First Day of School

First Day of First Grade

Morgan, 

You have taken to first grade so well. Every day when I pick you up from school, I ask you 5 questions:

1. What did you eat for lunch OR which part of your lunch did you eat for snack?

2. Who did you play with at recess?

3. What was your favorite part of the day?

4. What was your least favorite part of the day?

5. What is one thing you learned?

You probably don't realize it, but talking to you about the answers to these questions is one of the sweetest parts of my day and my way of coping with the fact that my little boy is gone for so many hours. Sure I have plenty of  kids to keep my busy while you are away, but I miss you and the funny things you do and say. The answers to these questions are also my way of making sure you are adjusting ok to a new school and new friends and new experiences. It is how I know what kinds of snacks to buy for lunches and how I determine which birthday parties we absolutely can't miss no matter what! You have made lots of friends and I love that you reach out to the "new(er than you) kids" because you know how it feels to be new and nervous. I love that you play with lots of different kids at recess (although you definitely have your favorites) and that you are so excited about the mealworms you are learning about in science. I love that your answer to question # 3 is almost always "all of it" and your answer to #4 is usually..."didn't you hear my answer to my favorite part?" 

In just a few weeks, you are already improving in so many ways...I never cease to be amazed at the books you can read/facts you know/logic you think through. I am so glad you got such a fun teacher who will make learning such a fun experience for you this year. I hope that you catch the vision of the books she will have you write and publish because I think that is the coolest thing ever and you come from a long line of writers, so I am certain you will do great at it! Have a wonderful year sweet boy...continue to make friends, listen to your teacher, stay excited about learning and ask lots of questions as you discover the wonder in this world.

xoxoxo, 

Mom

First Day of Pre-K (4 year old preschool)

Chloe, 

I have to admit preschool was at the top of my "things to stress about list" when I found out we were moving. As much as I tried to have everything in place before we left, the schools here were not open at all during the summer months, so I couldn't even talk to anyone to find out if there were openings until less than 2 weeks before school would start. I was quite devastated that you wouldn't have Miss Fidge, and I was certain that no preschool could live up to that experience. Daddy and I had a few options for schools that had one more opening for you, but when we compared the programs, we chose the one that was not only most convenient for me because it is in the same building as Morgan, but also the program that was most similar to the environment you would have gotten with Miss Fidge.

While the cost of preschool...which is called Pre-K here...was quite a shock to us, we are so thrilled with your teacher and your class. I was impressed that they would only take 10 students (and you were #10!) and I know that you love being in a class with 8 other girls and one darling boy (poor kid). You keep your teacher and your classmates laughing with stories, playing pretend and especially with the captions to your pictures for your about me board (I need to post those captions on here, because they are hilarious!). You are part of a "clique" at age 4...which kind of scares me, especially because I am so anti-clique. Everyday, I mention to you how important it is to include other kids even if they aren't your very favorite friend. That said, I am delighted at the cute little friendships you have made in a few short weeks. When we picked Morgan up from school the other day, one of your Pre-K friends came over, caught your attention and gave you a great big bear hug as you both squealed with delight at seeing each other. What a sweet and caring girl  you are. 

I don't have to ask you any questions about your day. You tell me everything and unpack your backpack on your way to get in the car to show me all the goodies you created in class. I hope you continue to listen to your teacher, make friends, include everyone and play nicely and I know you will have a wonderful year!

xoxoxo. 

Mom

Photography Note: Do you like how I strategically composed these images with no apartment in the background...ha ha ha! Kind of hoping we can forget those three weeks ever happened.

thank you notes

I have become quite terrible at writing thank you notes. I used to paper-craft a custom note and write something sweet and simple. But then I had kid and then another kid (and another and another) and I felt this need to meet some standard of perfectionism that I had created in my brain and since that standard was completely unreachable, I just stopped writing the thank you notes all together.

I have since purchased a few little boxes of thank you cards that I unpacked and placed in the desk drawer in my new "office" with the intention of getting back on board with thank you note writing (and other note writing) in a non-perfectionistic way. But, in the meantime, I have a lot of little "thank yous" that have been swimming around in my head. SO many people have reached out to us and been so kind as we have struggled through this transition and felt very isolated and alone. And, while I know these people will probably never see this little blog or know how they touched my life, I will feel better recording my thoughts and putting these thank yous on paper.

Sweet older lady who came to our table when we went out for birthday dinner: Thank you for taking the time to come to our table and tell me how beautiful my family is and that you had been wanting to come over and offer to hold our baby so I could eat my dinner without a child in my arms. Your kindness was noticed and appreciated.

Boeckman Creek (the school Morgan would have attended in Wilsonville) secretary: Thank you for your sweetness and for tolerating my children playing with all the toys on your desk while I filled out paperwork. You never once made me feel like we were disrupting your work/quiet even though I know we were.

5-6 Teacher at Morgan's school: Thank you for being so kind and caring and insistent when I was feeling so small. My girls loved playing with you and I was grateful for the short break.

Karen: Thank you for giving me your phone number and being so friendly within minutes of learning I was new in town. I am so excited to get to know you and hope our kids will be good friends. I don't know that I have ever met someone quite so welcoming as you, but I hope I can learn from your example.

New ward: Wow! I don't know that I have ever felt "home" in a ward so quickly. Thank you for noticing us, getting to know us, and making us feel welcome and important.

Mom: You are irreplacable. Thanks for answering the phone every day when I call.

Mandy: I need to call you back, but until I get around to it (you can't talk on your cell while driving here - ugh!)...your call came at a very appropriate time and was so sweet. Miss you much!

Blog and facebook commenting friends: I don't know if you realize how much I love reading your comments on my blog/facebook posts. I know that everyone loves to get comments, but being so far away from friends and family, each time I read a comment from one of you, I feel like what I am doing matters to someone. I think of you and the impact you have had on my life and gratitude washes over me. Thank you!

 Dusti: Thank you for saving my sanity by taking the kids on moving day. I don't know what I would have done without you!!! So glad you are close by!

Maggie's group girls: It is amazing to me how you can be such dear friends with people you have never met, but truly you are all wonderful and I am so glad that we met. If I had learned absolutely nothing about how to use my camera in our class, I would still have considered that money well spent for the chance to know all of you! Thank you for supporting me with your comments, prayers, kindness, understanding, listening and friendship. I cannot wait to meet all of you in person. It HAS to happen!

Stafford Ward home teachers: Thank you for coming by. Sorry it was crazy, but it really meant a lot to our family that you made the time to come and meet us! I think we should still be friends so I hope we see you around the stake.

Stafford ward elder's quorum: Thank you for helping us move in and for being so willing even though we had never met. Thank you for telling me how wonderful my peanut butter bars were (because cooking food that people enjoy makes me feel useful!). But most of all, thank you for bringing your children to help us move. I would have never thought to do that, but watching your little ones get so excited about carrying the light stuff (and sometimes even the heavy stuff) was a testimony to me of how important it is that we set an example of service for our children. I will keep that in my heart always.

I know there are more thank yous and lots of notes to write to specific people, but at least that is a start!

Wilsonville

Well, we are moved in to our new place and slowly but surely getting unpacked. The kids are loving school and  having a playroom and all of the wonderfulness of living in this new house, but all of it is so overwhelming to try and capture so I can share it with you here on the blog. I have a bunch of posts swimming around in my head that I haven't had a chance to jot down, so I thought I would start capturing the ideas - short and sweet - and get to the big stuff (first day of school, pics of the house, etc) as I can.

We lived in our Wilsonville, OR apartment for a total of 3 weeks. As I mentioned a few posts back, it was kind of awful. Apartment living is hard for a family of 6+dog and having a craptastic apartment is even worse, HOWEVER, we really fell in love with Wilsonville. It is way too far from Seth's work for us to have stayed there, but it was the perfect blend of small town meets big city. :) They had a costco (with gas, which is harder to come by around here), Target, multiple grocery stores, shopping close by, movie theaters, fabulous schools and decent city access, but there were these gorgeous farmhouses on acres of farmland with animals and crops. I loved the roadside stands selling fresh-picked tomatoes for $.50/lb. and the blackberry bushes lining the forest trail from our apartment to the dog park. It was so cool to be so close to the river and protected forest space even though you were in a developed little downtown area. Apparently there are outlet stores a few minutes away too, but I never got a chance to go (yet!). Anyway, the verdict is: I think we would really like to live in Wilsonville under different circumstances.

3 months

Dear Ellie,

My sweet baby girl, you turned 3 months old yesterday and I find myself wondering where the time has gone. It has been a difficult time for our family since you started your life on earth. There has been a lot of crying, yelling, change, driving and stress. There has been very little schedule and very little time to sit and watch you sleep or think about how blessed we are that Heavenly Father sent you to us, but despite the craziness, you have been showered with love.

Morgan is your protector. He watches over you and loves to make you smile and laugh. He gives you a finger to suck on when we are in the store for the gajillionth time and you are letting me know that you are sick of it. He rocks your seat so sweetly and talks to you like you are the most precious thing on earth. I know he will be a stinker to you sometimes because he is your brother, but he will look out for you your whole life.

 Chloe is your social coordinator. She introduces you to everyone we "meet" as we make our way through the world with you. She loves to cuddle you and always wants to give you one last kiss or one last hug. You will love playing with her and I know you will look up to her. She will be a good example to you.

 Brynn is your buddy. She loves to talk to you and sing to you and help you feel better when you are stuck in the car running errands. She loves that she gets to sit next to you. You will tell her your secrets and share her clothes and get into mischeif together.

 Your daddy is amazing! I hope that you are as blessed as I to find someone like him to spend your life with. He adores you. He loves to spend time with you after the big kids are in bed so he can show you his silly faces and hear you giggle. You love him too. You get this sweet smile that covers your whole face and is so big your eyes squeeze closed when you play with him. You can count on him to take care of you and teach you and love you your whole life.

 And, though I have not been the kind of mom I want you to remember me as these first 3 months of your life, I want you to know how blessed I feel to have you in our family. I love your sweet personality and your patience and endurance. I love the sweet moments when we play together and when you smile when I come in the room because you know my face. I am so sad that I have not relished these 3 months like I should have, that I haven't taken pictures of your sweetness, and pretended you were still eating, just so I could hold you and stare at your gorgeous eyelashes a little longer.

 Ellie, without a doubt you were meant to come to this family right now at this crazy time. You have big things to do and learn and become. You are so very loved. I am so blessed to be your momma and to watch your bright future unfold before you. Before I know it, those chubby little rolls in your legs will be gone, and long skinny legs will take their place. Your fuzzy head will be covered with a cute little hairdo. Your sweet little lips will lose their little nursing callous and will form words and sentences. And I will wonder where the time went, but I don't want to regret not taking in more when I had the chance, so I promise to take the time to savor every second of your babyhood from here on out. I love you Ellie-belly-button! xoxo Mom

public places

I wanted to get on here and post something a little lighter than my last post since it was a little out of character for my optimistic self. Yesterday, I even told Seth that I am actually really liking Portland...missing everyone, but liking the city in general. But, in light of today's happenings, this post is not happier than my last post. It is just a real, honest post about the crappiness of my life today.

Today actually started out pretty good. We got ready, made the 20 minute drive from where we live now to the city where we will live next week (woo hoo) to get some stuff done. We ordered our new front load washer and dryer with steam (yippee - so excited about them...thanks to all who chimed in on my FB post with recommendations) without causing too much chaos in the store (considering how long we were there). We had gummy bears for a reward when we got back to the car and then headed to the kids' new school for Chloe's Pre-Kindergarten (4 year-old preschool) orientation. Her teacher is going to be great...although nobody is as awesome as Miss Fidge...and the class is 8 other 4-year-old girls and 1 boy (they only take 10 kids), so she will be in heaven! The other parents were so nice and I am excited to get to know them! The kids were a little unruly which was a little stressful for me...running around in the gym and when we went outside and Brynn was talking when the teacher was giving us the rundown on how things will go, so we had a talk afterward on the way to grab lunch about how to act when your teacher is talking. ;)

After eating a quick bite in the car while I fed Ellie in the front seat, we headed in to "New family orientation"...basically a presentation by the principal about how things run at the school for families who are new to the school/area. I was excited for it because there really is a lot to learn as a parent when you are taking your kids to a new school. We were 30 minutes early because I had the wrong time in my brain so we went out to the playground while we waited (as suggested by the principal who was in the room preparing). We eventually made our way back in, found a seat, introduced our family to the principal and told her our story, found out Morgan's teacher's name, and read some books while other families made their way in. By the time the principal started it was well into Brynn's naptime and she was being cranky. She wanted to get up, she wanted to get down, she wanted me to read a book, she wanted to tell me about things in the book, she wanted to get a different book. All of this would probably have been fine, but she doesn't know how to whisper (despite my efforts to teach her) and she rebels by raising the volume of her voice when you say "no" to her, so she was being kind of loud. Ellie was almost asleep, so I was rocking her in her car seat to get her to sleep and trying to keep Brynn's volume down, but about halfway into the presentation, the principal stopped, came over to our table and said (not quietly), "I think it would be better if you took the kids out to the playground and I will fill you in all this information later". I was mortified. So, I tried to shuffle the 3 kids out as quietly as possible without bursting into tears while toting Ellie in her car seat, a huge bag filled with Morgan's school supplies, and my purse through a library so full of people it was standing room only. It took us a good 5-10 minutes just to get out of the room. I have never been so mortified in my life (and I have had a lot of blonde moments in my life, so that is saying a lot).

We got out the door and I was debating leaving and never coming back or actually going to the stupid playground...again, when the sweetest 6th grade teacher came and pretty much told me she was taking Chloe and Brynn to her classroom and that Morgan and Ellie and I should go back in so we could hear all of the information. I tried to refuse, but she already had the girls on their way up the stairs. Walking back in the room was equally awful, but Morgan and Ellie were quiet the whole time so we attracted as little attention as possible. Then we toured the school and I couldn't find the room where the girls were, so I had to ask other teachers if they knew where "a 6th grade teacher who took my little girls to her room during the orientation" was. "Oh, that was you?" they asked (very sympathetically and seeming embarrassed that the principal did that to me), but it still made me feel worse. Yep...I am the crappy mother with unruly kids. But, did I mention that we moved here 3 weeks ago? How about the fact that I know a total of 2 people here and my kids are nervous about making friends? Or what about the fact that all 6 of us are living in a 3 bedroom apartment with no yard to run around in and no space to ourselves? Maybe I forgot to mention that we are moving AGAIN in 7 days or that I commuted 20 minutes to get here and spent my whole day going to these orientations to try and be involved in my childrens' education?

As if that wasn't bad enough, the horror continued as I had to walk through the halls where everyone recognized me as "that poor mom" to get to Morgan's class. Things were much better in his classroom. Brynn was having a complete meltdown and was throwing a fit that she didn't have a desk or cubby to organize (or a bed and a blankie to take a dang nap), but once we got her some paper and crayons, calmed down. Morgan had taken one shoe and his colored pencils out of his school supply bag, so we were missing stuff that needed to be organized, but his teacher was great about it. She was so so sweet and kind and FUN! I am excited for him. One of the wonderfully sweet parents from Chloe's class had a 1st grade boy in Morgan's class too, so we were excited to see some familiar faces! Morgan felt much better too, once his new class was no longer "unknown". So, overall, I think school is going to be great here as long as don't have to deal with the principal ever much. And I can honestly say that in 2 years of preschool, 13 of grade school and 4 of college, I have never been so excited to get out of school as I was today.


*disclaimer: I, in no way, mean to suggest that my kids' behavior was acceptable today or any time I have taken them out in public in the recent weeks. Each of them are trying to adjust to new surroundings, not sleeping, having a change in diet and eating schedules, are completely off of a schedule and are acting out as a result. Unfortunately, I am also not well rested and my patience is pretty much shot, so my follow-through has been lackadaisical at best. I feel that settling down in a more permanent place will be a turning point for us, but in the meantime I am trying to do what I can to get them back to a more regular schedule. I would LOVE any suggestions you have for dealing with volatile personalities (Brynn), helping kids adjust to a move, getting back on a schedule or things you do to keep kids quiet. :)