Pre-School / Bridge Stepping Up Ceremony

I like that St. John's called this a "stepping up" ceremony and not a graduation.  Shouldn't the term "graduation" be something moderately sacred?  Brady was most excited that he would get to be the line leader.  He even got to be the line leader again the next day.  Teacher's pet? I think so : )

I wish I had cropped Mrs. Bunker into the picture more.

I was really glad that Taylor and Pops could come.  The stepping up ceremony was at 12:30 PM on a Thursday, which is obviously an awkward time for most people.

Anna Belle seems to be showing off her braid, which is Mommy's new trick.  I don't know how I've gone 32 years without learning how to french braid.  I'm not very good at it yet, but I should blame that on the fact that I'm working with a 3 year old, right?  I remember french braiding always hurt my head.  Anna Belle has been a trooper.

Brady and his teacher, Mrs. Bunker.  He's had such a great year in bridge class.  Brady's writing improved dramatically, he's starting to read site words, he can count to 100 and his drawing has gone from single color scribbles to drawing landscapes with houses and rose bushes with rainbows and airplanes in the sky.  Brady developed a love for singing too, which has been a lot of fun.  I try to show nothing but excitement about kindergarten at Sampson, but it feels quite overwhelming after a year at this warm and quaint pre-school environment.  We will miss you Mrs. Bunker!

What's on my iPhone

On my bad day (the Friday before Mother's Day), I was recovering from some horrible stomach thing.  I made plans to see my optometrist regarding a thing in my left eye.  That morning, I put cleaning solution (instead of rinsing solution) directly into my contact and into my right eye.  It hurt a whole lot.  Here I am, ready for the breakfast with mom program at Brady's preschool, with both eyes hurting in their own ways... I'm also sporting my new Stella and Dot jewelry that I opened with the kids that morning.

The kids were really sweet, and Brady had lots of treasures waiting for me.

After Brady's program at school, I visited the optometrist.  This allergy induced polyp on my eyelid had been scratching my cornea.  He prescribed an eye drop.  I went straight to CVS to fill my prescription, which was $166 with insurance for the tiniest bottle you've ever seen.

I went home for a few minutes to tidy up before going to pick up my prescription.  I was weak and tired, and needed an emotional pick me up.  I placed my new Mother's Day gifts on the fireplace mantle with care, I made the bed, and then I realized I stepped in Daisy poop in the living room and tracked it all over the house.  I spot cleaned what I could and got out of the house.  

I called my mom, because that's what you do when you have a bad day.  She left school early to take the kids and I to Cheesecake Factory.  Grammy makes all of us happy.

The following morning, Brady had a baseball game.  The regular fields were wet, so we played on the practice field against a team that took the game more seriously than us.  At the end of every game, Coach Scott gives out a game ball (or two).  Taylor and I joked that the game ball was more of a purple heart medal.  Fortunately, Brady got a ball for getting three kids out.

He was SO VERY excited!

In the evenings, Taylor and I frequently sit in the hot tub without the kids.  I love coming inside to this : )

One of Brady's classmates, David, had a birthday party at ITZ right after school.  It was nice to have the whole place to ourselves.

Daniel won 500 tickets from a giant spinning wheel.

David's mom really hadn't planned to open gifts at the party, but Brady REALLY wanted to and obviously David REALLY wanted to.  I love how Brady was sincerely SO excited to GIVE to David, rather than being jealous.

Have I mentioned Brady's AWESOME at those claw machines that seem to dupe everyone?  He won not one, but TWO toys from the claw machines.  He immediately gave the minion to Anna Belle, then went on to win the purple ball for himself.  He later gave it to the birthday boy, who wanted a ball of his own.

I realize we're approaching an age where I shouldn't take bathtub pictures anymore, but aren't they cute?

Memorial Day Menagerie

My friend, Hong, told me how to get my pictures in order on my blog posts.  Thank you so much!  I felt like I really challenged "the trick" today, and it worked!

I have a little bit of catching up to do on the blog, but what's new...

Brady had his spring program at school.  These two pictures pretty much sum it up.  Is it bad that I find these sing-songy shows boring?  I would much rather have a spy cam in his regular class or spy on him from afar while they all play on the playground.  Maybe I missed my calling in espionage. 

Anna Belle LOVES having Bryson (in the shorts, formerly known as Raisin, which is what only Brady used to call him) at all of Brady's baseball games.

Brett and Allison, David and Patricia, Jeffrey, Pops, Megan and Grammy all came out for Brady's last game.  We had a lot of fans, but no opposing team.  I guess they missed the memo about the change in game time.  It ended up working out.  It was fun for the boys to play themselves.  It was far more casual and less stressful.

Anna Belle and Bryson

If I had an informative blog, for others to learn things, I would make a post about taking pictures of groups of kids right now.  Here's what happens when you tell 10 boys to smile... On a 1 - 10 scale, I give it a 3... which so happens to be about the number of boys giving a sincere looking smile.

When you tell the boys to make a silly face... I give it an 8.

Be tough...  I think a few of the kids have a career in acting.  I'll bet Benjamin's mama and Walker's mama (the tall boys in back) have lots of pictures of their boys smiling.  They know what to do when the camera comes out.  Brady... is more of a guessing game.

Okay, okay, clearly the "tough" thing was a little tough, so let's try showing our muscles.

This last pic was my favorite, partly because Brady looks great, but partly because Luke seems terrified by the look of his own bulging biceps.

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Mother's Day to Me

I love being a mom to these two little ones.  I couldn't feel more blessed to have a wonderful husband who's great with the kids, supports me in all of my crazy efforts to manage my health and encourages me to take it easy when things become overwhelming.  The family unit is a beautiful little thing.

When I was miserable and on the couch yesterday, I told the kids I felt bad.  Brady gently hugged me and said, "I'm sorry, Mom."  Anna Belle got a really worried look on her face and said, "I don't have any <essential> oils left in my backpack."  I had taken them out, so she wouldn't spill them everywhere, but I love how she wanted to help me feel better.

We have had daily swim lessons with Anna Belle, and then I try to get in our pool with her to practice swimming too.  I'm a stay at home mom and feel like visiting Patricia in the hospital regularly should be easy, but she gets a rushed 2 hours out of me at best, before it's time to pick up Brady and start the second half of my day.  Though I ordered the grandma gifts a few days ago, neither will arrive on time (sorry, beloved grandmas).

Life has been so busy.  My crummy liver (thanks to two pregnancies with hyperemesis gravaridum) does not tolerate stress or a lack of sleep, thus I'm constantly battling headaches, mood swings, and illness.  I try to take it easy, but the show must go on.  I was really sick to my stomach last night and feel weak this morning.  Somehow I wanted to take a moment for me.  No cleaning last night's dishes, no yelling at kids to hurry up and get in the bathtub (sorry Honey, you're coming home to a mess tonight, but I won't feel too bad because you're golfing today), and I opened up my Stella and Dot order with the kids (technically my Mother's day gift).  It was a really fun little moment, with cute little boxes that intrigued the kids. Brady would say, "Look, Mom!  This is perfect for you!  You can hang this necklace with your other necklaces, right here."  Anna Belle ran off with the boxes and filled them with her little treasures, and I took a moment to sit on the couch and make a blog post and count my many blessings.

...but school starts in 30 minutes and swim in 1 hour, so I should probably get this show on the road.