love bug finally goes to school

The day she has been asking for since The Mayor started kindergarten finally arrived...today was the first day of preschool for Miss Love Bug.  She was so excited.  Considering we were the last kid to leave her classroom during "Meet The Teachers" last week because she just loved being in the class, I figured this would be an easy transition.  She was a bundle of excitement and joy this morning.  She couldn't wait to have her bath and put on her first day of school outfit and she almost ran me over when I told her it was time to get into the car.  It is so much easier dropping them off at school when they are super excited about being there.

When a teacher we didn't know came to our car to take her into class she became a little apprehensive but thankfully no tears were shed.  She cuddled into my shoulder for a few seconds and I just reassured her she would have a great day and this nice teacher would take her to her class.  That was all she needed and she walked into that school with a smile on her face.

I left preschool drop off and went to the elementary school to volunteer in the media center.  It was pretty slow since it was an early release day so after my shift I went down and picked The Mayor up from his class and took him to lunch.  After lunch, we went to Love Bug's preschool so The Mayor could see his PreK teachers from last year.  His teacher was so happy to see him and The Mayor was just as thrilled to be back.  He showed me where the gym and library were and was like a little celebrity when the director and other teachers saw him and said hello.  He was quite proud.  He and Mrs. Karen had a great time catching up and we promised he would come back for more visits.

We left school and got into carpool line.  I really wanted to walk into her class and get her but I knew it was more important to establish her routine from day 1...so I pushed my wants aside and loaded us up in the car.  She was all smiles when she saw me pull up.  She said "mommy, I had such a great day!!" and her teacher agreed.  She told me her day was great and that "she was so easy".  I just know this year is going to be great for both of my sweets.

MeMe and Big Daddy are here!  So this week and weekend are about to become awesome.  The kids are loving being spoiled with attention and D and I are looking forward to a date night...gotta love free babysitting!

at least i'm consistent

D got me out on my bike again today.  It's only the second time I have ridden it and this time I was on the road with cars.  And I dropped my bike again.  It is those clips...I wonder if I will ever get used to clipping into the bike?  D and all of our tri friends say I will...but my knees are really beginning to wonder.  At least I fell on my other leg so I will have matching road rash scars.  I'm 2 for 2 on dropping my bike...at least I am consistent.

The rest of the weekend was uneventful in comparison.  The weather has been amazing so we spent a lot of time outside.  Yesterday after a late lunch, we walked around an outdoor mall for hours.  We just soaked in the sun, breeze and comfortable temperatures and walked and ran around.  It was a great way to decompress from a busy week.

This week will be exciting...Love Bug finally starts preschool!  We had her Meet the Teachers last week and I just know it is going to be an amazing year.  One of my friends is actually her assistant teacher and I have heard great things about her lead teacher.  One of my friends in our neighborhood has a daughter in Love Bug's class so we are really excited about the two of them becoming friends.  We are also going to carpool together so these sweet girls are going to be very close by the end of the year and I couldn't be happier!  I am excited Love Bug will have a friend her age in our neighborhood and class.

This weekend is going to be a great one because not only is it a long weekend...but MeMe and Big Daddy are coming for a visit!!  We can't wait!

kids had fun trying on hats and sunglasses at the store...The Mayor did get to take this sweet hat home just in time for college football to start

the girl loves to be fashionable

road rash #2...this one isn't as bad as my first so I guess I am improving!

first loose tooth

For dinner tonight I made tilapia, corn on the cob and broccoli.  Both kids love this meal (well, The Mayor doesn't love the broccoli, but he will take a bite) so we eat this meal at least once a week.  After a few bites of the corn, The Mayor said he couldn't eat anymore because his tooth hurt.  I asked him to come to me and I felt his lower tooth...AND IT IS LOOSE!  I am chalking it up to all the change that has been happening with my baby boy the past two weeks but I started crying!  How ridiculous! I didn't want The Mayor to think something was wrong or it was bad his tooth was loose so I didn't let him see me cry.  I covered my face with a napkin and told D to tell The Mayor about the Tooth Fairy and all the cool things that happen when you lose a tooth.  It took a minute for D to stop laughing at me and my ridiculous reaction but he filled The Mayor in.

The Mayor said he didn't want to eat his corn because he didn't want his tooth to "pop out".  So D cut the corn off the cob so he could finish his meal.  A couple of times The Mayor's lower lip quivered because he thought he wasn't brushing well enough so his teeth were falling out.  And then he worried it was a bad thing his tooth was going to fall out and asked if his teeth fell out and he had zero teeth left, how was he going to eat?  I just love that sweet boy and his innocence.  We told him this was a good thing and it meant he was becoming a big boy and once he lost his tooth a brand new big boy tooth would take its place.  And besides, the Tooth Fairy leaves you money that you can save in your piggy bank or use to buy a new toy.  Want to guess what he is going to choose?  Spend the money on a new toy...

It really is so exciting but I am not going to lie, it makes me a little sad.  I love the grins on both of my kids with their sweet little baby teeth but my boy is going to be so handsome with his new teeth.  Just a lot of change happening in the past two weeks.

his lower right tooth (the one on the left if you are looking at the picture) is the one that is loose

tiny tiger yellow belt

Today The Mayor tested for his Tiny Tiger yellow belt.  We are so proud of him; he has worked really hard these past 8 weeks.  His kicks have improved greatly since his last belt test and his focus was really great today.  The best part was seeing the look of pride on The Mayor's face.  He was so proud of himself and was proud to wear that new yellow belt.

waiting patiently to be called onto the floor to start testing

the weapons portion of the test (using his kamas)

kama testing

showing his chop/punch moves with the kamas

the sparring portion of the test

outer crescent kick

starting his roundhouse kick

form test - songahm 2

front kick into punch for songahm 2

punch of songahm 2

round kick - songahm 2

twin low block - songahm 2

they had to cover their eyes while the parents were given the new belts

opening his eyes and seeing his new yellow belt

so happy

so proud

 

first day of ballet

The day Love Bug has been waiting for and asking for almost on a daily basis for the past couple of months finally arrived today...her first ballet class!  Oh my goodness...she was so cute I wish she could go to ballet class everyday.  I knew it would be best for her hair to be up during class, but because her hair is naturally curly, most of the hair on the side of her head won't reach into a ponytail in the back of her head.  So I split her hair down the middle and french braided it on the sides.  She looked like such a big girl with her hair off her beautiful face.  She loved her hair...in fact when she saw herself in the mirror her exact words were "oh, my hair is soooo cute" and she absolutely loved being in her tights, leotard and ballet shoes.  We are only missing her little ballet skirt, but hopefully it will arrive in the next couple of days so she can wear it next week.

She did great in class.  She was so polite and talkative.  She wasn't shy at all and loved dancing around the room following her teacher.  I was so proud of my girl and so happy she was doing something she really loves.  She had the biggest smile on her face during class and shed actual tears because it was over.  She can not wait until next week to go back.

After class, Love Bug, Rebecca and I came home and watched a movie.  The movie was on for less than 15 minutes before Rebecca fell asleep on the couch;  I thought Love Bug was going to fall asleep too but she just had heavy eyes.  Considering those two little sweets were up at 6AM talking to each other instead of sleeping, I was not surprised one fell asleep and the other looked like a little zombie.

We ate lunch and played before walking to the bus stop to get The Mayor.  Because he had a great day, we went with our neighbors to get some frozen yogurt.  The kids had a blast getting filled up on sugar and it was nice being able to chat with my neighbor.  We are planning on doing this on a pretty frequent basis...I know the kids will be happy about that decision.

After ice cream, we went home to change and head up to karate.  It was the last day to practice before belt testing this week.  The Mayor tests for his Tiny Tiger yellow belt tomorrow and I wanted him to have one more opportunity to practice with his instructors.  D met me up there and took the 3 kids home to feed them dinner so I could head to school for a PTA meeting and Curriculum Night.  Both went well and then I came home to get Rebecca and take her home.  She almost fell asleep on the way to her house and Love Bug was asking to go to bed.

Tomorrow Love Bug and I will go to the gym but other than that we will be lying low.  We need to catch up on our sleep!  Tomorrow night I have Open House at Love Bug's preschool and I am so excited to find out who she has for teachers.  Going to be a great year!

her little braids

I love her sweet profile

I took pictures through the window in the door...

sweet Rebecca taking a nap

one sleeping one needs to be sleeping

walking to the bus stop to get The Mayor

getting frozen yogurt

The Mayor's super hero hanging in the hall at school...his super power is "Reading" and his weakness is "game"...love him

cuteness overload

Too much cuteness going on in this post...buckle up.

First of all, look at this...I mean, come on.  Our friend's daughter Rebecca is spending the night tonight because our friend Joe is having surgery tomorrow.  Love Bug was so excited Rebecca was coming over and that she was going to sleep in her room.  I was a little concerned if sleeping would actually occur but the girls did amazing.  D actually read to them and put them down and after 15 minutes Love Bug got up and Rebecca was upset.  But tears literally lasted a minute and a half, we read one more book, said another round of prayers and I left them in the room.  After another few minutes I heard a few giggles and "conversations" and then they were out.  I went upstairs to check on them and found them snuggled in and sleeping soundly.  Couldn't be cuter.

This weekend was a weekend of greatness.  Friday I took Love Bug over to Mamie and PopPop's house so she could get a sneak peek at Nugget the new puppy.  My little peanut adored spending time with the new little peanut.  We couldn't stay long because I had to run a few errands and get home to finish getting the house ready for my cousins to arrive.  Some of my favorite cousins were coming into town and we hadn't seen each other in 5 years.  We always have a great time when we are together and the best part about family is it doesn't matter how much time elapses, when we are together it is as if no time has passed at all.  D and I had such a great time hanging with them Friday night and my cousin Annie and I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning catching up.

Saturday morning D and I took Annie, her husband and 3 kids, and our family, out for doughnuts and then we came home to relax.  We were all going to my dad's house for dinner and since they had been traveling all day Friday and Annie and I stayed up until 1:30, a relaxing afternoon is exactly what we needed.

Karli, Olivia, Love Bug and The Mayor enjoying their doughnuts

When we arrived at PopPop and Mamie's house, we had a fun surprise.  Aunt Amy, Sydney and Knox were there!  They were in town visiting Uncle Wes's family so we weren't expecting to see them but because of a power outage at Uncle Wes's parent's house, they came over.  It was the first time we had met Knox and Love Bug and Sydney had the best time playing together.  They followed each other around and had tea parties until it was time for them to leave.  It was great having 6 of the 7 grandkids together.  Love Bug and Sydney made plans for future play dates and Love Bug has been talking about it ever since.  She was seriously sad when they loaded up in the car because she wanted to go back to Nashville with them.  Mamie promised Love Bug a girl's trip where they will go to Nashville and spend the weekend with Sydney.  Too fun!

Love Bug and Sydney

The Mayor and Nugget

Love Bug and Nugget

do you know how hard it is to get 6 kids to look at the camera at the same time?  

another attempt

love these boys

PopPop had the kids cracking up...tickling and wrestling with the boys

It was amazing having our big, loud, Italian family all together last night.  PopPop and Mamie ordered pizzas for everyone and we just enjoyed the evening of everyone catching up and the kids all playing together.  I wish we all lived closer together so we could do this more often.

After dinner, we came home to put The Mayor and Love Bug down and then we had movie night.  Me and the girls all watched a movie while D and my cousin's husband Jimmy hung the basement cabinets.  Jimmy is a phenomenal woodworker and loves doing home projects.  He jumped at the chance to help D and because of his help the cabinets are all hung!  It would have taken me and D several weeks and it took Jimmy and D a day.

This morning we had a late breakfast together and then my cousins loaded up for the drive home.  We miss them so much already but I am looking forward to the next visit.

This afternoon was another cold and rainy day here (seriously, it has been in the 60s the past couple of days...it is August...in Georgia...it is so weird) so we watched movies and ran errands.

Tomorrow will be a fun girl's day.  Love Bug has her first ballet class and then Love Bug, Rebecca and I will come back home to play.  I am sure all the princess dresses, baby dolls and kitchen toys will be pulled out.  Love Bug will surely jump at the chance to play with every girl toy in the house with another little girl.  It doesn't happen often when it is just girls in the house so I know she won't let this opportunity pass her by.