Birchbox, bummers and birthdays

My September Birchbox came!  I love the Kate Spade "Twirl" perfume sample and the awesome bright cobalt blue nail polish (which I am rocking RIGHT now!) and I am excited to try the "fashion tape" samples as well.  The tape is kind of like a very thin double stick tape that apparently the fashion industry uses to secure clothing so it doesn't gap or pull.  Genius!  I may be ordering that superb invention!  I also got a soy body cream sample (it's quite large!), another hair tie (for someone else) and a tinted moisturizer, which is great for days I don't want to put on make up.  I love all my samples, and my perfume sample collection is growing so much that I may never have to buy a whole bottle of anything again!

We went to the Chilifest on Saturday, and Kirk wanted his face painted like a "kitty."  I think he pretty much ended up looking like he has a spider on his nose (I would have painted it much differently....I know, control issues).  I guess that's what you get when high school kids paint for free!  He liked it though, and he had a good time.  No chili for him, but Jeremy and I ate plenty!  

Kirk played some pretty tough football at our tailgate Saturday afternoon.  He is so funny playing with those boys, and of course his favorite thing to do is "TACKLE!"  He had a great time and no matter what happens, he still cheers on the HERD!

This was one of Kirk's last smiles I enjoyed before the HERD blew their lead over OU.  I was really bummed to watch them lose.  I know we need to hold our heads high, but it sure stinks to lose!!!  On the bright side, Kirk learned to say, "BOO BOBCATS!"  Ha!

Princess Bella had her birthday party yesterday at Pump Up the Fun.  We had a good time, and Kirk climbed and jumped his guts out, of course. Every birthday party we attend inspires Kirk to talk about "his next 4 year old birthday party..."  he has big plans, and they change everyday.  How wonderful it must be to plan your next party everyday!  

Look at these super cute cupcakes!  I love them and they were delicious!  I ate one and it made me sad that I decided to make the cupcakes for Kirk's party myself (to save some $$).  I miss Pat Bias's cupcakes so much.  The Italian creme was amazing!  Look at those little edible crowns...I love them!  I need to remember how yummy they are next year and fit them in the party budget!

Happy birthday, Bella!

Happy birthday to ME this Friday!  I don't care how old I am getting (I'll be 34!) I still love my birthday.  It has always been my favorite day of the year, and even though I don't celebrate much anymore or get big presents, I still love it.  I think growing up as the oldest of three girls, my birthday just seemed to be a special day for only me.  I remember my roller skating party when I was seven, and I remember my first sleepover with two of my friends when I was ten.  My mom bought us Lee press on nails and we spent hours trying to get them to stick.  She always let us choose what our birthday dinner was, and since we didn't have many restaurants, that meant she cooked something. I always chose pinto beans and cornbread (yummy!).  Times have changed, and although I still love pinto beans and cornbread,  I think this year I'll choose Rocco's.  HA!  Birthdays are great, and I think even though the parties die down as you get older, they are even more special because we have so much more to be thankful for.  This will be the 12th birthday I've celebrated with Jeremy by my side. I am a lucky girl.  I am happy to grow another year older with my family and I welcome all the birthdays to come.  Happy birthday to me!!

Herd Hero

So Kirk has decided that his new favorite super hero is Iron Man.  Too bad he has about 50 Spiderman toys to play with until Christmas.  He did choose an Iron Man toy when we made a "trade" for a duplicate gift he got for his birthday.  He tells me daily that Iron Man is the "leader of the Super Hero Squad, and that's why he's the best."  I told him he could tell Santa Claus that.  Ha!

We had our first MU tailgate on Saturday, September 8th (Jeremy's birthday!).  We had a great time at our tailgate and it was good to be back there cheering on the HERD.  Kirk had a GREAT time, and I think it will be an awesome season.  He loves running around playing.  Our bag of tailgating supplies keeps getting bigger...footballs, helmet, rain boots....haha!  He is too funny!

Kirk let the "parrot man" put his parrot Frances on his head for a picture.  He tried to get Frances to say, "Go HERD!"...but no luck.  He laughed the whole time and said, "Look, Mama, I'm a pirate.....ARRGH, Matey!" (PS:  Look at his super cute shirt that Cortney made!  Check out her shop on Facebook, Little Tweets Boutique!  She is working on Kirk's Halloween costume now! :) )

This picture is featured in the Herald Dispatch photo gallery from the game.  Isn't this a great shot of Kirk in action?  We had a great time, even if we only made it to half time before Kirk got really sleepy....so we headed home to bed.  Jeremy had a great birthday and the best present he got was a HERD win.  We will head back again this Saturday to cheer on our HERD!

It means so much to Jeremy and I that we can share our love for Marshall with Kirk.  He loves going to games, he really loves his "own seat" (we got him his OWN season ticket this year!), and he always says "WOW" when the players take the field.  Marshall gave Jeremy and I our best friends, amazing experiences, and each other.  We are so thankful to still be able to head into the stadium each game day.  Marshall University helped make us into the people we are today, and we are so thankful.  Granted, I do want Kirk to go off to school to become a doctor or lawyer, but I hope he will always "bleed green" like his Mama and Daddy.  Our basketball season ticket renewal letter came in the mail today...we will soon be gearing up for HERD hoops as well!  

It's time to HERO UP!

     So this weekend was supposed to be full of rest, catching up on housework and homework, and maybe a little shopping.....most of this I was able to do.  It seems that whenever I have a few weeks that make me feel like I kind of have my life under control, something happens to remind me to ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, stay on my toes.  Something strange happened to my son on Sunday afternoon in church near the end of mass.  He did not want to walk down the communion isle with me, he wanted me to "carry him."  I refused, and the amazing, mind blowing tantrum ensued.  

     He sat down in the middle of the isle first, crossing his arms.  The people behind us laughed.  I walked on like I didn't know him.  I looked back again, and he was laying face down, spread eagle on the cold marble floor....in the middle of two slowly moving lines of gawking people....some were laughing.  I kept walking, and I wanted to melt into the floor.  I still did not pick him up.  We got to the front, and Father Dean blessed him and said, "I hope you have a better day, buddy"  and he chuckled.  We went back to our pew, and several people pointed and laughed.  I think I will have to change religions.

     He kept it up to the car, kicking and screaming about just everything.  It took us 20 minutes to just get in the car.  He stiffened out, screaming and yelling, and refused to let me buckle him in.  I screamed some, which I am not proud of, and I spanked him, which I'm sure in his fit of rage he didn't even feel it.  He lost his DVD player in the car.  I took it off right then, and put it in the trunk, along with his new Iron Man toy that he   says he "loves so much."  He simmered down to a sniffle by the time we got home, and he went straight to bed for a nap.  

      He woke up back to his normal self, apparently his nap was a sort of exorcism (which I had pondered asking Father Dean to perform while I waited for his head to spin around in the car), and I had my little boy back.  I had no idea he was capable of such madness.  I was reminded of the bipolar craziness of little kiddos and how I must always make sure my "toolbox" (for dealing with behaviors) is full at school and at home.  As parents, we must be super heroes as well, and remember to keep it together when they are falling apart.  I lived through it and I learned a lot.  Expect the unexpected.  Look for the signs (I should have just quickly exited church after communion....maybe I could have saved the total breakdown from happening?) and make sure to keep tabs on sleep, meals, routines, etc.  Behavior is communication, and I still don't know exactly what Kirk was trying to tell me yesterday besides...."Mommy....HERO UP!"  Haha!  Hopefully, next time, I will.

Go Bulldogs!

So my classroom door is looking pretty awesome with my new "Mrs. Walker" bulldog hanging on it.  I put the megaphones (girls) and footballs (boys) on the door before school started, and the red and black paw print material has been on my door since last year (I chose something that I could stretch out a while since covering your door that has an odd shaped window with material is quite a task....and results in MANY burns from the hot glue gun!).  You can't tell in the picture, but the larger football at the top says, "Are you ready for some preschool?"  I've gotten lots of compliments, and I pat myself on the back each time I see it.  It's super cute, and that bulldog is going to stay there for a while!  I think I make that same face and point my finger sometimes.....haha......I love him!

We went to dinner tonight to celebrate Megan's new job as a school guidance counselor in Lincoln County.  She is excited to finally have a school counseling job, and Kirk was excited to "celebrate" ("like a party, Mama?").  We took her to one of her favorite restaurants, the Outback, and we had a great time with Erin, Zac and Bella.  It's nice to hang out as a family, and Kirk and Bella entertained us for sure!

Kirk and Bella posing for a fabulous cousins picture!

A good week for me....

I got my new awesome Initials, Inc. purse in the mail today.  It is so cute!  It is very roomy (I like a big bag!) and I am in love with chevron stripes these days.  I didn't take a picture of the bottom, but it is done in another dark gray pattern....too cute!  I already filled it up and I'm ready to go!  I need a matching wallet now!  Ha!

You should check out the Initials, Inc. website and look at their super cute stuff.  It's like Thirty One, but a little different (and I feel like now EVERYONE has Thirty One stuff!).  I like to be different.  I'm thinking about hosting an online party to collect orders next month, so if you see something you like, hold on to it and order it from my "party!!"

I got a NEW CAR!  I love it!  I have driven all over the place and still have over half a tank of gas!  My Escape was just killing me in gas going to and from Louisa everyday.  This picture does not do my new Toyota Camry justice, it is a beautiful car, and the inside is so pretty.  I'm always so nervous about big purchases, but Jeremy is so confident and handles everything.  If it had been up to me, I'd be driving a bare bones model, probably with roll up windows!  Jeremy likes nice things, and I'm so grateful that he wants me to have a car with all the extras and is super safe.  Kirk likes my new car, and says it is "awesome!"  I thought I wouldn't like driving a little car again after being in an SUV for 3 years, but I love it.  I get excited to drive it!  

I also got my August Birchbox this week!  I love the Juicy perfume sample, and I am excited to try the new razor.  The lip gloss is a little BRIGHT for me, but I can give it away and the hair "shimmer" shampoo sounds great....but I'll try it on a weekend, haha!  I just love getting the samples in the mail, and I feel like a kid at Christmas opening it up!  

I also started my class at MSU this week, and although that is a bit of a bummer, the class is "Reading in Elementary Schools" and I am a bit of a dorky nerd and I'm actually excited about a few of the assignments. I love to read and write (obviously) and all the personal narrative assignments sound interesting to me.  I really like to write, and even though I feel like I never have enough time to devote to my own school work, I actually don't mind doing it.  I guess that's why I'm a teacher, huh?

I also have to say just a little bit about my new kiddos at school.  My kids just finished their third day of preschool, so things are still a bit CRAZY.....but every year I am reminded of why I teach when I look into those little faces when I sing songs and read books for the first time and they stare at me with wide eyes and silly grins.  It warms my heart to see them so full of wonder, and I am so thankful that I get to share these things (that I've done a million times!) with them.  It refreshes me and gives me motivation to give them all my best!  Here's to hoping for a great school year!

Happy birthday to Kirk!

We celebrated Kirk's birthday yesterday at the Highlands Museum Discovery Center.  We were so glad to see so many of our friends and family there, and everyone had a great time!

Kirk climbing in the tree house

Kirk and J.D. in the coal tunnel

Randi, her mom, and Olivia shopping the grocery store

Kirk working at the train table

Dr. Walker working on his patient, his Meme!

Granny Dean, Gramma Debi, and Kirk

Randi playing a tune on the piano

snack time

Kirk was a happy birthday boy!

This was Kirk's attempt at a "nice picture with Mommy" .....oh well....

Kirk didn't take his eyes off those candles while we were all singing "Happy Birthday."

Kirk and Riley enjoying cupcakes

Kirk opened his presents later at home.  He was thrilled with his Spiderman costume!  He wore it for hours!

We had a great day!  I cannot believe that my baby boy is three years old.  It just seems like yesterday I was holding a tiny bundle in my arms.  I told him the story about being born in the hospital tonight and showed him his tiny little hospital onesie and hat.  He laughed forever, and tried his best to cram that little tiny hat on his head (it barely fit when he was a newborn!).  I know that it will seem like another blink of an eye and he will be all grown up. I hope I can cherish every day and every moment.  Happy birthday, big boy!

Ouch!

 

So, Kirk ALMOST made it to three years old without stitches.....ouch!  He fell at day care yesterday and cut his lip.  Miss Jeanette called me at work and said she thought he needed a stitch, her voice was shaky, and I know she was so nervous!  Jeremy got to Kirk quickly, and they were done at the ER by the time I got home from Louisa (thank GOODNESS!).  Jeremy said Kirk was brave and never even cried.  He was still and calm the whole time.  Jeremy said the doctor asked him if he liked Marshall football, and he said, "Yeah, me and my Mommy and Daddy go to Marshall football games!"  The doctor then told Kirk that she had stitched up a Marshall football player the day before and that Kirk was much braver than him.  HA!  I'm proud of my tough boy, but very worried that he's not too scared to take another trip back to the hospital.   How am I going to live through this wild boy?

  The stitch comes out Friday, and I've promised a big ice cream at Tropical Moon with lots of sprinkles if he's super brave again.  Something tells me he will be........