What Do I Get When There's A Lot on Daddy's Mind?

• Daddy has his mind full! He's getting ready for a solo show in July, works full time and on his weekend he has our kids, plus two on one of the days. There is no Mommy around on his weekend to help get things done because my weekend is different then his is. His plate is full so to speak.
• I went to eat my lunch at work yesterday, there was a small salad and an apple, but no slice of pizza. Today I went to get the boy's stuff out of the car (I was dropping them off at Grandma and Grandpa's) and there was no lunch for me in the car. I had to drive back to our house to get my lunch. I wasn't late to work.
• Daddy feels bad, but I understand. We share a lot of the responsibilities, so sometimes I'm responsible for packing the lunches, or putting the stuff in the car. It's hard to remember everything sometimes.

Crywolf

• My Wee View is giving away two penguin t-shirts from Crywolf.
• The illustrations on the shirts and other products from Crywolf are so fun!

Conferences

• Mica's conferences went really well! His teachers said that Mica has really grown in the last year.
• He now sits in group activities, which last year was a struggle.
• He knows most of his letter sounds, letters (upper and lower case), numbers, which they were impressed with. He sometimes gets 6 and 9, b and d mixed up. That's pretty typical.
• He still needs to work on his coordination. Socially he's grown though.
• They said that they've never seen a kid his age so good with his visual skills. He's surpassed his teacher's with puzzles.
• He's more into art, but it still isn't his top pick. Some of this is because his coordination isn't as high, and another part is because he is a perfectionist. He doesn't like to color, paint or cut if it isn't looking like he pictures it to look. He cut out an oval, and handed it to his one of his teachers saying, "Now can you cut off the sharp corners I have on here".
• Today he was playing with the dress up clothing and told his teachers that they needed more boy dress up clothes.
• He also invited all of his class to play in his bedroom for his birthday party. His birthday isn't until August.
• They labeled Mica as being right handed, but today he used his left hand to do his activities.
• I'm a little disappointed because all of his preschool class is going on to kindergarten. They said Mica knowledge wise has been ready for kindergarten, but socially and coordination wise he's not as ready. He's an August birthday, so we chose to wait to send him.

Lotion Smile Routine

• Mica and Isaak now expect a lotion smile after bath.
• Such a silly thing that they love. It's the little things that make a big difference.
• Before the lotion smile routine, Mica didn't want to put any lotion on.

Isaak Head Banging

• Daddy taught Isaak how to shake his head.
• This is not something I want to encourage all the time. I remember my neck being sore when I did this. But...for one night it was funny. To be honest I didn't even think about the neck until much later. Bad Mom, bad Dad! Luckily he hasn't seemed like he was in pain, and he hasn't tried to shake his head since.

T.J. Maxx

• Two of a Kind is giving away a $25 gift card to T.J. Maxx.
• I love shopping at this store along with Marshall's for the boys!

Dairy Makes Sense

• Go Graham Go is giving away a bunch of different things (listed below) from Dairy Makes Sense.
• Dairy Makes Sense has great recipes on their site, so check them out!

• A Cuisinart CSB-76 Smart Stick Hand Blender (valued at $55.00; image above)
• Dairy Makes Sense recipe cards with new tasty recipes to try out with your family
• Dairy Makes Sense apron
• Hot pad
• Cheese knife
• Grocery pad (I think it's supposed to be bag)
• Refrigerator magnet

KidCraft Playhouses

• A Giveaway Addicted Mommy is giving away The Creation Cottage or Shuttle Imagination by KidsCraft Playhouse.
• The Creation Cottage is made from 100% recycled cardboard material. The unique design allows for a sturdy drawing surface for your child. The white exterior is a blank canvas that your child will be able to design on their own. It will provide hours, days, even weeks of fun and allow your child to create their own "home". Measurements (Assembled): 42.25"L x 39.5"W x 54"H.

Learning to Zip

• Mica's figured out how to zip one of his jackets! We were both really excited when he zipped up yesterday.
• That excitement :) quickly faded when he nipped his neck with the zipper :(.
• His wide smile :) went to pouty lip and alligator tears :(. I felt so bad for him!

I Want Whatever He Wants

• I just got back from going to three stores with my two boys.
• They were pretty good overall!
• Isaak is in this new stage of, "I want whatever he wants". When I say, "He" I'm referring to his big brother Mica.
• Mica was wanting to hold my hand in the parking lot, Isaak was already in the cart, and he was begging to hold my hand too! I was thinking, "Wow...usually they don't want to hold my hand". Of course it was hard pushing a cart, and holding two hands.
• I have Mica help get certain things in the grocery store to keep him occupied. Guess what? Isaak wanted to join in on this too. The same thing went for putting the food from the cart to the belt.
• I'm tired from being gone with them all morning. Not from them being bad, just from their busy bodies.
• Side note: I am impressed with myself! I saved over $15 in coupons this morning. Not all on bad stuff either. I got all natural peanut butter, potatoes, stocked up on cheese and more.