First Day of School

When I hear, "first day of school" - I think of the movie "Nemo", when his father yells, "first day of school, first day of school", while waking up his son Nemo. All the while, Nemo was slow to wake and is taking his sweet time. How exciting...it was going to be Nemo's very first day of exploration, meeting new friends, and going to the reef! ooh-la-la

I felt like that this morning. Filled with emotion, my sweet #1 son Evan started his first day of kindergarten. Evan must've been super excited b/c we put him to bed last night around 8:15. He got out of the bed 20 minutes later saying he was hot, so I told him to change into different PJ's, which he did. Thirty minutes later, he got up and said he needed something for his mosquito bite. It was about 9:45 when Evan got up (again) and requested some water. By then, I just about had it and told him that he better not wake up in a cranky mood in the morning. And guess what -- he didn't!

My sweet sunshine woke up stir-crazy and rearing to go. Ate a good breakfast, got dressed, brushed his teeth, even had some cuddle-cute little brother time with Jacob. Loaded up the car and left shortly after 7:40 am. Our daily goal is to leave the house by 7:30 am. We were close, so I'm not complaining. We quickly dropped Jacob off at Lynn's and that went pretty well. Then it was off to Harmony. Both Cy and I dropped Evan off. Come on..this is HUGE! Of course I had my camera in tow and took a few pictures of him entering Harmony.

It's about 11:30 am now and they should be eating lunch right about now. I'm proud of myself because I packed a really great healthy lunch for Evan today - WITHOUT the reusable snack bag though! I had planned on making it before school started, but busy me was too busy. Give me credit - I did cut the material over the weekend, but didn't have time to sew it all together. Maybe I'll get to that tonight. :)

No tears were shed today. I managed to hold it together like a tough girl. I'm looking forward to hearing how Evan's first day of school went. In my parent pocket we received a few notes and one of them included his showday day - it'll be every Wednesday. Mr. Evan already has his "show day items" ready...that's how excited he is!

On another note....

Last Friday, we celebrated Cy's birthday and I was determined to make him a cake (not buy it from Publix like I usually do every year). I envisioned a cake in a shape of a turtle since Cy really likes turtle. You all know I work full-time and then I go into mommy mode when I have the boys - so when the heck will I have time to make a cake, AND shape it into a turtle? Hah! I think not. I broke down Thursday evening just after putting the boys down for bed. I told Cy how I wanted to make him a cake, but I was just too tired to bake and decorate it. His words: "Then don't. I don't want you to stress out over it, relax Wendy...it'll be okay". Well, I said okay and then proceeded to clean up the kitchen. But then, a huge rush of energy came over me and I just started busting out the baking pans, and pulling out the ingredients for making a cake and BOOM - DONE! I made the cake. My frosting didn't turn out so well, so instead of stressing out, I went to Publix the next day and bought their butter cream frosting. Yeah, you can do that - buy their delicious frosting by the pound and be done with it. I take full credit for the cake I made...cake and frosting too! I love it when I'm not stressing out and everything turned out great!

Happy Birthday Cy!

Cy's birthday cake.

It's not a turtle-shaped cake, but I did manage to frost a turtle on it!

Pepsi or Sweet Tea?

I'm a fan of both. But when it comes to drinking one with a specific meal, and you get the opposite - its not so tasty to me!

I ran for the border today for lunch. Their two dollah meal deal is off the chain for something cheap and yummy. Taco Bell equals Pepsi -- ALWAYS! Not today. I ordered a Pepsi, but as I was pulling out of the drive-thru parking lot after I got my meal, I took that oh-so-refreshing sip of Pepsi and ughed! SWEET TEA - WTH?? It was like slow motion hands on cheeks...shouting Ohhh noooo!! Think fast Wendy, think fast...should I back up and switch and tell them they made a mistake? Oops..nope, the car behind me had already pulled up...can't do that. Should I turn back into the parking lot, park, and get out of the car, go inside and switch? That defeats the purpose of me going through the drive-thru.

I kept it and drank the sweet tea on my way back to work. My taste buds are confused now. Don't you just hate when that happens?

On another note...my reason for being out and about - my hubby's celebration of life (it's what Evan calls it nowadays) - aka burfday is 2morrow. Trying to be creative on the day before is not going so well. I'll take a picture of it and blog about it later. Before the pepsi/sweet tea mishap, I managed to get some eco-friendly material to make those reusable snack bags that I mentioned in one of my previous blogs. Now I just have to carry on and sew it together! School starts next Monday...I still have time, right?

Gifts from the Heart

I usually don't buy expensive toys - expensive meaning over $20 bucks (excluding games & books). But because I heard so much about Sophie the Giraffe and did some research - I broke down and bought it for my sweet boy Jacob. I've learned through my sister's kids, if you buy something for one child, its probably best to buy something for the other - especially if you don't want to see a meltdown, tantrum throwing, tears pouring out with boogies hanging out moment! So, I bought something for Evan too! I'm a good mommy to think ahead. Yeah - me!

For me?

These were "just because we love you gifts" for the boys - I told Cy. Actually, Jacob is drooling and teething and just munching on everything he touches and he needs something to sink his gums into. Solution: Sophie Giraffe. Got it at Be Beep Toys, free gift-wrapping (why not, its free) and also got something there for Evan too! Paid an extra dollar for Evan's gift to be wrapped since his toy was on sale. Like brother like brother...it has to be the same. AND since Be Beep Toys was closing for some floor renovations, I scored 20% off of my purchase. So Sophie was under 20 bucks!

Evan helping his little brother with his special gift

His very first teething toy - Sophie the Giraffe

Sophie's ear sure are tasty!

You know, you would think that Evan would be satisfied with his new water toy...but he was so interested in Jacob's Sophie, he kept asking why he doesn't have a Sophie. How many times can you explain to a five year old that Sophie is a teething toy made for babies without teeth??? A BUNCH of TIMES! Thankfully, two weeks have passed and he's over wanting a Sophie. Whew...

Another gift is going to the library! Especially when its Pajamarama Night! Here's Evan and Jacob listening to Miss Jane read some books. This was the night when we had a big thunder storm (including hail), we were the only ones who showed up!

Last but not least - having my Auntie come and visit was a nice gift!

She spent a few days here with us before heading to Germany to visit my sister. I'm so glad she made plans to stop by to see us! She had a blast and she even enjoyed picking fresh blueberries! This is was our 2nd time picking and trust me, I was super happy we went the first time at the end of June. This time, the crop wasn't so great, it was hot (even at 7 am) and we only picked 5 lbs.

The School Supply List

Yes - you read right - the school supply list! This morning, in my parent pocket was Evan's kindergarten school supply list. AAHHH....seriously, Wendy - you just need to keep it together!

What does this all mean? This is just all so new! Evan starts kindergarten next month and I just CAN'T, ABSOLUTELY NOT believe he will officially start school! I'm excited, really I am. The supply list is manini (that's Hawaiian for small - pronounced: muh-nee-nee) compared to the public school list our friends have. Most of their items are cleaning supplies. No complaints from me....I love Harmony....so economical and simple.

Can't wait to take Evan school shopping. Also, will pick up a new lunch box for him. If I have time (that's a big IF), I want to attempt to make some reusable snack bags. I've seen them sold on etsy, and judging by the pictures - it looks pretty easy to make. Just need the materials for it. I'll blog about it later if this happens. Again that's IF I have the time.

#1 son wearing his daddy's slippah's!

Cricut DVD Give-Away

Paper + Cricut = scrapbook heaven! CrafteCorner is doing a give away and if anyone out there in blog land wants a chance to win a FREE Cricut A to Z DVD, you can check out their blog by clicking here.

I'm not one to advertise, but I'm a cricut user and I'm happy to share!

FREE Cricut A to Z DVD Give-Away

Why SAHM don't have time?

Before moving to SC, I lived in the Washington DC Metro area. The Washington Post was my daily read, including Carolyn Hax's articles. Here's one to share. I'm not a SAHM, but I do have many friends who are. I'm sure they can agree with Carolyn's response.

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TELL ME ABOUT IT ®By Carolyn Hax of The Washington Post

Dear Carolyn:
Best friend has child. Her: exhausted, busy, no time for self, no time for me, etc. Me (no kids): Wow. Sorry. What'd you do today? Her: Park, play group . . .

Okay. I've done Internet searches, I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners . . . I do all those things, too, and I don't do them EVERY DAY. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail? I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events) and I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy -- not a bad thing at all -- but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth? Is this a peeing contest ("My life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids and all us child-free folks get the same story and have the same questions.

Signed: Tacoma, Wash.

RESPONSE:
Relax and enjoy. You're funny.
Or you're lying about having friends with kids.
Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them. Internet searches?

I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand, while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom-friends are either lying or competing with you, is disingenuous indeed.

So, since it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. In list form. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.

• It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.
  
• It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.


• It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends, well-meaning and otherwise.


• It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.


• It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.


• It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends, or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand or keep your snit to yourself.

Carolyn Hax of The Washington Post

Giggles Galore!

Lovin' this stage of life for Jacob. He is just hammin' it up - laughing, giggling and smiling away! They say each child is different - but between Evan and Jacob - both my boys were/are happy babies! Jacob literally turns his head every-which-way when he hears Evan or Cy, and just yesterday - he grabbed to pet Pickles. I guess he was tickled when he pet Pickles, because he belted out some giggles. :)