B

time goes by to fast.

she is growing up right before my eyes.

she is talking like a big kid now.

no more one or two word sentences for her.

she is my big girl. 

every time I look at her, i see my mom. 

of all my kids, she resembles my mom the most. 

Memories (for me)

Tonight I was telling Cullan how much i love his freckles. Then he said "I like your red freckles too". Umm yeah sadly those aren't freckles!

Love moments like this morning. I was dropping Cullan off at school and I gave him a hug and kissed his forehead and told him I loved him. Then he ran off to the playground. He got half way there, turned around and said "mom, I just love your hugs and kisses!".

On the way home from picking Cullan up from school, he told me that they had their first kid meeting today. This is where the whole school meets in the auditorium in the morning to say the pledge and a few other things. Then he says, " mom, did you know we are all made of justice under God?".

Listening to Cullan and kael in the back seat discussing whether IR not this man coming out of the building is Garran or not. Cullan says its not BC garran did not have a hat on when he left. Kael says it is because they have the same color shirt. I guess they have not noticed that the Guy is African American yet!

Cupcakes!

Week three of cake decorating class. There are only 4 weeks. I have to admit that the teacher is not my favorite. She is a very nice lady but she is not the best at teaching the class.  I don't know.  She is very nice but maybe our teaching and learning styles just don't mesh.

Of course I have everyone take pictures of their cupcakes at the end of the classes.

Here is Jenny's

 Jillian's Cupcakes.

 She took an extra one with her cupcakes, just in case I forgot. She is so funny!

 Becca's beautiful treats!

 Here are mine. Don't say anything about my stupid stringy mum cupcakes. I hate them. They are my least favorite and I really don't ever plan on decorating anything with them. 

(Can you tell it's late and I am feeling a wee bit like a 5 year old cranky child) LOL

 Last but not least, Trisha's. 

And the best part is, they made it home. Last week her cake hit the floor as she was leaving class. 

Next week we have to decorate a cake. Pictures to come!!

Im a few days late with this!

First Day Of School

~Author Unknown~

He started school this morning,
And he seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside him
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as he took his place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw him as

He first learned how to walk.

The words that we alone made out
When he began to talk.

This little boy so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though he must have grown
To boyhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar his first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with him
And keep him by the hand
To lead him through the places
That he couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew he would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But he must have his chance to live,
To work his problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little boy
With friends and work and play;
He's not a baby anymore --
He's in Kindergarten today

cake anyone?

I decided a while back that I wanted to take a cake decorating class. Just something fun to do where I could get out of the house for just one night a week.

  A couple of friends decided to take the class as well. 

from left to right

trisha, jillian, becca, and beccas friend. i can not remember her name. 

we decorated our frist cake this week. i made everyone take pictures of their finished products. 

 this was trisha's. sadly it hit the floor as she was leaving class. it really was sad even though we were all laughing!

 Jillian's pumpkin.

 Becca's corn cake!

 Becca's friends butterfly.

Here is mine. I need to work on my coloring of frosting but the design is not to bad for my first attempt!

I am sure there will be more pictures of cakes to come!

The Pledge

Today I picked Cullan up from school. Of course each day I ask him how his day went and what he learned or what was fun about his day. He said that today they had their first kid meeting. I was not sure what he was talking about at first. However after a little questioning I realized he was talking about an morning assembly they have each morning to say the pledge and go over other school news. 

He said that they said something called "The pledge". (Guess we have never gone over that, even though he used to say it every morning in mom school)

Anyways. He was telling me all about the pledge. Then he says, "Mom, did you know we are all made of justice under God?".

I love the way kids hear things sometimes. I thought it was so funny and cute.

sharing

Today when I picked Cullan up from school, I asked him how his day went. He said that it went pretty well except that some kid threw away his napkin that I had drawn a picture on. He was not happy about that. Then he proceeded to tell me that while he was eating lunch, he started talking to the little boy next to him. I guess the little boy told Cullan that he really liked cookies. So Cullan decided to share one of his cookies from his lunch box with the little boy. After Cullan shares the story I hear this conversation from the back of the van.

Kael: Cullan that was nice of you to share your cookie.

Cullan: Yeah, he just said he liked cookies, so I gave him one.

Kael: Did he say thank you?

Cullan: No

(silence for a minute)

Kael: Well that was RUDE!!

I don't know why but I got a case of the giggles from this. I was laughing the whole way home!

Pre-K

Here he is!

All ready for his big day at Pre-K. 

I was a little worried that he might get shy and have a hard time with me leaving. Well forget that theory. He walked in the room, put his book bag up and said "Bye MOM!". That was it. My job was done. I was so happy that it went well though. His teacher was waiting with him when I picked him up and said that he had an awesome first day. She said he was her big helper when they were trying to come up with rules for the classroom and play ground. (for those of you that know Kael, that should come as no shock.)

He said that he made a friend name Jim and that he got to play on the playground and play with play dough. All in all a pretty successful day I would say!

"Sorry Mommy"

Haven't we all been here?

Shopping with one or multiple kids. 

I usually, almost always have at least one if not two in the cart and two wandering around with me.

Well today I only had three. Cullan was at school. Easier right??

WRONG!

We had almost finished our shopping and we are waiting for our van to get finished because we were having the oil changed. I remember that there is one more thing that I wanted to look at and it was over by the automotive section anyways. So we are heading over that way. In order to get there we have to pass through the crowded school supply area. Ayla is in to the top seat of the cart, Briea is in the bigger section  and Kael is walking. I tell him to stick right by me and we start heading that way. I have to admit that I was moving at a pretty good pace. I am not always a crowd person and I did not want to get stuck in this mess of people slowly checking out all the school stuff. So we make it about half way through the school section when all of a sudden I feel as if I have become one of those cartoon characters that can't seem to control their feet. I was all over the place. (Let me remind you I was moving at a good pace to get through the school section.) So all of a sudden, my feet have a mind of their own. I can feel eyes slowly turning and staring at me. I am clinging to the cart for dear life and occasionally grasping out for a shelf or something. It is like I have hit some kind of oil slick and I know it is only a matter of time before I am down for the count. Of course as all of this is happening, it feels as though I am moving in slow motion, and the one thing that I do remember clearly is that Briea's eyes were about silver dollar size as she watched me twist and flail, grasping on to the cart as I kept moving forward. My excitement started by pens and pencils and ended by notebooks. I felt as though I should almost turn around and take a bow due to the crowd that I had drawn with my wild movements. Instead, I make sure I have good footing and continue around the corner only to look down at Briea holding a bottle of lotion. She looks up at me and says "Sar-wee Mommy". She had sat in the buggy and started pumping lotion on to the floor. As I was walking, I had hit her lovely path and performed a number for the people in Walmart that they will not soon forget.

(Imagine me bowing at this point)

I have survived yet another embarrassing moment!!

A-Babe

That is what the boys have started calling her, A-Babe.

(I know, our kids have way to many nicknames)

Anyways, A-Babe loves the Camera. A LOT!

When she sees it come out, she breaks out the cheesy, toothy grin that we LOVE so much!

Who could not love this face??

I mean really. She is so dang cute. It's just not fair!

Kael's Day

Well today was Kael's turn to go to his Pre K class and meet his teacher. He was a little shy at first. But I explained that he should be brave and that he was going to have fun and meet lots of new friends. That seemed to help and he spoke to the teachers aid when we went in the room. 

 Here is Kael with his teacher Mrs. M

 Kael checking out the leggo people and blocks. He was really excited about all of the fun stuff they had to do in his classroom.

Here he is with a special tower that he built. I kind of laughed to myself. Look at that symmetry. That is definitely my kid. I love things that line up and match. One of my weird quirks. 

I know he is excited for Monday to get here. I am but I am nervous. Kael has always been my tender heart. I am worried that when it comes time to drop him off that he will freeze up on me. I want him to be happy and have fun. I pray that his first day goes well. I know he is going to love all the new things that they will do and learn. 

I know I have mentioned this before, but how am I old enough to have a kindergartner and a Pre-K kid?

like moms that came before.

I know that my mom used to do this.

I know Garran's mom used to do this.

I used to love getting notes in my lunch box growing up. So i decided to continue on the tradition of doing so with Cullan and my other kids as they go through school. 

Today was Cullans first day eating lunch at school because the first day was a half day.

When he got in the van from picking  him up, I asked him how his day went. He began telling me all about his day. Then he said.."Oh yeah mom, I found your note......Thanks". So I decided that meant he liked it. I will keep it up until he tells me to stop or tells me he can draw better than I can which would not be hard. We are pretty close to the same level as it is. ;0)

Walking...

she is really getting the hang of this whole walking thing..darn it.

Kindergarten...

How did we get here?

 He was just my baby the other day. That is how it feels anyways. I swear that I was just bringing him home from the hospital and being paranoid about anyone holding him, watching him, touching him. Now he is not with me for most of the day! Sigh. Time just keeps on ticking I guess. 

(I know he looks in pain in the picture above. It was really cold this morning, but he insisted on wearing shorts.)

 normally i would just drop Cullan off at school, but today I walked up with him. They have two lines for the kindergarten classes. Here is Cullan in his line with all his supplies.

 He was so excited. He did not stop talking the whole time we were in line. Right after I took this picture they told us it was time to go in to the class. 

 Here is his locker that he shares with two other children. 

And here he is with his class and teacher doing opening exercises. They finished and then the excused the parents. I was fine up until that point. The tears started rolling when Mrs. B said, ok turn around and  wave good bye to your parents.

I decided I could not handle staying for the boo hoo breakfast since I was already boo hooing. So I just left. Plus Garran had class. 

So most of you that know us, know that we rarely have a big event or an event in general without some humorous story to go with it. 

So here is how our morning went. 

We get up, get everyone dressed. Double check to make sure that we have everything on the list in the backpack. Garran does school/father blessings and we have a quick dance party before we leave. 

Cullan and I went to the school together. I could tell he was so excited. If I was unsure about that I would have figured it out. At the first stop light I hear this from the back of the van. "Mom, can't this van go any faster, I am not getting any younger back here.". I simply reply that I have to follow the traffic rules...to which I get a sigh.

Then we go and do the line up outside, the walk into the classroom, and the sad goodbye.

Then around 11:00ish I am talking to a friend that also has a son that started kindergarten but that is in the other class. She says to me, "Where was Cullan today? Is he OK?". I say "What do you mean?". She then proceeds to tell me that while she was at the boo hoo breakfast, one of the aides came in asking if Cullan was in there. Of course I am instantly thinking, what WHAT!! they don't know where my kid is???

So I call Garran and explain the conversation to him, because he is the more level headed one when it comes to things like this. To my surprise he told me to call the school immediately and make sure they knew where Cullan was. 

So I call the school and explain the situation. The receptionist that I spoke to sounded concerned, which did not instill confidence and then she left me on hold FOREVER!

Finally a completely different women picked up and was very pleasant. She said there had been a misunderstanding. Apparently about 10 minutes after I left, Cullan got a real gusher of a nose bleed. They went to the boo hoo breakfast looking for me not him.

I guess he got blood all over his shorts and they wanted me to bring him a change of clothes. However, then they checked his backpack and saw that I had packed the emergency clothes they had asked for so they did not call.

Mystery Solved. Heart Attack Averted.

I picked Cullan up after school and he was ecstatic. His teacher said that he did amazing. Even with the bloody nose. She said he had a great day.

He told me that he made a friend, only one, but that I should not feel bad for him because he was happy with just one friend for right now. 

He is such a funny kid. 

This was only a half day.

We will see how the first whole day goes tomorrow!

Trains!!

My dad came to visit of Labor Day weekend. We had a nice visit and while he was here, we decided to go to the train museum. I had heard good things about it, but had never been. 

So we loaded up and headed to Union City.

I had no idea what to expect, but I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised!

 We started off looking at an old subway car from New York. The kids thought it was super cool. I thought we were just going to get on and look around. However when we did the conductor came by and said we were leaving. I did not realize how many different trains you got to ride. If you have kids that love trains, and are in this area, you have to stop.

 This was a re-created old train station.

 Here we are on the subway car getting ready to leave.

 The kids watching a steam engine go by.

 Briea and Daddy watching the stuff go by.

 We went in one of their many buildings and looked at the trains that they had on display. You could spend a very very long time there if you wanted to.

 The kids wanted a picture with this. They liked it because it was a cartoon. I liked it because that is what I say most days, "I think I can, I think I can". ;0)

 Good Advice!

 This was the second to the last train we rode. Not a whole lot of seating but Garran made friends with the conductor and learned all sorts of interesting facts. 

Grandpa and the girls on the last train. 

Thanks Grandpa Jeff for a fun weekend.

Homework!

Ok, so this is Cullan's first homework assignment!

He had to make an "All About Me" poster.

He really enjoyed this.

So here is the finished project first.

 This is his drawing of his family members. There is Garran, who is holding Ayla. then myself, Kael and Briea.

 This is Cullan's self portrait.

 He then had to cut things out of a magazine of some of his favorite things. I thought his selections were pretty accurate.

 Then he had his dislikes. That would be the following.

Coffee, shots, cats (he only dislikes cats, because I am allergic), bugs and lizards!

 The last drawing was what he wanted to do when he grew up and then draw a picture. 

Cullan thought for a little while and then decided that he wanted to be a missionary. I thought he would say a power ranger, fire man or astronaut. I was wrong. I am ok with that!

 On to the questions.

The first set asked if he had 3 wishes what would they be. Cullans were as follows, just in case you can't read them.

1. Go fishing.

2. That he could do everything his mom says.

3. That he could find the toys his sister hides from him!

 The last little bit were questions about him. I actually had to convince Cullan that he did not have black hair. He was pretty sure he did. We came to an agreement that we would put brown down.

I did not get a good picture of Cullan holding this. I will try again on the first day of school. He is so excited and it is coming so quickly!!

the little things

Sometimes it really is the little things that can make such a big difference. 

As you know, September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.

I am sure it can be overwhelming when wondering what you can do to help. I know I have felt that way watching my friends go through this with their son. I can not always give financially to the cause, but I can give of my time and effort. 

So here is what I decided. I saw that Stacy (Ollie's Mom) had decorated their van to be almost a mobile billboard. I loved the idea. I thought to myself, This is something I can do!!

This cost me $2.95 and about 5 minutes of my time. I plan on leaving it on our van throughout the month of September. I bought these Crayola window crayons. They worked AWESOME!! I have the window markers through crayola as well, but they did not show up that great. 

Anyways, my point is that you never know who may see this message and be willing to give. 

Down in the corner of our van it says, "Every Day Matters". 

It really does to these kids. 

So what is 30 Days of driving around with a great message on my van.

Nothing.

Please consider getting the word out about Pediatric Cancer. It really is under funded in comparison to other cancer research.

 I was on the website today called, I Could Be Your Child.

I just sat on the couch and sobbed. It could be my child. I remember so vividly having the conversation with Stacy before Oliver went to get that first MRI. 

We were sitting together chatting and she said she felt nervous, what if his cross eye was from a tumor. We both dismissed it and said no way. I am sure we were both thinking, that could never be my child.

But it was. 

It could easily be.

There are so many silly things that get reposted on facebook and other social networking areas. Why not take the time to do some good and get a good message out in what ever way you feel comfortable. 

I know it would mean the world to all those families struggling with this horrible disease.