Take Your Child to Work Day

And they're off!



Kelton was so excited all night that he barely slept. He was up at 9:45pm (before Dakota was even home) and tried to convince me he'd already been asleep "at least 9 hours! And why did Mom leave without him?". I put him back to bed. Then at 11:45pm he arrived in our room chattering a storm about "Is it time to get up? Come on! We need to go!" I left him to sleep in our room with Dakota and I went into Kaylen's. And I'm glad I did!

He was awake for hours just chattering with excitement. Dakota finally had to tell him that the day couldn't start without them so it was ok to sleep. :) She estimates he got a grand total of 5 hours all told last night. (He went to bed at 7:15 and should have logged about 10 hours.)

I awoke to the sounds of happy chatter. He was just so excited! I sent them off and he turned back and said "Tell me to have a good day at work, ok Mom?"

Have a good day at work, honey! I love you!

Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping.....

....into the future. :)

I meant to blog yesterday. I meant to blog today. That didn't so much happen. Sure - I'm blogging right now but this is going to be short and sweet because it's late and I just spent a combined four hours working on PTO-related stuff (more like 6 hours but I took breaks for kid care and bedtime). So much is happening and it feels like it is all happening within a two week span. Ugh.

But on a happier note, tomorrow is Take Your Child to Work Day and the children will be hard at work with Dakota. Sort of. Kelton will leave with here bright and early in the morning and Kaylen will stay behind with me so that she can go to preschool (her choice - she didn't want to miss school). Then, around 11, Kaylen and I will drive over to meet Kelton and Dakota. I will leave Kaylen in their care so that she can get some "work time" in while I return to this side of the river. I have the display case at school to change and then at 3:45pm I have been invited to a Volunteer Appreciation Tea hosted by the teachers. That should be fun and honestly, right now I'm feeling the need to be appreciated so the timing is definitely on the mark.

Before I sign off for tonight let me leave you with this little gem:

Yesterday Kaylen and I were invited to a friend's house to hang out for the afternoon. This friend has a son who can either be Kaylen's best friend or...well...not. They are very much alike and interact like brother and sister. We arrived at the door and rang the bell. When the door opened Kaylen walked in, removed her shoes, looked her her friend and said "I am sorry but I am not planning to play with you today."

And the three adults choked back a whole lot of laughter.

Oh this girl.

A Perfect Day

Today was seriously one of the best days EVER. It would have been even more so if Dakota had been with us, of course, but just the same - the day rocked.

The day dawned bright and beautiful. The weather reports had been predicting a very nice 83 degree day - a taste of summer to be sure! We got up this morning and began our usual Monday morning routine but then after I had given the kids their breakfast, Kaylen said "I don't want to go to gymnastics today. I just want to stay home." To which Kelton added "Mom I would really, really like to stay home today. It's a beautiful day and I want to play with Kaylen and just be here with you. It's like summer outside and I just want to stay home."

I know what you are probably thinking but be honest - there are days when you just want to play hooky too, right? I really can't blame him. Plus I *could* justify it because he has a cough and a bit of a cold. Though truth be told, if it had been a rainy day or if he hadn't asked to stay home I would have sent him on his merry way so he wasn't all *that* sick. :)

I called Dakota and we talked about his wishes and, in the end, I let him stay home. And I am SO glad I did! I don't regret it for one single second which is going to make it really tempting to do it again sometime. :)

By 8:30 the kids were both in the backyard having a grand time! I stayed in and took care of chores and bill paying and then I, too, headed outside.

I set up the water table we gave Kaylen for her birthday and they had a good time playing with it. I can tell that this year Kelton is really too old for it as it didn't hold his attention for long but Kaylen loved it. I knew she would though - Kelton loved his when he was 4 too.

The day flew by! Kelton would play his DS game here and there, he read, they played in the tree house, played in the sandbox, blew bubbles and drew with chalk...we stayed outside all day. And the weather people were right with their predictions - and then some. It was 85 degrees in the yard this afternoon. It felt just like a summer day and it makes me so anxious for school to be done so I can have my kids all to myself for a while.

I just LOVE having them both here and I just loved being outside all day. Seriously. A perfect day. P.E.R.F.E.C.T.

I was so sad to see the day end. I thought about keeping them up until they asked to go to bed but thought better of it. Tomorrow it's back to the real world for all of us. Oh but what a day! As Kelton was drifting off to sleep he said "Thanks for letting me stay home today. I had a really good day with you." Me, too, buddy boy. Me, too!

(Just for fun - a shot of all the things sitting on the patio table this afternoon. Look at that! I actually read a magazine! WooHooo!)

Preschool Update

I asked Kaylen how her day at school was and this was her response:

"Best day of my whole life!"

So there you have it. She loved it and wants to go every day. :)

Among other things, they learned about transportation and as I was driving home she saw a plane in the sky. She pointed up at it and yelled "TRANSPORTATION!" She repeated this every car and truck we passed. :)

I apparently arrived too early for pick up though. The teacher said "Ok - if you see the grown up you belong to you can go ahead and leave. If you don't see them yet, find your buddy and they will read a book to you."

Kaylen came up to me and said, matter of factly, "Next time don't come early!" I asked if she wanted to have her buddy read her a book and I'd wait. She did....so they read Curious George and I stood around waiting.

Before leaving though she asked if she could have her picture taken with her buddy. I don't know about you but I think she really did have the best day of her life. :)

And so it begins.....again

Today is Kaylen's first day in the preschool class that is run from the Early Childhood Education class at our neighborhood high school. As we got out of the car this morning Kaylen was so full of excitement and nervousness that she was practically bubbling over. A teacher, standing outside her classroom door as students changed classes said "Good morning, little people!" and Kaylen very proudly said "It's my first day of school!" the teacher was properly impressed and said as much and wished her a good day. Kaylen said "I've waited for this day my whole life!"

I heard "Oh my gosh - isn't she just the cutest!" And I have to say, she certainly is.

We walked to the room with Kelton saying "Mom - I don't remember this at all." When we got to the room I had her pose for the obligatory first day of school picture and then we went in.

I signed her in and Izzy, her buddy for the day, helped her put on her name tag and ushered her off for free time play. She gave me a quick wave and was gone.

Just like that.
Kelton and I walked out of the room and Kelton looked very, very sad. I know he was hoping she would cling to him (and I think she would have if she had been given the chance) so he could show her the ropes. I said "What's wrong buddy?"

"I'm really nervous for her." he said.

"Me, too. But she'll be ok." and we walked back to the car.

We arrived back to the house with 15 minutes before Kelton's bus so we hung out together. Every minute or so he would sigh and say "I miss Kaylen. It's weird here without her."

And he is soooooo right. It's amazing how much space one little person can take up and when they are gone - well...the hole seems big enough to fall into.

Kaylen has been my side kick for years and rarely are we apart - and never during the week. I miss her. Only an hour to go until I can pick her up.

Kelton's Birthday Celebration

I know I still have photos from his birthday party on Easter to share but thought I would tell you about his birthday celebration from last night. This year Dakota has been lucky enough to have study nights on the actual birthday days for the kids which meant she could work it out to come home and join us for a birthday dinner.

Yesterday afternoon Kaylen and I took cupcakes over to Kelton's classroom so he could have a mini-party. It was so sweet to see him in his room, with his friends....it's a world that I only get glimpses of every now and again so it was nice to be able to hang out in the room for a while. Kelton picked three friends and they all passed out the cupcakes (Kaylen and I passed out napkins). Then the class sang to him and gave him a birthday card they had all signed. Then, as tradition goes, he stood in the front of the room to take three questions from classmates. Then his teacher reminded him that he wanted to say something - and this is where it got cute....he turned to a bundle of nervous little boy. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my chatterbox would be nervous to talk in front of his class. I will proudly take credit for this quirky trait. :)

He told the class all about his "best present", his Nintendo DS that we gave him and the new Pokemon game his grandma gave to him (and about the other two DS games he bought using gift cards given my two other relatives). The oooohs and aaaaaahs were fun to hear and he looked very happy and proud.

Kaylen and I said our goodbyes because even though it was almost time for the day to end, Kelton wasn't coming home with us. He was selected a couple weeks back to be in a special after school PE program. The program was open to all 1st and 2nd graders with only 30 being selected "lottery style". Kelton was selected so every Tuesday and Thursday I pick him up at 5pm.

Dakota arrived home shortly before it was time to pick up the birthday boy so we all piled into her car and drove over to wait for him. On their birthdays, they get to decide where we go for dinner and Kelton picked Red Robin (no surprise there - that's where they both have opted to go for the past couple of years).

Kelton told us all about his day - how we got to go to "the birthday box" at recess and pick out two gifts (a cool pencil pouch made from recycled Kool-Aid packages and a coloring board of The Incredibles) and about how they announced his birthday during morning announcements. He told us how people were saying Happy Birthday to him all day long.

As we were getting ready to leave Red Robin Kaylen spotted Red himself so we were able to get a photo of the kids with the big red bird. Kaylen was very proud of herself because she said hi to him but notice how she wouldn't stand near him. :)


After that excitement we headed over to our local One Stop Shopping place because Kelton had a birthday wish - more Pokemon trading cards. I suppose a boy just can't have too many because he seriously has a couple hundred already but whatever.....

He agonized over which pack to pick but finally he made a choice and we were on our way.

At home he had one final gift waiting for him - a box sent by our good friend Stella. He could not wait to rip the paper off and when he did - he found a Make Your Own Monster Puppet kit which, I have to say, rocks!

He had so much fun making monsters and that fun extended to Kaylen as well. Just check out the fun.....













And as a bonus - the monster has suction cup fingers so it sticks to windows! :)

All in all - I'd say our new 7 year old had a great "real" birthday!

So Tired

I am feeling so tired today. The (many) dark, gray and rainy days are taking a toll and I am really looking forward to the sun they have promised for the weekend. And dang it! I'm holding them to that promise.

We. Need. Sunshine.

When Kelton heard the weather report this morning he looked and me, grinned and then yelled "Hey Kaylen! We get to wear shorts this weekend!" Kaylen responded with "Really?"

Let's hope so.

I want to pull out the patio chair cushions, uncover the sand box and hear the excited squeals coming from children swinging so high they rock their swing set. I want to hear lawn mowers running from various parts of the neighborhood and I want to hear pleas for a pool because "it's soooo hot!"

I want to put aside thoughts of looking into free insurance quotes and wiping dog paws each and every time they go outside (which is an unbelievably high number in the course of a day). I want to stop watching the moss grow and instead watch the seeds we planted a few weekends ago sprout.

I'm ready for some sun - and I know I'm not alone in this. Sunny days recharge my batteries and they sure need that.

So here's hoping.

7 Year Old in the House!

Well. It's done. Time has marched ever forward and I officially have a 7 year old in the house. Before I know it he will be 8, then 9, then 10. He will no longer look to me for answers. Oh heck. Who am I trying to kid? He doesn't look to me now at least not for a lot of things. Because...well....you know....he knows everything. :)

Now I will tell you that while I don't feel he is ready to face the world alone or anything he does seem to know about things I don't.

GameBoy stuff? I know nothing.
His new DS? Don't even ask me where the stylus is stored.
used cisco? I'm sure he could tell you more than I could being that he is full force in the technology generation.

I had never even heard the word "computer" when I was his age. Heck - I'm not sure when microwaves started working their way into homes but I know we didn't have one until I was close to my teen years. I remember when my grandmother (always ahead of the curve for "new fangled things") showed us her new calculator.

Seriously.

Stories I do love to share with my kids in the way that our grandparents shared their "I had to walk barefoot uphill in the snow both ways to school!" stories.

I wonder what stories my kids will tell their kids. I wonder how "rough" they will have had it from the views of their children or grandchildren. Time will tell, won't it.

But for the record...having a 7 year old makes me feel as old as the stories I tell them. :)

Happy 7th Birthday Kelton!!

Today at 12:15pm my baby boy will officially turn 7 years old. It truly amazes me as it really does seem like not that long ago I was pregnant with him and then went through the whole "birthing of a baby" thing. Certainly not what I had thought it would be but it got me to where I am today so it was definitely worth it. I was 8 days late when they started induction and he was born more than 2 days later. Ten days past his due date.

How does a little baby like this:

Get to this:




so quickly?

Oh right....day by day and like this:
















And so it goes.....

Happy Birthday, Kelton. My world is brighter and happier and more amazing with you in it and I am very, very lucky to be called "Mom" by you.

I love you more than all the stars in the sky, drops of water in the oceans and grains of sand on the beaches. And I always will.

Easter Morning

Easter was a *very* busy day. It started out at 5:45am when Kelton bounded into our room and yelled "Happy Easter!". We tried to get him to stay in bed a while longer so he crawled in with Dakota and I went in with Kaylen, who was still sleeping....for about 10 more minutes. Once her eyes where open I said "Happy Easter!" and that was it - we were off and running.

I kept the kids in the back of the house until Dakota fed the dog and turned on the (much needed) coffee. Once that was done, Dakota handed me one camera and she took the other and we let the kids loose.

They ran right for their baskets and examined the contents (sorry Kelton....no Ferrari parts this year. Maybe next!). Before too long Kelton spied one of the plastic eggs filled with candy that the bunny hides in the living and dining rooms. Before long, both kids were tracking down the 38 eggs that the bunny had left.

We had a fun-filled few hours and really enjoyed our special family time (with a delicious Easter breakfast cooked by Dakota). Before long it was time to ready the house for guests because at 1pm the extended family from Dakota's side arrived for Kelton's birthday party and the Easter meal (was in lunch? Was it dinner? I don't really know.).

This year we celebrated Bailey's (our great niece) 8th birthday at the same time. Sandwiched between presents and cake was the Easter meal.

Crazy but fun day. By the time it was over all four of us were exhausted. Pictures from the birthday party to come but here are some from Easter morning.