Little Mischievous At Naptime

I have to share this because it gave me a good laugh. I put Emmaline down for a nap this afternoon, and while I thought she was sleeping she wasn't. She had other plans for nap time. She wanted to play the role of Little Mischievous! Sometimes Em will get up after I put her down for nap. Usually I hear her open her door and head right upstairs to see why she's getting up. Today however she was sneaky and super quiet. I put her down around 2pm and at about 2:45pm I heard her little potty playing music. I quickly went upstairs because usually if she gets up it's right after I put her down for nap or a couple hours later after she's had her nap. This was only 45 minutes so I was a little puzzled. I got to the top of the stairs and see the kid's bathroom light on. Out walks Little Miss Emmaline and this is what she looked like.


She says, "I pretty!" Yes, that's right. She was busy getting into my makeup instead of napping for that 45 minutes. I'm not sure how long she was playing in the bathroom (which is a little scary in itself), but it was long enough to get my eyeshadow, mascara, and eyeliner out. Then she had my hairspray and deodorant out too. While, I wasn't happy about what she had done, I was chuckling on the inside when I saw her. I had to laugh about it because at some time or another doesn't every little girl do this. Now that she's up with me in the morning since we have to leave early for school she's been seeing me put on my makeup. I guess she wanted to be like mommy. She knew she was in trouble and I asked her if she had done a good thing or a bad thing. Right away she told me bad thing, so she knew it was wrong. We washed it off before I put her back down for nap and boy did she not like her eyelids being washed. I'm hoping that means she's learned her lesson and won't do it again. I also explained to her that make-up was for big people, and she was already so pretty that she doesn't need make-up. Just another day in the life of Little Miss Emmaline's three year old episodes! Her three's are turning out to be worse than the two's!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Last week in Evan's Friday folder he brought home numerous pieces of his work from the week. I wanted to share this piece he did in Art class because well... I thought he did a great job, and I'm a proud mom. He's come a long way in such a short time with his drawings and coloring that I'm very impressed with his work. You all know the children's book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, right? Well if you're not familiar with it here's what it looks like.


It's a story about the alphabet with great rhyming text. The young letters (lowercase letters) climb up the coconut tree in alphabetical order (of course). However, when they all get to the top the tree can't hold them and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom they all fall down. Not to worry though, with the help of their adult friends (uppercase letters) they come to the rescue and help the lowercase letters get untangled in alphabetical order. The story ends with "a" daring the others to climb the tree again which leads to kids wanting the read the story over and over. The great repetition of "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" really gets kids involved to chant along with the words. A great book for young learners!

Now that you have the little synopsis of the book and you saw what it looks like. I'm about to show you my Evan's version of the book cover. In Art class they had to paint the cover of the book using their hands and sponges for the tree. Then they had to find the letter stampers with the letters in their name and stamp on their paper. Here's Evan's masterpiece! I think he did a great job, don't you?

First Family Football Game

Happy Monday readers! Wow, today went by fast. I was busy doing some Uppercase Living stuff today so that took up most of my free time today. Now I feel like I should be in bed since it's getting darker earlier and earlier these days. However, before I hit the hay I thought I'd tell you about our fun family outing this weekend and a few other tidbits about the weekend. Friday night we went out to Jimmy's Pub down the street with my friend Jess. We had a couple drinks, I tried their bloody Mary's of course (which were pretty good, but not as good as Pizza House). It was nice to just sit and chat with Jess after all she's been through in the past week with her house fire. After Jimmy's Greg headed home so he could go pick up the kids (Greg's mom watched them for a little bit so we could go out), and I went with Jess to check out some places for her and her family to live for the next few months since they'll be out of their house. Then we ran some errands and called it a night. It was nice to hang out with you Jess. I enjoyed your company and loved a little girl time!

Saturday Greg and I took the kids to the MSU football game. This was our first football game as a family. We took Evan to a game two years ago, and Em and Ev have both been to the spring practice games, but we all hadn't been to a regular season game together. We talked about it over the summer that we wanted to take the kids to a game. Well, tickets are like $49 a person and I didn't want to spend that much not knowing if Em would sit through the whole game or what the weather would be like. Then about a month ago, my friend Marie told me she found out about the Jr. Spartan Club. I quickly jumped on the bandwagon and called up the ticket office to find out a little more about it. The Jr. Spartan Club is for kids preschool aged to 8th grade. It costs $25 per child to join and then each kid gets a ticket to the Northern Colorado vs. MSU football game which was on Saturday, plus they get free tickets for their parents. It also includes a t-shirt and a membership card which gets them into other sporting events like volleyball, soccer, women's basketball, gymnastics, baseball, and softball for free throughout the year. Not a bad deal for $25. So for two memberships at $50, all four of us went to the game for $50 when one ticket is usually $49. Plus there was a free tailgate included at Munn Ice Arena before the game. That included free hot dogs/ subs, drinks, etc. and the kids could skate free on the rink. We met up with our friends Jim & Marie & their kids so it was fun for all the kids to go to the game together.

It wasn't the most exciting game, and it was a wee bit chilly, but overall the kids had fun, we had fun, and the Spartans won so that's all that matters. My little Emmaline cheered like crazy for most of the game. She was definitely showing her Spartan spirit! The only problem with the game was that there was a little accident and Emmaline started to fall off the bleachers so my quick mom instinct was to try and catch her. Well, I did keep her from hitting her face on the benches and really getting hurt, but in the process I dropped my camera and well now it's broken. Ugh! I am so lost without my camera and it's only been two days! I take lots of pictures quite frequently and now with no camera I'm going crazy. Anyhow, here's a few pics from game day that I got before the camera broke.

We got on campus just in time to see the team walking over from Kellogg to the stadium. Evan was so excited he got a bunch of high 5's & hand shakes from the players. Especially his favorite- Quarterback, Kirk Cousins!

The MSU Dance Team was at the Munn tailgate and of course my little Emmaline had to have a picture with them AND once again she grabbed the pompons right away!

Daddy with the kiddos out on the ice!Brother & Sister all set to head into Spartan Stadium and cheer on those Spartans!Yes, we were way up there and yes, it was windy! Em didn't mind though and she was all smiles! That's my little Sparty girl!Evan enjoying some Spartan football!

Evan & Emmaline with Kyra & Connor

Saturday night was bunco night! I missed last month so it was great to have girls night again! My friend Carla hosted and it was a fun night. Lots of laughs and good times! I talked Jess into going because I figured she needed a night out so I was glad she joined us. I didn't walk away with any money or baby bunco prizes, but I did win a big bunco prize which was strawberry daiquiri wine coolers so that was cool. Since I was going to be gone, Greg took the kids to the volleyball game while I was at bunco. They had a fun time, and we got some use out of their Jr. Spartan Club membership right away since they got in free!

Sunday was a lazy day pretty much. It was chilly again, and after I got up I ended up taking a nap two hours later. I fell asleep on the couch and my hubby let me rest so that was nice! Finally after I woke up about noon we had some lunch and then took the kids to the Halloween store to look at costumes. We didn't really find anything there so then we went to Party City. We ended up walking away with two costumes that I hadn't planned on. I had one thing in mind for Em and then after she tried on a different costume she melted my heart in it so I decided to go with it. I can't tell you what the kids are going to be, but they're going to look really cute together, trust me! That was our weekend! Hope you all had a great weekend too!

School Stuff

It's a Friday! You rarely hear from me on a Friday, but yeah me for getting another post in this week! We're now well into the school routine since Evan just finished his third week of school. Wow, this month is flying by. Every Friday Evan's got a Friday folder he brings home with all his school work from the week. I'm so amazed at what he is learning already. I can only imagine how far he will have come by the end of the school year. It only took the second week of school for the Scholastic book order to come home in the Friday folder. Do you remember the Scholastic book order from when you were in school. I loved, loved, loved the Scholastic book order. Getting to order new books was so exciting. Evan actually had the Scholastic book orders in preschool the past two years. The first time he brought one home in preschool I was a little shocked that he did. I didn't know they even did book orders in preschool. It was great though because I loved ordering him new books. I'm the "sucker" parent when it comes to the Scholastic book order. I pretty much order almost every time! I'm even known to order some books from the Scholastic book order for gifts. Nothing better than a good book for a child! I'm also a "sucker" when it comes to the $1 books on the order form. They're usually decent books and they usually end up in my order, at least one if not more. I love looking through the order forms and seeing what's available that month, and when I see books that I had as a kid I get really excited. Evan loves looking through the book orders too, and I'm not sure who gets more excited about it, him or me! So with that said, the book order is due back to school on Monday and it looks like we'll probably be getting a few new books!

This week in school Evan was student of the day on Monday. Each day there's a different student of the day and then after everyone has had a chance it starts all over again. So about once a month each child gets to be student of the day and do special things. Student of the day gets to bring in the class snack, be the line leader, carry the bell at recess time, and do things like calendar, use the Smart Board, etc. For this first month of "student of the month" each student has a special book they have to complete before it's their special day. We picked up these books at open house and Evan completed his right away before school even started. Here's a couple pages from his book.

On this page he had to draw a picture of his home. He did this all by himself and he made a point to show me he drew the front door window just like our door. He did a great job!

This page he drew his favorite thing to do inside... play his drums!

When Evan found out about student of the day he couldn't wait until it was his day. He informed me right away that he was taking popcorn for snack. One of his favorite things and it was on the snack list as an acceptable item to bring in. So Sunday night we popped bags of popcorn and bagged up 25 little baggies for snack. (The teacher asks that snack be already prepared and ready to distribute to the students. Much different than preschool when I just had to send a box of crackers or bag of goldfish in.) The popcorn was a hit with the kids Evan said and he had a great day being student of the day!

This week in school also brought about picture day. When you hear picture day, I know it's got to bring back memories for you because it does for me. The Lifetouch school portraits. No, they haven't changed much. The order form still looks the same and there's the five different backgrounds to choose from. Do you remember the laser background when you were in school. When Greg and I looked at the order form, it was the first thing we both said. It wasn't an option this time around. Darn it. LOL. However, what has changed is the price. I can't believe how expensive the packages are for school pictures and none of the packages have the right size pictures you need. Then when you have a husband who is a photographer and you know he can take better pictures you don't really want to spend a lot. We decided to order some this time just because you have to have your kids school picture, but believe me we won't be spending a fortune on school pictures throughout the kids school years. A basic package is good enough for us! With picture day comes the big question of what to wear. Thank goodness I've only got a kindergartener right now because I'm sure the day will come when picture day will be a struggle between the kids and I of what they should where. Evan and I kind of talked about what he should wear and I gave him a few options and he made a nice choice. So we'll see in a few months when pictures come in how they come out. I told him to smile nice when he got out of the car this morning, and when I picked him up he said he did.

That wraps up the latest school stuff. No homework for my little guy, but I can see he's doing a lot in school everyday. I think we made a good choice in sending him to Haslett. Oh I almost forgot to share the nice message from Evan's teacher. I had sent her an email last week about volunteering in the classroom and she emailed me back. At the end of her email she wrote, "Your Evan is awesome!!!" What a great thing to hear from your child's teacher after only two weeks of school. Way to go Ev, keep up the great job!

Catching Up

Here we are again. Time to play catch up since I haven't been on for almost a week. I left off with my "Room A Day" which to be honest isn't going as well as planned, but then again I have two kids so the cleaning is a constant battle. Thursday I got our bedroom cleaned, linens washed, and even some clothes boxed up for Goodwill. Our bedroom is always neglected because it's always the last thing I do because nobody is ever in there, but us. I decided this time I wouldn't leave it for last. It got a much needed cleaning, but unfortunately our bedroom furniture is a dust magnet and it already seems like it could be cleaned again. It'll have to wait though until I get back around to that room. Friday I attacked the living room, and then came the weekend. Nothing really got done on the weekend. So while I did accomplish some rooms, there's still much to be done.

Our weekend had some ups and downs. Friday around 5pm I heard fire trucks coming down the street. They went past the house and stopped about half way down. I knew instantly it was my friend Jess' house. Just one of those feelings you get. When I had run out to look I didn't have my shoes on so I ran back into get them and tore down the street. Thankfully Greg had just gotten home so he could stay with the kids. I saw Jess holding her dog, and from the looks I knew it wasn't good. There had been a fire in her kitchen. She came home and found the house full of smoke. Thankfully nobody was home at the time so everyone is fine. Her husband Steve took their dog to the MSU Vet Clinic where he was well cared for and thankfully after two nights there he's fine too. Unfortunately there's lots of damage to the house. Fire damage in the kitchen, water damage on two levels, and smoke damage throughout the whole house. My heart goes out to Jessica and her family. They will be out of their house for probably three to four months. Jess, I know you read my blog so PLEASE don't hesitate to call if you need anything. We're right down the street!

On Saturday I discovered that Monday was actually Jess and Steve's anniversary. My first thought was "Seriously? What timing!" So not fun to celebrate an anniversary with all this going on. I quickly sent out messages to some of the neighbors to see who would want to chip in for a gift card for them so they could have an anniversary dinner. The neighbors came together wonderfully, and by Monday morning I collected $50 of gift cards to P.F. Chang's that my friend Jenn had laying around and $100 total from 12 other neighbors/families. I went to Eastwood Towne Center to get a gift card so then they could either add to the P.F. Chang's gift card or eat at a few different restaurants over the next few months when they need. Jess and Steve were of course overwhelmed when I gave it to them. It was all of ours pleasure to do it. Try to enjoy some meals on us even though I know you love to cook your own meals Jess! We love ya guys and know you're in our prayers!

Now onto some happy news! Say it with me... "Victory for MSU!" Saturday brought about a day of football, but the most anticipated game of the weekend was MSU vs. ND which we had to wait until 8pm for game time. The first half of the game was boring, but the second half was on fire. Both teams scoring back and forth and just what I didn't want was overtime! Notre Dame scored with a field goal in OT, but my Spartans answered back and on 4th down it was time to bring out the inexperienced field goal kicker for a 46 yard field goal. The odds were not in our favor, but then came the biggest shock to all Spartan fans! A fake and no field goal after all. A sweet 29 yard pass from Aaron Bates to Charlie Gantt who ran it into the end zone to win the game! As Bates is getting ready to throw the pass, I'm of course yelling at the t.v. and shouting, "What are you doing?" Then Gantt catches AND runs it into the end zone and Greg says, "Winning the game!" I do get emotional over games and yes the tears of joy were flowing! Wow, what a finish for a great victory! I LOVE it when we beat Notre Dame! Super super awesome. Coach Dantonio was interviewed and said, "That play is called the Little Giant!" We Spartan fans LOVE LOVE LOVE the "Little Giant!" That's three wins for the Spartans! Keep it up guys!

Sunday we took the kids to the cider mill. It was just a quick trip there this time. It was super busy crazy since there was an Arts & Crafts show going on too. We stayed for a little bit and then got our cider and donuts and headed home. Unfortunately we heard more bad news when we were out there. Coach Dantonio had suffered a heart attack early Sunday morning which was actually soon after the end of the game. Thankfully he got to Sparrow and had surgery and is doing fine. He'll be out some games, but were so happy he's doing well now. Our prayers go out to the Dantonio family! We love ya Coach D!

A new week is upon us and I'm battling the living room again keeping it clean. The toy situation for some reason is really annoying me lately. Hopefully soon we'll find a resolution so the floor isn't always covered in toys. Today the weather was wonderful. It reached 91 in September! Woo hoo! Now we've got a crazy storm going on. Hopefully it won't wake the kids tonight.

Room A Day

What beautiful weather we've had this week wouldn't you say? While a little cool in the mornings, it's been very pleasant during the days. I was a little sad that summer came to an end because that means winter is fast approaching. However, once I get over the fact that the warm weather is gone I really do enjoy fall. It's a beautiful time of the year in Michigan. I'm almost to the point that I'm really ready for fall, although I wouldn't mind a couple hot days before months end! With that said this fall I'm taking on a cleaning attack on the house. Usually you think of "Spring Cleaning," but I've decided this fall I'm going to some "Fall Cleaning" with my new cleaning plan of attack. Cleaning can be overwhelming at times, especially with two kids in the house. I feel like it's a constant battle with toys scattered about, laundry baskets needing emptied, and just cleaning- vacuuming, dusting, etc. Now that Ev's off to school in the mornings and it's not so chaotic around here with two kids all day long, I've decided that I'm going to try to make good use of my morning time. I'm hoping I can stick with this, but please don't hound me if I don't.

Now before I go into my cleaning plan of attack here's a few side notes. It's not a complicated plan of attack. It's not just simple dusting and vacuuming of rooms, and it's meant to be a feasible plan of attack. Here it is: It's my "Room A Day" plan of attack. Quite simply, I am going to try to clean a room a day in the time from when I get home from dropping Ev off at school to the time I have to leave to pick him up. It's roughly a 2 1/2 hour time frame that I have. Now remind you I still have Em to tend to so I may not have a whole 2 1/2 hours of time to commit to my room. I thought that if I didn't make the task of cleaning so enormous (trying to get it all done in a day), I'd have more success if I took it in baby steps. I'm doing a "good cleaning" which could include things like wiping stuff down, organizing, dusting, vacuuming, picking up toys, going through piles of paper, etc.

So with that said, I started on Monday and I kicked off my "Room A Day" with a bang actually. I attacked the bathrooms and instead of just one, I cleaned all three bathrooms. (If I'm on a roll and finish one room, and still have time I'm entitled to clean more than one room a day). I got everything cleaned, but the floors which I still need to do. I HATE cleaning bathroom floors (or any floors for that matter) so I always put that off last. Yesterday, I attacked the kitchen. Wiping counters and the outside of the cabinets down, dishes, and going through papers. The island in the kitchen is known to be a collecting spot for the mail and I'm working on trying to keep it cleaner. It's a hard task, but it's improving. Today I ended up not attacking my room for the day. I had to get the dishwasher emptied because the repair man was coming for to fix a recall on our dishwasher. Then I had a couple errands to run so my morning flew by and before I knew it it was time to pick Ev up. So while I didn't get to mark a room off on my list today, I'm proud that I've gotten three bathrooms and the kitchen done in the first three days. My goal is to have this place in tip top shape by the end of the month. Wish me luck!

Our New Neighbors

I told you in my fun fact last Monday that Evan has found a new buddy, our new neighbor. I promised I'd tell you in a following post. I didn't forget yesterday, but wanted to catch you up on other things. So anyway, the blue house next door has been empty for almost a year. Sometime in June it went up for sale. We saw a few people look at it and around the beginning of August it was sold. Finally Labor Day weekend our new neighbors moved in. That Thursday before Labor Day they were there painting so Evan and I walked over to invite them to the block party. At the time, I wasn't sure when they were moving in, but wanted to welcome them to the neighborhood and let them know they were welcome to join the party. I met Kate and talked to her for a few minutes and she told me they were moving in the next day, Friday.

On that Sunday, we were outside doing some yard work before the block party and Jim (Kate's husband) was also outside working. He was about to power wash some of their porch and walked over to introduce himself. Greg and I chatted with him for quite some time, and the kids also jumped in on the conversation. Evan especially was Mr. Chatty and took to Jim right away! Jim asked if we needed anything power washed, and he'd do it when he was done with his house. After mentioning that I've been wanting the porch done all summer, he ended up washing the whole front porch area. So nice of him. We really appreciated it. Later that afternoon Jim and Kate ended up not making it to the block party since they were busy unpacking. So after everyone cleared out and we got everything cleaned up from the block party, Greg and I were chilling on the deck. We got to talking and I told Greg I should at least invite Jim & Kate over for a beer or something for power washing the porch. This was about 9:30pm so Evan and I walked over and knocked on their door. Jim was in the middle of doing his football fantasy picks so he couldn't leave, but asked if we could have the beer another time. So Evan being Evan, asking a million questions while we were there, asked Jim what he was doing. Jim showed him the picks he was doing, and Evan was chatting it up. I had to tear Evan away to go back home. Before we left Jim to Evan maybe sometime they could play some football out in the yard. He then made the comment to Evan, "Come knock on my door sometime and ask Kate if Jim can play."

Well, ever since Evan heard that everyday he's been asking if he can go see if Jim can play. What a kid. They played one night during the week and then we were busy with stuff other nights. Evan asked all weekend if he could go see if Jim could play football. Even on Saturday when it was raining. Finally last night after dinner we told him he could go over there to see Jim. He knocked on the door and when Kate answered he said, "Can Jim play football?" Too funny, like he really thought Jim needed permission to play. Both the kids played and Jim and Greg played a lot of "monkey in the middle" keeping the ball from them. We chatted for a bit and before we left Kate offered the kids a brownie which just made their day. We found out that Kate owns a dance studio so maybe Emme will be taking some more dance classes down the road. I'm not sure the time slot for her age group this session is going to work for us, but maybe in the future.

We're pretty much used to not having neighbors next door because even before it was vacant we never saw the guy that lived there very much. It was always pretty quiet. When we saw the sold sign we were keeping our fingers crossed that we'd get some good neighbors, and I think we have. We look forward to getting to know them, and hanging out. I'm pretty sure Evan and Em are too since they're already asking tonight if Jim is home from work yet. Kate works late at the dance studio during the week so poor Jim gets bombarded with our kids in the evening. Don't worry though we're setting limits so the kids aren't over there constantly making them want to move already! LOL. So welcome to the neighborhood Jim and Kate. We're very happy to have you as our neighbors.

Before I finish here, you may have noticed the new poll on the right hand side. If not check it out. I've decided to switch the blog up a bit and am removing the "Fun Facts" for awhile and decided to replace it with a poll. This is totally mindless and is purely just for fun. It's pretty simple, I'll post a question either once or twice a week and if you want to vote go ahead and click. If you don't want to vote you don't have to. There's a time limit to answer so if it's not before the end of the week, then I will likely post a new question mid-week. (Don't hold me to that though in case I get behind.) Feel free to leave me a comment after one of my posts of the week if you want to add anything more than your vote to the question. Remember, it's just for fun! The first one is in honor or the Ellen and Oprah season premieres today. You all know how I love my Ellen show so today was a great day with her season eight premiere! I can't wait to see all the fun and exciting things season eight brings!!!

First Week In The Bag

Here, I am and no I didn't forget about my blog. Yes I'm behind again, but that's how it goes. Life gets in the way of blogging sometimes and that's just how it is. Anyhow, here I am and time to update you on the Shearwater Nest happening from the past week. Evan' got his first week of kindergarten in the bag and it was a terrific week! He's loving his school, class, teacher, and making new friends. His excitement to go to school is wonderful, and I keep my fingers crossed it stays that way. He was so excited that he got to go to art class on the first day of school! The second day of school he was such a big boy telling me he could walk in all by himself and he did. (There's drop off at the door and someone right inside to watch the kids.) On Friday he hopped out of the car and walked up to the door then turned around and waved to me. Then he opened the door and stood there and waited for the girl walking up behind him and held the door. Such a gentleman he was, and I was such a proud mommy. Next week is our first FULL week of school so it's probably going to feel like an eternity until the end of the week!

The rest of our week since the first day of school was pretty uneventful. We're just trying to get into a routine now with school and get ourselves on a schedule. Remember I told you Little Miss Emmaline didn't wake up Tuesday morning early to make sure I got up? Well everyday after that she's gotten up by 6:30am and that includes the weekend!Oh how I wish I could get her to sleep later on Saturdays and Sundays. On Wednesday our extra refrigerator in the garage went out. Greg went to get a pop out of the fridge and it wasn't very cold. Then he checked the freezer and everything was thawed out. Ugh! At least it was still cold because I had all my jam in there. I think it will be fine, but just what I didn't want to deal with. Now I'm on the hunt for a used refrigerator for the garage. I hate not having a spare fridge to keep things like water, pop, milk, extra frozen stuff, etc. in.

Our weekend was pretty uneventful and restful. Friday night we hit up Pizza House again for a bloody Mary with our friend Brenda. Saturday was pretty much a full day of football. The weather was rainy and it was one of those days that you didn't feel like doing much and wanted to be lazy around the house. It was mostly a wasted day as far as not getting anything done, but you need one of those days every now and then. At least my Spartans came away with a win! GO STATE! Next weekend the Spartans take on Notre Dame in a night game at Spartan Stadium. I'll be saying my prayers and keeping my fingers crossed all week that they can pull off another win.

Today the weather was absolutely beautiful. Perfect September weather! Greg got in a bike ride this morning, and I did four (or was it five) loads of laundry. Then I finally got out in the garage and got it cleaned up! It's probably been about three months since we've had both cars in the garage. I finally got mine in the garage about a week ago, and now it's all cleaned so tonight both our cars get to "sleep" in the garage. It feels good to have that mess cleaned up! Now it's off to bed soon at a decent time so I can get up in the morning!

Evan's First Day Of Kindergarten

Today was finally the day. Something we've talked about all summer... Evan's first day of kindergarten. Gosh I can remember heading off to my first day of kindergarten like it was yesterday (and we all know it was far from yesterday), and here I am sending my first born child off to kindergarten. Where the past five years have gone I don't know, but my little guy is growing up way to fast! Last night of course I couldn't fall asleep. You would of thought I was the one going to my first day of school. I think it was probably close to 1am when I did fall asleep and soon enough the alarm was going off. Not my Little Miss Emmaline though who for the last month has been my alarm at 6:30am waking me up. This morning when I actually had to get up early guess what? She sleeps in and I had to wake her up! I got Evan up a little after 7am and she was still sleeping. I went in to wake her up about 7:15pm, and she sits up and says, "Why you wakin' me up?" I told her because that's what she always does to mommy and daddy. She says, "But it night time, it not morning time." I told her yes it was morning and we had to take brother to school. She says to me, "Let me check." Peeks out her blinds and says, "Oh yes, yes it is morning. O.k." Then she hopped out of bed. It was all too funny! What a kid.

Evan did a great job getting dressed, brushed his teeth, and headed downstairs to eat his breakfast. Then we did some first day of school pictures and by the time we finished it was time to head out. Here's a few of the pictures.

Evan picked out his outfit. I think he did a really nice job!

He's all set with his backpack ready to go!

Little sister was so excited for her brother on his first day of school. She gave him a little kiss again like she did on the first day of preschool!

Greg went into work late this morning so he could take him too. The whole way to school I was a little emotional, and as he was walking up the sidewalk at school I got a little teary eyed. Look at him being so brave and such a big boy!


Thank goodness I had my sunglasses on so he couldn't see me. We took him into the gym so he could line up with his class and out the door we went. (It was highly recommended to give fast good-byes.) I was very proud of my little guy. He started to get a little teary eyed, but held it together and did great! We headed home and Greg was off to work and after we got home was when I broke down a little. I knew Evan was in great hands, but still it's my little guy on a very big day in his life. Before I knew it, it was time for Em and I to head back and pick Evan up from school. His school is only half day kindergarten so he just goes in the A.M. I was so excited to pick him up and hear all about his first day.

He got in the car and was all smiles. He told me he had a great day and he didn't cry at all. I was very proud of him. Of course when I asked him what he did he told me he couldn't remember. Soon enough though he started telling me about stuff and a few names of the kids he played with. They even went to Art class on the first day! We made a detour on the way home and stopped at Noodles & Co. to meet daddy for lunch. Ev was super excited! Here he is celebrating his first day of school with lunch at his favorite place!


It was a great first day of kindergarten for Evan and to top it off it was Em's best day of napping since she got her big girl bed! She slept for almost three hours! I'm not getting my hopes up that this is going to happen everyday for her, but it would be nice if she does that more on some days! Here's wishing my little guy a great year in kindergarten!

P.S. Just as I was ready to publish this I got a FB message. Earlier today, Becky that cuts my hair had posted something on FB. This gal named Carole commented about Haslett schools. To make a long story short, I know her sister who is also named Becky. We went to grad school together and Becky teaches first grade at Evan's school. The other day I sent her a message to tell her Evan would be going to her school and asked about his teacher. She told me that he got a great teacher and we wouldn't be disappointed. She also let me know that her nephew Chase is in Evan' class. So back to Carole. I don't know Carole, but I commented after her comment telling her I knew her sister, etc. and my Evan is in class with her son. So just now she sends me a friend request and message on FB. This is what she said, " Hey Lisa- I would have never guessed your little guy didn't know anyone, he was quite social almost the whole day! I wish Chase would come out of his shell and have that confidence!! Hope you enjoy Haslett, it is a GREAT school district!" Wow! Just when I thought my tears were gone for the day. These teary eyes are of great joy and happiness though and reassured me that YES, Evan did have a great day like he said!

Labor Day Weekend

Here it is the end of Labor Day weekend, and while it's not the "official" end of summer since that's not until September 23rd when fall officially arrives, it is the end of summer in the sense that it's back to school time tomorrow. Well at least for us in Michigan since all public schools start the day after Labor Day. We had a pretty nice weekend even though the weather wasn't exactly what we wanted it to be. Man, did it cool down a lot this weekend. Seriously is there ever a middle as far as the weather is concerned? It goes from one extreme to the next. From the mid 80's to low 60's and even cooler at night. I'm starting to get in the fall spirit even though I am quickly missing summer as school is about to start tomorrow. However, I'd really like to head into fall gradually and have it not turn cold too fast!

Our weekend brought about a little bit of kid free time. The kids went to Greg's mom's Friday and Saturday night. Since we had some kid free time, Friday evening we went to Pizza House with our friend Brenda. She was telling me how good the Bloody Mary's were there so of course I had to try them. For those of you who don't know, I love me a good Bloody Mary! We had dinner and of course I had a couple Bloody Mary's. I'm putting Pizza House at the top of my list for Bloody Mary's. So good and lots of garnishes in the Bloody Mary- olives (my favorite in a Bloody Mary, pickle, and a banana pepper! It was a nice evening to have some adult conversation and not be interrupted.

Saturday was one of my favorite days of the year... College Football kicked off and my Spartans were playing at home versus Western Michigan. Greg and I headed to Crunchy's (local bar in downtown E.L.) and watched a little bit of the game. They had $2 burgers and $2 Bloody Mary's! Yes, I had some more! Then we headed home and watched the rest of the game and Brenda came over to hang with us and cheer on the Spartans! My beloved MSU football team came away with a "W" to start their season which made for a great day! I have high hopes for the team this year so I hope they don't disappoint. With that said though, they're going to have to step it up a few notches. They didn't look as good as I thought they were going to. Saturday night we just chilled pretty much.

Sunday was our neighborhood block party. Many of us talked about it from time to time this summer and nothing ever got planned. Finally about a month ago I decided to get the ball rolling and through out a few dates of when to have it. The majority vote was September 5th so that's what we went with. Last year we had it Labor Day weekend and had a pretty good turn out. This year it was a busy weekend for many so it was a smaller crowd. Our association never plans anything so that's why we just do our own thing. We ended up volunteering to have it in our backyard and side street since it was smaller. It worked out nice and a good time was had by all. It was a lot of work though for me to do by myself. I do have to thank Angie for hauling down a bunch of chairs, some tables, and her grill for us to use. (She's pregnant and due in about 3 weeks and was hauling all this stuff. I think she was trying to go into labor.) Thanks to Jessica & Dawn for helping clean up. My husband was awesome once again entertaining the kids and he manned the grill. I think next year though I'm passing on the duties unless a couple people want to step up and help me with it.

Today was a crappy day weather wise. It was supposed to be 81 and sunny, and instead it was 63 and rainy. We did a little last minute back to school shopping and a big thanks to Greg's mom for giving Evan some money to buy lots of school clothes and then buying him a few more things today. I've never seen a five year old so into shopping. He tells me he's going to look so cool for school. Now I really must get to bed. I've got to get myself and the kiddos up and out of here by 8am for Evan's first day of kindergarten. Wish me luck because we're not a get up and go kind of morning family! It's going to be an emotional day tomorrow for me I have a feeling. I just can't believe my little guy is in kindergarten already. I'd like to wish my niece Kaite a great day tomorrow too starting high school. Seriously, where does the time go?

The Tooth Fairy's First Visit

Happy September 1st everyone! Boy that sounds weird to say September. A month ago we were celebrating my little Emme's birthday. Where the heck did that month go? I guess the same place as June and July! Summer flew by! Evan was never more excited than last night to go to bed. He couldn't wait to put his tooth in his tooth box and put it next to his bed! Here's his tooth all set for the tooth fairy.


After he was in bed for awhile, I went up to see if the coast was clear to do my duties as the tooth fairy. He was asleep so I double checked with Greg to see if $5 was enough. He said fine and we headed to his room. I went up next to his bed to open the tooth box and wouldn't you know it, Evan starts to move. I hadn't even touched the box yet so I froze so I wouldn't make any noise. He rolled over a little and then stopped. So I continued with my duties and took the tooth out of the box (careful not to drop it), and then I set five $1 bills on his table and walked out. I figured five $1 bills to a kid looks like more than a just one $5 bill. I came downstairs to put the tooth in a baggie and got on the computer. Then I got to thinking... Is $5 enough for the first tooth? Usually the first tooth out is more than the rest. Then I got to thinking some more... I'd probably better go to bed in case he woke up and saw the lights on and the money on his table. Then he'd be asking me if I saw the tooth fairy come in. So I went up to bed, and as I was brushing my teeth I thought... I really should of put $10 on his table because I know he's going to want to spend it and what can he buy for $5? I then went back downstairs and got $5 out of my wallet and headed back to his room. He was still asleep so I quietly walked in and put the $5 bill on his table, walked out and went to bed.

In the morning Evan wasn't up right away like I expected. He slept in a little and when he got up he came downstairs with his tooth box and said, "Look mom, my tooth is gone! I got money!" I asked him how much he got and he told me lots of ones. He went back up to get the money to show me. We counted it out and he was beyond thrilled when I told him $10. The joy on his face brought delight to my morning so one check for this mom for putting the extra $5 on the table before bed! Good call, if I do say so myself! He's so excited to go out and spend it. He tells me he's going to buy lots of Spartan stuff so we'll see.

Here's my little guy minus one tooth!