designergirl007

The Fam on the Farm.

Well we just got back from the hot, stifling, humidity drenched, heat in Kansas. Boy was it hot.

The first day we were there Jack wanted to head to town to play with his cousins. I said I would take him in and as we were pulling out of my parents driveway he looked at the fields of corn and asked why they weren't picking the corn. I told him it was because it wasn't ready yet. This led him to say, "Boy, it sure is going to take them a long time to pick all those pieces of corn."

Okay, let me stop right here. I grew up on a farm so I guess I take this for granted, you know, how food actually get to the magic store of Walmart. How corn is harvested and what corn us used for. Not to mention the difference between field corn and sweet corn. I realized at this moment that this is something my son had not been around or educated on. There was a missing link, but we were about to connect it all. Now, back to the story...

I told him people didn't go out and pick each ear of corn there was a machine called a combine that harvested the corn. I realize there were a lot of words in that sentence he may not understand so I explained further. He hung on every word then followed by asking "Is it really important to learn to ride a bike?" Okay, random. I tell him yes it is important and how it will improve his little life and provide all these important life skills like balance, confidence, toughness, how to do his taxes and pay his mortgage someday. Okay the last two maybe not but I was emphasizing that he needed to learn and not give up being able to ride without training wheels. 

As we were entering town he noticed a field with a different crop. He asked what that field was and I said "Soybeans." He got all excited and said , "Oh!! Like Edamame!" I was thinking... are you kidding me? Oh how I have failed as a parent first the corn, then the bike conversation and now edamame. What is wrong with this picture - he needed an appreciation of farm life. I said, "Well, yes, I guess edamame is one of the products from soybeans but they are used for much more. I again explained. After dropping him off at his cousins I drove home and put the educational plan in place...

I got home, marched inside and asked my dad what he was doing the following days. I said I need you and Ross to take Jack to the sale barn. I want him to see how it works. I want him to see how cattle are sold and then I would like you to go eat at the sale barn restaurant - have a burger - it's full circle. :-)

Now, I live in an area where poultry is king. We see chicken and turkey trucks all the time, it is a norm. Ever since he was in preschool he would ask - where are they takin those chickens? I would simply say, "To the plant where they will slaughter them and make them into chicken nuggets." Sorry folks, I'm not trying to be politically correct just honest. 

 

Long story short, they went to the sale barn. I gave him a simple rule - don't raise your hand. I didn't want to come home with a herd of cattle. LOL. I don't think our POA would appreciate that much. He enjoyed it, learned some and the links were falling in place for his learning curve of farm life. 

Here are some of the pictures from our trip back to KS. Fun times, relaxing and great to see family.
This is the perfect summer picture.Kids having fun riding their bikes after a cool dive on the slip-N-slide.

On those hot humid evenings the best place to find these boys was on the porch eating popsicles.

The best way to stay cool on a hot day is nothing else than the ole faithful slip-N-slide. 

One of my nephews - what a cutie!

My niece. She is super cute and quite the athlete. We caught a t-ball game of hers and it was a lot of fun. We don't get to see their sports that often so when we are back and get to it is a real treat!

Jackson was upset in this picture but it only lasted a short time because grandma and grandpa were making homemade vanilla ice cream and it was almost done! He loves playing with his cousins. Loves it so much he stayed for an extra week!

Friends of my family, the Stadlers, brought some of the best sweet corn we have ever had. It was so sweet and we didn't hear any complaints from the twins - especially Jake. Josh was eating the cob and all - I had to cut him off - who knew what that would do to his little tummy. We all loved it! Yum-O

Josh was wanting to climb a tree after he saw my niece climb one. Maybe in a few years... Josh always has some sort of food on his face. Is it a sign of a good eater or a messy kid? TBD.

After sitting outside helping make or "watch" the ice cream as it was made. It was super hot but I am trying to smile as I came inside to the cool air. Ahhh...

One of my favorite things - watching storms roll in....

and then the ice cream was done.... It was the first time the twins had ice cream like this and I think they would have eaten the whole thing if we would have let them.

I love this look. It was like.. "Really, you're going to give me a bowl when I have all this in front of me? I don't think so...."

Yum-O! it was worth the wait...

"I will not take my eyes off the spoon of ice cream... I will not take my eyes off the spoon of ice cream.."

And then the trip was over. I didn't get pictures of my older nephews, they are teenagers and growing up so fast. It is fun to see them taller than their mom now, and hear about their activities and what's going on with them. They're a lot of fun to hang out with. It went really fast but we will be back to visit soon and hopefully it will be cooler and Jack can see how the corn is harvested.

A Pretty Typical Day in Photos.

I was reading a blog about a year ago and the writer of the blog had taken a photo every hour for something like 8 hours. I thought that was an interesting idea and kept it tucked away in my mind. Last week. I decided it was time to try it. So, with camera charged and cell phone alarms set every hour (to help remind me) I started the project and here is how it turned out. There are a few photos in some areas...

Morning Wake Up.

I love this time of the morning. The boys are usually laughing and playing in their cribs. 

After we all have breakfast, we head outside before it gets too hot.

We swing, play in the water, and roam around the yard. We check the garden to see what we might find. This day we had blackberries and they weren't sprinkled with sugar - Jack wasn't sure he liked them this way.

Next, we all head back inside to get cleaned up from the yard.

Bath time. Josh is having a ball and Jake is giving him his typical look. LOL! Jack was spraying them with a bubble gun.

After the bath, we start herding the grasshoppers. They try to escape but they don't realize we can still see them. Time to get dressed!

The twins were dressed and they laid down for their nap. Jack and I clean up the toy area and pick up the house.

We review some school work to keep everything top of mind. :)

After some work, Jack wanted breakfast for lunch. He ate some bacon and around lunchtime he gets TV time. This kid could eat his weight in bacon.

The twins wake up and it's time for lunch.

While the twins eat. Jackson plays on the computer. I love the cheat sheet he has to the left.

After they eat they decide to rearrange. They begin moving furniture and crawling on everything.

Off to swim lessons.

Back home after swim lessons for a sweet snack - Peaches!

I sit to take a minute to rest.

I follow the boys into the bedroom. They like to play on the bed - they decide to wrestle...

and wrestle...

until it ends like this...

Jake has had enough...

and Josh, well... is just Josh.

After the wrestling match the photos stopped. Ross and I went to dinner with friends and the kids hung out with Meme. This is a rough idea of a day in our life....

Osm Da (Awesome Day)

Yesterday afternoon the babies were wild crying banshees. Jackson invited them into his room (this is always a mistake). We all went in there and the fighting quickly ensued over the light sabers. I don't understand the fascination with boys and light sabers. The next thing I knew the twins were battling it out for the blue light saber and Jake went in to take a bite out of Josh's head. Josh screamed a loud battle cry to warm of the impending bite out of his mellon and Jack was standing yelling/upset "get out of here you crying babies!" I was doing what any other sane mom would be doing... sitting on the bean bag video taping it all.

After they were all looking at me like, "why isn't she doing something." I put the camera down, broke up the light saber war and calmed the eldest son down, gently reminding him he was in fact the one that "invited" them in his room. The twins world was in a fit now and everything made them upset. Mom decision #1 - if they can't be consoled, let's try a nap... and of course with the fan blowing, blankets snuggled around their arms and soothing music they were calm and on the way to dream land. It sounds like paradise to me. Someone please give me a blanket, turn on a fan and play some soft music in a quiet room, the word paradise comes to my mind. If I believed in reincarnation, I would want to come back as one of my children. You know, the peaceful sleepin', happy dreamin' relaxed in a cool quite room, no worries droolin' toddler twins we call Jake and Josh.

With the toddlers asleep, now to settle Jack down. To spend our time together I said, "Let's play a board game." The excitement lit up in his little eyes (he is my child when it comes to board games. I love em) He went to his closet and looked up at the boxes of games. I wondered which brightly colored box would call his name, I was hoping it wasn't Twister. Would it be Cariboo? Checkers? Go Fish? The curiosity is almost too much for you I know...

He called me over and said, "That one! That's the one I want to play."

I looked up and the box that captured his attention and its name was called "UpWords" it is Scrabble but you can build on the letters. I looked at him and said, "You know you have to spell words with this game." (he's 6 and just finished kindergarten)

He said, "yep, now let's play"

We sat on his bed, chose our tiles and set up the board game. He said he would go first. I said, "Now, you use the letters you have to spell a word and put it on the board."

Side note: I chose my letters and I had gone to check on the twins (this is when Jack chose his tiles). Miraculously, his first 7 letters spelled the word "Jackson." I know, what are the chances... :)

I laughed and said, "Hmmm isn't that something." He grinned the biggest grin and said, "Okay, I won't do that again." as he laughed.

I played the word "sad."

He played the word "bune." I said, "What word is that?" He said, "Bunny." I realized this was going to be a game of phonics. His words were going to be spelled how they sounded. I played along and played my next word.

His next word was "osm." Again, I said what is that? He said, "Awesome." I see how he got it so, okay we went on. You get the picture. This game board was too funny but I was proud of him sounding out the words he wanted to play.

Finally, he asked what is the score. I said, "Oh, I think you are about 47 and I am about 23." We went on and when the game was almost over he asked the score again. Again, I said he was ahead. As we finished the game he said, "Oh ya, I forgot to tell you, the winner gets a chocolate milkshake, a massage and TV time." He obviously knew his position and decided to monopolize on it.

I laughed and said,"So are you the winner I guess." He said, "Yep!" Usually I disregard his crazy little rewards when he comes up with them but I gave in. I made a chocolate milk shake, turned TV on for a bit and rubbed his feet and rubbed his back until he said "Over to the left a little."  Sorry little man, you can take this only so far, I am not a masseuse. ;)

Like I said, If I believed in reincarnation I think I'd like to be reincarnated as one of my children. Especially the chocolate milk shake drinkin', massage getting, TV watchin' not a care in the world child we like to call Jack.

wht an osm da!

 

 

Art in the Rock

The past weekend we ventured down the road to Little Rock, Arkansas to the ATA World Taekwando Championship. Our son Jack was competing in his first tournament so we made a weekend of it. My mom was gracious enough to watch the twins, which made the weekend a little easier. If we had to push the double stroller through those narrow crowd filled isles at the tournament I'm afraid to everyone's chi might have been tested.

We stayed in the River Market area which worked perfect and was so fun and relaxing. We walked everywhere, took a trolley ride, saw some sites, visited some shops, visited friends, went to the tournament and yes, Jack went swimming at the hotel about 100 times. Other than the tournament I think swimming was his favorite thing - kids are funny.

I'm going to tell on my brother. When he was little he wrestled. I'm not going to lie, it is not my favorite sport and it could very well be because my little brother made it traumatic for me. (Notice how it's all about me) He was little, I have no idea what age but he was probably around 6 or 7 I am guessing. They'd call his name at the tournament and he'd cry. He didn't want to get on the mat and wrestle. Honestly, I can't blame him a bit. I'd watch my parents try to console his fears or highly recommend he go out there and try it. It was 9 out of 10 times to no avail. So, when Jack was going to this tournament those flashbacks entered my mind.

The night before his big competition as a "Tiny Tiger" I asked Jack if he was excited. He actually used this word - he said he was frightened. I encouraged him and knew how nervous he must be. The next day, he didn't say much, didn't eat much, but practiced and got out there and did his forms. We were so proud and he did great. See below.... yep, and he received 2 trophies!

I think I can stop watching those Dr. Phil episodes now, the traumatic years of watching my brother wrestle are now behind me - no more therapy needed. I am totally kidding - I don't watch Dr. Phil but it could save me on devouring tubs of ice cream because of anxiety - you are dead to me Blue Bell ice cream... do you hear me. Don't rear your tasty, sweet little head in my freezer any more. ;)

He competed in weapons and traditional forms.

Jack brought home 2 nice trophies and I brought home this...

Certain things make me happy and going through art galleries is one of them. I picked up this little beauty at a gallery at the River Market. I had been looking for a little something with fruit for my kitchen and when I saw this I knew it would be perfect. I bonded with it and brought it home. It is by an Arkansas artist and I adore it. It makes me smile. It brightens my day.

That was my weekend of art in the Rock, not only visiting galleries and seeing amazing art but watching the art of taekwondo. I tell you, those athletes are amazing! If you haven't been to a tournament you should go. You would enjoy it the extreme competition was so exciting and the team competition on the inauguration night makes you channel you inner jackie chan. And even though you watch those competitors do those extreme moves and you get in the groove and are feeling really cool - don't try to replicate them, especially if someone is video taping you... it will be a big let down when you think you "nailed" that move only to see the "reality" of it all - your kicks and punches just look like your a crazy person swatting flies. Let the pro's handle it or sign up for lessons...

We loved the weekend in the Rock and can't wait to go back!

 

Mom-versations.

So yesterday this happened...

You walk by a mirror and see red on your face and wonder how you cut yourself, only to go to wipe it off and realize it is a blob of dried jello. How long have you been walking around like this?

This is a daily to-do item and yes, sometimes it does not get checked off.

Your daily to-do list includes the word "shower."

Yes, I'm a Mom and cleaning is my game.

You are feeling pretty good about the accomplishment of getting your kitchen cleaned up first thing in the morning, only to walk into your living room to find 2 boxes of Chex cereal that have been dumped onto your floor making it look like a sand box.

 

Oh my, I know what you're thinking how could this one time cool chick turn into this much of a nerd. Well, maybe I wasn't so cool to begin with but the cool factor diminishes with age. I guess you trade it in for wisdom, which doesn't seem too bad. :)

Now, yesterday was a great day. It was filled with adult conversations (a true luxury) and even though "shower" didn't get checked off the to-do list I felt like I accomplished a lot. One of the most interesting things, when I looked back at the day, was I had great "mom-versations. I had a talk with a mom, who I don't get to see very often and we talked about homeschooling. She home schooled her kids and I had a lot of questions for her. She was gracious, as always, and answered them and gave me her opinion. It was interesting and she brought up ideas I had never thought about. She is a confident mom that loves education and inspiring her kids to learn.

Have you found when you talk to people and you listen, really listen and don't try to think of the next thing you're going to say how much you can learn. I learn a lot and get inspired a ton by being around other people and especially moms who talk about their experiences, what works and what road blocks they've had. 

Then, in the afternoon I saw another mom friend who is super organized and she was telling me about a friend of hers who has some great organization ideas and house keeping tips. Inspiring. This got me to thinking about other friends of mine who happen to be moms...

I have mom friends that have special needs kids who are strong and organized and incredibly caring, I have mom friends who fish with their kids, teach them about bugs, spiders, camp fires and whose kids have the best sense of humor. I have a friend that I visited years ago in Kansas City, before I even had kids, that made a mark on me and she probably didn't even know it. I was at her house and her daughter dropped something and it rolled under a chair. My instinct was to get it for her but my friend, politely said, "No, L can get it." Then, the mom walked her through the steps to bend down, reach under the chair and retrieve the toy. I remember thinking, "That was amazing! When I have kids I want to teach them instead of doing for them all the time." That has stayed with me since and inspired me to teach my kids independence.

I could go on and on about the mom's I know and how they influence me everyday. I love hearing their stories, struggles, and ideas. I have another mom friend who is about to have her second child. She is incredibly creative. Just being around her inspires me. She makes me see things differently and gets my creative juices flowing. She is a great mom who I can't wait to see her on this new journey with her son and new son or daughter.

The best things about all the moms I know, including my own mom, is I have them in my life. They are amazing women who manage multiple things on a daily basis and through it all 98% of the time have a smile on their face. They make it through challenges and sing songs of praise when things are good. I love having all these moms to pull ideas and inspiration from. I challenge you to learn from those around you and listen, you never know what you'll learn that could help you with your day. Yesterday, I think I learned a label maker just might be the ticket to a more organized life, along with making sure my face is clean after feeding my children jello and teaching my children sandboxes are for outside as I lock the pantry and put the cereal boxes on the top shelf. :)

I will see what today holds. The kids are home and we have a full day ahead. I am not sure what adventure lies ahead but I am ready for what comes at me and I am sure it will include a lot of laughter no matter what it is.

 

 

 

 

60 Minutes on Full Throttle.

60 minutes. 1 hour. That is all it takes to turn things upside down, inside out and blow things up in this house. Here's an example of 1 particular hour today...

Approx. 5:00pm

Jack tells me his tummy hurts. As I lead him into our bedroom asking questions so I can diagnose his problem he keeps rubbing his belly and moaning. He tells me he had been on the chair/swing in his room and spun it around really tight. Well, like any swing, when you let go it unravels quickly, going in circles. That is what his chair did, which in turn made him sick. After figuring this out and deciding there isn't any medicine that will make him feel better other than a dose of common sense next time he gets this bright idea, I tell him to lay down. He does so in our closet and ends up falling asleep on the floor.

Approx. 5:10pm

The discussion with Jack is now behind us and I realize the house is unusually quiet. This equals trouble in my world. Especially when all three are up and around and not sleeping. I head down the hall to catch up with the twins. I notice the bathroom door is open and I hear lots of giggling. As I am standing in the doorway Jake and Josh are standing by the toilet. They are splashing the water and boy are they super pleased with themselves. There are so many things wrong with this part of the story the first being the toilet water wasn't just water. Jack had pee'd and not flushed. So, both boys were soaked in pee water. There were splashes of pee-water on my walls and a lake of pee-water all over the floor. They had taken all the toilet paper off the roll and what wasn't in the toilet with what little water was left in the commode was soaked in the lake of pee-water on the floor. They just laughed and were having a good time. I splashed through their man made lake to get them and drag them out. Needless to say I was frustrated at the mess. I wish I would have taken a photo of them though, they were so proud of themselves. They looked at me with their cute little faces with pride and excitement at their new found activity, they were cute even soaked in pee. Oh boys!

Approx. 5:15pm

Both boys are stripped down and the nice clean water is filling the tub in the boys bathroom. Both boys are in the tub and splashing around as I suds them up and rinse them off. After they are nice, clean and shriveled like little prunes it's time to get them out. I am clearly out numbered. My plan was to take Josh 1st but Jake had been standing in the tub which he hadn't done before. Because I didn't want Jake to stand when I took Josh and have Jake fall. I took Jake out of the tub first, wrapped him in a towel and took the few steps to their room and laid him down. Ran back in and as I was 1 step from the tub Josh stands and slides out. Horrified, I swoop him up, kiss him, kiss him some more, wrap him in a towel and take him to their room to reunite him with his cohort.

5:35pm

The alligator wrestling begins. 1st up is Jake, as he goes into his roll I struggle to get his batman footed pjs on and I notice Josh crawling naked down the hall. I yell "Josh! No!" as he heads straight for the the lake of pee that I haven't had time to clean up yet. He looks at me and smiles. I quickly zip up Jake and jump up to get Josh. He moves his little feet and hands in warp speed now heading to Jack's room. I catch him and pull his legs like I am a champion calf roper. I slide the diaper underneath and in another swoop his batman footed pj's go on and with a final zip! my arm flies in the air - job complete. Can I get my big belt buckle now? I think I've earned it.

5:45pm

I cleaned. Scrubbed. Disinfected the lake of pee and the surrounding area. It has now returned to it's original purpose and may be used freely - just flush, put the toilet seat down and shut the door or face being whipped with a wet noodle from the momma of the house.

I then, fed the babies, which after eating you couldn't even tell I had given them a bath. I made Jack some soup, which his stuffed dog, Six accidentally fell in. I gave the dog a bath. Did I mention it is a stuffed dog? Yep. This is my life and in my life ALL 2 billion stuffed animals in this house are REAL and Have FEELINGS. Just so you know... that is how it is... and if you forget... one of my children will remind you. I then made Ross and I supper. I sat down and looked at the clock... it was 6:03pm.

1 hour. 60 minutes. On Full Throttle.... This is my life and it makes me laugh.

Da Boys and My Life. My Wonderful, Crazy, Boy Filled Life.

So, I had a fabulously bright idea. Genius. I mean really phenomenal...

I thought, I'll take my kids photos, by myself (that's 3 against 1 - and two of them under the age of 1). Maybe you didn't catch that so I'll repeat. I thought it would be okay to take my kids photos by MYSELF.  What part of being out numbered didn't I understand. Seriously, who was I trying to be superwoman for? No one was around....

Let me skip to the conclusion - failed. Failed miserably. Unless you consider having all 3 crying at one time a success - well if you do then boy shine up my award because I really succeeded. LOL!

This is just to show you that sometimes creativity, although well thought out or thought to organized sometimes goes terribly wrong. Now, the photos are funny to me because they are my kids and I know these looks but would I attempt this feat again? Let me think about it (for about a millisecond!) ... No.

So here goes. Challenge #1 getting all to have a nice face...

 

Sometimes one has to be cropped out because of a snot issue so then we were down to 2....

Great idea #2. Give children suckers.... This is right up there with "Unattended children will be given an espresso and puppy." Enough said.

Out of control. Once he knew the sucker was sweet - he was all about it...

Busted.

Did I mention Jacob was sick? Well, he wasn't in the mood for any photos and it was about to get worse but at least Jacob and his big brother had a moment on the swing.

Bright Idea #3. So this seemed like a good idea at the time (they usually do). I sat a little rocking chair up by a tree in the mulch and sat Jake on the chair. He wiggles less and I knew he would do better sitting still. Joshua was sitting next to him and I leaned back to get the picture when all of a sudden a cry rang out. My instinct was to turn towards the cry (another mistake). The cry was Jack crying because his sucker broke. What happened was when I turned toward the cry I wasn't the only one.... Jake lurched forward and landed face first in the mulch and started crying. Two were crying now and I grabbed Jake up and gave him some love and I gave Jack the "are you kidding me" look.

Meanwhile, Josh was being Josh.... grabbing bark and eating it.....

After calming Jake down at least a little Jack was having meltdown so of course I took pictures of it...

Sweet boy, even with a tear...

He hates this hat but to get out of the doghouse he put it on for me.

And back at the ranch, the twins were done. It was time to go in. Everyone was upset but these are my kids and this is how they were at that moment on that day and I'm glad I got their pics. The good, the bad, and the ugly (not ugly just the situation was ugly of everyone crying).  Love you boys!

Just Do It!

I have to say, this post I wasn't sure if I would ever write. I have been asked for a few years by my friends if I would take their family photos. I have always said I would pass and I give them other photographers information I know. It's not that I wouldn't love to be able to do something for my friends but rather, I have a LOT of photographer friends and they are so amazing that I thought, why try.

Well, here is where the story takes a dramatic turn. I have a friend who I have known since moving to this wonderful state. There are so many stories I could tell but that is for another time. She called and said they needed photos taken. I again, sent an email with local photographers in all price ranges and their websites. I was talking to her a few days later and she said, "Why don't you just take them?"

I said okay and we set it up.

Needless to say, not wanting to disappoint I did my research, became acquainted with my camera again (hello long lost friend) and scouted the areas she had in mind to take the photos. After looking at the areas, which were great, I said why not just stay at your house - they have a great area in the country. She looked at me a little perplexed at first but this is what we ended up doing. Now, of course there were things to learn from the shoot that I will improve upon. However, the most important thing is she was happy and I was happy to do it. I had a lot of fun and my fears were overcome. Now, I have others who would like their pics taken and I have proved to myself that I just needed to do it! Seriously, I have a creative background and realized sometimes it just takes a friends encouragement to give me the boost I need to move my creativity to the next level.

Here are some of the shots from the shoot. I hope you enjoy!

  

This photo is funny to me. He was telling me about the size of fish his brother catches.... LOL!

 

A little thanksgiving diddy

Twas the day before Thanksgiving and all through the house

The children were crying- even the mouse.

The turkey is cooking at Aunt SIssy's I swear

And by tomorrow morning we'll all be there.

A few hours and the children will be snuggled in their beds,

As I lay out their outfits - they're all wearing red.

And I in my sweatpants and Razorback cap,
Have dreams of a nice, long afternoon nap.

When out in the drive I hear such a clatter

I sprang from my cleaning (ha ha) to see what's the matter.

When what in my wandering eyes does appear...

But my husband in camo - without a deer.

As I console the hunter, who's defeat has been found-

A squeal from the living room and there I am bound.

Two feet are peeking under the curtain I see,

As I count the kids and realize - Jacob it must be.

And josha is quick! As down the hall he does sprint -
Holy Cow! I say - he just ate some lint!

As I'm walking back in a toy pierces my feet,

I yell for Jackson, and in pirates dress he yells "Retreat!"

The kids are all carolled all back in the gate,

So I whistle and shout and called them by name...

Now Jackson, now Joshua and Jacob now listen,

You know you boys have me quite smitten.

The chaos and stress and strife you can bring,

Is small compared to the joy that makes my heart sing.

You boys are a blessing and Dad and I say -

It's that what we are s'o thankful for this Thanksgiving day.

For our friends, and family and all hat has been given,

And a savior that died and then again risen.

This thanksgiving day we are grateful it's true,

And wish you all the best a whole year through.

So, give thanks and eat lots, that's what the day is about-

Happy thanksgiving to you from this designergirl - Peace out!

1st Day of School

I had been preparing for this day for a long time. I knew eventually Jack would be in school. It was bound to happen but it didn't make it any easier. I don't know about you but I was thinking about how fast he has grown up, will he make friends, will he be able to do the work, what will happen if someone is mean to him? As you can see, my mind was racing. I was excited for him and knew this would be a whole new experience where he would grow and mature and it was just the start. I just wanted to drink him up and stop time. Just for a minute so I could bottle it all up and never forget his sweet little hand reaching for mine when he was unsure of something. Or kissing me goodnight and reminding me if I happen to head to the bedroom door too soon. I didn't want the little boy who wanted to snuggle with me on the couch to stop - stop asking for hugs and kisses, grabbing my hand for comfort or snuggling with me - just because.

I am not disillusioned. I know all this will not be "cool" eventually and I will not be the one he wants to hold hands with, snuggle with and give goodnight kisses to. I'll be good with that when that time comes, but for now, he is still my little boy.

Let's put it this way. I woke up the morning of his first day and hopped in the shower. I was strong when I woke up but the second my foot hit the floor I started to crumble and the few feet to the shower - well, by the time the water was running so were my tears. Luckily, Jack wasn't up yet. I could take this moment and get it all out and pull it together. That was the plan. 

After I dried the tears and got dressed I went to get Jack up. I went in and he was ready to go. He was aftraid he'd be late. I held it together and went into "get it done" mode. I made sure he had everything and was doing really well. Ross was doing well and we were getting the twins ready so we could all take Jack to school for his first day. When we were almost ready to go we went outside and I took some first day of school photos...

He couldn't have been more excited. He had his Star Wars backpack, his light up shoes and he was ready to go. Kindergarten here we come!

Well, almost ready... one more picture.

Here we all go. As we were pulling into the school parking lot Jackson asked, "What are we going to do when we get to school?" Ross was driving and said, "Well, first we're going to park. Then, your mom, brothers and I are going to walk you to your room and find your desk. After that, we'll kiss you and tell you to have a good day and your mom and I will try to hold it together and we'll leave."

This was the first sign I had seen that Ross, big strong Ross, might have a tough time as well. I smiled and laughed and we all headed in.

We were full of tears. Luckily, we took turns. Ross would get a bit teary then I would cry. We fit in well because all the other parents were red eyed as well. Jackson was a trooper. He was excited for school and when he asked if I was okay and started acting concerned for me I knew it was time to leave. He was fine and ready to learn.

We left and went to the cafeteria. They were having a "Boo Hoo Breakfast" for the parents of the kindergartners. It was great. They had donuts, drinks, and gave a zip lock bag with kleenex, the alphabet chart and some other useful information.

The next day, I took Jackson to school and as I left the previous chapter and started this new chapter, which has been full of its own challenges and daily events that once again I have grown to love and look forward to and again, one day will be hard to see leave as we go into another phase of Jack's growing up. When I drop Jack off at school we always give hugs and kisses. Then, when he leaves the car he turns around everyday to look at me and blows me kisses and gives hugs. I LOVE this. When I pick him up, he smiles and is excited to get in the car. I love hearing about his day and helping him with his work. I like hearing about his friends and helping with issues that come up. On the way to school in the morning one of us always says a prayer. I really enjoy this as well. Is there anything more precious than hearing your child pray? If you haven't ever heard your child pray, you should pray with them. They will get comfortable and then pray themselves and it is a great way to share time with your child. I look forward to this every morning. There is so much to be thankful for, it would be a shame not to praise Jesus for it. :)

I am proud of the boy Jack is becoming. I look forward to the years to come, even next years 1st day of school. And yes, I have started thinking about it... I have about 5 more years until the twins head off for their first day and even knowing what to expect I am sure I will still be red eyed and full of tears.