Julia's First Day of Preschool

Today was Julia's first day of preschool! It's hard to believe that she's old enough for school! My baby girl is growing up! She's in the 2 1/2 year old class so she'll go two days/week for 3 hours. It's the same preschool the other girls went to and we love it there. She felt very comfortable this morning and seemed to have had a great day! No tears for anyone!

Two Wheelin' & Summer Fun

Emma casually mentioned that she wanted to learn to ride her bike without training wheels back in July. We put her off a few weeks with the move and all but now that we're settled I decided it was time. I had hoped Paul would take on this task but he never got around to it so one day I grabbed the wrench and off came the training wheels. Lily had decided she wanted to learn too and so she decided to go first. She screamed for the entire minute and a half she was on the bike so I made her get off. She can try again when she's feeling braver. So it was Emma's turn and though she wasn't entirely comfortable she did well. We went out the next night and she tried again and this time she actually rode some on her own. That was about 2 weeks ago and though she's no expert she's doing great. She has some trouble steering and using the brakes -she'd much prefer just to run into the grass, anyone's grass that is. So..we're working on those things. The other night she and Paul took a bike ride together..so cute! Here are some pictures of the bike ride and some random pictures of the other kids playing on the swingset.

Ikea is NOT the New Black

We had plans to hang out with our good friends the Dickey's today and Frances had a fabulous idea that we should load up the families (there would be 4 adults and 7 kids between us) and take a road trip to Ikea. I was all about it since I have been dying to go to Ikea since I heard it was open. Dying I tell you...in fact I've mentioned to Paul about 10 times that I was sure we'd find our playroom storage solutions at Ikea if we'd only go. He was a little less excited than me and I think her husband was even less excited than Paul but whatever..they agreed to go. So, we packed some snacks and loaded up the kids and off we went. The trip down was uneventful and we got to Ikea with only one potty stop. Excellent. We grab some carts, check out the childcare area and planned our attack. Since we could only leave the kids for an hour (we later (much later) found out you can leave them in more than once as long as there is 30 min between hours) we decided we'd keep them all with us until we couldn't stand it any longer. The older 4 kids could go into the area, leaving the little (but loudest) three. Not bad.

Ikea was just as I remembered it - big, lots of people and oh so many things that I just have to have. We headed upstairs to the showroom and began to look around. The main things on my list were storage solutions for the playroom and a computer desk. Right away I found some bookcases I liked but kept looking. We made our rounds upstairs and managed not to lose any kids (a big win) and actually found a storage system that would accommodate our needs in the playroom. Score one for Ikea! And it was reasonable priced! Score two for Ikea! We proceeded downstairs dropped the big kids off and set out for the Marketplace. Oh, the Ikea marketplace..so full of junk you don't need but is so cheap that you feel like you do need it. I was looking for some storage baskets for said storage unit so I hunted. And hunted. And couldn't find. Then we went to the self service area to check out our storage units. And they were out of stock on two of the shelves we needed. What?? Our time was up so we had to grab the kiddos and since kids eat free this weekend (!) we decided to eat before picking up the big stuff. After dinner and depositing the big kids back in the child care area we head over to get the big boxes. We find out the storage boxes are out of stock and "have been for a while now" and that the 2 shelves are also out of stock and will arrive in 8 weeks. Great. Just great. So much for getting the playroom organized this weekend. We decide to go ahead and get the big shelving unit that is conveniently packaged in 3 boxes. We grab them, check out and go to load up the truck (did I mention Steven has a truck - yay!) As Paul is loading in the boxes he notices one is damaged. This is not good. We have 10 min to get new boxes and get the kids. Paul takes all the boxes back in and of course they have no more on the shelf and "even if we had some up high, we don't get them down until 9pm..you can come back tomorrow to get one" is what we were told. What? Even if you had it you wouldn't get it down for us? Apparently that's how they roll at Ikea.

I'm so, so bummed. I loved this storage collection and to order it online would cost me $160.00 in shipping. Yes, $160!! I get that they are going to be out of stock on some things but they should put something on the displays in the showroom if they are going to be out of something for 8 weeks! Anyway..now I'm so over Ikea and I don't know if I'll be going back in 8 weeks to get my shelving system..maybe I'll find something better. So there Ikea.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Last night we took the kids (& Gagi) to a Durham Bulls baseball game for some old fashion family fun. One of the local chapters of my mom's nonprofit was getting some of the ticket proceeds so she suggested we go. I have been thinking all summer it would be a fun family outing so I was definitely in when she suggested it. The weather couldn not have been more perfect. We even got to wear hoodies when the sun went down! It happened to be Carolina night at the game so the girls were thrilled when the UNC Dance team and Cheerleaders performed between innings. We didn't eat beforehand because, you know, you have to have hotdogs at baseball games, right? Except that the kids just wanted pizza so we ate that. And snow cones. Whatever. We sat in the outfield (seats 2 for 1!) but we were pretty close to the field. And close to the playground. Which was a hit - especially for Julia.

The girls had a great time. They didn't really get what was happening on the field but they did like the atmosphere. There were a lot of people to watch and music and cheerleaders and all that. Jacob, on the other hand, not so fun. We talked about one of us staying home with him and we really should have done that. He is at a super difficult age to take to events like that. He is so busy and won't sit still at all. Plus it was close to bedtime. Thankfully we could take strollers in but it was still a tad difficult to take him. Next summer I'm sure he'll be better and we'll definitely go again. It really is great family fun! Pics to follow....

Oh and I learned that if you don't have tickets just hang out by the ticket booth. We had no less than 3 people either offer us free tickets or discounted tickets!

Fall is in the Air

Oh Fall..thank you for making a surprise appearance today. I know you are just teasing us and that bully Summer will be back before we know it but I do appreciate you today. It was fun to break out pants today even though it made me realize how tall Emma got since last year (and made me run to the store to buy her more pants since apparently it's not right to have pants graze your ankles). It's nice not to hear the hum of the a/c for today. So, thank you..I've had quite enough of summer...the heat, the humidity, the pool towels, the sunscreen so feel free to make your return sooner rather than later, 'k....

Diversity 101

One of the really cool things about living where I do is that it is very, very diverse. Much more so than when I was growing up here and much more so than I really realized when we first moved back to the area. Today I had the pleasure to go on a field trip with Lily's Kindergarten class. They went to the library across the street from the school and got to hear a special story time and take a tour of the library. Very cute. I haven't had too much interaction with her class this year so I was excited to meet her friends and to put faces with the names of kids she talks about. I knew from the names on the class roster that there must be an interesting mix of kids in her class. I also knew there was a lot of boys. ;So, I was really excited to actually see the mix of kids in her class. There are 16 boys and 9 girls. There is also an awesome racial mix in her class - white, African American, Hispanic, Asian and Indian..with no one group really being the "majority". I love that she's going to school with all kinds of kids and that she thinks it's so cool that she gets to tell me how to pronounce their names. I love that she thinks her bff, Alyna, "looks just like me and is so pretty" (she's Asian by the way with dark eyes and dark hair). I love that to Kindergarteners its all one world and everyone is the same. I think we could all learn a lot from them.

OMG Pie

Paul & I first had "The Pie" right after Emma was born. Our Sunday school teachers brought us a meal and for dessert she brought this fabulous pie that we couldn't stop talking about. We raved about it so much that she brought us another one a few weeks later. God Bless her.

We couldn't forget The Pie. Paul and I would reminisce about the goodness of The Pie. I longed for the recipe but didn't have it and you know google wasn't so popular back then. Fast forward a year and a half and I was pregnant with Lily, living in MA. My 2 besties came to visit and one brought with her "The Sweet Potato Queens Big Ass Cookbook." And would you believe the recipe for The Pie was in there! So we made it while they were visiting and Oh! My! Goodness! We all loved, loved The Pie.

For awhile every time my BFF visited she requested The Pie and so I'd happily make it for her. But it's been some time since it's been requested and so I haven't made it in forever. I hosted bunco this week and I was looking for a good dessert recipe when I remembered The Pie. I thought, yes, I'll make it. And Oh! My! Goodness! It was So! Good! Just as I remembered...creamy, nutty, oh so yummy. So, dear friends I want to share the recipe with you. It's easy and super yummy..just please don't think about the calorie content, 'kay.

OMG Pie - makes 2 pies

1/2 stick of butter
coconut - about 7oz or half a big bag
pecans - about 1/2 or so - more if you love 'em
2 pie shells - any kind
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 block of cream cheese
16 oz of cool whip
12 oz. caramel sauce

Melt your butter and spread out your coconut and pecans on a cookie sheet. Toast in oven - I think I do about 400 for about 10 min or until coconut gets nice and pretty brown. Mix together the cream cheese and the sweetened condensed milk until nice and smooth. Add in the whipped cream. Wait for the pecan/coconut mixture to cool a little before you move on to assembling the pie. Pour 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture into the bottom of each pie shell. Top each with a 1/4 of the coconut mixture and drizzle caramel sauce on top. Then top with more cream cheese mixture and the remainder of the coconut mixture. Freeze until ready to serve.

That's it my friends, simple, easy and while your hips may never forgive you your friends will love you!