And Fun Was Had By All!

Last weekend we all drove in to help Daddy install a much needed fence at Nana and Pops' new house! The girls were very excited to go back for their second visit, seeing how the first visit yielded lots and lots of frogs, a pesky armadillo, and a jack rabbit!
We did find a frog. Named her Jesse. But the poor frog was quickly overshadowed by a new friend. An adorable little box turtle! Named Sparkles. I have one picture of Sparkles-taken after Super Daddy found her. My camera battery died so I took most pics with my parents' camera. More to come soon.
The girls had SO much fun watching their daddy work. They wanted to help with everything! Miss E was especially neat to observe-she was asking questions and genuinely interested in what her daddy was doing.
We enjoyed the visit and had LOTS of fun. Lots of laughs-sometimes we didn't even know what we were laughing about! Gotta love those pregnancy induced laugh-till-you-cry moments!
Again, we had so much fun and can't wait to go back. Our next visit will be for the arrival of baby C! Yay!

Serious Business

My Gmom sent me this pic from my sis' shower last weekend. Miss E, hard at work on one of the games-the "answer the Nursery Rhyme question" game.
There were 20 questions. The winner answered 14 correctly.
Miss E was a close second with 12 correct!

Magic in the Morning

Miss A was up a little too early today, so I went to snuggle with her, and possibly help her fall back to slumber. At the very least, I wanted to keep her quiet so not to wake Miss E or Daddy, on his only day off.
As we lay there, it was evident she was very much ready to wake up. She kept talking to me, asking to play and read books. And I would shush her, over and over. Finally she lay still for a moment or two and I heard a soft whisper come from the quiet. I was pretty sure I heard her clearly, but asked again, just to be sure.
Yes, what I heard was correct.

Her early morning thoughts:

"I want to be an armadillo when I grow up."* LOL!

I giggled and snuggled her tighter. What a goofy girl.

Shortly after, we heard Miss E waking in her room across the hall. Was she talking to herself?
Oh, no. I recognize it now.

And I tuned in just in time to catch the last line:

"Please don't take...my sun-shine awaaayy...."

Ahh...what a way to start the day. :)



*Explanatory post to follow soon....

Miss A's First Day

Although she had been up at school with me for over a week, Miss A was still very excited for her first official day. She was VERY excited to take her "pack-pack". And just HAD to bring her 'very-old-but-new-to-her' Cabbage Patch doll, (re-named because I had NO idea what her name was) Penny.
She was all grins as I took the traditional first day pics!



Sorry. I know this is WAY too bright, but it's the only pic I got. I had moms and kids already showing up in my room!


Although she is excited, I have mixed feeling this year. Last year I taught music and saw her every day. And I did not teach on a day that she didn't attend, so I didn't miss much with her at all.
This year, I have my own class. In a different building. And I teach on a day that she does not attend, so I don't even have that little "I might catch a glimpse of her on the playground" hope to hold on to.
I really think, that if I did not have to work right now, that I wouldn't even have her in preschool. Our 'little-playgroup-that-could' has grown so much and is doing so much more towards the homeschool preschool agenda, that I'm not at all concerned with her getting a "preschool education". And I know that this is really for the social aspect and exposure to structure for my kiddos anyway.
When I started Miss E in preschool (way back when!) it was just one day a week, and I didn't have a playgroup, or any friends really, that we were hanging with. We had just moved to Leander and I looked into preschool as an outreach to find some social time, I think.
So when it was time for Miss A to attend, I think it was more habit-plus the fact that a job opened up for me...it just made sense.
Not making as much sense this year, so far.
I'm enjoying my class-still sorting out the "rowdys" and establishing our routing, but we're having fun. And A does have a really neat teacher.
But I still hate that I'm missing the better part of 3 days each week with her. I'll settle into it, I'm sure.
In the meantime, Miss E is enjoying 1st grade, except for the "bunch of handwriting practice we have to do every day" part. :)
We had her Open House last night and it was about as informative as I should have expected. I sure hope when I go back to teaching that I remember what it feels like to be a parent left in the dark.
I think I'll set a conference w/the teacher next week for some one-on-one and try to get some questions answered. Sigh.
More later!

Jackson Pollock

"When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It's only after a sort of "get acquainted" period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own."

I came across this quote and fell in love with it. And his work holds true. Miss A and I attended a Jackson Pollock playdate last Friday. She had fun-she didn't get into it as much as some of the boys....I'm sensing some anger issue brewing with a couple of those. LOL! Just kidding, Mommas. It was neat to see the kids really enjoy making art out of a mess!

Here are some pics I got. Oh-how smart do I need to be to realize I shouldn't have stood behind the paper/in front of the arteest?? I left there with my own personal body art! Some on my neck...some on my arm...my shirt...Ha! :)

Boys 'N Girls

After our playdate today, Miss A and I headed for Sonic. I figured I would treat her to a special lunch since this is actually her first free day w/just me. She has been SUCH a trooper during the last few busy, busy weeks.
Anyway-her lunch of choice: Grilled cheese and a vanilla shake. On the way she realizes that buddy Lil' J's van is right in front of us-and they also pull in for some lunch. She asks that we park next to them, and then asks me, "Is J going to get a boy cheese?"
It took me a minute, but I got it. She pronounces the sandwhich "gIRl cheese". Get it? BOY cheese? Ha!

And the other day, I was in her room, straightening up, and realized she had been very quiet for some time. Afraid that she was asleep, I called out to her and asked what she was doing. Her answer:

"Just counting my toes!" ????

One more quicky (sorry, I've been such a bad blogger lately. I went through this at the beginning of the school year last year too).
Miss E got a special package in the mail from her Aunt M and Uncle S. It had a brand new Hannah Montanna pen, some special pencils and erasers, and a new pair of scissors. She took off with the pen and said she was going to her room to make a list of very important things. Little did I know it was for me!
Here's my list of very important things (her words)to do every day:

1. Be Fashionable!
2. Be Punctual!
3. Be like a Princess and shop for fashion!

Okaaaaay!

And my last thought, very random....my title to this post reminds me of an interesting nursery rhyme from one of our books.

Boys and girls come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day.
Leave your supper and leave your sleep,
And join your playfellows in the street.

Huh?