Need some cheering up?

I do! I have had a terrible couple of days. Work, friends and family are all stressing me out. I won't bore you with the details but I will tell you what cheered me up today. Mrs. H (the teacher assistant at the twins' preschool) told me this story this morning in car circle.

Stella and Thomas were sitting side by side in a bean bag reading a book. Stella had the book and you could tell Thomas wanted it. Thomas made a move to hold the book and Stella quickly said, "I know what you are going to do mister, and don't even think about it!" Mrs. H said she had to laugh out loud:-)Where does she get that from??

Enjoy your long weekend!
Amy

Wizard of Goz

The twins new favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz. They ask to watch it all the time and they are learning all the songs. Miss Kelly brought treats for the twins when she came over on Monday....a car for Thomas and red ruby shoes for Stella. She puts them on, and skips down the hallways singing "We're off to see the wizard...". So cute!!



You will notice that she calls it "The Wizard of Goz!"

XXOX,
Amy

Teacher saga, the finale

I received a call from the head teacher at the twins preschool today. It turns out she will be taking over the class from Mrs. C. Hmmm, what do you think happened? Where is Mrs. C. going? I bet another parent complained. I think I was right with my gut feeling on this one. Their new teacher is Mrs. L and she is out of town this week but will take over the class next week. I'll let you know how it goes.

XXOX,
Amy

Ta Da!!

Here is my new hair. The stylist blew it out and it feels so nice:-)

What do you think?

Amy

These are so fun!

I love this poll tool I just discovered!


I still need your advice in what to do about the twins teacher. Right now, "Relax and wait it out" is in the lead and I don't know if I can do that!

XXOX,
Amy

Ana Tooka

I have a million things I should be doing which is why I am not doing any of them and am updating my blog instead. We had such a nice morning with Melissa and Sarah. The kids played outside in the pool and on the slip and slide and the adults were able to chat for a bit.

We also had to go to Target to buy some sneakers for school and look what else we brought home:

Stella informed me that her Tiger's name is Ana Tooka.

I need to explain something. When I was little (and even big too!) my mom and I would be in a store and she would say, "Amy, look! That bear wants to come home with us!" Now, Stella is saying, "Mama...this tiger needs to come home with us. She told me she is lonely here in Target."' How can I argue with that?? Thomas picked out some Scooby Doo cars and trucks. It was a great day.

Tomorrow I am getting my hair done and I am cutting bangs! Hmmm, maybe I will post a picture if it looks ok.

XXOX,
Amy

Maybe he will be an engineer?

I wanted to share this picture of Thomas' cars. We have these lines/rows of cars all over the house. It truly says "Thomas was here". I am sure if I measured the space in between, they would all be equal. Stella the vet and Thomas the engineer?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. We are off to spend some time at the pool with Melissa and Sarah!

XXOX,
Amy

Bunny Hats

The twins made these cute bunny hats at school today. (The teacher can't be that bad, right??) I tried to get some cute pics but Thomas looks like he is going to cry and Stella's eyes are closed....however, you get the idea!


Tony said he drove up and they were standing outside waiting for him with these hats on. How cute!!
XXOX,
Amy

Teacher saga continues...

So I wrote to Mrs. C. and asked why the kids can only have water for lunch and she writes back, "sugar, hydration, spills".

I do not even know what to say to this.
Amy

Take my poll:

Am I crazy?

Before you answer "Yes" too quickly, let me explain. I don't like the kids preschool teacher. Yes, it is day two. Yes, I tend to be a psycho about my kids. Let me try to explain why. I had heard that she was very structured, which is good. But we don't send the kids to school to learn. Tony and I have always made it a priority to expose the kids to new experiences and therefore they are brilliant because of us! I would much rather have a teacher that lets them paint themselves and play with messy play dough. Then we learn that the kids can not bring their own backpacks to school. They have to carry these white canvas bags that they all made together. I tried to be a good sport about that but the twins want to bring their new backpacks to school. Then....we get a note that the kids can only have water with lunch and snack. Hmmmm, I understand that they want the kids to have a nutritious lunch, but please do not dictate what they can and can not drink! Also, you should see her supply list. She specified the name brands that she wants....'Huggies' wipes. What about Publix brand? What about Pampers? Lastly, it is her voice. I can not take it.

Ok, now I feel better. We requested a classroom change so we'll see what happens.
Amy

1st Day of School

We had a great first day of school. I was in high gear last night getting everything organized. Lunches and backpacks were packed:


Outfits were laid out and back up outfits too:


Note the big boy and big girl underwear!!

The kids were up and ready to go this morning:


Yes, La La wanted fruit and waffles too!

I tried to take some pictures but we were running late (of course!) and the sun was in their eyes. Still...aren't they cute??



The kids were exhausted when they got home. They said they had a good time and Stella even shared a new song....something about monkeys and alligators (right up her alley!). Their teacher, Mrs. C, sent a note home reminding me that Stella needs to be in closed toes shoes! Does she even have any?? How am I going to get that little princess in sneakers?? They are both in the 'Cottontail' classroom and today they made cute bags with rabbits and their names on them. I will post some pics tomorrow. They really are getting big too quickly.

XXOX,
Amy

Maybe she will be a vet?

Another addition to our family...we have La La the cheetah!!


We are going to have to move to a farm!!
XXOX,
Amy

Meet Your Teacher

We met the twins new teacher today, Mrs. C and we all really liked her!! Kelly had the kids dressed cute and ready to go:



We headed to the classroom to explore:






Looks like we are going to have a great school year!

XXOX,
Amy

Words are not necessary...

I Love my Friends!

Tony was just asking why we still had Sidney's birthday present sitting on the kitchen table. Well, I have a tendency to get things in the mail a little bit late. Some people may have a problem with that...but not my friend Angela. The twins birthday was in April and today we get a big surprise in the mail:

I love you Angela!!!!




... and Sidney will soon be getting a "Happy 4 year 2 month Birthday" package!!

XXOX,
Amy

Thank You Grandma Stella!

The twins received a package from Grandma Stella and Grandpa Kerry today! I took some fun video of Daddy opening the box and their reaction:

They loved everything!! I probably do not have to tell you that Thomas loved his cars...

...and Stella loved her books!

Thank you Grandma Stella and Grandpa Kerry!! We love you and can not wait to see you at Thanksgiving.

XXOX,
Amy

Introducing...

Stella has been naming all of her animals. We have Ruby the hammerhead shark, Nikolas the bear, Sandy the dog and of course her favorite...Baboo the pink bear (I think it is a bear??). This past weekend we acquired a new lamb from Target. Introducing....Laura!


Laura has come everywhere with us and is introduced to any stranger that looks at Stella. Blu has even befriended her!

Our family is expanding:-)

XXOX,
Amy

Update: We now have three new pretend kittens...'Julie', 'Frankie' and 'Toby'. Where does she come up with this stuff???

This time of year...

When I first moved down to Florida from New York, this time of year was the hardest for me. In upstate New York, I could smell the fall coming. The breeze became cooler, football season began, back to school shopping to do and the leaved changed colors. In beautiful Orlando, football season began and I went back to school but the other tactile treats were missing.

After 10 years, I have truly become a Floridian. Now it is the humid heat that warms your bones and the predictable afternoon rain showers that tell me it is the beginning of a new school year.

So much to do to get ready for the school year!! I am not at all prepared to begin teaching...I am too busy getting the kids ready. The kids got new haircuts for back to school. For Stella, a cute bob, and for Thomas, a number 2 buzz all around! Here is a cute video of the two of them with their new do's in the tub. (Just ignore the crazy guy at the end:-)

Tony is feeling better each day and so are we as a family. Me and the kids spent a nice day today with Papa and Gigi at the pool. They are over in Orlando meeting up with a friend from New York. No pics:-)...I was too busy watching the two little fishes swim around.

Have a great rest of the weekend!
XXOX,
Amy

Back to life, back to reality...

I am so happy to report that Tony is home from the hospital. He is healthy and very relieved to be home. We just need to figure out what caused the seizure. We think it was some medication that Tony was taking but we will find out more this week at some follow up appointments.

Needless to say, the kids were out of sorts this week. They were busy being SPOILED by Papa and Gigi (trips to the pool, playing in the rain, endless treats, etc.)When we came back home, they were tired! This morning we just hung around the house. Thomas played with his cars and trucks and Stella played with all her stuffed animals. They even asked to take a nap:


However, once they woke up, they were ready to have some fun. Since we missed our weekend visit to the pool with Melissa and Sarah, we called them up and went to Monkey Joe's. We arrived at 5pm and there was a sign on the door saying they close at 5:45 for a private party. How frustrating!!

We played for our forty five minutes and then ran around the mall. We ended up having a blast.

Thomas and Sarah were being so sweet....holding hands, sharing and following each other around. I tried to snap some pictures but you can imagine how that went.

Shhhh....I think we are getting back in to our routine. Thank goodness!! Keep Tony in your prayers; we still need to figure a couple things out.

XXOX,
Amy

Tony

Tony had a seizure Tuesday night and he was admitted to the hospital. We are trying to figure out what caused it and if it will happen again. He is ok but I think we are both overwhelmed. Thank you so much to Erin and Kelly who saved my life last night and helped me so much with the kids. They are now safe and sound with my parents in Clearwater. They think they are on vacation!! Keep Tony in your prayers.

XXOX,
Amy