Before and After

After....vibrant green!
Before.....boring white!

Painting Day

Today, with the help of my niece, I painted Cody's bedroom. It's amazing what a new coat of paint in a different color can do to make a room totally different! I LOVE his room! I cannot wait to look for musical instruments and things to make his room so much fun and cute for him!

Since I had left over paint, I painted our bathroom with the same green color. It also transformed the room. I was so very thankful that Matt took the kids out to lunch and to a splash pad so we could paint in peace!!

Cody was so disturbed that he was not allowed in his room which is his favorite place in the world to be! Rest assured that tomorrow, things will be back in place but in a much better and brighter color!

2 more weeks!

I have two more weeks of freedom before I have to start getting ready for school again. I have already visited my classroom and started the de-cluttering/organizing/throwing stuff away process. It amazes me how fast the summer really goes. However, this summer seems to feel longer. It could be due to the fact we are starting a few days later than usual. My kids cannot wait to go back! This summer heat has prevented them from playing outside and they are ready to learn!

I have a few more house projects I want to complete at home so hopefully I will stay productive and get the tasks finished before our lives become crazy again!

Conversations with Carleigh

Today, Carleigh snaps her princess lanyard onto Cody's shirt collar and says, "I am going to take Cody for a walk. He is a like a doggie." Of course Cody did not wish for this to happen and eagerly let her know all about it! She kept referring to Cody as "Rudy" her aunt's Yorkie. You just never know what she is going to say next!!

Day 2 of Tournaments

On the last day of games, we had an early game that we didn't know about. Luckily for us I was up early and got everyone up and out of the hotel in time for the game. After the game, all the kids received trophies for participating in the tournament. A state trooper passed out the trophies and Cody and Carleigh were so proud to get another trophy. It was a great tournament!

Day 1 of Tournaments

We left around 10am to head to Akron for the weekend. My mom decided to come with us to cheer the kids on and we drove her 4-Runner since our a/c is out in the van. We were very thankful to have a car with a/c when the temps are in the upper 90s! We had a smooth drive up and stopped at a cute place called Grandpa's Cheese Barn where you could purchase cheese, dips, candies, ice cream and much more all homemade! It was fun sampling all the great things they make!

We arrived at our Hilton around 3:30pm and relaxed before hitting the pool. The kids were so excited to swim again! We had dinner with our team at Max and Ermas and then we let the kids play at the arcade afterwards.

Day 1 of tournaments started very early since we had to be at the opening ceremony at 8:30am! It was raining, raining, raining when we arrived. No one brought an umbrella since we are not used to rain this summer so we did get a little wet. They had announcements, prayer, pledge to the flag and it was cute to hear the national anthem being sung by some special kids!

When it was over and we were heading to our car, an Ohio State Trooper (who sponsors this tournament) started talking to Cody. The next thing we knew, they were holding hands and the trooper was talking to Cody! It was so cute and I wish I had my camera ready for that pic! The trooper walked us back to the car. Cody enjoyed that very much!!

Next, we went to breakfast with the team at McDonalds. Since everyone had the same idea, we had to wait at least 30 minutes in line for fast food! While we were there, the rain stopped and out came the sun and HEAT!

It was game time after breakfast and boy did the heat make an appearance. We dropped my mom and Cody off at the hotel since both cannot tolerate heat too much. Then, the rest of us headed back to play game 2. We headed to a building that had free lunch which included hot dogs, chips, cole slaw, the best watermelon and ice cream! We were very happy that they decided to play just one inning!!

Carleigh did FABULOUS with her hitting and everyone was complimenting her! I really think she will be able to hit with the coach's pitches next year! We are so proud of both of them!

Next, we headed back to the hotel to cool off and unwind. We then went swimming and got pizza. It was storming again here so we decided not to do anything else for the evening. It has been a fun tournament thus far!

On Friday, we'll be here...

State baseball tournaments are Saturday and Sunday in Akron. We originally were going to the Akron Zoo but due to the heat, we decided to go shopping across the street from our hotel and then we are going to check in and go swimming!! Wooooohoooo!!

HOT HOT HOT

It is too hot here! It reminds me of our Disney vacation in early June. I walked with a friend at 9:30am and my heart was pounding at the end of our short walk! Insane!! I so wish I could live at the North Pole until September!!

The kids are bored because they cannot go outside and they are totally kids. I am annoyed because they are bored....it's a vicious cycle!! School cannot get here fast enough!!

Too hot to do anything but....

Challenger Baseball Awards Picnic 2011

With the temps in the upper 90s, I am very thankful that our league has their picnic at a very shaded area! It really helped make the head not feel as bad! This was our second time at the awards picnic and they really do a great job with food, carnival games, DJ, and making all the kids feel special. When Cody received his trophy, he grabbed the microphone (he is such the entertainer let me tell you!) and shared what was on his mind! It was a fun afternoon and we came home with more prizes and lollipops (20) than we ever needed!

Our season will end in a week when tournaments end next Sunday. What a great season!

More School Shopping

In the previous post, I mentioned that I ordered Carleigh's backpack and lunch box and had it monogrammed. Well, Cody doesn't care about all of that and I wanted him to have a more "older boy" backpack which I couldn't find online without paying a ridiculous price. So, my mom and I went shopping today.

Old Navy had a spinning wheel and I won a $5 off when you spend $35. I found Cody's backpack and lunch box for $11. Then, I found 3 shirts, 1 pair of shorts for Cody on clearance and bought Carleigh an outfit also on sale. With the $5 off, the grand total for $42. I think that is great for everything I purchased.

Next month, we are buying their school shoes which will be the biggest expense since cheap shoes will not last a week with my rough and tough shoe scraper! Sketchers are the only brand that can handle Cody's abuse for the entire school year. They are made with re-inforced rubber on the tips. They usually hold up until late May. I am thankful that Carleigh is less abusive on her shoes, however, after a year, she definitely needs a new pair!

School Supplies for 2

Matt and I were discussing the cost of school supplies for two elementary students. Yep. We have two elementary aged kiddos this year....1st grader and a 2nd grader. Well, obviously we were bored and made guesses on how much it would cost for the basic supplies listed on their supply lists.

Take a guess on how much it cost?

I guessed $50 and Matt guessed $6o.

We both were WAY over! If you go to Walmart RIGHT now, every school supply is on sale at a very reasonable price. It cost us $39.94 for 2 kiddos supplies.

Now wait....that doesn't include: backpacks, lunch boxes, new shoes (they DEFINITELY need new shoes), socks, underwear, clothes, school fees, and food for lunches.

I ordered Carleigh a matching backpack and lunch box with her name monogrammed on it from Lillian Vernon. We're still debating on Cody's.

I am still amazed at how cheap it was and if you average it, $20 bucks for each kid. I bought all the supplies at Walmart and if I would have skimped on cheap tissues, it would have been less, but come on....who wants to blow their nose on flimsy stiff tissues?!!

The music intrigued us...

and so this is what we discovered when we went outside! This brought back old memories of when I was a little girl and LOVED getting special treats from the ice cream truck! Carleigh picked a bubble gum popsicle and Cody picked an ice cream sandwich!

It's very rare to see an ice cream truck go down our street and it was such a wonderful treat when one does!

Room Makeovers

I have had white or off-white paint on all the walls in my house since we moved in 13 years ago. Well, I am frankly tired of white walls. Over the course of the summer and fall, I will be changing all of that!

We are going to start with Cody's room. His room has been decorated in Mickey Mouse for quite some time. Seeing that he is 7.5 years old, he needs a big boy bedroom. So....we are going to decorate in his favorite things....musical instruments! With the help of my sweet niece who offered to help, we are going to paint Cody's room a soft green and then transform the room. Check out my blog in the weeks to come to see the transformation!

We are also going to transform the family room as well. I am going with a soft tan color. I will have to do the least work in this room since I just have to paint and get a few hangings on the wall. This will be my birthday present to myself...I am decorating in primitive sheep. I have always wanted to do this but have never gotten around to doing so.

Both rooms will be finished before I go back to school in August. I plan on painting the bathroom, kitchen and Carleigh's bedroom over the course of the fall and winter. Carleigh's room will not be transformed because her room is perfect for the princess that she is! My kitchen needs a makeover also since it has not been redecorated in 13 years!! I have a few decor-crazy family members who will no doubt want to help in all of this!! It will be a great way to have a "new" house and bring some color into this house!

Wordless Wednesday - Disney Flashback

Hibernating

We are in our summer hibernation mode here. The temps are in the upper 90s with extreme humidity. I walked outside to see how hot it was and it literally took my breath away! It reminded me of Florida heat back in June. Ick! So, we are doing our Summer Bridge workbooks and reading and watching movies. There is not much you can do outside in this heat except for swimming and we do not have a pool! Needless to say, I am very thankful for air-conditioning!

What's coming up....

My niece called me today and really wanted to have a yard sale with someone. So, being the great aunt that I am, I told her yes, although I have had yard sales for several years in a row and am running out of things to sell other than the stuff that hasn't sold in the past years. It felt good to clean out Cody's toy nightmare...um I mean closet tonight while they were at church. I am amazed that I have a good amount of things to sell and I have already sold 2 bigger items that I was planning to sell. You just gotta love advertising on Facebook!

So, we have a ball game on Friday evening which is supposed to be the last (rumor has it that they may play one last game next week). Then, Saturday we have the yard sale. Next week, we are starting our summer homeschooling with workbooks and flashcards. I might add that they wanted to start tomorrow but with getting things for the yard sale ready, I am pushing the start date back until Monday. I so love the fact that my kids want to do school stuff in the summer! This sooooo warms my teacher heart!!

In two weeks, we go to state baseball tournaments in the northeast section of our state. We will be staying at a hotel that will mostly be filled with families of special-needs kids so that will be great to see that we are not alone! It should be a very fun weekend!

It seems that this summer is zipping by too fast!! I don't want to think about August yet!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Disney Flashbacks

How we spent the 4th.....

We went to Liberty, Indiana for a day at the farm. The kids had a blast and Carleigh saw her BFF! We had a cookout and tried to stay cool. It was so cute and a bit annoying that whenever someone drove or stopped by, the kids demanded a ride. Yes, I have atv-addicted children!! The night ended with night #2 of fireworks!

Happy 4th of July!

Hoping you and your family have a wonderful Independence Day!

We are attending a parade, seeing fireworks, and of course spending time with family this weekend!

In a week or so....

I will begin an AWESOME Bible study on Beth Moore's "So Long Insecurity." I have been looking forward to reading this book and did not know there was a Bible Study to go along with it! Double AWESOME! This will be a totally different experience since there are no videos but I am up for a different pace this time! It will be great reading and sharing with my small group of friends!