hanging out

Things are going great around here. I've gotten so much done last week when the girls were at school and camp and this week with Mollie. I ended up having a few accidental playdates/lunches with my friend Jennifer last week and a few other lunches with great friends last week and this week. It was fun. Mollie is really entertaining to babies like the twins Cecilia and Owen! And she tried to be entertaining to my old friend KeAnne's new baby Daniel, but he slept the whole time:)
I have been tutoring this little boy who is a rising 1st grader, not sure if I've mentioned him, but we try to get in 2 sessions a week. When the girls were in school/camp I got 2 morning sessions in, but I try to normally do one evening when Phil's home and one morning and leave Mollie with Mom. I tutor at the library in Apex which is just across the highway from mom's apt. I'm really enjoying it and hope to continue once a week throughout the school year with him. And maybe I could pick up one more kid. I found out the going rate is $35 an hour so I'm really interested in keeping this up!
I checked out some new countertop samples as we are going to upgrade our kitchen a bit with new counter tops and ceramic backsplash. I can't wait! I'd love some stainless steel appliances, but we've already replaced our refrigerator and dishwasher seperately in the last 2.5 years so we're stuck with white for a while. If we had only known and had a few spare thousands of dollars...we could have done that all at one. We have white cabinets so it looks fine. ANYWAY! I also painted our downstairs 1/2 bath and it looks a lot better now. I had a color snafu and had to switch that up and prime over the first yucky color and go with a new one, but it all worked out. I don't really enjoy painting that much! I can roll a wall, but the trim and smaller area work are not for me. It gets old quick. I'd like to paint our master bathroom, but that will have to wait until Phil either wants to or I can pay Bob the painter to do it.

Last friday night the girls had a sleepover with Gramma and Grandpa at mom's apartment and they got to go to her pool. We went out with some friends to a few restaurants/bars in Apex and that was so much fun! Just had a drink at each place and sat and chatted. Might sound wild and crazy, but it was mostly lots of laughing and home by 11:) At Peak City Grill I ran into my grade parent/favorite parent ever from my first year teaching 10 years ago. Her son Joshua was in my first K class and he was such a fun kid. Very smart, very shy, very funny, very sweet. With a great family. Anyway, we toasted to each other and talked a little. I had talked to her briefly a few months ago, but hadn't seen her since before I had Mollie and Joshua was graduating from 5th grade I think.
We got to hang out with Chase some last Sat. night when we all went over to Nancy's for a small cookout.

This weekend is pretty low key luckily. We needed that. Phil got home early from work yesterday (because his golf game was rained out, don't you feel sorry for the man?) so he was able to meet Sydney at her bus stop. She started riding the bus home last Monday. So she's been on it for a week now. She loves it and says it's her favorite part of Kindergarten. I really like the bus driver. He is very particular about making sure he sees me before he will let Sydney off the bus. He had me fill out an information card and takes it very seriously. And her friend Caitlin is on Track 4 so she just started and is on Sydney's bus and they share an assigned seat! I think it's neat that they've known each other since they were not quite 1 I think? And now they're at the same school riding the bus together b/c they live closer now.

I tell ya, I have been loving year-round school. I love hanging out with Mollie. She's a funny girl. We have the best time and she's a great shopper:) If we hang out at home too much all she wants to do it watch tv, but luckily morning is good errand/playdate time. I have to really work to keep the tv off when we're playing because that girl is a couch potato!! And another reason I love it is because Sydney has 2 more weeks of school then is off for 3 weeks. I'm looking forward to that break for her and for us. We'll go back to the beach for a week probably and then to the lake for Labor Day weekend before she tracks back in on Sept. 8th. It was the perfect time for her to start school. I can't imagine how bored she would have been this summer considering she got out of preschool May 20! We would have made it work of course. I am aware that a lot of the real world makes it happen and that I'm the adult and I would have structured the time for her.
But man that girl can talk.....;)

Oh! And one more thing about school and Sydney. Remember her fashion and hair fettish? She had actually picked out matching outfits and fixed her hair 1/2 way "normally" every day for school! I think my friend Daniele who works there now is really impressed. Because she has watched her dressing progress/abilities since she was 2.5 and figured out how to change her own clothing and 4 when she started doing her own ponytails/hair. She does come home and tell me about things other girls are wearing and asked me if we could go to Kohls and buy this jumpsuit thing that Poppy had on b/c that's where she bought it. But I convinced her that no, she really had enough clothes, haha.

slacker!

Me!
Sydney loves school still.
Mollie is going to Kindercamp at the YMCA this week. She's done awesome with drop off and pick up and is SO BIG and independent! She really likes it and it was time for her to have something to do since she misses Sydney.
We went to Elkin last weekend for Phil's 15 year high school reunion. They've never had one before. My class either. It was pretty fun. We had a really nice dinner out alone Saturday night before the 2nd meetup and it was yumm-O!
More later. Need to get some new pics up, huh!?

school

School is going well thank goodness! Sydney loves it. She tells me some about what she does each day and then more will come out as the evening goes on. It is hard to get used to it being like 4:15 by the time we get home. Well, hard for me to get used to, not her. And she's been tired, but not as much of a mess as I thought she would be. Yesterday we even ventured out to the pool after we got home, had dinner and she went to bed at regular time w/out much trouble. I do have to wake her up in the mornings. Currently her new best friends are Libby and Poppy. Sometimes she and Noelle hang out in carpool, haha. And she has seen some other kids she knows around the school. She's so big! It really seems like she's matured a ton and she even looks older. Already....ahh...so bittersweet;)
Oh, and she bought her lunch today for the first time! Starting Monday she wanted to buy milk in the cafeteria and then she wanted to buy lunch. She chickened out yesterday, but she did it today for cheese dippers with marinara. I don't know what that really consists of and how that constitutes a main dish, but whatever. She thinks it's cool. She's going to pack tomorrow then buy for hot dog day on Friday.
I love that she's so happy!
But Mollie's asked me every hour when we're going back to get her from kindergarten. She misses her:( But you know us, we stay busy!

a little catching up on things

Since Laura reminded me I didn't blog about the lake last weeekend here we go. All the things I forgot. And I forgot that I never updated the preschool situation for Mollie.

The fact that the preschool director called me last week (Wed. I think) to offer me a spot at this other preschool at a Lutheran church totally threw me for a loop. I was just hanging out with my friend Dawn and the twins while the girls played with her Ava and the phone rang and I answered it b/c I saw that the caller ID said RL Church. I was like, oh wow!

Back in like Feb. around registration time when I was pissed off that Mollie didn't get into the 3 day 3's class at our church preschool I put her on the waiting list at RLS. We have a bunch of friends whose kids go there/have gone there. I found out from talking to them that they had a 3/4 class which is basically older 3's/young 4's. I was interested in this for Mollie not only b/c it was 3 days a week, but she is an older, mature 3 year old. Then we'll insert a little angst at the fact that some kids got into the 3 day class at our church who are not yet 3 and won't be until right before school starts and are struggling to be potty trained so they can meet that requirement. And then the fact that the director was not able to work with us on opening another 3 day 3's class when there were 12 kids in the class and 19 on the waiting list. It was lottery, I knew that going in. But after having 2 years of Mom's Morning Out 2 days a week (call me a spoiled parent), I feel like and everyone else who knows her, even her MMO teachers, have said wow, she really needs 3 days. She's a smart cookie, well-adjusted, loves to learn, etc. And she'll be 4 Dec. 2nd. 3 months after preschool starts.

So after visiting the school, getting the prices and realizing it's the same price as the 2 day program at our church, they have science class every week, the director was awesome, Mollie liked it there and it's 3 days and she would know some people....I decided to take it and switch her preschool. And lose the money I had already paid in registration and first month's tuition at our current preschool! The good thing was that Phil was totally supportive of doing it and didn't care at all about the money. Which is unusual;)

When I taught I always said oh, 2-3 days a week when she's 4 will be fine to prepare her for K. It would be. My goal is not preparing her for K. She's go now if I let her. It's the social and exposure to all kinds of stuff that is the motivator.

But anyway, I forgot to mention my near nervous break down about taking her out of our current preschool and the families that we know there. Specifically my friend Jennifer and Mollie's bff Lindsay! Ugh! They will now be on opposite days and I feel like I've intentionally thrown this big wrench in things. I am now convinced, and she was helped me realize, haha, that it's not like we'll never see each other again:)
Looking at the big picture and now I'm really excited about it. Phew!


Thursday after our school tour we left for the lake for the 4th. We have gone every year for the 4th of July since I can remember dating Phil. Especially since we got our own camper there. We got there a little later than we'd planned b/c of my preschool visit and I forgot so many things b/c I was a nervous wreck. I am a very laid back person and don't get all in a tizzy very often so b/c I did, it threw us all off!

Friday the weather was kind of blah, cloudy and cool, probably 70 degrees! The only other family there was Phil's uncle Tommy and his aunt Gayle so we hung out with them some and decided to go into Mountain City, TN (the closest real town, about 25 min) and have lunch and go to Fred's. Ever been to Fred's? Phil calls it's Walmart's illegitimate son. Always a good time at Fred's. We ate at a Mexican place for lunch that was very good. I'm a little sketchy of small town strip mall Mexican, but it was delish. Phil's aunt and uncle did some grocery shopping, we got a milk shake at Hardees and headed back to the lake. The sun came out briefly, but no swimming. Did get a boat ride in though. That night we celebrated Phil's Dad's (pawpaw) birthday. He's 67 now! He's our "caretaker" at the lake since he lives so close by. He lives in Mtn. City actually now.

PawPaw's birthday cake

Saturday the weather was beautiful, we hung out with Phil's cousin Michael and his wife Mary and daughter Grace (love them) rode down to watch the house boat parade they do every year which was very cool, down toward the middle of the lake. That evening Phil's brother David, his wife Angela and the cousins Olivia and Emma came. We cooked out a nice big July 4th dinner and when dark was rolling around Sydney put on Phil's old iPod and listened to her music so the fireworks wouldn't bother her. That lasted about 30 min. until major freak out ensued. She's still really afraid. She ended up in Michael and Mary's camper during them and then we ran them back to our camper at 10pm when it was still going. Next year=not going. We can leave the morning of. I'm not going to the lake or beach and surrounding her with that again. Awful! I hope she grows out of that, but she's 5, thought that would happen by now.

One of the houseboats in the parade! Not even the biggest one!

Phil got both girls on the jetski:)Emma, Mollie, Olivia, Sydney and Grace

Sunday was pouring down rain and in the upper 60's. Phil and David sat under the shelter of the pontoon boat and the girls swam. Couldn't keep them out of the water! Mollie tuckered out quickly, but Sydney, Olivia and Emma swam and swam until we made them come up for lunch! We left around 2:30, met his mom and grandma for dinner at McD's along the way for dinner and got home finally around 8:30pm!

It was a good weekend, but not the best weather.

Sydney is a kindergartener!

I am finally getting this post up! Shame on me!

Tuesday was Sydney's first day of school:) They do staggered entry for K here so they break the class into 3 or 4 groups of kids over the week to do all the assessments and routines and get to know them better on a smaller scale. Very helpful!

She loved it. LOVED it! And is annoyed that she doesn't go back until Monday. Since we're year-round she'll go for 5 more full weeks and then Aug. 14th she'll "track out" for 3 weeks and go back Sept. 8th.

The first thing she said when she got in the car at the end of the day was "a lady said (made an announcement) that if you're going to wear spagetti straps you have to wear a sweater". Haha! She cares more about the dress code than anything else.

We walked her in in the morning and the parking lot was insane. Totally insane. First day of school for the entire school that day. I filled out the emergency info. and she went about her business. Ms. Berentes, her teacher, showed her where to put her stuff in a cubby and she said goodbye without a care at all. We were out of there in less than 5 min. probably! She got to see her friend Andrew who is track 3 when they went in his room to meet the PE, music, and art teachers. They talked about having Spanish next week. She got to use the computers in her room which she's a pro at. I didn't get too much info. about any other kids, just a girl named Lovely. She loved eating in the cafeteria and said she wanted to just buy her lunch there. I explained to her that some of the things she may not like so that we could look at the menu each week and decide if she wanted to buy some days. She might want to just buy a milk carton with her lunch also she said. So I told her we'd put some money on her lunch acct. so she could do that. And she already knows her lunch and carpool number! At LP they make it the same number which is great! If you have older kids the # is always the same as the youngest child in the family's lunch number. Genius idea!

When I picked her up at carpool she looked so little next to the big school, but so big with her bookbag and lunch box! It was great. I didn't cry in the morning, but I teared up some in carpool. Crazy, I know. I think it finally hit me then. She can't wait till Monday and I guess I actually need to take her in that day also to drop off her school supplies.

She's the little person next to the green cone:)

decisions, decisions

Yesterday I got a call from RL preschool, the one I had Mollie on the waiting list for a 3 day spot...
She got a spot in the 3/4 class which is for older 3's/young 4's. This would be perfect for Mollie I think. But I'm not sure I want to take her out of where she thinks she'll be and on the same Tu/Th schedule with some of her (and my) friends. Mollie and I are going to visit this morning at 9:30.
Then we're leaving for the lake.
I still have no idea what to do! I have a pros and cons list and it's going both ways along with my gut...