All about Mike

I am ashamed to say that in the hoopla of the first day of school & documenting Cameron & Reese's stats, I totally forgot about my darling husband, Mike.  It took my dear friend, Lesli to remind me of it so I'm remedying the situation with a post about Mike.  Thank you, Lesli!!

With today being Mike's first day of 8/25/15, this is a very BIG day in the Pernecky house!!!

Back to school!

It's back to school today & there was a lot of excitement last night & this morning.  I knew it was a good sign when I picked Cam up from his last day of summer camp on Friday & he told me that he wished it was Monday!

On top of Cameron starting a new school year, I found out Friday that Reese was also moving up to a new class today.  Too much to handle in just one day, but I did very well this morning & no tears were shed by anyone!

Me & Lo Lo getting in on the action!

Saturday we had a fun photo shoot with my talented friend, Jill, just as we did last year.  The pictures turned out awesome & I'm thankful since I love updating our framed family photos each year.

 

 

 

Tay Tay & Reese

It's funny because Taylor has always called Reese, "Baby" Reese & we're starting to wonder when that will stop!  Mind you, they're only 6 months apart, so it's pretty funny!
 

Cameron, Avery, Reese & Brooks

 

 Last Thursday we had the opportunity to check out Cam's school & meet his first grade teacher, Mrs. Marzullo.  She seems super organized & on top of things which is right up my alley.  They're using an app/website called Class Dojo to track behavior/points to redeem for good behavior.  I love being able to see how he's doing in class & this is so much more with the times since I can check in remotely.

It's crazy to see just how much Cameron's grown in one short year; 2.5" & 9.2#!!

 Despite the crazy, busy evenings, the start of the school year brings so much excitement!  Looking forward to a great, new year!

Recent happenings

What hasn't been happening lately?!  We've been keeping very busy (perhaps a little too busy for my tastes) so there's been plenty going on.

Grammy got an awesome flight deal so she came in for a week at the spur of the moment.  I was so happy she was able to spend some uninterrupted time with Cam before he heads back to school next week.

Cam & his buddy Tyler

Cam stayed home from summer camp every day but Friday since he didn't want to miss his big Legoland field trip.

Me & lovely Lo Lo

Grammy was nice enough to watch the kids while we headed to see Sublime in concert last Friday.  I really wasn't even excited to go (I know, I know I'm lame) but sometimes the idea of a big, late night out is just not very appealing to me after an insane week, but we ended up having a great time.

Me & my darling hubby

 It ended up POURING on us as we arrived & I was dumb enough to ditch my typical flip flops for wedges.  Big mistake.  Huge.  After the rain though, the weather was gloriously cool, unlike the typically insane heat we've been dealing with. 

My Minions seeing the Minions

While Grammy was in town, we headed to see the Minions & the kids were so excited that we decided to make Minion cupcakes.

 


The kids made quite the mess with the sprinkles but the cupcakes ended up turning out so cute!  Cam's birthday is about a month away so we'll be whipping these up for his Minion party (unless he changes his theme by then!)

We got the dentist checked off the before school to-do list.

 

Luckily there were no cavities!!

I was done with my ever growing hair so I decided to hack 5" off.

And my three year-old has decided that she prefers showers to baths.  It's quite hilarious to see her naked little body standing in the huge shower!  Love her!

Speaking of love, this picture is positively adorable!!  Such a big personality in a petite, little body!  Reese cracks me up... she's the best.

We also hit a Tampa Bay Rays vs. the Mets baseball game with Matt, Kelly, Grammy & the kids & snapped this precious pic of Cam & Leah.  Since Matt's a Mets fan & Cam played little league on the Mets, Leah wore his jersey so we kept joking that they were married.  That would be awesome.  I seriously hope I end up with a daughter-in-law like Leah when Cam eventually gets married!

This pic of Reese & Sammy is ridiculously sweet.  They love each other so much!

PJ day at school today!

Tomorrow we all have the day off to head to Cam's open house at his BRAND NEW SCHOOL!  Exciting!

I must be getting overwhelmed with everything that's going on since I cannot sleep well these days.  I read a quote that said, "When you're anxious, you're living in the future."  That is so true for me since I'm always worrying ahead & I just lay in bed at night, thinking of the ever growing list of things to do.  Even just stupid stuff like, Haven't flossed in a while.  Speaking of flossing, I never floss my kids teeth!  Speaking of teeth, my dog hasn't been to the vet in forever to get her teeth cleaned!  Ahhh!!!  Why can't I just shut by friggin brain off for a minute?!?!

Gearing up for back to school

Sadly, summer is quickly coming to an end & first grade begins for Cam in two short weeks... waaaah!  I can honestly say that this time has gone by in a blur & rather than three months, it feels like one.  Gone will be the days of more relaxed evenings!  But all good things must come to an end, right?  I don't like the person who came up with that saying.  I want all good things to last forever!!

Anyway, like it or not, the school year is lurking & I have to be ready.  Last year we bought Cameron an overpriced yet cheap character backpack that lasted about two weeks before it ripped.  I ended up putting ducktape on the damn thing since I can't handle wasting money; keeping it classy in the Perno house!  This year Cameron is into everything happy or smiley face, so we bought him this, more high-quality backpack that will hopefully last him a few years.

When I was a kid, my mom bought me one JanSport that basically lasted me my entire school career, but seems that kids these days get a new backpack each year.  Not for this gal!

We keep the kids on a pretty strict bedtime routine, basically only straying when it's a special occasion, so that won't be much of a transition.  What we are nipping in the bud is Cameron's way too early wake-up time.  No joke, last Saturday I thankfully forgot to close our bedroom blinds that look into the slider in the family room & woke to the light from the TV blaring in my face.  I looked over at the clock & it was 4:50a.m!!!!  Out of instinct, I immediately shouted, "Mike, it's 4:50 in the morning & Cameron is up!"  Mike leaped out of bed (I'm a horrible wife for waking him!) & the kid went back to sleep for nearly another four hours.  What a nut!

So we ordered Cam this Perry the Platypus alarm clock so he knows when it's an acceptable time to get out of bed.  Mike was worried that a clock might end up causing Cam anxiety, but I feel otherwise.  I cannot stand it when there's not a clock in a room I'm sleeping in & I have no idea what time it is.  The rule is that he cannot get up until 7 a.m.

School supply shopping is knocked out so I'm just making sure our homework station is up to snuff.  I don't care if a room or system looks good, but it it's not functional, it's not for me.  I want things to make my life easier, not more difficult.

{Source}

I picked up this striped caddy to go into our homework basket for under $15 at Target, otherwise we'll keep the same homework spot in the playroom that we used last year.

We're also planning on doing another back-to-school photo shoot with Cam's fellow first graders.  We're hoping to make it an annual thing & use this same desk as a prop so we can see how much they grow as the years progress (sniff, sniff).

I'll also start a new folder to save Cam's first grade work & start it with a picture from the beginning of the school year with all of his stats.

{Source with free printables}

I do have to say though, I'm pretty choosy on the things I save that come home from school.  I'm not overly sentimental so I don't save a piece of paper that has scribbles of color on it.  That about does it, ready or not, first grade, here we come!!!

The time it rained for weeks in Florida

This summer has been a strange one & the last few weeks, Florida has been slammed with rain.  Today I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to non-stop thunder & lightning, accompanied by pelting rain.

This is what the roads near the water look like today. After rounding with patients, I settled into my desk at noon, wondering what I was going to eat for lunch when an email dinged to my phone.  It was the kids' daycare notifying me that daycare would be closing & the kids had to be fetched by 2pm.  That made for a very rushed afternoon!

Thankfully the roads near our house were in good condition so I had no issues.  I used the early start as an opportunity to hit Target & get groceries for the week.  We've been using the Our Groceries app on our Android phones (also available on iPhones) for the past couple of years & I cannot imagine living without it!  Mike & I share a list so if he's at the store & I think of something else, I add to to the list, it pops up on his list & saves me a phone call.  Also, as you're running out of something, you grab your phone & just add it which helps us from smacking ourselves as we come home from the store without something we needed.  It can be used via your phone or computer.  When I come up with a weekly menu, I'll have Pinterest pulled up next to Our Groceries so I can add things straight from the recipe.  I also love that you can organize it by category (ie, produce, dairy, meat, frozen) & as you grab your item, it puts a line through it & moves it to the bottom.  It's awesome!

Today I whipped up a delicious one-pan cheesy broccoli & brown rice casserole.  I got it from Pinterest but used brown rice in place of white which boosts the nutrition value but also greatly increases the cooking time.  It may take longer to cook, but it's super quick to whip up so as it simmers away on the stove top, you've got time to tackle other tasks.

One-Pan Broccoli Cheddar & Brown Rice Casserole
Yield: 6 servings 
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

-3T EVOO
-1 small yellow onion, finely diced
-1-1.25# boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 cup brown rice
-1 2/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
-2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
-2c sharp shredded cheddar cheese

1) In a large skillet or pan, saute onions over medium heat with 2T EVOO until softened.  2) In the meantime, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces & season with salt & pepper.  3) Increase heat to medium-high & begin to brown the chicken.  4) Dice garlic & add to pan.  5) Push chicken to one side of the pan, add 1T EVOO, add the uncooked brown rice & saute for a couple of minutes. 6) Add chicken broth, stir to combine, allow mixture to come to a simmer, cover & cook for approximately 1 hour & 15 minutes (if you were to use long-grain white rice, this step would take only 12 minutes to cook & require 2.5c chicken broth).  7) Add broccoli florets & allow to cook an additional 15-20 minutes. 8) Add a cup of shredded cheddar cheese & mix to combine. 9) Top mixture with remaining cheddar cheese, cover for 2 minutes & allow cheese to melt. 10) Eat & enjoy.  P.S. - I highly suggest adding hot sauce such as Cholula!

Since the weather was crummy this past weekend, we had a rare family of four only weekend, laid low & went out for a yummy dinner Saturday evening.

I may have also indulged in a fantastic margarita or two that Mike makes with 3 simple ingredients: Fresh squeezed lime, tequila & triple sec.  Delish!

Sunday after church we headed back to Chuck E. Cheese so Mike could experience the mayhem & madness!  It was a great rain-filled, family oriented weekend!!