Back to School

Both of my kids are now back to school.  I think everyone is much happier with this arrangement.  I took these photos on their first day and am finally posting...a week later.  They both look so sweet. 

As a parent it is such a joy to watch your children enjoy school. I love that they come home each day (of their 3 days each week) and tell me all about the things they did, the friends they saw and what they are learning. I hope and pray to encourage their love to continue learning each day.  

Siblings

I love that my children love to play with one another. My heart is full!   

Monarch Butterfly

Ok, I am not a nature photographer but I couldn't help but try my hand at capturing these lovely monarch butterfly's at the park this morning. I haven't seen ANY this year until today!!  Outside of my kids playing well I think this might have made my day.  What a beautiful part of creation.  

Cleaning House

I think we can all agree with the following statement: It is so hard to keep your house/room/dorm clean.  I often believe the lie that I am the only one who struggles to keep my house picked up on a daily basis.  After talking to almost everyone I am finally learning that I am not alone.  Ok, unless you have a housekeeper that comes multiple times a week, then your house might be clean.  For those 'normal' people in the world we all know that keeping up with dishes, laundry, trash, the yard, etc... is no easy task.  I am learning to give myself a bit more credit and to not be so harsh on myself.  I guess we could say that this blog post is a celebration of the rooms in my house that are clean.  Lets start with the kitchen.  The dishes are clean.  They may not be put away...but they are clean.  

 Laundry.  Oh, laundry.  I have been trying really hard the past couple weeks to not let the laundry pile up in our house.  My goal is simple: wash and put away one load of laundry a day.  I am hoping that this will minimize the massive piles of clothes laying around my room and closet.  Here is my pile from today.  At least the kids have clean clothes.  

 On to my front porch. I LOVE my front porch now that we painted the concrete a slate gray.  Sure, those flowers need to be planted but only I notice those kind of things.  Just admire the clean look...ahhh...wonderful.  

 Finally, I will say that my bathroom is OK and our living space is looking good.  The bathroom is another one of those rooms that has to be cleaned constantly. I'm talking on a daily basis.  The living space also has to be tended to on a regular basis because we have a dog...which leaves her hair behind and must be vacuumed.  Again, I am doing really well here.  

The rooms in my house that need attention: the master bedroom, basement and kids room.  The need in the kids room is mainly toys.  They need to be put away. I think all parents know what I am talking about here.  The basement...well, its a basement. Its not that bad but I still want to get rid of some unneeded items.  Finally, the master bedroom. I will admit. Its a mess.  I need to put laundry away and organize some papers. I will hopefully get to all this by the weekend....we will see. 

Lessons being learned: my house will never look perfect.  Keeping a house clean with kids is a never ending work. Be thankful that its as clean as it is.  

A Fire Fighter Birthday Party

While we celebrated Preston's actual Birthday a couple weeks ago with family doesn't mean we can't celebrate again with our friends!  We celebrated his 5th Birthday in style with a Firetruck themed party and a lot of excitement.  First, I would like to give a big shout out to my husband for decorating this awesome Firetruck cake.  I think he did a fab job!  

We took Preston's friends to visit the Richmond Heights Fire Department.  This was the best idea EVER!  Oh yes, it was Preston's idea.  Not only did the firefighters welcome the kids and their parents but they gave everyone a tour of the fire station AND let them tour the Firetruck and Ambulance.  Awesome!  Here are most of the kids at the party.  

All this equipment is SO cool.  

Preston was so excited to show all his friends the fire truck and tell them all that he knows.  Oh yes, the birthday boy was able to try on the fire fighter helmet.  He keeps telling me that he is going to be a REAL fire fighter when he grows up. I would be so proud of him.  

A quick shot of Steven and Preston. I love my boys!  

This is one happy boy.  

Oh yes, I almost forgot.  The fire department also gave each kid a sticker, junior fire fighter helmet and a gift bag with all sorts of fun stuff.  Dude, these folks are amazing.  I not only feel blessed by my fire department but totally safe and cared for.  More reason to encourage my son to enter a profession where he has to be brave, strong, sacrificial and compassionate.  I know, who knows what Preston will be when he grows up.  All I know is what I am so thankful he looks up to some great people.  

Peyton | Mommy in Training

Our little Peyton is growing bigger and sweeter with each day.  She is a great delight and blessing to our family.  While I have been super busy preparing for Preston's big Birthday Party this weekend I took some time out to photograph our little girl with her little baby.  She is sweet and kind, taking great care in every detail to love and protect her baby.  I love seeing this side of her shine through.  While I was more of a 'tom boy' as a little girl I find great delight in seeing my girl want to be a mommy.  Perhaps this is encouraging to me because it makes me feel like I am doing a good job.  Regardless, here are a few pictures of our sweet little girl.  Oh yes, I promise to post pictures from Preston's big Birthday Party.  It is going to be EPIC.  

Playing with my kids and their favorite toys

Has it really been 5 days since my last post?  So sorry.  I always start each week with a list of 'goals' or 'task items' to accomplish...lets just say I didn't get too many of these items finished this week.  I have been busy folding laundry, cleaning the kitchen and throwing away junk to keep to my list. I still have a whole bin of papers that need to be filed...maybe I'll get to that next week.  Anyway, I have also been busy playing with the kids and trying to spend some quality time with them before they head back school.  I'm so excited for them to be back in a 'normal routine' but will miss that extra time we can spend together.  Even as I type this post I realize that in 2 weeks I will be up and getting my son ready for school. Crazy.  

Since I have been spending some extra time in my kids playroom and not blogging I have come to notice and wanted to document some of their favorite toys. I think our readers will like them.  A couple of these toys may remind you of your childhood.  Oh yes, all of these toys were either given to my kids or simply found at a garage sale.  Excellent.  Note: I did not document any of Preston's train collection.  I'll save that for another post.  

Here we have a couple of our favorite books.  First we have the Brimax Books Show Baby Series.  They were published in the late 70's.  I kept one of these books, Mealtime, from my childhood days and I am currently trying to find more on Amazon.  We now have said book along with Bedtime, Playtime and Knowing.  I still have about 8 more to go. I'll keep you posted.  Oh yes, anyone recognize that lovely phone.  I'm not sure when it was made but it sure does remind me of my childhood...and the Toy Story movies. I found this at a garage sale for 50 cents. 

 One more set of photos.  This little learning box on the left is GREAT.  It goes through all the letters in the alphabet and puts them to song.  Peyton can sit and listen for a while.  I'm talking at least 15 minutes which is great.  This item was a gift from a friend.  Finally, no house would be complete without Mr. Potato head.  We also have Mrs. Potato head so each child has a friend.  Again, one was a garage sale find for $1 and the other was a gift from Grandad.  

What are some of your favorite toys?  

Preston is 5

This boy turned 5 years old today!  Preston is full of life and has an endless amount of energy.  We love him very much and are so excited for the next 5 years.  

Its a Birthday Weekend

Its a Birthday weekend at the Dalbey house.  We are excited to celebrate my mom's Birthday tomorrow, Preston's Birthday on Sunday and my dad's Birthday on Monday.  Wow!  Oh yes, two of our nieces just had their Birthday's yesterday.  Its almost too much to remember...but somehow we do every year!  To kick off the celebration I went out to lunch with my mom, Grandma, sister and girl nieces.  I will post photos from our adventure tomorrow.  Today, Preston and I went to Target to pick out a new toy with his Birthday money from Grossi (Great Grandma Dalbey).  He chose a super cool Fire Dept Water Unit Truck.  Here are a few pictures that I think capture the boys excitement about his new toy.  Thank you, Grossi, for your loving Preston!