Saturday Night on the Town!!

On Saturday evening Sam and I enjoyed an evening on the town with our bunch! Our fun consisted of a 5:00 dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse (a family favorite), and a trip to Pet Land (a local pet store). We were home by 7:30! You know that you are a Mommy or Daddy if this is what your Saturday night consists of! : )
I was supposed to get to go an a date with Sam on Friday, but Nana wasn't feeling well. Without a backup babysitter we changed our plans, and we ended up having alot of fun!
In the picture above the kiddos are standing in front of Spaghetti Warehouse. Like I said, this restaurant is one of our family favorites. I am embarrassed to say that we usually eat there once a week. All of the kids love eating there, but this is Carson's FAVORITE place to go! I am pretty sure that it is because I was addicted to Spaghetti Warehouse when I was pregnant with him! We went there the day that we found out that I was pregnant, and the day that we found out that he was a boy, and probably twice a week throughout the 40 + weeks that I was pregnant with him!

Here we are in front of Pet Land in Lincoln Square. This is the only "old fashioned" pet store that I know about. The animals are well taken care of, it is clean, and the staff is very knowledgeable, and friendly. The kids think it is a real treat to visit Pet Land!

Emma Claire and Ella Cate admiring a sweet Boxer puppy.

Cade was very fond of the 11 week old Boxer puppy too, so Sam asked if we could play with him in their viewing area. He was ADORABLE, and for a split second I thought that maybe a dog like this would work with our family. I QUICKLY changed my mind as the dog was trying to eat my flip flops, and chew on my freshly painted toe nails!

Cade was so proud to be holding this puppy. I wish that we had a big enough yard and the time for a dog this big. I know Caden would love to have this puppy as a playmate!

Carson liked this puppy that looks like Colt's dog Chloe.

Emmy thought these puppies were funny because they were playing with their water bowl.

Carson and a whole flock of parakeets! ; )

This is kind of sad, but Sam and I got a kick out of this lizard that was trying to scale the wall but was going nowhere! You can see how fast his little legs are moving! He was the only creature that seemed to be annoyed with being in a cage!

Posing on the turtle in front of the pet store...Cade is too big for things like this! : (

The First Day of Preschool...Without a Hitch!

Today was the little ones' first day of preschool, and they all did great...praise God! Everyone woke up happy, they all ate their breakfast, and the girls shed no tears while I was fixing their hair (never happens). We were out in the front yard to take pictures by 7:35 this morning, and we arrived at their school at 7:50...perfect timing! Now if every morning can go this smooth I will be a happy mama!! ; )

Carson was raring to go this morning! He ran everywhere as he was breaking in his new running shoes that he has been waiting weeks to wear!

Ella Cate and Emma Claire LOVED breaking in their new running shoes too! They wore their Polo dresses to match their big bro's Polo shirt. ; )

Ella Cate (left) Emma Claire (right)...they really looked and acted like big girls this morning!

Posing with Cade before we headed up the road to their school

Walking to their classrooms to put their backpacks and nap mats away

The girls cubby and sweet backpacks...I'm sad that there is a shadow on this picture!

Emma Claire posing in the kitchen center in her classroom

Carson next to his cubby

Since the preschool hours are from 9:00-2:00 the little ones go to extended care before and after school. This morning they got to play in the church gym area. Carson walked in and immediately started his sprints across the gym.

Emma Claire started to get a little nervous and cling to Sam's leg when we walked in. To distract her, Ms. Joan, the PE teacher let her help bring out equipment. Emmy then immediately went into "helper" mode and forgot about clinging to Daddy!

Cade and I after we dropped the little ones off. I have to admit I felt a little sad. I'm really not sure why, because I know they have an awesome time at their precious little school.

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This afternoon I picked them up, and they posed in front of the church's sign.

We then came home and they watched a little bit of "The Cat in The Hat" with Mike Myers. They were so tired! The girls wanted to be right next to each other on the couch! After watching a little of the movie they started playing this little "game" that they have been playing for a couple of days. Emmy calls Ellie "baby Ella", and Emmy acts like her mommy while Ellie crawls around and does a little "baby talk" to Emma. It is so funny to watch them do this, and it keeps them entertained for quite awhile!

Carson was tired too! However he wasn't too tired to change into his Batman gear when we got home. After watching The Cat in The Hat he was dead set on making cupcakes like the cat does in the movie. Of course I had no ingredients in the house to make cupcakes, so we are planning to do it tomorrow after he comes home from school!

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Congrats little ones...you did great on your first day!! Mommy is proud! xoxoxo

Labor Day Trip to Texarkana

Saturday morning we headed to Texarkana for a quick trip. The little ones had not seen our family in Texarkana since Christmas, so this trip was long overdue! My mom and Caleb met us there.

When we arrived at MoJo's and Wister's house Grancie and Uncle Caleb were already in the pool, so the little ones wanted to hop right in! Carson LOVES playing with his Uncle Caleb!

I always forget to pack something, and this time I forgot to pack the girls swimsuit and swim diapers, so they swam in the nude. Their Mommy did this all of the time when she was their age in that exact same pool. I was told to compare pictures by more than one family member! ; )

Anytime that Grancie is swimming the little ones know they are in for a fun time! Here Grancie is getting ready to slide with Ella Cate! They did this 1,000 times!!

Mo with her grand kids (minus a few) and all of her great grand kids

The girls had a picnic on Mo's floor. She made them chicken and dumplings and vegetable stew in paper cups...gotta love MoJo! ; )



Later that evening in pursuit of a somewhat healthy meal, Sam and I headed to good ole' Central Mall in Texarkana to eat at Chik-fil-A. After eating we shopped around a bit, and the little ones had to get a cookie...of course! Cade stayed back at Mo's house to play with his cousin Emily.

Ellie happily playing with the prize machine at the mall.

Sunday morning MoJo prepared the kiddos (along with Emily) a yummy breakfast

Before we left MoJo took Carson for a ride on the 4-wheeler. They went back to Uncle Jame's property to see his pig pens. This is just what MoJo took me to do so many times as a young girl! I have so many happy memories with her and Wiss at their house!

After their ride we headed back home. We had a great time visiting!! The kids LOVE being in Texarkana!

Congrats to My MoJo!

For those who know me well you know that MoJo is my grandma. I named her back when I was 2, and to this day that is what EVERYONE calls her. Long story, but at that time in my life I am told that I loved to rhyme things, so since her first name is Jo I decided to call her MoJo to fit into my rhyming scheme. Hearing her called the name that I gave her for all these years has been very very special!
Anyway back to the point of this post...my MoJo has not had 1 cigarette for the past 10 weeks. I know that she won't mind me sharing this because she is very proud of this accomplishment. She began smoking in her early teens, and did not stop until 10 weeks ago. She had a health scare earlier this summer, and she made the decision to quit smoking. We are all so proud of her! I love you Mo!!

Meet the Teacher Night at CLC

Last Thursday night CLC (a.k.a. Children's Learning Center...a.k.a. the little ones' preschool) had their meet the teacher night. The kids knew early on Thursday morning that they were going to get to go to their school and see their new classrooms and visit with their teachers. Technically they all know their teachers that they are going to have this year. The girls' teachers from last year are moving up with them, and Carson's teacher has watched him before during my teacher inservice weeks. Anyway, they were excited all day about going to "my 'cool" as Miss Emmy and Miss Ellie say. Upon arrival into the church parking lot the excitement could still be felt as Carson bragged to the girls that his school was taller than theirs. We snatched a great parking spot and headed into the front doors. When we arrived in the lobby Miss Emma Claire broke into full blown bawling. I picked her up trying to calm her down as Ellie and Carson followed behind. We made our way to Carson's classroom as Emmy's howling continued, mind you I am at "Meet the Teacher Night" by myself as Sam attended Cade's 2 and a half hour football practice! My shoulder was wet with Emmy's tears and sweat as I screamed to ask Ms. Norma a couple of questions. We then headed to Emma and Ella's classroom where we were greeted by their teachers who I adore. The screaming ensued as Carson and Ellie began to play with the fun toys that were out. I decided at this point to make a run to the van to get Emmy's Raffi...maybe he would calm her down so that I could visit with her teachers and she could get familiar with her classroom. As soon as we exited the church Emmy girl stopped crying. We had a little pow-wow at the car where I told her that she was not staying at the school today, but we were just visiting for a few minutes with her teachers. All was well until we entered the front doors of the building. I yelled over howls to inform Miss Alicia that the girls no longer had pacis, while I would have given pretty much anything to be able to stick a passy in my girls mouth at that moment. We then told the teachers goodbye and made a quick exit. I guess it was just a little overwhelming for Emmy. Hopefully Tuesday's drop-off will be a little easier...I'm a little afraid though because today when I was talking with her about school she informed me that she was going to bite her teacher...I'll keep you posted!
The picture at the top was taken when we went out to the van to get her lovey Raffi...Emmy's (in the middle) face tells it all!

Leaving "Meet the Teacher Night"...Ellie is showing off her goodies from her teachers.

Carson is VERY excited about starting school. His favorite buddies Ethan and Ashlyn are in his class!

This Is The Way The Stewarts Sleep....

In our house sleep is for the weary!
Since the girls have moved to "big girl beds" Sam and I have had a lot of trouble getting them to go to sleep. On an average night it takes them about an hour and a half to fall asleep from the time that we actually tuck them in. During this hour and a half they are getting out of their beds, taking books off of their bookshelves, laughing, talking , singing, opening and shutting their door, going in their brothers' room, and doing anything but laying down and trying to go to sleep. Sam and I have tried all sorts of things to get them to stay in their beds, but we haven't found anything that works just yet. We are hoping that next week when they start school they will be so wiped out in the evenings that they will just crash when we tuck them in bed!
Here are some pictures that I took the other night after these little wild girls FINALLY conked! I laughed so hard when I walked in to find Miss Emmy Claire asleep sitting up! Just look at her!

Emmy Claire hanging tight to "Raffi" and "Purpely". My Nana made the girls purple satin blankets a.k.a. "Purpely" when they were tiny. Purpley is always in tow around bedtime!

On this particular night Ella Cate fell asleep in her bed. However other nights I have found her asleep on the floor.

Carson goes to sleep fairly easy as long as he is allowed to sleep with the toy of his choice.

This particular night he chose to sleep with his Bumblebee Transformer, and some other random McDonald's toy.

Cade's 1st Day of 4th Grade

Today was Caden's first day of 4th grade. He has made his way up to the grade that I teach! Time has truly flown as I have watched him move up in the ranks of our elementary school. Even though I will not teach him any subjects it is just really cool having him in the room next door, and knowing he is being taught by people I know so very well! Mrs. Morgan (our team leader) is his homeroom teacher, he has Mrs. Bogard for Math, and Mrs. Price for Reading...so he will have every teacher on my team besides me. It is super cool to watch firsthand as he plays at recess, eats his lunch, and interacts with his peers. He had an awesome first day! ; ) No pictures of the little ones' first day since they don't start school until the Tuesday after Labor Day. They are staying with Nana this week. It will be nice to already have our first week under our belt when they start back!

Cade and Mrs. Morgan (his homeroom teacher). I have taught with Kathy Morgan for over 4 years, and she is an awesome teacher! I am so thrilled that Cade gets to learn from her!

Cade and a couple of his buddies at recess this morning.

My team out at recess (me, Carrie, Kathy, and our new teacher Cindy)

Julie and I on Julie's very first day as our school's counselor. I miss having her on my team, but I love that she is still in our building!