Madeline's Open House

Two days after Ella started the 1st grade, Madeline had her preschool open house. The process to find her a preschool was exhausting. I searched and searched, but we live far out from everything and the majority of the preschools here are five days a week all day long. I am not ready to have her away from me all day just yet. When I heard about the school she will be attending, I felt like it was fate. It had the perfect hours, days, class size. I toured it right away and everyone was so sweet. They even came to our house for a home visit! Her class has two teachers and only ten students. I couldn't possibly ask for a better environment and extra attention for Madeline. She needs school. Academically, socially.  It will be beneficial for all of us:)

 Her little cubby! 

She was all smiles for Day 2!

 And she was all zzzzz's in the car line waiting for her big sister! 

My 1st Grader

Ack! 1st grade! Don't ask me how that happened because I couldn't tell you. I swear I was just crying because I gave birth to her and held her for the first time, and now I am crying once again because she started the first grade today. If you want life to fly by before your eyes, just have children. Never have the years gone by so quickly as the last almost seven have for us. Some days seem never-ending, but the years...they go by in a blink of an eye.

Ella woke up early for her first day. She was so excited to start at a new school. She had her outfit picked out for a week (not happy about having PE on her first day because she had to wear sneakers!). She knew what she wanted for breakfast, in her lunchbox, her book bag was ready to go. She had her hesitations about the school not being "as good" as the one she attended in Newport, but she was happy to get back into the classroom and make new friends. My sweet girl. How hard it must be for you to constantly start new schools and programs and adjust to life in a new city, making new friends. But you do it with ease. And a smile. I admire it. You may have huge butterflies in your stomach about it, but we all do. I hope you never lose that willingness to try, to adventure, to go with the flow of our lifestyle. I promise it will pay off one day when you have friends all over the world, have lived in more places than most, and can travel with the best of 'em. I pray you will be a well-adjusted young lady with the whole world at your fingertips.

For now though, just enjoy first grade. ;)

Admiring the sign I made for her!

She can tie her own shoes. I promise. I guess she wanted Daddy's help;)

Tom bought Sam a little backpack tee so he could feel included! Ha!

 I'm not sure if Ella means victory or peace. Hmmm.

 I love my family! 

 Sam's smile...

Such a serious worker, Not even in the class for 10 seconds.

 And that's when I headed out. But I left her with a smile. 

Last Bit of Summer

Hard to believe that title is already here! With the longest winter our family has ever experienced in our lives, we were all looking very forward to the summer. Now it's coming to an end and it makes me a little depressed...sorta. As much as my kids can annoy me, I am not ready for school to begin again. I would take lazy summer mornings over chaotic school mornings any day. However, this summer I have felt like a camp counselor trying to keep them busy. It's been rough. In a new state, new surroundings, new house. Trying to find my way around. Get them registered for school. Find dance schools, new playgrounds, doctors. I have filled up my fair share of water balloons. Chased Sam around the pool enough. Visited the children's museums. Had the picnics. Cleaned up the messy popsicle faces and sticky floors. I'll be honest. I am over summer. I am over the bickering. I am over the applying sunscreen. I am over the "can we go to Chuck E Cheese's? comments. I am over the "I'm bored" comments after we just returned from a morning at the pool or park. I am very over grocery shopping with all three kids. Did I mention Tom's work schedule? Yeah...he leaves at 5:30am and returns around 7-8pm. Just had to throw that in there.

I know this sounds like a complaining post. And it is one. I love my children. They are my whole world. Most days were awesome with them. Some days weren't. This summer with no friends to occupy them or myself...just made for some very long days;) This mama is very ready for her summer vacation to start.

Oh wait...

Moms don't get one of those, huh?

After Ella's meet and greet with her teacher. I can't believe I will have a first grader. 

Aloha Zoo

We are enjoying our last few days of summer while we can before the school year starts. We took the kids to a local zoo today. It's actually a family-owned rescue zoo and the kids loved it even though it was hotter and muggier than Hades out there;) I completed an item on my bucket list: feed a giraffe. I really don't have a bucket list, but I probably should make one. The giraffe's name is Stretch and he will only grow to be 14ft tall because his previous mean and nasty owner kept him in a garage for 2 years, stunting his growth. I barely have room for a car in my garage no less a giraffe. Some people...

We treated the kids to a giant snowball at the end of the visit and tons of hand sanitizer. 

 You can walk around the zoo and feed the wandering animals with your bag of bread and popcorn. 

 What in the hell is this giant rodent?

 A friendly bear...

 Some lady was feeding him her snow cone. From a spoon. He loved it.

 Stretch!

Giant snowball station!

A Day at the Museum

Whew! Taking three kids, by yourself, to an enormous children's museum is a lot of work. But a lot of fun! We spent the day at Marbles Museum in Raleigh, and the kids LOVED it. It is the best children's museum I have ever been to. We probably could have stayed from open until close, but unfortunately Sam just can't hang that long. We did spend over four hours exploring every exhibit though. I loved watching Sam just weasel his little behind into everything. He didn't care if that 8 year old boy just built the Lego house. Sam knocked it down. (and I grabbed Sam, apologized and left...giggling.) He squeezed his way into the crowded helicopter because he was determined to get a seat.  Whatever he saw the bigger kids doing, he tried to do...climbing ladders, milking the fake cow, hula hooping (don't tell Tom), shooting hoops...that museum was his oyster.

My absolute favorite part of the day was watching Ella take care of both Madeline and Sam. Sometimes I really can't believe she's my daughter. She is so careful and kind and aware. She watched Sam like a hawk, and helped him with everything, always keeping an eye on Madeline, too. They were all little buddies working together, and it made me realize how dang lucky we are to have them as our babies. There are certainly days when I swear they all hate each other, but then days like this prove that is far from the truth. 

And they all took long naps on the ride home while I sipped on iced coffee to keep me awake from that exhaustingly fun day:)

Love that when Madeline saw this board she yelled "CHESS!"

 Thanks to Uncle Bud, these kids know this game;)

 Giant Connect 4!

 Sports Center

 Ella teaching Sam to slam dunk!

Yeah, those boys behind them are cleaning up the aftermath of Hurricane Sam.

 Small and determined.

 Picnic lunch outside the museum:)

 Love his PBJ face!

 Ain't nobody giving this girl her license any time soon.

 Ella was in heaven with this room!

 Sam made himself very comfortable in the news helicopter.

Ella finding NC

 Veterinarian's office!

 I see a train table in his future;)

 Farmland!

 Clearly I am raising city kids! Who rides a cow??