First Days

'Twas the night before the first day of school

Mom needed to prove she wasn't a fool

So she e-mailed her friend

Who was awesome at teaching

And she got these signs

That were so far-reaching.

Cade and Savvy were each given a brown paper bag

Filled with supplies they were happy have.

Rubber bands, crayons, sharpened pencils, erasers

Crayons, glue, a highlighter and scissors.

 Sav and Cade alternated taking a turn.

at picking out a supply and discovering a lesson to learn

Attentive and eager to discover each message

I was so grateful to teach them without using any leverage.

After the words of wisdom were shared

We gathered on the deck for a family prayer

Father's blessings were given 

Counsel received

Comfort felt

and Truth received.

Really, I think this lesson was the best one received yet. They learned all sorts of lessons that were so timely to this transition period in their lives. I take ABSOLUTELY NO CREDIT for the awesomeness of this lesson. It was all my friend Annie's doing. I'm super awesome at copying though. That accounts for something, yeah?

Lessons taught:

Be colorful: Dare to be different. Love being unique. If every crayon in the box were the same, how boring that would be!

Be sharp: Look and act your best. Wear clean clothes and take care to show your teacher and classmates you respect this opportunity to learn. 

Be Flexible: When things may not go how you would like or expected them to, do your best to adjust to the situation and be okay with how things are.  Rarely do things go smoothly ALL the time. Learn to adjust and have a good attitude along the way.

You are the highlight of my day: Mom misses you and is SO excited when you come home to her at the end of the day.

Don't cut corners: finish what you start. Be complete. Go for the way that will help you learn the most. Don't cheat yourself out of an education.

Stick to the rules. Yep, that's pretty much it. Follow the school rules, our family, rules and the bus rules and the lunch room rules and the school yard rules.....and you'll be fine. So long as you can remember them all. :)

Keep it clean: Good hygiene is important. Sneeze and cough into your arm. Wash your hands often.  Keep your thoughts clean, too. 

Fix your mistakes: If you have hurt someone, aplogize. If you have made a mistake, correct it. 

********

Cade woke up bright and early and was all ready to go at about 7:22am. He still had another hour and 15 minutes before we took him to school. I love how excited he was.  

I always reserve the first day of school as the day the entire family gets to take Cade to school.

It is so precious.

Cade is still working on his "smile"

Photo-bomber Ruby

At his desk. Can't act too eager or excited. Remember this is 3rd grade. Gotta be "cool" you know!

Had to get a photo of these two just like we did last year. Christian keeps getting taller. Cade...well, he's pretty much the same as last year. Plus a shoe size. :)

Cade's teacher is using a Race Car theme for the class. She had a racing hat for each of the kids on their desks waiting for them. Cade thought it was pretty awesome. 

Savvy and I baked chocolate chip cookies for Cade to come home to. I mean, if you are lucky enough to stay home with your children, doesn't that equate with baking cookies for them to come home to? I think so.

Savannah's big first day was a week later. This was a nice way for me to ease into the school year.

Today Savvy let me scrunch her hair. She usually prefers to wear it "flat."  Ha ha!

She wanted to make sure I got a shot of her missing tooth. 

Check!

...And a shot of her toes, just for Gramma to see.

No one in my family believes this, but when I dropped Savvy off for kindergarten I didn't cry. As in, my eyes didn't even water.  I was totally expecting to. It's just my nature to get weepy about sentimental things like this. I was even frustrated with myself just after leaving home for forgetting my sunglasses at so I could hide my waterworks.

Those waterworks didn't come.

For me it just felt like I was just dropping her off at preschool. She was going to the same place-- BYU. She was even in the same classroom that she was in for preschool.

Fortunately Savvy felt it was a VERY different experience. And that's what matters.



So what did I do after I kissed my baby girl goodbye?

I drove home, tucked Ruby in bed for her nap and then tucked myself in bed.

I was sick with the flu that day and grateful for the quiet so I could whimper and whine and shiver under the sheets. Mom's aren't allowed to get sick so when they do, rarely do we get an opportunity to just "be sick." And sick I was.

And then they all came home and woke up and reality was back in full swing. When Daddy came home from work I asked if he would take care of me. And he did. He made dinner, did the dishes, and made FHE happen, all whilst I watched on being a complete, useless lump. He's a good man, that Kyle.

One day of me being sick was fortunately all we had to deal with and I was back to my old self the next morning.

Being sick stinks, FYI. But having a 2 hour window to "be sick" was a blessing.

Yay for school. Yay for naps. Yay for PM kindy.

Looking forward to an amazing year of learning for my kids.

Middle Child Blues

Today Savannah picked out the book "Middle Child Blues" to read before bedtime. It's hilarious. We bought it when Borders was going out of business (one of the saddest things that happened in 2011) because it was 1 of 5 books left on the shelves when they marked the books down to 70 percent off. It cracked me up when she selected it. She didn't realize at the time that she was the "middle" child. I think she just liked the illustration on the cover better than the other 4 bland-looking books.

After I read it this evening I believe it resonated with her. The child that is either told she's "too little" or "too big."  The child that is often too young to play with her big brother and his friends and then when she has friends over, her big brother and baby sister "steal the show."

Still, she is a relatively well-adjusted child, despite being stuck in the middle. But sometimes I feel like I do take advantage of her resilient cheerful nature and after giving it some considerable thought, noticed I haven't filled up her love tank.. Lately she's been a lot more whiny. She's been quick to cry, and quick to get frustrated. She's even gotten upset at bed time, not wanting to be all alone.  It's been frustrating dealing with the mood swings (I wasn't expecting this for another 6 or 7 years), but when I thought about it, she hasn't had much one-on-one time with me in a while. Her Dad traveled in the summer, then I went away for a week and then school started for Cade--- it's all been a whirlwind.

On Saturday after the boys came back from pest controlling, Little Sis and I went out. We picked out a back pack for her and 1 back-to-school outfit. It was so cute I had to get the same for Ruby.  I'm a shameless sucker for matching my daughters.  Savvy insisted on trying on the clothes all by herself in the dressing room. And then when she realized the dress she was trying on had buttons that needed unfastening before she could try it on, instead of letting me come in and unfasten, she handed me the dress under the door and waited for me to pass it back to her. I'm hoping her independent streak continues into her twenties.  When it was time to change BACK into her clothes, she wanted me in the room, so I had to snap a photo of her next to her new back pack and outfit (Killed 3 birds with one stone in this shopping trip-- she needed a Sunday dress, a red cardigan for Christmas, and an outfit for school. Done in one purchase!)

 She was very particular to select a backpack that had snaps across the front. Lucky for her we found one! And it had butterflies on it, her latest "thing" since she studied them this past summer.

thumbs up for Kindergarten!!! (sniff, sniff!)

We had dinner at our favorite spot--  Zupas. She ordered grilled cheese and cauliflower soup. She loved it. Can you tell?



After stuffing ourselves so full of Zupa-goodness, we indulged ourselves even further and got pedicures. {truth be told, having a daughter who loves all things girly is really fun} She picked out pink and purple nail polish, with sparkles to go on top. Of course. The guy giving her pedicure speaks no English, and I speak zero Vietnamese, but I finally was able to explain how she wanted the polish alternating on each toe, then topped with glitter.  He laughed whenever she burst into giggles because she's pretty ticklish on her feet. The place was booked so we had to go one at a time. She was getting bored but then found the pedicure chairs the employees sit in were just her size, so she had a blast sitting/wheeling around on it, offering to give pedicures to those waiting in line.

{I want to digress for a minute and point out one of the many things I cherish about Savannah.  Kyle and I over the last few years have taught Savannah the importance of modesty-- both in behavior and dress. It's something we feel is important to instill in our children, especially our girls. Before long she will be a young woman out on her own, selecting what she is going to purchase at the mall and arranging outfits wear to school and work. So much of what one chooses to wear is a reflection of who she is and can affect positively or adversely those around her as well. We want our girls to love and respect their bodies, and be confident in who they are, rather than use their clothing (or lack thereof) to attract attention or send the wrong message about their personal worth.   Without even thinking, Savannah always makes sure she leaves the home dressed modestly. On this day it was no exception. She loves this outfit, but wants to be modest and not bare her shoulders, so she comes up with something to wear underneath. She never whines and says, "Mom, but it doesn't look as cute with a shirt underneath or a cardigan on top," Or "Mom, but all the other girls are wearing swim suits showing their bellies!" or "Mom, I'm only 5! It's not like it even matters right now!" Nor does she judge other people who may have a different standard than her. She is firm in her convictions but never high and mighty in judgement. And she's only 5 years old. I learn so much from my little giant. }

We finished off our evening at Target to do a return,  grab some miscellaneous items, and pick up some pop corn, because it hadn't been an indulgent enough evening already.

I quite enjoyed my time out with Savvy. She's a great friend and stimulating conversationalist and isn't afraid to express her fears. She commented on how she was nervous about doing math in Kindergarten because she didn't know what 1,000 plus 3 equals yet.

Tomorrow my little buddy starts Kindergarten. Where did time go?

Checking in, Celebrating a Victory, and Mormons.

I hate to start my first line of this post with "Gosh, it sure has been a while," or "Man, we've been busy," but...I guess my creative juices are not flowing and can't think of a more creative, catchy or concise way to put --

"Yes, I've been gone, but I'm here and I'll be back again soon!"

There's a danger in getting so far behind (nope, still haven't blogged about Christmas 2011 but, whatever!) so I figured before I reach the point of no return I'd pop in and be completely okay with the fact that I STILL haven't unpacked from BYU's Education Week (awesome, btw), the kids are still not unpacked from our 10-day adventure back East, laundry is everywhere, every part of the house is pretty much a disaster....

...that's okay!

Despite the clutter and the craziness that the end of summer/beginning of school brings, it's also important to take a deep breath. I'm getting better at taking those deep breaths and focusing on matters that matter.  This does not come naturally for me by the way. For example.....

Yesterday after the cousins left Cade said, "Mom, can we invite Eden over to swim?"  Mind you it's not like my kids hadn't been having fun with their cousins for a good portion of the afternoon. I could have said, "you've gotten to play today, now it's time for Mommy to get some stuff done," and Cade probably wouldn't have batted an eye. After all, it was 20 minutes until 5pm. I had no idea what I was making for dinner either. I had a choice to make. Was I going to let the clock determine whether or not I was going to reach out and build friendships? More importantly, would I prevent my son from the opportunity to reach out and build a friendship? Eden was new to the neighborhood and school and Cade sat by her in class.  I want to encourage him to think of others and their feelings.

Turns out the timing was perfect. Eden's entire wonderful family was gracious enough to accept our last-minute invite. The children swam and we had a delightful time.  Turns out it did not matter that my house was a disaster, the laundry wasn't put away (is it EVER?), and dinner wasn't cooking. For 1 beautiful hour the kids swam and we all made friends and got to know each other.

I know it sounds silly, me proclaiming my joy over not being so uptight, but it's good to celebrate the small victories. And this was a victory.

Did any of you see the special on Rock Center (NBC) last night on Mormons?  It was great. I mean, of course I disagree with having John Huntsman's daughter who left the church {for a reason I find...umm...empty} answer all those questions about the church (they gave her pretty face a lot of face time) which were quite inaccurate. Buuuut, on the whole I felt it was very respectful (minus the shot of the garments. That lacked taste and respect) and they made a good effort to make it as balanced of a piece as possible. Would I have done it differently? Yes, of course. But it's easy for me to decipher what is accurate and what isn't because I AM a Mormon and I know what is accurate. It would be difficult to capture "mainstream" mormonism on a cultural level if I wasn't of this faith unless I had some very reliable sources. On the whole I appreciate when the media attempts to get the facts straight and learn more about my faith. I am sure to outsiders some of our beliefs seem quite strange and obscure, so when the media attempts to investigate, I happily welcome it.

In other news that I will be recapturing shortly, I got my 5th haircut since March ( I finally think this is the 'do I have been going for), I've read some great books, hosted our 2nd annual Bookette Day-Away at the pool, Ruby turned 2, I turned 30, Kyle is home (YES!), Cade started 3rd grade, Savvy starts Kindy on Monday, Ruby is, like, a talking, walking PERSON with a hilarious stubborn personality, aaand we had a great time in Virginia/DC...but we are all still catching up on lost sleep there.

Until then, good evening! Off to decide which mess to tame.

{Savvy and I...on my 4th hair cut here sporting my birthday watch}