In a few weeks, we'll be sending our daughter off to 1st grade.
We've tried on all the uniform parts (except for shirts) to make certain that everything fits. What didn't fit either went to a friend or the uniform swap the other day.
We went to a church school supply giveaway carnival and had a great time.
We went to take advantage of the rockin' school supply sale that Staples has this week.
We filled the pencil box with all the new things, only after mommy wrote K-'s name on everything.
K- will be wrapping up with her summer bridge tutor this week. It was the best money spent, as between the library group, the tutor and the 3 weeks of summer camp, it kept K-'s momentum up regarding reading and still wanting to "do homework."
New shoes are awaiting wear. Lids tightly fastened for now, but soon the shoes will show wear from heel dragging on the swings.
Shirts still have tags and and the sticky size label on the front. Got to remove those before wear! (We were able to re-run ALL! of the jumpers from last year and I scored some skorts on resale.)
We have one more day at the pool before it closes. (I was surprised to find that the last day is August 22, despite our starting school on Sept 1.)
We've been starting to tweak with the bedtime and morning schedules.
We have a birthday party to attend.
We have a birthday to celebrate.
We have soccer that will begin.
Are you starting to wrap summer up? Do tell!
Smiles in my weekend:
- Lots!
Showing posts with label Oh how time flies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oh how time flies. Show all posts
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Many things.
I had a birthday. I am now 36. My mother-in-law commented on the amount of gray hair that I have. I know, I know. It's hard enough for me to keep up with getting my hair cut. I'd never keep up with coloring. 
We took my in-law's with us to Idlewild on Saturday as an anniversary gift to them. We went as a birthday/end of summer celebration for us. We had a great time! We were able to score tickets at Giant Eagle, so we saved $50.00 on admission. That alone was reason to smile! We went to the Story Book Forest, rode the train, went through Mr. Roger's Neighborhood of Make Believe on the trolley, rode a bunch of rides that even my mother-in-law went on (I think we about did her on on the Rollo Coaster.) We stopped for a bite to eat on the way back home and didn't actually land on our doorstep until 12:45 AM on Sunday morning. That's a long day for us! We don't stay up that late.We did make it to church on Sunday morning. We hadn't been for a few weeks because of K-'s viral funk. It was a great sermon that spoke to my heart about having God at the forefront, not being able to have 2 masters in your life and readjusting priorities. Particularly with work stress, I needed to hear that.
We went to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens for my birthday. Hubs and K- take me every year, and every year EXCEPT this one (thank you!) K- didn't break down and have a horrible fit. We went on a garden tour, were able to be there for the butterfly release, where K- got a few to handle and one flew onto Hubs' head. :)
Much to the dismay of my family unit, we were able to work on the task of getting the Christmas photo done. I drove the in-law's crazy with it the day before and Hubs and K- were slightly annoyed with me today. In the end, I believe that we may have fetched a few contenders. I know that it sounds ridiculous to work on it this early, but Hubs kind of likes a destination type photo and with no vacation this year, this was pretty much our only chance. Hubs understands my artist tendencies, so it is all good. Each one of us have our own obsessive things and the Christmas card photo is one of mine.
I've been battling a little bit of something, as whatever funk I have seems to be blossoming in sores in my mouth. The sore of earlier on in the week that actually gave me an earache went away only to have one crop up on the opposite side of my mouth. This one has part of the roof of my mouth aching with redness. I've had a sore throat today, as well as some swollen glands, but after some Advil and Advil Cold and Sinus, it seems to have calmed down a bit. Both Hubs and I have been battling the mouth sores this week, so we think that maybe K-'s viral funk hit us a little bit. I had a hazy headache for a week, but finally didn't have it today. Perhaps the lightness, but annoyingness of whatever bit of something that I had is disappearing. Hopefully it does along with that huge cold sore in my mouth. Ouch.
We're looking towards the official end of summer. We have our orientation for K- tomorrow night. Mrs. F- is her teacher, but I don't recall her at the registration presentation. I admit that it makes me nervous, as I'll be leaving my child in her care for 6 hours a day/5 days a week. I'm certain that she is well qualified and all that, but I do believe that the orientation will be helpful in my being able to lay my eyes on her, getting to speak with her, finding out a bit more about her and her angle of teaching and how tightly she runs her ship. (No, I realize that this is not a parent/teacher conference, but if I can get 1/4 of my curiosities satisfied, then maybe I'll feel better, yes?) K- will be able to check out her room (magical number 3!) and meet some of her classmates. I'm excited for her, but nervous. I figure that each school year factors in adjustment to new schedules/people and whatnot. Hopefully, K- will do well with her adjustment and be the delightful little girl that I know her to be. Nevermind me. I'll be the mommy doing the deep breathing exercises over here.
Smiles in my weekend:
- A great weekend! Thanks honey and K-!
- Ice cream cake. I know that I used to work at DQ, but I never grow tired of their cakes.
- Being able to check back on the little girl who fell and bonked her head while the kids were waiting for their trolley ride. We ran into her and her family at some games later on in the evening, we were able to confirm that she was okay, though pushed down hard by another little girl. I was able to talk with the mother, who I praised for handling the situation as well as she had. Her daughter was pushed by another child who was neither reprimanded by her mother, nor even made to go to see how the injured child was. The mother said nothing. She didn't even acknowledge the incident. K- was mortified, as she had no idea what to do when she heard the collection of parental gasps when the incident happened. She came, sat with me and she went to check on her temporary playmate. I couldn't speak in detail about the incident until later, as the offender and mom were sitting right next to us in line. It made K-'s heart happy to know that the little girl was okay, as she had brought it up a few times during the day. This way, I know that she can rest well knowing that the playmate will be a-okay.
I hope that all of you had a wonderful weekend! Still spotty this week, because of sending K- off to school. Next week I'll get back to my normal schedule. I promise!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Lots going on.
I'm writing this Thursday night because I love to give y'all a post every day. I try anyhow! So, today ends with exhaustion from accomplishment. Oh, do let me give you the run-down.
The day started with K- going to preschool. We got up at 7:15 AM, I saw that it was BLUE outside and so BLUE that it was a NACITS (not a cloud in the sky) kind of day. They had promised 63 degrees +. Do you know what that spells? Strip the beds, wash the linens, then line dry the sheets! Hubs didn't have to go in until later, so he got up to greet K- and I stripped our bed and had the sheets in the washer before I left to drop K- off. I came home and found Hubs resting on the couch. Apparently, he had plans to snuggle back in bed for a few more minutes but found the bed bare. Oops. Sorry! I laundered the clothes that were in the basket and the towels from the bathroom. There was a breeze, so everything was drying rather quickly. I decided to go ahead and line dry the towels. I figured that the breeze would snap the stiffness out of them. Can I tell you that I was wrong? I've just used a noisy towel (yes, noisy) that felt like I was drying myself with a long sheet of steel wool. But line drying otherwise was very pleasant. (No, we don't use fabric softener because of allergies.)
I drove back up and got K- and shuttled on back home to have a bite for lunch. I had signed her up for a Wildflower program at 1:00 PM, so we needed to trot on to the park for that.
The program was lovely, but I'd like to ask something. What the heck was up with the loud chatty moms at the table I sat at? They paid no attention to the program, no attention to their kids and did not catch the hint when I turned around not one but THREE times to give them the polite but stern mommy shhh! look. I could have beaned the women! In between Chatty and Patty and their loudness, (and a difficulty hearing because of them) I learned the following:
1. Garlic Mustard is invasive and not good at all. Nothing eats it and the seeds are spread by wind. Their roots overtake soil that native species would live in, thus resulting in a lack of natives and a boom of invasives. They actually have Garlic Mustard pulls as a result.
2. It takes a Trout Lily 7 full years to bloom. If you pick the bloom, it will die because then it has no seeds to regenerate.
3. Even a spider is considered a "pollinator."
4. Skunk cabbage really does stink.
5. Blue Bells were in bloom.
6. We saw Cut Leaf Tooth Wart.
7. We also saw Violets.
8. Spring Beauty was in bloom.
9. We saw Mayapples emerging. Though they are considered poisonous until just a certain point (that Miss Pat, a previous coworker of Hubs, admitted that she wouldn't eat one due to uncertainty), I was able to share with her later that I had eaten a Mayapple. It is pulpy and tastes grapey/appley. It is also very seedy. Hubs' boss picked it and insisted that one of us eat it. Hubs would not. K- was grossed out and that left me. We couldn't disappoint him!
10. Jack in the Pulpit's flower is not the big flowery type tubey flower that we all thought. It's the flowery stem inside.
When we left, K- was fast asleep within 5 minutes. We went back home, K- played with Barbies for a while as I talked to Grandma about this past week with the girls. (Which was great that Grandma was willing to watch all 3 of the girls at the same time. They all get so excited and wear poor Grandma out!)
Then it was time. My vehicle needed freed from what winter had done to it. Our winter started early, at the end of October and our last snow was just April 8. During this time, I had taken my vehicle for one car wash. Toys, crumbs and bits of dried foodstuffs littered the backseat.
It was time to take the car back from Old Man Winter.
K- and I spent 2 hours cleaning the car. Now, in the land of cars, mine probably ranked middle of the road in the untidiness of it all. You see, K- has taken toys, coloring books, crayons and the like into the car for these past 5 1/2 months. During that time, things went in, but rarely came out. It was like a spin on Umpa Loompas, except for people did leave the vehicle. I set out a storage tote that I had been collecting items in already in the back of the RAV for her to clear out the backseat. She was quite a worker. I had a little garbage bag for her and found A PARTIALLY EATEN APPLE! What, my child, were you thinking? "Sorry mom." Rotting apples? My car would have smelled like fermenting garbage soon! I swept and swept. Now, I did see a few chex squares and a pretzel that I was just unable to get. It would have called for the removal of K-'s booster, which since it is rather large and is held in by anchors and tethers, I decided to bypass the 10 minute re-installation and just know that a few chex squares and a pretzel weren't going to kill us. After all, it wasn't a partially eaten apple.
After sweeping and wiping down the inside, we moved to the exterior. I washed and scrubbed. K- took the wheels. We wiped and washed. We were both filthy and wet, but the car shines! I found a few ker-tunks from rocks and think that the 13 degrees below zero may very well have shot the paint pen that I accidentally forgot in the glove box. I may need to order a new one.
She's clean now. Now I'm not embarrassed to get my oil changed tomorrow. While there, I'm going to tackle this pesky, "My Tire Cover Wants To Fly Off of My Vehicle" problem. It's under warranty. They said that they'd look at it and do whatever they had to do. For now, it is stowed away in the back of the RAV. Don't worry, we didn't forget to clean it.
My friend had invited, but actually insisted that we come to visit and give her some sanity today, but then called as we were washing the car to leave the message that her littlest man had a runny nose and a cold that has made him not quite himself. I'm not afraid of a runny nose, but the not-quite-himself sent me to call her and say "thanks, but no thanks." That sent me scrambling for dinner for K- and me. Heather had prepared a lovely ham and potato soup, but declining also meant declining on the lovely meal. No fear! I had chili in the freezer from 2 weeks ago. I heated it up, put a little cheese on it, had crackers and we were good to go.
That leaves me to now. I've made the mistake of sitting down. This probably wouldn't be a big deal except for my bed hasn't been re-sheeted. (I make up my own words. You'll learn to love it about me.) K- is in the bathtub, soaking the day off of her body. I had plans of cleaning the bathroom this evening, but the remainder of the housecleaning will just have to lop on over to tomorrow. We had to take advantage of the excellent weather when we could, right?
Speaking of, today is the day. Friday, April 17, 2009 is the day that I'm registering our one and only for Kindergarten. I've filled out a majority of the paperwork and gathered the necessary items of proof to register her. Oh, heavens. It makes me teary just thinking about it. I'm dropping K- off at a friend's house, going to the school and doing the necessary things and going back to scoop her up. I'll have her school spirit shirt that she'll probably insist on wearing. My goofy kid is growing up. How I'll miss her when she's at school!
Edited to add: Kindergarten registration was long. People spoke for an hour and a half. We met all the Kindergarten teachers, learned about a lot of things they will be teaching our children. Um, I'm thinking that Kindergarten is equivalent to my second or third grade learning.
After getting little miss all signed up, I trotted on down to our local Toyota dealership for an oil change and to solve the mystery of the tire cover. I admitted that I didn't know if I was being a girl about it and just didn't get something weird about the tire cover, but when they returned my keys to me, they told me that they would be ordering a new tire cover. Apparently, they found it to be a problem, too. Or, I found it seems that someone dropped it top side down onto concrete and gouged it all up and that is why they are replacing it. Maybe a combo of the two, yes? At any rate, that is marked off my list.
Right now K- is sleeping in her booster in the car. I rolled the windows down and unlatched her, so she can get out when she awakes. I figured her body told her that it needed a nap. Mommy decided to listen to K-'s body was saying, too. Besides, I need to make a grocery list, so it gives me time!
Have a great rest of your day! :)
The day started with K- going to preschool. We got up at 7:15 AM, I saw that it was BLUE outside and so BLUE that it was a NACITS (not a cloud in the sky) kind of day. They had promised 63 degrees +. Do you know what that spells? Strip the beds, wash the linens, then line dry the sheets! Hubs didn't have to go in until later, so he got up to greet K- and I stripped our bed and had the sheets in the washer before I left to drop K- off. I came home and found Hubs resting on the couch. Apparently, he had plans to snuggle back in bed for a few more minutes but found the bed bare. Oops. Sorry! I laundered the clothes that were in the basket and the towels from the bathroom. There was a breeze, so everything was drying rather quickly. I decided to go ahead and line dry the towels. I figured that the breeze would snap the stiffness out of them. Can I tell you that I was wrong? I've just used a noisy towel (yes, noisy) that felt like I was drying myself with a long sheet of steel wool. But line drying otherwise was very pleasant. (No, we don't use fabric softener because of allergies.)
I drove back up and got K- and shuttled on back home to have a bite for lunch. I had signed her up for a Wildflower program at 1:00 PM, so we needed to trot on to the park for that.
The program was lovely, but I'd like to ask something. What the heck was up with the loud chatty moms at the table I sat at? They paid no attention to the program, no attention to their kids and did not catch the hint when I turned around not one but THREE times to give them the polite but stern mommy shhh! look. I could have beaned the women! In between Chatty and Patty and their loudness, (and a difficulty hearing because of them) I learned the following:
1. Garlic Mustard is invasive and not good at all. Nothing eats it and the seeds are spread by wind. Their roots overtake soil that native species would live in, thus resulting in a lack of natives and a boom of invasives. They actually have Garlic Mustard pulls as a result.
2. It takes a Trout Lily 7 full years to bloom. If you pick the bloom, it will die because then it has no seeds to regenerate.
3. Even a spider is considered a "pollinator."
4. Skunk cabbage really does stink.
5. Blue Bells were in bloom.
6. We saw Cut Leaf Tooth Wart.
7. We also saw Violets.
8. Spring Beauty was in bloom.
9. We saw Mayapples emerging. Though they are considered poisonous until just a certain point (that Miss Pat, a previous coworker of Hubs, admitted that she wouldn't eat one due to uncertainty), I was able to share with her later that I had eaten a Mayapple. It is pulpy and tastes grapey/appley. It is also very seedy. Hubs' boss picked it and insisted that one of us eat it. Hubs would not. K- was grossed out and that left me. We couldn't disappoint him!
10. Jack in the Pulpit's flower is not the big flowery type tubey flower that we all thought. It's the flowery stem inside.
When we left, K- was fast asleep within 5 minutes. We went back home, K- played with Barbies for a while as I talked to Grandma about this past week with the girls. (Which was great that Grandma was willing to watch all 3 of the girls at the same time. They all get so excited and wear poor Grandma out!)
Then it was time. My vehicle needed freed from what winter had done to it. Our winter started early, at the end of October and our last snow was just April 8. During this time, I had taken my vehicle for one car wash. Toys, crumbs and bits of dried foodstuffs littered the backseat.
It was time to take the car back from Old Man Winter.
K- and I spent 2 hours cleaning the car. Now, in the land of cars, mine probably ranked middle of the road in the untidiness of it all. You see, K- has taken toys, coloring books, crayons and the like into the car for these past 5 1/2 months. During that time, things went in, but rarely came out. It was like a spin on Umpa Loompas, except for people did leave the vehicle. I set out a storage tote that I had been collecting items in already in the back of the RAV for her to clear out the backseat. She was quite a worker. I had a little garbage bag for her and found A PARTIALLY EATEN APPLE! What, my child, were you thinking? "Sorry mom." Rotting apples? My car would have smelled like fermenting garbage soon! I swept and swept. Now, I did see a few chex squares and a pretzel that I was just unable to get. It would have called for the removal of K-'s booster, which since it is rather large and is held in by anchors and tethers, I decided to bypass the 10 minute re-installation and just know that a few chex squares and a pretzel weren't going to kill us. After all, it wasn't a partially eaten apple.
After sweeping and wiping down the inside, we moved to the exterior. I washed and scrubbed. K- took the wheels. We wiped and washed. We were both filthy and wet, but the car shines! I found a few ker-tunks from rocks and think that the 13 degrees below zero may very well have shot the paint pen that I accidentally forgot in the glove box. I may need to order a new one.
She's clean now. Now I'm not embarrassed to get my oil changed tomorrow. While there, I'm going to tackle this pesky, "My Tire Cover Wants To Fly Off of My Vehicle" problem. It's under warranty. They said that they'd look at it and do whatever they had to do. For now, it is stowed away in the back of the RAV. Don't worry, we didn't forget to clean it.
My friend had invited, but actually insisted that we come to visit and give her some sanity today, but then called as we were washing the car to leave the message that her littlest man had a runny nose and a cold that has made him not quite himself. I'm not afraid of a runny nose, but the not-quite-himself sent me to call her and say "thanks, but no thanks." That sent me scrambling for dinner for K- and me. Heather had prepared a lovely ham and potato soup, but declining also meant declining on the lovely meal. No fear! I had chili in the freezer from 2 weeks ago. I heated it up, put a little cheese on it, had crackers and we were good to go.
That leaves me to now. I've made the mistake of sitting down. This probably wouldn't be a big deal except for my bed hasn't been re-sheeted. (I make up my own words. You'll learn to love it about me.) K- is in the bathtub, soaking the day off of her body. I had plans of cleaning the bathroom this evening, but the remainder of the housecleaning will just have to lop on over to tomorrow. We had to take advantage of the excellent weather when we could, right?
Speaking of, today is the day. Friday, April 17, 2009 is the day that I'm registering our one and only for Kindergarten. I've filled out a majority of the paperwork and gathered the necessary items of proof to register her. Oh, heavens. It makes me teary just thinking about it. I'm dropping K- off at a friend's house, going to the school and doing the necessary things and going back to scoop her up. I'll have her school spirit shirt that she'll probably insist on wearing. My goofy kid is growing up. How I'll miss her when she's at school!
Edited to add: Kindergarten registration was long. People spoke for an hour and a half. We met all the Kindergarten teachers, learned about a lot of things they will be teaching our children. Um, I'm thinking that Kindergarten is equivalent to my second or third grade learning.
After getting little miss all signed up, I trotted on down to our local Toyota dealership for an oil change and to solve the mystery of the tire cover. I admitted that I didn't know if I was being a girl about it and just didn't get something weird about the tire cover, but when they returned my keys to me, they told me that they would be ordering a new tire cover. Apparently, they found it to be a problem, too. Or, I found it seems that someone dropped it top side down onto concrete and gouged it all up and that is why they are replacing it. Maybe a combo of the two, yes? At any rate, that is marked off my list.
Right now K- is sleeping in her booster in the car. I rolled the windows down and unlatched her, so she can get out when she awakes. I figured her body told her that it needed a nap. Mommy decided to listen to K-'s body was saying, too. Besides, I need to make a grocery list, so it gives me time!
Have a great rest of your day! :)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Thursday Ramble
1. Look what my sister and brother-in-law gave K- for Easter. Real Tinkerbell Crocs! I admit that K- has been wearing the Toys R Us knock off's. You know what? Jibbitz fit in them too! :) Aunt K- took the girls yesterday to the store up the street to Jibbitize their footwear. Aunt K- told me that K- picked her very own Jibbitz out. We've got the school bus (because Kindergarten is starting next year), a lion, a Care Bear, Clifford and the donkey from Shrek. K- loves them. (Yes Rach, I though of Lily-- croc-croc shoes!)
2. I got chewed out at work on Tuesday. Don't worry. It's all good. What we have at the gallery is a place where we are able to voice our own opinion, as the eclectic group of artists that we are and by and large, it goes over just fine. Unfortunately, we are all suffering from being a bit disheartened by the economic situation that everyone is in and as such, I was trying to voice my opinion to the ordering powers that be what the customers are stating that the DON'T want to see. I was encouraging more handcrafted, non-commercial items (we have a multi store complex that carries handcrafted and commercially crafted items.) Apparently, I stepped on toes along the way, they spoke to the owner who came over on Tuesday and gave me the come-hither finger. Ouch. 95% of this boils down to CPSIA, which though good intentioned, has caused more stress amongst the handcrafted artisans. My job is not in jeopardy. I'm glad that I work at a place where we are able to freely discuss these things. Still, I don't like my boss being irritated at me.
3. The frog and toad count of Tuesday night was canceled! Hooray! Hubs was home at the regular time and not out tromping in people's yards until 11 PM or later. (And again, yes he does get paid to count frogs and toads.)
4. A praise that Brien is doing better! Another praise is that Rach has been home on spring break with a croupy Lily, but at least they were off and paid for it. That's a good thing!
5. K- went back to school this week and was so excited to! They are officially done with their little letter books of the week, have been working on perfecting their last names and writing their numbers.
6. Jamie has a computer and is now feeling connected to the world, again. And Jamie, back up your stuff and keep glasses of tea away from this one, please! :) We miss you when you aren't around. Besides, it's kind of tough to do your work thing without it.
7. What is it with teachers dating their students? I mean, really. (As I'm writing this, there is a story about a teacher dating and *whatnot* with his 17 year old student.) Ugh.
8. Aunt K- took the girls and Grandma to the Hannah Montana movie yesterday. K- really liked it. I admit that it was only her second time to a movie theater. K- admitted that she ate far too much and thought she would be ill. She said that she worked hard on not getting sick and didn't want to say anything. Apparently, they got a huge bucket of popcorn and sat it in K-'s lap between the three girls. K- has the habit of over indulging, if given the opportunity.
9. We got together last night with Hubs' family (a couple of aunts, an uncle and a cousin) that I haven't seen in a while. Aunt A- has been in treatment for recurrence of breast cancer. It has probably been a few years since I've seen her. I admit that her appearance is much altered, but she is in good spirits. Dinner was wonderful and I was glad that we got to get together.
10. I did an Easter egg hunt for the girls. It was good fun. We suited the kids up in their new crocs and let them run around in the wet grass to get the eggs that were strewn about.
11. We were so busy at work yesterday! We are having a show on Saturday and I was so happy to see the traffic. People were buying things! Lots of things! People were happy! It seemed like a normal day in the gallery. Truly, it made my heart happy.
12. K- was able to play with her cousin from Chicago and they even met her at school yesterday. They all went with grandma (the cousins and Aunt K-) to pick K- up. She was so happy!
13. I sign K- up for Kindergarten on Friday. Eeeeee! Where the heck did all the time go? We were discussing this evening about how it may very well be faster for us to walk the 8 blocks to school, as opposed to run the car conga line. Her school (eeee!) is on a small back street, nestled into a residential neighborhood and I'm thinking that the flow isn't going to be that good.
14. We have a park program today. K- is back at the kindergarten program at the local park and today we'll be learning about wildflowers. She's missed Miss Pat, but the visitor center is currently closed for renovations, we had holidays, major crapped out weather and we finished our time at Little Gym, which was just up the street. The park program is about 20 minutes away, but it is just a wonderful science lesson for K- with hands-on field adventures. I'm glad that we're getting back into the swing.
15. Have I mentioned that I've finally figured out a way to wear my hair down and keep it out of my face? Bobbie pins, baby. A couple bobbie pins in the side and it actually looks like I did something to my hair. Believe me, besides wrestling a hairbrush through it and putting some curling mousse in it, it is what it is. Anyone with curly hair knows what I mean. I've been happy with my hair lately. But, shhh. Don't tell my hair. If you do, it'll stop behaving.
Have a great day!
2. I got chewed out at work on Tuesday. Don't worry. It's all good. What we have at the gallery is a place where we are able to voice our own opinion, as the eclectic group of artists that we are and by and large, it goes over just fine. Unfortunately, we are all suffering from being a bit disheartened by the economic situation that everyone is in and as such, I was trying to voice my opinion to the ordering powers that be what the customers are stating that the DON'T want to see. I was encouraging more handcrafted, non-commercial items (we have a multi store complex that carries handcrafted and commercially crafted items.) Apparently, I stepped on toes along the way, they spoke to the owner who came over on Tuesday and gave me the come-hither finger. Ouch. 95% of this boils down to CPSIA, which though good intentioned, has caused more stress amongst the handcrafted artisans. My job is not in jeopardy. I'm glad that I work at a place where we are able to freely discuss these things. Still, I don't like my boss being irritated at me.
3. The frog and toad count of Tuesday night was canceled! Hooray! Hubs was home at the regular time and not out tromping in people's yards until 11 PM or later. (And again, yes he does get paid to count frogs and toads.)
4. A praise that Brien is doing better! Another praise is that Rach has been home on spring break with a croupy Lily, but at least they were off and paid for it. That's a good thing!
5. K- went back to school this week and was so excited to! They are officially done with their little letter books of the week, have been working on perfecting their last names and writing their numbers.
6. Jamie has a computer and is now feeling connected to the world, again. And Jamie, back up your stuff and keep glasses of tea away from this one, please! :) We miss you when you aren't around. Besides, it's kind of tough to do your work thing without it.
7. What is it with teachers dating their students? I mean, really. (As I'm writing this, there is a story about a teacher dating and *whatnot* with his 17 year old student.) Ugh.
8. Aunt K- took the girls and Grandma to the Hannah Montana movie yesterday. K- really liked it. I admit that it was only her second time to a movie theater. K- admitted that she ate far too much and thought she would be ill. She said that she worked hard on not getting sick and didn't want to say anything. Apparently, they got a huge bucket of popcorn and sat it in K-'s lap between the three girls. K- has the habit of over indulging, if given the opportunity.
9. We got together last night with Hubs' family (a couple of aunts, an uncle and a cousin) that I haven't seen in a while. Aunt A- has been in treatment for recurrence of breast cancer. It has probably been a few years since I've seen her. I admit that her appearance is much altered, but she is in good spirits. Dinner was wonderful and I was glad that we got to get together.
10. I did an Easter egg hunt for the girls. It was good fun. We suited the kids up in their new crocs and let them run around in the wet grass to get the eggs that were strewn about.
11. We were so busy at work yesterday! We are having a show on Saturday and I was so happy to see the traffic. People were buying things! Lots of things! People were happy! It seemed like a normal day in the gallery. Truly, it made my heart happy.
12. K- was able to play with her cousin from Chicago and they even met her at school yesterday. They all went with grandma (the cousins and Aunt K-) to pick K- up. She was so happy!
13. I sign K- up for Kindergarten on Friday. Eeeeee! Where the heck did all the time go? We were discussing this evening about how it may very well be faster for us to walk the 8 blocks to school, as opposed to run the car conga line. Her school (eeee!) is on a small back street, nestled into a residential neighborhood and I'm thinking that the flow isn't going to be that good.
14. We have a park program today. K- is back at the kindergarten program at the local park and today we'll be learning about wildflowers. She's missed Miss Pat, but the visitor center is currently closed for renovations, we had holidays, major crapped out weather and we finished our time at Little Gym, which was just up the street. The park program is about 20 minutes away, but it is just a wonderful science lesson for K- with hands-on field adventures. I'm glad that we're getting back into the swing.
15. Have I mentioned that I've finally figured out a way to wear my hair down and keep it out of my face? Bobbie pins, baby. A couple bobbie pins in the side and it actually looks like I did something to my hair. Believe me, besides wrestling a hairbrush through it and putting some curling mousse in it, it is what it is. Anyone with curly hair knows what I mean. I've been happy with my hair lately. But, shhh. Don't tell my hair. If you do, it'll stop behaving.
Have a great day!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Busy, busy Thursday
Boy, I'm tired. I sit here on Thursday evening to write this and I'm flat tuckered. It's been a busy day.The day actually started early in the AM. Well, I suppose it really started Wednesday night at 11:30 PM. That's when the dog on the corner lot started barking. It kept up the "I need something bark" for 4 hours. And yes, the 4 hours were not such great sleep to me. I felt like I wanted to poke the owner in the eye this morning, but that's not really being a good Christian, is it? And, before you think that I'm prematurely intolerant, I should tell you that said dog barks like this on a fairly regular basis, so much so that we can't even leave our windows to our bedroom open as Hubs can't sleep at all of the dog barks at all. The problem? For years she used to keep them in the house. They were used to that, she has a man living in her house and now the dogs got kicked to the curb, so to speak. We get to suffer. Oh thank you, funky neighbor.
K- woke up at 6:35 AM and ready to watch Martha. (Martha Speaks.) Well, it wasn't quite time for Martha for another hour, so I had her snuggle in with us until the alarm went off at 7:00 AM.
K- and I hung out in bed for a little while, then it was off to school to do the bulletin board. I'm the bulletin board mom and it needed tended to. She's off on Spring Break now, but the first Thursday of the month is my obligated bulletin board day. We also had Parent/Teacher conferences today, so it was a two birds with one stone kind of morning.
I'm pleased-- actually thrilled-- to report that the conference went swimmingly well. K- has much improved in all areas under the teaching of her saint-like teacher, Mrs. K-. (Again, I think the woman can walk on water.) She even counted to 60 for her teacher! I know that to some that isn't a big deal, but I've only gotten her to go to 50 with a few limps here and there. My concerns about K- so concerned with what others are doing and thinking that she is missing out was dismissed by the teacher. She said that she does well, but that is something that all kids her age do. She wouldn't be concerned about it. She can do all tasks that were asked of her at good or excellent level. The only satisfactory that she received was in the way that she holds her pencil. She needs to develop her own feel, her own way. We'll work on that. Her pronunciation issues were something that I brought up, but the teacher (and pediatrician) both feel that K- is improving greatly and they would both like to have us wait until she goes to Kindergarten to have speech therapy to iron the issues out. I'm continuing to work on that with her, so I'm hoping to move her on to more correct pronunciation.
After school was home! It was a "beautiful day, Mom!" A day perfect for playing. K- made herself a peanut butter sandwich (yes, I was aware and believe that her doing that on her own is perfectly fine), got her bug net (the little cover to keep bugs out of her food) and off and away she went. I laundered the towels before we left and dropped them into the dryer. I stripped our bed and laundered those while we were gone. Since it was gorgeous and the upper 60's, I decided to put them out on the line. :) I love line dried sheets! They were drying so fast that I pulled K-'s bed apart and did the same for her. Here's my little clothes line:
The towels, which were tumble dried, ended up wound up with the bath mat that never quite dries all the way, but I have sheets and K-'s "Linus"-- AKA her security blanket. I'm fully aware that there is a giant hole in the very corner that "Tag" lives on, but she loves this blanket. She has used it since she was an infant (you couldn't tell at all, could you?) and rubs her face in it the first thing she finds it. One day she'll get married and I'm afraid that Linus may very well be moving into her home with her. :) "I take you K- and Linus to be my lawfully wedded pairing . . ."
K- decided that it was a barefoot day. The child just wouldn't wear shoes if she didn't have to.
See? Here she is tip-toeing through the rotted crab apples all the way down the street. That's okay. We have soap. The child's feet this evening? BLACK.
It was a great day for drawing on the neighbor's driveway. She's drawing puppies. She wanted to know how many legs they have. It appears on the one that she made is a cross between a puppy and a centipede. That's okay. It's all about creativity, yes?
She's right into it. Don't worry. She's just made herself comfortable. She's just fuzzing out her lines with one of her new chalk tools.I cleaned the bathroom, did a little extra laundry, swept, dusted, trimmed up the butterfly bushes (one is about 9 feet tall, which I hadn't realized it was that big until about now), raked up all of those trimmings to put in the can as well as some leftovers from last week. The can is full enough to allow us garbage space, then I'll fill it up again next week.
I forgot to mention that we did make a trip to KMart. I'm not a fan of KMart, unlike Rainman, but I thought I read the Sunday ad to read that Color Wonder kits were on sale for 4.00. (They weren't there and now I can't remember what store, but it isn't Target or KMart. Oh, maybe Toys R Us!) At any rate, we did find a gift for the bowling birthday party next week. K- and I thought it was kind of neat. In fact, K- wanted me to buy her one. I explained that we were there for a gift only. Here is what we bought.
She is the Bath Beauty Cinderella. I'm pleased to say that KMart had her for 1/2 off. Sold!With that, I need to shove off and bathe a very tired child. She was so tired when she undressed for the bath, that she fell asleep on her floor. Pardon me, I have some coal black feet to scrub! :)
Day 14: Love takes delight. Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life. -- Ecclesiastes 9:9 HCSB
Purposefully neglect an activity you would normally do so you can spend quality time with your spouse. Do something he or she would love to do or a project they'd really like to work on. Just be together.
Friday, March 6, 2009
At, Bat, Cat, Hat
It's sight reading day here at Bailey's Leaf. I'm here to pick a few brains.
I was at K-'s school Thursday doing the once-a-month bulletin board in the hallway and was listening in on her class as I went. She's been coming home spelling and telling me of her "at" words. They've been working on them in class, as well as reading/spelling some colors.
Wow. All this in preschool. I know there are some more intensive programs than what K- is in out there, but I didn't even go to preschool. In Kindergarten, the big thing was not to pee-pee in your pants, to play nicely and learn your ABC's & numbers. I was Goldie Locks in the Kindergarten production of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears. (No, my hair isn't blonde.)
So, I decided to go to my normal education supply place-- The Dollar Tree. (Though when I need hardcore help, we have a Holcomb's Knowplace near the mall.) I decided to see if they had some sight word cards. They had sight word selections from K - 3rd grade. I did a bit of cross referencing (and learning for that matter) about sight words and learned that the sight words involve 220 words that are what they consider most common. The Kindergarten packet that I bought was the exact listing on the Dolch list. They have them online, which everyone probably knew except for me.
I made the preschool cards for K-. I'll start doing those with her. It's important to note that she does know her sounds, so it would just seem like the next logical step would be to encourage reading, right?
She has her "My Little [letter of the week] Book" that she learns each week. They did say that it would be more memorization at the beginning and more sight word reading at the end of the year. By golly! They are right.
I just learned that the local public school that K- will be attending does NOT learn phonics. I find that unsettling. If they don't do phonics, what method are they using to teach children how to read? If it is sight only, how can we expect children to progress when it comes to harder, more compound words? No, I don't have an education degree. (Just look at the way I tend to commacize and abuse punctuation.) It seems to me that a combination of the two would be the answer.
My friend said that she is going to begin working with her son with a phonics workbook that she used with her older son. I don't know what curriculum it is from, but she was quite impressed. She did homeschool her older son for a couple of years, but I do think that she wasn't brand specific. She told me that she'd call me and let me know.
So for you teachers, homeschool parents and parents in general who have been there, what are your suggestions for my diving into sight reading/reading with K-? Am I expecting too much? K- just turned 5 this past December. She's in 4 day a week preschool and seems to be really blossoming as of late. I don't want to miss the window, but I don't want to overwhelm. (She is sight reading some already, and was reading some of the cards to me that I was writing for her.) Help!
Edited to add: Okay, first I changed the name of the sight word listing to the actual name. (Dolch not Dolce.) Um, helps to be a little more precise, eh? At any rate, my mommy friends have been so kind! Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. I did go back to The Dollar Tree and purchased the rest of the sight words. (No, we don't need them now, but will need them eventually so why not buy them and put them up?) We've been playing the game that Rach suggested and K- loves it. I also purchased a few more workbooks to have on hand once we get to that point. We always work on some summer homework to keep her mind fresh, so we may get to those then. (Pre-K Math, Counting to 100 and Sight Reading Workbook.) Thank you again! Keep those ideas coming!
I was at K-'s school Thursday doing the once-a-month bulletin board in the hallway and was listening in on her class as I went. She's been coming home spelling and telling me of her "at" words. They've been working on them in class, as well as reading/spelling some colors.
Wow. All this in preschool. I know there are some more intensive programs than what K- is in out there, but I didn't even go to preschool. In Kindergarten, the big thing was not to pee-pee in your pants, to play nicely and learn your ABC's & numbers. I was Goldie Locks in the Kindergarten production of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears. (No, my hair isn't blonde.)
So, I decided to go to my normal education supply place-- The Dollar Tree. (Though when I need hardcore help, we have a Holcomb's Knowplace near the mall.) I decided to see if they had some sight word cards. They had sight word selections from K - 3rd grade. I did a bit of cross referencing (and learning for that matter) about sight words and learned that the sight words involve 220 words that are what they consider most common. The Kindergarten packet that I bought was the exact listing on the Dolch list. They have them online, which everyone probably knew except for me.
I made the preschool cards for K-. I'll start doing those with her. It's important to note that she does know her sounds, so it would just seem like the next logical step would be to encourage reading, right?
She has her "My Little [letter of the week] Book" that she learns each week. They did say that it would be more memorization at the beginning and more sight word reading at the end of the year. By golly! They are right.
I just learned that the local public school that K- will be attending does NOT learn phonics. I find that unsettling. If they don't do phonics, what method are they using to teach children how to read? If it is sight only, how can we expect children to progress when it comes to harder, more compound words? No, I don't have an education degree. (Just look at the way I tend to commacize and abuse punctuation.) It seems to me that a combination of the two would be the answer.
My friend said that she is going to begin working with her son with a phonics workbook that she used with her older son. I don't know what curriculum it is from, but she was quite impressed. She did homeschool her older son for a couple of years, but I do think that she wasn't brand specific. She told me that she'd call me and let me know.
So for you teachers, homeschool parents and parents in general who have been there, what are your suggestions for my diving into sight reading/reading with K-? Am I expecting too much? K- just turned 5 this past December. She's in 4 day a week preschool and seems to be really blossoming as of late. I don't want to miss the window, but I don't want to overwhelm. (She is sight reading some already, and was reading some of the cards to me that I was writing for her.) Help!
Edited to add: Okay, first I changed the name of the sight word listing to the actual name. (Dolch not Dolce.) Um, helps to be a little more precise, eh? At any rate, my mommy friends have been so kind! Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. I did go back to The Dollar Tree and purchased the rest of the sight words. (No, we don't need them now, but will need them eventually so why not buy them and put them up?) We've been playing the game that Rach suggested and K- loves it. I also purchased a few more workbooks to have on hand once we get to that point. We always work on some summer homework to keep her mind fresh, so we may get to those then. (Pre-K Math, Counting to 100 and Sight Reading Workbook.) Thank you again! Keep those ideas coming!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
It was 12 years ago.
Honey,
It was twelve years ago on a somewhat cold and snowy Friday that we were married.
Nevermind that snowstorm the night before that sent your mom into a panic. She swore that all the family from Cleveland weren't going to come. They all made it and seemed to have a great time!
Nevermind that my grandpa was in the hospital, having had emergency eye surgery and he might not make it. He did make it though, with 45 minutes to get to the church on time. Just enough to get home, get in his suit and go! I was so surprised that he was there.
Nevermind that you burned the top of your foot earlier that week and thought that you wouldn't be able to wear shoes. I told you to go barefoot. I told you to wear rollerskates. I told you to do whatever you had to do to get to the end of that aisle. You were at the end of the aisle, smiling so wide that I think that for a brief time, you forgot about your excruciating pain.
Nevermind that my mom and dad were in a horrible accident about a week and a half before the wedding. Nevermind that the dumb guy at the hospital told me that my parents had been "Life Flighted" even though they were taken by "Life Line," the ambulance service that they have in Medina. Nevermind that though they were both feeling like they were smacked by a huge truck (because they were), mom still did the flowers and my dad still came to the university to try to fix my ailing windshield wipers that decided to quit working during a snowstorm that wedding week. Mom and Dad were both well enough to get themselves turned around and had a great time at the wedding. You would have never known by their joy that they were still a little stiff around the edges.
Nevermind that my sister's idiot husband who was separated from her decided to come to their home a week before our wedding, beat her senselessly which broke the blood vessels in her eyes, bruised her and made her look a wreck. She was more concerned about the wedding and the fact that she would not walk down the aisle with glasses on. She came out fine, pressed charges against him and was thinking about tick-tick-ticking down the aisle with a blind man cane to make her way. My sister looked beautiful. Her eyes cleared so that she could wear her contacts. She came to the house, did my hair and make-up, lied to the people on the phone that self-invited (of course we assumed that they got the invitation, never responded but knew they were coming so we put them on the list) and got that all handled. She took me to the car wash to get our car all sparkling. She threatened to hold me down and give me something to calm my nerves.
You see, I wasn't nervous about marrying you. Shoot, we knew that we were done with the dating bit after a week of having been together. We had talked about adoption then. Neither one of us found dating a pleasurable experience. We were happy to have found each other. What I had been nervous about was that the weeks before the wedding, I was still in school. I had gone through all the nerve-racking stuff on auto-pilot. It was my first moment to sit and fully take in the magnitude of all the crud.
I spent the morning of our wedding vomiting. My little brother held my hair back. I called you crying. You were worried. Again, it wasn't you. It was everything else. You were the one sure thing that I knew was good.
Our wedding was wonderful. It was everything that we wanted it to be. We were married in an historic old church in the middle of the traffic circle in the town where I grew up. The church was constructed such that the bride got dressed in the front room, exited and re-entered from the back. I still remember the girls carrying the train to my dress-- what ended up being an extended cathedral length train due to the fact that I'm so short that I had to have 11" cut off the length. The cars drove by and beeped. It was so much fun.
And yes, I wore tennis shoes. Mom and Dad know my gracefulness. They were concerned that I would fall in the snow and ice.
We had a candlelight service with my friend playing the pipe organ and my great aunt singing. My aunt had stepped forward only a week previous to the wedding to inform us that she would be singing. When Aunt Donna, a world trained opera singer, tells you that she will be singing at your wedding you tell her thank you and fit her in.
I still laugh thinking about how you nodded your head the entire time. So many people commented about how they were so touched that you were so much in agreement. Little do they know that you didn't pay attention to anything and that you nod your head when you are nervous.
You almost dropped the wedding band. Out of nervousness, you twirled it around on your shirt and I can only think what the look on my face was. I was chanting in my head, "DON'T DROP IT! DON'T DROP IT!" You didn't.
We didn't even light the place on fire when we did the unity candle. Oh the stories that would have come from that.
We had such a great time at the reception, but ended up a little late. Mom and Dad took my coat with my car keys. Pastor Henry went to the reception hall, got the keys and came back. Too bad they were the wrong set. The twins AKA the best men, decided to do a "Big Ben, Parliament Kids" around the circle and found us with NO way to the reception. They loaded you, me and my overly large dress into the Jeep Wrangler and got us off and on our way. You know what? I didn't even intend to get that big ole dress. I just loved it in the picture. It made me cry. The good tears, that is.
Did I say what a great time we had? My dad had the people at the reception leave the Star Wars cut-out's out. And yes, we still think that Eddie Michael got out with Yoda. (It's been the joke for years, Janeen. He probably didn't, but it's the joke that sticks, ya'know? It would be even funnier if he really did!) We had so much fun that we didn't even leave the reception until about 1 AM. I remember going back to our apartment with a cart load of wedding gifts and pushing them down the hall at nearly 2 AM, with a guy looking out of his door to see what was going on. Again, I was in my big ole gown and you were in your tux. I think that it didn't take long for the guy to figure it out.
Over the years, we've been through thick and thin. We've trudged through some things and happily skipped through fields of flowers on others. But as we had on our wedding invite:
If the sun refused to shine,
I would still be loving you.
When mountains crumble to the sea,
There will still be you and me.
Still is darlin'. Forever.
Love,
Amy
It was twelve years ago on a somewhat cold and snowy Friday that we were married.
Nevermind that snowstorm the night before that sent your mom into a panic. She swore that all the family from Cleveland weren't going to come. They all made it and seemed to have a great time!
Nevermind that my grandpa was in the hospital, having had emergency eye surgery and he might not make it. He did make it though, with 45 minutes to get to the church on time. Just enough to get home, get in his suit and go! I was so surprised that he was there.
Nevermind that you burned the top of your foot earlier that week and thought that you wouldn't be able to wear shoes. I told you to go barefoot. I told you to wear rollerskates. I told you to do whatever you had to do to get to the end of that aisle. You were at the end of the aisle, smiling so wide that I think that for a brief time, you forgot about your excruciating pain.
Nevermind that my mom and dad were in a horrible accident about a week and a half before the wedding. Nevermind that the dumb guy at the hospital told me that my parents had been "Life Flighted" even though they were taken by "Life Line," the ambulance service that they have in Medina. Nevermind that though they were both feeling like they were smacked by a huge truck (because they were), mom still did the flowers and my dad still came to the university to try to fix my ailing windshield wipers that decided to quit working during a snowstorm that wedding week. Mom and Dad were both well enough to get themselves turned around and had a great time at the wedding. You would have never known by their joy that they were still a little stiff around the edges.
Nevermind that my sister's idiot husband who was separated from her decided to come to their home a week before our wedding, beat her senselessly which broke the blood vessels in her eyes, bruised her and made her look a wreck. She was more concerned about the wedding and the fact that she would not walk down the aisle with glasses on. She came out fine, pressed charges against him and was thinking about tick-tick-ticking down the aisle with a blind man cane to make her way. My sister looked beautiful. Her eyes cleared so that she could wear her contacts. She came to the house, did my hair and make-up, lied to the people on the phone that self-invited (of course we assumed that they got the invitation, never responded but knew they were coming so we put them on the list) and got that all handled. She took me to the car wash to get our car all sparkling. She threatened to hold me down and give me something to calm my nerves.
You see, I wasn't nervous about marrying you. Shoot, we knew that we were done with the dating bit after a week of having been together. We had talked about adoption then. Neither one of us found dating a pleasurable experience. We were happy to have found each other. What I had been nervous about was that the weeks before the wedding, I was still in school. I had gone through all the nerve-racking stuff on auto-pilot. It was my first moment to sit and fully take in the magnitude of all the crud.
I spent the morning of our wedding vomiting. My little brother held my hair back. I called you crying. You were worried. Again, it wasn't you. It was everything else. You were the one sure thing that I knew was good.
Our wedding was wonderful. It was everything that we wanted it to be. We were married in an historic old church in the middle of the traffic circle in the town where I grew up. The church was constructed such that the bride got dressed in the front room, exited and re-entered from the back. I still remember the girls carrying the train to my dress-- what ended up being an extended cathedral length train due to the fact that I'm so short that I had to have 11" cut off the length. The cars drove by and beeped. It was so much fun.
And yes, I wore tennis shoes. Mom and Dad know my gracefulness. They were concerned that I would fall in the snow and ice.
We had a candlelight service with my friend playing the pipe organ and my great aunt singing. My aunt had stepped forward only a week previous to the wedding to inform us that she would be singing. When Aunt Donna, a world trained opera singer, tells you that she will be singing at your wedding you tell her thank you and fit her in.
I still laugh thinking about how you nodded your head the entire time. So many people commented about how they were so touched that you were so much in agreement. Little do they know that you didn't pay attention to anything and that you nod your head when you are nervous.
You almost dropped the wedding band. Out of nervousness, you twirled it around on your shirt and I can only think what the look on my face was. I was chanting in my head, "DON'T DROP IT! DON'T DROP IT!" You didn't.
We didn't even light the place on fire when we did the unity candle. Oh the stories that would have come from that.
We had such a great time at the reception, but ended up a little late. Mom and Dad took my coat with my car keys. Pastor Henry went to the reception hall, got the keys and came back. Too bad they were the wrong set. The twins AKA the best men, decided to do a "Big Ben, Parliament Kids" around the circle and found us with NO way to the reception. They loaded you, me and my overly large dress into the Jeep Wrangler and got us off and on our way. You know what? I didn't even intend to get that big ole dress. I just loved it in the picture. It made me cry. The good tears, that is.
Did I say what a great time we had? My dad had the people at the reception leave the Star Wars cut-out's out. And yes, we still think that Eddie Michael got out with Yoda. (It's been the joke for years, Janeen. He probably didn't, but it's the joke that sticks, ya'know? It would be even funnier if he really did!) We had so much fun that we didn't even leave the reception until about 1 AM. I remember going back to our apartment with a cart load of wedding gifts and pushing them down the hall at nearly 2 AM, with a guy looking out of his door to see what was going on. Again, I was in my big ole gown and you were in your tux. I think that it didn't take long for the guy to figure it out.
Over the years, we've been through thick and thin. We've trudged through some things and happily skipped through fields of flowers on others. But as we had on our wedding invite:
If the sun refused to shine,
I would still be loving you.
When mountains crumble to the sea,
There will still be you and me.
Still is darlin'. Forever.
Love,
Amy
Saturday, January 24, 2009
100 Things for the 100th Post
On a playdate at the Cleveland Zoo with K-, her friends and a few cousins. I climbed the rope tower to go help her out. It was kind of fun, so I hung out for a few!
Can I really do it? Some of it'll be lame, but sure!
1. I think that I've shrunk. I'm now about 5' 3/4". When I was measured in 7th grade, I was 5' 1 1/4". Bummer.
2. I'm the shortest in my family.
3. I ate so many swiss cheese and mustard sandwiches as a toddler that I can't can even consider eating swiss cheese as an adult.
4. When I was three, Mom said that I could take my clothes off and put them on my dollies. You see, I was still in 18 month old clothing.
5. I don't drink milk. I never did. Even as a baby I didn't like it. At 6 weeks old, my mother started feeding me Cream of Wheat because I wasn't eating. I still like Cream of Wheat.
6. I don't eat berries. Beyond just not liking the taste, there are a lot of seeds. I don't like to eat seeds.
7. I'm not a huge fruit fan. Oranges gross me out with their texture. Though, I love orange juice. I do eat apples, bananas, pears and pineapple. Most fruits leave me feeling disappointed because people say, "They are soooo sweet." I don't find that to be true.
8. I do, however, love vegetables.
9. I love the hard, crusty ends of bread.
10. I will drink milk if you liquor it up with a lot of Ovaltine.
11. I can't sleep in hotels, because the blankets aren't heavy enough. When I say heavy, I mean weight wise. They're blankets are plenty warm, though.
12. I'm a shoe snob. I pretty much only wear Birkenstocks and Saucony tennis shoes. After ACL surgery, I have to be certain that shoes that I wear are good and supportive, or my leg and knee will hurt. (When I blew the ACL, I also broke the side of my knee.)
13. I love patterned socks and have a ton of them.
14. I chew my lips in the winter. I have to keep Chapstick on hand so that I don't chew to bleeding. In fact, I put Chapstick on before bed.
15. I hate to floss my teeth. I don't know why, I just don't like to do it. Don't worry, I do it sometimes, but brush my teeth several times a day.
16. I'm generally asleep well within 10 minutes of my head hitting the pillow.
17. I love to watch America's Next Top Model.
18. I rode an elephant when I was 3 and was determined that Santa was going to bring me one for Christmas. He didn't. He did bring me the Weeble Circus. My mom was inspired by my desire for the elephant and wrote a book about it. She tried to have it published, but Golden Book said no thank you.
19. I failed my kindergarten entrance exam, because I didn't take it seriously. I thought it was a game! I had to re-take it. When I did, I smashed my finger in a flip-top desk and had to put my finger in the water fountain to stop the bleeding.
20. I always put my left shoe on first.
21. My eyes are brown. Really dark brown, though sometimes they can look black.
22. I love snow storms and I love snow.
23. I don't like to be cold.
24. I do like to shovel the driveway.
25. I start my own vegetable and flower plants from seeds in my garden window.
26. I wanted to be a geologist, but decided that I wasn't going to make it through the science classes that would require me to dissect things.
27. I'm fanatic about keeping my toenails incredibly short. I had ingrown toenails as a child, had to have foot surgery as a result and do not look forward to having that again. That's another explanation of why I wear my granola Birk's. They have lots of tootsie room.
28. I had braces on my teeth to correct some nasty toothness going on. My eye teeth were pointing out, instead of down. Talk about attractive!
29. I love walking on crunchy leaves in the fall.
30. When I was 19, I was doing donuts in the parking lot of the grocery I worked at. When I went to leave, my car went into a spin and got hung up on the concrete island. I had to go and ask all the packers to push my car back off so that I could go home. Ugh.
31. I love driving in the snow. I don't like spinning, though.
32. I hate the feeling of nail polish on my fingernails. I like to paint my toenails, though.
33. My fingers, cuticles and hands in general are cracked. They are so bad that they are bleeding right now.
34. I was in 4-H for 9 years.
35. As a result, I competed for Fair Queen and won.
36. I wear slippers all the time in the winter, yet go barefoot all the time in the summer.
37. Because the grocery that I worked for had the scanning rights taken away and we had to hand key all grocery purchases, I can run an adding machine at lightning speed. (You lose scanning rights when Weights and Measures comes in multiple times in a row, busts you for inaccurate scanning and you don't fix the problem.)
38. I can type fast, too. It bugs my husband when he is trying to sleep and all he hears is "tick-tick-tick."
39. I would love to have a full massage someday by a qualified massage therapist. In fact, I could use one right now.
40. I love soup and could eat soup absolutely every day.
41. I've just recently discovered that I love The Cure.
42. I make my bed every single morning. I have to do this before I can consider getting dressed. Don't ask me why.
43. I want to learn to sew.
44. I can't and have never been able to bend over and touch my toes without cheating and bending my knees.
45. I absolutely love chocolate, but if I eat a dessert that is too rich, I quickly become very ill.
46. I would love to go to England and Ireland someday. I do fear that I would have to be medicated to get on a plane to fly across the ocean. Unless they get something that is extremely lickety-split, I am not a fan of not seeing land.
47. Same goes for cruise ships. Land ho, my friends. Land ho.
48. Not to mention my fear of deep water.
49. I don't eat raisins because when I was a kid, I got a hold of a bad box and mom found out only after I had eaten 1/2 the box. She discovered that it was full of bugs. YUCK!
50. I really only like crunchy peanut butter. I like peanut butter and butter sandwiches better than standard peanut butter and jelly.
51. I don't obey the speed limit.
52. I like to drive through puddles to see how big the splash can get. K- loves it, too.
53. I always run up steps.
54. I love mums. The small button kind of mums in the brownish or burgundy color.
55. I have a butterfly garden in the back and love to take pictures of them all summer long. Kids like to come hang out to see how many butterflies are back there.
56. I love the smell of Play Doh.
57. I like to eat dry spaghetti noodles when I'm preparing to cook them.
58. I had tomato soup for the first time just recently. It's fine to dip my toasty cheese tortilla into, but I don't know that I'd go bottoms up with it.
59. I love my crockpot. I do love my family more. The crockpot is way handy. So is Hubs though. But Hubs doesn't cook and the crockpot does. There's room for both of them in the house, though.
60. Incredibly strong perfume gives me an almost instant headache.
61. If there is someone smoking in their car a few cars up, I can generally smell it. Their window must be cracked with the wind blowing the right way, but I have a super-sensitive sense of smell.
62. I can watch Gilmore Girls on DVD forever and never grow tired of them. Copper Boom!
63. K- and I always pray for emergency services when they drive past or if we see them helping people.
64. I had baklava for the first time just recently. I'm not a fan of nuts, but apparently if you coat them in enough sugar and in thin layers, I'll scarf it down.
65. I've been a picky eater all my life, but I'm trying to resolve that.
66. My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate chip.
67. I wear the same jewelry all the time and rarely change it.
68. I hate shopping at the mall. I feel like I'm trapped and the people in the middle of the main aisle? They drive me crazy, too! If I wanted to buy my name etched on a tiny piece of rice, I'll let you know. Please don't bug me.
69. I park in the same general area in parking lots. If I don't, I'll forget where I parked because I just don't pay attention to that kind of thing!
70. I love to wiggle my toes in the sand.
71. I love it when I can walk on the grass for the first time in the spring.
72. I love Valentine's Day and that it's our anniversary.
73. I love it when Hubs takes K- to the store with him to give me a little bit of a mommy break.
74. I love that K- loves to watch classics with me. She loves "Little Fairy on the House." AKA Little House on the Prairie.
75. I burn candles only in the winter. I'm a candle snob, though. I really only like A. I. Root or Yankee Candle. Root would be my preference, though. Because of this, Hubs bought me a half case of English Lavender votives this year as a Christmas gift. (It helps that the Root factory is down the road from Hubs' work.)
76. I won't color my hair to get rid of my grays. I'm just not that dedicated to keeping up with something like that and would live forever on the Island of Perpetual Roots. (A mommy version of the IPT from Veggie Tales Esther.)
77. I love reading with K-. I love that she is on an Amelia Bedelia kick lately. My mom read me Amelia Bedelia when I was a kid.
78. April has been my best friend since elementary school. In the 4th grade, we made our own version of the alphabet and wrote letters back and forth. We also had pet clay balls that we made houses for. (Ick and Pick.) We were very weird kids.
79. My old RAV was a classic mama mobile. Toys, books, sticky things. Odd substances under the seat. Enough petrified french fries to feed a small army of children at a play date. All that changed when I was told by the insurance adjuster, "Yes ma'am, the exterior of your car is in excellent condition. For the inside to be in excellent condition, it must be spotless." Um yes, point well taken. The car was well lived in before the accident, but having been slammed into by a very large truck that weighed a lot, the crap that I had stowed in there was thrown all over the car. Darned car looked like a tornado got trapped in there. Being embarrassed by that, I swore to have a clean car after. You know what? My car is clean. It needs the occasional touch up, but we're not heaped in crap anymore.
80. I occasionally take Excedrin Migraine just for the caffeine. I know. It's wrong, but on a rare occasion, I find it necessary.
81. I love to eat hunks of unbaked cake mix. Unfortunately, I've taught K- to love it, too.
82. I've never found a four leafed clover, but still look.
83. I'm allergic to Iodine, thus making me allergic to shellfish, MSG and kelp/seaweed. (The kelp and seaweed thing would be an ingesting issue.) But yes, the little bit of Iodine in salt is fine. No, I'm not sporting a nifty goiter.
84. My thumb has taken to doing this weird end forced click hinge thing. Yes, I need to have it checked out.
85. I find matching socks to be therapeutic. No, I won't come match yours.
86. Blood doesn't really gross me out, but lumps do. Please, don't make me feel your bump or lump! Yarg!
87. When I was 11 years old, we went on a tour of the Fenton Glass factory. I decided then that I wanted to blow glass. It took 4 years of college to accrue enough seniority to get into a class, but I did learn how.
88. Have I mentioned before that it took me 7 years to get my Bachelor's of Art in Fine Arts? My concentration? Printmaking.
89. I've had 8 cars.
My first was a Camaro.
It followed with a Grand Prix that I owned for 6 weeks. I pushed that more than I drove it.
That was traded for a Trans Am that was rear ended a few years later. (It had t-tops and I thought I was way cool.) It was totalled, but I drove it until the uninsured guy paid me money to get another car. At that point, it drove down the road somewhat sideways, but it was all I had.
When that went to the dump, I bought a Blazer. That spun a bearing and was done all of 8 months after I bought it.
I replaced it with a Berlinetta, which needed towed 3 weeks after purchase. Later on, it lost a wheel as I was driving it down the road, smacked onto the pavement and potentially cracked the block. That little problem didn't come up until 6 months later when Ohio's E-Check program got a hold of it. The motor blew. Hubs and I were only married for 6 months and had the pleasure of paying a $3700 car loan off so that we could get another vehicle.
We pulled a lease on our Tercel, which we still have. It's Hubs' car now. When I started the job at the gallery, we could no longer share a car so we needed to purchase me my own.
That's when we bought the old RAV.
She bit the dust when we were rear-ended in March and now I have the new RAV. We also have a new car payment. Fabulous.
90. I have two blood clotting disorders. I'm homozygous for MTHFR and PAI-Type 1. All this tells you is that I bruise if you look at me the wrong way and clotting is something that I could do. Boy, I am an ugly bruiser.
91. I can't tear anything open with my teeth. Nothing. Mom can do it all the time. I was always jealous.
92. My nails are very strong. They hardly ever chip, break or split. They grow very fast, too.
93. I am the second child of 4, thus making me a spaz middle child.
94. I do not like working puzzles. My daughter loves them, though. My family would always have one set up every winter. Eee-ghad. I just never liked them.
95. I save seeds from my flowers to replant the next year.
96. I love nightlights. We have them throughout the house.
97. I cut my daughter's hair. She likes it long with bangs. I can totally handle that. No, I don't give her Yoder bangs (the way high up on the forehead thing). You'd also be glad to know that 7 years in art school earned me a steady hand with scissors. Baby girl has a mommy that can't send her out with crooked bangs.
98. I have a lavender bathroom.
99. I sleep with one pillow.
100. I crawl in bed with K- every morning. "Can I come in?" "Sure!" We hang out there for a good half hour or so talking about the day. Talking about life, answering those weird mommy questions.
At the Children's Garden fountain with K- at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens on my birthday this past year.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Goodbye, Little Gym
Warming up at the beginning of classK- has gone to The Little Gym for 3 years. She started at 2 years old. When she started, she was afraid to jump. We began in the parent/child class. I admit that until Natalie, I wasn't loving the class too much for myself. (That's not why I was there.) It seemed to be filled with snotty women with equally snotty children. I didn't fit in, but K- loved it so I lumped it and continued on. When the kids got older, the class separated out and K- continued on and into the child only class. I've been a mom in a fishbowl for about two years and you know what? K- has loved it and me, too. I've been able to be with K- and watch her grow as I had time to talk in adult conversations with some other way cool mommies.
Pajama day brought lots of fun with Miss Anna
K- was asked to be in their "invitation only" class, but I declined. As lovely as it is that she has progressed that far in the classes, they only have one class and it is only on Wednesdays at 2 PM. She's with my mother-in-law then and she takes her swimming at that time. Besides, it's my mommy thing to do with her. 
Mr. Eric has worked hard with K- to whip her into shape!
So to The Little Gym, we will miss you so. You have helped to build K- into the gymnastics fool that she is. She loves to balance, do cartwheels, somersaults, swing on bars and oh-- she loves to jump. Thanks for getting her out of that weird fear. Thanks for loving on her for so many years. Thanks for starting to miss her already.
We'll be going onto swimming now. Soon, K- will be in Kindergarten and that alone may very well be enough to start out with. We'll have Neat Feet Week at home. We'll do Pizza Hangs in the back yard. We'll smell the bar first, to see if it smells like feet. We'll remember to carry our tray of cookies, and throw in a Ta-Dah in the end.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A Task Accomplished: A Walk Down Baby/Toddler Clothing Lane
The RAV was loaded down with baby clothing to pass out at church. I found bodies that would fit in these clothes and the parents were taking it home with them if I had to load it in their cars myself.I have to add, this isn't all of it. Oh, nosiree. My friend, S- came over the other day and freed me of a laundry basket full, 2 overflowing boxes and a bag full. I've sent a few loads to my sisters house, including the box and two bags from the other day. I've been consistently passing clothes down to K-'s friend, A- for over a year now.
This whole hand-me-down thing never ends.
But, I can cross this off the list of things that I needed to get done this year. Hubs is happy that the giveaway pile in the basement has lost its top. It's not Mt. St. Goodwill anymore.
It makes me happy. It also makes me sad. I did pull a few things from the boxes that I wanted to save. K-'s insanely dark pink Stride Rite walkers that I bought on eBay for $5.00. The kid was bald and I was tired of her being accused of being a boy, even if she was dressed head-to-toe in pink. A woman from our last church made a sweater and a hat that I kept. I also kept that outfit that we brought K- home in, even though it was 3-6 months. She was only a wee-widgen and that outfit swallowed her alive. Little did we know that preemie was really her size, but my cousin hooked us up with clothes that actually fit her as a Christmas gift. There was a beautiful little dress that she wore to the festival of 1000 weddings that summer. I had returned an outfit that was opposite season for it. Such a beautiful little dress. Couldn't part with it.
So, now my home is free of baby things. I still have my baby, though. She's watching "Little Fairy on the House" (AKA Little House on the Prairie) right now. I don't care how old she is. She'll always be my baby.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Double Play Dates and the Big Purges
K- was off school yesterday, so I decided to schedule our friends to come over and play. We had one set that we needed to do belated Christmas and belated birthday with. The other set we just needed to hang with.
The hang with friends came over at about 10:30 AM. We mommies sat downstairs and went through K-'s boxes of clothes that I had from birth up until about last year. You see, we thought that we were going to adopt another baby, but that just wasn't in the plan. So, I kept everything and I've been holding off on going through everything because it is 4 years worth of clothing. We've found a body to put this past years worth of clothes on. We sorted, the kids played. We had a great time.
They left and we had about a half hour in between. Our other friends had to bump their time up, since my friend H- has been having some health issues and needed to run to the doctor to have them checked out. She was there and back in a flash with no real answer to her question and we celebrated birthdays and Christmas. We had cake. It was all good. We went downstairs to play and as she was watching over her 2 year old, I was talking to her from the purge pile as I bagged more stuff for more children.
Then she went white. Her eyes went kind of peaky (as mom would call it.) She didn't look well. She excused herself to the bathroom. It had been a while and I was going to check on her when I heard muffled cries from the kitchen. My friend was lying in the middle of my unmopped kitchen floor. She was ill. She decided to lie on the kitchen floor because it was cold and it would make her feel better. After about a half hour of that, she decided to move to the couch then off to the bathroom. Oh, that poor girl. She was so ill. I kept checking on her through the door, but there was nothing I could do. I mean, I'm sure that she didn't want me trotting in all the while she was being ill. She came out and announced that she felt well enough to attempt a drive home. I followed her and we did get her there, but oh my goodness I felt bad for her. Her husband was soon to follow home, as he had gotten my "your wife is lying on my floor" distress call.
The hang with friends came over at about 10:30 AM. We mommies sat downstairs and went through K-'s boxes of clothes that I had from birth up until about last year. You see, we thought that we were going to adopt another baby, but that just wasn't in the plan. So, I kept everything and I've been holding off on going through everything because it is 4 years worth of clothing. We've found a body to put this past years worth of clothes on. We sorted, the kids played. We had a great time.
They left and we had about a half hour in between. Our other friends had to bump their time up, since my friend H- has been having some health issues and needed to run to the doctor to have them checked out. She was there and back in a flash with no real answer to her question and we celebrated birthdays and Christmas. We had cake. It was all good. We went downstairs to play and as she was watching over her 2 year old, I was talking to her from the purge pile as I bagged more stuff for more children.
Then she went white. Her eyes went kind of peaky (as mom would call it.) She didn't look well. She excused herself to the bathroom. It had been a while and I was going to check on her when I heard muffled cries from the kitchen. My friend was lying in the middle of my unmopped kitchen floor. She was ill. She decided to lie on the kitchen floor because it was cold and it would make her feel better. After about a half hour of that, she decided to move to the couch then off to the bathroom. Oh, that poor girl. She was so ill. I kept checking on her through the door, but there was nothing I could do. I mean, I'm sure that she didn't want me trotting in all the while she was being ill. She came out and announced that she felt well enough to attempt a drive home. I followed her and we did get her there, but oh my goodness I felt bad for her. Her husband was soon to follow home, as he had gotten my "your wife is lying on my floor" distress call.
(At my last phone call, she was in the bath. She's doing okay, I guess. I'll call again in the morning since I've actually written this post Thursday night.)
Of course, being the germaphobe that I am, I came home and did a hazmat cleaning on the bathroom (I cleaned it already in the AM, with no time to mop.) I Lysol'd so much that I ran out and had to get more (in 7 F weather.) I bleached, mopped, scrubbed and wiped. If she had anything contagious and we get it, it isn't for my lack of cleaning.
You know the funny part? K- was off school today because it was Bleach Down the School Day. (She wouldn't have had it anyway because the schools were called off for cold.) The stomach virus is rip roaring through her class and I was so relieved that it was bleaching time. God does have a great sense of humor, though. Funny indeed.
Of course, being the germaphobe that I am, I came home and did a hazmat cleaning on the bathroom (I cleaned it already in the AM, with no time to mop.) I Lysol'd so much that I ran out and had to get more (in 7 F weather.) I bleached, mopped, scrubbed and wiped. If she had anything contagious and we get it, it isn't for my lack of cleaning.
You know the funny part? K- was off school today because it was Bleach Down the School Day. (She wouldn't have had it anyway because the schools were called off for cold.) The stomach virus is rip roaring through her class and I was so relieved that it was bleaching time. God does have a great sense of humor, though. Funny indeed.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
There was cake. There were happy children. We all survived.
You know, I have to say that without the help of my mama friends, I could have never done it! Natalie over at The Cybyk Times became staff photographer. My sister ran photos occasionally, refills and hugs. My friend Michelle kept kids happy. Kim was on the wagon of friends that fed the kids as I was running back and forth. My friend Heather was just trying to keep track of her little one C-. He'll be two next month and he keeps that girl running! These woman helped to keep me sane and afloat. I love them dearly.
I admit that K-'s party started out slightly rough. Oh, the kids were great except for that pesky whiney yucky crap that K- was dishing out. I scooped her up, carried her to the bathroom and finally told her that I didn't want to send her home with her daddy so that I could have fun with her friends myself. It took just a hair longer, but she found herself adjusted and doing fine. Right before arriving, she had fallen asleep and Hubs was having a tough time waking her. He bonked her in the head with the door, again. He also bonked her in the head with the trampoline. We also know for a fact that she does a bit of a social anxiety bit when in a group of people. She is like me. She can get overwhelmed by things like that and just overloads. Oh, I don't find it excuseable, but I do try to work her through it. We did triumph over the yuck and had a great time. Just look!
I admit that K-'s party started out slightly rough. Oh, the kids were great except for that pesky whiney yucky crap that K- was dishing out. I scooped her up, carried her to the bathroom and finally told her that I didn't want to send her home with her daddy so that I could have fun with her friends myself. It took just a hair longer, but she found herself adjusted and doing fine. Right before arriving, she had fallen asleep and Hubs was having a tough time waking her. He bonked her in the head with the door, again. He also bonked her in the head with the trampoline. We also know for a fact that she does a bit of a social anxiety bit when in a group of people. She is like me. She can get overwhelmed by things like that and just overloads. Oh, I don't find it excuseable, but I do try to work her through it. We did triumph over the yuck and had a great time. Just look!
I started the party by having the kids sit for a few while I read them the book, Tinkering Tink. Aunt Kristin bought that for K- as a part of her birthday gift. The kids wanted to have free feet, so they ditched their shoes and made themselves at home.
Look! Natalie got a great picture of the kids. You know, I'm not a big face posting mama. I have several reasons, but was thrilled that there was a photo of all the kids that I could legally post.
After K's birthday party, we cleaned up the hall (with help from friends-- thank you!) and trotted on home with the loot. I did a quick gift inventory list so that we can write thank you's, had some queso and chips and went to visit the neighbor's around the corner. He is a doctor and each year, he and his wife sit out in the bitterly cold (tonight it was 25 degrees, cold enough!) to greet all the neighborhood children. He is very realistically dressed as Santa and his wife as Mrs. Claus. Their home is like that of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I'm sure that we're on back up power just to make those lights run! He is so attentive. He asked about where she lived (not in a predator kind of way), asked about how old she was, if she behaved and what she wished for. He was very happy to sit for photos with her and even his wife joined in. We've decided that we must send a thank you along. What a wonderful Christmas/Birthday treat!
After we stopped by Dr. Santa's house, we traveled onto Alliance where they have the Winter Wonderland Light Display. We go every year for Happy Home Day, but decided to move it up to K-'s birthday since we had the evening free. My mother-in-law joined us and enjoyed it very much.
Baby girl had a good day. She enjoyed getting to hang with her friends. For her, it's not the presents. Sure, she likes them but she is more than thrilled just to have people show up! Let's hope that she always stays that way!
Holy Cow! You're 5!
My big girl, you are 5 today. Can I tell you how every year that your birthday rolls around, my heart flutters a bit? It reminds us of that trip we took to pick you up. It reminds us of the anniversary of your arrival to our family. It reminds us of the anniversary of your adoption-- right on your very first birthday! How cool was that?! (Especially cool since it was hovering sub zero temps with a nasty snow storm!)"Can I tell you sumpin? I like you. I love you to the sun, the moon, the stars and back." That's a lot of love, my friend. Daddy does, too. (You tell me this all the time, too.)
When you came to us, you were just a wee bit of a thing. You were 6 pounds 11 ounces and 19" long. That's not really big. Now? Well, you are 44" tall and about 46 pounds or so. You wear a 6x or 7/8 top because you are so long waisted. You are thinning out on your Buddha baby belly, but you still need a 6 for a hair bit of tummy space. You love leggins. You don't like "hard pants (jeans) because they aren't compie." Your foot. Sweet little thing, that foot is going to give you a tough road to go forever. You wear a size 11 1/2 right now, but you have a narrow foot, a narrow heel and a high arch. Finding shoes for you is no easy task. You will hate this more as you grow up. You have long brown hair. You want to grow it out like Rapunzel or Pocahontas. That's fine with Daddy and me. The deal is that as long as we can brush it and care for it. You don't like a lot of things in your hair. Mostly, you prefer "down hair." Occasionally, you'll want "small pigs, big pigs or horsey hair." That's pretty rare, though.
You are a pretty good little girl. You are a big helper and are good at cleaning up. You love to bake and help your daddy build things. You put your clothes down the laundry chute without being asked. You have chores and do them when I ask. Someday, they'll kick in automatically. In the past few days, you've been in a NO streak. It got you in trouble at school and at home just now, too. You've lost privileges and that's no fun. Soon enough you'll learn that the NO thing didn't work before and it ain't kicking it now, either.
You are having a Tinkerbell party. You have been telling people for months! I'm sad that your siblings aren't going to be there. We've talked about it and you understand now. We're honest with you about stuff. We tell you the truth, because we want you to always trust us. Sure, mommy and daddy don't always get to pass on sunshiny stuff, but we're as honest with you as we can be.
You are so caring. You run up and hug people and children all the time. We've had to tone this back a little. You've freaked a few kids out a bit. (I just told you to ask if it was okay.) A little girl was beating you up in school, but you didn't want to tell because you didn't "want to make her sad." I had to remind you that it isn't okay for people to hurt you. Friends have bad days and maybe C- was having a bad week, but that's still not okay.
You can color in the lines. You can do a great job. You are just worried that you are going to miss something and you scribble. You know all of your ABC's, can write your name in caps and lower case and have done a great job with your last name. We're working a bit harder on numbers, but just like the ABC's, it will all click.
You have so much energy. You can run in circles for hours and never tire. Your energy amazes people. So does your caring touch, your big smile, the one left dimple you have and those ever-changing green eyes.
Can you believe that you are going to go to Kindergarten next year? Oh baby, the places you'll go.
I love you. I love you so much that a mama can't even tell you. I love you so much that it makes me cry just to think about it.
Happy birthday, my big girl.
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