Oh what to do?

So our Thanksgiving break officially started today at 3:00 when I picked Brody up from Kindergarten.  I am so happy he has all of next week off.  I love having my kiddos home with me!  Speaking of Kindergarten, I am having a little dilema with the school Brody is attending.  It is a great school...nice teachers, nice friends, great academics, but every day when I pick Brody up, he is like a whole different kid.  He is grouchy, moody, unhappy.  He starts yelling at Case and I about random things.  He acts so unhappy!  I've tried talking to him about it, asking lots of questions but he doesn't say much, other then he likes his teachers and friends.  I have really taken his attitude as a sign that he is just not happy.  Is it just his age, or is something going on at school that is making him so stressed out?  I have been feeling like I need to move him to our home school because I think it will be less stressful for him academically and I think he will find that he will have lots of friends there who could play after school and on the weekends.   The problem I am having is that every time I mention going to a new school, Brody gets all sad and says he likes his school and wants to stay there.  I don't know what to do.  I don't want to make him sad or stressed out, but I think if he goes to our home school, he might find he really likes it (or not).  What if I get him to the home school and he hates it, then what? I can't keep moving him everytime he is having a difficult year.  And how do I break it to him that today could have been his last day at his school?  Do I tell him before hand so he can say goodbye to his teachers and friends, or do I just prep him for it all week and then start at the home school after Thanksgiving?  I've thought of putting the "blame" on myself...the drive is too far, Mom wants to be able to help in your class, I want to be able to bring you lunch every once in a while, etc. etc. Oh what to do?  If any of you Bloggers out there have any suggestions for me, let me know.  I'm really stressed about this and need help.  For now I'll keep thinking and praying and hoping I get some kind of feeling on what to do.  

Today was super fun for three boys and a husband!  We came straight home from school and played played played.  Our cute and super sweet friends Jackson and Jefferson came over which was great fun for us.  They rode motorized vehicles, skateboards, bikes... you name it they rode on it!  Then the rest of the neighbors joined us for a neighborhood play date.  To end the afternoon, we jumped in the car and got dinner at El Charro with Bishops.  We had 6 kids (between the ages of 7 and 8 months) and 3 adults trying to eat chips and salsa...you should have seen the looks! When we went to leave, Juli and I had so much rice stuck to our butts that we could have fed our kids lunch for a week! It was hilarious!  It was the perfect start to a Thanksgiving Break!   

By the way, the salad dressing did not go over so well with my Italian dressing kiddos.  They only wanted the same ol' Newman's Own on their salad.  Can I even complain about this...my kids eat salad!  

Salad Dressing Obsession

So today my friend Juli called to ask if Case could come play with her little man.  She ended up keeping him for most of the morning even though I called an hour into the play date to see of she wanted me to come get him.  While Case was gone I had some free time and decided to make some salad dressing to go with my dinner tonight.  Well, I pulled out the ol cook book and went crazy.  I ended up making 3 salad dressings for my little family who probably won't want any of them. (I know, I need to get a hobby!)  I made a Cumin vinaigrette which I'm not so sure about, a Ridgefield dressing that is a really pretty green color, and Thousand Island for my Thousand Island loving husband.   We'll see how well they go over with this boring Italian Dressing family! Stay tuned for the results of my salad dressing kid test.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Sweet Peppers

Red Bell Pepper

(Almost) Orange Bell Peppers

Broccoli

Roma Tomatoes

One of the perks of being a stay at home Mom is being able to do things you've always wanted to do but haven't been able to because of work! Well, I've always wanted to have a garden and I finally DO!  In early October I planted a vegetable garden in the long planter in our backyard.  It is really doing well.  I have lots of varieties of tomatoes, lettuce, onions and peppers.  I also have broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, pole beans, and garlic.  My garden is looking so colorful and yummy!  I love it and can't wait to start eating some of my harvest!  

(If any of you Bloggers out there know how to get rid of ants, let me know!  They are attacking my beans and heading toward my peppers!)

Just Call Me Martha!

O.K. I know what you're thinking...three pictures of bread?  This is not just bread, they are rolls and I made them from scratch TODAY!  Sorry about the horrible pictures but I'm so excited that these actually turned out that I don't even care!  I have been experimenting with bread and roll making and I am really getting good at it!  My house smells so good right now. I just want to make hot chocolate, crank the air down to 50 degrees and wrap up in a blanket.  It smells so "fall like" and yummy!  Sorry you all aren't here to enjoy it, but you're missing out!  Not only do these rolls look good, they taste delicious.  I am seriously so proud of myself right now! Yeah for ME! 

First Love

I've never had a kid who has had any interest in stuffed animals until now.  I'm pretty sure Ledger has found his first love, and it's not ME!  It's Minnie Mouse or MeMe as Ledger calls her!  He sleeps with her and kisses her nose all day long.  He gets so happy and giddy when he's with her.  It's adorable and so funny to see my tough guy act so sweet!  She is pretty cute and I guess for a first crush I can't complain!