Pre-School Girls

Since January, a new term has been birthed in our family. "PRE-SCHOOL GIRRRRRL!"

We hear it all the time. Both in happy squeals and in little quarrels.

Lyric and Peyton have gone to Happy Days pre-school together Mon, Wed and Fridays since January and, for some reason, the term Pre-school Girl was coined immediately for one another.

So the "pre-school girls" got to sing in the Graduation ceremony last week. (Lyric is moving on to Kindergarten next year...and Peyton has one more year)

They go to a Mennenite pre-school, so they sing lots of songs about Jesus and the like. It was cute and they both did a great job! Lyric is WAY more than ready for Kindergarten! She'll do amazing!

From the Eyes of a Child

I absolutely love finding the pictures on my camera taken by the girls. These totally show how they see life!

Back in the Game

I have lost a certain amount of my energy toward motherhood the past year or so. I don't exactly know what I mean by that. Except that it doesn't feel "new" anymore, so it's easier to get stuck in ruts and forget to look for new & improved ways of doing things.

For so many years, everything felt new. And now it's just real life. Which isn't bad, but just verges on monotonous and exhausting.

So I was happy when my mom sent me a link to a very inspiring blog (you can see it here). There were several inspiring ideas and it gave me a renewed interest in giving my kids not just a "good enough" childhood, but striving for the BEST possible. That absolutely does not mean perfect. Nor does it mean I am capable of carrying out every single good idea that exists.

But it means that I will always be finding ways to improve. That I will be committed to being alert behind the wheel of motherhood so that I know which way to pull the wheel at each sharp turn in the road. I need to be the mother that MY kids need.

This goes so far beyond piano, dance, sports and church. Those are all commendable and even essential at times. But I am talking more about being a present mom. Being a focused mom. And more than ANYTHING....being a happy mom. A happy person for my kids.

I need to give them tools to use in the future. To learn from. To love themselves. To know where to turn and what to do when (not if) life throws crap in their face (to put it eloquently).

Anyway, today I made a little babystep in copying a good idea from that blog. I put up this chalkboard in our entryway. My goal is to put a different quote or scripture or motivational saying on it for our family to memorize and focus on each week. I will eventually give the girls turns to pick/write the quote.

I think it will be fun. Copy the idea if you like....and pass it on!

The Zoo....and Newborn Giraffes

Last week I was able to go to the zoo with Jordyn's class. Mrs. Stone is so cool because most 2nd grade classes don't go, but she's been going for like 30 years and doesn't like to break tradition. After experiencing full-time working...I have a re-newed appreciation for having the opportunity to go on field trips like this with my girls.


Look carefully....there is a baby giraffe hanging halfway out of the mama! Giraffes are prego for 14 months...and then it takes about 45 minutes to give birth. It was pretty amazing that we were there to witness such a cool thing! They had the baby giraffe gated off, so I didn't get a pic of the final outcome :-)

Mrs. Stone got "animal" sunglasses for all the kids! Then she paired us up two kids per parent, so I had Jordyn's good little friend Madi Lorang with us.

I have never seen a camel lay like this! And I love the lemurs and how they lay.

(Madi, Paige L., Emma, Megan, Jordyn and Nathan)

The amazing Mrs. Stone!

Pismo!

Last weekend, met our neighbors at the coast for a fun day! It would have been absolutely PERFECT weather had it not been like 80 mile per hour winds! We still managed to play on the beach for a few hours (and ate a few buckets full of sand that was flying in our mouths). Ate at Splash, of course. And the kids had a blast! We also took Jordyn's good friend Olivia with us. Good times!

My Math Whiz!

Lexi has got an amazing Math mind. She is young for her grade, but has passed every single student in her class as far as her Math skills go!

In her first grade class, they do timed Math tests daily. She has passed the following:

Addition I - 60 problems in four minutes
Addition II - same
Addition III - same

Subtraction - 60 problems in four minutes
Subtraction II - same
Subtraction III - same

then on to 2nd grade level math....

Addition I, II and III - 100 problems in THREE minutes.

Now she's on to her first timed test of 100 subtraction problems! She said "it's hard mom", but I bet she'll pass before the end of the school year. Way to go Lexi!!