The charmer

On Thursday we had picture day at school. My kindergartner was SO excited as all kids are about this day. For those of you who don't work in an elementary school let me let you in on a little secret... I don't know what it is about picture day but for some reason the kids act like it is the day before Christmas break. They are everywhere and by the end of the day all of the teachers look frazzled and like they NEED it to be Christmas break.... OK so now that I have filled you in I need to share my story.

My little guy did not want to wear a nice button down shirt but after a trip to Kohl's and a convincing talk about how handsome he was going to look he decided to give into my demands. So the morning of pictures he gets dressed and comes into me to report that he needs a flower. What???? So I asked him, "why do you need a flower?" to which he responds that it will make him look handsome. Again, What???? He proceeded to tell me that his daddy gets dressed fancy and goes out and when he comes home he always has a flower pinned to his shirt.

(Let me clarify just to be sure you understand, he is on staff at a church and has done several wedding recently. That would be the reason for the flowers- no girlfriends or other crazy scenarios...) So my little guy goes into the closet and finds one of his daddy's flowers that was a silk flower and tucks it into the pocket of his shirt. He comes in proudly smiling and revealing his lovely fuchsia rose that is sticking out of his pocket. I began to giggle.... and said "Honey, that is not necessary for picture day today." We had to have a long discussion before I could convince him to leave the flower at home.

So then later that day one of my best friends calls laughing hysterically. It seems that as my little boy's class walked out or maybe back from the portable to get their pictures taken my little guy spotted a flower on the ground he could pick. You know the kind I am talking about??? The lovely yellow weed?

He decided to pick it up and stick it into the pocket of his shirt and made sure the flower was sticking out. So I am not sure what his picture will look like. Maybe it will just be my handsome boy or maybe it will be the little charmer with a yellow weed sticking out of his pocket... time will tell. Rest assured that IF his picture has the yellow flower sticking out you will be able to see the lovely picture posted on this blog.... until then we will have to wait and see!

After he got back to his classroom our super assistant principal spotted my little one and said hello to him. My little guy loves her and often stops into her office to talk to her. (So far that has been his only visits to her but I am sure he will get to have a very different kind of visit with her at some point) My boy, the charmer, smiled at her-pulled the lovely weed from his pocket-and handed it to her! Oh my! Just wait until this one is a teenager!

Monsters!

I know that all little kids have a fear of monsters. I can remember being younger and being afraid to go down the dark hallway to my room and out of my parents sight. I remember sometime walking until my parents couldn't see and then running in and out as fast as I could.

Today I had such a flashback as my youngest went in his room to get a toy. He came barreling around the corner and mumbled, "The cookie monster didn't get me!" The cookie monster? Really? That's the monster he is afraid of??? I laughed and called him over. I told him he didn't have to be afraid of the cookie monster.... he only liked cookies and there aren't any in the bedrooms. My youngest looked at me as serious as could be and said well then "we really need to be afraid at Christmas!" I laughed and said why... "because he'll take Santa's cookies!" So I think on Christmas eve when we set out our cookies for santa we will have to set out an extra set for cookie monster and a note that asks him not to eat Santa's cookies.

I just found all of this so funny! If my boys are going to be afraid of monsters I guess cookie monster is the best to have around!

Little Bit is turning 3!!!

We are having a birthday party for our youngest this weekend! I can't believe he is almost three! He loves Lightning McQueen, cars, dogs and babies. He is so tender hearted. The teachers at his preschool says he always makes sure everyone is included and taken care of! I am so thankful for his sweet spirit and tender heart! I am praying that this year will be wonderful for him. It is so great to se ehim chnge from year to year! What did I do to deserve such amazing boys. I am blessed beyond measure!

Funny Boys

So we were leaving school yesterday and my oldest turns to my AP and says, "Bye, we are going to Barnes and Oval"! Then as we leave he says, "What's at Barnes and Oval???" So excited and he doesn't even know why....

Today at Preschool, my youngest was rubbing a baby's head. He turns to the other kids and says, "It's ok... you can touch him.... he's real!"

My tender hearted boys

My youngest was at school today and they were playing with a litebrite making letters, counting etc. When they turned off the lights one of his friends began to get upset because he was scared. My little one turned to his friend and said "Please Mason, don't be scared! There are no bears in here! We are safe even when the lights are off. Its ok I will sit right beside you so you will feel better." Awwww... I am so thankful! At times my boys are relentlessly fighting so it is so good to know that deep down we are raising who will be sweet, tenderhearted young men!

My oldest finished his first six weeks of school! Kindergarten has been a blast! Last week they studied fire/police men. My boy loved that the home center had turned into a fire station. They topped off a week with a visit from the city firemen.
This week they have talked about space and darkness. Today they had dark day where they did everything with flashlights. He has been having so much fun! He did manage to get an S in conduct which I think is pretty good for the first six weeks of school. I was surprised at his letter assessment though. The teacher said he only knows 48 out of 54 letters (they have two different a's and g's that they test). I was surprised because at home he seems to know all of his letters! Oh well... I guess we have some practicing to do!

Three weeks down...but who's counting???

We just finished week three of school. My oldest is doing pretty good! He is enjoying kindergarten and his amazing teacher. Mrs. F is a perfect fit for him! She has high expectations and knows how to equip her students to meet them. I am so thankful for such a great first experience for him.
We also have a new music teacher that Nate LOVES! This week Mr. P even let them play drums! I think he is brave to put drums in kindergarten students hands but my little man thinks it was the best decision ever!
I asked Nate what the three best things about this week were and he said:
Being King of the day! (Thanks, Mrs. F)
Playing the drums (Thanks, Mr. P)
and getting to visit the outdoor garden (Thanks again, Mrs. F)

My top three favorite things included
watching the PE teachers sing and dance to "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed" with K students
eating lunch with my little man
and the funniest moment...after losing my little man finding out that the reason I couldn't find him was becuase the boys bathroom locks weren't working so he decided to go in the girls bathroom because his mommy takes him in there when we are at the store.... Oh goodness... let the retraining begin!

Finally, on a more serious note...
We have a new teacher at school that is really wonderful. She is great with the kids but also an amazing woman. About a year and half ago she lost her four year old daughter to cancer. She, of course, is very sad and clings to the memory of her beautiful girl. After hearing her talk about it, I decided to go check out her blog. I sat and cried as I read of the heartbreaks this family has encountered and yet was amazed at what awesome memories they created for themselves. She is just a really incredible mom! Even more than that, as I began reading I discovered that her precious one that she lost far too early has the exact same birthday as my little man. She should be walking the halls at our school, finishing her third week of kindergarten, playing, running, etc. It made her pain feel that much more real for me. As she talks of losing her I imagine what my boy and I were doing, as she talks of her fears and worries I think of how many times I have not spent enough quality time with my boy. As she talks of how people don't treasure every moment and don't notice the little things their kids notice I realize that I am that mom! I get so caught up in the everyday life that I fail to notice the little things... so I am stepping back. I am determined to enjoy the moment, appreciate the little things, and create life long memories because in an instant one of these boys could be gone. So for my many readers (ha ha), I hope you'll hold me accountable. I hope you'll push me to enjoy each day and be thankful for the blessings that I have. I in turn, hope to inspire you to do the same!

First Day of Kindergarten

This year at our annual convocation for school our superintendant talked about parents who would be bringing their children into a school that was filled with strangers and trusting them to take care of their baby. I sat there and thought about how blessed I am that I do know all of the wonderful teachers at my son's school. Little did I know how hard it would be to drop off my baby even knowing what capable, warm, laoving hands I was leaving him in.

My oldest started Kindergarten today! He is just so big!!! He has an amazing teacher and I can't wait to see all the fun he is going to have. Today I took him to school. I stopped outside the classroom and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Which made him make a face and wipe it off!) Then I tooh him into class and got him to his seat. I asked for a high five and he gave me one and then he turned, smiled, and said "Bye mom!" I guess that's my cue to leave, huh??? I was so thankful that I do know his teacher but leaving him was still not fun! Luckily, there was plenty to do at school to keep me occupied!

After school Daddy picked up our new kindergartner and took him for ice cream. They stopped in to see me and my little man told me all about his day. He seemed to have a good time! His teacher also assured me that he had a good day! Thank goodness he has her fooled so far! After school my fabulous AP came by to tell me a story about my little man. She told me that she had spotted my little on spinning in the line in the cafeteria. She went over to correct him and found him singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy". So not only was he spinning, he was praising Jesus. Who knew he was so charasmatic???