Pumpkin patch

The beginning of fall means one thing -- the first annual trip to the pumpkin patch. That's exactly what we did today!

This morning after church Matt and I decided to take the kids to Howell's. It's a great pumpkin patch right in the heart of Madison County (from The Bridges of Madison County fame) and there's so much to do and see. They've got it all -- tractor hay rides into the pumpkin patch so that you can pick your own pumpkins, a petting zoo, corn maze and a great kiddie area filled with a tire swings, a hay maze, corn filled sand box and a toy tractor race track. Oh, and did I mention the best kettle corn in the universe???? LOL.

Here's the pictures (after all, isn't that the important part anyway???)

Matt and the kids on the tire swing.


The kids playing in the corn filled sand box..... Holy cow! They had so much fun in this thing, and would have stayed in here all day if we would have let them. I don't think you can really tell in these pictures, but the "corn box" is filled with buckets, shovels, trucks and various other toys for the kids to play with, and it's HUGE!! 20+ kids could easily play in this thing at once.

Here's one happy boy playing with a dump truck which he looooooves!!

It may not look like it, but this is actually an action shot! LOL. Katherine was riding on the tractor race track with other kids around her age, when all of a sudden a "big boy" (14+ years old) decides that he needs to join in. Besides looking absolutely ridiculous, he was racing the younger kids, determined to beat them. As you guessed, Katherine didn't give in too easily and was determined to keep up with "that big boy". So here is my little competitive princess speeding by me as fast as she can!!

Katherine riding over the bridge. In the background you can see the hay bails which the kids looooved climbing on top of. The mountain of hay was one of the highlights!

Katherine and Caleb on the tire swing...

Outside of the kiddie play area, there are two antique tractors, and Caleb was in HEAVEN! He loved every second -- pretending to drive, and pulling on every possible knob or lever he could get his hands on.

Here's my little man on the toy tractors. He couldn't reach the pedals, but that didn't stop him! He insisted that he didn't need any help, and wouldn't let Matt push him around the track. He kept yelling "SELF"!!!

Finally he agrees to a little help!!

Disaster strikes again!!

Since it was such a gorgeous day today, we continued playgroup after the big kids were done with preschool, and took lunch to Dewey Park.

The kids were running around having a blast, and kept coming back to the picnic table for snacks and drinks. At one point, I was pushing Caleb on the tire swing when Katherine ran off to get a drink of her soda. Caleb decided that he was thirsty, and ran to meet her.

All of a sudden with the straw up to her mouth she starts screaming and bursts into tears. She puts down the glass and runs to me. At this point, I'm assuming that she tripped and the straw hit the roof of her mouth. She's absolutely beside herself. Screaming at the top her lungs.

So while I attend to her, Caleb runs to grab the glass. I'm at loss -- I don't see any blood, any scrape on the roof of her mouth and *thankfully* all of her teeth are attached. I can't figure out what happened.... UNTIL Caleb starts screaming. I run to him, and he has his mouth open and pulling on his tongue. Out comes not one, but TWO bees. I pulled one bee out of the side of his mouth, and the other one was still squirming on his tongue. So disgusting... so cruel...

When we got back to the picnic table we noticed a swarm of bees -- in the apples, on the juice boxes -- everywhere. It was horrible. EVERYTHING went straight in the trash!

Within minutes, Caleb's lip started swelling and the left side of his tongue was bright red. Katherine's tongue was very swollen -- and painful. Talk about bad luck! The chances of this happening to one kid are remote enough, but two??? And within 60 seconds????

So in all the chaos of both kids screaming, and everyone else afraid of their kids being stung, I sat both kids on the picnic table in the sunshine so that I could take a good look inside their mouths. Normally, never an issue. My kids are island dwellers. We have a huge island in the kitchen and they are forever sitting up there to help me cook, do crafts, etc... But today, Caleb spins wrong and falls off the picnic table. More crying... He didn't get hurt, I just think it scared him, but after the bee episode, who could blame him????

I need to watch it...

What I say that is...

The other night, Matt and the kids were outside playing, and for some odd reason, I found it necessary to vacuum. So I stayed inside cleaning, while the neighborhood was full of life. How insane is that???

Anyway, Monique (a neighbor of mine across the street) and I were talking last night. She told me that she wished I would have come out, but had a great conversation with Katherine. Monique knows a little boy in her preschool class, so she was asking her all about it. She then asks her if she's excited for Kindergarten next year and reminds her that it's an all day program. Katherine then tells her, that she's not sure if she's going..... The reason... her mommy probably won't want her to be gone for so long and would miss her too much. Admittedly, it's completely true, but I don't tell her that. I have mentioned it here in the blog, and to countless friends, but NEVER in front of her.... It just broke my heart.

So last night with tears in my eyes, I felt horrible. Going to kindergarten will be such an exciting time in her life, and my biggest fear is that I'll ruin it for her. I want her to be excited. It's such a milestone in her life, and I don't want her to fear the change. But yes -- I'll miss her. I'm not going to lie, it'll be one of the toughest days in my life. She doesn't need to know that though....

Navigating my way....

Of all the relationships we make in life, there's probably none more complicated and complex as a relationship with another "mom". It can either be a great experience and a bond is instantly made, or it can be like entering into shark infested waters with a hunk of red meat strapped to your back. In reality, it all depends on the kids.... We as moms have very little to do with it.

Take yesterday for example.... After I picked Katherine up from preschool, we came home, grabbed a bite for lunch, and then since it was so nice outside, we took off for the park. We didn't end up getting there until 12:30 or 12:45 (which is nap time for a lot of kids), so when we got there the park was empty. Katherine and Caleb were having a blast together -- playing so nicely, making up games, running from one piece of equipment to the next.

About 20 minutes later, another mom and her three boys show up at the park. I found out they were 5, 4, and 2. The other mom and I were talking and laughing. We really connected --- UNTIL her oldest son came up to Katherine and threw a handful of ground up tires into her face. (** Oh yea... and it was TOTALLY unprovoked. They weren't even really playing together.). GAME OVER. Budding relationship -- DONE. Momma bear has come out, and I'm furious.... not only because he threw ground up tires in Katherine's face, but also because his mother said NOTHING. I was shocked. You've got to be kidding me. He didn't stop there either. He went on and on about how much bigger he was, how Katherine looked like a baby, how much faster, taller, etc he was. It was sickening. So, yes, of course, I step in. She's not a baby I assure him.... And fast??? Yes she is. At that point she took off running, and he started chasing her, and guess what???? He couldn't catch her. Inside I'm laughing. Inside I'm glad she showed that boy. Inside I'm beaming that she has the self-confidence not to let that random boy bring her down. I'm proud of her, proud of her ability at such a young age to handle the situation with such grace.

My relationship with the other mom never recovered. She was nice enough, but her kid was a brat, and found it fun to pick on Katherine, and she didn't correct him. UUUUUGH! In an instance like this, there would NEVER be a time I'm not in Katherine's corner. Momma bear came out, momma bear was angry, and momma bear wasn't about to let some boy hurt her little girl! There's NO relationship I could ever develop worth that.

Mondays...

Monday is one of Caleb's favorite days of the week -- it's garbage day!! Oh, how he loves trucks (of all kinds) but garbage trucks top the list. The best part of garbage day??? Not only does the truck come by one time -- but three!! The first time is for yard waste, the second is for regular, run-of-the-mill trash, and the third time is for recycling. Since Katherine is now in preschool, and Caleb has story time, we miss the first two trucks, but *thankfully* we make it home for the recycling truck.

So, here's the picture of the day... Caleb watching the watching his beloved garbage truck, and Katherine enjoying the sunshine!

On a totally different note, Matt's parents get us gift certificates to Younkers for our birthday and Christmas. The plan is that we'll get another set of china so that someday each child can have a complete set from us. When Fran and Wendell were down for Caleb's birthday party, we finally got around to picking out the new set and this is it!!! I love it.... simple and classic. Something that I *pray* will never go out of style.

After church on Sunday, we went to the mall and ordered a few place settings. They didn't have any in the store, so we have to wait a few more days. They should have shipped out today, so hopefully by the end of the week, they'll be here. Can't wait to see them!

Ingenious!!

Over the years I've learned lots of neat preschool "tricks" but the one tonight, was pure genius!! And guess who I learned it from??? Katherine!

Matt and I decided to eat dinner outside on the new patio tonight. While he was getting the kids situated, I ran to get a couple of juice boxes. I sat down and opened them and then handed one to each of the kids. All of a sudden, Katherine insisted that I pull up the two tabs that close off the top. I'm not sure I'm explaining it right, but they're the little triangle folds that overlap on the short side of the box. Does that make sense???

Anyway, the idea is that the kids hold onto the little wings that flip out much like a handle, and therefore don't squeeze the box and spill juice all over the place. What a great idea!! And the best part is that it really works! Evidently this is how they drink juice boxes at preschool...

I've tried everything -- even resorting to buying the little hard plastic holders. (They didn't work because I only buy the small 4 ounce boxes and these type of holders are intended for much larger boxes and therefore the kids can't get the juice out).

Anyway, just wanted to share with you all. I thought it was the BEST idea ever!!!

Pickin' Apples...

Today was a big day! Katherine had her first field trip of the year, and she's been looking forward to it all week. The kids went to a local apple orchard and learned how apples are harvested and all of the things you can do with them-- apple pie, apple cider, applesauce, even bobbing for apples. They had a great time, and I've got to tell you... I was *shocked* at how well behaved the kids were.





Before we left for the orchard, the kids made apple turnovers back in class. They rolled the dough, cut the apples, sprinkled the cinnamon/sugar etc... It was quite an ambitious undertaking with a bunch of 4 year olds!! They LOVED it... Katherine had so much fun making hers, but when it was time to eat it, she was a no-go....





Here are all the kids during the "apple picking" presentation. They learned how people climb high up in the trees, harvest the apples, and then get the apples to the ground without bruising them using a special bag. Katherine is in the third row, center. She's sitting next to Kinsey, her new little friend who rode with us in the car.





Oh, and a funny -- Remember Nicholas, the little boy from Katherine's class that we often play with??? His little brother goes to story time and kindermusic with Caleb on Monday and Wednesday mornings??? He's the one with the leaf partially covering his head and picking his nose! LOL.

Here's a close-up of the girls....

Katherine and Lindsey picking out the biggest and littlest pumpkin.

After we got back from the orchard, I went over to my mom's house for a walk. She played with Caleb while I went on the field trip, and he was soooo excited. All morning he kept yelling, "Me. Pway with Grammy. Me go to Grammy house. Grammy house. YEEEEAAAA!"

Evidently, while he was there, she thought that he told her that he pooped his pants. She checked and nothing.... Within 2 minutes he filled his diaper. I hadn't planned on potty training until after we returned to Disney, but man..... if he's communicating the fact that he has to go, I just may haul out the potty chair.

After preschool, the kids and I had lunch today with two girls I used to work with. All I can say is HOLY COW, were my kids naughty! It was insane! I honestly felt like I was living in a parallel universe. It was a complete nightmare -- staring yours truly!

Caleb decided that he was NOT going to eat, and chose to use the time to practice his gymnastics. He was climbing on top of me, behind me and given the opportunity, right over the top of me. So, yea... I spent the first half of the meal wrestling with with Caleb in the booth. Fun times. At this point I decide to pull out the big guns and take his little toy cars out of my purse. Usually, the sight of cars keeps him busy for at least 20 minutes, but today, he found it super fun to throw them under the booth. This immediately led to Katherine diving under the table the retrieve the matchbox cars, which led to.... you guessed it.... Caleb under the table. At this point, I'm cussing and sweating. Oh, and this went on the entire time we were there..... I can't believe how insanely naughty they were. As glad as I was to see Kelly and Melissa, I couldn't wait for lunch to be done! Next time, lunch will be without kids! LOL.

We're off to a block party tonight. It should be a blast if the rain holds off, so keep your fingers crossed!!

Zoo Day!

Since the older kids got out of school early today for a teacher in-service, Andrea, Julie and I decided to take the kids to the zoo. We were only there for about 2 hours, but the kids got to do everything on the "must see" list -- the train, the playground and the Africa area. They had so much fun! Caleb refused to ride in his stroller like a baby, so he ran with all the big kids. By the time we were ready to hit the road, he was wiped out!

Here's some pictures from today. I just have to warn ya though.... trying to get a picture of 7 kids is next to impossible!!


Katherine and Jenna on the train.



Isaac, Caleb and Nate riding in the coveted back seat of the train...

My smilin' baby boy!

Here's a pic of all the kids -- Nate, Caleb, and Isaac.... Collin, Katherine and Jenna.... And Max all the way in the back. That's Andrea watching from the side praying that Collin doesn't jump off the train!

Here's the crew....

Caleb, Nate, Katherine and Jenna taking a breather by the lions...

The boys -- Caleb and Collin. Someday, all too soon, they'll be in the same kindergarten class.

Here are the kids watching the sea lions swim below. (L - R) Nate, Max, Collin, Isaac, Caleb, Katherine and Jenna.

On a totally different note....

Last night I got a call from someone on the Ministry Action Team (MAT) at Katherine's preschool. For anyone who doesn't know, she goes to a Lutheran Preschool at a church about 5 miles from our house. I love the fact that she goes to a Christian based preschool program, and find it refreshing that a third party is reinforcing the same morals and values that we have tried to instill in her as well. Character building is sooooo important! I can't say enough about her preschool. It's a wonderful program. With that being said.....

The MAT is the governing body of Katherine's preschool. The board is comprised of the director of our preschool, her boss (who runs some church board), a rotating teacher rep, the woman who called me last night (she's the president of MAT and goes to the church), and then two parents -- one of which will be a church member, the other one will not.

Anyway, the last time MAT met, they were throwing around names of who they'd like to fill the parent spots, and guess who they picked for the non-member???? ME! Not sure why I was the first one to come to mind, but nonetheless, I'm thrilled and honored. It's a minimum one year commitment, but ideally they'd like me to sit on the board for several years. Since Caleb (and eventually a third baby will go there) it's a perfect fit. I'm all for doing anything I can to make the preschool the best possible learning environment for my kids!!

FIRE!!!!!

Oh yea... we had a house fire tonight. Actually it was a fire in the house, but isn't that just a matter of semantics anyway??? LOL! And yes, as you probably guessed, it involved me and cooking.



I was pure genius in the kitchen tonight...... Since Katherine had ballet/tap/tumbling, and I had to have the kids fed before Matt got home so that we could immediately dash out the door and make it to class at time, I was basically a short order cook.



While the kids and I were talking about what we wanted to eat, I unloaded the dishwasher and lit my new Yankee Harvest Candle. LOVE THAT SCENT. Totally yummy! As always, it sits on my stove top, which is right under the microwave. Yea, can you see where this is going???



Anyway, in my effort to up Caleb's protein intake, I give him a big bowl of black bean salsa and a spoon. He *loves* this stuff. He eats the black beans like they're M & M's while yelling "BEAN" and making sound effects for himself. It's a beautiful sight!!



Katherine wants chili and thankfully, I had some left over from Caleb's birthday party. So I take it out of the fridge, pop it in the microwave, cover it with a paper towel, and start it up. (On a side note, Matt would never have this problem, because he doesn't believe 'splat avoidance' in the microwave, but we'll leave that story for another day....). 90 seconds later, I take it out, stir it around, check for temperature, and give it to Katherine. I then head to the fridge to get her all the fixin's....



All of a sudden, I hear "Mommy, we have a problem!!! Mommy FIRE!" I turn around, and low and behold, the paper towel ended up in the candle jar and a decent size fire is burning on the stove top. All of a sudden, little bits of burning paper towel start flying all over the kitchen.



Thankfully, we didn't have to call the fire department, but let me assure you, my house smells like the kids and I decided to have an indoor bonfire and make smores for dinner! As Matt says, "It's the gift that keeps giving, and giving, and giving....". The smell just doesn't go away.



With that, I need to run downstairs and make sure I blew out the candle!

Birthday Boy!!

Yesterday was the BIG day.... my baby's 2nd birthday party. Let me assure you, he LOVED every second!!

Saturday morning was chaos! I spent most of the morning running errands, cooking, and getting Caleb's two year pictures taken. I'm so thankful that Matt's mom was there to help out. I'm not sure I would have gotten everything done without her. Actually, I'm pretty sure she's wrapped every birthday present I've given to the kids for years, and there isn't a gift bag we give out that she hasn't personally filled!! I'm very thankful for all that she does!

On the way home from pictures, Caleb and I stopped at Target to pick up his cake, and it was love at first sight. He kept yelling "CAKE. MY CAKE. SPEED... I WANT SPEEEEED... SHARE MY CAKE. SHARE WITH SISSY. WANT CAKE!" He was so obsessed with it, that trying to separate Caleb and the cake at nap time became problematic. All he wanted was that cake!!

Here's some pictures from the big day. He had such a great party, and truly loved every second. You could just see the joy and excitement on his face all night long.

I picked up some grape and strawberry pop for the kids (come on! It's a birthday party!! LOL). Caleb is so thrilled that he got his very own glass of soda (only about an inch in the bottom of the cup) that he kept saying "POP!!!" Here's the birthday boy in action!


A sweet and quiet moment with Grandma before we left to get his pictures taken. She's pointing out all of the different CARS characters in the confetti that we sprinkled on the island.

Here is Caleb, Leo and Katherine ready to devour the cake.

Caleb and Pop-pops...

The infamous CARS cake.

Caleb "helped" open the first present of the night, but after he found this garbage truck, it was game over. He didn't open a present! All he could think about was playing with all of his new toys -- especially anything with wheels!!

It's amazing some of the things kids pick up. One of Caleb's "favorite" presents was a Lightening McQueen Shake N' Go car. I've always called the car "Lightening" but as soon as Caleb saw the little red car, he kept saying "Speeeed". It took me a second, but then I realized that Lightening says, "I am speed". It was sooo cute!!

Caleb ended up getting so many great presents. He was in heaven, running from toy to toy and having an absolute blast. You could just see the sheer happiness all over his face! But now the reality sets in... I literally have NO IDEA what I'm going to do with all the new toys he got. I don't have a place for them!! So, for now, our living room is busting at the seams with birthday toys!

Caleb had a great day which means the party was a huge success. Happy birthday to my little man!!

Birthday Boy

Happy birthday to my baby boy!

Two years ago now, I was in the hospital holding the most perfect and precious baby boy I'd ever seen. Today I admired a wonderful toddler boy with boundless energy and zest for life. At times I miss the baby boy that's now gone, but am head over heels in love with the little man who has invaded my world. I am so blessed.

Today we celebrated his birthday at our Friday morning playgroup, so after we dropped off Katherine at preschool, I picked up some Krispy Kreme doughnut holes for a special morning treat for the kids.

Can you believe that I hosted playgroup in the house this morning when we've got a houseful coming for his birthday and Matt's parents arriving tonight??? Insanity I tell ya!!

Here's a couple of pictures of my little man celebrating his birthday with some friends.

Caleb also had his two year well baby checkup this afternoon, and here's the stats...

Height -- 32.5 inches -- 10th percentile

Weight -- 23 pounds --- 5th percentile

The good news is --- He's symmetrical! However, recently he's totally banned meat, so I'm going to try and find new ways of putting protein back into his diet. Maybe tofu in his morning pancakes???

Happy birthday to my big boy!!

Kindermusic

Yesterday was Caleb's first day of Kindermusic, and wow.... it was quite the experience!! Leading up to the big day, I put in the CD of the music for this semester, and Katherine & I sang the songs over and over so that he'd recognize them in class.....and recognize them he did!!

When we first got there, Caleb met Mrs. C, the teacher of the class. She's a wonderful woman, who carries Sunshine Carebear to every class. She's great with the kids and totally into music -- which a great (especially for a music teacher! LOL). Each child got a name tag, and you could really tell that she was making an effort to memorize each name. The name tags were such a great idea in theory, but Caleb would have none of it. Nope, the name tag was nothing more than a toy for him. He ripped it off his shirt, stuck it on his chin, laughed really loud and then rolled it up in a ball and slammed dunked it into the garbage can. Why do I get the feeling Mrs. C won't forget his name anytime soon?? LOL!

Shortly after the basketball episode, Caleb decided it was time to play dress up with my shoes. Oh let me assure you ..... it was such great fun!! He kept yelling "SHOOS! SHOOS!" and falling over while trying to walk around the room in them.

Thankfully it was time for class to start! Each time Caleb heard a song he knew, he'd start laughing and clapping. He was so into it!! The first "musical instrument" they got to play, were these wood type sticks, and the kids were to play them in several different ways -- tap them together, roll them, pound them on the floor, hit them together over your head, etc.... When it was time to play them "up high", Caleb thought it was time to bang your mommy's head with them. OUCH!! I quickly had to get him back track or else I'd end up with a goose egg on my noggin!

At the end of class, Mrs. C pulled out a blanket for all the kids to sit on while she read a story that correlated to the songs that they sung during class. All of a sudden, Caleb bolted off the blanket like a man on a mission... He saw a truck on the front of the book, and insisted on pointing it out to everyone in class!

When Kindermusic was over, we raced to pick up Katherine from preschool. I was outside talking to a couple of the other moms while the kids continued playing. All of a sudden, Katherine leaves the group of kids, and starts to talking to a mom trying to put her kids in the car. At this point, I'm assuming that Katherine at least knows the little girl.....

Nope.... she doesn't know the little girl and she certainly doesn't know the mom..... So why is she striking up a LENGTHY conversation with two random people who are trying to leave the parking lot??? Yea, I wondered too....

In typical Katherine fashion, she saw an injustice that she had to make right.... Yea, that's my little lady...

Here's the deal ... This woman was buckling her daughter into her carseat IN THE FRONT OF THE CAR, which sent Katherine into panic mode. She was totally freaking out over how unsafe this woman was being with her little girl. The mom looked at me and said, "I told her that I turned off the airbag". (As if Katherine knows what airbags are....). At this point, I go over and talk to the random lady and find out that her little girl and Katherine ARE NOT in the same class. Her little girl is 3, and goes two days a week. Katherine just found it in her to scold this woman for being so careless with her daughter, and yes, she called her foolish to her face. UUUUUUGH! Part of me is glad she knows right from wrong, but the other part of me just wishes she'd keep it to herself!

Today the kids and I went to the zoo. Since it's the last nice day for a while, we wanted to get out and enjoy the weather. Here's some pics ---

Check out Caleb's snazzy birthday haircut!



I love this picture of the two of them. Most parents pray that their kids get along, and I feel blessed beyond measure that mine are truly friends. They walked around all day, hand in hand, laughing and giggling. I just happened to capture this sweet moment of Katherine pointing out the waterfall to her brother.

I'm exhausted, so it's off to bed for me. We're having Caleb's big birthday party this weekend, and I'm soooo unorganized. I've got so much left to do, and tomorrow is booked, so I have NO IDEA when I'm going to get any of it done. While Katherine is at preschool, we are hosting playgroup. As soon as it's over, I have to rush off to pick her up, come home and feed them lunch while I clean up the tornado that is playgroup, then rush off to the doctor for Caleb's two year doctor appointment and then race home so the kids can nap before Matt's parents arrive. Yea, I'm thinking we'll be going out to dinner! LOL. Oh, and in my free time, I need to pick up groceries for the party on Saturday.

But above everything else, tomorrow is my baby boy's 2nd birthday. Actually, it was about two years ago at this very moment that I woke Matt up and told him it was time to head to the hospital. What a wonderful two years it's been.

Gimmie a "K"

Most of the kids in Katherine's preschool class already know how to spell and write their names, but Katherine -- not quite yet..... She can write her name if she has an example to follow, but not just sit down and write it from memory... In all fairness, these "kids" that have known how to spell their names since they were three have names such as Sam, Max and Ben. It's much harder to spell Katherine.... Normally, I wouldn't really care, but the first activity they do every day at preschool, is find their name on the wall and write it over again. I don't want her to be frustrated, so I set out on a mission.... help her spell her name from memory.

What I was I to do, but to find my inner cheerleader and help my little princess out??? So, together, Katherine and I made up this cute little song/cheer so that she'd remember how to spell her name. We sang it over and over, made up hand motions, and danced a jig. Even Caleb got into it, and jumped around like a wild man. Up until yesterday she could get KATHE, but couldn't remember the RINE part, but all of a sudden, out popped her entire name. We were both so thrilled that we jumped, laughed and hugged. The best part is that Katherine loves showing off her new skills, and spells her name for EVERYONE. I can't even count how many times we've sung our new favorite song in the last 48 hours! LOL.

So next time you see my little Katherine, be prepared for her to sing you a cheer at the top of her lungs. She's on cloud 9!!

This morning, while Katherine was in preschool, I took Caleb to his first story time at the Clive Library. When Katherine was his age, we went to a different library, and I've got to tell you, this one was soooo much nicer. The library has an entire toddler section with a play area, bean bag reading area, real birds and little gazebo that the kids can crawl into with a book. While we were waiting for story time, Caleb picked out three car related books and we sat and read them together. It was great.

The story time room is off to the side and closed off from the rest of the toddler area. When story time started, the librarian pulled out an adorable stuffed puppet bear and Caleb couldn't wait to attack him with hugs and high-5's. He LOOOOOVES this bear!! In addition to the standard stories that they read to the kids, they also sing motion songs and then dance with the colored scarves. It's such a perfect set-up because the kids can be loud and dance around in between stories. It really helps to hold their attention. At the end, the librarian blows tons of bubbles and the kids go wild. Caleb loved it!! He's already looking forward to next week!

Oh, I had a proud mommy moment tonight at dance class! There are three teachers in Katherine's class, and I could see one of the teachers working exclusively with Katherine and one other little girl. I thought it was a little odd, but didn't give it that much thought. Anyway, after class, Miss Toni (the head teacher) pulls me aside and tells me that Katherine has great coordination and listens to and follows direction extremely well. She wants to move her up to the next class so that she'll be challenged more. She thinks she's ready to go into the next class (which happens to be much smaller and at a better time for us). How great is that??? So starting next week, Katherine will be in a new ballet class, and she's really looking forward to it.

Saturday...

I'm going on day 6 of having Matt gone. He got home from NYC late (as in the kids were in bed)on Thursday night, and then left Friday (before naps) for Iowa City. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when he returns home. Being a single parent is tough. I tip my hat to all the single parents out there, it's a much harder job than most realize....


Since Matt was home on Friday morning when the kids woke up, he went with me to take Katherine to and pick her up from school. She loved showing off her class room and new friends to her daddy. She's such a big girl now that she's in the 4 year old class!!


After we picked her up from school, we decided to head to Culver's for lunch. It's the one "fast food" type restaurant that she likes, so Culver's it was!! Shortly after we sat down and started eating, one of the workers comes up and remarks how cute the kids are and then asks how old they are. We have a brief, and unmemorable conversation and she leaves. As a disclaimer, this girl wasn't quite all there. She was very friendly, but just not all home, if you know what I mean....

Anyway, a few minutes later, she comes back to our booth and asks how much the kids are eating and tells them that if they keep eating, they can have some custard. (OK, I'm not going to rant on and on about how WRONG it is to promise kids ice cream without asking the parents first, but believe me, I was thinking it!!). I smile, tell her thanks and she leaves. Yet again, about 2 or 3 minutes later she shows up again... She looks at how much the kids are eating and tells them that if they eat two more bites, they can have some custard. Normally, I'd be HOT about this, but all of a sudden, Katherine blurts out, "Mommy, why is she speaking Spanish to you? Doesn't she know that we can speak English???" I've got to tell ya, one part of me wanted to crawl under the table, the other part of me was having a hard time containing my laughter! I gave Katherine "the look" and told her that we'll talk about it later. She then says even louder, "Why can't we talk about it now? Why is she speaking Spanish, Mommy?" All I could do was to look at Matt and plead with her to be quiet. Only with the promise that'd we discuss it later, would she drop it. Oh. My. Heavens.... I wanted to die! And no, she wasn't speaking Spanish... Her English was poor, her words were slurred together, but in no way did it resemble Spanish for cryin' out loud. Ay-yi-yi!!

This morning I took the kids to Adventureland for which will probably be our last time this season. It was such a gorgeous day, and evidently pretty much the rest of Des Moines thought so too, because, MAN was it busy!! But it was nice to get out, walk around, and enjoy the weather. We made it on a few rides, watched the magic show, and had lunch. It was such a nice day!

When the kids got up from their naps, I decided that we'd do a picnic at the park for dinner. Danyel, her mom and the kids came with us, and we had a great time.

Here's some pictures --


Katherine LOVES hanging from bars and here she is showing off her skills!!



Katherine and Walker hangin' together. My little determined girl didn't want to be the first to drop, but I'm pretty sure Walker beat her!

We went to Greenbelt Park. It's such a cute little park.... cut into the trees and surrounded by bike paths. If you walk a little way down one of the paths there are a couple of bridges that over look a mid-size stream. Here are the kids on the first bridge. The bugs were horrible, so we didn't make it down to the second bridge. We'll have to save that for next time!!

Here are the 4 kids -- Caleb, Ryan, Katherine and Walker.

Looking forward to Matt's EARLY return tomorrow!!

Preschool begins!

I'm not going to lie, sugar coat it, or pretend that it wasn't.... today was a tough one. Today I sent my baby girl off to preschool -- again, and had to trust that all that I've taught her up to this point would be enough. Thankfully, she's taught me enough over the past 4.5 years to get me though....

I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not, but Katherine and Caleb are absolutely addicted to pancakes. They eat them at least once a day, often times twice. So making pancakes in the morning has become part of our morning ritual, and since I wanted to keep things as "normal" as possible, we had pancakes (with fun new sprinkles I picked up at Target last night) once again.

After breakfast, we got dressed and ready for the day. Katherine picked out the outfit she wanted to wear and decided how she wanted her hair done. She looked so sweet this morning. She's such a big girl!

When we arrived at school, she walked confidently in the front door, but once we got to her room, she didn't want me to leave. Caleb could have stayed there by himself for a week! He started pulling out toys, finding trucks and police cars and playing with the kids. He was loving it. Katherine was begging me not to go. UUUUUUGH!

After ALL the other parents were gone, I decided that it was time for me to leave too. I bent down to give her one last hug goodbye and the tears started flowing. I couldn't help myself. So I let her go, turned away, picked up Caleb and walked out the door. I didn't want her to see me crying.....

The pictures turned out awful. In the outdoor pictures, the sun was in her eyes, and Caleb kept trying to get in every shot. He couldn't understand why he wasn't getting his picture taken... So unfortunately, if I decide to scrap these (which I will), I don't really have any great shots to commemorate the day. Here's my little princess on her first day of preschool this year.

As soon as Caleb and I left the school, he started wiping away my tears saying, "Dat OK Mommy. Dat OK". How sweet is he???? Boy I could have just squeezed him. He was so wonderful!!

After we got in the car he kept asking, "Where Sissy go?" He literally asked me the same question every 5 minutes the entire 2.5 hours she was in class. I guess I'm not the only one who misses her!

When we arrived back at school, I could hear all the kids singing, and looked in to see Katherine singing and dancing with her new friends. I'm so proud of her!! Mrs. Schramm told me that she had a great day, and was looking forward to Friday! Thank goodness.

I have to brag... I had a proud Mommy moment today on the way home. After Katherine got in the car, we started to talk about her day -- what song she sang, what craft they did, who she played with, what they had for snack. She told me that she had graham crackers (and actually ate it -- she normally doesn't like them). When I asked her if she had milk or water to drink, she told me water. (She NEVER drinks milk). She said that she asked very nicely for a glass of water. I then asked her what she said to her teacher, and she replied in a sweet voice, "May I please have a glass of water". I guess she remembered at least some of the lessons I taught her!