Cutting the apron strings

Today was kindergarten orientation day. I was nervous. Not sure exactly why. It's not like I'm the one starting kindergarten at a new school with a bunch of people I didn't know. Although the thought is enough to give me hives. So I wondered how my 5 year old will do. If today is any indicator, he will be just fine. When called to line up for the bus ride he let go of me and got right in line. I didn't see him for about an hour after that. He went to the classroom and did some activities to test their skills. He came back with a big smile on his face. I'm still hoping for the afternoon placement since we only have 1/2 day kindergarten so we will see how that goes. We also got an idea about the Outdoor Classroom they are constructing in the courtyard. The school is built in a huge circle so the courtyard in the middle is currently green. It will have a pond with water fall with fish and turtles etc. and another section where each grade will plant things and watch it's progress throughout the year. There is so much being put in it's hard to get it all in here but when it's done it will be spectacular. Now I just hope I can make it through the 1st day of school, August 31, 2009 without falling apart because I know Aedan is ready and he will be the one I lean on. :)

My own explorer

I somehow managed to forget how fun the babies are at this age. Alexa is discovering so many new things lately. She is the captain of her own ship, she marches to her own beat.. etc. etc.

She has discovered her tongue and she makes the funniest noises while babbling and talking. She has discovered the joy and yummy goodness of chocolate milk. She has discovered that if she screams loud and long enough she'll eventually get what she wants. And if that doesn't work she throws herself on the floor and slams her head into the floor. She must have learned that cute little move from her older sister. Chloe was famous for her tantrums. She can still flip out with the best of the psychotics. She has discovered that walking is a much faster mode of transportation with less injury to her little knees. She has also discovered the joy of sleep and how much happier Mommy is in the morning when she gets a good night's rest.

As much as I hate to see her grow up so quickly I am really enjoying all her new discoveries.

3..2..1.. Lift Off !!!!

I officially have a walker. :) Alexa started walking a bit last week and now is all over creation on 2 feet instead of beat up knees. :)

She is 13 months old so of the 3 kiddies she is my slacker.. waiting 3 months past the other 2 to start walking. Oh well.. at least she's up on 2 feet now..

The Honesty of Children.

Walking into Daycare to pick up the kiddies on Friday afternoon I was happy to see Aedan's class outside playing Red Rover. His little buddy Ryan ran up to me and said, and I quote.. "Aedan's Mom.... You look good!" It caught me off guard. But then I smiled and thanked him. Kids are honest to a fault sometimes. Apparently Aedan's teacher has been asked why she's getting fat again. (She had gastric bypass 2 years ago). Kids don't know any better. We have a rule in my house that weight and size don't matter. It's rude to discuss someone's weight and to comment on it. While driving down I-76 towards the zoo yesterday Aedan was discussing the guy in front of us on a motor cycle. He thought the guy was a kid. I said "No Aedan.. he is just smaller and really skinny so he looks younger" I was quickly chastised .. "Mom! it's rude to talk about weight" Jim immediately started laughing and I apologized.

I know I need to lose a few.. OK.. a bunch rather then buying all new clothing.. but I will revel in my compliment for a little while longer..

Operation Restoration

As was expected the damage from the fridge leak was worse than we first thought. Besides soaking the ceiling and carpeting in the basement rec room it also damaged the flooring in the hall closet in my dining room and in the powder room. So the kitchen floor, powder room floor and basement are definitely getting replaced. I'm not sure about the carpeting in the dining room which encompasses the whole 1st floor.

I called and scheduled the fridge repair service on Monday night. They were SUPPOSED to come out on Wednesday from 1-5. I arranged to have my father drive an hour and take off work to be there to meet the repair guy. He got there by 12:30 and I called home to check my messages to make sure Sears hadn't called... well they had.. even though I gave them my cell to cal with any changes etc. the message relayed that they would not be there on Wednesday. I WAS LIVID. I was so pissed I could feel my face go red and feel the steam coming out my ears. I called them to rant and truthfully I didn't even recognize myself. I have never been so angry and taken it out on a complete stranger as I did on Wednesday. I was so offensive the service rep asked me to control my language and calm down or else he'd have to end the call. I think my personality split that day due to stress and the evil twin called Sears. Anyway.. they refused to send anyone out so I canceled it and canceled the warranty I had set up. I have appliance Dr. coming tomorrow.

We still have the loud fans blowing in our basement drying things out. They came and got the one from the kitchen and bathroom yesterday. We had a quiet night which was nice not having to yell at each other over those things. So now they will come today to get the ones from downstairs. Then we wait. They took all the measurements and will submit everything to Nationwide. Then they tell us what they will cover as far as replacing stuff. I'm not sure they think we should live like this. My one year old is crawling and walking all over and the exposed sub-floor that is full of shredded wood. There are wood chips everywhere.. even after vacuuming they seem to reappear... ugh..

I just want a clean new floor.

Soccer Mom Status

I have officially become a soccer Mom. It didn't happen when Aedan started soccer 2 years ago. It didn't happen when I got a minivan and toted him to soccer in it.

It happened last night when I uttered the word "Bullshit" during his game. Not loud enough for anyone to hear but even I was surprised to hear myself spewing profanities at a 5 years old's soccer game.

Aedan is always on the *aggressive* game field with a couple other kids from this team. So they were playing the aggressives from the other team. Right off the bat we could tell that this team might give us a run for our money. A far cry from the past 5 games where we went in and massacred the opposing team. Not sure why but the kids play well with each other and feed off each other's energy. So they have dominated every time out. So they start playing and about 5 minutes in I realize the other coach is pretty much letting the kids do what they want and have fun. Which is code for NOT PLAY BY THE RULES. OK.. I understand at this level it's for fun and that's why there is no ref or goalie. But they are supposed to be learning the basics and the rules. To me that means follow the rules because when you move up in the fall the rules are the same except there are goalies and refs and you get penalized for not following said rules.

We don't have goalies. Period. So don't let your kid stand in goal for 90% of the game. We missed out on a couple goals because of this kid literally standing IN the goal. And when we score you take the ball back to center you line up in your positions and start over from there.. you don't get on the ball and run it down field before anyone can catch up. And when the ball goes of of bounds you don't dribble down field while still out of bounds and try to score that way.

Allowing the kids to play how they want will only cause big disappointment in the future when they are penalized along with the rest of their team. If you are in charge of teaching the basics then you had better teach them the right way.

We ended up winning 12 -3 simply because they were only aggressive to a point. They couldn't follow through with the goal once they got down field. Maybe the coach should concentrate on the rules during their next practice and maybe they'll pull it together for their next game..

Next week is our last spring game and it will be sad because Aedan has made some good friends. I hope he has a couple on his fall team and possibly in his kindergarten class come September.

Soccer Mom out..

Murphy's Law

If it can go wrong it will. Thus the reason we were cleaning up water from the carpet in our basement rec room and dining room closet carpeting last night from 10pm to midnight and we were not victorious. In comes Nationwide, the plumber, Sears repair guy and the Restoration guy. Lord.. if you never grant me another wish in my life can you just make it so this doesn't cost us a couple grand ? I could use a break.

No Expiration Date

I must say whomever put into effect the policy of gift cards not expiring is a genius and I am thankful. When I gave birth to Chloe in 2005 my hubby gave me a $200 gift card for the spa where I frequented. Now by "frequented" I mean to say showed up every couple months for a pedicure. I have never had anything other than a spa pedicure at said spa. After having Chloe and eventually Alexa I really have trouble finding time to get there. Not to mention the fact that I need a couple weeks in advance to call in the appointment. I decide that I need a pedicure to rehab my feet from the winter and the last couple weeks in flip flops. They are dry and just not nice. Plus.. I could use a bit of quiet *me* time while someone treats my feet and calves so luxuriously that it takes over an hour for a pedicure. Now.. back to the gift card. Because I haven't been there enough I still have $50 left to spend and a pedicure costs $50. So that tells you.. I've been there 3 times since 2005 . I've seriously neglected my poor tootsies.. So I called yesterday and scheduled the pedi and asked about the gift card since it technically is like 3 1/2 years old. "It's fine they don't expire". Yay for me. So I go in 2 weeks and I can't wait ! Thank goodness that card isn't expired or else I'd have to actually shell out the $$ for my *me* time. I need to figure out how to get some more mad $$ to squirrel away so I can go again in a month. :)

The Striker

That's what I'm calling him these days. He loves soccer. We are in our 2nd season of intramural soccer and he is really enjoying every second of it. He scores ALOT and needs to be up front and in the action. God forbid he be told to play defense. There are no goalies at this age level. So if you get the aggressive kids (Aedan and a couple others) really going they can demolish the opponent. They try to set it up equally. The coaches split the players between 2 fields. Aggressive on one side and non-aggressive on the other and they play against the aggressives and non-aggressives from the other team. Aedan is ALWAYS on the aggressive team as are 3 others. They feed off each other and just go to town. The last 2 weeks have been utter trouncings. We stop couting after they hit 12 -2. The coaches start to tell the kids to practice their passing etc to try and get them to lay up but they are out to score so you can't really hold them back. I personally want Aedan to try his best at all times. So I hate to say lay up.. Anyway. I'm hoping this week brings a bit of a challenge for team Dynamo just for humility's sake.

The Middlest Princess

Chloe Margaret. She is a true princess when it comes to accessorizing. She has her jewelry box filled to the brim with baubles. Rings and necklaces and bracelets out the wazoo. She wears multiple necklaces at a time and has a ring on every finger for the better part of every day. The only time everything is removed is for bath and bed. And even for bed she keeps the rings on. She sleeps with the necklaces under her pillow and her pocket-purse hanging from her headboard. My favorite is the Jackie O beads that she always has on and then she throws on various other 2nd choices. She has had women stop her and comment on her lovely beads while we are out shopping etc. and that makes her light up and touch the beads as if they were worth millions and she has to check that they are in fact still around her neck.

My only issue with the jewelry lately is the metal rings. She wears them so often that her fingers are getting that green ring around them. So I pull the rings for a day or so til it goes away. Well today was the clincher and I had to remove the rings all together for a while. She can only have plastic rings because when she woke up this morning she has a RUST ring around her finger. She didn't remove her rings when she washed her hand before bed and the metal freaking rusted on her finger. So she shall be the princess with no rings for a while.. which means she'll double up on everything else I'm sure.

Best of the Best

I have to say Mother's Day 2009 was by far the best Mother's day I have had in my 5 years of being a Mom. :) The girls slept til a glorious 6:30 am and woke up happy and smiling. I got a cup of coffee in me before anyone started asking for anything. :) Aedan slept til 8. He is starting to learn that weekends are great and you don't have to get up at 6. I made breakfast and washed some dishes. Flung open the windows to let the glorious breeze blow through. Made all the beds and got the laundry running. Started getting things ready for the week and day care. Jim came home form golf around 9:45. They all went to get my presents. One VERY large gift bag.

I will preface this with this: I told Jim to let the kids each pick what they want to give me all by themselves. The only thing I said I would like is the new iPod shuffle so I'd have tunes for my walking and a gift card for iTunes. Well there was way more than that in the bag. First thing is first.. Chloe walks me through the card. "See Mom .. there are 3 bears, because you have 3 kids" yes honey you are right. To the bag. There is a new Welcome Mat. Not that we needed one but Jim thought I'd like it. Then A large Coffee mug. Then I get to open Chloe's.. A large purple water bottle. "So you don't get thirsty when you are walking Mom" Oh that's wonderful thank you so much Chloe. Now Aedan's. ... A set of 2 pound wrist weights. Wow Aedan .. Great Idea. I was just thinking I shold never have thrown away my old weights. Big grins ensue. "keep going Mom" Ok. Next is a box of Asher's milk chocolate non-pareils. My favorites. Yum. The kids like them too. And lastly the iPod, g.c. for iTunes and a gift card for Hallmark so I can get a new Vera Bradley bag.

I got dinner and ice cream out on Saturday and we ordered a new storm door. So I was very spoiled this weekend and felt very appreciated by the whole family. Especially when I didn't have to yell all day long.

It was a very good day. Thanks to my family for making it a Mother's day that I want to remember. :)

Breakfast with Mom

Day Care hosts a Breakfast with Mom the Friday before every Mother's Day. It's nice. Not just donuts and muffins. A full cooked breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, french toast sticks, fruit salad, bagels, cereal, danish and cinnamon buns. It's nice to sit and hang with the kids instead of the normal drop and run. It also gives me a chance to chat with the other Moms. :)

Aedan wasn't too happy because I made him wear a shirt he hates. Not sure why. It's a cool shirt. Everyone thought so.

I got the mints his class made from scratch, and a large Award/Card telling me why I'm a great Mom and a hand colored pot holder.

I have yet to get Chloe's *gift* From the looks of the packages it's the same potholder just decorated by her own hand. :)

Alexa had a card for me with her handprint inside and a poem and a picture of her. Very sweet.

The teachers really try to do nice things for the Moms and we appreciate it. :)

The Delivery man just showed up here at the office. I got a pale pink etched vase filled with Star lilies and the palest pink roses. Gorgeous and not my standard favorites.. carnations. A nice change. and very much appreciated. Out of the 5 Mother's Days I've had so far 3 were absolutely horrid enough to make me never want to celebrate again. Complete with tears and locking myself in the master bath. So let's hope this Sunday is another good one. :) I plan on going to a nice quiet lunch with my own mother and then spending the rest of the day with my family. :) They are taking me to Taco Bell for dinner and then Nelson's Ice Cream shop after that on Saturday. They know I'm a cheap date and will love it. The fancy sit down dinner or brunch is for the birds .. or another Mom that doesn't break out in a sweat while dining out.

Now all these *things* are lovely and truly appreciated. But I am just as happy to have a bowl of cereal with my kids and not have to yell. A quiet day with no tears and not too much housework. :)

I hope all my *Mom* friends have a wonderful Mother's Day.

Smooth Move

Alexa's big move was Monday. It went smoother than I could have possibly anticipated. She LOVES her new classroom. I love the fact that she is so happy there. She plays so nicely. She is napping better than ever now that she on the napper rather than in the crib. :) Now.. if we can master the whole walking thing we'll be golden. :)

The little things

OK.. I will preface this with the fact that I have been sick for weeks now.. bronchitis last week and then I didn't get all the meds I should have to feel better. So I call to let them know I am not better. I get the antibiotic I *should* have had.. makes me have NASTY side effects. Stop that and start the z-pac. Still not good. So off I go to the Dr. last night with all 3 children at 5:20 directly from daycare. Only because Jim is in Dallas. Otherwise I'd rather shoot myself in the foot before taking them with me. So they behave horridly. We get taken back 20 minutes AFTER my scheduled appt., they are jacked up on something and Alexa screams every time anyone comes near me. Dr. does her thing and I get new meds called in to the pharmacy. Shoot over to McD's for dinner because it is now 6:10. Swing by CVS to pick up said meds. Not ready. Alexa is now screaming because dinnertime was 15 minutes ago. I give her a fry and now they all want fries.. we finally get home at 7 pm. And while eating I'm just so drained and feeling crappy and the kids are giving me a hard time. So I start bawling. Chloe asks if I'm crying and why and I tell her. Aedan stares at me with these huge sad eyes. Then proceeds to come over and give me a hug and pat on the back. That was all I needed.. just a little sympathy from some little people and a pat on the back..

Later Aedan brought me a tissue .. I didn't ask for one and didn't know I needed it but it was "for me to blow my boogies"

:) I went to bed not feeling as overwhelmed as hours earlier.

Movin' on up

No not all of us.. and not to the East side. LOL.. Wexa Wexa is making the transition to the Step Up class at daycare. This means no more Baby/Infant room. I LOVE the baby room. Almost like there is this invisible bubble around it protecting the littlest of people. There is a gate keeping all the germ ridden toddlers and preschoolers out. Yes that includes my own 2 larger offspring. They need to make room for the new babies coming and since Alexa is like a giant gorilla compared to these little cherubs she's gettin' the boot. I'm OK with it mostly because the teacher she will have she is VERY familiar with so it won't be a shock to see her Monday morning. I am a tad concerned that she won't nap because she won't be in a crib but on a "napper" sleeping bag thing with a pillow.. this may take some getting used to. But I am going to circulate in a woobie for her to sleep with there so she can sniff it like glue to calm her nerves in her new digs.