These Darn Chickens

You've never loved anything as much as this little girl loves her chicken. 

She finally did it!

After nearly three years of me asking weekly, telling her how much fun it will be to match her earrings to her outfit, and other things just short of begging, she finally agreed. We spoke to several teenagers who assured her that it was a little pinch and barely hurt. One girl even offered to show her a video of her just getting her cartilage pierced. 

She picked out her earrings, sat in the chair, declined the bear to squeeze (mouthed to me, LICE!!- what have I done to this child!), and got ready. They doubled teamed her and BAM! It was done. She hesitated for about three seconds and then started to cry!  

School's Out!

Today was the last day of school for the girls.  It was also Field Day and a half day. 

Leighton has done so well in second grade this year.  She loves her teacher, Mrs. Anderson.  Mrs. Anderson is a wonderful teacher and we are very lucky that she has chosen to work at our school.

Leighton and Mrs. Anderson during Mrs. Anderson's first week.

(She came when school had already been in session for a couple of weeks.)

And on the last day of school after all the running and jumping of field day.

This was Carly's last year of elementary school.  She will be attending the middle school just down the road.  She (and I both) have some reservations about middle school.  Carly has had wonderful teachers at Royal who have helped to teach and guide her so much.  I am very sad that she will be leaving her Royal family and the 'bubble' they have formed around her.  They will all hold a special place in her (and my) heart.

Carly and Mrs. Moore on the last day of school.  They have a special bond, it was VERY hard to say good-bye.

Carly and Mrs. Small, her resource teacher for the last three years. 

I Will Never Look at You the Same Way

I will NEVER look at Aunt Jemima again without cracking a smile.

I bought some microwave breakfasts (I never buy them but, they were on sale for so cheap I couldn't resist).  I cooked the one with pancakes for Leighton.  After she had eaten about half I asked her how they were.  She looked up at me with syrup on her cheek and a huge smile on her face and said, "Mom, I LOOOVE these Aunt Vagina pancakes!"

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing out loud and from spitting water across the kitchen. 

She then looked confused and said, "Uuuhhm, I mean Aunt Jemina......Jeminda....ok....What's her name again?"

Leighton is always a little upset that Jensyn is always getting the laughs at our house for the silly things she says.  This tops nearly anything Jensyn has EVER said.

Zoo with a Bunch of Animals

I have signed on to be the girls' Girl Scout co-leader this year.  Last year I was just a volunteer and wasn't officially a leader.  For our meeting this month we earned our badges at the zoo. Now, that's my kind of meeting! 

We got up early, or o'dark thirty, as my kids like to say.  When I woke them up and they were still in a state of confusion, they wanted to know if we were getting on the airplane. (Note to self:  try to cut down on those early morning flights!)

We took the two hour drive to the zoo and started our day with some photo ops.

 Then we moved onto the real animals.

 We took in some information.

 One of the things required for Carly's badge was to take pictures of animals in their habitat.  This is her photo of the elusive Homo Sapian (Connor) the only living member of the Homo genus.

 Ooh!  There he goes again!

 They rode the merry-go-round.

And Carly got back to taking pictures.

  She became so engrosed in her pictures that the rest of us left her behind with the other photographer in our group,

  Melissa, of the famous www.melissahollemanphotography.com

As I am going through the 163 odd pictures of animals I come across this...

Great picture, right?  I have no clue who these people are.  There are individual shots of each of them as well, equally as great.  After a little investigating, I found out that these are just some random people at the zoo who were nice enough to pose for SEVERAL pictures for Carly.  After her success here, most of the rest of the pictures are of random people.  Apparently, she prefers this animal in it's habitat.  My only regret is I don't know these people.  This, along with the other five pictures, are pretty awesome and I'm sure they would like a copy!

Side Note:  Dee chose not to attend.  He said,

1. It's a Girl Scout activity,
2. I'm not a Girl Scout, and
3. I have too much to do here at home.

We arrived home after walking around the zoo for nearly eight hours and four hours of driving, (we stopped at the McDonald's, threw happy meals in the back for dinner and were on our way.)  We walk in the door and Dee is just finishing up his meal of lamb chops and lobster tail.  REALLY!!!???!!! 

Click here for the link to Teacher Appreciation Day

First Day of School

This is the first year that I have not requested a teacher for the girls.  There is not a bad teacher in the whole fifth grade.   And, no I'm not just saying that.  They are all different, have different teaching strategies, different classroom standards, etc.  BUT.. they are all EXCELLENT.  So, it goes without saying that I am extremely happy with Carly's teacher this year, Mrs. Cindy Moore.  We are looking forward to an awesome year and Carly's last in elementary school.  (I am working on convincing her to let us hold her back, and it might be working!)

 Leighton was lucky enough to get the new male teacher (she was NOT happy).  She was in luck, he didn't show up for new teacher orientation!  No wonder his name was Mr. Loeser  (I think he must have added that extra e, but he's not fooling anyone.)  So, while they are trying to hire another teacher to fill that spot, Leighton has the pleasure of having one of Royal's retired teachers, Mrs. Billie Pittman.  Mrs. Pittman rushed home from her summer at the beach just to teach Leighton's second grade class.  I told you she was awesome.  We are very content with Mrs. Pittman and really don't care if the new teacher comes at all.  However, I did hear that she will be here in a couple of weeks. 

Why is there no picture of Jensyn?    Well, after careful consideration, I have decided that she will not be going to preschool this year.  I know that Ms. Ann, Ms. P-Nut, and Ms. Beth would love to have her and she would love to go, but she is my LAST baby and her going to preschool means that she is that much closer to 'real' school.  I'm just not ready.  So, I think I'll sign her up for a dance class or a motion class, or even an art class (yes, babies take art class.)  Ms. Ann, Ms. P-Nut and Ms. Beth will all still be there next year!


Click here for New 'Older' Post 'The Wall'

Teacher Appreciation Day

My kids have AWESOME teachers and I always want them to know that I think so.  I try to help out in the classroom as much as possible and donate those things they put on their wishlists.  I know that being a teacher is sometimes a thankless job (just like being a mommy!)  I have seen these boxes posted several times and after seeing them one more time on my college roommate, Sharon's blog, I knew I had found my gift. (Don't look too close at Sharon's, they are WAY better than mine.  I'm not sure why I am even putting the link to them...except that hers are soooo cute)

 Leighton's teacher's favorite color is pink, so she insisted that she get pink.

 The assistant in Carly's EC class is a man and he LOVES UNC, according to Carly.

 The ones with mostly pink had pink interiors, the ones with green-green, the ones with blue-blue interiors (you get the picture.)

 And we can't leave out all those specials teachers, Art, P.E., Music, Writing, and Library. 

Carly picked out chocolate bars for hers.

And Leighton picked Mint Chocolate Chip Dessert gum for hers.

I do appreciate all that the great teachers do for my kids.  I know it is not an easy job, but I'm glad they have chosen it.

Happy Easter from My Peeps!

Target doesn't sell Easter shirts.  So what's a mom to do?  Use her handy dandy Silhouette and make some, of course.  I used  Char at Crap I've Made 's tutorial on freezer paper stenciling.  I designed and cut it out using my Silhouette.

  Ironed it on.

 Painted it in.  Two coats, please.

 Peel off the homemade stencil.    Add the eyes with the handle of the paint brush.  Lay flat to dry.

The Result:  Happy Happy Children!

And bragging rights, when anyone compliments them on their shirt. 

Because remember, it IS all about me!

Eight is Great!

Okay, it really stinks.  After today I am questioning my decision making skills.

Leighton had her eight teeth pulled yesterday.  She was very excited and a little bit nervous before we left.  When I asked her what she was nervous about, she said that she was afraid that people would make fun of her for having no teeth.

She did really well with the Nitrous and the shots and the actual pulling.  When she saw me afterwards I could tell that she was barely holding it together.  She ran to me and immediately began to sob. Well, sob as much as you can with a mouth full of bloody, saliva filled gauze.  I nearly started to sob myself, but held it together.  This is what I gazed at the whole ride home. 

yes, Mom, the light is red



 She was very uncomfortable with the numb feeling.  As it wore off she was much happier.  As you can tell from this still numb, half smile.

WARNING:  Yucky tooth picture ahead.

 These are the very large teeth that were pulled.  The second one on the top was one that was loose.  It is the regular size, the rest have very big roots.

 After all the numbing wore off and she started to talk and smile, I nearly burst into tears.  What have I done to this little girl?  She looks like she has on a set of those Bubba teeth.  Only this set cost me $1000 and doesn't remove.  I only hope that I have not ruined her self esteem. 

It is ironic that the reason we had them pulled is that she doesn't have room for her adult teeth and they would come in crooked and 'jacked up' and make her self conscious.  We had talked about taking out four and then waiting for a couple of months for the next set, but the orthodontist said that it would be less traumatic to have them all out at once. 

Well, are you ready for the big reveal? 

 I know!  I am tearing up just looking at this picture. 

She got up this morning and started to cry during breakfast.   She told me that she was afraid that all the kids were going to see the dark clots in her mouth and think that she had to have her teeth pulled out because she didn't brush.  I let her stay home one more day and I am hoping that she will want to go tomorrow.  I don't think I have it in me to force her to go. 

If you see her, please help me out and don't comment too much on how she doesn't have any teeth, unless you are like the amazing Mrs. Easterling who told her how she would have been so jealous to have had so many teeth taken at once.  She told her that she might even be the most popular kid in the whole first grade because of it.  I think I even saw a little smile from that comment.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!



We thought they needed a little girly touch!



Two Down, One to Go

What do you think of when you see this smiling face?

Well, after her first orthodontist appointment, this is what I think of.

She starts out with having eight, yes eight, baby teeth pulled. Dr. Hixson did say that when we were all done, she would have a beautiful, toothy smile. I am going to hold him to that.

More Exciting than Christmas

My parents got here Tuesday night. The girls were so excited for their arrival. They had a hard time going to sleep. They knew that when they woke up Grandma and Grandpa Doll would be here. At about a quarter to five, Leighton came downstairs to ask if it was okay to wake up Grandma and Grandpa. She was followed by the other two, who were just as excited. I made them wait until 6:30, since my parents (or I) hadn't gone to bed until two. They ran in and there was a lot of jumping and squealing involved. Jensyn took a little while to warm up, but once she was warm she was in the bed and making herself at home.

The funniest part is that the girls never get up before eight on Christmas morning!


Side note: When Carly was little my parents would always take the late flight in and the early flight out. So Carly would wake up and they would be in the guest room and then she would go to sleep one night and in the morning they would be gone. I always wondered if she thought it was a magic room.

Toothless

Leighton finally let Dee pull her tooth out. (Not with pliers, but a damp towel.)

She was thrilled to have it out. I was too, random strangers have been offering to yank it out.

Now I have to make her first appointment for the orthodontist. $$$$$$$

Beauty Parlor

Carly has been begging for a hair cut for a couple of months and I finally caved and had Britain cut her hair (pretty short.) She has had so many compliments and it is very easy to take care of.Leighton wanted very short hair and this is such a good cut for her. (It would look better, if she would let someone yank that hanging down tooth. It is hanging on by a thread.)This baby is very far off from getting a haircut. Her hair just keeps getting curlier, not longer.