Goodbye to Preschool

Avery had her Pre-K graduation last Thursday (on my 31st birthday). I was very excited for her, and yet a little sad that this was IT. She is about to be in Kindergarten!! Anyhow, their program was very sweet, with lots of songs that she had been working on. I didn't get very many good pictures, but I'll try to share what I have. I've got to learn how to add pictures to these posts...haven't done that yet. This past Monday, her school had their Spring Program, which included all ages from toddlers to the Pre-K classes. It was so adorable to see those teeny little ones singing up on stage. And when a slide show of their year at school came up, it made me realize just how quickly my own children are growing up. I have heard somewhere that the days are long, but the years are short, and my, how that is true. I often find myself wishing that the kids were more independent, or more grown up, or just that bedtime would HURRY UP AND GET HERE! And then I take a step back and realize that it's moving all too fast. So, Avery's Spring Program was a much more sentimental moment for me than the graduation. I'm not sure why - maybe because it was the very last program, or more likely, because I was reminded by seeing the little ones how big my own two are becoming. But, the show must go on and I am so looking forward to what adventures will take place in Kindergarten for Aves. And happily, Nate will begin his preschool journey this fall. I can't wait for that; he's going to love it!

Finally, because I have LOVED Avery's teachers, I wanted to do something special for them as the school-year comes to a close. A few weeks ago, I went up to their classroom and "borrowed" each of their students for a few minutes. With their insight and help, I created a mini-album for each teacher. The albums turned out SO cute, and I just have to share some pictures. It really makes me happy to work on albums that I'm giving away as gifts. I hope the albums will remind Avery's teachers what an important and wonderful job it is that they do.

p.s. Well, the pictures are up, but not in the order I had hoped for. I'll work on that next time! :)

Fleeting

Since December, I have been touched by the premature deaths of 4 people. These people were friends of friends, people I never even really knew until after the fact. But I heard about, read about, and prayed about each one. Each situation was different - there were two car accidents, cancer, and a very, very serious case of pneumonia. Each person was known to be a strong Christian, created to be unique and special, and they were all parents of young children. I suppose it is this that makes each of their stories hurt my heart so much.

As the mother of young children, one of my worst fears is that something will happen to me before Avery and Nate are grown. I feel their need for me is so great, and I worry about the little things: who would make sure that Avery's hair is brushed every day, and who would teach Nate to sleep in his own bed, and who would teach my children about God's love for them? I know they would eventually recover and thrive. I know that Russ would take over all of the "Mommy jobs" and would find a way to do them that suited the kid's needs. Still...the thought scares me. I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to see my kids grow up, to be a part of their daily lives, to try and impart as much wisdom and love as I possibly can until they won't listen anymore.

The four people who lost their lives will not be forgotten, and their families are in my prayers. Their deaths remind me of how fleeting life really is. We are not promised another day, and so it's up to us (me) to live life to the fullest. My prayer is that I won't forget how precious life is, and to be grateful for each blessed day.

Thankful

Thankful for...
my sleeping little boy, who is starting to understand the basics of potty training
my Mom, who got the kids some much-needed spring clothes
my sister, who took Avery for a mini-weekend get-away
my in-laws, who give so much of their time to my babies
my husband, for making me feel loved and beautiful

Just another Manic Monday...

So...today was one of those kinds of days.

6:10 a.m.: I woke up to a damp spot near me in the bed. (Thank you very much Nate & Pampers.) This is the 4th time in less than a week that I've had to wash the sheets!! Our co-sleeping days are definitely numbered, I think. But first, potty training. That was the task I wanted to take on this week. I feel like Nate is ready and I'd like to really work with him now, so that hopefully he'll "have it" before he starts pre-k in the fall. We've been talking about it and reading books about it for the past few weeks and today was the day we were set to start. And so we did. With Aves, I put her in underwear and we tried to potty every 30 minutes for several days until she started to understand. I tried a more relaxed version of that with Nate today, and we did not have one successful moment on the potty today. So, tomorrow I think I'm going to be a bit more structured. And patient. And encouraging. I'm praying for all of these qualities, so that I can be the kind of mommy I need to be during this not-so-fun phase of learning.

7:30 a.m.: Getting ready to make Avery's lunch for school, and I open the refrigerator. Big mistake. Apparently our compressor didn't like that, because all kinds of noises started coming from its direction. After some investigation and research on Russ's part, we determined that the best (but most costly) solution was to purchase a new fridge. Argh....this day is not going the way either of us intended.

8:45 a.m.: Avery is car-pooling with my awesome and patient friend, Jill S. She is so good to put up with Avery's dramatics about going to school, each. and. every. school. day.

10:00 a.m.: Headed to Home Depot with the boys. Refrigerators are more costly than we (read: Russ) had expected. Now to Best Buy to look over their selection. Nate falls asleep on the way over there, despite the fact that we stopped to get snacks and drinks for him.

10:45 a.m.: Back to Home Depot to purchase a fridge. Nate is still sleeping, and we reluctantly say good-bye to any chance of a real naptime for our boy.

I'm not really sure what happened between here and picking up Aves, but I know we were busy. Lots and lots of laundry, lunch, and moving the old, noisy fridge out to the garage. What happened to appliances that are supposed to last for 20 years?!?

2:15 p.m.: Arrive home with Avery. Get everyone ready for some time at the park and off we go. Avery rides her bike, but is fussing before we even get started. I think it had something to do with her helmet. Arrive at the park and continued fussing, but now it's because Nate gets to play with the frisbee more than she does. (What was I thinking to buy only one? I must be insane!) More fussing as we get to the playground and Avery is made to swing on her own, while Nate gets pushed by Daddy in the toddler-swing. Argh....

Really, after that, the day gets rather boring. Or maybe you thought the other stuff was boring, but for us it was all about being out of our routines, chaos and stress. Lovely day, really. On the bright side, which I really do keep trying to see, Russ got to spend the day at home with us. We had family time at the park. And we are blessed enough to be able to purchase a new fridge when our old one goes out. I know we are lucky.

Tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully we'll get back into more of our normal routine. Hoping for a more peaceful and productive day, especially when it comes to the potty training side of things!!