June 18

Oh my gosh the end of the school year is getting REALLY close now!!! REALLY need the break!

 

Okay, so this morning I woke up at 6:45…why!??! And I did a project that was long overdue, organizing the bookshelf. Again, I wish I had a before picture for you, but let’s just say that it wasn’t pretty. There were more books than shelf. I went through my books and set aside about 15 to list on half.com and another 15 to donate, and then got Chris to do the same when he woke up. So now they all fit, there is some empty space, and we made a sale by the end of the day on half.com! (with two more in the following week!)

ah. accomplishing home projects does  a soul good.

 

and speaking of projects…here is another one I have been working on for a while, Chris’ Father’s Day book. Here is Aaron proudly holding it after we printed it, cut the pages, and put it all together. More on that tomorrow.

Summer Project Update!

Linen Closet, CHECK!

My desk, CHECK

Yeah baby!!!

(let's see how many more of these I will work on in the next week to continue putting off my paper...)

Big Boy Bed update...

Last night was a success! No evidence that he got out of his bed until this morning when he was crying for us to come get him. Naptime today was another story. He got out of his bed twice, both times I went into his room he ran right to the door to meet me and look up at me earnestly. Then I tried a strategy I heard from a friend that consisted of me staying in there and putting him back in bed without engaging with him. He then stayed in his bed but did not sleep A WINK. We only let him stay in bed awake for one hour at naptime before we get him out of bed. (He had been struggling with naptime about once a week already before the big boy transition.) So no nap for him. Later, at 6:00pm, he fell asleep in Chris' lap during a story. Darnit. I don't know how we are going to work this out, but we have got to get him on a schedule that has him tired enough for naptime no later than 3:00pm. Lots of running around in the morning and early afternoon will be my next approach, starting tomorrow! and p.s.-another summer project DONE, Aaron's too-small clothes are SORTED and PACKED!

Here is Mr. I Refuse to Take a Nap in my Big Boy Bed sleeping through dinner:

Our first true day of break and a Big Boy Bed!!

What a great way to get our summer started! This morning after waking up early to see off our visitors, my generous hubby stayed awake so I could go back to sleep, which I did, until 10! What a treat! Courtney and Aaron and I took a quick trip to the playground, I got a haircut, and Courtney and I crushed some chores. One thing checked off my summer list, the dining room is clean! Then it was Father's Day leftovers for dinner and a bittersweet milestone for Aaron. Last night was Aaron's last night in his crib, and tonight is his first night in his "big boy bed." All that really means is that one side of his crib was removed and replaced with a low rail. He has recently learned to open doorknobs, so a little non-turning gadget was installed also. We cranked up the old monitor to listen in. We were both sure, leading up to tonight, that Aaron would be scampering around his room until all hours. He is a fidgety little mite, and wants to be moving around all the time. Although it sounds like he did stay awake for about 30 minutes (singing the alphabet, quoting movie lines, and generally babbling) we did not hear anything that sounded like opening or closing of drawers, bonking of toys, or a voice that was far away from the monitor receiver. I am going to peek in now that he is asleep and see if there is any incriminating evidence. My little man is sure growing up fast.

Summer Begins!

Today I am enjoying our first day of Summer Break. Still in jammies, haven't accomplished anything, and it feels great! This Father's Day Weekend we are enjoying a visit from the Ohio Karayannis': George, Annie, John and Kate, along with their very polite Wheaton Terrier, Nikki. Monday will begin my second annual program of domestic goddessness. I have a lot things in mind to do with Aaron, but also a lot of home/school related projects to work on. I am going to list them here and then try to keep track of my progress. Our motto this summer is "Cut the Crap" and most of our summer goals are related to getting rid of STUFF and organizing what's left. I am a stuff-keeper FOR SURE. So starting Monday, in no particular order...

• clean out living room and dining room
• clean out Kim's desk

• organize the non-John side of the basement (see below, yikes!)


• Clean out Aaron's closet and send some more clothes to CA for my nephew!
• Make a wedding album for team-teacher
• Work on Courtney's baby book (um...I started it when she was 5, thinking, NO
  PROBLEM, I can TOTALLY get caught up!)
• Start honeymoon scrapbook
• Clean out kitchen cabinets
• Clean the "neglected corner" of our bedroom, where there are piles of stuff
  with dust at least 4 years old.
• Organize photos located in random places all over the house
• Clean out the linen closet. We don't have to save EVERY TOWEL EVER
  purchased.
• Do Aaron's hand and footprints
• Fill our new collage frames for the upstairs hallway, really excited about
  this one!
• Hang rope lights on the deck
• Restain the deck (before the rope lights, I suppose)




• General file management of school files. My digital school files are in
  chaos by June every year, and they need to be in tiptop shape by September!

Other plans we have for this summer include:

Visit from Mom and Day the first week of July

Rothe invasion at the end of July, their first visit since Aaron was 4 months old!!
Two weddings
Lots of Busch Gardens and Water Country day trips
Making the most of our Netflix
Tons of lake and playground time (fitness for parents disguised as fun for kids)
A trip to NY for Labor Day weekend

The End is in Sight!

I am nearing the end of a very challenging school year. We have one week to go, made up of half-days during which we try our best to keep the kids calm and engaged, which is no small feat. The students are looking forward to the end of the year as much as we are, and I will be working hard this week to remain patient and calm with them and end the year on a positive note. I am so looking forward to two months in my favorite role, summertime domestic goddess! You can't help but be excited when you have these guys to look forward to every day!