Our little grad.

Ashley has REALLY graduated from pre-school now.

(Last year was just practice.)

She is well on her way to kindergarten, and she can hardly wait!

Everyday she asks when she will turn six, and she has heartache when I tell her it isn’t tomorrow.  (She thinks it will be tomorrow, everyday.) It is even more of an injustice when it is someone else’s birthday.

The second question is “How many days until Kindergarten starts?”  She is usually unhappy with the answer to that one as well.  We might have to make a chain, but that will probably depress me to watch my days of summer dwindle away.

We will miss Miss Staci.  We have had 3 awesome years with her, and hope (and pray) that maybe there will be a way to get Peyton to her at her new location (a bit farther out of my way) when it’s time.  She is an incredible teacher.

I will not miss the morning routine, usually arguing about what to eat, and what is appropriate to wear, the importance of being on time, etc.  Like this morning, when she had a fit about her hair.

(But she isn’t as bad as Lynn when it comes to being pokey!)

But I will miss (temporarily) the art projects and fun drawings.

So will my fridge. 

It was great, that this time around, she actually sang, participated, she even smiled!!

(Quite the contrast from last year.)

The promise of lunch at McDonald’s has amazing persuasive power…

 

Ashley was a little bummed (but understood) that dad couldn’t be there.  He would have been proud that she actually performed!

Her progress report was perfect!  Shows that not only does she have an awesome teacher, but that we are doing some things right too.

We enjoyed the display table with some of her best projects, her journal (which was too cute), and that “All About Me” poster that got done just in time.

Her teacher put together a slideshow on DVD that I have a feeling we’ll be watching multiple times in the next few days.  (We have already watched it four times and we’ve been home..  not that long.)

She also made some fun friends, we hope to keep in touch with them too.

We are so proud of you Ashley!!

We are excited with all that you have learned and for your enthusiasm to continue to learn.  Thanks for smiling for the “mamarazzi” today too. ;)

Kindergarten, here we come!!

So what?

One of the phrases from one of Ashley’s favorite songs, and today, it was more than fitting.

I was a bad mom today..

It was career day at pre-school today.  Ashley was supposed to dress up as what she wanted to be when she grows up.

I spaced it.

I didn’t get her teacher’s text message until it was time to go and get her.

It really doesn’t help that my alert tone is a doorbell.  I can’t tell you how many times either the kids or I have run to the door when I am really just getting a text message…

Whoops.

When I arrived to pick her up, I asked, “Did Ashley pull it out for us?  I totally forgot..”

“She told us that she wants to be a rock star when she grows up.”  Her teacher smiled.

That’s my girl!

Apparently another girl in her class, her BF, by the way, came dressed-up as a princess..

We fit right in!

Well...

Where have I been, right?!

Getting ready for this appraisal, which was today, and now I get to wait...

Pray it is higher than they want.. pray with me, won't you? ;)

Merrill is on vacation which has made this all that much funner.

I am incredibly thankful to some angels who showed-up at my house last night and saved me. I thought all that needed to be done would get done quickly, all by myself, somehow. They showed-up and got it done. Stress, OVER. Now my kiddos have a happy mama, and I feel like I can play and even breathe a little.

Today was Ashley's first day of pre-school and she loved every bit of it except for the part where she didn't go to the writing center and thus, had an empty cubby, and thusly an empty backpack..

It was weird, it just being me and Peyton, but kinda nice. I can't wait for it to be a day where it's just her and myself, and we can sit and play and read books instead of doing last minute cleaning.

I am also celebrating the first day I do not have to go to Lowe's, and also celebrating that my two oldest will not get into another cat fight there, in front of the paint counter for all to see.

*sigh**

Not so long ago...

It doesn't seem like it was really that long ago..
Ashley started pre-school..
Today she graduated.. kind of.You see, with her late birthday, she starts Kindergarten later than other kiddos her age, and that means one more year of pre-school... a for real graduation later..
She wasn't too happy, even with her spunky friend (who I think could be her twin..) Abbie.. Ash told me she was tired, that's why she didn't smile, didn't sing, and basically, did what she usually does whenever it comes to a public performance.. Let's hope that next year, she smiles...

More silliness and some cuteness...

Lynn said that this is what she wanted to wear to school today...
What do you think? Will the kids laugh?
Ashley brought these home from preschool... she even wrapped them. I think they are pretty cute!

One day down... almost.

We are doing pretty good! Seems just like normal... you know, staying up late, getting up early, and all the daily fun...
Took Ashley on her first field trip. It was at Apple Tree assisted living, in Kaysville. I took her to Apple Village in Layton... Apple Tree... Apple Village... Layton... Kaysville... all the same, right? Well, at least I wasn't the only mom who didn't get a little confused.
The kicker, I got a HUGE rock chip in the windshield trying to find the right place... gotta get that fixed...
I talked to Ash the whole way there, reminding her about when Grandma was in a Nursing home, telling her that it might be similar. I told her how happy these people would be to see her and her friends sing for them and talk to them. She was all confidence until we got inside and everyone kept looking at her. "Mom! They are all looking at me and smiling!!!" (GASP!) She wasn't much of a performer. Instead, I was, and Peyton danced...
They all thought that Peyton was a little boy... there is a bow in her hair, but everything else... they kept asking Ash if this was her little brother. Ash just looked at them and shook her head like they were crazy. Sweet old folks...
It was quite the adventure getting everyone up a 7 am, yes, 7 am, to get ready and be off to be there by 9 am. Thanks to Tif who let Lynn come play with Elle and took her to Kindergarten.. friends are the best (pancakes!)!
After the field trip, Ash went to pre-school for her last hour. I went to Target to get some birthday shopping done. I left Target with more than enough time to hit the light on Riverdale, hang a left onto the awesomely torn-up street (Randy, heart!), and drive to the on-ramp for I-84, straightway to get the kid. TWO cycles at that light and it NEVER turned green for us! I was calling anyone who would be close enough to get Ash, AND who was also on my authorized pick-up list, no answers. I had 10 minutes... I ended-up taking South Weber Drive, and speeding mind you, to catch the next on-ramp for the interstate. I get there only to find that street torn up and closed. More detours, and speeding, but I got there only five minutes late, that speeding helped ;)...
Now, were are having a pit-stop before the next round of single super mom begins!
I have to say I do feel good, up-beat. I missed the general Women's Meeting Saturday, was spending quality time with my main dude, but I watched it last night via the church's web site. I love that President Uchtdorf pretty much okay-ed all of my scrapbooking and creative stuff ;)
It was such a good meeting with incredible messages! Just the kick-off I needed for this next little while...

Ashley's first day...

Today was Ashley's first day of pre-school...
She was so excited. I was too. I didn't cry though, like I have with Lynn, when I dropped her off. Maybe I am just all cried out...
This last week has been a tough one. There are so many changes taking place, I am in a little bit of a shock. I had better get used to this, it is life after all...

We survived!

Thank goodness it's Friday!!! We have officially survived the first week of kindergarten!
It was a little iffy as to the probability that we would all come away from this week with our sanity still in existence.
The first day, I was unaware of "the pick up" rules. Where you can and cannot drive, and the fact that, if you say you will pick up your child, you have to physically enter the kindergarten area, and pick up your child. Me, getting out Ash and Pey, after finding a parking spot, because I cannot drive into the bus loop, which is ever so conveniently right off the kindergarten door, and walking to go and get Lynn... nah. I had to get schooled by Christie. We made arrangements for her kids to stop at the kindergarten door and snatch Lynn, walk out the catwalk, where I would be waiting. It's great to have such good friends with such awesome kids who are willing to help this first time wreck of a mom!
So, back to "the pick up"... I saw that I couldn't drive down to the kindergarten door, where I told her to meet me, and started to hunt for a spot to park to go and get her. Just then, I see her and her teacher walking around to the front of the school. I honk my horn and wave to let them know that I really am there, get out of the car to go and get her. Lynn was a little upset I could tell. She tried to bolt out into the street to get to me only to have her teacher, who was trying to keep her from getting squished, hold her back. I got across and got her. On our little walk back to the car, I asked her, "How was your first day?" with all the excitement I could exude. She replied sobbing, "It was just awful!"
On the ride home, I asked her what made it awful. She told me that her teacher had gotten upset with her because Lynn was trying to leave when school ended to find me. She told Lynn that she couldn't leave, but the rest of the kids were gone, and she was only trying to follow my instructions. She tried to leave again, and her teacher got a little more stern. That's when she decided to walk with Lynn. So we had a talk about how her teacher has rules that she has to obey, just like Lynn does. We figured out our new pick-up plan, and prayed that the next day would be better.
The next day, we had the pep talk about listening to the rules, doing what we are asked. I went into her class to let her teacher know of our new pick up plan, so we wouldn't have any hurt five-year old feelings.. she then told Lynn to go out to the covered area and wait for class to start, "we still have 15 more minutes..." What!? 15 minutes? It is 11:05, and class starts today at 11:10... where did she get 15 minutes? Go out to the covered area to find more kids and parents waiting... I didn't even know that they were supposed to wait out there, I assumed she'd go into the school, into her classroom, or at least wait in the hallway... this is all weird.
I waited on the other side of the catwalk after school, waiting with as much patience as I could. I was near tears, so excited to see her, it has been harder than I thought having her gone, and hoping that her day was better. As soon as I saw her little head bobbing alongside Hailey, I almost burst into tears! She got to the car, and out came my question. Her answer, "It was terrible." She got in trouble, apparently.
Now you have to understand, I have a sensitive little girl here. A stern look will make her feel like she has killed the beloved family pet. A stern voice will send her running for her life. She is my delicate flower. So to get all of the information out of her is difficult at best. It comes out the way a five-year old understands the world, how she perceives it.
So when I ask her to tell me what she got in trouble for, she tells me that they were in the library, listening to a story, and she went underneath her chair and "the teacher helper" said, now this is good, "Sit up and act like a five year old!" She said that "the teacher helper" said it "very rudely". It made her cry. Her teacher also said "no, no.." and that upset her. But come to find out it was because she was writing a's and h's instead of the c's she was supposed to be writing.
We again, talked about rules. It is a rule to sit in your chair when you are in the library. We are also supposed to do what the teacher asks of us. If she says to draw a square, draw a square not a heart... and so on, and so forth...
I did ask her, "Lynn, how is a five-year old supposed to act?"
She shrugged her shoulders. I told her that no one, has the right to talk to a child like that.
That's what infuriates me the most. There is an adult, who is in a classroom full of kindergartners on their second day of school ever, and they are going to talk like that? They need a reality check. I told Lynn to let me know whenever that "teacher helper" was in her class again. I'll let her have it if she thinks she can be that way to poor, helpless kids. Seriously, what kind of sense does that make? Like there is a set standard for how a five-year old should act?!
Anywhoo...
Yesterday was much better. Lynn told me how she tried extra hard to obey the rules. And today was even better.
I, however, am a little in shock, a little depressed. Where has my easy-going life gone? No sleeping in, and doing whatever needs to be done, whenever it works out. Every day has a schedule, which isn't bad, but having the outside world tell us when to do things and how to do them is hard on me. I am praying for the school day to go by fast, and I am not the one going to school! I miss her. I have been cleaning my heart out to distract myself while she is gone.
Ash starts next week, we went to her pre-school open house today. She is so excited. But to me, there's just one more schedule, one more little one gone, out of my control...
So on to my only one not leaving me... Pey hasn't been sleeping through the night, and when Ash went through this phase, it was because she wasn't getting enough to eat. So I have been trying to be better about cereal and even trying to introduce new foods to her. The first night, rice cereal, which she has loved, and applesauce. She totally gagged on both. It was quite funny, but she really didn't care for it. I know, try try try again... the next night, I attempted oatmeal and some bananas. Same reaction. It really is funny, the expression she makes... but she ended-up gagging till she spit up most of what she had eaten. Then she woke up in the night, hungry. I think the only part of this whole routine she likes is the bath. I'll put her in the kitchen sink or the tub and she loves it! I just need to keep on trying. I just can't take a picky eater... yet one more person's schedule...
All of these schedules, getting kids to bed on time, making sure things get done, I am feeling like I will never scrap again, and wonder when Mer and I will even have time for just us.
And this will be life, for a couple of decades +...

Pre-School Graduation

Lynn graduated from Pre-School today...
She had a really good teacher who always had fun and creative things for them to do. One of our assignments for this month, and to share in the program today, was a book, pictures drawn by Lynn, and her own words written by me, and her... "The Princes and Princesses Fall in Love"... Sounds like a dreamy little book. She had some silly ideas in it, like a bald King and Queen, and a funny little character who said, "Oooh! Banana orphage! (a made up word of Lynn's that makes her giggle...) I am going to turn that banana into a Princess!" She laughed so hard while her teacher read it. (That's the pic!)
They also did a 4 little pigs puppet show and sang some songs that they have learned. It was cute.
Pre-school was good practice for me, it got me to loosen those apron strings, and get ready for kindergarten.
Lynn picked out flowers for her teacher and even wrote her a little note. She kept telling her teacher how much she loves her and that she's "just going to miss her so much!"...
She even began plotting when she would come back to see her... I know, a little attached.
Yesterday, we were gone all day. We helped mom get a quilt done, got the Sam's Club run over with, and I ran into my eighth grade "boyfriend" there. We got to talk for a little while and catch up. My ten year reunion is coming up...
Went home to have a quick dinner and then we were off to the dance review to see Katie and Sophie. They both did so well. Sophie is quite the performer and Katie just exudes confidence now. She's such a Lakette!
Ashley had her issues there, as in she wouldn't sit still and behave. For the little time that Cade was there, he did better than Ash... she has had this little asthma cough, because of the weather being so weird... she kept coughing, more like blowing, on the woman's neck who was sitting in front of us. I got the stink eye a lot... so Ashley was quite disappointed to not enjoy ice cream and watch Lynn eat hers when we got home!

it MUST be spring now...

i noticed this in my yard last night...
lynn sniffed a...
...dandelion!
she also had a field trip today... it sucks that my schedule (or shall i say peyton's schedule), makes it kind of impossible for me to go... they went to the nursery and learned about all different kinds of plants and trees, how to plant them and how they grow. she got her own little flower to plant at home.

Great Grandpa & Great Grandma

We had an eventful day yesterday. I was trying to be wise last night and put blogging to the side and get some much needed sleep. On pre-school days, I feel totally tapped! Lynn had fun dressing-up as a mom, yes, I forgot to snap a pic... she did get a treat for filling in her reading chart. It was mostly B.O.M minutes. After getting her from pre-school, we went to see Grandpa and Grandma Wallace. They haven't seen Peyton outside of a picture. I thought it might help Grandma, she hasn't been doing too well. We got there around noon, and mom had just managed to get her out of bed, she was eating her breakfast, and scaring the girls. She thinks that the girls should want to kiss and hug her immediately... she was looking pretty scary, that's why her pic isn't posted... ahhh!!
Grandpa was so cute with Peyton! I have felt like this is really important, that they see her... the blessing might be just a couple of weeks away, but that might be too far.
I love Grandpa! Even though he knows the girls look just like Mer, he tells me what beautiful girls we have. He looks for me in them!

And three days later...

Yes... it took me 3 days... One to get the pics ready, one to do the sewing (by hand...), and three to do the journal spot and to glue it all together. I've had one cute distraction the whole time...
Today we had the homework to do. Pre-School homework... the "c" sound bucket. The triangle project. The reading chart. The career day scrapbook page (which is really just an old one with new journaling...). And a career day costume. Lynn wants to be a mom for her dress-up day. You'll have to wait for a pic tomorrow to see how creative we were. I asked her who she wanted the scrapbook page to be about, me, Mer, or both. She got really sassy. She told me that to do the page on a parent with a job, it has to be a parent that leaves the house, and goes to another place, like a building. So I was basically told that being a mom isn't a "job". Mer told her what was up. She got even more sassy when I told her that she said that was what she wanted to be. She told me to "Shhh... Zip it." Merrill told her to go to her room...
So I thought it was even funnier that Ash prayed this morning that they would "be acceptable today"...

Freddy the Frog

Ohhhh Summertime! Today really felt like it, compared to some recent days. I used some of my more recent purchases. I got the buttons from Target today, and I got the felt flowers and buttons from Heartland during last week's excursion.
My day began a t 2:29 am. I woke up during a crazy dream about scrapbooking and politics, specifically colors of cardstock and how they related to Hilary Clinton, Barak Obama, and John McCain. Mike Huckabee was not really a prominent figure in my dream... as in real life... So I woke up thinking, "that was weird", and then realizing why I woke up. Something had caused me some discomfort. I laid there for a few minutes, well, about 5 to be exact... and there was another hard Braxton Hicks. I began timing. They came 5-6 minutes apart and lasted about 2 minutes each. This is just a re-run of one of my last nights being pregnant with Ashley. Nothing happened then either. It was a little uncomfortable, but worse was Peyton, being an absolute wild woman between them. I ended-up going downstairs to watch something... nothing is really on at 3 am... (John and Kate got their little boys potty-trained... there is this crazy ladder that you can crank and move while you are standing on it... the early morning news people aren't nearly as attractive as the morning anchors... see, nothing.) I sat there, on my towel, trying to doze with Peyton break-dancing every 6 minutes or so. I was trying to be reasonable while I was tired and trying to decide what to do. I decided to wait until something really happened, i.e. water-breaking, or real contractions, or pain... so I am tired today.
Mom and I went to Target and walked all over. I found lots of yummy treats to eat! I got some super cute dish towels, which I should really go and get some for Jaclyn, all I need to say is cupcakes... Mom got the girls a prize, more Princess Polly pockets ( I hate them almost as much as Mer does) for when Peyton comes, and Grammy babysits... they keep telling Peyton to come now. They want those dolls! We went to the mall after, not to shop, to walk. My feet hurt and are swollen a little more, but nothing else.
Now Merrill has gone to a concert "Armor For Sleep" (listen to "My Town", I like 'em)... at the request of his two cute little sisters. (I had to remind Mer to not throw his panties at the band...) So I am here with the girls, debating as to whether I should hop on the treadmill and see if he can get here in time. Quiet night at home, with whatever I want for dinner...
Lynn went to pre-school again today. She got to bring home "Freddy the Frog". We are supposed to document everything that Freddy does with us for the next day, well, and today too. He ribbits, "Are you sleeping", and let me tell you, I can't get enough of it!!! She is happy, so excited, so I guess that I am too. Soon, I'll have pre-school homework to do. I got a calendar for the month. Thursday is her Valentine's party.
Maybe Freddy will visit Labor and Delivery with us!

Opposite... Day # 2... oh, and Lynn's first day too...

I tried to remember a layout Jaclyn had on her display rod... I loved the color scheme...
This was last night... Lynn picked-out her own outfit and had to have a bracelet. She wanted braids in her hair, so all the other kids would think her hair was so pretty.
First thing this morning, I woke her up and she said, "Oh, my heavens!" The day began. She did so well. I have to admit I cried while I drove away... She was so put-out later at our excitement, asking her all about her first day. I guess she grew up while we weren't there...
So the day of opposites began, again. I woke up early this morning with pains. I thought to lay there and see if anything happened, so I did the opposite. I got up. I have basically been doing the exact opposite of whatever my first thought is for the rest of the day.
Examples:
I washed my hair. I thought I should fix it, I should look cute for post-delivery pics. So instead, I didn't fix it. Just blow-dried it.
I vacuumed the basement. I thought to leave the vacuum downstairs in the laundry room, the girls would inevitably make a mess later... so I carried it upstairs and put it away, just to get it out again later, and carry it back to put it away again...
I wasn't really hungry for anything for lunch. A "handi-snack" and "kit-kat" sounded so good. I thought that would be too unhealthy. So in the spirit of opposites, I ate it for my lunch.
I thought I would be so comfortable if I would just sit and relax, so I stood and walked for most of the day.
I washed my sheets today. First thought, I shouldn't sleep in my bed tonight... what if.... so I will sleep in my bed, because I laugh in the face of... whatever the opposite is to what I am thinking....
I have also been craving a root-beer float... for three days now... I had the ice cream... Jaclyn was so sweet to surprise me with half a gallon of A&W root-beer, love her! My mother-in-law has always told me that root-beer helps to bring in your milk... maybe that's why my body is craving it... will I need breast milk soon?
This is my most anticipated birthday gift... Merrill is busting his bum to put it all together for me right now. It is a tread mill!!! (Is that a hint?) No, I love it. Maybe I'll hop on it tonight, just to try it out (wink, wink)...
Tomorrow, we have planned a trip down to Heartland Paper Company in Bountiful. I plan to buy a lot of paper...

Opposite...

This layout really does count... it's just waiting for a pic that shouldn't be too far out...
I am blogging early... I am doing it because I think that I should really wait until later, just in case something happens... so instead, I am doing it now, in hopes that something really will happen.
Just like I think to leave all of the details for Sunday alone, because nothing will happen, I am taking care of everything that I can now, so maybe something will happen.
Instead of leaving the rest of my week open, just in case something happens, I am making plans, so something will happen...
I made another appointment for next week , so something will happen. If I didn't, then nothing would happen...
You see, opposite...
So the appointment today... I didn't have to wait for 2 hours. I did get some reading done! "To Draw Closer to God" by Henry B. Eyring, really good read. It is a bunch of his talks and addresses, so inspiring. I love that I hear his voice while I read his words!
So on to the good stuff...
- 4 cm
- head WAY down...
- no more thinning-out will take place until there is a baby nearly in my arms.
- she is close to 8 pounds (high 7 at the least)
- he could feel my amniotic sac, he was wondering why it hadn't ruptured, yet...
- and lots more mucus! (I know, over-share for some of you, excitement to me!)
He "stirred" some things up while he was there. I've been feeling crampy ever since... He said that he wouldn't see me next week with a baby in my tummy, I shouldn't go that much longer, but that's what the doc said with Ash, I went around at a four, for another week... He told me to make another appointment for next week, cause that would just be bad luck if I didn't. We also talked a lot more about the VBAC. I asked him some questions about stuff I've been reading, augmentation of the uterus, placenta placement, you know, weird stuff that I really shouldn't worry about, but I do a little because of Merrill. I don't even tell him about half of the possibilities that could happen with a VBAC that I read about, he's freaked out enough. The good ol' doc was good about all of it. I am not worried. Besides, whatever is supposed to happen, will. Besides, I'll get a blessing before we go anyway...
So tomorrow, Lynn's first day of Pre-School! I get to take a "first day of school" pic! AND I'll get to scrapbook it! I am so excited! So I am planning a post for tomorrow, all about her first day, the outfit, backpack, etc., and then the opposite will happen... my post might end up being mostly about something else... See, opposite!

Pre-School Blues...

I went and signed Lynn up for Pre-School today. It is a new class that is starting Thursday. It's right next door to Mer, so at least that takes care of part of my anxiety... I am still having issues with the separation anxiety. I might just have to stay and watch her through the two-way glass for a little while, and cry! I also got the Kindergarten round-up sheet today. Lynn was so excited when I showed it to her and told her what it was. So Pre-School will help me... As Bill Murray's character in "What About Bob", would say, "Baby steps..." For me, baby steps to Kindergarten...
I went and did my civic duty tonight. You know what I got for doing it? A fall on black ice. It was mostly scary, not too hurty. And I was being so careful! Even the guy who was walking behind me said he couldn't even see it. Yeah, someone witnessed this big ol' preggie falling on her bum... I've been having some pretty hard Braxton Hicks since. But nothing else to note. The whole drive home, crying, Peyton kept kicking where I'd put my hand, like she knew how afraid I was. Mer felt so bad! Maybe I'll have more than just a bruised ego tomorrow...