Jake and the Pre K story

So I am usually a little slow on the uptake about what I need to be doing for my kids schooling. Like places have a waiting list and I realize that I want them to be in Mother's Day Out for example and try to do it right then. {but have to wait til the next school year} Well as you can imagine that doesn't work that well. Last time I planned ahead was when I had Jake and I was supposed to go back to work and he had a spot and then my plan backfired and they didn't have a spot and well I'm not complaining because all of that got me to right here in this moment and choosing to stay home with my kids.

Ok I digress. Anyway, SO I had always said that the year before my kids go to kindergarten I want them to go to a 5 day a week program to get ready and James agreed---not just for the things they will learn but for the social and "getting in a routine" reasons. Jake of course has gone to Mother's Day out but it is only 2 days a week so we decided this coming school year he needs to attend a 5 day a week program. Well herein lies the problem....or so we thought. I have done research on all of our options here in our county and was gonna just go ahead and try for several of them. BUT when I started looking at the Catholic Church/School we have that is right near us {not the one we attend} that has a Pre K program it was back at the first of the month and it JUST SO HAPPENED that they were having their school open house that coming up Sunday. So we attended. Jake absolutely LOVED the room and all the cool things they had there and he loved the assistant teacher as did James and I was especially impressed with the lead teacher. SO what did we do but march right to the office, get our paperwork, go out to the car, fill it out, take it right back in and sign up for a family meeting .

Which brings us to tonight. Tonight was our family meeting that we had with the teachers. We went with about 4 or 5 other families and got to hear more about the program and ask any questions we had from the lead teacher and the kids got to play and the assistant teacher was observing/helping them. It all went well. I am still impressed. Now all we do is just WAIT the admissions for the siblings of current kids just ended and now they can accept new people but we don't know how many slots they have---I feel like we're waiting for a college letter or something!!! HAHA You know I am just joking--I know it is preK and we have lots of these type things to come.....with all the kids. BUT wish us luck. Jake REALLY wants to go back to big school. Of course being potty trained is a no brainer for PreK so we have a little work to do. The best thing about this place is ---it is like 5-7 minutes from the house--woo hoo for me!! We'll keep you updated.

Happy Birthday Net Net

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to Net Net/Mama
Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

We love you and are so grateful for all the things you do and are so excited that you are now next door and we get to see you so much more often! Hope you enjoyed you gifts, your yummy Arby's dinner {hey that's what ya get with 3 kids--you think we're going out?! HA! or cooking double HA!---hee hee} she knows I am joking. AND don't forget the delicious birthday cake!!

Happy Birthday we hope your day was wonderful!!

A sleeping car

You gotta love a sleeping car. What is a sleeping car you ask?? It's when I get home after we have been somewhere, gone to run errands or something to that effect and ALL my kids are asleep in the car. I am lucky, I must say, my kids "transfer" very well. They always have. Oh yeah don't think some days we just get in the car right before lunch go get some Mickey D's and then ride around for awhile. What I love about it is no effort to get them to sleep---bring em home--slap em in bed---let them sleep---get something done with ALL THREE of my kids asleep at the SAME TIME!!!

Today the reason they all crashed out was a big fat playdate at Kim's house with Hudson, Carson and Lawson. Kim they were sacked before we hit the interstate while you were on book number 7. HAHA -----AND they are still asleep. WOW!!!!!! off to accomplish something.....

Friendly visit

Tonight our friends Lyndi and Steve came over for dinner and play time with their two girls Amy and Becca. It was a pizza and breadstick night---quick and easy. Then off to play. The kids had a big time running all over the house. Amy especially liked checking out our fish tank {which is in desperate need of more "stuff"}. Becca just didn't know what to do with all the boy toys in the house--you can see her pulling up to the table and checking out those dinosaurs--pretty nifty hey Becca??? Will always wants Steve to hold him. Our usual dinners take place at Mickey D's and last time they were in the play place area and the whole time Will just wanted Steve to hold him. Too funny! He took right back up with him again tonight. Well that is in between trying to keep up with Amy and Jake and whatever they were trying to play with/get into. Alaina Claire she was here but she just stayed out of the big kids way....don't worry she'll be hanging in there with the best of them in no time!

Thanks guys---we had a blast! We'll do it again soon!!!

2 months old!

2 months old already!!! What a sweet baby girl! Time flies I tell ya. I think it goes by faster and faster with each child. She had her 2 month check up today and she weighed 11lb 15 oz and 22 1/2" She is a smiling queen now--that is for everyone except mommy. Guess since I am with her 24/7 I have to work harder for it???!!! She is a precious baby--tad bit of a mommy's girl. But that is ok with me....for now! HA!

It doesn't get any sweeter than this......

Happy Valentine's Day!

Itsy Bitsy Bit of Snow

This morning we awoke to snow flurries flying all around. Alas only flurries but the most we have seen this season. We still have to dream of our blanket of white. All Jake wanted to know was "can we build a snowman, mommy?" Sadly it melted right after it fell. He was one sad boy looking out the window but still seeing green grass {which was his sign there wasn't enough for a snowman} Oh snow, please come again and bring all the snowflake friends you can muster---we know we live in TN--but one good snow won't hurt!!! Come soon--we're dying for a snowman over here!!

In case you haven't noticed

I haven't been very good about keeping the blog up daily or even weekly for that matter. I'm doing the best I can over here folks. But at least when I do update I try to go back and fill in all the things that have been going on at the Spence House. SO be sure to scroll on down and check out the updates!!

Sick.....again!

What is it with this winter season?! I am TIRED of the sickness visiting my house. I'm over it---go away!!! Where do I start..Will--has had runny nose/cough/low grade fever going on 2 weeks. Took him of course right at the beginning--nothing they can do wait it out. OF COURSE! Jake--had a runny nose but was pretty much gone--Sunday spiked a 102.3 fever! Yay--but no other symptoms. Ok so all seemed to be going fairly well this morning. We had no fevers and were playing like gangbusters and the kids were itching to go to school so off they went. Now in the meantime I had called and made and appt for today at 3pm because I wasn't sure what was going on. I started to cancel but thought better of it.

Good thing! Picked up the boys and Will was extremely whiney and so was Jake but he didn't get enough nap was his issue. So I decided it was off to the dr we go. I just knew Will had an ear infection having had this crud for so long and a little fever--I just knew it! Jake who knows he seemed better although he was now complaining that his mouth hurt---strep throat??? I just didn't know so we headed to see Dr K. It gets good.....

It took me 30 minutes tops from the time I picked them up to the time we arrived at the dr's office. Wanna know what happened in that 30 min. I'll just tell you. Jake fell back asleep ok that's fine and Will was whining like crazy in his seat which is TOTALLY not like him. I had just called Granny Gaynell to tell her we were making a pitstop before coming to her house for dinner. AS SOON AS I HUNG up the phone and had turned off the interstate to head to the Dr's office---I hear gagging and look in the rear view mirror to see Will puking his guts out. I was on a busy road and we weren't that far from the Dr's office but sometimes that road is so congested it can take forever to go that little bit so I get to where I can pull over. Pulled over and got back there to him and he was done of course by the time I got to him. Cleaned him up a bit then went on to the dr's office.

Got in the parking lot {we are now at least 10 minutes late and in the background of all of this I have Jake telling me I HAVE to clean Will up, Alaina Claire is screaming because well I don't know why really, Net Net calls to see if I need anything from the Bread store and Daddy calls to get the scoop that I don't even have yet} Get out Will a change of clothes which I never would have had if I didn't have his back pack from school with me. {I mean who carries a change of clothes for their 2 & 3 yr old?? Not me} All the while I am Purelling my hands every few seconds because my little girl can't keep her Paci in her mouth even though it was the only thing keeping her quiet and Jake wanted to get out of the car like yesterdayANd insists that I give Will a bath you know in the parking lot.

In we go--all 4 of us. Alaina Claire in her seat in the stroller, carrying Will who is limp begging for Juice and trying to keep Jake in check in the parking lot?! Get back in the room and Jake is having a party--I mean a really good time and poor Will is just beside himself because he doesn't know what is going on.

The nurse is asking me the standard symptoms questions and I am trying to answer. Then of course everything I said HAD been going on was now opposite PLUS we have now added puking to the list?!!! AND when she took Will's temp HIS was now 102!! Seriously in the 30 minutes it took for us to get to that office the boy spiked a fever. He did NOT have one when I put him in his car seat. I just told her to take all the symptoms and put them on whoevers chart because I didn't know anymore!!

Will is still begging for juice, Alaina Claire is being somewhat good at this point and going in and out of sleep and Jake is reading every book in the room and acting out all of the parts. We finally decided to let Will have a sip {probably too long of a sip} of his Juice because he was just so pitiful.

We see the Dr and what is the Diagnosis??----OH YEAH FOLKS---we have Hand Foot and Mouth Disease!! Nice ulcers in our mouth but nowhere else thank goodness. Woo hoo--I am so excited I can't stand it!!! {total sarcasm in case you haven't figured me out yet} And it appears that Will probably threw up because his fever spiked like it did---lucky me!!

Explanation, yada yada nothing to do yada yada 3-5 days yada yada, get Will's clothes back on, two copays, two stickers and a trek back out to the car later and we are on our way home.

Or are we?? Remember that "sip" of juice?? Oh yeah before I could get out of the parking space it all came back up!!! Lovely....lovely I tell ya!!!

So needless to say Will is basically a couple days behind Jake and as of now he has not thrown up anymore though all he has had is Sprite. We will just see what tomorrow brings, as I am sure it will be loads of fun. So now we are just crossing our fingers, standing on our heads, picking four leaf clovers, touching ye old lucky horseshoe {like I have one} doing whatever it takes for Alaina Claire not to be blessed with the funk too. Can you imagine........

SO....Sorry Granny and everyone else who was coming over to visit with us that we didn't make it tonight but I promise we would have been zero fun! Granny finished dinner anyway and James went and picked it up. YUMMY roast---it was delicious! AND Kim since we had our great playdate all planned out for tomorrow we should have known. I'm thinking you definitely don't want this crud anywhere near your house!! Hopefully we will get there soon.

Books, books, books...

Both the boys love to read books. Man as soon as we receive our monthly book in the mail we have to open immediately and READ! You know the Books from Birth books or the Dolly books as my friend Kim calls them. If you live in TN and haven't participated in this program for your under 5 child then you should. Check out that link and sign up. We have gotten some awesome books that the boys love! Here we are reading Will's new book for February which happened to involve dinosaurs so they were extra engrossed. This is a moment that I rarely get these days--that is sitting with the boys WITHOUT Alaina Claire in my lap too. =)

Ode to Lovey

Man who would have thought a little stuffed animal could mean so much. I know there are so many of you out there who know exactly what I am talking about. Jake has had his Lovey since he was born--he pretty much took to it as soon as he could hold on to things. His Aunt Ni Ni and Net Net gave it to him and even went out and found a back up Lovey after we realized the importance of this little lamb. Of course, a couple years later and one too many change outs--Jake quickly figured out that he had TWO loveys. So now we have Lovey and Nuther Lovey. They or at least one of them goes with him pretty much everywhere. Anyone who knows him knows how important Lovey is---Its Mommy and Daddy then Lovey or really it could be the other way around if you asked him!!! You can tell too--I swear I do wash them but they are already becoming thread bare and always look dirty. They are worn with love. It really is sweet. Who would have thought a little stuffed animal could bring so much comfort and joy to one little man.? Well it does at our house. I got a very RARE shot of him standing still with BOTH Loveys in hand.

April stops in

Much to our surprise and delight my good friend April got to come into town, unfortunately it was due to the recent horrible tornadoes that hit TN since she works for Red Cross, but we were excited to see her anyway. She lives in DC now and we see each other maybe 3-4 times a year. The boys LOVE it when she comes into town. She is always good for something fun. She plays fun games and sometimes brings fun toys and books and lets us crash at whatever hotel she is staying so they can play in the indoor pool & hot tub when it is cold outside and even sometimes takes them to fun places! Jake is still waiting to go back to the Rainforest Cafe with April even though it has been a year and we have done a million things since. He remembers buddy---remembers it all. So April, what about it??? HAHA

She is definitely like the fun aunt who technically isn't an aunt but might as well be since she is just like a sister to me. SOOO glad you got to stop by April and hopefully we will see you again before you head home. Here's a picture of her hanging out with the boys--Alaina Claire was already in bedtime mode when she got here so we'll get that picture next time.

What the......

heck is this??????????????
Have you ever in your life seen a jar of peanut butter this big??? I put it next to a regular size soup can so you could really see. This is what happens when Daddy goes to the store. He gets tired of running out of PB so he buys the biggest thing on the shelf, really, it HAD to be the biggest thing on the shelf. It is FOUR pounds of PB. I see PB&J every day for a year before we run out of this humongo thing.

How does Will sleep?

Let me count the ways...





Various times Will has crashed out different places and different positions. This boy can sleep hanging upside down outside in the cold if he was given the chance. He has to have his sleep!

I turned 30 NOT 50!!!!!!!

I got THIS in the mail the other day?!?!?!?!?! Is this some kind of sick joke people?? I'm waiting for the punch line.........

Finally...

I actually finished Alaina Claire's mobile that goes over her bed. Got the idea from my friend Kim who has them over her boys' beds. I was supposed to finish before baby girl made her debut but that never happened then I even brought it to the hospital with me HAHAHA! So I finished a few days ago and thought I would take a picture and post so you can see. Nothing fancy but I'm proud of it and the bow probably isn't going to stay or it will be a different color--I was just trying something out. Now if I can just get Daddy to hang it over her bed. {hint hint}