Kindergarten Graduation

Gracie's Kindergarten Graduation was an emotional day for me.  I am blaming it partly on the pregnancy hormones.  But after the cap and gown ceremony in the gym, we moved to the classroom for cookies, juice and a slide show to recap the year.  I am pretty sure I was the ONLY mom sobbing through the slide show.  "Why I am crying?!  She is 6-years-old...she's not moving out."  The tears were flowing...and they just kept coming.  Oh, Gracie!  I was so proud of you - How big you were getting and what a good friend you were to your classmates.

Gracie is so lucky to have such support!

This is Connor.  Gracie and Connor were voted (by me) the 'cutest couple' in Kindergarten.  Gracie tells the story of the first day of school.  She was nervous, and as she entered the classroom to hang her backpack up for the first time....there were tons of students.  She was knocked to the ground, feeling smothered.  Until she looked up and (play hero music) There was a hand extended.  Connor was reaching down - waiting to pick her up.  "He rescued me," Gracie will tell you.  From Day 1, there was a special bond.

One year later, they are in different First Grade Classrooms.  Yet, when I come to pick her up from school, most days she is hanging out with Connor by the flagpole.  They are cute friends.  He has made her some darling cards - illustrating pictures of the two of them playing at the park and holding hands.  She wanted to buy him chocolates for Valentine's Day in First Grade.  So that's what we did!

Valentine's Day - Gracie - 1st Grade

Mrs. Bithell - What a sweet Kindergarten Teacher!  She was so good to Gracie and always so kind when I volunteered in the classroom  

One last hug for Mrs. Bithell on the VERY LAST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN.  SUMMER HERE WE COME!  

2014

The Swinging of Summer....

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” 
― John Steinbeck

Our summer was beautiful and memorable, and just like the playground swings that we spent so much time on...we had our highs and lows.

I knew something was wrong.  I was at Cookie Cutters, a children's haircutting salon.  I should have made an appointment, like all of the more-prepared moms.  They take walk-in's; I just didn't expect it to be booming at 9 am on a Thursday morning.  But it was.  I put Sienna's name on the list for a bang trim.  We needed to be somewhere in 45 minutes...and it was evident, we were going to be late by the time she made it into the little airplane to get her hair cut.

Sienna was finally next.  And I was anxious for her turn.  The stylist called another child's name who had walked in after us.  Oh Heavens!  You would have thought I had been shot.  I started bawling.

Bawling....people.

I knew this wasn't appropriate behavior, and my frustration as to why I couldn't get a grip, made me cry harder.  The shocked stylist realized her mistake and took Sienna back where she was placed in a mini pink car.  She asked me what we were going to do with her hair, and I could hardly answer her because I was choking back tears.

Tears. Streaming. Down. My. Face.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and cried harder.  What was going on?!?!

I share this because maybe, just maybe, one of you moms have had a similar situation where you felt like you weren't yourself; like you had been taken over by a crazy, crying person who clearly shouldn't be in public.  OR perhaps this has never happened to you, and you can get a good chuckle out of the situation, and be thankful you've never turned into a puddle at a Children's Haircutting Salon.  

The following week, I miscarried.  I was seven weeks along.  My body had been fighting hard to create a viable pregnancy, which was evident from my above (out-of-whack hormone induced) behavior.   But there were too many factors preventing a healthy pregnancy from taking shape.

After I miscarried, I felt awful.  For two months, I couldn't shake it.  I didn't feel like myself, physically or emotionally.  I had a number of symptoms, many of which I won't share here, but I was dizzy and ill.  After weeks of symptoms, an ultrasound showed an inch-long complex cyst on my right ovary and a polyp on my uterus.  My doctor said that polyp would continue to prevent any successful pregnancy.  But the great news was we had answers.  I always feel so terrible for people who struggle with their health and never receive a diagnosis or solution for the problem.  We had a solution: surgery. The date was set, and I was excited.

As relieved as I was to have a date for surgery on the calendar, I still felt a little sorry for myself.  Disappointed and discouraged that things were taking so long.  Sad because I felt like I knew what should happen next....and it wasn't happening.  Silly, I know.  There are so many others out there, who have been dealt a much tougher hand.

I went to Macey's Grocery Store after work one night.  It was late.  I had a cart full of groceries, and as I tried to leave the store, there was a wall of people blocking the exit.  It was POURING outside.  People were waiting it out, but I was ready to get home and see my husband...so I started running.  Pushing my cart, in four-inch heels, I was drenched after two strides.  SOAKED.  I have never been so wet from a storm.  The rain was coming down so hard, I couldn't even open my eyes.  And the cart wouldn't really roll because there was so much standing water on the ground.  But I was so determined to get to my car.

I thought, "Why is it raining so hard?  I'm tired....so tired."  And then something funny happened, especially to the girl who hates to get wet when fully dressed.

I stopped.  And I started laughing.

I stopped trying to hurry through it.  Nothing I could do would stop the storm.  I was in the middle of it, and the only thing that was going to get me through it, was a change in attitude.  I was alone, the rain beating down.  And suddenly I was okay with it.  I took a deep breath in, and just embraced the moment.  It was such a drastic, eye-opening moment for me.

Days later I went in for my Pre-Operation Visit.  They did another ultrasound.  And to the technician and doctor's surprise both the cyst and the polyp were gone.  Not smaller -- completely gone.    Cysts can rupture on their own, which I thought may have happened...due to some intense abdominal pain I had.  But the polyp on my uterine wall was large, and my doctor was more than shocked.  He said it's because I am younger, and my body was able to heal itself.  But I really think I had a lesson to learn. And through my prayers and the faith of others supporting me, the ending result was amazing; a true miracle.

Things are good.  God is good.  I'm still not pregnant.  But it's not about my timeline - it's about His.

As a great friend recently told me, It's all about 'Loving What Is'.  There is such beauty, contentment and relief in those three words.

And as for Cookie Cutters...they have me labeled as the Crazy Mom in their computer system.  Yep, I'm THAT lady.  I was five minutes late for my last (already scheduled - Not walk-in) appointment.  I watched the man at the counter look at his computer screen and say with a smile, "No, your appointment is in 10 minutes...you're actually early.  But I'll take you back right now."  Bless their hearts.  There is definitely a red flag by my name in their computer system and a note that says "WARNING - this lady has had a melt down before."

Yes, we walked away from that haircut with Free Balloons too.

Bear Hollow Preschool



First Day of School

Gracie started her second year as a Bear Hollow Bear.

Gracie adores her teacher, Miss Molly.

Miss Molly had a Western Theme last year. And this year, for the 4 turning 5-year-olds, the theme is "Clowning Around with Learning Found." I was able to stay on her first day and help her work on an art project. Gracie has never been worried to have me leave. She is an independent little girl. When I waved goodbye on her first day, I blew kisses to a little girl. BUT when I came for pick-up...this is what I discovered! Red Clown Nose and all. For those of you who know Gracie's obsession with 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer', you can understand HOW excited she was to be showcasing a red nose!

Gracie has homework each night. She writes her name quite well, and is learning the phonetics of basic reading. I had a Parent/Teacher Conference earlier this week with Molly. She said Gracie is SO obedient in class. That's great to hear, because at times, we struggle with that at home. (But hey, she's four. So that's to be expected.) Molly also told me Gracie was the kindest and nicest student she has this year. I was so happy to hear that! Molly said that Gracie is almost too nice for her own good. Apparently, some of the other little ones make fun or exclude some students -- including Gracie. When this has happened Molly told me Gracie replies by saying,

"Please don't say those things. I just want to be your friend."

Melts my heart. After the Parent/Teacher Conference, I couldn't stop thinking about how a four-year-old would have to deal with bullying...in PRESCHOOL!! I remember kids being cruel from 4th grade on - Jr. High was terrible; but it seems our little ones have to deal with more and more at a younger age. We love Gracie, and we are happy she wants to include everyone.

Miss Grace has such an imagination. Last year, after coming home from teaching High School, our darling nanny we had at the time was giving me a rundown of what happened while I was away. After a long list of activities they had done she crinkled her nose a bit and said, "And we also played the Dinosaur Hatching Game. " (This is a Gracie original game.) Grace loves dinosaurs. She also loves to pretend to hatch out of an egg. So she had instructed our kind nanny to sit on top of her. Gracie, meanwhile, was curled up in a ball -- her back facing the ceiling. Gracie would then start wiggling to indicate she was about to hatch. Bahaaaa!! I was laughing just thinking of this 20-something babysitter going along with this. Surprisingly, she didn't even ask for a pay raise....and that was after Gracie forced her to watch our Wedding DVD two times in a row.

Our preschooler gets frustrated when she doesn't get her way. She got mad at me when I wouldn't let her eat a huge handful of Halloween Candy before dinner. She said,

"Mom (big dramatic sigh) you need to be sanitized!"

She obviously didn't understand what she was saying. She was really mad and thought that would get the point across. ;) She keeps us chuckling with her constant narrative. She is at a fun age.

How Can You Tell When It's Time to Leave the Zoo?

One child who hates being placed in a giant egg and the other very upset that her sister is not smiling for the picture. Time to book it to the car. Pronto. And we would have, but Gracie kept running away. I used to despise those child leash/harness systems that you see parents using at theme parks. "Why would you force your child to be in one of those? That's terrible." Well, now I know why. I'm not running out to buy one...but it's tempting. Very tempting.



Before the girls got really tired, we had a blast! Gracie, Sienna and I spent the day with my good friend Emilee and her two darling girls.
{Melt my heart!}


The giraffes were Gracie's favorite animal. We also enjoyed watching the gorillas, tigers and camels.


Sienna was not so sure about her ride on the carousel.

Senior Moments

It's that time of the year when high-school Seniors graduate...however, that's not the type of Senior Moment I'm talking about. I'm talking about my brain going to mush. This week I've had my share of senior moments.

Going to the store can be like getting lost in the Bermuda Triangle. We go into the store...and it's hours before we come out! After finishing our weekly grocery shopping, I'm pushing one of those ridiculous carts with the cars attached in front. I say ridiculous because they are the Semi Truck of Shopping Carts. Trying to turn, in one of those, takes some serious skills. We walk out into the parking lot and through an entire row of cars. Our Jeep is nowhere in sight.

Hmmmmm. Down another row. No Jeep.

That's weird. I know I parked on the east side of the store. Again up one row.

Nothing.

I call Jody. "I can't find the Jeep!" His response, "Have you thought about where you parked it?"

"Really??!! Yes, that's all I'm thinking about!" (And I'm also thinking a little about the fact that this might be one of those practical joke shows where silly things happen to random people...so just in case secret cameras are rolling; I'm smiling and trying to look composed.)

But now the lady waiting in her SUV for her husband, who is in the store, is laughing at me. And one of the Smith's Employees comes and asks me if I lost my car. And the whole time Gracie is yelling from her little cart-car "What Happened To Our Car?"

So I go to the west side of the store, even though my brain is telling me we parked on the east side. And Yes! There it is.

Senior Moment #2
(The "Wow! You're So Old" Situation)

The young salesclerk at Children's Place rings me up.

Her: "Cute Shirt! I like that."

Me: "Thanks it reminds me of a shirt Kelly Kapowski would wear."

Her: Silence. Confused. Blank Stare.

Me: "You know...From Saved By the Bell."

Her: Still Nothing. She didn't know.

I hope this made you laugh!