We had a lot of fun playing at the pool the other day.  TJ found some water squirts and had a blast playing with them.  The pool, swimming, and time with great friends… this is what summer is supposed to be about!

What fun things have you and your family done this summer?

My son’s current obsession is trains.  He has a train set that he puts together almost everyday and will play with his trains for about an hour at a time.  He loves his “choo choos.”  When I heard that Thomas the Train would be within driving distance of Indianapolis, I knew I had to take the boys.  So, a couple of weekends ago I took TJ and his cousin to Connersville, IN to see Thomas.

We arrived to Connersville with storm clouds overhead and rain in the forecast. Luckily it never did rain on us and we were able to enjoy the train experience.  After a rocky start to the day (a ticket issue that I thought was poorly handled) the boys were really excited to see Thomas.   

While you wait for your turn to ride Thomas there are activities set up for the kids to do.  We saw a magician, a train ride, a play area and other booths that were set up around the area for the kids to participate in.  There was a lot of kids at the event, but they had a lot of activites available so no one was just standing around at the booths.  There was a large line forming to board Thomas when he arrived, so we jumped in line. Due to our hang up at the ticket counter we didn’t really have time to do any of the activities, but the boys didn’t seem to mind.  They only had eyes for Thomas.

A few minutes after we had our tickets in hand Thomas came up the tracks.  The event was running behind schedule so we got a little bit of a late start (only a few minutes) and we boarded Thomas. 

The train ride was about 20 minutes long.  The boys loved watching out the windows and eating their snacks.  They even got a certificate stating that they rode with Thomas The Train!  The conductor that worked on our car was so nice and talked to us about where we were from.  The kids enjoyed him!  My husband and I wished that the scenery was a little more scenic, but the kids didn’t care. The ride was nice and the perfect length of time.  The boys never were bored and they had a lot of fun.

As we left, the boys kept saying goodbye to Thomas and they were so excited they were literally jumping with joy.  After the long day, I was surprised to find the boys laughing and blowing raspberries at each other in the back seat.  This lasted for about 5 minutes before…

… total exhaustion kicked in. The event was exciting for the boys.  I was happy just watching their faces as Thomas rolled in.  I would highly recommend bringing your family to see Thomas we are glad we went.  To find out if Thomas is coming to a city near you be sure to check out the full Thomas The Train Tour Dates.

My family was provided 4 tickets to Thomas The Train for purposes of this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am not sure where TJ fell in love with bikes.  One day he starting telling us that he wanted a TJ bike and he kept saying it every day since.  We were looking at getting him a trike, when our neighbors gave us a little bike with training wheels perfect for TJ. He is a little too small to reach the pedals so he loves to push it around the yard and our driveway.  Ever since we got it he has been telling everyone he knows about his “TJ bike”.  We have to get it out of the shed so he can show it off.

As many of you know, I was really sad when TJ’s big boy bed came.  I loved his nursery and I don’t want him to grow up so fast (I think I need another baby in the house).  When the bed came we realized that we would need to update the nursery and make more little boy and not baby boy.  TJ chose robots as his theme, and I found a lot of cute things to go into the room.

Here is an adorable robot night-light we found by doing a basic search online.

We had a lot of fun putting up these Robot Decals. TJ loves telling everyone that “daddy did it.”

Here is his Toddler Bed that we found on Amazon.  It is really cute and matches his furniture very well.

To dress up the bedding, I found some adorable robot pillows on Etsy that I added to his bed.

The result…

… a very satsified little boy who loves to show everyone his “bee bots” room!

To my dad, my husband, and my father in-law. You are all amazing dads and TJ and I are very fortunate to have you in our lives!  WE LOVE YOU!

TJ and Eli have a love/hate relationship.  For the most part TJ loves to terrorize the dog, and he loves TJ’s food.  I am amazed at how much Eli will put up with.  He is so sweet with his little brother that it melts my heart.  Here is a sequence of events that occurred the other morning.

“Hey there Eli!  What are you doing sitting in mommy’s chair?  You look very comfortable.”

“I know, lets play smother the doggie with froggy!”

“You look good in green!”

“Look at what I have to put up with to get a few treats around here!”

I have been waiting and looking forward to summer break for a while now.  2 whole months with my son, going to the zoo and hanging with the cousins to look forward to.  This summer was going to be all about my son.  Well, new laws that passed our state legislature have made it imperative that I go back to school for my graduate degree before July 1st.  So, I enrolled in a class and it started last week!  It has been a while since I have been in school and already I have realized that I need to discipline myself.  The class is only 7 weeks long with an assignment due every Friday.  It took me forever to write my last assignment and I need to make sure that I dedicate time after TJ goes to bed to study and read all the required text.  It is so difficult managing my life right now.  It seems like I am constantly putting something else on my already full plate that increases my anxiety and makes me stress out.  I know having my masters degree will be worth it in the end, but getting there sucks!

I am looking into student laptops, we already have an HP business laptop that my husband uses but I want one all to myself. So if  any one has some tips or suggestions for me that would be helpful.

So much for the relaxing summer I envisioned a few months ago.  Now I am up to my neck with textbooks, sippy cups, doggie treats and tantrums.  Oh, the life of a mom (I wouldn’t trade it for anything)!

Summer is here and with it I have become a stay at home mom (at least for the next 2 months).  I have been looking forward to staying at home with TJ this summer.  With any change of routine there is a learning curve.  Most of the learning is on my half.  I have been going to work every morning teaching other people’s children, and to have all this alone time with my son has been amazing.  What I didn’t count on was all the work that goes into staying at home all day (mainly caused by my wonderful puppy dog Eli).

Today’s shenanigans began with an early morning walk to the park to play on the slides and sandbox (AKA volleyball court).  Getting out of the house is always a good thing, and with the heat here in Indianapolis we have to get out early to avoid the heatwave. TJ was covered in sand and sweat, but we had a great time playing and learning to share.

TJ was a champ as I took him shopping for groceries and diapers.  We had to go to several stores and he kept his spirits up the entire time.  Shopping with a toddler is a whole experience in and of itself.

When we got back, I started cooking dinner.  I had a container of grease on the stove that I used to drain the fat out of the meat I was cooking.  Well, my dog, who is a very large dog, somehow got to that container and spilt it all over the kitchen floor while I was playing with TJ in the living room.  So I spent the evening cleaning up grease, sand, and footprints from all the floors of my house. I need a good carpet cleaning.

So all you stay at home moms out there, how do you do it?  I am exhausted and I am only through the first half of the first week of summer vacation.  I need your ideas on how to keep kids entertained, dogs to behave and your carpet care tips!  Send them my way so that I can actually start enjoying this time I have with my son.

TJ loves bubbles.  We were playing with them the other day for hours!  Here are some pics to enjoy!

The dog got into the action as well!  TJ is still learning how to blow the bubbles, he mostly just ends up eating the bubble juice!

I hope your enjoying your summer!

This is the first Memorial Day without my grandpa.  He passed away last November right before Veteran’s Day.

My Grandpa was in the army during WWII.  He was a pilot who delivered supplies to troops.  He was apart of the OSS and served his country with honor.  I have always been very proud of my grandpa.  He served his country, came home  and provided for his wife and three kids.

My brother, sister and I frequented grandma and grandma’s house a lot.  They came to my baseball games, school activities and were there for every major event in my life. We were frequent visitors in their house and they always kept boxes of cereal for our “night night” snacks available.  I remember sitting with my grandpa as he would read to us.  I love this rabbit book where you had to lift the flap to find him on every page.  I can still picture myself sitting on the couch in the front room on my grandpa’s lap reading this book!

I miss him everyday.  Every time I say my son’s middle name I think about grandpa and how proud he was of me.  He told me all the time how much he loved me and how proud he was of me.  The feeling was mutual.

I miss you grandpa!