Party Day

Yesterday we had two parties for Meghan. Her first party was with her friends and we did a movie star mystery party. They all had characters to play and they had to find out who stole the "Golden Trophy" worth 1 million dollars! It was so much fun (I was the host) and the girls all really got into their parts and acted out their characters so well! I wish I could have videotaped the whole thing. I highly recommend Dramatic Fanatic. They had some really cut kits, plus some for teachers to use in their classrooms. After Meghan's friend party, we started getting ready for the family party that was at 6pm. Mimi, Poppy, Andy, Alyssa, the boys, Heather, Jimmy and their crew were all here to help us celebrate. We grilled out, had yummy tater tot casserole, baked beans, and two peanut butter pies, plus leftover cupcakes for the kids to decorate. We then walked to the park after Meghan opened presents. It was so nice out...low humidity. It was a great day and boy did I sleep like a rock!!!

My Baby is 11!!

It is hard to believe that 11 years ago on a Wednesday much cooler than today (I think it was 65 degrees or something like that), I was in CB hospital, holding my first baby. Eleven years seems like such a long time, but it has just gone by so fast. I feel like it was just yesterday that I brought her home....and feeling unsure about this whole "mom" thing. However, I don't really remember a time without her. Before I know it, I will be blogging about her going off to college (*sniff, sniff*). I better switch gears or I will be bawling all over the keyboard......

She was treated this morning to our traditional special birthday breakfast....Meghan got pancakes, made from scratch! Yes, you read that correctly...I am Super Mom! (Just kidding, lol!), however, I was up at 5:30 am making them (but she is worth it). I was going to use the rest of our box of pancake mix, but I didn't have enough, so to make a long story short, I just made them from scratch. Happy Birthday to my "baby"!

Happenings....

This week has been a bit more keyed down than last week. Meghan started back up with her clarinet lessons (we do them privately as well as at school). Her tutor is also her band teacher and she says Meghan is doing great....she is ahead of the other clarinets and can even play the high note, most of the time (which is very hard!). Meghan also auditioned for a local children's choir and starts up with that on Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing/hearing her performances.

Lily is having a great time in first grade! She has made many new friends and tries to call them at least once every other day. Needless to say, she is our social butterfly. Lily has also decided to try Girl Scouts and is excited b/c one of her new friends has signed up as well. She is excited to start in a brownie troop....I hope to hear something soon about it. So keep us in mind come cookie time....

Trey is adjusting better to daycare. I had written a letter to the director over some things I had seen when I had come to pick him up. She called me that day and we talked about it. She had gotten some new staff and hadn't done a training with them, but has said that my letter gave her a clearer picture of what she needed to make sure they had training on. I really love Ms. Katie and her devotion to all the children and making sure they get quality care and learning. It makes it easier to be apart from him knowing that. Trey's language is still unintelligible at times, but he does have some words quite clearly. I have emailed a local SLP (speech language pathologist) to discuss with her whether Trey might have a delay or it is just a two year old thing. I know I am probably being overly cautious, but this is something I don't want to wait until he is in kindergarten for.

Daniel and I are (I think) finally getting down a routine in the morning. I won't know what to think when we have three in school. My classroom keeps growing....I have 20 kids in the morning and only 12 in the afternoon. I am sure I will be getting more IEP kiddos in the PM as the year goes on. I really love my kids and have enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them. My assistant and I have finally gotten a routine down that we like for the AM and PM....hopefully by adding more kids, that won't change! Little ones don't like straying off course very much!

I know we are all looking forward to sleeping in for three mornings in a row!!!! :)

End of Summer Days!

Sorry for all the pictures....I couldn't get slide show to work for me today.

Last night, our church had a fun carnival, concert, and drive-in movie all set up...for FREE! It was called End of Summer Days and it was an outreach night for the community and was so much fun. It reminded me of the Fish Fry days the church used to have once upon a time, but better! The kids all played in the inflatables and Meghan and her friend, Meghan worked in the craft tent for a little while. We had a cheap meal (food was at cost) and I got to watch Lily dunk Pastor Chris, Uncle Roo (pic above), and Ms. Brenda! She did great! Trey sat and watched Uncle Roo get dunked many times! Our praise band did an awesome job performing and the stage looked very professional! I know they put in a lot of long hours/practice in preparation. After the concert, we had a "drive-in" movie set up to watch. Trey fell asleep about three quarters through the movie and I think both Lily and Meghan were asleep before we even got out of the church parking lot! It was a great night and lots of fun....and I think we had a great turn out from the community! I can't wait to do it again next year!

They Have Arrived!

Yesterday was my first day with kids at school. I have been doing home visits this past week (which I completed ALL of them!). I only had half my morning class show up, which turned out to be a good thing, b/c I would have probably pulled my hair out! My entire PM class came, but they were definitely more mature and did great! I had no cryers (that includes parents...believe me, it happens!)...well I did have one cry when it was time to leave...she didn't want to go home! I took that as a compliment! Overall, it was a good, but exhausting day. I will be glad when they know the routine!

Birthdays x 2!

Today was Pop Pop/Poppy/Dan's birthday (my FIL). We had him, Andy, Alyssa, the boys, Uncle Uncle Bill, and Uncle Jimmy over after church for a cookout birthday party. We also celebrated Jimmy's birthday which was Friday. It was fun to just hang out, especially since we aren't all together very often. Alyssa made a super yummy hash brown casserole and a chocolate mousse pie...I am still full (I didn't even eat supper tonight, I ate so much!). Daniel grilled out hot dogs, steak, and burgers. We had gone to the farmers market yesterday morning and got corn, but completely forgot to cook it!!! Oh well, we will just have to have everyone over again soon so we can eat it! We bought a dozen ears and I don't think my family alone can eat it all, even though the girls would try! Happy Birthday to Pop Pop/Poppy and Uncle Jimmy!

Bedtime Blues

For the past couple of weeks, Trey has been a real stinker about bedtime. He gets up multiple times after being put down for bed. I decided to ignore him last night as I sat watching the Olympics and folding laundry. He sat in the hallway with his motorcycle, his Blue Dog, and his tractor blanket. He just sat there, quietly playing. After a few minutes, I peeked around the couch and he was looking just like the picture above. Isn't he cute! I couldn't resist the taking his picture. You can't see Blue Dog very well b/c he is using it as a pillow!