What Hurricane?

For Labor Day weekend we had big plans to go to Fritz's Dad's condo for the whole weekend and have lots of fun in the sand and the sun. When we got there on Saturday there was very little sun but we still got a couple hours of pool time in before the rain started. Sunday morning it was gloomy and windy and we thought for sure we would be heading home early and had plans to go to a kids museum instead. We promised Emily we would at least walk down to the beach and collect shells before we left. It turned out to be rather nice and a little bit of sun peeked through. We had good quality beach time and pool time before the rain again started. We had lunch at Gator's on the water and actually got a little sunburned. We decided to leave early anyways cause the girls were cranky and tired and we were expecting another long evening of rain.




I couldn't help but think as we were sitting on the beach about the huge hurricane that was right out in front of us and how lucky we were that we got to enjoy the beach as long as we did. It could be a lot worse.

What's Wrong with this Picture?

As previously mentioned, Emily is allowed to have an Ipod during rest time at school. Fritz went and bought her some headphones that would fit her head, so of course Haley had to have some too.

Nuff said!

An Ipod in Kindergarten???

After reading my friend Maria's post about her daughter's first couple of weeks of school, it sparked some ideas in my mind. Sorry Maria, I'm copying your idea a little...

Emily's first couple of weeks of Kindergarten have been very interesting and eye opening for us.

Emily is the same as Riley for now... loves homework even though she hasn't had much at all yet. She can't wait until next week when it really starts. She did have a project where she had to decorate a little person to look like her. She had to color the hair brown and blond because Emily says she has a little of both and she gave herself high heels... hmmmm??

The most surprising thing to me last week was that she came home and said "guess what Mommy... we can have Ipod's or our Nintendo ds' during quiet time." At first I didn't believe her, but eventually she convinced me and she was right. So over the weekend we taught her to use it and got her some headphones, but.... the first day she lost her privilege to use it because she was talking too much. Like mother, like daughter. I always got in trouble for talking too much.

Emily seems to be making lots of friends and having lots of fun. When I ask what she did at school she says "a lot."

Haley too is learning so much. I taught her how to write an H and she now writes it on everything and says "Me write my name all by myself." She is always singing her ABC's and counting, even if it is in the wrong order.

I just love to see their little minds learning!!!

All Grown Up!

So the day finally arrived.... Emily's 1st day of Kindergarten. If you have read my posts, you know that I have been anxiously awaiting this day and of course having some major empty nestish feelings about it. It was pretty much exactly what I expected.






Despite Emily not feeling very well, she walked right into class, gave me a big hug, and said goodbye. I on the other hand was in a daze. The teacher gave me a little brown bag with a kleenex, a tea bag, and a little letter that made me cry like a baby. I'm sure you can only imagine what it said. And boy did I boo-hoo. I got home and despite the house being a mess, I had no idea what to do next. I made coffee, surfed the net, wandered around a little bit and took a shower. I had a Dr.'s appt. and boo-hoo'd to the Dr. and thought maybe I should get pregnant again... yeah right... that thought didn't last long.


I picked both of the girls up and after about an hour of being home I was ready to send them back! I couldn't remember why I had missed them so much or how I could have been so sad! They resorted to their usual fighting and whining.


That reminds me... as we were leaving for school this morning, Emily commented on how I was going to be alone all day and said "Well, good, at least you won't have to listen to my whining all day." I hugged her and almost broke down in tears right then and there and said "I am going to miss you and your whining today."


Motherhood...... it just breaks your heart sometimes!

Tag - Your It!!!

I've been tagged and I don't have 6 people I even know on here, but I'll participate anyway!

Rules

1) Link to the person who tagged you

2) Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading)

3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below)

4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them (This is only a game)

5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog

6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up


Here we go...



#1 - I love to dance. I have always loved to dance! Whether it was tap, ballet, jazz - you name it I love it! Granted I don't do it much anymore, but every chance I get to dance, I'm there. My dream job always was and will always be to be a dancer... preferably for someone like Madonna or Janet Jackson, etc... Am I a good enough dancer? Hell no! But we can all dream, right???


#2 - The other job I've always wanted to do was bartend. Don't ask me why, but I think it seems cool. Can I mix a drink? Um no! But I could learn...


#3 - I still love to watch cheerleading! Haven't seen it in awhile, but I love that Cheerleading U on I forget what station. Watched it once and couldn't take my eyes off of it. I would love for my girls to be competitive cheerleaders. O.K., except for the injuries.


#4 - Sometimes I feel like the meanest mother in the world because I yell too much. But man, sometimes I don't know what else to do. I lose my patience and talking calmly never works, but some days I have such guilt and a hoarse throat from all the yelling. I hope that my girl's don't always think of me as a screamer. That would break my heart.


#5 - I still feel like a teenager sometimes, because I worry about what others think. I used to love my hair when it was permed, but would I get one now?? No, because I think others would make fun of me, especially at work! Granted I often feel like a teenager at work with all the gossip and girlie stuff going on.


#6 - I often regret going into nursing. Yes, it is a great schedule and flexible and I make pretty good money, but I could make more money doing something else. Nursing is stressful and sometimes a thankless job. You have to work with morons on a daily basis and I feel like it has ruined my feelings for humanity. What else would I do??? I could be Madonna's back up dancer....

Tag, your it!

Meredith: Meredith is my cousin-in-law who has 2 beautiful daughters. I wish we lived closer so I could see them more often. She is an amazing marathon runner (the girl runs a gazillion miles everyday) and a beautiful person inside and out.


Megan: Megan is Meredith's twin sister though they look nothing alike, but yes also beautiful. Megan has a cute little son and is also a marathon runner. I love looking at the pictures on her blog and seeing what is going on in their lives.


Sorry guys, but that's it. Like I said, I don't have anyone else I know on here. Maria tagged me and my other friend Meghan hasn't kept up with her blog, so I am out of options.

Conversation with a now 5 year old...

Emily... "Ouch, I just cracked my nuts!"

Me... "What do you mean you cracked your nuts? Do you mean like a squirrel cracks it's nuts?"

Emily... "No, I cracked my nuts."

Me... "You don't have nuts and where did you here that?"

Emily... "Yes I do and I didn't hear it anywhere."

Me... "Where are they?"

Emily... Points to the back of her butt

Me... "Emily you do not have anything back there except your butt."

It gets dropped for the day because I am too scared to go on.

After a few times of saying it we have a discussion (not too in depth) about how inappropriate that is to say and Emily agrees to not say it anymore.

That same day...

Emily... Sitting down with head going up and down... "Mommy, listen my neck is breaking."

Me... "You mean cracking."

Emily... "Yeah it's cracking like nuts.. I mean like when you crack PEANUTS."

Me... I just give her that mommy look!

This is my beautiful daughter who thinks she has nuts because some little boy at school probably told her so.

Keeping Busy

With summertime here, I decided I would keep the girls home with me everyday that I am off. Since Emily is starting Kindergarten (sniffle...sniffle), I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible this summer rather than have my own quality time (which I need so badly). I knew that having all this girl bonding time would not be easy, so I have tried to plan something almost everyday that we are together. We have had many a playdate with my good friend Maria and a couple with Nikki and my other friend Maria (Emily's friend Sofia and her parents). We have gone to Busch Gardens with my co-worker Meghan. We have plans to go to Busch Gardens next week with a group of us from work and Adventure Island with another co-worker... thank God for season passes! We are trying to plan another pool party with the Bingo Babes and oh yah, I have found some time for Mandy-time... bingo with the girls. Fritz and I will have a babysitter come to our house for only the second time in, I don't know, 5 years to go out with some other couples. I can't wait.

It is great to have so much to do and so many people to have fun with, but somehow the girls are still managing to make me crazy half the time. Emily has been so difficult to discipline lately, but we are really putting our feet down about talking back and not listening. She has been losing TV privileges every 2-3 days (her least favorite thing to lose).

On a more positive note, I have switched Emily to the summer voluntary pre-k program at her elementary school and it is going very well. She is coming home happy and excited. Oh ya, and it is free!!!! Yeah for us! Even if it is only for 3 weeks, I'll take it.

Haley has been going 2 days a week to Riverview Montessori where she will be for the next 2 years and is also doing very well. She lays in bed going over all the new things she is learning. I love it... their brains at work! We hear her counting (and bossing her sister around) for 20 minutes before she falls asleep. The first day that Emily went to her new school Haley cried "sissy not coming" as I carried her into school, clinging to me. I think that both girls have a few weeks to adjust to their new surroundings before real school starts. I'm very much looking forward to this coming year, but it is bittersweet. My babies are getting so big!

Here are some pics of our busy days!

We spent the evening of the 4th of July with our friends Maria, Ryan, Riley and Ronan and some of their close friends at their house and experienced quite a fireworks show from expanding turds, to little trucks that lit up and barely moved, to large beautiful fireworks right above our heads. We all had a great time.

Here are some pics from Busch Gardens. This is Emily and Kelsey (my co-worker Meghan's daughter).