Dr.Seuss, Teacher Appreciation, & Author Visit

Oh My Word! School has been super busy for the boys! 

Between Dr. Seuss week, Teacher Appreciation at both schools, and Ivy Creek's Author Visit, things have been crazy from one school to the other. I am so extremely grateful that Ben has allowed me these opportunities to make myself utterly insane running this way and that, but WOW, there are weeks where I LIVE for Friday! I know that I do not tell him Thank You often enough, but I do count my blessings in between 2 schools car pool and bus schedules each day :-)

During Dr. Seuss week, each school had a theme each day. Students dressed up and book related snacks were requested. While Ethan's class received Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes for Cat in the Hat day, Caden's school received Red Fish cupcakes for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish day. Poor fish cupcakes were gone before I remembered to take a picture :-(

 Of course, we had to have matching napkins for the week!

 Caden decided he wanted to be the book cover for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and I grabbed a quick picture with his teacher, Jana, who was Thing One.

 Caden's class also got colored goldfish 

 While Ethan's class received Dr. Seuss Soup in a wrapped cup complete with a spoon. 

 Somewhere along the way, I missed a picture of Green Eggs and Ham pretzels that I sent to Ethan's class. Caden was a trooper that week and the next because he was my shopping partner as we went searching for Teacher Appreciation treats and Dr. Seuss snack ingredients. He finally decided riding was better than walking and I heard "Cheese, Mommy" as we were zooming down the aisles of Wal-Mart trying to complete our list before the bus beat us home.

 The following week was Teacher Appreciation for Ethan's school and I went into his classroom to do an activity with his class in order to put together a book while his sweet teacher went on a little break. The finished product turned out cuter than the picture below, but she was super appreciative of all of the kiddos hard work!

 The classes were also invited to the school to create sidewalk chalk notes for their teachers to read as they walked into school the next morning.

 Then, last week was the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon that I coordinate each year at Caden's school. We put together a Mexican Fiesta and turned an empty classroom into a "restaurant."

 That same week was also the Author Visit for Ethan's school. The teacher in me was completely starstruck as we got to meet and listen to Patricia Polacco share her stories about her books. Ethan and I were able to get some of her books autographed and take a picture with her, which was super special because that opportunity was not afforded to most of the other students!

She is such a precious lady and I would LOVE the opportunity to hear her again!

WHEW, so glad these weeks are behind us! Now, on to the next event!

Monster Jam

March has been a SUPER busy month! 

We started off with Monster Jam, always a family favorite with boys! 

We made sure to get there early this year so that we could watch them get the arena set up for the trucks. So much fun to see!

We always love it when Mimi gets to go with us!

Finally, the trucks were all lined up and Ethan and Caden were ready to see some action!

This year, Ethan and Caden wanted to bring posters to cheer on their favorites. 

 It was funny to see them paired up against each other in one of the first rounds!

 As usual, Monster Jam was a blast and they already can't wait until next year!

Ethan's Leadership Conference & Caden's Art Show

A couple of weekends ago, Ethan was one of seven 1st graders invited to attend a leadership conference. They were asked to wear ties and he looked adorable in his "business clothes!"

 He and his friends were so sweet when I dropped him off and they had a terrific time learning leadership skills with the other Mill Creek leaders :-) 

 Not the best picture, but his counselor texted me this pic letting me know that Ethan had volunteered to go on stage for one of the events. I'm so grateful that he is part of a school that adores him and builds him up just as Shadowbrook did!

 Then, Caden had his Art Show at school the following week. His art teachers are the most creative individuals and they make the most precious pieces to display. Thankfully, we get to keep them after the show each year!

 He decided to show Ethan his creations...

 And finally stood still long enough for me to take a picture :-)

February Wrap-up

We ended February with a beautiful rainbow to conclude the school week followed by a trip to the mall on a random school day off. This picture does not do it justice but it was the brightest, most vibrant rainbow I have ever seen. You could actually see each individual color of the rainbow!

Since the winter has been mild and we did not use any of our weather days this year, the kids had a random Friday out of school. We took advantage of it with a trip to the mall. Lunch, the carousel, and the Cookie Company were just what the day called for!

 They were all spinning when they came off of the carousel ;-)

Even Lindsey and Merideth rode!

Spark Pinewood Derby

The boys derby cars this year were their favorite colors. Ben always works so hard and does a great job getting them ready for Derby. After doing the cutting this year, Ethan and Caden did the sanding and painting.

Ethan's car once it was cut

 Time to sand...

 Paint time...

 Then it was finally the big day! 

The first entries...

 Ethan's and Caden's are the red and blue cars in the lower left of the picture

 Ready to Race!

 And another successful Derby year! 

A great time was had by all!

Sweet Caroline

Caroline was born on February 1st and we couldn't have been more excited! After giving Chad, Ashley, and Collier a couple of weeks to acclimate, I packed up the bikes and sent the boys to Mimi's for the weekend so I could head to Huntsville and get some snuggles from my new sweet baby girl! Ethan and Caden had a blast with Mimi and they met me at Chad and Ashley's Sunday afternoon so that they could meet Caroline for the first time, too. 

They had an amazing time as always with Mimi riding bikes...

 climbing trees...

 

and visiting the airplane museum in Birmingham.

 Mimi also stopped by the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville to let the boys take a quick look around there as well.

While I got my weekend cuddles, I also got to see Collier play in her Mercedes that Chad controls by remote. So much fun!!

 Once the boys arrived and had some cousin time, we got ready for a late night trip home :-)

LOVE that we now have 2 boys and 2 girls in the family!!

The Flu

The entire month of January was a blur. Every single one person in our family got the flu...it was horrible. I started it all with a boatload of medicine and misery. Ben completely rocked and sent me to our bedroom for a week of sequestered time away from everyone and he moved into the guest room and took care of both boys' schedules, school, meals, and the house! 

Once I was finally well again, we ventured downtown the following weekend and took the boys to the top of the Sundial to see the city. Ethan was a trooper but by the time we left, he was running a temp. 

 I was devastated, we were SOOOOO careful and I spent an entire week away from everyone. I took Ethan to the Pediatrician and she enlightened me that the incubation period had expired and confirmed that he had caught it at school. As soon as Ethan tested positive, Ben took Caden to get tested even though he felt fine. He also tested positive even though he had no symptoms and they were both put on Tamiflu just as I had been. That  meant a week out of school for them as well :-(  They were set  up with TV's in their rooms for the week and we even invested in Roku's and streaming players for them to watch Netflix.

 As you can tell, Ethan was in heaven once he was past the vomiting and first few days of feeling completely awful. 

The boys finally starting feeling normal again, but then Ben began feeling bad. It was his turn for Tamiflu. Thankfully, his bout of the flu only lasted a few days and our house returned to normal by the end of the month.

But, I would be perfectly happy to never experience a January like that again!