Logan's School Picture

We got Logan's school picture today!  Isn't it just adorable??  He was soooo excited to go to school all dressed up in a tie!  I just can't get over how big the boys are getting...they are just growing up so fast .

Logan, 4 years old

Have a fantastic day today!  Have you hugged your kid today??

Birthday Party

Here are a few photos from Carson and Logan's Birthday Party at The Bouncy Place this past weekend! These pages are for Logan's scrapbook (I haven't finished Carson's pages since his birthday is this coming weekend)! We had a wonderful time at the party...a lot of our friends came to bounce with us, we ate yummy food and the kids had a lot of fun! What more could you ask for??

I'm so ready for October to be over! We've had five family birthdays this month...two of which were Carson and Logan, one big birthday party, family visiting and Halloween! YIKES...I'm ready for a break in November because here comes December...Christmas is just around the corner!

Oh, by the way, did you notice my cool new look on the blog?? Just in time for Halloween! Many thanks to my friend Carrie who helped me change my look...Thanks Carrie! Happy Halloween to everyone!

Birthday Video and Logan's Birthday

Yesterday was Logan's 4th Birthday and boy was he excited! He got to bring homemade chocolate chip cookies to his preschool to share with his friends. He was tickled pink when they gave him a birthday crown all of his own. We usually have a combined birthday party for both boys since their birthdays are so close to each other, but on their own birthdays, we try to do a little something special for them. On Logan's special day, he requested cookies and ice cream with chocolate, whipped cream and sprinkles...and 4 candles of course! So, that's what the little boy got! He also got to open one of his birthday presents and this year he got to open a present from Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell...it was his very own talking Jessie doll (from Toy Story 3) and he just loved it!!!


In honor of Carson's 6th Birthday and Logan's 4th Birthday this month, I have made a Birthday video for them! It is a compilation of inspirational music (thanks Ang for some music suggestions), photos and video clips from the last year! I've had a lot of fun reminiscing about the fun times we've had together in the last year! It's exciting to see what fine boys they are growing up to be!

If you'd like to blow up the video to fill your computer screen, just press the button in the lower right hand corner of the video screen that looks like 4 arrows pointing outward.

I'd LOVE to hear your comments!

This week's weight loss!

WOOHOO!  I lost 2 pounds this week!  (19.5 pounds total....another 17 pounds to go!)  I worked my butt off at the gym this week.  I think I went 6 times!  WOW...yah for me! (gotta be my own cheering squad, you know!)  I had one day that I didn't make the healthiest food choices and then sat on my rear-end scrapbooking for 12 hours...and I still lost!

This week is going to be a tough one.  I'm volunteering at the school two of the days that I would normally go to the gym.  It is also the boy's birthday party on Saturday and we have some family coming to town (yay...auntie Kendra and the girls are coming to stay with us for a couple of days).  I'll make the best of it and do my best to make it to the gym as much as possible. 

Here's to another good week!

IEP Meeting Update

Today's IEP meeting was a HUGE success! I'm so excited it went so well!

We started off our day by dropping Logan off at my neighbor's house (Mary...many thank you's to you for watching Logan...I so very much appreciate your help) so that I would only have Carson to contend with during our meeting. We got to the school about 15 minutes early because I wanted to make sure the coffee was made prior to folks showing up. However, when we arrived at the classroom, the door was locked!! ARGH...what are we going to do?? Carson was the one that came up with the solution! He says, "Mom, next door is the computer lab. Let's go see if the door is unlocked." The door WAS unlocked, so we went inside. Carson then says "Mom, see that door there? If we go through it, it leads to Mrs. K's classroom." Sure enough...he was right! and BINGO, instant access to the classroom! I was a bit apprehensive about being there with the door having been locked, but hey, I'm living on the edge, right? And besides, I brought coffee, banana muffins and fruit...any trouble we would be in would quickly be fixed by feeding them!

So folks quickly started arriving and saw the food spread and made comments like, "WOW, we've never had ANY parent do this before" (OK...nice complement, but now I've just set a pattern for expectations of future meetings). "Maybe we should review Carson's IEP monthly" (LOL...not necessary...they just want the nice treatment and yummy food! I said, "Well, I figured I'm either someones best friend or their worst enemy" (best friend for bringing food...worst enemy for breaking into someones classroom). "Oh, you're our best friend, for sure!" OK...starting on the RIGHT foot! LOVE that!

Carson quickly entertained himself on Mrs. K's computer and was even humming the tune to some songs that were playing on the computer. Very nice that Carson wasn't trying to constantly get my attention during the meeting. Then at one point, he was escorted out to play on the playground prior to school starting.

Present at our meeting were: Principal, Psychologist, teacher, special education teacher, occupational therapist, speech therapist and myself.

So, here's what they said:

Carson is able to stay in his seat, pay attention to the teacher and is able to complete assignments.

His biggest strength is fine motor skills such as writing and drawing. He enjoys this so much that the teacher often has a hard time transitioning him AWAY from that activity, but nothing unworkable. His writing is very good compared with his peers.

He is very smart and is understanding some very difficult concepts (some concepts that many other peers are unable to grasp). For example, the teacher was teaching a lesson on 'labeling'. Draw a picture and label the things in the picture (Carson, tree, cloud, etc.,) When Carson started the project, he took the concept to the next level and drew a picture not of himself, but of his brother...and even labeled the person as Logan. His teacher was so impressed that he was able to take the assignment beyond "ME" and draw/label his world...a concept that many other children aren't able to do.

His biggest area of concern is that of socialization. He has difficulties during non-structured activities (free play, transitions, recess). He has difficulty problem solving and working through an uncomfortable situation with a peer (so he just yells, screams, hits or cries instead). Many peers have this same issue.

He continues to need help with speech articulation (pronouncing words appropriately, enunciating each syllable, etc.,).

I asked a ton of questions...how do you handle discipline (and was able to express my concerns of potentially having recess taken away from my sensory seeking kiddo who needs to get activity to help him focus in the classroom) and how loud are fire drills (have you had one and how did he do?...OK they said). Most of my wants for his IEP were proactive (like what to do if he get fidgety in the classroom, what to do if Carson gets overstimulated and needs a quiet space to go to, is his seating appropriate for his needs, what to do if he is unable to complete assignments asked of him in the classroom, etc., But, rightfully so, the school cannot add an IEP goal/objective for something that's not an issue at this time (a little frustrating, but we can meet again to fine tune the IEP if this becomes an issue).

We talked about him still needing a TON of sleep (10 hours at night and 3-4 hour nap during the day)...thank God we are in 1/2 day Kindergarten (Oh...I don't even want to start thinking about what we'll be doing next year when he HAS to do full day school!!). Part of Carson's need for so much sleep is because this is what he needs in order to keep himself together in the classroom (that's how much work it takes to hold himself together and for him to be successful!)

I was happy to find out that there is a special education teacher that spends about 30-45 minutes/day in Carson's classroom (not just for him), helping the students and working closely with the teacher to problem solve issues. They've found that this is a more favorable model than pulling specific students OUT of the classroom. It keeps them 'integrated' with a general education enviroment...which is what the school district considers 'least restrictive'.

I did ask to be notified when his teacher will not be present in the classroom (and they agreed to do that). From my experiences with previous daycare environments, Carson's behavior becomes out of control when he doesn't know about this change in his routine. By being notified ahead of time, I can coach him and read him a social story about this change in his routine...and hopefully be better prepared to handle that. These little guys get awfully attached to their teacher!

We decided that we no longer needed formal occupational therapy intervention, but she would be available on an 'as needed' basis.

We continued with some speech articulation, socialization and transition goals.

They kept saying that they were more than willing to reconvene the team should things change with Carson in the classroom (behavior, academics, etc.,).

I was ecstatic that they wanted to continue him with an IEP and there was NO way I was going to let Carson lose that asset in his education!!

I was highly impressed with the team members and excited to see that we were all on the same page and had the same objective...to help Carson be successful in the school setting!

Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers! This is a very nerve wracking process and I always go into it being a bit apprehensive!

WOW...that was a long post! Thanks for sticking with me to the end! :)

Carson's School Photo and IEP Meeting

Carson- Almost 6 years old

School pictures came home today for Carson!  These are his FIRST school pictures...EVER!  Don't I have a handsome boy?  Well, I think so!

Tomorrow morning is our IEP (Individualized Education Plan) re-evaluation meeting for Carson!  Boy, am I nervous about this.  I do have good news (after having spoken to the school psychologist)...they still want to continue Carson on an IEP.  My angst is what's going to be IN the IEP...what goals and objectives we all agree on.  I have my list all written out with my wishes for the IEP, we'll see what everyone has to say about them.  I'm having a hard time trusting the system...probably because I have had to FIGHT the system and I get tired of always having to fight!  I want what's BEST for Carson and I will do everything in my power to get that for him!

And, I figure I may as well sweeten up the IEP team by bringing them coffee and banana muffins...it NEVER hurts to bribe anyone, right??  Plus, the meeting is at 8:30am, so we'll all need some java and carbs to get us going!  I will blog again tomorrow the results of the meeting, so stay tuned...and say a little prayer for us tonight!

Taking Care of Myself!

Back in September of 2009, I started Jenny Craig and lost about 20 pounds, hit a plateu and wasn't losing and then I quit being able to afford the food (YIKES...that stuff is expensive).  I dropped out of Jenny Craig in April or May 2010 and just focused on trying to maintain and gained about 10 pounds back.  I then tried to lose weight on my own or with using Weight Watchers online (I've been a member of Weight Watchers since high school) and still couldn't seem to shed any pounds.  I was frustrated, stressed, depressed and wasn't exercising (nor did I have much time for exercising).

When I got the opportunity to quit my job and stay home with our two boys, I made ME the focus (I need to take care of myself in order to optimally take care of those around me!) by getting rid of the stress of trying to juggle too many things at once, made exercise a priority (I go to the gym 5 days a week and work off 600-800 calories each time) and really started keeping track of my Weight Watcher points.  Since September 1st, I have lost 9.5 pounds (18 pounds total since Sept '09).  I feel so much better and I can honestly say that I crave exercising!  I didn't think there would EVER come a day when I say that, but it's true!  I can go one day with no exercise, but two days in a row with no exercise is just too much for me to handle.  I get cranky, a bit anxious and just feel that urge to get out there and work hard!

I'm so proud of myself!  I have my 20 year high school reunion coming up on November 20th and my goal is to lose another 10 pounds.  I figure if I put it out there and let my friends and family know what my goal is, you can help keep me accountable!  Please help encourage me!

Have you seen the show called The Biggest Loser?  Did you know they workout 5 hours a day?  Totally an unrealistic goal for myself, but it helps to motivate me that someone in much less shape than I is being pushed beyond their limits every day!  Can't I take an hour of my day to push myself to my limits?  I think so....and I'm doing it!  Are YOU taking care of YOURSELF??

If you don't mind, I think I will post my progress WEEKLY!  That will help keep me accountable!

My pre-Jenny Craig photo in Dec 2009

My September 2010 photo with about 15 pounds (total) GONE!  Sorry Dawn, hope you don't mind me posting your photo!  She's lost I think 65 pounds with Weight Watchers...Go DAWN!!

What does Logan + a baseball glove + a floor lamp have in common??

What does Logan + a baseball glove + a floor lamp have in common??

A fire potential!!

 This morning, the boys and I went to the gym (they went to the Kid's Club and I went to workout).  We left in a bit of a hurry to get there on time and left a few lights on in the house (dad was asleep in the back bedroom, so I wasn't too worried about it).  When we came back from the gym, we walked in the back door and immediately noticed that the family room, kitchen, dining room and playroom were filled with smoke!  YIKES!  What's up with that?  I immediately went to the oven and checked to see if it was on...nope, not on!  I then walked into the playroom and noticed that one of our tall floorlamps was on.  I had a sneaky suspicion that that lamp was the culprit.  I walked over to the lamp and pulled it down so I could look at the bulb.  On top of the lamp was a baseball glove!  Yep, it was sitting right on top of the light bulb itself and parts of the glove were charred like burned bacon!  YIKES...that could have easily caused our house to burn down!  I had seen Logan playing with the glove the day before and instantly knew that he was the culprit!  The little stinker threw the glove on top of the light...what was he thinking?  Well, obviously he WASN'T thinking...he's 3 for goodness sake!

We did however learn a very valuable lesson during this fiasco!  We discovered that our smoke detectors did not work!  YIKES!  How did that happen?  They will be replaced this week.

Logan learned a valuable lesson about fire hazards and what could happen when you throw things on top of lamps!

I'm very thankful that this was just a learning lesson in life.  It could have been disastrous...our house could have caught on fire and I could have lost my husband (who was asleep at the time).  Thank God everyone and everything is OK.

Have YOU checked your smoke detectors lately??

Soccer Trading Cards

I made these last night using my digital scrapbooking program (Storybook Creator Plus by Creative Memories). I got cheap and didn't want to pay for the professional trading cards, so just made do with what I had and made them myself! I think they turned out pretty cute, if I don't say so myself! If you'd like one, let me know and I'll print one off and send it to you!

Tonight's Dinner: Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Fall is definitely here!  The leaves are falling to the ground and there is a crispness in the air that only comes with Fall!  What comes to your mind when you think of the Fall?  For me, I think of this super yummy soup...Curried Butternut Squash Soup (click the highlighted words to get the recipe) by Robin Miller on the Food Network! 

Logan decided to be my helper in the kitchen tonight, so he was in charge of adding the measured ingredients to the pot and then got to use a cool kitchen tool, an immersion blender, the kitchen and mom only suffered minor squash splatterings, which is quite impressive for a 3 year old!  Way to go Logan!



Logan using the immersion blender and being momma's super big helper!



  A recipe can't be any simpler than this!  And, the lime crema that goes on top just makes the soup that much yummier!  It's super healthy, filling and has a wonderful mix of flavors!  You need to try this recipe!

The immersion blender does a nice job of mixing the ingredients and making it super smooth!

The finished product!  Yum!  Dinner's Ready!