School Girl

Dear Kindergarten,

Where have you been all my life?

Much Love, Elle's Mom

P.S.- When will your friend Preschool be joining us?

School started yesterday for us. As you can guess, this was a big event in our home. First baby off to kindergarten is a momentous day for all. Things started out with a "Meet the Teacher" night on Thursday evening. Jake and I took Elle to her class to meet her teacher. The teacher seemed friendly enough, but not quite as bubbly as I pictured a kindergarten teacher being. I really can't blame her- she has three little kids herself, ages 6 and under and sometimes I'm not the most bubbly by the end of the day, either. After talking with her for a little bit, I decided that she and I could be really good friends, so I guess she'll be okay as Elle's teacher. Elle was a little bored that night. I think she thought it would be a little more exciting and was disappointed . I can't really blame her considering I just talked with her teacher most of the time. So above is her pictured sitting in her very own desk. She's all grown up!

Elle was really excited about starting school. She picked out her first day of school outfit, and because she has PE 4 days she has to wear tennis shoes most days. She had gotten a new backpack with my mom when we were in California, so we set out all of her stuff before bed. I packed her lunch with some requested items and for some reason I was worried we would forget it. I think I was projecting my anxieties over school into worrying about random things like not remembering her lunch or how hot she'll be having to play outside. (Don't I sound very psychologically smart!)

She woke up on her own, happy as ever and ready for the first day. She was singing as she did her morning jobs (bed, teeth, dressed, stuff like that) and was totally ready and excited.

The other girls of course could not be left out of the picture taking experience. And this was a big day for Mya, also. She finally would be the oldest kid at home and would receive much more attention than usual. Not to mention the fact that she is much more well behaved when older sis is not around.
Jake came with us to drop Elle off on her first day along with the million other parents. It was a zoo! We saw Kristin and Aubrey and walked in with them. I think this made Elle happy and feel ready for what she was doing.
We got to walk her into her class and help her get situated. She was happy, not sad at all, and ready for the day. I was more hesitant to leave, and felt almost a bit weepy, but I didn't.
That morning I did feel like I was teetering on the edge of emotional instability, but I really didn't break down or anything, and after a couple of hours I was totally fine. It's just interesting to reach the end of an era and to think about your kids growing up when you are so accustomed to them being so dependant on you. Anyways, I met up with some other moms at the mall to let the non-school kids play and to pass away our day.

Elle was so happy after school, and didn't even seem tired or hungry like I thought she would be. She had a great day and told me all about it. She has a couple of people in her class that she knows (unfortunately Sydney- seen above- isn't one of them). She even made some friends and told me that a girl named Kaylee asked her if she wanted to be her best friend and she did.
It was funny to me that Mya almost seemed sad after Elle headed off to school. She was on the couch watching cartoons and she looked like she was going to cry. She said she wasn't sad, but she sure looked it.
So the first day was a complete success, and it made me think we can totally do this. Easy. Once the first day is over it starts to become routine and you don't quite worry as much about all of the little things. I think it's easier to get worked up over something when you don't know what to expect, but once it starts you realize it's all going to be great. School is the best babysitter ever invented!
And our afternoon snack was none other than cookies and milk. Honestly, what else could it have been?!
The morning of day 2 was a little less smooth and there wasn't much happy singing going on around the house. Elle slept terribly, woke up early, and was moving at a very sloth-like speed getting things done. I had to think that unfortunately this will probably be most mornings. For some reason kids don't quite grasp the time concept like we want them too. I now can't wait for preschool to start for Mya. I love my kids, I really do. But for some reason I'm feeling very ready for school to start. Maybe it's the fact that by the end of summer I was feeling about two steps out of a mental institution. Seriously. So school has come at a much needed time. Now we'll just look forward to preschool for Mya and all the fun that will come with that!

We're on the Brink of Something Big Here

I think that in approximately 5 days my life will change forever. We are at the end of an era. And by this I mean that life will no longer be me doing what I want, whenever I want, with my kids under my supervision most of the time. We will now for the next at least 17 years be tied down by a school schedule. I know that it is like any major change in life. How can you ever feel ready when you really have no idea what to expect? When Elle was little, it felt like this day was ages away. I would drive by the elementary school and think that it seemed like forever until Elle would start there. But, like with every other long awaited thing in life, the time has now finally arrived. I have kind of adopted the attitude of acceptance with this new change. I know that it would be easy to get all worked up as a first-time mom of a kindergartner. What if kids are mean to her? What will she do all day while not under my supervision? What if she doesn't make any friends? Who will take care of her if she's sad? As my way of coping with the impending date, I have tried to think as little about these things as possible in an effort to not get too worked up about it. Because, the way I see it is I really have two options: home school or kindergarten. And because the first option is most definitely NOT happening, the second it is. And because it is inevitable, I might as well try and stay as calm about it as possible. I really think Elle is ready for school and that she will do great. I do hope she makes some fun nice friends and learns a ton and loves school. I guess only time will tell. It does help that I have some good friends who have gone before me and done this and they all survived so I know I will, too. So with that, I say good bye to all my endless free time and gladly say hello to school. We've been waiting for you!

All right, enough with the long old monologue. Because this day is a big deal, I thought it would be fun to do something special with Elle before she is out of my care for a majority of the days. I dropped my younger girls off at my friend Nicole's and took Elle out for a few surprises. First stop, her very first pedicure.
She at first was going to pick a blue sparkly color, but decided to go with a pretty pink sparkly. They turned out cute, but got messed up within the first hour so we went back for a little touch-up. The ladies were so nice and Elle had a good time.
Next stop, Academy sporting goods store. I had thought it would be fun to get her a new leotard for gymnastics and some soccer cleats. After trying on several leotards, we went with this beauty below. She really wanted the long sleeved type just like the Olympic girls. I tried to talk her out of it for fear that she would be too hot but her mind was made up.
Below are the shopping goods. Some soccer cleats for Elle, shinguards for Mya, and two leotards. I found another one on sale after the initial choice and decided to get it also. You can never have too many.
Last stop was lunch with a choice of either Panera or Potbelly. She decided on Panera where we both dined on broccoli cheddar soup with bread and split a piece of brownie cake. So yummy and so much fun to spend time with just Elle. She's at such a good age where she is fun to have around, and there is so much less to worry about with her. She can get in the car herself, stay in the dressing room herself, and won't run off. Just when she's getting so fun, she's off to school to hang out with other people. So sad! Maybe I'll have to pull her out a day during the year so we can do this again. We had the best time!
Onto other things...I've decided to spice up our dining room a bit. It is still in the works, but here are a few fun new things. Bamboo placemats and cute centerpiece. I got some new stuff for one of the walls and some cute new curtains. I'll show the finished product when we are done.

Also, I have started a project I have needed to do for a long time. We have this old hand me down dining room table. We had gotten the chairs re-covered before we moved here, but off-white was not such a good fabric choice. Even when I would try and clean the fabric, I still couldn't get it perfect. It would leave water marks and stains and they are just horrible! It took a little bit to figure out exactly how to re-cover them. But now, here is before (my favorite is the chocolate spoon mark)...
And here is after (go ahead and be impressed)...
(Ignore the fact that the chairs are scratched up and just appreciate my re-covering job!) The fabric is not my favorite, but practicality ranked over pure aesthetic beauty so brown it is.
And lastly are my cute kids outside watching a spider. We've been getting lots of rain so haven't been able to enjoy the pool during our last week of summer. We did get a nice gecko in the house the other day that I got to remove. The girls have been into catching spiders in tupperwares. Always a fun hobby. And we also had an educational nature experience the other afternoon when a hawk landed in our backyard with a dead bird as it's prey. Pretty interesting to watch. And below is my cute baby who is looking and seeming so grown-up with her piggy tails. She's trying to talk a ton, and has started saying "Uh-oh" a lot. She's so cute and I know, before I can even imagine, it will be her getting ready to start preschool.

Sleepovers, Corn, TVs, and Flowers

We are on the Kindergarten countdown here at our house. One week and counting... I have some deep thoughts on this particular topic (okay not really that deep) but we'll save my musings as an almost mom-of-kid-in-public-education for another post. Today lets first discuss the much anticipated "Back to School" sleepover! I know you all wish you could have come. Unfortunately my good friend Kristin was the only adult who got to stay over. (I think we should do a moms only sleepover sometime. That might be really fun.) Jake somehow snuck out and stayed the night at Chad's house after a fun man-date to Red Robin with the guys. So Kristin and I got to play a little "Truth or Dare" and put the little girls panties in the freezer after they went to sleep. Seriously though, I'm so grateful Kristin was there to help me with the nine children (7 sleepover girls, 2 babies) in our care. It was soooo much easier with her help. It really went about as good as could be expected. They stayed up late, woke up right before 7, and ate junk food. Despite the fact that at one time one of the girls was in Elle's and Mya's room crying saying something like, "This is the worst sleepover ever!" I think everyone really had a good time.


We had cookies and colored with markers...

We painted toenails...

Kristin got crafty with the Sharpie decorating the cups, and the girls had fun making bead pictures (you know, with the peg board and you iron them together at the end- it's a classic!)

Everyone did eventually all fall asleep and Mya and Andrew were, I think, the only ones who woke up in the night. The morning started off with a little "Strawberry Shortcake" and a healthy breakfast of donuts. It really was fun, and I think my girls had a good time. Mya's already asking for another sleepover so she must have enjoyed herself!

Moving on from the sleepover... this next little story is disgusting and educational all at the same time. So read on knowing you may be grossed out but you just might learn something that will keep you from having to go to the ER. Now I know you're curious. It has to do with this little thing below...

Now this is gross, but I'll spare no details in the name of education. The girls were eating dinner the other night when all of a sudden Mya says something like, "Mom I have a piece of corn up my nose!" Me, "What?!" Elle (break out in hysterics and go out of the room- she can't handle emergencies, blood, etc. remember??). So corn up the nose. Mya tried to blow it out. No luck. We tried the nose sucker. No luck. I start calling people like my smart nurse friend Ashley, pediatrician office, and friend Laney whose little boy decided a nose was a nice place for a raisin. Suggested method of removal: a little mouth to mouth. I really was skeptical that this would work because, upon inspection with the flashlight, I could see that the corn was really really far up there. It took about three good tries. I had to seal off Mya's mouth (CPR-like), and while plugging the other nostril, give a good strong blow. On the third try the above pictured piece of corn came shooting out of her nose and stuck on my face. Gross. I told you. But now you know how to get that bean out of your two year old's nose. You can thank me later.

Jake and I made a fun little purchase this week. We got a fancy little TV for our bedroom. Jake has been coveting big screens for awhile now, but fiscal responsibility caught up with us and we settled on a smaller buy. Along with the great new toy, we also got satellite again, along with DVR (which I'm so excited about), and HD programing. It is so great! I feel like the athletes in the Olympics are right in my room with me. Me and Phelps, hanging out, just like you can reach out and touch him. We love it! The year 2008 has been missing us. It feels good to be back out of the Stone Age.

These are just some pretty flowers from my front yard. I love flowers and they make me so happy so I wanted to share the happiness. How can you look at flowers and not be happy? I don't think it can be done!

Chess, anyone???

Thanks girls for coming to Book Club. The book up for discussion today is, of course, none other than:

So I've had lots of thoughts about this book over the last week or so. I hate to be kind of down on it especially because I was SUCH a huge fan of the first three. But I have to be honest and say that this could have been my least favorite of the series. There are many reasons for this, and I will try to justify my feelings here. First off, I have to say that this book definitely should not be read by the under-17 crowd. Parts of it were even a little too much info for me. I'm just a little disappointed that she would take it to that level when she knows her audience. I know that she says she writes for herself, but I personally feel it was a little bit much. That aside, we will move on.

If you had made me take a multiple choice test before reading this book about what I thought the content would be, I would have failed miserably. If the question was:

Name which of these storylines will appear in "Breaking Dawn":
A- The Volturi returns to take down the Cullens
B- Bella and Edward have a half-vampiric love child
C- Jacob imprints on Bella's daughter
D- All of the above

I would have picked A, no doubt, and almost laughed at the other two options. There's no way I saw those things coming. Meyer does have a knack for making unbelievable things seem realistic and almost believable. I think I'll talk quickly about each of the books.

BOOK ONE- Part of my problem is that I like Jacob. So the Edward Bella relationship does nothing for me. I'm like, yea yea they got married, blah blah, let's move on. I was so happy when Jacob came to the wedding I got a little teary eyed.

BOOK TWO- So happy to have Jacob's point of view. He's funny and just great. I did start to think that him and Leah were going to end up together. I wish Meyer would have let us know what happened to Leah just to make sure she was happy. Bella was lucky to have two guys who would do anything and everything for her. So gross that she drank blood, and that she liked it. Isn't this the girl that was supposed to hate even the smell of blood? Whatever. Glad to see Jacob accept his birthright Alpha role. Also glad things smoothed out with the werewolves and the treaty was rearranged, although it all seemed a little too easy for creatures that are supposed to be mortal enemies. I didn't expect the imprinting on Nessie, although I guess it was good closure for the love triangle. I'm just glad Jacob didn't have to keep chasing after Bella like a little lost puppy anymore.

BOOK THREE- Bella the vampire. I really did not like her as a vampire. First off, she was so mean to Jacob. I understand the crazy newborn emotions and all that, but the guy saved her life time and time again and allowed her to become the thing he hated. Cut the guy a little slack. Also, she just didn't feel like Bella to me anymore. I did see the need to move the story forward, and so, in a way, the change was at first refreshing. I also had a hard time feeling that connection between her and her daughter in the beginning. It took awhile for me to believe it. I'm a little disappointed at Edward as a father. I would picture him as a perfect dad and he seemed a bit removed. Glad Bella ended up with a superpower. I also was so glad Alice came back, though not totally surprised. And I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the lack of action with the Volturi. I expected a big fight. Oh well. Glad it all ended happily, with even Charlie getting the girl.

Overall, I liked the book. I just didn't love it like the last three. I think it just felt a lot the same as the third with the love triangle still hanging around and with the fight set-up in the clearing. "Twilight" was such a novelty. "New Moon" was depressing and emotional and intense with Jacob and Italy and the whole bit. "Eclipse" solidified relationships. "Breaking Dawn" was just okay and tied up some loose ends. I'm sorry to say it. I must say that Harry Potter #7 was awesome as a closing book. Books don't get much better than that. This was a slight let down for me, but I still love Meyer's stories and will continue to buy probably every book she'll ever write. If you've read it, tell me what you think! I'd love to hear. Oh, and please explain the chess pieces. I've made it a life goal to never learn how to play chess so if someone could fill me in, that would be great!

Since apparently I'm the only one who watches SYTYCD...

We'll move onto other topics, like my super duper exciting life. I wanted to talk first a little about Jada because she is growing up so much. Unfortunately along with the growing up comes the need to communicate which she cannot really do yet. Because of this communication barrier we have going on here at our home, she has resorted to yelling if she wants something. It's really pleasant to be around. She can say a few things (mama, dada, hot, bye, shoe- you know, some basics) but until the vocab increases a little, I'm afraid we are doomed to a few weeks (or months) of yelling. Here she is with her big girl pigtails. They make her look so grown up.

Another fun habit she likes to engage in is the disposing of any food she does not want. This means emptying the high chair of all unwanted items onto the floor. It's really really fun to clean up.

And here she is knocking back a little water in the sippy wearing her awesome family reunion shirt. It's a slight improvement over the dark jungle baby in the diaper look she was sporting earlier. Since we've come back from our trip she actually likes to sit at the picnic table like a big girl. She's also learned how to climb down from the top when she climbs up there.
Okay, enough about Jada. Jake and I celebrated our anniversary a little late this year. I did absolutely nothing for him except be an exceptional wife like always. He, on the other hand, spoiled me with a fun night out to a super fancy restaurant (Brennan's) where they were all prepared for us and our anniversary. It was so great to not have to worry about anything but looking pretty and eating lots of yummy food (including turtle soup- I never would have believed people actually ate turtle until I married a Southerner). Jake also bought me a really cute necklace from "Mignon Faget". Yes, I'm lame and really didn't do anything. I promise to make up for it in November for the big 3-0.

We also luckily survived Tropical Storm Eduard (fitting name for a little "Breaking Dawn" reading), but just barely. I'm actually kidding because all it did here is rain with minimal wind. And not really even that hard. We get worse wind and rain during passing thunderstorms. I don't even think the power flickered. Jake worked some from home and took the older girls out in the afternoon and I had some peaceful reading time. They had fun with Aubrey and Chad bowling, eating ice cream, and going to Costco. Here are the girls playing in the rain. Wow, what a let down of a storm.
I lucked out school shopping on Friday with Jada (Nicole had my older girls) and found some awesome deals. I think I got 30 things at Old Navy for under $75. If that's not good shopping, I don't know what is. And it was good stuff too, like skirts and capris and shorts, not just all shirts. It was fun to go through all the new stuff the girls have. Have I mentioned I love shopping? I can't believe Elle starts kindergarten two weeks from tomorrow!
In honor of the back-to-school time, we are going to have a fun little sleepover for the girls and some of their friends. Jake's trying to sneak out with Chad and ditch me and Kristin with all the kids, but I'm not sure I'm going to let that happen. We'll have to see how nice he is. These were our fancy invites I made out of cute plates and a little curly ribbon. Sometimes I'm so creative I can hardly believe it.

I wanted to post just a few more pictures from our summer kid swap. The first is the kids playing with a fun Jada b-day present. The next is of homemade pretzels we made that turned out really yummy. The third is an on-the-fly craft project I thought of with a little construction paper, glue, and food. The possibilities are endless. And lastly is the kids with an enormous mess they made last week. It's times like these that I feel the need to go through the toys and throw out a bunch of junk. We'll see if I get around to it. (And sorry Nicole to feature your son in a dress. Hopefully Aaron forgives me.)

We're attempting to start up a babysitting swap with some of our other friends in order to increase the number of date nights we get. Our first night to go out is this upcoming weekend. I'm excited to keep doing the swap and think we'll have lots of fun with it.
Well, that about wraps it up. We've been watching the Olympics here with our bunny ears. Jake and I joke about all the "snow" in China this summer. Darn bunny ears. I think Jake's almost about ready to switch back to Dish. I can't wait. We've also been contemplating a new TV purchase, but I don't know that he's quite ready to pull the trigger on that big purchase yet. Almost done with "Breaking Dawn". I've got a little less than 50 pages to go I think and then we'll discuss. It's taken me a little bit to finish. It's a long book and I do have three kids and a husband to attend to at times. That combined with the SYTYCD finales and a night out to BJ's has hampered my reading time. I've been staying up way too late reading, but decided to save the last little bit until Monday and to just go to bed last night around 1 am. I can't wait to hear what all the faithful Twilight readers think about the book!