Alone with the kids ... HA

Wayne made a trip to Winnie to help my folks clean up after IKE tore through Winnie ...

To see pictures and updates check out mom's blog : Down on the Farm
... that meant I had 24 hour care of the kiddos.


I am proud to report, they were fed, bathed and in bed at a decent time each night. Emily made it to school and home without too many incidents (OK, OK there were a couple of incidents) and I managed to get some work done while Elliot napped. I felt super productive (and was super tired) but have a whole new respect for single parents ... wow!
I thought having Wayne work nights was hard - HA!

Boyfriend??

What in the world .... ?

Emily comes home Monday and is talking about what she did at school and she said "Mommy, Drew chased me on the playground today" .... My first thought is "Cool, she's making new friends" .... then she said "Mommy, Drew is my ..... "
I think I got whiplash when I snapped my head around to look at her .... and then she finished with this sweet little smile (the same one she uses when she talks about Dr Booker) "..... boyfriend"

I asked her a few more questions and it seems that Drew asked her at lunch to be his girlfriend .... REALLY in Kinder?? Come on .... aren't boys supposed to have cooties in Kinder??

It wigs me out (really, you couldn't tell could you ... HA) ... I mean, it's sweet when JT tells everyone that Emily is HIS girlfriend, because I know him ... and know it's innocent. Call me paranoid, but I am having flashes in my head of this little boy talking her into all kinds of inappropriate behaviors. It didn't help when she told me they held hands on the way to the playground (siiiiigh) ... but then again she holds hands with ALL her friends and even will hold hands with random kids she meets at the playground ...

I am trying not to make a big deal out of it with her. We just talk about how fun it is to make friends and how happy I am that she is having such a great time at school ... blah blah blah ... all the good mom stuff ...

But come on, school hasn't been in a month yet .... she shouldn't tie herself down to just one boy this early in the game ... BAHAHAHAHA ... OK OK I couldn't help it (and I didn't tell HER that ... really I didn't ... I PROMISE!).

I am sure she will have a new story tomorrow and I'll be completely gray by the end of the school year.

Winnie Ike Updates

To see how my parents are doing, check out their blog
They have internet off and on, and mom has uploaded some pictures here
What a freakin' mess .... thankfully they are all OK!

*9/16 more pictures here and here other information can be found at http://www.texasgulfcoast.net/ - UGH is really all I can say at this time!

Updates

I am such a blog slacker!

Emily is doing GREAT in Kindergarten. She really is loving it so far! A few highlights

*she's been to the nurses office twice for falling off the monkey bars. She's OK - the first time she hurt her wrist, the second time she busted her chin. I thought I had a picture of her busted chin, but I don't - ooops!

*she has been on "blue", has filled up her sticker chart and has been able to go to the treasure chest 6 times. I know, sounds like I am speaking greek ... BUT, the color chart is their behavior chart. The colors are Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. If you stay on blue all week you get to get a prize from the treasure chest. The stickers are given when the teacher sees you do something "good" ... working quietly, listening to the teacher, etc. Once you fill up your sticker chart you get a prize from the treasure chest. THEN they have a table prize ... HA If their table (she has two other kiddos at her table) do the right thing they get beads. Once they fill up their bead jar, they get a trip to the treasure chest ... Wow, sounds crazy huh?

*she brings her lunch each day. But gets milk to drink on Monday's. We'll see if she wants to buy her lunch this week while Wayne is in Winnie - HA!

*They walk each day ... it's like a mad house each morning here around 7:15am. Angala, Emma, Anna Marie, Samantha, Keith (some days) come over to walk instead of fighting the crazy school traffic. Abi and Olivia round off the walking crowd. It's lots of fun!!

*They had a Grandparents lunch (well brunch) and MeMe and Paw Paw came to eat with her on the way to Oklahoma - check out mom's blog here for pictures - Down on the Farm

Elliot is becoming such a big big boy! He's walking around and learning more words. He's getting over a nasty ear infection and hasn't been feeling horrible. He's FINALLY acting like his old self and playing again. He's developing a little personality and it's so fun to watch. He's learning what drives his sister crazy and likes to do it ... over and over - HAHA!

All and all things are going good!

D%$#*! Ike

Hurricane season brings so much stress to people who live on the Gulf .... they spend many hours June through October watching the weather and praying.

Ike blew in like a bad-a$$ late Friday and early Saturday. Winnie was hammered for HOURS. I have talked to my family and they are doing OK.

They all say this was much worse than Rita (as do all the officials in their area) and the amount of clean up needed is mind-blowing.

Their homes are in good shape, but they lost their barns again and most of their trees. Mom sent a couple of pictures before she lost internet access and I just can't imagine what they must be feeling right now. I am not there to see it in person and it makes my heart hurt to think about everything that has been lost in my hometown.

Thankfully Ike was not as horrible as some of the weather guys predicted - I hate to think of what could have happened if it would have been in the gulf for another few hours (shudder)
They probably would have seen the storm surge all the way into Winnie instead of 5 miles to the south (in Stowell). They were very lucky ... very very VERY lucky and I hope I can convince them to leave next time there is a beast like Ike forming in the Gulf.

If anyone would like to go help with the clean up, I am sure they would welcome you with open arms!

Our home laptops ...siiiigh

Our laptops BOTH decided they didn't want to work anymore ... the jerks!
I probably won't be blogging for awhile (unless Chris and Trina let me come to their house every night ... HA)

As soon as we are up again, I'll be back!

School updates ....

I don't have much of an update really - just to say she's having a good time and is really enjoying school (so far!)
She was super tired today when we woke her up - starting school on a Monday is tough on the kids AND the parents - HA!

We have parent orientation on Wednesday and we've already received a fundraiser thing - YIKES!(anyone need a passbook coupon book? she can order them for any area - HA)

Night after the first day of school ...

Emily said she had a great time on the first day of school - said they went to PE, played on the play ground, ate in the cafeteria, she told me she was a big helper, she couldn't remember all her new friends names, but she liked all the kids in her class, etc, etc, etc.

When it came time for bed she got upset.

She told me Kindergarten is too long (I can't disagree with her 7:30 - 2:45 is a looooong time for little people!). Then she told me she wanted to go back to her old school because it's shorter (9 - 1) and her friends Emma and Maddie were there (but they aren't - they both started Kinder this year - Emma is in the class across the hall) ... and she misses Ms Terri, Ms Lynn and Ms Terri ... then she said "my new friend Aiden is always in time out" ... HA!

She talked and talked and talked about the things she didn't like, the things she did like and kept on talking ... I know she'll LOVE it once she's settled in ... but you can tell right now she's a little nervous.

First Day of School !

Well, we dropped her off - now we just have to make sure we get her home this afternoon!

She woke up great, ate breakfast and got dressed without a problem - the only issue was shoes. She's been wearing flipflops all summer, so she thinks her tennis shoes fit funny "they are too biiiiig"

Emma, Anna Marie, Samantha, Angala and Keith come over at 7am so we could all walk together (traffic at the school is INSANE!!) ... Angala made this cuuute sign for the girls to hold (she's so crafty!)

We made it to the school and she walked in like she'd been going to big school forever .... I can't wait to hear what she has to say about it all!
Here are some pictures - I'll be back with more later!

Update - we made it home! I haven't learned too much about her day, but once I hear more, I'll let you know!

Open House!

Well, it's official - Emily is starting school on Monday - I guess we can't put it off any longer - HA!

Tonight was open house and we were able to meet Emily's teacher, check out her room, put her nap towel and a change of clothes in her locker (yes, she has a locker - Oh My!) and put away her supplies.

Her teacher's name is Mrs. Francis and seems super nice.
Emily is having a hard time with her name ... after open house we were talking about her teacher and she'd say "Aunt Frances ... I mean, Mrs Francis said ..... " - HA! I am thinking it might be a good idea to tell Mrs Francis that she has an Aunt Frances and might slip up some in the beginning - HA!

She's so very excited and walked right in the class like she knew what to do!
She is a little bummed that her friends Emma and Carson are not in her class. They are right across the hall and Mrs. Francis said they do specials and lunch and other fun things together (phew!) so they'll see each other often!

I'll update on Monday with some pictures of her first day .... WOW!

Sidewalk Paint

Elliot enjoyed his first paint experience ... as you can see, he painted the sidewalk, his hair, his feet, his legs, his shirt, his pants, ..... etc!
Good thing it's washable and non-toxic paint - HA

booty shot

hey, this is pretty cool
checking out the art work
cleaning up in rain water
I gotta get this paint out of my nails ....
mixing the perfect color
hmmm, I wonder what this will taste like?

Is this where it goes?
Wait, it's sidewalk paint, not hair color!

Elliot's MAAAAAD

Well, it's official - Elliot's mommy is meeeeean!
This is what he thinks when Emily gets to go to Abi's house and he has to stay home.
He sat at the door crying and screaming ... I would go try to pick him up and he'd yell at and turn his back. Yes, I think his temper is starting to show ... what do you guys think?

Some random pictures ...

Hmmmm ....

Hey, turn on the Wiggles ....
Vivian relaxin'
Ewwww, these shoes stink!
Finally walking
This is so fun!!
Elliot wanted BOTH chairs ...
Hey, what did you do ...?

I finally downladed some pictures and updated Snapfish ... man, I haven't done that in a looooong while!

KinderCamp and Swimming Update

Thursday was KinderCamp! The parents talked to the principal and the kids played with the teachers and other kindergartners. Emily had a great time. Mommy, well, Mommy got stressed a bit - HA!
Her school is just going to be so big this year and it makes me worried - there are going to be 1100 students this year! Most elementaries in LISD have 500-600 kids - YIKES! The good thing is, a new school is opening NEXT year and the school will be a normal size again!

We learned how to drop off, how to pick up, what they'll do during the day and even that we can come eat lunch with her if we want - at 10:15 in the morning - that's like breakfast isn't it??

The last day of this sessions swimming is NEXT Thursday, but since we have open house next Thursday, the kids finished up this week.
Emily is doing great - she can swim freestyle very well and almost has the breast stroke down pat. She occasionally does an extra frog kick during the breast stroke, but all in all she's doing GREAT! We aren't starting her right away in the fall - I hear Kinder kids are just wiped out the first month or so of school - but when we start back up she'll be learning the butterfly and backstroke.

Elliot is a crazy man in the water. He has no fear at all ... he jumps off the side all by himself and can hold his breath for 10 seconds! We'll have him in lessons in the fall because he really enjoys it and asks to go under over and over again - maybe he's a dolphin boy just like Phelps ... HAHAHA!

Phelps ... wow ..... did you guys see it?

100m butterfly - WOW - amazing.
Michael Phelps is a dolphin man I think :-)

click here for 100m butterfly final

Happy Birthday Wayne!

Wayne is turning 38 today!
Poor guy, he's been to the doctor twice this week already .... OK, not really - he went last week then again this week ... I told him he's fallng apart!

Have a super day super hubby!

A little dove story ....

OK, the strangest thing happened today ....

We came home from the pool this evening and were talking to the neighbors.
All the sudden we notice a young dove flying around and before I know it, he lands on my head!!!
I mean, my hair IS a disaster, but I don't think it looked exactly like a nest - HA

Pretty cool .... my neighbor took him off my head and the dove just sat on her arm for a bit checking us out.

Too bad I didn't think to send Emily in for the camera!

Blogging delayed because I am an Olympics junkie...

...and I just have to put this here ... for those of you who missed the mens 4x100 freestyle relay ... click here ... WOWZERS!
Emily told me she wants to be a diver...
I am hoping to take her to watch some UT diving this year (looks like they start in the fall) and if she's still intersted maybe find a place in town where she can take lessons

We have some fun things happening in the next couple of weeks:

Thursday is Kinder-camp AND Wayne is turning 38! We are eating at the Saltlick on Saturday - yummy! Next week is Open House and on the 25th school starts - YIKES!

We've been doing a lot of get ready for school activities.... going to bed early, buying new school clothes, talking about what Emily will get to do in Kinder ... WOW, can't believe it's almost here. I think I am still in denial.

Elliot is starting to show us his little personality. Gone is the "sweet laid back" baby ... he's been replaced is with this "I want it now and I want it my way" boy - YIKES!

All in all, we are having a GREAT summer! I wish the 100 degree days would let up soon! Maybe we'll see some relief in October! Sooo, with the heat, we've been doing a lot of indoor activities and hanging at the pool ... I am glad we have a nice pool in the 'hood!

In other news - Dad has finished harvesting and had a super crop! to read more about it, check out their blog here

Happy Birthday Me Me!

Today is Me Me's birthday - she's turning 29 again .... wait, that can't be true - that would mean I am older than my mom ... AHAHA!

Have a super day and eat lots of cake!

Elliot passed the ECI screening :)

It's not surprising now that he's walking like a mad man, but the ECI lady came by today to check him out. He passed the motor skills portion with flying colors - phew!

We talked a bit about his speech because he barely passed the speech portion.
She said a lot of times when kids are working on their motor skills they don't work on their speech skills, soooo she suggested we wait until his 18 month check up before we get concerned.
If he doesn't have 10-15 words at that time (half of which other people can understand) we can have a speech person come out for an evaluation.

It's so weird ... we never thought about this with Emily - she did everything "on time" and always had way more words than expected for her age and still talks a lot (some might say she talks TOO much ...HA)