The Nuffer Nest

Jackson is officially done with preschool!  St Luke's was wonderful and such a good experience for him and for me.  I loved his teacher, I loved the director, and the music teacher was delightful as well.  Such wonderful people!  I have so much appreciation for teachers of such little people.  I know I couldn't do it, but I'm so grateful for those who have a special gift for working with little ones.  LOVED St Luke's! Jackson, what do you want to be when you grow up?   Daddy! Who is your best friend at school?   Emily. What's your favorite part of school?   Playing with Emily and singing time. What's your favorite thing about Mrs. Kennedy?   She's always nice to me and loves me. (She really is absolutely wonderful!) Speaking of Mrs. Kennedy, here she is with Jackson on his last day- And ADORE this picture of the two of them, Jackson's grin is so cute and mischievous- (Sorry, it's from a video I acci...

I am so so so excited about this summer.  I found a woman on Pinterest that created an at home summer camp for her children.  It's Genius!  I don't know why I never thought about it.  Last summer we followed the Monday make something day, Tuesday time to read day, Wednesday what's cooking day, Thursday Thanks day, and Friday fun day.  It was fun, but I felt like we were doing the same stuff over and over again.  The at home summer camp idea has a new theme for every week which means new stuff to do and see- no more repeating!  Well, we won't be repeating as much.  The Science Spectrum is the boys' favorite, so we often go there, plus, we have a yearly pass there. I used this blog for the general weekly themes (though I added the Space week).  I also added my own crafts and field trips that are Lubbock friendly.  Every week I plan on going to the library and getting books that meet each theme as well and we'll add them to our nightly b...

So today I was SUPER busy cleaning and organizing.  I did laundry, cleaned out the pantry, and organized my craft closet (this job was the most extensive and exhausting); and luckily, I had a couple of helpers to make my day of organizing a little easier.  Mr Potato Head 1 and 2! The bottom of my craft closet is ALL of the boys' crafts and games so every time I open those closet doors my boys come running!  It makes cleaning that closet a super big chore- try organizing stickers, papers, ribbons, and other fun crafty with boys under your feet grabbing at whatever they can get their tiny little fingers on.  Well, today, by pure luck, I found Mr Potato Head 1 IN my craft closet.  We bought it for Jackson when he was tiny, but we put it away because he just wanted to eat all the pieces.  Then we bought one for Austin when he was tiny thinking we had thrown Jackson's away, but we didn't learn our lesson the first time, apparently, so we ended putting A...

It's the little things in life that make me happy... Like when Big Poppa wakes up early and crawls into bed with me in the morning.  It's our special time after daddy has left for work and Jackson is still sleeping.  He's such a snuggler. Like this little owl I found at Hobby Lobby.  He just makes this little space work.  And this little space makes me my heart sing a little. Like when I catch a glimpse of Jackson and in the same moment I see his infant baby face and the little boy face he's grown into, and memories of his life just wash over me. Like this picture of Big Poppa just relaxing with Jackson's monkey in the car.  (Blogger is wigging out right now and this picture is all stretched out.  Oy.) LIKE when Jim brings home flowers for me as I write a blog about the little things that I love so much!  A dozen red roses BEFORE my Mother's Day flowers have died.  I love that man! I love the little things.

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day this year!  The boys helped me make a gift for myself- some times you have to take matters into your own hands, ladies.  Daddy helped them make me breakfast in bed, they picked out flowers for me and a card that they both signed.  AND they actually picked out gifts that I wanted and needed!  It was really nice to be appreciated and loved all day long. The boys with the cake they made for me.  I love Austin's face- I can't tell if he's proud of what he accomplished or if he just wants to take that cake down!  I'm not sure what Jackson is doing in the background, but he makes me laugh. They picked out a few hair related items that I LOVED!  Including a comb that I have been looking for since before they were born- such little smarty pants.   Here is the wall that the boys helped me redecorate for Mother's day- I hated this wall.  I hated everything about this wall.  BEFORE: Sad, ri...

So my mom's wish came true and I now have a child that is just as crazy as I was.  Jackson is my little mini me in every way, shape, and form.  The poor baby looks just like I did at his age (but with gorgeous blond hair), he's a super picky eater just like I was (but way worse than I was- even my mom agrees that he's even picker than I was), and he has more attitude than a room full of teenagers.  BUT he also has my good stuff too- he's very neat and orderly, he's very independent  he's VERY smart, and he's a fantastic little helper.  I recently attended his end of the year parent/teacher conference with Mrs. Kennedy, his preschool teacher.  The first thing she said to me (as all teachers do, I'm sure) was how much she enjoys Jackson because he's the sweetest little boy.  I was a little taken back, thinking she got us mixed up with some other little boy's parents because Jackson has had to talk to the school's director about his attitude pro...

My grandma's memorial was in California so we got to go on an impromptu trip to my home state!  Nearly ALL of my extended family lives in California and it was sooo nice to see everyone and to spend time with everyone.  We stayed with my cousin, Kelly, and her family.  Kelly is much more like a sister than my cousin- she was my very first friend, after all- and my very closest friend still to this day (outside of Jim, of course).  So indulge me just a moment while I embarrass Kelly and myself with a few pictures- this is what happens when you're history toting grandmother passes away, you get LOTS of pictures you have never seen before.  ;) We are exactly 4 weeks apart and we often celebrated our birthdays together the first few years of our lives.  Here's our first birthday!   I'm the giant child that looks like she's about to eat the other child- just in case that wasn't as obvious as it looks to me. Kelly and me with our grand...