Katelyn's Veteran's Day Program

The whole third grade at Katelyn's school put on a Veteran's Day program in honor of all the men and women who have valiantly served our great nation. Family and friends were invited to attend. They handed out these cute invitations that the kids had made and decorated. My grandpa Belt, my mom, Stephanie, Jaerick, TJ, Matthew and I were all there to root Katie on. The program went rather smoothly as each child did great on their parts and sang their little hearts out! Katelyn did a great job! During a part of the presentation they sang the military songs and had members of the audience stand if they had served in that area of the armed forces. I loved watching my grandfather stand up when the navy song was sung. He's such a wonderful man and has done so much for his family even in preserving our freedoms. He is a WWII veteran. I remember after getting to know Zack better I thought his personality reminded me of my grandfather and so I knew he was a good man to marry. Just a little side note.

After the presentation Katelyn showed us all the pieces of art work she decorated around the gym. I am always impressed by how much effort this little miss puts into the things she is given. She sure is a hard worker! Lately she has been asked to do many new things and just blows me away by how well she does and the effort she puts into it.

Preschool: Number 3

Today was again my turn for preschool. This time I decided to let the kids start by playing outside since it was such a nice day and I was in the middle of nursing when preschool was to begin. The only mistake in that was they really had a blast outside and were a little hesitant to come back in! We started out singing songs that related to 3: three little kittens, three blind mice, rub-a-dub-dub, etc. I had the kids act it out, which really made them pay more attention! Then we all headed over to the table to learn a little. I drew threes on their papers and then they traced over them with crayons and eventually we glued yarn to the paper in the shape of a three. I also had them wrap three crayons together with a rubber band and they added a little more pizazz to their pictures. We used toothpicks and made triangles and I showed each of them how a triangle has three sides. I handed out a snack of ants on a long in which there were three ants on each log (celery, peanut butter and raisins). We counted items of three around the room and on our fingers. I then told them the story of Goldilocks and the three bears with all the actions and sound effects. I didn't have the book and just told my own version but boy did they enjoy that! Joshua recited the story later with all the details! It was great I didn't have to make sure everyone saw the pictures or anything and they were all excited and laughing throughout. I then handed them all three large circles, three small circles, three small squares and three small triangles and told them to make a snowman. They all were very creative and turned out so unique to each child. It seemed to make them all happy and they learned a little bit too. Now I get three weeks off until it's my turn again! This type of oreschool works out great for me.

Preschool: Letter C

Today was my turn for preschool. A few of the ladies in the neighborhood have started doing preschool/a play date. We aren't too structured but the kids love it! There are a total of five kids so it is pretty easy. I was responsible for the letter C. This is what we did: I drew a C on construction paper for each child, traced it in glue and then the kids put cotton balls on the C, I read them the story of the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, we counted all the food the caterpillar ate and then made caterpillars out of an egg carton for the body, google eyes, a fuzzy ball for the nose and pipe cleaners for the legs. I have to admit that I have never realized it was a caterpillar not a catepillar! We went outside and raced little matchbox cars on the back porch (the boys really loved that!) and played Crocodile Can't get me: where one child is it and the rest have to try to get across the lawn before the crocodile gets them. I let each of them have a chance being it which was a life saver! Then we had a "snack", they ate a twix bar cause chocolate starts with C. We then played pin the nose on the clown which everyone wanted to do twice. I had lots more ideas but not enough time. I will do more preschool on Thursday but will focus on the number 3. It should be fun and I have plenty more ideas to work on for the next time.

Anyone that is interested in preschool websites for activities for their kids, here's a list:
dltk-teach.com
kidzone.ws
everythingpreschool.com
preschoolrainbow.org
preschoolexpress.com
mommynature.com

Let me know if you have any good websites in addition, I always want more ideas! Thanks.

Staheli Farm's Corn Maze

We finally made it out to the Staheli Farm's Corn Maze! It took awhile to get us all out there but everyone enjoyed themselves. Monday nights are only $5/per person so I highly recommend going then. They have many activities for everyone: corn maze, petting zoo, playground, rope swing, dancing, and of course a farmer's market. Next year we'll go before Halloween and buy our pumpkins for our jack-o-lanterns there. Oh, I almost forgot, we also made caramel apples when we got home but I didn't realize they have to sit for an hour in the fridge so we'll be enjoying them when the kiddos get home from school today!

Happy Halloween

Our kids had a wonderful Halloween. We were very busy throughout the day: a football game (Taylor sacked three boys), Monica's baptism, Jasten's birthday party, dinner at Grandpa & Grandma Belt's house, trick-or-treating (for four hours!!! Yuck!) and a visit to Brian & Kelsey's house to see our newest addition to the family, little baby Hadley (she was born Wednesday- October 28th 5am. She is 7 lbs 6 oz and 20" long.


The kids got way too much candy but had a blast running around and playing late into the night. I'm using Joshua's candy as motivation to potty train so far so good!

Halloween Parade 2009

Today was Katelyn and Taylor's Halloween Parade at school. They walked the track in their Halloween costumes while all of us parents and younger siblings watched out for our little ones! They went in descending order so it took a little while for my kids to come out but when they did they had huge grins on their faces! Katelyn was all dressed up as a witch and Taylor was a skeleton. Right after we went over to Taylor's classroom and played games. We had plenty of activities: Monster Freeze (Freeze Dance), Musical Footprints (Musical Chairs), Don't Eat Casper (Don't Eat Pete), Paper Jack-o-Lanterns, Halloween Cookie, and goodie bags. This was all before their actual party! They all seemed to enjoy themselves.

Just Thrilled!

This past Saturday I went over to the What Women Want Expo with Goldie, Stephanie, Katelyn and my mom. It was fun to see all the booths and sign up for FREE stuff! Well, I am thrilled to say I received an email and call from the lady, Susan Clawson, over at Pampered Chef booth this afternoon informing me that I won their prize drawing. Some very cute decorative plates! I should be receiving them in the mail shortly! Wahoo! I'll post a picture after they arrive. I absolutely love pampered chef! They have some of the cutest items, I own their pizza cutter, cookie scoop, microwaveable pots/steamers and spatulas which are wonderful, I ordered their oil spritzer too. I thought I would share my good fortune!

Rough Night

William has really been struggling with sleeping at night lately. Zack set the bunk beds up so they are in an L shape after the boys were trying to jump across the room onto the other bunk bed. Yikes! Fortunately no one got hurt. It gave William better access to Joshua and has caused many problems since. William figures sleeping just isn't as fun as being awake. He hasn't taken a nap for a couple years so it isn't that he's not tired. He is rather obnoxious about sleeping. He doesn't just stay awake but wants a little company to play with. Joshua has been his buddy but usually crashes rather quickly. We've tried about everything we can think of: bed changes, removing him from the other kids, putting him to bed early, getting him up early and so on...

This is how he fell asleep a few days ago after we put him back to bed three times. I'm up for suggestions but have tried most everything already.

Our little man is 8 months old today!

Sweet baby Matthew is already 8 months old. He has grown up so much! He is an absolute doll and loves cuddling. Matthew is scooting in circles and up on all fours. We'll need to put up a gate for the stairs pretty soon. He melts your heart every time someone comes to visit with his sweet smile! He is a joy to our family. He loves everyone and especially his Mama. I cannot seem to do much of anything unless I have the little guy with me. I think I've mastered vacuuming, sweeping, eating and anything else I need to do while carrying him around.

He is so in love with his Daddy. When Zack walks through the door he will squeal and keep complete focus on Zack until he pays attention to him and then demands to be held. Katelyn is his favorite for sure! He loves to play with her and especially swing outside with her. She takes him everywhere she goes when she's home. He even puts up with her dressing him up. Taylor always makes sure to hug his little brother and talks to him about what he has done that day. Matthew grins from ear to ear the whole time. William and Joshua love him a little too much but he seems to know how to hold his own. He sure can squeal when he needs them to let up on the loves! He loves their attention though, if they leave the room he cries for them.

Matthew is very into trying new foods and wants whatever you are eating. He seems to enjoy all kinds of new things and doesn't hesitate to try something. He really has started to get into playing with toys and enjoys grabbing things out of his little bucket. The little man is so much fun to be around! We sure do love him!

Crafts: Place Mat Pillows

Since it's Fall I've been having fun decorating a little here and there at home. Here's my shelf all decked out for the season:


I found this great idea to add a little decor to my home. The pillows I had in my front room matched my couch exactly, I wanted something that would compliment the room. I found these place mats at Kohls for $2.80 a piece, a great deal when you think about the price of a pillow.

Here's how to make your own: take a place mat and open up about 5" on one end. Stuff the pillow with regular padding for a pillow, I used some leftovers from another project, and then stitch it back up after it is as stiff as you like. It is very simple and takes just a trip to the store and about 20 minutes to make 4 pillows. They turned out really cute!