Friday, September 30, 2011

Five on Friday

  1. Zoe had her wisdom teeth surgery check-up on Monday and the doctor confirmed that everything was fine. I’m so glad that whole thing is over and it’s still years away for Landon. I should probably start saving for it now.
  2. I got Zoe’s senior pictures back in the mail today and I couldn’t be happier about the way they turned out. I know she’s my daughter and it doesn’t count for much, but she really should be modeling. She’s really photogenic. I don’t know where she gets that from…seriously.
  3. Harper has been getting up at 5am all week and it’s about killed me. I’m so tired at night I can barely think straight. Today he “slept in” until 6:30am and it was similar to how people must feel when they win the lottery. I felt like I could run a marathon or something. Ok, maybe just walk a 5k. Or around the block.
  4. Landon has been complaining of an upset stomach all week. Only in the morning before school, and he doesn’t want to eat breakfast. Usually I wouldn’t worry too much about him not eating breakfast, but in 5th grade they get the latest lunch (12:50pm) and I’m afraid he may be really miserable if he doesn’t eat before school. I’ve been making him eat a little something even though he complains of a stomach ache, and I’ve also made him start using some probiotics. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s nothing…
  5. Since the kids were home yesterday, I decided I’d go ahead and pull out all the Halloween stuff. Tony came across Harpers costume from last year and decided to see how it fit him.

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It’s much too short, but he’s still just as cute as ever in it! He couldn’t figure out what we were doing to him!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

“The Belt”

Last week at soccer practice, Landon earned “the belt” for doing the best that night. Every practice the coach chooses a player that he thought either played well, or listened well, or something of that nature. I love that they give them this giant belt for a couple nights, but I love even more that they make a point to notice something great about each individual player. It’s certainly a big ego boost to know you were the best for the day!

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I went to last nights practice and I’m still amazed at how grown up he looks out on that field. For some reason that I can not put my finger on, he just looks B-I-G when he plays soccer.

He was practicing heading the ball with a teammate and I got lucky with this shot:

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So far this season they’ve only had one game. Two others have been cancelled due to crappy weather (rain) and this weekend and next are bye weeks for our team. By the time we start playing, it’s gonna be cold!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A Conversation

On the way to the bus this morning, Landon and I had this conversation:

Landon- They are going to start taking our height and weight at school this year.

Me- Oh, yeah? Why?

Landon- I don’t know, but I really don’t think it’s any of their business.

Me- I’m pretty sure they’ve always done that, and they track it all the way through high school. I’ll have to ask Zoe. I don’t think it’s too big a deal, really.

Landon- Well, I don’t think it’s any of their business. I don’t want them to see how much shorter I am than the rest of the kids. Mom, I’m like one of the shortest boys in my class! And, if they ask me my shoe size, I’m not telling them.

Me- Landon, you are not that much shorter than most of your friends and you really grew this summer. You’re feet are kind of small, but that isn’t a big deal, they’ll grow! Why don’t you want to tell them your shoe size anyways?

Landon- Because I have the smallest feet ever! My friends wear size 5’s and 8’s and I’m still only in a 2 1/2! I don’t want anyone to know how small my feet are!

Me- Zoe was the same way, and now she has “regular” size feet. Don’t worry so much.

Landon- I’m just telling you that if they ask me my shoe size, I’m not telling them. OK?

Me- Ok.

This is just proof that our boys are just as body conscious as our girls They may deal with it differently and it may not be as bad as it is for girls, but these boys are clearly worried about their appearance. Even at only 10 years old.

* This whole consciousness about his feet is mostly my fault. I once made a comment to him about how his feet were small like his sisters were when she was younger. I think I said it while buying new shoes when they didn’t have the shoe he wanted in his size. It was just an off hand remark that I didn’t see any harm in, but as he’s gotten older he’s become very observant of how he measures up to his friends. Sometimes our careless remarks leave big impressions.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Siblings

14) Siblings

This is one of my favorite photo’s from when Harper was a newborn. I was attempting to get pictures of him in some of his cute little outfits and Zoe and Landon were helping me. They were sort of helping me but they just couldn’t help but lean in and kiss his sweet little face every once in awhile. I’m just so glad I was shooting away and got this adorable picture.

I know the title is hard to see here, but it isn’t so bad in person…and I really like all the patterns and colors going on.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Saturday Shopping

Because of the torrential downpours we had yesterday, Landon’s soccer game was cancelled today. That meant that we had an entire day to kill, and those kinds of days are just awesome! We ended up spending most of the day just hanging around the house, but around 2pm we headed to the mall for a few things.

I don’t know what was going on in Annapolis today, but the mall was jam packed. It took us awhile to find a parking spot and it was super crowded in every store. Zoe and I ran into a few stores looking for a Homecoming dress, and we finally found a sweet little black dress at Macy's. She wanted to get a teal colored dress for this years dance, but once she tried on the black one, we both felt that it was perfect. I’m so glad we found it too, because Homecoming isn’t even a month away and I hate waiting till the last minute! It’s just another thing I can check off my ever growing to-do list.

We also stopped in the Lego store so I could see if they had any of their advent calendars. Lucky for me, they did have this years calendars, and I went ahead and picked up the Lego City advent calendar to try out this year. They had that one and a Star Wars version, but I only got one for now…who knows if I’ll end up going back for the other. I think they just seem like a really cool twist on the traditional candy calendar.

Tony found his way down to the game store and ended up getting Gears of War 3 for himself. It’s nine o’clock now and I’m really surprised he hasn’t gone downstairs into to the “cave'” to play it yet.

I found some t-shirts for Harper at Babies R Us that were 75% off, so I bought him a few that are 18 months size. He needs 9 month pants and 18 month tops. He has a big belly, what can I say? :)

That pretty much sums up our shopping expedition for today, but if you read all that you’ll realize that I didn’t get anything…so, I guess we’ll be going out for a little more shopping tomorrow. I just hate to be left out!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Five on Friday

  1. It’s been a rough week for Harper. Two days ago he fell outside while holding two tennis balls, and since he had them in his hands he couldn’t catch himself and ended up hitting his forehead on the driveway. Yesterday morning before we walked Landon to the bus, Harper tripped on a pillow and bit his lower lip. He bled all over my shoulder and I didn’t have time to change before we headed down to the bus. It wasn’t pretty.
  2. Landon stayed home this past Wednesday because he “wasn’t feeling good”. I tend to trust my kids when they tell me they don’t feel well because they’ve never before lied to me about being sick in order to miss school. I’m not sure that Landon was lying per say, but he sure was looking fine by about noon. I considered taking him to school, but ultimately decided not to. If it happens again though, he will be headed to school and doing some explaining.
  3. Zoe is healing up just fine since her surgery last week. She missed school on Monday because she was still having some pain and swelling, but she was feeling much better on Tuesday so she’s been back to school since. She had two soccer games this week, but her coaches wouldn’t let her play the first one despite the note from the doctor saying she could if she felt up to it. It’s probably a good thing though because if she’d been hit in the mouth, she would have been in some serious pain! They ended up winning both games this week and I hope we can keep winning!
  4. I have been busy this week completing projects. I finished a Halloween cross-stitch project and just need to get to Michaels to get it framed. I finished a fall frame that has been on my mind for ages, and I’ve been working steadily on scrapping photos that I had printed a while ago. I only have 3 more photos in the envelope and that feels like a pretty big accomplishment! It’s nice to finally feel like I have the time to work on these projects again. Not a ton of time, but a few hours here and there really help!
  5. Whenever I’m not sure what to do with Harper in the middle of the day, we strap on our shoes and walk the neighborhood. Sometimes we make it all the way down to the park, sometimes we only make it a few houses down. A little ways down our street there are a couple cats that live in someone’s garage and we always call them to see if they’ll come out. He just loves seeing them and if I say “here, kitty” he slaps his tummy or bottom to tell them to come. It just kills me, it’s so cute!

That’s it for today, hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Smooch

17) Smooch

I’m so glad that my family still lived here when Harper was born. It was so nice that my mom and sister were able to come up and see Harper when he was still tiny. They love holding newborn babies just as much as I do, so Harper was passed from person to person, and we all just loved to smooch those sweet little cheeks.

I can hardly remember those days already…

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

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Santa Baby (Layout)

16) Santa Baby

I printed this picture of Harper so long ago, and I came across it the other day as I was sifting through all the junk on my desk. It’s hard to believe this was nearly a year ago already! It’s crazy how much he’s changed and how much of our lives have changed since he’s been around. I love that little Santa suit I found for him, and I love that sweet look on his face!  even more! Now I just have to dig out that tiny outfit and try to squeeze him into it for another picture this year!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Fall Frame

A few years ago I remember seeing a really cute butterfly punch frame that Ali Edwards made and put up on her blog. (I looked for the project but couldn’t find it on her site.) I bought a frame shortly after seeing that post, but never actually did the project. Finally, all this time later, I pulled out that frame and this is what I came up with.

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I really liked the butterflies, but since fall is here, I decided to go with that theme. The white paper inside my frame is only lightly taped down so that I can change the theme from season to season. All I have to do is punch new images, change the banner and boom, I’m done!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Morning Mayhem…Not Anymore!

Ever since Landon started Kindergarten, school mornings have been a little hectic. When I just had Zoe to worry about, it was no problem getting her ready, but add just one more kid into the equation and POW, mayhem!

Now that Zoe’s in high school (or is in her LAST year of high school!) she does all of her “stuff” on her own, but I still have Landon and Harper to worry about. No, Harper doesn’t go to school, but he’s still under my feet all morning, and the boys gotta eat, right!? So, to make things a little easier on myself I made this chart for Landon to use in the morning.

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First of all, Landon uses an alarm clock to get up in the morning on his own. He has used one since Kindergarten and it works for us. I never have to walk up and down the stairs ten times to make sure he’s up, it’s great! He never sleeps through it either, and I’m hoping he’ll stay that way. I know I could sleep through an alarm for hours when I was a teenager!

On the chart, I have listed the 5 things he needs to do before he leaves for school in the morning. He is responsible for taking care of the dog in the morning, taking his allergy medicine, putting his lunch in his bag, eating breakfast and locating his shoes. After school he only has to worry about eating a snack and doing his homework then putting it all away for the morning. I put the clothespins on the board just so he can check himself, and so that I don’t have to ask him every five minutes if he’s done one of the items on the board…I can just look at the list.

I also made one of these charts for Landon to use in the bathroom. Half the sheet is for before school, the other is for before bed. I have to say that these charts have helped tremendously. Landon goes straight to them and is done everything in record time each morning.

In addition to the charts, I’ve also banned all television and video games before school. Landon just has too hard a time tearing himself away, and it’s one less thing to argue about. So, instead of Sponge Bob entertaining him, he usually plays with Harper, which then gives me the time I need to make breakfast and/or clean up breakfast. So far, this method has worked great for us, and I think we’ll probably be using it for a long time!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Soccer is My Life…Like It or Not!

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Yesterday was Landon’s first soccer game of the season. ASA seems to start a little later than some other local organizations, but their first game was also rained out so we are just getting started. He is on a new team this year, and he’s really been enjoying himself. He feels like he has something to contribute to the team, and I think he finally feels like he is just as good as the other boys on his team. So far, it has been a really good experience.

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Unfortunately, yesterday’s game was a bit of a downer. The boys played a team from Westminster that looked like they may have been genetically altered to play this sport. I swear it was as if someone had programmed them to annihilate our boys, and that is pretty much exactly what they did. It’s always difficult to watch your kids’ team lose, but yesterday was so awful, Tony, his mom and I took turns walking around with Harper just to dull the pain.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that with time and L-O-T-S of practice, they’ll get better. But, more importantly, I hope that Landon will continue to enjoy himself and stick with it.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Five on Friday

  1. Today Zoe got her wisdom teeth pulled. She was terribly nervous all week but she did great. I was nervous too, but I’m happy to report that I did great as well. (:
  2. I went to two soccer games this week. One night, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. The other night was rainy, windy and freezing cold. I really preferred the first game.
  3. I watched Landon’s soccer practice a couple nights ago. I didn’t feel like I was watching a little boy at practice, I felt like I was watching some big, grown up kid. It was strange to look out there and see him in that way. It seems like he grew up a lot this summer. Maybe it’s because Harper is around, I don’t know.
  4. I took Harper to the library for story time this week. He really enjoyed it, mostly the end when they pulled out the toys for the babies to play with. It was really fun to watch him interact with all the other kids, and I don’t think I’m going to have to worry about him being shy.
  5. It was in the 40’s this morning when we walked to the bus stop. I think that is just a little extreme for September, but I’m ready for it. I love this chilly fall weather, it’s my absolute favorite! 

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Game On

Zoe played her second soccer game of the season tonight and man was it freezing out there on that field! It was raining on and off the entire time and the wind about blew my umbrella away, but Tony and I stuck it out just to watch her play. (Thanks to my mother-in-law who stayed home with the boys!)

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Tonight’s game was against Severna Park, and while we lost 5-2, it was a pretty decent game. (Tuesday nights game against Southern was close, we lost 5-4.)  I just can’t believe that this will be Zoe’s last year playing soccer. It seems so strange.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

13 Months

Harper turned 13 months yesterday. I totally forgot to get his picture though, so I made a point to get one today. This is not the easiest age to get a good picture, but I love the one I got. He was looking at one of his favorite books and I said his name, and he turned to me…I love that sweet little face. Those eyes just melt me.IMG_8361

Monday, September 12, 2011

Sleepy Baby

13) Sleepy Baby

Awhile ago I ordered some divided pocket pages from Amazon.com. I thought it would be a fun way to make pages instead of the traditional 12x12 or 8x10 layout. I discovered that making pages this way is fun, but not always easy! It seems like it would be easier because the pockets force you to use only x amount of space, but that also makes it harder. I will definitely use these pages though, because sometimes a challenge is good!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

I Remember

I think most of us can recount the things going on this September day, 10 years ago. Everyone has their 9/11 story, and since today marks the 10th anniversary of that tragic morning, I thought I’d share mine now.

While my story isn’t surprising, shocking or even very interesting or unique, it is a day that I will never forget…

Ten years ago, Zoe was in the 2nd grade and Landon was a newborn. Landon and I were just back in the house after walking Zoe to the bus. He was asleep in his swing and I was cleaning up the morning dishes as I always do. The phone rang and at that time in the morning it was unusual…and even more unusual that the phone call would be from Tony. Tony asked me if I was watching TV and when I said no, he told me I’d better get downstairs and turn it on. He said something about one of the towers being hit in New York, but none of it was really making any sense to me, so I ran down and turned the TV on.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. As I was watching the coverage of the first tower, I watched the second tower being struck. It almost didn’t seem possible or real, but there it was on national television. I could see people running through the streets and others jumping from the buildings. There was talk about there being more strikes in the DC area, and at that point Tony got off the phone so that he could try to get home. I ran upstairs and grabbed Landon and then rushed to Zoe’s elementary school to get her. There were many other parents there picking up their children, and it was a bit chaotic at the school, but I was so thankful to finally get Zoe and have her and Landon safe back at home with me. We waited and waited for Tony to get home, and once he finally made it I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He told me that getting out of DC was crazy and that roads were backed up all over the place; at the time he worked about a mile from the Pentagon and although he was too far to see the actual building, he could see huge plumes of smoke coming from that direction. 

All these years later we still feel the effects of 9/11. It isn’t something I think about every day, but when I go to one of the kids’ schools to get them early and I have to be buzzed in, I remember. Whenever we think of travelling on any kind of mass transit, I remember. I remember all of those lives lost and the deep feeling of sadness that was felt throughout our country. I also remember how it seemed that we came together as a country, and how people seemed to have an overwhelming need to help one another.

Never forget…

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Sweet Dreams

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I have quite a few pictures of Harper sleeping in random places. In the first picture I was attempting to wake him up to feed him and I had resorted to undressing him down to his diaper, but as you can see, nothing was working. The middle photo is so cute because of the way he’s holding his hands together. Looks like he’s saying a prayer…maybe he’s praying we’ll put him down so he can sleep! In the far right photo, he’s asleep in his swing. He loved that swing, and would sleep in it for hours! Needless to say, I loved that swing too!

The sun is finally shining again, so we are busy, busy! Happy Saturday everyone!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Five on Friday

  1. It has rained here for 5 days straight. Much of Maryland/Pennsylvania/Virginia is underwater or destroyed. The city in the video above is not too far from where I live and I have been there many times. Here are a couple of pictures of a road that has been destroyed by all this rain. We travel this road quite often.
  2. When I ask Harper where his nose, ears and feet are, he touches them.  Sometimes he’ll touch his ears no matter what I ask him, other times he gets it right. It’s a crap shoot. But, I think it’s adorable. Every. Single. Time.
  3. Landon brought home his “Friday” folder today for the first time. It has different papers that he’s worked on throughout the week that have all been graded and there is a sheet inside that we have to sign saying that we saw the papers. His papers were great this week, all A’s and B’s. He was very proud. So was I.
  4. Zoe and I watched Pretty Little Liars tonight while we ate dinner. Tony and Landon were at soccer practice and Harper was sleeping so we thought we’d give it a try. I didn’t like it much, but Zoe thought it was ok…I spent the entire time trying to figure out where I’d seen one of the main characters before. When I finally figured it out, I was able to finally quit watching!
  5. Landon was supposed to have his first soccer game tomorrow, but because of all the rain the fields are too flooded. So, I guess he’ll have his first game next weekend. Unless we get a blizzard. Or a typhoon. Or an alien invasion. Nothing seems too impossible after these past couple of weeks!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Today

  • Today I woke up to the sound of rain. It has been raining here for the past 4 days, almost non-stop. It has been raining so much that many parts of Maryland are flooded and it looks like we still have another day of this to get through. So many people have lost so much, it’s devastating.
  • Today, Harper, Mema and I went on a shopping trip to Costco. Mema came to our house to ride with us to the store, but we only got around the corner before it felt like the truck was going to die…so we turned around and reloaded everything into Mema’s little car to go to Costco. She drives a very small car, so it was quite an ordeal getting all the groceries, stroller, diaper bag, umbrellas and 3 people into her car. Just getting Harpers car seat into her car was a challenge, but we managed.
  • Harper decided that he didn’t need/want a nap this morning, but since we were going to the store I still needed a shower. Usually I shower while he’s sleeping, but since there was no nap, I had to compromise. I brought up a couple of his toys into my bathroom so that he would be occupied while I showered, but he wasn’t having it. He started crying the minute I got in, so I pointed the shower head towards the wall and held the door open with my foot so that he could see me while I was in there. He still cried. So, I told him to get certain toys to show me while I was in there, and he did get every single thing I asked him for, except he cried the entire time. It wasn’t the most relaxing shower, but it was probably the quickest one ever. I should have probably had the people from Guinness there to time me.
  • Today we had to drop the truck off at the dealership. I’d like to shoot my truck and put it out of it’s misery.
  • Today I had to punish Landon for throwing a toy (he was having a moment) and accidentally breaking it. I wasn’t really upset about the toy, more about the tantrum, so I grounded him from playing on the computer for the day. I feel like I’m punishing myself more than him.
  • Today Ginger kept following me around the house, but I was too busy to stop and think about what she might need. As I came down the stairs from trying to get Harper to nap, I saw, on my rug, what Ginger was trying to tell me. It was a reminder to pay attention. A stinky one.
  • Today, Zoe told me that one of her friends was having a “mandatory” sleep over tomorrow night. Ha. Ha. Love her sense of humor. :)
  • Today I talked to my mom the entire time Harper was napping. I didn’t do any multi-tasking while I was on the phone either. No folding laundry/sweeping the floor/cleaning the bathroom/picking up toys. Just talk and listen. It was nice.
  • Today I accidentally left my cell phone on top of the car when I was unbuckling Harper from his car seat. It was out there for about 15 minutes and about 5 minutes in the rain. I’m so thankful I found it and it still works. I’m very attached. Its sick.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

5th

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My boy looks so grown up in this picture, it’s crazy. I can’t believe this is his last year of elementary school! I sure hope this year doesn’t fly by like all the others…I’d like to enjoy it a bit.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Orangutan Crossing

We spent a lot of time watching the orangutans yesterday.

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At the National Zoo they have a really cool exhibit for them where they can go from one section of their habitat to another by way of towers and cables high up in the air.

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It was pretty neat to watch and soon after this one got to the second set of ropes we noticed two more climbing up the tower to join him.

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It was too hot to stand out and watch them any longer though, but I’m glad we got to see what we did!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

National Zoo

Since we have an extra day off this weekend we decided to make the most of it and take a trip down to the DC Zoo. We left here around 9am and when we got there at 10, it was already packed. I’m pretty sure every single person in Maryland and DC thought today was a good day to go to the zoo.

We saw Prairie Dogs:

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Tigers:

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Lions:

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Orangutans:

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Iguanas:

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Elephants:

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Flamingos:

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Vultures:

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And Zebra’s:

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Of course we saw lots and lots of other animals but Tony and I were juggling Harper, the stroller, spilling drinks, and the camera while trying not to lose each other in the crowd, so these are the best photo’s we got. After 3 hours of walking uphill in the heat with 4 million other people, we decided to call it a day. Everyone fell asleep in the car on the way home (except Tony, of course. I think.) and that is always a sign of a day well spent!

*If you ever visit the DC Zoo, make sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes because it is very hilly. It’s a beautiful zoo, and you should absolutely check it out if you get the chance!

On Her Own

Well, I know I already posted that Zoe got her license, but having her license and using her license are two completely separate things. She hadn’t really had the opportunity to drive anywhere since she passed her test until this weekend when she had to work.

I have to admit that as she drove down the driveway on her own for the first time, I had a huge lump in my throat. But, boy was I proud. It’s a wonderful thing to see your child excel, and driving is such a major pathway to independence. Scary and beautiful all at once.

Of course I ran inside to grab my camera (and I almost grabbed my car keys so I could follow her…but, I didn’t).

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She made it there and texted me right away to let me know she’d made it just fine, and I was thankful for that. Now it seems that all I can do is slowly let go. It isn’t easy.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Senior Year

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Here’s the senior year first day of school page. I’m still in a bit of denial about this being her final year of high school, but I suppose it’ll just become more real as time moves forward. As you can see, I had a lot to say, so I ended up writing all over this page! It’s really four separate paragraphs, but I was running out of room so it’s kind of hard to tell. Everything on here (with the exception of the thickers and date sticker) is old stuff that I had left over from other pages. I’m going to be working on using up my stash forever I think!

Hope you’re enjoying your Saturday!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Five on Friday

  1. Because of Hurricane Irene, my kids only had three days of school this week. The first week of school was 4 days for Landon and three for Zoe, and since it’s Labor day weekend now they only have 4 days next week. I’m looking forward to a whole five days of school for both of them…sometimes school is such a tease.
  2. After a lot of worrying and stress, Zoe took and passed her driving exam. She was mostly freaking out about the parallel parking and two point turn, but she soared right through the whole thing like she’s been driving for years. Tomorrow will be the first day she actually drives alone though, so I think that will be the real test.
  3. Today for lunch we decided to try out the newest restaurant in our mall, Buffalo Wild Wings. The wings were pretty good, and it was a nice change from what we normally go for at the mall. I’m looking forward to the other new restaurants that will be opening at our mall once the casino is complete because that is the one thing that has been seriously lacking.
  4. I went to Landon’s back to school night on Thursday and realized it will be my last at this school for several years. It made me sad to think of it that way, but I was happy to hear about all the cool things they’ll be learning this year. His teacher seems very enthusiastic and luckily we kind of know her since Zoe had her when she was in 4th grade.
  5. I stopped in Yankee Candle today and got a couple new candles for fall. If you were trying to guess the season by the smell of that store, you’d swear it was mid October! I ended up getting this one and this one. And, I picked up one of these, just because it was so pretty!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Marco…Polo…

I love it when the kids come home from school and tell me about what they are learning. It reassures me that they are in fact paying attention, and that it has at least peaked their interest if they think to share it with me.

Here is a part of the conversation Landon and I shared at dinner tonight.

Landon: We are learning about Marco Polo in school.

Me: Oh yeah? What do you know about him?

Landon: Well…he was like a merchant or something and he wanted to travel to places so that he could get stuff because he liked to buy stuff. He was from somewhere…hmmm…I think it starts with a P…

Me: Peru? Paraguay? Pompeii?

Landon: No, I don’t think any of those. Um, I think it was in Europe. Yeah, Europe. Anyways, he wanted to get new stuff because he had stuff but he wanted to try new stuff and bring the stuff to China.

Me: What is the “stuff” that he wants to buy?

Landon: Spices. I think. Yeah, spices.

Me: Ok, so what happened to him?

Landon: He got in trouble and was put in jail and he wrote a book. It’s a really old book but people still read it and liked it.

Me: Did he die in jail? I still don’t understand why he’s famous.

Landon: I don’t know if he died in jail, we haven’t gotten that far. I don’t know why he’s famous either. But you know that game you play in the water? Marco Polo?

Me: Yeah. Why did they name that game after him?

Landon: I don’t know if they did or not, but that’s a fun game.

So, as you can see, he is taking some of this “stuff” in. I’m just hoping they won’t be having a test on it tomorrow.

Drinking It All In

With the temperatures dropping down into the 50’s at night and the chilly mornings we’ve been experiencing, I decided that Harper and I better be sure to enjoy these last few weeks of warm weather. This week has been really mild, temperature wise, with high’s being in the low to mid 80’s. Yesterday after Harper got up from his nap, I pulled out his water mat so we could play outside.

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He sat there long enough for me to get about 3 pictures because there was something else that caught his attention.

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Before we went outside I made sure to fill up his cup and a water bottle for myself and once he saw that big old water bottle, he just had to have it.

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It didn’t matter that the bottle was nearly too heavy for him to hold, or that it nearly froze his little tummy and hands off…

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He drank almost all of that water, and when he was done, he went back to play with his water mat for a bit…and then he went into the garage and slapped the freezer door so that I would get him a popsicle.

That little boy knows exactly what he wants, and does whatever it takes to get it. Man am I in trouble!

April Fools Pranks

The two little kids made me laugh yesterday morning.  I was upstairs getting things ready for school when I heard them talking about how ...