First Full Week of Kindergarten

Ashtyn is just loving kindergarten! I thought the adjustment to the full day schedule, 5 days a week would be pretty hard but she has done really well. She's pretty tired when she comes home but she loves her teacher and always has something fun to tell me about her day. She spends her recesses chasing the boys and then "torturing them", I didn't really want to know more than that! And she's a little bit chatty during rest time. What a girl! And the extra bonus is that she and Sierra play so well together in the afternoon when Ashtyn comes home. They've missed each other during the long day and have a great time just hanging out.

My Little Preschooler, cont'd...

We have just finished Sierra's 2nd week of preschool and she absolutely loves it. She wakes up every morning asking if she can go to school, especially since Ash is going every day, all day. The problem...her teachers don't look forward to it as much as she does! I was told on Tuesday when I picked her up that if her behavior didn't improve, they wouldn't be able to keep her. I didn't know that you could get kicked out of preschool! Not many can brag about that! I was devestated and spent a couple of days in tears. I wasn't going to send her back on Thursday, but Sierra wanted to go and Tasch convinced me that she has seen improvement in the short time that Sierra has been going. I was pretty emotional about leaving her, so I sent her with Tasch. She had a little chat with the teachers and they agreed to try to help her more. I don't have any other options right now. I'm checking into some other preschools with separate 3-year-old classes and I have an appointment to have her speech evaluated on September 10th. She's a sweet, good little girl but she does have some tantrums still and hasn't been real cooperative at school. She needs to learn to stand in line,to be quiet during singing time, and clean up her lunch. She doesn't like crayons and didn't do well with scissors. She doesn't cry when I leave her or while I'm gone and hasn't had any potty accidents. I'm sure she will get better with time and she seems happy when I pick her up. For now I'm picking her up an hour earlier because that's the most chaotic time. And I'm just crossing my fingers on some better options!

My Little Preschooler

Last week Sierra started preschool! Let me preface my comments by saying that I have been almost ecstatic about this day for a very long time. It's the first time in almost 15 years that I have had some time to myself. I don't live near any family that can help out with the kids--it's always me, me, and me tending to their every need. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely adore my girls and think they're the best thing since sliced bread. But I am a better mom when I get a break and lately I have been very near my breaking point. So...I took Sierra to preschool for her first day. She walked in, sat down at the play doh table, said good-bye, and waved me away. That was easy! I walked out without feeling guilty about leaving her in someone else's care and I was off to put my house back into some kind of order. I didn't get a call all day telling me that she was sad, or that she'd had a potty accident, or was causing problems. I kind of even missed her as the day wore on. I went to pick her up and WHAM! I got an earful about her not standing in line, not wanting to wash her hands, not sitting quietly on her rug during rest time, throwing a tantrum. My little darling was the only one whose apple fell from the tree that first day of school and I left in tears. She had behaved much as I thought she would on the first day of preschool, but apparently they expected more. I was just thrilled that she had been fine without me for 5 hours and hadn't had a potty accident. I've been thinking all weekend that she isn't ready for preschool and have been so disappointed. I took her again yesterday prepared to talk to them and even stay and see what was going on, but as I walked in one of her teachers apologized about the way they had approached me about what had gone on and assured me that they would work with her and that they agreed that preschool was a good thing for her. I was completely relieved! She had a better day yesterday and just loves school. She'll learn how to sit still and follow directions better in time. For now she is just happy to be a big girl!

Three Down, One to Go...

Ashtyn is officially a kindergartener! Today she went for her first 1/2 day. She seemed a little bit nervous at first, but warmed up as soon as she saw her new friend, Gretchen. When I left her she was smiling and happy to be there. Sierra had a hard time leaving her there and we missed her all morning. We were anxious to go and pick her up and knew that the car rider line would be a little bit long so we left early. When we got there, we were told that all of the schools were in lockdown because there had been an armed robbery at one of the banks nearby. So we sat, and sat, and sat--for almost an hour and a half while police helicopters passed by overhead. They finally lifted the lockdown and we got our little kiddos. She didn't know that anything had happened and we were happy to get her and go home. She had a great day and can't wait to go all day, every day!

First Day of School

I heard the most wonderful sound early this morning. No, it wasn't the sound of birds chirping or children laughing--it was the sound of a school bus welcoming the first day of school!

I was almost singing as I woke my girls and began the process of getting them all ready for the day. Don't get me wrong, I do love summer and the time I have to spend with my girls. We've had a good time, but they were ready to start and I was ready to send them.

Lauren is in the 8th grade and wasn't too happy about getting up today. She will definitely miss sleeping in! We managed to keep her busy with camps this summer, but she's missed her friends and was ready for school. She's anxious for soccer tryouts too!
Mackenzie got the 5th grade teacher that every 5th grader hopes for and was so excited today. She had her backpack ready and her clothes laid out yesterday afternoon and was up bright and early this morning! I took her in to her classroom and was excited to see a couple of kids in her class that I recognized. She is very social and makes friends easily, but she has been curious about who would be in her class. She made a new friend as soon as she walked into the school. One of the teachers knew that she would be thrilled to help a fellow 5th grader find her classroom and they chatted all the way down the hallway. She seemed happy when I left her classroom and I'm sure I will hear all about it when she gets home!

Ashtyn will start kindergarten this year, but only had testing for about a half hour today. She was sooo nervous! The teacher who talked to her was so great and Ash is now very excited to go to school too. She will go for "kindergarten camp" on Wednesday and for 2 more half-days next week before she starts full-time. Here in Tennessee, our kindergarteners go all day--from 8:30-3:30! It makes for a really long day, but I think she will just love it!

And Sierra will start pre-school on Thursday. She will go 2 days a week from 9-2. The other 3 days she will be very bored, alone at home with me. She loves Ashtyn and they have a great time together. I think the adjustment to kindergarten will be harder for her than it will be for Ashtyn.

And I am looking forward to cleaning closets and "de-junking" my house in my "free time"! Maybe I'll even get my floors mopped and bathrooms cleaned or finish my laundry the same day it's started! It's been a very long time since I've had any "alone" time. I'll miss my girls, but I'm pretty sure I can get used to that!!!

"New to You" Car

Due to recent prices at the pump and Mark's job which will soon require a longer commute, we traded his truck. We needed something with better gas mileage and that had a back seat for a couple of kids. He settled on a little blue Honda Civic. The girls will miss riding in the back when we go to the pool and I don't know who we'll call on when we need a load of mulch, but Lauren is excited that she'll be driving that instead of a truck in 2 years.
The little girls were so excited that they wanted to sit in it for a minute after Dad took them for a ride. I stayed outside watering flowers while they climbed in the front seat, released the emergency brake, and took it out of gear. Lauren and I heard screaming and then saw the car edging out of the garage with my two little girls panic struck in the front seat. Lauren jumped behind it and was able to stop it while I ran around and set the brake. No better way to break in a new car then sending it into someone's house! All is well, but they won't be playing in the car again!

Ashtyn Loses Her First Tooth

Ashtyn has had a loose tooth for several weeks now and has been wiggling it, trying to get it out. Her permanent tooth is coming in behind it and it has needed to come out. She's been a little nervous that it might hurt and didn't want anyone to touch it. Today we were at the pool and she was eating an apple. She showed a friend of ours how loose it was and Ash let her pull it out! It only took one tug and she was so excited. Now she can't wait for the Tooth Fairy to come. Of course, one of the little girls at the pool informed her that she got $20 for her first tooth. Not sure our tooth fairy is going to compete with that, but we love her toothless little grin!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

The last several days have been devoted to cramming some fun into the last minutes of summer. We headed to a movie Thursday after lunch and playtime at McDonald's. I took Ashtyn and Sierra to see Space Chimps while Lauren, Mackenzie and 2 of our neighbors saw Journey to the Center of the Earth. The girls enjoyed the movies, I enjoyed the popcorn and Diet Coke. My movie let out a little earlier so we were waiting in the lobby and letting the little girls play in the arcade and out walked Billy Ray Cyrus! Now, living in Nashville you can expect to see a country star or two, but I don't think I can say that I've seen anyone just "out in public". This was a first and it was kind of thrilling. The girls were just wishing that Hannah Montana would follow behind. That would have made their day...maybe even their summer!
We've spent some time at the pool and the mall and Friday night the older girls and I headed to Borders and Barnes and Noble for Breaking Dawn parties. We had a great time checking out the costumes and being in on the excitement. I've been fighting Lauren for the book ever since and I HAVE to finish it tonight because finding time to read it has become a top priority! I was even tempted to feed the missionaries cereal last night so that I could have more time to read. It's a problem, I know!