

We started swim classes today. Mae and I had our class first. We had such a good time. She is not as adventurous as Max was at that age, but she does well. She has no interest in what the other babies are doing she wants to do her own thing. She does not want to blow bubbles and does not want to reach out her arms. Oh well. She is so stinking cute in her swimwear. Max had his first class without mommy. He seemed so big. I only watched from outside the room, but he seemed to listen well and have fun. There were only three other kids in the class so he got lots of good one on one time. Hooray. He was a bit timid at first but I think he will be leading the class next week. It was a really fun way to start the week.

Things That Must Go XII

1. No Bags. I really hate it when you receive your ice cream/shake order at McDonald's/Sonic and are not given a bag. What exactly qualifies you for the bag? I say if you need a spoon and napkin you deserve a bag. I still have trash to dispose of afterwards. Where am I gonna put it? Is this laziness or cheapness on the part of the eating establishments?

2. Fort Smith, Arkansas. (This one is for my parents.) This city is about an 80 min. south and west of us here in Northwest Arkansas, and apparently about 20 years ago it was the "big city" around here. Well it isn't anymore. There is nothing there and no reason to go, but it is like people can't let go. The CBS local news affiliate is based out of there so we have to hear their stories first, we've never even been there. The biggest problem, and why I think they should sink into the ground, or just float up to Heaven, either would be fine with me, comes when you are driving through Southern Missouri south to Arkansas. All the signs give you millage to Fort Smith and NOTHING ELSE! Every year when my parents trek out here they get all tired and confused by the time they hit Joplin, MO and after 13 hours they cave and eat at the McDonald's 5 min from my house cause they don't realize they are 2 miles from Bella Vista. Signage People!

3. Correctors. Now I know that I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I mix metaphors frequently, I am not the best at spelling, and feel that all my sentences need multiple commas. I could do much better grammatically, but I don't really want to hear about it. And what I really don't want to hear about is how I have mispronounced something. I have a friend who LOVES to inform me that I have misprounced something. In our six year friendship she has probably done this at least a dozen times. Now it is not that I don't care, (although sometimes I really don't,) its also not so much about my pride, the real problem is that I do not care to be talked down to. At one point while discussing the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, she got so upset about my incorrect pronunciation, she had me recite it over and over again multiple times. Ummm.... I am not your student or child so stop treating me like one. I was recently telling some other ladies about this incident and not two days later this friend did it to me again. I suppose you can make the argument that she is just trying to be nice, and I think that is the case for other people, some people just can't stand mistakes, well if that is the case with you, at least broach the person nicely and with tact.

4. My Bathtub. Now usually I try to keep this list to items that could possibly be bothering other people, allowing for group therapy if you will. But having spent the last 30 min. cleaning my tub I feel justified in saying the beast must go. When we bought this house I realized that there were items that weren't fantastic and would be a nuisance. This tub is way up on that list. Original to the 25 year old house, the tub is a cast-iron whirlpool. Whirlpool that doesn't work. How do you clean a Whirlpool that doesn't work? You can't get those tubes clean. It is so big and deep that you have to get in it to clean and break your back to lift kids in and out of. The thing is that because of the house layout, the tub will probably remain for years until we can remodel the bathroom and kitchen. Grrr....

Snug as a Bug in a Rug

So I just got back from a friends house and got to hold her 2 week old baby girl. So small, so adorable. As I came in the house, the baby was sleeping soundly wrapped in a blanket in her bouncy seat. I have never seen anything look more comfy in my whole life. At that moment I would have given anything, and everything, I own to be sleeping so comfy and soundly, dreamily away from the worries of the world. So on this dreary drizzly day when my kids have gone crazy and I am working on less sleep since we were awoken last night by Jeff's work, I urge those of you who can to go take a nap. Curl up in a warm blanket and close those eyes. Forget about those chores, and those pesky tasks and sleep sleep sleep. Sleep for me.

Every Morning

This is a pretty typical start for us. Max watching a Star Wars movie and Mae eating a waffle. I don't know how my kids can eat frozen waffles frozen, but Max actually prefers them that way. So yea me. This morning Max decided that he needed to help fight Darth Maul with his clothes off. I made him keep the undies on. So Mom, Dad, I hope you are looking forward to seeing these guys in a few weeks.

One Pie at a Time

Emily Larkin
Feeding the Bella Vista Ward
One pie at a time.

It's funny I was thinking about all the pies I have made this year, and in the past few years. Quite a few. I enjoy making the pies, most of the time, and can always think of lists of people who I would like to take them to. This pie is going to my visiting teacher who I actually made a pie for on a whim a few months back, but since she wasn't home when I went to drop it off, it went to another deserving home. So tomorrow this pie will make it to her home.

Lucked Out!

So I have been beyond lucky in the area of Max's Preschool. Last year Max attended a preschool run by a lady in our ward one day a week. I am not sure words can describe how amazingly talented this woman is with small children. I mean I love my kids and I like their friends, but I wouldn't say I live to teach and play with small children. SHE DOES! She shines when the kids come in the door and I can tell that my son is going to get three hours of love, attention, and education. I wouldn't have him ANYWHERE else. At first she wasn't going to do it again this year, but as an answer to my prayers she decided to. Max went to the first day yesterday and had a great time. I snatched the following from her blog well basically cause I want brag about my kids fantastic preschool and cause she needs some serious credit for being superb!

Let’s Go: to School!
Today is all about getting to know each other, reestablishing a classroom routine, and understanding the rules. If the children have a good understanding of what is expected of them, the entire year will go more smoothly. More energy can be spent on creating, learning and exploring, rather than classroom management.

Circle Time: Welcome, Job Chart, Weather, Calendar, Pledge of Allegiance

Share: Bring photos of your family! Each child will introduce him/herself to the class, and tell us a little about their family using the photos they brought. We will sing the "Welcome song" to them, then we will read their favorite book, and sing a song of their choice.

Color: My Favorite Color: can you find 3 items in our classroom that are your favorite color?

Shape: Circle

Book: Bring your favorite book!
Book: Let’s Share Our Toys By Nancy Parent

Share: Bring photos of your family and your favorite book

Dramatic Play: Play School Bus Drop Off
Each child was handed three baby dolls or stuffed animals. The children took turns being Bus Driver #1 and Bus Driver #2 as they picked the "kids" up in their cozy coupe car (bus) and "drove" the kids to "school". After "school", they drove down the street and dropped each "kid" off at their bus stops. Don't forget to drop them off at the same house you picked them up from!

Fine Motor: Button Mix Up! Provide baskets and tweezers for children to pick up colored buttons with and sort them by color. This is a favorite sorting activity at preschool that the kids never get tired of.

Sensory: Bubbles! Pull out the large bubble blowers and the bubble gun. What shape are the bubbles? Can you see your favorite color in them?

Practical Life: I can share with my friends (read book, talk about sharing and taking turns)

Snack: Circle Crackers, apple slices, and circle grapes

Language: the Spanish word of the month is Hola!

Phonics: We started our list of Hh words "Hat, Hamburger, Happy, House, and 'when we're helping, we're happy'...one of my little guys burst out into song. So cute."

Art: Circle people-I had a different activity planned, but when Reese came home from Kindergarten with a Triangle Girl, she played with it all afternoon. It was so cute, I just had to make a Circle Man with my kids. They loved it.
Math: Number 4-Counting Four Friends at school, four wheels on the bus, four boys in our class, four people with short hair, etc

Music & Movement: Welcome Song (____ is here today to play, ____ is here today!
Let’s clap our hands and shout, “Horray!” because _____ is here today), My favorite song, Rainbow Dancing Ribbons

Gross Motor/Outside Play: Go Over Safety Rules, let the children explore the garden


Science: We caught a grasshopper in a mason jar. The children took turns looking at him with a magnifying glass. Jace and Jacob named him Chloe Hopper. (Chloe Hopper was released back into the wild shortly after preschool ended)

Goodbye Friends