strawberry days

The kids both had field trips to the local strawberry farm this week.

Good thing we like strawberries....we have tons of them since we got to pick fresh berries during the field trips.

Layla and her classmates learned how strawberries are planted.  They learned about keeping the berries alive in the winter months.  The trip was very educational and I enjoyed learning as much as the kids did!

Hayden's trip, the very next day, was very similar to Layla's.  The preschool classes didn't get quite as much detail as the 2nd graders, but they still learned a lot about berries!  We also got to see the farm's honey bees.  The bees are a huge part of having a wholesome crop.  

The farm also grows peaches, corn, broccoli, cauliflower and peas.  It was a fun few days for both kids!  Layla went first, so she made sure she told Hayden about certain things to look for on the hayride.  It was fun to hear the kids bond over their field trips!

A preschool tea party

I was invited to a Mother's Day tea today!  It was the cutest thing ever.  All the moms in Hayden's preschool class attended a tea party and the kids entertained us while we ate homemade banana bread (by the kids)  mints and cookies.

They sang sappy, but adorable songs and participated in a skit.

We had our picture taken together for a memory book the kids have been making all year long!

I started tearing up when the kids sang a few of the songs.  They were so sweet and I am such a sap!

The kiddos acted out a version of The Three Little Pigs.  It really was so cute to see Hayden interact with the friends he talks about all the time!  I'm so thankful for his preschool and I'm happy to know he is ready for kindergarten because of his wonderful teachers.

another awesome field trip & picture overload

I posted about one of Hayden's preschool field trips earlier this week.  It was really fun, but I think the field trip to the High School Career Center took first prize.  The kids had a great time and so did the parents!

Once we arrived at the career center the kids got name badges just like the high school kids prepping for college.  They also got a pencil and these awesome glasses.

After everyone had identification the kids got to being the tour of the school.  The first stop was the cosmetology classroom.  The girls got their nails painted and the boys decided to get their hair spiked up.  Hayden was thrilled to have a pretty girl doing his hair.  They even painted the tips with hair paint.

He thought he was the coolest kid ever with his hair-do!

His friends had their hair done too!

Next stop was the landscaping department.  The kids got to see how high school students study to be golf course managers and landscape engineers.

Hayden loved the putting green and loved learning about how to make the grass 'putting green' ready!

The next classroom was all about the medical field.

The students picked the kids up on this net and moved them to a wheelchair just like they do in hospitals and nursing homes.  The kids were so so so excited about this.  It was cute to see their excited faces.

Once the kids were in the wheelchairs they got to have wheelchair races!

Finally the last stop of the tour was the sports medicine department.

The prechoolers got to participate in an obstacle course.

Hayden was running like the wind in this shot, so it is blurry.

The huge workout balls were so stinkin' fun!  The kids played SimonSays with the balls and then they got to free play with the giant green balls.  They were rolling all around the room and us parents were laughing so hard.

Our preschool kids felt really special having the high school students hang out with them.  I think the high school kids had fun too the preschoolers definitely made them laugh too.  Hayden told me more than once that it was the 'best day ever!'

I am so happy to have found Hayden's preschool.  He has learned so much and I am thankful for his social and educational development over the last few months.  We received his acceptance letter into the kindergarten program here in our new town.  I just know Hayden is going to love school and now we know he is officially ready to attend!

Nature field trip!

Hayden's preschool class has the best field trips!

Yesterday the kids got to go to the Ohio River Wildlife Refuge.  Each child got a magnifying glass to enable them to get up close and personal with plants, bugs and rocks.

Hayden had a ball!

He acted as if he'd never seen a dandelion..

The kids got to see a bird nest in a tree.

The got to see milkweed and it was defiantly different than the milkweed in Texas.

We hiked down to the river and that is the point I was ready to leave because ticks were falling from the trees.  YUCK!  I love to camp and be outdoors, but I was afraid of the ticks.

We hiked back up to the main area and Hayden fell in love with this giant boat.

Once we got inside the building the kids got to watch fish and turtles eat lunch.  It was really fun for the kids to see a snapping turtle eat a giant worm.  I think we all had a fun time, minus the ticks!  Hayden and I love being outside and he told me this trip made him excited about camping this summer!

lack of sleep and food

For some reason I had a horrible night of sleep last night.  I woke up at 3:45 am and couldn't go back to sleep.  I tossed and turned and drove myself crazy.  I just knew I'd fall asleep within an hour.  I read some online on my iPhone.  I checked twitter.  I had all sorts of irrational random thoughts.  I worried about our house in Texas.  I worried about our oven here not working.  I was a sleepy drowsy mess, but couldn't fall back to sleep.  Finally at 6:00 am Gary asked me what in the world was going on.  I told him I had been awake too long and I was losing my mind and then I promptly fell sound asleep until 8:00 am.

I am back on the grapefruit bandwagon.  I love them and try to eat one a day.  Why are called grapefruit?  Grapes are tiny.  Grapefruit is huge.  I will never understand why it's called a grapefruit.  Maybe I'll google grapefruit.   These are the things a sleep deprived person think about when they are sleepy.  Can you even imagine how I acted when I had newborn babes?  I am the kind of person who must have sleep.  I need my sleep to function properly.  When I had the kids I was a walking zombie making bad decisions for months.  haha!

I am on a soup kick.  Poor Gary.  One night this week we had chicken tortilla soup.  Last night I made a new recipe.  It is stuffed bell pepper soup.  I also bought ingredients for potato and ham soup and beef stew.  I think it is a way to keep me warm.

The stuffed bell pepper soup was really good.  I attached a link to the recipe I used. (scroll down past the oriental salad.) I changed the recipe a bit.  I used extra brown rice.  It says to use 2/3 cup and I used a whole cup.  I like rice y'all.  Also I used rotel and skipped the tomato paste; I didn't have any.  I doubled the red pepper flakes because the kids weren't eating this soup with us.  I let it simmer for close to 2 hours.  It was better than the stuffed peppers I make.  Next time I make it we will have croissants with it.  It was amazing!

This little man is a handful lately.  He is really changing into a little man.  He thinks it is funny to talk about inappropriate things like poop.  Man it drives me crazy.  I had to get onto him twice today for talking potty talk.  He has had a play date two days in a row with his girlfriend, our neighbor.  The get along so great and reference each other as boyfriend/girlfriend.  Layla thinks boys are gross, so Hayden is fast. I can't believe he has a girlfriend already. haha!

Tomorrow is a big day at school for him.  If he can zip his coat and write his name he gets to join the Zipper Club.  I love his preschool.  The ladies have been teaching kids for YEARS.  They are the sweetest ladies and I am thankful we found his school.  I just know he will be ready for kindergarten this coming fall.  I can't believe he is growing so fast, but each phase of life for us just gets better and better!

Since I am on a soup kick, leave me soup recipes if you have them!

Night night!

Christmas parties and snow!

We started out our day on Friday with snow.  It was such an exciting day of school Christmas parties and snow made it perfect.

Hayden's face was priceless when he saw Santa bust into the preschool classroom!

These two buddies were having a serious conversation.

After Hayden's party we went to Layla's class party.  It was so fun to meet a few moms and spend time with her teacher.

When we got home from a snowy day at school we found a package of goodies on our front porch!

It was a fun way to start the weekend!  

We had our new friends over on Friday night for a pajama party.  

We made homemade snow man pizzas!

For dessert we made pretzel kisses topped with M&M's.

We are loving this time of year!  Snow made it even more perfect!

We are hoping for more snow in the next few days.