Trying Something New...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

There Goes Another One...

Well, today Paige started preschool. sigh... I now have 2 "school-age" children (although Paige is stretching it just a bit!). My principal allowed me to walk her down for her first day even though it is after my day starts. It's always a bit anti-climatic. I got her all dressed and fed her a special breakfast, and fixed her hair for the first day....and then she walked in without a backward glance and started playing with Play-Dough. Not that I was expecting a big scene or anything, even though there have been a few of those in the daycare. They have had to peel her off me a few times, and then 5 minutes later she's running around issuing orders to anyone who will listen. But today she just put up her stuff, grudgingly consented to a picture, and then went off her own way.

She LOVED her first day. I've already heard the song they learned about 500 times, although the lyrics are a bit confused. It started off as a song about "Hey Mr. Alligator, can't catch me!", and then somehow we got in some bits about monkeys jumping on the bed, so I'm not really sure which song they actually learned. And, just like her brother, when I asked Paige what they did in class she responded with great enthusiasm: "We went OUTSIDE!" (as if they don't already do this 3 or 4 times a day in daycare!) But, I think we are off to a great start. Here's the big girl:

Yes, the backpack is just about bigger than she is, but it was pink and it had a heart, which are the two highest requirements!


All right already mom! Just let me go to school!

And So It Begins....

Last week was the beginning of the school year for us. We have managed to conquer one week now, and we are starting to settle into a new routine. My feet have long since forgotten what it was like to stand up virtually all day, so I will be buying new shoes as soon as possible. Forget pretty and trendy--I'll be looking for anything that will keep me from blisters and aching toes! (Which is hard to do in today's high heel world!) Otherwise, my first week back to teaching was a success. I discovered that I am much stricter than I was before having children, but it has worked to my advantage. My class is full of wonderful sweet kids -or at least kids who haven't showed their true colors yet!

Garrett started school on Thursday, and he loves it. However, being a typical boy, here is what our conversations about school have sounded like:

Me: "What did you do at school today?"

Garrett: "We went out to recess three times!!"

Me: "Wow! What did you do in the classroom?"

Garrett: "We had snack and it was rocket pops!"

Me: "Cool. What did you learn, though?"

Garrett: "I don't really remember...we did write some letters, but I don't know what they were."

So, basically he is going to school for six hours so that he can remember the 45 minutes he spent at recess and the 15 minutes of snack. Oh well...I suppose he will learn to read before he turns 18. At least he's having fun! Here's a picture of the new kindergartener:

...and Paige is getting ready too:

The Grill Must Go On

We have been trying to grill hamburgers for a few days now, but it keeps pouring rain every night. So finally the other night, Dave just dragged the grill into the middle of the patio and went for it anyway, despite the blowing rain. It was thundering and lightning everywhere, but Garrett really wanted to help. However, he's afraid of the thunder. He wanted earmuffs but we have them packed away with the winter stuff. So, we improvised...

It made them feel better, even if it couldn't possibly have helped. Aunt Jemima ain't got nothing on these kids!

Animal Planet -AKA Sweating To Death

One of the sacrifices we have made in the last three years of stay-at-home-mom income living was to cancel our satellite TV. This wasn't much of a sacrifice, really, since our TV viewing habits are pretty much limited to contest shows such as American Idol, Amazing Race, and So You Think You Can Dance. But, I do really miss some cable shows, like Trading Spaces and Mythbusters. (Who, by the way, hold a special place in my heart, as their insane antics caused me to laugh so hard that I FINALLY went into labor with Paige!)


Animal Planet was another channel we enjoyed, and last weekend they came to Albuquerque. All it took were the words "animals" and "free" before we decided to go see what they had. So on Saturday, we headed out to the Balloon Park with, oh, maybe 10,000 other people. But, it was worth it...mostly. They didn't actually have animals you could see, like in a zoo. They had lots of games that were completely over my kids' heads, and animal shows on this tiny little stage that were broadcast up on the screen for all to see. So basically we went out to the park to watch animals on TV. We did manage to secure a front row seat for the "high-flying dog" Frisbee show. We secured these seats by standing in front of the area for about 15 minutes, sweating until we were soaked through. Did I mention it was one of the hottest days of the year?? But the dog show was GREAT, and Garrett caught one of the Frisbees they threw to the crowd, so that pretty much made up for the heat index of 100+.


After the show, we retreated to the air-conditioning for the rest of the weekend. I have spent the last two days trying to do all the fun things I can before I go back to work...a trip to the zoo, bowling, McDonald's, the Dollar Store (what...you don't think the Dollar Store is fun?? I dare you to go in there and not spend at least $10!) Tomorrow I am going to work frantically in my classroom, and Thursday is the first day of "official work"...all the hours I have put in so far have really just been for "fun". So, this might be my last post for awhile. We'll see how long it takes everything to settle before I get a chance to check my email again...wish me luck!

P.S. Here's the giant crocodile slide that Garrett decided he was "too little for"...or he just didn't like the idea of climbing up the crocodile's mouth!