Happiness Is __________ (Series: Week 16)

In light of all tragic tornado taking lives, homes, and so much more in its path I wanted to send my deepest sympathy out to all that have been effected. Along with our thoughts and prayers my family and I will be donating to the Red Cross and other organizations that are providing food and homes to those in need.

I feel incredibly blessed to have my family to hug and kiss right now. I want to share some of the moments that make up all the reasons I have to be happy. I am linking up with Lisa at Crazy Adventures in Parenting for this great series she has going! Go check out her week 20 HappinessIs! Here is my week 16 #HappinessIs moments…

Happiness Is… Swinging on the swings at the park.

Happiness Is…Running in the sprinkler.

Happiness Is…Becoming a mini chef for the day with Kidgets!

Happiness Is…Getting help from your big brother to see all the Lego creations at the new Lego Store in San Antonio!

Happiness Is…Playing in the kiddie pool on a hot morning.

Happiness Is…Holding my sweet baby boys hand as we walk up the stairs even though he has mastered walking up and down them all by himself.

What has reminded you of your Happiness this week? I sure am counting my blessings right now, how about you?

A Twist of Fate Has Me Outside My Comfort Zone…Homeschooling!

For the past 6 months my husband and I have been toying with the idea of homeschooling our older boys. Since moving to San Antonio we have seen our boys’ love and enthusiasm for school diminish. I could go on and on with the struggles we’ve had with our neighborhood school but the bottom line is that we can’t just complain and fight with the school over every thing we disagree about. Instead we have to take the bull by the horns, sort to speak, to take a step in a different direction to ensure our boys get the education they deserve.

We toured several local charter schools as options for next school year. We put the boys’ names in the lottery at every single charter school we toured. My second son got pulled for every lottery HOWEVER my oldest didn’t get pulled for any. See it seems there is an over abundance of kids in his grade in San Antonio (our neighborhood school didn’t even have spot for us for almost 3 weeks when we moved here) so therefore there weren’t many open spots in 3rd grade for next school year at the charter schools. We chose the charter school that we fell fit our wants and needs the most for our second son, then signed a commitment letter.

This leaves our oldest without a school. Sooooo, I am taking a huge leap of faith to home school him next year.

I love my oldest to pieces but he is so much like me that I am concerned with how well he and I will work together. I’m sure we’ll find our groove eventually. This is one of the scariest things I have done. I must admit that I am worried he won’t learn as much as he needs to during the year. I’m sure I am just being hard on myself but this is my sons education and I want to make sure I am teaching him all that I need to and more.

With all that said I will be spending the next few weeks looking over different curriculums and researching exactly what I need/want to do for my son next year as his new teacher… and as he pointed out, his Principal, music teacher, art teacher, and PE coach!! Oy vey, that is a lot of hats I am going to be wearing in addition to what I already wear!

Do you home school? If not, is it something you have considered doing for you children? Any words of advice for me??

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**If you are looking for public charter school options in the San Antonio area I highly suggest checking out San Antonio Charter Moms! I found all the information I needed and more about area charter school options. Being new to SA I never would have known public charter schools existed here had I not stumbled upon this great blog!

Week of Dr. Appointments

My family has had a busy week of appointments. With everything from eye exams to annual check up appointments to MY WISDOM TEETH REMOVAL! :/

I am scared out of my wits for this procedure. I have been putting it off for years. Always using being pregnant or nursing as an excuse but alas I don’t have either of those excuses so today is the day. I am having two removed this time and one is impacted. I’ll just receive a local so I will be “awake” for the procedure. To say I’m a nervous wreck is an understatement!! I’ve given birth naturally with no epidural four times but the thought of getting my wisdom teeth removed makes me want to run a marathon in the opposite direction.

I have confidence the dentist will do an amazing job and I’ll heal quickly. (Or I can keep telling myself all that and more!)

In different news my six year old had to get glasses this week. Here he is in his new glasses…

Isn’t he handsome! It is a small prescription and we are really only having him try glasses to see if it helps with his chronic headaches. Hopefully he isn’t rough on those dainty glasses.

Happiness Is__________ (Week 15 in Series)

Lots going on this week here at my house but I wanted to pause a minute to show you my #Happiness Is… moments. This is an ongoing weekly series that Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting has going. If you are a blogger you should think about linking up too. If not or really either way you should hop on over and check out all the #HappinessIs posts this week!

Happiness Is…Recieving lots of love and wonderful gifts from my husband and kids for Mother’s Day!

Happiness Is…Playing at the Zoo!

Happiness Is…Getting all the older boys to play your game of “vacation” including purses and dolls!

Happiness Is…Being silly with your sun glasses.

I really love hearing all about your Happiness Is… moments so share them in the comments below! Hope you have a week full of more HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY moments of your own!

Totally Tins Tuesday

I’ve seen many Muffin Tin Mondays on blogs I follow in the past. I’ve only attempted my own version one time when my older boys were toddlers. Today I decided to start Totally Tin Tuesday at our house with my younger two kids (ages 3 1/2 & 1 1/2). Mondays are grocery shopping days so having a muffin tin lunch prepared is out of the question but our Tuesdays are free, therefore perfect for tin lunches!

Today when I started preparing their lunch in the tins (that I purchased a while back at Dollar Tree for $1 each) I didn’t have a theme in mind. Once I got it all in the tins I realized we did have a theme…3D SHAPES! My preschooler was able to sit during lunch and tell me what shape the food she was eating at that time was. We also discussed colors because this is something she needs to practice more.

I included these foods in their lunch today:
Turkey
Ritz Crackers
Cherry Tomatoes
Purple Grapes
Monterrey/Colby Cheese for my DD
Yogurt Cheese (Lactose free) for my DS
Yo’ Drops

Here they are eating their Totally Tin Tuesday lunches….

Have you prepare lunch in muffin tins before? What themes did your kids enjoy most?

My mom is my HERO!

Since becoming a mom I tend to spend Mother’s Day basking in joy (or self pity when in my early mommy days I didn’t feel I was appreciated enough). I want the day to be about me in some way or another. I spend weeks reminding my family that Mother’s Day is coming up and hint at gifts I’d love to receive.

Of course I always send a gift to my mom and my mother in law (cause after all my husband and I wouldn’t be here without them). But this year with my parents living with us it has really made me reflect on how much I love my mom. I don’t think I say it often enough. I truly appreciate all she does for me and my family. She is amazing to me. It hasn’t been an easy journey for us but it was worth the struggles to get to the bliss.

If you would have told my teenage self that I would love and appreciate my mom one day soon after I graduated high school I would have laughed. To say we fought a lot while I was a teenager would be an understatement. I didn’t understand at all where she was coming from or why she did the things she did. (I’m pretty sure these feelings were mutual. haha)

Fast forward a few years when I welcomed my first baby with her in the deliver room coaching me, it hit me… Everything she did was at the best of her ability and for my well being. She wanted nothing more than my happiness in life.

My mom was in the deliver room for the birth of each of my four children. Each time she cried when it came time to push because she wanted to take all my pain away. She cried because each time I mustered up the energy and strength to deliver a healthy sweet baby. She cried because she was so incredibly proud of me.

It was in those moments I realized just how much my mom meant to me. I realized how much she loved me and I loved her. I realized what an amazing mom she is. I realized she is my hero always and forever!

Twisted Half Ponytail with a Mini Bun & more…

We are actively trying to grow my 3 year old daughters bangs out because she would prefer to have her hair down most day and with bangs it all ends up in her face. She has let me try a couple new hair styles on her hair the last week that I wanted to share.

Here is what we call a Topsy Turvy.

I just pull half her hair into a loose pony tail then I split it in the middle and push the loose end of her pony tail through the split to make a Topsy Turvy.

This was a cute and quick way to give her a bun without pulling all her hair up. We call it the Twisted Half Pony with a Mini Bun.

I pulled a small portion of the front of her hair up (basically her bangs and the hair down to her ears on both side) into a rubber band on the left side of her head. Then I pulled a little larger section of hair up just behind the first section from ear to ear. I twisted the first pony into the second rubber band and fastened on the right side of her hair. Then I twisted the loose mini pony tail into a bun and wrapped a rubber band around it. Add a tad of Touchable hairspray, a cute clip, and done!

Teacher Appreciation Gifts in a Bucket

1-photo (29)-001 It is Teacher Appreciation week, we typically go all out to show our children’s teachers how much we appreciate the job they do. This week was no acceptation. The school my children attend had given a list of something to give your child’s teacher each day. We were not prepared on Monday to follow that list so I asked my boys if they’d rather give one big gift rather than five small ones, they both liked that idea. Here is what we came up with for them…

The entire basket and contents cost less $25 each including the gift card.

In this basket with the note I included with each item is…

Coffee mug & Starbucks $10 gift card- For the gift card I found a free printable from Skip To My Lou.

Candle- “You light up our world!”

Hersey’s Symphony Bar- “You’re the sweetest teacher!”

Reese’s Cups- “There are a million Reese’s why you are a great teacher!”

Hand Lotion- “I’ve got to hand it to you… I think you’re GREAT!”

Nail Polish & Mini Pedicure Kit- “Thanks for adding color to my life!”

Candy Tulip- “Thank you for helping me blossom!”

The HOW TO & ITEMS PURCHASED:

I chose the thank you quotes to use with each gift. I found a couple quotes I used at The Crafty Side of Me blog. Using Microsoft Word I used a cute font for each quote and put a border around each. Then printed on a thick paper, cut them out and punched a hole in the cards I was tying to the gifts. (**Note: I did not punch a hole in the candy bar & Reese’s cards because I taped them directly to the package.)

The bucket I purchased at Target in the dollar section (it was $3 but I noticed Dollar Tree has a similar bucket for $1 it is slightly smaller though). I added some tissue paper I had on hand to the bottom of the bucket.

I purchased the candles at HEB this week on a BOGO sale so each candle cost $3.50. I found the lotion and candy tulip at Dollar Tree for $1. The candy bars, mini pedicure set, and nail polish I purchased at Target for $1 each. I also purchased the mug at Target in the dollar section for $3. Then I included the $10 Starbucks gift card that I purchased at Target with the mug.

From start to finish this gift took me 1 hour, not including purchasing the gifts which I did during my weekly shopping and errands. My children’s teachers sent notes home saying how much they loved their gifts.

Happiness Is ___________ (Series- Week 14)

It is Wednesday so that means it’s time for this weeks edition of #HappinessIs! I am linking up with Lisa at Crazy Adventures in Parenting for her series and link up.

Happiness Is… Using HEB Buddy Bucks to get more points for your book each week while grocery shopping.

Happiness Is… Riding bikes and scooters with daddy.

Happiness Is… Getting little wild flowers every day from my sweet kids.

Happiness Is… Playing in the lake after a picnic on a Saturday!

Happiness Is… Finding my wedding ring right where I left it (after I thought it may have been lost) and Jamberry Nails that I get TONS of compliments on!!

Happiness Is… A visit from our Granny! Granny is my mom’s mom therefore one of several Great Grandparents my children are blessed to have. (My children still have Great GREAT Grandparents alive!)

Happiness Is… Finding your new baby cousins toes! K just loves babies especially because they all have TOES!

Happiness Is… A family walk around the neighborhood after dinner.

What were you #HappinessIs moments this week? I’d love to hear them or have you link up with Lisa too!!

Making Time For Me

I spent the weekend in Las Vegas with some of my best friends. I have been going on weekend getaways with these and other friends for almost 6 years. It is one or two weekends a year when I can let my hair down and just be Lori! Not ‘mom’. Of course I think of my husband and kids often while away and I do miss them but I don’t have to worry about them because they are well taken are of.

It is a weekend full of late night talks, laughing until you cry, enjoying dinner without any messes or spills, getting dressed up for shows, relaxing by the pool and shopping. I LOVE this time spent with my friends because we all live in different states, have kids and busy lives that seclude us from seeing each other more often. It also gives me time to regroup and re-energize as a mom and wife. I go home on Sunday ready to hug my family and tackle the next few months with vigor.

To all of you that are wives, moms or both I highly recommend a weekend like this once a year with your friends. Whether you all travel together to a vacation or travel from different places and meet up somewhere, it is a must for women! (And men…my husband gets his time away too!)

We are already planning next years trip…talking about Chicago or San Antonio!

Do you go on a weekend getaway with your friends? Do you find yourself re-energized at the end of the mini-vacation? What places do you go or things do you and your friends do when you get together??

My Six Ring Circus

Managing my family one project at a time.