Slade's Awards Day

Slade and Ben

Last Thursday, it was 4th grade Awards Day. Slade received the social studies award. Which was fitting since he would rather read an atlas that a fiction book. Or that he's been obsessed with Texas history all year and we've all watched "The Alamo" ten times in the basement. And the actual Alamo is on his bucket list (although he's already been but doesn't remember). Like I said, I wasn't surprised!

 Slade and Mrs. Ray. He had four teachers this year, but Mrs. Ray was his homeroom teacher. Mrs. Ray doesn't put up with nonsense, which might or might not have been a problem with the boys in her class this year. But we survived.

 We had a little musical entertainment.

 Funny that my child that likes to sing the least of anyone was standing in front of the mike. Lol! It really wasn't that close, it just looks like it.

 Awwww, such a sweet group of ten year old boys.........................

And this is probably the reason why Slade was told they "would not be put in a classroom together next year because of too much talking".

Yeah, probably a wise choice on someone's part.

Thank You

2025 Anyone?

This morning was Kindergarten Awards Day!

 My girl received the Reading Award.

 Thank you, kid who ran in front of the camera, haha! Gunnar got to go with us and acted really nice.

 Two of my Smarts.

 I cannot believe an entire school year is almost over!

Finley and Mrs. Malone. This year is the 25th Anniversary of our school. They asked what each teacher was doing 25 years ago in 1987. Mrs. Malone wasn't born yet! That is crazy! It was a good kinder year-Finley loved Mrs. Malone! Sweet, sweet teacher. Now excuse me while I cry because my baby girl is practically a first grader. And, yes, she's the Class of 2025.

Just Some Towels

How many towels does a 10 year old boy need in three days?

Evidently it's 5. They were in his room. Since they were dry, I just folded them up and put them back in the cabinet like they had been laundered. He'll never know.

Pure Wuve

We've been running around all morning cleaning up the house and folding a million loads of laundry. I finally sat down and picked up my computer to check my email. Gunnar came up and sat beside me. He's got on a diaper, a dirty pajama shirt top, and his face is smeared with dried ketchup. All of the sudden, he took my hand off the keyboard and held it in his. He looked up at me and said, "I wuve you very much."

You know the time two weeks ago when he puked in my car and last week in my hair and down the front of my gown? Yep, he's forgiven. It's been a rough two weeks around here, I've wanted to run out the door and scream on more than one occasion. And then my two year old comes up and out of the total blue, tells me he loves me.

Moments you live for when your a mom. Small, but hugely significant. Happy Monday!

A Must Read

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2013/05/a-few-thoughts-before-mothers-day

My sweet children gave me the stomach bug on Mother's Day weekend, so I missed this entry in one of my favorite blogs. It's a MUST READ! You need to read this-it will make your life better. You might need a Kleenex.

Smart Happenings.....

Just some things that have been going on around our little world.....

 Finley got all gussied up for her dance photos. This is her fourth year in dance! She is dancing to the theme of Beauty and the Beast.

 In the recital she has to wear a bun like a professional ballerina, but in our own photos, it's free reign. She chose curls. And we worked hard on our curls!

This was the day before I left for Canton and since the school called me to pick up G-man early, the barfer had to go with us to the photography studio. He didn't puke till we left. Gunnar calls his Finny, "a bawerina that has a pwetty dwess!"

 Someone seems interested in wearing undies. He also likes to pee in them. We haven't made the connection yet. Still have high hopes, though. He sure is cute in them.

 Yep, you are cute.

 These kids are eating homemade chicken strips. They are a mess to make so I don't do it often. When I do, though, kids come running out of the woodwork when dinner is ready.

 He loves to paint! We do a lot of dipping and washing the brush off, too.

 I took the kids to eat dinner one night and G fell asleep in booth. THIS. NEVER. HAPPENS. Remember, I have kids that don't really like to sleep.

 We do lots of baths in the jetted tub. It's very popular.

 Yes, my kids jump all over the couch. And remove cushions. And fall off, but still keep doing it again.

 Mid-air jump. That's how we roll. I have it on video, too.

 A little shaving cream in the tub, anyone?

 It snowed in April. Weird.

 Finley made cupcakes for her STAR party at school!

We had sleepovers one night and evidently I lost my mind because I agreed to 3 extra kids and I was alone. I had six kids here. It was craziness.

Let me just say....Boys eat and drink A LOT! After finding eight hundred empty cans in my garage refrigerator the last two years when friends come visit, I finally smartened up and bought the liters on SALE.

Thank you, McDonalds, for cooking a gourmet meal for six wild kids. Amen.

Canton Trip

About two months ago my friend Shauna called me and asked if I wanted to go to Canton for her birthday the first weekend in May. Why, yes, I would like to make a Canton trip!!! I have been wanting to go and get some goodies for the house and the timing worked out great for both of us! So after many hours of planning and organizing sitters and children, we left last Friday morning. We stayed in Richardson with one of my friends, Cari. We really had a great time. Her kids went to stay with her aunt and we were childless for two nights! Which meant we got to bathe, eat, and sleep with nobody needing something. It was a nice break that we needed to recharge our batteries! We did have some minor kinks in the plans but ended up still going. The day before we left, they called me to come get Gunnar from school because he had puked. I was freaking out! He did throw up in my car again, but Kyle told me to go one and he would just keep him and take him to work with him on Friday. Of course I was scared I was going to get sick from him. I stayed well through the weekend but poor Shauna ended up with pink eye! She had to wear her glasses and her eye was bothering her but she was a trooper. The pink eye didn't slow down her shopping!

Shauna, Me, Cari-we have NINE kids between the three of us Kyle pointed out! We each have three! We also met Natalie there but I cannot get the picture of her to load for some reason. We literally shopped till we dropped!!! My legs and feet hurt the next day! Canton is east of dallas and there is an enormous trade days type place there that happens the weekend before the first Monday of each month. I believe they call it First Monday. And believe me when I tell you they sell EVERYTHING there, including the kitchen sink.

 It was already pretty and green there. I didn't know what to make of the green grass!

 Here are some of the treasures I found!  A chair for the desk in my kitchen.

 A giant red "S" for Slade's room. Poor Slade, I still haven't worked on his room yet since we moved.

I was excited to find some vintage marbles for my jar! I think the lady that sold them to me was a little crazy but she had great marbles!!! I think she had lost her marbles. : )

 I was needing something to put all my invitations, announcements, and cards on. I found this cool window that they had replaced with chicken wire.

 Here is it hanging with all my notes on it. I might paint the wood a color later.

 Some cute little letter flags.

I loved this metal cookbook holder. 

Cari & I before we went out to dinner on Friday night! While we were there, we got to eat at Papadeaux's, a really good mexican food place called Gloria's, Panera, and la Madeleine. I had never eaten at Panera or la Madeleine and they were so yummy! We even did a little shopping on Sunday. We went to Homegoods, my favorite place to visit and some outlet malls in Allen. We got home about 8:30 Sunday night. Super fun trip! It was a treat! And everyone did great with all the moms gone!

Letting Go

I don't know why this popped into my head tonight. I'm sitting here in the floor of my bedroom, watching Finley and Gunnar bathe in my tub. They are digging the jets. I just threatened them that I wasn't using a mop after they finished so don't splash! We've had a long day-I had to go get Finley and Slade at two different times from school today. They both have the pukes. Fun, fun times. I have cleaned two bathrooms and done numerous loads of laundry. Gag. Anyways, I was watching Finley get into the bathtub and she was trying to decide whether to wash her hair or not. 

Finley......boy have we come a long ways from the days of tiny delicate ribbon bows that were placed on her nearly bald head with Karo syrup. I made all those tiny bows by hand before she was even born. And her clothes! It was so much fun dressing up my very own little doll. Dresses, ruffles, smocking. I had a ball picking out her clothes, for years I did it. I always bought her clothes instead of myself. It was so much more fun buying for her than buying for me. Actually, I still like to buy my kids clothes better.

And then she turned six. And she decided to have an opinion. What!?! The clothes and hair have been the bone of contention in this house the entire school year. Tears have been shed-both Finley and myself. There has been yelling, pouting, and all out madness on many mornings before school. I just cannot believe the clothing combinations that she thinks match.

 For instance, this is one of her picks. A navy school shirt, blackish leggings, and a pink long sleeve shirt underneath. She has a closet full of cute, girly outfits and the school shirt wins out most days. Or the too big Nike shirt from Academy. Or the tights with a too short shirt. I have to put my foot down to my child going to school looking like Jane Fonda. Don't get me wrong, if anyone has the body to pull of skin-tight tights, it's Finley. I just think she might need a long shirt to go with the tights.

 Now, she does have a good sense of fashion on some days. This was one of her outfits. I thought she did well this day. But I would say on most days, she looks like Punky Brewster. Or a rag-a-muffin. Or a homeless child. For months we have fought about clothes and hair. Oh, the hair. It hangs in her face. I have to beg and plead to pull it up in a braid. Apparently braids aren't in-style in Mrs. Malone's classroom.

 I worked really hard on her hair on her Valentine's party day. It was a side braid that went into a bun on the side with a pink bow. It was really cute. And then I arrived at the party at 2:30 and this was her hair. It looked like she was an extra in the movie, Twister! I just cringed and hoped no parents thought I sent her to school like this!!!

She would just prefer to wear her hair like this most days. We had been going round and round for months. And then, one morning, it just clicked. Or maybe I had an epiphany. Or perhaps, I was just tired. I decided.......WHO CARES!!! Why does it matter what she wears to school? So long as it appropriately covers her little body, who cares. I got to pick out her outfits for 6 years, but now I was going to have to let go. I had to learn to let go of the matchy outfits, the matching bows, and socks that match. I still try to guide her in the direction of not being Jane Fonda in the tight tights and short shirt but I mostly let her pick. She goes to school and she doesn't match. Most mornings, her bow is a different shade of blue than her shirt, and even though I know she has one that would match better, I just let it go.  Her socks usually aren't even in the same color realm as what she's wearing, but I just let it go. I would rather braid her hair, but she wants a ponytail. Her pink jacket would match better than her fuzzy black one. The boots would look cuter than the Toms with that outfit. Kyle even came home with green Toms and I haven't said one word about her wearing those this week and they haven't matched a thing!!!

I decided that in the scheme of life, what she picks out on a random school day in Kindergarten really won't affect the rest of her life. Life will still go on. Hopefully the teacher will still be able to teach her even though she might thinking that her outfit is reminiscent of a 1980's punk rock video. I'm alright, so long as her hair is out of her face. We have agreed on ponytails most mornings. I sit and smile when I let them out of the car in the mornings in front of the school, and I watch her run inside with her ponytail and pink flowered backpack, with socks that don't match. It's the first of many things that I will just have decide to let go of as mom. She's her own little person.

I'm pretty sure that my favorite thing in elementary school was a pink jean jacket and a pair of boots made out of blue jean material. Were they my mom's favorite? Probably not. But she let me wear them and jewelry and bandana necklaces that I loved and now they are laughable in old photos. I still made it all the way through school and had lots of fun. She let me wear it because I was my own little person. You don't remember the clothes that didn't match. You remember the people and what you did. You remember the fun times. You remember taking naps and your favorite books. What kid puked in the cafeteria, who the nice teachers were, and recess with your friends. The field trips and buying a spirit ribbon for the football game on Friday mornings. What kid went to the principal office and who had the tuna fish sandwich every day.

Letting go has saved us many tears and fights in the morning. Letting go has made life more pleasant. I've decided it will be alright. I will be alright. Finley will be alright. Plus, I don't remember what I wore to Kindergarten even one day. I can tell you, though, who lost a tooth in Mrs. Jernigan's class in 1984.