Middle School Mama

First I have to say thanks so much for all of the sweet comments that have been left or e-mailed to me ... you sure know how to make a crazy girl feel the love!! I hope my reentry didn't leave you feeling like I was in the bottom of some dark abyss - it never got that bad ;) Life is fabulous most of the time and the rest of the time it is the pits or somewhere blissfully in between ... like everyone else's.

Last week met us with another milestone in our house - Middle School. That's right ... summer is over {in the blink of an eye} and the kiddos are back in school (can I get a little WOO HOO? We really did have a great summer but it was time for ALL of us ... the kids miss it just as much as I do)!!! Brinley has stepped up to the big leagues of Middle School. I'll be honest - I've been dreading it for at least 9 months. The mere idea of the new campus, administrators and teachers I didn't know, lockers, "tween" clothing {including training bras}, cruelty, language, "outside influences", etc. were enough to make this mama want to lock her up and homeschool her!! That, however, would never be an option for me because she is too passionate about school (and I couldn't do the homeschool thing ... having been a public school teacher). Toward the end of 5th grade I started to notice her attitude toward "moving up" become more nervous and I was afraid that my own fears were rubbing off on her - yikes. A change of attitude {for both of us}, 2 tours of the school during open houses, some fun school shopping for clothes and the MANY school supplies required by the middle school and we were both feeling much better. She dove right in last Monday and is loving the whole thing. She was accepted into the honors program so she has the same group of kids in her 5 core classes ... some of which she knows from her elementary school. She has a few friends in her homeroom class, too, which was comforting to find out. She's got a group of girls that she eats lunch with every day (I had nightmares of her sitting alone in the cafeteria). She got into band and has decided to play the french horn which, by the way, is one of the most expensive instruments to rent or buy ... just learned that last night. Ugh. Tonight she announced that she wants to run for Student Council which is awesome - she's a great leader. The kicker about that? She can start hanging posters and campaigning on Monday and has to have a speech ready for approval on Monday ... and I have to teach Relief Society on Sunday. How in the world am I supposed to have the time to work on a campaign over the weekend?!? No sleep is the only answer, unfortunately.

Now so you don't think she's the ONLY one who started school last week I should mention the other munchkins. Ashton is in 4th grade this year and Kendyl is in 1st grade. I am the luckiest lady around because they both got the teachers that I wanted them to ... both of which we have had before!! I am thrilled to work with these ladies again and plan to do some extra "spoiling" just cuz I love 'em. Kendyl's teacher is actually the one that I babysat for after she had her first baby so there is an extra special connection there ;) Both of them are doing exceptionally well and are loving being back in the classroom.

And now a photo of the girlies ... with a preview of my new product releasing in my shop on Monday!

How about the littlest of the bunch, you ask? He started preschool two days a week! I was really torn about it, to be honest, because he is still very young and has 2 years before he will start school. What it came down to was that socially he needs to be around other kids more. He is so lonely when his sisters go back to school and while I try to plan playdates for him, it's nice for him to establish his own "routine," too. He's loving it so far and his teacher says that he is doing very well in terms of participating and focusing {when required}. Here are a few shot of him as he headed out the door on his first day:

That kid cracks me up!! Well, I think that covers our first day of school happenings ... I'm sure I could go on but that is MORE than enough for one night!!

Party Central!!

We're partying away here ... 3 today, to be exact! We kicked off the day with an "always fabulous" party with Ms. Beckie in Kendyl's preschool class. Lots of gluing, frosting, eating, stories, songs, games, and fun to be had by all. She left with a goody bag bigger than any 5 year old should aquire at school - and claimed a puppy in the gift exchange! Lucky for me it sings "We Woof You a Merry Christmas" - and Cougar loves to make it sing and dance. The mouth even moves and he loves the feeling of having the puppy nibble his fingers ;) The best part is I don't have to potty train it and I can now check "PUPPY" off of their Christmas lists again this year with no guilt!After a quick trip to Costco to pick up last minute teacher gifts - which was VERY difficult for me to do since I would much rather make them something fun on my own but had absolutely no time this year due to our vacation - Kendyl and I enjoyed lunch in the food court (so fun just the two of us) and headed off to party number 2 in Ashton's classroom. Another hour filled with cookie decorating, stories, painting, birthday celebrations, and congrats for her teacher who is graduating with her Master's Degree tomorrow!!We came home to regroup, check in with Steve and Cougar who had been off shopping all day (and spending money they shouldn't have been), and finish homework. A few hours later it was back up to the school for Ashton's "Publishing Party" where they got to show off their writing from the first part of the year. How fun to see all of her hard work! She has been telling me all about the stories she has been writing and publishing in Writer's Workshop so it was great to see her creativity in print!Now I'm off to work on some more projects that are already overdue ... who needs to sleep anyway?!

Kendyl Heads to School!

Right in the thick of recovering from the surgeries we had the thrill of Kendyl getting to head back to preschool. It was such a ray of sunshine in her day after having to be fairly housebound all weekend!! She went to preschool with Ms. Beckie last year and we wouldn't have thought to send her anywhere else this year. Not only is her curriculum fantastic but she is incredibly organized and she *loves* her preschool kiddos. On top of that she is an amazing person and dear friend ... one of those people that you never hear anything but GUSHING comments about :)

Kendyl is lucky enough to get a second year of preschool because her birthday just misses the cut-off for entry into Kindergarten this year. She loves school and always comes home excited to show me what she has learned and done that day. Everyone in her class is her "friend" before she even has a chance to meet them, too! She had her outfit for the first day chosen a month ago and was ecstatic to lay it out on Monday night. We had been counting down for weeks to the big day. When she woke up and saw the gift I had made for her to take to Ms. Beckie she was even more excited to go. She was convinced that we should drop Brinley off at school and head straight to her house to wait for preschool to start. Problem is we drop Brinley off more than an hour before preschool starts! She had to wait at home with me ... with her backpack all ready to head out the door ;) (Note Kendyl did not get a new backpack this year either ... reference the photos from last year!)

First Day of School 2008

Believe it or not my girls went back to school today ... it's August 4th in case you missed it ;) It seems so early for them to go back and yet when I taught school in Utah we went back the end of July with our year-round schedule so I'm not sure why it seems so strange. They have what they call a "modified year-round" schedule here and I actually like the spacing of the breaks and the shorter summer - my kids were beyond ready to go back to school and we've actually had a fairly busy and eventful summer!!

Brinley started 4th grade and Ashton started 2nd grade. It is unbelievable to see Brinley as a 4th grader when I taught 4th grade back in the day!! I was up late last night (or should I say early this morning) working on gifts for their teachers. I love to do a little something for them on the first day of school to let them know how much we appreciate all they do for our children throughout the year - and, of course, for more selfish reasons, I want them to like me :) I decided on goodies this year ... again for selfish reasons. I've been craving Chex Muddy Buddies (aka Puppy Chow) for a few days and thought it would make the perfect treat for back to school. I would load up some bags for the teachers and then have leftovers for us!! Ended up being a great solution! I made some cute tags to dress them up and ended up with this:I then decided to make some cute labels to cover Hershey's Nuggets that I had on hand to fill some clear top tins. I created 4 different labels, wrapped them around the nuggets, and filled the tin. The polka dot ribbon I had on hand was the perfect finishing touch for this simple gift!I think they went over well with the teachers ... I was happy with the way they came out!! Both of their teachers are fabulous and we look forward to a great year with them :)The first day of school is always hectic - hair has to be just right, the outfit has to be new and perfect, the backpack needs to be ready, etc. We do fairly well on most accounts but the dynamic of having 4 kiddos ready to head out the door (since Steve has to work early on Mondays) adds a bit of chaos ... especially when Cougar decides he needs a little extra sleep on the first day of school! We made it to the school on time but the traffic was unreal - as is the norm on the first day of school. I used to get so stressed about it but now I figure I'll find a parking space when I find one and they'll get to class in plenty of time. We made it to their classrooms before their classes had even come in from the playground (and we didn't have to stand in the 95 degree weather that is 7:30 A.M. this time of year)!!

It was so nice to pack only 2 kiddos to Target this morning to run errands and continue the hunt for school shoes for Ashton. We got our running around done with just enough time to come home, have lunch, and get Cougar down for a nap. The best part was the quiet time I had to scrap this afternoon while he was sleeping and Kendyl was playing on Barbie.com on the laptop. It's fun to share the space with her, talk, laugh, and watch her explore ... all while I'm getting to play myself! I haven't gotten to scrap in AGES so I felt pretty rusty but I was happy with the outcome. I've got so many albums I need to be working on from this summer that I will hopefully get to fine tune my skills again before my next digital scrapbooking class in October ;) Here is the outcome of "my time."

Credits:
Back 2 School Kit by Shabby Miss Jenn
Photo Edges & Frames by Rhonna Farrer
2Peas Stop Sign Font from 2Peas in a Bucket
Century Gothic Font

Yes ... those are the same backpacks they have had for the past 2 years. I just can't make myself buy them new ones when these have held up so well!! I know they're dying to get something different but that's what clothes and shoes are for, right? A backpack is all about function. Nevermind - if I use that reasoning then Steve will NEVER agree with my argument for wanting another purse ;)