One Week Down

My kids have completed their first full week of the 2016/17 school year.  I am proud of all three of them.

Ella has been doing a wonderful job following her new morning and afternoon routines - improved and adjusted after learning from first grade - and Emilia and Rex have transitioned well into their Kindergarten classes.

I received this email from Emilia's teacher midweek: I know I am repeating myself but I am just very impressed with Emilia.  She has been an excellent listener, transitioned well from each activity and has stayed focused on academic tasks (brain breaks have helped. :).  

Today she said, "I need help please" in a full sentence while at art center. What amazing gains you have made with her due to your dedication and hard work.  I am so happy she is doing another year of kindergarten because I feel as though she is comfortable in this setting. Today on the playground she asked me to play. :)  

We sing as a class throughout the whole day and like you said, she is very focused during those times so I will definitely keep that up!

And this was Rex's note on Friday:

Thankful for the teachers they have this year and how smoothly we have moved back into the school rhythm.

The Mermaid Is 8

Since Ella's actual birthday fell onto a weekday this year, we had a few surprises for her outside of her party.  She woke up to our traditional birthday table with all of her presents and the breakfast of her choice: icecream.  The outfit she decided to wear for her special day was a birthday gift from her birth family, handmade by her Armenian mother.

In the evening, we left Emilia and Rex with a trusted sitter and took Ella to a movie, her first ever in a theater.  We saw Pete's Dragon which was really a perfect selection for experiencing the sensory impact of a big screen for the first time.  The movie theater we chose has big comfy recliners and serves dinner right there while you watch the movie, so Ella had pizza, fries and a strawberry lemonade icee and Craig and I had wraps.

Ella, now you're eight.

Daddy and I look at pictures from just two years ago

and cannot believe how much you have grown and learned and matured.

You're a most stubborn, competitive, argumentative little girl,

strong, determined and fierce and not afraid to speak your mind.

You're a thrill seeker and adventurer, a worrier, a chatterbox,

and a prankster who lives for anything outside of the daily routine.

Debate team, drama club and swim meets are in your future.

We love you just the way you are.

You’re our treasure and our joy.
Happy birthday!

First Day Of K

Today's the first day of Kindergarten Take 2 for Rex and Emilia.  They will be in different classrooms across the hall from each other.  It gives me some peace of mind that they're close and will see a familiar face in the halls.  Ella said, "Don't worry, Mama, I'll take care of my siblings.  Everything's gonna be okay."  Nothing like an eldest daughter comforting a bawling mother at the bus stop.

First Day Of Second Grade

... for our bright and beautiful eldest child.  She said, "Mama, I am not nervous as a cucumber."  Gotta love that ELL!

Tuesday's Top Ten Repeat

Today...

*My daughters decided that markers are a great substitute for make-up

*One child pooped 8 times into diapers

*I learned that my home/family present a hostile work environment to treatment providers

*The girls thought stripping down in the yard and rolling in mud pits was totally the right thing to do an hour before the school open house

*The school open house - I give you two guesses how I feel about these events

* I did not have breakfast or lunch unless a few handfuls of tortilla chips and half a cupcake count

*Someone asked to use my guest bath which was in a total disaster state

*I let one child play with the water/hose for a full two hours (connect to bullet point four) - shame on my environmental conscience

*We set off our fire alarm

*I discovered a mystery rash on one of the kids

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need some Eierlikoer.

Ella's Birthday Party 2016

We recently celebrated Ella's eighth birthday with family and friends.  Ella firmly believes that she's a mermaid and that her tail will grow when she gets older, so it was no surprise that she asked for a mermaid party.

I did a little research - not on Pinterest because that would be self-sabotaging on so many levels - but via a few blogs of families who'd done mermaid parties.  I toned down their ideas by about 80% and spent approximately $10 on decorations, including for the cake, raided my house for the rest, as well as did a combo of homemade and ordered food.  Add the pool, some toys, family and friends and, voila, we had ourselves a celebration and our mermaid was happy.

The cake has a little story.  Ella asked for a blue mermaid cake and I decided to make it myself.  I baked the layers and then frosted the middle and the top and set the cake into the fridge to let the buttercream harden a little more before decorating.  When I opened the fridge about 30 minutes later, the entire top layer had broken apart and slid off to the sides.  So, making the best of a less than ideal situation, I created this cake and everyone thought it was perfect.

Opening presents

Cousin stealing candy off the cake

Ella ended the day with a long bath, followed by a mama massage with essential oils, and then getting the special privilege of sleeping in the big bed with Craig and me.

Tuesday's Top Ten

Today I've had...

*raw bacon on my toes

*poop in the pool

*melted crayons on the deck

*latex gloves left behind by Emilia with what I hope was not a message from her about my parenting

*two of Rex's former therapists visit and jump right into this week's chaos here for a couple of hours

*the happiest, most adorable sous chef

*my youngest cut her own bangs - no further comment

*to make ten jars of jam before the peaches went bad on me

*love notes from Ella

*countless mystery spills all over the house from morning to evening

And now if you'll excuse me, I need to have a little cry.