Amber Waves of Grain

Today was Keegan's first day of Kindergarten! !! Here he is all ready to go!: He has to wear school uniforms this year.... solid polos in blue, grey, or white ( boring, but I get it ): It was bittersweet dropping him off. The whole family walked him to his classroom. We said our good-byes in the hallway. I didn't cry then but got a little choked up. I made it to the car without crying. Then Kennedy got upset and said, " I miss Kee-Kee! ". I said, " Me too. " and cried a little under my big sunglasses before driving away. I was sad but quickly realized how 'easy' being down to just 2 kids would be and I was excited to go to Target with only 2! I picked him up before lunch today ( the first day is just a half day ) and we celebrated by going through the McDonald's drive-thru. Keegan came home with his new medal from the day: It reads, "I survived the first day of Kindergarten." I think I should have a medal to...

Here's the 2nd installment of 2011's Christmas Gift Ideas ! Again, the first five ideas are here: LINK . Here are the next five ideas! 6. Breakfast Theme Gift- - I love all the breakfast stuff at Williams Sonoma ( Link ). I think it would be fun to combine some of these and give a breakfast theme gift to a family. Pancake molds (everything from jungle animals to Star Wars). ($18-20) Pancake pen ($10). You'll want this to help fill in the crevices in the molds. Pancake & waffle mixes ($9-12). Several varieties to choose from. The sky's the limit with a breakfast theme. We even recently saw Red Velvet pancake mix at Old World Market. Yum. 7. Robot Magnet Scene - How fun would this be for the child in your life? And, it's quiet... and doesn't require batteries. Score! There are 35 magnets and 4 scene backgrounds for a child to be imaginative with. Available at Pottery Barn Kids ( LINK ) or Amazon ( LINK ) for $14.42. They a...

Keegan starts Kindergarten tomorrow! (*insert tears here*) Before he leaves me for full time school for the next 13+ years, I arranged a special day for just the two of us.... without Kennedy & Savannah! Per his request, we went bowling! He was super excited: I was thankful for the ramps for Keegan: That's right, I beat a 5 year old! (thanks to the bumpers): If you can't see the background, we are the only people there under the age of 100: Then we hit the arcade because that's what little boys like to do: And, we met Nathan for lunch at Steak N' Shake where clearly I wasn't counting calories. Keegan enjoyed sharing this cookie sundae and made less of a mess than I thought he would. We also stopped by Toys R Us and had some reading time at home. I loved having a special day with my fun little boy! And, tomorrow..... a new season of life begins!

We have some big news!! That's right, our family of 5 is now becoming a family of SIX !! We are happy to announce the newest family member..... the butler : The butler is a special treasure that I inherited from my friend, Mindy. He's got quite the story. Mindy's dad salvaged him through his work from a house that had been vandalized. Hence, the bullet marks : And, one eye that was shot out, but replaced with a fake one that Mindy's mom made ( she's an impressive fake eye-maker !): I love that he's so full of character . And, he's quick to hold your keys or cell phone when you visit our house. I also love that he's from my friend, Mindy. I imagine he is FULL of fun stories after living in her house for so long. If only he could talk! The best part is that he's potty trained and even sleeps through the night-- which is a welcome addition to this family!

Nathan & I finally made it to the State Fair last night.... and WITHOUT KIDS ( a true miracle ). The fair was incredibly busy. And, we were there with a throng of screaming pre-teen girls who were there for the Big Time Rush concert. Apparently, I'm not hip enough to know who they are . But, based on all the screaming girls, they are something worth talking about. The lines were so long that I only ate two things: 1. Steak on a stick. This is my default food because for $6, you can't go wrong. And, this year it wasn't on a stick so it was easier to eat! For those of you who want it, it's on the main street about halfway down, right next to the gyro booth. The tent has a blue and white striped awning. Always a good pick. 2. Fried Ice Cream . This was this year's signature food so I felt the need to try it for my readers. It's $5 (or $6 if you get the waffle bowl). It was mostly just ice cream with way too much chocolate syrup on it. T...

I recently moved up from the iCheap phone to an actual iPhone!! I'm hip! I'm with it! And, I love it! One app that I am enjoying is called Instagram ( LINK ). It's free too which I like even better. This is my plug for them. Instagram allows you to filter photos taken from your camera phone and then email them, twitter them (OK, so I'm not that hip yet), or upload them to Facebook. The filters are fun to play with. Here are a few samples I took. This filter was called "1977" which was the year I was born.... so this photo of Savannah reminded me of photos of me when I was her age: Fun with the kid's train set: Random.... just showing you more filters: So, if you want to be iCool like me..... add Instagram to your phone!

Nathan & I had a date night last week which ultimately ended with a trip to Walmart, because that's where you date when you have 3 kids. In the clothing dept for boys, they have a new brand of shirts called Food Fright. They are SCRATCH AND SNIFF t-shirts. Sounds like it could be fun, right? But, no. They really bother me. They had several different ones like popcorn or hamburgers. I dared to scratch and sniff the pizza one. It really smelled like pizza.... and not just any pizza. It smelled like cheap pizza . Truly disgusting . Then I saw one called PBJ time: Gross . Disgusting . Not to mention the concern I'd have if Keegan left the house smelling like food. Wouldn't dogs chase him?? On the other hand, how about the State Fair selling a t-shirt that smelled like fair food? Now that I could handle! :) And, that's today's totally random post.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I have Taco Bellophobia . Now, let me clarify. I am not afraid of Taco Bell itself. I want to love Taco Bell. Rather, I'm actually afraid of their menu . When I hear " Can I take your order, please ?", I go into panic. I'm completely overwhelmed by their menu. What is Baja? Supreme? Why do they have a volcano menu? And, what the heck is an Enchirito??? I breathe deep and order the same thing I've ordered my whole life. "2 Beef crunchy tacos, please." *sigh* So, last week we drove through the drive-thru and I let Nathan order for me. He got me a chicken chalupa supreme, and it may have changed the way I order. I think I'm finally ready to think outside the bun. Please, educate me. What do you order at Taco Bell? Think outside the bun with me. And, no refried beans, please. ( LINK to menu)

Savannah is officially FIVE months old today! She's now big enough to play in the exersaucer: She started rice cereal and oatmeal.... and has had 2 bites of peas just for kicks: She's easy-going and oh-so-sweet: And, she's just soooo fun to play with. She smiles constantly and loves attention: And, she just loves her mama!!: She can roll all the way across a room in hardly any time at all. I'm sure she'll be an early crawler like her siblings. She's still not sleeping through the night ( and I have the bags under my eyes to prove it ) , but we hope sooner than later! Happy five months, Savannah!!!!!!