Melt My Heart!

Earlier today Charlie was very interested in how to spell many (many,many,many) words!  I was cooking dinner and was just sounding out words left and right while marinating some pork chops.  (Side bar :  He probably hates having a teacher for a mom because I find teacher mode lasts much longer than just my school hours and my children must endure my "teaching" even after school hours!)  

Any who... I honestly didn't think much about the whole deal because lately this is typical.  He loves to ask how things are spelled.  

But after supper , as our nightly routine was about to begin, I walked into my room to drop off a mountain of laundry. 

Beside my bed, propped up for me to see, was the sweetest surprise from my precious little learning Kindergartner!  

  

And then my heart melted into a big pile of mush!  Without my knowing, this little love left me a precious message to be seen when I least expected it!  

I think his hug lasted 5 minutes!  

 

I am so thankful for the little notes at the most unexpected of times!  

Yet another treasure to add to my ever growing collection! 

What A Day!!

It is with smiles and excitement I report that C & W's first day of Kindergarten was a success!   

 

 

So just what was the low down on the Kindergarten classroom according to C & W?  

According to Charlie:  The best part of the classroom is the 2 pointers that you get to choose from when going over the calendar each day!  One even has a finger on the top!   Another impressive feature of his new school was that his cafeteria served "those brown beans you make us eat sometimes"!  He was overjoyed by the playground but did say the Spanish room was really hard!  

According to Wylie:  Kindergarten is great because there are 2 kitchens you get to play in.  She too was a fan of the playground!  When I probed more and more, I was able to conclude she did in fact make some new friends at school but "only girl ones"!  

Thanks to a staggered start schedule, the twins won't be going to school tomorrow.  This makes me super happy because it allowed me to get to take them to school on Friday!  And from a momma who couldn't be there to drop them off today... that is excellent!  

My heart is so happy that they both loved their new school, teachers and classrooms as much as they do!  It took 5 minutes of quietness and stillness for them to pass out on their little pillows tonight!  

To top off the success of the day, my little loves arrived home with a keepsake I will always treasure!  

 

Now, I can sleep more soundly tonight!  Won't be worrying about my little loves as much tomorrow!  

Feeling thankful.  Feeling exhausted.  Feeling exciting.  Feeling hopeful! 

Emotions Everywhere!

‘Twas the night before kindergarten and as they prepared,

kids were excited and a little bit scared.

They tossed and they turned about in their beds,

while visions of school supplies danced in their heads.

Erasers and crayons and pencils galore

were stuffed in their backpacks and set by the door. 

Outfits were hung in closets with care,

knowing that kindergarten soon would be there. 

So here we are!  The night before Kindergarten!  Charlie and Wylie are dripping with excitement and I am a functioning hot mess!  Poems make me cry.  Sweet text from dear friends make me cry. Writing lunchbox notes makes me cry!  A milestone is tomorrow.  A big one.  While I know every bit of their day will be fabulous in everyway, I can't help but wish time would slow down just a snit!!  

To celebrate the milestone of Kindergarten, a special someone made a quick stop by our house this evening!  The Back to School Fairy found our new house and whipped up a special dinner to celebrate two special little loves heading off to Richmond Drive Elementary School!   

 

The little loves were excited to see what the Back to School Fairy had done while they were outside playing on their scooters and bikes! The rushed in to see a sea of primary colors!  

 

Our Back to School Fairy was extra nice and even dropped off a few things we might be needing as Kindergarten begins!  

Wylie was delighted to see more "word" cards!  

  

And new headbands!  

 

Charlie was all smiles when he got new toothpaste (that wasn't pink!) and some cards to "study his numbers" with!   (He loves addition!  He got addition/subtraction flashcards!) 

The Back to School Fairy would never dream of leaving anyone out!  So even Bessie Boo and Ben got a  treat too!  Bess was in love with her new Dora ABC flashcards!  Ben got a new set of crayons to color in a coloring book with!  

The little loves were all smiles thanks to a super nice fairy! 

 

Who doesn't love breakfast for supper!?  Our B2SF (Back to School Fairy) had everything we needed to make a delicious meal of eggs, grits, sausage and cinnamon buns!  Yummo!  

There were clean plates and second helpings all around!  

 

  

But after dinner we discovered one more little treat just for Charlie and Wylie!  

Rolled into a scroll and tied up with a bag of confetti was this precious poem called "Ready Confetti"!  

 

  

So, I took Charlie and Wylie into the den to begin reading them the poem that the B2SF had left for them!  

(Pre Poem Photo) 

But 4 lines in... I was a HOT MESS!  I couldn't read.  While my little loves gathered near my side looking at me (and laughing thanks to their father) I just continued to have the tears stream down my cheeks.  

I would get it together enough to read the next line, then it would happen again.  

The poem that should have taken 30 seconds to read took about 5 minutes. 

All the while, Bubba, who was playing photographer, was cackling at me.  Everyone seemed to find it amusing that I was struggling through a poem about confetti and school!  

 

But, I made it through to the end!  Red nosed and teary eyed, my little loves were super excited to use their Ready Confetti in their beds!  

 

Upstairs we headed to sprinkle our Ready Confetti under our pillows!  Everyone got the joy of doing this!  The kids even put confetti under our pillowcases! (Bubs is extra special because Bess put all his confetti inside his pillowcase!) 

We sprinkled, talked about meeting new friends and reading the best books ever and then I had to go.  Bubba took over giving the final hugs and well wishes before heading our KINDERGARTENERS off to bed!  

 

There day will be exhausting, exciting, phenomenal and perfect in everyday!  I am looking so forward to hearing them tell me about their new friends, their teachers and their new school tomorrow!  

C & W ~ I love you lots and lots!  May you make friends tomorrow that will last you a lifetime!  I pray you have a day beyond compare!  I will be thinking about you all day long!  Big hugs and Big kisses for you on this very special day!! 

Lots and Lots!! 

Nope...that is NOT cool!

My children are obsessed with numbers.  This is nothing new.  This is why obsessions with big numbers are bad... very bad... 

Lying quietly on the floor of my bathroom floor there is a scale.  

Just like most, I really don't like to step on it but I am pretty sure the thing has eyes because I can practically feel it staring me down at times!  The little white scale just lays there and I continue to ignore him day in and day out.  

But for some reason, which makes NO sense whatsoever to me, I not only noticed (and acknowledged) my scale today - I actually then did the dreaded... I stepped on it.  

Now, I will not lie.  This all took place at about 10 o'clock PM and after 2 glasses of wine-  just saying 

However, despite those 2 factors,  I stepped on the scale for some unknown reason.  But just as I began to think my contact might be out of focus I realized that in fact my scale number was WAY WAY WAY bigger than normal.  Like WAY bigger.  

I quickly hopped off thinking this was just another scale broken or cheap.  

Until I stopped and really looked at it...  

With no weight on the scale this is what it read - 

 

Ahhhhhh!!!  Give me a heart attack! 

As soon as my eyes saw the number on the lonely scale, I remembered Charlie giggling the other day as I was getting ready.  He kept telling me to look at how much he weighed!  

I guess he was thrilled to see a "big" number!  

However, that was a horrible trick to play on his mother! 

Bless!  Love my house of crazy little loves!  But that is what no mom wants so see when she steps on a scale!  

A Most Precious Comment

In the past year, Charlie and Wylie have become very in to numbers.  Especially big numbers.  I must get asked several times a day if something is a really big number.  While they are a bit confused they get the idea that the more digits there are, the bigger the number.  This game of "Say the Biggest Number" can get quite competitive between the two of them!   For example, Charlie might say "Mom, I want to ride my scooter for one hundred two hundred twenty nine hundred minutes."  Wylie will then add her two cents in and remark with something like "Mom, can I paint my toenails five hundred ninety nine one hundred times?"  

Regardless of how they say these "numbers" they get the idea that big numbers are just that - BIG, therefore, they are important.  (At least I think that is what they think from the many "numbers" I get asked about!) 

For two days, I have been thinking about one of the most precious comments Wylie said to me.  A comment that melted my heart in a big, hot mess!  A comment that has been on the tip of my brain for 2 days because of how sweet and innocent it was.  

  

"Mom, I love you all the way to 197."  

One sentence.  That was it.  

And then I was a teary eyed mess standing in her bedroom trying to get it together over a basket of laundry before I had to explain why her little itty bitty sentence would be a line I would never ever forget! 

 I am so thankful for that moment.  It was a moment filled with a comment that I honestly listened to and heard.  I think, well, I know, I heard it more with my heart than my ears.  I know she was trying in her little 5 year old way to say she loved me (as we say every night) lots and lots!  I know that in her mind the number 197 was as big as she could think of and I hope (and I am pretty sure) that she was telling her mommy she loved me in the biggest way possible.  (Please let me be right on that one!!)  

And so, here I sit, 2 days later, trying to write a blog post about one sentence and still I can't replay the memory without it making me tear up again!  

I don't know if I can ever put enough words in these post that will really, really, really tell my little loves how dear, special, irreplaceable and loved from their heads to their toes they are!!  Even thinking about how much I love them makes me weepy.  

Clearly, I am a mom whose first loves are entering Kindergarten!!  

Wylie, you are a momma in the making!  You are so observant and patient.  I love that you tell me you want to grow up BUT you will still give me kisses and hugs when you are 6!!  You soak everything in and never miss a beat!  I am so thankful for you!  

I love you lots and lots!!! 

Or should I say, I love you all the way to 198!  

Rub a Dub Dub...4 Baileys in a Tub!

 

What is a better way to entertain 4 restless little loves?!  Why... fill a tub up with soap, turn on the jacuzzi jets and let them soak  until they are wrinkled on ten toes!!  

So that is just what this momma did!!  Partly for entertainment, partly for the ease of doing one giant bath rather than 3 small ones later on!!  

I think it is safe to say these little loves enjoyed every minute of their "cleaning"!  

However, no one told me that if you add a hearty dose of bubbles to your water AND THEN turn on the jets, the bubble go INSANE!!  I had to keep an eye out for Ben because all we could see of him at one point was his face and curls!  His neck down was covered in white bubbles!!  

C, W and B thought it was so funny to make their whole body "invisible" and only show me their face!  This was good fun for these three!!  

 

But what bubble bath is complete without Bubble Hairdo's!?!?!  The contest that was born from this bubble discovery was Who Can Have The Tallest Hair-do?  Again, endless fun for the older three!  

 

Probably one of my most favorite pictures from the whole bubble bath extravaganza!!  Oh how I love these little loves!!  

 

Since our entertaining bath time, I continue to go into my bathroom to find my tub filled with their toys!      They beg to take baths in my tub.  But that is my secret escape after all the little loves go to bed!  

I love, love, love my tub!  And while I do cherish those super quiet moments in the tub where I watch my ridiculous iPad Netflix shows, I do also love that I see the smiles of my 4 most incredible blessings in there also!  They think this is the greatest thing.  I know that won't last forever.  I am realizing so frequently these days how fast they are growing up.  So if I have to share my sacred tub with them... I will.  But I still get first dibs on it!!  

The Budding Artist

From the moment the child discovered coloring books and crayons, she has been all about them!  Wylie, who despite the fact that she is a hoarder with her toys, blankets and baby dolls and appears to be a very messy child- is actually a very neat and particular colorer!

Learning to color in the lines was a big deal for her!  She was so proud of herself as a little love and showed off her artistic skills every day!  Thanks to the table my dad made for C and W for their 1st b'day, "the coloring book table" , Wylie has spent many hours perfecting her coloring book talents! 

When I learned about Art Camp, I jumped all over this for Wylie!  Instantly I knew she would love, love, love having a week devoted to doing nothing but art projects! 

Ms. Roseanne's art camp was one of the highlights of Wylie's summer!  Everyday, Wylie would tell us about all the secret art pieces she was doing but couldn't really talk to us about because of the art show on Friday!  I was super excited to see what my budding artist was going to showcase!!  

Each piece was beautiful and a priceless treasure!  

Upside Down Owls  ~ by Wylie  

(Don't think they were actually suppose to be upside down but apparently she got her tree turned a bit upside down hence this masterpiece!) 

Treehouse ~  by Wylie 

 

A Slice of Cake  ~ by Wylie 

(This piece has an additional 3D cake slice that she created to represent the portion missing from her cake! It sits on my kitchen counter and is strangely real looking!) 

 

Summer Sunset  ~  by Wylie  

(How GREAT is this?!  My brother said surely it was a paint by numbers but friends, it was not!! ) 

 

Wylie has been on me to add her masterpieces to my artwork wall at the house!  I love being able to look at the wall and see the art work done by the kids that they are so proud of!  Pretty soon, my wall is going to be covered floor to ceiling because deciding which pieces go in a frame is SO HARD!!  

I am so thankful that Wylie has a interest in art!  Wylie was beyond excited to learn that this fall she will be with Ms. Roseanne every week in Art Classes too!  

I am so happy for her love for this!  I am thankful for her innocent talent!  

And each piece she creates is worth more than a million dollars to me!  

Bowling with the Baileys

We are taking full advantage of our last days of summer around here!  While the kid's lists of "What to do today" is still a mile long, we are checking off several of the in town activities!  There are a few activities that I am still holding off on doing because nothing about Carowinds and August heat sounds fun to me... yet I know my son is NOT going to let me forget about it!!

However, bowling is an air conditioned activity that is just good ol' wholesome fun!  Who doesn't love to bowl!?  The Bailey Bunch certainly does!!  So what else is better to do on a Friday morning at 10 o'clock?!  Of course...bowling with the Bailey's!!   While Wy was at Art Camp, this was our fearsome team!  

 

 We picked our balls, all the same color of course, and were ready to bowl the morning away!

 

Charlie was super excited because Hunter was able to join in on the fun!  This ended up being the team to beat!!  

 

Bess was honestly a natural at this!  She LOVED bowling and was actually pretty good for a 4 year old!  She was a bit impatient and really didn't like having to wait for her turn!  

 

Just look at that focus!!!  

 

And then there was Ben!!  Of course he only wanted to use a red ball which of course was the heaviest ball!!  So despite my patient motherly assistance, this little love felt that rolling the ball was more interesting!  

 

After each roll, Bess wanted to know her score!  She was so happy to hear how big her number was!!  After she learned her score, she then went to everyone in our group announcing her score!  She was so proud of herself!  Plus, the animated screens were a thrill for her!!  

  

 

Charlie had bowled before so he was a self-considered pro at this game!  He went back and forth between using the ball ramp and learning to actually bowl!  But his real talent was at scoring Spares!  The kid was always getting one!  He loved seeing the screen congratulate him too!  

 

 

  

While all of this fun filled event was precious, the most adorable thing I saw were how these sweet little feet looked in the bowling shoes!  They were so itty bitty and tiny!  Too bad he really didn't care about bowling!!  

 

 So this crazy crew conquered the bowling alley on their summer to do list of fun!  The kids had a wonderful time.  Charlie left with a combined score of 154.  Bess had a combined score of 151.  And coming in dead last was this momma.  I left with an impressive score of 81.  Clearly I had my focus and attention on other things and did not allow my competitive nature to step in and beat my children!  Next time, it is game on!!