Summer is here!

We had such a great weekend...beats all that rain we had for 2 weeks straight! The only "bummer" is we went right from winter to summer...and didn't really have a spring. I'm not complaining though!

This weekend we had 95 degree weather. We had a neighborhood bbq on Sunday. Jackie and Bob have a beautiful pool and the kids didn't want to get out! They went down the slide and swam around with Christine and Lynn. Once we were able to get them out of the pool, Val caught little tree frogs and the kids loved that!

Today we played outside in the sprinkler. Jackie and Bob then invited us back over to swim! We have 2 little fish...or as the kids call them: FITCHIES! They did not want to get out of the pool!

check it out!

For some reason the website didn't come through on my post about the kids school...if you want to check it out: www.mypiccolo.com

:-)

YIPPEE for Matthew

Well...Matthew is 80% potty trained! He's been dry all day, and at night for the past week! He's been telling us every time he has to go potty, as well as poop! He's been excited to wear his "Big Boy" undies and if he keeps up this great work, he'll be wearing them for the full day!

Pre-School...here we come!

Yesterday was my 1st Wednesday off for the summer and we had quite the adventure! David and I took the kids on a tour of what we were hoping would be their new school. We walked in and instantly fell in love! We met the owner of Piccolo Mondo briefly and took a tour with another teacher. We got to see the infant room, Toddler 1, Toddler 2, PreK-1, 2 and 3.

Matthew and Arianna will be in Toddler 2. In this room they have a full curriculum set by the state of Massachusetts! When we brought the kids in, they were able to play with the 11 other kids in their class. After about 10 minutes of playing, the bell rang and it was snack time. All of the kids sat around the little table, had a snack and drank their juice (out of a big cup). They all helped clean up after and were able to play with the toys again. The lights then went out and this was the signal that it was time to clean up all the toys because they were headed outside. Matthew and Ari ran up to David and I and asked if they could go out and play too. Of course we said yes!

David and I then met with the owner. The kids will be starting July 14th and continue Thursday & Friday until the beginning of August. They will go from 7:30 - 12:30 for the first few weeks. Once we return from vacation in August, the kids will go to school Wednesday - Friday from 7:30 - 5:00. We decided to give Joyce & Mike a break - but also let the kids be with other kids for an extra day. In doing so, David and I have decided to give up our gym membership. I'd rather the kids be in school, and we needed to make certain sacrifices to do so.

While at school, they will be teaching the kids oral hygiene, helping with potty training, going on nature walks, field trips, and all sorts of other fun things! They have 2 snacks a day and lunch (made by Nonna...the Italian Grandma!) This food is provided in the cost of attendance! One really cool thing with this school is they have a man who comes in each week. He works for Stride Rite shoes, which was actually just bought out by Payless. He measures all kids feet, width, girth, length, etc. and will bring in sneakers and shoes for the kids to "test" for a month - to see how durable they are etc. They get a lot of free shoes out of this deal too! Mommy is not complaining!!!

The kids had so much fun playing at the school yesterday, they didn't want to leave! This is a good sign and makes me feel so happy about our decision! We are also able to bring them back a few times so they get used to it before they start in July. I have to get all of their medical records, birth certificate, etc. so when I bring those in, I'll let the kids play for a while too with their new friends!

If you want to check out their new school, here is the website: http://www.mypiccolo.com

I'm so excited they loved their new school. It will make me feel much better about our decision and will make it a lot easier on us knowing they are in a fun, structured environment! Just makes me sad that my babies are growing up!

Pre-school...already!?!?!?!

Well the time has come for us to explore options for Pre-School. This time came a lot sooner than expected...

On Friday, our babysitter Becky, who we had for 2 years quit (and quit with NO notice!) It's a long drawn out story of why she quit, but the short version...she quit before she was fired!

I've been researching different pre-schools for the past few months, seeing what would be better cost wise, education wise, etc. Since originally we were looking at January (kids need to be 2.9), my 1st choice is currently out of the question. I am currently looking at a place in Leominster called Piccolo Mondo. They take kids from infant - Kindergarten. I had originally contacted the before I had to return to work from Maternity Leave, but they didn't have any room at that point. I'm hoping my phone conversation goes well with them this afternoon. Cost plays a big factor, so I'm hoping we can swing it! This place will be convenient for both David and I for pick up / drop off!

For now - Joyce and Mike have stepped up BIG TIME to help. I had to start my Wednesdays Off (which I wasn't planning on doing until July) and Joyce and Mike will watch the kids M, T, H, F until our neighbor Lynn gets out of school. Once she is out at the end of June, Lynn will take 2 days and Joyce will take 2 days. If I can get the kids into Piccolo for at least 1 day for the summer to acclimate them, that would be great too!

Needless to say - last Friday was a VERY bad and emotional day! This was like a punch in the gut...but as I always say...everything happens for a reason! If any family members are interested in helping with babysitting for the next month to give Joyce & Mike a break...let me know! I'm sure they'll be thankful!

Mommy WOW! I'm a big kid now...

I think of this commercial jingle from when Brian and I were growing up - it was the commercial for Pull Ups! "Mommy WOW...I'm a big kid now!" Matthew is my big kid! Who would have thought - since Arianna has been so good at the potty, that she'd just give up! I'm not pushing the training or forcing it right now, but my little boy has sure gotten the hang of it!

He pees about 5-6 times a day on the toilet (as long as we all remember to put him on!) On Monday, I told him that he and Mommy were going to run a special errand together after work. Well, I picked him up and David called to tell me he had a BAD migraine and was in bed...so...we pulled in the driveway and Matthew said: By Ari - I'm going to the store with Mommy! My heart broke when I had to tell him that Daddy was sick and we'd have to go to the store tomorrow. I felt so bad!

Yesterday was a funny day...(here's a story within my story!) The kids were at Joyce and Mike's yesterday - she said they were off a little bit. Not sure if it was the full moon or the weather! Any kid wouldn't want to be in for 5 days straight due to rain! Arianna decided she wasn't hungry for lunch, but Matthew was. Mummu fed Matthew, got him cleaned up and put him upstairs for his nap. Ari was now hungry, and wanted some food before nap time. This is when I got the phone call:

Me: Hello?
Joyce: you are never going to guess what your son did!
(well no mother likes to hear that...so I'm thinking the worst...)
Me: Oh God...What?
Joyce: Well we were feeding Ari lunch and I heard Matthew in the baby monitor...saying Help Mummu - Mummu Help. So instead of going to check on him I yelled nap time Matthew - time for sleep!
Me: Ok...???
Joyce: well...next thing I know, Matthew is standing right next to me saying Hi!
Me: Howling with laughter!!!

Matthew decided that he didn't want to nap and figured out how to climb out of the pack and play and he walked down the stairs! Well...it may be time for a new sleeping arrangement for Mummu!

So needless to say - the kids did not nap at all yesterday! So I picked them up after work and told Matthew that he and Mommy were running a special errand! He fell asleep in the car on the ride home - I dropped off Arianna with David, went to get gas, and pulled into Kohls. Matthew woke up when I shut the car off and immediately he says: Where's Ari? (he cares so much for his sister!!) I told him that Ari is at home and he and mommy are getting his undies!

We head into Kohls and over to the kids department. I parked the shopping cart in front of the kids underwear and his eyes lit up! He saw in front of him a package of "Toy Story" underwear! (the kids LOVE Toy Story 3) - so he was yelling...Mommy Toys Ory Unies! Can Have? Please? I looked at him and said yes Matthew! Mommy is so proud of you for going on the potty that you can have whatever undies you want - and if Toy Story is what you want - then you can get them!

We wheeled around the rest of the store showing everyone his package of undies, was upset when we had to pay for them, and then was happy again when I gave him the package when we got in the car!

Watching the excitement on my child's face over buying his first pair of underwear, just melts your heart and it made me take a step back and focus on the little things in life that make you happy!

Happy Mother's Day!

I had the best weekend! Saturday, David and the kids took me shopping to get me some new clothes for Mother's Day! I'm not complaining because I'll take any opportunity to get new clothes! After we came home, the kids went down for a nap, I relaxed a bit and prepped food for Sunday's dinner. Once the kids woke up, we spent a few hours playing outside. We played on the slide, the swings, the airplane, their bikes, and they even played tag with Daddy! Mommy had the camera and got a few great pictures...but as you can see, Ms Ari doesn't like getting her picture taken anymore and she usually has an attitude about it! Oh well...

Sunday, David let me sleep in! I got out of bed at 8am and breakfast was ready! He made Raspberry Orange pancakes ad sausage patties. After breakfast, I decided to get the kids dressed and I took them for a walk with me. (Daddy went to Mummu and Papa's house) I walked 4 miles and they talked with each other, pointed out every tree, bird and squirrel we walked by! It was a lot of fun! We then came home, showered and got ready for the day. I took the kids outside and they brought Jackie and Zee (our neighbors) flowers they picked from the garden. We then played outside until Grammie arrived. We played out on the swings and slide with Grammie, then brought the kids in for lunch. We told them that after lunch they needed to take a good nap because then Uncle Brian and Uncle Eric would be there when they woke up! Almost 3 hours later the kids were still sleeping and they arrived. I went upstairs to check on the kids and Dante (Brian and Eric's Boxer) followed me up to their room. Ari heard me open the gate and she sat up and started laughing because Dante was sitting there wagging his tail! Matthew then got up and was in hysterics laughing! They came downstairs and we went back out to play. After about an hour of playing outside the clouds rolled in and it started to rain. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to start cooking. I prepared: Caesar Salad, Grilled Asparagus, Orzo, and Italian Crusted Rib Eyes! It was so unbelievably good! For dessert I made homemade Tiramisu - and it went REALLY well with the Alcoholic Espresso whipped cream Brian bought me! The rain stopped, Daddy cleaned up all the dishes and we brought the kids outside in their rain coats and rain boots and they jumped in puddles for a while! It was time for the kids to start winding down, and so they were playing inside and Ari wanted to put on her Tinkerbell outfit since Grammie bought her new sparkly shoes!

Overall it was a GREAT day! The best gift ever was watching Arianna and Matthew laugh all day long!