Clothes Sorting

I gave all three kids a clothes basket this morning and had them all empty out completely their dressers and the things on hangers in the closets and had them bring them in the living room.

We went through each basket one at a time and had them try on the clothes and get what doesn't fit out of the way and into a "goodbye Box" so we can get them out of the house soon. I was honestly shocked to see how many clothes Kylie has that she can still wear. Out of all three kids she grows the slowest and can wear clothes the longest out of them all. Since she can do that, she gets pretty attached some some outfits more than others. (her favorite clothes right now are skirts and tank tops) She still has a lot of jeans that are to large for her to wear, that have been passed down from Mackenzie, and if she would grow a little faster she could wear them too! A lot of her problem too is that she is in between clothes sizes. She can wear the 4 or 5T but she can also wear the x-small in girls.

Mackenzie surprisingly can still wear the majority of the jeans she bought last winter. When she tried on her favorite pair, which is a pair of Wrangler Jeans, she was disappointed because she finally out grew them. I folded them up and put them up in Kylie's closet for when she can get big enough to wear them, and Mackenzie has decided we need to find her a few more pairs of Wranglers to wear with her boots and cowgirl hat. Her boots go best with the wranglers.

Gabryle still has a lot of clothes he can wear.  A lot of his were larger sizes than he needs, and he is finally now starting to grow into them. He is starting to be to where he is in between sizes, and I always hate it when the kids are in between sizes. Right now he is in between a 24 month and 2T. Some 24months fit better than 2t and some 2T fit better than 24 months. It just all depends on where they come from.

We're taking the kids to get a few new outfits for back to school, so it will  be interesting to see what the girls pick out since they get to choose their own clothes. If Jerrod or I try and pick it out there is no way they will wear it, unless it happens to be a dress for Kylie. I'll update on the shopping experience with all three kids clothes and shoe shopping once its complete!!!!

Till Next Time!!

Oh no! Not Justin Beiber!

Our house has been Justin Beibered due to our six year old!!!

We took the girls to spend some of their allowance the other day. They had been asking if they could use the money, and we figured it would give them something new to do during the day while it is so crazy hot outside, and it has helped.

On the way to Wal-Mart Kenzie made the decision to buy a Justin Beiber cd instead of a Hannah Montana cd. She has been wanting a cd of her own for a while now, and I guess the ones I gave her from my collection since I have them on my computer just weren't as good. (How can she not like Rascal Flatts? Weird Child!)  I took Mackenzie back to where they have the cds and I asked her for sure what she wanted and she said, "Justin Beiber" so I helped her search for his cds. We found him and was thrilled. She had two choices and ultimatly the deciding factor came down to which album had her favorite song "Baby." (which I hate that song, but its what she wants.) I handed her the cd and we went and found Jerrod, Kylie and Gabryle. They were in the Barbie area finding Kylie something new to get with her money too. (Kylie ultimately decided upon getting her Barbies a new dress that came with a necklace, shoes and purse and is very pretty.)

When we got home Jerrod helped Mackenzie plug her cd player back in and unwrap the cd and get it ready to play. (They are still a pain in the butt to unwrap. Makes me enjoy mp3's much more since  you don't have to unwrap them!)  She spent the rest of the evening in her room listening to her music and dancing around her room. It was cute watching her from the living room. She has gone to sleep the past few nights with the music on also. She says it helps her sleep at night, which wouldn't surprise me since I sleep better with music on also.

It actually hasn't been that bad with her new album. She knows if we can hear it in the living room it is way to loud, so she keeps it down to where it is just in her room. She does sing along with it, especially to the Baby song which is adorable. I will admit that. Pretty soon we will probably have her getting Justin Beiber posters to decorate her walls replacing all the horse posters she has, and she has already asked for the Justin beiber movie that is out, whatever it is about.

Maybe the Justin Beiber craze won't last too long and someone else a little better will come soon. Maybe she'll start wanting to listen to classic rock or different country artists.

Till Next Time!

Back to School preparations

The preparations for back to school have begun in our household. This the first year we will have two in school, so this year it is double the supplies, back to school shoes, and school fees. We have started getting them ready by going to bed at their normal bedtime for during the school year. Mackenzie is still not used to it, as she still sits up in bed, plays with her toy horse, or her DS when its not taken away. She has even figured out that she can sit up far enough in her bed to where she can watch the TV in the living room without us seeing her if I look around the corner. Kylie goes to bed and within 15 minutes will be asleep.


We finally got the school supply list the other day and Mackenzie has stopped her worrying because we didn't know what she needed yet to bring. It made her day when I told her that we got it a few days ago. This year yet again, all we have to take is cleaning supplies more or less. I like how the school does a supply fee for the pre-k through 2nd grade, that way all students have the same crayons, folders pencils etc, etc, etc. I bet it makes it easier on the teachers to not have their students complaining because someone else has a Hannah Montana pencil or something else like that.


We will go in the next few weeks and get some back to school outfits and new shoes for the girls, and of course Gabryle will get a few new outfits I am sure along with new shoes. We can't leave the little guy out! We have already started browsing through the selections of clothes for the girls, and Kylie is excited because she is on the borderline of being able to wear 5t clothes in the little girls, and the extra small size in the big girls clothes, so she can now wear a lot of the things like Mackenzie can wear. All she knows though, is that she would like her clothes to have some pink in them, and possibly Hello Kitty or Hannah Montana. Mackenzie thinks she should get some Justin Beiber and Hannah Montana clothing for her to wear. We shall see what they finally pick out when we do go to do our shopping. The only rule I gave the two, is they must not pick out the same shirt as one another. I already have trouble getting the right clothes to the right dresser between the two of them!!


I'm sure the transition once school starts will go smoothly with the two girls. Mackenzie will have no problem I'm sure with getting back used to getting up on time in the morning and getting ready. Kylie will have a little getting used to, but I think she will do great once we start! I'll make sure and keep you updated on that!!!


Till Next Time!!

Teaching Gabryle New Words.

Kylie has been on a kick lately to teach Gabryle to learn how to say  a lot of new words.  She will walk up to him and say "Gabryle, say sissy" or "Gabryle say Mackenzie." (He can say Kylie's nickname, KyKy.)  She is bound and determined to get him to say a new word and it be her the one who made it happen. She was the one who taught him to say KyKy and Night Night, so I can understand her wanting to teach him how to say more words.

It's hard to get her to understand that he will learn to say more words in his own time. She sometimes gets so frustrated and will stomp off when he won't say what she wants him to say. I think Gabryle thinks its just a game she plays with him. She asks him to say something, and he will either say it if he can say the word, or if it is something he cannot say, he will say something he can, or just make a funny noise at her.

We all have been working with Gabryle to say Mackenzie's name or at least sissy, so we know who he wants without him having to point at her. I have a feeling once the girls start back to school, he will start talking a lot more and pick up a lot more words then. With two big sisters around who would need to talk when you have two people who talk for you. He will talk when he is ready to. He can let us know more and more what he wants whether it is pointing at something or going and getting it himself if it is in his reach. He even sometimes will take my hand or one of the girls hands and take us to show us what he is needing.

Until he talks more, I just keep telling Kylie he will talk more when is ready to talk more.  She will catch on soon enough that when he ready he will talk. 

Till Next Time!!!

The thoughts that come from a 4 year old.

Miss Kylie, she is one of a kind! There are sometimes that she can come up to Jerrod or me and say one of the craziest things that you can think of, or the most serious question that I have ever known a four year old  to think of to ask their parent. I could be wrong, and there could be another four year old out there with some stranger questions, which I won't feel as if she is one of a kind anymore though.

I had her come up to me today, sit beside me on the couch, look at me with the most serious of faces and started talking about poop. Yes, I said poop. She went on to explain to me about what color of it is good and what color is bad. Why she has this fascination with it I do not understand, but she does.

She is a very smart little girl. She has picked up on things just a fraction of a second faster than Mackenzie did, and has the same drive to learn all she can, which I love. She loves books and loves to learn how to write and spell things. She will start Pre-K this August and it can not come fast enough for her.

As the school year is coming closer and closer, I sit and wonder some days, how much will she like school? I honestly think she will love it, and at the same time, I wonder if she will giver her teacher a run for her money.  She has asked us over the past year, questions I would have never thought of to ask at her age. She has asked how certain animals do things, how do fireflies light up at night, and so many others I can't think of them all. She has even decided already she is going to be an astronaut so she can go in a big ship and go into outer space.

Hopefully her curiosity will continue to grow and she will learn so much and does become an astronaut if that is what she decides to do.

Summer Cabin Fever

Cabin fever has set in with Mackenzie. With the highs being in the 100's I don't take the kids outside to play. I let Jerrod keep the car and the kids and I stay home. 

Mackenzie is the worst at having to stay in the house. She would rather be outside in the grass playing, or in the sprinkler playing. She has a large workbook with simple addition, some spelling, writing and word problems for first graders, but that she can do only for so long before she gets tired of it. She even has a packet of papers her kindergarten teacher gave out to students but she is already almost finished with those also. She will read for so long but gets tired of doing that also. If only she wasn't so busy all the time!!!

Kylie hasn't been that bad this summer. She prefers staying inside playing with her barbies anyway. Heck, you give her a sippy cup with some type of drink, her monkey and some barbies or a book she is set for the rest of the day. As long as she has her cup of milk in the morning she is all good. What would make her day even better is if I let her have chicken nuggets for lunch every day, but that isn't going to happen. She even goes and just lays down in bed for a little bit in the afternoon. She mostly does that when she is frustrated with Gabryle trying to play with her barbies.

Gabryle is between the two girls. He loves playing outside, but not for a long long time, but loves playing inside. As long as he has some tea or milk in his sippy and noise in the house he is set. He will go and play with his basket of trucks and cars, or go climb into the toy box and play with the toys in it. When you let him go outside though he loves it. He especially loves the sprinkler and water. However he does not love to stay outside for a long long period of time like Mackenzie.

Hopefully this real bad heat wave will end soon and we will go back down into the 90's. I don't really see it happening soon though as we are just about to get into our hottest part of the year in the next few weeks. This time of the year is when I wished we lived in someplace like Colorado, where it stays nice during the summer!!!!

Till next time!!!

the dreaded summer heat

I enjoy the summer months. The splash pads open, there is so much more sun during the day, the pool opens up and the kids get a break from school and we get to do t-ball and things like that. I like it until the dreaded heat comes around.

So far this summer has been the hottest summer I can remember. At the moment there is a heat advisory for the area until SATURDAY!! I wish we could get a break. I hate that we have to keep the kids in the house finding new things to do or watch. I think this summer heat has them getting cabin fever worse than last winter when we had the snow storm, especially Mackenzie. She hates being couped up in the house.

The plus side of it is I have been able to teach Kylie how to write a few letters, and get a head start for when she starts pre-k in a month. A month to the day actually. The heat and being stuck in doors doesn't seem to bother Kylie as much. Don't get me wrong, she loves playing outside, but she seems to prefer staying inside looking at a good book, playing with her barbies and drawing on any plain piece of paper she can find.

Gabryle is missing the outdoors to. If he could live outside in the yard I bet he would to a point. He loves finding dirt piles to play in, sitting on the little trike we have, finding sticks and chasing sisters with them, and just being out doors. The past few days with them staying inside he will go up to the window and just sit there looking outside with a look of boredom on his face. I do admit though, that Gabryle is the best at keeping himself busy in the house. He'll just go off into his and Kylie's room and start playing with some toys, or climbing into the toy box to hide, or grab a little book and look at it.

Hopefully we will have some relief soon so we can do more outside during the day. If it could stay in the 60's and 70's all year round that would be awesome! I could live with that. Stay safe with the heat. Just a few more months then it will cool down is all I keep saying!!!
Enjoy!

A good book.

I love reading, and have always loved reading. When I find a book I love to read, I usually don't put it down and have it completely read front to back with in a few days. Sometimes I can read one in just one day depending on the length of it and how much free time I have in the day.  I hope this also goes along with my Kids, that they will enjoy raeding as much as I do. So far the girls Love to sit and listen to me read books to them, and Kenzie since she is a beginner reader seems to love to sit and read books also. I hope it sticks!!!!

Friday I recieved two books that I had ordered, the first is "Cake Boss, Stories and Recipies from Mia Famiglia" by Buddy Valastro; and the other is "Ace of Cakes: Inside the world of Charm City Cakes" by Duff Goldman and Willie Goldman.    I love the two shows and personally like baking and decorating cakes when I have a chance for the family.

I started the Cake Boss book and had it read in two days. I finished it this morning and thought it was a great book. I loved to learn how Carlo's Bakery was started and hearing how they got to where they are today. You learn a lot of his family history from this book. It goes into how his family came to America, how the bakery came about in their family, and how Buddy eventually found his ways in the bakery.

I also love the fact that they have taken 37 of their bakeries recipies, and compiled them into more managable size recipies for you to bake at home. He even made it to where the majority of the recipies take things you can find at a local market, with the exception of a few items which need to be found at a specialty shop or online.  It even gives you a few tips for baking and explains some of the tools used in the kitchen for baking.

I personally loved the book because now I know more about his family that I see on the show all the time, and about his father, who is a big part of Buddy's life even though he is not here anymore. If you love the show Cake Boss I think you will love this book!

As soon as I am finished reading the Ace of Cakes book I will post about it also!
Enjoy

Holiday fun!

Yesterday was the fourth of July, which is a fun holiday being as there are fireworks to watch at night, a great day to grill out, and it's my birthday to top it all off. Every year since I was a kid the fourth of July has been one of my favorite holidays. When I was little I always thought that the fireworks were just for me, course then I got old enough to realise that they were not all for me just because its my birthday. That was a sad day.

This year of course southern Oklahoma had the burn ban, and the Lake Murray fireworks show was cancelled. BUMMER! So we opted to just stay in and watch the Capital Fourth of July Concert and Fireworks on PBS.

We let the kids play in the sprinkler some and we ran some errands. I mostly laid around the house all day, and let the laundry sit and not be done for one day. I even slept in somewhat. It was nice having a day we were all home just lounging aroundt he house.

Jerrod and the kids made me a birthday cake which was so sweet of them to do. I thought it was also adorable when Kylie ran up to me and goes "Mommy we're going to kick you out of the house and surprise you and make you a surprise birthday cake thats chocolate!!!!" She was thrilled, and of course made sister and Daddy a little upset that the surprise was spoiled. Oh well, I still loved it!!!!!

Then last night the rain came. Lots of wind came first then the heavy rain, thunder and lightning.  The kids it didn't bother, until the power went out. Gabryle thought we turned off the show we were watching and ran to the tv pointing at it looking back and forth between it and us. Needless to say since it was alraedy after the kids bedtime we just sent them off to bed. It was dark so we didnt get any arguements really. Kylie fell asleep within 10 minutes of going to bed as normal. Gabryle came in the liing room a few times and then finally gave up about 20 minutes later. Mackenzie was the odd ball and was still awake in her bed. Around nine, nine fifteen last night She and Jerrod went driving to see who all had power and who didn't.

Aparantly a lot of the town was without power. The most the electric company showed on their website was 10669 without power from when I checked it the few times. Eventually the power came back on around nine thirty-nine forty five and Jerrod and Mackenzie got back to the house and we let her finish watching the fireworks shows that were on tv then sent her off to bed.

It definatly has been the first birthday I can remember where we lost power, or rained for that matter.Maybe next year we won't be in the middle of one of the worst dry spells we have seen in such a long time and will get to watch some local fireworks around town.

Till next time!!!!

The Con's of a Toddler Bed

Gabryle has been in a toddler bed for about six months now, which is great, but a the same time has it's disadvantages. I love how in the mornings he can get himself out of bed and go play and wake up his big sisters, and during the day he loves to go and sit in his bed while looking at books or playing with toys. However for the past few weeks, he has learned to get up in the middle of the night to try and get up in bed with Jerrod and I.

Last night has been the worst for him not staying in bed so far. Jerrod and I were up late watching movies, and about 1:15-1:20 in the middle of the night in walks Gabryle. He crawled up with me on the sofa and fell back asleep while we finished our movie. I changed his diaper since he was dirty and then put him back to bed. That may have been my mistake to start with. After that Jerrod and I went to bed then in walks in casually Gabryle. We let him lay in our bed for a few minutes and then I took him back to bed, laid him down and give him kisses then went back to my room. A few minutes later, in comes Gabryle again. I take him back to his room and this goes on a few times. The last time I took him, I sat beside his bed and rubbed the top of his head for about ten minutes  till he had seemed to be back asleep then slipped out of the kids room and went and laid down again.

Needless to say he came back in our room about five minute later. By the time we were done going back and forth between our room and his and Kylie's room it was a little after four in the morning.  By the time I fell asleep it was closer to four thirty. Luckily the next time he woke up was after seven thirty, which is around the normal time he gets up. He went and pestered Kenzie and she got up and played with him.

Hopefully this waking up in the middle of the night will pass soon. If not I am still not sure what to do to get him out of his habit of coming in our room to try and sleep. I'll try and shorten his nap time today and see how that goes for him. I put him to bed later than we usually do, thinking that would help, but I was wrong.

We shall see tonight if it helps.......