I've Been Featured...AGAIN!

About 2 years ago I did a post on some origami bookmarks I made with the boys. They weren't my idea. I just tried them out because I found them on Pinterest. {You can follow me there, too.}

Every once in while my blog stats sky-rocket and it makes me a little giddy that my post has been featured somewhere!

I'm just a lowly ol' veteran mommy-blogger of 7 or 8 years, on the brink of age 40, who posts about my average life with 3 amazing little boys and an adorable husband.

I don't fit the mold of a blogger with stats like this!
I'm not a writer.
I'm not a fashionista.
I'm not a DIY diva.
I'm not a decorator.
I'm not a blog-vangelist.
I'm not a diet and exercise junkie.
I'm not a foodie.
I don't live in a custom designed home that I can blog about.

I'm just ME!
I write like I talk.
I wear what's clean and what fits.
I may try a DIY thing or two and blog about it, but I know it's just for my own reflection.
I upfit and decorate my house practically and when I can afford it and may or may not post about it.
I write about my faith when I feel inspired to share.
I rarely write about my struggles with weight management.
I post only about tried and true recipes that 3 little boys enjoy.
I live in a very old house with REAL, functioning transom windows and floors that creek and you may hear me refer to it frequently.

My daily average is small potatuhs {250-350 visitors}. So it's always exciting when I click on my stats and see a jump like this...

Thanks for the feature, DIYcozyhome.com!

Go CTBAKERinTHEACRES.com!

So scroll back through my posts... over there on the right. =======>
You just might find another good one. ;-)

A lot can happen in a year

Game Day is finally here! Living in the heart of Gamecock Country, the excitement abounds!!! The USC Gamecocks take on The UNC Tarheels tonight at Williams-Brice.

Every one's got their tailgate plans, whether or not they actually go to the game. The stores are packed with all your Gamecock tailgate needs. The local restaurants are frying up wings, thighs, and breasts faster than Clowney's 40 yards in 4.46. And if you're cruising around downtown, periodically you'll here Cocky crow and 2001 echoing through the streets.

The college kids all have their game day outfits planned...black and garnet dresses and skirts, khakis with a dress shirt and Gamecock bow ties. The school kids proudly sport their Gamecock gear to school...t-shirts, jerseys, and mini cheerleading outfits. SEC football fans know how to flaunt it well!

Columbia is truly an exciting place to be during football season for all of us Gamecock fans.

But today is going to be a little different for us though.

Something has gone terribly askew since last football season.

You think you know your children.

You think you're doing everything right!

And then one day...

One of them shows his true colors...

{Caution:This photo could be hazardous to your health. Some viewers may find it offensive.}

I never thought this day would come. We now have a Clemson fan!!!!! But I've chosen to accept it and embrace it. {Besides, blonds look good in orange.}

Thanks to Fulton, we are now a house divided.

But  GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COCKS anyway!!!

BIG things are happening!

Remember this post?

Yeah. Well. That all kinda got put on hold for a few reasons.

#1 He just wasn't ready. There was lots of protesting and frustration on both ends, so we stopped.
#2 We went on our week-long road trip. It would have been terrible timing with all the car-riding he had to endure.
#3 Lots of external factors that have kept me from being at home and monitoring his "urges".

So. We started again a couple of weeks ago.

It's just time. He's 3-1/2 and though he STILL shows very little interest, it's got to be done. We have the el stupido rule about having to be potty trained before he starts 3K. It really gets on my nerves and completely goes against everything the pediatricians say. Sam and Fulton were no breeze to train either, but they were trained well before the start of 3K and I STILL didn't like that rule. It puts too much unnecessary pressure on the child and the parent.

Any who...so here I am. In the throws of POTTY TRAINING for a THIRD and FINAL time. Oliver does very well with prompts, reminders, and rewards, but has yet to let me know that he feels the "urge". Without fail, the second I leave him unattended to oh, I don't know...shower, get a cup of coffee, fold 1 of my 30,000 loads of laundry...heaven forbid, he decides it's time to poop and goes in his pants or on the floor. UHHHHHHG! Now, we haven't had that many accidents and I realize it'll take time, but it's all so stressful. I end up feeling like a failure if I miss the BIG moment. Why is parenting such a freakin' mind game????

I have so many friends who have sent their children to Grandma's for a week in the summer only to have them return fully potty trained. I also know a few who let daycare handle it. And then there are the ones whose children woke up on their 2nd birthday and just hopped on the toilet, never looking back at diapers. Well, all I have to say is...that sho ain't my reality and hats off to the mommas in the trenches. WE ROCK!

Next BIG thing...

Do you remember the day the Berlin wall came down? Well, Saturday was about as emotional as that day. It was a very monumental day in the Baker household.

It was the day the crib came down.

I knew I'd be a little sad, but geeze! I had no idea I'd be that sad.

It broke my heart to see it all piled up and just leaning against the wall. It had served it's purpose and served us well. (I have great plans for it in the future. I've pinned a few ideas.)

All I could think of was the three sweet little blond heads that had occupied that crib over the past 10 years.

We packed it up and stored it away to make room for Ollie's big-boy bed. He's movin' on up like George and Weezie!

Sam and Fulton were both out of the crib around 2-1/2 or 3 years old. But for Oliver we waited until now for several selfish reasons... he's our last so why the rush?, he has never tried to get out, and he just hangs out in the mornings until the rest of the family wakes up. It just worked for us.

But like all things... there is a beginning and an end.

It's the end of Baker babies and we're on to BIGGER and wilder adventures.

Like potty training.

Oh! and here's a sneak peak at O's big boy room color scheme. So fun!

XO,

Jello: Stir Crazy

What's this?


That's right!
It's red Jello.
Red Jello makes Oliver crazy.
Stir crazy - that is.


He finished his lunch at Muzzy's. He asked for some Jello.
There was one left in the fridge.
To help him manage a little better I gave it to him...er, um...stirred.
He went crazy.
For 20 minutes!
Crying. Screaming. Pouting.
How could I???
I stirred the red Jello!
Who knew it was taboo to stir Oliver's Jello?
By golly! He likes to stir his own Jello!
Oliver's world was upside down at the sight of his Jello all stirred into little pieces.
So what does every good mom who has just broken her child's heart do?
She puts the Jello in the microwave, of course!
She melts the Jello.
She puts it in the freezer for speedy-congealing.
We sat and waited anxiously for it to all be "all fixed up".



And it was.
The Jello and Oliver's world was "all fixed up", as he said!

I can't imagine from where he gets these idiosyncrasies!

CTBaker

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Last Week of School (Part 2)

In case you missed it...Last Week of School Part 1
Tuesday and Wednesday of last week we celebrated 2 milestones in the Montessori philosophy.

{Background info}Most Montessori schools are broken into 3 levels of blended grades - Primary (3K-5K), Lower Elementary (1st grade-3rd grade) and Upper Elementary (4th & 5th grade). They stay with the same teacher and classmates for up to 3 years. Upon completion of each level the students participate in a Bridging Ceremony. The ceremony marks the transition from one level to the next. It serves as a graduation of sorts.

It was an exciting 2 days as we were celebrating Sam and Fulton's bridging ceremonies. Sam bridged from Lower El to Upper El and Fulton bridged from Primary to Lower El. I loved that they actually crossed over a cute wooden bridge from their current teachers and over to a teacher from the next level. Our awesome principal read a sweet book to the students and parents. My favorite of the two was Koala Lou! OH MY WORD! The ladies on our row were blubbering like fools.

I can't believe how quickly time has passed. It seems like just yesterday that I wrote this post on Sam's 1st day of 5K and now he's going into FOURTH GRADE! Something is terribly wrong here.

And this little guy will be in FIRST GRADE!!

What?!?!?

Any who... the bridging ceremonies were precious and were the gateway into another phase of my boys' lives. We have been truly blessed thus far with loving, Godly teachers who have helped foster my boys in their academic journeys.
Fulton's Bridging: Primary-Lower El
Ms. Turbeville has been a dream to work with. Fulton just adores her and her assistant Mrs. Brunson. I love knowing that his teachers have prayed for him and that they have helped build a young man with a great confidence academically. He is going to do great things in 1st grade.

{More Background info} The teacher on the other side of the bridge in the video when Fulton crosses over is my dear life-long friend Phoebe. We met in 5K and went all the way through school together. I loved the parallel. She saw me through all my years of schooling as a friend and now she's there to see my boys go through. They say it takes a village...I'm glad she's in mine!  

Sam's Bridging: Lower El-Upper El
Sam's journey through Lower El has been an amazing transformation. He left his preschool and went to big boy school at a traditional public school. When we got the phone call that he had been selected through the lottery to attend the public Montessori school (located behind our house - no less) we jumped at the chance. His transition was a little rocky at first, but he has fallen head over heels in love with his new teacher Ms. Boozer (with whom I think he's a little smitten) and her assistant Ms. Rickenbaker (who has seen him through all 3 grades) and he has really wowed us. They have been so good to Sam and VERY hard to top!

 We topped our crazy year-end off with lots of hugs, as the boys will be moving on to new levels, classes, classmates and teachers.

Finally... I love doing a comparison in on the 1st day of 5K and the last day to see how much the boys have grown. I did Sam's here back in '09. Here's Fu-bird's-

So school is out for SUMMER and the Bakers are ready!!!

Stay tuned for the 2012 Baker Summer Games ;-)



 

Bake-ation: The Bakers take DC and Hershey

Over Spring Break Shan and I decided to take a road trip with the boys.

We had a few convos about what we'd do for Spring Break, but had trouble deciding what.

One night a few weeks before their break, Sam, Shannon and I were talking about different kinds of chocolate (milk, dark, white, etc.). Shannon mentioned to Sam that Hershey actually has a chocolate world and a theme park that he had visited several years ago through a business account. Sam thought that was the coolest thing he'd ever heard.

You could see the light bulb go on over Shan's head... Let's go to Hershey, PA!!!

What?!?!

Yes! We can stop on the way to break up the drive. Drive into Washington DC and stay for a couple of days. Then travel up to Pennsylvania and go to Hershey.

And we did.

We loaded the car {think Beverly Hillbillies} and headed up I-20 to 95.

Our first stop landed us in Richmond, VA.

We ate supper, spent the night, and got up early to drive into DC. We spent the days checking out some museums and doing a little sight-seeing.

DC Day 1: The National Museum of Natural History

Swallowed whole!

Oh look! There I am...suspended from the ceiling!

Oliver wasn't too sure about the giant elephant inside the building.

Shannon bought me a little surcie. You may be familiar with it... The Hope Diamond. It's a little heavy for my liking, so I don't wear it much!

What a neat place!

The boys LOVED being in the museum that featured all of the great characters in The Night at the Museum 2.

Overall Bake-ation Rating: **** 4/5 stars

Sam: **** 4/5 stars His favorite thing: The gems, rocks, and minerals

Fulton: **** 4/5 stars His favorite thing: The giant animals all over

Ollie: *** 3/5 stars His favorite thing: The fossils; especially the "bone turtle"

DC Day 2: The National Air and Space Museum

Our day started out a little rocky, as poor Fu-bird lost his IPhone (I know what you're thinking! It was my old IPhone, not activated. He used it as an ITouch for games a pics.) Any who... so he was very sad when we realized it was gone and didn't enjoy the first part of our trip to the museum.

 Pre-ride in the flight simulator...

Post-ride in the flight simulator...

It's Ollie's turn!

We opted for the Air and Space Museum over the zoo for a couple of reasons: 1 It was recommended to us because we have boys and 2 the weather was kinda iffy for the zoo. Hindsight: We should have gone to the zoo.

Overall Bake-ation rating: *** 3/5 stars Great hands-on kids area, but really just a bunch of retired air crafts too high on display to appreciate. Favorite things: The gift shop and flight simulators.

DC: Various sights and pics

Fortunately, there were several families from SC in the DC area during spring break. We were lucky enough to meet-up with one of our faves, The Verzyls!!! Sam and Fulton were so excited to see them. We played in the park across from the White House and exchanged tourist stories and ideas. It was great!!!

Shan was awkwardly excited about the picture he got of the snipers perched a-top the White House and seeing the Presidential and Vice-Presidential motorcades that we were oh-so-close to.

I was too afraid to take a picture of the motorcades for fear I'd get shot. You never know...my Canon point and shoot could have looked like a gun to the snipers.

So we hit the road and drove through the evening into Pennsylvania!!!

We woke up early and headed to every woman's dreamland HERSHEY, PA!!!!!

I was 150% giddy and even wept at the sight of the Reese's factory. My children thought I was nuts. Shannon already thinks that, but had confirmation at that moment that I am certifiable!

Our first stop...

Hershey's Chocolate World!

The ride through the virtual factory was like "It's a Small World" at Disney, but better because it was ALL CHOCOLATE!!!! There were 3-D chocolate movies, make-your-own chocolate bar, a restaurant, and a gift shop. It was totally fascinating!

Then we made our way to...

Hershey Park!!!

Picture Carowinds, with a chocolate theme. Un-be-liev-able!!! Rides, Games, Custom-made Smores (are you kidding?), a recording booth (that I was dying to go into, but got quickly shot down when we saw the line), great food, and did I mention CHOCOLATE every-where!

I didn't want to leave. And yes, we shut the park down!

Overall Bake-ation Rating: ***** 5/5 stars and worth the drive!

We concluded our trip by driving home the day before Easter. Our 10 hour trip took 12 with a few stops. We came home down 81 and the view was amazing. Such a pretty drive through the mountains. I just marveled at all of God's handiwork. Simply breathtaking.

However, cabin fever or "minivan fever" started to set in after a while and we all began to get a little cranky, frustrated, and delirious. It was evident when the highlight of our car ride was Sam's discovery in his bag of Cheetos...

Wooooooow! It looks like an arrow.

Any who... We made it home safely and it was a GREAT Bake-ation!!! I would recommend it to anyone. I'm already looking forward to our next family road trip! Hmmmm... Where should we go? Any ideas?

XO,

 







Baloney and Bullets

Happy March, y'all! March? Did I just write that?

I took a little unexpected blogging break. I have been so busy, I haven't had a chance to sit down. I started this post over a week ago and have re-started 3 times now, but I get interrupted or have to race off to do something a few minutes later.

Since I last blogged, this is what's been happening on the home front...

• The Friday after my last post, I ended up at the pediatrician with a very sick little Ollie-bird. I didn't realize how sick he was at the time, but we left the Dr. with a diagnosis of a double ear-infection and a respiratory infection. He also kept spiking a really high fever over the next few days. Fever just makes me nervous, even though it can get really high and still be "ok".

On Friday he looked like this...

And thanks to some TLC, really good meds, and an awesome pediatrician who I can call ANYtime, he looked like this by Monday...

• While nursing Ollie back to himself, I also helped style a really cute pink and green party for Just Ask Beth. Sorry! I was too busy to take any better pictures...the iphone is as good as it gets this time.

I am currently just finished working on her other daughter's Savings Account 9th birthday party. Cute idea! Here's a sneak peek...

• On the 26th of February, Shannon and I started a very intense 6 week couples bible study {I'll fill you in on that in another post}. That same evening, immediately after our first meeting, I took Shan to the airport to catch a flight to Virginia for the week. That is when I realized that I needed to be VERY well-read with The Word. I began praying for strength...lots! I can't stand it when he's gone more than a few days. I know, I sound like a wimp to all you mommas who do it all the time, but I can't help it!!! I have a SUPER husband who helps me do so much and I really miss him when he's gone. It was kind of nice to have our Bible study homework to discuss over the phone versus our usual {How was your day? Ok. Yours? Good. I miss you. I miss you too.} conversation. I kept myself very busy while he was gone. Unfortunately, house-work was not one of the areas. Working from home is a huge challenge, but to work from home with a 3 year-old underfoot and being a single parent it CAH-RAZY. That whole week the house truly looked like a bomb went off. I so wish I had taken pictures! It was pretty sad.

• The explosion in my house was partly because, about two three weeks ago I opened the Invitation section of my Etsy store. I was anticipating an order here and an order there, but HOLY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR!!! My dining room turned into a print and packaging shop! I am truly thankful!

This is what most of my weekdays have looked like...

Running to and from the post office several times a week is the most challenging...

But thank goodness for good EMPLOYEES! And I pay them in yogurt from 32 Degrees!

• Last week Two weeks ago was also deadline week for the school's auction. I have donated all the graphics for the auction and it seems that everything was due to be finalized last week. I have done the save the date card, invitation, bid book, and promotional poster, as well as donate a party package to go along with Fulton's class project. You can view our bid book here...

• Last week Two weeks ago was also book report week for Sam and Fulton! Sam did a biography on Michael Jordan and Fulton did a Dr.Seuss report on "What Was I Scared Of?".  And they were BOTH due on the same day. And of course it was while Shan was out of town. But we pulled it off thanks to Muzzy! We tag-teamed and got it done...I worked with Sam and she worked with Fulton.

• Shan made it home safe and sound late that Friday night and we enjoyed a rainy Saturday with no obligations. It helped us get back on the same page and ready for the upcoming week.

• On that Sunday, we had Sam's basketball trophy ceremony and team party. Those boys worked very hard this year and came a LONG way. I am looking forward to seeing how much they grow; both physically and in their basketball skills in the next year. Shannon was as great of a coach as I thought he'd be and truly loved every minute of the season.

 He IS his father's son

 St. John's 3rd Grade Boys

 Quite the characters!!!

Love this! We've been waiting on this day for 9 years. Shan has always dreamed of coaching his boys in his favorite sport.

Proud Sam!

• Last week, my little Fu-bird had some dental work done and wins the award for the BEST 6 Y.O. PATIENT EVER. I think I could learn a lot from this little guy. He is trusting, brave, and rarely complains when he is sick or in discomfort. He knows that the Drs. are just trying to help and never flinches...even when there are blood-curdling screams from the child in the room next door. I don't know how that doesn't bother him because it drives me crazy and I'm not the one in the chair or on the table!

•  Then on top of all that...Baseball season has begun! We have a T-baller and a Kids-Pitcher and have, yet again, taken up residence at the ball field.

• Tonight is my 2012 Holiday Market kick-off meeting. I cannot believe it! Didn't I just write a post on the market?

So that's that! Be on the look out for some more updates. Hopefully, it won't take me 3 weeks to post again!