Muffin Tin Monday

There is no theme for Muffin Tin Monday today so we decided to do breakfast since Scotty will be at preschool at lunchtime. Miles is wonderful and fixes breakfast every morning so he was able to participate with us this time and that was fun. When we told Scotty that we'd be doing breakfast in the muffin tins he asked "Is it lunch time?" He was a little concerned but soon got on board with breakfast muffin tins!

We had grapes, yogurt, peaches, pancakes and Scotty had his syrup for dipping. Not too exciting but even regular food is fun when served in a muffin tin!

Don't you just love that cute little face?? He's gobbling up his grapes.

Scotty has to have "dipping sauce" to dip his pancakes instead of putting the syrup on top. He loves to dip and doesn't even drip all over!

Be sure to stop by Her Cup Overfloweth to see what everyone else did for Muffin Tin Monday. They are all so creative. And you can join in too!

Preschool time!

Scotty has started preschool again. He goes 3 times per week and so far it has been lots of fun. Almost everyday when I ask him how school was he says "It was wonderful!" I'm so glad that he likes it so much. His teachers said that last year he was always really quiet but this year he has really blossomed and is hardly shy at all. It's fun to see the cute papers he brings home everyday. This year his favorite colors are purple and green and you surely can tell because everything he colors or writes is purple and green. He writes his name and switches colors for each letter and he even did a maze and would change colors at every turn! Last year everything was brown so it's fun to have some bright colors! He is getting really good at writing his letters and loves to do his tracing pages. We're so proud of him!

Here he is getting ready to leave on his first day. He looks so grown up in this picture!

He was really happy his name fish was green!

Urban, Mekhi and Scotty posing outside of school. They love to climb on this rock and it's fun to see who is standing on it when we pick them up. Scotty is very happy to be in the same class as Urban and Mekhi again this year. I can't believe how fast they grow up!

Muffin Tin Monday

The theme today is Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs/Children's Literature. Sadly, I've never read this book. I want to get it and read it with the kids because it seems like a lot of fun. Since I wasn't familiar with that book I decided to go with one of our family favorites- The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

We made Rice Krispy treat caterpillars. I wanted them to be green, but it didn't quite turn out like I had imagined! Along with the very hungry caterpillar we ate: 1 apple, 2 pears, 3 plums, 4 strawberries, 5 oranges and 1 nice green leaf.

This is Scotty having the caterpillar eat each thing as I read it in the book.

Grant happily eating as he listened.

Scotty is helping his caterpillar try some of the plum.

And this is the caterpillar saying "Eew gross!"

All of this fruit has been tried and liked in the past, but Scotty had forgotten and was pretty hesitant about some of them. But he tried everything- which is one of the many reasons why I love doing muffin tin Monday! Both kids ate everything except the strawberries and plums. They both had seconds of the nice green leaf!

And based on the caterpillar carnage and these big smiles, I'd say it was a success today!

Head on over to Her Cup Overfloweth to see more fun posts.

Last summer splash

We went swimming for the last time right before Labor Day before the pool closed. It was sad! We love to go swimming. We weren't able to go too many times this year since Collin has joined us. Next year we should be able to go lots. I just realized tonight that I'm in denial that summer is over! I don't want summer to end and freezing cold temperatures to come and trap us in our house. And just thinking about taking all 3 of my kids out somewhere in the cold and snow makes me dread it. We'll have to really enjoy the nice fall weather while it lasts.

But, back to swimming! Grant loves to jump off the side- which means he leans down until you grab him and put him in the water. This day he saw Scotty running to jump in and decided that looked fun, so he would run to the side, stop and lean down for Miles to get him. He would also yell as he ran. It was so cute and funny! I'll post the little video we got of him doing it. Grandma Geri was nice enough to watch Collin while the rest of us swam and got some fun pictures for us.


Scotty is getting better every time about getting his head and face in the water. This day he brought his construction goggles to wear in the pool! They didn't work very well but he loved them anyway.

Here's Grant getting ready to jump in.

All the excitement was just too much for Collin!

Here's the video of Grant. He's so stinking cute!!

Muffin Tin Monday

The theme this week for Muffin Tin Monday is apples. Scotty has preschool on Monday so I think I'm going to have to do Muffin Tin Monday on Tuesday from now on. When I told Scotty that the theme was apples his eyes lit up and he ran over to the cupboard to get out the apple shaped muffin tin. He was so excited to use them- it was cute!

Excited boys!

For our tins I decided to try some different things to dip our apples in. The boys love apples but have never dipped them in anything. We had peanut butter, yogurt and melted chocolate. Neither one liked any of the dips! Scotty was a good sport and tried all three and then declared that he only likes to dip his apples in ranch dressing- yuck! I enjoyed dipping in their cast off dips!

Mmmmm....Ranch is heavenly! He asked me if I wanted to try and I really didn't, but since he was so good and tried all the dips I decided that I better be a good example and try too! It wasn't too bad, but not very good either.

With the leftover apples I decided to try the apple stamping project. They thought it was pretty cool and there was lots of jokes about eating the paint covered apples! We started with cute apples stamps and then moved on to this:

It was a fun Muffin Tin Monday theme. Be sure to stop by Her Cup Overfloweth to see her super cute apple tree!

Nap Trap

I read a post on Baby Bunching about being stuck at home all day because at least one baby or the other is napping. They called it the Nap Trap and I, too, love that term. I am right in the middle of the nap trap and it is kind of hard. Not too hard, mind you, since I don't really go anywhere, but if I wanted to the nap trap makes it difficult! Collin is not on a napping schedule yet. He can be awake for 1-2 hours and then sleeps for 1-3 hours and the time of the naps are different everyday. Some days I'm lucky and he will be sleeping for all or most of the time that Grant is napping, some days he's awake during Grant's nap. Those days are hard because that means no break for Mommy- and Mommy needs breaks! It will be much easier for me when Collin gets on a regular napping schedule and then I will at least know that for certain times each day all kids will be awake and I can plan outings for those times. For now we just wing it. Outings are usually a spur of the moment thing when Collin wakes up and it's not yet Grant's nap time. But when you add in that Collin has to be fed during his awake times that doesn't leave much time for outings. But, sleeping is a big priority in our house. Our kids are sensitive to to their sleep needs and Collin seems to be following that path too. We work and plan around naps to keep everyone well rested and happy. Someday when I'm running around all crazy taking this, that and the other boy to this, that and the other activity I might long for the days stuck at home with sleeping children. So I surrender to the nap trap and am glad that most days I don't even have to change out of my pj's!

Thought I'd share some pictures of the boys sleeping, because there is nothing sweeter than peacefully sleeping children!

Here's cute Grant- he's even got a nice drool spot!

We often find Scotty in funny positions like this!

And how sweet is Collin????

Park City

We had a great time on our trip to Park City. We stayed at the Westgate Resort at The Canyons and it was nice. We made it through the timeshare presentation with very minimal pressure from the sales guy! I think he wanted to get us and our kids on our way quickly. They have a fun pool that has really wide steps that the kids loved. They were able to walk and play on the step and had lots of fun. We spent some time playing in the arcade, exploring the hotel grounds, playing on the playground and having a snack next to the waterfalls. We went up the to Alpine Slide and Scotty and I went on the slide while Daddy, Grant and Collin waited for us at the bottom. Scotty loved the Alpine Slide. He was laughing and screaming the whole way down and asked to go again before we had even come to a stop. I have loved the Alpine Slide since I was little and it's fun to be sharing that enjoyment with Scotty. I can't wait until Grant is old enough because I'm sure he'll really like it. We went shopping at the outlet stores and that was an adventure! We were in the store and it is overstuffed in there- you barely have room to walk in between the clothes racks. So we're squeezing through having Scotty try pants on, trying to calm a fussy Collin and keep an eye on Grant as he runs around the store like a crazy child! We left there a little bit frazzled and decided that Mommy would go into the next store alone for the one item we needed! It was a great little get away. We were able to keep the kid's early bedtime and we came in during the afternoon for everyone to take a nap, so everyone was well rested and happy. The kids loved being at the hotel- especially playing with the cool phones that have cords! We had lots of "Are we there yet?" on the hour drive up there, so we are planning to answer that at least a million times when we drive to Arizona next month! While walking up to the Alpine Slide I was giving Scotty a piggy-back ride. He kept asking if we were there yet and if that was it. Finally one time when he asked I said to him "Scotty, please don't ask that anymore." and a lady that was walking by burst out laughing! We laughed also and I told Miles that if I heard someone say that I would have laughed too. It was a great trip. We love our boys!


Scotty and Grant eating breakfast. We had a little kitchen so it was nice to be able to eat breakfast in and they loved the little tables.

Grant is excited to get in the pool!

Playing on the nice, wide step. Scotty wants every pool to have big steps like this!

Swimming makes Scotty very hungry so he took lots of snack breaks.

"Driving" at the arcade. They could have spent a long time in there pretending to play.

Mommy and her boys in front of the waterfalls.

Getting ready for bed.

Here's Grant carrying his floaty thingy- he was very proud of himself!

Daddy, Grant and Collin hanging out waiting for Mommy and Scotty at the bottom of the Alpine Slide.

Getting ready to go!

While waiting for our lunch Grant wandered away and then did this! He's pretty goofy and got lots of smiles from people walking by!

And this is what we had when we pulled into our driveway- a sign that it was a good trip!

A day in the life

Over at Baby Bunching they asked for a post about a day in the life of a Baby Buncher. I thought I'd do it mostly for me so I can remember these crazy, chaotic, sleep deprived days.

On this day my kids are: Scotty 4yrs, Grant 20 months, Collin 5 1/2 months.

4:20am: Collin wakes and starts crying. We've been letting him cry the last couple nights so I lay awake listening to him, feeling guilty and hoping he doesn't go for an hour again. Grant also starts crying/screaming but, luckily, he only cries for a few minutes.

5am-ish: Collin finally settles down and goes back to sleep and so do I.

6am: I wake up to Collin cooing and babbling in his bassinet. I get him up, re-swaddle him and feed him. He falls asleep and I put him back in his bassinet and go back to sleep myself.

6:20am: Grant wakes and cries. The kid always cries when he wakes up. Always. Miles gets up and gets him up, I go back to sleep.

6:45am: Scotty wakes up and joins Daddy and Grant. Thank you Miles for getting up with the older ones and letting me sleep longer!

7:30am: Screaming from Scotty and Grant wake me up. I help them open up a granola bar and explain to Scotty that the peanut butter chip ones are gone and it really will be fine to have a chocolate chip one. I check my email and read some blogs. Miles has their breakfast ready so I sit at the table with them while they eat.

8:30am: Decide I better vacuum and clean the kitchen floor since Collin is still sleeping and the floor is covered with dropped shredded cheese from dinner last night. Vacuum, move all the chairs out, set an excited Grant on a kitchen chair in front of the tv while I clean the floor. Get Scotty a mop so that he can "help" me mop the floor. Take double the time to clean the floor with my helper, but feel happy anyway to have him helping me.

9:30am: My friend calls to invite us to the park. I quickly estimate in my head when Collin will be waking up and how long it will take to feed and dress him. Plan to meet at the park at 10:30am. Put kid's laundry away that has been sitting in the basket for two days.

9:45am: Decide I can quickly jump in the shower. Miles is working from home for a little while this morning so he can listen for screaming from Scotty and Grant. Finish getting ready and marvel that Collin is still sleeping!

10:15am: Weigh the pros and cons between letting Collin sleep and waking him to let Scotty and Grant run off some energy at the park. Decide the energy running and adult conversation with my friend wins and go in to wake Collin. I get him up, give him his medicine, change his diaper and get him dressed. Grant walks by and leaves a stinky trail so I wrestle him down and change his poopy diaper. Convince Scotty that he can't wear his fleece pajamas to the park. Round up shoes, new bib and burp cloth, strap Collin in his car seat and load up kids, 20lb diaper bag, stroller and Scotty's scooter into the car.

10:30am-11:45am: Play at the park. I didn't have time to feed Collin at home so I have to nurse him at the park, which I'm not very fond of. I'm able to get Scotty to come over and make sure the girls he's chasing around want to be chased and try to keep my eye on Grant, which I'm only able to do because my friend keeps track of him. Grant starts to walk away so I get up while still nursing Collin and follow him to the picnic tables and decide to sit there because it's so much cooler. Grant wanders away again and my friend hears me calling him so she gets him and puts him in a swing. Pretty soon Scotty comes over to swing too so my friend is pushing her son plus my two boys on the swing- thank you friend! Realize as Collin spits up all over my leg and makes a puddle on the bench that I forgot the burp cloth- a cardinal sin! Clumsily redress while trying to keep covered with the blanket. Get the wipe case to wipe the puddle off of the bench and there is only one left. Not wanting to risk using the only wipe, trek back to the car to get napkins to wipe up puddle. Put Collin back in stroller, push kids on swings, then sit back down to watch them play and talk with friend. Collin wants to eat more. Feed him again while yelling at Scotty to be nice and watching my friend keep Grant from falling off the top of the slide. Round everyone up, load everyone in the car, thank my friend for inviting us to the park and then taking care of my kids and drive home.

12pm: Make lunch. Assure Scotty ten times that I will keep his green beans separate and not mix them with his Ramen. Apologize to Grant as he hangs on my leg and cry that I can't pick him up while making lunch. Sit with them while they eat and help Grant and manage to eat a little something myself. Put Collin down for a nap and start a load of laundry.

12:30-1pm: Clean up the playroom which is a huge mess from the day before. Have to put Scotty in a time out and then deal with him being grumpy for the last of the clean up. Try (unsuccessfully) to stop Grant from uncleaning as we are cleaning. Start a movie for Scotty for his rest time and take a crying Grant upstairs for his nap.

1pm-1:20pm: Eat a little something more while watching Kathie Lee and Hoda. Aaah...nap time!

1:20-2:20pm: Tell Scotty over and over that he can't have a sucker until it's snacktime and to go back downstairs for rest time. Huge meltdown and tantrum ensues. Take him downstairs so his screaming won't wake up the babies. He eventually falls asleep on the floor from exhaustion. Tip toe back upstairs and switch laundry and start a new load. Hear Collin start crying. Take a moment to mourn the loss of a quiet naptime today.

2:30-3pm: Enjoy some quiet time with Collin. At 3pm start feeding him hoping that Grant will sleep until I'm done.

3:02pm: Grant wakes up and cries. Take a crying Collin with me to get Grant up and let him watch cartoons while I finish feeding Collin.

3:30-4pm: Play with Grant, clean up gallons of spit up, put away more laundry.

4pm-5pm: Scotty wakes up groggy and very grumpy. Try to make him happy and while keeping Grant out of the refrigerator, off of the computer and out of the garbage can. Discover that making cupcakes will make Scotty happy so we do that. Apologize to a crying Collin and a crying Grant who's hanging on my leg that I'll be with them as soon as I have the cupcakes in the oven.

5pm-6:30pm: Change Collin's poopy diaper and put him down for another nap. Miles comes home from work- yeah! Decide to get Carl's Jr for dinner since it's free kid's meals day. I go to get it and enjoy listening to music in a quiet car. Eat dinner with Collin on my lap. Miles cleans up from dinner and gives the kids cupcakes while I feed Collin.

6:30-7:30pm: Miles leaves for Scouts and I play with Scotty and Grant and some diaper boxes- more fun than Christmas morning! Get them ready for bed without any meltdowns- a miracle! Collin didn't even cry until after Grant was in bed and I was reading Scotty stories- another miracle!

8pm: Decide I can't put it off any longer and give Collin a bath. Take in sweet aroma of a freshly bathed and lotioned baby. Feed Collin rice cereal then clean it all up after he spits it back up. Get him ready for bed.

9pm: Miles comes home from Scouts. Put Collin to bed and finally get some time to talk to Miles. Decide that the laundry can wait until tomorrow to finish.

11:30pm: Collapse into bed!